Gaming Upgrade

LEK-89 · 27 Jun 2011 at 21:55

Thanks for all of your suggestions, I think I have summed it all down to this final spec;

OcUK GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **
XFX Pro 750W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black
Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Thanks for your suggestion in your previous post KiiYzOo, but the XFX PSU that you posted in still under offer (same for the hard drive & RAM) but I have changed this for another XFX one that is 750W (I have no intention of going down the SLI route). Also the Fractual Design Define XL case looks way too big for me I'm afraid, so therefore and after some reading up - I will settle for the CoolerMaster case.

The only other thing as well, I've took off the H60 CPU water cooler as it made me go a bit over budget, and I have replaced it with the Corsair A50 CPU cooler instead, is this the best air one to go for?

Many thanks once again

Liam

KiiYzOo · 27 Jun 2011 at 22:01

looks like a very nice spec

didn't realize about the offers (I must have forgotten

)

YOUR BASKET
1 x OcUK GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card £249.98
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM £167.99
1 x MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION ** £114.98
1 x XFX Pro 750W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply £79.99
1 x G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL ) £65.99
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black £59.99
1 x BeQuiet Dark Rock Advanced CPU Cooler (Socket LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366, AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / 754 / 939 / 940) £42.98
1 x Samsung SpinPoint F1 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (HD103UJ) £34.99
1 x Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £17.99
Total : £834.89 (includes shipping : FREE).

you may be able to change something there as there is almost £20 to spare

olivier renault · 27 Jun 2011 at 23:04

LEK-89 said:
Thanks for all of your suggestions, I think I have summed it all down to this final spec;

OcUK GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **
XFX Pro 750W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black
Corsair A50 High-Performance CPU Cooler (Socket AM2/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Thanks for your suggestion in your previous post KiiYzOo, but the XFX PSU that you posted in still under offer (same for the hard drive & RAM) but I have changed this for another XFX one that is 750W (I have no intention of going down the SLI route). Also the Fractual Design Define XL case looks way too big for me I'm afraid, so therefore and after some reading up - I will settle for the CoolerMaster case.

The only other thing as well, I've took off the H60 CPU water cooler as it made me go a bit over budget, and I have replaced it with the Corsair A50 CPU cooler instead, is this the best air one to go for?

Many thanks once again Liam

Yeah the A50 is a good cooler. Price/Performance it's one of the best.

Pick up the 2500K 'retail' for £161. It's got 3 years warranty and is a lil bit cheaper than OEM.

Not much to add to the build above otherwise.

LEK-89 · 27 Jun 2011 at 23:25

A thousand thanks for all of your suggestions & help everyone!

I've finally gone for this spec and proceeded with the order:

OcUK GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **
XFX Pro 750W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black
BeQuiet Dark Rock Advanced CPU Cooler (Socket LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366, AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / 754 / 939 / 940)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM

I completed the Hitachi finance form earlier and to my exitement, I have been approved

I feel like a kid at xmas now lol! Now to sign & send off the final document tomorrow and then the (hopefully short) wait for the awaited delivery

Thanks again everyone, once I receive & set up the rig - I will post some pics

Liam

KiiYzOo · 27 Jun 2011 at 23:27

Awesome

wish I could do that and get a very good gaming rig

olivier renault · 28 Jun 2011 at 00:29

gah sorry, remembered you cant get the deals with fiance :rolleyes:

Looks like a cracking machine. I think you'll have to move the rams to slots 2 and 4, unless the Dark Rock is tall enough. we'll see when you get there

LEK-89 · 28 Jun 2011 at 08:44

olivier renault said:
gah sorry, remembered you cant get the deals with fiance

Looks like a cracking machine. I think you'll have to move the rams to slots 2 and 4, unless the Dark Rock is tall enough. we'll see when you get there

Yeah that's what I thought that I may need to do as well lol, after seing some videos on YouTube of the Dark Rock in action it looks absolutely huge! Funny enough the same video that they tested the cooler, it was tested using the Cooler Master CM-690 II case as well so I know for sure that it will fit without a problem. The only slight thing with this is that I know it may be a bit fiddly to get the cooler installed.

Will keep you guys updated

Liam

LEK-89 · 5 Jul 2011 at 20:31

Hi All,

Just thought I would give you all an update, my order has been dispatched today for delivery tomorrow! I'm so exited lol!

Slight change to the order though, as while OcUK were waiting for approval from Hitachi Capital, my chosen PSU (XFX Pro 750W Core Edition '80 Plus Bronze) and the RAM (G.Skill RipJawsX 8GB) both went out of stock! Luckily today I spoke with OcUK who recommended the different parts and amended the order, so here is the final end result:

OcUK GeForce GTX 570 1280MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
MSI P67A-GD53 Intel P67 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard - (Sandybridge) ** B3 REVISION **
XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular Power Supply [P1-650X-NLH9]
Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (KHX1600C9D3X2K2/8GX)
Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case - Black
BeQuiet Dark Rock Advanced CPU Cooler (Socket LGA 775 / 1155 / 1156 / 1366, AM2 / AM2+ / AM3 / 754 / 939 / 940)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000524AS)
Sony Optiarc AD-7260S 24x DVD±RW SATA Lightscribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM

I will update you all with a photo of the received goods tomorrow!

Liam

LEK-89 · 6 Jul 2011 at 23:45

Hi All,

We have lift off!

I received all of the parts today - Many thanks OcUK for a speedy delivery!

I originally was not going to do the build tonight as I did not get back home until 9pm but I thought, sod it - I was too excited to wait so I went along and built it, 100 minutes later it was complete. Despite feeling nervous upon first pressing the power button, it POST'd first time and Windows 7 installed without a hitch!

I've just got 2 minor concerns though, first being is that the idle temps on the CPU are are 38c, after installing Windows and booting into the BIOS again, it was raised to 40c but went back down to 37/38c again - Is this a little on the high side??

Secondly, the power LED on the Cooler Master 690 II Lite case does not stay on solid, but flashes on & off constantly at a slow pace - any ideas?

Overall first impressions - very impressed with this build, and I really cannot believe how quiet it really is!

Thanks all!

Liam

stulid · 6 Jul 2011 at 23:49

You have the HDD and power LED connectors the wrong way around.

The HDD led is suppose to flicker, the power LED stay on solid.

LEK-89 · 6 Jul 2011 at 23:53

HDD LED flickers as normal where activity is present, it's just the power LED which also blinks on/off all the time at a slow pace.

Thanks for the reply though, I will check out the power LED cable tomorrow.

Liam

Reaper 392 · 6 Jul 2011 at 23:55

LEK-89 said:
*quote shortened*
idle temps 37/38C, 40C in BIOS

power LED flashes

that sounds about right. it might be a teeny bit high but that could be caused by a number of things. the temp is guaranted to rise in the bios as none of the power saving features like intel speedstep can be used

if the power LED flashes at a slow constant rate, then i doubt it is the hard drive LED in the wrong place, as that flashes incredibly fast. my power LED flashes when the computer is in sleep mode (sodding irritating if you are trying to sleep yourself) but why the motherboard would give the sleep signal to the power LED i dont know

stulid · 6 Jul 2011 at 23:57

LEK-89 said:
HDD LED flickers as normal where activity is present, it's just the power LED which also blinks on/off all the time at a slow pace.

Thanks for the reply though, I will check out the power LED cable tomorrow.

Liam

You are using the right connector for the power LED?

LEK-89 · 6 Jul 2011 at 23:57

Reaper 392 said:
that sounds about right. it might be a teeny bit high but that could be caused by a number of things. the temp is guaranted to rise in the bios as none of the power saving features like intel speedstep can be used

if the power LED flashes at a slow constant rate, then i doubt it is the hard drive LED in the wrong place, as that flashes incredibly fast. my power LED flashes when the computer is in sleep mode (sodding irritating if you are trying to sleep yourself) but why the motherboard would give the sleep signal to the power LED i dont know

Thanks for that, I will keep an eye on the temps for the next few days just in case

From a little bit of research, it sounds like I may have the Power LED cable +/- in the wrong pins, but I have never done this before hmmmm.

Edit - Stulid, yeah I connected the cable into the right header, as I remember that it sits right next to the Power switch one.

Edit 2 - I realised as well after first powering on the machine that I forgot to plug in the speaker module onto the motherboard, would be related to this do you think?

Liam

LEK-89 · 7 Jul 2011 at 08:20

Right, I had a quick look at it this morning before work and I swapped around the order of the +/- Power LED pins and upon booting the machine the Power LED did not come on at all, so I swapped it back to how it was originally and it's back to blinking on/off again.

While I was at it I also plugged in the speaker module, which made absolutely no difference to the Power LED as well.

Any more ideas guys?

Thanks all - Liam

stulid · 7 Jul 2011 at 10:20

If you connect the HDD LED to the Power LED connector does it still flash?

arrshyan · 7 Jul 2011 at 10:57

LEK-89 said:
Yep I'm just deciding what other parts to have instead, could someone possibly re-post a basket with what I should get that are not on offer?

Edit - how does this look:

Gigabyte GeForce GTX 560Ti SUPER OC 1024MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
Gigabyte Z68X-UD3P Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700w Silent SLI Certified Modular Power Supply
Corsair XMS3 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (CMX8GX3M2A1600C9)
Corsair Hydro H60 High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler (Socket LGA1366/1155/1156/775/AM2/AM3)
Antec 300 Three Hundred Ultimate Gaming Case - Black
Seagate Barracuda 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DL002)
Samsung SH-S222AB/BEBE 22x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM

Total: £833.88

Thanks - Liam

Be aware that the MOBO you have specified is not a full Z68 so if you are intersted in Quicksync you will not have access to it. Spec a MOBO that has video out ports or support Virtu software if want quicksync

LEK-89 · 7 Jul 2011 at 10:59

stulid said:
If you connect the HDD LED to the Power LED connector does it still flash?

I will give this a go tonight.

I reckon that it's something to do with the motherboard but I have looked in the MSI manual & looked online but nothing relating to this. At the moment the Power LED cables are plugged in with the "PWR LED" writing facing outwards, maybe I should try them with the writing facing inwards?

I also had a look in the BIOS this morning too and saw an option to do with the Power LED and it gave me the option to change it from blinking to dual colours or something, but the LED itself still blinked on/off on either setting.

arrshyan - I went for the MSI P67A-GD53 board in the end.

Thanks - Liam

LEK-89 · 7 Jul 2011 at 21:34

Well just spent an hour trying to fix this Power LED but to no avail

However, the idle CPU temps in Windows (based on RealTemp & Speedfan) are 28c at idle and an average temp of 45c on all cores when testing in Prime95.

Had a bit of a worry though with the CD drive, as it does not seem to like the MSI CD and does not read it well at all, but likes any other CD's as far as I have tested. Maybe I have a bad MSI CD?

Lastly, when I downloaded all of the drivers for the board off the MSI side, Intel Rapid Boost Technology fails to install and stops at the setup screen and errors out, do I really need the Intel Rapid Boost Technology driver?

Thanks all - Liam

LEK-89 · 9 Jul 2011 at 16:38

There seems to have been a problem which has developed with the DVD drive, it doesn't seem to like DVD-R disks very well. It still reads and installs programs/games from normal CD's but it did not like my MSI CD at all as mentioned in my previous post. Any ideas? The only thing that lies in the back of my mind is that the drive is currently hooked up to one of the SATA 6GB ports, is it ok connected to these or should the drive be hooked up to a SATA 3GB port instead?

I still have not managed to resolve the Power LED on the case either :/

Thanks all - Liam