Most Liked Content

Please don't think that NZ etailers are creaming it over here. I know I'm not. I have the same markup across the board on all NZ supplied goods and its that low that I can make or lose money depending on what the freight cost is.
I don't think the suppliers are creaming it either. It is not cheap to get stuff sent over here. Either a small parcel or a container. Plus they have to warehouse the stuff and pay staff to dispatch and take orders etc etc. And take risks. Do they order a hundred whizz bang graphics cards only for them not to sell and they get stuck with them. There is alot of money tied up in stock, believe me. Goto any etail site, look at what they have 'in stock', try to add that that and then multiple it by 2 or more times per item. Big dollars. Without ordering in bulk, you don't get the discounts available.

There is more to prices often that end users see. Many assume computer retailers are ripping you off. I can guarantee this is one line of retailing you are not being ripped off. Other lines of retail may be ripping you off and creaming it, and maybe I'm just doing this all wrong but I don't believe we are. Some places may be but sites like Pricespy enable to you guys to see who that is. That ability doesn't really exist for many other retail lines.

Having said that, I think Newegg shipping here is a good thing. It opens up more brands and range which is what I think NZ is missing (not pricing).

The family:
Finally I have everything, I was unbelievably excited to get the loop set up.



The pump assembled with the D5 reservoir top:
Awesome little bit of kit. Filling was really simple.



Fittings:
I ended up being 1 Monsoon fitting short, so I ordered some XSPC ones instead. The Monsoon fittings have a much better grip on the tubing, however the XSPC ones still work well. The Monsoon fittings are also much easier to loosen and tighten.



The radiators:
I ended up getting an XSPC EX140 and EX280. I couldn't be bothered waiting any longer for the Alphacool ones to arrive The 140 fitted beautifully in the back, however It blocks the top PCI-E slot, meaning I had to move my GPU.



I was happy with how the radiators fit in my case, my research paid off ><



Quick-Disconnect drain-line:
This thing proved invaluable when I was leak testing, it made it very easy to empty the reservoir and rearrange things!



Completed loop order mock-up:
After what seemed to be an hour of staring at my case and tracing imaginary tubing lengths between components with my fingers, I settled on what you see below for my loop order.



Leak testing:
Leak testing was incredibly tense for the most part, I felt very uncomfortable for the first half hour. I had one leak, and it was between the reservoir and the 90° fitting that connected to the QDC. It was a very small leak, only a dribble, but it proved pretty annoying to fix, and I had to fiddle with it a lot. I suspect it was because the piece of tubing coming from the radiator wasn't long enough, and it was pulling the 90° fitting on an angle, creating a gap in the seal.



The leak was here:



Finished:








Finally I'm finished. Setting up the loop was super fun, and the temperatures are good. The loop has more or less removed to temperature limit for overclocking, and I did a bit of benching this morning. The lame part is that I seemed to have lost the silicon lottery hands-down, and my chip won't do very good clocks at all. It's a huge shame because it means that there is very little tangible benefit to this watercooling loop, hopefully I'll have better luck with an Ivy-E hexacore! Or possibly a Haswell chip, depends how tempting it is I guess.

Overclocking aside, the loop looks great and I'm happy with the noise levels. I have a GTX680 on it's way from the US which I will add to the loop, and I also plan to buy an extra couple of Apaches for push-pull, not because I need push-pull but simply because it will fit.

I'm sorry that this hasn't really been much of a build-log, when I made the thread I had big plans but I just haven't been bothered to take regular photo's and post meaningful updates. Next time I'll just do what I've done in this summary. Thanks for looking

Yeah, it really doesn't matter, if people don't like incorrect grammar, they shouldn't be on the internet. (Sorry MassaHarri)

Im just surprised its free

Apple usually try and charge you for updates

But at least they have affordable hardware right? Oh.

OK, here's the promised photos:
 Case without lid sm.jpg   55.63KB   3 downloads

 Case with DVD cover sm.jpg   60.19KB   3 downloads

The cover for the DVD drive hasn't been installed yet, so it was just sitting there for the photo – you're fortunate I managed to get it, because the wind wanted to blow it over.

 Case with lid sm.jpg   53.98KB   3 downloads

Since taking these I've put the first coat of varnish on.

Oh, and when I was getting ready to solder up the broken wires on the USB ports, two more broke. So I don't think I'm going to bother with soldering those up, I'll just figure out something else...

Removed.

Honestly, this looks like needy customer syndrome.

The product number listed on their website matches the product they delivered to you. They finally gave in to your neediness and gave you the extras free of charge, then you refuse to remove a negative review.

Alphacity could have treated you better earlier on, but I'm fully on their side here. They have done absolutely nothing wrong. They were not arrogant. You were.

Mwahahahaha FINALLY.

All my components have arrived HAHAHAHA.
I've been planning this since last year
This weekend should be an eventful 2 days indeed ψ(' ∇')ψ

CPU: Upgraded to Intel Core i7 3770K 3.5 GHz Socket 1155 Intel Core i5 3570K 3.4 GHz Socket 1155
GPU: Asus GeForce GTX760-DC2OC-2GD5 2GB x2
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-D3H
RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro Red 2x8GB
PSU: Antec High Current Gamer HCG-850M 850W
HDD: Seagate Barracude 1TB
SSD: Samsung 840 Series 120GB
Chassis: Corsair Carbide 300R Windowed
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DSX
Wireless: TP-Link TL-WDN4800
CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro H60 v2
Fan: Corsair Air Series AF140 Quiet 140mm x2
Lighting: Bitfenix Alchemy LED Red 60cm, 30cm
Monitor: LG IPS235P



Fig. 1 - Mmm Hardware


Fig. 2 - Dem Cables


Fig 3. *Rowr*


Fig. 4 - Window


Fig. 5 - Lights On, LEDs On, Lid Off


Fig. 6 - Lights On, LEDs On, Lid On


Fig. 7 - Lights Off, LEDs On, Lid Off


Fig. 8 - Lights Off, LEDs On, Lid On

The photos don't do the LED lighting justice, it looks BEASTLY in real life, believe me

This was my first build from scratch. I just want to thank everyone who has given me advice and useful information along my journey to creating Heracles. I really really appreciate it and I am so proud to be part of the PriceSpy community. I hope the images show the amount accumulated opinion and research all of us have put into Heracles.

If you keep using rediculously large fonts just to be annoying then don't be suprised to find that you no longer have posting rights.

Photos:
 Top view.jpg   83.31KB   7 downloads

 Top rear.jpg   121.13KB   5 downloads

 Top front.jpg   51.21KB   3 downloads

Been away for quite some time. But here it is, my new and current loop. Took it down, cleaned the blocks and radiators, and changed the layout and tubing. Push-pull on the 200mm rad is a must.

 DSCF2301E.jpg   1.04MB   22 downloads

 DSCF2303E.jpg   1.2MB   20 downloads

Don't mind the poor lighting. lol

It is important to buy a good power supply because a bad one can die early, start a fire, reduce the lifetime of computer components or even kill components.

I have put power supplies commonly found in New Zealand into a tiered ranking system so it is easy to see whether a power supply is acceptable for your computer or not.

If a power supply is not on this list, check out some reviews from trustworthy sites to see how good it is. Also ask about it, either in this thread or in a new thread on the forums.
Recommended Review Sites

Who's Who In Power Supplies, 2013: Brands Vs. Manufacturers

PSU Review Database

Reference Level
Antec High Current Pro Platinum (Full Modular)
Antec High Current Pro 1200 (Part Modular)
Cooler Master V (Full Modular)
Corsair AX (Full Modular)
Corsair AXi (Full Modular)
EVGA SuperNOVA G2 (Full Modular)
Seasonic Platinum (Full Modular)
Seasonic X (Full Modular)

Strongly Recommended
Antec CP (Part Modular)
Antec High Current Gamer 750 & 900 (Non Modular)
Antec High Current Gamer M 750 & 850 (Part Modular)
Antec High Current Pro 750 & 850 (Part Modular)
Antec TruePower Classic (Non Modular)
Antec Truepower Quattro (Part Modular)
Antec Truepower New (Part Modular)
Cooler Master Silent Pro Hybrid (Full Modular)
Cooler Master VS (Part Modular)
Corsair CS (Part Modular)
Corsair HX (Part Modular)
Corsair TX M (Part Modular)
Corsair TX v2 (Non Modular)
Corsair RM (Full Modular)
Enermax MaxRevo (Full Modular)
Enermax/LEPA G (Part Modular)
Enermax Triathlor (Part Modular)
EVGA SuperNOVA 1500 (Full Modular)
FSP Aurum Pro (Part Modular)
FSP Aurum 92+ (Platinum) (Part Modular)
In-Win Glaciar (Part Modular)
OCZ ZX (Full Modular)
Seasonic G Series (Part Modular)
Seasonic M12D (Part Modular)
Seasonic S12D (Non Modular)
Silverstone Strider 1500 (Full Modular)
Silverstone Strider Gold (Full Modular)
Silverstone Strider Gold Evolution (Full Modular)
Silverstone Strider Plus greater than 500W (Full Modular)
Thermaltake Evo Blue 2.0 (Part Modular)
Thermaltake Toughpower M (Part Modular)
Thermaltake Toughpower XT (Part Modular)
Vantec Voltra (Part Modular)
Vantec Voltra+ (Full Modular)
Zalman HP Plus (Part Modular)

Able Performers
AcBel M8 (Part Modular)
AcBel M88 (Part Modular)
AcBel R88 (Non Modular)
AcBel R9 (Non Modular)
Antec High Current Gamer (Non Modular)
Antec High Current Gamer M (Part Modular)
Antec VP (Non Modular)
Antec Earthwatts (Non Modular)
Antec Earthwatts Green (Non Modular)
Antec Neo Eco (Non Modular)
Aywun Mega Power Pro (Non Modular)
Cooler Master G (Non Modular)
Cooler Master GX II (Non Modular)
Cooler Master GX 450W (Non Modular)
Cooler Master GX 80 Plus Bronze (Non Modular)
Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold (Part Modular)
Cooler Master Thunder (Non Modular)
Cooler Master Thunder M (Part Modular)
Corsair CXM (Part Modular)
Corsair CX (Non Modular)
Corsair GS (Non Modular)
Corsair VS (Non Modular)
Enermax NAXN80+ (Part Modular)
EVGA 500B (Non Modular)
EVGA SuperNOVA Bronze (Part Modular)
EVGA SuperNOVA Gold (Full Modular)
FSP Aurum (Non Modular)
FSP Aurum CM (Part Modular)
FSP Hexa (Non Modular)
FSP Raider (Non Modular)
Huntkey Jumper (Part Modular)
Huntkey X7 (Part Modular)
In Win Commnader III (Part Modular)
In Win Powerman CQ3 (Non Modular)
In Win Powerman EQ3 (Non Modular)
In Win GreenMe (Non Modular)
Lian Li Silent Force (Part Modular)
OCZ ModXStream Pro (Part Modular)
Raidmax RX AE (Part Modular) *Falsely advertised as 80 Plus Gold, efficiency is 80 Plus Certified/Bronze level*
Seasonic M12 II (Part Modular)
Seasonic S12 II (Non Modular)
Silverstone Nightjar (Non Modular)
Silverstone ST45SF (Non Modular)
Silverstone Strider Essential (Non Modular)
Silverstone Strider Plus 500 (Full Modular)
Thermaltake TR2 P (Non Modular)

Best Avoided May not meet ATX specifications under demanding conditions.
AcBel CE2 *Issues with above room temperature, suitable for builds where power supply not stressed* (Non Modular)
AcBel iPower *Issues with above room temperature, suitable for builds where power supply not stressed* (Non Modular)
Aywun Mega Power Eco (ones ending in E) *Quality unkown, use at your own risk* (Non Modular)
Aywun Mega Power Elite *Stay below 50% labelled wattage, may blow at higher loads* (Non Modular)
Cooler Master Elite Power *Ripple touching ATX spec at full load* (Non Modular)
Cooler Master Extreme Power Plus *Stay below 75% labelled wattage, poor voltage stability, high ripple, may blow at full load* (Non Modular)
Cooler Master Extreme 2 *Stay below 65% labelled wattage, poor voltage stability, high ripple, may blow at full load* (Non Modular)
Cooler Master GX (except 450W version) *Stay below 75% labelled wattage, high ripple, may blow at full load* (Non Modular)
Enermax Tomahawk 2 *Unreliable, known to die* (Non Modular)
Gigabyte Superb *Rated at peak power* (Non Modular)
Lian Li Maxima Force *Issues with above room temperature, suitable for builds where power supply not stressed* (Non Modular)
Thermaltake Litepower *Overrated and some are unreliable* *W0394 500W only has 180W 12V, only to be used on old school builds* (Non Modular)
Thermaltake TR2 *Very unreliable* (Non Modular)
Thermaltake TR2 RX *Very unreliable - Stay below 65% labelled wattage, high ripple, may blow at full load*(Non Modular)
Vantec ION2 Plus *Goes out of spec at full load* (Non Modular)

Garbage Replace ASAP if you have one, it may damage your computer.
Aywun Classic Series aka A1-1000 through to A1-5000
Huntkey Green Star
Hyena
Thermaltake Purepower NP
Thermaltake Purepower RU

Extra Info

Cases with included power supplies

A large amount of power supplies that come with cases are dodgy and made on the cheap by low end power supply OEM's.

Some brands do have power supplies that are certainly decent enough for use in an HTPC. If the power supply gives enough wattage then it should be fine for some light gaming as well.

Cases with included power supplies that are respectable:
Antec
Fractal
In-Win
Silverstone

Cases with included power supplies that may be suitable for a budget system that does not stress the power supply:
Cooler Master
Huntkey
Thermaltake

Cases with included power supplies that are best avoided:
Aywun
Foxconn
Gigabyte
Raidmax

Power supplies in OEM and prebuilt machines

The big OEM's such as Dell, HP, Lenovo and Acer use pretty solid power supplies in their prebuilt machines, even in the cheap ones. Generally the power supplies used have the shortest length of cable possible for the case that they ship with and not many cables for added expansion. This means that the power supplies shipped with these machines are often not suitable for use in another case.

Often the small computer stores down the road use power supplies that are low cost junk. If you are looking to get a new computer and are not prepared to build one yourself, you need to be careful and check what power supply is being used in the prebuilt machine.

Notes on rails

+12V
Allowed voltage variation: +/-5%, 11.40V - 12.60V
Best when within: +/-3%, 11.64V - 12.36V
Allowed ripple: <120mV
Best when: <80mV
Powers:
CPU
Graphics card
Main motherboard chipsets
Hard drive motors
Optical drive motor
Most fans
Water cooling pumps
PCIe cards
Most PCI cards

+5V
Allowed voltage variation: +/-5%, 4.75V - 5.25V
Best when within: +/-3%, 4.85V - 5.15V
Allowed ripple: <50mV
Best when: <30mV
Powers:
Some motherboard chipsets
Hard drive circuitry
Optical drive circuitry
Some fans
Some PCI cards
USB devices
Some hard drive motors

+3.3V
Allowed voltage variation: +/-5%, 3.14V - 3.46V
Best when within: +/-3%, 3.20V - 3.40V
Allowed ripple: <50mV
Best when: <30mV
Powers:
Some motherboard chipsets
RAM modules
Graphics card onboard control circuitry
Some PCI cards
Some AGP cards
Some SATA drives

+5VSB
Allowed voltage variation: +/-5%, 4.75V - 5.25V
Best when within: +/-3%, 4.85V - 5.15V
Allowed ripple: <50mV
Best when: <30mV
Powers
Motherboard start-up circuitry
BIOS ROM
CMOS RAM
Charges CMOS battery

-12V
Not used anymore but is still part of the ATX standard and is required on all power supplies.

-5V
Not used anymore, not part of the ATX standard and is not allowed on modern power supplies.

So how much power do you really need?

An average gaming computer such as an i5 4570 and 7770 are fine on a solid 350W-400W PSU.

Most high end single gpu systems will need a good 500W-550W PSU. Most high end dual gpu systems will need a good 750W-850W PSU. Most tri and quad gpu systems will need a good 1000W-1500W PSU.

A high end system would be an i7 4770K @ 4.5GHz, GTX 780 with moderate air overclocks, 2 HDD, 1 SSD, 1 Disk Drive and 5 120mm fans.

Generally you want your idle power draw to fall <40% of the PSU's rated wattage, load power draw between <80% and your peak power draw to fall <90% of the PSU's rated wattage.

However there is an exception with computers that will be under heavy load ALL the time, such as folding rigs and extreme benchmarking. These should have extra headroom; these type of rigs should use ~60% of the PSU's rated wattage under the applications power consumption levels. But this does not apply to computers that will be idle most of the time, like most are.

To help here are two useful power supply calculators
http://psucalc.net/ <== recommended, more realistic and made by very trustworthy people (FiX and Phaedrus2129)
http://extreme.outer...culatorlite.jsp


Notes on the 80 Plus Certification and Power supply OEM's

Understanding the 80 Plus Certification
Can We Trust The 80 Plus Certification?
Power Supplies With Fake 80 Plus Badges
80 Plus Certified Power Supplies and Manufacturers
How to Discover Your Power Supply's Real manufacturer

The Problem With A Single PSU Brand

Temporary Setup!

 Case.jpg   1.79MB   11 downloads

Sounds like an excuse to publicise your birthday....

I hate couriers. My copy turned up at 6:45am. I was obviously still in bed so I chased him down the street in my pyjamas. Caught up with him as he dropped something off at one of the neighbouring factories (I live in an industrial area. Shut up, it's nicer than people think) before he told me he put it behind a bucket next to my front door.

CL won it in 2011 too. I won't be surprised if it is them again. But I'd like to see Techworld get it...

My CPU and mobo have sold after one week, for $220 and $120 respectively. I have placed an order with CL for an i5-4670K and an Asus Z87-C. So in a few days, I might have some pics for you! And I'll also be selling my graphics cards, but later on after I've got the IGP working as I want it (it'll have far better performance than my pathetic GPU).

I must say that I'm probably going to keep upgrading every two years or so. After a couple of years, hardware is still worth enough to sell readily at a decent price. After four or so years, you wouldn't get anywhere near as much for it, and nor would it be as easy to sell. So you'll probably end out spending the same amount over four years, get an upgrade in the middle, and have an easier time selling your stuff.

http://i.imgur.com/WXMko.gif