Hey again. So, I think I've pretty much got everything together with my tower. All that's left to do it to decide on a case in which to fit it, along with whatever additional cooling would be required... unless I missed something, please tell me if I missed something. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Intel Core i5-2500k 3.3 95w ~ £163.40 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/inte...ad-core-33ghz-gpu-850mhz-6mb-cache-95w-retail 2x MSI r6870 HAWK (10inch length) ~ £270.44 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1gb-...930mhz-1120-stream-processors-2x-dvi-hdmi-mdp Samsung 1Tb Spinpoint F3 HDD ~ £39.58 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/1tb-...int-f3-sata-3gb-s-7200rpm-32mb-cache-89ms-ncq MSI p67A-G45 (B3) ~ £87.20 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/msi-...x16)-ddr3-2133-xfire-sata-6gb-s-sata-raid-atx Corsair Memory Vengeance Jet Black LP 8GB 1600MHz ~ £60.19 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/8gb-...pc3-12800-(1600)-non-ecc-cas-9-9-9-24-xmp-15v XFX P1-850S-NLB9 850W Power Supply ~ £75.42 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/850w...bronze-85-eff-sli-crossfire-eps-12v-135mm-fan Lite On DVD Writer, IHAS124-19, SATA Black OEM ~ £15.11 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/lite...dvdplusrw-x8-rw-x6-dvd-ram-x12-sata-black-oem £721.83 inc. delivery ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Feel free to poke at the what's there, too, if you see something; any corners to cut, or obvious overspending, etc. I don't really know how much I should spend on cooling (including the case in this). I'm not planning on overclocking the cpu/gpu until I get to the point I need to, and probably never going to overvolt. I'm basically looking for the most cost-efficient cooling solution. Noise is something I'm on the fence about, since if it passes the 'quiet enough test' I get to put the thing in the living room (hurray!). If that's not practical, then at least quiet enough not to be a bother, when playing with a headset. Thanks anyway, appreciate any advice.
Hi there. I've recently just put my new rig together with similar concerns. I eventually went for the Coolermaster HAF X for my case and the be Quiet! Dark Rock Advanced CPU cooler. http://www.scan.co.uk/products/cool...aming-tower-case-inc-side-window-usb3-w-o-psu http://www.scan.co.uk/products/be-q...lga775-1155-1156-1366-am2-am2plus-am3-754-940 In my HAF X I've replaced the top and side fans with Coolermaster Megaflows (including optional extra top exhaust) and have all fans controlled with a fan controller. Even on 100%, the fans are very quiet. Also, with the GPUs you chosen, the Twin Frozrs i'm sure dump hot air into the case, rather than exhaust it out the back (I could be wrong here, but I'm sure someone will correct me if so), so the great air flow you get with the HAF X will be of great benefit to you. As for the Dark Rock, I curretnly have my i5-2500k OC'd to 4.5ghz @ 1.295v. My idle temps are mid to high 20s. Under full load while stressing with Intel Burn Test my max temps average mid 60s. While gaming I get mid 40s to mid 50s, depending on the game. The fan on the Dark Rock even at full whack (1500rpm iirc) is amazingly quiet. I've tested the rig with all fans including the Dark Rock ramped up to 100% and it is still relatively quiet. The only fan that is relatively noisy compared to the others is the stock rear exhaust fan, which I'm going to replace later anyway. I'm not sure what your budget is, but if noise is a major concern, but still want to achieve good cooling at moderate overclocks, which was a factor in my build, then all I can say is that i'm very happy with both noise levels and the temps i'm getting with my case, and cpu cooler. Hope this helps, and good luck
I was going to say I'd ditch the XFire 6870s but actually they provide far more performance than a 580GTX for about £80 less. Also, with those Twin Frozr coolers they should be nice and quiet.
In regards to a case, I LOVE quietness, so I'd recommend a Fractal R3 - looks nice to (IMO). The only problem is, both those GPUs vent most of their heat inside the case, so you'll need to have some good airflow - if you do want the R3, then add an extra fan or two, the Akasa Apache's is what I'd recommend.
It's very doubtful you'd need an 850W PSU in that machine - I have a 650 myself which is quite happy running my rig, and I know there have been posts here recently going down to around 500W. On the other hand, it won't hurt you (other than a slight loss in efficiency at low loads I believe?). My girlfriend put an 850W into hers "just to be safe".
I have the Define R3 and graphics with a Twin Frozr cooler, and I can say that the temperatures don't get scary at all. On the other hand, I have seen a post previously saying that adding a floor fan will help keep the temperatures much lower in that case for those types of graphics cards. Edit: To give some real numbers: during a brief gaming session I saw the Frozr fans spin up to 61%, keeping the GPU at a fairly solid 65 degrees. This is with no additional case fans.
If you're considering going at some very high overclocks, I would recommend the Corsair H80 CPU cooler: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/cors...e-cpu-cooler-s775-1155-1156-1366-2011-am2-am3 It's just been released and it's really good (beating the antec 920 kuhler etc).
Coolermaster HAF 932 is an amazing case for cooling and at a great price (£100 Scan). The three huge 230mm fans do a great job of quietly moving air about and expelling it out the top, so much so it gives me a chill when first switched on. Just depend on whether you can live with the styling.
