First custom PC and potential cooling issues

[GazP]

Hi guys,
This is my first custom built PC so I thought I best check with some people who are more knowledgeable than I am.

Specs:

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570K (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LK: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX
Memory (RAM)
16GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz (2 X 8GB)
Graphics Card
3GB AMD RADEON™ HD7950 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Free Item
FREE CRYSIS 3 & FAR CRY 3: BLOOD DRAGON with AMD HD 7900 Series GPUs!
2nd Graphics Card
3GB AMD RADEON™ HD7950 - DVI,HDMI,2 mDP - DX® 11, Eyefinity 4 Capable
Free Item
FREE CRYSIS 3 & FAR CRY 3: BLOOD DRAGON with AMD HD 7900 Series GPUs!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
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 (£86)
Processor Cooling
Corsair H40 Hydro Series High Performance 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
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
ACER 21.5" G226HQLBbid LED - 5ms, 1920 x 1080, DVI, HDMI (£99)
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 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,497.00 including VAT and delivery.

Now a couple of things first, I know I have a large excess of RAM but I like the idea of having such power and I also have a excess on power (power supply) but I did this for a bit of future proofing.
But the main thing I am concerned about is the cooling, will that cooler and the fans in the case keep all my nice shiny things cool inside? As I have read some reviews about the Corsair hydro-cooler series and they do not paint a very pretty picture and am using the cheapest one out there. I've also read that they might leak from time to time, which is a bit unnerving as I will need to transport it around from time to time and I don't want to be worrying the whole journey whether it's going to leak and destroy everything.

I will be willing to drop the RAM to 8gb to get the best cooling system if you guys think I should.

My Budget is £1500 but I might be able to squeeze another £100 out.

Thanks in advance

Gaz

 

[Rakk]

What are you going to be using the PC for?

As for cooling, unless you are planning on overclocking, watercooling just isn't really needed and the Super Quiet 22db Triple Copper Heatpipe would be perfectly fine instead and since its an air cooler you would never need to worry about it leaking since that is one of your concerns (although these watercoolers very rarely leak there is always a chance).

 

[javthrower]

if you arn't overclocking you dont need the 'k' version processor, theres no performance difference its just unlocked for easier overclocking, also i would recommend a single but better graphics card. Here is what I suggest:

Case
PCS MAELSTROM T900 BLACK GAMING CASE four fans in here to begin with and you can easily add more
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Quad Core Processor i5-3570 (3.4GHz) 6MB Cache Unless overclocking this will be perfect for gaming
Motherboard
ASUS® P8Z77-V LK: PCI-E 3.0 READY, SLI, CROSSFIREX SLI compatible for adding another 670 down the line
Memory (RAM)
8GB KINGSTON HYPER-X GENESIS DUAL-DDR3 1600MHz, X.M.P (2 x 4GB KIT) All thats needed for gaming, add another 8GB further down the line if you need it
Graphics Card
2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 670 - 2 DVI, HDMI, DP - 3D Vision Ready Overclocks close to a 680 in performance, add another one in a year or two?
Free Item
FREE METRO: LAST LIGHT GAME with GTX 660 & UPWARDS GPUs!
Memory - 1st Hard Disk
120GB KINGSTON HYPERX 3K SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 555MB/sR | 510MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk
2TB 3.5" SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200RPM 64MB CACHE
1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
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 (£86) enough for another 670
Processor Cooling
Super Quiet 22dBA Triple Copper Heatpipe Intel CPU Cooler (£19) If your not overclocking then this will be fine
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
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 4 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1 - inc DVD & Licence (£79)
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Monitor
ACER 21.5" G226HQLBbid LED - 5ms, 1920 x 1080, DVI, HDMI (£99)
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 9 to 11 working days
Quantity
1

Price: £1,222.00 including VAT and delivery. Save yourself £275

 

[GazP]

Thanks for both replying so quickly

My PC is going to be used for gaming and normal day to day stuff, my current plan is not to over clock, but potentially in the future, hence why I went AMD on graphics cards as they're better for overclocking (or so am told). I am quite keen on future proofing my PC a bit as I can't see myself being able to fork out as much as this in the future

I'm pretty set on 2 graphics cards, I was either going to get the 660 ti or these Radeon's, surely two of these cards give more performance than one single 670? As the Radeons are meant to be as good as the 670 when overclocked.

 

[keynes]

Overclockng your gpu will void your warranty. I think you need to compare the GPUs at stock clock speed rather than potential overclock, running 2 graphics card will cause more noise and heat as well as requiring more power.

Now a couple of things first, I know I have a large excess of RAM but I like the idea of having such power

For day to,day use and gaming there wouldn't be any benefit from having 16gb memory ram.

 

[GazP]

I did not realise OC would invalidate its warranty (seems obvious now). Because of having two of these AMD's I probably won't overclock it until it's out of warranty anyway, I think I'll only overclock them once they start to struggle with high performance games.

I am not trying to save any money, I just want more bang for my buck, so in my ideal build I will spend £1500.

Is there anything in the original build that could possibly choke performance? Anything that I have missed?

 

[javthrower]

honestly a single card such as a 670 or 680 will be alot better then the noise/heat/driver problems your more likely to face crossfiring two graphics cards right now, and as you are only gaming on a single monitor a 680 or overclocked 670 will give better gaming performance, and two years down the line if your 670/680 starts to struggle it will be better to add another one then! this way you gaming rig will last alot longer which it seems is exactly what you want?

 

[GazP]

I want a lot of clout to begin with, so I don't have to spend a lot on it in the future

I can afford one 4gb gtx 680 instead of having two less powerful graphics cards. But is it worth it? As if I ever wanted to add a second card it would have to be identical to that one and that card is a bit pricey.

 

[keynes]

I want a lot of clout to begin with, so I don't have to spend a lot on it in the future

I can afford one 4gb gtx 680 instead of having two less powerful graphics cards. But is it worth it? As if I ever wanted to add a second card it would have to be identical to that one and that card is a bit pricey.

If you are planning to run only 1 monitor the 2gb version will be fine. I think it is worth it, as mentioned by javthrower you avoid possible crossfire issues and less heat/noise. For NVidia SLI it has to be the same card with the same vram (not the same manufacturer).

 

[GazP]

Okay thanks guys you've given me a lot to think about I've still got about 10 days till I actually order it so plenty of thinking and more research time.

Thank you all very much!

 

[javthrower]

if its an AMD card I believe they can be different cards as long as there from the same series eg. 6xxx or 7xxx, but im not 100% sure

 

[GazP]

So am back, I've ordered my new PC, slightly different spec from the original above (changed the ram and cooling), don't know if you guy are interested seeing it.

My question is now, when does my money come out of my account when paying for it? It's in the processing stage which, according to the description means my payment information and stuff has been approved. Also what happens in the processing stage?

Sorry if there's a question thread but I thought I'd just use my old thread

 

[PokerFace]

honestly a single card such as a 670 or 680 will be alot better then the noise/heat/driver problems your more likely to face crossfiring two graphics cards right now, and as you are only gaming on a single monitor a 680 or overclocked 670 will give better gaming performance, and two years down the line if your 670/680 starts to struggle it will be better to add another one then! this way you gaming rig will last alot longer which it seems is exactly what you want?

I agree

I want a lot of clout to begin with, so I don't have to spend a lot on it in the future

I can afford one 4gb gtx 680 instead of having two less powerful graphics cards. But is it worth it? As if I ever wanted to add a second card it would have to be identical to that one and that card is a bit pricey.

You will still get "a lot of clout to begin with" and don't forget that if you need/want to add another card in the future that this card will probably have dropped in price quite a bit, as they bring out newer cards.