Following from my i7 rebuild in May, I've opted for another "rebuild" using mostly the same components but altered slightly.
Here's the component list as well as prices:
Processor: i7 930 D0 - £120 from Ebay
Motherboard: EVGA Micro X58 SLI - £105 from Ebay
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tracers Red 1600Mhz CL8 - Reusing from last rebuild.
Graphics: XFX HD6850 - £133 from Scan
PSU: Corsair HX620W - £60 from Ebay
Case: Lian Li PC-V350 - £52.50 from Ebay, a bargain but the case has 2 dents and the back side is a bit "deformed". Will probably change this out as soon as soon as I see something I like in the case market, however I do like the case a lot.
Storage: Intel X25-M 80GB SSD and WD Caviar Black 640GB - Reusing from last rebuild.
Total cost exc RAM and storage: £470.50
If we include the cost of them and the monitor then it becomes £470.50 + £150 (monitor) + £120 (RAM) + £105 (SSD off Ebay) + £50 (HDD, my oldest component) ~ £900.
So as the case isn't in the best state of quality, I didn't really take any pictures of it at the beginning.
The motherboard I got is the EVGA Micro X58 SLI. Not much to say about it, it's black and red and has a few buttons as well as a LED POST display and that's all I need.
In goes the 6GB Crucial Ballistix Tracers as well as the i7 930.
Here's the CoolIt ECO A.L.C. I got it off Ebay over the H50 as it tends to go for cheaper than the H50 as it's not as famous I guess. Similar performance to H50 AFAIK, not sure which one has easier mounting though but I didn't really have many problems with the CoolIT ECO A.L.C., just slot the backing plate in and screw the cooler into the backing plate. Was a bit fiddly to do that inside the case though so I didn't do it in the case.
Next we have, the XFX 6850! The card itself is so light, it feels like 500g to me, I've seen what the cooler is like in the reviews though and mygod is it tiny. The chip itself is quite efficient and cool though so luckily there won't be any problems, great choice for my mATX system as it just gives me enough power for 1920*1080 as I won't be playing chart topping PC games.
Here's everything setup on the removable motherboard tray, I love how easy the removable motherboard tray is to use, just remove a few thumbscrews and out it comes!
Here I've attached my Enermax Magma fans to the front fan holders as intakes with one blowing into the radiator of the CoolIT ECO A.L.C.
As the X58 chipset runs quite hot, I've attached a Scythe fan to the NB area and I've also got the CoolIT ECO A.L.C. mounted in place!
Here are some shots with everything minus the bay covers and side panel on.
I just realised I forgot to take a picture of where the HDD and stuff goes but it goes on the top backside of the case, next to the PSU if you imagine it that way. There's a 80mm fan blowing over it.
Here's the case with side panel on.
The system is up and running!
Some final shots.
Thanks for looking I guess! I would upload more images but I haven't got that many and the post limit is 20 and I don't want to go onto another post.
I'm so tempted to move to an ITX platform now though, I love the idea of power in a small space. However, the stories I've heard stories such as the i7 870 with the DFI ITX P55 board where it hasn't gone too nicely after some time so I'm not gonna try yet. But I know my next project for myself will defo be some powerhouse ITX build, the only question is when. Perhaps we may see it become very viable with the next gen of chips as they'll be produced on a 28nm fabrication process. Guess I'll have to be patient until then. Well that's that..![]()


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and some great scores on ebay 

As I said in another thread I sold my 5850 for a 6850 and got a bit of money back for a "sideways" upgrade as I'd call it. The 6850 is worse than the 5850 though but to me they're equal as the lower consumption makes up for it.
