Gaming build

[Yeknom]

Hello,

I've been trying to build a high-end gaming computer and after around a week and a half reading reviews and checking up on stores, I thought I kind of had what I wanted more or less outlined. Yet somehow I'm still confused when I start thinking in the possible alternatives.

Since many of the reviews I most liked are on this site, I thought this could be a good place to start looking for help. So here I am.

This is the machine I'm considering right now (updated as the thread goes on). I will really appreciate all advice.

Motherboard

Asus P6T Deluxe - [Official Site]

CPU

Intel Core i7 920 - [Official Site Comparison]

RAM

G.Skill 3x2GB DDR3-1600 F3-12800CL8T-6GBPI-B 8-8-8-21 1.65V Π Black (last kit) - [Official Site]

Graphics Card

BFG GTX280 Overclocked II 2-way SLI - [Newegg]

Sound Card

Asus Sonar D2/PM - [Official Site]

Hard Disk Drive

WD Velociraptor WD3000HLFS MASTER 300GB 10,000 RPM SATA 2 (second to last HDD) - [Official Site]

Samsung Spinpoint T166 500GB SATA Series 7200 RPM - [Official Site]

Optical Drive

LG GH22LP20 - [Official Site]

Power Supply

PSU: Corsair CMPSU-1000HX - [Official Site]

UPS: APC Back-UPS RS 1500 VA - [Official Site]

Case

Cooler Master HAF 932 - [Official Site]

Monitor

Samsung SyncMaster T240 - [Official Site]

 

[gavinseabrook]

Everything looks good, but if I were you, I would go with an AMD capable motherboard and processor. Intel i7's are great little processors, but AMD has been coming out with some processors that oust them completely. Especially if you are looking for a great gaming rig. That or maybe spend 1000 bucks and go for an Intel Extreme

 

[Yeknom]

Thanks gavin, I've taken a look at those Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770/9775 and they are really good. Thing is they are really expensive too, even more than the i7 965 EE. Any AMD processor you'd suggest? I thought i7's were a good choice for building a new gaming rig (not upgrading).

I found a very decent online store with its base located in my city, so prices have improved quite a lot since I wrote the first post. Actually, things look so good now that I would have enough for the i7 965 EE and a 2-way GTX 280 SLI. Still not sure if that's necessary, though.

A couple of things changed with that extra cash available, also I'm gonna take it easy with the time:

*no links yet, sorry I'll update as soon as it is possible, I promise.

Hard Drive

I didn't understand very well what I wanted with two HDDs, but after reading a couple of articles about what RAID means, I thought I could benefit more from two SATA2 Western Digital or Samsung twins at 7200 rpm, medium capacity, in RAID 0. That'd be a money saver too.

Memory

Kingston Value RAM 6GB (3x2) 1333 MHz CL9 DDR3

For a little more I could go for 4GB 1600 or 3 with lower latencies, but I thought in this case quantity was preferable.

Monitor

Samsung SyncMaster T240 (24", 1920x1600 / 60 Hz, 1000:1, 5ms, 170/160)

It's around the same price as the BENQ and has better angles and some extra misc goodies.

Power Supply Units

PSU: Antec True Power Quattro 1000 (1000 Watts)

UPS: APC SAI Back-UPS RS 1500VA (865W / 1500 VA)

Sound Card

HP Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer (7.1 channels, 24 bit digital audio, 192 kHz max sample rate, SNR 109 dB)

Case

I'm not decided yet, but these two I kind of like:

TACENS Tango Pro

ANTEC Performance One P182


I'm gonna look in a couple on-line stores more and see if I can find better prices. My budget is around 4200$, it's a lot to me and I don't want to be disappointed with the final product.

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

I didn't understand very well what I wanted with two HDDs, but after reading a couple of articles about what RAID means, I thought I could benefit more from two SATA2 Western Digital or Samsung twins at 7200 rpm, medium capacity, in RAID 0. That'd be a money saver too.

Just as long as you think it will be enough for you, that should be fine, although i would suggest you throw in a Western digital VelociRaptor 300gb 10000rpm for a fast boot.

Samsung SyncMaster T240 (24", 1920x1600 / 60 Hz, 1000:1, 5ms, 170/160)

Strange resolution, I though 24" was 1920 x 1200, but again it doesn't particularly matter.


Newegg,com generally has the best prices, give or take a tad, and their highly reliable with their shipping and customer service.

HP Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer (7.1 channels, 24 bit digital audio, 192 kHz max sample rate, SNR 109 dB)

That card has some driver issues with Vista, the AuzenTech prelude has the same X-Fi audio chipset but costs less (i think, $170) and is not plagued with driver issues while maintaining approximate performance, but if your going XP, go ahead.

Kingston Value RAM 6GB (3x2) 1333 MHz CL9 DDR3

For a little more I could go for 4GB 1600 or 3 with lower latencies, but I thought in this case quantity was preferable.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227297

6 (3 x 2) gigs is pretty much a waste of money, triple channel has no noticable speed benefits at the moment and you will probably not use more than 3 gigs.


Intel will probably be > AMD performance wise for a while, even after Phenom II processors start poping up, which will be next year. Core i7 is mainly for multimedia applications, gaming takes fast dual cores, probably a more efficient, faster (gaming), and cheeper choice.


I would recommend the Antec 900.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Having a Core i7 isn't absolutely necessary. Games are far more dependent on a good GPU, so an E8500 or a Q9450 will also be good enough. Pair it with a motherboard like the P5Q Pro, throw in two HD 4870s and you'll have a system that can chew through anything you throw at it while not burning a hole in your pocket.

Also, that PSU isn't too great a unit. I recommend Chieftec's Super CFT-750-14CS or any product from their Turbo series, as well as the Corsair 750TX and the PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750.

 

[Yeknom]

Oh my... yes that was a typo, 1920x1200 is correct

I wish I could buy at newegg.com, but they only ship to the States and Puerto Rico, and, maybe I should have said, I'm in Europe for now.

Two posts more and I'll update everything with links.

Sound Card

Despite my personal opinion about Vista, I've been recommended to install it if only for hardware compatibility issues (although the arguments against it really outnumber the ones in favor). So the drivers issue is a problem.

None of the cheap stores here have the Auzentech Prelude, but they have this one: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium. I don't know if it has the same chipset, but the specs look the same. What do you think? You guys have made a good review about it here at TechSpot.

Memory

If I try to get OCZ I have to change to a slightly less cheap store, where I could not find 2x2 modules at 1600 Mhz:

OCZ Gold Edition Dual Channel 2 x 2 GB DDR3-1333 PC3-10666 CL9
OCZ Platinum Edition Dual Channel 2 x 2 GB DDR3-1800 PC3-14400 CL8

Both are more expensive than the Triple Channel offer from my other post (actually the first is of about the same price).

If I go Kingston, things don't look much better. Also more expensive:

KINGSTON HyperX 2 x 2 GB DDR3-1600 PC3-12800 CL9

Case

I also like the Nine Hundred, but I'm kind of worried it will be too noisy, 35-40+ dB even with the fans on low. I'm trying to find some kind of balance between quietness and adequate cooling, with enough room for keeping things neat too. I'm too exigent, I'm afraid.

* I just found an okay priced Cooler Master HAF 932, I might go with that one. I'll try to find out if it is reasonably quiet. I read a review here at TechSpot about it, so I'll start there.

** Outstanding case. Specs say fan noise is 19 dB at most and the review here confirms it, plus there is plenty of room and cooling. This one component is definitely decided.

Power Supply Unit

I thought Antec was okay (and that model was really cheap for a 1000W). If 850W is enough for this kind of machine I can go back to the first post and get Chieftec's
CFT-850G-DF 850W model. It is from the Turbo series and costs about the same as the Antec..

Also of around the same price: CORSAIR CMPSU-750TW - 750 W

CPU

I'm gonna need to think this. I know what you say is true, and if I had an E8400 or E8500 already I would not think about upgrading that much, at least not with the current prices.

Thing is this industry moves fast, and now that they have the i7 platform it will not take long before things change regarding games. With the money I'm already spending on this computer, getting an i7 940 doesn't really make a difference, and it could be a good investment for the future.

Of course I just know what I read in reviews and technical manuals, which is not much. But makes me think.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The CFT-850G-DF is a Chieftec Super series model, and not recommended due to the inferior build quality compared to that of the 750TX.

As far as "future-proofing" goes, it's a moot point, since cutting-edge right now is only old-tech a year or two down the line. The Q6600 is a prime example of this. Also, games have always been GPU dependent and the trend will just continue. So a Q9450 now will give the same gaming performance as a Core i7 on the vast majority of games out there. There are exceptions, but unless you're playing only these games, don't bother getting the i7 now.

Lastly, for that kind of resolution, I'd suggest a multi-GPU setup for the best-possible image quality. Two HD 4870s are pretty cheap and you don't need a motherboard with an AMD chipset to run them both in Crossfire, unlike SLI (although the eVGA FTW X58 allows for both on the same board).

 

[Yeknom]

I have found an affordable CTF-850-14C 850W, it's not exactly cheap but meets the suggested requirements (this one is from the Turbo series).

I'm going with your suggestion about the multi-GPU setup, just haven't decided if it's gonna be a 2-way SLI or Crossfire. Either way I should be fine, even if my pocket disagrees

I don't know what to think about the CPU. I think I'm being stubborn about it, so I'll mull it over, read some more in the morning and see if I can decide anything.

Thanks all for the suggestions, I appreciate them. Any other advice or comment will be welcome too.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

That PSU is a far better pick compared to your previous one.

Looks like you're almost ready.

 

[Yeknom]

I've been reading quite a lot today trying to make up my mind about everything I was in doubt (and in the end reached my own conclusions, so I don't know if it served any purpose ). I have also checked every component to see if there were better prices or inconsistencies with the manufacturer's page, and all looked okay except for the fact that I'm again without PSU.

Anyhow, I'm gonna post what could be the final build and see if I can get some advice on certain components I'm still undecided about. It's going to be in the next post tho, so I can include links. About that... I'm gonna skip linking to the stores' pages since they are not in English anyway, instead I'll link directly to the components' official websites.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Are you buying from Komplett? I hear they have great prices on hardware.

 

[Yeknom]

Komplett.co.uk seems out of business, I'll try to see if I can understand something from the German site. (Edit: German site met the same fate. I managed to check some processors at the Netherlands webpage and they do have good prices, I just don't know if I should buy there given the current situation )

Atm I'm buying from a couple of online stores in Spain and another two locals that have reasonable prices in some things. Prices are not much higher as it is, problem is the **** VAT that affects everything. I'm counting on paying it, but will try to elude it if I can.

This is what I have so far. I have converted some prices to USD, just to have a better picture of the alternatives. If anybody is interested I could link directly to the stores.

Motherboard

Asus Rampage II Extreme - 436.40$

Asus P6T Deluxe - 304.41$

Either one is okay, I kind of like the Rampage more.

CPU

Intel Core i7 940 [Review]

After reading a tad of reviews and experiences, I think an i7 is a very good candidate to take advantage of a multi GPU system without hitting any CPU limit whatsoever at high resolutions. There is so much discussion about this and everybody is so right about what they say that I got a terrible headache just by reading... so I went for personal preference (also trying to avoid buyer's remorse).

Price was also a factor. I ruled out an E8500 because I don't think I'd be really benefiting from the power of multiple GPUs, and the Q9650 is really close to the i7 in price around here.

RAM

This is the most overwhelming part for me. There are a lot.

If Kingston is good enough, I could go for either dual or triple channel at a decent price. Otherwise there are OCZ and G.Skill kits, that cost more.


Kingston ValueRAM 3GB (3x1) 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 1.5V - 89.37$
Kingston ValueRAM 4GB (2x2) 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 - 139.64$
Kingston ValueRAM 6GB (3x2) 1333 MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 1.5V - 156.40$
Kingston HyperX 3GB (3x1) 1600MHz DDR3 Non-ECC Low Latency CL8 1.65V (KHX12800D3LLK3/3GX) - 189.91$

Graphics Card

2-way Nvidia Geforce GTX 280 Extreme SLI - [Newegg] [European Store] - 488.74$

I really really considered going for an ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2 Crossfire, but that raised the price quite a lot.

There are very good reviews about this, one here at TechSpot and one specifically very detailed about the performance of 2/3-way SLI vs. ATI 4-GPU (no link due being another reviewing site).

Sound Card

Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium

Hard Disk Drive

2x Western Digital Caviar 3.5" 500GB 7200 rpm SATAII

I considered getting a Raptor or a SSD for fast boot, but I preferred to focus on other components first.

Optical Drive

LG GH22LP20

Power Supply

PSU

The Chieftec I found is not available anymore, so I'm back where I started. I've been searching for some alternatives:

ENERMAX Galaxy DXX EGX850EWL 850W
Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850W
Cooler Master Real Power Pro 1000W

UPS: APC Back-UPS RS 1500 VA

Case

Cooler Master HAF 932

Monitor

Samsung SyncMaster T240

This is it. I'm going nuts with the PSU and RAM, I hope I can finally find something good.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

To be honest, two cards like this will cost about the same as a single GTX 280 and will be easily able to outperform it. It will basically be like having a single HD 4870X2. But it's your call. For either of the two configurations, I'd recommend a 1kW supply for maximum stability, since two GTX280\HD4870 cards draw an enormous amount of power. The Corsair HX1000 is the best on the market in terms of price and quality.

 

[Yeknom]

After searching for some more buying places I got a better price in several components, much needed, plus I found a Corsair CMPSU-1000HX which is the PSU you suggested (thanks again!).

I'm still looking for RAM, but after reading a research made on i7 cores and overclocking I think I have a much better idea of what I should get. On that matter, OC'ing is something I consider a must if I'm buying this chip, so I expanded a bit the budget to get these:

Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme + brackets <- I found a cheaper one here, but they are out of stock.

I still have to grab the fan for it, I've read the Noctua NF-P12 is a good choice, but it's getting hard to find one. Another option would be going for a full set, which I do have located: Noctua NH-C12P. Anyway I should be fine.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions, I think I'm good to go. Probably will wait till Sunday evening to make the purchase, since nothing moves around here during the weekend (and the wait will be easier without my money being lost in some internet limbo).

If I make it I won't forget to post some pics. So wish me luck and see you in the next phase.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The Noctua fans are nice, but for the best cooling coupled with silence, I recommend the Yate Loon\Nexus Real Silent D12SL-12 and the Scythe SFF21F. For the ultimate cooling performance, the Scythe Kaze Jyuni is what you should look for. Great choice on the cooler BTW.

 

[adweston]

You had me right up to the BenQ monitor.. Those things are absolute crap.. There are so many better units out there, like an LG or something.

Also, AMD doesn't even hold a candle to an I7. Serious gamers don't use AMD processors because they get their arses kicked by Intel, no competition (not to mention the Phenom is complete garbage).

For a case, no question the Thermaltake Spedo Advanced.

For a PSU, a PC Power and Cooling blows away the competition.

If you're going to spend that kind of money on a gaming rig... Don't listen to the little kiddies that couldn't afford one so had to settle on an AMD and for God's sake, do it right. It's a kickin' system you've got planned out there. Don't cut corners.




oops.. You changed your config. DON'T GET VALUERAM!! God! It's a gaming rig, not a K-mart special!!! You had it right the first time.

Second, the Antec TP 1000. As you can see, I have that PSU. It's not bad, but I'm not going to recommend it over the PC P&C because the power output is a little dirty. It's decent, but the PC P&C is a superior unit.

Samsung monitors are a tough one, because they use panels from three different manufacturers, and two of them are really crappy... Like, REAL bad. Plus, they aren't a true 2ms refresh, they're a 5ms refresh with an overdrive.. and sometimes that overdrive causes glitches.

 

[Yeknom]

I should have updated the first post a while ago, sorry about that. Now it has the latest choices.

Thanks for the advice about the ValueRAM, after reading a lot of reviews and builds where it didn't get mentioned, it sure sounded a little too fishy. I thought in going OCZ since it has very good comments everywhere I read.

The PSU, I actually had a good read here and here, and the Corsair HX1000 really seems a very good choice. Still I'm going to see what can I get here from PC P&C and I'll compare with it.

About the Case, I'm reading a review of the Thermaltake Spedo Advanced and looks very good so far, I'll decide something after I'm done with the review.

Lastly, I'll have to take a look at what LG has to offer. I admit having done really little research regarding the monitor. Shame on me.

 

[adweston]

I'm an OCZ dealer, and I like it very much. However, I've had issues with the GGX in one or two configs. I've also not had a lot of luck overclocking it in the rigs I've tried to do it. Mind you they were Asus boards and voltage droop more than likely came in to play.

If you like OCZ, may I recommend the Reaper HPC? I bought the 4GB DDR2 kit for myself a couple of weeks ago and it's fantastic. I love it.

I've not tried the Corsair PSUs yet. I understand they're very good, but I've not had first hand experience.

I love the GTX280. It's an incredible card and a fine choice, but not the XFX. They're a hit and miss brand. If I may, the BFG, EVGA or Asus should be the brands of choice.

The Caviar SE... NOOOOOO!! lol. Horrible drives. Worst,,..hdd....evah for a gamer or media enthusiast. They're only designed for very light, casual duty. I loved your choice of the Velociraptor. It's an incredible drive. Failing that, the Seagate SATAII-300 500GB drives are really good.

The X-Fi... Meh. It's ok. Creative driver support really blows, though. I have an X-Fi Fatal1ty in my beater and I'm not really that thrilled with it. I have a Xonar D2 in my main PC and it's outstanding. You may wish to look at the Xonar line while you're configuring your build.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The OEM is what matters when going for a PSU, and the HX1000 is built by Channel Well Technology, who're among the best OEMs out there. PC Power & Cooling uses Win-Tact for their Turbo-Cool PSUs, but they have their own quality control team so their PSUs usually turn out great. Both are good and the Turbo-Cool 1kW is a high-quality server-grade PSU that is still among the best, but the capacitors on the Corsair unit are of better quality, which is why I suggested it. The Antec Signature series is another excellent line of high-wattage PSUs.

@adweston, the Caviar SEs may not be great, but the Caviar Black line is top-of-the-range, and among the best I have ever seen. I also own five Caviar Blue drives and like them much more than my Seagate Barracudas.

 

[Yeknom]

I only found a PC Power&Cooling Turbo-Cool 1200, it looks amazing, no so the price though . I don't want to skimp in power supply (especially not in power supply), but the price is getting bigger by the second already. And here I thought I was gonna be fine with this budget, doesn't seem like it right now... oh well.

About the Hard Drives, I actually thought I would benefit more from multiple HDDs in a stripping array (i.e. RAID 0), than from a single VelociRaptor, but maybe I'm wrong, so would you recommend the latter option? If not, what about 2x Samsung Spinpoint T 501LJ, I've been told they perform faster than Seagate ones.

No problem about the GTX 280, I went for XFX because I was advised so and I didn't read anything bad about it. I found a BFG GTX280 Overclocked II for the same price (VAT included) that is even faster than the XFX one.

Regarding the RAM, I've seen people say good things about OCZ, G.Skill and Corsair. The problem I see with OCZ Reaper HPC is that there is only one kit (3 or 6GB) with the recommended voltage of =<1.65 (OCZ DDR3 PC3-15000 Reaper Low-Voltage Triple Channel), and every decent priced store I checked is either out of stock or just doesn't have it. I found an OCZ DDR3 PC3-12800 Intel® i7 Triple Channel kit at a decent price that I might get, other than that there are several 3/6GB kits from OCZ Gold and Platinum Series, a Corsair Core i7 XMS3 Classic 1600MHz 9-9-9-24, 1.65V 6GB and a few Patriot and G.Skill 3GB kits, all immediate delivery.

I like the Thermaltake Spedo Advanced case by the way. I'm a bit confused about some contradictory infos on the net regarding the cooling performance of the Spedo and HAF 932, so I haven't decided anything yet, but I'm sure tomorrow I'll see everything clearer.

Oh my, and I thought I was ready to buy. Still, I trust I'm on schedule. I'm starting to think that no matter what my budget were, I'd still be a thousand short

Well thanks for all the advice, much appreciated.

Edit: oh almost forgot, I've been looking at the Asus Xonar line of sound cards, very nice. I might be getting a D2/PM, or maybe a DX/XD is money is tight. I'll see tomorrow, I have to practice some budget management

 

[adweston]

The ONLY Caviar that I'll even look at is the Caviar RE3. Most people won't pay the extra money for them, though, because they have no clue what they're getting for the money. (hint.. the RE stands for "Raid Edition...with an MTBF of 1.2M+ hours) They're an enterprise class drive that will simply crucify the SE.

The Spinpoint T is a great drive, and very quiet. Excellent choice as well.

The RAID 0 idea...ummm....no. RAID 0 is a complete and total joke, there's no real world performance gain unless you're moving massive files around all day (ie... 1GB+ files), it cuts the MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) in half, and those Caviar SE hunks of garbage only have a 60kH MTBF as it is (the lowest in the industry). Yeah, HD Tach SAYS it's faster, but that benchmark has been adequately debunked as being absolute garbage, and any reviewer relying on it for their conclusions should be shot.

Oh... and RAID 0 isn't even a RAID array by definition.. There's nothing "redundant" about it. If you don't care about your data, and you're willing to put it at risk for a 1 sec (best case scenario) performance gain, be my guest.

In other words, you're WAY further ahead with the Velociraptor with an MTBF of almost 1.5M hours and simply disturbing performance.

I'm not saying that the Reaper is the only way to go (although you can certainly adjust voltage in your BIOS). I'm simply saying that I'm very satisfied with mine and you might find them worthy of closer investigation. I like Corsair too, so I'm sure you'll be happy with them as well.

People like Coolermaster. Enough to "bend" a review. For the price, sure.. But if you want the primo case, it's the TT. The Antec 900 just plain sucks when it comes to building. I can't stand mine at all, but it's built so screw it until my supplier has stock on the TT Spedo.

The Xonars are absolutely fabulous. I have mine hooked up to a Rotel stereo system with Paradigm Reference Studio 100.2s and Chord interconnects. Believe me when I say the difference is obvious between the X-Fi and the D2. Not quite "night and day", but the X-Fi is obviously a toy by comparison. A simply astounding card. I promise you, you'll love it.

 

[LinkedKube]

Everything looks good, but if I were you, I would go with an AMD capable motherboard and processor. Intel i7's are great little processors, but AMD has been coming out with some processors that oust them completely. Especially if you are looking for a great gaming rig. That or maybe spend 1000 bucks and go for an Intel Extreme

My eyes turned into light bulbs when i read this post. Stop reading reviews from 2005 if you're going to advise someone about a rig.

 

[Yeknom]

A few changes:

RAM

G.Skill 3x2GB DDR3-1600 F3-12800CL8T-6GBPI-B 8-8-8-21 1.65V Π Black (last kit) - [Official Site]

Sound Card

Asus Sonar D2/PM - [Official Site]

Hard Drive Unit

I had a good reading today regarding Single Drive vs RAID 0 (several interesting links in there aswell), and have made a few changes in the build, more geared towards the original idea.

WD Velociraptor WD3000HLFS MASTER 300GB 10,000 RPM SATA 2 (second to last HDD) - [Official Site]
Samsung Spinpoint T166 500GB SATA Series 7200 RPM

As the main goal of the build is gaming, I'm guessing the VelociRaptor should not be the boot HDD?

Motherboard & CPU

Unfortunately these changes mean I have to downgrade both CPU and Motherboard.

Asus P6T Deluxe - [Official Site]
Intel Core i7 920 - [Official Site Comparison]

I wanted to go for an i7 940 for a somewhat "safer" overclocking, this change means I'll have to be even more careful if possible. I was aiming for 3.7 GHz, perhaps I should stay now under the 3.5 mark. But that's getting to far ahead of time, I'll focus on that once the machine is built.

As for the Motherboard, I should be fine with a P6T Deluxe, not that Iike the change mind you, but I'm saving a fair amount of money with it.

*BTW I noticed there is a P6T Deluxe v2, still haven't read any review though.

As far as the other components go, there have been no changes so far. I have a few (very few ) bucks left, so I'll try to get a better monitor. And while I'm at it I might be finding a cheaper place to buy, but it's dubious. Also I'll buy the cooler + fan later, when I start experimenting with the CPU, plus that way I'll have some time to find the fans Rage_3K_Moiz suggested (superb suggestion mate, thanks).

Man, I don't know what I'd be buying without you guys. Thanks a lot.

 

[LinkedKube]

Getting to 3.8ghz on the cpu is pretty easy on the asus boards, its just a change of 4 settings then you should be fine. That's possible on a stock cooler too.

 

[adweston]

That build is looking dynamite actually. The Velociraptor SHOULD be your boot drive.. That's kinda the idea of having one.