New 3XS X58 Core i7 advice required

[Macdons]

Hi

I'm looking purchase a new system and have narrowed down the choice to a 3XS X58 Core i7 computer with a few changes and i need some advice and have a few questions to ask.

I'm going to change the memory to 6GB (2x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC3-12800 and delete the sound card.

I'm not sure which case to get the Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W Tower Case or the Silverstone TJ09B-W Black Aluminium Full Tower Case?

I've always liked a case with plenty of GPU room as the cards just seem to keep on getting longer and it has to be fairly quiet.

Would i need to purchase any additional fans with these two cases?

I've stuck with a GTX 260 as i intend to upgrade to Windows 7 and the new DX11 GPU's next year and i think it will probably handle gaming in 1900x1200 resolution till then.With this is mind do you think the Corsair 620W has enough power to the next gen single card GPU's or should i buy the 1000W as a bit of future proofing?

If i was to lower the overclock to 0-10% what processor speed would you estimate i could get? I'm looking for a stable system and talk of the 10%-20% overclock going to 3.6Ghz has me worried about how the system would react with all the heat generated.

I'd be most interested in your opinions and experience about the above system.

Thanks

[Andy14]

Cases are a personal preference. For me I wanted something quiet but of a sensible size, everyone has their own criteria though. Some want space inside, others a visual statement.

The 6gb RAM is the same choice I made so fully agree.

I don't believe that there are any issues at all with the full 3.6ghz overclock. If there were then Scan wouldn't sell it with a warrantee and very few people would buy it either.

1000w PSU is worthwhile only if you are thinking of expanding to SLI at some future point. If you are sticking to a single card (even a 295) the 620 should be fine.

[Philipp]

Macdons,

Great to see you’re looking at getting a X58 Core i7 machine!!!

Andy’s hit the nail on the head with his reply really, personally I love the new fortress case and it’s a good idea to bump the memory up to 6Gb.

No additional fans are needed with the case, as it comes with 2 180mm fans in the front and top and a 120mm fan in the rear, I would only upgrade to the 1000w PSU if you were thinking of adding another card in the future i.e. SLI the Corsair 620 is more than enough for any single card solution (including 295 & 4870X2).

Also if you were to drop the over clock to 10% the system would be clocked to about 3 GHz on the 920 CPU, I can understand your concerns with over clock and the effect it has heat wise on the system there is however no need to be worried we would not sell a system that is going to fail… clocked at 3.6Ghz the systems hit around 70 degrees the max temperature is listed as 100 degrees there is plenty head room left!!

Feel free to post up any more questions… maybe some other forum members can give you their opinions on the system configuration…

Cheerios

[sleepyhead]

If you are planning on staying at 1920x1200 resolution, a gtx260 is more than adequate. A corsair 520watt PSU is more than adequate to power the above gfx card.

As to "future proofing"... to be honest there is no such thing. The die shrink on the Nvidia GFX cards have meant lower power consumptions, so the GTX285 (die shrink of the GTX280) means it now only needs 2x6pin PCIe power connectors.

Anyhow, the point of what I am saying is....a 1000 watt PSU is rather overkill and probably only needed if you decide to do something insane like dual GTX295!

Stick to the 3.6Ghz overclock, 6gb RAM, a nice fast 1TB drive (Spinpoint F1), a GTX260 (or 280 or 285...your choice) and you will be laughing at most games (the exception being the ever so ubiquotus Crysis) at full everything. 620watt PSU will power that day in day out.

If you want to gamble on GFX cards (and games supporting crossfire), check out the 4850X2.

[Macdons]

Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty happy with the spec i've chosen and i'm looking at the case reviews to make up my mind on which i prefer.

Looking at the Corsair 620W spec i'm pleased to see that it's got a lot of amps on the 12v rails and a five year warranty.

I've a few more questions:-

How long does it normally take to build, test and ship a system?

I assume that i would get a CD containing Vista and not just a partition on the harddrive.

Is there anywhere during the ordering that i can put in some requests regarding disk partitioning and placement of the harddrive.

Would i get Far Cry 2 and Mirrors Edge with the 260GTX and i7 or is this a retail only offer.

Do you phone and email before you send the system as i'd have to let work know that i need time off.

Thanks

[sleepyhead]

Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty happy with the spec i've chosen and i'm looking at the case reviews to make up my mind on which i prefer.

Hmm...why not ask if SCAN can do you a nice Lian Li case? They are quite good, all aluminium design and understated (like the Silverstones). Check out the "PC A77" case in both black and silver.

[Philipp]

Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty happy with the spec i've chosen and i'm looking at the case reviews to make up my mind on which i prefer.

Dont just think your stuck to the cases on the system site, we can use other cases as well have a good look around.

Looking at the Corsair 620W spec i'm pleased to see that it's got a lot of amps on the 12v rails and a five year warranty.

I've a few more questions:-

How long does it normally take to build, test and ship a system?

We have a 4 day build process for an over clocked system,

Day1: Build
Night1: Memtest
Day2: Software/Overclock
Night 2: Prime 95
Day3: Normal suite of tests (3d Mark / Burn In / Performance Test)
Night3: Sleep
Day 4: Extensive QC Checks then Shipping

There is currently a 10-14 day lead time on new systems being started

I assume that i would get a CD containing Vista and not just a partition on the harddrive.

Yep you get everything

Is there anywhere during the ordering that i can put in some requests regarding disk partitioning and placement of the harddrive.

Also yes you will get an email from me asking about drive partitions, any other requests just email over or post them up, all our systems are custom built we can do anything

Would i get Far Cry 2 and Mirrors Edge with the 260GTX and i7 or is this a retail only offer.

You get these as well

Do you phone and email before you send the system as i'd have to let work know that i need time off.

I send you a delivery date via email, you will also get a Build number so the progress can be tracked online, if for any reason there is a delay expect a call/email from me explaining why.

Thanks

If there is anything else dont hessitate to ask

[adrianl]

On the subject of overclocking, while I was confident that the large case would be ok, I ordered an extra case fan, but also specified a noctua dual fan for the CPU. I'd seen a thread somewhere with some graphs showing temperatures much improved under different loads.

For me it wasn't about the risk of overheating, more like 'the lower the temp the better'. Simple as.
Also of course, if i throw a second gfx card in there at some point I'm confident i'm safe.

Also, while I don't have crysis, i have similar gfx, ram and cpu and i'm ultra high everything on fallout 3 at 1920x1200. For the first time in my life.

I don't know what the crysis guys did, but i do worry whether what they're doing less than optimal code wise when theirs is the game that even very high end systems can't max out. Feels a tad irresponsible hehe.

[Ph4ZeD]

Silverstone Raven case might be worth a look if your concerned about temperatures - the motherboard tray is rotated 90 degrees so the graphics cards are vertical, meaning all the heat from cpu + graphics cards just flow up and out the case. Check out this thread http://forums.hexus.net/scan-3xs-sys...-i7-build.html for examples of a scan build in progress.

[Macdons]

Thanks for all the advice.

The money is in the bank (as long as it does not go bust) and so i'm ready to order.

This is what i chosen

Silverstone TJ09B-W Black Aluminium Full Tower Case inc Side Window
120mm AK-183-L2B Akasa Amber Case Fan, 3 Pin, 2 Ball Bearing , Ultra Quiet and Long life
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, Intel X58 Express, S1366, PCI-E 2.0x16, DDR3 1333
Thermalright LGA1366 Bolt Kit
Thermalright Ultra Fan Clip
Acronis True Image Home 2009 HDD Backup & Restore Software - A Must! *Best Seller*
Scan 3XS System - 1year Onsite Warranty (Mainland UK)
Scan System Configuration
Scan System Configuration (Details confirmed at checkout stage)


Qty Selected Specifications

1 Intel i7 920, 2.66GHz, 4.8GT/s QPI, 8MB Cache, Retail
1 Thermalright Ultra120 eXtreme 120mm Heat Sink Fan Intel CPU (Without Fan)
1 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC3-10666 (1333) CAS 9-9-9-24
1 896MB XFX GTX 260, 621MHz GPU, 216 Cores, 2000MHz GDDR3
1 620W Corsair HX Series Modular PSU (Single Graphics Card)
1 1000 GB Samsung HD103UJ Spinpoint F1, 7200 rpm, 32MB Cache
1 Scan 81-in-1 3.5" Internal All-in-One Card Reader + 1xFront USB - New Best Seller!!!
1 Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±R, 12x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6, SATA, Black
1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64Bit
1 MS OFFICE 2007 - 25 Usage/60 Day TRIAL Basic,SBE & Professional
1 Kaspersky Internet Security 2009 1 User 1 Year
1 Standard 3XS System Warranty - 2 Years (1st Year Onsite / 2nd Year Return to Base)

Total £1,343.88

The only part i'm still unsure about is the motherboard on this base system which only seems to have 4 memory slots so there is limited ability to expand in the future.

I tried out a simliar spec on the 3XS Intel X58 Core i7 base and it came in over my budget.

Would Scan be able change the motherboard to a vanilla Asus P6T or a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P add a 10% overclock and keep the system price below £1450?

If so would it be best to phone an order in or can i still place the order on the internet and email my changes in with the order number?

Also can i specify a Saturday delivery?

[leepen@scan]

Macdons, give me a PM with your phone number and I can process the order for you if you wish

I wouldn't worry too much about the motherboard. 6Gb of RAM should be more than enough for the systems' lifetime. We'd be more than happy to swap out the motherboard and re-quote accordingly. The P6T V2 would be a good investment for overclocking.

No problems on Saturday delivery - get in touch let's get this ball rolling!

Regards

[Macdons]

Well after a bit of a wait for the new graphics cards to be launched i've finally ordered my system

Silverstone Fortress FT01B-W Tower Case Black Aluminum with Window
3XS X58 Core i7 System
Asus P6T Deluxe - Intel X58 - Sok 1366
Silverstone FP51B Black Transfer Bracket
Akasa 8 Pin Extension cable
Acronis True Image Home 2009
Scan 3XS System - 1year Onsite Warranty (Mainland UK)
Intel i7 920, 2.66GHz, 4.8GT/s QPI, 8MB Cache, Retail
Noctua NH-U12P SE1366 Exclusive Dual Fan CPU Cooler (Fans Included)
3XS System Core-Logic Overclocking*10 - 20%*
6GB (3x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600) CAS 9-9-9-24
1GB XFX HD4890, 850Mhz GPU, 800 Cores, GDDR5 Mem
850W Be Quiet Dark Power PRO PSU (Dual Graphics Cards)
750 GB Samsung Spinpoint F1, 7200 rpm, 32MB Cache
Akasa Multi Memory Card Reader & USB 2.0 Port
Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±R, 12x DVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RW x6
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit
Microsoft Office 2007 - 60 Day Trial
CyberLink PowerDVD 8 Standard Movie/Audio Player & Decoder
Norton Internet security 2009 v16 1 User 1 Year
1 Standard 3XS System Warranty - 2 Years (1st Year Onsite / 2nd Year Return to Base)

I've put down for a Saturday delivery in two weeks time but i understand that it may not be ready by then so i'm happy to wait as long as it's a Saturday delivery and i'm kept informed.

I'm happy to sacrifice top end overclocking if it means a quiet, stable computer.

I'm impressed by the professional wiring work on the cases in the gallery and the willingness to help by the Scan staff i've spoken to and i'm happy for pictures to be posted up once the build starts.

[Philipp]

Macdons

Great Stuff

Please email me your invoice number (philipp@scan.co.uk) ill have some pictures posted up

If you need me for anything feel free to post up/PM or email me directly.

Have a good easter

[Macdons]

Hi

I've tried sending a email to Philip directly and also replying to the automated 'query' emails sent as the system moves through the build process but i've received no reply as yet so i'm not sure if they are getting through.

1) I'd like to change the ATI HD4890 to a Nvidia GTX275 due to the latters quieter operation.

2) I'd like the hard disk partitioned into a c:\ and d:\ drive. I leave it to your best judgement what size is resonable for the c:\ drive.

3) I've paid for a Saturday delivery so if the system is ready to ship on the 5th of May can make sure that it is delivered on Saturday 9th May.

If there are stock problems which are going to push the date out further please please contact me as i'm not adverse to buying a larger hard disk e.t.c. to speed up the build.

Thanks

[SonyCloWn]

u might want to change ur fan... at 4gz oc my systems runs at 82c yours will run at 90c ... with that fan

[Philipp]

Got the email, sorry for the delay in replying.

All sorted and the build has been moved forward, will start on Monday be with you next Saturday