Newbie needs some WCing advice

Think ill pick the PSU out of those 2 towards the end of the build so that i can choose it based on colour scheme. Hoping that James or someone mite have had some experience with the Extreme Mobos so I can start thinking about other components or rule it out.

Reason for the extra watts is so i have the choice of adding 2x 670's in a few months when I get some more spare cash to replace my current GPU. Im hoping that after I build this initial rig the GPU will be the only part that needs upgrading before I am happy with it - at least for a year or two.
 
Yeh, Corsair and NZXT power supplies are both made by Seasonic, so you're pretty much buying exactly the same thing.
As for the headroom - you can actually run SLI 670s off an AX650 - but I agree I'd go with the 750 too.
Beware from ebuyer though, their prices on the AX series change so much with stock levels though. The 650 is normally 105 quid. When I bought my 850, that was just under 140, with the 650 and 750 both at 125, so I thought the same in getting the 850. Just keep your eyes on the prices and get one when it's cheap.

As for the board, you cant really go wrong with any Z77 board as they are all good. I'd say you'd get better support with MSI and ASUS though but they're just my thoughts. What about the gigabyte UD3 or UD5? They have less blue on, and they're still good bords. Probably not quite as good as the GD65 but as I said, you cant go wrong with any Z77 board, and I'd rather have gigabyte than asrock
 
From what i've read on here, as well as other forums, Asus' support in the UK is not the best. If you're handy with a paintbrush, you can transform boards such as the MSI Z77A GD65 into an all black board. Indeed, that's just what one of the site's moderator's has done in his NZXSPC project (go give it a look, if you haven't already :)).
I have nothing but good things to say about my '65.
 
Are gigabyte still using the marvell components for the Sata 6Gb connections as they are awful on my current board.

@ josh Weston, I am not convinced at my ability with a paintbrush , but ill see if I can find the project log to have a gander.

There seems to be an awful lot of support for the MSI board here :p
 
G-Dubz did say it was very delicate work to do, so maybe not that.
We generally recommend the MSI boards to everyone that comes here - so yeh, they are good, hence why they're recommended.
As for the marvel components on sata6 - All Z77 boards have 4 sata 6 ports - 2 Intel and 2 other brand - so if you do have issues with whatever the other company is, you always have Intel to fall back on.
 
Well at least I don't have to worry about that then, the paint job on the MSI board looks really nice but I don't think its worth the risk for me.

Just found this, not come across the UP range in the Z77 till now. Thoughts.

Gigabyte z77X-UP4

Plus the sound card still leaves change for upgrading the PSU to the ax-750 :)
 
It looks alright. Looks more of an older style board to me - but still looks pretty good.

Not seen any reviews on it, but I'm sure it will perform fine.
Up to you really.
 
Why couldnt the damn V Formula be cheaper that would have made life sooo much simpler lol, the MSI board offers more for the money, I just really don't like the blue on any of the boards.

To be honest after all that I keep coming back to the ROG board, I know its over priced and I could achieve the same performance from the MSI or many other boards for that matter but I am going to bite the bullet and say I am going to take that board. (it might not make sense to everyone but it does what I need it to and looks the part as well.)

I very much appreciate all the suggestions so far though.

EDIT: As for fans would you get the scythe gentle AP-13's or the 15's and crank down the power to them to keep the noise down a little? or in fact the SP-120s seem to be a better bet just a tad noiser at full tilt.

Any experience with them anyone?
 
Last edited:
Good Shout, that was a much easier decision!!!

What d you think of the GSkill ram I chose Link below

G.Skill 8GB 1600 Ripjaws X

After that its on to some water cooling advice but I do have to get up early for work so I may have to leave it there for tonight and come back to it tomorrow or something.
 
I was very tempted by that actually, i nearly went for the kit, but couldn't fit the rad in the case so had to rethink. Is having a larger res ie. 2 bay res instead of one, beneficial to the loop? I wouldn't have thought it would make a lot of difference?

Also will 2x 250mm 45mm depth rads be sufficient for the kind of over clocking I mentioned and potentially the 670 gpu at a later stage? i get the impression i might be a little shy on radiator space, maybe a 45 and 60 mm thick pair or 240mm rads would be better - i would only lose one HDD cage and not have to mod the roof that way. Or finally is a 360 the only way to go really?

I looked into the cards you mentioned and the wind force card looks like it is well worth thinking about out when I get round to it.

EDIT: I am off to bed, thanks for your help ill check out any more responses in the morning. It is much appreciated.
 
No performance gains - just easier to loop up. Plus the D5 is quieter than the DDC.

2 45mm 240mm rads should be fine. TTL did it in the review with a 680 and a 3930k on a 60mm thick 360, and you'll have the same rad space as that with cooler hardware to cool.

As for the card - there's no point in spending money on the windforce if you're just watercooling it. Be better just getting the cheapest reference design you can. IOf you can get the EVGA FTW - that uses a gtx 680 pcb so any 680 waterblock will fit it.
 
Will have to have another discussion when it comes to buying the GPU upgrade as who knows what is likely to be on the market then, could be a whole different state of affairs. Mite be easier to get a quiet card and not have it in the loop when it comes down to it, but as I say that's a conversation for another day.

OK so the build now looks like:

CPU: i7 3770k
Mobo: Maximus V Formula
PSU: AX750
Ram: G Skill 8GB 1600 RipJawsX
SSD: Samsung 830 128Gb

+ Parts already owned - GPU, HDD's

Cooling:

Pump & Res: XSPC 5.25" D5 Dual Bay Reservoir and Pump Combination
Rad Top: Alphacool NexXxos XT45 240mm
Rad Bottom: Alphacool NexXxos XT45 240mm
Fans: Corsair SP120 x4
Tubing: Primochill PrimoFlex Pro LRT 3/8" ID - 5/8" OD (not sure what colour yet. - red, black, white or clear.)

EDIT: or this - Primochill PrimoFlex Pro LRT 3/8" ID - 1/2" OD??

Are there any manufacturers of fittings that I should avoid, or any that people would highly recommend or are they much of a muchness?
 
not to be picky, but i'd open the tube size up for looks and functionality to either 7/16"
hose and 1/2" barb or 1/2" hose and 1/2" comprssion fitting. the 3/8" just looks too weak
especially in a dual rad build. your going for the D5 so used the D5 for the easy push instead of
pressure. there really isnt any gains to be had or lost on tubing, just a looks perspective.
i'm a barb guy, so the only fitting i use are XSPC or Bitspower 1/2" on 7/16"
hose (no clamps) no leaks!

airdeano
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

P
Best DDR4/DDR5 gaming RAM (no heat sync) & advice!
Replies
1
Views
4K
Bang
Bang
C
Advise on my proposed build please
Replies
4
Views
581
AlienALX
AlienALX
K
9070XT auto overclock
Replies
3
Views
836
KingNosser
K
Dicehunter
Custom book case ?
Replies
0
Views
155
Dicehunter
Dicehunter
P
Do some people never learn from the past?
Replies
2
Views
856
Pugsport
P
Back
Top