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Thread: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

  1. #31
    Shut up and take my money!
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    From what I've heard, you CAN run xfire on an sli board (and vice versa) but it requires a software hack, I haven't looked into the specifics I've just heard its possible. If you dont want to mess with that, then going with nvidia might be a safer bet. As for ram, I'm pretty sure if you make sure the pins match (i think its pretty standard 240 now for ddr3) and make sure the ram is designed for the type of proc you're using (intel), you should be fine. Especially if other people are using the same board and ram lol.
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  2. #32
    rawrnomnom diluzio91's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    You can run dual card sli/xfire no mater what. its when you get higher than 2 that i get fuzzy at what happens.
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  3. #33
    Why must hard drives fail together? TheMainMan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    According to Gigabyte's description of your mobo here you should have no problem adding a second 6970 and running them in CrossFireX as your board supports both CFX and SLI. Your board will do dual CrossFireX or SLI as you only have two PCI-E 16x slots (not sure if it supports quad though, such as two 6990s).

    As for the ram, I've found that the QVL is only marginally helpful. A quick google search brought up a few members of the Gigabyte and Corsair forums who were running that board and 16GBs of Corsair. Sounds like anything over 1333MHz needs to use XMP in BIOS, that was the case on the Asus P8Z68-V LE I used in my SO's machine with 16GB of Vengeance ram in it. As far as I can tell, as long as you're using a recent chipset like the Z68 there seems to be very few complaints about the Vengeance stuff.

    Wish I could recommend CPU coolers but the i5 builds I've done in the last while have been for people who the stock is fine for.
    TheMainMan

  4. #34
    Overclocked Munty's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    I hate having all you guys over in the States as I have to wait until morning for your replies but it does make getting out of bed easier knowing that there will be such a lot of good advice waiting for me

    Having read up on heatsinks and such the 212 and 212+ come out pretty high in most discussions. The Corsair A70 (I think) is similarly well spopken of but more expensive and that's the case for most other alternatives too. The 212+ seems to be one of the best performances to the pound so I'm going to go with that.

    I've been able to find all of the remaining components I need at Amazon so I'm ready to place a final order now thanks to you guys and all your help. Below is the shopping list as it stands now;
    Cooler Master 212+ - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A1IE2T48Y49NKD
    Sandybridge i5 2500k - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
    4x4GB Corsair Vengeance 1600MHz - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE
    Windows 7 Home 64bit - http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

    Much as I hate going with Windows 7 I feel it's rather inevitable at this point... It's going to be a bit like teaching old dogs new tricks but Google can always answer any interface queries I have and I guess I'll get the hang of it sooner or later! Obviously going with a 64bit system or I'll lose out on 3/4 of my installed RAM

    The last thing I'll need for this build which I'm having some trouble with is a new CDD... Yep, that simple! All my stuff is ancient and therefore PATA and I noticed when my new board arrived that it only accepts SATA connections (or USB) That means I need to get a new CDD or I won't even be able to install my drivers and Windows let alone any of my games!

    Here's my dilemma though... Seeing as I need to get a new CDD anyway and I'm considering replacing the HDD too, I was thinking about maybe using external components for both so as to leave the build as clutter free as possible. If I do this I won't be using a standard case and will instead build the new rig into the desk I'm planning. Will be a relatively simple perspex box or similar, nothing fancy! That way the HDD and CDD won't jumble the innards as they can just be USB extensions build into different parts of the desk.

    I just wonder if it'll be possible to build and boot the rig from external drives. First off I'll need to install Windows from a CD so will the computer recognise an external CDD at such an early point? Same obviously goes for the HDD. Is it possible to have the computer automatically boot from an external drive without having to fiddle in BIOS or setup or something everytime I switch on? If not is there a way I can use temporary SATA devices just to get up and running? For example, I could use a SATA CDD to install windows and then once it's bootable I can switch out to an external one which will be recognised in Windows. Same sort of question for a HDD. I'm going to place the above order now and throw in an external CDD anyway as it's only £7 but please keep any more advice on the above coming in thick and fast!

    Once my final hardware order is placed I'll be taking another look at getting together the materials for my desk and hopefully I can build the whole lot at once! Cheers, T

  5. #35
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    yes, you can install windows from an external usb cdd. that's no problem.

    i don't know how well windows 7 will boot from a usb hdd though. i know windows xp will not unless you do some hacking and get a custom install iso. it had to do with when xp would load usb drivers.

    something easier might be to just get a long sata cable and run it out your perplex box and remotely mount the hdd.

  6. #36
    rawrnomnom diluzio91's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    I install win 7 from a flash drive all the time. USB hdd is a nono though.
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  7. #37
    Overclocked Munty's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    Thanks guys, all my orders are now placed although I haven't set about getting a new HDD which means I'll have to either wait for one or recycle an old one. I have a 500GB one which I could use but I'd rather have my 1TB drive in the build. Not sure how I'd go about installing 7 onto a HDD with XP already on it though and of course it would be much better to start off with a clean slate.

    I may try cleaning out my 500GB drive then moving everything form the 1TB drive onto that one. But then I wouldn't have any HDDs with good OSs on and I wouldn't be able to use the computer at all :p

    If I were to move all the stuff I wanted to keep onto my 500GB drive, could I then reformat it in the new rig before installing windows? I think I did something similar before but I forget how...

    EDIT : I have a friend up the road with an external 1TB drive. Maybe I can borrow that for temporary storage while I reformat in the new comp... That should work I guess... Right?...

  8. #38
    Overclocked Munty's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    Well, I'm pleased to announce that most of the expensive stuff is done now! I'm waiting for CDD and HDD solutions as I need to reformat my 1TB drive (a job for this afternoon) and get hold of an external or SATA CDD so I can actually install windows onto the new rig! I have an external drive on it's way but could be a few days. No point reformatting until that arrives as once I do I'll be without a computer for a while so hey ho. Will start backing up the files I want to keep shortly and then reformat when the CDD is here as well.

    Here's a bit of unboxing and the build so far. Remember the AX850 is already supporting my current build but will obviously move over soon. It has fixed all the issues I had before I installed it so my frequent in-game restarts were definitely due to a lack of power.

    First up here are all of the components I have so far. No graphics card yet but will be a Christmas present (hopefully an early one!) For now I'll be continuing to use my 4870 so I'll see a nice gain in speed and power but nothing noticeable in graphics for now. Looking on the bright side, Windows 7 will give me DX11 but I don't know how much difference that'll make to an aging card anyway. Roll on xmas and my 6970 anyway!


    This is the stuff I took delivery of this morning. CPU, RAM and heatsink. I got my copy of Windows as well but that's just a plain box so not very noteworthy...


    Finally unboxed my motherboard today (I've been waiting for everything else to arrive! Went with Gigabyte's Z68 board which was part of a massive sale and saved me £50!




    The Vengeance RAM was one I always liked the look of but sadly the fools seem to build the stuff backwards as the name is on the side of the stick that faces the CPU fan and is therefore invisible. Admittedly, that makes sense for a normal build as CDD and HDD bays obscure the side I'll be looking at but it sucks for my planned arrangement...


    The 2500k i5 processor is the first I have EVER bought. This is in fact the first computer of any kind I have ever bought and built myself, though I've made a great deal of Frankensteinian rigs in my time. I was, am and probably always will be scared of processors. Something so small and expensive has to be pretty fragile right? Presumably not but it sticks with me


    Went with the 212 fan as it was fairly cheap and was given good props almost everywhere I looked. It's a beast, probably too big for my current tower but thankfully I don't plan on using it anyway!


    As for the build, only the parts above went together today so not much to see. Here's everything unboxed waiting for assembly.

    Here's partial assembly with the RAM and CPU installed.

    And here's the heatsink installed as well, had to remove the motherboard from it's donor tray to fit it but I already knew I would so no drama there.


    The bottom of the 212's contact plate is quite ridged so I gave it a little thermal paste as well as the CPU. It was my first time but I'm confident it's a good join, I'm pretty anal so that helps sometimes

    Going for a walk into town now to borrow a HDD for backing up. Will stop into the local tech shop to see if he has any cheap SATA or external CDDs as I'm itching to test this build but I have one in the post anyway so we'll see.

    Anyone curious as to why this is lacking a case, that's because I'm already using the only decent looking case I have AND the fatc I'll probably build a custom enclosure for this rig when I make my new desk anyway. Expect to hear about both projects in a seperate thread as and when they happen, should be easy

  9. #39
    rawrnomnom diluzio91's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    God gigabyte makes some sexy mobos...
    Not dead yet

  10. #40
    Overclocked Munty's Avatar
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    Default Re: Wanted - hardware for complete system upgrade

    Have you seen their Sniper boards? http://uk.gigabyte.com/products/prod...px?pid=3760#ov That's a pretty unique design right there!

    I'm enjoying the simplicity of an almost completely black design so far with my build. The PSU follows suit and my external CDD arrived today which is also black. Following recent advice I'm thinking about doing as xr4man says and just get a caddy and placing an internal HDD externally with a long SATA cable. As long as I can run it nicely then it shouldn't make a big difference...

    Of course I need to get on and build my new desk and case in order to actually do that which will wait until next month (just so I know the rent gets paid first!!!) but I'm looking forward to getting that done.

    For now, I'm just finishing the backup of my documents from this computer and then I'll be temporarily fitting the mobo assembly into my current case I think. Not sure the side will go on with that huge 212+ cooler but I don't care too much about that! Just looking forward to seeing if everything is working nicely together. My next post here will probably (and hopefully) be made from the new build. Either way I'll be wiping this HDD shortly so I'm going to be either very happy or very annoyed later this afternoon!

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