My new build (updated 25/02).

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Mystical_Titan
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My new build (updated 25/02).

Post by Mystical_Titan »

So I've been threatening to do a nice "this is my build" post with pics and all, but that was three PCs ago already and I've never actually gotten around to doing it! So I've decided to open this thread now already and then just start posting pics once my new parts arrive, which will hopefully be in the next week or two. :D

Watch this space :!:

So I thought I'd start with the parts that will be carried over from my old system, since I don't know how long the new stuff will take.

Update 1

The first pics are the boring ones, the good stuff will come later on.

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My Corsair H100 is looking a wee bit on the dirty side, so I'll need to give the radiator a clean, but it still does the job. I wouldn't mind slapping the H110 in instead, but it'll have to wait for better days.

I've been using these CM fans until now and since I'll be able to use push/pull in the Cosmos II, I'll be ordering another two of them.

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The reason I started using them and not the stock H100 fans is because they are MUCH quieter (19 dBA compared to the 39 dBA of the stock fans), push out the same 90 CFM and have a funky red LED. I'll add some pics of them in action when everything is up and running.

The ammunition for my gaming power:

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I don't think I need to say too much about these babies.

That's it for now, more to follow!

Update 2

17 February - Okay peeps, the next update is finally here! :D

First up is my Asus Blu-Ray drive, carried over from my previous build, for all that HD goodness.

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Then we have the additional two CM fans, which would have been used for the H100 radiator, but that idea has since changed, more on that later.

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Here's the powerhouse PSU, the Corsair AX850. I think these PSUs pretty much speak for themselves by now.

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Here are some very SEXY individually sleeved white modular cables for the AX850. These are an official upgrade set sold by Corsair, they're about R 1,000 additionally. That's a lot of money for some people, but if you want a bit of extra spunk for your system, definitely worth it.

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Four cores of unlocked i5 goodness. Once my system is been up and running and everything is back to normal, I'll dabble a bit with overclocking. I considered the 3770k, but the additional premium wasn't worth the performance gain, since this system is primarily for gaming.

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Speaking of overclocking, I thought this manual was a nice addition to the box of the Z77A-GD65. The more experienced overclockers probably wouldn't use this, but still.

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This certificate is just for the bling factor, but I thought it added a nice touch.

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I've always thought that the Ramapge III Extreme is pretty much the best looking board ever made, but I must say, the GD65 is definitely not far behind.

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There's much cheaper RAM to be found out there, but better looking? Definitely not. The Dominator Platinum kits are very easy on the eye. This particular kit is 2 x 4 GB and runs at 2,400 MHz with CL10 timings.

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The parts I was most excited about getting, the OCZ Vectors! These babies have oodles of space, insane amounts of speed and are damn good-looking. They're also much heavier than my old F120s. They come with 3.5-inch adapters and each with a copy of Acronis True Image.

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And now for the BFC! (Big **** Case)

I can safely say I have NEVER seen this kind of warning on a case before!

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The beast slumbers...

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... and slowly awakens... (I'm happy that I managed to maneuver this behemoth without breaking my back)

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That's it again for now! I'll upload some pics of the putting together and some benchmarks during the week.

Update 3

25 February - Sorry guys, I just haven't gotten around to posting the rest of the pics, but here they are!

I removed the middle drive bays to provide better airflow, I'm using the bottom drive bays, as seen in the second pic.

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Trying to sort out the chaos of the cabling!

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At least the motherboard and the PSU are in. There's lots of space for a longer PSU.

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Z77A-GD65 + H100 + Cosmos II + 4 x 25mm fans = FAIL. The heatsink on the GD65 is too high for a 25mm fan to fit. Can you believe that?!

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I'm currently only using three fans, two in push/pull and one in pull. I'm once again using the stock H100 fans for the radiator and installed the extra 120mm fans on the side panel for extra GPU cooling.

And... THIS is what I like to call a 'cabling of crap'. I could even close the side panel!

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Luckily I managed to re-arrange the cabling to at least be able to close the side panel without force. Or rather, too much force.

And... (drum roll please)... this is the final result. Looks VERY sleek and sexy, if I say so myself. Sorry about the lighting in the photo though.

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I will run and add some benchmarks here during the week as well.

Update 4 - Benchmarks

All benchmarks were run at stock CPU and GPU settings and the RAM running its XMP profile of 2,400 MHz, CL10.

Here are the first benchmarks:

3D Mark Vantage, Performance preset

3D Mark 11, Performance preset

3D Mark 11, Extreme preset

3D Mark Ice Storm

3D Mark Cloud Gate

3D Mark Fire Strike
Last edited by Mystical_Titan on 27 Feb 2013, 16:23, edited 7 times in total.
Monty
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Re: My new build.

Post by Monty »

Tease alert!

At least tell us some specs!
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Re: My new build.

Post by StarBound »

People who don't share specs are ashamed of their systems...
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Mystical_Titan
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Re: My new build.

Post by Mystical_Titan »

Ha, ha! Maybe I don't want you guys to hate me out of jealousy. :P

Okay, as follows (some parts are new, some are current):

Intel Core i5 3570k
msi Z77A-GD65
2 x 4 GB Dominator Platinum @ 2,400 MHz
2 x msi GTX 660 Ti Power Edition
2 x 256 GB OCZ Vector in RAiD 0
2 x 1 TB Caviar Black
Corsair H100
Corsair AX850 with white modular cables
Asus Blu-ray

Everything housed in a CM Cosmos II.
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Re: My new build.

Post by KALSTER »

Very nice indeed. Proud of those Vectors are you? :P
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Intel i5 2500; AsRock Z77 Extreme 4; Asus GTX580; 4x 2GB DDR3 1333; Intel 520 240GB SSD + 2x WD 3TB + 2TB Samsung; Samsung 22X DVD/RW; 23" LG W2343T-PF; Huntkey 700W
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Re: My new build.

Post by StarBound »

Meh its not intel SSDs :P

Raid 0 is write to half and write to the other half speeding up your write speed to about 12Gbs? Can those SSDs config in that array without loosing TRIM?
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Mystical_Titan
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Re: My new build.

Post by Mystical_Titan »

No, it's not Intel and that's because right now this is THE SSD, bar none. According to reviews, it does support TRiM in RAiD 0.
Monty
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Re: My new build.

Post by Monty »

Mystical_Titan wrote:No, it's not Intel and that's because right now this is THE SSD, bar none. According to reviews, it does support TRiM in RAiD 0.
Exactly the reason I picked one up.
And.
It. is. FAST!
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Re: My new build.

Post by StarBound »

Deep virus scans in 30 seconds? :D

Kinda wish there was more things to try SSD speeds on.
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Re: My new build (first pics).

Post by Mystical_Titan »

First pics added.
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Re: My new build (first pics).

Post by StarBound »

Starting to drool over here.
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Mystical_Titan
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Re: My new build (first pics).

Post by Mystical_Titan »

Hey everyone, just a quick update: The majority of my parts are waiting at the supplier, but the motherboard is only here next week and I can only fetch everything when it's been invoiced, so be patient, the pics will start coming then!
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Re: My new build (first pics).

Post by StarBound »

Pic of the supplier or he isn't real :mrgreen:
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Mystical_Titan
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Re: My new build (first pics).

Post by Mystical_Titan »

Who cares?! As long as the parts are real! :P
Mystical_Titan
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Re: My new build (first pics).

Post by Mystical_Titan »

Update finally added! :P
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Re: My new build (updated 17/02).

Post by StarBound »

I bought my Rampage 4 Extreme on the premise that I would be overclocking. However the overclockers showed me that my gaming gain was a lost cause and the cpu already so powerful that going further would yield no gain for me except that of my power consumption and power bill.

Have to say that case looks awesome. The RAM looks lovely. So is everything assembled yet? Give us some numbers dammit!
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I lived the dream ...then my PC died.
Monty
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Re: My new build (updated 17/02).

Post by Monty »

The weight of the vector drives is impressive. It makes them feel much more solid.


That is a sexy board, but the red of the maximus v formula still takes my vote.

And overclocking the i5-3570k is easy. I'm running mine at 4.5ghz, it works beautifully. (but can get a little toasty under full load for extended periods - even with the Thermalright Silver Arrow sb-e extreme)
Art Williams wrote:I'm not telling you it is going to be easy, I'm telling you it's going to be worth it.
Mystical_Titan
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Re: My new build (updated 17/02).

Post by Mystical_Titan »

I'll post some assembly pics later in the week and then some benchmarks towards the end of the week. Patience!
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Re: My new build (updated 17/02).

Post by StarBound »

I'm more jealous at you having the smell of fresh new hardware than the actual hardware. But anything new is exciting.
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Mystical_Titan
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Re: My new build (updated 25/02).

Post by Mystical_Titan »

Updated.
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Re: My new build (updated 25/02).

Post by StarBound »

/jelly

Looks very organized.
My Steam Screenshots

I lived the dream ...then my PC died.
Mystical_Titan
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Re: My new build (updated 25/02).

Post by Mystical_Titan »

First benchmarks added.
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