Im going to attempt my first build. Any advice welcome

General Zod

General Zod

General Zod

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So i think its time to upgrade the antique Dell XPS 720 H2C

http://www.freshpilot.com/wp-content/images/dell_xps_720_h2c.jpg

** Do Not Hotlink images **

I think it was one of the first watercooled pc's on the market back in 2007.

The problem is that it has a BTX motherboard in it. BTX motherboards didn't take off and so no new motherboard will fit the case. So its a new pc build now. The 1000Watt power supply wont go on a new motherboard or the water cooler. So all i have is hard drives and my graphics card to put in a new rig.

As i'm old school and know hot to write a long program on a Commodore VIC 20 or Amiga and know MSDOS in dept, when it comes down to building a new pc....well i'm as knowledgeable as joey essex is.

Anyway, having spent not just days but weeks reading this forum. I've come up with the following.

What do you think? Is the case big enough? Is the power supply ok? Would you change anything? Any advice is very welcome ;)

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £986.63
(includes shipping: £14.70)
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snips86x said:
Doesn't look too bad but I would suggest the following:

- Get a CPU/Mobo bundle as save £20 with the 6600k
I was just looking at that :)
- 8GB RAM or a cheaper set for 16gb (white doesn't match the mobo colour :p )
Are you saying i only need 8gb ram? Not bothered about the colour. Led lights and fancy watercooler things dont do anything for me. Im colour blind :cool:
- H115i, any reason you're not looking at the H100i or a decent air cooler?
I didnt realise H100i was better than H115i. youd think with a higher number it would be better. guess not.
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Danny75 said:
If you like the overall look of the older Vengeance, I'd check out the new Cougar Panzer Max, as it's kind of similar and with more up-to-date features for a case of that value.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

Total: £126.65
(includes shipping: £11.70)
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I'll be honest, haven't seen any reviews for this case yet, so do check some out first if it catches your eye too.
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Wow. That case is awesome. Its just right up my road. I love the military look of it like the corsair C70, but its also full size. I love the carbon on it aswell. Thats the case i will now go for. Cheers Danny.
 
mickyflinn said:
What gpu,s will you be using ? and are they adequite for what you do.
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I have a GTX 660 OC II whatever that means.

I mostly use adobe and photo stuff. However from time to time i played flight sims and battlefield 3.

When BF4 came out and BF hardline my pc waved a white flag.

My intention is to build the basics above first and then once all is fine do the graphics card.

I have windows 7 pro 64 but still need to know if upgrading to win 10 is worth it. When i got the free upgrade to win 10 my pc turned into an illegal immigrant in calais wondering what the hell to do.
 
mickyflinn said:
You certainly dont need an 850w psu a 550w- 600 is easily good enough for the highest single card. The 750w leadex is the same price as the 650w.

b]My basket at Overclockers UK:[/b]

Total: £366.48
(includes shipping: £12.60)
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Ive just spent about 2 hours reading all reviews on power supplys after your post. lol. Also i was reading about what power i need. Anyway thanks for giving me some ideas. I finally have gone for a corsair 650 which is £50 cheaper than my previous one. Its also got very good reviews.
 
Finally got round to ordering most of the gear for the new rig. Here it is below. Made a lot of changes after reading just about everything on this site. So a big thank you to everyone for your posts. Without them i would be stuck in no mans land.

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Its going to be a sad day tomorrow when i finally turn off my old dell xps 720. She's been running strong for 13 years plus and never missed a beat. I've never owned anything as old as her :( not even my annoying wife ;)
 
Quartz said:
Dell used to build them well. My mother's Dell Dimension L800r (Intel P3-800) is still working just fine. This Christmas I'm replacing it with an Intel NUC from OCUK.
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They certainly do. I remember at the time it was between Gateway and Dell. Gateway had a logo about black and white cows. They even had a showroom in covent garden in London. Not sure what happened to them. However look at Dell now. Huge company.

I wont chuck my 720 in the skip though. Too bonded with it. I need to do something with it. Like frame the motherboard on the wall. Use the tower as a beer stand next to the sofa. Anything!
 
foster grant said:
Shame you're not gonna use that Dell case ?
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I wished i could. The case is old but to this day its still one of the best quality cases ever made. I cant see one on the market that beats it for quality. The problem is only BTX mother boards fit it. BTX motherboards dont exist anymore. BTX was to rival ATX. It never took off and died.
 
House said:
And wives are much more expensive to upgrade and getting rid of the old ones even more so. You cant just throw them up in the loft to gather dust.
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I've been tempted to put her in the back garden instead and put decking over her. Well thats what i keep telling her when she annoys me :D

DIABLO said:
1 tip, use the motherboard standoffs when you install the motherboard not like some guy did back in the day and screw the board directly to the MoBO tray and short it out! The only other possible thing you could do to totally screw things would be to bend the motherboard CPU pins but unless you're clumsy that impossible to do.
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Yep of course. I spent 3 years at uni learning electronics so i know all about shorting things out. Normally myself however. :rolleyes:

Going to start the build this afternoon. I'll post here if i get any problems or if it all goes well.
 
Been at the build for over 8 hours now. I'm stressed a little.

Instructions on all parts haven't been great. The power supply instructions was a joke.

I hit a few problems however.

The water cooler fans are huge. Once removed you cannot mount the RGB SP120 fans on the back of them. The RGB fans need to be mounted to the PC case and then the radiator is mounted behind them.

The other issue i had is that the SP120 RGB fans don't come with a power supply connector. No instructions on which type i needed as well. I spent a while online searching and i think i have found the adapter connector. I will get that in the morning for the 6 fans fitted.

I think i have the H115i connectors fitted correctly to the mother board. Like i say, the instructions was poor.

Other than that it should be up and running tomorrow.
 
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