My PC 5 months on...

nathanjrb

nathanjrb

Prolific Poster
Thought I'd finally get some pics up. Fast track processing was really worth it! 3 working day dispatch!

No real problems with the PC itself - one CPU fan didn't work when it arrived, PCS sent out another fan immediately and issue was resolved.

I also had a NIGHTMARE with NVIDIA drivers. Windows 8 just didn't get on well with them. In the end issue was fixed (well, so far so good...) by updating the BIOS.

  • COOLERMASTER SILENCIO 650 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
  • Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-3770K (3.5GHz) 8MB Cache
  • ASUS® P8Z77-V PRO/THUNDERBOLT: PCI-E 3.0 READY,WIFI, SLI, X-FIRE
  • 32GB SAMSUNG DUAL-DDR3 1333MHz (4 X 8GB)
  • 4GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 690 DUAL GPU - 3 x DVI-I, 1 x mDP
  • 240GB INTEL® 330 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (500MB/sR,450MB/sW) (Special)
  • 2TB WD CAVIAR BLACK WD2002FAEX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE (7200rpm)
  • 1st DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 12x BLU-RAY ROM DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
  • 2nd DVD/BLU-RAY Drive 24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
  • Memory Card Reader NONE
  • CORSAIR 650W ENTHUSIAST SERIES™ TX650 V2-80 PLUS® BRONZE (£69)
  • SPIRE GEMINI REV.3-THERMAX HDT TWIN FAN CPU COOLER (£39)
  • 2 x 12CM Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof) (£9)
  • Fan Controller NONE
  • Sound Card ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
  • USB Options 2 PORT USB 3.0 INTERNAL PCI-EX CARD + STANDARD USB PORTS























Thanks PCS!

Already wanting to upgrade PSU and install a sound card.
 
nathanjrb

nathanjrb

Prolific Poster
Thanks! I think the one thing missing on my PC is the lack of...well... sexiness. I deliberately went for something that looked quite reserved. Mostly so that it fits in living room discreetly so the gf doesn't mind it. Next time I think I'm just going to go for the whole light show thing and she can sod off haha
 
nathanjrb

nathanjrb

Prolific Poster
Here it is with the latest fans installed.

2xAF120s at the front, 1xSP120pwm on the base, 1xSP120pwm on the rear.

In the future the two SP120's will be going on to a H80i cooler. I will stick another SP120 in the base, and a AF120 in the top.

Anyway, hope you like the pics.




















 
nathanjrb

nathanjrb

Prolific Poster
I didn't fit it myself no, PCS did. I haven't overclocked yet no, I might look at doing some shortly though. To be honest, when I bought the PC I was still quite new to all this, and I didn't realise what the 'K' meant :p

The one thing I hate about the Gemini is the sheer size of it - it's really bulky and if you have big hands like mine it makes fiddling around inside a nightmare. For instance, when I first got the PC from PCS one of the fans attached to it was faulty. It made swapping it with a new one really fiddly because I didn't really know how/want to remove the cooler at the time and the clips which hold the fans on are quite tight.
 
nathanjrb

nathanjrb

Prolific Poster
Oh and my CPU temps currently are around 38/39c just with general web browsing and Spotify - thats at standard speed through AI Suite.

Both CPU fans are running at approx 580RPM, bottom fan at 0-540RPM and back fan at 583.

If I put everything up to full speed the CPU temp never goes above 60 (from what I've seen when checked immediately after gaming or during editing). Idle it hangs around 35c.
 
Blackdog

Blackdog

Bright Spark
Interesting. I'm looking at a push/pull air cooler to replace the titan (as I believe I've friend mine with dust.) I also hate fiddly bits so thanks for the feedback.
 
nathanjrb

nathanjrb

Prolific Poster
Hmm interesting. I've just been looking online and I have a feeling the H80i radiator may block the top exhaust, thus preventing me from fitting a fan there.
 
Blackdog

Blackdog

Bright Spark
Yeah I've seen that prove a problem in cases similar in size to yours (currently working on a Bitfenix Shinobi build this month and that rules watercooling out for this reason.) Definitely the way to go if you want easy access to the mobo though.
 
nathanjrb

nathanjrb

Prolific Poster
In this case I may have to have a rethink then. I could re fit the cooler I have, apply some better thermal paste and attach the fans onto that instead. I suppose it's worth a shot before I spend a load of money on a cooler I can't get the most out of.
 
Blackdog

Blackdog

Bright Spark
I used the stock cooler paste that came with the Cooler Master fan, though i've heard that you can get as much as 5 degrees lower with dedicated Arctic paste. I'm not sure how your cooler works but mine came with spare brackets that I could attach smaller profile fans to if i wished. I'd imagine that even with a modest overclock in the future (4ghz) you're unlikely to see high temps as your setup is pretty efficient. I like the sexy blue fans even though they don't glow. Me wants.
 
nathanjrb

nathanjrb

Prolific Poster
I just AI Suite II software that came with the motherboard. I'm not sure how accurate it is - I should probably use another one but haven't got around to it yet.
 
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