New High-End Build

[daw123]

Hi guys and girls,

I'm looking to re-build a high end PC (I dropped my QX9770 on the floor by mistake and killed it in the New Year), using the following components:
CPU: I7 950
MB: GA-EX58-UD5
RAM: Corsair XMS3 12GB (6x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz DIMMs 9-9-9-24
TV Card: Hauppauge WinTV HVR-900 TV Card with remote control

I will be purchasing the above in the next 1-2 weeks (I think the I7 950 is due in stock on 21/4/09).

The CPU is about £500, the MB is £210 and the RAM is £190 including V.A.T. but excluding shipping. Including shipping and the TV card, I'm expecting to spend about £1,000.00.

I already have a Powercolor HD4870 X2 GPU, Antec Truepower Quattro 1000W PSU, Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme PCI-E sound card, and modded Lian li A70A case. Oh and I just bought this today.

I'm also looking to buy in the next month or so the following:
OCZ Vertex Series 60GB Solid State Hard drive
And another HD4870 X2 for crossfire (please recommend brands). These two should cost about £500 total, I think.

Oh and I've already got a liquid cooling loop for the CPU (MCR320, MCP355, XSPC top and res, and EK Supreme). I will buy the EK 1366 mouting plate and back plate as well.

Do you guys have any other suggestions for alternative components, excluding the CPU (I've got my mind set on a 950 )?

To answer Blain's stickie:
1. The PC will be used for video encoding, web, games, e-mail, word processing, etc.
2. Budget: £1,000.00 for phase 1 and £500 for phase 2 as detailed above. Any costs quoted must include V.A.T.at 15.0% (it makes a hell of a difference to the cost).
3. I live in the UK
4. Must be an Intel CPU and would prefer non-Asus or OCZ (exc. SSD of course) MB / RAM.
5. See above.
6. Been there done that. Want some advice on MB and RAM (equivalent specs and similar cost)
7. Yes, I plan to overclock that sucker.
8. CPU, MB and RAM will be purchased in the next 1-2 weeks, and everything else will be in a month or so.

Thanks for your time in reading this and any advice / recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

daw123

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

Originally posted by: daw123
Hi guys and girls,

I'm looking to re-build a high end PC (I dropped my QX9770 on the floor by mistake and killed it in the New Year), using the following components:
CPU: I7 950
MB: GA-EX58-UD5
RAM: Corsair XMS3 12GB (6x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz DIMMs 9-9-9-24
TV Card: Hauppauge WinTV HVR-900 TV Card with remote control

I will be purchasing the above in the next 1-2 weeks (I think the I7 950 is due in stock on 21/4/09).

The CPU is about £500, the MB is £210 and the RAM is £190 including V.A.T. but excluding shipping. Including shipping and the TV card, I'm expecting to spend about £1,000.00.

I already have a Powercolor HD4870 X2 GPU, Antec Truepower Quattro 1000W PSU, Soundblaster X-Fi Extreme PCI-E sound card, and modded Lian li A70A case. Oh and I just bought this today.

I'm also looking to buy in the next month or so the following:
OCZ Vertex Series 60GB Solid State Hard drive
And another HD4870 X2 for crossfire (please recommend brands). These two should cost about £450 total, I think.

Oh and I've already got a liquid cooling loop for the CPU (MCR320, MCP355, XSPC top and res, and EK Supreme). I will buy the EK 1366 mouting plate and back plate">http://www.candccentral.co.uk/...s_And_Accessories.html</a> as well.

Do you guys have any other suggestions for alternative components, excluding the CPU (I've got my mind set on a 950 )?

To answer Blain's stickie:
1. The PC will be used for video encoding, web, games, e-mail, word processing, etc.
2. Budget: £1,000.00 for phase 1 and £500 for phase 2 as detailed above. Any costs quoted must include V.A.T.at 15.0% (it makes a hell of a difference to the cost).
3. I live in the UK
4. Must be an Intel CPU and would prefer non-Asus or OCZ (exc. SSD of course) MB / RAM.
5. See above.
6. Been there done that. Want some advice on MB and RAM (equivalent specs and similar cost)
7. Yes, I plan to overclock that sucker.
8. CPU, MB and RAM will be purchased in the next 1-2 weeks, and everything else will be in a month or so.

Thanks for your time in reading this and any advice / recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

daw123

The UD5 squeal very loudly. I used to have one, RMA'd it and it still squealed. Many other users had the same problem as well. Google "UD5 squeal".

 

[daw123]

It seems that the MB squeel is quite a common problem, although I can live with it provided it isn't life threatening to the MB, or anything else (CPU, PSU, etc.).

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Haha, thats funny, I was just here reading your build and seen you post a reply to check your "New High-End Build" I tell ya, it feels like i have a new rig just with swapping out the MIIF board for the UD3R, EK Lt, & new config to the inlet and outlet tubes

The more and more I think about these X58 boards and then actually reading there is not a big difference in performance between the first round EVGA board and the Classified board I'm believing that there isn't much difference in performance; in contrast to the difference between my MIIF board and the UD3 series boards. If that's not helping, i'll just shut up, hehe

subscribed

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Haha, thats funny, I was just here reading your build and seen you post a reply to check your "New High-End Build" I tell ya, it feels like i have a new rig just with swapping out the MIIF board for the UD3R, EK Lt, & new config to the inlet and outlet tubes

The more and more I think about these X58 boards and then actually reading there is not a big difference in performance between the first round EVGA board and the Classified board I'm believing that there isn't much difference in performance; in contrast to the difference between my MIIF board and the UD3 series boards. If that's not helping, i'll just shut up, hehe

subscribed

I've thought about asking Aigo about the stuff that he no longer uses. He goes through so many high end components that building a rig with his cast-offs would still be more high end than what I'm building above.

 

[WaitingForNehalem]

No, I really don't think you'll be able to stand it. It gets LOUD. I strongly suggest another board.

 

[daw123]

****Holy resurrected thread, Batman****

I've decided on the following:
CPU: I7 950
MB: GA-EX58-Exteme
RAM: Corsair XMS3 12GB (6x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz DIMMs 9-9-9-24
TV Card: Hauppauge WinTV HVR-900 TV Card with remote control

For an extra £20 over the UD5, I thought getting the Extreme would be a no-brainer, since the NB gets superior air-cooling and I can liquid cool the NB at a later date using the supplied copper waterblock (yes the block is defintely copper; I've checked).

With regard to the GA-EX58-### series squeeling problem, I'm willing to take the gamble. It seems from what I've read on the 'Net, that the BIOS revision used, determines whether the boards squeels or not. I will give it go and try varuious BIOS revisions if neccesary.

Some argue that the NB doesn't get that hot since the I7 has an IMC, but I will wait and see. I would rather have a large air coller and not need it than not have the air cooler and find that I need it.

You've got to remember that sorting out problems and tinkering with the S/W and BIOS is part of the fun of building and running a custom-built PC. And by custom I mean that no one else in the world has an identical set up to me; same MB, CPU, RAM, PCI cards, HDDs, modded case, liquid cooling loop, etc. in exactly the same configuration.

I will have to check my bank account, but I may also purchase a 60GB OCZ Vertex SDD at the same time as the above.

My only problem now, is that I'm waiting for the I7 950 to be released.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Fu*kin awesome! That's going to be a sweet setup daw!

Please post some build pics

Thanks,

529th

 

[bipartisanpwnage]

If I were you I would go ahead and save $200 by getting a d0 stepping i7 920. Most of them seem to be hitting 4GHz.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Originally posted by: bipartisanpwnage
If I were you I would go ahead and save $200 by getting a d0 stepping i7 920. Most of them seem to be hitting 4GHz.

daw, this might be a good idea. then again I do like the simple pleasure of using the numbers 9650 when referencing something of mine either way you'll get whats best

 

[daw123]

I will definitely post some pics when its completed.

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN

Originally posted by: bipartisanpwnage
If I were you I would go ahead and save $200 by getting a d0 stepping i7 920. Most of them seem to be hitting 4GHz.

daw, this might be a good idea. then again I do like the simple pleasure of using the numbers 9650 when referencing something of mine either way you'll get whats best

Problem is that I'm hoping to get over 4.0GHz (4.4GHz range) and the only chance that I have of achieving that is the 950. I'm crossing my fingers that I get a cherry chip.

I can't justify getting a 965 or 975 because that would cost me another £400 over the 950.

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: daw123
****Holy resurrected thread, Batman****

I've decided on the following:
CPU: I7 950
MB: GA-EX58-Exteme
RAM: Corsair XMS3 12GB (6x2GB) DDR3 1600MHz DIMMs 9-9-9-24
TV Card: Hauppauge WinTV HVR-900 TV Card with remote control

Bought the TV card today and this USB hub.

I'll update this thread as I buy the components.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'm kinda interested in seeing how that TV card woks.

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
I'm kinda interested in seeing how that TV card woks.

The HVR-900 TV stick replaced my Hauppauge WinTV Primio PCI TV/Teletext/Radio Card, which I've owned for about 10 years.

Initial thoughts on the HVR-900:
1. USB TV stick with an included USB extension cable. You need to use the extension cable if you are plugging it into a desktop PC because the phyiscal size of the stick means that it will block most of the other USB slots.
2. It has both Freeview digital TV and analogue TV tuners. It seems to be able to do other countires as well (I noticed NTSC as an option in the channel suite)
3. Comes with an IR remote control (only available on some models)
4. Comes with a mini-USB adapter which plugs in to the mini-USB socket on the stick. The adapter has an S-video and left and right phono sockets, which I'm using for my DVD player (instead of using a Scart cable to my VCR). This seems to work OK, although please refer to my second comment under the 'Cons' heading.
5. Stick comes with a coaxial TV aerial socket.
6. Hauppauge include a small internal aerial (I haven't tried this yet to see how good it is)
7. Stick has an in-built IR sensor for the remote control, which works well.
8. Included drivers seem to work pretty well on XP 32 bit. Not sure how well they will work on Win 7 on my new rig. Note: Drivers were a big problem on my old card - the Hauppauge drivers were very hit and miss; kind of like Soundblasters (BTRY )

Cons:
1. It's slow changing channels (compared to my older TV card). You click a different channel and you wait a couple of seconds for it to catch up and change the channel. I think this may have something to do wih it having a USB interface. My old PCI card did not have this issue.
2. It does not seem to like having composite channels (for my DVD player) and normal analogue channels on the same channel suite. i.e. If you change channel from analogue to composite it goes a bit weird and you have to close and re-open the WinTV application.
3. You need a decent aerial to pick up the digital channels. Since I'm using an internal TV aerial, I don't have a good enough signal to pick up all the digital TV channels. I already knew this would be an issue, so I don't mind. I can live with analogue TV for the time-being. Be warned though that if you are expecting to get digital TV on your laptop using an internal TV aerial then you won't. The digital TV receiver needs a decent external aerial to get a good signal strength. This really isn't a con as such, since you need good signal strength any way to receive digital TV.

Pros:
1. You get an awful lot for your money; it cost me £50 inc. V.A.T.
2. Hauppauge have thought of everything. Despite it being a physically small USB stick (compared to my old TV card, which has less features), it has nearly all the same connections as the PCI version, which I previously had.
3. Having analogue and digital tuners on the same stick is a big plus.
4. It came with an IR remote control (another big plus for me since I'm lazy). You have to be very careful, because most of the HVR-900's do not come with a remote control.
5. If it is anything like my old TV card, then it will be best thing I've bought for my computer in years.
6. I get a pretty decent picture on the analogue TV channels, despite using an internal TV aerial.

<I WOULD RECOMMEND THE HVR-900 TV STICK TO SOME ONE ELSE. YOU MUST CHECK FOR COMPATABILITY IN YOU COUNTRY FIRST.

Note: Once my new rig is working, I'll will put the old TV card back in this PC for my mum to use.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I've been entertaining the thought on and off the past 9 months... I have really no reference to make any opinions on a TV tuner card but I think once I unload this mobo and cpu to my brother and i have my 24/7 quad and new mobo (possibly UD3P) i'll have to look at what interface i'd like to go with. I do believe its probably the usb connection slowing things down. Funny, the big hype about USB was how it was faster than pci etc and in every way ive used it, it's slower (another bullshit marketing scheme) I'm like you, I just want to stay out of the TV/family room as to not argue about what station to watch so the PC is the best next option.

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
I've been entertaining the thought on and off the past 9 months... I have really no reference to make any opinions on a TV tuner card but I think once I unload this mobo and cpu to my brother and i have my 24/7 quad and new mobo (possibly UD3P) i'll have to look at what interface i'd like to go with. I do believe its probably the usb connection slowing things down. Funny, the big hype about USB was how it was faster than pci etc and in every way ive used it, it's slower (another bullshit marketing scheme) I'm like you, I just want to stay out of the TV/family room as to not argue about what station to watch so the PC is the best next option.

Yep, you are right that although USB is a very useful and easy interface, it doesn't seem to live up to the speeds that you get using PCI / PCI-E interfaces. Unfortunately MBs these days don't give you that many PCI / PCI-E slots (and using dual slot cards, means you cover other slots).

I've had no choice but to go with USB interfaces for my wireless adapter and TV tuner since the GA-EX58-Extreme (and this is one of the better X58 boards for the number and variety of PCI / PCI-E slots you get) has the following:

Top of board (as seen if mounted in case) with my cards fitted.
PCI Express x1 -> physically covered by NB air cooler
PCI Express x4 -> physically covered by NB air cooler
PCI Express 2.0 x16 -> HD4870 X2
PCI -> physically covered by dual slot HD4870 X2
PCI Express 2.0 x16 -> HD4870 X2 (to be purchased)
PCI -> physically covered by dual slot HD4870 X2 (to be purchased)
PCI Express 2.0 x16 ( x8 mode ) -> PCI-E x1 Soundblaster X-Fi Xtreme Audio sound card

So I've got 7 slots available to me and 4 of them are going to be physically covered by something else. Hence, I've got no option but to use USB peripherals. This must be the same for a lot of other people.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Argh, that always is one of the first things i look at when choosing a mobo.

have you thought about the Killer NIC card? it looks interesting

 

[daw123]

Originally posted by: BTRY B 529th FA BN
Argh, that always is one of the first things i look at when choosing a mobo.

have you thought about the Killer NIC card? it looks interesting

I wouldn't be able to because it uses a PCI interface.

I did read the blurb though and it's an interesting concept.

 

[daw123]

Hello guys and girls,

An update on my build for those of you that are interested. I have placed the orders for the following items:

www.candccentral.co.uk
EK Supreme LGA1366 mounting plate: http://www.candccentral.co.uk/...s_And_Accessories.html
LGA1366 Metal water block back plate: http://www.candccentral.co.uk/...s_And_Accessories.html
Cost inc. shipping and VAT is £11.20

www.chilledpc.co.uk
1/4" Inline Temperature Sensor (T): http://www.chilledpc.co.uk/sho...72_164&products_id=437 (I already have two barbs for this)
Cost inc. shipping and VAT is £12.17

www.ballicom.com
60GB OCZ Vertex SDD: http://www.ballicom.co.uk/not-...-ssd-60gb.p434297.html
Adapter Kit to Mount 2.5? HDD in 3.5? Bay: http://www.ballicom.co.uk/hard...in-35-bay.p286588.html
Metal 5.25? to 3.5? Drive Adapter Bracket: http://www.ballicom.co.uk/hard...r-bracket.p286587.html
Cost inc. shipping and VAT is £201.25

www.ebuyer.com
Seagate ST31500341AS 1.5TB Hard Drive SATAII 7200rpm 32MB Cache: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/149459
6x2GB Corsair DDR3 1600MHz XMS3 Triple Channel i7 Memory Kit CL9 1.6V: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164760
Gigabyte GA-EX58-EXTREME: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152235
Cost inc. shipping and VAT is £534.94

Total cost inc. shipping and VAT is £759.56

I've still got the I7 950 to buy, which I will do once its released in a couple of weeks time (release date is 31/5/09 according to Intel).

I know I can get the CPU for under £500.00 inc. VAT, so the total upgrade cost will be about £1,250.00 inc. VAT and shipping.

I didn't realise the SSD is so small (it?s been a while since I've messed about with a laptop HDD). The physical dimensions according to Wikipedia is 100mm long by 70mm wide by 9.5mm high.

The only problem I can see with the build will be where the SSD can be fitted. Unfortunately only the top 5.25" drive bay is available since the other four are taken up by a FDD, 1.5TB HDD and two DVD Writers.

I figure I may be able to mount the OCZ Vertez in the top bay of the front 5.25" drive bays using the 2.5" to 3.5" and 3.5" to 5.25" drive bay adapters I bought from Ballicom. I may have to cut down the drive bay adapters to get them to fit, since the radiator partially obstructs the top bay. If the SSD still won't fit in the top drive bay then I may be able to fit it in the bottom of the top PSU cage by modifying and using the 2.5" to 3.5" drive bay adapter. I've shown the proposed locations for the SSD in this picture.

Can anyone suggest a better location for the SDD?

P.S. Apologies if my English isn't very good today - I'm hung-over