Finally got a new PC!

• Mystickskye wrote on 2011-07-24 05:54
  I was running my old presario lappy for years now. 1.6GHz single core, 512MB of RAM, integrated graphics... it was getting to be a chore (lagging everywhere, load times for mabi measured in minutes) so I finally saved up some dosh and got a new system.
  
  CPU: Intel i5 2500k (the 2600k is better but I'm not gonna pay an extra 50% for such a tiny increase in performance)
  GPU: XFX Radeon 6950 2GB (planning on multiple monitor gaming in the future)
  Mobo: Gigabyte p67x-UD3 (I kinda cheaped out here but eh)
  PSU: Corsair HX750 (for crossfire in future <3)
  RAM: Corsair Vengeance 4GB
  HD: WD Caviar Black 2TB (second series)
  Case: Lancool K-62 Dragonlord
  Monitor: Viewsonic va2448m (no HDMI input is a bit eh but I'll live)
  Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech Wireless Combo MK520 (despite claims that such a set is "useless for gaming" I'm doing perfectly fine with it)
  
  Looking at grabbing an aftermarket CPU cooler so I can OC the crap out of the cpu (I can get it stable at 4.2GHz on the stock fan but 100% load means insane temps even though stable) and an SSD to make crap load even faster. Possibly get better RAM imported from the states (I live in NZ!) with CL8 or even CL7 if it's cheap enough. Need to get a webcam for Skype and crap.
  
  It works well to date even if it does get a bit warm at times. I can max Vindi and still get over 60fps (well, not when I'm using Ice Blast and having crap fly everywhere lol). At one point I ran two browsers with multiple tabs, played an HD video, got a playlist going in winamp, ran Mabi (max settings), Eden Eternal (max settings) and had a drive recovery program (my cheap and crappy WD external died) and they all ran without a hitch so I'm pleased.
  
  Pics and such to come.
  
  P.S. If it's not against forum rules, help me win a water cooling setup! A local hardware company is having a contest where you post your setup and the most "likes" wins a whole bunch of water cooling gear. You have to like their page to like the content but please help me out!
• Akemii wrote on 2011-07-24 05:56
  Luckyyy.
  
  I'm currently working my ass off and saving money to buy myself a new computer. Planning on building it myself :D
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-07-24 06:01
  the cat thought crossfire with 2 6950s is like 850W.
  with overclock
• Akemii wrote on 2011-07-24 06:03

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;525031:

  the cat thought crossfire with 2 6950s is like 850W.
  with overclock

  
  
  Cat, I'm getting on Steam right now. You are teaching me. Now.
• Halfslashed wrote on 2011-07-24 06:07
  Nice build, me and the rest of the PC gaming community agree on your CPU decision. And your motherboard is of great quality, not crappy because you didn't pay much for it. All in all, nice build :D
• BobYoMeowMeow wrote on 2011-07-24 06:09
  despite how basic newegg's calculator is...
  http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
  you need more than 750W.
• Halfslashed wrote on 2011-07-24 06:12
  6950 = 5870, and if i recall correctly, Two OC'd 5870's ran on 750W.
• Mystickskye wrote on 2011-07-24 06:15

  Quote from BobYoMeowMeow;525043:

  despite how basic newegg's calculator is...
  http://educations.newegg.com/tool/psucalc/index.html
  you need more than 750W.

  Realworld applications show that 750w is plenty. In furmark the total system draw for a pair of 6950s is around 510W (even the 6970s in crossfire have a total system draw of 600W or so).Max TDP for 6950 is 200W and even with OCing you're not going to go that much higher per card (in fact in a lot of applications it tends to use less power). 2500k's TDP is around 125, even assuming full load that's still only around 525W. That's still at least 225W for other devices and over clocking.
  
  This is ignoring that the HX750 can actually pull 900W of power and still qualify for 80+ certification. It's just not at the "Gold level" that Ecos Consulting gave it by that point.

  Quote from Halfslashed;525038:

  Nice build, me and the rest of the PC gaming community agree on your CPU decision. And your motherboard is of great quality, not crappy because you didn't pay much for it. All in all, nice build :D

  I said I cheaped out, I didn't say it was crappy :p
• Shirayuki wrote on 2011-07-24 06:17
  Crossfire 6950's use around 510~600 watts of power(entire comp under load).
  
  750w is more than enough.
• Mystickskye wrote on 2011-07-26 17:56
  I (finally) bring pics! Unfortunately I've hit my bandwidth cap and my speed has been throttled so you can poorly optimised pics at 640x480.
  

  [Image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YMmOSAvWgv8/Ti7NBhudM-I/AAAAAAAAAKg/taeou2F3x7o/partsa.jpg]

  
  

  [Image: https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-wyUa1b3QJoA/Ti7NGu2MfCI/AAAAAAAAAKo/1uB5kV-azlU/partsb.jpg]

  
  Images brought to you by google+ because I'm lazy like that.
  
  

  [Image: https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-WYjhKE6S3BM/Ti7NZc8wShI/AAAAAAAAALM/HsWaE2OUIw0/partsk.jpg]

  
  Attack of the bad flash! It's that or the super grainy version because I suck at photography like that. I'm rather fond of the Dragonlord. Seems rather plain but the minimalistic slant really grew on me. As I told Juju it was a hard choice between this and some other, flashier cases but in the end I went with this.
  
  

  [Image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5yOaFaCHcIs/Ti7Na79WEpI/AAAAAAAAALQ/WJSgArKU9Rk/partsl.jpg]

  
  More bad flash, more bad alternative. The corsair PSU comes with this rather large pouch filled with all the connectors and it holds them all with room to spare. I'm actually using it to store all my spare connectors. As an aside, not only was there this pouch for the connectors, the PSU itself actually comes in a black velvet bag with the corsair branding on it. A funky addition but most people would prefer that money be spent elsewhere (well, this is their [S]gold[/S]silver rated PSU).
  
  

  [Image: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-DvMcMeYam9Q/Ti7NhqkrdhI/AAAAAAAAALY/PoqbgaBQEQ8/partsm.jpg]

  
  It comes with a whole mess of connectors. Along with the mobo cables, there's four PCI-E 6+2 connectors (SLI/crossfire ready!), 12 SATA connectors (not all on separate cables but still), 8 molex and 2 floppy. The entire set also comes with a corsair case badge but I seem to have lost that @@
  
  

  [Image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-nr46BuGK-yE/Ti7NnF62j-I/AAAAAAAAALk/RuTWrvGFn28/partso.jpg]

  
  My laptop and my monitor, possibly worst photo of the lot. This photo doesn't do my monitor justice at all (and not just cause of the terrible photography). The laptop is a presario x1000 and actually has a reasonable screen at 15.4 inches. The monitor however is a viewsonic va2448m and is a whopping 24 inches. In person it completely dwarfs my laptop and I actually have trouble fitting it on my desk. Goes up to 1080p, it's a pity that it doesn't have an HDMI input (DVI and VGA only) and you can't adjust the screen through the stand but it's a fantastic cheaper alternative.
  
  

  [Image: https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9OZk6T31srs/Ti7Nh00g3TI/AAAAAAAAALc/egnC8CCT-Qo/partsn1.jpg]

  
  Jumping straight ahead to the completed build... what many people have noticed to be missing before is glaringly obvious now. The graphics card! An oversight on my part meant I ordered a motherboard incapable of supporting the integrated graphics of the the i5 as well! Disaster!
  
  Also notice my amateurish attempt at cable management :p Along with other issues, this was rectified! More photos to come later, it's 4am and I feel like a zombie.
• Osayidan wrote on 2011-07-26 18:55
  RAM tip for the future: If you're going with a low amount that can fit in 1 stick, try to split it into 2 sticks instead. Ignoring the dual/tripple channel thing, having multiple sticks means if one dies you can still run the machine while getting the other replaced.
• BizarreJuju wrote on 2011-07-27 00:30
  Wasnt it exciting after getting all the parts and building your new comp? I sure was XD
  Love the black tower and the space (I need to rearrange my cables and wire, soo messy o3o)
  
  Very nice build and Grats! We can be one big community with new comps 8D
• Mystickskye wrote on 2011-07-27 00:38
  Yeah, I was acting like a little kid at Christmas when the parcel arrived XD I said I was gonna get the graphics card later (so friggin expensive here in NZ QQ) and forgot to check for onboard support derp.
  
  It was heaps of fun building the system though. The dragonlord is actually a tool-less build so it was fairly interesting in that regard (no screwdrivers! Not one!). Seeing how it all went together and connecting all the bits and pieces was great 8D
  
  @Osa; it's not really a concern of mine.
• Yoorah wrote on 2011-07-27 00:46
  Modular PSU. Good stuff. :3
  I dunno what I'd do if mine wasn't modular. @_@
  Cable horrors.
  
  I'm not a fan of "gamer" cases with windows. :<
  I prefer professional styling like the Antec P183. Currently I'm considering between the P183, the Define R3, and a few other quiet-optimized cases. x(
• Osayidan wrote on 2011-07-27 00:59
  P183 is good but be careful of large graphic cards. Couldn't fit GTX570's in them, had to get P193.
  
  P183
  

  [Image: http://i.imgur.com/otxbv.png]

  
  
  P193
  

  [Image: http://i.imgur.com/6jkLn.png]

  
  
  Pretty much the same design except the 193 is much longer, but because of that hard drive area on the P183 (even if you don't put hard drives in) it gets annoying even with the smaller (in comparison to the biggest) cards. You can take off that hard drive cage but to me that's like cutting off the roof of a car if you're too tall instead of getting a larger car.