Choice of PSU and case

vlad17

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Dec 9, 2011
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18,510
HI,
I have acoupel of questions rearding my 1st home built.

Here are the other component:
1) Intel CPU Core i5 Unlocked 2500K Sandy Bridge Quad Core Processor
2) Silverstone Raven ST-RV03B-WA Black Full Tower or CM HAF X
3) Corsair Memory Vengeance LP Blue 16GB DDR3 1600 MHz CAS 9 XMP Quad Channel Desktop Sandybridge
4) ASUS 1155 P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
5) 1TB Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3
6) Coolermaster RSA00-80GAD3-UK Silent Pro Gold 1000W Modular Power Supply (PSU) or seasonic 1000 W platinum
7) Noctua NH-D14 Dual Radiator and Fan Quiet CPU Cooler or thermalright silver arrow

I have not decided yet on the gPU as I am waiting for the next ATI series to make my mind up.
I would like your advice on the case and PSU

My plan is ti buy good components that i can keep for the next 5 years at leat if possible. I intend to overclock cpu and gpu as much as possible while keeping the system stable and learning in the process.
I also plan to leave me the choice of going sli or crossfire if i want to in the next couple of years.
so here are the questions.
i went for a 1 kw psu to make sure that i would have enough headroom for say 2 gtx 580 sli and powerful overclocked cpu. is it overkill?
i thought the corsair was a good psu , but i have been told it is not so good.
the seasonic is supposed to be among the best (and it is priced accordingly). so should i go for seasonic and if i do so will i be ok for 5 years or more?
the problem with the seasonic is that it is too big for the raven rv 03, so if i went with that psu i would have to go for another case. I am not very fond of the look of the haf X, but it seems like it is a very good case which would last a long time and would accomodate about everything i could want to put in while providing very good cooling performance.
Do you guys have any good advice on these points?
in another thread i came to discuss about the compatibility of gpu fitted with msi twinfrozr cooler and the raven rv03. does anyone tried this configuration? is there any incompatibility between the msi twinfrozr and the raven rv03 respective airflows?

thanks a lot
 
The Corsair HX1050 was unique in that t was the only one in the series reviewed by jonnyguru not to get a 10.0 performance rating, getting a rather pedestrian 8.5 .... the HX1000 only did a little better at 9.0

I don't use less than 9.5 rated PSU's in an enthusiasts build, 10.0 if serious about OCing.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=245

The AX1200 (made by Flextronics) does get that 10.0 rating.

Here's some of the combos I normally build with

Antec 1200 V3 w/ CP-850 - 10.0 performance rated (jonnyguru) rated PSU in an excellent case. Jonny says ....

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story4&reid=142

It is completely unmatched by any ATX unit on the market I can think of. You'd have to spend twice as much as this thing costs to find the next best thing, performance wise.

Paired with the 1200 it provides acoustical and cooling features that competitors are unable to match.....extremely cool and quiet running combination.

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article971-page7.html

The above is an obviously unfair advantage for the CP-850... but what of it? Antec has used an integrated systems approach for its CP-850 and its best cases, and if that approach is an advantage over all other case/PSU combinations, then, all the more power to Antec!

Antec DF-85 w/ CP-1000 - The DF-85 is built on the Antec 1200 chassis and the PSU is the other's big brother....so much the same here .... in fact these CP series PSU's only fit in 4 Antec cases, these 2 + the P183 and P193.

Corsair 500R w/ HX850 - Extremely well reviewed case w/ another 10.0 performance rating from jonnyguru.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=153
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&Itemid=61&limit=1&limitstart=5

Thermaltake Level 10 GT Snow w/ AX1200 - Best reviewed case I have seen and another 10.0 performance rated PSU.....case is expensive but well within ya budget

http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=843&Itemid=61&limit=1&limitstart=6
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story5&reid=189

I like the HAF-X over the 932 but, from a builder's standpoint, and aesthetics aside, I find the tool less features a bit flimsy and sometimes downright annoying trying to get things to line up. Otherwise excellent cases......combine with any of the above Corsair PSU's or the XFX Core Edition Series if ya not unto extreme overclocking ..... the XFX Core Edition series all get 9.5 performance ratings.

GFX wise.....if ya stick w/ the 580's I'd grab the AX1200 ..... if ya consider the 560's / 570's .... you can use the 850 watters.

-Two factory overclocked 560 Ti's ($430-460) will get ya 862 fps in Guru3D's game test suite, about 40% more than the single 580.

-Two d 570's ($680) will get ya 873 fps in Guru3D's game test suite, about 1% more than the twin 560's. Factory OC'd models ($740) might get ya close to 5% more than the twin 560's

-Two d 580's ($1000) will get ya 953 fps in Guru3D's game test suite, about 10% more than the twin 560's. Factory OC'd models ($1200) might get ya close to 15% more than the twin 560's

I'd easily take the twin 560's over the single 580 for $40 less. The SLI option is another matter....$110 for the bigger PSU plus an extra $540 ($650 total) for the non OC'd 580 cards for just 10% more performance is a judgement call only the one whose wallet is affected can make. If ya have the disposable income, why not ?..... if money could be better spent elsewhere, ya might not miss the 10%....even less so when ya crank those 560's up to 30% over reference speeds.

http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=1201&page=17

Either way, these would be my choices:

2 x $230 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121425

1 x $620 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130751

and another one later .... if they still around.
 

vlad17

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Dec 9, 2011
14
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18,510
Thanks for the advice.
I found somewhere else on teh web that actually the raven RV03 works pretty well with twifrozr fitted gpu (http://www.pureoverclock.com/printer.php?action=review&id=1342&page=6).
So I guess the raven rv03 is still a good choice. If i still want to go with that case, does anybody know if i can fit the seasonic 1000W platinum in that case? from what I understand I would have no problem connecting the power cord to this psu if i were to place it upside down with the fan facing the bottom of the case. Are there any reasons why I should not/could not do that? I guess this goes for a number of other psu , so if you have experience with the raven rv03 please share it.
thanks