Humanoid Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 (edited) You sure you want water cooling? My take with my own personal biases: http://www.cyberpowe....aspx?id=435127 The only recommendation I would really really push is to get the Crucial SSD in lieu of the other options, it's the best reliable option there is. I'd also strongly suggest the PSU upgrade if only because I have no idea how good their own-branded one you listed is. The rest is me going nuts for a quiet build as per personal preference, and adding both the best sound card option and big IPS screen because of my crusade against onboard sound and TN panel monitors. [*]Case: Antec P183 V3 Advanced Super Mid Tower Black [+35] [*]CPU: Intel Edited May 30, 2012 by Humanoid L I E S T R O N GL I V E W R O N G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spider Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 (edited) I approve of the one you posted (don't know which link that was, too lazy to check) with one small caveat. 60GB is nowhere near enough for an SSD. You really, really REALLY want at least 128 GB, and if you like to keep your games installed probably twice that. Unless (and this will get a bit technical), the motherboard supports ssd caching, which means you'll "attach" the ssd to the 2TB drive and then some clever algorithms will figure out what files you use the most and copy those to the SSD. It won't give you the write speeds of an SSD, but it will give you reading speeds that are good enough. I have a setup like that and can't really tell the difference between that and separating the ssd and storage drive, and it is very nice not having to care about drive size at all more or less. Edit: Since Humanoid managed to sneak in between, my post was directed to MC. As a comment to Humanoids question about water cooling, it sin't REAL watercooling. it's just one of those cpu coolers, isn't it? Sure, the Megahalem is probably a bit better, but it's pretty much a toss up. Also, why on earth spend money on a soundcard? Does MC have the speaker setup (and ears) to take advantage of that? (also in regard to Humanoids package). Edited May 30, 2012 by Spider Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Humanoid Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 (edited) The Essence ST/STX (the difference is that the ST is PCI and the STX is PCIe, otherwise pretty much the same) also has a headphone amp so it's the absolute best option for both a headphone setup or a 2.0/2.1 stereo setup. It does however require an add-on board to do surround. But yeah, it'd be the first thing to cut if you wanted to reduce the overall cost. As for stereo speakers, I'd recommend a quality set of powered speakers, such as: Audioengine A5 (or the smaller A2): http://audioengineus...e/Audioengine-5 Paradigm Shift: http://www.paradigm....ers/index.shtml Aktimate Mini: http://www.aktimate.com.au/ Edited May 30, 2012 by Humanoid L I E S T R O N GL I V E W R O N G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pidesco Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 @Monte: the one thing in that setup I'd change is the monitor. Pick either the PA238Q, or the PA246Q, as the improvement in image quality will be quite noticeable. The difference in lag however, won't be noticeable which is the one reason some people keep on complaining about IPS monitors like those two. Also note that the PA246Q is a 16:10 monitor which will also make a bit of a difference in terms of screen real estate. So really, really go with the PA246Q. Please. "My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian touristI am Dan Quayle of the Romans.I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands.Heja Sverige!!Everyone should cuffawkle more.The wrench is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Carlo Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Humanoid - good shout on PSU I'm asking that question. I'm easy about speakers, I'm with Spider on that one. Spider, I'm asking for a TB of memory, of course you are correct. I'm an old-skool gamer, I have shedloads of old games installed on the hard drive and I like it that way! This build came in a bit under budget - I can afford the memory so I'm going for it. To be fair, the guys at Cyberpower are very helpful and nothing appears to be too much trouble. I'll keep you updated as I go through the process. Cheers MC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Carlo Posted May 30, 2012 Author Share Posted May 30, 2012 Pidesco - ty will research the options on the monitors. I will definitely take your word for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Carlo Posted June 1, 2012 Author Share Posted June 1, 2012 Update: Went for the ASUS PA246Q monitor as per Pidesco's strong suggestion and upgraded to 2TB of memory. I have two SSDs and the GeForce 670. The whole thing is going to be overclocked, of course Will let you know how the delivery and installation dramas turn out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pidesco Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Hooray! I hope you are suitably amazed by the monitor. "My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian touristI am Dan Quayle of the Romans.I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands.Heja Sverige!!Everyone should cuffawkle more.The wrench is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bokishi Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Get 3 monitors for surround gaming. Geforce 600 cards let you do surround on 1 card Current 3DMark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Carlo Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 I have Das Beast am about to switch off this rig and consign it to a fate as yet undecided. Will let you know how things pan out with this new machine. I also LOL'd when I saw that the keyboard came with a tiny fan "to keep your hands cool whilst gaming." Srsly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gfted1 Posted June 15, 2012 Share Posted June 15, 2012 How does that work? Does air blow up through the spaces between the keys or is there some kind of Frankenstein fan bolted to the side of the keyboard? "I'm your biggest fan, Ill follow you until you love me, Papa" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Carlo Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 The keyboard is from a company called Tt and I got a gaming mouse too from the same company. Basically there's a slot in the keyboard where a tiny fan lives. You slide it out and plug it into a little jack-plug on either side of the monitor and angle it at your hand. Seriously, it's a tiny fan module and quite powerful. Strange. I've never suffered from Hot Gaming Hand TBH but then again I'm not a l337 gaemer so whaddoIknow? The computer is very impressive. Virtually silent. Monitor is great (HDMI connection). I'm running umpteen apps at once (installing Diablo, Word 2010, AVG and Steam simultaneously and it's *very* fast, like whooooosh! Will be testing out Diablo then installing my Steam library overnight and keep you in the loop but bejaysus this liquid-cooled case is damn quiet. Makes my last rig sound like a Huey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Carlo Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 http://www.gadgetroad.com/thermaltake-tt-esports-challenger-pro-gaming-review-4456/ LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Carlo Posted June 15, 2012 Author Share Posted June 15, 2012 I maxed out everything on Diablo 3 which looks great on the new monitor. Next up is of course Company of Heroes, of course this ain't much of a systems hog either being over six years old. I think a maxed out Shogun TW2 might test things a bit better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pidesco Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 More words on the monitor! Do you have your old monitor to compare? "My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian touristI am Dan Quayle of the Romans.I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands.Heja Sverige!!Everyone should cuffawkle more.The wrench is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monte Carlo Posted June 16, 2012 Author Share Posted June 16, 2012 There is no comparison: my last monitor was a Samsung Syncmaster, perfectly OK but this one is in a different league. It's omni-adjustable, bigger and with very crisp, lush imagery and colour. CoH looks, frankly, stunning on it. I can't beleive what I was missing. Also, for writing the bigger monitor is good for me, less eye-strain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pidesco Posted June 18, 2012 Share Posted June 18, 2012 It just goes to show that people should always do what I tell them. If only my kids would listen. "My hovercraft is full of eels!" - Hungarian touristI am Dan Quayle of the Romans.I want to tattoo a map of the Netherlands on my nether lands.Heja Sverige!!Everyone should cuffawkle more.The wrench is your friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.ce846aae50e732dc4985eb712252381f.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now