Last couple of questions before ordering

Luggs

Luggs

Luggs

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Hey all,

Firstly thanks to the helpful community here who make buying pc components fun!!

So have my basket all ready to go but a couple of final questions please.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i5-4670K 3.40GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £197.99
1 x Cooler Master HAF X Gaming Tower Case - Black (RC-942) £129.95
1 x MSI Z87-G45 Gaming Series Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £124.99
1 x Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Intel Z87 (Socket 1150) DDR3 ATX Motherboard £109.99
1 x TeamGroup Xtreem LV 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-21300C11 2666MHz Dual Channel Kit (TXD38G2666HC11CDC01) £65.99
1 x Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler £26.99
Total : £672.40 (includes shipping : £13.75).



So I was all set to order the Gigabyte Z87-D3HP Mobo after a number of suggestions in build threads, but then Ethermaster got me thinking of themed builds... so is the MSI Mobo worth the extra £15?

Was also looking for red RAM but everyone seems to be recomending TeamGroup and the Xtreem version only comes in 1 colour - is this the best / fastest choice?

Think that's it, any final ideas or suggestions?
Many thanks in advance,
 
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I believe that mobo has better SLI/Crossfire support, but if you have no plans to ever crossfire/SLI then it makes little difference. Yesterday the MSI was £10 or so cheaper :(

That ram is good value for the speed, though may be a bit high depending what position you want the cooler to be.
 
 
Thanks guys, so always read replies properly, just spent an hour trying to understand why the TG RAM speed was too high before I realised you meant it was physically too high - Doh!

Is there another cooler you would recommend Potty27 or will I have similar problem with all? This is my first full self build so not sure about different positions for coolers?

Nice find on the red RAM idleman, looks sweet with the MSI mobo, but I think I am paying a little more for slower speeds just to get my red/black theme? (2666 vs 2400) am I likely to see any difference in practice?

I have a pathological terror of water cooling, water + electricity + me = disaster! Hence why HAF X for top air cooling... But that is an excellent price...

Just thought about warranty / RMA as well. Gigabyte state 3 year but nothing on MSI description. Is there an easy way to find out what parts come with what guarantee and what the RMA process is with OCUK?

Can't wait to get my new rig built now :) Thanks again for all the help!
 
The Evo cooler is nice, it's what I use :)

If you want to cooler to fit with the fan facing the front panel the tall ram should fit, but if you want the fan facing down, you'll need shorter.
 
MSI board has a 2yr warranty and they have an RMA policy whereby you return it to the seller.
Unless you are benchmarking you will not notice the difference in ram speeds.
 
Thanks again everyone for the prompt replies!

Potty27, thanks for heads-up. I was going to have fan facing front of case so air comes in through front fan, across mobo and is picked up by cooler and pushed to rear of case and rear fan - so hopefully OK then?

Thanks idleman, I promised myself I'd go performance over cosmetics this time (as this is part of the reason my mobo fried as my current Thermaltake Shark case looks nice but is naff for cooling) but think i'll go venom red ;)

ThaReaperGuy - I have spent hours looking at HAF X vs Storm Trooper... much prefer looks of Trooper but it really didn't do so well in the bit-tech reviews vs the HAF. With the 2 x 120mm fan perpendicular it was pretty poor, moving them to normal position helped a lot but still not near HAF temps for GPU / CPU.

Trooper has better feature list too with built in fan controller etc. But new house we moved into is uber insulated and very hot (see above for cooked mobo) so cooling has to be #1 priority for me...

I'll take a look at 630 though as think I have only looked at 820 from NZXT ;)
 
Luggs said:
Potty27, thanks for heads-up. I was going to have fan facing front of case so air comes in through front fan, across mobo and is picked up by cooler and pushed to rear of case and rear fan - so hopefully OK then?
Click to expand...

Should be fine I'd think, mine was anyway, could always ask the staff before you order to be sure.
 
 
Hey idleman, to be honest, no I havn't... I guess as I thought bigger case + more fans = better airflow & cooling? But that could likely be a noobies misconception!! I'll take a look through your shopping list now (though I'm still petrified of the water cooler you are recommending lol)

Last question (I hope) reading through the self build guide here, it mentioned some CPU's come with pre-applied thermal paste - I have read through full description of the 4670K an cannot see it mentioned. Presume I need to buy some of this? Any recommendations? I heard somewhere about ceramic paste too? What's this all about?

Thanks as always!
 
Luggs said:
Hey idleman, to be honest, no I havn't... I guess as I thought bigger case + more fans = better airflow & cooling? But that could likely be a noobies misconception!! I'll take a look through your shopping list now (though I'm still petrified of the water cooler you are recommending lol)

Last question (I hope) reading through the self build guide here, it mentioned some CPU's come with pre-applied thermal paste - I have read through full description of the 4670K an cannot see it mentioned. Presume I need to buy some of this? Any recommendations? I heard somewhere about ceramic paste too? What's this all about?

Thanks as always!
Click to expand...

The stock cooler that comes with the Cpu will have paste pre-applied. Most aftermarket coolers either come with it applied or have a sachet/tube of paste.
If you don`t like the idea of CLC then just get an air cooler. The 350D will take a cooler up to 160mm in height. So you could get a decent cooler for the same price or cheaper than the H100. Personally, I prefer an air cooler myself.
 
Yeah, I can always add an extra fan or two in the future, spraying water over my new pc is not a good way to cool it down lol

Talking of which... I'm getting hung up on cases again. Am I putting too much importance on the temp ratings? For example, I like the look of the 630 much more than the HAF X, but look at the dif in temp scores: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2013/01/25/nzxt-phantom-630-review/3

In a hot room, I'm worried the 8-10 degrees dif in the cases cooling will be amplified even further? I can see they test with only stock fans, but I am blowing all my budget already to get these good components and cannot afford another £50 for more fans...

Any thoughts? Then I promise to leave you all in peace ;)
 
I would`nt put to much stock in those readings, as the Cpu is running at 100% load, which even when gaming it wont be. The Gpu will be under more load in games. As long as you get a case with adequate cooling/circulation, you will be fine. My case has 1 rear and 2 top mounted 120mm fans, plus the 2 fans on my cooler. I have 2 other 120`s to install( just to see how much difference they will make) and a fan controller.
You can always add another fan, to whichever case you get, at a later date if you think it`s a bit hot. Good cable management and a really good cooler will also help.
 
Thanks Idleman, I may just end up tossing a coin between the HAF X, Trooper and 630, though that would require a 3 sided coin...

Anyway, thanks to everyone for all the help, I really appreciate all the advise received.

When I get the money for some red braided cables and LED strips, I'll be sure to post a pic ;)
 
Sorry sorry sorry!!!

Last question, honest!! Just read an owners review of HAF X and they mentioned buying cable extenders due to size of case? Can anyone confirm this please? My current case is only fractionally smaller (3cm thinner, 5 cm shorter and same height) and I didn't need any for that... unless it is to do with tidy cable management around the back of the mobo..

Appreciate any clarity as don't want to be in middle of build and find the cables don't reach :(

Cheers!
 
Luggs said:
Sorry sorry sorry!!!

Last question, honest!! Just read an owners review of HAF X and they mentioned buying cable extenders due to size of case? Can anyone confirm this please? My current case is only fractionally smaller (3cm thinner, 5 cm shorter and same height) and I didn't need any for that... unless it is to do with tidy cable management around the back of the mobo..

Appreciate any clarity as don't want to be in middle of build and find the cables don't reach :(

Cheers!
Click to expand...

With Psus being situated on the bottom of the case, a Cpu extension cable may be required. So you can then connect to the Cpu power port via the back of the mobo and over the top. Otherwise, it means stretching the cable over your Gpu in order to connect to the Cpu power port. Also makes it look tidy and makes it easier to install or uninstall your Gpu.
Something like this.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Akasa FLEXA P8 40cm CPU power extension (AK-CBPW08-40BK) £5.99
Total : £8.27 (includes shipping : £1.90).

 
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Cheers Idleman, is there no way to "up vote" people here? You guys are so helpful. Hope you get recognised for your time by OCUK!!
 
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