I7 Build Check please

[LaughingJon]

Hi All

hopefully the following makes sense My PC is used as in most cases for gaming and working, when used in anger its generally on for > 16hours a day so stability is a key factor for me..

Onto the build... I keep finding myself switching between the S1366 and S1156 but i do keep coming back to the S1366 not sure if this is wise. I generally do a full system overhaul every 3 years ish. After about 1.5years i try and upgrade the Processor and GFX card(s) only.

The spec i am thinking about getting is as follows:


In addition to that i also intend on getting a WD 2TB Black drive but find no sign of these on Scans website yet. I was tempted to include 2 lots of that RAM to get upto 12gig but not sure if that will hinder attempts at overclocking/even needed really at this stage?

I intend on re-using these from my existing setup.
Monitors 2 x 24" Dell
Existing case is a SilverStone TJ09S
Sound Card is Auzentech X-Fi Forte + Sennheiser HD595s

The idea of an upgrade in 1.5 years time maybe the new 6core CPU i hear about and perhaps an additional graphics card.

In the past i have been into overclocking, while my current PC isnt overclocked at all i am open to the idea of pushing the 920 up a bit to give it that extra bang (once i read the overclocking guide ) which should then push the performance ahead of the S1156 setups?

I have windows 7 on pre-order to be installed on this rig.

I guess my main confusion is based around the whole socket choice. the reason i am in two minds is i would prefer to buy newer tech but cant see the logic in this because the performance figures say different.

Any advice/help really appreciated.
Cheers
Jon

[Phage]

That is a killer box.
Nothing I'd change there, and if you're going for that level of performnace/budget then the 920 is a better deal and even more so when OCd.

[nightkhaos]

Killer. You'll be happy with that.

Personal perferences things, so feel free to ignore me but:

I would ditch the SSD and get more storage and I would also spend an extra £100 now and replace the 5870 with 2x 5850s. However, that is kinda minor change when you consider the performance lost by the SSD will be gained by the faster GPUs. It all depends on your intended use. Do you want killer graphics, or a system that can load a Crysis map in 5 seconds flat?

Also, I would get one of these instead of that cooler. With that you will get a cooler CPU and be able to push the chip a wee bit further and still have it Prime95 stable.

[spoon_]

You dont fancy Corsair H50 for roughly the same price as Noctua?

[nightkhaos]

You dont fancy Corsair H50 for roughly the same price as Noctua?

Not anymore, the H50 is £10 more now from most suppliers because of the new LGA1156 backet.

[Terbinator]

OCZ 1600Mhz RAM can be had for cheaper than the Corsair stuff you selected, or try this Corsair stuff instead: Link.

They may have worse latency timings but id take the saved cash, especially when its £40/50

[nightkhaos]

They may have worse latency timings but id take the saved cash, especially when its £40/50

It's unfortunate that DDR3 DRAM has gone up so much in past few months. I got my CAS 8 kit for just shy of £75. Now if you want to spend that much you'll have to settle for CAS 9.

[Terbinator]

It's unfortunate that DDR3 DRAM has gone up so much in past few months. I got my CAS 8 kit for just shy of £75. Now if you want to spend that much you'll have to settle for CAS 9.

I got 6GB of the OCZ RAM i linked for £37 New of course xD

[LaughingJon]

thanks for the replies!

I suspect the SSD will be staying i just cant pass up the loading times i dont mind that in a short time there will be faster things out, thats just the way it is with these things. I have been desperate to try them for some time now but kept delaying so i feel now is the time as i am doing the full overhaul. Storage on the whole i am addressing on my home network in the coming months with a NAS of some description anyway so its not a huge issue for me right now.

My logic behind the GFX was getting 1 faster card now will mean in about 1.5 years time i should be able to pickup another card the same and double them up then for cheap. This was my theory but i am a little unsure how well it will pan out as i will most probably buy the best i can afford then anyway.

I have seen the H50 and have considered it but unclear how well it will perform in my case due to the requirement of having the fan pull cold air in from outside. I thought this would probably disrupt the air flow in my case due to the layout of this case. i guess i could get faster fans for the top exhausts to try and balance it out a little plus i wasnt aware that the cooling ability of it really was that much better than the high end air coolers?

Cheers
Jon

[nightkhaos]

I have seen the H50 and have considered it but unclear how well it will perform in my case due to the requirement of having the fan pull cold air in from outside. I thought this would probably disrupt the air flow in my case due to the layout of this case. i guess i could get faster fans for the top exhausts to try and balance it out a little plus i wasnt aware that the cooling ability of it really was that much better than the high end air coolers?

You will only lose about 2 degrees if you put the rad on an exhaust fan rather than an intake fan, so don't worry about it. I know about the H50, we have been planning a P55 build with an i5 750 to resell.

The cooling performance is much better. Let me put it this way, my Megahalems tops out at 3.8GHz for Prime95 stable, however the H50 tops out at 4.2Ghz for Prime95 stable. It is well worth the extra £10. I would of course get one if I hadn't invested £70 into my heatsink (I had to import it from Germany at the time).

[LaughingJon]

well that sounds good enough for me guess we can consider that an alteration thanks for that!

What thermal compound should i order for this cooler?

[nightkhaos]

well that sounds good enough for me guess we can consider that an alteration thanks for that!

What thermal compound should i order for this cooler?

This is what I recommend. However it is out of stock (damn!), so instead you can try this or this. Unless you're willing to get some of your stuff from here where it is in stock.

[LaughingJon]

cool thanks shall add that as well!

[nightkhaos]

cool thanks shall add that as well!

As I said, it's on Pre Order, so are you gonna get some of your stuff from OCuk? You will note the H50 is £10 cheaper at OCuk, which could make up for the extra shipping you would otherwise have to pay to get a 4g tube of TIM.

[Nobull]

*drools* what a system. I'm incredibly jealous...

[nightkhaos]

*drools* what a system. I'm incredibly jealous...

What about mine? I will have an extra 1.5 TB of storage in a few hours, assuming the 1.5TB drive we are getting is an EcoDrive F2.