Helping a classmate,

[Drunkenvalley]

Figured I'd check with you lot if something's off in the build here.

He's a gamer whose rig apparently just died entirely the other day. Since it was old, he wants a new rig. He wants to play Skyrim and Battlefield 3 at reasonably high settings without lag.

But he's not a hardware geek. He did however fancy the Raven 03 case, so I'm trying to fit things in there. I also want to take the opportunity to give him a good looking computer overall as well, while maintaining a certain standard to build quality.

The build is looking like this so far:
Raven 03 (Black / Gold)
Gigabyte GA-P67A-UD4-B3
Intel i5 2500k
Corsair H100
Corsair Vengeance LP 2x4GB
PNY GTX 570 1.25GB
Seasonic X-560

Thoughts? I'm particularly uncertain how, if at all possible, I'd mount the H100, but I'm not quite fancying a big aircooler either...

[ArchType]

budget? Looks good, and should do what he wants if you at up to 1920x1080. Do you need the watercooling? Unless he plans to crank the OC up to like it's limit, watercooling seems excessive to me. Also good choice on the LP Vengeances.

[Deleted]

budget? Looks good, and should do what he wants if you at up to 1920x1080. Do you need the watercooling? Unless he plans to crank the OC up to like it's limit, watercooling seems excessive to me. Also good choice on the LP Vengeances.

Just as Tetris, I don't really see why you should call the closed loop coolers 'watercooling'. Closed-loop is nowhere near the performance of watercooling.
The only one who can even compete with good aircoolers is the H100, and it's still ~22% more expensive then the air coolers.

[kailtas]

I dont think a PNY570 would be the best choice. Asus, MSI and Gigabyte offers much better cooling solutions for their cards.

And its not very hard to mount a closed loop watercooler. I recently got one for my GTX470 and the only ''tense'' part is to get the thermal grease to hit the cpu without having to move it to the sides.

Mounting the radiator is easily done with screws where the fans usually go.

[Sephiracle]

Just as Tetris, I don't really see why you should call the closed loop coolers 'watercooling'. Closed-loop is nowhere near the performance of watercooling.

Closed loop watercoolers are still water cooling. They're just sub-par compared to the non closed variety.

[Drunkenvalley]

The PNY was chosen because of its reference cooler actually, since apparently they work better with the heat-rising concept of the Raven. Emphasis on "apparently" -- the idea being that it at least tries to direct the air in and up, while non-reference coolers draw it in and then just try and use positive air pressure to remove the air wherever.

That's what I heard on the road, anyway. Take it for what it is. /dragonageface

The H100 isn't really all that much more expensive than the NH-D14, and to be perfectly honest I'm willing to fork over a little more cash if it means I don't have a massive block covering 50% of the motherboard...

Purely performance-wise I'm set on the Corsair H100. The only concern I have with it at all is whether or not it will physically fit anywhere, and what the effect will be in the particular case.

As for the budget, I'm targeting a 10k NOK or so budget, but he's willing to fork over 13k NOK for a computer.

[lockblock]

Well if you want reference design should go with EVGA for the lifetime warranty.

[Drunkenvalley]

That might be a point. Although I'm not sure of how much help it will be. :P

[llDemonll]

That's what the NH-D14 will look like in the Raven (FT02 in picture, same chassis design though). The case is set up perfectly for the cooler

[Drunkenvalley]

Bit of a dick question: What of it?

Btw, it's not quite the same chassis design. The RV03 has the powersupply under the 5.25" bays, the motherboard is 180 degrees, etc.

[spaace]

now-a-days.. I wouldn't waste on an i5. spend the extra bit and get an i7 or something with 6 cores, so you won't be outdated by christmas Oh.. and an asus rampage.... nomnom <3

[Drunkenvalley]

now-a-days.. I wouldn't waste on an i5. spend the extra bit and get an i7 or something with 6 cores, so you won't be outdated by christmas Oh.. and an asus rampage.... nomnom <3

Why?

'cause you're sounding like a big pile of bull right now. And Asus Rampage? Really?

[Sephiracle]

now-a-days.. I wouldn't waste on an i5. spend the extra bit and get an i7 or something with 6 cores, so you won't be outdated by christmas Oh.. and an asus rampage.... nomnom <3

Everything in this post is wrong. Everything.

[Drunkenvalley]

Everything in this post is wrong. Everything.

It's also a contradiction. So it's pretty obvious to me he/she was trying to consciously misinform, or is severely misinformed him-/herself.

[llDemonll]

You were saying you didn't want a massive block covering 50% of the motherboard so I provided reference pictures showing that it's not nearly as large as you think it is. It doesn't cover anything vital and won't block cooling to any vital parts. In your case, the middle fan will be use to push air straight into the cooler, and the cooler will exhaust it straight out the top. The rear fan will feed directly into the GPU.

There really isn't anything better about the H100 than the NH-D14 unless you want a super-streamlined look. It's "smaller" in the case (aside from the radiator) so it won't block airflow, but what is there that it would block airflow from? It's also louder than the NH-D14 (depending on speed of fans)

[Drunkenvalley]

Oh. That was an expression that the NH-D14 is just massive. Sure, nothing is actually obstructed unless you make a poor choice in RAM, but I am seeking to streamline it in terms of appearance, so I do want to keep most parts as visible as possible through the window.

And hence why I ask how well, if at all, that the Corsair H100 can or will fit in there. Sadly, it looks like if anyone has chosen the combination they haven't made any statement on it, so that leaves me entirely in the dark.

What I'm considering is just ordering the Corsair H100, and if it doesn't fit or is too much work I'll just swap it for my own NH-D14. I've already been considering it for my own computer to begin with, since the NH-D14 blocks almost all of the view through the window.

[llDemonll]

Judging by this picture of the bottom, it doesn't look like the H100 would fit because of the dual radiator and how Silverstone has the offset between the two fans. I'm not sure what go in the little slots next to the middle fan in this picture, it seems like it'd be the side panel. If nothing goes in there it would be possible to use the H100 and only bolt down one fan on the radiator, not like the computer is subject to large forces anyways.

If you were thinking of the H100, then it's probably safe to order it with the case and swap them if it doesn't fit

[Drunkenvalley]

Strictly speaking, just letting the radiator recline unscrewed on the bottom should be fine; it's not like it'll take off flying if it's not bolted in place. But I don't think the H100 has long enough tubes for the job... >_<

Apparently people are able to mount their single radiators in the drive bays, which host two optional fan placements, but for air circulation require removing the 5.25" bay cover to reveal the mesh cover underneath.

[Xuvial]

Are you getting some kind of a deal on that X-560w? Guru3D recommends 600w for a 570. I have no doubts that an X-560 won't be enough, Seasonic's X-series = industry-leading shit.
But since both the GTX570 and i5 2500K are overclockable by a considerable amount, I would get a silver-class modular 600-650w for around the same price.

[Drunkenvalley]

I'll have to research a bit more on how much power this particular setup would require. I know the build won't be pushing 560w under normal use, and is to my knowledge very unlikely to do so even at full load, but I may well be underestimating the graphic card.

---------- Post added 2011-09-13 at 10:53 PM ----------

My classmate took a fancy to the HAF X. So I opted to find him a slightly different, but also more easily managed build.