Request for Phenom mATX advice

finchywinchy

finchywinchy

finchywinchy

Associate
Joined
4 Nov 2013
Posts
10
Hello folks,

The chap on Overclocker's email duty suggested youse guys were the folks to ask about this.

I've been waiting on the Phenom case to arrive because I've wanted to build a visciously powerful SFF PC for a while. Anyway, as you might've noticed, Overclockers are doing a build of it that would make my life a lot simpler. Here it is...

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FS-407-OE

Now, one of the options is to SLI/Crossfire it up. My question is, how silly can I get with dual graphics cards. I mean, they offer up to two 780s or two 290Xs. That's just obscene! But very tempting.

My questions are thus...

1) How powerful could I go with the graphics if I wanted two cards in this case, (I do)

2) Would the heat and noise it kicked out basically necessitate keeping it in a cupboard, so defeating the purpose of having a case that, I personally, think looks great, (I don't often wear headphones to drown out noise)

3) This is more a follow on question. I understand the 290, (not the 290X), will step down its GPU if it gets too hot to quite a drastic degree. Has anyone a) experienced this and b) fixed it and c) got advice on whether such cooling would be possible with two of the things in this case.

I'd appreciate all comments and suggestions. I'm reasonably technically adept, and pretty un-lazy, but the more I look into this, the more unsure I get. I haven't built a PC in a long time, and heat wasn't an issue then. Mind you, it wouldn't be, with a case big enough to hang wet towels up in. So, yes, I'd appreciate your advice. Especially if it suggests I'm not being silly.
 
Doomedspeed! Hello mate!

Thanks for getting back to me - I hoped you would, your responses to other people's similar requests have informed a lot of my decision making.

I should've thought about the cupboard-heat dissipation thing, but it definately highlights the need for the box to run quiet(-ish), if I need it in the open. I've read up on the windforce series, and also the EVGA equivalent. I saw a comparison of temps & dB, and they seem quite comparable.

Anyway, thanks for your offer of a build spec. I'll give you the low-down.

I'm looking to get a future-proof SFF general-purpose/gaming PC, (plenty of RAM, I do a bit of everything), OS, a 2560x1440 monitor, (maybe 2 if they're at the right price-point), and I don't mind the total bill coming to a bit over £2000, say £2300 max. It has to be as much a business machine as it is a gaming machine.

I'd like it to be ready for 4k gaming by the time 4k monitors drop below, say, £1000. Which I don't think will be a for a while, but that stresses the need for the machine to be future proof. I read somewhere that dual 780s are just about the minimum requirement for 4k, (source: Tomshardware, I think).

I intended to go down the Sli route years ago, buying one card with the system, intending to add another later, but then couldn't find a matching card. I understand that's not so much of a problem, now, but I'd still prefer to get matching cards.

So, at the very least, I'd want the machine capable of Sli, if not initially. I'm not looking to spread my gaming over more than one monitor, the second monitor would be for work, and I *think* sli'd 780's to drive even a 2560x1440 resolution is overkill, (although enlighten me if I'm wrong). So the Sli is all for the hope of future 4k, in my mind, and the desire to have a machine that is to all intents and purposes finished. If you think the bang-per-buck of this proposed machine is overwhelmingly skewed towards more bucks, let me know!

But let's say I went down the 780 route, with either the Gigabyte Ghz or EVGA ACX edition - might as well get the fast ones, since the extra pennies seem to translate into noticable performance. Since they're both cherry-picked, and with the advent of the 780Ti, are the chances I'll be able to get another a couple of years down the line pretty slim? And how low are the prices likely to drop on those cards? If I'm unlikely to save much in the long run, I'd rather pimp the machine in one purchase, where at least I'd be getting full use out of them.

Thanks again for your advice. I should mention another thing to include in your considerations - modifying the case would be beyond me; I'd ruin it. I've seen me do DIY, and the results, shall we say, do not add value to the house...
 
Oooo, that V358 looks nice. Okay, I've got to think again. I'd just about decided that I was pushing it with the specs I was after, now I'm turned around again. I'll take a deeper look, but I've got to actuall do some work today, so It'll be sporadic
 
Change of tack

Ooookay. Sorry I've left this conversation so long, I had a lot to look into.

After much research and soul searching, I've come to the conclusion that I can't have small, powerful and quiet. And cool. So I've modified my aims a bit. I'm going for small and powerful. I've got my eye on the Cubetek Mini-ICE

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-065-CT

and I intend to fill it with a GTX690. Could I get your advice on cooling for the motherboard, cpu, memory, etc? I don't think the case comes with fans....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom