[Smarag]

After a lot of research I got these parts for my Sandy Bridge gaming build:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 124.90€
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 PRO R.3.0 169.90€
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-2500K 184.90€
GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 229.90€
RAM: G.Skill DIMM 8 GB DDR3-1600 Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL, RipjawsX) 74.90€
Hard Drive: Seagate ST32000641AS 2 TB 142.90€
PSU: Corsair CMPSU-650TXV2 74.90€
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 24.99€

That adds up to 1.050.28 Euros and that's already 50.28€ over my budget, but whatever ;D. Can you guys give me any comments? Did I make any really bad mistakes? Something that I should really change?

I want to unlock the GPU to a 6970 and overclock everything as much as it is reasonable. I'm also thinking about upgrading the build with a second SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 6950 in the future and crossfire them. Is my current PSU enough for one GPU and overclocking everything? How much watt would I need for two unlocked 6950s and a highly overclocked system?

Thanks in advance =D

 

[Jaguarbamf]

You're really overpaying for the Hard drive IMO. I would look at a Spinpoint F3 or a Caviar Black.

Everything else looks pretty nice.
If you want to do 6950 crossfire later I would recommend going with a 750 watt or larger PSU.

 

[MIKEVALL]

I would think a good 850psu , if you want to upgrade to crossfire and overclock in the future ( just my opinion) I would get a wd black or a samsung f3 hdd(if it were me ) LOOKS GOOD!!!

 

[Aeschylus]

6950 Power Usage

Well, you're looking at 400W for a dual-6950 setup, just for the GPUs.

 

[Invisible]

Build looks very good, I'd get a Spinpoint HDD though. Besides that, good job.

If you really want to OC everything as much as possible, you COULD consider changing the Cooler to a Noctua NH-D14. Words cannot express how amazing that thing is.

For two 6950s, and an OC'ed 2500K (let's say you have it at 4.5), 650W is not going to be sufficient. I would go with an 850, or if you really want to be safe, go with a 950.

 

[Smarag]

Thank you for your quick replys =D.

Yeah I thought so that 650W obviously isn't enough for both GPUs (; so what I'm actually deciding on right now is should I just go for a PSU with much watt right now or should I buy one with less watt and later when I really decide to get a second 6950 a really good one D:? Because the second GPU plan is still one of this "maybe later if I have the money and if it's really worth it" plans... ;D.

The 850W Corsair v2 is just 30 bucks more so if 850W would be enough for everything I would just go with that one.

Thanks for the suggestion about the hard drive. I just looked at the Samsung HD204UI 2 TB (Spinpoint F4 EcoGreen) and it's just 69.90€ Euros. The only thing that is bothering me is the 5400 rpm thing, but I read somewhere that it has something "special" that makes it just as fast as the 7200 rpm drives? Is that true? So should I go with it?

edit:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Invisible If you really want to OC everything as much as possible, you COULD consider changing the Cooler to a Noctua NH-D14. Words cannot express how amazing that thing is.

The Noctua is 75€ for me, that's more than two times the price of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus D:. Is it really worth that much?

 

[Invisible]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smarag Thank you for your quick replys =D. Yeah I thought so that 650W obviously isn't enough for both GPUs (; so what I'm actually deciding on right now is should I just go for a PSU with much watt right now or should I buy one with less watt and later when I really decide to get a second 6950 a really good one D:? Because the second GPU plan is still one of this "maybe later if I have the money and if it's really worth it" plans... ;D. The 850W Corsair v2 is just 30 bucks more so if 850W would be enough for everything I would just go with that one. Thanks for the suggestion about the hard drive. I just looked at the Samsung HD204UI 2 TB (Spinpoint F4 EcoGreen) and it's just 69.90€ Euros. The only thing that is bothering me is the 5400 rpm thing, but I read somewhere that it has something "special" that makes it just as fast as the 7200 rpm drives? Is that true? So should I go with it?

We were talking about this one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smarag The Noctua is 75€ for me, that's more than two times the price of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus D:. Is it really worth that much?

The Noctua is a behemoth of a cooler. It is pretty much the best thing next to water cooling. If you do not want to spend that much money though, the 212 is absolutely amazing for its price. You will not be disappointed with it at all. Refer to this thread for a very well put together comparison by a fellow OCN member "Baldy" between these two coolers.

 

[Smarag]

Thank you guys I think my current CPU cooler should be enough ;D and I will get the Spinpoint F3 instead of my current one, it's only 49€ for me . I also think I will go with the HAF 932 advanced.

What I'm still thinking about is the PSU. The 950W TX Corsair PSU is 144€. Will 950W be enough for two unlocked 6950s and overclocking? I don't want to go ALL out with overclocking, because I don't want to kill the hardware too quickly, but I would still like to overclock a lot D:.

 

[Invisible]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smarag;13039495
Thank you guys I think my current CPU cooler should be enough ;D and I will get the Spinpoint F3 instead of my current one, it's only 49€ for me . I also think I will go with the HAF 932 advanced.

What I'm still thinking about is the PSU. The 950W TX Corsair PSU is 144€. Will 950W be enough for two unlocked 6950s and overclocking? I don't want to go ALL out with overclocking, because I don't want to kill the hardware too quickly, but I would still like to overclock a lot D:.

950 is too much for you build. I would go with 750 personally, just in case you want to max out OC'ing in the future around 5GHz. Heck, you could probably even go with a 650.

 

[Smarag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Invisible;13039854
950 is too much for you build. I would go with 750 personally, just in case you want to max out OC'ing in the future around 5GHz. Heck, you could probably even go with a 650.

But what about two unlocked 6950s? What I want to know is if 950W will be enough for a crossfire setup? ;D

 

[Invisible]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smarag But what about two unlocked 6950s? What I want to know is if 950W will be enough for a crossfire setup? ;D

And I answered you, lol. It's way more than enough.

 

[customcomputerftw]

850w psu should be good for flashed 6950s

 

[Smarag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Invisible And I answered you, lol. It's way more than enough.

Ah I thought you were talking about one GPU because 650W seemed too low for me ;D.

Thanks for all the input so far everyone

I have found some other shops and compared the prices and my "new" build looks like that:

Case: CoolerMaster HAF932 Advance ATX 130.71€
PSU: 950W Corsair TX950 80+ Bronze 123.15€
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 PRO P67 Sockel 1155 ATX Rev3 138.15€
GPU: 2048MB Sapphire HD 6950 GDDR5 PCIe 205.59€
RAM: G.Skill DIMM 8 GB DDR3-1600 Kit (F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL, RipjawsX) 74.90€
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 4x 3.30GHz So.1155 BOX 171.75€
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 24.99€
Hard Drive: 1000GB Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ 43.81€

That adds up to 924.90€ which is below 1000€ yay

I still have some questions left ;D

Some shops offer some kind of localized PSU Version for the EU as far as I got that. The SKU looks then like that "CMPSU950TXEU" instead of "CMPSU950TX" is there any meaning to that? I mean aren't they all the same?

I saw a "FLEX" version of the Radeon HD 6950 and it is 20€ more expensive. What is the difference to the normal one?

And at last is there any other suggestion left, can anybody see any incompatibility with the parts I chose and will all that fit in the case I chose?

 

[Smarag]

Since I had some room left until I hit 1000€ I upgraded the RAM, changed the case to the HAF X and chose the Noctua NH-D14 CPU Cooler you guys recommended.

The final build looks like this:

Case: ATX CoolerMaster HAF X 146.85€
PSU: 950W Corsair TX950 80+ Bronze 124.43€
Motherboard: Asus P8P67 PRO P67 Sockel 1155 ATX Rev3 137.95€
GPU: 2048MB Sapphire HD 6950 GDDR5 PCIe 205.73€
RAM: 8GB G.Skill RipjawsX DDR3-1600 DIMM CL8 Dual Kit (timings: CL8 8-8-24) 101.82€
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 4x 3.30GHz So.1155 BOX 168.38€
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 64.24€
Hard Drive: 1000GB Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ 43.81€

That adds up to 998.11€ + 11.89 shipping. Perfect. :[/B][/B]D

Any comments?

 

[lazu]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smarag Some shops offer some kind of localized PSU Version for the EU as far as I got that. The SKU looks then like that "CMPSU950TXEU" instead of "CMPSU950TX" is there any meaning to that? I mean aren't they all the same?

Y'all have different wall sockets over there

That may be the difference (I'm just guessing.) The NA version would work, but you'd need to get one of those little adapters.

 

[Smarag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lazu Y'all have different wall sockets over there That may be the difference (I'm just guessing.) The NA version would work, but you'd need to get one of those little adapters.

That was my first thought as well, but there are different wall sockets in the EU as well D:.

 

[Jaguarbamf]

"CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 4x 3.30GHz So.1155 BOX 168.38€
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 64.24€"

It's up to you if you really want that cooler. That SB chip won't produce that much heat compared to the last generation of processors. You could always save some money and go with a cheaper item.

Personally, I would go with something like a ThermalTake Frio or a Scythe product.

 

[Nova.]

D-14 is a great cooler. Seems like everything is good. You have lots of options in terms of upgrading in the future. Have fun with the build!

 

[Smarag]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jaguarbamf "CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K 4x 3.30GHz So.1155 BOX 168.38€ CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 64.24€" It's up to you if you really want that cooler. That SB chip won't produce that much heat compared to the last generation of processors. You could always save some money and go with a cheaper item. Personally, I would go with something like a ThermalTake Frio or a Scythe product.

I have some spare money left until 1000€ and since my parents are helping me out until I hit the 1k I can just go for the best ;D

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nova. D-14 is a great cooler. Seems like everything is good. You have lots of options in terms of upgrading in the future. Have fun with the build!

Thanks for your input

 

[a pet rock]

950W is just overkill even for unlocked 6950s in Crossfire.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/..._card_review/8

Total system wattage minus video card with a 130W TDP CPU is 190W. Even if the unlocked 6950s pull the full 240W of a 6970, that's 670W. Oh, and your CPU is only 95W TDP. Get yourself a solid 750W PSU and call it a day.