New HTPCish build

[dampchimp]

I've been out of the PC game for a good while, so super keen to get back into it. I just love the feeling of a really good PC, especially as I say compared to the rubbish laptop I have had to endure.

Half the fun is reseaching and selecting the components. Intel really seem to have a winner with their current line-up. Will be interesting to see the comparison encoding a video compared to the current set-up.

 

[dampchimp]

Silverstone GD04B USB 3.0 £71.96
Corsair CXM Builder series 600W Hybrid Modular £55.92
Asus P8Z77-M Pro £100.52
Intel 3570K £161.99
Corsair Memory Vengeance Red Low Profile 8GB DDR3 1866 MHz £41.76
Scythe Big Shuriken £29.99
XFX Core Edition Radeon HD 7870 £167.99
Crucial M4 128GB £80.54
WD Caviar Green £74.38
LiteOn IHES112 £49.34
Windows 8 Pro OEM £24.99
3* 120mm Noctua NF-P12 £49.28
Total £908.66

Ok, I have made a couple of minor changes, but pretty decided on the final spec.

My main decision now is in terms of the GPU, I have posted over in the GPU section.

http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?p=596201#post596201

 

[dragoonk]

Looks darn solid to me... except the graphics... The 7870 is a good card, but if you want true power... I'd think again.

 

[dampchimp]

Cheers, just need to do the hard bit and part with the money now.

Got a couple of things I need to do and then I should be able to put my orders in, better do it soon or I will change my mind again.

As per the GPU, I posted over in that section as I am a little unsure on what GPU to look at and what they can offer.

 

[dampchimp]

Thanks for all the useful advice. My final build consisted of:

Silverstone GD05B USB 3.0
Silverstone Strider Plus 600W Modular Power Supply
Asus P8Z77-M Pro
Intel 3570K
Corsair Memory Vengeance Red Low Profile 8GB DDR3 1866 MHz
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 rev. B
XFX 7950 DD Edition
OCZ Vertex 4 128GB
Seagate 3TB
Xebec iTouchpad Diamond Wireless Keyboard
3* 120mm Noctua NF-P12
64GB Corsair Voyager USB 3.0
Windows 8 Pro 64bit

Overall I am super happy with the build; it looks good, fits in my TV unit (tightly) and is pretty cool and quiet given the case/location/relatively high-spec components.

In terms of noise, in everything I have tried so far bar heavy 3D gaming it is reasonably quiet, though the Noctua's are slightly louder than expected, audible at ~600rpm (dissapointing given the price!) The 7950 is very noisy under heavy gaming, but again, I can live with that given the set-up.

Performance is awesome, Windows 8 is up and (fully) running from a cool boot in well under 10 seconds. Overall performance is top notch across the board. Load times from the SSD and Mechanical drive (for what I have put on there so far) are non-existent, couldn't be happier.

Gaming wise, of the 3 free AMD games, I have only really experimented with Hitman absolution, but in that, everything absolutely maxed, I am getting north of 60fps, looks amazing and runs super-smooth, I get about the same 60fps in Unigine, again, everything absolutely maxed out. Everything is through my 46" LCD, so 1080p.

Having problems getting Far Cry 3 running so far. Will update as I get a chance to play a bit more.

A couple of issues, firstly the screws on the Big Shuriken sheared when I was installing it, meaning I am currently running the stock cooler (which is actually pretty quiet), in terms of temps, idling/general desktop stuff the motherboard is about 29-31 and the CPU 26-30. The GPU is high 50's when gaming, again these are only prelimenary tests.

Applied the Asus auto overclock and the CPU is running @4.2GHZ.

I didn't take any photos when building, but will attempt to put up some photos if anyone is interested.

 

[Master&Puppet]

If you are that way inclined you can download MSI afterburner and setup your own GPU fan profile and make it less aggressive. Also if you enable vsync in games then it will limit the fps to 60 and that will save any wasted effort turning into noise

 

[dampchimp]

If you are that way inclined you can download MSI afterburner and setup your own GPU fan profile and make it less aggressive. Also if you enable vsync in games then it will limit the fps to 60 and that will save any wasted effort turning into noise

Thanks, I will give that a go. I downloaded afterburner, but haven't really had time to play with it much, that sounds useful though. Is there a way to enable vSync across all applications, or do I need to do that for each game?

 

[sheroo]

Also if you plug the fans directly into your motherboard you can use the Asus Fan Xpert - basically setting up another custom fan profile based on cpu heat. I use it on mine to great effect.

 

[dampchimp]

Also if you plug the fans directly into your motherboard you can use the Asus Fan Xpert - basically setting up another custom fan profile based on cpu heat. I use it on mine to great effect.

Yeah, I am using Fan Expert, does seem to help with the noise a little, though the version on my motherboard won't let me set at any less than 600RPM (or off in power saving mode), but the heat really increases if I use that. Do have fan speed reducers that came with the fans, may try those in combination with the built in Fan Expert+, though I am just wary about my temps given the size of the case and the fact ventalation isn't huge.

 

[sheroo]

Maybe the temps on your cpu are down to the stock cooler. I found that the Corsair fans were quieter than the noctuas when I tested both side by side.

I also found that leaving the dust filters on made a massive difference to the sound produced by the fans - I chose to run without them and they are so much quieter.

Also you could try and run the system without a dvd drive as that will give alot more room to play with and won't distrupt the airflow as much.

Have you got the fans blowing in or out? I have them blowing in...

 

[dampchimp]

The temps are I think pretty low, but I hope to get the Shuriken replaced, hopefully this will help.

Good advice with the fan filters, I suspected they may increase the noise, may give this a test and see if it makes a difference.

I am not running an optical drive as I thought it wasn't worth the extra clutter in my case and should (when I get it fixed) allow me to replace the stock Shuriken cooler with another Noctua fan I have.

I have all 3 fans pulling air in at the moment.

 

[sheroo]

The fan filters make a massive difference. I'm only running one case fan, and a cpu fan, but then your hardware is higher spec than mine.

 

[dampchimp]

Thanks, I will definetly give that a go.

To be honest, the sound is actually pretty good, just a silent thum when not 3D gaming, probably about the same as my PS3, but I think the Noctua's should be better and from what you are saying the filters may be holding things back a bit.

Some great advice, thanks to everyone for their kind and patient help.