I've Built My MONSTER PC!

[Stangs55]

First things first--Yes, I am very aware that this computer build is overkill by most any standard. Yes, I'm aware that I might have gotten similar performance with less expensive parts. Yes, I understand that this doesn't make sense to some people. So lets just get that out of the way. I am a guy who loves technology--for lack of a better description, it's a hobby of mine. I am also in a position in life that allows a larger budget on things of this nature. Every few years, I love to build the absolute best PC I can at the time...use it for a while...and then rebuild. It's what I love to do and it's how I choose to spend my money. The only reason I feel that I need to justify myself beforehand, is that the last build I made (FX-55 + 7800GTX SLI) took it's fair share of "waste of money" posts and I ended up having to explain myself after the fact. So there it is up front, I am technology guy with the funds to indulge his PC fantasy every couple of years.

/whew

So with that said, I give you my monster:
Intel QX6700 Quad Core
eVGA 680i nForce Mobo
eVGA 8800 GTX x 2 in SLI
2 Gb Corsair Dominator 800MHz DDR2 4-4-4-12 (Just added 2 more Gb)
Zalman CNPS9700 Heatsink
Raptor 74 Gb HD's x 2 (1 for OS, 1 for apps...ie: not raided)
Seagate 500 Gb 7200.9 HD (storage of pictures, video, documents, etc)
Plextor DVD Burner x 2
Soundblaster X-Fi Platinum
PCP&C Turbo-cool 1000w PSU (being replaced with OCZ ProXStream 1000w)
Thermaltake Armor Case
Klipsch Promedia Ultra 5.1 Surround Speakers
Sony 23" LCD Monitor
Logitech G7 Mouse and G15 Keyboard
Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Sadly, my camera is out of batteries but is recharging as I type...so I'll get around to posting pics later. But for now, she lives and is up and running....running very very fast that is .

I upgraded from a FX-55 7800 GTX SLI rig, so I can't really tell much of a difference in gaming except that I can max out anything at 1920x1200. But in the couple of hours I've had to spend with the machine so far, I can definitely tell you that apps like Photoshop CS2, Premiere Pro, and really ANY kind of encoding are MUCH MUCH faster than what I was seeing before. Also, multitasking is a breeze now.

Do I have any regrets so far? Well only 1 and a half.
1. The PCP&C PSU is just too loud for me. I'm coming from a quiet 600w Enermax PSU, so the PCP&C really stands out in comparison. I had wanted a OCZ 1000w PSU instead, but it was DOA and is getting returned. Impatient as I am, I ran down to the local Fry's for a quick fix and picked the PCP&C up as a replacement...but it's just not going to work. So this isn't really a regret, but a temporary inconvenience.
1.5. I would really have liked to have built this system with the new ATI GPU's that are coming out in the next couple of months. However, these next few weeks of my life are rather free compared the the next several months and are the best time for me to build a PC. Also, I've always been in the camp that said if you keep waiting for the next best thing in technology, you'll never own a thing...so I went ahead and built a 8800 GTX SLI rig. However I've been appauled at how nVidia has handled the Vista launch and, to be quite honest, I am rather disgusted that they are getting my money.

Anyways, I would love to hear some feedback as I look into any last minute tweaks or changes as I have 30 days to return anything I don't want/need.

Also, since 3DMark06 doesn't run on Vista x64...any other good ideas for me to benchmark? And yes, she will be oc'ed...just not yet.

 

[GZeus]

Congrats!!!

Not much else can be said (unless you want to hear my jealousy rant?)

 

[Wags1974]

Im glad your happy, and you dont need to justify your purchase to anyone even though some people really get bent about things sometimes.

Please update on how you like the heatsink (its the newest zalman?), Id also like to know how you like vista64, I built a machine a week ago and was a little too apprehensive to go vista yet. Espescially the 64 one so Id love to hear a success with that.

 

[Synomenon]

Why not spring for 4GB of ram, 2x150GB raptors and a Seagate 7200.10? Instead of Plextor, get NEC Optiarc's 7170A. They've got great modded firmware for those units by Liggy&Dee at the CDFreaks forums.

 

[KayKay]

Originally posted by: IsLNdbOi
Why not spring for 4GB of ram, 2x150GB raptors and a Seagate 7200.10? Instead of Plextor, get NEC Optiarc's 7170A. They've got great modded firmware for those units by Liggy&Dee at the CDFreaks forums.

i second the 2x150 GB Raptor idea, that nec burner is sweet and cheap!

 

[Noema]

z0Mg teh l33t PC

Pics or ban

And congrats on that beast. Put it to good use!

 

[krotchy]

Seriously, 4GB of ram for Vista 64 Ultimate is so much nicer than 2. I just made the jump and its sweet.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

That things probably hotter then a volcano.

 

[secretanchitman]

would have swapped some things out (7200.10 hard drives, 150GB raptors, different dvd-rw, case, and probably higher frequency memory, etc), but i DEFINITELY want to see some pictures.

and congrats with your comp! im definitely jealous.

 

[ManBearPig]

why not 4gb of ram?

 

[soydios]

/jealous

- you need 4GB of RAM
- you should've gotten 2x150GB raptors
- you should pick up a pair of VF900-Cu VGA coolers to complete your system with Zalman cooling

I'm running Windows Vista Ultimate x64 right now (link in sig if anyone is curious about t3h rig), and I'm impressed by how solid it's running. No crashes, no hiccups, no problems with 32-bit apps, nothing. Oh, and my ATi Catalyst 7.2 drivers, they work flawlessly.

 

[JEDIYoda]

sweet!!!

 

[Old Hippie]

I've Built My MONSTER PC!

And have done a fine job at it. :thumbsup:

 

[Jaanpunjab]

I agree with all those that ask, why not 4GB of ram?

 

[Imyourzero]

My first thought was "Why not 4GB, especially if he's running Vista?!"

Aside from that, looks pretty good. Though a Dell 3007WFP-HC would help complete that beast.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

It's not a monster yet until he puts in a 128GB solid-state drive for his boot drive.

 

[Imyourzero]

Originally posted by: PhoenixOrion
It's not a monster yet until he puts in a 128GB solid-state drive for his boot drive.

And an iRAM and a PhysX card and a USB coffee warmer.

 

[n7]

You need a better display to give those 8800s a workout.

Dell 3007WFP-HC should do nicely.

And yeah, moar RAM

 

[GuitarDaddy]

That should surf the web nicely

 

[vshah]

nice rig! any reason you didn't go for dual monitors?

 

[AnitaPeterson]

How much did all this cost?
You can probably fund a small country's army for a year with that cash... (check out the Luxembourg thread)

 

[foges]

Nice,
a couple of questions about the two drives (Os's and Appz): how do you go about installing all your programs on the second hard drive. Did you mess around with the windows registry to set the default install path to the second HD (how do you go about doing that?)? The settings still go on the first hard drive right (Local settings, application data, etc...)? Does installing on two hard drives really have any noticable benefit? If you reinstall your OS do you have to reinstall all the programs as well?

 

[Molondo]

That is a nice rig. How is the heat on that monster.

 

[oynaz]

You have probably heard this before somewhere, but why not 4 gigs of RAM ;-P

 

[jpeyton]

Let's see, things I would nitpick:

RAM: You can get 4GB of DDR2 667 for $250 or less, and your CPU would still be the limiting factor if you decided to overclock.

Zalman Heatsink: Tuniq Tower is better, quieter.

Raptor: Get a single 150GB Raptor.

Seagate: The 7200.10 series has perpendicular recording, but the consensus is that Western Digital makes a faster and quieter drive with their SE16 series.

Plextor: These guys still exist?

PCP&C Turbo-Cool: What a noisy POS. Seasonic and Silverstone have been making great, silent high-wattage PSUs. How does a noisy PSU jive with your Zalman quiet heatsink?