New Rig

[z3r010]

I'm about to start building my new i7 based rig :D and would like some suggestions for a few of the parts.

I am looking for 2x gtx260's but these must be very quiet (no gaming use) and a good size PSU to run the i7, 2x gfx and 4 hdd's.

suggestions?

 

[skunksmash]

sweet.....

i have been doing a bit of research on the 260's of late, they're not that quiet when the cards are stressed but as gaming is not their primary task it shouldn't matter...

this is the cheapest i have found this particular card ''GTX260 BLACK EDITION'', its the best performing 216 260 on the market, benches show it ahead of the stock 280 in most cases, it uses far less power, cost £100 less for the same performance..

i actually rang scan.uk earlier today to confirm the exact model number at that price (im ordering mine Wednesday ), if i were you i would snap up 2 of these

at £233 delivered its the same price as the stock 260 from most other places :eek::eek:

i will get back about the PSU....

i would go with the Asus P6T, many ppl are having great results with their i7's at the moment...

i will get back about the RAM also....

SK

 

[johngalt]

Skunks got it in terms of that GPU - it is *highly* quiet until I manually engage my fans in SLI mode for gaming - even with the fans a stock speeds I haven't broken 60 degrees yet in temps.

PSU - well, if you're going all out, get a nice 1000W PSU....

I am hoping that my choice to move to a new i7 Extreme with the new eVGA X58 board is going ot be kosher for my 780W PSU - I am not so sure but I am hoping....

 

[z3r010]

I hate ASUS they fail on me every time, the mobo I am going to get is Gigabyte GA-X58-Extreme, Intel X58, Sok 1366, PCI-E 2.0, DDR3 1066/1600/2000, SATA II, ATX - Scan.co.uk as gigabyte never fail me.

i7 Extreme is the CPU

 

[johngalt]

heh - by the time I get mine you'll have all the kinks worked out of yours, I suppose.

Yeah, I figure that the i7 Extreme is going to be worth it in terms of future proofing - I settled for a less than spectacular processor in order to get the machine built - now, I have a decent case and great video cards, so I need to upgrade the mobo, CPU and RAM....

But I am not doing mine for another 6 months or so....

 

[Brink]

BFG Tech makes some great factory OC'd graphics cards with a lifetime warantee.

The BFG 9600 GT OC that I have runs great and never had a problem with it.

 

[johngalt]

as does eVGA, my current fav company....

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello John.

Some would say this a good choice PC Power & Cooling 860 to 1200.
















Later Ted

 

[skunksmash]

these maybe worth a look, 6gb CL9 1.65v.......

or the a 3gb kit @ 2000mhz CL9 1.65v:eek::eek: (don't know much about Kingston reliability)

i hear for some unknown reason the i7 chips prefer this RAM voltage, don't know why

extreme i7 ...... nice!!!! D:D

 

[z3r010]

Just looking at HDD's atm, do you think an SSD is worth a try?

 

[skunksmash]

oh yes...... if you could get one small enough just to store an OS it wouldn't be the size of a suitcase, & then just grab a raptor for the media, that would be SUPER quick...

or have the SSD for the media & the raptor for the OS (but this way would be impractical due to the size needed) but either way it will have EXCELLENT response times...

SK

 

[z3r010]

Do you think I have missed anything?

1x BX80601965 - Intel i7 965 Extreme Edition, Socket 1366 (B), Nehalem, 3.2GHz, Cache 8MB, Retail - Scan.co.uk
1x Gigabyte GA-X58-Extreme, Intel X58, Sok 1366, PCI-E 2.0, DDR3 1066/1600/2000, SATA II, ATX - Scan.co.uk
2x TR3X6G1600C9 - 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3, PC3-12800 (1600MHz), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24 - Scan.co.uk
2x GX-260N-ADBF - 896MB XFX GTX 260 Black, PCI-E 2.0, 2300GHz GDDR3, GPU 666MHz, 216 Cores, 2xDL DVI-I/ HDTV + FarCry2 - Scan.co.uk
1x http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Antec-Skeleton-Performance-Chassis-(worlds-first-open-air-enclosures))
1x GE-MK20A-D1 - 1200W Gigabyte ODIN Pro V2 PSU SLi Quad, Cable managed, 80%+ Efficiency, 14cm Cooling Fan - Scan.co.uk
1x 128GB OCZ Technology, OCZSSD2-1C128G, 2.5", SATA 300, 143MB/s Read and 93MB/s Write speed SSD - Scan.co.uk

 

[skunksmash]

Do you think I have missed anything?

1x BX80601965 - Intel i7 965 Extreme Edition, Socket 1366 (B), Nehalem, 3.2GHz, Cache 8MB, Retail - Scan.co.uk
1x Gigabyte GA-X58-Extreme, Intel X58, Sok 1366, PCI-E 2.0, DDR3 1066/1600/2000, SATA II, ATX - Scan.co.uk
2x TR3X6G1600C9 - 6GB (3x2GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3, PC3-12800 (1600MHz), 240 Pin, Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-9-9-24 - Scan.co.uk
2x GX-260N-ADBF - 896MB XFX GTX 260 Black, PCI-E 2.0, 2300GHz GDDR3, GPU 666MHz, 216 Cores, 2xDL DVI-I/ HDTV + FarCry2 - Scan.co.uk
1x http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Antec-Skeleton-Performance-Chassis-(worlds-first-open-air-enclosures))
1x GE-MK20A-D1 - 1200W Gigabyte ODIN Pro V2 PSU SLi Quad, Cable managed, 80%+ Efficiency, 14cm Cooling Fan - Scan.co.uk
1x 128GB OCZ Technology, OCZSSD2-1C128G, 2.5", SATA 300, 143MB/s Read and 93MB/s Write speed SSD - Scan.co.uk

that is a MONSTER setup john..... i guess you have plenty of optical's lying around, that looks like a torture rack in there.....nice!!!!, crysis cruncher eat your heart out!! :eek::eek:

SK

 

[z3r010]

As long as Notepad++ and filezilla client run sweet, then I will be happy

 

[skunksmash]

As long as Notepad++ and filezilla client run sweet, then I will be happy

:eek::eek::eek: john you need to play FC2 before you get rid of those copy's....its beautiful!!! even if your not into the game just admire the visual splendor of ultra high settings with 4x AA

the framerates will go through the roof with that i7 965 & the black 260!!!!

 

[z3r010]

Well if my car comes back early enough from repair (heater packed up) tomorrow I will nip up to Scan and grab the bits :D

 

[skunksmash]

will THIS fit in that rack john...??

you probably wouldn't need to attach the fan just use the heat-sink, that 250mm will keep everything covered with cool air but the tower design of the TRUE heat-sink will dissipate better than the stock i7 cooler

SK

 

[z3r010]

Nope stock cooler hight is the limitation of that rack, but tbh stock is all I ever need.

Not happy.....both of my local shops (scan & aria) are out of decent ddr3


I do fancy some water cooling but i'm already £60 over the budget I set, so that might be my project for the new year.

 

[skunksmash]

...typical

do you use Novatech john..?? look 1 set left in stock... :D

mitch

 

[z3r010]

I need 2 sets and I prefer picking everything up from the shop at the same time so I'm not sat waiting on delivery for days.