Nice setup - How the hell did you fit that bridge???? I had one of these for a dual card setup and it took me god knows how many hours and enough choice words to fill a swear box and buy a 3rd card. I managed to calm myself down whilst fitting it by contemplating a variety of painful deaths for the designer. Seriously, how on earth did you manage to get the O rings to stay in the bridge?? Just when I thought I had one fitted, out it would pop - or it would stay in place just long enough for me to try and fix the bridge to the cards before firing out across the table. It is by far the worst component I have ever, ever, ever, ever bought. On topic; I have just this past week purchased a couple of 290X's. I plan on putting them under water this weekend as the temps get a bit too toasty for my liking.
I had a problem with one seal it kept popping out but the rest just dropped into place and stayed there, just don't twist them when you pull them off the single. I led the Terminal triple on the table with seal in and dropped the card on to it, grabbed both and flipped it over and then put the screws in, start bottom up so you can check the seal through the clear top of the cooler before you add the next card. The one that kept popping out I had twisted and took me 30mins to fit and I did almost give up, the other two took 5 mins. I'm sure there must be an easier way using some sort of gasket sealant that could stick it in place thinking about it now as it was bloody frustrating.
UK the mining craze is not so huge, In the USA its difficult to recommend the 2 high end cards as they are $70 + above MSRP.
I didn't have any problems with the O rings at all. I just popped them in and they stayed there. I had the bridge secured to all the cards in about 10 minutes. You must have just got unlucky with your one. If you twisted them when you took them out of the block, that probably wouldn't have helped.
can't really compare pricing straight through a currency converter. your minimum wage is higher, and the average salary for someone in my position in the UK is also higher 280x is in the same boat as well no big loss though, the GTX 780 does fine in the 290/290x price bracket
don't forget cost of living is high in the UK too, guys here who come over for a few months from the states are generally shocked by the costs here and the lower standard of living.
there are many factors involved if you have a heart attack and are taken to the emergency room without health insurance, you won't be stuck with a bill which might cost more than your house end-all is that while many products have a lower pricetag in the US, the actual price difference isn't as great as it appears in most cases i.e. i'm not 'richer' than someone in the UK with the same job as me
But we are taxed much higher, 20% VAT, and a massive chunk of our wages go to tax. Minimum wage is only £5.40 which is something like $8 an hour http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimum_wage_in_the_United_States Our minimum wage looks about the same really.
I find it bizarre that the Federal Minimum Wage includes tips to at least 'make up' the hourly wage so the employer can contribute only $2.19! From a UK perspective that's so wrong.
That full cover block looks sweet. Definitely don't regret getting my card early, seeing as how the prices have gone totally bonkers.