What's Your Computer Build?

[wuzertheloser]

looks like he just posted a dxdiag printout

[YP5 Toronto]

what the chips!



instead of a bunch of information that is unnecessary?

for real...

[hihohito]

Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Patch Level Service Pack 1
Date Installed 5/14/2011
Country Code 1
OS System Language 1033
ANSI Code Page 1252
System Locale 0409
Internet Explorer Version 9.0.8112.16421
Windows Update Automatic
Latest Windows Hotfix Date 7/14/2011

Motherboard Manufacturer ASUSTeK Computer INC.
Product P8P67 DELUXE
CPU Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz
Version Intel64 Family 6 Model 42 Stepping 7
Data Width 64bits
L2 Cache Size 1,024KB
Approximate Current Clock Speed 3,401Mhz
Approximate Maximum Clock Speed 3,401Mhz
BIOS BIOS Date: 02/05/10 19:13:52 Ver: 08.00.10
Date 3/1/2011
Version ALASKA - 1072009
Memory slots available on motherboard 4
Memory Chip DIMM1
RAM 4,096MB
Speed 1,600ns
Memory Chip DIMM3
RAM 4,096MB
Speed 1,600ns
Motherboard Device Onboard Ethernet
Status On
System Slot PCIEX16_1
Status In Use
System Slot PCIEX1_1
Status In Use
System Slot PCIEX1_2
Status In Use
System Slot PCI1
Status In Use
CD Drive HL-DT-ST BD-RE WH10LS30
Media Type DVD Writer
Version 1.00
Video Manufacturer ATI Technologies Inc.
Video Card ATI Radeon HD 5670
RAM 1,024MB
Mode 1920 x 1080 x 4294967296 colors
Driver aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx64.dll,aticfx32,at icfx32,aticfx32,atiumd64.dll,atidxx64...
Date 4/18/2011
Version 8.850.0.0
Hard Disk Model RAID
Interface SCSI
Hard Disk Model OCZ-VERT EX3 SCSI Disk Device
Interface SCSI
Network Adapter Intel(R) 82579V Gigabit Network Connection
Service Name e1cexpress
Network Adapter Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Service Name RTL8167
Network Adapter Bluetooth Device (Personal Area Network) #2
Service Name BthPan
Sound Manufacturer Atheros Communications
Model Bluetooth Audio Device
Sound Manufacturer ATI Technologies Inc.
Model ATI High Definition Audio Device
Sound Manufacturer Realtek
Model Realtek High Definition Audio
Printer Send To Microsoft OneNote 2010 Driver
Printer Microsoft XPS Document Writer
Printer Microsoft Shared Fax Driver
Printer HP Color LaserJet CP2020 Series PCL6
Web Site http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=37&prd=10798&sbp=Printers
Printer Canon Pro9500 II series
Web Site http://www.canon.com/support/index.html?model=Canon Pro9500 II series
Number of Logical CPUs Active 8

You don't use a mouse?

[MCAsan]

because it was an easy cut and paste from Norton.

[patman530]

i5-2500k OC@4.8ghz
MSI p67a-gd65
Hyper 212+
Corsair Enthusiast 650w
Corsair Vengenance 16gb (4gbx4) @1600
MSI GTX 560-Ti
Seagate 7200k 2tb HDD
Crucial SSD 128gb
21.5'' benq
Win 7 Ultimate 64
CS5 Master Suite

[Soda-Pop]

-AMD Phenom x4 @ 3.6Ghz (OCed)
-2x 320GB Seagate @ 7200RPM = 640GB (using 470+ GB, time for a 3rd HDD!)
-8GB 1333Mhz Crucial RAM
-Gigabyte HD 5750 OCed Edition
-Asus MOBO (room for another GPU... thoughts on it?)
-Corsair 650w PSU
-21.5 HP always running 60Hz @ 1440x900 (need a new monitor as well, thoughts on that too?)

[gotaudi]

CPU: AMD X6 1090T @4.25Ghz
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Silver Arrow
Motherboard: ASUS Crosshair V Formula
GPU: Nvidia GTX 260 core 216
Memory: 16GB Kingston Hyper X T1 1866Mhz
Hard Drive: 2x Cruicial M4 128GB in raid 0
Hitachi 1.5GB SATA III storage drive
Cuicial M4 64GB Scratch Disk
Power Supply: Corsair 750W
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Case: Thermaltake Chaser MKI
Display: Samsung 2333T x2
Speakers: Logitech Z-2300
I/O Devices: Microsoft Sidewinder X6 keyboard, Logitech Mouse
Photo Related Software: Photoshop CS5, Lightroom 3

[evoch3n]

Got this about 4-5 years ago. I need an upgrade ASAP :\

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 (3.00GHz)
Memory: 4GB (2 x Patriot PC2-6400LLQK (800 MHz DDR2))
Motherboard: ABIT IP35 Pro
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Harddrive: 500GB (forgot which one)
OS: Windows 7 Professional 64bit
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts EA-500D
Case: Antec (forgot what model it is)
Monitor: 22" LG Flatron W2234S

[jobv2]

core 2 duo e6300
corsair 2 x 512mb ram
asus p5nsli
evga 7900gs
1 terabyte wd 7200rpm sata
1 terabyte seagate 7200rpm sata
500gb wd black sata
300gb seagate ide
*other drives that i forgot where they are, roughly 300gb each, about 3 that i just lost track of (in teh drawer somewhere)
no case, everything sits on the side of my desk

OS win xp and win 7 dual boot

i need an upgrade soon

[SNOWBIRD72]

Just finished my first build this past monday. See here (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1067842&referrerid=178191).

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X F3 12800 8 GB Ram (2 x 4 GB)
Hard Drive 1: OCZ Agility 3 60Gb SATA3
Hard Drive 2: WD 1Tb Caviar Black 7,200rpm
Power Supply: Corsair CX500
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Case: Coolmaster HAF 912 Mid-tower ATX
DVD: LG 24x SATA lightscribe internal

Enroute: Dell monitor u2311h
picking up graphics card this afternoon. Saw a great deal on a EVGA GeForce 9800 GT. Any thoughts on this card for predominantly photoediting and web surfing?

[EagleRock]

HP LP2475w
Intel i7 2600k
Asus p8p67 EVO
Thermalright Archon
G.Skill RipjawsX 8GB
Asus EAH6970 DCII
Corsair AX850W
Asus xonar essence ST
Coolermaster HAF 932
Crucial C300 128GB
WD Caviar Black 1 TB
Samsung F3 1TB
Steelseries 6G V2
Logitech G5
Windows 7 64bit

upgraded my grafics, sound and power supply :)

[Eric Xu]

Finally upgraded from a 20" iMac (2007 - could get slooow).

2010 Mac Pro
CPU: Intel Xeon Quad 2.8 Ghz
RAM: OWC 16 GB (2x 8 GB)
GPU: ATI 5770 (looking to add a GTX 285 for CUDA)
HDD: WD Caviar Blacks, Greens, and Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000s (13 TB total)

2x Dell U2311H displays
Pair of KRK Rokit 5 studio monitors

[*sigh*]

Woohoo New Computer Time!

Just ordered the new hardware, hopefully I'll be up and running by next week.

New Hardware
Intel 2600k
ASUS P8Z68 Pro Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4x4GB) DDR3 1600 Ram
ASUS GTX 570 CU II
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
Antec HCP 1200w PSU
WD Caviar Black 3x1TB in Raid 5
LG Blu-Ray Burner
ASUS Xonar DX
Corsair 600T White

Hardware that is transferring over
1x WD Caviar Black 1TB
2xSamsung 2343BWX Monitors (I really want a U2410)
Senheisser HD555 Headphones
Apple Keyboard
Logitech G500

[toxic]

2009 Mac Pro
Intel Xeon W3520 2.66GHz quad
10 GB Crucial DDR3-1333
EVGA NVidia GTX 285
1 TB Samsung Spinpoint F3
1 TB WD Caviar Blue
1 TB WD Caviar Green
23" Apple Cinema Display
OS X 10.6 and Windows 7 Professional x64

[karkid]

mines kinda outdated ... ugh pc's move so fast.

I980X@ 4.0Ghz
12GB Patriot @ 1650mhz
p6t deluxe v2
5970
blu ray combo burner LG
90GB OCZ vertex 3
4x3TB Western green's
2x3007wfp-hc

[fotocrack]

Come on guys where are the pictures of your buildd???
You build sexy why not show it off a lil??

[Soda-Pop]

Posted specs earlier, but here they are again

HEC black steel edition case
3 blue led case fans, 2x red cold cathodes, strip of 6 UV leds

2x 320GB HDD @ 7200RPM
AMD Phenom x4 OCed @ 3.8Ghz
Gigabyte 5750 OCed @ 840Mhz
8GB DDR3 ripsaw Mem @ 1333Mhz
AsRock MOBO
Corsair 585 Watt PSU

Total cost: 675.00 + tax 6 months ago.

[yeow_Z]

my rig since 2009, too bad the 2nd 4870x2 gave up last year. but still k*ckin arsh

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/3982/eimg8248.jpg

http://img580.imageshack.us/img580/4467/gpusd.jpg

[b.han]

^ Very sick rig!

Here's mine.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6061/6037367675_968872da01_z.jpg

[memoriesoftomorrow]

It was time for a little upgrade this will be my new spec when the new bits arrive:

System:
Windows 7 64 Bit Professional
Intel Core i7 980
6x 4GB Corsair Vengeance 240-pin DDR3 1600Mhz PC-12800
2x 240GB Corsair Force Series 3 SSD (OS & Page File/Scratch Disk)
2x 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green SATA-II (Mirrored - personal data)
2x 1.5TB Western Digital Caviar Green SATA-II (Mirrored - work data)
1x LG CH08LS10 Black BluRay Combo Drive
1x Pioneer BDR-202BK
1x NVidia GeForce 9600 GT
Dell U2711
Viewsonic VX2235WM

Backups:
2x 2TB Seagate External HDD (Two copies of archived wedding data)
2x 500GB Iomega External HDD (Two copies of archived business data)
2x 500GB Iomega External HDD (Two copies backup of 1TB mirrored drive, to be replaced with bigger drives when required)
2x 1.5TB Seagate External HDD (Two copies backup of 1.5TB mirrored drive)
1x 500GB Buffalo External HDD (System image backup)

That should keep me going for a good few years.

[yeow_Z]

^ Very sick rig!
thanks! your rig is very nice and clean too! i miss modding

i still have that kind of pump sitting on my closet and lots of water cooling stuff

[Ken_from_MD]

My computer died (Pentium 4 with Win XP) and it is time to build another one. It's been a while for me (over 5 years on current computer) so I am a little out of touch with current offerings. Doing some research here and other places has led to the following choices (prices are from Newegg):

Processor: Intel Core i7 2600 3.4GHz LGA1155 Sandy Bridge $300
Mobo: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe SATA 6MB/s USB3.0 multiple PCIex16 slots $180
PSU: OCZ ZX 1250W 80+Gold, Sandy Bridge, SLI support $240
Case: Thermaltake Element 5 NVidia Black Edition VL200L1W2Z $200
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3 1600MHz PC12800 (x4=16GB) $120 total
Video: ASUS ENGTX570 1280MB NVidia $350
Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar Black SATA II 1TB (x2) 7200RPM $180 total
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SATA II $180
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate $150
__________
$1900

I already have keyboard, mouse, monitor (Samsung bbw225 22") and a 2TB external drive.

I also have (2) 500GB WD 7200RPM drives that I will take out of my NAS case as I don't use it. I plan to use one for the OS and Apps, and the other for utilities like AVG as well as to store program downloads. The two 1TB drives will go into a RAID 1 for data storage. The SSD drive will be for scratch space for Photoshop.

Mobo, case and PSU choices will allow upgrading to Quad SLI later.

I haven't ordered anything yet, would you change anything?

[doz]

Intel i7 2600k @ 4.9ghz air cooled w/ Noctua D14
Asus P8P67 Vanilla
GSkill Ripjaws 1600mhz c8
XFX 6970 air cooled w/ Thermalright Shaman
CM HAF 932 w/ Corsair HX750
OCZ Agility 2 240gb SSD, 2x 1tb WD Black

[*sigh*]

My computer died (Pentium 4 with Win XP) and it is time to build another one. It's been a while for me (over 5 years on current computer) so I am a little out of touch with current offerings. Doing some research here and other places has led to the following choices (prices are from Newegg):

Processor: Intel Core i7 2600 3.4GHz LGA1155 Sandy Bridge $300
Mobo: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe SATA 6MB/s USB3.0 multiple PCIex16 slots $180
PSU: OCZ ZX 1250W 80+Gold, Sandy Bridge, SLI support $240
Case: Thermaltake Element 5 NVidia Black Edition VL200L1W2Z $200
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3 1600MHz PC12800 (x4=16GB) $120 total
Video: ASUS ENGTX570 1280MB NVidia $350
Hard Drives: Western Digital Caviar Black SATA II 1TB (x2) 7200RPM $180 total
SSD: OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SATA II $180
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate $150
__________
$1900

I already have keyboard, mouse, monitor (Samsung bbw225 22") and a 2TB external drive.

I also have (2) 500GB WD 7200RPM drives that I will take out of my NAS case as I don't use it. I plan to use one for the OS and Apps, and the other for utilities like AVG as well as to store program downloads. The two 1TB drives will go into a RAID 1 for data storage. The SSD drive will be for scratch space for Photoshop.

Mobo, case and PSU choices will allow upgrading to Quad SLI later.

I haven't ordered anything yet, would you change anything?I don't know if you have placed your order now as this post is a few days old.

But pay the extra money, and get a 2600k.

Quad SLI is a waste so don't bother plannning for it, unless you are running 2560x1600 a single 570 is more than enough. The only time you would need tri-sli or more is if you are running a Nvidia surround setup on 30" monitors.

Use your SSD for OS, and get a Vertex 3 not a vertex 2, if you really want a faster scratch drive raid 0 some smaller harddrives or get a cheaper SSD.

I would stick with like a Corsair AX series or the Antec HCP 1200 if you want a 1200W PSU, it's really quite a bit of overkill though as like I said before quad SLI is a complete waste.

[DiMAn0684]

Just did a super budget upgrade to the old box I had at home. Kept the old case / PSU / video card/OS, purchased:

Phenom II X840 + Gigabyte GA-78LMT-S2P combo for $50 from local Microcenter
Corsair Vengeance 8GB DDR3 1600MHz - $35 from Fry's (after I get the rebate)
Hitachi 1.5TB HDD - $45 from Newegg

very good performance upgrade for $130 :)

[Ken_from_MD]

I don't know if you have placed your order now as this post is a few days old.

But pay the extra money, and get a 2600k.

Quad SLI is a waste so don't bother plannning for it, unless you are running 2560x1600 a single 570 is more than enough. The only time you would need tri-sli or more is if you are running a Nvidia surround setup on 30" monitors.

Use your SSD for OS, and get a Vertex 3 not a vertex 2, if you really want a faster scratch drive raid 0 some smaller harddrives or get a cheaper SSD.

I would stick with like a Corsair AX series or the Antec HCP 1200 if you want a 1200W PSU, it's really quite a bit of overkill though as like I said before quad SLI is a complete waste.


I have ordered and have all the parts in. I did get the 2600K. The GTX570 was out of stock so I went with the GTX580 and paid a little more. I did get the OCZ 1250W PSU. Reality is it would be a long time before I could afford quad SLI anyway, and I am hearing that PS doesn't work well with the dual GPU cards.

Why use the SSD for the OS and APPS versus the scratch drive? Would I see better Photoshop performance that way? Is 120GB large enough then?

So if I follow your suggestions I would make the SSD the boot/app drive, use the two 500GB in a RAID 0 for scratch space and the two 1TB drives in a RAID 1 for data storage. Is this the best configuration?

Thanks

[*sigh*]

I have ordered and have all the parts in. I did get the 2600K. The GTX570 was out of stock so I went with the GTX580 and paid a little more. I did get the OCZ 1250W PSU. Reality is it would be a long time before I could afford quad SLI anyway, and I am hearing that PS doesn't work well with the dual GPU cards.

Why use the SSD for the OS and APPS versus the scratch drive? Would I see better Photoshop performance that way? Is 120GB large enough then?

So if I follow your suggestions I would make the SSD the boot/app drive, use the two 500GB in a RAID 0 for scratch space and the two 1TB drives in a RAID 1 for data storage. Is this the best configuration?

ThanksAlright, the PSU should be fine, OCZ makes decent PSU's, there are better options but they also do typically come at a premium.

The SSD would be better used as the OS drive because it impacts everything you do on that computer, the scratch drive really only helps you out in photoshop. With raid 0 you will still gain plenty of performance, so your scratch drive is going to be faster than most people's anyway.

Install Windows 7, Photoshop, and any other major programs on the SSD. Move your recycle bin and cache and whatnot off of the SSD (you can find a lot of guides on tweaking your SSD for better performance) and you will have plenty of room on it. If you need more space, you could always throw a few programs on the scratch drive as well, preferably ones that won't be accessing those drives as scratch drives.

[Ken_from_MD]

Can I put the OS, PS and the PS scratch/page file space on the SSD?

[*sigh*]

Can I put the OS, PS and the PS scratch/page file space on the SSD?I would keep the scratch/page files seperate.

With SSD's ideally you don't want to be writing to them all the time, and you don't want to keep them close to capacity.

[Ken_from_MD]

OK, thanks.

[silvrr]

Well got my new computer up and running last night. Have to say its a lot easier than I thought. I will definitely build my own from now on.

Build Specs:
ASRock P67 EXTREME4 Intel Motherboard
Intel i5 2500k (3.3 GHz)
Antec 550W Power supply
ASUS GeForce GT 430 1GB 128-bit DDR3 Video Card
G.SKILL 8GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) RAM
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
Windows 7 64-bit

Ran a comparison this morning between the two:

Grabbed 50 random airshow pics and ran two tests. 1 - Batch render 1:1 previews for all files. 2 - Export all 50 to the harddrive and convert to JPEG.

Laptop:
Render Previews: 6:15
Export: 5:57

New Desktop:
Render Previews: 2:03
Export: 1:39

Pretty happy with it, now I need to go take some new shots so I can actually work on some photos on it.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6190/6085915032_a0db2c51a1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/adammrugacz/6085915032/)
New Photo Editing Rig (http://www.flickr.com/photos/adammrugacz/6085915032/) by Adam.Mrugacz (http://www.flickr.com/people/adammrugacz/), on Flickr

[*sigh*]

Very nice Silvrr. That's a nice clean build.

[silvrr]

Very nice Silvrr. That's a nice clean build.

Thanks, spent some time with the cables and I think it paid off.

[Ken_from_MD]

Question about installing PS on new computer. I have a full copy of CS3 and a downloaded upgrade to CS5. When going to the new rig can I just install the CS5 or do I need to install CS3 first and then upgrade it?

Thanks

[*sigh*]

Question about installing PS on new computer. I have a full copy of CS3 and a downloaded upgrade to CS5. When going to the new rig can I just install the CS5 or do I need to install CS3 first and then upgrade it?

Thanks
It should upgrade the serial key to be a CS5 license, but I'm not 100% positive.

[Revo]

I built a new desktop back in September. I had been running my previous setup for 4 and a half years using the original Windows XP installation from when I initially put that setup together. I ended up buying a new (albeit a cheaper and smaller) case to put all my old hardware into. I reloaded it with Windows 7 64 Pro and now use it as my back up computer. That setup was an Asus P5N32E SLI Plus, Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo at 3Ghz, 4gb Ram at 4-4-4-12-2 timing, a 9800GTX+ video card, and 4 160gb WD Black in RAID 5.

I built my new setup into my original case (in case anyone is wondering my original case has superior cooling and I would have had to spend $300 on a case to get the same level of cooling). Specs are:

Asus P8P67 Deluxe
Intel I7-2600K @ Factory clock (I have a stable profile at 4.5ghz, but since I never max out the processor I don't run it. When the time comes that I need the extra power, I will load the BIOS/UEFI profile)
8GB G.Skill Ram at 1600mhz and 7-8-7-24-1 timing
GTX 580 1.5GB video card (I game as well)
240gb PCIexpress SSD (1500mb/s read, 1225mb/s write - megabytes, not megabits - holds OS and all programs/games and is also my scratch disk)
Two 2TB WD Black in RAID 1 for secure storage
Thermaltake Toughtpower 875W Power Supply
Windows 7 Pro 64

7.9 Windows Experience Index across the board expect for 7.8 with the processor (at stock speeds - likely 7.9 when overclocked).

[TeleFragger]

im gonna need a new build eventually....

my main gaming/editing rig... lost a water pump.. sprung a leak and took out the mobo and 1 of 2 video cards.. :(

[pcschwenke]

Just built my new systems and starting to install software. Here's my new build:

Asus Z68 V-Pro Gen 3
2600K (stock clock speed right now)
16G Corsair RAM DDR3
Asus GTX 560 GPU (1GB)
Asus Blu Ray drive
1TB Hitachi Sata 3 7200 RPM
1TB Samsung 7200 RPM (Raid 1 with Hitachi) Sata 2
3TB Hitachi 7200 RPM Storage Sata 3
120G Intel 320 SSD for Cache (SRT)
Dell U2410 monitor
Corsair Pro 80+ Gold 750 Power Supply
Windows 7 64

So far it's fast!

Paul

[RHChan84]

My next laptop will not have a graphics card. As much as I love to play games, I rarely do it. I play like 4 hours of games on my PC a year maybe...I just load them on to just make sure everything is working after I upgrade drivers.

I want to get an ultra portable one since I travel a lot and I need something to do while I sit at the hotel.

[shazza]

Nice to see some liquid cooled rigs on here.

Silvrr - Very nice, clean build. Nice Job!

[Mike55]

Intel 120 GB SSD AC2WT3 (O.S. Drive)
Intel 40 GB SSD (top photos drive)
Western Caviar Black 7200 1.5 TB
Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB (external USB backup)
Western Digital Black 1 TB (external USB backup)
M-Audio Delta 66 Professional Audio
EVGA Nvidia GTX 460
Intel Quad Core Q9400 2.66 ghz
8gb RAM
Gigabyte G33m-S2 motherboard
windows 7 64

[TeleFragger]

Nice to see some liquid cooled rigs on here.

Silvrr - Very nice, clean build. Nice Job!

even though mine sprung a leak.. ill do another.... i love water cooled...

[fotocrack]

im gonna need a new build eventually....

my main gaming/editing rig... lost a water pump.. sprung a leak and took out the mobo and 1 of 2 video cards.. :(

this is why I use a Corsair AF70. No leaks in air:p

[Yohan Pamudji]

I built a new desktop back in September. I had been running my previous setup for 4 and a half years using the original Windows XP installation from when I initially put that setup together.

Blah, blah, blah, yes yes nice, etc., so on and so forth...

240gb PCIexpress SSD (1500mb/s read, 1225mb/s write - megabytes, not megabits - holds OS and all programs/games and is also my scratch disk)

WHAT?!?! That's officially insane. You're the first end user I know of with one of these in his rig. So many questions. If I have an older motherboard can I use this to get around the lack of 6Gbps SATA? Any problems to be aware of with this compared to SATA-based SSDs?

[silvrr]

Silvrr - Very nice, clean build. Nice Job!

Thanks, its been updated since then (and since this picture) new cooler, cables cleaned up a bit more. Overclocking bug caught me so I added a new cooler and its now in a push pull vertically. Keeps things nice and cool.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6007/6206034746_a5f3b48b73_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/adammrugacz/6206034746/)
Updated Rig - Week 40 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/adammrugacz/6206034746/) by Adam.Mrugacz (http://www.flickr.com/people/adammrugacz/), on Flickr

[TeleFragger]

Thanks, its been updated since then (and since this picture) new cooler, cables cleaned up a bit more. Overclocking bug caught me so I added a new cooler and its now in a push pull vertically. Keeps things nice and cool.

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6007/6206034746_a5f3b48b73_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/adammrugacz/6206034746/)
Updated Rig - Week 40 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/adammrugacz/6206034746/) by Adam.Mrugacz (http://www.flickr.com/people/adammrugacz/), on Flickr

what cooler did you get? i see cooler master. but which?

i also see 2 emtpy dimms lots... and 2 empty pci-e slots.. shame on you :lol:

[silvrr]

what cooler did you get? i see cooler master. but which?

i also see 2 emtpy dimms lots... and 2 empty pci-e slots.. shame on you :lol:

Cooler is a 212+. Ive got 8GB of memory and haven't come close to using it yet. Not sure what I would put in the pci-e slots, that video card sits idle 90% of the time.

[TeleFragger]

Cooler is a 212+. Ive got 8GB of memory and haven't come close to using it yet. Not sure what I would put in the pci-e slots, that video card sits idle 90% of the time.

just messing with ya.. my computer is still down...
i just bought that cooler though.. it is really nice. but sitting in the box waiting for a mobo to go onto... for air cooled.. that is the best one i have heard

[silvrr]

just messing with ya.. my computer is still down...
i just bought that cooler though.. it is really nice. but sitting in the box waiting for a mobo to go onto... for air cooled.. that is the best one i have heard

Can't beat it for the price. You can buy other coolers that add an additional 3-5 degrees of cooling from tests Ive read but you pay 3-4 times as much and im not pushing my stuff that hard. I fold on it 24/7 and it stays in the high 40's and will go into the low 50s when the room warms up. That is with a 4.4GHz overclock. Youll like it, easy to install and works well.

[uOpt]

FWIW, I just built a system around the last pre-bulldozer AMDs.

AMD 1100T x6 with Turbo, Asus M4A89something board and 16 GB ECC unreg from Ewiz.com.

This performs very well for my photo things, in particular single-threaded when needed with the Turbo.

I have to warn people that I had an Asus M5A77 board at first (trying to prepare for Bulldozer) but that I found that basically nothing in the BIOS on there worked right and it went right back to Newegg. Oh and that M4A89 board needed a BIOS flash before it would pass memtest86. Oops.

But anyway, not happy about Asus antics but came out a very nice and powerful system. Clocks where you want them (unlocked multiplier), cheap, lots of slots and ports and generally a very nice Linux citizen.

[Canonism]

Windows 7 Pro 2009
CPU: AMD x4 955 BE
CPU Cooler: Corsair H50
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA770-UD3
GPU: PNY 9800GTX+
Memory: 8gb Corsair XMS
Hard Drive: Intel SSD 80gb XM-25
WD 1TB Caviar Black
Power Supply: Corsair TX650
Case: Antec 900
Display: Dell U2410
Speakers: Logitech
I/O Devices: Logitech Keyboard, mouse,
Photo Related Software: Photoshop CS 5, LR, OnOne

Mac OS X 2010
CPU: Intel i7 860
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9700LED
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3
GPU: PNY GTX 470
Memory: 16gb GSkills
Hard Drive:
WD 1TB Caviar Black
WD 1TB Green
Power Supply: OCZ 850
Case: SilverStone Fortress FT02
Display: Dell U3011
Speakers: Logitech Z-2300
I/O Devices: Logitech Keyboard, Apple Touchpad
Photo Related Software: Photoshop CS 5, LR, OnOne

Mac OS X 2011
CPU: Intel 2500K
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
GPU: MSI 6870 Frozr III Hawk
Memory: 16gb Corsair Vengeance
Hard Drive: Intel 320 SSD 160gb
WD 750gb Caviar Black
Power Supply: Seasonic X750 Gold
Case: Corsair 650D
Display: Dell U3011
Speakers: Logitech Z-2300
I/O Devices: Logitech Keyboard, mouse, Wacom Intuos Tablet
Photo Related Software: Photoshop CS 5, LR, OnOne

[Methodical]

The build is based on my future plans of doing some video work and some gaming, so some items may seem excessive at the moment, but are there for my planned expansion, plus I don't plan to purchase (build) another computer for at least 5-7 years.

I'd like to thank *Sigh* for helping me with this project which was a huge help and a result, I am a bit smarter about computers than before and ready to tackle this build.

Now, I need to get a nice monitor for image editing and gaming.

Al

Computer build list:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower
PSU: Corsair Gold AX750
MB: Asus P8768
CPU: Intel i7 2600K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gb DDR3 SDRAM 1600
Video: Asus GTX 560
Audio: Asus Xonar 7.1
OS drive: OCZ Vertex 3 120gb SSD
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2tb, Sata 6.0gb/s HDD
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Optical drive: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD burner w/lightscribe support
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

[Revo]

Blah, blah, blah, yes yes nice, etc., so on and so forth...



WHAT?!?! That's officially insane. You're the first end user I know of with one of these in his rig. So many questions. If I have an older motherboard can I use this to get around the lack of 6Gbps SATA? Any problems to be aware of with this compared to SATA-based SSDs?

I'm not sure if it'll work with older motherboards. There is a list of motherboards for which this is tested to work with and to be honest, I'd only use what is on the list (mine is one of them).

My motherboard immediately recognized it upon initial boot and automatically set it as the boot disk and what not. Not sure if an older motherboard would do this. However, I don't see why it wouldn't work in a general sense since it is no different than say a RAID controller in terms of the motherboard's eyes.

That being said, this was a very expensive drive. I got it on sale for $575. Normally they go for $700. I would only invest on something such as this if you have a build to fully take advantage of it. That said...I'm not even sure I really take full advantage of it.

[Methodical]

Hey *sigh* is it safe to say that in addition to installing the OS, LR3, PSE9 and games that you can install say office products (i.e word etc) and antivirus software on the SSD, too? Do you know of a site that provides in depth information on the SSD's so I can read up on them? I'm researching now, but figure you may some links that you may have gathered over the years.

Thanks...Al

The yes the extra ram will help out. The SSD would be strictly for OS and programs. Mainly large programs like CS5, LR3, any games you want on there etc.

Very nice :)

[*sigh*]

Hey *sigh* is it safe to say that in addition to installing the OS, LR3, PSE9 and games that you can install say office products (i.e word etc) and antivirus software on the SSD, too? Do you know of a site that provides in depth information on the SSD's so I can read up on them? I'm researching now, but figure you may some links that you may have gathered over the years.

Thanks...Al
Yes, I have office and Avast for my A/V installed on my SSD. Basically install anything you want on it, just try not to run your SSD where it's entirely full, it's not good for the drives.

What kind of information on SSD's are you looking for exactly?

[mcluckie]

Dual quad core 2.8, 16 Gb ram, 8 Tb internal, 25 Tb external, FW, eSata, and a USB card. MacPro running nonstop for 4+ years.

[Methodical]

Thanks *sigh*. I am looking for information on how to set the SSD as far as installing the operating system, BIOS settings, cache etc. Also, I saw where you stated that you need to be aware of the maintenance of the drive, so any information on that aspect.

Thanks...Al

Yes, I have office and Avast for my A/V installed on my SSD. Basically install anything you want on it, just try not to run your SSD where it's entirely full, it's not good for the drives.

What kind of information on SSD's are you looking for exactly?

[mcluckie]

Thanks *sigh*. I am looking for information on how to set the SSD as far as installing the operating system, BIOS settings, cache etc. Also, I saw where you stated that you need to be aware of the maintenance of the drive, so any information on that aspect.

Thanks...Al

I can't find a big enough SSD for system and apps for myself. Maybe use an SSD just for cache files...

[Revo]

I can't find a big enough SSD for system and apps for myself. Maybe use an SSD just for cache files...

What kind of capacity do you need? OCZ makes a 960gb SSD. PCIexpress though.

[mcluckie]

What kind of capacity do you need? OCZ makes a 960gb SSD. PCIexpress though.

ha, like I've got any slots or bay left.

I never really thought about a SSD for my desktop, but I recently bought a new MBP. My old one had a dead optical drive, and since I gave it my daughter, I gave her the new one from the new laptop. I thought about an SSD for the main drive bay, but I needed at least 250 Gb. The 960 SSD must be a thousand, eh? So i put another 500 7200 rpm in the optical bay (now I have 1T @7200 & 8 GB RAM). Suits my needs and travel editing much better. I also carry 4 external bus-powered FW drives and have a 2- USB port DVD burner for those annual occasions. I'm going to wait maybe 2 years for SSD to get big AND affordable, and by then the Air laptop will run my apps even better than today. Bought a new laptop last month with intent to flip it out in 2 years already...

[Methodical]

I have the 120 and I think that will be good enough for me for awhile. As far as the cache and which drive to do it on is the information I need to get my head wrapped around. As of now, I will have the OS, LR3, pse9, antivirus and a few other programs on the SSd and storage on the 2tb HHD. I am building for the 1st time, so I am trying to learn and understand how all this works. The mechanical part of the build is not my challenge, it's the software and setup that is my challenge at the moment.

Thanks...Al

I can't find a big enough SSD for system and apps for myself. Maybe use an SSD just for cache files...

[uOpt]

My workstation is now a AMD 110T with 16 GB ECC unreg and a 7900GTX and a Gt240. Runs like a charm and beats anything else ECC-enabled on the market price/performance wise by a mile. Has working Turbo (yes I'm looking at you non-multithreaded GIMp plugins) and particularly runs "old-style" non-media code well, e.g. linking just another large C++ library.

[jbm7777]

Looking for some guidance here... I've decided to make it a project for my brother and I to build our first computer. I don't see him too often anymore so this is a good excuse to get together. I'm going to use the computer for photoediting (mainly lightroom), music streaming and web browsing. There will be some other work related things going on with the computer but thats mainly what I use it for. I like to try to futureproof myself a bit so I don't want bare bones stuff to get by and run these programs well today but not well when they get updated to future versions. I have an IPS monitor so there is no need for that, speaker system is on its way, now its just onto the rig itself. Total budget is around 600 and I'm willing to wait a bit for the future intel ivy bridge processors. I'm working on this build now because I got in on that newegg deal for 20 dollars that nets you 40 to newegg and I'd like to use those as a catalyst to start my first build. I was thinking the following...

Intel Ivy Bridge i5 processor equivalent (want to slightly overclock for reference I was looking at the 2500k sandy bridge)( I just saw that they are calling it the i5 3570 for ivy bridge)
Matching motherboard (looking for something with a few usb3 ports and maybe even a thunderbolt port)
120gb ssd (6gbps would be nice if I can find for around $1per gb for OS, lightroom, Antivirus, I might be able to get away with 80gb instead of 120)
1tb hard drive at 7200rpm.
graphics card (I need a lot of help here, so many options and many are geared towards gamers which is overkill for me but I don't want it to be a slouch, need hdmi as my monitor does not have displayport)
8gb ram 1600mhz or faster
650 watt psu - probably corsair gold 650
Case - something like this... I'm in love with this case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352016


Any suggestions, I know its a bit early to speculate about Ivy Bridge but I could use some guidance on SSD's and ram, things that will be relatively universal that I can purchase now with my newegg promotion and still use in the rig that I'm building in april or so. Thanks for the help guys!!!

[TeleFragger]

not sure if i posted this..

but how bout 24 cpu's and 132gb ram??? x 16 ! ! ! ! ! !

this is one blade from my last company.. esx 4.1, hp c7000 chassis

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5221/5664288187_e1a319e510_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/56197228@N05/5664288187/)
vsphereBlade (http://www.flickr.com/photos/56197228@N05/5664288187/) by TeleFragger / RootBreaker (http://www.flickr.com/people/56197228@N05/), on Flickr

[silvrr]

Looking for some guidance here... I've decided to make it a project for my brother and I to build our first computer. I don't see him too often anymore so this is a good excuse to get together. I'm going to use the computer for photoediting (mainly lightroom), music streaming and web browsing. There will be some other work related things going on with the computer but thats mainly what I use it for. I like to try to futureproof myself a bit so I don't want bare bones stuff to get by and run these programs well today but not well when they get updated to future versions. I have an IPS monitor so there is no need for that, speaker system is on its way, now its just onto the rig itself. Total budget is around 600 and I'm willing to wait a bit for the future intel ivy bridge processors. I'm working on this build now because I got in on that newegg deal for 20 dollars that nets you 40 to newegg and I'd like to use those as a catalyst to start my first build. I was thinking the following...

Intel Ivy Bridge i5 processor equivalent (want to slightly overclock for reference I was looking at the 2500k sandy bridge)( I just saw that they are calling it the i5 3570 for ivy bridge)
Matching motherboard (looking for something with a few usb3 ports and maybe even a thunderbolt port)
120gb ssd (6gbps would be nice if I can find for around $1per gb for OS, lightroom, Antivirus, I might be able to get away with 80gb instead of 120)
1tb hard drive at 7200rpm.
graphics card (I need a lot of help here, so many options and many are geared towards gamers which is overkill for me but I don't want it to be a slouch, need hdmi as my monitor does not have displayport)
8gb ram 1600mhz or faster
650 watt psu - probably corsair gold 650
Case - something like this... I'm in love with this case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352016


Any suggestions, I know its a bit early to speculate about Ivy Bridge but I could use some guidance on SSD's and ram, things that will be relatively universal that I can purchase now with my newegg promotion and still use in the rig that I'm building in april or so. Thanks for the help guys!!!

Take a look at my build a few pages back. Runs lightroom very well and adding an SSD would make it nice and snappy. I really don't wait on much when editing files in lightroom and generally have firefox and iTunes running.

Most modern cards have have an HDMI port and you won't need much if for just watching youtube or dvds. My GT 430 handles DVDs well but I haven't tried displaying them on anything but my monitor. Someone else can input what Blurays and a outputing to a TV would do.

Your power supply is overkill unless you add a large video card or 2 for that matter. You can save some money by getting a smaller one as your processor won't draw more than 150ish and the rest of the components will draw very little.

Ill try to find an article I read on RAM timings and speed recently and post it for you. It basically said there was little real world difference after 1600 with Sandy Bridge and the timings also had little impact. It ran through quite a few different tests (CD ripping, Photo editing, ect.) and there were not huge gains for the extra money you pay.

[Headsick]

not sure if i posted this..

but how bout 24 cpu's and 132gb ram??? x 16 ! ! ! ! ! !

this is one blade from my last company.. esx 4.1, hp c7000 chassis

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5221/5664288187_e1a319e510_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/56197228@N05/5664288187/)
vsphereBlade (http://www.flickr.com/photos/56197228@N05/5664288187/) by TeleFragger / RootBreaker (http://www.flickr.com/people/56197228@N05/), on Flickr

Isn't that actually 128GB of RAM?

[DiMAn0684]

Isn't that actually 128GB of RAM?

yes, 128GB.

[jbm7777]

Take a look at my build a few pages back. Runs lightroom very well and adding an SSD would make it nice and snappy. I really don't wait on much when editing files in lightroom and generally have firefox and iTunes running.

Most modern cards have have an HDMI port and you won't need much if for just watching youtube or dvds. My GT 430 handles DVDs well but I haven't tried displaying them on anything but my monitor. Someone else can input what Blurays and a outputing to a TV would do.

Your power supply is overkill unless you add a large video card or 2 for that matter. You can save some money by getting a smaller one as your processor won't draw more than 150ish and the rest of the components will draw very little.

Ill try to find an article I read on RAM timings and speed recently and post it for you. It basically said there was little real world difference after 1600 with Sandy Bridge and the timings also had little impact. It ran through quite a few different tests (CD ripping, Photo editing, ect.) and there were not huge gains for the extra money you pay.

This was some awesome help, and your build is clean. Really nice stuff you did there, I think that a lot of the decisions that I make have to be made after Ivy Bridge is announced formally and the motherboard companies start pumping out different motherboards for it. I read that some of the newest sandy bridge mobo's will handle ivy bridge but I don't want to be missing out on some great features like quad channel ram or integrated usb3 control because I jump too early. I think that I can safely pull the trigger on an ssd, a case, and a power supply prior to ivy bridge coming out. So you are saying a 500 watt ps would be better for the build? I'd imagine that ivy bridge would use less wattage due to its smaller architecture. That's half the point of using smaller transistors right? Smaller, faster, and sips power. My build will end up being pretty similar to yours except with an ssd. I was looking at the intel 320 series, any other recommendations in that department, different brands that have a good rep for being solid long lasting drives. Not looking for some kingston stuff that craps out in 15 minutes after being installed. Thanks again for the guidance!

[TeleFragger]

yes, 128GB.

behhh what is 4gb... LOL...

[NivoMedia]

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a10/parrapa99/4ghclub.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a10/parrapa99/newoffice2.jpg

[Methodical]

Good to know this

Alright, the PSU should be fine, OCZ makes decent PSU's, there are better options but they also do typically come at a premium.

The SSD would be better used as the OS drive because it impacts everything you do on that computer, the scratch drive really only helps you out in photoshop. With raid 0 you will still gain plenty of performance, so your scratch drive is going to be faster than most people's anyway.

Install Windows 7, Photoshop, and any other major programs on the SSD. Move your recycle bin and cache and whatnot off of the SSD (you can find a lot of guides on tweaking your SSD for better performance) and you will have plenty of room on it. If you need more space, you could always throw a few programs on the scratch drive as well, preferably ones that won't be accessing those drives as scratch drives.

[uOpt]

OCZ does not make PSUs. Neither do most other brands. They resell PSUs from various manufacturers.

Having said that, I have a bunch of random OCZs, even from manufacturers that are usually bashed on the Internetz and they all work fine, some 24/7.

[Geonerd]

Nothing bleeding edge, but it does everything I need, taking only a few seconds to get there.

MSI 870A-G54 Mobo
Phenom II 555BE. 3.9GHz @ stock voltage. Couldn't get the 'free' unlocked cores to run properly. Poop!
4GB moderately low latency DDR31600 by Munchkin.
Crucial C300 64gb boot SSD. Freaking fast! 6gb/s sata.
2TB Hitachi sata
Sony/NEC/Optiarc/"whatever!" DVD burner.
HD3850 w. 512mb
Still running XP pro. It does what I need.
G520, 21" Sony Trinitron. The color accuracy makes most LCD displays look silly.
Absurdly big Supermicro server case - solid black and looks somewhat like the monolith from 2001. ;)

[*sigh*]

OCZ does not make PSUs. Neither do most other brands. They resell PSUs from various manufacturers.

Having said that, I have a bunch of random OCZs, even from manufacturers that are usually bashed on the Internetz and they all work fine, some 24/7.That is true. Most PSU's are re branded that is correct.


Getting a good PSU is important though, that's one area I don't skimp. Good quality PSU's are more stable on voltage, more energy efficient, and generally run closer to their specs, they are just higher quality and quite frankly, when I have $2000 worth of computer equipment all hooked up to a PSU, I don't see why you would ever skimp.

[rcfury]

i used to do a lot of my work on my old core 2 quad q9550 with 8 gigs of ram.. however, my out of production HP xw8400 workstation i got off ebay for 300 dollars does much better... I got dual quad xeons with 4 gigs of ram for 300 bucks.. I bought 4 more gigs of ram and a bigger hard drive for 100 dollars more and got a killer PC.. I do wish these procs had hyper threading but what you get for an older PC. Need to find another one now to turn into my domain controller...

[Methodical]

An added plus is they typically are the modular type from what I've seen and to me makes hiding cables much easier as you only use what you need. I looked at other models after you suggested Cosair, but I found I like the modular ones better.

Also, when I compared the spec sheets, I found the lesser models spec sheet did not list whether the system had over-voltage and over-current protection, under-voltage protection, and short circuit protection. Now, maybe they all do, but if the spec sheet didn't specify it, I move on to the next unit. Now to some that may not be a big deal, but ever since I began using the UPS (after I loss some equipment from brown outs), I noticed that there are lots of power cycling going on throughout the day, so those features were important in my decision.

That is true. Most PSU's are re branded that is correct.


Getting a good PSU is important though, that's one area I don't skimp. Good quality PSU's are more stable on voltage, more energy efficient, and generally run closer to their specs, they are just higher quality and quite frankly, when I have $2000 worth of computer equipment all hooked up to a PSU, I don't see why you would ever skimp.

[uOpt]

That is true. Most PSU's are re branded that is correct.


Getting a good PSU is important though, that's one area I don't skimp. Good quality PSU's are more stable on voltage, more energy efficient, and generally run closer to their specs, they are just higher quality and quite frankly, when I have $2000 worth of computer equipment all hooked up to a PSU, I don't see why you would ever skimp.

The big problem is that cheap PSUs tend to die, namely popping capacitors. That can take random components with them and can be very expensive.

I also had a cheap/crap PSU lead to memory corruption and subsequent corruption of data on disk. Anybody storing their precious photos that way is asking for trouble.

[Methodical]

Here's the final build (my 1st ever build). Thank you Nick (*sigh*) for all your help. I truly appreciate the help. You made it easier than I thought it would be.

Al

http://www.methodicalimages.com/img/s11/v35/p975470356-5.jpg

Computer build list:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower
PSU: Corsair Gold AX750
MB: Asus P8 z68-V Pro
CPU: Intel i7 2600K @4.4ghz
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gb DDR3 SDRAM 1600
Video: Asus GTX 560
Audio: Asus Xonar 7.1
OS drive: OCZ Vertex 3 120gb SSD
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2tb, Sata 6.0gb/s HDD
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Optical drive: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD burner w/lightscribe support
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

[*sigh*]

You are very welcome. Nice work on all the cable management, that's a great looking build. :D

[patman530]

Here's the final build (my 1st ever build). Thank you Nick (*sigh*) for all your help. I truly appreciate the help. You made it easier than I thought it would be.

Al

http://www.methodicalimages.com/img/s11/v35/p975470356-5.jpg

Computer build list:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower
PSU: Corsair Gold AX750
MB: Asus P8 z68-V Pro
CPU: Intel i7 2600K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gb DDR3 SDRAM 1600
Video: Asus GTX 560
Audio: Asus Xonar 7.1
OS drive: OCZ Vertex 3 120gb SSD
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2tb, Sata 6.0gb/s HDD
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Optical drive: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD burner w/lightscribe support
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

Clean build

[Methodical]

Thanks Nick and Patman. Nick that modular PSU you suggested helped a whole lot as I only used what I needed.

[Canonism]

Redid the wires on the Hackintosh the other day.

Cell phone pix...
http://a2.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/380445_2766900501243_1519850099_32869466_511742323 _n.jpg

[uOpt]

Piece of art in this thread!

Nice work.

[crazyfoo88]

My new fileserver is finally built :D

Pentium G620 2.6GHZ Sandybridge CPU
Asus H67 M LE Motherboard
Fractal Define Mini case (LOVE THIS!)
64GB Crucal M4 SSD (Backup workstation incase my tower goes down)
4gb G.Skill DDR3 1333 Ram
Antec 380W PSU
Currently 3x 2tb WD Green drives, have 2 more about to go in. Have backups in the workstation and offsite as well.

http://distilleryimage3.s3.amazonaws.com/cb6dd7aa1f9c11e180c9123138016265_7.jpg

[Methodical]

Crazy, could you have installed the drives the other direction and connected from the back and hide the wires and the others, too. (at bottom)?^^^^ Looks good.

[1Tanker]

- Dell U2410
- Intel C2Q Q9550@3825MHz -450MHz FSB(24/7)
- Gigabyte EP45-UD3P
- BFG (NVidia) GeForce 9800GTX+ OC(760 core/1885 shader/2250 mem)
- 8GB DDR2 1066(4GB Mushkin, 4GB G.Skill)@1080MHz (5-5-5-12 2T)
- Seasonic M12D 750w PSU
- Win 7 Pro(64bit) on Seagate 500GB (7200.12)
- Win XP Pro(32bit) on WD 640GB Black
- 9+TB's storage
- Open-bench setup(no case)

-Open bench

[DiMAn0684]

behhh what is 4gb... LOL...

4GB...that's all the memory I got in my system.

Currently running:
Phenom II X2 550BE [all four cores working]
Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H
Patriot DDR2 PC1066 4GB
NVidia 9500 GT
2x WD Blue 500GB in RAID0 array

...yeah, this was a pretty good comp. 2+ yrs ago :)

[Methodical]

Here's the final build (my 1st ever build). Thank you Nick (*sigh*) for all your help. I truly appreciate the help. You made it easier than I thought it would be.

Al

http://www.methodicalimages.com/img/s11/v35/p975470356-5.jpg

Computer build list:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower
PSU: Corsair Gold AX750
MB: Asus P8 z68-V Pro
CPU: Intel i7 2600K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gb DDR3 SDRAM 1600
Video: Asus GTX 560
Audio: Asus Xonar 7.1
OS drive: OCZ Vertex 3 120gb SSD
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2tb, Sata 6.0gb/s HDD
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Optical drive: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD burner w/lightscribe support
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Pro 64 bit

Update: I finally got my monitor (Dell 2410). Biigg difference from my smaller monitors and it looks pretty clean out the box, but of course I will be calibrating it.

[crazyfoo88]

Yes, but since it is just a server I want to be able to swap out drives easily. Not too worried about airflow as it runs cool already :)

Crazy, could you have installed the drives the other direction and connected from the back and hide the wires and the others, too. (at bottom)?^^^^ Looks good.

[1Tanker]

4GB...that's all the memory I got in my system.

Currently running:
Phenom II X2 550BE [all four cores working]
Gigabyte MA785GM-US2H
Patriot DDR2 PC1066 4GB
NVidia 9500 GT
2x WD Blue 500GB in RAID0 array

...yeah, this was a pretty good comp. 2+ yrs ago :)Same here...2 years ago, i won some overclocking and benchmarking awards with this machine...now it's getting a little long in the tooth. Drooling for a Sandy Bridge.. 2600k, but waiting to see what Ivy Bridge brings. Reviews so far, don't show much improvement. :cry:

[DiMAn0684]

Same here...2 years ago, i won some overclocking and benchmarking awards with this machine...now it's getting a little long in the tooth. Drooling for a Sandy Bridge.. 2600k, but waiting to see what Ivy Bridge brings. Reviews so far, don't show much improvement. :cry:

I get the itch to upgrade from time to time, but this machine is still ok for my tasks. hoping to get another 1-2 yrs out of it.

[Headsick]

Made some updates to my rig, felt it was worth posting about. Added different RAM and OS drive.:


Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower XT 750W Modular
MB: Asus P6TD Deluxe
CPU: Intel i7 920
RAM: 16GB Kingston HyperX DDR3 SDRAM 1600MHz
Video: Asus Radeon HD 5750
OS drive: OCZ Agility 2 240GB SSD
Storage: 2x Seagate 1.5TB, SATA 3.0gb/s HDD
Storage2: Seagate 2TB, SATA 6.0gb/s HDD
Storage3: Seagate 3TB External
CPU cooler: Cooler Master V8/Arctic Silver 5
Optical Drive: Samsung Super Writemaster SATA CD/DVD burner w/lightscribe
Optical Drive 2: HP Lightscribe IDE CD/DVD burner
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
Monitor: Asus VW246 24" 1080p LCD
HID: Logitech Performance MX mouse, Logitech backlit keyboard

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6518750545_04ac252a29_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/headphotography/6518750545/)
pc3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/headphotography/6518750545/) by HeadPhotography (http://www.flickr.com/people/headphotography/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7162/6518750401_122abbcb9a_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/headphotography/6518750401/)
pc7 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/headphotography/6518750401/) by HeadPhotography (http://www.flickr.com/people/headphotography/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7173/6518750239_097c01b82d_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/headphotography/6518750239/)
Win7Score (http://www.flickr.com/photos/headphotography/6518750239/) by HeadPhotography (http://www.flickr.com/people/headphotography/), on Flickr

[patman530]

^^ SSD ftw

[Methodical]

Headsick the build looks nice. What's the purpose of the performance test you ran?

Thanks

Al

[Headsick]

Headsick the build looks nice. What's the purpose of the performance test you ran?

Thanks

Al

Thanks. There's not really much of a purpose, windows vista and 7 have the score built in, and it runs automatically, unless you change something, then it needs to be refreshed. Basically just to give you a baseline idea of how decent your hardware is.

[Methodical]

Thanks. I will have to explore that.

Thanks. There's not really much of a purpose, windows vista and 7 have the score built in, and it runs automatically, unless you change something, then it needs to be refreshed. Basically just to give you a baseline idea of how decent your hardware is.

[*sigh*]

Thanks. I will have to explore that.Don't bother, it's pretty much a useless benchmark. Most modern machines will max it out, there are much better benchmarks out there if you are looking to gauge performance on your machine.

[Methodical]

*Sigh* can you provide a link to a benchmark test site?

Thanks

[*sigh*]

*Sigh* can you provide a link to a benchmark test site?

ThanksI'll PM you with a list of a few as to try and not derail this thread more.

[critical]

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/50dpictures/IMG_0206.jpg

HAF 932
Asus P8P67 Pro
i5-2500k @ 5ghz
2x AMD 6970's
8gb G.Skill RAM
Corsair AX850
128gb Crucial m4 SSD
5tb of storage

Fully watercooled. Really love this machine, but am thinking of selling so I can build another one. lol it's an addiction now.

[jobv2]

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff379/50dpictures/IMG_0206.jpg

HAF 932
Asus P8P67 Pro
i5-2500k @ 5ghz
2x AMD 6970's
8gb G.Skill RAM
Corsair AX850
128gb Crucial m4 SSD
5tb of storage

Fully watercooled. Really love this machine, but am thinking of selling so I can build another one. lol it's an addiction now.

how quiet is that ax850? i was thinking about getting corsair ax before i ended up with seasonic and its pretty quiet i cant hear a thing. but ive always wanted to know about the corsair ax, ive always wanted one

is your 2500k stable at 5ghz and are you running it constant at 5ghz? im running my 2500k at stock speeds at the moment

[*sigh*]

how quiet is that ax850? i was thinking about getting corsair ax before i ended up with seasonic and its pretty quiet i cant hear a thing. but ive always wanted to know about the corsair ax, ive always wanted one

is your 2500k stable at 5ghz and are you running it constant at 5ghz? im running my 2500k at stock speeds at the momentThe AX series is incredible. 100% Modular, very quiet, and extremely efficient. The AX1200 is a bit different (and better) than the other AX PSU's, but the rest are still great power supplies.

[critical]

how quiet is that ax850? i was thinking about getting corsair ax before i ended up with seasonic and its pretty quiet i cant hear a thing. but ive always wanted to know about the corsair ax, ive always wanted one

is your 2500k stable at 5ghz and are you running it constant at 5ghz? im running my 2500k at stock speeds at the moment

Seasonic makes this power supply. If you got the gold rated one, it's the same-very quiet indeed. Overall, you could sleep in the same room with this system at full load.

I've done a 24h Prime blend and it is rock solid stable. Under 70 degrees load. If you have a somewhat decent cooler, you could probably easily hit 4.7-4.8ghz.



The AX series is incredible. 100% Modular, very quiet, and extremely efficient. The AX1200 is a bit different (and better) than the other AX PSU's, but the rest are still great power supplies.

I would argue the 850 to be better. The 1200 is made by Flextronics whereas the 850 is made by Seasonic. Seasonic is one of the best out there. Their 1000w platinum is incredible as are all of their gold rated PSU's.

[*sigh*]

I would argue the 850 to be better. The 1200 is made by Flextronics whereas the 850 is made by Seasonic. Seasonic is one of the best out there. Their 1000w platinum is incredible as are all of their gold rated PSU's.The 1200w is more efficient and more stable. It's one of the best PSU's available on the market today.

Check out the Johnny Guru review on the 1200w.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=189

[sil40sx]

back in the overclocking days eh,..

1. LGA775,. Its been at least 3 years so i already forgot the specs

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6551150837_d43d649ecd_z.jpg

2. From FSB's to IQP's. LGA1366 Bloomfield i7 965 extreme: Sold it 2 years ago before I got married. LOL

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6551150877_a06a7593a1_z.jpg

CPU - Intel i7 965 Extreme Edition
Mobo - ASUS P6T Deluxe
GPU - GTX 295
RAM - 3 x 2GB Corsair Dominator 1600
PSU - Corsair HX1000
HD - 300GB VelociRaptor WD300GFLS
HD - Intel 80GB SSD SSDSA2M080G2C
Soud card - X-Fi Extreme gamer
PC Case - Silverstone TJ-07 (black inside out)
Monitor - HP 2509m
Keyboard - Logitech G15
Mouse - Logitech G9
Mouse pad - Func industries

Water Cooling

CPU - Apogee GTZ
GPU - EK-FC295 GTX GPU block
Pump - Swiftech MCP655
Radiator - 240mm Feser X-Changer X-treme
Radiator - 240mm Black Ice Extreme 2
Reservoir - EK-Multioption RES 250 Rev 2
Fittings - Bitspower compressed/angled fittings
Tygon 1/2"ID x 3/4"OD

[c2thew]

whats the cost of those systems? i'm looking at these and i keep thinking $1200 + machines with water cooling

[1Tanker]

Some nice builds here!! :D

c2thew: $1200 should get you a sweet machine.. not SLI or X-fire though, then you're looking at $300+ for a good(homemade) w/c setup.

[sil40sx]

Oh wow,. Its maybe really been a while. Because when I built my i7 rig roughly 3 years ago, and still "unmarried" (second pic on my post), it cost me $4k with everything from scratch. IIRC, the CPU/processor alone cost $1200.

[critical]

The 1200w is more efficient and more stable. It's one of the best PSU's available on the market today.

Check out the Johnny Guru review on the 1200w.
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story&reid=189

Fair enough. I prefer Seasonic I guess.

whats the cost of those systems? i'm looking at these and i keep thinking $1200 + machines with water cooling

2500 is around what I paid I believe.

[*sigh*]

whats the cost of those systems? i'm looking at these and i keep thinking $1200 + machines with water coolingMost of these rigs are $2-4k+.

Oh wow,. Its maybe really been a while. Because when I built my i7 rig roughly 3 years ago, and still "unmarried" (second pic on my post), it cost me $4k with everything from scratch. IIRC, the CPU/processor alone cost $1200.i7's have only been out about a year and a half. You can build an i series rig for $1200, but it's going to be a Sandy bridge level machine, it won't be an "enthusiast" level rig like LGA 2011. Although 2600k's are more than just about anyone needs.

Fair enough. I prefer Seasonic I guess.
I love Seasonic, they make fantastic PSU's, and like I said you can't go wrong with any of the AX Series. The AX1200 is something else though... it's awesome.

[jobv2]

yeah my 2500k righ cost me about 390 without a video card and without a case.

im using an old 9600gt before i build a new rig, but for my photo needs the 390 was the best money spent. 8gb is super sweet

[sil40sx]

i7's have only been out about a year and a half. ....

Please see this LINK (http://download.intel.com/espanol/pressroom/presskitcorei7/pdf/Que_puede_hacer_con_Core_i7.pdf)whenever you have a chance.

And heres a screenshot of the mentioned link.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6552740371_d6405c7ddd.jpg

[*sigh*]

Please see this LINK (http://download.intel.com/espanol/pressroom/presskitcorei7/pdf/Que_puede_hacer_con_Core_i7.pdf)whenever you have a chance.

And heres a screenshot of the mentioned link.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7143/6552740371_d6405c7ddd.jpgAh yeah I stand corrected.. you're right. Wow... time flies. :/

[sil40sx]

Ah yeah I stand corrected.. you're right. Wow... time flies. :/

I know, time really goes by soooo fast. If only I knew I was going in this route/hobby, I could had bought 1Ds body and some L lens i wanted from the money I spent on computer stuff back in the day. ....But aint gonna happen now with a baby and wifey, LOL :cry:

[*sigh*]

I know, time really goes by soooo fast. If only I knew I was going in this route/hobby, I could had bought 1Ds body and some L lens i wanted from the money I spent on computer stuff back in the day. ....But aint gonna happen now with a baby and wifey, LOL :cry::lol: Yeah... computers can be a major money pit. I used to go through one every 7-8 months. :confused:

Thankfully my last rig (a phenom II) last me a couple of years, although I blame photography for my latest rig... 7D raw files are massive. :lol:

Oh and Gulftown was released about a year and a half to two years ago I believe... I think that's what I was thinking about, I forgot how long 1366 had been around before that... :/

[jobv2]

:lol: Yeah... computers can be a major money pit. I used to go through one every 7-8 months. :confused:

Thankfully my last rig (a phenom II) last me a couple of years, although I blame photography for my latest rig... 7D raw files are massive. :lol:

Oh and Gulftown was released about a year and a half to two years ago I believe... I think that's what I was thinking about, I forgot how long 1366 had been around before that... :/

i was cleaning up some old emails.

i cant believe years ago 1gb of ram cost over $100. now you can get 8gb for half that.
i also remember how much i spent on an 80gb drive. close to $200 dollars years ago.

well, lets not talk about drives. since the flood prices have gone through the roof and into the sky headed towards another planet. but still....you get my point i hope. i know you know what i know about what we both know about knowing the prices of pc equipment :)

[YP5 Toronto]

this thread has gone....

[Methodical]

Where?

this thread has gone....

[m.shalaby]

Just got mine yesterday and finally finished all the data transfer and program install. Man is it night and day from what I had (Notebook Dual Core 2.0, 4GB, 500GB 5400rpm)

Running now, midtower:

i5 2500K 3.3GHz
16GB DDR3 1600Mhz
128GB SSD (OS/Programs)
1TB SATA 7200 x2 (Raid 1)
Win7 64-bit
1yr parts/labor

$550.00

[Ron Hu]

Core i7-3930k @ 5Ghz
G.Skill 4x4GB (16GB) 9-10-9-27-1t @1866
Corsair H80 WC
NVidia 470

[PM01]

Upgraded my rig. Putting the 980x and Classified 3 X58 up for sale.

Current rig -

i3960X Extreme Edition loafing at 4.8 Ghz
Asus P9X79 mainboard
32 gigs of Corsair GT 2000 ram
H80 cooler
GTX580
NEC 2690wuxi2 - mostly working in Adobe 1998 space. Dumped my Mac monitors - glad I did!
30TB Synology array
whole bunch of other stuff...

[1Tanker]

Upgraded my rig. Putting the 980x and Classified 3 X58 up for sale.

Current rig -

i3960X Extreme Edition loafing at 4.8 Ghz
Asus P9X79 mainboard
32 gigs of Corsair GT 2000 ram
H80 cooler
GTX580
NEC 2690wuxi2 - mostly working in Adobe 1998 space. Dumped my Mac monitors - glad I did!
30TB Synology array
whole bunch of other stuff...Yikes!! That`s one beastly rig!! Sweet! :eek:

[bdpaco]

I just ordered parts for my new machine...

Rosewill RDCR-11002 All-in-one USB 3.0 Card Reader

AMD FX-6100 Zambezi 3.3GHz Socket AM3+ 95W Six-Core Desktop Processor

ASUS M5A99X EVO AM3+ AMD 990X SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Thermaltake V4 Black Edition Gaming Chassis Mid Tower

Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

ASUS SATA 24X DVD Burner

Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card

[r31ncarnat3d]

Not sure if I updated, but:

Phenom II x6 1090T @ 3.6 GHz
MSI 890GXM-G65
4x2GB DDR3-1600 Patriot Sector 5 RAM
Sapphire HD 5850
WD Caviar Black 1Tb
WD Caviar Green 2TB x2
Corsair HX620
Silverstone Sugo SG02

[No Angle]

Intel 2600K @3.8ghz full time
Asus Sabertooth P67 mobo
2x MSI 6970 GPU's
8gb Corsair Vegeance ram @ 1600mhz
128gb Corsair M4 SSD
1TB Western Digital caviar Black HDD
Corsair HX850w PSU
Antec 620 H20 CPU cooler w/termaltech variable speed Rad fan
Silverstone Raven 02E Case
Various other fans
3x Asus ve248H monitors set in eyefinity mode
Logitech G110 keyboard
Logitech G9x mouse
Logitech G13

[mattjns93]

Q9550 @ 4ghz (After selling my old E8400 which ran at 4.5ghz, the Q9550 ended up costing me $100. Great upgrade for the price!)
2x2gb G.Skill DDR2
GTX 260 Core 216 OC'ed
x2 WD Black 640GB
x1 WD Black 1TB
PC Power and Cooling 750w PSU

It's a few years old but with that CPU upgrade, it can still hang with the best of 'em :D

[gooeydruid]

Just built this, performance on a budget:
AMD Phenom x6 1055T @ 3.5ghz
Gigabyte motherboard free with the CPU (Microcenter special)
2x4gb Crucial 1333mhz DDR3
GTX 460 1gb
Corsair HX520 PSU

Paid a little over $400 for it.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7145/6669305753_7b6749d173_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65687189@N05/6669305753/)

Now I'm thinking about trying to find a used Dell U2311h monitor to go with it to replace the Dell 23" TN panel I've been using for about 3 years.

[Methodical]

Are those fan controler knobs on the front?^^^^^^^

[gooeydruid]

Are those fan controler knobs on the front?^^^^^^^

Yeah, I have 3 120mm fans in there to keep the mobo cool since I OC'ed it. When I'm gaming I turn them up, when I'm not gaming I turn them to just below audible noise.

[timeasterday]

Here's the final build (my 1st ever build). Thank you Nick (*sigh*) for all your help. I truly appreciate the help. You made it easier than I thought it would be.

Al

http://www.methodicalimages.com/img/s11/v35/p975470356-5.jpg

Computer build list:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 Full Tower
PSU: Corsair Gold AX750
MB: Asus P8 z68-V Pro
CPU: Intel i7 2600K
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16gb DDR3 SDRAM 1600
Video: Asus GTX 560
Audio: Asus Xonar 7.1
OS drive: OCZ Vertex 3 120gb SSD
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Black 2tb, Sata 6.0gb/s HDD
CPU cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212
Optical drive: Sony Optiarc CD/DVD burner w/lightscribe support
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Pro 64 bit


I decided it's finally time to get a new PC (currently using a Dell Inspiron purchased back in 2008). Your build is very nice and I think I will copy most of it. Is there anything you have learned since building it that you might have done differently?

I used to build my PC's but that's been years and I haven't kept up on the latest technology. In the past year I have replaced the motherboard & power supply on my Dell PC, and also had my Dell XPS laptop totally die on me (but it was 4 years old). My wife's Dell laptop also has some issues. Going forward I don't really need a laptop, but I need a good PC capable of fast Lightroom & minor Photoshop work, and maybe some AutoCAD work now and then. I don't do any gaming.

[silvrr]

I decided it's finally time to get a new PC (currently using a Dell Inspiron purchased back in 2008). Your build is very nice and I think I will copy most of it. Is there anything you have learned since building it that you might have done differently?

I used to build my PC's but that's been years and I haven't kept up on the latest technology. In the past year I have replaced the motherboard & power supply on my Dell PC, and also had my Dell XPS laptop totally die on me (but it was 4 years old). My wife's Dell laptop also has some issues. Going forward I don't really need a laptop, but I need a good PC capable of fast Lightroom & minor Photoshop work, and maybe some AutoCAD work now and then. I don't do any gaming.

If you don't do any gaming (I don't think AutoCAD uses the GPU) you won't need such a powerful GPU and therefore your power supply can be much smaller also. Those two downgrades can save you quite a bit of money.

[timeasterday]

If you don't do any gaming (I don't think AutoCAD uses the GPU) you won't need such a powerful GPU and therefore your power supply can be much smaller also. Those two downgrades can save you quite a bit of money.

Cool - thank you!!

[*sigh*]

If you don't do any gaming (I don't think AutoCAD uses the GPU) you won't need such a powerful GPU and therefore your power supply can be much smaller also. Those two downgrades can save you quite a bit of money.Autocad can use GPU's and with high end stuff they're almost necessary, heck even programs like Premiere Pro can really benefit from having the correct GPU, but if it's strictly for photography a 560 is overkill.

I would still invested in a dedicated graphics card, photoshop can use the GPU to accelerate certain features, but you can save some money there.

As for the PSU, you can save some money there, but it's not all about finding the correct wattage PSU. The AX750 is more than Methodical needs as well, but the AX series from Corsair are some of the top PSUs on the market. So if you want to save some money you can easily, just don't go too cheap, make sure to still buy a quality PSU.

[timeasterday]

Here is what I was thinking for a build - Newegg wish list (https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=25811268)

I do need dual DVI so I picked a card that wasn't the low end. Right now I am thinking the Intel i5 is enough unless y'all think I really need the i7. I'll use the WD 1TB & 2TB drives from my Dell since I just bought those mid-2011. The DVD burner is brand new too so I will also use that. I'm still browsing through all the power supplies for something cheaper - I like the modular approach, but then it's not like I will be looking at the guts of the PC very much.

[Yohan Pamudji]

Here is what I was thinking for a build - Newegg wish list (https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=25811268)

I do need dual DVI so I picked a card that wasn't the low end. Right now I am thinking the Intel i5 is enough unless y'all think I really need the i7. I'll use the WD 1TB & 2TB drives from my Dell since I just bought those mid-2011. The DVD burner is brand new too so I will also use that. I'm still browsing through all the power supplies for something cheaper - I like the modular approach, but then it's not like I will be looking at the guts of the PC very much.

I'm not seeing the wishlist so I might be misspeaking, but you don't need 2 DVI outputs per se. DisplayPort outputs to DVI via adapter without loss of quality. I have a passive DP-to-DVI adapter that works great. If you need dual link DVI for a 2540x1440 or 2560x1600 monitor then you'd need an active adapter which costs a lot more, but if you never plan to go that high you can just buy a card with a DVI and a DP connector and just use an adapter.

[timeasterday]

Sorry, the wish list may not be working the way I thought it would (it's public). Here is what's on this list:

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233)
ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131783)
EVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1024MB (Fermi) DUAL DVI PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130612)
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Modular ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171036)
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072)
Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW120G3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167050)
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143)
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065)

[viper522]

Machine #1
Cooler Master HAF 912 case
Antec EA-650 PSU
ASRock Extreme 4 Gen 3 mobo
Intel i7-2600k Quad + HT @ 4.5GHz
Antec Kuhler 920 P/P
Corsair Vengeance 16GB DDR3
EVGA GTX570 @ 875MHz
WD 1TB Black main HDD
2 x 500GB RAID 0
Sony SATA DVD/CDRW
Dell 2405FPW
Windows 7 Ultimate
Lots of case fans

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg183/gatorman22/th_cm_case_kuhler.jpg (http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg183/gatorman22/?action=view&current=cm_case_kuhler.jpg)
---------

Machine #2 (for the gf who processes half the pics)
Generic PC case
Thermaltake 430W PSU
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
Intel Q9300 Quad @ 3.4GHz
Thermaltake Big Typhoon 120mm HSF
g.skill 8GB DDR2
ATI Radeon HD3870 512MB
500GB Seagate main HDD
250GB WD Black backup HDD
NEC DVD/CDRW
Dell 19" LCD
Windows 7 Ultimate

(before the Big Typhoon HSF)

http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg183/gatorman22/computer/th_nobrandcaseinside2.jpg (http://s248.photobucket.com/albums/gg183/gatorman22/computer/?action=view&current=nobrandcaseinside2.jpg)

[Yohan Pamudji]

Looks like a great build. Others who have experience with individual components might have more input, but on paper I love it. The only thing I'd change is the power supply. Cooler Master is fine for cases and heatsinks, but for power supplies I'd go with a better trusted brand like Corsair, Seasonic, or PCP&C. I could be completely wrong though since the model you listed is rather well reviewed. In any case, never skimp on the PSU. If it goes bad it can and often does take the whole system with it.

[silvrr]

Sorry, the wish list may not be working the way I thought it would (it's public). Here is what's on this list:

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233)
ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131783)
EVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1024MB (Fermi) DUAL DVI PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130612)
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Modular ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171036)
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072)
Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW120G3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167050)
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143)
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065)

Do some research on H67 boards and overclocking. Im not sure how well they go together. If your not going to overclock then get the H67 could be fine but then you don't need the K version of the i5 or the 212+

Same goes for your RAM, I think the H67 may be limited to 1333 RAM.

Your PSU is overkill for the processor and GPU you have. My 2500K at 4.4GHZ running full tilt pulls less about 175W from the wall (Plus fans, HDDS, and a GT430 at idle). Taking into account the 80% efficiency its pulling very little from the wall. Your GPU won't take much to run. Something in the 400-500w range should be plenty.

[viper522]

Sorry, the wish list may not be working the way I thought it would (it's public). Here is what's on this list:

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233)
ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131783)
EVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1024MB (Fermi) DUAL DVI PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130612)
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Modular ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171036)
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072)
Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW120G3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167050)
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143)
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065)


Tim, having the same case, I highly recommend upgrading the front intake fan to a 200mm low speed fan.

Pick a color, red or blue.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=-1&isNodeId=1&Description=coolermaster+200mm&x=0&y=0

The case comes with two 120mm fans. Put one at the rear for exhaust (point the Hyper 212 airflow at it) and the second as an intake on the case side panel -or- exhaust at the top, your choice. It should be nearly silent in that config.

[BrandonSi]

My laptop (purchased 2 years ago).

Intel i7 820QM
8GB DDR3
90GB SSD
500GB 7200rpm
NVidia GTX 280M
17" 1920x1080

Probably last me another 2 years, though these 5Dii raw files can kick its butt at times.

[*sigh*]

Here is what I was thinking for a build - Newegg wish list (https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=25811268)

I do need dual DVI so I picked a card that wasn't the low end. Right now I am thinking the Intel i5 is enough unless y'all think I really need the i7. I'll use the WD 1TB & 2TB drives from my Dell since I just bought those mid-2011. The DVD burner is brand new too so I will also use that. I'm still browsing through all the power supplies for something cheaper - I like the modular approach, but then it's not like I will be looking at the guts of the PC very much.I'll take a look at it when I get home, but at first glance it looks pretty good.

Try this link for your wishlist

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=25811268

In order to really get a working public link you have to pull up a public wishlist and at the wishlist ID for your cart. It's a bit of a pain, newegg really needs to fix it.

[timeasterday]

Try this link for your wishlist
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=25811268


Thanks for that! I made quite a few changes and am pretty happy with the price. It's going to be a month or so before I can buy everything, so plenty of time to tweak things.

[*sigh*]

Finally took some quick picks of my computer that I built a few months ago, for a different forum... figured I would post them here too. It makes me want to clean this thing up a little more and do some more staged shots.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7017/6697553795_51404d4129_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/-sigh/6697553795/)
IMG_0074.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/-sigh/6697553795/) by *sigh* (http://www.flickr.com/people/-sigh/), on Flickr
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7026/6697554379_9482bcda68_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/-sigh/6697554379/)
IMG_0075.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/-sigh/6697554379/) by *sigh* (http://www.flickr.com/people/-sigh/), on Flickr

Intel 2600k w/ Thermalright Archon
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (2 Blue 2 Back)
ASUS GTX 570 CU II
Antec HCP-1200
ASUS Xonar DX
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB
3 x 1TB Caviar Blacks in Raid 5, with one more 1TB Cav Black for misc
LG Bluray Burner
Corsair 600T White Case

[Methodical]

Nice *sigh* - quite a few HDs. Looks like a gaming machine. Have you over clocked the machine? I've over clocked mine to a conservative 4.4ghz. I've learned a lot since building my 1st of 2 computers.

[*sigh*]

Nice *sigh* - quite a few HDs. Looks like a gaming machine. Have you over clocked the machine? I've over clocked mine to a conservative 4.4ghz. I've learned a lot since building my 1st of 2 computers.
It's half gaming/half workstation. I haven't done much in terms of overclocking, I had my 2600k running at 4.5GHz for awhile, but haven't bothered doing much more.

[Methodical]

Hey Tim sorry for the late response. I haven't been on the boards for a couple of days. I would not do anything differently. I built this unit to future proof, so I have some things that may be overkill now, but I have plans to expand things a bit - like another video card. One thing you should know about Asus MBs is that you need a 4 wire PWM fan in order to control it via the MB and through the Fax Xpert - if that's your plan. The CM 212 has a 4 wire PWM fan so you're ok there, but the case fans are all 3 wire. Also, I added a 2nd fan to the CM 212 and now have the push/pull air. I've over clocked my unit to a conservative 4.4ghz and at some point may go a bit higher, but happy with the performance now. I see the benefits with LR (i.e. OC speeds). OC'g is very simple with Asus MB that I was able to get stable pretty quickly and easily.

Have fun building

Al

Sorry, the wish list may not be working the way I thought it would (it's public). Here is what's on this list:

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119233)
ASUS P8H67-V (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131783)
EVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1024MB (Fermi) DUAL DVI PCI Express 2.0 x16 Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130612)
COOLER MASTER Silent Pro M600 RS-600-AMBA-D3 600W ATX12V V2.3 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Bronze Certified Modular ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171036)
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115072)
Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CW120G3K5 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167050)
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233143)
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116992)
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ... (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065)

[outtamymind]

i've got 2 systems.

one is a sony vaio LT18E all in one system

and my other system is as follows.

CPU - E8400 DualCore Core 2 Duo
Memory - 6Gb
Video - Geforce 9400 GT 512mb
Storage - 3tb's across a few differen't drives.

and those are the basics of the system.

[timeasterday]

Hey Tim sorry for the late response. I haven't been on the boards for a couple of days. I would not do anything differently. I built this unit to future proof, so I have some things that may be overkill now, but I have plans to expand things a bit - like another video card. One thing you should know about Asus MBs is that you need a 4 wire PWM fan in order to control it via the MB and through the Fax Xpert - if that's your plan. The CM 212 has a 4 wire PWM fan so you're ok there, but the case fans are all 3 wire. Also, I added a 2nd fan to the CM 212 and now have the push/pull air. I've over clocked my unit to a conservative 4.4ghz and at some point may go a bit higher, but happy with the performance now. I see the benefits with LR (i.e. OC speeds). OC'g is very simple with Asus MB that I was able to get stable pretty quickly and easily.

Have fun building

Al

Thank you Al! My wish list keeps changing and I am leaning towards a ASRock MB that has the capability for future upgrades. I might try to overclock just for fun. I'm sure I'll change my mind 50 times in the near future! :)

[*sigh*]

Thank you Al! My wish list keeps changing and I am leaning towards a ASRock MB that has the capability for future upgrades. I might try to overclock just for fun. I'm sure I'll change my mind 50 times in the near future! :)Don't go ASRock.

ASUS is the top choice, Gigabyte is a close second. Stick to those two.


Also... I would get this board, not a huge fan of ASRock products. Stick to ASUS.
ASUS P8Z68-V LE (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131773)
This SSD, faster and cheaper.
OCZ Vertex 3 120GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227706)
This PSU, the Corsair CX series are good PSU's, but they are very entry level budget friendly PSU's. Invest a little more.
Seasonic M12II 520 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093)