The most superest, uberest, 13373St PC I ever built

[this_is_gav]

You've already got half of it? Aww well, I'd already written this, so.... if it bursts your bubble, it's a lesson learned in patience.

Stuff over the next few years maybe . I'll be keeping it for a long time. Vista benefits from more ram up to 8 GB, I've not seen any comparisons with 12 GB yet though.

To be fair, your current PC is MORE than enough. I'm not going to argue against my own setup, but if I was buying the RAM myself, I certainly wouldn't have bothered. 6GB would have done me easily. My CPU isn't any better than your CPU either - or my old Q6600 - unless you've a very specific use for it - frequent video editing in my case.

If you want to make a real difference to performance buy some decent SSDs instead. If you want quality buy a decent monitor (and keyboard and mouse if you don't have them already). After all, what you interact with day-to-day is far more important than a 10 FPS, most likely more than your monitor can show you anyway.

Stuff over the next few years maybe .

I'd say 6 months, depending on what you do. Let's face it, you've not kept your current PC for long... that's hardly an argument for you.

If you game, you're getting next-to-nothing over what you already had. Heavy CPU-limited work, then fair enough.

In summary, you're either swimming in it, or you're an idiot.

[Bhavv]

Yes I am an idiot for ordering 12 GB .

I'll admit - I only wanted the new graphics cards and 8 Gb ram for my previous PC. That was it.

I bought the cards because of the offer, and the ram because my 1333 stuff doesnt overclock very well.

I had the option of high voltage 2x2 Gb kits for £79, or low volt 3x2 for £88 - the low volt stuff was £9 more for an extra stick and futureproof.

So I ordered two of them planning to use 4 modules and to keep the other 2 for future use, then thought - why not upgrade and sell now? So I pulled out my calculator with estimates of what I could get for my current parts and then decided to buy a whole new build and sell all my current stuff.

6 Gb would have been fine, if it goes well the whole upgrade will have cost £3-400 after getting rid of my current stuff.

I also got two Thermaltake Sorbs for the GPUs, but then thought the preinstalled Zalman coolers were good enough. But I think I will keep the Sorbs now because of how close the cards will be to one another.

I just upgraded because I wanted to get rid of my current build, and Ive been needing a new case for a long time now because mine is too cramped on the inside.

And by the way, I seriously and genuinely am crazy, so dont mock the crazy .

I have been upgrading and selling every 4 - 6 months for the last year and a half, and I just want to build more and upgrade all the time .

[how1]

Well, good for you is what i say. If you can afford it, and it is what you want, then fine. One mans cup is anothers poison, so to speak.

Be nice to see the build in pics mate. Keep us updated.

[Clunk]

I say good for you too. If it makes you happy, the jobs a good un, a bit of overkill never hurt anyone

Speaking of overkill, I think you have the same batch as me.

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=548552

[sammorris]

To be honest, it depends what you're doing with the system. An i7 920 is MUCH more powerful than a Q6600. I could even tell the difference between my old Q6600 and my current Q9550, let alone going to an i7. This is mainly due to the overhead of dual graphics though. With a single card it doesn't make too muh difference outside very CPU-intensive games like GTA4 (which out of interest, is one of the very few reasons I need to upgrade to 8GB from 4, maxing out the game uses 6GB of RAM with no other programs open)

As for buying SSDs, unless you get the expensive Vertex SSDs with cache, they're only any use in RAID. Bufferless hard drives are the worst idea for ages. Do any more than one thing at once (say, try and stream a web video then open a pogram) and when the ICH gets overloaded, watch your system halt up like an old Celeron. Do o twna.t

To be fair Gav, why are you so critical when you run an almost-identical system?

For an i7 system, I'd strongly recommend using triple channel memory instead of dual. The i7 does best at raw arithmetic conversions, which is one of the only places where memory bandwidth makes a significant difference.

[moogle]

To be fair Gav, why are you so critical when you run an almost-identical system?

Because gav uses it, not saying Bhavv doesn't either

[Bhavv]

Well, I can use my PC up to 8 hours a day, and yes it does slow down and lag .

That prompted me to install more ram. I browse the internet with games minimised, stream several youtube videos and sometimes downloads simultaneously, and I always wonder how things can noticeably lag and slow down, and I dont just mean my internet connection, I mean windows!

I have been wanting a better CPU for ages, and since building my LGA 775 PC, have already gone through 4 ram changes, 2 graphics card changes and a motherboard change from P35 > X48. And I did want triple channel too. It is greed > need.

Im not anywhere near rich, but there is nothing else that I buy other than PC upgrades, and rely on sales on previous parts. It is a want not a need, as others may want to spend £50-100 every week on going out and alcohol (been there, done that, and people who still do it wonder how I can afford my stuff).

My problem is I am impulsive and addicted to building and upgrading PCs.

I have nothing else like a TV or Hifi, and just like to buy new shiny things for the PC then sell the old to make it affordable.

Maybe it is addiction or impulsiveness or something, but I see, I want, I calculate the finance and buy if debit card says yes .

So, I just looked at Gavs system and loled at his comments.

I have wanted a new case for years now, mine is extremely awkward and difficult on the inside, whereas Antec P182 is just perfect on the outside and inside. I just dont like my aerocool case that much either, it looks like an aeroplane but I never knew what to do with it before, but now I will recycle it.

[sammorris]

Im not anywhere near rich, but there is nothing else that I buy other than PC upgrades, and rely on sales on previous parts. It is a want not a need, as others may want to spend £50-100 every week on going out and alcohol (been there, done that, and people who still do it wonder how I can afford my stuff).

That's exactly what I say to people. I don't drink, smoke, or anything that requires a continuous expenditure, and while I'm frankly pretty poor as a student without any income other than student finance, PC gear gets the top nod, and that puts me in good stead.

The P182 is a lovely case for quietness, but is beat by almost every other case on the market for cooling. I'm not sure I'd put an i7 in one frankly, but that's your decision.

[this_is_gav]

To be fair Gav, why are you so critical when you run an almost-identical system?

I stated, as you yourself did, that it's dependant on use. Without any examples provided, I made some. I also said I wasn't buying my RAM myself, and conceded I wouldn't have bought 12gb if I was.

For an i7 system, I'd strongly recommend using triple channel memory instead of dual. The i7 does best at raw arithmetic conversions, which is one of the only places where memory bandwidth makes a significant difference.

All the benchmarks, and my own experience, suggested very little difference between dual and tri-channel, so I wouldn't go out of my way to make a system tri-channel, but at this end, it's a no-brainer.

So, I just looked at Gavs system and loled at his comments.

Then you should go back and re-read my posts as I clearly vindicated the points.

[sammorris]

You're right, the difference isn't huge, but from the benchmarks I've read, the biggest gains you get from having an i7 over a Core 2 Quad are in certain areas, and it's also these same areas where memory performance plays a part. Having fast triple channel memory makes the i7's best area of work even better, but to other things, it isn't of as much consequence.

[Bhavv]

How exacatly is a P182 bad for cooling? It has 2x 12 cm fans over the CPU with two extra optional fans for GPU and intake.

I only bought 3x blue coolermaster fans and need more now, because two of them are attached to the Triton 88, one for exhaust, and then I still have the top and bottom fans to replace and add an intake - I want blue / clear fans, I dont like black ones.

In reviews of this case, it was only 2-3 degrees hotter than an open system, and it is much better than my previous case.

[sammorris]

It's not bad, but for high end hardware, you really see big benefits from having a side fan. The P182 is a case designed for quiet, not cooling, an objective you're forgoing by using blue fans (as they are noisier and less efficient than most black ones).

[staffsMike]

It is a great cooling case if you are willing to do what you are doing, if not it's adequate for cooling but great for noise.

Silverstone Fortress is a good one for the best of both worlds.

[Bhavv]

It's not bad, but for high end hardware, you really see big benefits from having a side fan. The P182 is a case designed for quiet, not cooling, an objective you're forgoing by using blue fans (as they are noisier and less efficient than most black ones).

These coolermaster fans are silent with decent airflow, and not any worse then black ones.

Side fans also disrupt the front to back airflow and make very little difference, plus I'll be using some nice Thermaltake Sorbs to cool the graphics cards.

I only need two more fans, and dont need the bottom one at all, but I could also use a Zalman fan bracket and place one under the graphics cards. My current blue fans are very noisy ones that I cant bear to use without a fan controller, and they arent as bright as the new coolermaster ones.

Now if only I can get the thing to work - it refuses to boot from CD, will have to call tech support tomorrow.

Once its working I'll grab 3 more fans, Zalman bracket and modify the graphics cards.

[sammorris]

I'll try not to sound condescending here, but if you think Coolermaster fans have good airflow, you don't know very much about fans.
Side fans will only interfere with front-back airflow if the input/output are not evenly balanced (and they should be, any well-designed case will allow this from the off)

[Bhavv]

They had the best airflow for blue 1200 RPM fans, better than the more expensive Sharkoons. I dont want high CFM fans that sound like aeroplanes anymore.

Who even cares about what fans I use? They are silent, light up blue and shiny .