So I FINALLY built my new rig....

[IOWA]

Here's the specs...

Cooler Master HAF 912

ASUS P2Z77-V Motherboard

Intel Ivy Bridge i5 3570K - Standard clock. For now.

EVGA GTX GeForce 570 HD GPU

WD Caviar Black 1 TB

(Couldn't justify the extra cost for SSD.)

Corsair Vengence DDR3 1600Mhz 8GB

Thermaltak 850W Power Supply (Modular!!)

LG Something or another bluray RW

And not really part of the "build" per say, but hands down the best set of $30 speakers I've ever purchased.

Cyber Acoustics 2.1 Computer Speakers.

So far it benchmarks really good, and at stock fans and heatsync (yeah i know, heresy) the temperatures are really good under load. I plan on adding about 4-5 more case fans and eventually replace the heatsync with a better aftermarket when/if I decide to push the processor past stock clock.

I also found out the hard way that another 570 HD won't fit in my case, so if/when I decide to go SLI I'll have to upgrade the case and remount EVERYTHING. /facepalm

Validation:


Thoughts?

 

[Xyro]

That looks pretty much like my PC, except that mine has an older asus motherboard and I've got a sandy bridge i5. Good choice!

I also found out the hard way that another 570 HD won't fit in my case, so if/when I decide to go SLI I'll have to upgrade the case and remount EVERYTHING. /facepalm

Hah, yeah, I was surprised at how large the 570 was too. I got the MSI version, which takes up two expansion card slots as yours does, but then it has the fans and heatsink sticking out below that, meaning it takes up another slot.

Luckily I wasn't planning on SLI, so I managed to get everything in there.

 

[IOWA]

That looks pretty much like my PC, except that mine has an older asus motherboard and I've got a sandy bridge i5. Good choice!



Hah, yeah, I was surprised at how large the 570 was too. I got the MSI version, which takes up two expansion card slots as yours does, but then it has the fans and heatsink sticking out below that, meaning it takes up another slot.

Luckily I wasn't planning on SLI, so I managed to get everything in there.

This Ivy Bridge CPU is sick fast, and it barely consumes any power. I can't wait to get some additional fans installed so I can start pushing the processor a little bit and see how it handles the benchmarks.

 

[Matty18]

That's a nice build. I'm saving up to make my next one. I might also wait until SSD's come down a bit more (though the prices have been falling lately).

 

[johnlgalt]

Nice job. I'm not jealous, yet, but you're outclassing me in all depts except the system drive (and system RAM) - I justified the expense long ago for an SSD, and now I'm looking for a super fast SATA 3 drive to replace my aging Intel X25-M 80 GB drive.

 

[imnotmikal]

You planning on overclocking the 3570k?
Those little buggers can clock HIGH at low temps.

I run my 3570k at 4.8GHz, temps are no higher than 80*C
Cooling is an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13, and 3 case intake fans.

 

[IOWA]

You planning on overclocking the 3570k?
Those little buggers can clock HIGH at low temps.

I run my 3570k at 4.8GHz, temps are no higher than 80*C
Cooling is an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13, and 3 case intake fans.

I'm going to run a full spread, so two intake and 3 exhaust fans, one of the exhaust fans being 200mm at the top.

 

[Xyro]

I ought to consider overclocking mine. I have the 2500k, which supposedly is pretty easy to get a fair amount of extra speed out of.

I thought ahead whilst building it and replaced the tiny heatsink that came with the processor, but right now I'm only using the stock case fans.

 

[IOWA]

I ought to consider overclocking mine. I have the 2500k, which supposedly is pretty easy to get a fair amount of extra speed out of.

I thought ahead whilst building it and replaced the tiny heatsink that came with the processor, but right now I'm only using the stock case fans.

I originally wanted to get a hyper212, but looking at photo's of other people's setups it was just too crowded for comfort. =/

 

[Xyro]

I originally wanted to get a hyper212, but looking at photo's of other people's setups it was just too crowded for comfort. =/

That's the one I have. It sure is big -I don't know if I would be able to add fans to the side panel with it in.

 

[nigsy]

SSD prices are coming down, I've just got a 120gb Samsung SSD for

 

[NYCHitman1]

Nice rig. I've never really liked Cooler Master cases, but to each their own. Great choice on the RAM and GPU, btw. I have the same RAM, but GTX 580 in mine. I love my Corsair 600T SE case though.

 

[IOWA]

SSD prices are coming down, I've just got a 120gb Samsung SSD for

 

[Mehta23]

You planning on overclocking the 3570k?
Those little buggers can clock HIGH at low temps.

I run my 3570k at 4.8GHz, temps are no higher than 80*C
Cooling is an Arctic Cooling Freezer 13, and 3 case intake fans.

I don't know much - still a noob - but 80°C sounds high?

 

[Mehta23]

Here's the specs...

Cooler Master HAF 912

ASUS P2Z77-V Motherboard

Intel Ivy Bridge i5 3570K - Standard clock. For now.

EVGA GTX GeForce 570 HD GPU

WD Caviar Black 1 TB

(Couldn't justify the extra cost for SSD.)

Corsair Vengence DDR3 1600Mhz 8GB

Thermaltak 850W Power Supply (Modular!!)

LG Something or another bluray RW

And not really part of the "build" per say, but hands down the best set of $30 speakers I've ever purchased.

Cyber Acoustics 2.1 Computer Speakers.

So far it benchmarks really good, and at stock fans and heatsync (yeah i know, heresy) the temperatures are really good under load. I plan on adding about 4-5 more case fans and eventually replace the heatsync with a better aftermarket when/if I decide to push the processor past stock clock.

I also found out the hard way that another 570 HD won't fit in my case, so if/when I decide to go SLI I'll have to upgrade the case and remount EVERYTHING. /facepalm

Validation:


Thoughts?

How much did it cost?
Trying to do a similar thing for around 5-800 quid. Would love a i7 too...

 

[IOWA]

How much did it cost?
Trying to do a similar thing for around 5-800 quid. Would love a i7 too...

All said and done it was about $1200.00

Google says that be about ₤760

 

[NYCHitman1]

I don't know much - still a noob - but 80°C sounds high?

Yeah, that does seem very warm to me. My rig under full load doesn't exceed 67-69 on stock clock speeds.

 

[Mehta23]

All said and done it was about $1200.00

Google says that be about ₤760

Thats exactly my budget!

and now I know what kind of motherboard and PSU to get, as I had no idea before...... assuming your set up works well....

I've also looked at the same i5 processor, although I have been shown the 2500K , and a few AMD's.

It would be great if anyone could have a look at my "list of items" I made , and say which parts I should get / ignore / change etc ...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8hnnvm3lfrwgb9s/Book11.xlsx

 

[NYCHitman1]

Thats exactly my budget!

and now I know what kind of motherboard and PSU to get, as I had no idea before...... assuming your set up works well....

I've also looked at the same i5 processor, although I have been shown the 2500K , and a few AMD's.

It would be great if anyone could have a look at my "list of items" I made , and say which parts I should get / ignore / change etc ...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lvz8fedij95ygeb/Book1.xlsx

Intel for lifeeeeeee! AMD boooooooooooo! lol

 

[Xyro]

All said and done it was about $1200.00

Google says that be about ₤760

Unfortunately we typically pay more for this kind of thing than you do. (Mainly because of VAT - a blanket 20% tax on most goods).

So it will probably pan out more expensive than a straight $ ->

 

[IOWA]

Thats exactly my budget!

and now I know what kind of motherboard and PSU to get, as I had no idea before...... assuming your set up works well....

I've also looked at the same i5 processor, although I have been shown the 2500K , and a few AMD's.

It would be great if anyone could have a look at my "list of items" I made , and say which parts I should get / ignore / change etc ...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8hnnvm3lfrwgb9s/Book11.xlsx

That's nearly identical to my build. There's not much different in price between the 2500k and the 3750k, so definitely opt for the Ivy Bridge.

I love your case! It looks roomy and well ventilated. The 570 HD is a great GPU, plays Skyrim on Ultra all on a 1080p@23" over DVI without even breaking a sweat.

Keep in mind the 570 is HUGE, so if you plan on SLI you might want to get a full size tower. The ASUS motherboard has worked pretty good so far, and the BIOS seems pretty straightforward. OC'ing looks easy enough even though I Haven't dove into it yet.

Another case for the Ivy Bridge is the built in GPU. If you plan on using more than two monitors you can use the built in HD 3000 graphics to support an extra monitor, as the 570 can only support two monitors. I find this useful for dual monitors and using the HDMI out on the onboard graphics for HD streaming of movies and such to my 50" HDTV.

One other thing. Unless you plan on moving your OS install to an SSD (Like I plan to) I would opt for the black caviar.

 

[Mehta23]

Cheers man.

1. I know. I love the case. Question is do i take white, or black and blue/red?

2. I have no idea what sli is

3. I might move my os to am ssd, but I'm tight for budget... So whatever is good for just normal stuff, the black..

4. Not gonna use more than 2 monitors, although I like the idea if streaming onto my tv... How?

5. I've updated that spreadsheet with what I think I'm gonna get ( near to definate)

6. Budget won't really allow a brand new hd monitor :-( gonna have a look in Costco, online or wait for sales... Or get a job...

7. Just realised both NVIDIA and EVGA make a 570 GPU. Same price but EVGA's has bigger Ram but reviews say it over heats too much. Nothing bad about the nvidia ( has two fans rather than one)
Would this even be a problem in my case?

 

[Xyro]

2: SLI means running two graphics cards in the same PC. It's more powerful, obviously, but you need a larger power supply, a motherboard and case big enough to allow it and you sometimes you need nvidea to release SLI profiles for each game if it doesn't work off the bat.

The ATI version of this is known as crossfire.

7: Basically, nvidea and ATI create their graphics cards and these are the reference versions. Then other companies like EVGA, MSI or PNY come along and tweak it slightly, like with more memory, better cooling, higher clock speed, etc.

So my point is there are lots of different versions of the 570 at slightly different prices and with different features. Personally I went for the MSI version because the cooling was beefed up.

 

[Mehta23]

I've seen the EVGA version, which has more memory but would cooling be a problem in my case?
Also overclocking doesn't void the warranty.

Is this the msi you used : Cards)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0087ON9PO/ref=cm_sw_r_an_am_ap_am_gb?ie=UTF8

 

[Xyro]

I've seen the EVGA version, which has more memory but would cooling be a problem in my case?
Also overclocking doesn't void the warranty.

Is this the msi you used : Cards)
MSI N570GTXTWINFROZRII NVIDIA GTX570 732MHz 3800MHz 1280MB 320-bit DDR5 2*DVI miniHDMI TF FAN PCI-E GRAPHICS CARD - (Components Video Graphics Cards): Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

I got the Twin Forza III version. It looks like it's slightly overclocked compared to the Twin Forza II: 770Mhz vs 750Mhz core clock speed, which isn't much.