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Thread: Upgrade advice....

  1. #1
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Upgrade advice....

    Hi All,

    I'm in the process of retiring my Shuttle system. To replace it, I'm thinking:

    Intel E8600 C2D

    along with:



    and 2 8800GTXs in SLi.

    I know that there are faster solutions for the graphics, but I already have one, and have just picked up another for £100 including a waterblock.

    The whole thing will be cooled with the Zalman Reserator - hence the need for a pretty beefy PSU.

    Can someone recommend me a motherboard for all this to plug into?
    Can someone recommend me a case to put it all in?

    If it's possible, I'd like the headphone jack on the top of the case so I don't have to keep fumbling around under the desk....

    Cheers....

  2. #2
    Gundam Infinite's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    How much do you want to spend on each?

  3. #3
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Haven't set a budget.

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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    As you're going for watercooling, I take it you want to put a window in to show it off... so a coolermaster is out of the question. I think you will probably want somethign like an Antec 900, thermaltake armour, or my personal favourite, SilverStone TJ07B-W. Although the latter doesn't have top speaker inputs, its still frontside.

    Mobowise, you'll need an SLi board so its an nVidia chipset for you. At least you went for DDR2 memory, so its not silly there, you can look at something along the lines of 750i/780i from Asus, but tbh, I don't know how far any of these boards can be pushed. The Striker II Formula however has popped up a few times before in discusion, and the Striker boards have a good heritage. But that said, there are still other options.
    -- MY 2008 RIG --
    CASE: Antec 300/ MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro/ CPU: Q6600/ RAM: Corsair 4GB XMS2/
    COOLING: Xigmatek Heatsink 120mm, 2x Xigmatek 120mm w/ Fan controller/
    GFX: Sapphire HD4850/ PSU: Corsair HX520/ HD: WD 640GB w/ VibeFixer
    DISPLAY1: 22" Neovo 3ms/ DISPLAY2: 32" HDTV/


    -- MY 2011 RIG --
    CASE: BitFenix Survivor/ MOBO: ASUS P8Z68V Pro/ CPU: i7 2600K @ 4.4Ghz/ RAM: Corsair 16GB Vengenge DDR3 1600MHz/
    COOLING: Antek Kuhler H20 with Push-Pull Fans EXPANSION: Black Magic Intensity HDMI 1080p Capture Card
    GFX: Sapphire HD6950 *unlocked to 6970*/ PSU: XFX 650w Modular/ HD: 60GB OCZ Agility 3 Sandforce SSD w/ 1TB Sata 3 Storage & 640GB Sata2 Backup
    DISPLAY1: 23" 3D 1080p 120Hz LG / DISPLAY2: 22" 1080p LG/



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  5. #5
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Not particularly bothered about a window, the watercooling is just to keep things quiet and enable me to eek out a bit more overclocking performance

    I'll take a look at those cases anyway.....

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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Links added to above post, but heres a pic of the Silverstone in action



    Purty Would do your SLi and WCing some well deserved justice
    -- MY 2008 RIG --
    CASE: Antec 300/ MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro/ CPU: Q6600/ RAM: Corsair 4GB XMS2/
    COOLING: Xigmatek Heatsink 120mm, 2x Xigmatek 120mm w/ Fan controller/
    GFX: Sapphire HD4850/ PSU: Corsair HX520/ HD: WD 640GB w/ VibeFixer
    DISPLAY1: 22" Neovo 3ms/ DISPLAY2: 32" HDTV/


    -- MY 2011 RIG --
    CASE: BitFenix Survivor/ MOBO: ASUS P8Z68V Pro/ CPU: i7 2600K @ 4.4Ghz/ RAM: Corsair 16GB Vengenge DDR3 1600MHz/
    COOLING: Antek Kuhler H20 with Push-Pull Fans EXPANSION: Black Magic Intensity HDMI 1080p Capture Card
    GFX: Sapphire HD6950 *unlocked to 6970*/ PSU: XFX 650w Modular/ HD: 60GB OCZ Agility 3 Sandforce SSD w/ 1TB Sata 3 Storage & 640GB Sata2 Backup
    DISPLAY1: 23" 3D 1080p 120Hz LG / DISPLAY2: 22" 1080p LG/



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  7. #7
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Looks nice, but really - nearly £250 for a case?

  8. #8
    Gundam Infinite's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Asus Striker II Formula probably your best bet.

    How about a Silverstone TJ-09, with or without window. I think the black one matches the Zalman perfectly, so you can place it on top.

    http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=487766

  9. #9
    Gundam Infinite's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Quote Originally Posted by b0redom View Post
    Looks nice, but really - nearly £250 for a case?
    Haha, would you like to set a budget now?

  10. Received thanks from:

    richieuk (08-08-2008)

  11. #10
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Well say £100 for the case, unless it really offers something special. I don't need a window for example - and it doesn't need fantastically good cooling as the reserator will pull most of the heat out of the case anyway.

  12. #11
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Maybe then


    Only a modest £155


    EDIT// You posted same time as me



    at £70

    P:S Thanked Infinite for best laugh i've had all day
    -- MY 2008 RIG --
    CASE: Antec 300/ MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro/ CPU: Q6600/ RAM: Corsair 4GB XMS2/
    COOLING: Xigmatek Heatsink 120mm, 2x Xigmatek 120mm w/ Fan controller/
    GFX: Sapphire HD4850/ PSU: Corsair HX520/ HD: WD 640GB w/ VibeFixer
    DISPLAY1: 22" Neovo 3ms/ DISPLAY2: 32" HDTV/


    -- MY 2011 RIG --
    CASE: BitFenix Survivor/ MOBO: ASUS P8Z68V Pro/ CPU: i7 2600K @ 4.4Ghz/ RAM: Corsair 16GB Vengenge DDR3 1600MHz/
    COOLING: Antek Kuhler H20 with Push-Pull Fans EXPANSION: Black Magic Intensity HDMI 1080p Capture Card
    GFX: Sapphire HD6950 *unlocked to 6970*/ PSU: XFX 650w Modular/ HD: 60GB OCZ Agility 3 Sandforce SSD w/ 1TB Sata 3 Storage & 640GB Sata2 Backup
    DISPLAY1: 23" 3D 1080p 120Hz LG / DISPLAY2: 22" 1080p LG/



    Check out my Youtube Page for Funny Video series I make (17,000 Subscribers)

  13. #12
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Well if you set on a Zalman Water cooling how about



    Includes the XT

    Looks really nice in RL. Shame it costs an Arm and a Leg (£350-£400)

  14. #13
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Will the Antec900 take 280 GTX cards? Is there enough space in there? Not planning on one just yet, but I'd like to have the space just in case

  15. #14
    Gundam Infinite's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Haha, no problem , i didnt think it was that funny tbh.

    Quote Originally Posted by b0redom View Post
    Will the Antec900 take 280 GTX cards? Is there enough space in there? Not planning on one just yet, but I'd like to have the space just in case
    I think you have to remove the hdd cage to make it fit.

  16. #15
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Quote Originally Posted by Infinite View Post
    I think you have to remove the hdd cage to make it fit.
    Yup, some chap form another forum i was reading on a while ago bought a coolermaster because it was difficult to wire around. Saying that though, the WC jiggy thing is quite big too, so including that it might be more trouble that worth.

    Would maybe a 192 Antec work?

    If that Zalman insludes the resevator, it might be your best bet aside from the Coolermaster.
    Last edited by richieuk; 08-08-2008 at 04:27 PM.
    -- MY 2008 RIG --
    CASE: Antec 300/ MOBO: ASUS P5Q Pro/ CPU: Q6600/ RAM: Corsair 4GB XMS2/
    COOLING: Xigmatek Heatsink 120mm, 2x Xigmatek 120mm w/ Fan controller/
    GFX: Sapphire HD4850/ PSU: Corsair HX520/ HD: WD 640GB w/ VibeFixer
    DISPLAY1: 22" Neovo 3ms/ DISPLAY2: 32" HDTV/


    -- MY 2011 RIG --
    CASE: BitFenix Survivor/ MOBO: ASUS P8Z68V Pro/ CPU: i7 2600K @ 4.4Ghz/ RAM: Corsair 16GB Vengenge DDR3 1600MHz/
    COOLING: Antek Kuhler H20 with Push-Pull Fans EXPANSION: Black Magic Intensity HDMI 1080p Capture Card
    GFX: Sapphire HD6950 *unlocked to 6970*/ PSU: XFX 650w Modular/ HD: 60GB OCZ Agility 3 Sandforce SSD w/ 1TB Sata 3 Storage & 640GB Sata2 Backup
    DISPLAY1: 23" 3D 1080p 120Hz LG / DISPLAY2: 22" 1080p LG/



    Check out my Youtube Page for Funny Video series I make (17,000 Subscribers)

  17. #16
    mush-mushroom b0redom's Avatar
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    Re: Upgrade advice....

    Yeah, it does look like a good fit to my requirements. The only reason I was going for the Zalman cooling is that I don't want the hassle of mounting the pump etc in a normal case.

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