Need with assistance with desktop hardware

[Calum]

I would also choose the Coolermaster 212 over the Zalman cooler, Zalman coolers simply aren't that great any more.
The case is quite nice, IMO it's very expensive for what it is but if you like it, then fair enough choice of case always comes down to a personal decision at the end of the day.
As Cameron says, I would pick a Gigabyte or Asus board myself, and change the PSU to one of the 750W units I linked above, as the 850 simply isn't necessary even for SLI.  Watercooling adds only 30W or so to your power consumption as all you would be running in addition to air cooling is the pump and maybe a few extra fans.

[patio]

In some parts of the world such power is not allowed in a personal entertainment or home use device.

     Quote of the Month Finalist...

[21grams]

Alright peeps. Got the parts (excluding the case, that comes tommorrow). I was taking a look at the motherboard and saw power ports labeled jpwr1-4. I have an atx power supply but am not sure which plug goes where. There is also two power ports on the graphics card. As always your help is much appreciated.

P.S.
A mate of mine warned me not to put too much thermal paste on my cpu or the pc will freeze during north bridge initiation. Is there any truth in this or is it just a myth?

[Calum]

Alright peeps. Got the parts (excluding the case, that comes tommorrow). I was taking a look at the motherboard and saw power ports labeled jpwr1-4. I have an atx power supply but am not sure which plug goes where. There is also two power ports on the graphics card. As always your help is much appreciated.

Which board did you go with in the end?  Was it the MSI?  If so, you have the main 24 pin power connector as normal, then bizarrely two 8 pin connectors, and a 6 pin.  You'll probably find you only need the 24 pin and an 8 pin (you can also use a 4 pin but you may as well use an .  The 8 pin connector will likely be labeled ATX or EPS, the 6 pin will be a PCI-E connector.  The graphics card will take, I believe, an 8 pin PCI-E connector and a 6 pin PCI-E connector.  Hope this helps, if not, I'll try and clarify further

P.S.
A mate of mine warned me not to put too much thermal paste on my cpu or the pc will freeze during north bridge initiation. Is there any truth in this or is it just a myth?

Too much thermal paste can make your temperatures worse, so yes it's not a good thing.  Freezing during north bridge initiation is just made up though, disregard that part.

[21grams]

I went with the z87 in the end. I'll attach the full build here.

[recovering disk space, attachment deleted by admin]

[patio]

In some parts of the world such power is not allowed in a personal entertainment or home use device.

     Quote of the Month Finalist...

And the votes are in...Congratulations Geek on a winner...

[21grams]

Well gentlemen. With a little spit shine, elbow grease and a great deal of help from the good folks of the forum, I'd like to present...
Candice






I got to say she runs as good as she looks. Maxed out on settings on eve, skyrim and hitman absolution. I just want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your help (especially Calum :3). Without you all, I would have probably blown something up. I went ahead an attached a few pics of her, as well as the results from a 3d mark test. Once again, thanks everybody!

[Geek-9pm]

She looks like a Vacuum Cleaner I once knew.   

[Calum]

Glad to see it all went OK, nice build you have there

[Ankylosaurus]

Just one comment. Since you intend to have a "masterpiece", I used to have a HAF 932 and when I decided to build my own masterpiece last November I reluctantly had to sell the 932 and buy a HAF-X because the 932 simply wasn't big enough for the mobo. Even the HAF-X is a little cramped.

[Calum]

Just one comment. Since you intend to have a "masterpiece", I used to have a HAF 932 and when I decided to build my own masterpiece last November I reluctantly had to sell the 932 and buy a HAF-X because the 932 simply wasn't big enough for the mobo. Even the HAF-X is a little cramped.

That's what you get for using an oversized board!
Think how I feel when <5 cases on the market will fit mine out of the box
I used to quite like the HAF cases to build in, they were quick and easy to get a decent looking build.  I never liked the exterior looks myself, but internally they were decent.

[Ankylosaurus]

The point is you can fit a small pc into a large case but not vice versa. If you start out with the largest case you can afford you can put any old junk in it and it will look impressive; later upgrades will go in easily. A couple of delivery me took one look at my rig and said "WOW thats big!!!"
It could have had a Pentium 4 in it for all they knew 

[Calum]

True, if what you want is for it to look large and impressive, then a massive case will help with that.  It's funny how people tend to assume a huge case must house a high end rig.
I agree in general, that it's sensible to buy a case with enough expansion for the future, but nowadays with drives getting larger and people in general not needing as many drive bays etc, a large case isn't necessary for most people - unless you need a lot of drives, or exotic hardware like E-ATX, XL-ATX etc boards, or watercooling.

[Ankylosaurus]

Thats true, and of course it is the debate about "how much life is there in desktop PC's?". I would say the mainstream public will get smaller PC's and enthusiasts will get bigger PC's.

[Calum]

The trend for smaller PCs for the average user is definitely there, as ITX becomes more popular and more of an option without the associated cost, it's becoming more feasible.  Little VESA mountable PCs which still use desktop hardware are pretty cool, and a better option than all all-in-one PC or a laptop for someone wanting a desktop PC, in terms of upgradeability, ease of repair, etc.
As for enthusiasts getting bigger PCs, I don't see that to be honest.  The larger cases on the market today aren't significantly larger than those available a few years ago, and they can accommodate oversized boards, 4 graphics cards, and lots of watercooling gear with ease.  With SSDs becoming more accessible, there's no need for racks of hard drives in a normal PC, those who need the storage often use a NAS or home server rather than using their main PC for absolutely everything.