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I have come across this custom build
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=FS-453-OE
I can get the parts a few hundred pound cheaper but have never done a water cooled build before is it better to pay the extra and have the 3 year warranty or risk making a mess of the build
There is a wonderful feeling of acomplishment if you build your own, hit the power button, and it all starts up fine.
Water cooling can be a huge pain if not done correctly. If you buy a semi custom water cooling kit like an h100a then I would say go for it. if you are thinking of a full custom install and have never done it before then I would suggest you research A LOT about picking proper parts, especially fans, hoses, and pumps. also sometimes even if a case says it supports water cooling radiators you still may have to do some drilling and cutting. If you have never done this before and dont have someone to assist you it may be worth the extra money for a prebuilt especially with a 3year warranty on a watercooled setup.
Liquid cooling kits have gotten easier to setup over the years. It is now at a point where even someone building their first PC, can jump right into a custom liquid cooling setup.
When you buy prebuilt, just know that you are giving up the individual part warranties, for a single warranty from the system builder, which will often require you to spend a lot of money mailing in the entire system (depending on what goes wrong). Most of the individual warranty will be much longer than 3 years, thus if you are looking for long term reliability and coverage, then building the system your self will be the best choice.
PS, that system seems very overpriced. before VAT, you are essentially looking at a £700 price premium over building it yourself (at least if US pricing for components are used, then the price in input into a currency converter). That money can easily go into getting a better SSD, (or 2 512GB 850 pro's in raid 0, or a PCI-e SSD, or a 3rd GTX 980 + extra radiator and waterblock
PS, liquid cooling the GTX 980 will not improve overclocks of that card. On air, it runs well below the overheating temperature, even when overclocked, and there does not seem to be a card available with a completely unlocked voltage regulator.
The 4790K needs liquid cooling to reach its max overclock, but if you are not feeling confident in a custom liquid cooking setup, you can go for the sealed all in one 240mm or 280mm liquid cooling units (they will not look as fancy as the custom loop, but they will get the job done.
If you are 100% not confident, , and have lots of money burning a hole in that wallet, then buying prebuilt may still work okay (since if the system survives 3 years with no failures, then it is likely to last many years more (you just won't have the piece of mine of having some 5-10 year warranties in addition to a lifetime warranty on certain components).
PS if you decide to go custom liquid cooling, on your first build, then I recommend doing some test connections outside of the case first, e.g., rig up some tubing, then run some water through it, or practice making the connections, then put one end over a faucet and get some water pressure in it. Once you figure out the connections, then you are good to go in getting a safe liquid cooling setup.
Yeah unfortunately US pricing doesn't work in the UK because nvidea/amd been American companies and the parts have to be shipped to the UK the stores that stock parts here have to include import tax and custom fees as part of the sale. Someone mentioned in a previous post that they can get a 980 for $500 well here a 980 will start around £480.
Wow, that's some serious price gouging. you are looking at a nearly $230 price markup, just so ship a product to the UK from china VS from china, to the US.
if you want no risk,then going prebuilt will work, but if you choose to do your first custom liquid cooling setup, expect to spend a few hours building the system, since you have to make time to do some test fittings outside of the case, then test them with some water pressure to make sure you are doing everything properly before doing the custom liquid cooling setup in the case.
IMHO the real issue is the operating system. It's very expensive to own and install a fresh OS, but it's hard to say you really own the computer otherwise. If you can find a cheap key, and install the OS yourself, the cost of prebuilt and home building are about the same. Performance now ...no person serious about performance would ever buy a prebuilt system. Period!
Well taking this information on board if one of you guys want to go through this site
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/produc...hp?groupid=701
And select a list of all parts to be built into this this case http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...362&catid=1489
Including water cooling parts and fittings backplates water blocks. I ask to use this site as it's the highest rated store for custom parts in the UK and has always been the place I buy all my parts from. My budget is a maximum of £3000GBP so about $5000USD
Everyone can build a computer.
well no, not everyone.
I haven't got a problem with building my own computer my current system is my second full build but it's the first time I am switching to custom water loops and I'm concerned about messing it up with 1000's pounds of tech installed. I would invite someone over for a full days building if I knew somebody money and beer included in that.
Build a PC without water. The issue with water is unless it's closed loop AIO solution you have to clean it and may have corrosion issues. Unless you know how to deal with these water can be a right ball ache.
Also a air cooled PC is easier to transport as you don't have to drain/dismantle/refill loops.
If you're not confident with water don't bother. In the UK with don't have too much of an issue with ambient temps so decent third party coolers are fine, and with a build at the price range you can get a motherboard that will accommodate two air cooled GPUs and a soundcard.
Agreed, if you have n plan in learning a good amount of custom liquid cooling loops, then do not go for one, as they are not maintenance free, you will eventually have to drain and clean the system. Sometimes you will even have to dismantle the waterblock and clean the fins, as a small amount of gunk can build up on them over the years of use. When you go prebuilt, you are simply shifting the point in time where you have to learn all you can about the liquid cooling.