New Build, need advice please.

Wow, look what I found on CoolerMaster webiste:

You are responsible for the cost of shipping the product to Cooler Master. Cooler Master pays the cost of returning a product to you.
Click to expand...

So I have to pay more money just to get my case fixed... wow!
 
Anyway, besides all the nonsense with the case, here is the final build:

Finished Product
1 x Cooler Master CM-690 II Lite Dominator Case
1 x Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 (Unlocked to 6970)
1 x Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C9 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit
1 x XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
1 x Lightscribe Blu-Ray DVD+RW+DL Drive (My old one)
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB (My old one)

I've chosen to buy all the parts at once instead of a gradual purchase to avoid any more problems with faulty hardware. I'll do the build the day the gear arrives.

These are the remaining components I need:

Still Need
1 x Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 (Unlocked to 6970)
1 x XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply
Total @ Current Offers Price: £573.92
Total @ Normal Price: £591.88
Difference: £17.96

I'd save a bit by buying the parts now, but can't spare that big chunk for the PC at the moment, so I'll just put my PC fund aside and try not to dip into it. That's the only reason why I like buying stuff ahead of time, the money can't be touched ;)

I want to get the GPU now because I can't see it dropping below £210 by the time I get all my stuff but it's not worth the risk of receiving a faulty one.
 
They said they wanted the serial number which I have and the purchase receipt which I don't have from OCUK. Do they mean one of the numbers on the postage label on the box?
 
Steve Foster said:
They said they wanted the serial number which I have and the purchase receipt which I don't have from OCUK. Do they mean one of the numbers on the postage label on the box?
Click to expand...

Ask in customer services and see if they can email you the order receipt again? 5UB is very helpful:)
 
A little update:

I believe CoolerMaster are now sending me the I/O panel, so I'll be able to replace that soon.

I've also estimated that I'll have the total funds to spare by March 20th if all goes well. So that's 49 days tomorrow. It'll go fast but I'm so eager to build. I have to restrain myself though. I spent £50 the other day on MSP and Arkham Ciry for the PC... this is why I like to not have the money on me lol.

I also managed to source an anti static mat from a friend of a friend just for my piece of mind. It's the same colour on both sides but is a shiny rubbery surface on one side which I guess is the bottom. Plug side up if I remember correctly.

Also been wondering, Ivy Bridge may be releasing around the time I buy. Do any of you honestly think it'll have much improvement over Sandy Bridge i5 2500k? And I assume once it does release the price of the Sandy Bridge will drop a bit.
 
Received my I/O panel yesterday, might wait until the build until I change it over, unless I get bored.

Talking about the 2500K; any reason you guys suggested the OEM version over retail? Retail is £10 more but doesn't it have more warranty being retail?

I wanted to buy the parts on the 20th March but with Ivy Bridge coming out in April, the new processors could release a week or two after I buy, so I'm still in 2 minds on to get the 2500K or wait a few weeks to see what Ivy Bridge brings to the table.
 
Retail - 3year warranty, shiny box and heatsink/fan

OEM - 1 year warranty and just a CPU in a plain box.
 
So I'd suppose it's worth paying that extra £10 for 2 more years on warranty. Then again, doesn't warranty void when overclocking?
 
Then retail would be a good choice warranty wise for an extra tenner, plus you get the "shiny box" as stulid mentioned lol... still eager to see what Ivy Bridge offers though :)
 
Ah, thanks for that, was considering it. Had no idea they removed the IGP!

Another thing I was wondering about was my hard drive. I'm taking it from this system of course and want to completely wipe and and re-install Windows fresh. But a friend wants to buy this system and I was wondering if his hard drive will work (I still need to open it to see if it's a SATA drive in his) if I plug in straight into this? Will Windows work properly? He's on Vista at the moment but I've been telling him to get 7.
 
Steve Foster said:
Ah, thanks for that, was considering it. Had no idea they removed the IGP!

Another thing I was wondering about was my hard drive. I'm taking it from this system of course and want to completely wipe and and re-install Windows fresh. But a friend wants to buy this system and I was wondering if his hard drive will work (I still need to open it to see if it's a SATA drive in his) if I plug in straight into this? Will Windows work properly? He's on Vista at the moment but I've been telling him to get 7.
Click to expand...

It is written clear as day in the product description.

I'm sure i said this before to you. New build, new windows install. The system may possibly boot from his old windows install on the HDD but the driver issues and other potential problems make it a very very bad idea
 
Thanks, I only saw the 2550K today on the homepage on offer for the first time so thought it was a replacement to the 2500K.

I'll definitely tell him to get 7 then if he wants it to work. Cheers :)
 
Right, I might be buying these remaining parts for the build earlier than scheduled, maybe in the next couple of weeks.

Still Need
1 x Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 (Unlocked to 6970)
1 x XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply

Total: £613.94 Including Delivery & VAT

I might have a bit more than my estimated £600, I might be able to stretch to £670, but that's not guaranteed.

I'm just thinking if I get that extra £56, what should I spend it on? Towards a better GPU, MoBo or PSU. I know honosuseri would probably say get an SSD which I probably will if I get that extra money. Cheapest one on OCUK though is this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-103-OC&groupid=701&catid=2104&subcat=
 
Steve Foster said:
Right, I might be buying these remaining parts for the build earlier than scheduled, maybe in the next couple of weeks.

Still Need
1 x Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3 Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard
1 x Intel Core i5-2500K 3.30GHz (Sandybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor - OEM
1 x Gelid Tranquillo CPU Cooler (Socket 754/939/940/AM2/AM2+/AM3/LGA775/LGA1155/LGA1156/LGA1366)
1 x Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 6950 "Dual Fan Edition" 2048MB GDDR5 (Unlocked to 6970)
1 x XFX 650W XXX Edition Modular '80 Plus Bronze' Power Supply

Total: £613.94 Including Delivery & VAT

I might have a bit more than my estimated £600, I might be able to stretch to £670, but that's not guaranteed.

I'm just thinking if I get that extra £56, what should I spend it on? Towards a better GPU, MoBo or PSU. I know honosuseri would probably say get an SSD which I probably will if I get that extra money. Cheapest one on OCUK though is this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HD-103-OC&groupid=701&catid=2104&subcat=
Click to expand...

As i said the offers change weekly and some daily. In two weeks time the 7870 could well be released too, that needs sizing up and all the offers on at the time taken into account aswell.

It's nice to keep track of what you could get for your money but we don't really want to keep spec'ing you till you are ready to purchase buddy.
 
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