So, as of now my 2007 pc is unusable (bios crashes at test vram).
Buying a new one, however need some clarity on some things
Sandybridge i7 extreme vs Ivybridge i7 (since ivybridge extremes won't be out by mid 2013, its a hard choice - less cores and cache is a bummer, I read that there is still a 10% improvement in ivybridge, so I'm not sure)
I'm also looking for a good and stable mobo which supports 32-64GB of ram (implementing a ramdisk) with no issues if all dimm slots are populated(unless it can slot 32GB in a channel).
Preferably not asus/corsair, too much instability and trouble with my current one. Was thinking about kingston for ram, heard some good things about stability - not sure about timings though.
Also, can someone enlighten me on the difference between ddr2/3 timings? My current ddr2 ones are (dominators8888c4) and I'm seeing high latency ddr3 dimms (seems its normal..)
As for a vga, planning to use an evga 690.
Thanks in advance
What's your budget?
Not sure at this point, quite a bit I guess as the vga costs 1k by itself.
So your going to be playing Arma 3 great work mate
For the CPUs I would look at cost efficiency, as there isn't really THAT much gain. What do you actually use the computer for that justifies that marginal increase?
I think you are right in placing your bucks down on a quality GFX card. Personally I would also look into which one in the series offers the best cooling solution. I know the Frozer2 ones are awesome. Possibly even mod a cooling solution. But that's just me, and overkill is my game.
Second; get the right SSD for the job. Don't know if you are planing a completely new system, or a salvage job. I hear good things about intel controllers on this front.
Then you get to memory and cpu. I guess you've already pretty much decided here apart from which i7 to get. Kingston and Corsair are both good in my opinion. Just stay the fudge away from anything with a leaf, the color green or the word value. I've replace so many of those for customers you wouldn't believe.
On the DDR2/3 question I'm not sure exactly what you mean. A fast DDR2 is faster than a slow DDR3. The standards overlap slightly I guess. Going for a i7 setup I guess you will be running triple channel anyways, so...
Games and some premiere here and there.
Won't be changing the stock GTX690 cooler (that thing is a work of art), planning to get an evga signature.
As for SSDs, not really sure about them. Won't need them with a ramdrive anyhow as they would be slow as a snail. I'm still using a raptorX for the OS and a velociraptor to store my gamefiles and will use a "permanent" ramdrive for whatever task/game I'm playing.
No worries about the green/value/bgrade stuff, value == low quality in my head.
The problem I'm noticing with z77 mobos is the 4xdimm slots/dual channels. Unless there's some sandybrige mobos with quad channels which also support Ivybridge? in the case of an ivybridge i7 being more worthwhile performance wise compared to a sandy extreme.
I want this one to last atleast into the <10nm tech.
An SSD will wipe the floor with a 'raptor drive. If you want the fastest possible, it's the way to go.
I reckon you could build a beast of a gaming machine out of a Dell Precision system, especially if you want large amounts of RAM (the T7600's support up to 256GB RAM). I used to have a T7500 at work, stick a high-end graphics card in one of those and you have a pretty serious machine.
I'm going to use a ramdrive/ramdisk for the game/s I'll be playing, the veloci will be there to install to and copy the installed files onto the ramdrive.
This kind of stuff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAdRsQJBEBE)
Quote from: Gorion;351878I'm going to use a ramdrive/ramdisk for the game/s I'll be playing, the veloci will be there to install to and copy the installed files onto the ramdrive.
This kind of stuff (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAdRsQJBEBE)
butt why?
It costs a bundle, and you get a limited amount of storage.. which isnt persistent... and performance is neglible while gaming.
Might aswell go for a revodrive or a Fusion I/O drive, which also costs a bundle..
a SSD would do you just fine, which would enable you to buy a TOP DOLLAR gaming system
Ye ivybridge is about 10% faster then Sandy in some tests, but for gaming your still fine with a top of the line Sandy for a lonnnnggg while..
bundle that with a nVIDIA 690 whenever it lands. BOOM BOMM
I7 SB
3930K
16 Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 2133 ram
Asus Maximus V Gene mobo
OCZ Revodrive3 X2 240GB PCI-e SSD
Corsair AX1200 psu
and whatever bits needed, then you probably got the fastest gaming rig on the planet
If you give me your preferred hardware shop website and a budget ill sort you out.
Ok, lets get a revo drive, 120gigs should be enough. Would still prefer 32gb ram on top of that though.
Don't need a psu, already have an enermax galaxy 1k - should be enough. If not, the evga sr2 psu looks quite good.
Getting a coolermaster cosmos 2 case for it.
Not really sure about a corsair/asus ram/mobo, my current ones have been an absolute disaster, soltek trash was more stable - could be the nforce chipset?. If we still decide on them, isn't that mobo too small (too much heat concentrated in a small area, not to mention the amount of heat that 690 will generate?)
I usually use OcUk for browsing stuff and checking prices, however I'll be ordering from a lecturer of mine who owns a shop, and considering my dreadful past with pc trouble; a local warranty would be nice.
You won't go far wrong following Kreg's advice, he helped me choose my bits on a limited budget a couple of years ago and I'm still running most games at full detail.
(I'll be bothering you in about 6 months Kreg, ok?) ;)
Quote from: Gorion;351924Ok, lets get a revo drive, 120gigs should be enough. Would still prefer 32gb ram on top of that though.
Don't need a psu, already have an enermax galaxy 1k - should be enough. If not, the evga sr2 psu looks quite good.
Getting a coolermaster cosmos 2 case for it.
Not really sure about a corsair/asus ram/mobo, my current ones have been an absolute disaster, soltek trash was more stable - could be the nforce chipset?. If we still decide on them, isn't that mobo too small (too much heat concentrated in a small area, not to mention the amount of heat that 690 will generate?)
I usually use OcUk for browsing stuff and checking prices, however I'll be ordering from a lecturer of mine who owns a shop, and considering my dreadful past with pc trouble; a local warranty would be nice.
Trust me you wont need the ram drive, the revo babies are awsome.. if mot spend a big buck and get a Fusion IO card :P
Well if you got props with the Asus Corsair combo, there are others..
G.Skill makes some mad DDR3 Ripjaw kits.
GIGABYTE GA-X70-UD7 is a good board, so are the Asus Sabertooth X79
Note the X79 boards runs QUAD DDR3, four awsome channels of speed.. tho capped at 1600 last i checked (still around 12GiB/sec+)
IF you give me a chop where you like to buy and a budget ill sort you out.
Quote from: Blunt;351925You won't go far wrong following Kreg's advice, he helped me choose my bits on a limited budget a couple of years ago and I'm still running most games at full detail.
(I'll be bothering you in about 6 months Kreg, ok?) ;)
Oh you can bother me any day smexy old blondie ;)
For what it's worth, I've been using Asus motherboards for years and haven't had any serious issues with them yet.
My current one (Rampage II Extreme) is a beast, love it.
Quote from: Tutonic;351937For what it's worth, I've been using Asus motherboards for years and haven't had any serious issues with them yet.
My current one (Rampage II Extreme) is a beast, love it.
:withstupid:
Quote from: BrotherTobious;351939:withstupid:
yeah, in my book they still make rock solid boards.. Tho ive started to take a liking on Asrock boards (which is essential Asus)
Asus boards are rock solid. I'm currently running an Asus Maximus Extreme board. Kreg's list here is pretty much what I'd buy, and the revordrives are awesome. The 3 series and up even come with a heat sink on them, which mine didn't have :p
I will most likely be buying something portable next though, just so I can bring something to the dMw LANs.
Quote from: Vargen;351942Asus boards are rock solid. I'm currently running an Asus Maximus Extreme board. Kreg's list here is pretty much what I'd buy, and the revordrives are awesome. The 3 series and up even come with a heat sink on them, which mine didn't have :p
I will most likely be buying something portable next though, just so I can bring something to the dMw LANs.
You can buy my laptop :P
I'd agree with Kreg, and tvh 32GB is total overkill unless you are doing something specific that can actually use that much RAM. I'd stick to 16GB and push for th ebest GPU you can afford to go with the system as suggested above. Corsair RAM is excellent, I'd suspect it might have been the old nvidia chipset on your previous mobo. I had an Asus mobo that ate *any* RAM, it took me 8 sticks of Corair and 4 sticks of OCZ bei9ng destroyed before we figured out it was the mobo doing the damage. SSD rocks btw!
@ASUS lovers - *some* ASUS boards are rock solid. The Asus mobo I had ate those RAM sticks (and yes it was confirmed). There's a big thread on the forums somewhere about it, I posted at the time, it was down to bios mis-timings and the then current nvidia X59 chipset iirc.
Thread: http://www.deadmen.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?23364-System-Changes&highlight=vadim
In general though I like ASUS stuff - I bought an ASUS laptop recently and the current mobo is ASUS too.
The issues start when you slot in corsair dimms on an asus mobo, I'm telling you, it's a nightmare.
I'm actually hearing a lot of good stuff on kingston and rock solid stability.
The asus z77 sabretooth looks quite good. Been looking at kingston ram, currently they only offer value certified ram in 32gig sizes, however if i choose to get those value then upgrade to proper hyperx once theyre out it can be done. Also been looking at these: http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX2133C11D3T1K2_16GX.pdf (x2 sets = 32gigs).
I'm buying from here: http://www.esmalta.com/ however you won't find anything on that site(outdated), his business is more focused on servers/network supplies for companies. However, he'll import anything required; so I use OcUk (http://www.overclockers.co.uk) as a reference point.
I'm getting one of those revos, and 32gig ram, extra ram never hurts. Might try doing something with virtual machines later on and changing my mothers pc to a thin client (less hassle). Also have a lot of vming coming up next year.
As for budget, no idea; we'll see how it goes. However an evga gtx690 is a must, add up ram/cpu/mobo/revo so we're probably looking at ~2-2.5k ish already. Not really sure about a soundcard (currently x-fi elite pro, and the damned drivers are horrible), want to get an external hdmi/toslink amp/decoder + woofer later on (have 7 speakers from my old s750 setup - woofer died). That rog phoebus looks nice.
Will also need something to convert pata ribbon cable to sata cable for the optical drives, would really like to keep my plextor (if that's even possible). If not, i'll probably setting for a bluray, ain't so expensive anymore, too bad all the current ones have that drm audio protection crap.
Quote from: Gorion;351951The issues start when you slot in corsair dimms on an asus mobo, I'm telling you, it's a nightmare.
I'm actually hearing a lot of good stuff on kingston and rock solid stability.
The asus z77 sabretooth looks quite good. Been looking at kingston ram, currently they only offer value certified ram in 32gig sizes, however if i choose to get those value then upgrade to proper hyperx once theyre out it can be done. Also been looking at these: http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX2133C11D3T1K2_16GX.pdf (x2 sets = 32gigs).
I'm buying from here: http://www.esmalta.com/ however you won't find anything on that site(outdated), his business is more focused on servers/network supplies for companies. However, he'll import anything required; so I use OcUk (http://www.overclockers.co.uk) as a reference point.
I'm getting one of those revos, and 32gig ram, extra ram never hurts. Might try doing something with virtual machines later on and changing my mothers pc to a thin client (less hassle). Also have a lot of vming coming up next year.
As for budget, no idea; we'll see how it goes. However an evga gtx690 is a must, add up ram/cpu/mobo/revo so we're probably looking at ~2-2.5k ish already. Not really sure about a soundcard (currently x-fi elite pro, and the damned drivers are horrible), want to get an external hdmi/toslink amp/decoder + woofer later on (have 7 speakers from my old s750 setup - woofer died). That rog phoebus looks nice.
Will also need something to convert pata ribbon cable to sata cable for the optical drives, would really like to keep my plextor (if that's even possible). If not, i'll probably setting for a bluray, ain't so expensive anymore, too bad all the current ones have that drm audio protection crap.
I build 7-10 Rigs a week, and havent seen more issues matching Corsair with Asus boards, not more then any other combo. But if you are more comfortable getting kingston its ofc up to you, ill try and add some choices in.
Soundcard, id either stick with the current X-fi card or go grab a Asus Xonar card, those are really impressive sound quality wise
Quote from: kregoron;351952go grab a Asus Xonar card, those are really impressive sound quality wise
Check out Dolby Headphone!
Quote from: TeaLeaf;351953Check out Dolby Headphone!
Don't use any headphones, speakers only I'm afraid.
cpu Intel Core i7-3930K 3.20GHz (Sandybridge-E) Socket LGA2011 Processor - Retail 459,95
motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Extreme Intel X79 (Socket 2011) DDR3 Motherboard 334,99
Ram: G.Skill RipJawsZ 32GB (8x4GB) DDR3 PC3-17000C9 2133MHz Quad Channel Kit
239,99
GPU: OcUK GeForce GTX 690 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card
859,99
SSD: OCZ RevoDrive3 MAX IOPS 120GB PCI-E SSD
385,99
Bluray: LG CH10LS28 BD-ROM 10x BluRay ROM / DVDRW SATA-II Optical Drive - Black
59,99
Sound: Asus Xonar D2 7.1 PCI Sound Card
89,99
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14-2011 Dual Radiator CPU Cooler with PWM Fans (Socket LGA2011)
72,98
total: 2503,87£
Its quite steep, and this rig is based on G.skill memory, Because they just rock on! tho i could shave a fair bit off without performance dropping noticeable.
Myself would probably choose a corsair H80 or similar.
I didnt go for the biggest Intel i7 3960X as its like 500£ more and you get 100mhz and 3 mb cache extra.. which isnt worth the buck by a long shot
Ill throw up some more rigs after lunch :D
Quote from: TeaLeaf;351953Check out Dolby Headphone!
Sound is sooo crispy on those!
Ill also be on TS in about 4 hours if you want to ask a few questions there
QuoteThe issues start when you slot in corsair dimms on an asus mobo, I'm telling you, it's a nightmare.
Again, I feel I ought to point out that I've been using Corsair DIMMs in my Asus board for years without any hiccups.
Quote from: Tutonic;351962Again, I feel I ought to point out that I've been using Corsair DIMMs in my Asus board for years without any hiccups.
Snap no issues here apart from when I decided to give my pc a pint of water :)
My current system has Corsair Dom ram in it and the mobo is Asus. It runs perfectly fine, you just need to be aware of which mobo/chipset you get as sometimes (like the one I linked) it goes horribly wrong and they blow up *any* brand of ram not just Corsair. Both Asus & Corsair are top quality brands, neither sell cheap pos.
Been watching quite a few vids/benchmarks, I think I'm going with the 3770k cpu (~5-6 frames less from 3930k) and z77 sabertooth from asus.
So currently it's sitting at:
cpu: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz
motherboard: Asus Z77 Sabertooth
Ram: ?
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 690 Signature
SSD: OCZ RevoDrive3 MAX IOPS 120GB PCI-E SSD (needs an x4 slot, should work properly in a x16 though - confirmation?)
cooler: Corsair Hydro H100 (not gonna bother with a custom build this time, if the coolant dries up, ill just attach a T and a fillport; problem should be solved)
case: Cooler Master Cosmos II
Bluray: LG CH10LS28 BD-ROM 10x BluRay ROM / DVDRW SATA-II Optical Drive - Black
Sound: (dunno yet, might not even need one with an external hdmi decoder)
psu: current or corsair 1200 or evga 1200 (can someone check these voltages on my current enermax galaxy1k as see if they're fine?)
(http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3434/voltages.png)
Quote from: Gorion;351991Been watching quite a few vids/benchmarks, I think I'm going with the 3770k cpu (~5-6 frames less from 3930k) and z77 sabertooth from asus.
So currently it's sitting at:
cpu: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz
motherboard: Asus Z77 Sabertooth
Ram: ?
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 690 Signature
SSD: OCZ RevoDrive3 MAX IOPS 120GB PCI-E SSD (needs an x4 slot, should work properly in a x16 though - confirmation?)
cooler: Corsair Hydro H100 (not gonna bother with a custom build this time, if the coolant dries up, ill just attach a T and a fillport; problem should be solved)
case: Cooler Master Cosmos II
Bluray: LG CH10LS28 BD-ROM 10x BluRay ROM / DVDRW SATA-II Optical Drive - Black
Sound: (dunno yet, might not even need one with an external hdmi decoder)
psu: current or corsair 1200 or evga 1200 (can someone check these voltages on my current enermax galaxy1k as see if they're fine?)
(http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/3434/voltages.png)
I wonder why you decided to drop teh X79 board and the sandy baby. cost?
The Z77 can do dual channel, where the X79 does Quad channel memory.
im not overly impressed with Ivy bridge, they might perform 5-10% better, but they run incredibly hot, and they lead in performance is gained quite easy with a small oc (you dont wanna do that on Ivy)
I need the brand and model of your current PSU, so i can lookup the specs
Essentially the video hereunder. I usually don't OC, and even if there's a need for it the whole auto tune thing seems straightforward and hassle free, and honestly quite a decent increase. The H100 should be able to handle the temperature increase easily. So comparing that with nearly double the cost for the sandy cpu for the total 7 fps increase; doesn't really seem worthwhile bothering.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mkGQhE1o2w&feature=player_embedded
Current psu: Enermax Galaxy 1000W EGX1000EWL ATX2.2 Modular PSU (https://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-029-EN)
CPU: Intel Core i7-3770K 3.50GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor 263,99
Mobo: Asus Z77 Sabertooth Intel Z77 (Socket 1155) DDR3 199,99
RAM: G.Skill RipJawsZ 32GB (8x4GB) DDR3 PC3-14900C9 1866MHz Quad Channel Kit 229,99
GPU: OcUK GeForce GTX 690 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card 859,99
SSD: OCZ RevoDrive3 MAX IOPS 120GB PCI-E SSD 385,99
Cooler: Corsair Hydro H100 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler 84,98
Bluray: LG CH10LS28 BD-ROM 10x BluRay ROM 59,99
Totals: 2084,92
Your Current Enermax Should be more then sufficient even with a couple of years of capacitor aging.
Minimum PSU Wattage: 623 Watts
Recommended Wattage: 673 Watts
Recommended Amperage:
+3.3V +5V +12V
11.9 A 16.6 A 45.9 A
As for the soundcard, not sure what it is your looking for, what do you need a external HDMI decoder for?
Can't fit those ram into a z77 mobo mate, they're all dual channel 4 dimm slots. What do you think about these? http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX21C11T1BK2_16X.pdf
Also going evga on the gtx 690 for the extra + purchasable warranty (might not even need it, but I have to keep my mind at ease).
Revo Max IOPS vs normal Revo: Is 25MB/s increased read/write worth spending 100 sterling on?
As for the hdmi decoder, I'm used to 7.1 surround on my pc (it's mighty brilliant) and my s750 woofer/amp broke (all of them break - crap quality), however I still have the speakers, so an external 7.1 hdmi/toslink decoder + woofer and I'll have a brilliant sound system again. Since there are no 7.1 pc systems anymore, the external decoder is the only option. Something like THX certified Onkyo or Denon perhaps, I have to do additional research for those though.
Quote from: Gorion;352024Can't fit those ram into a z77 mobo mate, they're all dual channel 4 dimm slots. What do you think about these? http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX21C11T1BK2_16X.pdf
Also going evga on the gtx 690 for the extra + purchasable warranty (might not even need it, but I have to keep my mind at ease).
Revo Max IOPS vs normal Revo: Is 25MB/s increased read/write worth spending 100 sterling on?
As for the hdmi decoder, I'm used to 7.1 surround on my pc (it's mighty brilliant) and my s750 woofer/amp broke (all of them break - crap quality), however I still have the speakers, so an external 7.1 hdmi/toslink decoder + woofer and I'll have a brilliant sound system again. Since there are no 7.1 pc systems anymore, the external decoder is the only option. Something like THX certified Onkyo or Denon perhaps, I have to do additional research for those though.
for the MAX IOPS card, i dont really think so... so just swap it for the smaller one
ahh i just picked the wrong kit, the kingston are fine, i have bought a few kits for customers, but they run quite hot and as your running a Hydro cooler where you dont have a fan on the cpu to send some airflow over the ram..
GeIL EVO Corsa 32GB (4x8GB) DDR3 PC3-19200C11 2400MHz Quad Channel Kit is also some seriouly good kits
Well all of the current 690's are reference design cards, so they are the same cards, its only for the bundle and warranty you should choose other brands..
Well the 690 gtx has a displayport, which also carries the sound, so a displayport to hdmi and into whatever sound receiver you like and your good to go.
This fan should hopefully keep the ram running peachy: http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX_FAN_B.pdf
Also planning to attach the H100 rad to the inside top of the case, so it should also pull enough fresh air from the front intake fans to on top of the memory cooler and out the top. There will also be the fans attached to the mobo which blow downwards and exhaust via the i/o panel.
Yeah, could use the display port to hdmi, the mobo has hdmi sockets too so that's good. Can someone confirm that no soundcards are needed if an external av decoder is used?
As for the vga, I'm quite happy to pay the extra money for increased warranty ~7years. Had a lot of trouble with my current one so ease of mind would be most welcome (even if it comes at a premium). Planning to also pay the enthusiast intel warranty - just in case, for $25, it's money well spent (no questions asked cpu replacement).
(http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX_FAN_B.pdf)
Quote from: Gorion;352027This fan should hopefully keep the ram running peachy: http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX_FAN_B.pdf
Also planning to attach the H100 rad to the inside top of the case, so it should also pull enough fresh air from the front intake fans to on top of the memory cooler and out the top. There will also be the fans attached to the mobo which blow downwards and exhaust via the i/o panel.
Yeah, could use the display port to hdmi, the mobo has hdmi sockets too so that's good. Can someone confirm that no soundcards are needed if an external av decoder is used?
As for the vga, I'm quite happy to pay the extra money for increased warranty ~7years. Had a lot of trouble with my current one so ease of mind would be most welcome (even if it comes at a premium). Planning to also pay the enthusiast intel warranty - just in case, for $25, it's money well spent (no questions asked cpu replacement).
(http://www.kingston.com/datasheets/KHX_FAN_B.pdf)
With the Ram fan, they should be just fine :)
As long as the external AV decoder/receiver can handle whatever is getting output, DTS/LPCM and so on, but all should be able to do the regular formats if they arent 10+ years old (and then they probably wouldnt have a HDMI port :P )
Fantastic, thanks :)
Update:
The new rig has been finally purchased and assembled. It's bleeding fast, only need 0.1 point of the M$ cpu index for a perfect maximum score.
Also purchased a Cosmos 2 tower which is seriously big, did I say big?, it's a lie is monstrous... seriously.
Had to change the ram to a GSkill TridentX 16GB 2400Mhz dual channel kit though, still performance is ridiculous.
Currently waiting for 4x noctua NF-F12 in order to set-up a push/pull flow on the H100 rad, the problem is going to be the space between the case and the mobo as the 8pin cpu lead interferes with a fan - might be able to remove some of the fan sides just enough to allow fixing. OcUK also forgot to include my IC diamond TIM, so I'm currently using the TIM that comes with the H100.
Might also change the PSU to an EVGA 1500 - hopefully out real soon.
Having a PC with rails on the top and bottom is really useful for LAN usage as you can chuck it in the car without scratching the finish.
I have a Cosmos Black edition and I am glad to see that the cosmos 2 has got rid of most of my gripes from my Cosmos in terms of cable management.
heres a case i'm looking at getting in the future
http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/cm_storm_trooper_review/1
Don't know if you're looking cheaper parts to cut down total price,
but I was looking around ebay and found an EVGA GTX 690 (4gb GDDR5 etc.) unopened and brand new for around £676
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-EVGA-04G-P4-2690-KR-GeForce-GTX-690-4GB-GDDR5-PCI-Express-/230831008866?pt=PCC_Video_TV_Cards&hash=item35be99ac62#ht_4377wt_1397
seller is in US and there is only 5 left (18 sold already)
Interested?
@DZ, Won't be going to any lans with this pc that's for sure, it's too heavy even for two people to carry. Evermore with the cost of the hardware.
As for cable management, it's quite good, some more width on the back and more distance between the top end and the motherboard (better space for a push/pull on a 240rad) would have been nicer though.
@SneakyTiger, If you have the space and cash to spare, I'd suggest taking a serious look at the Cosmos2. It's huge and a work of art. Make sure you get a rev.2 fan controller though as the rev.1 is buggered.
@TommyGuner, Thanks for the link, however the system is already fully assembled. Bought my 690 directly from EVGA back in June.