Finally, here is the rig of my dreams...

[SirFelixCat]

For my 3rd build, and my "dream" rig, I once again came to y'all here for advice and thanks to everyone, this is the rig that I ended up ordering tonight:

Case - GIGABYTE 3D AURORA ATX Full Tower

Mobo - EVGA 680i SLI Motherboard

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6600

Vid Card - eVGA 8800GTX

RAM - CORSAIR XMS2 2GB DDR2 800

PSU - PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750W

HDD - 3 Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB

Sound - Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty Professional

DVD-RW's - 2 SAMSUNG DVD-RW (I chose these not for the Lightscribe (it was only $2 more than w/o Lightscribe) but from favorable reviews here and CDfreaks...and at this price point, it makes more sense to get 2 burners instead of a burner and a ROM.)

Keyboard & Mouse - Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard & Logitech G5 Laser Mouse

CPU Cooler - Scythe Infinity

and finally...


my Monitor - Westinghouse LVM-37w3!


I don't know that I really could do much better than what I did. Eventually, I plan on going SLI and I plan on doing some OC'ing right away, as well. I post this here not as a brag post, but as a thank you to all the knowledgeable people on this forum that are willing to share that knowledge and allow those of us not so informed learn and make better choices.

I promise to post pics after all this gets up and running after Christmas. Thanks again everyone and feel free to leave feedback/thoughts. I'm always looking to learn and improve buying in the future!

 

[corsa]

PSU - SILVERSTONE ST75F 750W

... $30 less, modular cables, 120mm fan.....otherwise i'd swap u in a minute lol, nice rig man

 

[Blain]

Your "Dream Rig" doesn't include any Raptor HD?
I won't even bring up SCSI...

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Excellent rig overall! I just hope the G80 driver issues that are currently the hot topic in Video don't mess with your favorite games.

I would say you could have saved $30 bucks or more and got the XtremeGamer non-Fatal1ty card...but I don't remember posting in your previous thread so I will shut up Besides, what's 30 odd bucks with a monster rig like that?

Will those hard drives be in a RAID array?

 

[Bozo Galora]

I hope your dream doesnt turn into a nightmare
the 680i chipset is nothing but trouble from what I see
if you could have waited a couple weeks, you would be able to get the Asus commando P965 or the new RD 600 mobo's.
oh well, win a few, lose a few - lol

 

[SirFelixCat]

One minor tweak...


The original PSU didn't have quad 6-pin molex's for SLI on the 8800GTX's, so, just for completeness, this is the real PSU that I got:


PC P& CSilencer 750 Quad

corsa, the modular cables is a HUGE +++ to me, but a bigger thing to me is the single rail +12v. I much prefer one big ole rail as opposed to 2-4 rails and, down the road, having to worry about overloading a single rail. I understand the arguement of "cleaner" power, but PC P&C is a quality company, so I don't mind sacrificing a lil "clean" power while OC'ing for the stability of a single rail. But good lookin' out nonetheless. I do so wish the cables were modular *sigh*

And as for raptor or SCSI, the speeds of the Seasonic's are fast enough imo to not warrant a much smaller drive for a larger price.

As for the issues with the 680i chipset and the drivers on both the G80 cards and the EVGA board...I'll take my chances. Both are still "new" so I expect the bugs to get worked out with new drivers etc. The timing was right for me to build this rig now, so alas, waiting much longer just wasn't worth it, imo. We shall see.

And no, no RAID...but I'm all ears if you care to try and sway me


Keep the feedback coming. I like the learnin'

 

[Hidden Hippo]

I hate you. You have too much money, and now you're graphics are going to be too pretty .

Seriously, nice rig there. Now you just have to hope you don't get burgled.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: SirFelixCat
I once again came to y'all here for advice and thanks to everyone, this is the rig that I ended up ordering tonight:

Keep the feedback coming. I like the learnin'

Tell us your budget for this "Dream Rig".

 

[Boyo]

NIce rig, but lots of problems with that mobo. Hope you get one of the good ones.

 

[Roguestar]

Why do so many people post "this is what I ordered" instead of "this is what I'm going to order: suggestions?". It'd save them a lot of money, and trouble.

 

[mc866]

Nicely done, we have similar setups!

 

[SirFelixCat]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
Why do so many people post "this is what I ordered" instead of "this is what I'm going to order: suggestions?". It'd save them a lot of money, and trouble.

Like this you mean? My thread from two weeks ago asking for suggestions...

I do love how some many people want to come in after the fact and critique, but are not willing to help prior.

Are there bugs and such, yes, but I am not going into this blind. I am hoping that they get worked out and if not, I can return some of the parts and get others. C'est la vie.

And for the budget, $2500 for the rig, sans monitor. $3700 total.

I ask again, where were you guys two weeks ago?

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
Why do so many people post "this is what I ordered" instead of "this is what I'm going to order: suggestions?". It'd save them a lot of money, and trouble.

There are several reason people post that way...let me enlighten you...
people saying things like...
why didn`t you get this brand......you don`t need that many watts.......you could do better for cheaper.....I wouldn`t go with that monitor.....such and such is way over rated...

Then you have your only this brand people...it can get quite entertaining at times in here,,,hehehe

 

[Old Hippie]

SirFelixCat, You Did Good. :thumbsup:

 

[Smartazz]

Wow, I really like your monitor, overall a supurb looking system.

 

[SirFelixCat]

Thanks guys...I am pretty excited about it. 3 weeks worth of research went into it and all-in-all, couldn't be happier. The people on this forum also get a lot of credit for the help, too.


And the monitor is here...have to go pick it up tonight on my lunch break...can't wait to see it!

 

[SirFelixCat]

A one-time bump so that more people can see how well anandtech members can help and for another thank you for all that were willing to help!

 

[w00t]

Where do you plan on getting that Westinghouse 37''? I remember them being on sale like last week for cheap now ( friend is buying one this weekend ).

The Rig looks pretty good but also pretty expensive doesn't look like your much on a budget and might regret it later as to get the best your pay premium. What I am basically saying is you could build a sufficiently cheaper rig for about the same performance.

 

[UMfanatic]

the monitor is a bit pricey but the rest is good

 

[SirFelixCat]

Originally posted by: w00t
Where do you plan on getting that Westinghouse 37''? I remember them being on sale like last week for cheap now ( friend is buying one this weekend ).

The Rig looks pretty good but also pretty expensive doesn't look like your much on a budget and might regret it later as to get the best your pay premium. What I am basically saying is you could build a sufficiently cheaper rig for about the same performance.

Well, the way I see it, J & R has been sold out, same with Crutchfield. You have 2 reputable choices at this point, as it IS discontinued:

samsclub.com or Best Buy. Unless you live near a Shopko...other wise it's just those 2. Some people have had luck with pricematching with BB when bringing in an ad for sam's club or shopko, others, like me, had no luck. I got mine from Sam's Club (online only) and it took 4 days from order til delivery. I am thrilled with this thing.

And as for the budget, I was willing to spare very little expense for future-proofing (to a point, obviously, as this is computers we're talking about) my new "dream rig". That being said, poker has been quite good to me, so I had the money to spend on this.

Not sure if we're allowed, but Shopko had the monitor for $899, samsclub.com has it for $1047. Well worth it and I love it...I'll post pics next week, I promise.

 

[UMfanatic]

bestbuys policy is to price match you just need to bring them current proof of the price

 

[SirFelixCat]

Originally posted by: UMfanatic
bestbuys policy is to price match you just need to bring them current proof of the price

But only for local stores and not for "membership only" stores, ala Sam's Club. YMMV.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Mention of soundcard but I don't see headphones / speakers? (unless I'm blind)

 

[SirFelixCat]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
Mention of soundcard but I don't see headphones / speakers? (unless I'm blind)

No, no speakers or headphones listed. The reason being is I have not decided on those yet. I have a pair of 2.1 Logitech's in the meantime, while deciding. Feel free to give some feedback on speakers though. I would, ideally, prefer a 2.1 speaker system, from a space standpoint, but I'm willing to listen to other ideas

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Blain

Originally posted by: PaperclipGod
You guys suck. :/

I can't argue with you on that one. :laugh:

"I would, ideally, prefer a 2.1 speaker system"

Go for quality