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[G-Pink]

GPink, you should consider getting the same case from Tiger Direct. You will save yourself $40 as it has a lower base price and free shipping as where New Egg will charge you $20. $45 if you check out using Google Checkout.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6610150&CatId=1842

edit: I don't work for Tiger Direct.

edit edit: Realized you might just live in Canada.

I do, I'm planning on ordering from NCIX, and I'm pretty sure I'm going to be able to get free shipping on the order.
Also, that price doesn't count any Mail-In-Rebates that are applied to any of those items. I'm getting $25 off that case with the sale right now, and I'm sure that won't change all that much even if I wait.
But thank you for the suggestion!

 

[Unknown Soldier]

i was planning on another 570 but decided against it, swapping it for 1 590

A 590 is still a multi-GPU card, it's just 1 card instead of 2 and so it is subject to all the same conditions any SLI setup has.

I'm very close to pulling the trigger on a second 470. I've never tried SLI myself before and I want to see what it's like.

 

[Sniper McBlaze]

Will this satisfy my gaming needs? I'm a newbie at this so don't laugh if the components suck ass or don't go well together.

http://www.inet.se/kundvagn/visa/165335/troligast-kop

 

[MikeE21286]

Will this satisfy my gaming needs? I'm a newbie at this so don't laugh if the components suck ass or don't go well together.

http://www.inet.se/kundvagn/visa/165335/troligast-kop

it better

 

[vocab]

Will this satisfy my gaming needs? I'm a newbie at this so don't laugh if the components suck ass or don't go well together.

http://www.inet.se/kundvagn/visa/165335/troligast-kop

Of course it will. That's super high end.

 

[Sniper McBlaze]

Of course it will. That's super high end.

Nice. It's will cost me 3000 dollars, but it's worth it. I just graduated and want to give myself a present. Would you change anything in the package by the way?

 

[TheExodu5]

Will this satisfy my gaming needs? I'm a newbie at this so don't laugh if the components suck ass or don't go well together.

http://www.inet.se/kundvagn/visa/165335/troligast-kop

Absolutely. That's a ridiculously powerful build.. I'm liking the addition of the Accelero Xtreme Plus.

The only thing I might be slightly concerned about is that case airflow needs to be decent, since the Accelero will be dumping most of that hot air into the case. It'll probably be fine though.

 

[rocK`]

Absolutely. That's a ridiculously powerful build.. I'm liking the addition of the Accelero Xtreme Plus.

The only thing I might be slightly concerned about is that case airflow needs to be decent, since the Accelero will be dumping most of that hot air into the case. It'll probably be fine though.

Exodus,

Could you post your HAFX build?

 

[Unknown Soldier]

I've been researching and have gotten a lot of conflicting information about it. Does SLI work consistently in windowed modes these days and does performance scale like it's supposed to?

 

[Sniper McBlaze]

Absolutely. That's a ridiculously powerful build.. I'm liking the addition of the Accelero Xtreme Plus.

The only thing I might be slightly concerned about is that case airflow needs to be decent, since the Accelero will be dumping most of that hot air into the case. It'll probably be fine though.

I know, but it's just soooo beautiful. I usually hate all pc cases. Maybe the XL version would be better? http://www.inet.se/artikel/6900440/fractal-define-xl-svart

How important is SSD by the way?

 

[TheExodu5]

I know, but it's just soooo beautiful. I usually hate all pc cases. Maybe the XL version would be better? http://www.inet.se/artikel/6900440/fractal-define-xl-svart

How important is SSD by the way?

The XL won't help...it's just bigger. The R3 is probably fine.

In a build that high end, I wouldn't do without the SSD. Compromise on the video card or CPU before you do the SSD.

BTW, we can save you some money by bringing down the components a bit.

edit: if you did want to consider another case, this is the only one I could think of:

http://www.inet.se/artikel/6900678/silverstone-fortress-ft02b

edit2: looking at it some more...I'm sure it'll be fine. Also, you've got a nice CPU cooler on there which should be able to handle the additional heat no problem.

 

[Sniper McBlaze]

The XL won't help...it's just bigger. The R3 is probably fine.

In a build that high end, I wouldn't do without the SSD. Compromise on the video card or CPU before you do the SSD.

BTW, we can save you some money by bringing down the components a bit.

edit: if you did want to consider another case, this is the only one I could think of:

http://www.inet.se/artikel/6900678/silverstone-fortress-ft02b

You can? Cool. What I'm looking for is something not too noisy and something that will be able to use SLI in the future.

Gonna think long and hard about that case.

 

[TheExodu5]

You can? Cool. What I'm looking for is something not too noisy and something that will be able to use SLI in the future.

Gonna think long and hard about that case.

If you're thinking of SLI'ing, then you are probably going to have issues in that case. Not only that, but you need to make sure you get a motherboard that spaces the GPUs 4 slots apart since that GTX 580 will take up just over 3 slots with the Accelero.

Personally, I'd suggest not bothering with SLI. Like I posted earlier...I haven't found it to be that worth it. Lots of little issues in games, and very few games really need the power that it provides. I'm running SLI'd GTX 570, FYI.

 

[Sniper McBlaze]

If you're thinking of SLI'ing, then you are probably going to have issues in that case. Not only that, but you need to make sure you get a motherboard that spaces the GPUs 4 slots apart since that GTX 580 will take up just over 3 slots with the Accelero.

Personally, I'd suggest not bothering with SLI. Like I posted earlier...I haven't found it to be that worth it. Lots of little issues in games, and very few games really need the power that it provides. I'm running SLI'd GTX 570, FYI.

Ok. If we skip the SLI; what would you change in my package to get a computer that is pretty much as good as that one, but maybe a bit cheaper?

Edit: SLI is something I would probably get when my computer needs a serious upgrade.

 

[Hazaro]

I'd get 1.5V DDR3

 

[TheExodu5]

Ok. If we skip the SLI; what would you change in my package to get a computer that is pretty much as good as that one, but maybe a bit cheaper?

Edit: SLI is something I would probably get when my computer needs a serious upgrade.

Drop down the 2600K to 2500K. All it adds is multithreading support, which will not really give you any improvements in games.

If you skip SLI, then you can lower the PSU as well. If you don't care that much about modular, you could get this:

http://www.inet.se/artikel/6909439/corsair-tx-650w-80-

You can do with a cheaper heatsink:

http://www.inet.se/artikel/5321604/cooler-master-hyper-212-plus

If you stick with the R3 though, you might want to keep the better heatsink, just in case.

 

[Sniper McBlaze]

Drop down the 2600K to 2500K. All it adds is multithreading support, which will not really give you any improvements in games.

If you skip SLI, then you can lower the PSU as well. If you don't care that much about modular, you could get this:

http://www.inet.se/artikel/6909439/corsair-tx-650w-80-

You can do with a cheaper heatsink:

http://www.inet.se/artikel/5321604/cooler-master-hyper-212-plus

If you stick with the R3 though, you might want to keep the better heatsink, just in case.

Thanks, man! You are awesome! Made your changes and I'm down almost 300 bucks. So is it good to go now? Anything else you think I should add that would give a massive improvement in performance?

I'm ordering this computer in about a month. Is anything interesting coming out in that time that would make me have to change some parts?

 

[TheExodu5]

New SSDs from Crucial, at the very least. Since the site only has Intel and Corsair though, probably not.

There is a Corsair 650D coming out within a few months, I believe. If it does come out before you order, you might consider it as well:

Otherwise...I'll just let you know you could drop to something like the GTX 570 and retain 85-90% of the performance. The GTX 580 is the fastest single GPU on the market, but does come at a premium, which may or may not be worth it to you.

 

[MikeE21286]

Thanks, man! You are awesome! Made your changes and I'm down almost 300 bucks. So is it good to go now? Anything else you think I should add that would give a massive improvement in performance?

I'm ordering this computer in about a month. Is anything interesting coming out in that time that would make me have to change some parts?

AFAIK the 590s come out in February...if you're going hog-wild with this thing, that might be worth it.

 

[TheExodu5]

I wouldn't recommend a dual GPU setup out of the gate.

Go with a single card and see if you really need the performance. SLI does add considerable headaches.

 

[Sniper McBlaze]

New SSDs from Crucial, at the very least. Since the site only has Intel and Corsair though, probably not.

There is a Corsair 650D coming out within a few months, I believe. If it does come out before you order, you might consider it as well:



Otherwise...I'll just let you know you could drop to something like the GTX 570 and retain 85-90% of the performance. The GTX 580 is the fastest single GPU on the market, but does come at a premium, which may or may not be worth it to you.

Do you think my cooling is enough for some overclocking?

Thanks again for your tips.

 

[TheExodu5]

For sure.

Should be able to overclock and have a very quiet rig as well.

 

[n0n44m]

edit: if you did want to consider another case, this is the only one I could think of:

http://www.inet.se/artikel/6900678/silverstone-fortress-ft02b

Fortress + video card coolers that use heatpipes (like the Accelero's) are often not really compatible due to the 90 degree angle wreaking havoc with the fluid transport inside the cooler's heatpipes

 

[TheExodu5]

Fortress + video card coolers that use heatpipes (like the Accelero's) are often not really compatible due to the 90 degree angle wreaking havoc with the fluid transport inside the cooler's heatpipes

I've heard that, but on Hardforum a guy had Crossfired'd 5870s with Acceleros and had no problem maintaining <60C.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Just finished a new build. This one will stay hooked up to the TV as my 'fourth console', as well as being my LAN party box:

Specs:

CPU: Core i5 2500K under a Xigmatek S1283
Mobo: Asus P8-P67M Pro
RAM: 4 GB G.Skill 1333 ECO
Video: Gigabyte GTX460 1 GB
PSU: NZXT Hale90 650W
Case: NZXT Vulcan

Waiting on another top fan, but otherwise, I'm done. The mesh door of the case was dented heavily in shipping so I decided to cut in the window where the damage was.

 

[Dynamic3]

Any opinions on this SSD over the OCZ Vertex 2? It's ~$50 cheaper.

 

[TheExodu5]

Why is that PSU so huge? :O

Nice build noisy.

 

[knitoe]

Any opinions on this SSD over the OCZ Vertex 2? It's ~$50 cheaper.

SSD with SandForce all performs similarly. If it's $50 cheaper, go with that. If price was close, I would go with OCZ since they seem to have a connection with the SandForce maker, and thus, usually gets firmware updates sooner.

 

[MisterNoisy]

Why is that PSU so huge? :O

Nice build noisy.

Thanks!

The PSU may look big, but it's standard ATX - I think it looks big because it's a micro-ATX build.

 

[MikeE21286]

Just finished a new build. This one will stay hooked up to the TV as my 'fourth console', as well as being my LAN party box:

Specs:

CPU: Core i5 2500K under a Xigmatek S1283
Mobo: Asus P8-P67M Pro
RAM: 4 GB G.Skill 1333 ECO
Video: Gigabyte GTX460 1 GB
PSU: NZXT Hale90 650W
Case: NZXT Vulcan

Waiting on another top fan, but otherwise, I'm done. The mesh door of the case was dented heavily in shipping so I decided to cut in the window where the damage was.

Window looks really good there...I would have been pissed if my case was damaged, but you made the best out of it it looks like

 

[MisterNoisy]

Window looks really good there...I would have been pissed if my case was damaged, but you made the best out of it it looks like

Thanks. The window installation took about 2 hours in total - mesh is a ton easier to cut than a steel panel. The funny thing is, while looking around online, I found that NZXT apparently has amazing customer service and would have likely replaced it on their dime, but I didn't find out until I'd already put in the window.

 

[Dynamic3]

Ok, final build list. I'm going to begin pulling the trigger tomorrow. Prices are net promos and rebates, and account for tax and shipping when applicable.

Monitor | Alienware AW2210 - 326.61

GPU | EVGA GTX560Ti - 249.99

CPU | Intel i5-2500K - 195.52

CPU Fan | Cooler Master 212+ - 32.58

Case | Cooler Master CM690 II Basic - 79.98

Disc | Sony AD-7260S-0B - 16.99

HD | Corsair Force 120GB - 174.99

HD 2 | WD Green 2TB - 69.99

MB + RAM | Gigabyte AD-7260S-0B + Patriot Gamer 2 (2x4GB) - 192.54

Misc | Noctua Thermal Compound - 9.99

OS | Microsoft Windows 7 Home x64 - 99.99

PSU | Corsair 650HX - 110.98

Total = 1,560.15

How does it look, and am I missing anything (cables)?

 

[MisterNoisy]

Okay. I know there's a 'Free to a good home' thread for giveaways, but the people reading this thread are way more likely to want and/or need the item in question, so I'll offer it up here.

I ordered an NZXT 24-pin ATX cable extension when I bought my Vulcan - I love the look of the single-sleeved cables and figured I'd want the flexibility afforded by the single-sleeved cables like I did in my Storm Scout build last year, but it just made things more difficult because of the connectors. Since I don't need it any more, I'm willing to give it away to any resident of the continental US that wants it.

First one to quote this post gets it.

 

[·feist·]

Okay. I know there's a 'Free to a good home' thread for giveaways, but the people reading this thread are way more likely to want and/or need the item in question, so I'll offer it up here.

I ordered an NZXT 24-pin ATX cable extension when I bought my Vulcan - I love the look of the single-sleeved cables and figured I'd want the flexibility afforded by the single-sleeved cables like I did in my Storm Scout build last year, but it just made things more difficult because of the connectors. Since I don't need it any more, I'm willing to give it away to any resident of the continental US that wants it.

First one to quote this post gets it.

ok

I'll bite.

 

[MisterNoisy]

ok

I'll bite.

Sweet. Shoot me a PM with an address to ship it to.

 

[mclaren777]

Ok, final build list.

Monitor | Alienware AW2210 - 326.61

Any reason to get that monitor over something like this?

 

[·feist·]

Sweet. Shoot me a PM with an address to ship it to.

Sent, thanks.


Really wish this card were sold in my region. I'd be very tempted to pick one up.

Quiet AC cooler, 8+1-phase, NEC TOKIN chips, easy volt modding and 6-pin + 8-pin power. A black PCB would've been nice, but blue is worlds better than the garish red hues so many AIBs are using. About the only thing missing are chip sinks.

 

[knitoe]

Monitor | Alienware AW2210 - 326.61

For that price, get a IPS panel instead.

MB + RAM | Gigabyte AD-7260S-0B + Patriot Gamer 2 (2x4GB) - 192.54

Make sure the ram is rated 1.5V.

 

[Dynamic3]

Any reason to get that monitor over something like this?

Pixel density, response time, and most importantly a zero dead pixel policy. I did find a 21.5 1920x1080, 2ms, LED backlit ASUS for 153.98 though. That would save me 172.63 lol.

Make sure the ram is rated 1.5V.

It's 1.65, do I need new ram?

 

[IrishNinja]

dl memtest and run it from cd / usb

did this tonight, and passed, no errors.
ran OCCT for < 5 minuts, temps got to high 60s (this is a warmer environment, granted) and shutdown, when i was able to start it up a few minutes later, got the same error screen. anything else i should try? gonna call cyberpower tomorrow, just wanna see if i can narrow down the problem first.

also, out of curiosity: if its somehow my chip that's giving me shit (more likely the board though, no?), can this board: GigaByte GA-H55N-USB3 run sandy bridge?

 

[Ecto311]

Looking at this card for my setup ASUS GTX460 768 MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/768MD5 - Overclocking Edition

It has a rebate along with a lot of other cards in this range that all expire on the 31st.. would it be wise to get one with the rebate or wait and see what prices do after?

 

[vocab]

Pixel density, response time, and most importantly a zero dead pixel policy. I did find a 21.5 1920x1080, 2ms, LED backlit ASUS for 153.98 though. That would save me 172.63 lol.

Well if you get ghosting on it, don't say didn't I warn you.

 

[Dynamic3]

Well if you get ghosting on it, don't say didn't I warn you.

On the ASUS?

 

[·feist·]

did this tonight, and passed, no errors.
ran OCCT for < 5 minuts, temps got to high 60s (this is a warmer environment, granted) and shutdown, when i was able to start it up a few minutes later, got the same error screen. anything else i should try? gonna call cyberpower tomorrow, just wanna see if i can narrow down the problem first.

also, out of curiosity: if its somehow my chip that's giving me shit (more likely the board though, no?), can this board: GigaByte GA-H55N-USB3 run sandy bridge?

An 1155 CPU would run a bit cooler than your current one. However, they aren't compatible with your motherboard, so that would also have to be changed.

Did you try the rest of the recommendations? Open space, full-speed, air flow, additional fan, etc?

I'm a bit surprised you haven't contacted Cyberpower by now, but definitely give them a call.

I hope your 6870 is a standard EE model like this, instead of an IE card like this one. With a case that small, you can not afford to have anything else dumping excess heat inside of it.

Also, I don't believe you've ever mentioned your ambient temps (which is something everyone should be doing when they are asking about the relative hot/coolness of their PC components). No matter how high, or how low the surrounding temps are, your PC will always be warmer. Aside from possibly not having enough air, your PC may also just be in an area that's too warm for it to operate cooly.

Looking at this card for my setup ASUS GTX460 768 MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card ENGTX460 DirectCU TOP/2DI/768MD5 - Overclocking Edition

It has a rebate along with a lot of other cards in this range that all expire on the 31st.. would it be wise to get one with the rebate or wait and see what prices do after?

Prices aren't expected to move much, if at all, until the GTS 550 arrives. There will almost certainly be a scaled-down GTX 560 of some sort, though that's even less likely to do anything to 6850/460 prices.

That Asus Top is one of the best and quietest 768MB/1Gb 460s around. Good price as that's roughly what standard 460s/6850s go for. Another great 768MB option that's cool and quiet would be the MSI Twin Frozr II.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...127519&cm_re=msi_768mb-_-14-127-519-_-Product

It's $125 after rebate.

 

[vocab]

On the ASUS?

Yes. LED is not a proven technology for gaming. Unless someone can prove to me other wise. It took me a very long time to adopt an LCD because the ghosting was unbearable.

 

[IrishNinja]

An 1155 CPU would run a bit cooler than your current one. However, they aren't compatible with your motherboard, so that would also have to be changed.

balls. well, if i ever get this under control, i'll have to make peace with whatever i can get out of this.

Did you try the rest of the recommendations? Open space, full-speed, air flow, additional fan, etc?

its a somewhat open space, but not enough i guess, as i get 5-10 degrees better at home while idle. i was gonna go into the BIOS and do what you told me about locking the CPU in at its stock speed (is this what you were just referring to?), havent done so yet though. you think this is still heat-related? cause ever since i swapped out coolers, even when under load, the top of the case is still mostly cool to the touch, whereas before it was burning up. you think its heat more than defective parts?

I'm a bit surprised you haven't contacted Cyberpower by now, but definitely give them a call.

yeah, ive only hesitated because it was tricky having my friend help get the cooler setup and im afraid id have to put the liquid cooling kit back on before sending it, plus i dont have the original box and all that so it'd be kind've a bitch but i guess im running out of options. i wonder if i can keep my drive?

I hope your 6870 is a standard EE model like this, instead of an IE card like this one. With a case that small, you can not afford to have anything else dumping excess heat inside of it.

my GPU definitely looks like the one in the first link, so i guess that's good!

 

[keeblerdrow]

Does anyone know a good modular 600W/650W PSU for around $60? Do they exist?

 

[TheExodu5]

Yes. LED is not a proven technology for gaming. Unless someone can prove to me other wise. It took me a very long time to adopt an LCD because the ghosting was unbearable.

LED has no impact on ghosting...it's a backlight that lights up the pixels.

The Asus VW246H is one of the fastest monitors around, with extremely little ghosting. I'm sure that one is fine as well.

Does anyone know a good modular 600W/650W PSU for around $60? Do they exist?

OCZ is a good bet. Not as good as Corsair, but far better than the cheap stuff.

 

[vocab]

LED has no impact on ghosting...it's a backlight that lights up the pixels.

The Asus VW246H is one of the fastest monitors around, with extremely little ghosting. I'm sure that one is fine as well.

I saw some people on gaf had some problems with the LED monitors from Asus. This guy cares about pixel density, and shout be looking at non TN panels.

 

[mrklaw]

A modular Seasonic 520 or 620w might save you some money.
Are you sure the 560 and nonctua will fit in that case?
Looks good.

Absolutely. Looks good.

seasonic about £15 cheaper. Might consider.

Noctua was recommended by someone who has used them in that case for multiple builds. They said the hyper 212 might not fit. Also they've used 6950s, so I assumed a 560 would fit, but ill check dimensions just in case.

Thanks for the check though.


G-pink, worth looking at 1600 RAM? Price should be about the same but you'll sneak a tiny bit more out of that system.