Widescreen Gaming Forum

The X-series don't seem available at Alternate, and what Seasonic PSU's they have are quite expensive. So I'll be sticking with Corsair methinks :)

efficiency is related to percent load of the power supply
so that means that efficiency will be a lot worse if this powersupply isn't loaded enough ...
so 750W might be a bit too much unless you really go extreme


on the other side of the fence, seasonic power supplies are known for their silence

at 120v input (worse efficiency than 240v), its 88% efficient @ 25% load. and there is a 650w version.

its a good 10% better than mine, from what i can recall

Would you look at that, the Element S without sidefan is in stock now :D. I think that should make it complete.

Let's check the rest then...

I think I'll just switch the motherboard to the Gigabyte X58-UD3R instead of the X58-UD5 for the following reasons:

- More favourable PCI slot layout. Will allow for 2 PCI cards instead of just one when a big video card is installed. Will allow for 1 PCI card when dual video cards are installed, as opposed to 0 for the UD5. I have a soundcard requiring a PCI slot. The UD5 should be fine for me personally with just one video card, but for any possible future changes, the UD3R looks more favourable.
- Apparently it has a floppy drive connector, which the UD5 doesn't seem to have. It's a nice extra I think.
- Cheaper

Extras the UD5 has but which I don't need:

- SLI support
- Second RJ-45 jack
- 2 additional PCIe x16 slots

And probably some more things. Anyway, UD3R seems like the better choice at this moment. Any reasons why I should really not go this route?



Processor: yes, I'm stubborn. I just want more power right out of the box, without any overclocking woes, easy as it may seem. Maybe I could overclock the 950 when I feel like it, but I'd rather not start out with it. Expensive choice, but it's not like it's making the whole pc price.



Hmmm, that's interesting, it still claims the Element S (the one without sidefan) has a huge fan preventing the cooler from fitting. Must be a bug in the program I think, but perhaps I'd better check this with the store before actually ordering things. It should fit, from what I've read.


Gaaaah! The 5870 GPU is out of stock now, for all brands no less. *sigh* Oh well... maybe in a couple of days :?


Current component list:

- Thermaltake Element S VK60001N2Z - €119
- Corsair CMPSU-750HX - €125
- GigaByte EX58-UD3R - €169
- Intel® Core™ i7 950 - €469
- Noctua NH-U12P SE2 - €69
- Corsair 6GB DDR3-1333 Tri-Kit - €134
- Intel® SSDSA2MH160G2R5 - €399
- Sapphire HD5870 1024MB - €369 *
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit - €77.77 **

* Out of stock at the moment
** Apparently they have a slightly more expensive edition as well... I picked the cheapest of course.

Missing:
- DVD drive - to be harvested from my current rig.
- Floppy drive - ditto.
- Sound card - ditto.
- 300GB Seagate harddisk - you guessed it.
- Flatbed scanner - my parents have one they only just got before they bought an all-in-one peripheral. As good as new, I think I'll buy it from them.

Wait for the Core i7 960, if you're gonna bite soon.

It's a direct replacement of the 950 - they're EOL'ing the 950, and replacing it with a non-'Extreme Edition' version of the 965.

Go with the UD3R. It's a good board. (I'm thinking about using it for a build for a friend...)

The 960 looks great indeed. I think i can wait that one out. Seems the Asus 5870 is in stock right now, so things are looking favourable :)

Now to wait for the 960 to actually become available. Seems like the perfect deal.

160GB Intel G2 with TRIM firmware is now 40% faster at random writes, not that it justifies the price IMO. :P

160GB Intel G2 with TRIM firmware is now 40% faster at random writes, not that it justifies the price IMO. :P

It's been released then? Good news I suppose :)

Still waiting for that i7 960 to be available... and a 5870 GPU :roll:

Intel TRIM G2 SSD Data corruption:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=16638

The page won't load apart from the header, but I get the message... that sucks. But I'm sure they'll come up with a good version some time before I get my items. The i7 960 is still unavailable at this moment. Keeping a regular eye on that one.

basically the new firmware is dodgy, but old works.

I can't wait for an SSD manufacturer that makes a drive then updates the firmware without having to withdraw it...

apparently the firmware doesnt set the size of the drive itself, so if you dont do it manually you end up with no space available on the disk. others say it bricks the SSD.

quite funny :P

2nd firmware fault for them now.

OCZ SSD's seem to be far more stable at firmware updating :)

Bumpidety bump bump...

Right, the good news: Alternate finally has the i7 960 in it's lists. It's only €30 more than the 950 (figures), so that'll do I suppose.
In fact, I could order every part now I think and have it next week or so. Nice :)

However, another issue has arisen. Now I've been worrying about the processor cooler fitting in the Element S case. Probably it will just fit. However, there's another issue: the Sapphire HD5870 VaporX (small change in edition) is slightly too long for this case as well!

All in all, I'm afraid the Element S will have to make way for something bigger.

Quick check in the list brings me to the Antec Twelve Hundred. Any reasons why I really should not pick this one? Any better suggestions?
I'm liking the lots of fans included, and it's a big tower so probably will fit things nicely.

Quick check in the list brings me to the Antec Twelve Hundred. Any reasons why I really should not pick this one? Any better suggestions?
I'm liking the lots of fans included, and it's a big tower so probably will fit things nicely.

The reason I would recommend that somebody doesn't get that case is also one of the reasons that you like it (big). So you should be good.

just ordered a core i7 system on cyberpowerpc.com , and got the 80GB ssd from intel as well.
The firmware releases on nov 30,2009 fixed everything from what I read.

I plan on running only programs on the 80gb and a 1 TB drive for all else.

anyone know if that works good?

Alright then, latest update:

I ordered the parts! :rockout

Orders >€2000 couldn't be paid by conventional means, so I'm waiting for the bill to really finalise the thing, but it's a mere formality. The order has been placed.


In the end it is:

Gigabyte EX58-UD3R - €164,90
LG BluRay combo CH08LS10 (8 speed) - €109,90
Antec Twelve Hundred - €144,90
Corsair CMPSU-750HX (750 Watt) - €124,90
Corsair 6 GB DDR3-1333 Tri-Kit (6144 MB) - €144,90
Intel Core i7-960 (4x 3200 MHz) - €499
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 - €69,90
Sapphire HD5870 Vapor-X - €419
Intel SSDSA2MH160G2R5 (160 GB) - €419
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit OEM - €77,77

Shipping - €25,50

Total - € 2.199,67

Ouch. But should be well worth it.

Shipping? Yes, I chose to go the lazy route after all. It's not like it's some ridiculous cost anyway. Petrol might cost more to go all that way :roll:
BluRay combo? Yep, decided that if I'm going to get the latest and the greatest, I might as well get some proper BluRay playback on the thing. And start buying movies in that format instead of 'just' DVD. Bigger monitor that can actually display full HD shall go on the wishlist for some time in the far future. I've picked the slightly more expensive retail version, because I'll need the OEM software that comes with it (PowerDVD).
VaporX? Sounds cool, and it's got a somewhat higher clock speed, and should be more quiet than the normal version. Worth a few €'s more I reckon.
Nuts? Yes. But hey, it's supposed to last for quite a bit longer than my previous builds.

Alternate's 'system builder' didn't have any complaints about this, except telling me the SSD won't fit because there are no 2.5" slots. Of course, the bracket should be supplied with the retail SSD (which I chose), but the program probably doesn't know that. Otherwise, it's easy enough to order one overnight.


Now the wait is for the bill to be paid and then only 3-5 days until everything 'should' be here.

Then I suppose I'll be expected to make/post pictures of the unpacking/building process eh?

:cheers

Personally I would of got a 750w Seasonic X, an i920 and 2x80GB Intel's, or 2x 60GB Vertex's.

BUT..

Monster PC :D :D :D

Personally I would of got a 750w Seasonic X, an i920 and 2x80GB Intel's, or 2x 60GB Vertex's.

BUT..

Monster PC :D :D :D

Oh I can see your reasoning. I've seriously considered 2x80GB, but in the end decided to get whichever is cheaper at the time of purchase. That would be the 1x160GB atm. Easier to setup and probably more practical for my kind of use. Seasonic seemed rather expensive at the time, so I left it right there in the shop list. 920 has had sufficient discussion I think - I just want raw power right out of the box. That's what the 960 will give me best (without getting really ridiculously priced).

The bill has been paid btw... if all goes well I can start building within a week.

Been a while since the CPU was the most expensive part of my pc...

Congratlations! The CPU thing was basically what I discovered with my Opteron 175. It was barely any faster than a 165, but it was a lot more expensive. I can't, and won't argue with your reasoning on anything...

The Seasonic units are like rocking-horse-shit, not in stock anywhere I have seen.

The 2x 80GB drives... well, maybe this we can disagree on, it would of been a bit quicker, but it won't make that much difference in booting windows, or loading games, which are 2 very common uses for me :)

the CPU... well, you have a monster alright.

Glad you are happy, that's what matters! You WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats on the build, hope it all goes smoothly from here on out! :D

The Vapor-X cards run cooler and quieter than the 'stock' cards. That's important. :)