Legit Reviews

OK, got a bonus and some birthday cash. I am still not as jazzed about upgrades/system builds as I used to be but GAS is a tough addiction to break ;)

So, if I decide to build a new system this would be it:

Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813157264 I've never owned an ASRock board before but it is getting some good reviews.

RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820104266 I am a huge fan of G.Skill but this is a few bucks cheaper than the RipJaws and Kingston has never let me down either.

CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115070 Of course I was thinking about saving the $100 and going with the i5 2500K (and still may) but this CPU is the front runner right now.

Cooler - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835181017 Don't want to go whole hog on water just yet but I will be trying for 4.2 on an overclock so the stock cooler won't cut it. I believe this will fit into my existing CM Storm Sniper.

Misc:

E-SATA enclosure - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817153071
HDD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136533 This will replace my current WD Black SATA 2 1TB I will reuse my Agility 2 240GB SSD

This will go into my existing Storm Sniper with the existing PSU and my 5870 PCS+

Honestly, that cooler is overkill for only 4.2. You should easily be able to hit 4.5 on air with the 2600K. Not trying to deter you at all, just wanted to let ya know.

This is my personal preference, so take it as that. I am not going water again. It took 3 units and finally my rigging the product to stop leaking. Then after about 30 hours on the pump it decided to stop. Luckily for me the Intel features kicked in and turned off the PC.
http://forums.legitreviews.com/about21686.html

At least with air if the fan goes you still have an added layer of protection with the heatsink itself.

XstollieX wrote:Honestly, that cooler is overkill for only 4.2. You should easily be able to hit 4.5 on air with the 2600K. Not trying to deter you at all, just wanted to let ya know.

Was thinking that myself and considering an H60, but this thing will be near silent at 4.2 with fans set on low and I like quiet. And I think after I hit 4.2 that easily I will want to push it further ;)

DaddyRabbit wrote:

XstollieX wrote:Honestly, that cooler is overkill for only 4.2. You should easily be able to hit 4.5 on air with the 2600K. Not trying to deter you at all, just wanted to let ya know.

Was thinking that myself and considering an H60, but this thing will be near silent at 4.2 with fans set on low and I like quiet. And I think after I hit 4.2 that easily I will want to push it further ;)

This will be my first H2O rig. While not equal to a real WC loop these things are supposed to be zero maintenance and leak free (fingers crossed )

OK pulled the trigger

New build (shipped today):

Mobo - ASROCK Z68 EXTREME4 GEN3
CPU - i7 2600K
RAM - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600
GPU - Powercolor HD5870 PCS+, Reusing this
OCZ Agility 2 240G SSD (boot, programs, games), Reusing this
WD Caviar Black 1TB (Data) Reusing this
CM UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W 80+ Silver PSU, Reusing this
CM Storm Sniper, Reusing this
Gateway FHD2400, Reusing this
Win 7 Pro 64bit

My current rig will get some older parts and be used as a DAW.

I'll put up some pics when I get the chance do do the build.

Pics or it didn't happen, kidding. On a side note what is a DAW?

Major_A wrote:Pics or it didn't happen, kidding. On a side note what is a DAW?

DAW - Digital Audio Workstation. I use it to record and mix guitar and such. I was using the old E6600 on a BadAxe 2 but was still getting latency issues, I think the i7 920 will fix that.

And I'll post pics as soon as I can find them in the "Pictures Of My Rig" thread ;) (jk) Hopefully the gear will be here Monday and I'll snap some as I do the build.

Okey Dokey,

The stuff arrived today (kinda') and I got it all put in and/or transferred. Steps follow:

1) Jumped up and down with joy when "Brown" showed up at 1145!
2) It shipped in two seperate boxes from the same warehouse in Jersey?
3) Unloaded everything and began inspection (I cleaned out the CM Storm Sniper last night to get it ready)
4) Everything looked good until I opened the RAM box. The factory seal on the box and the static bag were both cut and one of the sticks was AWOL )
5) Logged onto the Egg and opened a chat. A claim was filed (will take 3-5 days to complete, do I want a replacement or refund?) Informed the CS rep that I couldn't wait a week or more for a replacement so requested a refund and immediately ordered some G.Skill Ripjaws with next day shipping. First issue ever with the Egg and I've been using them for everything for a LONG time.
6) Used two sticks of the 6 gigs of tri-channel out of the i7 920 rig giving 4 gig to work with for initial build and testing.
7) Took some pics
Installed everything, transferring GPU, RAM, SSD, HDD, and BD Player from the old rig (took more pics).
9) Plugged it in, said a quick prayer and hit power...
10) Started to boot (the UEFI went by quicker than expected). I was hoping to just have to install drivers going from an X58 to a Z68. Started to load Windows and... BSOD!!!
11) Caught the UEFI setup on reboot, set the SATA mode (defaulted to IDE) to AHCI and saved. Seconds later I was at the Windows logon, albeit at low resolution.
12) Logged on and a few driver installs and reboots later I was sitting at my old desktop!

I must admit that this was the easiest switch of Mobo and CPU that I've ever done! Whole process took a couple of hours and no image restores, repair installs, or complete re-installs required. Other than the RAM issue I am a happy Rabbit!

I still need to tidy the cabling and install the new RAM and the Corsair H100 but I've already ran some basic benches (PCMark and 3DMark Vantage) and there is a performance diff. I also bumped it to 4ghz OC (using just the CPU ratio) and it's stable as a rock with those benches using the stock cooler (not gonna try Prime or full load testing till I get better cooling). Temps stay under 70c running PCMark and are idling at ~34c in normal use so I am fine with these temps and the ease of OCing is a dream.

I'll do another thread with pics and a "Joe User" review this weekend after I've had some play time!

That sucks about the RAM. Couldn't they cross ship you a new set? Kind of a moot point now though.

Did you check for a new BIOS? The ASRock board I put together last week had a BIOS update 2 weeks after the initial release.

Major_A wrote:That sucks about the RAM. Couldn't they cross ship you a new set? Kind of a moot point now though.

Did you check for a new BIOS? The ASRock board I put together last week had a BIOS update 2 weeks after the initial release.

Yeah, but was bound to happen. Never had an issue with the Egg before after all. I had a backup so ni big deal. Yes I did get the updated drivers and the BIOS is still at 1.00. That said this board is almost identical to the Z68 Extreme4 and the BIOS is pretty mature for a version 1.

Have been gaming for a couple of hours now O/C to 4 ghz on stock cooling with good temps! I am liking this!

I would of recommend:

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231449 - I know its $10 more but it is an excellent RAM and waaay faster than what you picked (18MB/s vs. 28MB/s) - I have a set and can vouch for it. super stable.

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128494 - $30 less for a waaay better brand and quality! Best bang for your buck!

If I were you I would get a refund on the RAM and get the gSkill.

sbohdan wrote:I would of recommend:

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231449 - I know its $10 more but it is an excellent RAM and waaay faster than what you picked (18MB/s vs. 28MB/s) - I have a set and can vouch for it. super stable.

MOBO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813128494 - $30 less for a waaay better brand and quality! Best bang for your buck!

If I were you I would get a refund on the RAM and get the gSkill.

The deed is done already. Actually it was a toss up with the Gigabyte mobo. I am a die hard Gigabyte fan but a couple of things sold me on the Asrock, a brand that before I thought of as cheap (but when I was buying ASUS and MSI I thought the same of Gigabyte). The most important was the GPU outputs and support fot Virtu. The actual UEFI BIOS versus the Touch BIOS was the other. In the end, the few reviews I found for the Asrock all sounded very positive. All in all, at this early stage I am happier with it than I thought I would be.

As for the RAM, it seems we both have the same taste in Mobos and RAM. I am a die hard G.Skill fan as well, the only reason I went with the Kengsinton is I have had good RAM in the past from them and it was a good price (or so I thought ). The link you posted was for a 4 gig kit and I was getting 8 gig.

I ordered the 8 gig DDR3 1600 G.Skill kit from the Egg and will be getting a refund on the Kensington,

What cooling did you decide to go with? With your case and the price of the kit this is what I'd look at.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835181017
You can always swap out the fans and run a fan controller later.

Major_A wrote:What cooling did you decide to go with? With your case and the price of the kit this is what I'd look at.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835181017
You can always swap out the fans and run a fan controller later.

Thats the one! Ordered Sunday should be here today (along with the new RAM)

Got the H100 and the RAM in today. Ram install was a breeze, the H100 notsomuch ;) but it is in and installed. Actually I like what I've purchased but there are some quirky issues. I'll start another thread with my uninformed user views ;)

EDIT -

Mobo opinions here (I'm not a pro reviewer ) - http://forums.legitreviews.com/about36599.html

Corsair H100 opinions here - http://forums.legitreviews.com/about36607.html

I know this is a fairly old post now, but show us some pics already.

Ok already! The first pic is why I didn't post many
The Asrock, fresh outta' the box!: And the accessories and stuff! (note that the 2600k and external dock were not included in the purchase price

And some more:
Like the Clr CMOS on the rear panel!
And, the little "BEASTIE" ;)

That's a bunch of accessories. What do you think of the motherboard? I might go ASRock my next build. Seems like you get a lot more features than say an ASUS or Gigabyte for cheaper.