welshname's not quite as cheap as I hoped budget build

[welshname]

Hi all,

New to the forums but started watching the LTT videos a few months back so thought I'd join up.

Little bit of background, I used to play CS:S around 5-6 years ago a LOT! But stopped playing around the time I dropped out of college (for the second time) and started working in IT. After working as the sole IT Tech for a small business all day I just couldn't deal with computers when I got home.

Fast forward a few years and I bought a PS4 in November and found myself nothing but frustrated with FPS games on a console.

I stumbled upon the Linus Tech tips channel and 2? Weeks ago I decided on a whim to build a budget rig by buying older tech as cheap as possible.

It didn't turn out quite as cheap as I hoped but still everything I got second hand was a good price and other stuff I got new like case and PSU etc.

So, on to the specs:

Case: Corsair 200R

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-V LX

CPU: i5 3570K (currently running a conservative OC of 4.2Ghz)

RAM: 8GB of DDR3 (in a single module of a brand I don't know as it came with the board)

GPU: Sapphire R9 270X Dual-X

PSU: Cooler Master G650M

CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i

Boot Drive: 120GB Kingston SSD

Storage: 2X2TB WD Green in RAID

OS: Windows 7 Pro (x64)

Peripherals are:

Headset: Hyper-x Cloud

Mouse: Intellimouse 3.0 (I've had death adders, Lachesis, various Logitec mice and I always come back to this)

Keyboard: Corsair K70

Mouse mat: Razer Mantis Control

Monitor: LG 23MP75 IPS LED

Let me know what you think. I'll post some pictures tomorrow at some point.

Cheers

welshname (Rhys)

[cox1000]

Very solid gaming machine, graphics card lacks a bit but should be able to do everything at 1080p with mid-high settings.

What RAID are you using for your WD drives? 

Also, what is the 200R like to build in and live with as I have been thinking of purchasing one?

[_Oliver]

how much did the build cost?

[welshname]

Very solid gaming machine, graphics card lacks a bit but should be able to do everything at 1080p with mid-high settings.

What RAID are you using for your WD drives?

Also, what is the 200R like to build in and live with as I have been thinking of purchasing one?

Sorry I must have mistyped! RAID 1 I meant to put.

As for the case, I was limited by space so had to go for it and it was cheap. The H100i REALLY doesn't fit properly and fouls on the RAM unless you remove some of the corner of the fans. I will probably struggle when I change my RAM setup but for now it'll do. Cable management space is poor and wasn't helped by the shocking types of cables provided in the hybrid modular PSU.

Yeah the card is lacking a little but it was cheap and all I'm really playing at the moment is CS:GO. I only really play FPS games in a competitive environment and things like BF4 and Hard line I find better on a console as public play on a PC doesn't interest me.

[welshname]

how much did the build cost?

At this point I have no idea. MoBo, CPU and RAM was a bundle and in the end was far more expensive than I hoped, came in at £280 from eBay and the GPU was £80, again from eBay.

Everything else bar the mouse mat and mouse are brand new and bought from Scan/Amazon so a quick look on there will give you an idea. OS came from work for free so hence using 7 and not 8/8.1.

[welshname]

As promised, here are some pictures.

 

Inside Case 2 by welshname, on Flickr

 

CPU Block by welshname, on Flickr

 

Fan bodge for RAM by welshname, on Flickr

 

Desk by welshname, on Flickr

 

Hyper-X Cloud by welshname, on Flickr

 

And I had a little play with my CPU this evening after finally finding the splitter cables for the H100i.

 

CPUID by welshname, on Flickr

 

Had a spike in the temp for a second right at the start of the stability test in AIDA64 but it levelled out nicely I think. (Min Temp, Max Temp, Average Temp)

 

AIDA64 Temp by welshname, on Flickr

[welshname]

As people, can see from the bodge on the fan it's a real struggle to fit a H100i in this case if your MoBo has the RAM sat quite high.

 

Can anyone make any recommendations on any lower profile RAM than what's in there?  I'm not sure it exists in consumer grade stuff but I know you can get VERY slim ECC server RAM.

 

Cheers.

[welshname]

@AmbrosiaMV

 

Okay so not much action in this thread but I'll update it anyway.

 

Yesterday I ordered some VLP (Very Low Profile) RAM as I fancied 16GB and also needed to find a proper way of getting around my bodge.

 

So this morning these arrived:

 

Delivery! by welshname, on Flickr

 

2 x 8GB Crucial Ballistix VLP 1600mhz RAM

 

So out came the rig and got the side panels off and the H100i out.  As you can see there really isn't a lot of space in there to fit it in the first place.

 

Not a lot of space for h100i by welshname, on Flickr

 

 

Quick comparison for the people who thought my mushkin memory was about as low profile as it gets...

 

What low profile RAM actually looks like by welshname, on Flickr

 

And fitted:

 

RAM Height by welshname, on Flickr

 

 

 

Next up was the fans.  I had to damage one of my fans previously to fit them with the RAM so I decided to replace them both with LED ones.  People say that the SP120 are quieter at the same RPM as the SP120L that come as standard so I will see how I get on. 

 

So the previous bodge:

 

Better view of previous bodge by welshname, on Flickr

 

And a side by side of the fans:

 

New fans vs Old by welshname, on Flickr

 

As you can see, the blades on the SP120L's are much wider so I'm hoping that it won't make too much difference in cooling performance  :wacko:

 

Anyway, all fitted to the rad:

 

New Fans installed by welshname, on Flickr

 

Clearance on the RAM now is much better:

 

RAM Clearance by welshname, on Flickr

 

And voila:

 

LED Fans by welshname, on Flickr

 

All finished and ready to be put back in place.  

 

Thanks for reading whoever does bother to