Seeking advice on R11K self-built PC

Gnome said:
Pity, the Radeon 6970 with 2GB of RAM is a better buy than the Nvidia GTX570.
Click to expand...

Ok, I will give it a closer look.

Also, it seems I can get the P8Z68-V instead of the P8P67 Evo with no change in final price. Is this a no brainer for the z68 then?
 
Gnome said:
Point Of View GTX580 1536MB GDDR5, 2 year Limit warranty R4444.86
OR
AMD Radeon 6970 2GB GDDR5, R3190.86 <--- Personally I would take this card if not the GTX580
OR
Point Of View GTX570 PCI-E 1280MB GDDR5, 2 year Limit warranty R3190.86
Click to expand...

Where are you getting those prices?
 
SomeoneEls said:
Esquire I'm guessing
Click to expand...

Can I even buy from their website? I don't see any prices...
http://www.esquire-shop.co.za/

Gnome said:
Point Of View GTX580 1536MB GDDR5, 2 year Limit warranty R4444.86
OR
AMD Radeon 6970 2GB GDDR5, R3190.86 <--- Personally I would take this card if not the GTX580
OR
Point Of View GTX570 PCI-E 1280MB GDDR5, 2 year Limit warranty R3190.86
Click to expand...

Well, I looked at several reviews of the gtx 570 1,2GB and the Radeon 6970 2GB. Apparently, the 2GB in the Radeon is good for super high resolutions (i.e. over 1080p) and great AF, but is otherwise just a noisier version of the gtx 570. I'll be hooking this PC up to my sony TV which will display 1080p. I've always used nvidia and so I'm familiar with their cards/drivers. I've never used Radeons. And what about Physx support? I'm definitely open to start using Radeons if it'll be worth it, but it certainly seems close at best.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/311566-33-radeon-6970-recommend
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/318996-33-radeon-6970
http://www.hwcompare.com/9020/geforce-gtx-570-vs-radeon-hd-6970/
 
Last edited:
rinkjames said:
Where are you getting those prices?
Click to expand...
Esquire. You need an account: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...on-PowerColor-Graphic-cards-and-Sunday-Notice

See Esquire's signature.

rinkjames said:
Well, I looked at several reviews of the gtx 570 1,2GB and the Radeon 6970 2GB. Apparently, the 2GB in the Radeon is good for super high resolutions (i.e. over 1080p) and great AF, but is otherwise just a noisier version of the gtx 570.
Click to expand...

Between the 2, the Radeon is the better card. By noise, do you mean the cooler? I haven't a clue but it would probably only be during gaming.
 
Gnome said:
Esquire. You need an account: http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthr...on-PowerColor-Graphic-cards-and-Sunday-Notice

See Esquire's signature.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I registered and now I'm waiting for confirmation I guess.

Gnome said:
Between the 2, the Radeon is the better card. By noise, do you mean the cooler? I haven't a clue but it would probably only be during gaming.
Click to expand...

I'll take another look when Esquire registration comes through.

Also, what do you guys think about this:

rinkjames said:
Also, it seems I can get the P8Z68-V instead of the P8P67 Evo with no change in final price. Is this a no brainer for the z68 then?
Click to expand...

Damn: the N 570 Twin Frozr iii I was planning on getting is now out of stock. Can anyone tell me whether these are identical cards?

http://www.takealot.com/electronics...twin-frozr-iii-power-edition-oc-1-2gb,9759205
http://www.takealot.com/electronics...-570-pci-express-x16-2-0-gddr5-1-2gb-,9757410
 
Let me give you a tip:
Buy the CHEAPEST card of a given model.

If you pay more to get a "special edition" card, you are wasting your money. Unless the card offers much lower noise and that kind of thing appeals to you.

Especially "overclock" cards. I specifically avoid them. You pay more for a card that comes overlocked and some people see that as a benefit. Basically you pay extra for a card that will not overclock much (because it is already an overclock), has much higher power usage than normal, produces a lot more heat and has much lower reliability (every OC card I've bought has broken), then you pay a premium. Boggles my mind.
 
Gnome said:
Let me give you a tip:
Buy the CHEAPEST card of a given model.

If you pay more to get a "special edition" card, you are wasting your money. Unless the card offers much lower noise and that kind of thing appeals to you.

Especially "overclock" cards. I specifically avoid them. You pay more for a card that comes overlocked and some people see that as a benefit. Basically you pay extra for a card that will not overclock much (because it is already an overclock), has much higher power usage than normal, produces a lot more heat and has much lower reliability (every OC card I've bought has broken), then you pay a premium. Boggles my mind.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm prob not going to overclock the GPU. The twin frozr iii, with overclock and extra fan etc., is more expensive than other brands but I thought it would be a good buy at R3 800,00 especially with a 3 year warranty. That way, if anything overheats/goes wrong I can return the card. I could get a cheaper brand (by about R500,00 as you pointed out), but I saw it only had a 2 year warranty and was slightly slower than the Twin Frozr, which is something I consider since I don't really want to fiddle with overclocking the GPU.


Gnome said:
Let me give you a tip:
Basically you pay extra for a card that ... has much lower reliability (every OC card I've bought has broken), then you pay a premium. Boggles my mind.
Click to expand...

So are you saying that, long term, a cheaper, slightly slower, shorter-warranty card is the better choice?
 
Last edited:
rinkjames said:
I really like the look of the CM Silencio 550! I worry the Hyper 212 evo won't fit though.
Here it says the max height is 15,4cm:
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6702
And here it says the height of the Hyper 212 evo is 15,9cm:
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=6741
Click to expand...

Currently building into a Silencio 550. Thermalright HR-02 Macho, 162mm, fits.

What helps is that at least 5mm at the top is heat pipes. So they seem to fit nicely into the concave grooves on the sound dampening foam.

I've taken some pics for later.
 
PostmanPot said:
Currently building into a Silencio 550. Thermalright HR-02 Macho, 162mm, fits.

What helps is that at least 5mm at the top is heat pipes. So they seem to fit nicely into the concave grooves on the sound dampening foam.

I've taken some pics for later.
Click to expand...

That's great. Thanks, I'd like to see the pics.

By the way, I have just ordered from Takealot.com the Cooler Master Silencio 550 and the MSI nVidia GeForce GTX 570. I was worried that, with the other MSI card going out of stock this weekend, this one might go too. I will probably cancel the order if Takealot.com confirms that these are not the same card, but I think they are. I'll prob also cancel if Gnome convinces me to get a cheaper Nvidia/Radeon. I'm still keen to see Esquire prices. Wish registration would come through...
 
rinkjames said:
Well, I'm prob not going to overclock the GPU.
Click to expand...
It is still overclocked from the factory. They've done that for you with the MSI card.

rinkjames said:
So are you saying that, long term, a cheaper, slightly slower, shorter-warranty card is the better choice?
Click to expand...
Are you going to keep your card longer than 2 years? I wouldn't pay R500 extra for the 1 year extra warranty. In 2.5 years time, if your card fails, they aren't going to give you a replacement at best you'll get a credit-note based on their estimation of the card's value. Ask anyone who deals with that sort of thing regularly. If the supplier stops selling a card it is highly unlikely you'll get yours fixed or replaced when it fails.

Slightly slower, LOL. That card is still just the same GTX570 chip you get in any other card, they just overclocked it at the factory. For a few hundred extra you can get an actual better card, that is, a card that is a higher model.
 
Gnome said:
It is still overclocked from the factory. They've done that for you with the MSI card.


Are you going to keep your card longer than 2 years? I wouldn't pay R500 extra for the 1 year extra warranty. In 2.5 years time, if your card fails, they aren't going to give you a replacement at best you'll get a credit-note based on their estimation of the card's value. Ask anyone who deals with that sort of thing regularly. If the supplier stops selling a card it is highly unlikely you'll get yours fixed or replaced when it fails.

Slightly slower, LOL. That card is still just the same GTX570 chip you get in any other card, they just overclocked it at the factory. For a few hundred extra you can get an actual better card, that is, a card that is a higher model.
Click to expand...

I hope to keep this system (without substantial upgrades) for at least 2-3 years. Is that optimistic? Are the benefits of overclocking the GPU really as meagre as you make them sound?

Ok, if overclocking the GPU and more than a 2 year warranty (i.e. the main reasons I chose the twin frozr iii) really don't give me much then I agree I should get a cheaper card. Is that right?

This is just as well. Takealot.com just replied to my email saying that:

The two cards are not the same I have made them inactive as there is a
problem with the specs on the two card.
Click to expand...

So I asked for a refund (on the Silencio 550 too). Very keen to see Esquire prices now...
 
Last edited:
Here's the Silencio 550.

http://www.imagehost.co.za/image-B4CB_4EDC9DFD.jpg

http://www.imagehost.co.za/image-AFF2_4EDC9DFD.jpg

http://www.imagehost.co.za/image-251C_4EDC9DFD.jpg

http://www.imagehost.co.za/image-4BD1_4EDC9DFD.jpg

http://www.imagehost.co.za/image-8EAD_4EDC9DFD.jpg

It's so good I just had to whip out the DSLR. :love:

image-70BB_4EDC9E4F.jpg


image-C06D_4EDC9E4F.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X