Last minute consideration

S

Scottd

Member
hi, my computer is currently in pre-production awating the fan controller and i have had a last minute thought as to the spec which i have chosen. the spec that is currently selected is

Case COOLERMASTER HAF 932 FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600k Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
2GB AMD RADEON™ HD6970 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£42)
2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive NONE
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 1050W PRO SERIES™ HX1050-80 PLUS® SILVER MODULAR (£159)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Fan Controller
NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller with upto 5 Fitted Case Fans
Sound Card
Asus Xonar DG 5.1 SoundCard & Headphone AMP *Award Winner* £20
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
NORTON ANTI-VIRUS 2011 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£14)
Surge Protection
6 Socket Compact 2M UFO Surge Protector (£9)
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Delivery PCS EXTRA-CARE DIAMOND DELIVERY - MON-FRI, PRE-NOON (£9)
Build Time Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Charity Calendar NONE
Pricing Information

Total Order Price £1,654.00
the alternative spec i am considering is as follows:
Case
COOLERMASTER HAF 932 FULL TOWER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2700k Quad Core (3.50GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1.5GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 580 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£44)
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)
Fan Controller
NZXT Sentry 2 Fan Controller with upto 5 Fitted Case Fans
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps PCI-E CARD (£16)
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
FREE Microsoft® Office Starter 2010 (Limited functionality Word & Excel)
Anti-Virus
NORTON ANTI-VIRUS 2012 - 1 Year Licence for 1 PC (£14)
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£69)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,718.00 including VAT and delivery.
I am not sure how much better this alternative set-up would be when compared to the original. Does anyone have any idea as to wheter the little extra cost is worth it?
Any advice is greatly appreciated
thanks
Scott
 
adahil

adahil

Gold Level Poster
Wouldn't have said the k version of the CPU is necessary unless you are going to overclock, if you wanted to save a few quid?
 
S

Scottd

Member
I would like to have a go at overclocking in the future. I am unsure however if the selected cooler provide enough cooling to overclock, will it? i wouldnt be going for a crazy clock just a decent amount.
Thanks for the rapid response
 
Rakk

Rakk

The Awesome
Moderator
To be honest it depends on what you're going to be using it for, your first spec has a slightly lesser CPU than the second spec and it also has a sound card whereas the second doesn't, if there are other changes, I missed them.

If you are just doing stuff like gaming there wont be that much difference between the two CPU's, if you are doing heavily CPU intensive stuff then yes its probably worth thinking about the better specced one.

Whether or not you need/want a sound card also depends on your usage and whether you have a good ear for sound or not :)
 
adahil

adahil

Gold Level Poster
I won't pretend I am an expert because I'm not, but from what I've picked up on here.....

I'd get the Titan Fenrir if you are definately going to OC your system. If you aren't, I would drop the k version of the CPU and get the Triple Copper Heatpipe cooler like in your specs.

I have the triple copper cooler in my system. Granted I'm not doing much CPU intensive at the moment but its running like a fridge!

Hope thats helpful? :)
 
S

Scottd

Member
well i think i would probably drop from the 2700k to the 2600k and add a sound card to the second spec if i were to change is there much difference between the two gpu's? and would the 850w be plenty to handle sli 580's and is there much difference between the psu's? also is the 3gb 580 any better or is the only difference going to be noticed on multiple monitors?
Thanks for the advice guys
 
MadMan

MadMan

Super Star
For a single monitor setup the 1.5gb gtx 580 would be sufficient. The gtx 580 is a worthy upgrade as its better than the 6970 but theres no need in upgrading the cpu. I wouldn't bother with overclocking but if you do then you need at least the titan cooler as said by adahil.
 
S

Scottd

Member
According to the configurator the 850w would be fine, although the modular would offer a much neater build. checked the linked site, and looking at the results for the xfire 6970's vs sli 580's ( as i plan to buy another gpu in the future) the 580 doesnt seem to offer that great a performance improvement, well atleast not enough to justify the difference in price (£260 vs £350) thanks for all the help guys. think i will just stick with the original spec and may buy either another 6970 in the future or might just go 'balls out' and buy a 590 or something.
Thanks for the advice + rep
 
adahil

adahil

Gold Level Poster
Haha no worries mate, that link is only a guide, but a pretty decent one I think. Your call regarding whether the differences are worth the cost.

Let us see some pics of your rig when you get it, whatever it may be! :)
 
S

Scottd

Member
yeah will do :) Wasnt to sure on the case as originally i wanted the inwin dragonrider but the configurated said the mobo was too big :( picked the 932 over the haf x as the haf x is absolutely massive and wont fit under my desk. Ive been checking the build progress everyday for the last 18 days in anticipation lol. its still pre-production waiting on the fan controller, was tempted to remove the controller just to get it quicker although i do want it just for the 'coolness' factor that it adds (sad i know) ive been frantically buy peripherals in hope that it would be here soon. (just got my rat 9 which is proving to be excellent even using it with my laptop) not sure as to which monitor to get yet though. i allready have a 27.5" hanns G 1920x1200 monitor which is great but too big for a desk. so will be hunting for a 24". any ideas of good ones? ive heard the illyamma ones are pretty good
Thanks
Scott
 
adahil

adahil

Gold Level Poster
Hahaha I know that feeling!! Was torture but mine got to me in good time, and you will be pleased you hung on for the fan controller when you get it :p

Not too good on monitors, but I will say that Illyamma ones get great reviews on these forums. Not heard a negative one yet and PCS will give you a good price and excellent customer service! :)
 
M

MuayJudo

Member
Scottd said:
yeah will do :) Wasnt to sure on the case as originally i wanted the inwin dragonrider but the configurated said the mobo was too big :( picked the 932 over the haf x as the haf x is absolutely massive and wont fit under my desk. Ive been checking the build progress everyday for the last 18 days in anticipation lol. its still pre-production waiting on the fan controller, was tempted to remove the controller just to get it quicker although i do want it just for the 'coolness' factor that it adds (sad i know) ive been frantically buy peripherals in hope that it would be here soon. (just got my rat 9 which is proving to be excellent even using it with my laptop) not sure as to which monitor to get yet though. i allready have a 27.5" hanns G 1920x1200 monitor which is great but too big for a desk. so will be hunting for a 24". any ideas of good ones? ive heard the illyamma ones are pretty good
Thanks
Scott
Click to expand...

That's weird the mobo was too big. Mines in pre production now with the dragon rider case and same mobo. It didnt tell me it was too big.
 
adahil

adahil

Gold Level Poster
TheKeir said:
There is no need for a sound card, since onboard sound is already very high quality.
Click to expand...

I will vouch for this.....plugged my 5.1 Logitech into the mobo and was astounded at the increase in sound quality from my laptop. I doubt it could improve much without an expensive sound card!
 
S

Scottd

Member
ok, so just got an e-mail saying that the fan controller will be another week, so im just gonna take it off and then buy a double slot one and fit it myself. as for the sound card i will miss this out aswell and i will se if this reduces the cost sufficiently to add a 580 or even a 7970 if the price aint too bad. As for the case, the black dragon rider said that only the fan controller wouldnt fit but the mobo would, thus i assume i wont be able to fit a fan controller. Whereas the white dragon rider said that the mobo was too big... dont know how painting it a different colour makes a difference tbh.
thanks for all the advice again guy you are a great help
thanks scott
 
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