Around £1500 for a build! Help me spend it!

No, listen to us, because we're amazing

:lol:

Aside from the graphics card then, whats everything else shaping up like?

I currently have an i7 920 @ 4.2ghz, will the i5 Ivy be an upgrade and will i miss the other cores i'd be loosing out on?

Also is the power supply enough wattage?

Should i replace the Xonar and get an X-FI? All the compatibility issues and driver problems i've read keeps putting me off taking the plunge.

And is the motherboard any good?

Thanks.
 
You'd be better off with an MSI z77-GD65, as theyre some of the best boards around.

Can I ask why to the phanteks?

And as I said, go for an AX650 if you can. As meantioned go for a WD drive instead of the Seagate...

And leave out the soundcard until after. Only add it if you feel it's really necessary if on board sound isnt good enough, and on the Z77 boards, sound is pretty good anyway, so just leave that out for a bit
 
You'd be better off with an MSI z77-GD65, as theyre some of the best boards around.

Thanks for that, i'll take a look at the pricing.

Can I ask why to the phanteks?
Couple of things i've heard, same manufacturers as the Noctua NH-D14 and actually better build quality with lower temps.

But again if you know of anything better please point me in that direction.

Looked at the Corsair H100 i think it is with the 2 fans and massive rad for the CPU cooler, was meant to be quite good, but takes up loads of room. If the Phantek turns out crap, i'll just stick with the D14.

Wanted WC, but too scared and can't really afford it.

And as I said, go for an AX650 if you can. As meantioned go for a WD drive instead of the Seagate...
Cheers, looking into that now.

And leave out the soundcard until after. Only add it if you feel it's really necessary if on board sound isnt good enough, and on the Z77 boards, sound is pretty good anyway, so just leave that out for a bit
Was reading a review about on board sound and apparently someone turned theres off in Guild Wars 2 and gain a 20fps increase. Just makes me wonder how much of a FPS hit i'm taking with on board sound.
 
Was reading a review about on board sound and apparently someone turned theres off in Guild Wars 2 and gain a 20fps increase. Just makes me wonder how much of a FPS hit i'm taking with on board sound.

I call BS.

On board sound goes is 'processed' by the processor - obviously, which games barely even utilise, so unless it causes some massive graphical issues, it's NEVER gunna make you lose 20fps.

Still, even if that is the case, run it without, and see how it goes.

As for the Phanteks, just get the D14. The phanteks isnt cooler under normal use, and it's more expensive. Also the D14 is quieter
 
I call BS.

On board sound goes is 'processed' by the processor - obviously, which games barely even utilise, so unless it causes some massive graphical issues, it's NEVER gunna make you lose 20fps.

Still, even if that is the case, run it without, and see how it goes.

As for the Phanteks, just get the D14. The phanteks isnt cooler under normal use, and it's more expensive. Also the D14 is quieter

Fair enough.

I have no gripes with the D14, i have the original in my current system and i love it.

EDIT: I'm an idiot, ignore that. :)
 
None at all to the actual cooler - just a different mounting system.

If you're re-using your current D14, email noctua and they'll send you the mounting kit for 2011
 
maybe this will help :)
shoppinglist.jpg
shoppinglist.jpg

shoppinglist.jpg
 
So a revised list (Without graphics card, i know :banghead: )

Intel Core i5-3570K 3.40GHz
D14
Corsair Obsidian 650D
MSI Z77A-GD65
Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD
Corsair Professional Series AX650
Corsair Vengeance 1500 Dolby 7.1
Roccat Isku Illuminated Gaming Keyboard
Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache
Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB (2x4Gb DDR3 PC3-15000C9 1866MHz Dual Channel Kit
LG CH10LS28 BD-ROM 10x BluRay ROM / DVDRW SATA-II Optical Drive

Hows the ram? Always wanted to get Mushkin, heard there pretty amazing, worth the extra?

Anyone ever used the Isku gaming keyboard or Vengeance 1500 headset?

Feedback always welcome. Thanks guys.
 
Actually if you go to their forum http://www.phanteksusa.com/forum/forum.php
under Benchmark you can see that phanteks outperforms the noctua. even silverarrow out performs noctua. They say that it keeps getting better when the temp goes up. i say its worth the money and you get a nice looking heatsink. Noctua looks old and outdated.

loadtemps.png
 
Nah they dont.

I have frostbyte under mine, and I only have about a 1mm margin in that.

http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...DDR3+SDRAM+CAS+9-9-9-24+1.5V+?productId=50277
or
http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...DDR3+SDRAM+CAS+9-9-9-24+1.5V+?productId=44336

both the same RAM, just different colours

Thanks for the links.

From the pictures of the http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...DDR3+SDRAM+CAS+9-9-9-27+1.5V+?productId=49040

It looks like you can unscrew the top heat spreader? I did this with my current Dominator on 1 stick to allow room for the D14.
 
Actually if you go to their forum http://www.phanteksusa.com/forum/forum.php
under Benchmark you can see that phanteks outperforms the noctua. even silverarrow out performs noctua. They say that it keeps getting better when the temp goes up. i say its worth the money and you get a nice looking heatsink. Noctua looks old and outdated.

PIC

Hmmm thats interesting, have to wonder how true that is and if its not just clever marketing?
 
Even if it is better, that's 3 degrees, and it is louder. Also, it only wins at the massive clocks, which it's unsafe to push to for 24/7 anyway.

As for the RAM, whats the point in buying more expensive RAM, where the only difference is the heatsink, and then you're just going to take it off? Makes no sense to me?
 
TTL did the same tests you know.

And as they're on video we can tell they're controlled more. Also, that doesnt take into account Ambient temps at all, which kind of is vital here...
 
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