Last minute advice?

So, before I order the parts this is what my new build looks like now. Stuff in grey I've already bought/using from old rig.

Components
ASROCK Z68 Extreme4
AMD 6970
i5 2500k
Corsair Vengeance 1600mhz 4gb(2x2gb)
Xigmatek 650w
DVD-RW
Custom TJ07
640GB Samsung F1
Crucial M4 64GB

WaterCooling
Ek 6970 Nickel/Plexi
EK Supreme HF Nickel/Plexi
MCP655 Variable
Feser one UV Blue
MCR220
XSPC RX480
EK 250mm Multi option Res

Other
Black Sleeving
Black compression fittings
4x 1650 Yates for RX480
2x 1650rpm Yates for MCR220
Scythe Quiet Drive

Before I get called up on it, I know about the negatives of using dyes in my loop. I'm still going to do it.

Total is around £1500. Any recommendation on tubing size? Really do not want to spend any more but happy to shave off a few quid!

EDIT: Apparently this forum does have the strike out BBcode. Changed it to a light grey.

Why the 6970? Buy a 6950 and unlock the shaders then OC it to a 6970. You save about £50 or £100 depending on what you was going to buy.

Why the small HHD?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IronWarrior

Why the 6970? Buy a 6950 and unlock the shaders then OC it to a 6970. You save about £50 or £100 depending on what you was going to buy.

Why the small HHD?

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The HDD is from my old system (hence it's an old F1). The SSD is small 'cause I'm only going to put core programs (Office, zune player, my docs, firefox) along with the OS on it. The price hike is about £50 up to a 120gb model so I'm happy with a 60gb for the OS.

I haven't looked into unlocking the 6950. Is it reliable? I'm going to be adding another card of whatever I get at Christmas to run Xfire.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RabidDeathGnome

The HDD is from my old system (hence it's an old F1). The SSD is small 'cause I'm only going to put core programs (Office, zune player, my docs, firefox) along with the OS on it. The price hike is about £50 up to a 120gb model so I'm happy with a 60gb for the OS.

I haven't looked into unlocking the 6950. Is it reliable? I'm going to be adding another card of whatever I get at Christmas to run Xfire.

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Ah, if you using old parts from the old PC, ignore what I said, I always do the same as well! My PC is full of HDD's, hehe. The SSD should be good!

The 6950 Rev 1 (If you buy one, make sure it's a REV 1 or standard design) these come with a switch that allows you to switch between two BISO's.

So even if you mess up somehow or it doesn't like it, you can flick that switch and play on with that bios or flash the broken one and try again or whatever you like.

From what I have seen, there has been 98% success rate from reading topics at XtreamSystems and Overclockers.co.uk

I brought one MSI 6950 from OC.co.uk, unlocked the shaders only by modding my own BIOS and then overclocking it to 880MHz and 1375MHz.

I seen many people OC'ing above 1000MHz and so on!

Brought a second one last night, will be doing the same when it arrives Monday or Tuesday!

I used this guide here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...postcount=1265 and this http://www.techimo.com/forum/graphic...reg-entry.html

Quote:

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Originally Posted by IronWarrior

Ah, if you using old parts from the old PC, ignore what I said, I always do the same as well! My PC is full of HDD's, hehe. The SSD should be good!

The 6950 Rev 1 (If you buy one, make sure it's a REV 1 or standard design) these come with a switch that allows you to switch between two BISO's.

So even if you mess up somehow or it doesn't like it, you can flick that switch and play on with that bios or flash the broken one and try again or whatever you like.

From what I have seen, there has been 98% success rate from reading topics at XtreamSystems and Overclockers.co.uk

I brought one MSI 6950 from OC.co.uk, unlocked the shaders only by modding my own BIOS and then overclocking it to 880MHz and 1375MHz.

I seen many people OC'ing above 1000MHz and so on!

Brought a second one last night, will be doing the same when it arrives Monday or Tuesday!

I used this guide here: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...postcount=1265 and this http://www.techimo.com/forum/graphic...reg-entry.html

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Hmm, gives me something to look into over the next few days. How can you tell if it's a V1 or V2? Which one would a EK waterblock fit onto?

Are there any negatives in performance in comparison to the 6970? Presumably the 6970 will have higher overclocking headroom?

In theory a 6950 unlocked/OC'd to 6970 specs should perform the same - the both use the same die. However, the 6970 die is probably a higher bin so an unlocked 6950 will probably use more power. And yeah, in theory you would get more OC headroom with a 6970. I think the V1s are pretty scarce now and I don't think e-tailers usually differentiate between them.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by watercooled

In theory a 6950 unlocked/OC'd to 6970 specs should perform the same - the both use the same die. However, the 6970 die is probably a higher bin so an unlocked 6950 will probably use more power. And yeah, in theory you would get more OC headroom with a 6970. I think the V1s are pretty scarce now and I don't think e-tailers usually differentiate between them.

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I've looked into it and I think for the sake of £50 I'm going to go with the 6970. Not only will I get better power consumption, arguably a longer life and a better overclock I'm going to stick with it. I've switched the nickle/plexi to copper/acetal waterblocks though.

I dislike the look of copper/plexi (and I only wanted plexi for the looks) so I'm going with copper/acetal now. I have to go copper due to the whole nickle EK fiasco and I can't source anywhere to plate for a reasonable price (i.e, the price of the waterblock again).

Hope you post some pics of the build. :)

I've asked for help in three or four forums. I didn't get any replies over at bit-tech, I got some help here, Xtreme Systems & overclockers. So I'm going to make a build log and post it at these three forums. Not sure if I should post it on all of them or just one. Most people seem to post build logs on one so I'm not too sure.

Now I'm a little stuck though. Due to EK screwing up their nickel I'm not sure if I'm going to go for copper/acetal or copper/plexi as I'm not too sure I like how the copper goes with the blue coolant (can't find any clear pictures tbh). I think with the black mobo/case/compression fittings the acetal will look better.

HOWEVER, if I do settle on the acetal then I'm not sure if it's worth having the inverted motherboard since you'll see the acetal top (which is kind of boring imo) through the top window, vs the CPU/most of the computer with it the normal way around through the window.

You posted about an AMD card, that's where your problem lies with Bittech. ;)

About the blue colour and copper, have a look on Youtube to see if anyone else has a similar setup. Blue is the colour of the copper ion btw so from a nerdy standpoint the colours go together! :P

Quote:

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Originally Posted by watercooled

You posted about an AMD card, that's where your problem lies with Bittech. ;)

About the blue colour and copper, have a look on Youtube to see if anyone else has a similar setup. Blue is the colour of the copper ion btw so from a nerdy standpoint the colours go together! :P

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I never thought about it like that tbh. Thinking back to chemistry A level I guess blue/copper doesn't look that bad.

I still think the acetal will look better with the rest of the black but I'm not too sure. I will now need to ponder this for a bit. Doesn't help XS is down where there's a lot of build logs.

See if you can find any on the Google cache in the meantime.

As mentioned before, unfortunately, due to the EK disaster I'm going with acetal/copper blocks. Still same models. However, I'm now not inverting the motherboard as I don't think it's worth it to look at a acetal block. I think the black will actually match my build a bit better than the nickel tbh, with black compressions/innards I think it will look good. Still would have preferred seeing the block through the top window, don't fancy seeing an ugly corroded block though...

So, this leaves me with a bit more cash (don't have to get a window cut, or new back plate) which I'm going to use to tidy up/hide the 5.25" bays since they'll be more visible from the top window without the GPU blocking it. Not sure what I'm going to do though. Acrylic, metal, carbon fibre. Hmm...

Nice - just wondering what made you choose the Asrock board. I've been looking for a mobo to pair with a 2600k and have been doing research. Was thinking of getting the an Asus P8P67 Pro (as I need x8x8 Crossfire) but have just read about the Z68 chipset and the Asrock popped up a lot. Its in the same £140 bracket, and seems to have got decent reviews. Plus - I believe it has 775 mounting holes - so i can reuse my cooler :)

Just wondering what pushed you towards it? I think its got a good feature set but not sure if its a good pairing for overclocking? I guess that its now mostly to do with the chip, but dont really want to hamstring the CPU with a less than competent OC mobo.

About the mounting holes, I think they are very slightly different. One of my coolers supports various sockets and there are different notches for 775 and 1155/6. I mean the difference isn't much, about the width of the hole in every corner but I think that makes the two incompatible. I could be wrong...

Edit: Here's the manual of said cooler to show you what I mean: http://www.coolermaster.com/download...ownload&id=485

The ASRock boards have two sets of holes one for 1155 and one for 775, so you can use a 775 cooler/waterblock on it.
http://i755.photobucket.com/albums/x...4/7833616e.jpg
http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...al-shores.html

Because the 775 holes are slightly twisted off standard alignment it will make it look like your water block is on crooked.

However you would be able to reuse your current block instead of getting a new one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jonathan_phang

Nice - just wondering what made you choose the Asrock board. I've been looking for a mobo to pair with a 2600k and have been doing research. Was thinking of getting the an Asus P8P67 Pro (as I need x8x8 Crossfire) but have just read about the Z68 chipset and the Asrock popped up a lot. Its in the same £140 bracket, and seems to have got decent reviews. Plus - I believe it has 775 mounting holes - so i can reuse my cooler :)

Just wondering what pushed you towards it? I think its got a good feature set but not sure if its a good pairing for overclocking? I guess that its now mostly to do with the chip, but dont really want to hamstring the CPU with a less than competent OC mobo.

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http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...h-b3,2939.html