EggXpert

Yupyup, I am in the market for a new PC for NewEgg LANFEST, folks.

I want something more smokin' hawt than my current Opteron 145 / Dual x1950 Crossfire rig.

My Budget is $3000, +/- $200 fudge factor, w/ Shipping and Tax.

Have at 'er boys and girls:

I'm NOT water-cooling. I'm NOT over-clocking. Do NOT need: Monitor/speakers/keyboard/mouse.

I *WILL* consider 3rd Party CPU coolers, as the PC will be an always-on beast. OPEN to any CPU, any OS, SLI, Crossfire, TV-Tuner, HDCP/HDMI secondary output, on-board RAID for OS (RAID1 max).

I know I can do my own build, but I wanna hear everyone's opinion. :D

Help me spend my next coupla paychecks, ppl!

How do you get enough money....

( I am gonna see if I can build one now. You don't need a case that expensive, right?)

 OCZ Platinum 4GB(4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Quad Channel Kit Desktop Memory                        OR
mushkin 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory                                     OR
OCZ Platinum 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Micron D7 Chip Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

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Hi,

I dont got time today, but Ill do one up tommorow.. but,

Just a quick question... Is this bad-boy is gonna go to the Lanfest? If so, is there any particular size requirement? Do you have to travel by plane to get to the Lanfest? I would hate like hell for you to build a $3000 computer thats so big it has to go thru baggage claim, becuase after the baggage guys get through with it, it would prob be a pile of electronic waste, lol.

let us know if there are any size restrictions, becuase it will definitly effect the build.. I mean, its hard to put two Ultras and a big 1000w PSU in a lanbox :P

Wasper

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Any old case will do, I prolly need decent ventilation and weight is a minor factor, but I can get a handcart and wheel it if I have to.

I'm Driving to Lanfest, might actually rig up a rope/pack structure to carry a big case, if it comes down to it. I'm 45 mins frm Lanfest by car, through bad traffic. And my Prius can take it, I think.

I work a tech job and don't have a life outside of my GF, so that explains the how. AND I been saving up all summer for this. If worse comes to worse, I'd drop $2k cash and $1k+ in credit card debt, It's The American Way. :D 

Thanks for the input guys! 

Hey man, i was just buying parts online for you and i thought, wouldn't it be nice if i add in a sound card?

But the alternative choice is to buy the Asus sound card when it finally gets released :)

Do you think you need to SLI Ultras? im buying EVGA so you can save half a paycheck and upgrade that to the 9800ultras (november!!!)

Also Im putting in a E6750 so you can buy a penryn when its here, would that be ok or you just want a Q6700? Adding in a 9700NT, it glows greens and conflicts with your blue lights but it just looks soo dearly green in my armour, adding in CM Cosmos. I will post the built in a Wishlist when you reply these question :D NP!

btw, what about storage? Do you need 500 GBs of space, *adding in Raptor*

Bottom line, if your really have that much dogh to burn :), I would wait for the X38 mobo's and go Xfire. Release date is Sept. 23rd. The X38 will take advantage of the ddr3 speeds and will have true 16x times 2 for Xfire as well as a lot of other features.

Right now you can get a EVGA 680i on SLI, price for video cards alone becomes $1,400.00. So my question is what is your monitor that you need such a powerful GPU setup? I am under the impression that a single 8800 GTX Ultra can easly run a 30" at all settings on high for all games right now... am I wrong.

Personally, I don't believe in SLI or Xfire, cause I feel one 8800 GTS Ultra should be more then adequate for any set up... and in a year or two... get the newest one then and sell the old on ebay.

Some CPUs are overclocking at 50% higher speeds... here is an article that compairs an overclocked E6850 to a overclocked Q6600 ... http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/cpu/display/core2quad-q6600.html , that is insane that a CPU can achieve this, and a 25% overclock is not that much stress and you get a system that is 25% faster... isn't that the point of spending so much money, to get a really fast system, and with quality components? With so much info around, it is becoming easier to overclock every day. To say the least, I am for overclocking.

Dude I hear you guys about x38 and NV92...

But I wanted somthing for LANfest. (Was the point)

I mean, new tech is always coming out, and I've been holding off till the time was right.... besides I'll look kinda gh3y showing up at LANfest with a really-dusty clear arylic case fullof dust and pink LED lighted AM2 4200+ w/ paired 7800GT's... you'd all be like "THIS is CAGG? WTF? Thought he'd be hardc0r3....."

How much storage do you think you're gonna need? What about adding in a Raptor?

Tell me about this because you're online :)

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=5780811

ILL BE BACK in a couple secs

HI,

I just typed this out and then accedentily hit the "X" button on my internet browser tab by accident... so after planty of cursing and kicking my desk, I am re-writing this post, lol

Heres my contribution... I am not adding the case becuase thats something you'll want to pick on your own to suit your needs/wants/style...

Insert Case Here

SILVERSTONE OP1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail  $339.99 ($279.99 after rebate)

MSI P6N Diamond LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail  $249.99 ($229.99 after rebate)

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 Conroe 3.0GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6850 - Retail  $299.99

ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink - Retail  $53.99

2X MSI NX8800Ultra-T2D768E-HD-OC GeForce 8800Ultra 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail  $599.99 each ($579.99 each after rebates)

2X Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model PDC22G6400LLK - Retail  $111.99 each ($66.99 each after rebates)

2X Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM  $189.99 each ($174.99 each after rebate)

ASUS 18X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe and 14X DVD-RAM Write Black SATA Model DRW-1814BLT - OEM  $32.99

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM  $111.99

System Total (minus case) = $2,872.88 ( $2,632.88 after mail-in-rebates)

The Silverstone OP1000w psu is one seriuos unit... it has the same power/amps that a $500 PC P&C Turbo-Cool 1000w unit puts out, but actually has more connectors and is slightly smaller. For the price this unit can not be beat.

I chose the MSI P6N Diamond over the ASUS Striker becuase it has alot of nice features..four PCI-E 16X slots (can we say quad SLI?, lol), a real nice heat-pipe cooling sollution, alot of USB and Sata ports, nice raid options, dual 10/100/1000 Lan, and Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme HD Audio .

I went with the 3GHz E6850 over a Q6600 Quadcore becuase I think it will ultimitly be faster in the end... theres something I dont like about the Q6600, maybe becuase its not a true quad.. I dont know, but I like this CPU better.

I added a nice Zalman CPU cooler so you can overclock the E6850 if you so desired.

I went with dual MSI 8800Ultras for this build.. I went with these becuase these are the highest clocked air-cooled Ultras that NewEgg carries, and they also happen to be the cheapest. I have read alot of reviews lately about MSI's graphic cards, and they all are winning awards across the board.. so I feel confident in my choice... best power for the least amount of money = no-brainer.

I also added 2 sets of 2GB dual channel DDR2 800 Patriot Extreme Performance memory sets for a total of 4GB, they have nice voltages and timings and I think 4GB of memory is more then enough to game all day long to your hearts content.

Next up the HDDs... I figured if I'm gonna add a Raptor Drive, then might as well put in the 150GB version... but then I figured why not have two Raptors and raid them.. this way there is no slower 7200rpm HDD added to this equation at all.

An ASUS DVD Burner with lightscribe finishes up the hardware for this build.

I went with Vista Home Premium 64-bit for this build becuase the extra memory I added in the build.

All you have to do is add a case and your ready to rock-n-roll

I think thats everything.. sometimes I miss something, but I think this build is totally solid .

Wasper

*Edit*

Those rebates are as of today, I didnt check to see how long they lasted, so if something catches your fancy in this build, just go and check when the rebate is good till.

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Hey CAGG, Wasper,

I remember i was posting on a New Build for an amateur, and i happen to have a bad internet connection..Well i ended giving up after the 6th attempt of writing the length of 2essays because i failed to post it on eggxpert XD!!

Anyway, what do you think about my choice on the psu? the Antec Quattro 1KW, it might not be as strong but its definitely cheaper, it has 4 rails of 52Amps.WOW actually the Silverstone is cheaper!i can't get over an attractive looking psu lol..Quattro..

What about the Flex OCZ ram? It gives flexibility on both Aircooling and water cooling, you never knwo when you will change your mind CAGG :P if not i would probably go with the even more expensive Corsair Dominator because it just looks too good.

Any Case problems? The stacker seems alright but if its too pricey ill rip it out because 250+ for a case is not cheap.

Alright, ill be back later checking this up..ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ^^^^^^^

dudes, umm i had Fatality championship in the list above, do you think it will be worth 174? thx

xtestifyx:

Anyway, what do you think about my choice on the psu? the Antec Quattro 1KW, it might not be as strong but its definitely cheaper, it has 4 rails of 52Amps.

Hi,

I dont know if the Antec Quattro 1000w has enough juice to power dual 8800Ultras... I went and looked and I think 4 rails at 18a max each is not enough. All of the Nvidia 8800Ultra SLI 1000w power supplies on the list have either ....4 rails at 36a max each, 6 rails at 20a max each, or a single large 80a rail.

Here are all the Nvidia Certified SLI 1000w units listed on SLIzone for dual 8800Ultras at NewEgg..

NZXT PRECISE 1000 ATX12V 1000W Power Supply 115-240V cUL, TUV, CE, CB, FCC - Retail

Tagan TG1100-U96 ATX12V / EPS12V 1100 Watts Power Supply 100 - 240 V CE, CB, cUL, FCC, TUV - Retail

Thermaltake Toughpower W0155RU ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply 115/230 V CE, CB, TUV, FCC, UL, CUL, and BSMI certified - Retail

TOPOWER TOP-1000W ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CE, CB, FCC, RoHs - Retail

PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW-SR EPS12V 1000W Continuous @ 50°C Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, cUL, CE, TUV, RoHS - Retail

If you take a look at the specs those units have for the +12v rails, you can see the Antec Quattro pails in comparision.

I personally believe, in a system like this, a single rail unit will serve best. You will not have to map out your power needs and worry about overloading any rails with a single rail unit, you can just hook up and go, knowing your getting the right amount of power where you need it. The PC P&C unit is top notch, but so is its price... but the Silverstone has the same single 80a +12v rail, with a minor hit to the efficency.

Actually, here is a nice multi-page review pitting the Silverstone OP1000w against the PC P&C Turbo-Cool 1000w from johnnyGURUS. The OP1000w was revised to fix a minor error in the 8-pin PCI-E connector, but that has been fixed long ago(as noted in this review). You can see that the PC P&C scores a 8.5 and the OP1000 scores a 9.

http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=49&page_num=1

After reading that, I think the OP1000w is very nice indeed considering it costs $200 cheaper then the PC P&C unit. This is why I added the OP1000 into my build, single rail, tested out great.. good price.. it gets my vote!

Hope this helps,

Wasper

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Hi again,

I was bored, so I figurd I go a totaly different way and put up another build,lol

This is just in case you want to represent the AMD/ATI heads at the Lanfest.. all of this build's major components are taken off of the ATI Certified Crossfire listings for a monster HD2900XT rig   

SILVERSTONE TJ09-BW Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

LOGISYS Computer CLK12RD 12" Cold Cathode Kit Light - Retail

PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750 Quad (Crossfire Edition) EPS12V 750W Power Supply - Retail

MSI K9A Platinum AM2 ATI CrossFire Radeon Xpress 3200 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6400+ 3.2GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADX6400CZWOF - Retail

ZEROtherm BTF90 92mm Silent UFO CPU Cooler - Retail

Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM

2X DIAMOND 2900XT1GPE Radeon HD 2900XT 1GB 512-bit GDDR4 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

2X OCZ ATI CrossFire 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2A8002GK - Retail

2X Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM

Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Home Premium for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM

System Total = $2,675.85 ($2,575.85 after mail-in-rebates)

The Silverstone case is pretty damn cool and will have plenty of room for two HD 2900XTs.... and I had to add the orange/red lighting to keep it real to represent ATI to the max, lol...

The Red PC P&C 750 Quad will continue the theme.. its on the list for dual HD2900XTs, so I figured.. why not?  hehe

The MSI K9N Platinum becuase its the best ,and only one of a very few,  full dual 16X PCI-E, Crossfire board on the market... I own it, and its rock solid.

I added the Athlon 64x2 6400+ 3.2GHz, becuase I figured why not, lol... might as well go for the best AMD out there.

The Zerothrem cooler becuase it has gotten great reviews and the 6400+ does not come with a stock cooler... and comes with a red LED to boot ... gotta keep that theme going so people know you mean buisness, lol.. some artic silver for the hsk/fan.

Duel 1GB HD 2900XTs.. there out of stock untill next week, but they are the best of ATI right now

Dual sets of OCZ Crossfire DDR2 800 memory... there again, they say crossfire and they are red... theme baby! its all about the theme!

Dual 150GB Raptors..a DVD burner, and 64-bit Vista Home Premium for all the ram i added.

There ya go... if your a member of the AMD/ATI army, then this is tops for you!!!

lol.. I couldnt resist,

Wasper

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Hey CAGG,

Ithink you should pick out the components you want most, such as the brand of the component and the price to make us clear about the budget :)

Here is the Modified Build, i have no idea if you need the Sound Card or keep it out, what about motherboards? EVGA is nice but i picked BFG down below. The Ram could be switched to other but if you have a side window case either this or the Dominator would do best, The 9700NT cpu cooler is sufficient and quiet combined as a Eye attracting product.HERE :

		COOLER MASTER Stacker 830 Evolution RC-830-KKN2-GP Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail Item #: N82E16811119122 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy		$259.99
		Western Digital Raptor X WD1500AHFD 150GB 10,000 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM Item #: N82E16822136011 Return Policy: Limited 30-Day Return Policy Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $29.99 1 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $49.99 3 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $59.99	$15.00 Mail-in Rebate	$379.98 ($189.99 each)
		EVGA 768-P2-N881-AR GeForce 8800Ultra 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail Item #: N82E16814130090 Return Policy: Limited Non-Refundable 30-Day Return Policy Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $49.99 2 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $69.99 3 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $99.99	$30.00 Mail-in Rebate	$1,259.98 ($629.99 each)
		Creative 70SB046A00003 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series Sound Card - Retail Item #: N82E16829102014 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $29.99 1 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $49.99 3 Year Service Net 1 Peripheral Extended Plan -- $59.99	-$5.00 Instant	$179.99 $174.99
		SILVERSTONE ST1000 ATX12V / EPS12V 1000W Power Supply - Retail Item #: N82E16817256020 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $59.99	-$20.00 Instant $30.00 Mail-in Rebate	$279.99 $259.99
		OCZ Flex XLC 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2FX800C42GK - Retail Item #: N82E16820227185 Return Policy: Memory (Modules, USB) Return Policy Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $29.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99	$40.00 Mail-in Rebate	$265.98 ($132.99 each)
		BFG Tech BFG680i SLi LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail Item #: N82E16813189003 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $39.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $59.99	-$10.00 Instant	$229.99 $219.99
		Microsoft Windows Vista 64-Bit Ultimate for System Builders Single Pack DVD - OEM Item #: N82E16832116215 Return Policy: Software Return Policy	-$10.00 Instant	$189.99 $179.99
		ZALMAN CNPS 9700 NT 110mm 2 Ball Ultra Quiet CPU Cooler - Retail Item #: N82E16835118020 Return Policy: Standard Return Policy Select An Optional Extended Warranty Plan 1 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $14.99 2 Year Service Net Replacement Plan -- $19.99	-$20.00 Instant	$79.99 $59.99