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philm

philm

philm

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Joined
18 Apr 2007
Posts
12
Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone can cast an eye over my planned build spec for any obvious errors/improvements!

The background is I have just got FTTC with ~72mb down, and it has really highlighted my PC's age. (Pauses before I can scroll in a webpage for example, despite the content having been downloaded).

Currently running a Core 2 Duo E6340, 4gb RAM. I've already done some upgrades so its on a Agility 3 256gb SSD, running a GTX460 and a pair of 24" monitors - all of which will be coming accross to the new build.

The use; general internet & MS Office/Vis Studio type stuff, very occasional gaming, and some Solidworks (I use Realhack for the Realview, and I don't do much, generally parts, rather than large assemblies or simulation). My current setup is ~5yrs old, so whilst I think my list will be a bit OTT for my needs, I am hoping it'll help it last a few years again!


The plan:

Intel Core i7 3770 (non-K)
Asus P8Z77-V LE Plus Intel Z77
Patriot Intel Extreme Masters 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
Antec Kúhler H2O 620 Series 4 CPU Watercooler
Coolermaster Silencio 550 case and GX550 Power supply.

I'll be reusing my SSD, GTX460. I don't plan on overclocking. I will probably pick up another 256gb SSD for storage, so the only thing that moves inside my case will be the fans. I know the watercooler isn't really required, and I'd be fine on air, but I'd prefer it to open up some room in my case for airflow. It'll also be running Win7 64bit.

Any thoughts/suggestions are very welcome, thanks!
 
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I've done i spec for you..

First off, i don't see the point in speding £250 on a CPU thats not unlocked, for an extra ~£20 you may aswell, it will help the re-sale value as well as give you the option to overclock.

There are advantages to overclocking a CAD rig, the software has both single and multithreaded applications, the multithreaded application will like the 3770k's 8 threads and the single threaded application like high clock speed's, so the higher the clock the better it'll perform,

I don't know why you think you'll get better airflow with a CLC, what helps airflow more than a fan right in the middle of the case (on an air cooler)?

This is what i'd do:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £269.99
1 x Gigabyte Z77-D3H Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard £83.99
1 x OcUK Tech Labs - Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.C "Ultra Silent Edition" £49.99
1 x Corsair Carbide 200R Compact ATX Case - Black £49.99
1 x Corsair Builder Series CX 500W V2 '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply (CP-9020047-UK) £49.99
1 x Adata XPG Gaming v1.0 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Memory Kit (AX3U1600GC4G9-2G) £37.99
Total : £554.54 (includes shipping : £10.50).

 
OP that's not a bad spec maybe it's worth going with the Gigabyte Z77X-D3H for £15 less and using that money on a 3770k.

Other than that it looks good, the antec watercooler isn't bad at all so don't let people tempt you into buying something that isn't necessary
 
Thanks guys!

Makes a lot of sense - I'll gain more performance with a 3770K than I'll lose going with the Gigabyte board over the Asus (probably negligible anyway).

Basket updated...9 days til payday :)

I'm sure it'll be quite an improvement over the C2D setup I have at the moment :D

PS. The reason I fancy the water cooler over an air one, is it keeps the motherboard assy profile low, so hopefully easier for the air from the front fans to pass over (rather than having a big object in the middle), then to be exhausted out the back fan. Also a heatsink/fan is radiating heat out of it into the middle of the case, so the case air will be warm, of course we hope this air will be exhausted, but its still less than ideal in my mind!

With the water cooler the heat radiation source is adjacent to the exhaust fan, so its not really radiating any CPU heat into the case itself, hopefully meaning the air in the case passing other the HDDs/Mobo/Graphics card etc will be at a lower temp! :)
 
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Thanks guys - I couldn't wait til payday....so the card got a spanking for a few days!

I went with;

i7 3770k
Gigabyte Z77-D3H
8gb Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600mhz
Corsair H55 Water CPU Cooler (**** me the fan is loud, shifts some air though).
256gb Samsung 840 SSD (Primary HDD)
256gb OCZ Agility 3 SSD (Storage drive - from previous build)
GTX460 (from previous build)

Add in the new FTTC broadband I had put in on Monday;

2657207028.png


Holy cow...what a difference that made! Everything is instant! I love it. It's a perfect setup for me really - thanks for all your advice!
 
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