Maximum PC

http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.aspx?m=1132585

for the 212 use a little more than the rice size since there are some ridges where the heatpipes are separated.

Actually, the CM 812 was announced at CES back in January. Estimated cost around $70-100... A bit too steep for such a product but CM claims it does as good as some entry level liquid coolers. Honestly, if you are going to spend that kind of money and stick with air, you go with the double heaksink Noctua NH-D14 that outperforms the H80. It's also hard to refute the value of the EVO.

Btw, all modern PSU's have some sort of fan controller... That's just marketing speak of what you are reading. Nothing new except putting techno-jargen words to make something sound sexy, exotic and new when it really isn't... like what apple does. heh

If you see the 850w drop down to $80, you better snatch it at that price. I'm waiting till they go on sale again myself so I can grab either the 1000w or 1250w. The second I bought mine, I had a funny feeling that I should have gotten bigger for a few bucks more, but didn't think I'd be powering 3 cards this soon. Then the 570's went on sale and I went ape shit. lol


It should fit with no issues. The 300r is 8.3" wide... The CM EVO is 6.2"

Honestly, installing a back plate is not that complicated. Its 4 bolts and it doesn't matter about orientation for 1155 socket since the mounting holes are 75x75mm.


Lots of different techniques. Each to their own, but I do the two or three thin rows myself on the heatsink. But I have used a paste spreader on my newer builds that I like better. You can also do the plastic bag method. The most important thing is to not over apply; you want thin as possible but no air pockets.




If you think you'd need to spend 1/3 of your budget on just the cpu alone (6 core), then close to $260-300 for an entry level mobo for "future-proofing"; more power to yah, but honestly I'd say be a bit reasonable of your budget and match your needs for your applications whether that be content creation software that can be heavily multi-threaded or games that barely use 2 or 4 threads. It's hard to stomach spending almost a grand on a mobo/cpu combo... The only reason I'd suggest a 2011 socket chassis is if you need a powerful 1P solution for crunching some numbers or you need the extra pcie 3.0 lanes for a triple or quad card gpu solution; otherwise it would be a waste of money.

And besides, only heavy memory intensive apps really need quad channel ram. Triple or dual is just fast enough for everything else, including gaming. For your budget, I'd still recommend staying with an 1155 socket i5/i7. If you want future proof, get the i7 with HT. Then invest more of your budget for a proper graphics solution.



If you compare the i5 2500k, i7 2600k, the new i7 3770k and the i7 3930k, your graphics potential is basically the same across the board; maybe a little more of the i7 3930k and the 3770k over the older SB chips, but we are only talking about 5% difference. Most applications, that aren't good at multi-threading, will pretty much run the same or be very close on all of these chips provided they are clocked at the same and everything else are the same.

Have you looked at NZXT cases? They got some nice compact mid-sized cases exactly like the 300r for half the price. I speak of the Source 220.

Ya I have been looking at the NXT 212 and the Cooler Master 912 as well. Just so many to choose from. I just love the features of the 300r and it seems real easy to work with. I think the case and even more so the power supply may turn out to be what ever is the best value at the time.

Thanks for the info on the cooler. Prolly stick w/the Evo then.

As for the thermal paste, its seems to me due to the heat pipes of coolers like the Evo spreading it is a good idea.

Still deciding on the CPU/mobo, but point taken.

I have to agree with JB here for your money and for what you want to do with it the socket 2011 MB/CPU really doesn't seem like the way to spend the extra money.
I have what I feel is a great all around rig and I can tell you from experience that all the extra stuff that the Socket 2011 represents isn't what you need. The extra money from the tax return is a good thing and will allow you to get a better GPU, PSU and possibly a bigger SSD. For what you want, at least from your original post, go with the 1155 i7-2600K and grab 16GB of memory, etc.

I think if I had to put this in a car analogy it would go like this, We all want to buy a Ferrari or a Porsche but in reality a Subaru WRX STi that has had some work done to it would spank both of them.

A i7-2600K may not be the Ferrari(2011) but It will do everything you will want and then some. Hell Ivy Bridge will probably be out when you build this so go for a i7-3770K and when you feel comfortable give it a decent OC and call it a day.

If we had even a small idea that a 2011 would fit your use for your system I don't think we would hesitate to tell you. Most of the guys here on the forums are a very straight forward bunch and don't steer people wrong but this is your rig/system we can only give you our thoughts and suggestions what you do with it is up to you.

If we are going to do the car anaolgy thing, then I'll do the bike!

Everyone wants the $40k ducati for speed and handling, but everyone can be complacent with a cheaper $10k jap made bike... even then, it requires training, knowledge and experience to even use such a piece of technology properly. Realistically, only professionals can hit the limit of these bikes, while joe blow may only be able to use 10% because they don't know how to ride or corner properly.

Say the rider is the app and the bike is the processor, the app can only go as fast as the rider feels comfortable without crashing. Unless your rider is a pro that can use all of the capabilities of the bike, no matter if its a 10k or 40k+ bike, it will use it all. A non-pro rider won't even stress the 10k bike limits.



Ok... let me try again... The CPU is a branch, the app is a tree... no no... The CPU is like a box of chocolates... and the app is your date... no no...

Car and bike references....I like it. I actually have a STi w/work done to it....pushing 350whp (about 400hp to the crank).

I want the Ford Focus RS 360 AWD that Europe gets just because its fairly stock looking, sleeper car and the fact that no one in the states actually keeps up with WRC and rally sports... then BAM.... I'm doing 4wd donuts in the parking lot... lol

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817341052

The OCZ PS is on major sale $89.99 w/free shipping after $20 Newegg code...and then there still is the $20 mail in rebate making it $69.99. For $69.99 I am really of thinking of pulling the trigger, it is a great deal. Only thing is I am not going to be building the rig until sometime in May now.

So is it worth it to pick it up now and let it sit for aobut 2 months?

Honestly, its a mild deal considering I got the OCZ 700w modx, the older psu, $40 back when it was new. It may not be fully modular, but you'll be running the 24+4 mobo connectors anyhow. Compared to everything else out there right now, its a decent buy, but nothing I'd literally jump the gun on.

Btw, the 700w modx is $45 right now. Hovers around 40-60 all the time. Even a few months from there, there' always going to be some sort of PSU sale going on from some place at sometime with various units.


If you are going to stick with a one card solution, but still overclock, even a decent 600w psu will work fine. A 700w psu will run two mid range gpu's with a bit of cpu overclocking. Those 6850's and 560's only soak in about 150-170w on load then give or take 200-240w for a current level sandy bridge with a fairly decent overclock. Even then, a 500w psu will run the same setup all at stock speeds.

I only suggested the 850w OCZ 80+ gold because its still a great value 80+ gold unit that hits a good price/performance ratio compared to 850's in its class. 80+ gold units (even low wattage 500) tend to start around $70ish. It would be a good basis if you do plan on using mid-range/high end gpu's in SLI/xfire while doing overclocks on the CPU, maybe even on the gpu's.