Raise alert level to Defcon 4...

[JohnnyK]

http://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=mbp4_1155&xf=317_Z68~494_SLI~522_ATX#xf_top - Z68
http://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=mbp4_1155&xf=317_Z77~494_SLI~522_ATX#xf_top - Z77

 

[little P]

What's the difference between Z68 and Z77 then? Apart from price obviously. I mean from that I assume Z77 is better, but why?

Is that Mobo I linked to no good?

The article Haja linked to suggests PCI-E 3.0 is a must, but from what I read elsewhere it says nothing pushes the 2.0 format bar an Nvidia Titan etc. which isn't a concern for me obviously!

It seems most decent motherboards support 3.0 anyway so it's a moot point really. Does anyone have more than 8gb of ram in their system? It seems there's little point in getting a motherboard with 4 slots and supporting up to 32gb of ram... What possible need could you have for that?!

I understand about the point about upgrading, but I'm thinking it's going to be a while until I need/want to upgrade (by which time I'll have my career on track and *gasp* disposable income - what's that?). By which time the tech will have moved on again and any mobo I buy now will be redundant anyway? Am I right or wrong here.

 

[little P]

Is this one any good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/P8Z68-V-Motherboard-Socket-Bluetooth-Module/dp/B005T3TLM6/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1376733335&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+p8z68+v+pro

It's a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I just won't tell the wife...

EDIT: It seems most other retailers are charging £150 for this mobo, it's heavily discounted on Amazon... should I order this one? Then I can use Wappy's ram and get two more sticks in the future to upgrade

 

[little P]

And BTW, that copy of Windows 7 work good for you?

Yeah man no problems so far! Thanks again for your help

 

[JohnnyK]

That Asus böard Looks like a Great bargain

 

[little P]

Ok, I'll leave it until tommorow until I order it to get everyone's input, but looks like this could be the one?

 

[Kitlope]

Yup, m/b looks great. Also, here's a great test & review by Hardocp checking the gaming performance of PCI-e 2.0 vs. PCI-e 3.0. I was curious myself as I'm using the older 2.0 and wanted to know how much I was missing out... well apparently it's pretty much nil. Scroll down to the conclusion. http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/07/18/pci_express_20_vs_30_gpu_gaming_performance_review/14#.UhB6db74D4Y

 

[Kenadian]

Z68 = pcie2
Z77 = pcie3

 

[Kenadian]

Is this one any good?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/P8Z68-V-Motherboard-Socket-Bluetooth-Module/dp/B005T3TLM6/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1376733335&sr=1-1&keywords=asus+p8z68+v+pro

It's a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I just won't tell the wife...

EDIT: It seems most other retailers are charging £150 for this mobo, it's heavily discounted on Amazon... should I order this one? Then I can use Wappy's ram and get two more sticks in the future to upgrade

I almost bought that board and ended up getting the Z77 for PCIE3.

I think that's a great board that you can't go wrong with and the manufacturer is top notch.

 

[little P]

Ok, I'll order it today Thanks guys.

Am I alright putting all this stuff in my case? Or should I get another one?

I'm learning about negative and positive airflow etc.

And seeing as how I now understand how much cpu temps. affect the running of the pc, I'm a little concerned with all this equipment going in this case might not be up to the job of keeping it all cool...

Having a quick scout it looks like you can get cases surprisingly cheap.

Also, I'm looking at this for a cpu cooler. It seems to come highly recommended, but I care more about the opinions of the fragtards than strangers;

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-Hyper-212-120mm/dp/B0068OI7T8

 

[HaJa]

Excellent cooler, I have it
If I'd upgrade my air cooler next I'd go for a Noctua NH-D14. Take care however to
check that the case can occupy 16 cm cooler from the cpu upwards!

 

[little P]

Excellent cooler, I have it
If I'd upgrade my air cooler next I'd go for a Noctua NH-D14. Take care however to
check that the case can occupy 16 cm cooler from the cpu upwards!

This is my concern... any suggestions for budget cases?

 

[HaJa]

I have this case and it's on the milimeter that the cooler fits. But that might change with different MB's because the CPU socket might bi a wee bit higher.

http://www.inet.se/produkt/6911327/bitfenix-outlaw-svart

 

[Ogami Itto]

A nice case will last for an eternity. Going on 6 builds in my WTX case.

 

[JohnnyK]

http://skinflint.co.uk/nzxt-source-210-white-s210-002-a649206.html

Budget case I hear is good

 

[Kenadian]

http://skinflint.co.uk/nzxt-source-210-white-s210-002-a649206.html

Budget case I hear is good

Get it in black though because it's clearly uglier than sh1t in white :lol:

...besides the only thing it will match is the grey hair your growing going through this whole mess.

 

[little P]

Well, I sold my butthole and bought the mobo, cooler and considering this case?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zalman-Z9-Plus-Midi-Tower/dp/B004FPQL0E/ref=cm_cmu_pg__header

It's been getting great reviews from all the pc review sites, and best of all it's cheap, and still has few nice features.

I'm crapping myself re: putting it all together but hey, I've come this far, and stress aside, I'm actually enjoying the whole researching/learning on this subject.

CONSOLES SUCK!

EDIT: I've just found this case for sale at £40. Think I'm going to go for this one

 

[Kenadian]

Nice.

It seems a lot less gay than the one Johnny linked to you.

...in retrospect I'm not really sure why you want it then?

 

[little P]

Lol you barstard how's that cpu, I bet it's a fricken beast... You still haven't put pics up in the post your rig thread btw

 

[Kenadian]

It's a great CPU, runs fast, stable and performs very well. It's never been OC'd so it's in as good condition as used can get.

I haven't put up rig pictures yet because I don't have a working Digital Camera and I forget every time I see my daughter (which isn't much these days).