My Revised Rig for BF4

[Niz406]

Intro:Okay guys here it is, my latest revision of my main rig.... built for Battlefield 3 originally but has been used for virtually everything since it was built.

The original idea behind the build was to build my first ever crossfire system, I'd always been a keen DIY PC builder, but never built something so extreme.... mainly because I only used to play BF2 / CSS / TF2 and so didn't really need a high end machine.

I had about 3 years where I stopped PC gaming and moved to consoles, and I built myself a very small bookshelf / barebones system, and I still have it.... it's a rapid little box for what it is.

Anyway back on to the machine, so when I heard that Battlefield 3 was coming I knew I would have to build something very special, well at least to me. Something that would give me super smooth frame rates with all the eye candy frostbite 2 could deliver.

So I built this:
The Original Rig:

• AMD Phenom II X6 1090T
• 8GB Mushkin Redline DDR3 1600MHz
• Asus Crosshair Formula IV
• 2 x Asus 6970 HD's
• Corsair HX1050 PSU
• Corsair Force 3 SSD
• Corsair T600 Graphite (in white)

Please ignore the stock AMD Cooler, that was only on until an Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro Rev 2 was installed, that then got replaced with a Noctua NH14-D after getting some advice from the guys here

I also ran this on a single 24" Samsung LED monitor to start with, then I turned to eyefinity with 2 additional monitors. This ran BF3 perfectly until one of the GPU's gave up, so RMA and that was the start of the revision......

The Revised Rig specifications: Some people may ask why I went thge route I have, and to be honest... I don't fully know, I suppose it was partly to do with the fact after the 6970 died Asus issued a credit note, so I paid £72 extra and opted for the new 7970HD at the time, then recently another came up at sale prices, and I would have been mad not to take it.

That's when I looked at new CPU, Ram and monitors.... although there is a funny story behind the screens, well funny for others a little embarrassing for me. After reading a few reviews and watching a few video's on Youtube around the 8350 the vibe was it was not worth the £XXX's for the gains over the 1090T, but I have to disagree.

Especially on CPU Physics tests on 3DMark and similar, the FX chip delivers 15 - 20 x the frame rates that the 1090 could ever manage.

Here's the Pics:

Desktop and Under lighting:

I'll See you thru Winder:

Side Removed:

Ram:

GPU's

Power Brick: - I call it a brick, because this was replaced under warranty, original FAILED! !

The Full Specs:

• AMD FX 8350
• 16GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1866Mhz
• Asus Formula V
• 2 x Asus 7970 HD Direct CU II's @ 1000gpu / 1400mem (1 Top / 1 Normal)
• Corsair HX1050 PSU
• Corsair Force 3 SSD
• 2.5" WD Scorpio Black HDD
• Asus Xonar DG 5.1
• Corsair T600 Graphite (in white)
• 3 x LG LED IPS Monitors

Unfortunately I built this at the end of the beta, so never got to run it. However, Battlefield 3 is amazing on this system as are all my other games. The only downside, I think I expected too much from this set up in terms of Frame Rates on Ultra pre-set. Yes I was a little let down with what I got, but I'm sure it will rock BF4.

But never mind, because the 3D Mark Scores were awesome !

So what do you think ?

 

[NeverBackDown]

Looks great!
Only thing i would now change get some better looking cables.. those ones from the HX look ugly; i would also change out to a H100i or a Swiftech H220 for CPU cooling(the extra money may not warrant temperature differences to you), however it will greatly improve the aesthetics of the build.

 

[Dicehunter]

I got all my custom cables from this place - http://www.cables4pc.co.uk/

And the quality is awesome, you can also ask for specific things, The price is second to none also.

 

[SuB]

I think this is the definition of using space well Looks tight in there dude!

See you in BF4

 

[Niz406]

Looks great!
Only thing i would now change get some better looking cables.. those ones from the HX look ugly; i would also change out to a H100i or a Swiftech H220 for CPU cooling(the extra money may not warrant temperature differences to you), however it will greatly improve the aesthetics of the build.

Yes I agree, I was actually looking into a twin loop custom watercooling solution, EK Direct CU II water blocks and a 360 rad for the GPUs and a CPU waterblock with a 240 rad, the only reason I can think of for not doing it is I don't overclock CPU's so it would be a bit of a waste on the CPU.

I got all my custom cables from this place - http://www.cables4pc.co.uk/

And the quality is awesome, you can also ask for specific things, The price is second to none also.

Cheers for the link, will check it out... I kept looking into BITFinix cable extensions red & white but think I will save that for the next phase / case.

I think this is the definition of using space well Looks tight in there dude!

See you in BF4

It most definitely is, I had to go through 3 different sound cards to accommodate the various GPU configurations from start to now. It's time for me to look at a new chassis.

I like the look of the Corsair Carbide 540 High Airflow ATX Cube Case or I think the Aerocool Strike X looks crazy lol

 

[SuB]

Which sound card did you settle on?

I quite like the Carbide.. I reckon that's on the books for a build from me in due course

 

[Niz406]

Which sound card did you settle on?

I quite like the Carbide.. I reckon that's on the books for a build from me in due course

Xonar DG 5.1, as it's PCI and is small enough to fit between the two GPU's

I had the X-Fi Platinum first then the Soundblaster Z, and then the asus... I've always had creative products, but after the final insult of the latest and greatest Ubuntu still not supporting the hardware and Creative not developing drivers it was time to jump ship.

13 year relationship with a vendor down the pan lol

The Motherboard comes with SupremeFi X-Fi 2 but it appears to lack the clarity of the dedicated cards.... maybe it's just me / my ears!

 

[SuB]

S'ok the latest creative offerings are shit anyway so you did yourself a favour. Everything after X-Fi has been a joke... a complete.. joke.

You can't go wrong with the Xonars these days, either that or a proper X-Fi dedicated card.

 

[looz]

DG is an awesome bargain due to the built-in headphone amp.

 

[Niz406]

I run the TurtleBeach Z6A which has a built in amp anyway... so the DG is only beneficial because it has 5.1 output analouge and optical

 

[NeverBackDown]

That headset's amp is not exactly something to "wow" at.. it's most likely as bare of an amp as it gets. Turtle Beach is not exactly that great(from personal expierence) and far too expensive for what you get.

 

[Niz406]

Well my z6a and our X12's are our first turtlebeach products and I must say, they are much better than our old logitech's and Microsoft's so we have no complaints.

I got all my custom cables from this place - http://www.cables4pc.co.uk/

And the quality is awesome, you can also ask for specific things, The price is second to none also.

Just like to say thanks again to Dicehunter, cables ordered yesterday will update pictures when they arrive and I install.

 

[holly1337]

Hi m8,
first Nice rig =) only one I do not like .. the CPU cooler you've ever considered a Corsair h100i to change .. Then acts not as cluttered your case. =)
And now for the important stuff of life... Did you like Battlefield 4 and how perform your two 7970's? I noticed my two 660ti's let the wings hang at the settings on Ultra =)

Greetz Holly

 

[looz]

Well my z6a and our X12's are our first turtlebeach products and I must say, they are much better than our old logitech's and Microsoft's so we have no complaints.

But with a card like that you could move to AKGs and Beyerdynamics.

 

[s3ns3]

not doing it is I don't overclock CPU's so it would be a bit of a waste on the CPU.

well thats a shame couse you have that nice noctua.

 

[Rastalovich]

Loving the builds on both old and new tbh. Plenty of care put in.

The memory fits nicely under the cooler, I hate the memory with big arse fins sticking up.

Think the base unit under the desk looks lonely

 

[Niz406]

Hi m8,
first Nice rig =) only one I do not like .. the CPU cooler you've ever considered a Corsair h100i to change .. Then acts not as cluttered your case. =)
And now for the important stuff of life... Did you like Battlefield 4 and how perform your two 7970's? I noticed my two 660ti's let the wings hang at the settings on Ultra =)

Greetz Holly

Hi Holly and Thanks.

I did look into watercooling, but can't justify it... if someone was willing to overclock my CPU for me I may consider it lol

Well I have mixed emotions about BF4 if I'm honest, the Campaign was very disappointing, the story was rubbish in comparison to BF3 and the execution was no better.

The GPU's run Ultra and it's playable but just not smooth enough on intense fire fights, so I use a custom profile to get around 70 - 80 FPS, and it still looks awesome, not really got into multiplayer yet... but first impressions are that this game was purely designed for console players only, it could of looked so much better on a decent PC.

But with a card like that you could move to AKGs and Beyerdynamics.

Links? I can always look into alternatives.

well thats a shame couse you have that nice noctua.

I just don't know how to do it, is the simple answer.... is there a thread for 8350 Air cooling overclocks?

Loving the builds on both old and new tbh. Plenty of care put in.

The memory fits nicely under the cooler, I hate the memory with big arse fins sticking up.

Think the base unit under the desk looks lonely

Thanks

I've just installed the new cables and I'm not too sure, I think the original black cables were neater, but these add more customisation to the build.

Yeah the base unit, does need something like a foot stool for company, maybe even a matt

New Cables Installed:

 

[Niz406]

Time for an Update:

Been a while, since I updated this thread.

The system is in it's final iteration (sure, sure I hear you say) But I have built another system to keep me going and will start another thread for that one as soon as it is complete (Custom cables and lights needed first!)

I wanted to upgrade my GPU and at the time, there was a sale on the new (back then) R9 295X2 so I thought why not! So I purchased it and sold on my old 7970HD's. Thinking the 295x2 would fit with the noctua I did a test fit, but a tight squeeze and high case temps meant the CPU kept getting too hot and throttling (at stock speeds / no OC).

It was strange, but I assure you it was the CPU throttling things due to temps, higher temps were due to GPU radiator mounting at the front of the case on intake, only option really with my limited space.

So I decided to ditch the 600T Graphite and move to an airflow friendly case, the Carbide 540 Air, I also picked up a H100i and some twin packs of Corsair SP120Q's and as per usual used some color coding

Because the R9 295X2 and the Soundblaster Z emmit red light from the LED's I decided to add a white LED strip for contrast to match the red / white theme. What do you think to my final revision?