First custom build.

SouthyCHXC · 11 Jan 2011 at 22:50

So, as you can probably tell I am new to this, planning on building a custom rig, i7 based. I could do with some helps and tips on building it, and the components to use.
The rig will be used for overclocking purposes, gaming, high definition media and multitasking. I am also planning on upgrading in the future, probably getting an identical, or similar graphics card and connecting them with SLI. And also possibly adding a processor (however I don't know how expensive two CPU motherboards are, any ideas?), more RAM and extra drives in a RAID array. Another topic on which I am newish, and could do with some information on as well.
I will also be investing in a custom water cooling system, but for now I am going to leave it due to money, hence the CPU cooler.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-344-IN&groupid=701&catid=6&subcat=1272
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-235-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1692
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-135-EA&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=1830
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-295-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-117-AN
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-010-TI&groupid=701&catid=57&subcat=1395

Further Edit: The drives I would put in my RAID array (Which will probably be RAID 1, but I've heard it can cause drive instability, can anyone guide me on this?) are the following
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-336-WD&groupid=701&catid=14&subcat=1279

And I was looking at the following Raptor drive from Western Digital, I would use this as a main drive to host my Operating System, I know it's a large drive for an OS, but I could also use it as a backup drive for important data, rather than an external. Are Raptor drives worth the money? Do they give the speeds they say, and are they as reliable as they sound?

stulid · 11 Jan 2011 at 22:56

Did you know linking to competitor websites is against forum rules?

the parts are fine, but the ram will get in the way of the heatsink due to the heatsink fins on top.

anuraj · 11 Jan 2011 at 22:56

I thought It wasn't allowed to post links from other vendors... You might find some of those things or better here on the ocuk site for cheaper.

SimonMaltby · 11 Jan 2011 at 22:57

Sorry but you will not be alowed to post links to other etailers in the forum, check the rules. But also check the overclockers website they will have everything you need.

stulid · 11 Jan 2011 at 23:00

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £233.99
(£194.99) £233.99
(£194.99)
Gigabyte GA-X58-USB3 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £120.00
(£100.00) £120.00
(£100.00)
Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £113.99
(£94.99) £113.99
(£94.99)
Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply £73.99
(£61.66) £73.99
(£61.66)
GeIL 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Triple Channel (GVP36GB1600C9TC) £51.98
(£43.32) £51.98
(£43.32)
Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £36.76
(£30.63) £36.76
(£30.63)
Sub Total : £525.59
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £107.12
Total : £642.71

thats the same stuff, but with a ram change.

SouthyCHXC · 11 Jan 2011 at 23:13

Would the RAM I have updated in my first post fit with the heatsink? And also which heatsink do you mean, the stock intel heatsink? What if I put them in the further away RAM slots?

SouthyCHXC · 11 Jan 2011 at 23:15

stulid said:
Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Bloomfield) (Socket LGA1366) - Retail £233.99
(£194.99) £233.99
(£194.99)
Gigabyte GA-X58-USB3 Intel X58 (Socket 1366) DDR3 Motherboard £120.00
(£100.00) £120.00
(£100.00)
Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £113.99
(£94.99) £113.99
(£94.99)
Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply £73.99
(£61.66) £73.99
(£61.66)
GeIL 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz VALUE PLUS Triple Channel (GVP36GB1600C9TC) £51.98
(£43.32) £51.98
(£43.32)
Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £36.76
(£30.63) £36.76
(£30.63)
Sub Total : £525.59
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £107.12
Total : £642.71

thats the same stuff, but with a ram change.

And can I also ask where those prices are from? Sorry for the double post.

stulid · 11 Jan 2011 at 23:34

Those prices are from OCUK, shows a complete total, inc VAT and delivery.

And yes the ram will get in the way of the Titan Fenrir, so get ram with a lower height profile, such as the Geil or this Corsair,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-205-CS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1389

stulid · 11 Jan 2011 at 23:42

Also have you considered the new Sandy bridge stuff?

Your basketProduct Name Qty Price Line Total
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor with FREE Lost Planet 2 PC Game - Retail £191.99
(£159.99) £191.99
(£159.99)
Asus P8P67 PRO Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) £147.98
(£123.32) £147.98
(£123.32)
Asus GeForce GTX 460 Direct CU TOP 768MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £113.99
(£94.99) £113.99
(£94.99)
Antec TruePower New Modular 650W Power Supply £73.99
(£61.66) £73.99
(£61.66)
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX4GX3M2A1600C9) £44.99
(£37.49) £44.99
(£37.49)
Titan Fenrir Evo CPU Cooler (Socket LGA775/LGA1156/LGA1155/LGA1366/AMD K8/AM2/AM2+/AM3) £36.76
(£30.63) £36.76
(£30.63)
Sub Total : £508.08
Shipping cost assumes delivery to UK Mainland with:
DPD Next Day Parcel
(This can be changed during checkout) Shipping : £10.00
VAT is being charged at 20.00% VAT : £103.62
Total : £621.70

its faster.

SouthyCHXC · 11 Jan 2011 at 23:45

Would a water cooling block get in the way of the RAM? As I'm willing to change the CPU cooling for the time being, as I am planning on getting water cooling.
I heard the Vengeance/Dominator RAM are some of the highest performance sticks out, do you know how they compare with the XMS sticks?
And is the physical quality of those sticks going to last me a similar amount of time?

SouthyCHXC · 11 Jan 2011 at 23:46

And yeah I have looked at Sandy Bridge, but it's pretty new and I've seen a lot of stuff about the chip's failing. Also I'm not into the idea of a remote killswitch in my chip.

stulid · 11 Jan 2011 at 23:48

A water block wont get in the way, so a custom water cooling setup or a Corsair H50-1/H70 will fit fine.

The sandybridge cpus seem to be dying due to the Bclk getting pushed to high - http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18227647

SouthyCHXC · 12 Jan 2011 at 00:01

I hadn't seen that thread, thanks for the link. That's interesting.
So how are these processors faster? The response time? Or the amount the clock can go to.
And also the Bclk being pushed past 100 is causing the SandyBridge dying problems? So if for instance I wanted to push it to 4GHz, with a voltage lower than 1.38v then should I just turn the multiplier clock up?

stulid · 12 Jan 2011 at 00:15

They just do more per clock mhz,

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4083/...core-i7-2600k-i5-2500k-core-i3-2100-tested/15

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cpus/2011/01/03/intel-sandy-bridge-review/1

Just look at the graphs, and to overclock just raise the multiplier, which the "K" cpus have unlocked.

SouthyCHXC · 12 Jan 2011 at 00:24

I've just looked at the graph's, and looked at some benchmark tests, is the 2600k worth forking the extra out for, it seems the performance boost is quite a difference.