Help - advice/comments on my upgrade/new build

Nighthaunt

Nighthaunt

Nighthaunt

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Joined
1 Apr 2011
Posts
19
Hi Guys,

Would appreciate any advice/comments on my upgrade/new build.

Components:

radon intel core i5 760 2.80ghz @ 3.80ghz overclocked bundle - gigabyte

msi geforce gtx 560ti oc twin frozr ii 1024mb gddr5 pci-express graphics card

asus xonar dx 7.1 pci-express sound card

tp-link 300mbps wireless-n pci adapter

kingston 128gb ssdnow v series drive

samsung spinpoint f3 1tb sata-ii 32mb cache

OCZ 500W ModXStream Pro Power Supply

Coolermaster HAF 912 Plus Case

Coolermaster MegaFlow 200 Red LED Silent Fan for the top of the HAF 912.

Generic DVD-RW from old pc - running on a 26" Samsung TFT monitor and through Creative 7.1 speakers.

Case and Fan arrive tomorrow :) so going to start the build then - Please Note I went with the I5-760 rather than an I5-2500 as this was to a tight budget - if I had gone with the Sandy Bridge chip the extra cost would have meant being stuck with a 460 GPU - so I went for the better graphics card.

Also I'm currently using a set of Creative 1200 wireless headphones for gaming - any suggestions that will bring a big improvement to sound:confused: - happy to have wired with the Xonar going to the front panel.

Let me know what you think guys.
 
Already got the MB and Processor - I know Sandy Bridge is a big step up but had to make a decision at the time - I'm not comfortable OCing really myself as also use it for work/union/university so the benefit of guarantee and all sorted is worth the hit in power - I tend to play strategy Games so absolute power isnt a big issue.
 
Thanks Guys,

The Kingston SSD I've had for a year or 2, and I've had the PSU for just under a year as well.

I went with the 560 ti as it should run cooler, and I hate to say it but having recieved my electricity bill for winter its a miracle I can afford to splash out on any components:D and if I went with the 480 I've then got to upgrade power supply for another £70 or thereabouts - ends up being a domino effect :)

I must admit I read about Sandy Bridge processors and the 2500 - and had a hard decision - ordered the I5 760 when it was looking like that and the graphics card were all I would be able to afford - since then got a little extra unexpected money which has enabled me to splash out on the sound card, HDD and case.

In some ways I wish I was sensible/brave/sane enough to OC a Sandy Bridge CPU myself but my main worry was blowing the whole thing - left over from an old 486 - dx66 build many many years ago :) But I've recieved the set from OCUK last week so just been waiting for the case to arrive to install, and swap everything over.
Its unlikely I will be able to afford anything major pc component wise for 3 or more years - which is why I went with the slightly slower CPU but faster GPU on the packages available - on balance I believe it will offer me more over over those 3 years than a worse graphics card and better CPU. It's me trying to hedge my bets, and tbh its a tactic I've used in the past with PC's and not been dissapointed.

I don't think I'm going to be dissapointed tbh - I'm not a great FPS on the PC (use Xbox 360 and PS3 for that) and the game that it will probably be spending most of its time running, if the first edition is any guide, will be Sword of the Stars II, with a bit of Starcraft 2 and a lot of Eve Online thrown in. I don't know many games that are even pushing my little old Pentium Dual Core 2 even today that I play, although got treated to Crisis 2 for my birthday so not even tried that yet :) and Shogun 2 works smooth on my current setup with everything maxed out - so hopefully shouldn't encounter anything in next 3 years which is going to really push processor (fingers crossed) :)

And apparently my case is due to be delivered between 16:58-17:58! its about 50 miles to the depot so I will believe it when I see the DPD man knock at the door - so looking like I'm not going to be able to do anything till Thursday minimum as out tomorrow :(
 
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Well guys got the system built and running smooth :) use the X3 Terran demo set as run as benchmark and seen a massive increase - (previous was Dual Core @ 4GHZ, 4GB DDR 2 Ram and ATI 4870 1GB. Almost double the FPS :) Installing Crisis 2 as I type to give the system a good workout :eek: and will see how it does.

Must say the HAF 912 case was a pleasure to build in, and I'm glad I went with the extra 200mm fan on top - although realistically with the Coolermaster MegaFlow 200mm the fans the wrong way round to show off the red LED effect to match the front 200mm identical fan.

Had some fun and games with the old IDE DVD RW I moved across - worked to install Win7 but then died and wont read any disks - checked everything I can think of in BIOS and can't see what would have caused it so assuming its died after 4 years of sterling service.

So ordered another Sony 24 DVD RW as been really pleased with the life of my old one, and since like many people I didn't have enough cable length to feed the motherboard 24 and 8 pin cables behind the tray I ordered some extenders (BitFenix Alchemy cables ) - the individual braided cable ones similar to the NXZT ones are out of stock on OCUK, along with 3 red SATA cables to keep the cable theme inside the case black braid or red smooth. sadly since OCUK don't stock the cables had to go elsewhere :(

Once I get the cable management done tomorrow will post some pics :D
 
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