Shinobi 2500Ti Build Thread

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Hey Everyone! This thread has been over on the general hardware page for quite a while. I realised that this is the thread I should have posted it on from the start. So I thought I should move it (I have asked one of the mods to do this but I never got a reply) Anyway I hope you gents enjoy reading it, stay tuned for more.

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Hi guys and welcome to my very first build thread. I've named this build the 'Shinobi 2500Ti' please refer to my parts list to see why :D

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Hey Everyone,

I joined the Overclockers forum a few weeks ago when I decided it was about time I stopped wishing to build my own computer and actually started doing it!

So I decided why not make my own progression thread as this is the first computer I’ve ever built from scratch, and no doubt at some point I’ll need a helping hand. I’ve watched and read lots of tutorials and guides on assembling all the major components and I’m pretty confident about starting the build.

Motivation
I use to play all my games on the PC (back in the days of Decent and Wolfpack) but over the years I turned more and more towards console gaming. This was to do with the fact I was only about 13 so couldn't afford a decent rig and also because all my friends had PS1’s, N64’s, PS2’s, Xbox’s, Dreamcast’s and Gamecube’s and so I followed suite. But lately I have gotten back into PC gaming and PC’s in general, mainly because I’m studying to be a video game artist and I realise how powerful the PC is compared to a console based systems. So after watching lots of LinusTechTips, NewEgg and Futurelooks on Youtube and reading PC Format and many other mags I decided its time for me to build my own gaming rig.

The System
So then I spent a long time thinking about what components I wanted to use, I knew from the start that my PC would be Intel based. I also fancy having a go at the whole overclocking thing so I decided to go for the Intel Core i5 2500K CPU as its well proven with overclocker’s and seems to almost be the standard CPU to throw into a gaming rig.

I also decided on the P67 chipset for my Mobo, as the H67 doesn't allow multiplier modifications to the CPU and the Z68 seems a tad like overkill as I’m currently not prepared to spend what I feel is a redonkulous amount of money on a SSD (I will look into this in the future when they are more affordable) and run SRT and what not.

Anyway here is my parts list, I have spent a good three months deciding on this list and it has gone through about four different revisions after recommendations from friends and forum members. I tried to make my PC as future proof as possible. But I can’t really afford a water cooled beast on my current wages so I’m making the best rig I can on my budge

Parts List
CPU - Intel Core i5 2500K
CPU Cooler - Corsair A50
Mobo - Asrock Extreme4 Gen 3 (PCI-E 3.0 & Ivybridge ready)
Case - BitFenix Shenobi (Windowed)
RAM - 8GB Kingston HyperX Genesis 1600Mhz
Graphics - MSI GTX560 Ti Twin Frozr II OC
PSU - OCZ Mod Xstream Pro 700W (Plan on sleeving the wires in red)
HDD - WD Cavier Blue 1TB
Optical - LG blah blah you just put discs in! (I already have a Blu-Ray setup, so I’m not worried about optical drives).

This list is now final, mainly because I’ve started buying parts and because if I just keep listening to peoples recommendations and changing parts again and again it will never get built. By all means fire off what you like and don’t like about this setup, I’m always interested to hear peoples opinions.

Wow now that is a post! I am waiting for my mobo and case to turn up then this thread will be getting some nice pics added to it.

But until then my PC building buddies
 
Hey folks,

Well the first components started to arrive today! can’t wait to get started on this build. I’m still waiting on my PSU to arrive and then I can start work on sleeving all the cables (it’s gonna take ages!).

Anyway here are some pictures for you guys to look over

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The Case

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The Mobo

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Why on earth would I need this???

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Pretty much the only thing I could do tonight was mount the USB 3.0 front panel bracket to the Bitfenix 2.5" adapter and fit the I/O shield! Ooo Exciting!

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That's all for now folks, I just ordered some fans and some sleeving tools. More to come.
 
Hey guys,

Just another little update for you. My case fans turned up today and also a little something extra! I also ordered the 8GB Kingston HyperX Genesis RAM kit but unfortunately I only received a 4GB kit! That'll teach me for not buying from OC. Anyway on with the pics:

The Fans - Bitfenix 120mm Spectre (Red LED)

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Bitfenix Hydra LED Controller

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Hey Folks,

Just been playing around with my FujiFilm Finepix S2950, my Mobo and Photoshop trying to get some 'Arty' pictures. Here are my efforts, tell me what you think!

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Hey Everyone!

Another update for you all today. Yesturday I recieved something very handy in the post... my Phobya PSU Modding tool kit!

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Then this morning something arrived from Germany! MDPC-X Sleeve Baby:D

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Some original MDPC-X artwork!
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So I figured it was time to have my first go at sleeving! I took Lenim's advice and bought the Akasa 8-pin CPU extension as well as the 24-pin extension. This made sleeving much easier and will help me when I come to put everything together! Anyway here are my efforts, tell me what you think!

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Finally, last night I put through a nice big £283 order on OCUK which should turn up on Monday! Can't wait to show you guys what I bought.

But until then my fellow computer heads!
 
Here we go with another little update!

I've finally finished sleeving my 8-Pin CPU power cable and I think it looks the nuts! :p. I'm just starting on the 24-Pin motherboard cable and hope to have that finished soon (8 pins in only 16 to go :rolleyes:)

Anyway time for some pictures:

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Whilst trying to take the pins out of their connectors I found a much easier way to do this, not paper staples, not paper clips and not even special tools... No the best thing to use is INDUSTRIAL MAN STAPLES! They work a treat and are so much easier to use than any of the other methods, it was such a breeze with industrial staples I even made a little video! :D

Check it out!

http://youtu.be/x5_58o0WaTM?hd=1
 
*UPDATE*

Hey everyone,

Time for another little update! I've spent the last few hours fitting the PSU and Motherboard to my Shenobi case, thought I might as well start, so that I can begin planning my cable management. What a headache :rolleyes:, but I know it will be worth it in the end!

Anyway here are some pictures for ya'll:

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Current Cable Management

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Bitfenix Hydra LED Controller

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That's all for now peeps, I should be getting some more cash flow soon :D so there will be a big update next week! I'm off to the Eurogamer Expo in London on Friday so might not be able to reply to posts until Saturday.

adieu...
 
*UPDATE*

Hey guys,

Just another update for you. I just placed my final order on OCUK! Everything else I need should arrive on Monday so there will be a big update then.

On Friday I went to the Eurogamer Expo up in London, Whilst I was there I played some great new games. BF3 on PC is ridiculous! It looks so so impressive graphically and is just so much fun. Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is also great fun and very adrenaline filled! Other than playing some games and getting my hands on some free swag I stopped of at the Turtle Beach stand to pick up a headset for my new rig.

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*UPDATE*

Hey Everyone!

We'll finally I managed to finish off my build, take some pictures and quickly run them through photoshop for ya! It's great knowing that everything is running smoothly and nothing went wrong with the build. I can't say enough good things about the Shinobi, i5 2500K and the MSI GTX560Ti Twin Frozr II very impressed with all of them. The case is great! It has brilliant air flow and looks awesome imo. The 2500K overclocks so easily, its no wonder the K series are so popular! And where do I start with the Twin Frozr II... :D it's an absolute animal! I have it overclocked to the following:

950Mhz Core Clock
1900Mhz Shader Clock
2250Mhz Memory Clock

I have benchmarked this thing to hell and back and regardless of what I throw at it the card refuses to go above 73C!!! :eek: INCREDIBLE! I can't recommend this card enough I love it.

Anyway pictures are what you guys want and that is what you shall have:

You know it's going to be a good day when you get this in the morning!

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Dam right it is!
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OUCH!

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It lives, it lives!

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We'll there you have it! My first build, over all I think it went very well and I'm delighted with the results! I would also like to thank everyone on the OCUK Forum for all their wicked comments and help that you guys have provided it means a lot and is very appreciated! I will try and post another update tomorrow about my overclocking adventures and I'll post some shots of graphic benchmarks and stuff! But for now I'm off to play Empire: Total War! Or should I decide on my next build specs? :D
 
Morning people!

I've been Tinkering around with my i5 overclock this weekend, I managed to get it to 4.5Ghz last night (which isn't very difficult). Then ran Prime95 for 15 hours and 46 minutes which I think is a reasonable stress test time. So far everything looks stable and temps arn't too high, 60C was the highest temp recorded by HW Monitor. The only thing I'm not sure about is the core voltage for the CPU, does anyone know if 1.320 Volts is too much for this clock speed?

Anyway here are some results from Prime95/HW Monitor/CPU-Z.


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*UPDATE*

Hey everyone,

Been a while since I posted on here, but I just wanted to share a upgrade to my rig with you guys.

It's my Birthday today and the postman was kind enough to bring me this!

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SSD Goodness!
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So far I've got the Synapse all installed in her new home with the Dataplex software installed and enabled. Just finishing off some benchmarking and I should know how much of a performance increase I've gotten. I'm report back when I know more! :)
 
*UPDATE*

Hey guys,

I've been quiet on the OC forum of late but plan to change that over the next few days. Now if you've read this thread in its entirety you will no doubt know that the colour scheme of my rig is black, red, gold and silver. This is the colour scheme of the inside however and I've always felt as though the outside was a little plain...

The mesh of my Shinobi case is black and the Bitfenix badge has a brushed aluminium look to it. I have wanted to liven up the outside but didn't really fancy dipping my toes into the modding scene, however the other day I was window shopping on the overclockers main site and came across some pretty awesome Bitfenix accessories.

This is one of the reasons I love Bitfenix so much, they really stand behind their products. They sell their alchemy pre-braided cables, case LED's, stealth drive covers and a front USB 3.0 upgrade kit! Now though they also sell replacement mesh strips and Bitfenix case badges! :D

So I purchased myself some to make my case truly unique! They are still on their way to me at this point but I started stripping down my case today in eager preparation.

The old mesh strips aren't too tricky to get out, you just need to bend some tabs and they pop off fairly easy (some bending may be required to get them straight again). The case badge also just pops out, its almost like they planned it!

I will leave the colours of my accessory bits a secret for now but here are some shots of my Shinobi stripped down ready for her posh bits:


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The Old Plain Jane Mesh & Badge

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*UPDATE*

We'll it seems as though the parts I ordered for my case are out of stock for now, so whilst I wait for them I thought I might buy some high quality TIM and see if it makes a difference to my CPU's temps.

I have a corsair A50 cooling my CPU at the moment, and I'm using the TIM that was supplied with it. So I purchased some Artic Cooling MX-4 compound and decided it might be interesting to run some tests and see how much of a difference I get with the high end stuff.

So first off I tested the generic Corsair compound under idle and full load conditions using Prime95 and RealTemp. I recorded the max temps of each core then took a mean average of these four temps and repeated the process five times, in order to get some consistency.

Then after I had finished testing the Corsair TIM I removed my A50 and removed the thermal compound, then I applied a grain of rice sized blob of MX-4 to my 2500K and reattached my CPU cooler. I then repeated my temp measurements as before. Below are some pictures for your guys followed by some tasty graphs!

Rig Specifications:

Intel Core i5 2500K - 4.5Ghz
8GB Kingston HyperX Genesis Grey 1600Mhz
ASRock P67 Extreme 4 GEN3
MSI GTX 560Ti Twin Frozr II 1GB - Core Clock 950Mhz
BitFenix Shinobi (Windowed)
Corsair A50
2x 120mm BitFenix Spectre Intake Fans
3x 120mm BitFenix Spectre Exhaust Fans

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The Results Are In!

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So as you can see from the graphs above the Artic Cooling MX-4 does indeed make a difference! It's not quite the 3-4 Celsius difference I was hoping for but it is definitely helping my CPU run cooler. For me the most interesting results are in the third graph, comparing the temperature difference of the five runs. It clearly shows that the MX-4 compound is keeping the CPU temps a lot closer together and reduces the heat difference between the four cores.

Well I think that wraps that one up for now, this is certainly not the most scientific experiment ever carried out but I tried to make it fair for both compounds and I think my results reflect that. Maybe I will run another group of tests in a few months and see if the heat dissipation properties of the TIM increase or decrease over time.

So I hope you found this marginally interesting and educational ;) feel free to leave any comments and questions! :)
 
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