Theydon's Perpetual Build (AKA Triggers Broom) & LAN Sessions

[Theydon Bois]

Thought I would break away from my HTPC thread with regards to my gaming PC, creating a thread within the bosom of you lovely people.

I am definitely picking up an upgrade in the next week, as well as having an offer on my old bits next month, so I am basically writting down stuff as to my possible upgrade paths.

As a refresher, this is the last update relating to my PC in my HTPC thread, and the spec is as follows: a Antec P180b case; Coolermaster M620; Asus P5K-E; Q6600 [email protected]; 4Gb Corsair 1066Mhz RAM; 1Gb XFX 5870; Samsung 226BW

I added in the 1Tb drive taken from the HTPC to my gaming PC, and again did what I could with the cables. All this did was annoy me, and make want to get the Corsair 650D now!

For instance, this is the cables from a modular PSU. On the newer cases, you can feed this round the back, but sadly I have to scrunch it up and stash it where I can.

I remove the lower drive bay and try and see what I can do with them anyway.

I then sorted out the lower drive bay ready to add the second drive.

All done, and looking mighty fine!

Just some random shots, the Titan Fenrir, and a shot of my 5870.

The Corsair 650D was released in March, but due to holidays, Car MOT/Service and other bloody things spending my money, it meant that I had to sadly gaze loving at it without actually buying it.

Fast forward a few months, and cash is available to spend, huzzah! Its not really a dilema, but I have a mate going to buy the guts (Board, CPU, RAM) of my PC above, meaning that along with a couple hundred quid this and next month, I should be able to get my Sandy Bridge up and running.......

So the following is my list of parts.

Motherboard

Asus Sabretoth P67 £156

Asus P8P67 £110

Gigabyte UD4 £140

Gigabyte Z68 £145

CPU

i5-2500K £156 (till 18th May with Free Operation Flashpoint: Red River)

Heatsink

Dark Rock CPU Fan £35

RAM

4Gb Vengamce Blue RAM £40

Case

Corsair 650D Case £140

Add another £55 for the balance of my cabling - got some of these already.

Plan for this month - probably CPU and heatsink. CPU as I want to take advantage of the free Flashpoint game, which I would buy anyway, meaning an effective £15-20 saving. Thanks to Miss Chief? I think for the heads up on that one.

Next Month, the balance, but probably minus the case, depending on what cash I have spare, and helped along by the fact that I will earn on my own bits to fund these. It may work out just right actually.....

Only 4Gb of RAM as I only have 32bit Windows 7. Not seen enough to say that 8Gb is MASSIVELY better yet anyway, and it would only add another £120 to the budget (£80 for the OS and another £40 for the extra 4Gb RAM)

Huzzah for upgrades!

=============================================

Carried forward from Existing build

XFX 5870 GPU
Coolermaster M620 PSU
Sony SATA DVD Writer
2 x Samsung Spinpoints 1TB

=============================================

Purchases

May: Intel i5-2500k CPU (£155 with free Operation Flashpoint: Red River)
May: Corsair 650D Case (£120)
June: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 Motherboard (£150)
June: Agilty 3 SSD (£95)
June: Dark Rock Advanced Heatsink (£40)
June: Corsair Vengance RAM (£38)
June: Thermal Paste and SATA3 cable (£6)
June: Windows 7 64 Bit (£40)
June: White Braided Cables (£23)

 

[Simba]

looks like a cool build.

The Sabretooth is an interesting mobo, looks very clean and tidy. I read on yesterday's Engadget that the plastic covering could have a negative impact under heavy load with component temps going up 10degC....they didnt care to mention what factors/ conditions etc

ASUS Sabertooth P67 motherboard sheds its skin, feels better without it -- Engadget

im sure you have done your research but if you plan on overclocking etc might be something to think about.

BTW what video card are you going to be using....

look at this crazy case: Lian Li PC-U6 Cowry case: an aluminum seashell to keep your PC looking stylish -- Engadget

 

[wolvers]

Needs another 5870.

 

[Sniper Ash6]

...
Corsair 650D Case £140

...

Only 4Gb of RAM as I only have 32bit Windows 7. Not seen enough to say that 8Gb is MASSIVELY better yet anyway, and it would only add another £120 to the budget (£80 for the OS and another £40 for the extra 4Gb RAM)

Huzzah for upgrades!

I'll believe it when I see it

I take it you have an OEM copy of Win 7 and not retail?

looks like a cool build.

The Sabretooth is an interesting mobo, looks very clean and tidy. I read on yesterday's Engadget that the plastic covering could have a negative impact under heavy load with component temps going up 10degC....they didnt care to mention what factors/ conditions etc

ASUS Sabertooth P67 motherboard sheds its skin, feels better without it -- Engadget

im sure you have done your research but if you plan on overclocking etc might be something to think about.

BTW what video card are you going to be using....

look at this crazy case: Lian Li PC-U6 Cowry case: an aluminum seashell to keep your PC looking stylish -- Engadget

Did you read the article they linked to? It's all explained in there: Asus' Sabertooth P67 motherboard - The Tech Report - Page 2
(Last few paragraphs of that page)

 

[Theydon Bois]

looks like a cool build.

The Sabretooth is an interesting mobo, looks very clean and tidy. I read on yesterday's Engadget that the plastic covering could have a negative impact under heavy load with component temps going up 10degC....they didnt care to mention what factors/ conditions etc

Yep, thats the one thing I am still a definite maybe on - it looks smart, and the 650D has a windowed side and I intend to make sure my rig is cool and quiet, and will replace the interior fans if need be. A few people on there mention they have it at 4.7 with no problems, and that looks to be the sweet spot for me, so I will have a month or so to think on it and confirm. Other wise the Asus P67 seems to be the choice of most review websites.

I have a 5870 for a GPU, and Wolvers, I saw one at £140, so dont tempt me...

 

[Theydon Bois]

I'll believe it when I see it

Yes, yes. Worse thing was I started getting ahead of myself, and checking prices, and the 650D was on a today only at Scan (or Aria) for £120.

 

[Sniper Ash6]

Have you thought about waiting for Z68, Theydon?

Yes, yes. Worse thing was I started getting ahead of myself, and checking prices, and the 650D was on a today only at Scan (or Aria) for £120.

So what are you waiting for?!

 

[wolvers]

I have a 5870 for a GPU, and Wolvers, I saw one at £140, so dont tempt me...

Huzzah for upgrades!

 

[Theydon Bois]

Have you thought about waiting for Z68, Theydon?



So what are you waiting for?!

A contridiction in terms, surely? Wait for this, dont wait for that.....

No money = no case. I have enough spare over the next two months to get my rig, but possibly not the case, depending on how I wangle things.

Z68? Nah, waited this long, wait for the Z68, and then people will say wait for the LGA2011, then wait.....

 

[MikeKay1976]

I personally own an asus P67 board and to be honest imo it is far from their best board (and Asus seem to be hit and miss across the board with this chipset).

I have trouble with it on boot (and it is my 2nd board which does exactly the same thing), it ok, nothing disasterous but if i was given my cash back again i would get this

GA-P67A-UD5

of course if you can wait a month the Z68 boards are imminent

 

[Theydon Bois]

Definitely looks the part Mike, but at £200, is £40 more than the already expensive Sabertooth.

I could just grab the ASUS P8P67 at £100, and use the extra cash for the case....hmmmm, that works out better I think......

 

[Deadringers]

Looking very tidy there mate

 

[wolvers]

I could just grab the ASUS P8P67 at £100, and use the extra cash for the case....hmmmm, that works out better I think......

An MATX board?

 

[MikeKay1976]

Definitely looks the part Mike, but at £200, is £40 more than the already expensive Sabertooth.

I could just grab the ASUS P8P67 at £100, and use the extra cash for the case....hmmmm, that works out better I think......

oops my bad, you are right, i meant the
GA-P67A-UD4

which should be an equivalent price (& spec *I think but you best double check* )

if you do want a P67 board, and its for a gaming rig, I would personally go for a full sized board myself, the one i have is the standard P8P67 which if you are not bothered about SLI is reasonably featured & comes in around the £130 mark, but like i said, a PITA having to turn it on up to 3 or 4 times before it decides to boot without switching itself off.

My 2 boards, the 1st one hit a respectable 4.6ghz fully stable (and was almost there at 4.8ghz, with tweaking i think i could have got it stable at that).

my replacement B3 revision however hits a wall at 4.3ghz and even the auto overclocking software causes it to hard lock on boot.

 

[JDCFH]

I have the asus sabretooth P67 and its been no problem at all.

The thermal armour (plastic cover) has channels running through it to carry air around the motherboard. If you have a cooler for your CPU like a Corsair A70 or the one in your picture that doesn't blow down like the intel stock cooler does' asus suggest fitting a 50x50x10 fan to the motherboard. Making sure that air is curculating under the cover. There is a little hatch screwed in place that when removed has the space for the small fan. This is what i have done and it runs very cool.

Edit:

Just seen that this has been explained in link from Sniper Ash6

 

[Theydon Bois]

An MATX board?

Thanks mate, nice spot.

oops my bad, you are right, i meant the
GA-P67A-UD4

which should be an equivalent price (& spec *I think but you best double check* )

Scan.co.uk: Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4 Intel P67 Express Socket 1155 Motherboard - GA-P67A-UD4/B3

£140, a tenner+ cheaper. I will look into that one mate, thanks.

I have the asus sabretooth P67 and its been no problem at all.

The thermal armour (plastic cover) has channels running through it to carry air around the motherboard. If you have a cooler for your CPU like a Corsair A70 or the one in your picture that doesn't blow down like the intel stock cooler does' asus suggest fitting a 50x50x10 fan to the motherboard. Making sure that air is curculating under the cover. There is a little hatch screwed in place that when removed has the space for the small fan. This is what i have done and it runs very cool.

Edit:

Just seen that this has been explained in link from SniperAsh6

Thanks CFH. Trouble is, I dont want a winey little 50mm fan - that will annoy me. I did not know of the fan addition, and had assumed wrongly that the 'armour' was sealed enough for the heatsinks to do their job more effectively and also stop heat from GPUs coming back on the board. The fact that they recommend a fan like the stock Intel ones (what is this, 1995?) has more or less tipped me away from the Sabretooth now, unless I buy it and remove the cover, which is still an option.

Its only my ASUS brand loyalty keeping this still an option....

 

[Theydon Bois]

Thermal tests with cover on and off, and with a fan added:

ASUS Sabertooth P67 Motherboard Review - Overclocking

 

[JDCFH]

Thanks CFH. Trouble is, I dont want a winey little 50mm fan - that will annoy me. I did not know of the fan addition, and had assumed wrongly that the 'armour' was sealed enough for the heatsinks to do their job more effectively and also stop heat from GPUs coming back on the board. The fact that they recommend a fan like the stock Intel ones (what is this, 1995?) has more or less tipped me away from the Sabretooth now, unless I buy it and remove the cover, which is still an option.

Its only my ASUS brand loyalty keeping this still an option....

I bought my fan off ebay and i cant hear it over any of the other cooling fans in my case.

Plenty of performance cooling fans that blow downwards

http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=HFS-SHURIKEN

All down to preference at the end of the day.

 

[JDCFH]

Thermal tests with cover on and off, and with a fan added:

ASUS Sabertooth P67 Motherboard Review - Overclocking

Good to see it get a good review

 

[gvers]

Not the 650D again

Looks like a nice upgrade .

I keep thinking about going for a sandybridge setup myself but think I'll wait until a bit closer to Battlefield 3's release as my i7 860 plays BC2 well enough although I was tempted by another 6870 for £132. Been getting withdrawal symptoms as I haven't bought anything for a couple of months .

Keep us updated and don't forget plenty of pics with cereal boxes.

 

[wolvers]

Trouble is, I dont want a winey little 50mm fan - that will annoy me.

I got this one to replace the stock one on the Atom board in my Server and it's very quiet when running at half speed;

Fractal Design 50mm Silent Cooling Fan []

 

[Greg Hook]

Nice thread mate. Personally I would not get the Asus P8P67. From experience and a load of threads in forums etc.

I have this in the pro version (steer clear of the cheaper M versions) and it is not their best board. I don't have major issues and it doesn't cause any errors once in windows, but I do get a very annoying multi post issue whereby it takes a few goes to actually start loading windows. Which as I have a new fast SSD windows actually loads faster than the time it takes from turning my PC on to the windows logo appearing!

 

[Miss Chief]

I'm a bit confused theydon as my retail copy of Windows 7 came with 32 bit and 64 bit discs in the packaging?

Looks like a very similar setup to what i'll be running, soon as I get my windows query sorted.

For those interested, I don't want to format my 1TB drive (the very thought of it! <shudder>) and it's the drive with windows on it. Do i just install over the top? Delete the windows directory? it's a Core i5 2500k, 4GB Ram and new mobo rig.

 

[Greg Hook]

I'm a bit confused theydon as my retail copy of Windows 7 came with 32 bit and 64 bit discs in the packaging?

Looks like a very similar setup to what i'll be running, soon as I get my windows query sorted.

For those interested, I don't want to format my 1TB drive (the very thought of it! <shudder>) and it's the drive with windows on it. Do i just install over the top? Delete the windows directory? it's a Core i5 2500k, 4GB Ram and new mobo rig.

Windows does come with both versions. You want the 64bit version with your spec machine.

Also it would be so much better to have a clean install with windows, but if you must then you will have to do an upgrade install. Deleting the windows directory will just grind things to a halt.

 

[Theydon Bois]

I'm a bit confused theydon as my retail copy of Windows 7 came with 32 bit and 64 bit discs in the packaging?

Windows does come with both versions. You want the 64bit version with your spec machine.

Sadly, mine doesnt. I was given a free .edu OEM Windows 7 32 bit licence as part of learning the OS for a potential rollout at my school. So I should really buy my own 64 bit licence really

WIth Windows 7, can you do the old repair trick that you could with XP? Basically remove the HAL and reinstall Windows over the top of itself? It would be handy if you could......

 

[Miss Chief]

Hmm, some googling seems to imply it'll work OK. we'll give it a go. back soon!

 

[JDCFH]

Nice thread mate. Personally I would not get the Asus P8P67. From experience and a load of threads in forums etc.

I have this in the pro version (steer clear of the cheaper M versions) and it is not their best board. I don't have major issues and it doesn't cause any errors once in windows, but I do get a very annoying multi post issue whereby it takes a few goes to actually start loading windows. Which as I have a new fast SSD windows actually loads faster than the time it takes from turning my PC on to the windows logo appearing!

Have you tried enabling 'power on by pci-e' in bios? Lot of people report that this fixes the double post at boot

 

[Greg Hook]

Have you tried enabling 'power on by pci-e' in bios? Lot of people report that this fixes the double post at boot

No I haven't but will definitely give that a try. What does power on by pci-e mean anyway? Doesn't do anything bad etc?

 

[JDCFH]

No I haven't but will definitely give that a try. What does power on by pci-e mean anyway? Doesn't do anything bad etc?

just means that a card or device plugged into PCI-e slot can power on the computer like if it was in standby or sleeping i think.

Wont do it any harm whatsoever - but i have seen it listed on ASUS website as a fix for your problem and people have said that it works

 

[Theydon Bois]

Have you thought about waiting for Z68, Theydon?

Intel Z68 Express Chipset Preview: SSD Caching And Quick Sync : Z68 Express Makes Its Debut

If this is an indication, then I am ok, as I don't plan to use an SSD for the moment, its last on my list of upgrades (not listed above is a new Router, Headphones, a couple of Tb hard drives.....)