Overclocked Bundle v DIY

[audiolab]

I have been deciding on my final system specs which is i7 based with an after market cooler and 5850/70 etc. I have usually bought Asus boards and the P6T Deluxe was my first choice. I am not an ASUS fanboy but you do tend to stick with what you know.

Browsing about the site I then noted this overclocked bundle has the same cooler, memory and CPU I was settled on but it has the Gigabyte UD5 board/

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=BU-003-OB

When I add the items in the bundle up they come to only £3 less than the overclocked bundle even adding the thermal paste.

I am not an expert overclocker but I know enough to get a safe overclock. However would this guaranteed 4Gz overclock be a better option? Adding the same components with my original choice of the P6T Deluxe is so close that price it is not worth bothering about.

So my choices are buy the bits separately and overclock myself or get a bundle with the UD5. Personally I am swayed towards the bundle of but it is just the UD5 board that concerns me a little. I had initially discounted it because I had read a few comments about the PCI-E slots being too close for comfort when using crossfire. It is not my intention to do this at the moment but I may want to in the future.

Also I have never had a Gigabyte board so no personal experience of their reliability but reading the web seem that all boards have some issues and the UD5 is no better or worse than others (UD5 Cold Boot issue and the P6T has disappearing memory). It is my thought that getting a bundle means the bits have had at least a power on test, this is another reason for thinking of the bundle.

Is anyone happily running sli/crossfire on this board? if so are temps an issue? It is going into a full tower case so that should help with heat or adding additional cooling if needed.

 

[BuToNz]

Ive not had experience with either boards, but i have with both manufacturers. If i had to pick myself id go for the custom build, perhaps get a Corsair H50-1 instead of the Noctua.

Quick question though...Do you need that much power? What kind of graphics setup will you have, and what reso will you game at? (I assume its for gaming)

 

[audiolab]

To be honest I don't need that much power. I game at 1900x1200 on a Dell 24" screen and like my eye candy. I also work with audio files a lot but even my E6600 copes with this taks admirably so the upgrade is a bit of self indulgence.

It is a silly thing I know, I don't need a 3 litre engined sports car but I want one of those. I do appreciate what you are saying, I could cut back on some parts and save some cash, most of the games right now will not burden it too much.

I tend to buy a complete system every three or four years with only a GPU or memory upgrade in between. Seems the i7 920 has a lot of legs in it and should see me through a few years more.

I am looking at a single 5870 just now with either selling and upgrading to a better card next year or buying another for SLI.

One of my hardest decisions is deciding on a new case, so many nice full towers out there. Everyone seems to shout Corsair but I am leaning towards the Lan-Li PC-A71FB.

 

[BuToNz]

Personally i find cases to be more of a matter of preference more than performance. I like shouty cases which say "I mean business" but the Lian Li cases are things of amazing quality and finish.

Go for the Asus board and the H50-1 Cooler, stick with what you know

But yeah, spec is good. Might be worth looking at some different RAM, check the RAM section for recommendations.

Unless you already have a 5870, i suggest you wait for a little while till the prices come back down abit and the drivers are sorted.

Hope this helps!