• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

new build £720-50

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

fudge2011

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jan 3, 2011
Messages
493
im going to buy this tonight?

any thoughts? considering Im on a time budget and havent properly looked at PSU and memory types.

intel sandybridge i7-2600k LGA1155 Socket, L2 8 MB----£195
Asrock Z68 Extreme4 Intel 1155 ATX Motherboard---£145
radeon HD XFX 6950----------------------------------------------£190
corsair enthusiast TX650 V2 650W-------------------------------£70
Zalman z9 plus------------------------------------------------------------£45
optical drive samsung------------------------DVD/RW---------£25
HDD samsung 1TB--------------------------------------------------£35

basically is this all compatible and what would be advantages of the asrock over the Asus P8Z68-V PRO Intel Z68 (Socket 1155) DDR3 Motherboard

its for high desktop use powering three hanns HH281's , gaming,
 
This is at least your third thread on this in the past month. You know about the sticky. Make up your mind.
 
The one you filled out here, and were reminded of here.

That's "The Sticky".

The one posted at the top of the subforum titled "Sticky: Asking for Build Help?: ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST"

How many build threads do you need to get a rig built? I think you have four simultaneous build threads between GenHard, Video Cards, Intel Processors. Focus and listen to what people are telling you in the various threads! Posting an additional thread for a second opinion in the same forum isn't helpful. If your build had changed significantly from the title over the course of a thread, I can understand starting a fresh new post. But I'm just seeing rehashes of the same thing: 2D desktop work with some gaming on three monitors with the rest of the components being pretty similar.

The above build you posted should all fit together fine.

I don't know what your idea of a time budget is since on 4/30 in this post you said you were going to buy in under 2 days, and build in under a fortnight. So am I to assume you're going to buy in a few hours and assemble over the weekend? Or do you just want us to think its urgent and help you ASAP? Because if that's the case you should post in the Rapid Response subforum. Oh wait, that doesn't exist because we're all volunteering our time. We're here to help, but don't abuse it.
 
sorry, but i still dont know what your referring to, i can find the page giving the frame of questoins to answer(so most of my 'new threads' contained the questins and answers based on that framework) but theres only a two page genhardware faq thread after that. got a link?

trust me i just cant find it,,been looking on and off for few weeks. are you saying there actually is like a massive thread where everyone posts there framwork of build qith the questions/anwers/additional?
 
:confused: yeah i know i said i was going to build really quickly. im almost there now.

i really dont know what your getting at , i used the framework of the,,answer these questions first so many times.

sorry is all i can say..what exactly should i do
 
No, there's not a massive thread with everyone's builds. The sticky I'm referring to is the form you fill out.

fudge2011 said:
i really dont know what your getting at , i used the framework of the,,answer these questions first so many times.
Click to expand...

I guess what I'm getting at is why have you had to fill out the framework/form so many times?

It doesn't seem like your requirements have changed much (desktop applications, photoshop/PDF, math modelling, some gaming right?) A lot of the advice that has been given to you on how to build a system for this is good, sound advice. But you've got to take it and eventually make a decision on if you want to spend your money on it.

As far as the multiple threads, it's helpful for forum users to see your build information in one post. Even if you change your mind and wonder about something, if it's related to the build, try to keep it in the same thread to avoid repetition.

The build you listed in the first part of this thread looks pretty good. I'm not familiar with UK pricing so it's hard for me to make value calls on if something is overpriced, but in general, that build might be something I suggest in the US. The only downside is ASRock's warranty (it's only 1 year in the US, so you'll need to see how long it is in the UK) which is shorter than most other companies' warranties (like Asus.) Both motherboards seem to have good reviews so far. The build also needs some memory. Simple, cheap DDR3 1333MHz 1.5V sticks of RAM will do fine. (1.5V = 1.5 volts, look on the specs page of the RAM you're considering.)
 
thanks. yeah, it was a challenge but im reaching the mountain top erm..

yeah the build research has been quite comprehensive research without delving into specific jargon.
Im going to stick to the RAM suggestion by yourself and get 2X4G=8G i.e two sticks for now. i read somewhere about 1333 being easier to generate power from as opposed to 1600 for some reason,,,is there a piece of hardware that...

Im just a little worried about the PSU , Ive done a little reading and basically the insights im getting is I need to know about the volts, mayeb that choosing 650W isn't enough and that different PSU's have different rates and levels of PSU power while some have a constant flow of power or something.

do you think the corsair ive specified will be ok should I buy another 6950 in the future, or okai for now? although you have said everything is fine :)
 
The Corsair you specified is fine for one 6950. If you want the ability to have two 6950s in the future, consider getting an 850W power supply (just look at another Corsair to make things simple.) A 750W might be okay, but an 850W will definitely be okay.
 
ah ok thanks, ill be tallying some figures tonight and budgeting then for that PSU(see what I can afford)

as for the DP im under the impression that the way to do it it use the two hdmi ports on the 6950 for two hdmi to hdmi for two of the hanns H281's then I need a simple DP to hdmi and one more hdmi lead to connect the third HH281 from dp port - hdmi socket - hdmi lead - HH281 hdmi . i.e three hdmi cables.

is this the best thing to do?

someone gave me the link for the correct DP adapter I need in a thread I created but ive created so many I cant find it. One lesson ive learnt from creating so many for the future

I wont be better with anything like this then ,,whatever this is ,,some kind of integrated adapter :s http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/26/amd-firepro-2460-multi-view-four-mini-displayport-sockets-13w/
 
Do you have a link to the card you're planning to buy?

This is the link you're looking for (I think I posted it.) There are other ones that will probably work too, but those are the validated ones.
 
Yeah it's cheap because it's a budget brand. The card could work well, but I'm not familiar with VTX3D (I don't think they're in the US.) Here, the top Radeon brand is usually XFX followed by the middle tier of Asus, MSI, and Sapphire, with the lower rung considered to be HIS and Powercolor. That said, HIS and Powercolor cards can work out great. But their customer service and warranty departments aren't as good as XFX or the middle tier. Since you're in the UK, it could be completely different there due to different offices running the customer service and different laws governing warranties.
 
I see, sorry for the delay.
I will consider this,,,it could be handy to get the two year warranty then again, it could be a case of spending up to £40-£50 more.
although in actual fact its quite a relief to see this GPU going that cheap.
I actually feel a ashamed I almost wrote 5 pages arguing the debate of 6850 over 6950 when actually,,,they cross the same price line it seems
 
A lot of the differences in graphics cards that don't appear on spec sheets are warranty/customer service related, followed by the cooler/fan. You'll get some cards that are a little faster than others when clocked the same (and they have the same memory speeds,) but the differences aren't usually huge since, at its core, it's still an AMD or nVidia chip driving the whole thing. So they can differentiate by putting on a more efficient, quieter, or "better" cooler on it. Or by providing better customer service/warranties.
 
thats another thing, fans. not to quabble but id like to ,,,,,,,,,,,,,blleeeeeeugeuhh no companies specifiying what fans they come with,, im going to have to ring up these distributers.

is it custom that GPUs come with a fan/cooler? and what types of fans do these tend to be(120mm/160mm/adjustable speed(noise)?/whatever features fans tend to have),, i thought the only way of directly cooling a GPU was a side panel fan?:confused:
 
Many video card vendors use the reference HSF (heatsink-fan) setup designed by Nvidia or AMD, but a few use their own custom setup. The custom HSF setup either uses a proprietary fan/heatsink design or a third-party cooling solution (which is "covered up" with the vendor's own distinctive markings or colors). Most video cards come with either a large heatsink (for passive cooling) or a HSF design that uses fans, cooling fins, or heatpipes (or a combination of all three).
 
is this the same for the fans provided with other hardware be it motherboard and others,,,do they always all come with fans?,,,whether reference or their own custom? '',

i think i have one custim zalman fan with the case which can be altered(its speed, which is kindov good) I anticipated using that alterng feature with some other good fans in and around the case/mobo
 
For the most part these aren't the standard "case fan". They're smaller in size than what you'd put on your case nowadays, and they can vary in how they move air as well. Go look at a picture of various video cards to get an idea (6950, 6970, GTX 570, etc.)

Since this is your first build, don't worry about the small stuff so much. Remember the KISS principle. I know it's a lot of money, but start simple and work your way up. This build will not be perfect no matter how much time and effort you put into it before hand, so don't stress on if XFX or MSI is using X brand fans or Y brand fans. That's not important right now. What is important is that you get a solid foundation up and running so you can start using it rather than think about using it.
 
oh right thanks, this is the message I send before i go to 'work' then come home and wait for people from USA to be online.

so Ill just go with the fans that all hardware provides and not even bother buying another fan, presumably another fan isnt even needed to get a system up and running through the bios etc. ? :)

ok I have one more question before i get to fully order all parts, price everything:
the zalman cases are known to be quiet but the zalman z9 plus has got a mesh cages window going directly into the centre of the case:confused: surely this will create noise in excess of say 24db(whats considered quiet) to me sitting a metre or more away? what do you think? i dont doubt this is some crazy design flaw :confused: http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgu...n&sa=N&biw=1920&bih=1087&tbm=isch&um=1&itbs=1 in fact how can any case claim to be quiet with meshed exterior when clearly silence comes from the foam coating cases are using :confused:


speak later

oh and one more thing, any fans provided with brands covering up third party makers or whatever, can they all be sold on like ebay or other auction, car boot sites, when I want to consider the small things and upgrade to fully control noise/heat etc? thanks
 
Last edited:
Yeah you can sell case fans on eBay and the like but I wouldn't expect to get much for them. There are a variety of ways to reduce your noise footprint. Silentpcreview.com has a lot of information on noise levels. I didn't realize that was one of your goals. Getting a third party heatsink and selecting your power supply based on noise will be where you want to start. Silentpcreview is where I go for that kind of information.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
im going for the silverstone ps03,,,much better considering any pc for viduals(window) will waste space on my desk and the case under the desk with the slot in the silverstone is better
 
Good looking case you found there, sounds like it'll work pretty well for your needs.
 
nah it wont, the CM 690 2 advantage it much better as it actually fits the radeon 6950 although I do agree the silverstone ps03 is very beautiful, if only it was bigger. i just like that badge on the front :p

although honestly its a hard decison between the CM 690 2 advantage,, the lancool dragon k62

thoughts?
 
ok, almost last question.

how would i get a digital display on the monitors,,is hdmi digital?...and is dvi better than hdmi?

is it worse to have the GPU with dvi to hdmi twice then DP -DV- - HDMI for the third monitor than :

DVI - DVI twice and DP - DVI ...i would assume the latter is better as its just DP to DVI and no connector is needed?

this is important and I wouldnt know where to start finding the answer apart from on here.
 
fudge2011 said:
this is important and I wouldnt know where to start finding the answer apart from on here.
Click to expand...

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=hdmi

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=hdmi+dvi+difference

Between Google and Wikipedia, I can get an objective answer to almost anything where it involves two or less things. More people need to realize this. Go forth and evangelize!

For the rest of your post, since there's no difference between DVI and HDMI for a computer monitor, it doesn't matter what you use. HDMI literally has a DVI video signal + audio and a few other things. Displayport is slightly different, but it won't affect your usage. It will look and behave the same. So if your card has 1 DisplayPort and two HDMI or DVI ports, you can hook it up your monitors using one of the following combinations:

  1. 2 DVI to HDMI Cables, 1 DisplayPort to HDMI
  2. 2 HDMI to HDMI Cables, 1 DisplayPort to HDMI
  3. 1 DVI to HDMI, 1 HDMI to HDMI, 1 DisplayPort to HDMI

HDMI is easier to plug in than DVI, but it won't look any better than a basic DVI cable.

Edit: Your monitors (HH281s) don't have DVI ports. Get HDMI.
 
Last edited:
awesome. i think ill go with number 3 although I have a little concern over linux compiz drivers for using different ports I saw on a forum somewhere but by the looks of things no card under £200 can support three similar ports anyway, unless i go crossfire.

hopefully using the same monitors should outweigh the compatibility of linux and compiz as ive also read this is a bonus. no need to buy the HH281z then at least woo! :)


ive just seen the new imacs have radeon 6970's so im looking forwrd to overclocking them as apples graphics always look sweet and there mac pro stations have friggin 5870's, nice! :p




one other thing, im anticipating that ultramon and either desktop cube for windows or a similar program will run together nicely. i actually vagaely remember doing this on three different monitors with vga a little over two years ago. fingers crossed it works a dream :p

have a little look down this page also, why is the guy saying XFX GPUs have better linux compatability,,,,surely the brand name has nothing to do with whats in the actual card? as this is what people have more or less told me on here,,,,he's clearly saying something wrong there right? http://askubuntu.com/questions/8785/how-to-get-a-3-screen-setup-working-what-hardware

you see, im just curious of compiz for partitioning incase the ultramon and cubedesktop dont work together effectively,,,and its very important for my build to have such features :)
 
Last edited:
fudge2011 said:
awesome. i think ill go with number 3 although I have a little concern over linux compiz drivers for using different ports I saw on a forum somewhere but by the looks of things no card under £200 can support three similar ports anyway, unless i go crossfire.
Click to expand...

Whatever fits your card out of the three should be fine for cables. You shouldn't need to go Crossfire for three monitors assuming you're buying an AMD card. If you're purchasing nVidia hardware though, with a few exceptions, you will need to go SLI in order to get 3 monitors. Note: if you plan on gaming across three monitors, Crossfire or SLI is a good idea for performance reasons. If you're just doing desktop work, a single card is fine.

fudge2011 said:
hopefully using the same monitors should outweigh the compatibility of linux and compiz as ive also read this is a bonus.
Click to expand...

No idea on this. Do your homework.

fudge2011 said:
ive just seen the new imacs have radeon 6970's so im looking forwrd to overclocking them as apples graphics always look sweet and there mac pro stations have friggin 5870's, nice! :p
Click to expand...

I have no idea what this means (as I type this on my Macbook Pro.) Yes the new iMacs do have up to a Radeon 6970m in them. What this has to do with your computer I don't know... Are you talking about Apple's desktop UI abilities? Type coherently.

fudge2011 said:
one other thing, im anticipating that ultramon and either desktop cube for windows or a similar program will run together nicely. i actually vagaely remember doing this on three different monitors with vga a little over two years ago. fingers crossed it works a dream :p
Click to expand...

If it worked on VGA, I can't see any reason it's not possible on DVI.
 
fudge2011 said:
have a little look down this page also, why is the guy saying XFX GPUs have better linux compatability,,,,surely the brand name has nothing to do with whats in the actual card? as this is what people have more or less told me on here,,,,he's clearly saying something wrong there right? http://askubuntu.com/questions/8785/how-to-get-a-3-screen-setup-working-what-hardware

you see, im just curious of compiz for partitioning incase the ultramon and cubedesktop dont work together effectively,,,and its very important for my build to have such features :)
Click to expand...

No idea why XFX would be better at Linux. That's his subjective opinion. I have an XFX in my desktop and it runs great. But ideally a Sapphire, HIS, MSI, or ASUS would run just as well. At the end of the day you're using an AMD driver for all AMD cards -- not XFX's or other brand's driver.

As for your cubedesktop and ultramon question, it's not encouraging that your forum posts are the number one hit on Google (especially considering you posted it less than 30 minutes ago.) You may be headed into uncharted territory, but hopefully you can find someone else to verify it for you first.
 
what ,,, the number one hit on google? i dont quite understand this, all i know is sometimes when i search stuff in google about this kind of stuff my thread shows up,,care to ellaborate?

are the fbi now watching me? '',
 
You're too fickle and inconsistent. We can only hold your hand so much! And every question of yours that comes up is not a crisis! If you needed to get this built by X date you would have done it already. Be patient and carefully think through your responses. If you need to know something right away, Google is your friend.

Two GTX560s will be faster than a single 6950 1GB. For gaming at your resolution I would get no less than 1.5GB cards. I have no idea how SLI works in Linux. Google will be a far better resource for that information.
 
GPU--inc VAT---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£159.00 XFX Radeon 2GB HD 6950
http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=GCX-XR685H1D&af=50
PSU--inc shippng----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£73.93 Corsair TX650W enthusiast or http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Corsair-TX650...t_500wt_1156------------------------------£56(same product less warranty)
http://www.dabs.com/products/corsai...le&utm_medium=product+search&utm_content=Q200
MOBO--in VAT--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£140.00 Asrock z68 extreme4
http://www.ksn-online.co.uk/components-motherboards-asrock-skt-1155-z68-extreme4-p-10087.html
CPU--inc VAT----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£231.15 i7 2600k 3.4Ghz
http://www.pcupgrade.co.uk/productdetails.asp?productid=9494&categoryid=656
RAMx2--inc VAT-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£56.60 4GB Elixir DDR3 1333MHz 1.5V x2
http://www.internetct.co.uk/4gbelixirddr3pc3106001333mhzpcmemorysinglestick-p-1013.html
HDD--inc VAT---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£38.69 SAMSUNG 1TB 7200RPM 32MB Spinpoint F3
http://www.coastwaycomputerstore.co...er-hard-drive---spinpoint-f3&idProduct=232421
OPTICAL DRIVE-inc VAT-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£64.99 LG Electronics LG 10x Internal BDRW Bare Drive
http://www.dabs.com/products/lg-ele...le&utm_medium=product+search&utm_content=Q200
CASE--doesnt say about VAT-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£52.67 Coolermaster 690 2 advantage
http://www.cenfonix.com/product_inf...-Master-CM-690-II-Advanced--RC-692-KKN2-.html

TOTAL--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£817.03 ex shipping or $1321.30092


+DP to HDMI cable --inc VAT----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£24.82
http://www.coastwaycomputerstore.co...0ft-displayport-to-hdmi-video&idProduct=40159
+2xmonitors--inc VAT----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£440 inc ship
http://www.crescentelectronics.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/?q=HannsG+HH281H

entire total--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------£1281.85 :) or $2073.00782



just need to inquire about CPU fans and GPU fans included...where would an included GPU fan normally go?

someone who has clearly enabled compiz fusion in linux with two sli nvidia cards clearly states at the bottom he would prefer an eyefinity setup hmmm maybe ati arent that bad? :p http://mugginix.com/articles/2009/Nov/12/Xinerama_Composite_Fail/
 
Last edited:
Don't worry about extra fans. The processor comes with a stock heatsink-fan CPU cooler and the GPU fans are already mounted on the video cards.

Don't buy anything yet. Answer these questions for me:

- Is Photoshop going to be the most resource-intensive program that you use?
- Are you going to play any games on this machine? If so, what?
- Why do you need an Intel Z68 board?
- Are you going to watch or rip from any Blu-ray discs using this system?
- Are those links from the stores that you intend to buy everything from?
 
ah, yes the fans are in the GPU..

1. the equivalent of photoshop, yes, il be running adobe x pro(lots of them), web explorer, excel , word, modelling programs requiring opencl and cuda, at all the same time on occasions.
2. yes, crisis 2, skyrim, battlefield, i.e top end games if possible
3. because at some point ill be using SSD drives to partition linux and experiment(if deskspace ultramon doesnt work(ill need to look at compiz fusion)), also they offer both advantages of the two types of boards p67 and h67 and as a student it is possible that turning of GPU could be cost saving depending on energy bills.
4. yes I hope to watch blu ray movies and possibly burn them illegaly(i know ill upgrade to BR player like on my ps3 in future so i cba selling an old dvd opt drive too)
5. yes

nb ill be looking at compiz fusion edventually anyway as its just better than deskspace(yod'm)..

i can only think to downgrade th case to silverstone ps03,,hinder easability to upgrade to a WC system and consequently have two nvidia cards but ill be spending £150 more on GPUs anyway and saving about a tenner on the case....so i dont see the point.
i just need someone to tell me to order it on here now! lol knowing itll be insanely good :p
it takes big balls to spend this much and tbh i never have

so tiraides..can i buy now?
 
Last edited:
The Z68's SSD caching is limited to 64GB or smaller SSDs, but many people have been buying larger capacity SSDs lately (128GB is very common these days). SSD caching will work on larger capacity drives, but it will only work with 64GB, and the remaining non-"optimized" storage will be placed in a separate capacity. And there is no information on whether SSD caching will work with Linux.

If that's the appeal of Z68 for you, see if you can find a P67 board for less. (If you're really trying to save energy, you wouldn't be considering a dual-card SLI setup in the first place.) Other people have told about about the AsRock's comparatively limited featureset, so I don't know why you're ignoring their advice.

Before I forget, you linked to the HD 6850, not the HD 6950. Why did you switch back (from the two GTX 560 Ti cards)?

Do you "hope to" or are you "going to" watch/burn Blu-ray discs? This is important as you'll also have to buy media software that's capable of playing Blu-ray movies from the disc. And (re-)writable Blu-ray discs aren't cheap; in many cases, it's more practical to buy additional hard drives for storage. If you aren't willing to pay the full expense here, just stick with a SATA DVD burner.

You're going to need to research whether or not your programs will work with AMD/ATI cards in Linux. You'll also have to determine on your own whether you should go with the Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced or the Silverstone PS03. (And when were you planning on "upgrading" to a water cooling system? Do you even have one in mind?)
 
i dont know how to individual quote but:

your right the GPU link is wrong,,its like an extra £30 for the 6950 with a worse brand ill change that in a second.

i was actually taking a guys advice on here to get the z68. if i was to virtually run windows inside linux it would be smooth as hell just partitioned to an ssd. In the case of savbing power anyway going for amd over nvidia I didnt know about that. although im interested to see where people are talking about the lmitations of the z68 do you have a link?

click on the link on the blu ray optical drive i hink it comes with this software.(cyberlink BD software)...although again you may have a point,,i suppose i could save around £40 opting for just a dvd burner re-writer...i guess its not majorly important

yes i know about the programs,,things like adobe x pro wont work but come on thats why they created virtual window,,ill just run a virtual setup of windows inside ubuntu and itll be fine. so thats not really an issue

maybe ill just get a DVDoptical drive and balance it up with the wrong link to the 6850 where i anticipated it being cheaper

please though :p does this all sound sensible...im probably alot younger than alot of people on here and this is a first build ..

ps i have no water cooling system in mind but i think the ps03 wont house the 6950 as its too large.
i also want it relatively quiet running so the CM 690 should be ok , espcially when i buy catered fans and controllers in the future,,for now i just want/neet to be up and running...............

please though through expertise and experience bombard me with questions but im fairly clever and should have considered them...im fairly rooted in the above components
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top