A Few Pre-purchase questions :)

[mujina]

Hi im considering buying a custom build system from you with the folling specs:

Custom Coloured Cases: *No Custom Colour Required*
Case: Silverstone TJ09B-W Black Aluminium Full Tower Case inc Side Window
CPU: Intel i7 920 2.66Ghz 4.8GT s QPI @ 3.8Ghz+ with 20% OC (D0 Step)
CPU Coolers: Cool It DM-1000 Domino A.L.C. (Advanced Liquid Cooling)
Overclocking: 3XS System Core-Logic Overclocking*10 - 20%*
Memory: 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600) CAS 8
NVIDIA Graphics - Multi GPU SLI Options Available: 1792MB XFX GTX 295 576 MHz GPU 480 Cores 2016MHz GDDR3, 2 selected
Power Supply Unit: 1000W Corsair HX Series Modular (Dual GTX295 or 4870X2 Cards)
System Drives: 1000 GB Samsung Spinpoint F1 7200 rpm 32MB Cache
Storage Hard drives: *Storage Hard Drive Not Required*
Solid State Drives: *Solid State Drive Not Required*
Floppy Drive Flash Card Readers & Writers: Akasa Multi Memory Card Reader & USB 2.0 Port
DVD Writer: LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±R 16xDVD±DL DVD+RW x8 -RWx6 12xRAM SATA Black OEM
Blu Ray Reader Writer: *Blu Ray Not Required*
Sound Card: *Sound Card Not Required Use On Board Sound*
Gaming Network Card: *Use On Board Network Port*
Internal External (USB) Wireless Adaptors: *Wireless Adaptor Not Required*
Case Cooling Fans: *After Market Fans Not Required - Use Fans Included with Case*
Lighting Effects: *Lighting Effects Not Required*
Operating system: *Operating System Not required* (System Tested under Microsoft Vista)
Software - Application: Microsoft Office 2007 - 60 Day Trial
Software - DVD Blu Ray Decoding: CyberLink PowerDVD 9 - Movie Audio Player & Decoder Software
Software - Security: *No Software Required*
Software - Hottest PC Games: *No Software Required*
NVIDIA 3D Vision TFT Monitor: *NVIDIA 3D Vision Not Required*
TFT Monitor: *Monitor Not Required*
Gaming Keyboard : *Gaming Keyboard Not Required*
Gaming Mouse Option: *Gaming Mouse Not Required*
Gaming Mouse Mat: *Gaming Mouse Mat Not Required*
Speakers: *Speakers Not Required*
Extended Warranty: Standard 3XS System Warranty - 2 Years (1st Year Onsite 2nd Year Return to Base)

My three questions are 1) How will not including the Operating system in the deal affect overclocking, 2) Do you overclock the graphics cards and if not are you able to on request and finally 3) How long would it take a system of these specs to be delivered and is any express mail or shipping option available? - Thanks!

[mujina]

Also any suggestions on bits to add or swap out would be great, im just about to head off to uni for a computer game design course so im going to be doing some quite demanding stuff on it, lots of animation, modeling and ofc gaming so any input would be great, and this pc also has to last me atleast four years

Thanks

[mujina]

idealy i would like the pc in about 3 weeks but it wouldnt be the end of the world if i had to wait a little, Do you think the new ATI cards will outperform the GTX 295? I know the specs have not been relesed yet but as i say this pc has to last me four years, If this is a new generation of card which follows the trend there could be a 40%+ performence increase as i understand? (correct me if i am wrong) - Looking around the (unconfimed) pricing of the new top ati card seems to be around that of a GTX 280 so could it till be better than the gtx 295 or do you suspect that ATI are not going to try and get the fasted card, they are just trying to go with the best value for money tactic as they have been in the past. -- all this is as i understand it, i may be wrong with everythnig i have typed here so again please correct me if i am wrong
Any input from anyone would be great - thanks again

[mujina]

Really impressed with the site and the features, very nice idea including pics of customers rigs, you have made me want to change mine slightly

( Sorry for the spam i need to post another post so i can link the screenshot from a past customer so you know what im talking about )

[mujina]

Ok i should be able to post it now
I was looking at "Recon's - 3XS X58 Core i7 Build" and it looks very very impresive you did a really nice job

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p...029_resize.jpg

Firstly would it be possible to change the case from the one listed to the Silverstone TJ07B-W V2 Black Aluminium Full Tower Case with Window? ( Its wasnt in the list when selecting options ) and also what is the red grill with the small logo on the front below the dvd and blu ray drives? ( It looks amazing but I don't see it as a component of the case so i assume it's custom? ) And finaly I wanted to go with a white lighting system to give a nice contrast with the black case, Could you link and good white lighting kits which would be compatiable with this case? I think i will use the fans linked below if possible ( Thanks lol - lots of questions in mutiple posts )

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=921707

[RECON]

Hello mujina

Use the 3xs systems configure section as a starting guide

The team at Scan will help build anything you would like
Any case, any parts

Talk to paul hes the man

Start with the ready done scan build, then search around the site for different parts
The configurator only lists a small selection of popular of parts, theres so much more to choose from

[Noggin]

idealy i would like the pc in about 3 weeks but it wouldnt be the end of the world if i had to wait a little, Do you think the new ATI cards will outperform the GTX 295? I know the specs have not been relesed yet but as i say this pc has to last me four years, If this is a new generation of card which follows the trend there could be a 40%+ performence increase as i understand? (correct me if i am wrong) - Looking around the (unconfimed) pricing of the new top ati card seems to be around that of a GTX 280 so could it till be better than the gtx 295 or do you suspect that ATI are not going to try and get the fasted card, they are just trying to go with the best value for money tactic as they have been in the past. -- all this is as i understand it, i may be wrong with everythnig i have typed here so again please correct me if i am wrong
Any input from anyone would be great - thanks again

All the rumors and leaks I've seen suggest the new ati cards being around the performance of the GTX295 but significantly cheaper and with dx11. That's still of course a massive jump because the GTX295 is a dual GPU card and the ati ones are single, the new ati dual GPU card presumably called 5870x2 should be massivly faster than the GTX295 but I don't think it's launching at the same time a month later perhaps?, the ati press event is today but the stuff might still be under nda untill they launch on the 22nd (I think) of september.

You will definatly struggle to get a computer with a dx11 gpu within the next 3 weeks though, hopefully in 3 weeks you will be able to place your order with one but then you will need to wait for it to be made.

Don't quote me on any of that though, none of it is concrete info.

You could of course always buy the computer with on board graphics and slot in a high end dx11 graphics card yourself that way you have you pc ready as soon as you can get hold of a dx11 card rather than waiting a few weeks+ past that date for scan to build for you, I'm sure they are going to be absolutly swamped around then with windows 7 launching and the biggest graphics card launch for years.

This way you can either get similar performance to the GTX295 but with dx11 and with the left over money get an ssd which should be really nice for your computer work apps. Or you can go for much more performance than the 295 with a 5870x2 if you are a bit more patient.

Even if you don't wait the 295 will destroy anything you want to do with it now but if you are wanting 4 years out of the computer patience should reward you.

[Noggin]

actually thats got to be coming to near 2 grand, I think anyone spending that much on their computer particually someone useing lots of applications should go with 60-80GB SSD for a boot and application drive whatever you decide graphics card wise.

[mujina]

Thanks for the replies, If the main difference will be price then I may just get one gtx 295 atm and buy another closer to xmas when the prices have dropped, also ive never been a fan of ATI because of bad experience with the drivers.
The SSD driver for boot was going to be in my spec list but for 80£ I didn’t really consider it essentials but If im only getting one gtx 295 this time around I think I will spend the extra cash on other parts like a SSD and a good soundcard + LCD display ( I want the pc to look good too )

[Mossy]

mujina

The specification look good as people have pointed out though a sysem of this specification should be discussed feel free to ask for myself if you decide to call Scan and hopefully we can get a custom machine which is specified to yur requirements.

Over clocking should not be an issue as we set profiles within the Bios which you can revert to at anytime.

Regards

[mujina]

(posted this just as you made your post ^^)

Thanks again for all the replys the only things left i wanted to check before playing an order are the following ^^
- How will not including the Operating system in the deal affect overclocking ( I assume its saved in the bios but If the system is tested under vista and i decided to put windows 7 64bit on it would anything change? )
- Do you overclock the graphics cards and if not are you able to on request
- How long would it take a system of these specs to be built and delivered and is any express mail or shipping option available?

[Noggin]

2 x 295 is quad sli like having 4 graphics cards, thats going to use a huge ammount of power, produce a lot of heat and presumably be as noisy as hell. I've seen lots of complaining about micro stutter with dual 295's.

If you don't want to wait, go with one 295 and instead of buying a second save the money and in 18-24 months pull out the 295 and replace it with something new and shiney instead. That way you'll get more longetivity out of your computer for the same money and you will still have dx11 eventually, it's probably not going to matter not having it for a year or so anyway.

[mujina]

The system i am looking at now is as follows,

Case - Silverstone TJ07B-W V2 Black Aluminium Full Tower Case with Window
CPU - Intel i7 920 2.66Ghz 4.8GT s QPI @ 3.8Ghz+ with 20% OC (D0 Step)
CPU Coolers - Cool It DM-1000 Domino A.L.C. (Advanced Liquid Cooling)
Overclocking - 3XS System Core-Logic Overclocking*10 - 20%*
Memory - 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600) CAS 8
NVIDIA Graphics - 1792MB EVGA GTX 295 CO-OP - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/1792M...x-DVI-I-Retail
Power Supply Unit - 1000W Corsair HX Series Modular
Ram - 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator DDR3, PC3-12800 (1600) CAS 8
Solid State Drive - 60Gb OCZ Vertex Series
System Drive - 1.5TB Western Digital, Caviar Green Power, 32MB Cache
loppy Drive / Flash Card Readers & Writers - Akasa Multi Memory Card Reader & USB 2.0 Port
DVD Writer - LG GH22NS50 22x DVD±R, 16xDVD±DL, DVD+RW x8/-RWx6 ,12xRAM SATA, Black, OEM
Sound card - Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Soundcard - PCI-E (x1)
As many 120mm Akasa AK-FN055 Crystal Clear Frame & bright white rotor blade w/ 4 white LED As need to fill case. - http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=921707
Silverstone SST-MFP51B 5.25" Media Frontpanel in black RoHS - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silve...-in-black-RoHS
Some kind of White lightkit
Silverstone SST-CFP51B Aluminum Bay converter With white LEDS if possible (thanks recon) - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silve...120mm-Fan-RoHS

If you can think of any changes or additions please post also is "Cool It DM-1000 Domino A.L.C. (Advanced Liquid Cooling)" one of the better watercooling options for overclocking? Or are there better alternatives to get the best OC? - Thanks

[mujina]

How does the Cool It DM-1000 Domino A.L.C. compare to Corsair Cooling™ Hydro Series H50 and Coolermaster V10 CPU Cooler? Which would give the best overlock and which would prolong the life of the processor the most?

Cool It DM-1000 Domino A.L.C. - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Cool-...nd-AMD-AM2plus
Corsair Cooling™ Hydro Series H50 - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Corsa...nce-CPU-Cooler
Coolermaster V10 CPU Cooler - http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Coole...ing!-Intel-AMD

[RECON]

Good choice on the GPU, I have 2 of those , and got a huge 3dmarkvantage score

The SilverStone FP54B (Black) 5 ¼ Bay LCD Display
I had chosen this in my build to start with but due to the way it connects to the motherboard it wouldnt work

Have a look at this one, This is the one thats in my case pictures on the forum
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Silve...-in-black-RoHS
Its a pretty good display, and the remote is a pretty good feature
Its complex to work out but worth the effort

Edit
This is my cooler
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Proli...1366-(Fanless)
I have also seen some good reviews on the corsair H50

[Noggin]

If money isn't a problem you could go with a proper watercooled system, rather than the little mini thing that just does the cpu. I'm sure that will give more overclocking potential and lower temperatures and of course looks awesome rather than ugly, your computer will then be lovely and quiet too rather than the huge noise high end graphics cards manage to churn out, of course it's significantly more money probably more than £200 more.