The "Rate My Computer" Thread

[NitrousX]

i dont know either it says RAM 8GB and then the 6GB DDR3...all confusing :confused: words and letters to me really lol.

Go to Start>Run>dxdiag. That will display your entire computer specs.

[killem2]

bought 1,5 year ago, self build:

Antec P160w computercase
Corsair VX550w
Asus M3N-HT Deluxe/Mempipe
AMD Phenom 9950 BE @ 2.9 Ghz
8 GB RAM @ 800
XFX NVidia GF9800 GTX+ 512 MB
Creative SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pr Series with 64mb X-ram (PCI)
Logitech G15 (v1 Blue edition)
Razer Diamondback 3D Blue
Samsung SyncMaster 226BW

Windows 7 x64 Ultimate.


6/10 by today's standards I bet it was a power house when it came out, see if you can upgrade that cpu and gfx card soon the rest can stay.



Raidmax Smilelodon with 180CFPM fans
Corsair TX750w
Asus M4A78 Plus
AMD Athlon x2 7750+ BE @ 3.2 Ghz
8 GB RAM @ 800
XFX HD 4870 XXX
Windows 7 x64 Professional

7/10 - I would upgrade cpu/gfx when you can. Good pc though.

m new at this so rate it and let me know how to make it better thanks.

*Intel Core I7 CPU 920(not sure what it means)@2.67ghz
*ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
*Realtek HD 7.1 Audio
*Windows Vista Ultimate Sp2
*6Gb DDR3 SDRAM @ 1067MHZ-6x1GB
*640GB SATA 2, 700rpm
*Ram 8GB

New gfx card, and windows 7 would be awesome.

[s3v3n_3l3v3n]

I guess instead of the 6GB DDR3 its 8GB. and the hard drive is actually 700GB even though i only have like 530 GB free. @Killem2 i just havent installed Windows 7 i might do it soon though i've had the disk since November lol.

[Combat Medic]

Raidmax Smilelodon with 180CFPM fans
Corsair TX750w
Asus M4A78 Plus
AMD Athlon x2 7750+ BE @ 3.2 Ghz
8 GB RAM @ 800
XFX HD 4870 XXX
Windows 7 x64 Professional

Rate please

[sideways]

Raidmax Smilelodon with 180CFPM fans
Corsair TX750w
Asus M4A78 Plus
AMD Athlon x2 7750+ BE @ 3.2 Ghz
8 GB RAM @ 800
XFX HD 4870 XXX
Windows 7 x64 Professional

8.5
Slightly weak processor, slow ram, decent video card.
overall, a good gaming rig.

[Asenine]

CoolerMaster 850W
AMD Phenom x4 940 @ 3.552 GHz (FSB 245 / 14.5 multi)
4GB Corsair Dominator-GT (DC) @ 2205 MHz
GTX 260 OC @ 709/1107/1476 (core/mem/shader)
1.5TB Seagate Barracuda
Windows XP Pro nLited (140mb setup CD)

:)

[GoDMiN]

CoolerMaster 850W
AMD Phenom x4 940 @ 3.552 GHz (FSB 245 / 14.5 multi)
4GB Corsair Dominator-GT (DC) @ 2205 MHz
GTX 260 OC @ 709/1107/1476 (core/mem/shader)
1.5TB Seagate Barracuda
Windows XP Pro nLited (140mb setup CD)

:)

7ish due to a GTX260 (not a DX11 card) and windows XP

[NJuice]

Got a neat little netbook yesterday.
Asus 1201N
Intel Atom 330. 1.60GHz (dual core + Hyperthreading)
3GB DDR2-667
12.1" LED-backlit LCD @ 1366x768
NVIDIA ION (730i+9400M)
250GB 5400RPM HDD
Win 7 Home Premium 32-bit
and bla bla blah.

It's pretty good for a netbook. Battery life's about 5 hours of browsing, word processing, etc. Runs HL2 decently at medium settings at native resolution.

I'm considering putting a 120GB SSD in there.

[mreeuwij]

bought 1,5 year ago, self build:

Antec P160w computercase
Corsair VX550w
Asus M3N-HT Deluxe/Mempipe
AMD Phenom 9950 BE @ 2.9 Ghz
8 GB RAM @ 800
XFX NVidia GF9800 GTX+ 512 MB
Creative SoundBlaster X-FI XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pr Series with 64mb X-ram (PCI)
Logitech G15 (v1 Blue edition)
Razer Diamondback 3D Blue
Samsung SyncMaster 226BW

Windows 7 x64 Ultimate.


6/10 by today's standards I bet it was a power house when it came out, see if you can upgrade that cpu and gfx card soon the rest can stay.


OC'd the cpu, (normally 2.6) and its a quad core. so far nothing pulls my cpu to 100% over all cores, tf2 only goes 50-70 % over cores 1-3 (core0 affinity remove trick).

can upgrade indeed cpu to a 945 or something, but wont give me much more, GPU is just waste of money atm. maybe in a year or so. many ppl dont pull out the power of it. Seen ppl with 260 or better not even have 50 fps with the same game.

[Raknia]

Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise
Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2160 @ 1.80GHz, 1800 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 1.00 GB
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Intel Chipset G31\G33
320GB HDD

Pretty crappy rig. Tell me watcha think

[handi360]

Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise
Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2160 @ 1.80GHz, 1800 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 1.00 GB
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Intel Chipset G31\G33
320GB HDD

Pretty crappy rig. Tell me watcha think

I'll give you like a solid 3/10 on that, no, make that 4/10 for having the sack to post it. lol ;)

[Shiwl]

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1115317

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/4444/img0527.jpg

http://img163.imageshack.us/img163/7638/img0532tn.jpg

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/7975/img0531r.jpg

http://img138.imageshack.us/img138/9396/img0530ds.jpg

[GoDMiN]

Microsoft Windows 7 Enterprise
Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual CPU E2160 @ 1.80GHz, 1800 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 2 Logical Processor(s)
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 1.00 GB
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Intel Chipset G31\G33
320GB HDD

Pretty crappy rig. Tell me watcha think

0/10 No GPU, 1gb ram, E2150, only 320gb hdd

[Jamer]

I got missed again, please rate.

intel dualcore 2.3GHZ
nforce 650sli
GeForce 9800GTX/9800GTX+
3 gigs of memory
500 watt fan
sound blaster audigy 24bit

thank-you

[handi360]

I got missed again, please rate.

intel dualcore 2.3GHZ
nforce 650sli
GeForce 9800GTX/9800GTX+
3 gigs of memory
500 watt fan
sound blaster audigy 24bit

thank-you

omg a 500w fan? that thing mush push some serious air! ;)

5/10 u'll probably do better with 2 gigs of memory running in dual channel rather than 3.

[sarojz]

Here's my specs.

Intel Duo Core E6750@ 2.66GHz
Asus P5KSE
BFG GTX275
1TB Hitachi HD
2x500(GB)SATA Western Digital HD
500(GB)SATA Seagate HD
OCZ 8gig(4 x 2048 DDR2)
DVDRW Liteon
DVDRW Sony
Antec P193 Performance Case
Antec True Power Quattro 850P
Win 7 Ultimate x64

[Bewts]

AuthenticAMD
Speed: 3013 Mhz
2 logical processors
2 physical processors
Video Card:
Driver: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT
Primary VRAM: 512 MB

RAM: 3069 Mb

Hard drive: 456g

[McBacker]

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/mcbacker/Board_Avatar.jpg

[GoDMiN]

http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y125/mcbacker/Board_Avatar.jpg

too hard to read, so meh.

[jeep-regal]

1 x EVGA 017-P3-1295-AR CO-OP Edition GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-bit DDR3
2 x CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit
1 x COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
1 x ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
2 x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb
1 x COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
1 x CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91
1 x SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With LightScribe
1 x Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
os windows 7 64 bit

[GoDMiN]

1 x EVGA 017-P3-1295-AR CO-OP Edition GeForce GTX 295 1792MB 896 (448 x 2)-bit DDR3
2 x CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit
1 x COOLER MASTER Intel Core i7 compatible V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler - Retail
1 x ASUS P6T LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard
2 x Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB SATA 3.0Gb
1 x COOLER MASTER COSMOS 1000 RC-1000-KSN1-GP Black/ Silver Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
1 x CORSAIR CMPSU-850TX 850W ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91
1 x SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With LightScribe
1 x Intel Core i7-920 Bloomfield 2.66GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor
os windows 7 64 bit

8/10 No OC, intel mobo, no DX11 card.

[McBacker]

too hard to read, so meh.

Are u serious?! :D

ASUS P6T DELUXE V2 Intel X58
INTEL CORE i7 920 w/ Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme @ 4000
ATI HIS HD5870 1GB
3 x 2GB DDR3 1600Mhz OCZ 7-7-7-24 (OCZ3P1600LV6GK)
TV LCD Samsung 32’’ LN32A550 FULL HD
1 x Seagate 1.5TB + 3 x Seagate 500GB (Raid 0)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 7.1
Logitech G15 & Logitech MX™518
Logitech X-530 5.1 + PHILIPS SHM1900
Corsair HX1000 12V @ 80A
NoBreak APC 1300VA LCD / Cooler Master CM-690

[GoDMiN]

Are u serious?! :D

ASUS P6T DELUXE V2 Intel X58
INTEL CORE i7 920 w/ Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme @ 4000
ATI HIS HD5870 1GB
3 x 2GB DDR3 1600Mhz OCZ 7-7-7-24 (OCZ3P1600LV6GK)
TV LCD Samsung 32’’ LN32A550 FULL HD
1 x Seagate 1.5TB + 3 x Seagate 500GB (Raid 0)
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy2 ZS 7.1
Logitech G15 & Logitech MX™518
Logitech X-530 5.1 + PHILIPS SHM1900
Corsair HX1000 12V @ 80A
NoBreak APC 1300VA LCD / Cooler Master CM-690

Yea only thing thats kind of readable is the mobo, gpu and cpu, didn't feel like taking 5mins to figure out the rest

Anyway, what OS?

[Freakshow2599]

Did some more overclocking, got a new monitor and traded my MSI 5870 for the XXX XFX version.

Processor: Phenom 9950 BE OCed to 3.2Ghz
Mobo: Asus M3A79-T Deluxe
Cooling : Zalman CMPS 9500 on the CPU, 2 120MM intake fans (one on the side, one on the front) 1 120MM exhaust fan.
RAM: 8GB DDR2 OCZ platinum at 1066Mhz
PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 700W Psu
HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB HD + WD 640Gb HD + 160Gb Seagate Barracuda (Small I know but I have Bitlocker on it for my "important files" ;D) ((I swear it's not porn))
Vid Card: ATi XFX 5870 1Gb GDDR5 XXX edition Oced to 1000/1350
Monitors: Samsung 24" widescreen 1920x1080 (Full 1080P :D) + an Acer 19" at 1280x1024
Mouse: Logitech G5
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Windows 7 Ultimate 64x
Hauppage 1128 TV thingy (haha doesn't affect the score but thought I'd throw it in)

[mejwidget]

8.2/10
That comp is sweet but...
man, you really need to upgrade your CPU, and Motherboard and RAM if necessary. A Series 1 Phenom, even the best one, is simply not good enough for that graphics card. YOu need to go Phenom 2, or i5/i7.
Also, What's your case?

[Freakshow2599]

8.2/10
That comp is sweet but...
man, you really need to upgrade your CPU, and Motherboard and RAM if necessary. A Series 1 Phenom, even the best one, is simply not good enough for that graphics card. YOu need to go Phenom 2, or i5/i7.
Also, What's your case?

I know I can't squeeze everything out of the card, but there aren't really any games out that could use its full potential. Upgrading to a 965 OCed to 4Ghz wouldn't make all that much of a difference. Sure it would make one, but not one worth my 200 dollars. Also, My ram can process more ♥♥♥♥ than I can throw at it. The difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is so minimal that it isn't worth it, and has in some cases even been worse. I will eventually upgrade to a 965 BE, but not now. Maybe in a couple months when I can get a new PSU to get a second 5870. Oh and my case is an NZXT Apollo http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146025

[GoDMiN]

I know I can't squeeze everything out of the card, but there aren't really any games out that could use its full potential. Upgrading to a 965 OCed to 4Ghz wouldn't make all that much of a difference. Sure it would make one, but not one worth my 200 dollars. Also, My ram can process more ♥♥♥♥ than I can throw at it. The difference between DDR2 and DDR3 is so minimal that it isn't worth it, and has in some cases even been worse. I will eventually upgrade to a 965 BE, but not now. Maybe in a couple months when I can get a new PSU to get a second 5870. Oh and my case is an NZXT Apollo http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146025

agreed, and I also give 8ish

[masta121]

8.2/10
That comp is sweet but...
man, you really need to upgrade your CPU, and Motherboard and RAM if necessary. A Series 1 Phenom, even the best one, is simply not good enough for that graphics card. YOu need to go Phenom 2, or i5/i7.
Also, What's your case?

Not true. At 3.2Ghz a Phenom 1 has more than enough kick to handle 1 5870. Two is a different story, even i7 can't handle that.

[Jamer]

omg a 500w fan? that thing mush push some serious air! ;)

5/10 u'll probably do better with 2 gigs of memory running in dual channel rather than 3.

hmmm, I knew it was aging but I only thought a 4 maybe and the fan I thought was the weakest so not terrible news. However, when I went to put in more ram, I was told that it wouldn't actually use the 4th stick so don't bother. Would you guys suggest I take out the third and leave only two for the best usage with dual core?
One more thing please. I've got $2000 max to build a new gaming rig and put this one in the office. Should I buy another dualcore or what would you suggest for gaming?
I really appreciate this guys, thank-you.

[Freakshow2599]

hmmm, I knew it was aging but I only thought a 4 maybe and the fan I thought was the weakest so not terrible news. However, when I went to put in more ram, I was told that it wouldn't actually use the 4th stick so don't bother. Would you guys suggest I take out the third and leave only two for the best usage with dual core?
One more thing please. I've got $2000 max to build a new gaming rig and put this one in the office. Should I buy another dualcore or what would you suggest for gaming?
I really appreciate this guys, thank-you.

Holy ♥♥♥♥, if you have 2 grand, get an AMD Phenom II 965 BE (i7's are a ♥♥♥♥ing rip off imo) an ATi 5870, 8Gb of RAM. With 2k you can get a pretty kick ♥♥♥ system.

[some1_829]

Recently upgraded, some parts over 3 years old, nothing overclocked:

GPU: Sparkle 260 GTX 216 cores 896MB (55nm, reference clocks & cooler)
CPU: Phenom 9650 2.3 GHz, Freezer 7 Pro v2
RAM: 4GB (4x1GB) Corsair XMS2 PC6400
MOBO: ASUS M2N-E
Sound Card: X-Fi XtremeMusic
PSU: Enermax Liberty 620W
HDD: 400GB Seagate, 320GB WD, 1TB Seagate external (does that count?)
Case: Antec P182 (with 4x 12cm fans)
OS: Windows 7 Pro x64

3DMark Vantage: P10797
Windows Experience: 7.0 - 7.2 (excluding HDD)

I'd like to know how everyone is working out ratings, if it was on raw power mine would get about 2.5/10 lol.

[MasterOfDeceit]

Two systems:

My main
Intel E4600 @ 3.8GHz - Watercooled
GTX 285, slightly overclocked the Core clock and Shader clocks - Watercooled
6GB DDR2
ASUS P5N-D
OCZ 750W
500GB Western Digital Caviar Black as my main drive (Have two other 500GB drives from a previous computer that I'm going to install at a later date), and a 500Gb External
Thermaltake Armour (Changing to a Lian-Li soon)
Windows Vista x64

Latest build (Last weekend)
Intel i5 750 @ 2.66GHz (Overclocking to 4GHz when I get my new waterblocks)
ATi 5770
6GB DDR3
Asus Maximus III Gene Intel P55
OCZ 750W
1TB Hard Drive, 120GB SSD
Antec 300 Three Hundred
Windows 7 x64

[BIGFOOTTELL0503]

I'd like to know how everyone is working out ratings, if it was on raw power mine would get about 2.5/10 lol.[/QUOTE]

It's just some else's opinion at the end of the day .
I would'nt take it to heart if you dont get good rating LOL

[lec666]

intel I7 920 @ 3.5ghz
Asus P6T mb
Corsair XMS 3x1G 1800mhz
4x32G patriot warp SSD's in raid 0 for OS & games
1TB barracuda data drive
Evga GTX295
Corsair HX1000 psu
Dangerden TDX I7 waterblock
Black Ice Pro 2 radiator
Laing D5 pump

[HL2-4-Life]

intel I7 920 @ 3.5ghz
Asus P6T mb
Corsair XMS 3x1G 1800mhz
4x32G patriot warp SSD's in raid 0 for OS & games
1TB barracuda data drive
Evga GTX295
Corsair HX1000 psu
Dangerden TDX I7 waterblock
Black Ice Pro 2 radiator
Laing D5 pumpPurely on gaming ability, I'd rate this at 9.0, equals a similar rig with a HD5850/70.

[GoDMiN]

Holy ♥♥♥♥, if you have 2 grand, get an AMD Phenom II 965 BE (i7's are a ♥♥♥♥ing rip off imo) an ATi 5870, 8Gb of RAM. With 2k you can get a pretty kick ♥♥♥ system.

Agreed but don't spend more than 1k.

[some1_829]

Just bumping this to the new page, haven't had a reply yet.Recently upgraded, some parts over 3 years old, nothing overclocked:

GPU: Sparkle 260 GTX 216 cores 896MB (55nm, reference clocks & cooler)
CPU: Phenom 9650 2.3 GHz, Freezer 7 Pro v2
RAM: 4GB (4x1GB) Corsair XMS2 PC6400
MOBO: ASUS M2N-E
Sound Card: X-Fi XtremeMusic
PSU: Enermax Liberty 620W
HDD: 400GB Seagate, 320GB WD, 1TB Seagate external (does that count?)
Case: Antec P182 (with 4x 12cm fans)
OS: Windows 7 Pro x64

3DMark Vantage: P10797
Windows Experience: 7.0 - 7.2 (excluding HDD)

I'd like to know how everyone is working out ratings, if it was on raw power mine would get about 2.5/10 lol.

[Freakshow2599]

Agreed but don't spend more than 1k.

And I agree with you. You don't need to spend more than 1k on a gaming rig. Why would you need to, so you can turn your settings from high to ULTRA high?

[GoDMiN]

And I agree with you. You don't need to spend more than 1k on a gaming rig. Why would you need to, so you can turn your settings from high to ULTRA high?

actually the difference would be like 100fps on ultra high to 110fps on ultra high for a 1k build atm lol..

If I was to get get in to a 2k budget I'd spend it on a SSD, 2 extra monitors for Eyefinity, Corsair 800D, ect.

[cmay119]

Just bumping this to the new page, haven't had a reply yet.

I'd give it a 7/10. The machine isn't the strongest, but by no means weak. I'm sure you're still able to play all games with at least some eye-candy.

What size monitor/resolution?

[Freakshow2599]

If I was to get get in to a 2k budget I'd spend it on a SSD, 2 extra monitors for Eyefinity, Corsair 800D, ect.

Basically stuff that the normal gamer wouldn't need.

[garfieldrocks]

Get 2 5870's in crossfire with 2 xeon processors and 8 gb of ram. Now your talking fun.

[mitch655]

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Yorkfeild, 3.0 GHz
HS: Corsair H50 Hydro
PSU: Corsair HX1000W
Mobo: eVGA nForce 790i Digital PWM FTW
HD: WD Caviar Black 1TB
G-Card: eVGA GTX 285
Case: Antec Nine-Hundred
RAM: 2x2GB Patriot Viper Extreme DDR3-1600 7-7-7-20
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64

[GoDMiN]

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Yorkfeild, 3.0 GHz
HS: Corsair H50 Hydro
PSU: Corsair HX1000W
Mobo: eVGA nForce 790i Digital PWM FTW
HD: WD Caviar Black 1TB
G-Card: eVGA GTX 285
Case: Antec Nine-Hundred
RAM: 2x2GB Patriot Viper Extreme DDR3-1600 7-7-7-20
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64

9/10



/10chars

[McBacker]

Yea only thing thats kind of readable is the mobo, gpu and cpu, didn't feel like taking 5mins to figure out the rest

Anyway, what OS?

Windows 7 x64 Ultimate.

[some1_829]

I'd give it a 7/10. The machine isn't the strongest, but by no means weak. I'm sure you're still able to play all games with at least some eye-candy.

What size monitor/resolution?Thanks, 7 sounds about right compared to some of the other systems being listed here. Monitor is 20", 1680x1050. Except for Crysis I can run any game maxed at native res, for Crysis I have to go down to 1280x800 on very high, and it's still a bit choppy at times, is that normal for a GTX 260?

EDIT: Added OS to list (Win 7 Pro x64). Also planning to reinstall XP on second HDD for DX9 games, especially because I can't get 7.1 sound on many games under Win 7.

[Mustafa]

- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.2 GHz
- Gigabyte EP45-UD3R
- OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR2
- EVGA GeForce GTX 275 896MB DDR3
- Western Digital 600GB HD
- Corsair TX650W PS
- Antec 1200 Case
- Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit
- Acer 22" Wide Screen LCD
- Logitech X540 5.1 Speakers
- Razer Lycosa Keyboard
- Razer Deathadder Mouse

[MikeBlaszczak]

intel I7 920 @ 3.5ghz
Asus P6T mb
Corsair XMS 3x1G 1800mhz
4x32G patriot warp SSD's in raid 0 for OS & games
1TB barracuda data drive
Evga GTX295
Corsair HX1000 psu
Dangerden TDX I7 waterblock
Black Ice Pro 2 radiator
Laing D5 pump
-1 for too-large PSU, -2 for SSDs in RAID 0 for the OS, -1 for water cooling, -1 for small memory, -2 for overclocking. A disappointing 3/10.

[handi360]

-1 for too-large PSU, -2 for SSDs in RAID 0 for the OS, -1 for water cooling, -1 for small memory, -2 for overclocking. A disappointing 3/10.

How is having a psu that can go above and beyond what you need a -, imo its pretty nice if he wants to upgrade...

[jamesd9007]

-1 for too-large PSU, -2 for SSDs in RAID 0 for the OS, -1 for water cooling, -1 for small memory, -2 for overclocking. A disappointing 3/10.

I lol'd. Twice.

[GoDMiN]

How is having a psu that can go above and beyond what you need a -, imo its pretty nice if he wants to upgrade...

Mike is the official valve troll :p In this thread anyway

[MikeBlaszczak]

How is having a psu that can go above and beyond what you need a -, imo its pretty nice if he wants to upgrade...
He'd have to upgrade to at least three video cards before getting near a need for a 1000 watt power supply. I don't think this motherboard supports 3-way SLI, since the slots are too close together. Even if it does, it's money spent on something that might not ever.Mike is the official valve troll :p In this thread anywayI think I just have a different opinion than most people in this thread about what makes a computer good.

RAID1 is an appropriate configuration for an OS disk; RAID0 is a pretty big mistake. SSDs have gotten a lot better, but their problems still make me wary. The money spent on water cooling could have bought more memory and resulted in a better performance improvement, I think. Time spent on overclocking could have been spent on anything more productive.

Some people like that stuff, I don't. So I gave a low rating. Somebody already gave a higher rating, so I don't think there's really any reason to be hurt about it.

[GoDMiN]

Somebody already gave a higher rating, so I don't think there's really any reason to be hurt about it.

I'm not hurt, tbh I think water cooling and all that is a bit of a waste of money myself. RAM however (http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/memory-module-upgrade,review-31549-3.html), no point in having more from my point of view. I also want to take points away from i7 owners because all it basically means is they spent $200+ for the same performance as a i5 or AMD p2
http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=794&page=1

but meh, I don't take cost in to account when rating these. I sure wouldn't suggest anyone to buy this stuff however

[jamesd9007]

I'm not hurt, tbh I think water cooling and all that is a bit of a waste of money myself. RAM however (http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/memory-module-upgrade,review-31549-3.html), no point in having more from my point of view. I also want to take points away from i7 owners because all it basically means is they spent $200+ for the same performance as a i5 or AMD p2
http://www.pureoverclock.com/review.php?id=794&page=1

but meh, I don't take cost in to account when rating these. I sure wouldn't suggest anyone to buy this stuff however

True, from a gamer/casual user point of view, no point in having more than 3-4GB. But if you do any sort of professional HQ rendering work you'd know that sometimes even 12GB isn't enough.

[GoDMiN]

True, from a gamer/casual user point of view, no point in having more than 3-4GB. But if you do any sort of professional HQ rendering work you'd know that sometimes even 12GB isn't enough.

Meh this is a gaming forum, or at least thats how I think of it.

[HL2-4-Life]

True, from a gamer/casual user point of view, no point in having more than 3-4GB. But if you do any sort of professional HQ rendering work you'd know that sometimes even 12GB isn't enough.Actually, having 4-6GB would be ideal since, even at idle now, my rig chews up about 26%, that's about 1.6GB being used at idle. Also, when HL2 Cinematic Mode v7 was released, there was a memory leak issue, systems with 2GB crashed pretty quickly, those with 4GB lasted a fair bit longer before biting the dust....but, with 64bit OS and 6GB of RAM, I did not experience that crash. Not saying that we should all rush out for 6GB of RAM, just that it may prove useful from time to time.

I'd say that a top end gaming system should have 6GB (triple channel) or 8GB (Dual channel), anything more than that is pointless....unless you are, like james'd said, into HQ rendering and programs/software that requires a crapload of system RAM.

[sarojz]

I seems to have gotten missed a while back, would one of you very knowledgeable gents please rate my specs thanks. BTW is there a better way to utilize 4 sata HDs? I'm a novice with RAID tech so I 'm using them as plain storage.



Orig post

Here's my specs.

Intel Duo Core E6750@ 2.66GHz
Asus P5KSE
BFG GTX275
1TB Hitachi HD
2x500(GB)SATA Western Digital HD
500(GB)SATA Seagate HD
OCZ 8gig(4 x 2048 DDR2)
DVDRW Liteon
DVDRW Sony
Antec P193 Performance Case
Antec True Power Quattro 850P
Win 7 Ultimate x64

[GoDMiN]

CPU: AMD Phenom II X3 720 3.4ghz

CPU HSF: Corsair H50

Motherboard: GA-MA790X-UD4P

Memory: CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (2 x 2GB) 800mhz

Video card: SAPPHIRE HD 4770

Sound card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer

HDD1: IDE 5400 320gb

HDD2: SATA 7200 160gb

HDD2: SATA 7200 500GB

Power supply: Corsair 750TX

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932 AMD Edition

OS: Windows 7 HP 32bit

Bump :3

I also plan to change to GPU to a 5850 soon.

[NitrousX]

I seems to have gotten missed a while back, would one of you very knowledgeable gents please rate my specs thanks. BTW is there a better way to utilize 4 sata HDs? I'm a novice with RAID tech so I 'm using them as plain storage.



Orig post

Here's my specs.

Intel Duo Core E6750@ 2.66GHz
Asus P5KSE
BFG GTX275
1TB Hitachi HD
2x500(GB)SATA Western Digital HD
500(GB)SATA Seagate HD
OCZ 8gig(4 x 2048 DDR2)
DVDRW Liteon
DVDRW Sony
Antec P193 Performance Case
Antec True Power Quattro 850P
Win 7 Ultimate x64

Nicely built system. i'd give it about a 7.8. You can easily overclock that E6750 to 3GHz with little voltage change. :)


Bump :3

I also plan to change to GPU to a 5850 soon.

With a 5850, I'd give your system a solid 8.6.

[sarojz]

Wow thanks. Hmmm a 5850 would be a very nice Dx11 addition to my system but I'm wondering if I'd run into cpu bottleneck because of my E6750? Maybe overclocking it like you suggested to 3ghz or maybe upgrading to a Q6600 with is the max my board can handle. I'm also looking at the 5970 which has 2 725mhz gpus and 2048megs of DDR5 memory but again cpu bottleneck?

[YouKnowMyName87]

or maybe upgrading to a Q6600 with is the max my board can handle. I'm also looking at the 5970 which has 2 725mhz gpus and 2048megs of DDR5 memory but again cpu bottleneck?

If you ever intend to upgrade with another So.775 CPU, then don't use the oldest quad core in the market, this being the Q6600. Pick a Q9550 instead or just go ahead with a new socket. Because in my opinion, it doesn't make sense anymore to invest larger amounts of money in the old 775. Better save it, wait until you have more budget and make an upgrade with MoBo (1156, 1366 or AM3 socket), CPU and RAM. And I wouldn't recommend Dual-GPU cards or multiple graphic cards at all either, SLI and Crossfire are still very unstable and unreliable, I'm having a SLI system myself and I'm absolutely not satisfied with it. Alone the fact that many games don't have profiles to support more than one GPU sucks. Better buy a strong single-GPU card like the HD5870 or wait and see what nvidia will offer with its new "Fermi". Prices will fall and you'll get more out of your money.

P.S.: My specs

Intel Core i7 920 @ 4 x 3,8 GHz
Asus P6T
3 x 2 GB G.Skill DDR3-2000 CL9
2 x Zotac GeForce GTX260 AMP²! @ SLI
Samsung HD642JJ 640 GB
LG GH-22NS DVD writer
AOpen BDR0412SA Blu-ray drive
be quiet! Dark Power Pro BQT P7-PRO 850W
Antec Twelve Hundred

More details: http://www.sysprofile.de/id98969 (not 100 % up-to-date)

[sarojz]

Thanks for the advise, the 775 architecture is definitely dated so I'll look for a new processor before upgrading my video card. I'll wait to see wait Nvidia has to offer with Fermi but so far I haven't seen any hard specs on what to expect. So far AMD/ATI 5970 is the fastest card on the planet and no wonder with these numbers:
Process : 40nm
Transistors: 4.3B
Die Size : 334 mm²
Core Clock: 725 MHz
Shader Processors: 3200
Compute Performance: 4.64 TFLOPs
Memory Type : GDDR5
Memory Clock : 1000 MHz
Memory Data Rate :4.0 Gbps
Memory Bandwidth : 256.0 GB/s

[Big O]

This comp is almost 7 years old, though its insides have been replaced multiple times. I'm on my 3rd mobo, can't remember if its 5th or 6th cpu, went from originally 512 ddr, to the present 6gb ddr2. On my 3rd 3d card, originally i think I had a geforce2 or 3. Next to go is obviously the hard drives.

AMD 4850e @ 2.5ghz
Asus m2a-vm hdmi mobo
Sapphire radeon 3850 256mb
6GB DDR2 1066, corsair
1x60gb IBM "Death Star" (circa 1999, still runs!)
1x80gb wdc, 1x120gb wdc (i've been using ide to sata converters =/
Antec Truepower 550w (almost 7 years old!)
Kingwin KT-436B-WM Magnesium case (almost 7 years old!)
17" Gateway widescreen
vista x64 sp1

Just figured I'd update this, staying behind the cutting edge, but just enough to play everything. Thought it'd be interesting to see what a year has done.

AMD Phenom II x4 940 @ 3.3ghz
Asus m2a-vm hdmi mobo
Sapphire radeon 4850 512mb
6GB DDR2 1066, corsair
1x 500gb WDC Blue
1x60gb IBM "Death Star" (circa 1999, still runs!)
1x80gb wdc, 1x120gb wdc (i've been using ide to sata converters =/
OCZ Modxstream 700w psu
Kingwin KT-436B-WM Magnesium case (8th Bday for this case)
22" Envision widescreen (1680x1050)
Windows 7 home premium x64

[Woffls]

heh, this looks like fun :D I built this rig like 2 years ago now, so it's very dated. Not sure on all the details, this is from memory. I don't play that many games, and if I do they wont be getting much AA :P

Core 2 Duo E6600
Asus P5N-E Sli
EVGA 8800GT
4x1gb OCZ PC6400 DDR2 @ 800mhz
1tb Seagate Barraccuda 7200 11 - 0.5tb WDC
Hiper 600w PSU - No idea what range it is, not modular though.
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
Cooling - 2 small fans and one BIG fan :P

[mejwidget]

AMD Phenom II x4 940 @ 3.3ghz
Asus m2a-vm hdmi mobo
Sapphire radeon 4850 512mb
6GB DDR2 1066, corsair
1x 500gb WDC Blue
1x60gb IBM "Death Star" (circa 1999, still runs!)
1x80gb wdc, 1x120gb wdc (i've been using ide to sata converters =/
OCZ Modxstream 700w psu
Kingwin KT-436B-WM Magnesium case (8th Bday for this case)
22" Envision widescreen (1680x1050)
Windows 7 home premium x64

i'd give it a 7.6/10, because your CPU is still pretty powerful, but the 4850 is starting to fall behind. THe rest is all good, mid-range stuff.

Core 2 Duo E6600
Asus P5N-E Sli
EVGA 8800GT
4x1gb OCZ PC6400 DDR2 @ 800mhz
1tb Seagate Barraccuda 7200 11 - 0.5tb WDC
Hiper 600w PSU - No idea what range it is, not modular though.
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
Cooling - 2 small fans and one BIG fan :P

For a two year old system, thats pretty good; the 8800/C2d combo is still competent enough to keep up with most games now.That said, it IS two years old, so....6.8/10

[Stray_Bullet]

My Machine:
*Antec Twelve Hundred Case
*EVGA 790i FTW|SZ17|nForce 15.51
*Q9650 @ 4.275 GHz Linked/Sync @ 1900 MHz
*Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler
*Patriot 2x2GB PVS34G2000LLKN 8-8-8-23-2t|6-40-12-17-23-7.8uS-110(black slots)
*BFG 1000 Watt PSU
*3x GTX 275|Forceware 195.81
*On-board Sound card|5.1 Surround
*2 WD VelociRaptors|10,000 RPM|RAID 0
* 7 x64


:cool:

[NitrousX]

My Machine:
*Antec Twelve Hundred Case
*EVGA 790i FTW|SZ17|nForce 15.51
*Q9650 @ 4.275 GHz Linked/Sync @ 1900 MHz
*Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler
*Patriot 2x2GB PVS34G2000LLKN 8-8-8-23-2t|6-40-12-17-23-7.8uS-110(black slots)
*BFG 1000 Watt PSU
*3x GTX 275|Forceware 195.81
*On-board Sound card|5.1 Surround
*2 WD VelociRaptors|10,000 RPM|RAID 0
* 7 x64


:cool:

9.1/10 That is a really solid build. I really dig the trio of GTX 275's. ;)

[Grüven]

My Machine:
*Antec Twelve Hundred Case
*EVGA 790i FTW|SZ17|nForce 15.51
*Q9650 @ 4.275 GHz Linked/Sync @ 1900 MHz
*Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler
*Patriot 2x2GB PVS34G2000LLKN 8-8-8-23-2t|6-40-12-17-23-7.8uS-110(black slots)
*BFG 1000 Watt PSU
*3x GTX 275|Forceware 195.81
*On-board Sound card|5.1 Surround
*2 WD VelociRaptors|10,000 RPM|RAID 0
* 7 x64


:cool:
-0.5 for overclocking
-1.0 for 3-way SLI
-1.0 for RAID-0
-0.5 for no monitor

7/10.

[MikeBlaszczak]

My Machine:
*Antec Twelve Hundred Case
*EVGA 790i FTW|SZ17|nForce 15.51
*Q9650 @ 4.275 GHz Linked/Sync @ 1900 MHz
*Prolimatech Megahalems CPU Cooler
*Patriot 2x2GB PVS34G2000LLKN 8-8-8-23-2t|6-40-12-17-23-7.8uS-110(black slots)
*BFG 1000 Watt PSU
*3x GTX 275|Forceware 195.81
*On-board Sound card|5.1 Surround
*2 WD VelociRaptors|10,000 RPM|RAID 0
* 7 x64
-2 for overclocking; -1 for over-sized power supply, -1 for 3xSLI, -2 for RAID0 for the OS drive. 4/10.

[dispenserhere]

My PC, only used for gaming and some video encoding.

Coolermaster HAF 932
Intel i7 920 @ 3.66 with Megahalems for cooling
Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Powercolor Radeon 5970 2GB @ 900/1200
8GB DDR3 1600, Corsair Dominator
2x Samdsung 1TB F3 (SSD coming soon for OS)
Seasonic X-750W PSU
Auzentech X-Fi Prelude
Samsung XL2370 1920x1080 (Could use a bigger screen)

Razer Deathadder Mouse
Razer Destructor Mousepad
Razer Lycosa Keyboard

Windows 7 Ultimate x64

[i7goatman]

My Rig I just finished thanks to Intel Retail Edge and working at Best Buy

Intel Core i7 860 (stock) cooled by Corsair H50
Intel DP55WG Media Board
8GB G Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600MHz CAS Latency 7
PNY GTS 250 XLR8(something to hold me over until the 2nd gen fermis are out)
80GB Intel X25-M SDD primary drive
1TB WD Caviar Black 7,200 RPM 3.5" HDD
Corsair 850W PSU, was only like $10 more than 750 so why not?
LG Super Multi Blue, Blu-ray disc writer
Antec 902 Mid-tower case
Windows 7 Ultimate
LG 23" 1920x1080 2ms monitor

[Bacheezi]

just finished my pc yesterday

i7 920 @ 4.1ghz
5870 x 2 (no not the 5970 :D)
Corsair 800D
H50 cpu cooler
EVGA classified 760
Corsair dominator 1600mhz 6g kit
Enermax 1050 revolution
Win7 prof
3 dell P2310H for eyefinity :D (on sale!!!)
OCZ 60 vertex for OS
WD 1tb caviar for storage

[i7goatman]

My PC, only used for gaming and some video encoding.

Coolermaster HAF 932
Intel i7 920 @ 3.66 with Megahalems for cooling
Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Powercolor Radeon 5970 2GB @ 900/1200
8GB DDR3 1600, Corsair Dominator
2x Samdsung 1TB F3 (SSD coming soon for OS)
Seasonic X-750W PSU
Auzentech X-Fi Prelude
Samsung XL2370 1920x1080 (Could use a bigger screen)

Razer Deathadder Mouse
Razer Destructor Mousepad
Razer Lycosa Keyboard

Windows 7 Ultimate x64

Nice build, I have that same keyboard. Have you had any trouble with it? I'm on my second one, the first was really glitchy out of the box.

[TM_Sephiroth]

My future(next month) build:
Motherboard: Asus M4A79T Deluxe
Processor: Phenom II x4 965 - 3.4Ghz
AGP: ATI HD4890 - 1GB - 256bits - GDDR5
HDD: Seagate - Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 3Gb/s 1.5-TB
Case: Cooler Master CM 690
RAM: 2 x 2GB DDR3 XMS3 1600mhz

[dispenserhere]

Nice build, I have that same keyboard. Have you had any trouble with it? I'm on my second one, the first was really glitchy out of the box.

Thanks, and I haven't had any problems with mine. All of my Razer gear has been reliable (so far).

[YouKnowMyName87]

My future(next month) build:
Motherboard: Asus M4A79T Deluxe
Processor: Phenom II x4 965 - 3.4Ghz
AGP: ATI HD4890 - 1GB - 256bits - GDDR5
HDD: Seagate - Barracuda 7200.11 SATA 3Gb/s 1.5-TB
Case: Cooler Master CM 690
RAM: 2 x 2GB DDR3 XMS3 1600mhz

Oh, please don't build a new system with a DX10 graphics card. HD5770 or higher please!

[NitrousX]

just finished my pc yesterday

i7 920 @ 4.1ghz
5870 x 2 (no not the 5970 :D)
Corsair 800D
H50 cpu cooler
EVGA classified 760
Corsair dominator 1600mhz 6g kit
Enermax 1050 revolution
Win7 prof
3 dell P2310H for eyefinity :D (on sale!!!)
OCZ 60 vertex for OS
WD 1tb caviar for storage

9.5/10 - Very nice build. You have no need to upgrade anytime soon. ;)

[SKiLLeDcss]

My PC is about 2 1/2 years old apart from the video card because my old one died and I received the 260gtx from the rma. The previous card was an 8800gtxoc2

c2d e6750 @ 3.6ghz
BFG 680i SLI motherboard
BFG 260gtxoc maxcore 55
2GB OCZ platinum pc 8500
WD raptor X 150GB
Creative X-fi extremegamer.
OCZ GameXstream 700W power supply
Thermaltake Tsunami dream case

[NitrousX]

My PC is about 2 1/2 years old apart from the video card because my old one died and I received the 260gtx from the rma. The previous card was an 8800gtxoc2

c2d e6750 @ 3.6ghz
BFG 680i SLI motherboard
BFG 260gtxoc maxcore 55
2GB OCZ platinum pc 8500
WD raptor X 150GB
Creative X-fi extremegamer.
OCZ GameXstream 700W power supply
Thermaltake Tsunami dream case

7.6/10. - That is quite a nice overclock on the CPU. You can probably benefit from another 2GB of RAM.

[TheNoseKnows]

AMD Phenom II X4 B50 3.1GHz
FSP450-60APN 450W PSU
Asus M4A785TD-V EVO motherboard
6GB Corsair XMS3 1333MHz dual-channel RAM
Radeon HD 4850 at 660 MHz/1110 MHz
WD Caviar Blue 640 GB, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM

[Grüven]

My PC, only used for gaming and some video encoding.

Coolermaster HAF 932
Intel i7 920 @ 3.66 with Megahalems for cooling
Gigabyte EX58-UD5
Powercolor Radeon 5970 2GB @ 900/1200
8GB DDR3 1600, Corsair Dominator
2x Samdsung 1TB F3 (SSD coming soon for OS)
Seasonic X-750W PSU
Auzentech X-Fi Prelude
Samsung XL2370 1920x1080 (Could use a bigger screen)

Razer Deathadder Mouse
Razer Destructor Mousepad
Razer Lycosa Keyboard

Windows 7 Ultimate x64
-1 for overclocking.
-1 for no optical drive.

8/10

My Rig I just finished thanks to Intel Retail Edge and working at Best Buy

Intel Core i7 860 (stock) cooled by Corsair H50
Intel DP55WG Media Board
8GB G Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600MHz CAS Latency 7
PNY GTS 250 XLR8(something to hold me over until the 2nd gen fermis are out)
80GB Intel X25-M SDD primary drive
1TB WD Caviar Black 7,200 RPM 3.5" HDD
Corsair 850W PSU, was only like $10 more than 750 so why not?
LG Super Multi Blue, Blu-ray disc writer
Antec 902 Mid-tower case
Windows 7 Ultimate
LG 23" 1920x1080 2ms monitor
-1 for limited OS drive capacity.

9/10

just finished my pc yesterday

i7 920 @ 4.1ghz
5870 x 2 (no not the 5970 :D)
Corsair 800D
H50 cpu cooler
EVGA classified 760
Corsair dominator 1600mhz 6g kit
Enermax 1050 revolution
Win7 prof
3 dell P2310H for eyefinity :D (on sale!!!)
OCZ 60 vertex for OS
WD 1tb caviar for storage
-1 for overclocking.
-2 for really limited OS drive capacity.
-1 for no optical drive.

6/10
My PC is about 2 1/2 years old apart from the video card because my old one died and I received the 260gtx from the rma. The previous card was an 8800gtxoc2

c2d e6750 @ 3.6ghz
BFG 680i SLI motherboard
BFG 260gtxoc maxcore 55
2GB OCZ platinum pc 8500
WD raptor X 150GB
Creative X-fi extremegamer.
OCZ GameXstream 700W power supply
Thermaltake Tsunami dream case
-1 for overclocking.
-2 for anemic RAM quantity.
-1 for no optical drive.
-1 for no OS.

5/10
AMD Phenom II X4 B50 3.1GHz
FSP450-60APN 450W PSU
Asus M4A785TD-V EVO motherboard
6GB Corsair XMS3 1333MHz dual-channel RAM
Radeon HD 4850 at 660 MHz/1110 MHz
WD Caviar Blue 640 GB, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16 MB Cache, 7200 RPM
-1 for overclocking.
-1 for only 1 hard disk.
-1 for borderline PSU.
-1 for no optical drive.
-1 for no OS.

5/10

[italianox]

Intel Core I7 860 2,8Ghz
MSI P55-GD65 Motherbord
GEIL 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD
XFX Nvidia 9800GT 512MB
LG DVD-Rom Burner
Coolermaster 620Watt Modulair PSU
Coolermaster Storm Scout Case

This is my new gaming rig, for the ones that are interested : Windows 7 Professional 64bit, Logitech G15 Keyboard, Razer Deathadder Mouse, Steelseries QcK+ Mousepad, Logitech G35 7.1 Surround Sound Headset

I'm going to upgrade my GFX Card this summer

[MikeBlaszczak]

Intel Core I7 860 2,8Ghz
MSI P55-GD65 Motherbord
GEIL 4GB DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 HDD
XFX Nvidia 9800GT 512MB
LG DVD-Rom Burner
Coolermaster 620Watt Modulair PSU
Coolermaster Storm Scout Case


I think that case is ugly. No points; I'm just sayin'.

-2 for an ancient video card compared to that CPU. -1 for needs another disk.

[Unclejunebug]

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz (No overclock, at least not yet :p)
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L v 2.0
4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
MSI 9600GT
Asus Xonar D1 Sound Card
320GB WD Caviar - OS drive
500GB Seagate Barracuda - File Storage
500w Antec PSU
Antec 900 Case
Zalman 9500 HSF
Windows 7 Professional 64bit

I anticipate deductions galore for the gpu. :)

[Grüven]

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz (No overclock, at least not yet :p)
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L v 2.0
4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
MSI 9600GT
Asus Xonar D1 Sound Card
320GB WD Caviar - OS drive
500GB Seagate Barracuda - File Storage
500w Antec PSU
Antec 900 Case
Zalman 9500 HSF
Windows 7 Professional 64bit

I anticipate deductions galore for the gpu. :)
Yeah, I'd deduct for the GPU, but otherwise pretty good balance. I'd also be using 8GB, but for gaming alone, what you have is ample.

8/10

[hameed67]

My pc
Lian Li PC-B25B
Intel® Core™ i7-860 Processor (8M Cache, 2.80 GHz)
Asus p7p55d Deluxe mother board
XFX Radeon 5850
Seagate 1 TB 7200 RPM 32 MB cache hard drive x 2(raid 0)
Windows 7 Ultimate
Pioneer BDR-205
Corsair 850W power supply
Corsair Dominator 1600 4GB (2x2) DDR3 8-8-8-24
Thermaltake Socket 1156 CPU fan
Onboard sound

[Grüven]

My pc
Lian Li PC-B25B
Intel® Core™ i7-860 Processor (8M Cache, 2.80 GHz)
Asus p7p55d Deluxe mother board
XFX Radeon 5850
Seagate 1 TB 7200 RPM 32 MB cache hard drive x 2(raid 0)
Windows 7 Ultimate
Pioneer BDR-205
Corsair 850W power supply
Corsair Dominator 1600 4GB (2x2) DDR3 8-8-8-24
Thermaltake Socket 1156 CPU fan
Onboard sound
-1 for using RAID-0.

No deduction, but why did you choose an aftermarket heatsink for a CPU at stock speeds?

[GoDMiN]

I think that case is ugly. No points; I'm just sayin'.

-2 for an ancient video card compared to that CPU. -1 for needs another disk.

You forgot -5 for colored text :p

Anyway, agreed, very bad balance for a gaming computer. :/

[DDTank]

4gb DDR3 1600mhz standard clock RAM
1000 Watt Psu, can't remember the brand name for the life of me.
2x ATI Radeon 5850 for a total of 2gb GDDR5
AMD Phenom x4 black edition 3.33ghz to 3.6ghz standard cooling
ASUS Rampage Mobo, don't know exact specs of it, so don't ask.
Coolermaster HAF 932
Windows 7 Premium 64 bit
Seagate 1tb 7200rpm

I've thrown some LED"s around in there,fans etc.
But thats about it.

[MikeBlaszczak]

I've thrown some LED"s around in there,fans etc.
But thats about it.

-5 for "throwing LEDs around". That leaves 5/10. -1 for being too lazy to look inside the case before you post. -1 because the PSU is too big. You asked me to rate your machine, then said you couldn't remember what motherboard it had, and told me not to ask, so that's -5. -2 for overclocking. -1 for SLI.

You're at -15/10. Really, -150%.

[Combat Medic]

-5 for "throwing LEDs around". That leaves 5/10. -1 for being too lazy to look inside the case before you post. -1 because the PSU is too big. You asked me to rate your machine, then said you couldn't remember what motherboard it had, and told me not to ask, so that's -5. -2 for overclocking. -1 for SLI.

You're at -15/10. Really, -150%.

-9001 for not knowing the difference between sli and cf

[Marlindoz]

Processor(s)

Processor
CPU_Name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 3.32GHz
CPU_Manufacturer: GenuineIntel
CPU_Caption: Intel64 Family 6 Model 26 Stepping 5
CPU_Version:
CPU_ProcessorId: BFEBFBFF000106A5
CPU_CurrentClockSpeed: 3332MHz
CPU_AddressWidth: 64Bits
CPU_DataWidth: 64Bits
CPU_SocketDesignation: CPU 1
Verified Hardware Device against Order: VARIABLEXYZ
Verify Correct Processor Frequency

System Memory

Memory Module
Mem_Capacity: 2048MB
Mem_BankLabel: DIMM #1
Mem_Type: DDR3
Mem_Bandwidth: PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Mem_Frequency: 1068MHz
Memory Module
Mem_Capacity: 2048MB
Mem_BankLabel: DIMM #2
Mem_Type: DDR3
Mem_Bandwidth: PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Mem_Frequency: 1068MHz
Memory Module
Mem_Capacity: 2048MB
Mem_BankLabel: DIMM #3
Mem_Type: DDR3
Mem_Bandwidth: PC3-8500F (533 MHz)
Mem_Frequency: 1068MHz

BIOS Information

BIOS_Manufacturer: Alienware
BIOS_Name: Network:MBA v11.0.14 Slot 0500
BIOS_Version1: A04
BIOS_Version2: ALWARE - 20091028

Motherboard Information

MB_Manufacturer: Alienware
MB_Product: 04VWF2
MB_SerialNumber: ..CN697029B40292.
MB_Version: A00

Video Adapter

Video_Caption: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240 (2x SLI)
Video_AdapterRAM: 1024MB
Video_DriverVersion: 8.16.11.9107

Hard Drive(s)

WDC WD5000AAKS-75V0A0
Disk_Model: WDC WD5000AAKS-75V0A0
Disk_Size: 500 GB
Disk_Partitions: 3
Disk_TotalHeads: 255
Disk_TotalCylinders: 60801
Disk_TotalTracks: 15504255
Disk_TracksPerCylinder: 255

Optical Drives / Other Storage

TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-H653G

OperatingSystem: MS Windows 7 Ultimate Edition


DirectXVersion: DirectX 11


Waiting for Nvidia to release DirectX 11 compatible cards before upgrading the ones I have now.

[reiketsu]

CPU: Intel Q8300 2.5 GHZ (Q9550 soon)
CPU cooler: Asus silent knight II
CPU Paste: Artic silver 9
GPU: MSI GTX280 1GB (SLI when new PSU arrives)
Motherboard: ASUS Striker II NSE
Ram: OCZ 1333MHZ 6GB DDR3 Ram ?
HD: Not sure, it's 500 GB @ 7200 rpm
CD/DVD: Samsung something
Case: Thermaltake V9
OS: Windows 7 64-bit
Monitor: Acer "23 inch LCD HD monitor 1920x1080

I'm still rather new to this computer building stuff so it's not well balanced yet.


Wall of text

Please, leave out all the huge amounts of text and get straight to the point.

[Grüven]

Processor(s)

Processor
CPU_Name: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU 920 @ 3.32GHz
Mem_Capacity: 2048MB
Mem_Capacity: 2048MB
Mem_Capacity: 2048MB
MB_Manufacturer: Alienware
Video_Caption: NVIDIA GeForce GTS 240 (2x SLI)
Video_AdapterRAM: 1024MB
Hard Drive(s)
WDC WD5000AAKS-75V0A0
TSSTcorp DVD+-RW TS-H653G
OperatingSystem: MS Windows 7 Ultimate Edition

-1 for overclocking.
-3 for weak cards in SLI.
-1 for a single hard disk.

5/10

[General Jameson]

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Deneb 3.4GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor - Retail

Motherboard: MSI NF750-G55 Motherboard - nForce 750a SLI, ATX, Socket AM3, DDR3, Dual Channel, PCIe, HDMI

HD:Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Hard Drive & WD Caviar 80GB EIDE HD 7200/8MB/ATA-100

RAM:OCZ Platinum 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P1333LV4GK

PSU:Antec TruePower New TP-750 Blue 750W Continuous Power ATX12V V2.3 / EPS12V V2.91 SLI Certified CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit & Microsoft Windows XP Home SP3 for System Builders

COOLING: 4 120mm blue led fans 1 in front blowing over hard drives and 2 on the side venting out and one on back also exausting and a fan controller-1ST PC CORP. FC-FC4-B Lamptron 5.25" 4-channel fan controller, 20w/channel, 3-pin fan & molex power

CASE:APEX Vortex 3620 SGCC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case

GPU:EVGA GeForce 9800 GT Superclocked Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI Express 2.0, (2) Dual Link DVI, HDTV, VGA Support I have 2 in sli

KEYBOARD:Logitech G15 104 Normal Keys 29 Function Keys USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard

MOUSE:Logitech MX518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical 1800 dpi Gaming Mouse

MONITOR:Gateway HD2201 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 1680x1050 WSXGA+, 2000:1 Contrast Ratio, HDMI, DVI, VGA, Tilt Mount, HDCP

SPEAKERS:Logitech X-540 70 watts 5.1 Speakers

OPTICAL:LITE-ON Black 18X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model iHDS118-04

WIRELESS:LINKSYS WMP300N IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Draft IEEE 802.11n 32-bit PCI Interface High-speed Wireless-N Wireless Adapter Up to 256-bit wireless encryption

[Kalidian]

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932

PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro 850W Modular

Motherboard: ASUS P5Q-E P45 LGA775

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 3.95 GHz w/ Cooler Master V8 HSF

RAM: 8 GB (4x2 GB) OCZ Platinum Series DDR2 PC-8500 w/ Corsair Dominator Memory Fan

GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 @ 900MHz/1300MHz

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro

Speakers: Logitech G51 155W 5.1

HDD: - Intel X25-V 40GB SSD (Boot Drive)
- OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD (Secondary Boot Drive) - giving me problems; trying to get it working.
- Hitachi Deskstar 500GB (Random Storage/Utility Drive)
- 2x 1TB WD Caviar Black in Raid 0 (Gaming Drive)

ODD: Lite-On 8x Blu-Ray Disc Reader, External Sony DVD Reader

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech G15 (v2) / Razer Lachesis 4000 dpi Gaming Mouse

Monitor: 2x Samsung Syncmaster 2443BW (Peripheral), 1x Samsung Syncmaster 2433BW (Center), 3x 24" @ 5760x1200 Eyefinity

[NitrousX]

Case: Cooler Master HAF 932

PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro 850W Modular

Motherboard: ASUS P5Q-E P45 LGA775

CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 @ 3.95 GHz w/ Cooler Master V8 HSF

RAM: 8 GB (4x2 GB) OCZ Platinum Series DDR2 PC-8500 w/ Corsair Dominator Memory Fan

GPU: Sapphire Radeon HD 5870 @ 900MHz/1300MHz

OS: Windows Vista Ultimate x64

Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro

Speakers: Logitech G51 155W 5.1

HDD: - Intel X25-V 40GB SSD (Boot Drive)
- OCZ Vertex 60GB SSD (Secondary Boot Drive) - giving me problems; trying to get it working.
- Hitachi Deskstar 500GB (Random Storage/Utility Drive)
- 2x 1TB WD Caviar Black in Raid 0 (Gaming Drive)

ODD: Lite-On 8x Blu-Ray Disc Reader, External Sony DVD Reader

Keyboard/Mouse: Logitech G15 (v2) / Razer Lachesis 4000 dpi Gaming Mouse

Monitor: 2x Samsung Syncmaster 2443BW (Peripheral), 1x Samsung Syncmaster 2433BW (Center), 3x 24" @ 5760x1200 Eyefinity

9.4/10 - That's a rather nice overclock on the CPU. I have a 5870 as well and it's fast as heck!

[Kalidian]

9.4/10 - That's a rather nice overclock on the CPU. I have a 5870 as well and it's fast as heck!

Thanks bud. That CPU overclock is the only reason why I haven't made the jump to an i7/x58 platform yet lol. I probably won't budge for a good while.

And yep the 5870 was the best decision I've made in awhile lol. I want another one for crossfire but I've heard of issues trying to run Eyefinity with a crossfire config.

[NitrousX]

Thanks bud. That CPU overclock is the only reason why I haven't made the jump to an i7/x58 platform yet lol. I probably won't budge for a good while.

And yep the 5870 was the best decision I've made in awhile lol. I want another one for crossfire but I've heard of issues trying to run Eyefinity with a crossfire config.

The new Catalyst 10.1 drivers are supposed to improve crossfire scaling and compatibility. Did you have to increase the voltage on the 5870 in order to overclock to 900MHz? I'm just curious that's all, I have no intend to overclock my 5870 as I spent well over $400 on it. :)

[Kalidian]

The new Catalyst 10.1 drivers are supposed to improve crossfire scaling and compatibility. Did you have to increase the voltage on the 5870 in order to overclock to 900MHz? I'm just curious that's all, I have no intend to overclock my 5870 as I spent well over $400 on it. :)

lol.. dude in all honesty.. I just cranked both the meters in CCC Overdrive all the way to the max and hit apply ^^. I didn't even think much of it and I haven't had any problems. Just crank up the fan a lil too to keep the temps under 70.

And sweet deal dude I'm definitely going to look into 10.1. If I was smart I would've checked for new drivers before QQ'ing about Eyefinity and Crossfire incompatibility lawl.

[NitrousX]

lol.. dude in all honesty.. I just cranked both the meters in CCC Overdrive all the way to the max and hit apply ^^. I didn't even think much of it and I haven't had any problems. Just crank up the fan a lil too to keep the temps under 70.

And sweet deal dude I'm definitely going to look into 10.1. If I was smart I would've checked for new drivers before QQ'ing about Eyefinity and Crossfire incompatibility lawl.

As a general rule of thumb, you should always overclock in small increments. You should never jump to a certain speed or number as you run the risk of frying your hardware. Your method is a bit risky but I am relieved to hear that everything is running without any problems. With the fan speed set to 30% (default), my 5870 idles at 32ºC and hits 55ºC while playing games.

[Kalidian]

As a general rule of thumb, you should always overclock in small increments. You should never jump to a certain speed or number as you run the risk of frying your hardware. Your method is a bit risky but I am relieved to hear that everything is running without any problems. With the fan speed set to 30% (default), my 5870 idles at 32ºC and hits 55ºC while playing games.

Yea I know but the stock speed of the 5870 is already so close to the maximum overclock allowed by CCC I just cranked it all up and ran with it. And your temps are pretty awesome dude your computer room must be cold or something. Right now my idle temps are like low-mid 40's and load is around low 60's. Any higher I open my window which is literally facing the side intake fan in my case. I live in Canada so.. may as well make use of the blistering cold right? lol.

[MikeBlaszczak]

-9001 for not knowing the difference between sli and cfGood catch! Not a substantive difference in this context, though.

[GoDMiN]

MB_Manufacturer: Alienware


-8 for making your post unreadable with useless info, -2 for alienware.

[NitrousX]

-5 for "throwing LEDs around". That leaves 5/10. -1 for being too lazy to look inside the case before you post. -1 because the PSU is too big. You asked me to rate your machine, then said you couldn't remember what motherboard it had, and told me not to ask, so that's -5. -2 for overclocking. -1 for SLI.

You're at -15/10. Really, -150%.

Holy cow -150%?!!! :D

[rotNdude]

If this thread continues to degrade into anything useless, I'll delete it.

[xJPM100x]

It's all Mike's fault :P

[kicker40]

How does mine rate.

Intel Core i7-870
ZEROtherm CORE92 HDT Cooler
ASUS P7P55D-E Premium
ZOTAC GeForce GTX 295
Kingston HyperX Series 8GB (4x2GB) DDR3 2000
4xOCZ Vertex Series SSD 60 GB in Raid 0 via
HighPoint RocketRAID 3520 RAID Controller
Seagate Barracuda XT SATA 6Gb/s 2TB
2xSeagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB
AuzenTech X-Fi Forte 7.1
LG Blu-ray Burner Model BH08LS20
Hannspree 25" HF257HPB 1920x1080
Power Supply BFG EX 1000W
Computer Case COOLER MASTER HAF 932
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit
Headphone Sennheiser HD 280 Pro
Logitech X-540 5.1 Speakers
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech MX 1100 Laser Mouse

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/7235/p1030218k.jpg

[NitrousX]

How does mine rate.


I'd rate it about a 9.2. I love the quadruple SSD setup, but I believe you can benefit from a small CPU overclock. :)

[October Pillar]

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE 3.2 GHZ
Zalman 9500 CPU cooler
XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
ASRock M3A790GXH/128M
Windows 7 Home 64 Bit
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout
500 GB SATA HDD 7200RPM 16mb

[Kalidian]

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE 3.2 GHZ
Zalman 9500 CPU cooler
XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
ASRock M3A790GXH/128M
Windows 7 Home 64 Bit
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout
500 GB SATA HDD 7200RPM 16mb

Not bad... I love that case.

[GoDMiN]

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE 3.2 GHZ
Zalman 9500 CPU cooler
XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
ASRock M3A790GXH/128M
Windows 7 Home 64 Bit
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout
500 GB SATA HDD 7200RPM 16mb

10/10 :3 Really only thing you could do to make it better imo is a SSD big enough to put the OS and steam on, but thats a little costly >.<

[akjax]

Just got this computer a few days ago. Saw it on craigslist and at a long shot asked the guy if he was interested in my HP TX2 tablet I was looking to unload.. well, it paid off big time. Damn good deal if I do say so.

Intel Core i7 920 OC'd to 3.3ghz
Gigabyte EX58-UDP4 with on-board Dolby 5.1 sound card
6GB (3x 2GB) Corsiair Dominator 1600mhz DDR3 ram
2x EVGA GTX 260 core 216 Superclocked edition (896MB each) 55nm fab in SLI
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W power supply
2x Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7200RPM HDDs
Antec 1200 case (5x 120mm fans, 200mm fan)
Thermaltake Spin-Q CPU (80mm fan)


I know it's not part of the rating system, but I also got a Razer Lycosa keyboard, Razer Barracuda headset. Logitech G9 mouse, and 22" LG Flatron out of the deal. Pretty happy guy. Yep.

In my personal opinion, it should be 10/10 simply because the PSU has racing stripes.

[Bulletbrain7]

Just got this computer a few days ago. Saw it on craigslist and at a long shot asked the guy if he was interested in my HP TX2 tablet I was looking to unload.. well, it paid off big time. Damn good deal if I do say so.

Intel Core i7 920 OC'd to 3.3ghz
Gigabyte EX58-UDP4 with on-board Dolby 5.1 sound card
6GB (3x 2GB) Corsiair Dominator 1600mhz DDR3 ram
2x EVGA GTX 260 core 216 Superclocked edition (896MB each) 55nm fab in SLI
Antec TruePower Quattro TPQ-1000 1000W power supply
2x Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7200RPM HDDs
Antec 1200 case (5x 120mm fans, 200mm fan)
Thermaltake Spin-Q CPU (80mm fan)


I know it's not part of the rating system, but I also got a Razer Lycosa keyboard, Razer Barracuda headset. Logitech G9 mouse, and 22" LG Flatron out of the deal. Pretty happy guy. Yep.

In my personal opinion, it should be 10/10 simply because the PSU has racing stripes.

What? It was a straight trade? Because your tablet was is like worth $800 to $1000 tops? Or did you pay some cash on top?

I am not thrilled with the SLI.

7.8/10

AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE 3.2 GHZ
Zalman 9500 CPU cooler
XFX HD-585A-ZNFC Radeon HD 5850 (Cypress Pro) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5
CORSAIR CMPSU-550VX 550W ATX12V V2.2
CORSAIR XMS3 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
ASRock M3A790GXH/128M
Windows 7 Home 64 Bit
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout
500 GB SATA HDD 7200RPM 16mb

10/10 :3 Really only thing you could do to make it better imo is a SSD big enough to put the OS and steam on, but thats a little costly >.<

LOL, 10/10, GoDMin. You add points for economy. I like the 720 BE too. But this is probably not higher than an 8.

[akjax]

What? It was a straight trade? Because your tablet was is like worth $800 to $1000 tops? Or did you pay some cash on top?

I am not thrilled with the SLI.

7.8/10


I put $300 on top, plus $200 for the monitor.. if I bought it all new it would have cost me around $2400 though, haha.

What don't you like about the SLI? I honestly havn't been in the desktop market since having a 64 bit processor made you a god. I've heard that most programs can't take advantage of them, but that was just some random thing I saw. Would it be worth selling them and looking for a better single card, like a 295 or something?

[HL2-4-Life]

LOL, 10/10, GoDMin. You add points for economy. I like the 720 BE too. But this is probably not higher than an 8.Oh man, I thought I was being misely with my rating points!:eek:

For me, since OP has a HD5850 + an PII X3 720 BE, he will NOT get a 9.0 (must be a quad!), but he'll score quite highly on my scale nonetheless, prolly an 8.8 from me.
What don't you like about the SLI? I honestly havn't been in the desktop market since having a 64 bit processor made you a god. I've heard that most programs can't take advantage of them, but that was just some random thing I saw. Would it be worth selling them and looking for a better single card, like a 295 or something? SLi'ed GTX260's is pretty impressive, but not impressive enough since it cannot beat a single HD5870. If you're happy with it, then fine....but if you're thinking of upgrading, please do NOT be so blinded by brand loyalty to ignore the best single GPU card out now....HD5870 (cheaper than a GTX295) has DX11 capability and consumes less power. But hey, if your wallet's too heavy with cash, by all means get the GTX295. BTW, your system, while having an excellent quad core CPU, is dragged down by the SLi'ed GTX260, you get a score of 8.9 from me.

[Bulletbrain7]

I put $300 on top, plus $200 for the monitor.. if I bought it all new it would have cost me around $2400 though, haha.

What don't you like about the SLI? I honestly havn't been in the desktop market since having a 64 bit processor made you a god. I've heard that most programs can't take advantage of them, but that was just some random thing I saw. Would it be worth selling them and looking for a better single card, like a 295 or something?

My scores are lower because I am using the perspective of how scoring has been in this thread: a bit harsher.

So, a 7 is good. Therefore, anything above a 7.5 is damn good.

SLI is just a pain. Some games have problems with it. It is annoying to have wait for some driver to come out to fix it. Also, micro-stutter is a real problem. I would prefer a single 260 216 to them SLI'd.

But your PC is a great buy. I would have have done the exact same thing except I would sell those cards and get a single GPU solution. Of which, the 295 is not. It is a dual GPU in a single card form. I also don't believe you have to have a 295 to be happy. A 4890, a 275 would do just fine.

Oh man, I thought I was being misely with my rating points!:eek:

For me, since OP has a HD5850 + an PII X3 720 BE, he will NOT get a 9.0 (must be a quad!), but he'll score quite highly on my scale nonetheless, prolly an 8.8 from me.
SLi'ed GTX260's is pretty impressive, but not impressive enough since it cannot beat a single HD5870. If you're happy with it, then fine....but if you're thinking of upgrading, please do NOT be so blinded by brand loyalty to ignore the best single GPU card out now....HD5870 (cheaper than a GTX295) has DX11 capability and consumes less power. But hey, if your wallet's too heavy with cash, by all means get the GTX295. BTW, your system, while having an excellent quad core CPU, is dragged down by the SLi'ed GTX260, you get a score of 8.9 from me.

As I said before, I just built a 720 BE with a 4890 and I am a big fan. Don't let my scoring fool you.

[akjax]

My scores are lower because I am using the perspective of how scoring has been in this thread: a bit harsher.

So, a 7 is good. Therefore, anything above a 7.5 is damn good.

SLI is just a pain. Some games have problems with it. It is annoying to have wait for some driver to come out to fix it. Also, micro-stutter is a real problem. I would prefer a single 260 216 to them SLI'd.

But your PC is a great buy. I would have have done the exact same thing except I would sell those cards and get a single GPU solution. Of which, the 295 is not. It is a dual GPU in a single card form. I also don't believe you have to have a 295 to be happy. A 4890, a 275 would do just fine.



As I said before, I just built a 720 BE with a 4890 and I am a big fan. Don't let my scoring fool you.


Yeah, I'm quite happy with the current setup.. out of curiosity I pulled out one card and ran 3Dmark06, scored about 2500 points lower, but I imagine 3Dmark06 is designed to work well with SLI. If I see a good deal on a 275 maybe I'll look into that. Thanks for the advice.

[GoDMiN]

Yeah, I'm quite happy with the current setup.. out of curiosity I pulled out one card and ran 3Dmark06, scored about 2500 points lower, but I imagine 3Dmark06 is designed to work well with SLI. If I see a good deal on a 275 maybe I'll look into that. Thanks for the advice.

Tbh the 260 is still a good card, and if you're going to upgrade to anything get a 5850 or one or Nvidias new cards when they come out. Getting a DX10 card will be a waste of money in the long term. Hell Imo it even is in the short term.

[Titanous]

Hi, my brother has just got a new machine which outspecs me I suspect, but how much by?

Please can I have ratings for these:

Firstly me:

Asus M2N4-SLI
Athlon 64 X2 5200+ 2.6ghz processor
2x 2GB DDR2 RAM
2x Nvidia GeForce 8600 GT SLI
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
180gb HD 7200rpm + 300gb HD 7200rpm
600W PSU
CD/DVD reader + DVD R/W Lightscribe

Brother:

MSI P35 Diamond
Intel E8400 Core2 Duo 3.0Ghz
Corsair 4GB PC3 DDR3 1333mhz
Nvidia GeForce GTX 260
Windows XP Professional
500gb HD 7200
650W PSU
DVD reader

[karnavor]

Gigabyte P55M-UD2
i5 750 @ 3.2ghz w/ 1.15 vcore and Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
2x2GB Corsair XMS3 1600
XFX 4890 w/ Scythe Musashi
Wester Digital Blue 640GB
Cooler Master Silent Pro 700w
Cooler Master HAF 922
Old IDE CD/DVD drive

[Bulletbrain7]

Tbh the 260 is still a good card, and if you're going to upgrade to anything get a 5850 or one or Nvidias new cards when they come out. Getting a DX10 card will be a waste of money in the long term. Hell Imo it even is in the short term.

I was saying that I would be happier with one 260 216 OC over two of them in SLI, or even a single 275 or 4890. Also, he had thought about moving up to a 295 and I would rather have a single 260 216 OC, single 275 or 4890 than a dual GPU solution.

So the discussion is really just about SLI issues.

Sure, a 5850 would be preferrable. But in terms of scale? I think a 295 is overkill along with the SLI headaches.

What should he do pratically? Well, he has two 2x EVGA GTX 260 core 216 Superclocked edition (896MB each) 55nm fab in SLI.

I would just run one and keep the other in reserve. He won't need a new graphics card for a long time.

Proof that just one of these babies is more than enough?* Check out this www.guru3d.com review:

What (http://www.guru3d.com/article/evga-geforce-gtx-260-core-216-superclocked-review/17) also caught our attention is the fact that this superclocked edition performance is extremely close to the GeForce GTX 280 performance wise. So that's saving 100 bucks there for only a very small performance differential. The reality is that the GTX 280 can overclock as well too though. But granted guys, this is a very decent set of performance and thus value for your money. Surely not the cheapest products but at that 300 dollar price base you do get a high-end product, and there is a lot to say for that for sure.

The Geforce GTX 260 core 216 is in fact a GeForce GTX 280, with a small chunk of memory missing, and one shader cluster with 24 shader cores disabled. Other then that, there is just no difference whatsoever.

It tears through Crysis just like a 280. I don't think DX11 is enough of a reason to trade up.

*Rhetorical. Not a throw down comment.

So, no he doesn't need to run out and buy a 275, 4890 or anything. That isn't what I meant. Sorry!

[GoDMiN]

I was saying that I would be happier with one 260 216 OC over two of them in SLI, or even a single 275 or 4890. Also, he had thought about moving up to a 295 and I would rather have a single 260 216 OC, single 275 or 4890 than a dual GPU solution.

So the discussion is really just about SLI issues.

Sure, a 5850 would be preferrable. But in terms of scale? I think a 295 is overkill along with the SLI headaches.

What should he do pratically? Well, he has two 2x EVGA GTX 260 core 216 Superclocked edition (896MB each) 55nm fab in SLI.

I would just run one and keep the other in reserve. He won't need a new graphics card for a long time.

Proof that just one of these babies is more than enough?* Check out this www.guru3d.com review:



It tears through Crysis just like a 280. I don't think DX11 is enough of a reason to trade up.

*Rhetorical. Not a throw down comment.

So, no he doesn't need to run out and buy a 275, 4890 or anything. That isn't what I meant. Sorry!

Umm, I was replying to him, not you, think your confused. He was talking about upgrading his 260 SLI setup to a 275 which imo isn't worth the upgrade.

[daddyporter]

Phenom x4 965Be 3.4ghz
Sapphire 790gx Mobo
8gb ddr2 1066
xFx HD5850 Soon to be Crossfired getting second card :)
2Tb Hd Gettin SSD
750w PSU
Themaltake amror mx+

[GoDMiN]

Phenom x4 965Be 3.4ghz
Sapphire 790gx Mobo
8gb ddr2 1066
xFx HD5850 Soon to be Crossfired getting second card :)
2Tb Hd Gettin SSD
750w PSU
Themaltake amror mx+

2tb SSD? >.> AND ITS IN HIGH DEF?!?

Jokes aside 10/10 assuming thats a corsair PSU.

[daddyporter]

2tb SSD? >.> AND ITS IN HIGH DEF?!?

Jokes aside 10/10 assuming thats a corsair PSU.


Lol !HIGH DEF! No I Going to b getting a 80gb ssd just for win7 and steam :) wish i had 2tb ssd but i couldnt afford. look at the price of one of those things

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/2tb-ssd-runs-crazy-fast-burns-desks/

CORSAIR 750TX

[MikeBlaszczak]

Hi, my brother has just got a new machine which outspecs me I suspect, but how much by?By a lot. You're a generation behind on CPU, and two generations behind for the video card.

[GoDMiN]

Lol !HIGH DEF! No I Going to b getting a 80gb ssd just for win7 and steam :) wish i had 2tb ssd but i couldnt afford. look at the price of one of those things

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/06/2tb-ssd-runs-crazy-fast-burns-desks/

CORSAIR 750TX

Yea lol. I was thinking about getting a SSd for windows and steam as well, but i'd need one more around 500-700gb >.>

[MikeBlaszczak]

I don't believe SuperTalent ever shipped the 2TB version of that product. The 512GB version ships for $9,000 these days. You can find better products for cheaper, and I don't think that type of SSD has much place on a gaming machine.

[GoDMiN]

I don't believe SuperTalent ever shipped the 2TB version of that product. The 512GB version ships for $9,000 these days. You can find better products for cheaper, and I don't think that type of SSD has much place on a gaming machine.

It does if you want to load in 2 secs :p But yea other than that, doesn't help at all >.<

[Combat Medic]

Phenom2 x4 955 BE 3.4GHZ
8GB DDR2
1 40GB SSD 2x 320GB HDs
ATI HD 4870 (swapping for 5850 or 5870 next month cant decide)
Corsair TX750W PSU

[ChuckN0rr1s]

I don't believe SuperTalent ever shipped the 2TB version of that product. The 512GB version ships for $9,000 these days. You can find better products for cheaper, and I don't think that type of SSD has much place on a gaming machine.

That's true to gaming as load times are not much improved. Though, I doubt there are but a few that only use their system for gaming and spend a much greater amount of time on the desktop cruising the internet or such. Therefore, in that aspect, I can't wait for prices to come down.

BTW, here is my system:

Cooler Master HAF 932
i7 920 (no overclock)
Noctua NH-D14
Asus P6T6 Workstation Revolution
3x2GB DDR3 GSkill Pi
HIS 4870x2 (800 core/900 memory)
WD 300GB Velociraptor (main)
WD 150GB Raptor (backup)
LG BR/HD-DVD burner
Samsung SH-S223F
Enermax 1050w 85+ Revolution

[NitrousX]

That's true to gaming as load times are not much improved. Though, I doubt there are but a few that only use their system for gaming and spend a much greater amount of time on the desktop cruising the internet or such. Therefore, in that aspect, I can't wait for prices to come down.

BTW, here is my system:

Cooler Master HAF 932
i7 920 (no overclock)
Noctua NH-D14
Asus P6T6 Workstation Revolution
3x2GB DDR3 GSkill Pi
HIS 4870x2 (800 core/900 memory)
WD 300GB Velociraptor (main)
WD 150GB Raptor (backup)
LG BR/HD-DVD burner
Samsung SH-S223F
Enermax 1050w 85+ Revolution

9.1/10 - That is a pretty fancy motherboard. :)

I just bumped up my system a bit-

Intel Core i7 860 @ 4.16GHz
4GB Corsair XMS3
Sapphire 5870 1GB (Had to RMA my XFX)
Windows 7 Enterprise x64

[MikeBlaszczak]

That's true to gaming as load times are not much improved. Though, I doubt there are but a few that only use their system for gaming and spend a much greater amount of time on the desktop cruising the internet or such. Therefore, in that aspect, I can't wait for prices to come down.A solid-state drive won't help performance when "cruising the internet or such", either. Certainly, not enough to justify the price point of $9,000. For that price, you'd be better off buying a used car and cruising the streets, and such.


Cooler Master HAF 932
i7 920 (no overclock)
Noctua NH-D14
Asus P6T6 Workstation Revolution
3x2GB DDR3 GSkill Pi
HIS 4870x2 (800 core/900 memory)
WD 300GB Velociraptor (main)
WD 150GB Raptor (backup)
LG BR/HD-DVD burner
Samsung SH-S223F
Enermax 1050w 85+ Revolution-1 needs more memory, -1 for crossfire, -1 needs more disk, -1 over-built PUS. 6/10.

[Scary Chicken]

Oh nice to see this thread. Here are my specs:

Cooler Master CM 690
Core i7 920 @ 3.4 GHz
Titan Fenrir TTC-NK85TZ
Asus P6T DELUXE
3x2GB DDR3 Corsair XMS3
MSI HD 5850
WD BC 650 GB
LG BR/HD-DVD burner
SeaSonic M12 SS-700HM
Windows 7 64 bits Home premium

Thanks.

[wackywalsh]

Western Digital Raptor WD740ADFD 74GB 10000 RPM SATA 1.5Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 Ultra-D 939 NVIDIA nForce4 Ultra ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Western Digital VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS 300GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
ATI 100-435705 Radeon X1800XT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail
CORSAIR XMS 2GB (4 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWINX2048-3200C2PT - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Manchester 2.2GHz Socket 939 89W Dual-Core Processor Model ADA4200BVBOX - Retail
Rosewill RP550S-2MK 550W ATX 12V Ver.2.01 Modular Modular Power Supply /Black - Retail

[GoDMiN]

Phenom2 x4 955 BE 3.4GHZ
8GB DDR2
1 40GB SSD 2x 320GB HDs
ATI HD 4870 (swapping for 5850 or 5870 next month cant decide)
Corsair TX750W PSU

what case and OS?

[Combat Medic]

what case and OS?

Raidmax Smilodon with 180CFPM server fans (i don't mind the noise) and Windows Seven Professional 64bit

[GoDMiN]

Phenom2 x4 955 BE 3.4GHZ
8GB DDR2
1 40GB SSD 2x 320GB HDs
ATI HD 4870 (swapping for 5850 or 5870 next month cant decide)
Corsair TX750W PSU

10/10 imo. /10chars

[Combat Medic]

10/10 imo. /10chars

Danke
/10 thanks

[Mustafa]

- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.2 GHz
- Gigabyte EP45-UD3R
- OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR2
- EVGA GeForce GTX 275 896MB DDR3
- Western Digital 600GB HD
- Corsair TX650W PS
- Antec 1200 Case
- Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit
- Acer 22" Wide Screen LCD
- Logitech X540 5.1 Speakers
- Razer Lycosa Keyboard
- Razer Deathadder Mouse

[Kalidian]

- Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.2 GHz
- Gigabyte EP45-UD3R
- OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB DDR2
- EVGA GeForce GTX 275 896MB DDR3
- Western Digital 600GB HD
- Corsair TX650W PS
- Antec 1200 Case
- Windows Vista Home Premium 64Bit
- Acer 22" Wide Screen LCD
- Logitech X540 5.1 Speakers
- Razer Lycosa Keyboard
- Razer Deathadder Mouse

You've got yourself a pretty solid rig, my friend.

8.8/10, - 1.2 for the conservative overclock and the generic HDD.

Wolfdale chips are beastly overclockers, seriously. Even my crappy E8400 chip (when I had it) could get to 3.6 without too much trouble. Crank that betty up.

[akjax]

After a bit of messing I pushed processor up a bit. Hitting 23k in 3Dmark06 now
Intel Core i7 920 OC'd to 3.6ghz (used to have it OC'd to 3.3)
Gigabyte EX58-UDP4
3x 2GB Corsiair Dominator 1600mhz DDR3 ram
2x EVGA GTX 260 core 216 Superclocked edition
2x Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7200RPM HDDs


I'm thinking of upgrading it.. I want to stick with nvidia graphics, I think I'll get DX11 card when they come out with those. So in the meantime, SSD/15KRPM SCSI HDD for boot and games? Any suggestions?

With that OC she's running about 52C idle and 71C tops when at 100% load from OCCT. It's an antec 1200 case, got 3 front 120mm fans, 2 rear 120mm fans, a 200mm fan up top, and a Thermaltake Spinq CPU cooler. There's a spot for another 120mm intake fan to go in the side of the case, kinda where the GPU's are. What are peoples thoughts, would adding another one in there cool things much? I'd like to OC a bit more, however I don't want to see temp rise anymore. I'm also considering going for a slightly better CPU fan, though from what I've seen the SpinQ is up there as far as they go. Any suggestions there as well?

[Combat Medic]

After a bit of messing I pushed processor up a bit. Hitting 23k in 3Dmark06 now
Intel Core i7 920 OC'd to 3.6ghz (used to have it OC'd to 3.3)
Gigabyte EX58-UDP4
3x 2GB Corsiair Dominator 1600mhz DDR3 ram
2x EVGA GTX 260 core 216 Superclocked edition
2x Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7200RPM HDDs


I'm thinking of upgrading it.. I want to stick with nvidia graphics, I think I'll get DX11 card when they come out with those. So in the meantime, SSD/15KRPM SCSI HDD for boot and games? Any suggestions?

With that OC she's running about 52C idle and 71C tops when at 100% load from OCCT. It's an antec 1200 case, got 3 front 120mm fans, 2 rear 120mm fans, a 200mm fan up top, and a Thermaltake Spinq CPU cooler. There's a spot for another 120mm intake fan to go in the side of the case, kinda where the GPU's are. What are peoples thoughts, would adding another one in there cool things much? I'd like to OC a bit more, however I don't want to see temp rise anymore. I'm also considering going for a slightly better CPU fan, though from what I've seen the SpinQ is up there as far as they go. Any suggestions there as well?

8/10 due to last-gen GPUs

[Combat Medic]

1.3GHZ Socket 423 P4 Willamette
640MB rambus
40GB 5400RPM HD
Geforce 6600 128MB
250 Antec PSU
Unknown whitebox fulltower
Windows XP pro

1337 AMIRITE?

[MikeBlaszczak]

I'm building a new file server for home. I'll use it to store backups of the other machines in my house, to run a Windows domain controller, to serve media files, and as a general-purpose file server. I'll probably also use it for ripping DVDs and CDs.

15 x SEAGATE Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5 TB SATA II 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st31500341as-barracuda-7200-11-sata-32mb-c-1.5tb-hd&vgnextoid=511a8cf6a794b110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US)
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3320418AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st3320418as-barracuda-7200-12-sata-3gb/s-320gb-hd&vgnextoid=e2162a5ba20bf110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US&reqPage=Model&modelReqTab=Features)
1 x Areca ARC-1280ML 24-channel SATA II RAID Controller (http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcie341.htm)
1 x Areca ARC-6120 battery backup unit
4 x Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3N7/2G (http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/partsinfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR1066D3N7/2G)
1 x Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42915)
1 x ASUS P7P55D EVO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=YhNWZrOT1OWycIgo)
1 x LIAN LI PC-A77B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=212&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61)
1 x XFX HD-435X-YAH2 Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 PCIx16 video card (http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/products/graphiccards/HD%204000series/4350.aspx#2)
1 x Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/overview.aspx)
3 x ICY DOCK MB455SPF-B 3:5 Multi-Bay Backplane Module (http://www.icydock.com/product/mb455spf.html)
1 x OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_700w_stealthxstream_power_supply)

I made several compromises. If I had my way, I'd build a real server in a rack, but I haven't anywhere in the house to put it where the noise or heat wouldn't be a problem. I've actually been thinking of building a rack in the crawl space under the garage, but I'm worried about critters and bugs. I also looked at some furniture quality cabinets (http://www.kellsystems.com/), but I don't think I can justify the pricing.

That led me to get the largest case I could find--with the most drive bays. I shot down a couple of larger Lian Li cases (http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/lian_li_pc343_atx_case/1) because of cost. I found a couple of rebates; notably on the IcyDock parts and the power supply.

It's nice to build servers from server motherboards as the enthusiast motherboards don't have features that I want for my server, and do have goofy BIOS settings and tons of useless overclocker features--which tends to mean they sacrifice a bit of stability. I almost went with a very bland Intel board, but I really like Asus and bought one of the cheaper models in that line.

Choosing an i5 leaves me with only 8 gigs of memory, but I don't think this machine will be active enough that caching will be an issue. I was happy to find an inexpensive video card that is fan-less so the machine will be just a little quieter. I've used "real" server boards at home with crummy video, and they just don't work out. Normally, I RDP into a server and the video card just doesn't matter. At home, I use the machine interactively far more often.

The Areca RAID card has 24 ports, so I have room to add more storage. I'll run the two smaller drives on the motherboard connectors in RAID1 for the OS. Then, the 15 remaining drives will be three RAID5 volumes each of 6TB each. Loosely, they'll be fore videos (from my TiVos and ripped DVDs), music, backup files from the rest of my network, and data storage for my evil VLDB experiments.

I know lots of you are bitter because of my demanding ratings, so I figured I'd offer a free shot so you can claim your vengeance.

[Bulletbrain7]

You can't game on it -10.:p

______

But seriously, you can fit all those drives in that case? What about heat? Is that going to be a problem? Answer that and get a score.

[MikeBlaszczak]

Of course you can; NetHack will scream on it.

[Bulletbrain7]

Of course you can; NetHack will scream on it.

LOL, seriiously, what about heat? And is that case really big enough?

[MikeBlaszczak]

17 drives is going to be about 85 watts of heat, not a big deal. The IcyDock units fits all the drives, with room to spare. They also have blowers on each unit, with a fail signal and a thermostat. They're really nice -- almost as good as a real hot swap server case.

[rotNdude]

I'm building a new file server for home. I'll use it to store backups of the other machines in my house, to run a Windows domain controller, to serve media files, and as a general-purpose file server. I'll probably also use it for ripping DVDs and CDs.

15 x SEAGATE Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5 TB SATA II 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st31500341as-barracuda-7200-11-sata-32mb-c-1.5tb-hd&vgnextoid=511a8cf6a794b110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US)
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3320418AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st3320418as-barracuda-7200-12-sata-3gb/s-320gb-hd&vgnextoid=e2162a5ba20bf110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US&reqPage=Model&modelReqTab=Features)
1 x Areca ARC-1280ML 24-channel SATA II RAID Controller (http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcie341.htm)
1 x Areca ARC-6120 battery backup unit
4 x Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3N7/2G (http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/partsinfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR1066D3N7/2G)
1 x Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42915)
1 x ASUS P7P55D EVO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=YhNWZrOT1OWycIgo)
1 x LIAN LI PC-A77B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=212&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61)
1 x XFX HD-435X-YAH2 Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 PCIx16 video card (http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/products/graphiccards/HD%204000series/4350.aspx#2)
1 x Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/overview.aspx)
3 x ICY DOCK MB455SPF-B 3:5 Multi-Bay Backplane Module (http://www.icydock.com/product/mb455spf.html)
1 x OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_700w_stealthxstream_power_supply)

-1 for the SATA drives, -1 for the lack of hot spare drives in RAID5, -1 for the motherboard NICs, -1 for the lack of redundant PSUs.

6/10

[MikeBlaszczak]

-1 for the SATA drives, -1 for the lack of hot spare drives in RAID5, -1 for the motherboard NICs, -1 for the lack of redundant PSUs.

6/10
None those issues make a substantive difference in this application, but thanks for the rating!

[Grüven]

I'm building a new file server for home. I'll use it to store backups of the other machines in my house, to run a Windows domain controller, to serve media files, and as a general-purpose file server. I'll probably also use it for ripping DVDs and CDs.

15 x SEAGATE Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5 TB SATA II 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st31500341as-barracuda-7200-11-sata-32mb-c-1.5tb-hd&vgnextoid=511a8cf6a794b110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US)
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3320418AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st3320418as-barracuda-7200-12-sata-3gb/s-320gb-hd&vgnextoid=e2162a5ba20bf110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US&reqPage=Model&modelReqTab=Features)
1 x Areca ARC-1280ML 24-channel SATA II RAID Controller (http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcie341.htm)
1 x Areca ARC-6120 battery backup unit
4 x Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3N7/2G (http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/partsinfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR1066D3N7/2G)
1 x Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42915)
1 x ASUS P7P55D EVO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=YhNWZrOT1OWycIgo)
1 x LIAN LI PC-A77B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=212&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61)
1 x XFX HD-435X-YAH2 Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 PCIx16 video card (http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/products/graphiccards/HD%204000series/4350.aspx#2)
1 x Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/overview.aspx)
3 x ICY DOCK MB455SPF-B 3:5 Multi-Bay Backplane Module (http://www.icydock.com/product/mb455spf.html)
1 x OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_700w_stealthxstream_power_supply)

I had a few questions right away:

-Why DDR3-1066? AFAIK, the stock memory speeds for 1156-based CPUs was raised to 1333 (vs those on the x58 chipset). This in mind, I'd grab this Kingston 4 x 2GB DDR3-1333 kit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104163). The average cost per stick drops by $6.00 ($66.00/stick from your link) to just at $60.00/stick for higher performance. There's also the G.Skill Ripjaw 4 x 2GB DDR3-1333 kit (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231323) at $224.99, bringing the cost to $56.25/stick (overall savings == $40, from your original choice).

-700 watt power supply? Overall the components aren't that demanding, and certainly don't add up to that supply. Scratch that, saw that you got a rebate.

-Why didn't you consider another IcyDock? You'd get room for your OS drives + 3 more 1.5TB drives, which could net you another 1.5TB on each RAID-5 volume. However, I can see the benefit of sticking with 3 x IcyDocks as organization is that much easier (5 drives per array, 5 drives per dock). With that in mind, you could also use those hypothetical 3 extra 1.5TB drives for another RAID5 array, at 3TB (and still keep the original chassis organization).


I'll probably also use it for ripping DVDs and CDs.

Did you intend to use an external drive on this system or simply transfer the rips over your network?

[Mangr0v3]

For just a DC/Fileserver, you dont need a quad-core i5. A dual-core i3 or i5 should do it. The HP Mediasmart WHS boxes run on Celerons and Pentium Dual-Cores, not even Core 2. A home server is not a demanding box.

[ChuckN0rr1s]

A solid-state drive won't help performance when "cruising the internet or such", either. Certainly, not enough to justify the price point of $9,000. For that price, you'd be better off buying a used car and cruising the streets, and such.

I won't disagree on $9,000. When they come down to normal hard drive prices and get some capacity with that price, then it will be nice. Prices are still too high right now especially for the capacity they give.

[MikeBlaszczak]

-700 watt power supply? Overall the components aren't that demanding, and certainly don't add up to that supply. Scratch that, saw that you got a rebate.Yeah; I was after a 500- or 600-watt supply, but since I got the rebate ...


-Why didn't you consider another IcyDock? You'd get room for your OS drives + 3 more 1.5TB drives, which could net you another 1.5TB on each RAID-5 volume.Actually, what I posted is what I ordered. There's a few parts that I have that I will be adding. One more IcyDock and an optical drive, most notably. I believe there's room for the OS drives inside the case, so I might save those for the database server build. But I think that answers your question about the transfers, anyway.

For just a DC/Fileserver, you dont need a quad-core i5. A dual-core i3 or i5 should do it. The HP Mediasmart WHS boxes run on Celerons and Pentium Dual-Cores, not even Core 2. A home server is not a demanding box.Yes, you don't. My current DC runs fine, but is getting old and flakey; it's a P4 2.4 GHz machine, without hyper-threading! This machine does more than just DC and file serving, as I noted above; it has abundant power for doing compression and decompression, transcoding, and distributed computing work. That lets me consolidate three machines on my existing network.

The i5 I chose is cheaper than the graphics-engine i5 chips, anyway.

[GoDMiN]

I'm building a new file server for home. I'll use it to store backups of the other machines in my house, to run a Windows domain controller, to serve media files, and as a general-purpose file server. I'll probably also use it for ripping DVDs and CDs.

15 x SEAGATE Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5 TB SATA II 7200 RPM 32MB Buffer (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st31500341as-barracuda-7200-11-sata-32mb-c-1.5tb-hd&vgnextoid=511a8cf6a794b110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US)
2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3320418AS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb (http://www.seagate.com/ww/v/index.jsp?name=st3320418as-barracuda-7200-12-sata-3gb/s-320gb-hd&vgnextoid=e2162a5ba20bf110VgnVCM100000f5ee0a0aRCRD&locale=en-US&reqPage=Model&modelReqTab=Features)
1 x Areca ARC-1280ML 24-channel SATA II RAID Controller (http://www.areca.com.tw/products/pcie341.htm)
1 x Areca ARC-6120 battery backup unit
4 x Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Desktop Memory Model KVR1066D3N7/2G (http://www.ec.kingston.com/ecom/configurator_new/partsinfo.asp?root=&LinkBack=&ktcpartno=KVR1066D3N7/2G)
1 x Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor (http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=42915)
1 x ASUS P7P55D EVO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard (http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=YhNWZrOT1OWycIgo)
1 x LIAN LI PC-A77B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=212&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=61)
1 x XFX HD-435X-YAH2 Radeon HD 4350 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 PCIx16 video card (http://www.xfxforce.com/en-us/products/graphiccards/HD%204000series/4350.aspx#2)
1 x Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/overview.aspx)
3 x ICY DOCK MB455SPF-B 3:5 Multi-Bay Backplane Module (http://www.icydock.com/product/mb455spf.html)
1 x OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V Active PFC Power Supply (http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/power_management/ocz_700w_stealthxstream_power_supply)

I made several compromises. If I had my way, I'd build a real server in a rack, but I haven't anywhere in the house to put it where the noise or heat wouldn't be a problem. I've actually been thinking of building a rack in the crawl space under the garage, but I'm worried about critters and bugs. I also looked at some furniture quality cabinets (http://www.kellsystems.com/), but I don't think I can justify the pricing.

That led me to get the largest case I could find--with the most drive bays. I shot down a couple of larger Lian Li cases (http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/cases_cooling/lian_li_pc343_atx_case/1) because of cost. I found a couple of rebates; notably on the IcyDock parts and the power supply.

It's nice to build servers from server motherboards as the enthusiast motherboards don't have features that I want for my server, and do have goofy BIOS settings and tons of useless overclocker features--which tends to mean they sacrifice a bit of stability. I almost went with a very bland Intel board, but I really like Asus and bought one of the cheaper models in that line.

Choosing an i5 leaves me with only 8 gigs of memory, but I don't think this machine will be active enough that caching will be an issue. I was happy to find an inexpensive video card that is fan-less so the machine will be just a little quieter. I've used "real" server boards at home with crummy video, and they just don't work out. Normally, I RDP into a server and the video card just doesn't matter. At home, I use the machine interactively far more often.

The Areca RAID card has 24 ports, so I have room to add more storage. I'll run the two smaller drives on the motherboard connectors in RAID1 for the OS. Then, the 15 remaining drives will be three RAID5 volumes each of 6TB each. Loosely, they'll be fore videos (from my TiVos and ripped DVDs), music, backup files from the rest of my network, and data storage for my evil VLDB experiments.

I know lots of you are bitter because of my demanding ratings, so I figured I'd offer a free shot so you can claim your vengeance.

Just a suggestion, unless you're going to be ripping like 4 or 5 Dvds at a time, I'd get a i3. I bought a friend a AMD P2 925 for his PC, which upgraded a AMD 5600+ (that I also gave him lol...) and the only time he really sees a real improvement is when hes ripping more than 1 at a time.

[LotsOfNothing]

Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 / 2.26 GHz
4GB DDR3 SDRAM - 1066.0 MHz
NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS 512
200.0 GB - Serial ATA-300 - 7200.0 rpm


Yeah it's a laptop, but I can run my games pretty much maxed out at 1920x1200 with it.

[HL2-4-Life]

This has nothing to do with rating my system, just some pics of my desk area -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1010001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1010008.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1010004.jpg

[MikeBlaszczak]

Just a suggestion, unless you're going to be ripping like 4 or 5 Dvds at a time, I'd get a i3. I bought a friend a AMD P2 925 for his PC, which upgraded a AMD 5600+ (that I also gave him lol...) and the only time he really sees a real improvement is when hes ripping more than 1 at a time.

Are you telling me I should spend $65 less (on a $3500 build) to get an i3 instead of an i5 because your friend thinks his AMD 5600+ isn't much faster than his AMD Phenom II 925? Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't follow your reasoning.

This has nothing to do with rating my system, just some pics of my desk area -
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1010001.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1010008.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v333/mikeysg/P1010004.jpg

Nice! What size monitors are those? I have 2x 30-inch screens at work, and I just love it. I'd like to get 4x 21-inch screens at home, but I can't manage to find a layout that works for me. Are they all connected to the same system? You should post your specs!

[HL2-4-Life]

Nice! What size monitors are those? I have 2x 30-inch screens at work, and I just love it. I'd like to get 4x 21-inch screens at home, but I can't manage to find a layout that works for me. Are they all connected to the same system? You should post your specs!The two side monitors are Benq G2400WD, while the center monitor is a Benq FP241W which was my only monitor before going EyeFinity (kinda went Benq simply for the symetry I guess :o ). My system spec, CPU-wise, cannot compare to some here with their i7's and i5's, but it's fast enough for smooth gameplay, that's all I want. Full system spec (does not need to be rated!), just FYI only -
CPU - C2Q X9650 @3.9ghz (needs to be OC'ed to keep up with my vid cards)
Mobo - Asus P5E (X38)
RAM - 2x 2GB + 2x 1GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
VC - 2x HD5870 in CFX mode
Monitors - Benq FP241W + 2x G2400WD
SC - X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS
Speakers - Logitech Z-5500 + Razer HP1 (headset)
PSU - SilverStone OP1000 (1st gen)
HDD - 128GB SSD + 2x 150GB WD Raptor + 640GB WD Caviar
Case - Soldam XR-1 Black Knight
OS - 64bit Win7 HP

[GoDMiN]

Are you telling me I should spend $65 less (on a $3500 build) to get an i3 instead of an i5 because your friend thinks his AMD 5600+ isn't much faster than his AMD Phenom II 925? Maybe I'm missing something, but I don't follow your reasoning.
Then why not throw a 5850 or 5770 in as well, you're already spending 3.5k :rolleyes:

[SayaSe]

Then why not throw a 5850 or 5770 in as well, you're already spending 3.5k
It's a server, it doesn't need a good GPU, a good CPU however...

[GoDMiN]

It's a server, it doesn't need a good GPU, a good CPU however...

Sure if it was a website server, he says "I'm building a new file server for home. I'll use it to store backups of the other machines in my house, to run a Windows domain controller, to serve media files, and as a general-purpose file server. I'll probably also use it for ripping DVDs and CDs."

[MikeBlaszczak]

Then why not throw a 5850 or 5770 in as well, you're already spending 3.5k :rolleyes:

You're right! Since I'm already spending $3500, I'll also buy the Seattle Mariners.

Point is, the reason for the suggestion is that someone compared something not relevant to my situation to something else not relevant to my situation. See?

The two side monitors are Benq G2400WD, while the center monitor is a Benq FP241W which was my only monitor before going EyeFinity (kinda went Benq simply for the symetry I guess ).There's something to be said for consistency. The multi-display setups I have are all the same display, but one display is always substantially newer than the other. Just that much colour variation is a bit distracting to me... and I don't even do much design work.

[Incendary]

CPU: Intel Core I7 950 @3.07Ghz
MOBO: Asus Rampage GENE 2
RAM: OCZ 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU: Sapphire ATI 5970 OC edition
HDD: OCZ Agility SSD 64GB
PSU: Antec CP 850W (designed for P193 Case)

[NitrousX]

You're right! Since I'm already spending $3500, I'll also buy the Seattle Mariners.


Haha. +rep for humour :)

[MikeBlaszczak]

CPU: Intel Core I7 950 @3.07Ghz
MOBO: Asus Rampage GENE 2
RAM: OCZ 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU: Sapphire ATI 5970 OC edition
HDD: OCZ Agility SSD 64GB
PSU: Antec CP 850W (designed for P193 Case)

-1 for overclocking. -1 needs more memory, -1 needs more disk, -1 PSU too big. 6/10.

[Igorsky]

MikeBlaszczak what would you rate my comp?

CPU: q6600 2.4ghz
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
RAM: 6GB Corsair DDR2 800
GPU: Nvidia 8800GTS 512mb
HDs: WD 150GB 10000rpm & WD 300gb 7200rpm
PSU: OCZ 700W

[NJuice]

-1 for overclocking

What did he overclock?

[GoDMiN]

What did he overclock?

its a 0.01ghz OC

[DorkSterr]

its a 0.01ghz OC

Lol! Thats funny.

[NJuice]

its a 0.01ghz OC

It's within the margin of frequency fluctuations.

[MikeBlaszczak]

What did he overclock?Oh, Sorry! I thought the 950 ran at 2.8 GHz. 7/10, then.

[nexus1975]

Just out of curiosity what would you guys rate this :

* Intel Core Duo Q6600 2.4Ghz @ 3.6Ghz
* Thermalright True 120 Black + Nexus Realsilent 120 fans
* ASUS P5E
* Sparkle 8800 GTS 640Mb (640/1000/1500)
* 8 GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 PC2-8500
* 2 x 64GB Corsair CMFSSD-64D1 SSD RAID-0, 2 x 1 Tb Samsung F2
* Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
* ASUS Xonar D2X PCI-X
* Corsair HX-520 Watt
* Dell 2408WFP 24" 1920x1200 game resolution

[Bulletbrain7]

Just out of curiosity what would you guys rate this :

* Intel Core Duo Q6600 2.4Ghz @ 3.6Ghz
* Thermalright True 120 Black + Nexus Realsilent 120 fans
* ASUS P5E
* Sparkle 8800 GTS 640Mb (640/1000/1500)
* 8 GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 PC2-8500
* 2 x 64GB Corsair CMFSSD-64D1 SSD RAID-0, 2 x 1 Tb Samsung F2
* Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
* ASUS Xonar D2X PCI-X
* Corsair HX-520 Watt
* Dell 2408WFP 24" 1920x1200 game resolution

Nice OC. But the GPU could use an upgrade. RAID 0 for OS only? If so + .5. Score: 7.5/10. Do you have a rationale for 8GB of RAM? Otherwise - .5 on that score if most of it is never addressed.

[nexus1975]

Nice OC. But the GPU could use an upgrade. RAID 0 for OS only? If so + .5. Score: 7.5/10. Do you have a rationale for 8GB of RAM? Otherwise - .5 on that score if most of it is never addressed.

The RAID0 is only for running the OS and applications. The GPU will be upgraded as soon as my ATI 5870 arrives in the shop (shortages are a ♥♥♥♥♥). And the 8Gb ram is there because I tend to play around with Virtual Machines a lot and do video editing, not at all for gaming purposes.

[MikeBlaszczak]

The RAID0 is only for running the OS and applications. -2 for RAID0 on the OS drive. -2 for overclocking. -1 for aging video card. Nice to have 8 gigs! 5/10.

[SayaSe]

Well then, I bought this one last autumn. My first ever self-built PC so I kept it simple.

- Antec 300
- Corsair VX 550W
- Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3
- Intel Core i5 750 @ 2,67GHz
- Corsair 4GB DDR3 1600MHz/CL9
- PowerColor Radeon 4870 1GB, all stock
- Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GB

- Windows 7 x64
- HP w2216v 22"
- Logitech MX1000, faithful since many years

Works nicely for mostly anything I throw at it so I'm happy...

[MikeBlaszczak]

- Antec 300
- Corsair VX 550W
- Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3
- Intel Core i5 750 @ 2,67GHz
- Corsair 4GB DDR3 1600MHz/CL9
- PowerColor Radeon 4870 1GB, all stock
- Samsung Spinpoint F3 500GBNice solid build. Could probably use more memory and more disk, so 9/10.

[Grunt7684]

Thermaltake Kandalf LCS
AMD Phenom 965 @ stock 3.4ghz, water-cooled, goes up to about 34°C
ASUS M4A79Deluxe
4GB DDR2 1066
Asus Radeon HD 4870 1gb
Maxtor 1000gb Sata2 HDD
Samsung 2233rz 120hz Monitor
Sound Blaster Audigy 4
Zalman 5.1 headset
Logitech G5 mouse
Razer Mantis mousing surface
Logitech G15 (2nd gen) keyboard

Thinking of:
- RAID0 SSD 60gbx2 for boot
- Radeon 5970 LCS
- One more radiator for above
- Auzentech Prelude X-Fi soundcard
- Psyko audio labs headset to replace the crappy zalman

Thoughts?

[freeloader105]

Thermaltake Kandalf LCS
AMD Phenom 965 @ stock 3.4ghz, water-cooled, goes up to about 34°C
ASUS M4A79Deluxe
4GB DDR2 1066
Asus Radeon HD 4870 1gb
Maxtor 1000gb Sata2 HDD
Samsung 2233rz 120hz Monitor
Sound Blaster Audigy 4
Zalman 5.1 headset
Logitech G5 mouse
Razer Mantis mousing surface
Logitech G15 (2nd gen) keyboard

Thinking of:
- RAID0 SSD 60gbx2 for boot
- Radeon 5970 LCS
- One more radiator for above
- Auzentech Prelude X-Fi soundcard
- Psyko audio labs headset to replace the crappy zalman

Thoughts?

My only thought is to hold on to the 4870 until GT400 (Nvidia is essentially abandoning the GT300 nomenclature) cards come out.

[Combat Medic]

Thermaltake Kandalf LCS
AMD Phenom 965 @ stock 3.4ghz, water-cooled, goes up to about 34°C
ASUS M4A79Deluxe
4GB DDR2 1066
Asus Radeon HD 4870 1gb
Maxtor 1000gb Sata2 HDD
Samsung 2233rz 120hz Monitor
Sound Blaster Audigy 4
Zalman 5.1 headset
Logitech G5 mouse
Razer Mantis mousing surface
Logitech G15 (2nd gen) keyboard

Thinking of:
- RAID0 SSD 60gbx2 for boot
- Radeon 5970 LCS
- One more radiator for above
- Auzentech Prelude X-Fi soundcard
- Psyko audio labs headset to replace the crappy zalman

Thoughts?

8/10 last gen videocard also you over payed when u bought the 965. The 955 is the same cpu.

[Furious_]

CPU: AMD Phenom ll 965 (125W) X4 @ 3.4 GHz STOCK COOLER
GPU: ATI HIS 5970 2GB GDDR5 ram
PSU: 650W Corsair Powersupply
RAM: 4GB DDR2 RAM
HDD: 500GB
OS: Windows 7 home premuim 64bit
CASE: Cooler Master HAF 922
SCREEN: 24" benQ screen, 1920*1080
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE MA790X-UD3P
HEADSET: AVERAGE (fatal1ty gaming headset)
KEYBOARD: POOR (its new but it sucks)
MOUSE: G5

Will get:
NEW KEYBOARD
NEW HEADSET

[Grunt7684]

CPU: AMD Phenom ll 965 (125W) X4 @ 3.4 GHz STOCK COOLER
GPU: ATI HIS 5970 2GB GDDR5 ram
PSU: 650W Corsair Powersupply
RAM: 4GB DDR2 RAM
HDD: 500GB
OS: Windows 7 home premuim 64bit
CASE: Cooler Master HAF 922
SCREEN: 24" benQ screen, 1920*1080
MOTHERBOARD: GIGABYTE MA790X-UD3P
HEADSET: AVERAGE (fatal1ty gaming headset)
KEYBOARD: POOR (its new but it sucks)
MOUSE: G5

Will get:
NEW KEYBOARD
NEW HEADSET

Wow, all this runs on a 650W? I wouldn't have thought it.

Giving you 9/10 coz you don't have the FASTEST CPU or a 120hz monitor, each worth -0.5... ;)

[MikeBlaszczak]

Wow, all this runs on a 650W? I wouldn't have thought it.AMD recommends a 650-watt supply (http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5970/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5970-system-requirements.aspx) at a minimum. Such a recommendation is full of headroom, though, since they don't know what kind of CPU or motherboard (or other peripherals) you're running on that same CPU.

[computertechy]

8/10 last gen videocard also you over payed when u bought the 965. The 955 is the same cpu.

the 965 clocks better than the 955 so you sir are wrong, but you are right if he has no intention of overclocking.... i have the 955....

[Grunt7684]

the 965 clocks better than the 955 so you sir are wrong, but you are right if he has no intention of overclocking.... i have the 955....

Actually if I don't overclock, then the 955 is 3.2 ghz and the 965 is 3.4ghz. I got the 965 coz it's guaranteed to run at 3.4 whereas the 955 isn't.

Right now I'm not overclocking but I might if I find a reason to do so, which I may well not... I watercool for the quiet, not for OC'ing, although it's always an option.

[Grunt7684]

AMD recommends a 650-watt supply (http://www.amd.com/us/products/desktop/graphics/ati-radeon-hd-5000/hd-5970/Pages/ati-radeon-hd-5970-system-requirements.aspx) at a minimum. Such a recommendation is full of headroom, though, since they don't know what kind of CPU or motherboard (or other peripherals) you're running on that same CPU.

Butbutbut isn't the 5970 something like 425w, the phenom 125w, that's 550 and then sound, mobo, HDD's, DVD... I dunno, it seems kinda tight to me but I'll take your word for it, very happily indeed.

And here I thought I was going to have to upgrade my 850w to move from a 4870 to a 5970... :)

Thanks! +rep :)

[smellykaka]

Mine:

CoolerMaster Storm Scout case (2x red Apollish fans in front and rear slots, stock 140mm in top slot)
Corsair 620w modular PSU
ASUS P5Q Pro MB
E7400 CPU (stock 2.8GHz, 1066 FSB, 3MB L2, running at 3.8GHz on stock cooler at stock voltage)
4GB Corsair DDR2
2x Sapphire HD4770s Crossfired
Cheapest DVD drive the store had (I almost never use it)
HDs: 80GB X25-M boot/games drive, 500GB backup drive, 1.5TB storage drive.
Random bits: Logitech G13 gamepad, M505 wireless mouse, ViewSonic 24" 1080p monitor, cheap crappy Nicole speakers I got over a decade ago that still work and are still bloody loud.

[Mr Xombie]

So this my first self-built computer. It is a long, long term build. It may be overpowered at first glance, but i am going into programming, as well as modding/game design. Suggestions wanted.

CPU: Core i5 750 w/ STOCK COOLER
GPU: ATI PowerColor 4890 1GB GDDR5 Factory OCd @ 950 core/1050 Mem
PPU: NVidia 8600GTS 256MB GDDR3
PSU: Corsair TX750W
RAM: 8GB 1600 DDR3
HDD: 500GB OS/Games, 1TB&250GB Storage
OS: Windows 7 home premium 64bit
CASE: Antec 1200
SCREEN: Olevia 37" HDTV via HDMI >_>
DRIVE: HP dvd260i 24x Super_Multi Drive, sans LightScribe
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P7P55D-E Pro
AUDIO: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi
HEADSET: Razer Carcharias
KEYBOARD: SteelSeries Merc Stealth
MOUSE: Razer Lachesis

To Do:
Upgraded CPU Cooler (Still doing research)
Going to an SSD when cost allows
Getting a real monitor. And a desk to put it on.
More HDDs.
More Case Fans.

[Grunt7684]

So this my first self-built computer. It is a long, long term build. It may be overpowered at first glance, but i am going into programming, as well as modding/game design.

CPU: Core i5 750 w/ STOCK COOLER
GPU: ATI PowerColor 4890 1GB GDDR5 Factory OCd @ 950 core/1050 Mem
PPU: NVidia 8600GTS 256MB GDDR3
PSU: Corsair TX750W
RAM: 8GB 1600 DDR3
HDD: 500GB OS/Games, 1TB&250GB Storage
OS: Windows 7 home premium 64bit
CASE: Antec 1200
SCREEN: Olevia 37" HDTV via HDMI >_>
DRIVE: HP dvd260i 24x Super_Multi Drive, sans LightScribe
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P7P55D-E Pro
AUDIO: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi
HEADSET: Razer Carcharias
KEYBOARD: SteelSeries Merc Stealth
MOUSE: Razer Lachesis

To Do:
Upgraded CPU Cooler (Still doing research)
Going to an SSD when cost allows
Getting a real monitor. And a desk to put it on.
More HDDs.
More Case Fans.

I give it a 9/10. Very good machine.

[Grunt7684]

Mine:

CoolerMaster Storm Scout case (2x red Apollish fans in front and rear slots, stock 140mm in top slot)
Corsair 620w modular PSU
ASUS P5Q Pro MB
E7400 CPU (stock 2.8GHz, 1066 FSB, 3MB L2, running at 3.8GHz on stock cooler at stock voltage)
4GB Corsair DDR2
2x Sapphire HD4770s Crossfired
Cheapest DVD drive the store had (I almost never use it)
HDs: 80GB X25-M boot/games drive, 500GB backup drive, 1.5TB storage drive.
Random bits: Logitech G13 gamepad, M505 wireless mouse, ViewSonic 24" 1080p monitor, cheap crappy Nicole speakers I got over a decade ago that still work and are still bloody loud.

8/10, upgrade the CPU and you might get up to 9.5 in my books.

[smellykaka]

Suggestions wanted.
...
To Do:
Upgraded CPU Cooler (Still doing research)
Going to an SSD when cost allows
Thoroughly recommended. It'll change your life. Note that not everything is sped up; booting isn't that noticeable, and (for example) Bioshock loads levels exactly as fast as it always did. However login is way way faster, L4D starts a campaign in about half the time, and just about any non-game app you can think of launches almost instantly.

[smellykaka]

8/10, upgrade the CPU and you might get up to 9.5 in my books.
It's a tough call. I only have two games that don't maintain a solid 60FPS on max settings. The G13 plus Everest tells me that Fallout 3 is bottlenecking on CPU, and Borderlands is bottlenecking on GPU. I'll wait for a few more newer games to chug on this thing and decide which to replace or whether to build a new system and pass this one down for visitors to play on.

Current "visitor use" machine, for the record:

A Sun Ultra 20, 2.6GHz single-core Opteron, 4GB ECC, 2x250GB, 17" LCD, 8600GT, cheap crappy keyboard, mouse and headphones. Runs L4D and L4D2 just fine, so we have some fun games with my flatmate and whoever's visiting at the time...the machine itself cost me nothing so I'm quite happy with it!

[masta121]

It's a tough call. I only have two games that don't maintain a solid 60FPS on max settings. The G13 plus Everest tells me that Fallout 3 is bottlenecking on CPU, and Borderlands is bottlenecking on GPU. I'll wait for a few more newer games to chug on this thing and decide which to replace or whether to build a new system and pass this one down for visitors to play on.

Current "visitor use" machine, for the record:

A Sun Ultra 20, 2.6GHz single-core Opteron, 4GB ECC, 2x250GB, 17" LCD, 8600GT, cheap crappy keyboard, mouse and headphones. Runs L4D and L4D2 just fine, so we have some fun games with my flatmate and whoever's visiting at the time...the machine itself cost me nothing so I'm quite happy with it!

Fallout 3's engine is CPU limited no matter what you have. Even an i7 will hit a wall at about 90 FPS, even with the most powerful card around.

[sad.kuji]

My new build.

CPU: AMD AthlonTII X4 620 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
HDD: Single Hard Drive (750GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+16])
KEYBOARD: IBM Sysadmin old school.
MOUSE: Razer Diamondback 3G
MOTHERBOARD: Asus M4A78LT-M LE
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz
MONITOR: 32 inch Sony HDTV
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: 420 Watts Standard Case Power Supply
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: Razer Carcharias
VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express DVI-I & TVO

All for a little under $480 minus the monitor, keyboard, headphones and mouse. Those are carryovers from another computer.

[Velcrochicken]

CPU: AMD Phenom II 955 BE @ 4.1Ghz
CPU Heatsink: Noctuna NH-U12P
HDD: Dual WD Caviar Black 1TB in RAID 0
GPU: Dual XFX 5850 XXX editions in CF
Motherboard: MSI GD-70 790FX
RAM: 8gb OCZ obsidian 1600mhz 7-7-7-16
CD drive: LG super multi DVD-RW SATA version
Case: Xilo Blackhawk
PSU: Rosewil Extreme 1000watt
Monitor: 20 inch Acer x203h
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Mouse: Logitech G9x
OS: Windows 7 ultimate x64
:D

[Glenntja4]

Cannot recognize all but rate mine :O
CPU: Core I7 920 4,0 GHZ
Motherboard: Evga Classified
GPU: EVGA GTX 295 PSHYX CUDA
Audio Card:Asus Xonar 7.1
CPU FAN: Noctua Dh-14
Hard Drive: Velocity Raptor 250gig 10000RPM
RAM: 6gig, 1866 Kingston Cl8 Ram (Might be 9 lol forgot :P take it as 8)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate X64

Can upload 3Dmark scores later :P

[Grunt7684]

CPU: AMD Phenom II 955 BE @ 4.1Ghz
CPU Heatsink: Noctuna NH-U12P
HDD: Dual WD Caviar Black 1TB in RAID 0
GPU: Dual XFX 5850 XXX editions in CF
Motherboard: MSI GD-70 790FX
RAM: 8gb OCZ obsidian 1600mhz 7-7-7-16
CD drive: LG super multi DVD-RW SATA version
Case: Xilo Blackhawk
PSU: Rosewil Extreme 1000watt
Monitor: 20 inch Acer x203h
Keyboard: Logitech G15
Mouse: Logitech G9x
OS: Windows 7 ultimate x64
:D

GREAT, great rig... You need a better monitor though... ;)

And since you don't mind spending, I would like to suggest you get an Auzen Prelude X-Fi soundcard and a Psyko audio headset.

I'm rating your setup a 9.5/10.

[Grunt7684]

My new build.

CPU: AMD AthlonTII X4 620 Quad-Core CPU w/ HyperTransport Technology
HDD: Single Hard Drive (750GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache 7200RPM HDD [+16])
KEYBOARD: IBM Sysadmin old school.
MOUSE: Razer Diamondback 3G
MOTHERBOARD: Asus M4A78LT-M LE
MEMORY: 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3/1333MHz
MONITOR: 32 inch Sony HDTV
NETWORK: Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
OS: Microsoft(R) Windows(R) 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
POWERSUPPLY: 420 Watts Standard Case Power Supply
SOUND: HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
SPEAKERS: Razer Carcharias
VIDEO: ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB DDR2 PCI-Express DVI-I & TVO

All for a little under $480 minus the monitor, keyboard, headphones and mouse. Those are carryovers from another computer.

Giving this one 5/10... It's obviously a budget box.

[Grunt7684]

Cannot recognize all but rate mine :O
CPU: Core I7 920 4,0 GHZ
Motherboard: Evga Classified
GPU: EVGA GTX 295 PSHYX CUDA
Audio Card:Asus Xonar 7.1
CPU FAN: Noctua Dh-14
Hard Drive: Velocity Raptor 250gig 10000RPM
RAM: 6gig, 1866 Kingston Cl8 Ram (Might be 9 lol forgot :P take it as 8)
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate X64

Can upload 3Dmark scores later :P

Well that's gotta be close to a 10... 9.8/10 I guess?

[Velcrochicken]

GREAT, great rig... You need a better monitor though... ;)

And since you don't mind spending, I would like to suggest you get an Auzen Prelude X-Fi soundcard and a Psyko audio headset.

I'm rating your setup a 9.5/10.


Thanks yeah, i kinda ran out of time when looking for a monitor and just went to my local office max an picked this one up, 1600x900 dosnt do my crossfire good, im going to try to pick up a higher end Acer too.:)

[sad.kuji]

Giving this one 5/10... It's obviously a budget box.

Oh yea. The most demanding program it will probably ever see is CSS and I really just wanted a quad core so I can record TV with my tv tuner card.

[Velcrochicken]

So this my first self-built computer. It is a long, long term build. It may be overpowered at first glance, but i am going into programming, as well as modding/game design. Suggestions wanted.

CPU: Core i5 750 w/ STOCK COOLER
GPU: ATI PowerColor 4890 1GB GDDR5 Factory OCd @ 950 core/1050 Mem
PPU: NVidia 8600GTS 256MB GDDR3
PSU: Corsair TX750W
RAM: 8GB 1600 DDR3
HDD: 500GB OS/Games, 1TB&250GB Storage
OS: Windows 7 home premium 64bit
CASE: Antec 1200
SCREEN: Olevia 37" HDTV via HDMI >_>
DRIVE: HP dvd260i 24x Super_Multi Drive, sans LightScribe
MOTHERBOARD: Asus P7P55D-E Pro
AUDIO: Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi
HEADSET: Razer Carcharias
KEYBOARD: SteelSeries Merc Stealth
MOUSE: Razer Lachesis

To Do:
Upgraded CPU Cooler (Still doing research)
Going to an SSD when cost allows
Getting a real monitor. And a desk to put it on.
More HDDs.
More Case Fans.

9/10, Yeah SSD are still on the spendy side $700+ 256Gig, 1TB SSD chime in at about $2000.

[smellykaka]

9/10, Yeah SSD are still on the spendy side $700+ 256Gig, 1TB SSD chime in at about $2000.
I got the 80GB X25-M, with MW2, Far Cry, L4D, L4D2, Portal, Shattered Horizon and half a dozen other games around 0.5-1GB each, I presently have 20GB free on that drive. So far it's not causing me any space management issues. You don't *need* a 250+ GB drive.

[Velcrochicken]

I got the 80GB X25-M, with MW2, Far Cry, L4D, L4D2, Portal, Shattered Horizon and half a dozen other games around 0.5-1GB each, I presently have 20GB free on that drive. So far it's not causing me any space management issues. You don't *need* a 250+ GB drive.

I do a lot of music editing and have a huge game library 100+ games plus a lot of tv and animu is on my hard drive i need the space unfortunately 80GB isn't going to cut it. :o

[smellykaka]

I do a lot of music editing and have a huge game library 100+ games plus a lot of tv and animu is on my hard drive i need the space unfortunately 80GB isn't going to cut it. :o
It *is* possible to install things on other than the boot drive...

[Velcrochicken]

It *is* possible to install things on other than the boot drive...


Yes, but then i lose the factor of performance of the SSD, plus i like to run RAID 0. to each his own.:D

[zerorate]

Case: Antec 300
PSU: Crosair TX 650w
MotherBoard: Gigabyte GA-m720-US3
CPU: AMD phenom II x4 955
RAM: Kingston HyperX 4gb DDR2 1066MHZ
GPU: Sapphire ATI HD 5850
Sound Card: X-FI titanium
HDD: Samsung F3 1tb and seagate barracuda 720.12 500gb
Monitor: Samsung SM 23" 1920x1080
OS: Win 7 64bit

[smellykaka]

Couple of observations from the last couple of pages: 5850s seem to be very popular, and there are more folks than I expected with discrete audio cards.

[Velcrochicken]

Couple of observations from the last couple of pages: 5850s seem to be very popular, and there are more folks than I expected with discrete audio cards.

They are a amazing card, and the price is just icing on the cake.

:D

[eric25]

Hey everybody. I'm trying to build my first computer. I don't know too much but I just want to make sure that all the parts I list are compatible with each other. A rating would be nice too. I plan on buying Windows 7.

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Graphics Card: EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Sound Card: HT | OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V V2.2 Intel Core i7 Compliant Dual 80mm Fans Full Cable Sleevings Power Supply

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Thanks in advance.

[T Rush]

hello eric25, welcome to the Steam Forums Hardware Dept... they don't really "rate" system ideas that aren't built/owned/running in this thread

but you should make a new thread of your own to post about what you should get to build a computer, as your build list isn't just completely horrible, but it could use a lot of 'tweaking'
(like I would change the video card, RAM, sound card, PSU, and possibly the CPU)

make new thread > http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/newthread.php?do=newthread&f=39 < make new thread

it would also help(in that new thread you can make) to list parts with the links to them, like this

HT | OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=n82e16829271001
$90

as well as tell us your max budget you can spend, and things like if you have a monitor(what resolution is it?) KB/Mouse, speakers, and all that...what about Windows 7 is that included in your budget? etc...

[Grunt7684]

Couple of observations from the last couple of pages: 5850s seem to be very popular, and there are more folks than I expected with discrete audio cards.

Personally I abhor onboard audio. Seriously, my 12-year-old Sound Blaster Live! sounds better than the "HD Audio" on my latest ASUS mobo, which is by no means a POS.

I think everyone NEEDS a discrete audio card. Actually, moving up from an Audigy 4 to an Auzentech Prelude was like a revolution for me and I'm running crappy $50 logitech speakers. Of course it will soon be all on a decent sound system, but the difference is HUMONGOUS among sound outputs.

To me, onboard audio is like onboard video: you use it if you can't get anything else... :cool:

[MikeBlaszczak]

Hey everybody. I'm trying to build my first computer. I don't know too much but I just want to make sure that all the parts I list are compatible with each other. A rating would be nice too. I plan on buying Windows 7.

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor

Motherboard: ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard

Graphics Card: EVGA 512-P3-N871-AR GeForce 9800 GTX 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

RAM: G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory

Sound Card: HT | OMEGA STRIKER 7.1 Channels 24-bit 96KHz PCI Interface Sound Card

Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V V2.2 Intel Core i7 Compliant Dual 80mm Fans Full Cable Sleevings Power Supply

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Thanks in advance.I'd ditch the sound card and spend the money on more memory. You might want to consider a more powerful graphics card, too. 6/10 from me.


hello eric25, welcome to the Steam Forums Hardware Dept... they don't really "rate" system ideas that aren't built/owned/running in this threadSays who? All three (or four?) machines I've posted here were posted before I built them.

[Glenntja4]

CPU: Intel Core I7 950 @3.07Ghz
MOBO: Asus Rampage GENE 2
RAM: OCZ 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz
GPU: Sapphire ATI 5970 OC edition
HDD: OCZ Agility SSD 64GB
PSU: Antec CP 850W (designed for P193 Case)

7/10
I took off 3 points for Low Disk, Low Ram, and not overclocking.

[cmay119]

7/10
I took off 3 points for Low Disk, Low Ram, and not overclocking.

Are you out of your mind?

It's a 10/10 machine. Period.

[smellykaka]

I'd ditch the sound card and spend the money on more memory. You might want to consider a more powerful graphics card, too.
Those were my thoughts exactly.

[smellykaka]

Personally I abhor onboard audio. Seriously, my 12-year-old Sound Blaster Live! sounds better than the "HD Audio" on my latest ASUS mobo, which is by no means a POS.
Many years back I found my SB Live! to sound a lot better than the SB16 that was in my previous machine, but over the years the basic chipsets have improved enough that I can't tell the difference any more.

[smellykaka]

7/10
I took off 3 points for Low Disk, Low Ram, and not overclocking.
I'd knock a bit off for the limited storage and low clock, but 6GB is plenty of RAM in my books. I'd give it a 9, considering how ridiculously cheaply the storage issue can be solved.

[Bulletbrain7]

Personally I abhor onboard audio. Seriously, my 12-year-old Sound Blaster Live! sounds better than the "HD Audio" on my latest ASUS mobo, which is by no means a POS.

I think everyone NEEDS a discrete audio card. Actually, moving up from an Audigy 4 to an Auzentech Prelude was like a revolution for me and I'm running crappy $50 logitech speakers. Of course it will soon be all on a decent sound system, but the difference is HUMONGOUS among sound outputs.

To me, onboard audio is like onboard video: you use it if you can't get anything else... :cool:

Funny that you feel that you have foist your values on everyone else. I don't agree that on board video is an absolute must. In fact, I think that it is a secondary item that can be put off especially in an initial build. This way you can put money towards the GPU for example.

If you are an audiophile, sure grab a sound card. But if not on board audio will do fine.

[Grunt7684]

Funny that you feel that you have foist your values on everyone else. I don't agree that on board video is an absolute must. In fact, I think that it is a secondary item that can be put off especially in an initial build. This way you can put money towards the GPU for example.

If you are an audiophile, sure grab a sound card. But if not on board audio will do fine.

I feel that I have to foist my values on everyone else? Whoa, that is so cool, I didn't even know that about myself.

More to the point, I agree that one can "do without" a discrete soundcard, for a while perhaps, but a lot of guys do without one for a long time, and once in a while one of them tries my PC and the next day he's buying a sound card...

[Grüven]

I feel that I have to foist my values on everyone else? Whoa, that is so cool, I didn't even know that about myself.

More to the point, I agree that one can "do without" a discrete soundcard, for a while perhaps, but a lot of guys do without one for a long time, and once in a while one of them tries my PC and the next day he's buying a sound card...

"Crappy $50 Logitech speakers" are not nearly up to par in regards to what your card is capable of outputting. I'm calling shens on your listening experience.

:)

[Bulletbrain7]

I feel that I have to foist my values on everyone else? Whoa, that is so cool, I didn't even know that about myself.

More to the point, I agree that one can "do without" a discrete soundcard, for a while perhaps, but a lot of guys do without one for a long time, and once in a while one of them tries my PC and the next day he's buying a sound card...

The reason I chose to say that was because and I quote you:


I think everyone NEEDS a discrete audio card.

In order to take advantage of that sound card you also would likely have to invest in a decent set of speakers. This means that the expense of a sound card grows significantly. Therefore, putting it off is no big deal until you have the benjamins.

[rotNdude]

How about we get back to rating computers? If we want to discuss personal preferences regarding audio, we have a lot of openings for other threads.

[Grüven]

Okay, I've re-configured my system in a good many ways. Here's what it is now:

- Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
- 12GB DDR3
- ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard
- ASUS Radeon HD 5850
- 2 x WD Black 640GB in RAID-1 for the OS
- 1 x WD Black 1TB for storage
- 1 x WD Blue 640GB for some more storage
- All disks hot-swappable
- Blu-Ray reader / DVD-burner
- Another DVD-burner
- Corsair HX750 PSU
- Corsair 800D case
- Dell U2410 monitor

[Velcrochicken]

Okay, I've re-configured my system in a good many ways. Here's what it is now:

- Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz
- 12GB DDR3
- ASUS P6T Deluxe motherboard
- ASUS Radeon HD 5850
- 2 x WD Black 640GB in RAID-1 for the OS
- 1 x WD Black 1TB for storage
- 1 x WD Blue 640GB for some more storage
- All disks hot-swappable
- Blu-Ray reader / DVD-burner
- Another DVD-burner
- Corsair HX750 PSU
- Corsair 800D case
- Dell U2410 monitor

9.5/10 Great, should last you a good long time.

[Mangr0v3]

A friend of mine's build:


Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
HIS Radeon HD 5770
IDE 200GB Drive for OS
IDE 320GB Drive
SATA 500GB Drive
SATA 640GB Drive
SATA DVD+-RW Lightscribe
Asus U-65GA 650W
Antec Nine Hundred

[Tony Danza]

^Not bad, but the graphics card is a little weak for maxing things on 1920x1200 and the CPU should be OC'd. :)

My newish system: (I don't care about DX11)
HIS ATI Radeon HD 4890 x2 Crossfire
8GB Corsair Dominator DDR3 1333 RAM
AMD Phenom 955 Quad Core @ 3.4ghz
800w NZXT PSU PP800
NZXT Tempest Case, 4x 120mm Fans
Asus P8N-Cross\SLI Mobo
1TB 7200RPM Hard Drive
Asus VW204XN 24 inch monitor (76hz)
Saitek Cyborg Keyboard
Logitech MX518 mouse
Blu-Ray\DVD drive

[phaiL_]

recent build a while back
CPU: i5 750 2.66ghz
RAM: 4gb ddr3 1333 g.skill
GPU: asus engtx260 glaciator (not sure why it looks different than regular gtx260s)
MOBO: gigabyte ga p55a ud3
HDD: sata 500gb
PSU: vantec ion2 600w
CASE: lian li lancool k60

rate please :P

[ArkAngel06]

7/10

7/10characters

[ArkAngel06]

A friend of mine's build:


Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
HIS Radeon HD 5770
IDE 200GB Drive for OS
IDE 320GB Drive
SATA 500GB Drive
SATA 640GB Drive
SATA DVD+-RW Lightscribe
Asus U-65GA 650W
Antec Nine Hundred


Why would he have the OS on an IDE drive?

[mac_33]

Below is what I got last summer, please rate...

- Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz (Not OC'd yet)
- OCZ Vendetta 2 heatsink
- 12GB DDR3 1600MHz OCZ
- ASUS Rampage II Gene
- Sapphire Vapor-X 4890 (OC'd to 975/1175)
- 2 x Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB HDs
- 1 x Seagate 750GB HD
- LG DVD-burner
- Corsair HX750 PSU
- Cooler Master HAF 932
- LG Flatron W2442PA (Height adjustable stand + pivot)
- BENQ G2410HD 24" LCD (Primary)

[NJuice]

Below is what I got last summer, please rate...


7/10
Average video card (-2), no SSD (-1).

[Bulletbrain7]

Below is what I got last summer, please rate...

- Core i7 920 @ 2.67GHz (Not OC'd yet)
- OCZ Vendetta 2 heatsink
- 12GB DDR3 1600MHz OCZ
- ASUS Rampage II Gene
- Sapphire Vapor-X 4890 (OC'd to 975/1175)
- 2 x Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB HDs
- 1 x Seagate 750GB HD
- LG DVD-burner
- Corsair HX750 PSU
- Cooler Master HAF 932
- LG Flatron W2442PA (Height adjustable stand + pivot)
- BENQ G2410HD 24" LCD (Primary)

Nice set up lots of storage. Get a 5850, 5870 or a new Fermi card when they come out and hit an 9 out of 10. As it is now. 8/10 in my book.

[GoDMiN]

Why would he have the OS on an IDE drive?

Most likely because hes like me :p too lazy to move the files over, and is just waiting for a SSD for motivation

[Kalidian]

I already posted awhile ago but I rewired my computer, made it all pretty, and thought it deserved a little love, maybe a second opinion.

CM HAF 932
CM Silent Pro 850W PSU
ASUS P5Q-E
Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 3.95 GHz, CM V8
8 GB (4x2 GB) OCZ DDR2-8500 Platinum Series Memory
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
Sapphire HD 5870
Windows Vista Ultimate x64
Intel X25-V 40GB SSD (Boot Drive)
2x 1TB WD Caviar Black in Raid 0 (Storage/Gaming)
Hitachi 500GB (Restoration Drive)
3x Samsung 24" Displays @ 5760x1200 (Eyefinity)
Logitech G15, Razer Lachesis
G51 Speakers

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture3.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture2.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture12.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture9.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture13.jpg


Dxdiag rounds up for some reason - My CPU is clocked at 3.95 GHz, not 4.0 GHz. Makes me feel better though.

Cheers.

[Grunt7684]

I already posted awhile ago but I rewired my computer, made it all pretty, and thought it deserved a little love, maybe a second opinion.

CM HAF 932
CM Silent Pro 850W PSU
ASUS P5Q-E
Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 3.95 GHz, CM V8
8 GB (4x2 GB) OCZ DDR2-8500 Platinum Series Memory
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
Sapphire HD 5870
Windows Vista Ultimate x64
Intel X25-V 40GB SSD (Boot Drive)
2x 1TB WD Caviar Black in Raid 0 (Storage/Gaming)
Hitachi 500GB (Restoration Drive)
3x Samsung 24" Displays @ 5760x1200 (Eyefinity)
Logitech G15, Razer Lachesis
G51 Speakers

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture3.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture2.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture12.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture9.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture13.jpg


Dxdiag rounds up for some reason - My CPU is clocked at 3.95 GHz, not 4.0 GHz. Makes me feel better though.

Cheers.

Give you a 9.7

-0.1 each for CPU, soundcard and video card which aren't TOP of the line... ;)

Kick-♥♥♥ rig for sure. :)

[NJuice]

I already posted awhile ago but I rewired my computer, made it all pretty, and thought it deserved a little love, maybe a second opinion.

8/10
Only one video card.
Small SSD drive.
Not an 1156/1366 system.

[MikeBlaszczak]

That V8 cooler cracks me up. I have one, too; I bought my i7-965 early on, and there weren't many aftermarket coolers available. I wanted one because I heard the stock i7/1366 coolers were really loud. The thing is huge, and I think it exceeds the weight limit for the heatsink assembly.

Nice job on dressing the cables. I never bother, since it gets in the way of doing maintenance. RAID0 is probably a mistake, though; overclocking certainly is. -3 for all that; 7/10.

[GoDMiN]

I already posted awhile ago but I rewired my computer, made it all pretty, and thought it deserved a little love, maybe a second opinion.

CM HAF 932
CM Silent Pro 850W PSU
ASUS P5Q-E
Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 3.95 GHz, CM V8
8 GB (4x2 GB) OCZ DDR2-8500 Platinum Series Memory
Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
Sapphire HD 5870
Windows Vista Ultimate x64
Intel X25-V 40GB SSD (Boot Drive)
2x 1TB WD Caviar Black in Raid 0 (Storage/Gaming)
Hitachi 500GB (Restoration Drive)
3x Samsung 24" Displays @ 5760x1200 (Eyefinity)
Logitech G15, Razer Lachesis
G51 Speakers

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture3.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture2.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture12.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture9.jpg
http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p186/deviant_ninja/Picture13.jpg


Dxdiag rounds up for some reason - My CPU is clocked at 3.95 GHz, not 4.0 GHz. Makes me feel better though.

Cheers.


Post the imporant specs such as your video card, processor, motherboard, ram, hard drive(s),operating system, PSU etc...

Do NOT post unnecessary items such as what kind of speakers you have and other items.It will not make your computer look better because you have 7.1 surround sound speakers. All that matters is the interal parts.


I've seen a few people doing this lately, so I feel I need to quote it.

Anyway, ima start rating computers a bit more "harshly"

CM HAF 932
+2, good full size case

CM Silent Pro 850W PSU
+1 Like corsair better myself, but specs on this seem fine

ASUS P5Q-E
+1 Don't really like the PCI-e layouts on the board.

Intel C2Q Q9550 @ 3.95 GHz
+2 Good CPU, good OC

CM V8
Good CPU cooler +1

8 GB (4x2 GB) OCZ DDR2-8500 Platinum Series Memory
+0, you really only need 4gb, this was a waste of money imo

Creative SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro
+1 good sound card

Sapphire HD 5870
+3 good video card

Windows Vista Ultimate x64
-2, mainly because its not windows 7, and its ultimate, waste of money on the build imo

Intel X25-V 40GB SSD (Boot Drive)
+1, not the best SSD out of all of them, but still a SSD

2x 1TB WD Caviar Black in Raid 0 (Storage/Gaming)
+1 Good storage

Hitachi 500GB (Restoration Drive)
+1 nice touch

Points 12 (not out of 10)



3x Samsung 24" Displays @ 5760x1200 (Eyefinity)
Nice

Logitech G15 Seeing how its not the old G15, you may as well had gotten a $20 keyboard. Razer Lachesis I have this mouse and hate it >.<
G51 Speakers Head phones ftw

[Kalidian]

- For a headset I have the Sennheiser PC350.
- My G15 is old? It's the v2 (one that was re-released 2007).. damn maybe I'm behind the times here more than I thought. I'll look into it.
- I love the lachesis; no mouse is universally loved lol so it's cool
- I tried jumping to Windows 7 but it royally ♥♥♥♥ed my computer and after several hours of frustration I opted to roll back to Vista. It just refused to agree with my system - I'll get it for my next build though.
- And after that fiasco with windows 7 (among others) I decided to keep an image of my system (OS and essential utilities/files) available at all times on a "restoration" drive. It's a lifesaver.

Thanks for the post bud I appreciate the thorough-ness <3

[GoDMiN]

Heads up I rate as if its a gaming computer. If it has more uses, ignore this :p

Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz
-3 for i7 on a gaming computer, in a 1156 socket, and for being a i7 and not being OCed. May as well gotten a i5 or AMD P2

Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
+1 Good mobo

HIS Radeon HD 5770
+0 Good card, but very unbanned in this system. Should of gotten a i5 or AMDP2 and used the money you saved to buy a 5850.

IDE 200GB Drive for OS
-1 for OS on IDE drive

IDE 320GB Drive
+0

SATA 500GB Drive
+1

SATA 640GB Drive
+1

SATA DVD+-RW Lightscribe
+1

Asus U-65GA 650W
-1 for tripple 12v rail PSU with only 16A per rail.

Antec Nine Hundred
+2 Good full sized case

Total 1 point (not out of 10)

- For a headset I have the Sennheiser PC350. Nice, I like that one.
- My G15 is old? It's the v2 (one that was re-released 2007).. damn maybe I'm behind the times here more than I thought. I'll look into it. Oops I meant not the old one. I don't like the new one. It only has 6 macro keys, not a lot to work with. I like the old G15 and the G11 with 18 macro keys.
- I love the lachesis; no mouse is universally loved lol so it's cool Its too flat for me :( and the 4000dpi is a pain. I take it down to 2000. I cant get the sensitivity low enough if its not.

- I tried jumping to Windows 7 but it royally ♥♥♥♥ed my computer and after several hours of frustration I opted to roll back to Vista. It just refused to agree with my system - I'll get it for my next build though. No idea why that would be, wired

- And after that fiasco with windows 7 (among others) I decided to keep a recent image of my system (OS and essential utilities) available at all times on a "restoration" drive. It's a lifesaver. yea should of given that drive +2 :p

[Bulletbrain7]

A friend of mine's build:


Intel Core i7-860 2.8GHz
Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
HIS Radeon HD 5770
IDE 200GB Drive for OS
IDE 320GB Drive
SATA 500GB Drive
SATA 640GB Drive
SATA DVD+-RW Lightscribe
Asus U-65GA 650W
Antec Nine Hundred


+1 for i7 performance without have to pay the additional cost of a 1366 motherboard. 0+ regarding PSU because it doesn't make a lick of difference if you have one rail or three as long as you know what components to hook it up too. Which is why the 5770 fits the bill in this system. Lot's of storage +1.

8/10

[Scary Chicken]

My setup:

* Intel Core i7-920 3.5GHz (3.7 GHz in turbo mode)
* Titan Fenrir Universal CPU Cooler (TTC-NK85TZ)
* Asus P6T deluxe
* 2GBx3 Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600
* MSI Radeon HD 5850 @ 850/1200 (only for 3D app)
* WD caviar black 650GB Drive
* DVD+-RW LG
* Seasonic M12 700-MH (700W)
* Cooler Master CM-690
* Windows 7 home premium 64 bits

[Raging Hamster]

Gaming/SketchUP modeling/Photoshop


Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz
Abit IP35 Pro
8GB Crucial Ballistix
ATI 4890 1GB
SATA WD VelociRaptor 300GB (OS, APPS)
SATA 2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (storage)
Enermax Infiniti 720W
SATA LG 8x BD-ROM
SATA Samsung SH203B 20x DVD-Burner
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (CPU Cooling)
CoolerMaster Cosmos :(

[WarLokk1980]

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L
Processor - Intel Core 2-Quad Q9400 @ 2.66 GHz (stock cooler)
Graphics card - Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT (Artic Cooling Twin Turbo)
Memory - 4 GB Kingston DDR2 1066 MHz
Hard Drive - 500 GB Samsung SATA2
Sound - Realtek HD Audio
Mouse - Microsoft(Razer) Habu
Keyboard - Razer Lycosa
That's my rig for now but I'll be changing the stock heatsink and fan on the CPU to an Artcic Cooling one as soon as funds permit but I doubt I'll be overclocking my CPU as I don't want to invalidate my warranty.

[NitrousX]

My setup:

* Intel Core i7-920 3.5GHz (3.7 GHz in turbo mode)
* Titan Fenrir Universal CPU Cooler (TTC-NK85TZ)
* Asus P6T deluxe
* 2GBx3 Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600
* MSI Radeon HD 5850 @ 850/1200 (only for 3D app)
* WD caviar black 650GB Drive
* DVD+-RW LG
* Seasonic M12 700-MH (700W)
* Cooler Master CM-690
* Windows 7 home premium 64 bits
9.2

Gaming/SketchUP modeling/Photoshop


Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz
Abit IP35 Pro
8GB Crucial Ballistix
ATI 4890 1GB
SATA WD VelociRaptor 300GB (OS, APPS)
SATA 2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (storage)
Enermax Infiniti 720W
SATA LG 8x BD-ROM
SATA Samsung SH203B 20x DVD-Burner
CoolerMaster Hyper 212 (CPU Cooling)
CoolerMaster Cosmos :(


8.9

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA-G41M-ES2L
Processor - Intel Core 2-Quad Q9400 @ 2.66 GHz (stock cooler)
Graphics card - Nvidia GeForce 9800 GT (Artic Cooling Twin Turbo)
Memory - 4 GB Kingston DDR2 1066 MHz
Hard Drive - 500 GB Samsung SATA2
Sound - Realtek HD Audio
Mouse - Microsoft(Razer) Habu
Keyboard - Razer Lycosa
That's my rig for now but I'll be changing the stock heatsink and fan on the CPU to an Artcic Cooling one as soon as funds permit but I doubt I'll be overclocking my CPU as I don't want to invalidate my warranty.

8.7


My fairly updated rig:

Intel Core i7 860 @ 4.1GHz
ATI Radeon 5870 1GB
4GB Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1600
3TB HDD Total
Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
Windows 7 Enterprise x64

[zerorate]

Case: Antec 300
PSU: Corsair TX 650w
MotherBoard: Gigabyte GA-m720-US3
CPU: AMD phenom II x4 955
RAM: Kingston HyperX 4gb DDR2 1066MHZ
GPU: Sapphire ATI HD 5850
Sound Card: Sound Blaster X-FI titanium
HDD: Samsung F3 1tb and Seagate Barracuda 720.12 500gb
CD/DVD RW: Sony optiarc
Monitor: Samsung SM 23" 1920x1080
OS: Win 7 64bit

my budget build, posted before but no one rated :mad: