New Build - Thoughts

[Jonny1*2]

wow only just seen this. Nice work mate. Opened my eyes to a whole new way of computing :approve: I assume you're leaving the side panels off?

 

[Gareth]

No, side panels are just off for photos

 

[Jonny1*2]

No, side panels are just off for photos

Need to get some Perspex ones so you can see the insides. Looks ace

 

[Gareth]

The front side panel already has a large window on it:

 

[Jonny1*2]

:approve:

 

[st3ve]

I must say that looks mint but I couldn't justify the amount you've spent on it.

 

[Silent_Scone]

why did you decide to run the tube round the back mate? Just puts more strain on the pump, like

Does look tidy though

 

[Gareth]

it was just going to be messy doing it any other way, I don't see any issue with it and I'm not the first to do it.

 

[Silent_Scone]

it was just going to be messy doing it any other way, I don't see any issue with it and I'm not the first to do it.

It's not an issue, just always best to keep the shortest possible path

 

[Munson]

I must say that looks mint but I couldn't justify the amount you've spent on it.

That case and water setup will probably last him 10 years or more though. Building the chassis is an investment. That case will house many an awesome PC! :approve:

That's how I roll at least. I've built TheBeast2, 2.5, 3 & 3.5 all in the same case. In fact TheBeast4 (which is going to be insane) will probably still live in the same case. Unless I decide to get a gourmet Lian-Li :approve:

 

[Darren S]

That case and water setup will probably last him 10 years or more though. Building the chassis is an investment. That case will house many an awesome PC! :approve:

That's how I roll at least. I've built TheBeast2, 2.5, 3 & 3.5 all in the same case. In fact TheBeast4 (which is going to be insane) will probably still live in the same case. Unless I decide to get a gourmet Lian-Li :approve:

Exactly that. There's a world of difference in owning a PC from a £300 offer at PC World/Dell or spending many times that and having it last years. My Antec P180 case is still going strong and in a few months it will be 5 years old. Such parts are built to last and last well - even through the abuse of multiple component changes and upgrades.

Until all games and apps become SaaS (which unfortunately, I believe they will) - I'll have a soft spot for PCs over any console out there. The choosing, buying, construction and eventual running of a PC from several components, is a big part of the appeal. Simply walking into Tesco, swiping a credit card and being at home with a running console in 30mins simply doesn't do it for me.

D.

 

[Munson]

Plus anyone who plays shooters on consoles is a c**t. Let's not forget that tiny detail.

 

[Silent_Scone]

Plus anyone who plays shooters on consoles is a c**t. Let's not forget that tiny detail.

200% truth?

 

[Darren S]

200% truth?

More like 300%....

D.

 

[Gareth]

I've just ordered the EK water block for the motherboard (covers Mofset, NB & SB). I'm currently trying to sort the overclock out, got the CPU running easily at 4GHz, but want to get it to 4.2Ghz.

 

[Silent_Scone]

give 3dmark 11 a go

 

[Gareth]

Getting the memory to run at 2000Mhz like it's supposed to is the real challenge, I can only manage 1600Mhz at the moment.

 

[Gareth]

The system is stripped down again at the moment as I'm fitting the motherboard waterblock (EK), upgrading from 6GB to 12GB and fitting the memory fans & LED readout. Still waiting for the watercooled 580 GTX!

The EK Rampage III waterblock:

 

[Silent_Scone]

hey hey, nice ram

 

[Adam]

Looking good

 

[Gareth]

Only crappy iPhone pics but I'll get better ones later on.

12GB loveliness

Corsair Airflow & Airflow Pro

All sleeved up

New routing incorporating the motherboard block (not complete at the time of taking pic)

You can also see the PSU sleeved cables in the pic above.

 

[Silent_Scone]

nice! Loving the ram cooler slightly old phone pic it's a bit neater in there now

 

[wozzaa]

How come you are waiting for a watercooled GTX580? Why not just get a normal 580 and buy the water block separate? I mean they charge you around £200 more for the waterblock with the card versus £60 to buy it on its own.

Some of the card manufacturers are quite happy with cooler swaps as well under warranty so not a problem there.

 

[Gareth]

the EVGA watercooled card is just a single slot which is a big bonus for me (I plan to end up with 2) and it looks VERY awesome. I'm willing to wait.

 

[Gareth]

can't believe it!! Sods law, I've just got this all back up and running and the 580 GTX is in stock! Doh! Will be here tuesday . . .

 

[st3ve]

What do you use that requires 12gb of ram Gareth and is it 1600mhz?

 

[Gareth]

It's 2000Mhz, I'll be using the machine from time to time to run VMs so the more memory the better.

 

[Adam]

Shitter about having to re-do for the GPU. Looking good though!

 

[Gareth]

It's all in and running, just got some final testing to do and a few bits to tidy up, I'll have some pics by the weekend hopefully. Loving Dirt 2 on it at the moment though (I never played it before) and with everything on it's silky smooth and awesome, especially at night.

 

[Cookie]

Pretty!

I'm not looking forward to having to upgrade my rig at the mo.. gonna cost me a fortune

Still running a Q6600 (@3.2) 2 gig of Corsair DDR2, and a GTX275. On W7 64bit.. still runs most things perfectly well at 1920x1080

 

[Gareth]

My missus has my old system now, Q6600, 4GB Memory, ATI 5770 1GB. OTT for her but it would be a false-economy to sell it, I also get her old Dual-Core, 2GB pc for a home server.

 

[Darren S]

Pretty!

I'm not looking forward to having to upgrade my rig at the mo.. gonna cost me a fortune

Still running a Q6600 (@3.2) 2 gig of Corsair DDR2, and a GTX275. On W7 64bit.. still runs most things perfectly well at 1920x1080

Peasant. You don't have 1920x1200?



D.

 

[Cookie]

Peasant. You don't have 1920x1200?



D.

Prefer widescreen monitors

 

[Gareth]

Final Build Pics & Spec

Spec:

Corsair 800D Case
Corsair AX1200 PSU
ASUS Rampage III Extreme Motherboard
Intel i7 950 CPU
12GB Corsair Dominator GT 2000Mhz Memory
Corsair Airflow & Airflow Pro Memory Fans/LED Readout
EVGA Hydro Copper 2 FTW 580 GTX (Watercooled)
Creative Labs XFi Titanium Soundcard
Corsair Force 120GB SSD HDD
2 x Western Digital 150GB 10,000rpm Raptor HDDs
2 x Western Digital 1TB HDDs
LG Blu-Ray Reader/Writer
Lamptron FC5 V2 Fan Controller
XSPC 360mm Radiator
EK Supreme HF (Nickel/Plex) CPU Waterblock
EK Rampage III Extreme Motherboard Waterblock (Nickel/Plexi)
4 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120mm Fans (1450rpm)
iandh Stealth Reservoir 225
Laing D5 Pump with Bitspower Mod Top (V2)
Bitspower Compression Fittings
Tygon R3603 Tubing (Clear)
Feser One Fluid (Red)
XSPC LCD Water Temp Readout
MDPC-X Black Sleeved Cables
MDPC-X Screws, Fixtures & Fittings etc

There will be a 2nd Hydro Copper 2 580 GTX & 120GB SSD drive added later on in the year . . .

Thanks for looking

 

[Adam]

Wow, stunning

 

[Adam]

Temps, benchmarks etc etc need posting

 

[wozzaa]

That 2nd 580 is gonna be a bugger to add in with where you put the pump.

Also what is the unused molex connector for on the motherboard? Aren't they normally there to help keep the power stable on the board and so should be used? Just like the one near the PCI-E area is for helping power the GPU's.

 

[Damo_Sport]

Tell you what, I like to build PC's and i think mine are tidy

But thats the most tidest machine ive ever seen!! Im thinking of building myself a new PC ring soon as mines getting old now and tempted to just copy your perfect machine

Credit given

 

[Gareth]

Temps, benchmarks etc etc need posting

It's built, but still needs tuning/tweaking first.

 

[Gareth]

That 2nd 580 is gonna be a bugger to add in with where you put the pump.

Also what is the unused molex connector for on the motherboard? Aren't they normally there to help keep the power stable on the board and so should be used? Just like the one near the PCI-E area is for helping power the GPU's.

The 2nd 580 will go above (yes, it will fit!)

There are several molexs on the motherboard, I don't need them because I've got two lots of 8-pin power connectors (other than the 24-pin) going into the motherboard (top left by the CPU block) and even only 1 of them is required tbh (unless extreme overclocking)