Your opinions on this set-up please

[Samanosuke]

Hi
First post and Im looking for your opinions. My current machine is on its last leg an it's got to the point where it BSODs when turned on after being off overnight so it's always on now and that's not ideal given its age.

You will notice I am not really interested in HDDs as I will be sticking my current 4 (total of 6TB) in there. No software required no monitors either as my current setup makes me happy
Apart from finally joining civilization (i7 yay) the biggest change is the fact I will be able to watch Blurays on PC instead of PS3 all the time. I have gone overkill with the PSU as I want the machine to be as future proof as possible, don't see myself buying a new rig before 3 or 4 years minimum, and of course I want the option of being able to upgrade and install all kinds of hardware in there

Do you think the cooling is adequate? I've read some really good reviews on the Fenrir Evo and to be honest I would always fear water cooling, but Im here for opinions.


Here it is:

Case
InWIN BLACK DRAGON RIDER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2700k Quad Core (3.50GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
16GB KINGSTON HYPERX GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1866MHz X.M.P(4 x 4GB KIT)
Graphics Card
1GB AMD RADEON™ HD6870 - 2 DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
12x BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£69)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 850W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX850 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£99)
Processor Cooling
TITAN FENRIR EVO EXTREME HEATPIPE CPU COOLER (£39)
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE

 

[mantadog]

What kind of uses will the machine be used for, that will set the tone for any advice really. Along with a maximum budget should help you get a few very good responces..

Overall the machine looks solid as is, if your adding in your own HDD's and willing to upgrade in the fture then it looks like you have all the bases covered with the motherboard and CPU.

Can't be more helpful than that without a budget and your uses, if you post those you will get alot more specific advice if anyone spots anything obvious.

 

[Samanosuke]

Hi Manta,

budget as low as possible as it is, this is costing me £1,136
The PC will be used for gaming, photo/video editing and some light 3d modelling.

 

[mantadog]

Which of those would be your main focus? Are you looking to overclock in the future, as you have alot of overclock friendly parts. If you don;t plan to overclock you can knock a bit off the price.

Here is what i come up with, slightly cheaper than your build but should outperform it in games and not really any slower with rendering etc.
Case
InWIN BLACK DRAGON RIDER GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i7-2600 Quad Core (3.40GHz, 8MB Cache) + HD Graphics If your not going to overclock then keep this processor, if you do plan to overclock then i would stick with the 2700k
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z68-V/GEN3: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX***SPECIAL***
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 4GB)Probably overkill, but not too much added to the build by having it.
Graphics Card
1.25GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 570 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready If gaming is important this is a better card
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
250GB SATA-II 3-Gb/s HARD DRIVE WITH 8MB CACHE (7,200rpm)
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
10x LG BLU-RAY RE-WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW (£65)
Memory Card Reader
INTERNAL 52 IN 1 CARD READER (XD, MS, CF, SD, etc) + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Power Supply
CORSAIR 750W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX750 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£87)Leaves you about 200w spare capacity for future upgrades, might be worth getting a bigger PSU if you have alot of upgrades planned
Processor Cooling
SUPER QUIET 22dBA TRIPLE COPPER HEATPIPE INTEL CPU COOLER (£19)more than good enough for a gaming rig but no good for an overclocked CPU
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Network Facilities
10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT - AS STANDARD ON ALL PCs
USB Options
6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL (MIN 2 FRONT PORTS) AS STANDARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour) (£5)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,088.00 including VAT and delivery.

Configure Here: http://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/computers/intel-sandy-bridge-pc/

 

[Samanosuke]

Thank you Manta
Im not sure whether or not I want to go down the path of overclocking, so I will stick with the 2700K just in case.

With regards to the PSU, do you think the Corsair 850 would suffice for future expansion? if not, I would be looking at the 1200 as the 1050 didnt get particularly good reviews.

As for cooling, I think I will get the Fenrir and if I do overclock I will change it for a liquid one.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[mantadog]

The fenrir will handle overclocking fairly well on it's own. The PSU all depends on what you plan to upgrade, you can fit a fair few upgrades with 300W space capacity to play with. That would let you fit a 2nd 570 and still have room for some case fans and a couple of HDD's.

I wouldn't worry too much about reviews on the PSU's to be honest, 1200w is crazy headroom, even 1000w is probably too much. I wouldn't get bigger than the 850w unless you know for sure you will need it.

 

[TJWhonley]

water cooling is a bit overkill unless you want to go to about 5gh

 

[Samanosuke]

yeah the 1200 is a little too much I will stick with the 850.

Thanks for the help.

 

[Samanosuke]

TJWhonley yeah, I will get the Fenrir and seeing as you all agree that it's enough as it is I won't bother with water cooling