BleepingComputer.com: New Build Compatibility

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-990FXA-D3-$149

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition -$185

Ram: G.Skill Ripjaws F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 -$75

Case: CoolerMaster HAF 922 -$129

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1002FAEX -$89

Power Supply: Corsair TX-750 V2 -$149

CPU Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212+ -$33

Video Card: 2x ASUS Radeon HD6950 DirectCU II 1GB -$518

Total: $1353

The concerns i have are:

1. The large heat spreader on the ram might hit the CPU cooler, if it does hit it then i think i can put it in slot 2 and 4 since this is a dual channel kit.

2. I've been reading around that a 750W power supply can power up 2 6950 without a problem, can some please verify that for me?

3. I'm afraid that the ram i chose my not work on the motherboard but i did find the similar model on the QVL memory list for the motherboard but the one i chose does not have the letter "B" at the end. I am pretty confident the ram will work since it is 1.5V.

4. The 2 6950 should fit in the 922 which is a mid-atx case with roughly 4 to 6cm headroom so it doesn't touch the hard drive cage.

5. When the 2 6950 are fitted in, i am worried that it will touch each other. I have found the measurement for the Asus 6950 and apparently it is 5 inch in height which is massive in size. I will be putting it in the 16x slot which i reckon has enough space apart it doesn't touch each other, so someone please verify that.

6. Do i plug the crossfire bridge on the first slot or the second slot of the graphics card?

This is my first time building a computer for myself rather then for other people and if it is not compatible then i am dead and will be not trusted again to do these type of stuff, so i need everything to go smoothly. Also the reason why i am going with the 1090T rather then waiting for the new Bulldozer is because i won't be upgrading this until i finish school which is in 3 to 4 years and the same reason applies to the amount of ram, space and graphics card. Tomorrow my mum will discuss it with my dad and if he approves it then it is a good to go. Remember, only use PC Case Gear since i'm from Australia.

This post has been edited by killerx525: 27 July 2011 - 05:05 AM

Michael,

That build looks really good mate!! Personally i think it's because and aussie devised it! Wouldn't mind that for myself actually pricetag is really good! Can't really answer your questions far too tired to give reliable hardware answers right now but from a cursory glance it looks like it should all be compatible.

-BrendanT

Haha lol, "a aussie divised it" I seriously did a lot of measuring and researching if everything would fit in that case but not sure if i was accurate with the research and measuring

This post has been edited by killerx525: 26 July 2011 - 06:44 AM

1) It might, but do you really need RAM with that big of a heatsink anyway? G.Skill Ripjaws memory is cheaper and has a smaller heatsink.
2) Newegg's PSU calculator said your build will need 841 watts. I recommend going with this one from Cooler Master. I have the 600W version and I can use two 5770s in crossfire without any problems. It is also modular, unlike the Corsair.
3) I've never had an issue with memory compatibility. I'm sure it will work fine.
4) There are five internal bays for hard drives. Even if the video card does extend that far, you can simply move the hard drive up or down.
5) There is about a quarter-inch of clearance between video cards. It's not much, but it is enough for adequate cooling.
6) It doesn't matter.

This post has been edited by RainbowSix: 26 July 2011 - 12:19 PM

I have made those 2 changes. So when i set up the crossfire, i should have absolutely no problems with it, right? I don't think that Newegg's PSU calculator is that accurate.

I haven't found anything official about 6950s in crossfire, but the 6990 has a recommended minimum of 750W. Since that card is two 6970s in one, I imagine that your setup will have similar requirements. Needless to say, upgrades would be limited with 750W.

Fair enough, also when recalculated the prices after those 2 changes, it was $1 cheaper lol Still worried about the system won't boot up because of the crossfire configuration.

UPDATE!

My mum was not happy with the 2% credit card surge, so i decided to get the part from my local computer store. I rang them up for those parts on the list and they just didn't have that coolermaster power supply, so i asked for the corsair 850W but that was not in stock i ended up choosing the 750W which the guy said it would power up the 2 6950 without a issue. He also went through the list to check if they were compatible and he said everything should work out and he would give me a free crossfire bridge if the Asus graphics card doesn't give it which it should. I have actually found official document for the Corsair TX750 V2 being certified for crossfiring 2 6950.

The Corsair TX750 v2 apparently has a 900W maximum. See here.
I remember reading about someone using three GTX 260s with it.

Make sure to also use memtest86+ and prime95 to make sure nothing is defective.


(EDIT)
Do you have an OS? You cannot reuse an OEM version of Windows.

This post has been edited by RainbowSix: 27 July 2011 - 11:59 AM

Sweet! I'll remember to do that when i pick up the parts on Friday afternoon after school. For the OS, my uncle payed for a copy of windows 7 already for me.

This post has been edited by killerx525: 28 July 2011 - 07:56 AM

UPDATE 2:

My new build is finish and it is working flawlessly, i just need to install the OS and enable crossfire.