# Post your computer specs!~



## Mysteek

Just curious as to what you guys run 

 EDIT: Updated! My computer feels fresh again ^___^

 Mine:

 AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
 Galaxy GeForce 8800 GT
 2gb PC6400 RAM
 X-Fi Xtreme Music
 two 320gb seagate SATA drives


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## Quaddy

DELL PRECISION 650 DUAL INTEL XEON HT 3.2Ghz/1mb (_2 cpu's not dual core!_)
4 X 1GB DDR ECC DUAL CHANNEL KINGSTON RAM
SONY GDM-FW900 24" WIDESCREEN FS TRINITRON BNC
XFX GEFORCE 256MB 7800 GS OC EXTREME AGP
WD SATA 10k 150GB RAPTOR 16mb CACHE
LOGITECH NEOVO KEYBOARD
RAZER BOOMSLANG 2100dpi patched@1000hz
CREATIVE AUDIGY 4 PRO 7.1 using optical & analog inputs through LOGITECH Z-5500 1000w 10.2 THX SPEAKERS

*bought in 2003*. top of its tree then. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





edited for all the pedantic ******* out there!;

*bought the PC in 2003*. top of its tree then.


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## n4k33n

Does caps lock make your system faster? lol

 2 22 inch widescreen lcds
 Core 2 duo 1.86@3.1
 Patriot DDR2 Matched pair 2x1gb 
 Geforce 7300 
 2 terabytes of hdd (4 500gb seagates)
 And the best part, it runs linux, so I can actually feel that speed


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## Quaddy

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *n4k33n* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Does caps lock make your system faster? lol_

 

NO - it was copied and pasted from my bf2 sig if thats ok with you?
_
 plus, its good netiquette to post PC specs in uppercase FYI_.

 p.s. does typing lol at the end of the line make your comment funnier?


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## skudmunky

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 overclocked to 3060 MHZ
 MOBO: Gigabyte DS3 Rev 2
 RAM: 2 gig OCZ Platinum XTC DR2 800 overclocked to 904
 GPU: EVGA 8800GTS 640
 Sound: X-fi Xtreme Music
 HDD: 2x 250 gig, 1x 320 gig SATA II hard disks by Western Digital and Seagate
 CDD: Samsung DVD +/- RW / Lightscribe
 PSU: Corsair HX620 620 watt modular power supply.

 ----
 120mm Yate Loon cooling fans for the case
 Zalman 9500 with modded yate loon 120mm fan for the CPU
 ----

 Westinghouse 22w2 22" LCD monitor
 Logitech G5 mouse
 Ratpadz GS mousepad
 Saitek Gamer's backlit keyboard
 Creative Inspire P580 5.1 speakers


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## terrymx

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Mysteek* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_PS: I don't recommend the 8600 GTS for gaming. I guess I didn't do my research and found out the hard way--it's not very great for the money._

 

I sold my 8800gtx and was deciding either on the 8800gts or 8600gts, and i read the 8600gts werent so good performer. It's kind of disapointing for the lower market from both Nvidia and ATI. Atleast it has some hd video technology.

 -

 Intel Quad Q6600 2.4ghz
 2x1gb Patriot PC6400 5-5-4-9
 Asus P5B-Deluxe/Wifi
 2xRaid1 Western Digital
 Geforce 8800GTS 320mb
 MSI Turbostream 600w

 Initially I wanted to buy the Xeon X3210 2.1ghz for cheaper then overclocked, but I got the Q6600 at a shop, it gave me some OS incompatibility problems, but I have since solved it with a 64bit version and some Microsoft updates. Also found out it's not the "G0" stepping. Not sure if the server cpu would have been better and how much better with the G0 version.

 The Patriot rams I bought for $300 less than a year ago, and now they go for less than $100, I felt so bad. Now the new DDR3 rams are way expensive, I should wait for them to go from $400 to $100 before upgrading anything.


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## GTRacer

Specs are as follows:
 Intel Core 2 Duo (E6750@2.6ghz)
 Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
 2gigs of budget Crucial RAM (overclocked to PC8500 speeds)
 BFG 8800 GTS OC2 (320mb - Interim card for the new 9800 series)
 Corsair HX520 PSU
 Antec P182 Case in black
 20 inch Samsung Syncmaster 206BW 

 First ever build.


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## saturnine

Mine's a bit outdated, but it still does everything I want it to do 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
 4200 X2 AM2 @ 2.7ghz, stock voltage (lowest fan speed, almost silent)
 4gb (4x1gb) Corsair 6400c4 DDR2
 Seasonic S12 600W Power Supply
 EVGA 7900GTX 
 74gb WD Raptor, 160mb Seagate, 300mb WD
 X-Fi Fatality + ATI Elite TV Tuner
 Plextor 712SA
 Modded Thermaltake Tsunami case (sound dampening foam, 150mm EBM exhaust fan (retails for $80 ), fan grills cut out, etc)
 Windows Vista Ultimate x64 (has been running flawlessly, 'cept for some iTunes issues)
 Gateway 24" LCD

 See second post here for pics: http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=207066


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## MCC

Athlon 64 3200+
 MSI K8T-Neo2
 1GB Patriot (256MBx4) PC4000 RAM
 320GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA II drive on a SATA I controller
 Enermax 370w PSU
 GeForce 6200, 128MB (Ti4200 lost driver support under Linux, so I was forced to "upgrade" to a slower card...)
 Chaintech AV-710 sound card
 LG DVD burner
 $19 (in 2002) Raidmax beige case

 Albatron 17" flat panel monitor
 Canon Pixma ip5000 printer
 Logitech MX Duo keyboard + mouse
 Ubuntu 7.04 w/ Compiz Fusion and various enhancements (screenshot + howto in desktop thread)

 Edit: I also run Linux, so this system is actually quite speedy- I don't see the need to upgrade for at least another year, if not more.


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## craiglester

Intel Q6600 Quad Core @ 2.7 Ghz
 Asus Mobo Sli plus something or other
 2 x 8600GTS (Fanless) in SLI
 2 GB Ram
 320 GB HD, 20X DVD Burner
 650w Antec PSU
 Antec P180 Case

 and coming on sunday.. Samsung 216BW 21.6' Widescreen Monitor

 Best thing is, it's very quiet. Like, is it on? quiet 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Oh and XP, not Vista - I had a copy lying around from some MS promo


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## RedLeader

Pentium D 802 - OC to 3.5
 8600 GTS
 2GB 667
 480GB HD
 EMU0404
 19" Acer Widescreen
 26" Samsung HDTV
 Logitech G5
 RatPadz GS


 Honestly.... I was pretty impressed by the 8600GTS for the money.


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## milkpowder

Oh my goodness you all have _amazing_ computer rigs!

 Laptop:
 Centrino 1.86GHz
 1GB RAM
 80GB HDD
 320GB + 80GB external HDD
 Geforce 6800 Go 256MB OC'ed 390/1800
 17" WXGA
 Logitech G5
 B/G Wireless to Belkin N1

 Desktop 1:
 Pentium 4 2.26GHz
 512MB RAM
 80GB HDD
 Geforce 4 MX420 64MB
 17" Sony SXGA HS75P
 Logitch MX700

 Desktop 2:
 Athlon X2 4400+
 2GB RAM
 2x200GB RAID0
 120GB external HDD
 Geforce 7800GTX 256MB mildlyOC'ed 490/1300
 19" Sony SXGA HS95P
 Logitech G7


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## i has a can

PowerMac G4 dual 1.42ghz (photo, 2d, & audio)
 2gb ram
 ati 9800pro
 m-audio audiophile 192
 3 80gb hard drives
 osx tiger
 lacie electron22blue monitor
 intuos3
 razer proclick mouse

 PowerMac G4 dual 1ghz (webserver, etc)
 1.5gb ram
 2 160gb hard drives
 osx panther server

 iBook g4 1.33ghz (portable/writing)
 768mb ram
 osx panther

 Amd opteron 175 (3d) (using this one right now)
 2gb ram
 nvidia quadro fx 4500
 m-audio revolution 7.1
 3 160gb hard drives
 windows xp 64 
 2x 21in monitors
 spaceball 5000
 logitech mx310 mouse


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## Duggeh

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Quaddy* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_
DELL PRECISION 650 DUAL INTEL XEON HT 3.2Ghz/1mb (2 cpu's not dual core!)
4 X 1GB DDR ECC DUAL CHANNEL KINGSTON RAM
SONY GDM-FW900 24" WIDESCREEN FS TRINITRON BNC
XFX GEFORCE 256MB 7800 GS OC EXTREME AGP
WD SATA 10k 150GB RAPTOR 16mb CACHE
LOGITECH NEOVO KEYBOARD
RAZER BOOMSLANG 2100dpi patched@1000hz
CREATIVE AUDIGY 4 PRO 7.1 using optical & analog inputs through LOGITECH Z-5500 1000w 10.2 THX SPEAKERS

*bought in 2003*. top of its tree then. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

About half of that stuff came out well after 2003, is there a flux capacitor in there too?

 I put the main parts of my machine together in 2003 and it was pretty darn nippy then.

 Athlon XP 2800+
 Abit AN7
 1.5 Gigs of PC3200@2700 (512 meg originally)
 Raptor 74 gig
 Maxtor 80gig (2 storage drives of about 500gigs together added since)
 Geforce FX5200 PCI (Previously Geforce 4 Ti4200)
 Audigy 2 ZS (Previously Live! 1024)
 Winfast PVR2000
 Hercules Prophetview 920Pro DVI & 920Pro VGA

 I don't really game anymore. Quiet running volumes > power these days.


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## Assorted

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Quaddy* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_*bought in 2003*. top of its tree then. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Assumed you upgraded a lot of your components ?

 Mine's in my sig. It still runs Rainbow Six Vegas at 1280 * 780, but that seems to be the limit. Source engine highest specs incl. all AA/AS, HDR effects, lowest was 40 fps, usually hovering around 60 fps. I mostly play BF 2142 and Q4 anyway, both of which runs superbly on my UXGA 1900*1200 screen.


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## Rock&Roll Ninja

2003 Apple eMac 
 1Ghz PowerPC G4
 512Mb RAM (133mhz)
 75GB ATA harddrive
 Pioneer DVD-RW DVR-106D
 ATI Radeon 7500 (32mb)
 CRT monitor 1152x864 @80Hz


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## milkpowder

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Assorted* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Assumed you upgraded a lot of your components ?

 Mine's in my sig. It still runs Rainbow Six Vegas at 1280 * 780, but that seems to be the limit. Source engine highest specs incl. all AA/AS, HDR effects, lowest was 40 fps, usually hovering around 60 fps. I mostly play BF 2142 and Q4 anyway, both of which runs superbly on my UXGA 1900*1200 screen._

 

Your 7900 is a _very_ good graphics card. Have you tried overclocking it (mod. drivers/inf, rivatuner)?


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## JSTpt1022

MB: Asus P5WD2-E Premium
 CPU: Intel Pentium D940
 MEM: 2056 Corsair pc2 6400
 GPU: ATI X1950 
 SOUND: E-MU 1820M
 HDD: WD Caviar SE16 250GB SATA II
 DVD: Plextor PX-716SA
 CASE: Antec P180
 PS: Antec NEO HE 500

 In desperate need of additional hard drives.


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## uncletank88

Specs in sig... it was pretty high end when i built it in June of 06 now its a mid-range system at best. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 At least I can still play FEAR and HL2 @ 1680x1050 Max at 60fps and Oblivion @ 1440x900 Max with 40+ fps. I just hope it can handle crysis when it releases.

 Monitors: Dual 22'' Acer AL2223W
 Speakers: Klipsch Pro Media 2.1 speakers (might go with some bookshelf speakers and a receiver later on)
 Power Supply: Corsair 520 watt


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## brotherlen

EVGA 680i, w/ 2x 8800gtx vid cards
 2gb corsiar dominator
 Mountain Mods twice 7 case
 qx6700 quad core w/zalman 9700 nt cooler
 silverstone 750watt, strider power supply
 deck 82 key"toxic" keyboard
 razer copperhead mouse, sound card, headphones 

 http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/13493/2002777515786479056_th.jpg[IMG]

 [IMG]http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/14813/2002779495812301176_th.jpg[IMG]

 [IMG]http://aycu36.webshots.com/image/16955/2002752286698434987_th.jpg[IMG]

 [IMG]http://aycu36.webshots.com/image/15915/2003049408047327549_th.jpg[IMG]


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## JSTpt1022

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *brotherlen* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_EVGA 680i, w/ 2x 8800gtx vid cards
 2gb corsiar dominator
 Mountain Mods twice 7 case
 qx6700 quad core w/zalman 9700 nt cooler
 silverstone 750watt, strider power supply
 deck 82 key"toxic" keyboard
 razer copperhead mouse, sound card, headphones _

 

I think we have a winner except for the razer audio accessories. That rig deserves better!


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## Gaara

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 6600
 MB: Intel 965
 MEMORY: 2gb Corsair XMS
 CASE: Lian Li
 HD: 320GB Western Digital Corsair + 500GB WD External
 GPU: BFG 8800 640MB GTS
 AUDIO: DIY Paradise USB Monica -> Promitheus Audio Ref 1 TVC -> Monarchy Audio SM-70 -> Rothschilde A2s
 MONITOR: Sony GDM-W900 (24in CRT)


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## Jon118

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *brotherlen* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_EVGA 680i, w/ 2x 8800gtx vid cards
 2gb corsiar dominator
 Mountain Mods twice 7 case
 qx6700 quad core w/zalman 9700 nt cooler
 silverstone 750watt, strider power supply
 deck 82 key"toxic" keyboard
 razer copperhead mouse, sound card, headphones_

 

We need bigger pics! Mountain Mods cases are great. Kind of pricey, but you can't beat them for a good case. Seriously a good setup, only two gigs of RAM though, not 4? Still rather beastly. I've heard the more recent Razer hardware hasn't been as good though. I still like my Diamondback, but I've got a new mouse in the mail since the Diamondback is starting to act up from time to time.

 My rig isn't too special, powerful enough for a laptop though.

 Core 2 Duo at 2.0GHZ
 2 Gigs of ram
 GeForce 8600M GT-S with 256MB of ram
 160gig SATA hard drive, I forget the maker and RPM.

 Not much you can do with a laptop as far as customizing it goes, which is why I don't recall many of the specifics on this one. It has plenty of performance though, it can run Halo 2 and Bioshock at the full detail and highest available resolution without a hitch. Bioshock sometimes is a little buggy, but that's more of the game's fault rather than the computer not being able to handle it.


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## kamal007

mine is a plain xps700 from dell

 E6300,2GB Ram, 250GBX2, 400GBX1,7900Gt, EMU0404USB,750W PS


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## Assorted

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *milkpowder* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Your 7900 is a very good graphics card. Have you tried overclocking it (mod. drivers/inf, rivatuner)?_

 

Well my laptop is quite hot as is, so I haven't tried anything on it 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Here's an extension on my comp rig:

 - Windows XP Pro, since I forgot to order my Vista coupon for Vista Business >~
 - Logitech G7 wireless
 - Everglide Titan DKT mousepad


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## TMM

*Main rig:* (games, music, movies)
 [size=xx-small]CPU: AMD Opteron 170 @ 2.9GHz
 Motherboard: DFI LanParty nF4 Ultra-D
 Memory: 2GB G.Skill HZ DDR500
 Graphics Card: 256MB Gigabyte GeForce 7600GT
 Drives: 2x 250GB Seagate Sata RAID0
 Soundcard: Audigy4
 OS: Windows XP Professional SP2
 Cooling Info:
 CPU Cooling: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme w/ Nexus Real Silent 120mm @ 65% via SpeedFan
 GPU Cooling: Thermalright HR-03 (running fanless)
 Case: Antec Titan, with Nexus Real Silent 120mm @ 65% via SpeedFan[/size]






*Server:* (file/web/games server)
 [size=xx-small]CPU: AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ EE @ 2.35GHz
 Motherboard: Asus M2N8-VMX
 Memory: 1GB Corsair Value Select DDR2-667
 Drives: 40GB Seagate Pata, 320GB Seagate Sata, 400GB Samsung Sata
 OS: Xubuntu Linux 7.04
 Cooling Info:
 CPU Cooling: Scythe Ninja (running fanless)
 Case: Antec PlusView 1000AMG v1.0, with 2x Nexus 80mm @ 7v[/size]





 function over form


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## milkpowder

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Assorted* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Well my laptop is quite hot as is, so I haven't tried anything on it 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Here's an extension on my comp rig:

 - Windows XP Pro, since I forgot to order my Vista coupon for Vista Business >~
 - Logitech G7 wireless
 - Everglide Titan DKT mousepad_

 

I see. Do you have a fan control utility? What sort of temperatures are you running? For my graphics with fans on full, I get 60C idle, 80C gaming. No artifacts. Obviously you would have to test it out for yourself because each chip is different, let alone a totally different model! A nice Zalman or Coolermaster notebook cooler might be good to have too. Then again, if you're already satisfied with the performance, it would seem unnecessary to put further stress on your rig even if it could take it.


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## krmathis

*Portable #1*
 15" Apple MacBook Pro
 * 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 * 2GB RAM
 * 160GB 7200rpm HDD

*Portable #2*
 15" Apple PowerBook G4
 * 1.5GHz Motorola PPC7450
 * 1GB RAM
 * 100GB 7200rpm HDD
 * 4x SuperDrive


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## Joshatdot

Gigabyte GA-7N400 Pro
 AMD XP 3200+
 2x512MB Geil DDR400 RAM
 Ati Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
 Chaintech AV-710 HQ-Alt Out


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## Quaddy

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Duggeh* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_About half of that stuff came out well after 2003, is there a flux capacitor in there too?

 I put the main parts of my machine together in 2003 and it was pretty darn nippy then.

 Athlon XP 2800+
 Abit AN7
 1.5 Gigs of PC3200@2700 (512 meg originally)
 Raptor 74 gig
 Maxtor 80gig (2 storage drives of about 500gigs together added since)
 Geforce FX5200 PCI (Previously Geforce 4 Ti4200)
 Audigy 2 ZS (Previously Live! 1024)
 Winfast PVR2000
 Hercules Prophetview 920Pro DVI & 920Pro VGA

 I don't really game anymore. Quiet running volumes > power these days._

 

the dell system was 2003 mate i have the invoice, of course the peripherals did, as how can one resist always getting bitso-kitso


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## Kuroyume

MB: Asus M2NPV-VM
 CPU: AMD Athlon x2 3800+ EE
 RAM: 2x Patriot Signature 1024mb PC2 6400 (DDR2 800)
 GPU: EVGA GeForce 7300GT 256mb cooled with Vanteq Iceberq (runs 10ºC cooler than stock)
 Drives: WD Caviar 250GB SATAII
 LG 18x DVD+-RW
 Case: Thermaltake Swing
 Monitor: 2x Viewsonic VA1703wb

 i think i will need a new video card before the end of the year...


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## Mysteek

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *brotherlen* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_EVGA 680i, w/ 2x 8800gtx vid cards
 2gb corsiar dominator
 Mountain Mods twice 7 case
 qx6700 quad core w/zalman 9700 nt cooler
 silverstone 750watt, strider power supply
 deck 82 key"toxic" keyboard
 razer copperhead mouse, sound card, headphones 

 http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/13493/2002777515786479056_th.jpg[IMG]

 [IMG]http://aycu14.webshots.com/image/14813/2002779495812301176_th.jpg[IMG]

 [IMG]http://aycu36.webshots.com/image/16955/2002752286698434987_th.jpg[IMG]

 [IMG]http://aycu36.webshots.com/image/15915/2003049408047327549_th.jpg[IMG][/i]
 [/td] [/tr] [/table]



 Wow.

 I wonder what you get on benchmarks +_+_


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## S/PDIF

intel e6600 2.4 ghz c2d
 corsair dominator 1142 mhz (2gb)
 WD Raptor 150 Gb in Raid 0
 Seagate 500Gb 
 Asus Accutrack dvd-r (something like that I forget the exact name)
 EVGA 680i mobo (original version)
 EVGA 8800 gts 
 Dell 20" widescreen lcd (the premium one)

 thats all i can remember off the top of my head. The ram was a bitch to pay for, but I didnt care, I wanted something that I could 'set and forget' and have great speed. The rig is nearly a year old and is still holds its own.

 I will get a quad core when I stop being lazy.


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## cyberspyder

See sig ↓↓↓↓


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## Spadge

Some very nice computers people have in here!

 I got mine a couple of weeks ago. Basically a Photoshop/Music Server machine

 Intel Q6600
 Gigabye p35-DS3R
 4 GB RAM
 8800gts
 820GB HDD (1x320 + 2x250)
 2x Samsung 215tw (21" widescreen)
 Wacom Intuos3 6x8

 Chugs along quite nicely
 Paul


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## devin_mm

server
 Antec P190 case (650w and 550w powersupplys)
 Intel S5000XVN SATA Motherboard
 2x Intel Xeon 5355s (each 2.66GHz quad cores)
 Kingston 8GB DDR ECC FB-DIMM memory
 4x Hitachi 1TB hard drives
 Lite-On 20x DVD burner
 cheapest videocard i could find

 portable
 15" Macbook Pro
 1.86GHz Core Duo
 2GB Ram
 128MB ATi x1600


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## cyberspyder

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *devin_mm* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_server
 Antec P190 case (650w and 550w powersupplys)
 Intel S5000XVN SATA Motherboard
 2x Intel Xeon 5355s (each 2.66GHz quad cores)
 Kingston 8GB DDR ECC FB-DIMM memory
 4x Hitachi 1TB hard drives
 Lite-On 20x DVD burner
 cheapest videocard i could find

 portable
 15" Macbook Pro
 1.86GHz Core Duo
 2GB Ram
 128MB ATi x1600_

 

May I ask what's 'Team Canada - Go Fighting Loonies'?


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## devin_mm

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *cyberspyder* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_May I ask what's 'Team Canada - Go Fighting Loonies'?_

 


 It should be the nickname of our national hockey team (it's what I call them).


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## cyberspyder

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *devin_mm* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_It should be the nickname of our national hockey team (it's what I call them)._

 






 no comment, pardon my stupidity...I'll put that in my sig too...


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## Gautama

Case: Centurion 534
 PSU: Seasonic S12 380w (Rubycon and Panasonic FM caps, hooray!)
 CPU: AMD AM2 A64 X2 3800+ 2000MHz @ 2400MHz
 Motherboard: DFI Infinity ULTRA-II M2 (Nichigon caps, hooray!)
 Memory: 3gb of OCZ GOLD DDR800
 Video Card: XFX 7600GT XXX Nvidia Geforce @ 7900gs speeds
 Hard Drive: Western Digital SE 160.0 GB @ 7200 RPMS
 Monitor: LG Flatron 19" widescreen LCD
 Storage Interface: SATA
 Sound Card: Soon to be hotrodded X-Fi XtremeMusicGamer
 Headphones/speakers: Sennheiser HD580/Logitech X-230s (yuk)
 Keyboard: Logitech G15
 Mouse: Logitech G5 (rev 1)
 Mousepad: Xtrac Ripper
 Internet Connection: Comcast Cable 5mbs
 Operating System: Windows Vista Home Premium

 Somewhat outdated picture


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## JSTpt1022

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *devin_mm* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_server
 Antec P190 case (650w and 550w powersupplys)
 Intel S5000XVN SATA Motherboard
 2x Intel Xeon 5355s (each 2.66GHz quad cores)
 Kingston 8GB DDR ECC FB-DIMM memory
 4x Hitachi 1TB hard drives
 Lite-On 20x DVD burner
 cheapest videocard i could find_

 

mmm...P190...drool...


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## Schalldampfer

LG S1 Pro laptop.

 X1600 with TurboCache up to 512mb
 C2D 2.16ghz
 2 gig RAM
 And so forth.

 It's serving me very well.


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## afireinside

3060 xeon @ 3825mhz
 gskill 2gbhz @ god knows what 4-4-4-8 (stopped caring because it wont stop dying)
 EVGA 680i
 EVGA 8800GTS @ 648/975 shader modded
 OCZ 700w gameXstream
 2x 74gb raptors RAID 0


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## fredman22

My step-one upgrade toward Crysis in Nov:

 March '07
 CoolerMaster MidTower Case w/600w P/S
 iE6600 (2.4GHZ) stock fan-h/s
 ECS P965T -i965/ICH9 FSB1066 GBLAN / onboard AC97 (disabled)
 GSkill DDR800 1GB X2
 Sapphire X1950PRO 256
 Viewsonic VG2230wm 22" w/s 1680x1050
 Maxtor 200GB SATA II HDD X2
 Samsung DVD-R/W
 Lite-On DVD-R/W
 Auzentech Xplosion DTS 7.1
 Cambridge Soundworks 2.1 spkrs
 Sony CD770 hp
 Saitek Gaming keyboard
 Kensington Expert Mouse (trakball)
 WinXP Pro

 Planned upgrades:
 iP35 motherboard
 ATI2900XT or nV8800 graphics
 GSkill DDR800 1GB X2 (4GB ttl)
 Maxtor/WD 500GB SATA II HDD


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## Schalldampfer

Actually... I think a picture is more worthwhile than posting specs for my laptop.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3107

 One question: I heard from a guy I know who keeps up with computer hardware ardently that nVidia is preparing the 9K series for the winter... Is this in anyway true?


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## DJShadow

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Schalldämpfer* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_LG S1 Pro laptop._

 

Very sexy, really wanted one of these but unavailable in the UK.

 I have a HP nc8430.

 Core Duo @ 2Ghz
 2 GB of PC53000 RAM
 160 GB HDD @ 5400rpm
 ATI MR X1600 with 256MB of dedicated RAM
 1680x1050 matte screen
 ummmm
 Logitech G5
 Borken HD 595


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## devin_mm

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Schalldämpfer* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Actually... I think a picture is more worthwhile than posting specs for my laptop.
http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3107

 One question: I heard from a guy I know who keeps up with computer hardware ardently that nVidia is preparing the 9K series for the winter... Is this in anyway true?_

 


 I've heard they're going to release their low to midrange 9k series by the end of november but they will be nothing but modified 8k's, no word yet on the high end stuff.

 There is a bit of info on wikipedia.


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## Pokato

e6400@3.5Ghz
 Asus Commando
 2Gb Corsair 8500C5D
 Leadtek 8800GTX
 Seasonic M12
 Samsung 226BW

 Just sold the water gears, but the components remained the same


----------



## JmRoq

Main rig is an Asus G1s-A1 notebook which I am just loving:

 C2D T7500 2.2ghz
 2Gb Corsair pc5300
 200Gb sata hd
 Nvidia mobile 8600GT
 Windows Vista 32-bit Home Premium

 Also have a desktop doing file/media server duty. It's down for repair/upgrade but in its current incarnation:

 AMD Opteron 165
 2Gb Corsair XMS pc3200
 2x250Gb WD sata in RAID 0
 2x250Gb Seagate sata for data
 Corsair 620watt psu
 Abit AN8 Nforce 4 mobo
 ATI Radeon x1800xl
 Gateway 21" HD lcd
 NZXT silent case
 Windows XP Pro 64-bit


----------



## Honken

My school laptop:
 Fujutsu Siemens AmiloPro 2
 1.5GHz CeleronM
 512mb DDR *something* RAM
 60GB *something* HDD

 I hate it. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Stationary:
 E4300 CPU overclocked to 3.2GHz
 Gigabyte DS3-P
 WD 5000AAKS HDD
 Sapphire x1950XT
 Corsair CMPSU-520HX PSU
 ... And a ****** Audigy 2 soundcard as my primary source. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 For the money I paid it's really good.


----------



## brotherlen

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *JSTpt1022* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I think we have a winner except for the razer audio accessories. That rig deserves better!_

 

for the price, i wouldn't recommend razer sound card or headphones. The mouse is awesome though.


----------



## Stefan_SN

This is my system(s), but not for long. About to upgrade soon.

 Lian Li PC-777 Memorial 25 years Anniversary model 
 Asus Striker extreme 680i
 Intel Core2Duo E6600 3.1Ghz
 2 x Club 3D NVidia GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 
 2 x 1GB Crosair Dominator PC800
 2,72TB Harddisk plus 500 external
 HDA XPLOSION 7.1 DTS CONNECT

 Dell 2407WFP 24" TFT
 Logitech Z-5500 
 Logitech diNovo Edge
 Logitech MX Revolution
 Logitech G5 

 Plus a hFX Media PC fanless heatpipe cooled mediecenter with nice spec.


----------



## Ice Max

Put my system together at the beginning of last summer as a graduation gift
 Thermaltake Tsunami Case
 AMD Altholon X2 4200+ @ ~2.3 GHz
 Zalman cooler (forgot the name)
 Asus A8n-SLi
 Enermax Liberty 500w PSU
 eVGA 7900GT KO (comes overclocked and has a heatsink that covers all the memory chips)
 2 Gigs of Gskill DDR PC4000 (forget the timings it has)
 250 GB Samsung SATAII HD
 Hyundai L90D+ 19" LCD Monitor
 Logitech MX510 Mouse
 FUncpad 1030 (rough side)
 Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic
 Happague WinTV Go Plus TV Tuner


 My Saitek Eclipse keyboard just died Saturday, and now I'm using a piece of crap Gateway Keyboard from 1999

 heres a pic


----------



## LawnGnome

DFI AM2 LANPARTY UT NF590 SLI-M2R/G
 X2 3800+EE AM2 @ 2.8ghz
 2x1GB OCZ PC2-6400 Platinum XTC
 XFX 7900GS @ 700/1700 vmodded
 Maxtor 6L250S0
 Maxtor 6V300F0
 Western Digital WD2500JS
 Mushkin HP-550(Cap/Filter Modded)
 X-fi Music modded


 Cooling
 Swiftech Apogee
 Swiftech MCW-60
 Swiftech MCP-600
 HardwareLabes Black Ice Extreme 2


 Old pics


----------



## Edi

E6600 @ 3.2Ghz
 Asus P5W DH Deluxe
 4 x 1GB g.Skill HZ PC6400 - 4-4-4-12 1:1
 eVGA 8800GTS 640mb - 685/2000
 PC Power and Cooling Silencer 610 EPS12V
 X-Fi ExtremeGamer Pro
 Lian Li V2000B
 Samsung 225BW
 Vista Ultimate x64

 Cooling:
 CPU - Scythe Ninja
 VGA - Thermalright HR-03 Plus


----------



## rxc

Compaq V2000 Notebook
 600MHz Underclocked Dothan
 1 GB Ram
 160GB Drive

 Takes a beating but keeps on ticking.


----------



## soloz2

my main rig:

 AMD Opteron 165 @ 2.8Ghz 24/7 (benches at 3Ghz+)
 2gb g.skill HZ DDR500 @ DDR540
 DFI Expert
 Asus Top 7900GT @700/1650 (when in XP)
 Auzen X-Fi Prelude
 2x Seagate 7200.10 250GB 16mb cache in RAID 0
 Seagate 7200.10 320gb for data
 Lite on DVD-ROM
 Plextor DVD burner
 PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
 CM Stacker (fully customized)
 Viewsonic 19" widescreen and Dell 17" dual monitors, both DVI
 cooling:
 Swiftech Apogee on the cpu
 DD maze 4 on gpu
 swiftech mcp655 pump
 black ice 320 stealth rad (tripple rad) mounted on the top of my case
 3x panaflo fans on the rad
 3x yate loon fans in the case
 swiftech ramsinks on the vga ram
 evercool chipset cooler

 Secondary rig: (currently for sale)
 AMD X2 3800+
 Asus A8N SLI Deluxe (stable at 350mhz! extremely rare for this board)
 2gb g.skill DDR400
 6600GT
 WD 250gb SATA
 lite on DVD-ROM
 lite on DVD burner
 Sony floppy
 Sunbeam Nuuo 550w psu
 Antec P180 case
 cooling:
 VF900 on gpu, arctic cooling silencer pro64 on cpu

 It did have multiple hdds, an X-Fi and a haupauge tv tuner and functioned soly as a HTPC


----------



## ingwe

http://www.michaelfrankel.org/puter/


----------



## GTRacer

Nice case. I use that one too.


----------



## Sh0eBoX

*Case:* NZXT Lexa
*PSU:* Enermax Whisper II 535W SLI
*Mobo:* DFI SLI-DR eXpert
*CPU:* AMD Opteron 165 @ 2.7GHz w/ 1.46v (cooled by AS5 and Thermaltake Big Typhoon + Thermaltake A2016 120mm Blue LED Fan)
*RAM:* 2x1GB G.Skill HZ PC 4000 3-4-4-8 1T @ 245MHz
*GPU:* eVGA 7900GT CO Superclocked @ 650/1750MHz w/ 1.4vmod (cooled by AS5 and Zalman vf-900cu)
*Sound:* Creative X-Fi Platinum
*HDDs:* (1) Seagate 7200.10 500GB 16MB Cache
 (1) Maxtor Diamondmax 10 200GB 16MB Cache
 (1) Seagate 7200.8 120GB 8MB Cache
*Operating System:* WinLite Streamlined Microsoft Windows XP Pro SP2
*Monitor:* Dell Ultrasharp 2005fpw 20" Widescreen LCD
*Speakers:* Swans M200 Multimedia Bookshelf Speakers
*Keyboard:* Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
*Mouse:* Razer Diamondback Limited Edition
*Mousepad:* Custom fUnc Surface 1030 Mousing Surface


 this will probably change a bit once Crysis comes out


----------



## no1likesme

My lappy:
 15.4" screen
 1.66 ghz coreduo
 2gb ddr2 800
 ati x1400
 120gb hdd
 PCLinuxOS 2007/windows xp mce 2k5


----------



## ingwe

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Stefan_SN* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_This is my system(s), but not for long. About to upgrade soon.

 Lian Li PC-777 Memorial 25 years Anniversary model 
 Asus Striker extreme 680i
 Intel Core2Duo E6600 3.1Ghz
 2 x Club 3D NVidia GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 
 2 x 1GB Crosair Dominator PC800
 2,72TB Harddisk plus 500 external
 HDA XPLOSION 7.1 DTS CONNECT

 Dell 2407WFP 24" TFT
 Logitech Z-5500 
 Logitech diNovo Edge
 Logitech MX Revolution
 Logitech G5 

 Plus a hFX Media PC fanless heatpipe cooled mediecenter with nice spec._

 



 Welcome to Head-Fi! Sorry about your wallet.


----------



## ingwe

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Edi* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_E6600 @ 3.2Ghz
 Asus P5W DH Deluxe
 4 x 1GB g.Skill HZ PC6400 - 4-4-4-12 1:1
 eVGA 8800GTS 640mb - 685/2000
 PC Power and Cooling Silencer 610 EPS12V
 X-Fi ExtremeGamer Pro
 Lian Li V2000B
 Samsung 225BW
 Vista Ultimate x64

 Cooling:
 CPU - Scythe Ninja
 VGA - Thermalright HR-03 Plus_

 

Welcome to Head-Fi! Sorry about your wallet.


----------



## Tridacnid

Right about upper midline now. Got it 2 years ago, and won't need anything for at least another year, once dual core is required for all games.

 CPU: P4 3.2Ghz w/ HT
 RAM: 1GB no idea what brand off the top of my head
 GPU: nVidia GeForce 6800
 HDD: 160GB Seagate (250GB external)
 Other doodads and gizmos that help it run.


----------



## soloz2

something weird happened...


----------



## bball2

3500+ AMD Athlon Processor
 1.0gb memory
 200gb hard drive
 2x dvd writers for 1 click burning
 20 inch LG widescreen monitor


----------



## leng jai

CPU: Intel Core 2 Q6600 Quad 2.4Ghz 
 Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DS3P 
 RAM: 4x1GB OCZ 800MHZ DDR2 
 HDD: 320GB Seagate S-ATA 16MB
 HDD2: 500GB Lacie Porsche External USB2 
 DVDRW: Pioneer AO9 16x 
 Monitor: Dell 2407 FPW 24inch Rev.3 
 Monitor2: Samsung 172x 17inch 
 HDtuner: Fusion HDTV Hybrid Pro PCI
 Video: Xpertvision 512MB 2900XT 
 Sound: X-Fi Extrememusic 
 Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 
 Headphones: Sennheiser HD650, Little Dot II++ Tube amp 
 Case: Antec P182 
 PSU: Antec NeoHE 550W 
 Keyboard: Logitech G15 
 Mouse: Logitech G7 Black
 Other: Xbox 360 Premium + HD-DVD







 My latest innovation: the 360 couch


----------



## ingwe

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 Nice case!


----------



## milkpowder

leng jai (funny name
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




), I spy Bioshock! It must run great on your computer
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I just got 2GB ram for my laptop. Running dozens of tabs full of pictures is no longer an issue!


----------



## wanderman

[hardforum sig copy and paste]
 :|cpu: Core2Quad Q6700 @ 3.3Ghz
 :|ram: Mushkin 2x1gb 4-4-4-12
 :|mobo: Gigabyte GA-G33M-DS2R
 :|gpu: ati x1950xt
 :|audio: Chaintech AV-710
 :|psu: corsair hx520
 :|hdd: raptor-74gb[16mb] & wd-750gb[16mb]
 :|case: silverstone sg03 w/ 7700-cu

 My file sever is Pentium D oc'ed to 3.2 with 1*300gb Hitachi and 3*400 gb seagates in raid 5. My web server (really my friends just in my room because he got married and moved out of the apartment) is on its way. 

 The only thing I need left to get is the LG 24 inch to replace the dell....edit: and maybe a black macbook


----------



## cyberspyder

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *leng jai* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_CPU: Intel Core 2 Q6600 Quad 2.4Ghz 
 Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DS3P 
 RAM: 4x1GB OCZ 800MHZ DDR2 
 HDD: 320GB Seagate S-ATA 16MB
 HDD2: 500GB Lacie Porsche External USB2 
 DVDRW: Pioneer AO9 16x 
 Monitor: Dell 2407 FPW 24inch Rev.3 
 Monitor2: Samsung 172x 17inch 
 HDtuner: Fusion HDTV Hybrid Pro PCI
 Video: Xpertvision 512MB 2900XT 
 Sound: X-Fi Extrememusic 
 Speakers: Logitech Z-5500 5.1 
 Headphones: Sennheiser HD650, Little Dot II++ Tube amp 
 Case: Antec P182 
 PSU: Antec NeoHE 550W 
 Keyboard: Logitech G15 
 Mouse: Logitech G7 Black
 Other: Xbox 360 Premium + HD-DVD



 My latest innovation: the 360 couch


_

 

Ever use that vacuum?


----------



## leng jai

Looking at those pics, clearly not.


----------



## Drewpy

Okay, but you all have to promise not to laugh.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 CPU: AMD Athlon XP-M 2400+ @ 2.0GHz
 MOBO: Abit AN7
 RAM: 1GB Ram (Corsair TwinX XMS)
 GFX: ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
 HDD: 160GB system, 320GB storage
 SND: E-MU 0404
 OS: Windows 2000 Professional



 I'll be upgrading in the next two weeks (hopefully, baring any unexpected expenses) to:
 CPU: Intel Q6600
 MOBO: Abit IP35 Pro
 RAM: 2GB OCZ DDR2-800
 GFX: ??? (Nvidia 8800GTS or HD 2900XT. Haven't decided yet)
 PSU: Corsair 520HX
 OS: Windows Vista/Linux
 and I'd like to move to the ESI Juli@ seeing as Creative haven't seen fit to release Vista drivers yet for the 0404.


----------



## Kuroyume

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Drewpy* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_GFX: ??? (Nvidia 8800GTS or HD 2900XT. Haven't decided yet)
 OS: Windows Vista/Linux_

 

nvidia cards are usually easier to setup on linux... most GPU problems on linux forums are with ATI cards...


----------



## GTRacer

The ATi is faster now than the GTS because of the new drivers though.


----------



## JSTpt1022

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Drewpy* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'll be upgrading in the next two weeks (hopefully, baring any unexpected expenses) to:
 CPU: Intel Q6600
 MOBO: Abit IP35 Pro
 RAM: 2GB OCZ DDR2-800
 GFX: ??? (Nvidia 8800GTS or HD 2900XT. Haven't decided yet)
 PSU: Corsair 520HX
 OS: Windows Vista/Linux
 and I'd like to move to the ESI Juli@ seeing as Creative haven't seen fit to release Vista drivers yet for the 0404._

 


 You're prolly gonna want bigger power. I'm using 500 and it's one of the next things on the upgrade list, it's nearly tapped out. My specs are posted on page three I believe.


----------



## GTRacer

Seriously? I'm running pretty much the same spec as he would be (dual core instead of a quad), and it's nowhere near tapped out.


----------



## Jigglybootch

3 GHz Pentium 4 (HT)
 2 GB Crucial RAM
 256 MB GeForce 6200
 74 GB Western Digital Raptor (OS)
 250 GB Samsung (data)
 Plextor PX-716A
 Echo Gina3G

 I definitely need to upgrade...


----------



## hotsoda

Windows Vista
 Antec Sonata III
 Abit IP35 Pro
 EVGA 7900 GS
 Intel e6300 @ 3.2GHz
 1GB x2 @ 5-5-5-15
 320GB and 250GB HDD
 Dell 2007FPW
 Logitech MX 400
 Saitek Eclipse
 Insignia bookshelves

 Anyone want to trade it for a Mac?


----------



## Electro Point

Pentium D 3.4ghz
 Gigabyte ga-8n-sli Mobo
 A-data 1GB x 2 Ram
 X-fi Fatality FPS
 XFX GeForce 7950GT
 320GB x 2 and 250GB Hard drives
 HP DVD burner/Lightscribe
 Enermax Liberty 500w


----------



## Honken

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *GTRacer* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Seriously? I'm running pretty much the same spec as he would be (dual core instead of a quad), and it's nowhere near tapped out._

 

Unless you decide to run two 8800 Ultra, 5 hd-dvd burners, 10 250mm and 10 SCSI hard drives you'd need more than 600W.

 Most consumers get tricked into believing that they need a lot more power than they really need.


----------



## devin_mm

Part of the problem is the power spike when the computer first powers on.
 Then again the processors I'm using each max out at 120Watts power usage so I like having a whole bunch of wattage.


----------



## PolkManiac

AMD 6000+ X2
 2 GB OCZ Platinum
 1 TB HDD capacity
 2 74GB Raptor drives in RAID
 eVGA 8800 GTS 640 BM Video Card


----------



## ChickenGod

Tsunami Case
 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600
 eVGA 7950 GT KO Superclocked
 ASUS P5B Motherboard
 2GB corsair ram
 250gb Barracuda HD
 Turtle Beach Catalina
 700W nSpire PSU
 27" Viewsonic LCD TV


----------



## nfusion770

I used to design/build systems for a living, but now I'm not so cutting edge, nor do I play games.

 A decent ~$100 Antec Case
 A 5-600watt brand name (Antec?) power supply
 Asus A8N SLI Mainboard
 Athlon 64 X2 3800
 2gb RAM
 2- 300gb 7200rpm hard drives 
 The cheapest re-badged DVD drive I could find
 The cheapest re-badged DVD Burner I could find
 The cheapest Geforce dual DVI card I could find
 ESI Juli@ Sound Card
 A couple of pretty quiet fans
 2 identical/ pretty cheap Acer 19inch Monitors
 M audio DX4 speakers, used mainly for slingbox
 Infrant ReadyNAS- 667Gigs of X raid security backed up to an external every few days.

 I also have a thinkpad T30 that is aging but pretty cheap to patch back together.


----------



## meat01

Quote:


 Most consumers get tricked into believing that they need a lot more power than they really need. 
 

agreed. Unless you are running SLI, 500 watts is enough and in most cases 430 or 450 is enough.


----------



## philodox

Nothin' special, but does the job. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 dfi lanparty ut nf4-d ▪ athlon a64 3000+ ▪ 2x 1024mb geil pc4000 ▪ sapphire radeon x1900gt / dell ultrasharp 2007wfp ▪ comowdow pd552 / sol headphone amplifier / mb-quart qp86 ▪ coolermaster centurion 5 ▪ enermax liberty 500w


----------



## Eagle_Driver

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Mysteek* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I don't recommend the 8600 GTS for gaming. I guess I didn't do my research and found out the hard way--it's not very great for the money._

 

Agreed on this. It's too expensive for its overall gaming performance level; it's only a sideways step at best from a two-generation-old 7800GT.
 Then again, the only GPUs suitable for next-generation gaming all cost significantly more than what the 8600GTS costs. And the less expensive GPUs are even less suitable for gaming than the 8600GTS. The 8600GTS itself is stuck in between the fastest HD2600 series GPU and the slowest HD2900 series GPU, with prices to match their performance level.


----------



## oicdn

Laptop
 Intel T5500 core 2 duo 1.66ghz 
 2gb RAM
 200gb HD

 OK for a laptop, great when I got it a year ago, pretty standard nowadays.


----------



## jmmtn4aj

*Processor:* Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.6GHz (400MHz x 9) 1.48v vcore + Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (kinda lapped) w/ Scythe S-Flex 120mm
*RAM:* 2 x 1GB Crucial Ballistix PC2 6400 @ 800MHz 4-4-4-12 (1:1)
*Graphics card:* Leadtek 8800GTS 640mb @ 650/1000
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte P35-DS3
*PSU:* Corsair HX520w
*Case:* Antec P182
*Hard disks:* Seagate 7200.10 320GB (primary) + Seagate 7900.9 250GB + Maxtor Plus9 160GB + Western Digital MyBook 500GB Premium ES Edition

*Monitor:* Viewsonic VX2025wm


----------



## nysulli

new company bought laptop
 dell vostro 1500
 T7500 2.2ghz 4meg cache core duo
 2x1gig 667mhz ddr
 256meg nvidia 8600m gt
 15.4" SXGA+
 120gig HD 5400 rpm
 8x dvd-r

 i think its time to upgrade the home PC now

 dfi lanparty ultra-d
 3700+ clocked 2.97ghz (11x270)
 2x1gig mushkin extreme pc4000 at 270mhz
 evga superclocked 7800gt 256meg
 modded x-fi
 150gig 10k rpm raptor
 320gig seagate perpendicular recording
 465watt enermax, Lian-Li pc60
 homebrew watercooling setup max cpu temp 29c


----------



## Ethelred

Mine:

 CPU: C2D E6600 2.4GHZ @3.24GHZ (Lapped) w/Thermalright Ultra-90 (Lapped) w/Sharkoon Eagle 1500)
 GPU: EVGA 7600GS 512MB <-Was just to tie me over till the 8800GT
 MOBO: GA P35-DS3R F5
 MEM: 2GB (2 x 1GB) G.Skill DDR2 800 (PC 6400) - 4 4 4 12
 PSU: 550W
 CASE: CM Centurion 5 (with 5 120mm Yate Loons)
 HDD: 320GB Seagate (Perp. Recording)
 CD/DVD: Liteon combo drive (SATA)
 22" Chimei LCD

 Sitting at about 3c above ambient.

 I'm going to get a 8800gt probably in a couple weeks, I would strongly suggest anyone thinking about getting a new GPU consider it. Right now it's at about 250usd at newegg and performing right under the GTX.


----------



## jaykay

main laptop (vostro 1500)
 1.66ghz c2d
 2gb ram
 8400m gs
 120gb hd
 15.4" screen
 tbaam

 desktop (in process of being sold)
 athlon 3200+ venice
 1gb ram
 6600gt
 160gb hd
 x-fi xtrememusic
 ocz powerstream 520w psu
 thermaltake tsunami case
 2 x 17" lcd monitors


----------



## Gaara

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 6600
 MB:Intel 965
 MEMORY: 2gb Corsair XMS
 CASE: Lian Li
 HD:320GB Western Digital Corsair + 500GB WD External
 GPU: BFG 8800 640MB GTS
 AUDIO: DIY Paradise USB Monica -> Promitheus Audio Ref 1 TVC -> Monarchy Audio SM-70 -> Rothschilde A2s
 MONITOR: Sony GDM-W900 (24in CRT)
 FANS: Nexus w/ Fan Controller and PSU Muffler


----------



## 2deadeyes

CPU: AMD Opteron 185
 MB: Asus (a socket 939; forgot name)
 Memory: 2 GB of Corsair
 Case: Cooler Master Centurion 5
 PSU: Antec TP-II 550W
 HD: Mix of WD, Seagate & Maxtor
 GPU: XFX 8800GTX
 Monitor: Dual Dell 20in.


----------



## krmathis

*Primary computer:*
 15" Apple MacBook Pro
 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 2GB RAM
 160GB 7200rpm HDD
 Mac OS 10.5

*Secondary computer:*
 15" Apple PowerBook G4
 1.5GHz Freescale PPC7447A
 1GB RAM
 100GB 7200rpm HDD
 Mac OS 10.4.10


----------



## Abbadon

CPU: E6420
 Memory: 2GB of OCZ Platinum @800 mhz
 MB: P5k Deluxe
 GPU: Asus 8800 GTS
 Case: Antec Sonata 3
 Montior: Samsung 206BW
 DVD Drive: Pioneer DVR-111D

 I regret spending so much on my computer...I wish I'd put the money towards my headphone rig instead.


----------



## Eagle_Driver

Okay, so my updated rig is now:

 CPU: E6750
 Memory: 2GB (2 x 1GB) OCZ "Vista Upgrade" PC2-6400 @ DDR2-800
 MB: P5K
 GPU: 7800GT (for now)
 Case: Antec Super Lanboy
 Monitor: Acer 19" widescreen
 DVD Drives: LG GSA-H62L SATA; Lite-On 160P6S IDE
 Operating System: XP Pro w/SP2 and all critical updates to date

 I may get an 8800GT or an HD2900 series GPU in the somewhat near future.


----------



## leoftw

2 x 2218 (2.6 GHZ Dual Core Opterons )
 4 x 1GB (DDR2 667)
 1 x 7600GT
 1 x Tyan Motherboard
 3 x 300GB (SAS 10K RPM) 
 1 x 800W Power Supply
 1 x Samsung DVD/RW


----------



## Gautama

Case: CoolerMaster Centurion 534
 Mobo: DFI Infinity Ultra II M-2
 Northbridge cooler: Thermalright HR-02
 CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ @ 2.4ghz
 CPU Cooler: Arctic Freezer 64 Pro
 RAM: 2x1gb and 2x512mb OCZ Gold DDR2 800 @ 4-5-5-5
 GPU: XFX 7600GT XXX @ 680mz/830mhz (Not even pencil modded!)
 HDD: 160gb 7.2k rpm SE16 Western Digital HD
 Sound: Hottrodded X-Fi with AD8599
 PSU: 380w Seasonic S12
 Mouse: Logitech G5 on Xtrac Ripper mousepad
 Keyboard: Logitech G15

 Outdated pic, but better than nothing. I lost the HD rails so its just on a piece of foam, which actually made it dead silent.








 For Christmas I'll be doing a refresh with the x2 5000+ black edition which I can hopefully get to 3.2ghz and a 8800GT.



 EDIT: I Apprently already posted this on the 2nd page


----------



## Davesrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *meat01* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_agreed. Unless you are running SLI, 500 watts is enough and in most cases 430 or 450 is enough._

 

I'm amazed by how many watts consumer graphics cards are drawing now
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 My 4 year old server/3D workstation had a huge 550W supply for its Nvidia Quadro card, hard drives, and dual Xeon MB. I just built a rendering computer that has a now "average" 650W supply....which needs not one, but two 12V supplies for its graphics card alone
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 On a side note, I'm also finding that the latest and greatest in gaming cards are pretty awful for OpenGL 3D apps like Maya or XSI. I got a 8800GTS for my rendering computer thinking I could also use it as a workstation. Graphics performance for directx games might kick butt, but my now meager Nvidia Quadro FX 1500 laptop cards give me better performance in 3D apps. So soon, I'll be spending the big bucks for a dedicated workstation with dual quad core Xeons and at least a Nvidia Quadro FX 4600....for now, I've got a decent server/rendering computer with 1.5TB of space.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 It's got a Intel Core 2 duo E8650 3GHZ, 1.3GHZ FSB (made sure to get the fastest RAM as well)......so rendering speeds are pretty good!


----------



## CTY

not the slightest bit of cutting-edge...
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Athlon Xp 2400+
 some Shuttle nforce2 mainboard
 1,25GB of DDR RAM
 Geforce 6600GT

 What can I say, it's still good enough for me, even for the occasional gaming. I don't see the need to upgrade anything


----------



## Ethelred

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Davesrose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_ It's got a Intel Core 2 duo E8650 3GHZ, 1.3GHZ FSB (made sure to get the fastest RAM as well)......so rendering speeds are pretty good!_

 

All in all you're ram is probably running at somewhere around 333mhz (unless you've overclocked), so the speed of the ram doesn't really matter much...that's even underclocked for DDR800 (PC 6400).


----------



## Davesrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_All in all you're ram is probably running at somewhere around 333mhz (unless you've overclocked), so the speed of the ram doesn't really matter much...that's even underclocked for DDR800 (PC 6400)._

 

My RAM is OCZ High speed DDR2: 1066MHZ that can be overclocked to 1.3GHZ. But I don't overclock for system stability. Wider bus does help with rendering.

http://www.ocztechnology.com/product..._ready_edition


----------



## Ethelred

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Davesrose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_My RAM is OCZ High speed DDR2: 1066MHZ that can be overclocked to 1.3GHZ. But I don't overclock for system stability. Wider bus does help with rendering._

 

It's ok RAM, however, by default the ratio between your CPU and RAM speeds are 1:1 (C2D like a ratio of 1:1). Currently you are running at 3.0GHz (9x333MHz) so you're ram is running at 333MHz (~DDR667). While at the same time you're timings are most likely really low or can be. Or at the very least if you modded them in the bios you could lower them to probably 4-4-4-12 or possibly quicker.

 My Computer:


----------



## tdogzthmn

Apple iMac 24"
 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 4 GB RAM
 ATI,RadeonHD2600


----------



## Anarchy965

MB: ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe socket 939
 CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2.0GHz
 Memory: 2 x 1GB OCZ Platinum DDR 400
 Video card: XFX 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 GeForce 7800GT
 Sound card: E-MU 1212M
 HDD: 2x WD Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB (7200 RPM, SATA 3.0Gb/s)
 Optical drive: LITE-ON DVD-ROM Drive (Model SOHD-16P9S)
 Case: NZXT Nemesis Elite Black
 PSU:Antec TRUEPOWERII (ATX12V 550W)

 I think my next build is far more interesting though!


----------



## Ethelred

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Anarchy965* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I think my next build is far more interesting though!_

 

If I may make a few recommendations:

 PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703009 $179<- More than enough.
 MEM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146565 $89.99 (49.99 with rebate)
 CPU Heatsink: http://www.petrastechshop.com/thulhecpucos.html $54 <-Better Perfomance by far, and cheaper.
 Case Fans: http://www.petrastechshop.com/12yalod1cafa.html $5 <- Louder, however with a fan controller they are near silent and cheaper.

 Just a heads up, Nvidia chip sets are known to fail...so if you aren't going to go SLI I wouldn't think it necessary. And the 8800GT is performing just under the GTX at half the price.


----------



## gates_2

PS: cheapo 600W for free A/R
 Mobo: Gigabyte DS3
 PROC: Core 2 Duo E4300 Oc'ed To 3.1 GHZ(handles 3.3 but makes me nervous)
 Memory: 3 Gig Ballistix tracer DDR2-800 (one dimm went bad )
 GPU: 7950 GS KO
 Sound: Modded X-fi elite pro

 Cheap setup that works quite well


----------



## Davesrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_It's ok RAM, however, by default the ratio between your CPU and RAM speeds are 1:1 (C2D like a ratio of 1:1). Currently you are running at 3.0GHz (9x333MHz) so you're ram is running at 333MHz (~DDR667). While at the same time you're timings are most likely really low or can be. Or at the very least if you modded them in the bios you could lower them to probably 4-4-4-12 or possibly quicker._

 





http://www.cluboverclocker.com/revie...-8500SLI/3.htm

http://www.cluboverclocker.com/revie...PC2%2D8500SLI/


----------



## wanderman

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Davesrose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_



http://www.cluboverclocker.com/revie...-8500SLI/3.htm

http://www.cluboverclocker.com/revie...PC2%2D8500SLI/_

 

it is quite clear that you don't know much about computers. SLI ready ram lewlz.


----------



## Davesrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *wanderman* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_it is quite clear that you don't know much about computers. SLI ready ram lewlz._

 

And how do you know what my knowledge of computers is like? Never mind the fact that I was around and did work on the old PCs: when you did have to really work on system timings. The only thing that is quite clear is that there are some people here who do not care to read current computer specs


----------



## Ethelred

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Davesrose* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_And how do you know what my knowledge of computers is like? Never mind the fact that I was around and did work on the old PCs: when you did have to really work on system timings. The only thing that is quite clear is that there are some people here who do not care to read current computer specs 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	





_

 

Check you're bios? What are they running at? I realize that they mem speed is rate at 533mhz, however, unless you've changed it you're not running at that. And if you are then it's pointless...As stated C2D like/and in most cases will default to a 1:1 ratio.

 How about we see a screen of either the bios or CPU-Z?






 What are the odds that my DDR2 800 (PC 6400) aren't running at 400mhz? Odd...I can get it to higher than 533Mhz if you want...doesn't mean much. And SLI ready products are simply a gimmick in regards to ram doesn't mean much the product is the same chip as their other product just rated higher and faster timings (for PC 1066).


----------



## Davesrose

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Check you're bios? What are they running at? I realize that they mem speed is rate at 533mhz, however, unless you've changed it you're not running at that. And if you are then it's pointless...As stated C2D like/and in most cases will default to a 1:1 ratio._

 

True, I enable SLI ready in the BIOS, which "safely" overclocks it to the 533. It also changes the C2D ratio so that the memory sees the CPU frquency as 6997.2, CPU Multiplier as 21x, FSB as 1.3GHZ, and mem as 1067GHZ.

 Whether you want to argue the validity of Nvidia SLI products, that's a seperate issue. I just had to roll my eyes when you were conjecturing what my system might be like, when I had already linked specs 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 My other point was that for tasks such as rendering, finding solutions for a wider bus may be more important then just frequency speeds alone. You simply need more as well as fast memory the more processes you're running.


----------



## aych

hmm.. my desktop is a 
 p4 2.4ghz 
 2gb DDR 633 ram
 250GB raid 0
 2 19" samsung LCD's

 my laptop however is a lil more beastly =P
 Intel 7500 santa rosa
 15.4 ultrabright samsung panel
 160gb hybrid HDD
 nvidia 8600 with HDMI out
 2gb of DDR2 ram
 intel abg ipw3945


----------



## nsx_23

Processing unit:

 Intel C2D E6700 overclocked
 Zalmann CNPS9500LED CPU fan
 Asus P5WDH Deluxe mobo
 2 x 1GB DDR800 Transcend Ram
 WD 320GB HD
 Asus EN8800GTS 320mb graphics card
 Antec 900 case
 Antec 500W neoHE power supply
 2 LG SATA DVD drives

 Peripherals:

 Samsung 931BW 19-inch widescreen monitor
 Logitech MX Revolution
 Logitech Media elite Keyboard
 Bose Companion II speaker (Can't fit a surround sound system on my work desk)
 External 80GB HD


----------



## iggee85

Athlon64 3000+
 1GB OCZ Platinum
 Antec Sonata
 BFG 7800GS
 MSI K8N Platinum


----------



## Daniel L

IBM/Lenovo T61P
 Intel Core 2 Duo T7500
 3GB RAM
 NVIDIA Quadro FX 570M
 Hitach 7K200 HDD


----------



## 450

1.4GHz T5270 C2D
 1GB RAM
 160gb hdd
 dvdrw
 vista home

 Works for me, as all I do is web stuffs and type. I wish I had iWork though.


----------



## Drewpy

Put this together a couple weeks ago. Waiting on cheap Penryn quad cores to become available, hence the cheap processor that currently lives in the system. The overclock was acheived with stock cooling and voltages.

 CPU: E2140 @ 3.0GHz
 RAM: 4x1GB OCZ Platinum
 MOBO: Abit IP35 PRO
 HDD: 2x320GB, 1x160GB
 GFX: Radeon HD 2600 XT (256MB)
 SND: EMU 0404
 PSU: Corsair HX520W
 Case: Antec P180 (SPCR edition)
 OS: Windows Vista 64-bit (Home Premium)

 Other: Samsung 193P+ 19" LCD Monitor


----------



## n00bler

Gigabyte P35-DQ6 mobo
 Intel C2D E6300 @ 3.2ghz
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro HSF
2GB OCZ DDR2-1100
Asus 8800GTX (600/1450/2000 on air)
X-Fi XtremeMusic
Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 5.1
 Raid 0 Hitachi 2x500GB 7200rpm 16mb cache
 Raid 0 Samsung 2x500GB 7200rpm 16mb cache
Antec Tru Power Trio 650w triple rails
Aerocool CoolView ATX/BTX case
20" Widescreen LCD sceptre x20g naga-III (p-mva)
Ergotron Neo-Flex
Logitech G15
Razer Copperhead
Cyber Snipa

 Vista Ultimate x64


----------



## Ethelred

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *n00bler* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Cyber Snipa_

 

How's the mouse pad?


----------



## Anarchy965

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703009 $179<- More than enough._

 

I plan to go SLI in the future.
  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_MEM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146565 $89.99 (49.99 with rebate)_

 

I was already considering whether to use these instead.
  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_CPU Heatsink: http://www.petrastechshop.com/thulhecpucos.html $54 <-Better Perfomance by far, and cheaper._

 

Thanks for this one. I didn't realize those ones gave better performance. Apparently though, the quality control on this model isn't up to par, and many users recieve them with a warped base.
  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Case Fans: http://www.petrastechshop.com/12yalod1cafa.html $5 <- Louder, however with a fan controller they are near silent and cheaper._

 

The CFM to noise ratio on the fans I chose is excellent, which is very important, since I'll be installing so many in this case.
  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_...the 8800GT is performing just under the GTX at half the price._

 

Heard about this, thanks for reminding me though.
  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Just a heads up, Nvidia chip sets are known to fail...so if you aren't going to go SLI I wouldn't think it necessary._

 

Again, I plan to go SLI in the future.(or possibly right off the bat if I go with an 8800GT)


----------



## r1ckchard

Shuttle SD39P2
 Intel C2D E6600 @ 2.4ghz @ 1.188v (28C idle)
 4GB Corsair DDR2-667
 Seagate 400GB 7200.10 HDD
 EVGA 8800GTS 320mb
 20" Samsung 206BW Widescreen Monitor
 Creative T3000 2.1 Speakers (don't use these much anymore)
 Logitech MX518 Mouse
 Logitech MX3200 Keyboard


----------



## Ethelred

Their have been some QA problems with the TRUE-120s, however, they have since for the most part been resolved. It came from the mounting system they had, it was far too loose and was causing an improper mount. As for the bases, every base will have some, thus the reason why many people lap them. That's just something that all have, the degree of warpage on the heatsink should be minimal and I have personally never heard of anyone reporting mass warpage in regards to the base.

http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/...d.php?t=137832 <- Fan reviews


----------



## jmmtn4aj

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *jmmtn4aj* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_*Processor:* Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.6GHz (400MHz x 9) 1.48v vcore + Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (kinda lapped) w/ Scythe S-Flex 120mm
*RAM:* 2 x 1GB Crucial Ballistix PC2 6400 @ 800MHz 4-4-4-12 (1:1)
*Graphics card:* Leadtek 8800GTS 640mb @ 650/1000
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte P35-DS3
*PSU:* Corsair HX520w
*Case:* Antec P182
*Hard disks:* Seagate 7200.10 320GB (primary) + Seagate 7900.9 250GB + Maxtor Plus9 160GB + Western Digital MyBook 500GB Premium ES Edition

*Monitor:* Viewsonic VX2025wm_

 

I've updated my rig 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





  Quote:


 Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.87GHz (423MHz x 9) 1.51v vcore + Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme w/ Scythe S-Flex 120mm
 2 x 1GB Crucial Ballistix PC2 6400 @ 1016MHz 5-5-5-15 (5:6)
 Leadtek 8800GTS 640mb @ 650/1000
 DFI LANParty UT P35 T2R
 Corsair HX520
 Lian-Li PC-A70b
 Seagate 7200.10 320GB (primary) + Seagate 7900.9 250GB + Maxtor Plus9 160GB + Western Digital MyBook 500GB Premium ES Edition

 Viewsonic VX2025wm

*Currently building for my brother:*
 Core 2 Quad Q6600 + Thermalright Ultima-90 w/ Scythe S-Flex 120mm
 4x1GB Crucial Ballistix PC2 6400
 8800GT/HD3870 (haven't decided and no stock)
 Gigabyte P35-DS3
 Corsair HX620
 Antec P182
 Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB

 LG L226WTQ-BF 
 

The Q6600 in my rig is at 3.6 (450x9) 1.41v though (turns out the previous 1.48 needed was because of vdroop). 3.87 was too warm for my liking. RAMs at 900MHz 4-4-4-12


----------



## Mysteek

I just received my 8800GT.

 It is amazing! Never thought I'd be playing Crysis on high settings so soon


----------



## darckhart

Amd Xp2800+ Barton
 Ecs N2u400a
 1.5gb Pc3200 Ddr
 Nvidia Geforce 2 Gts


----------



## wangerin

Dfi P965-S
 e6400 @ 3.6
 2GB HZ's
 7900GTO 
 Audigy ZS
 OCZ Powerstream 600 Adju
 2 x WD 160GB (Raid0)
 1x WD 320GB (backup)
 Watercooled in a CM stacker.
 Dell 3007 WFP
 Logitech G15 / G6
 Windows XP Pro 

 Im waiting for the upcoming 780i board and planning to move to a q6600 and probably 2 8800GT/S (G92).


----------



## ~n00beR

Asus P5K-E Wifi/AP
 Intel E6600 (1066)
 2GB OCZ DDR2 PC8500 SLI (1066)
 Nvidia 8800GTX
 Creative XtremeGamer
 500GB WD SATA II
 Lian-Li PC A05B
 Samsung SyncMaster 206BW 20"

 Case temp 34C
 CPU Temp 30C


----------



## Akathisia

Nothing Crazy :

 Windows XP Pro
 ASUS A8N-SLi Deluxe mobo
 AMD Athlon 64 1.8Ghz
 3g Ram
 NVidia 7900 gtx
 180g HD space
 Sony/NEC DVD-ROM Burner
 all in a Cooler Master Centurian case.


----------



## mencargo

Well...

 "CPUs":

 Intel Quad Core Q6600
 2x1Gb DDR2 800Mhz
 Gigabyte Mobo with P35 chipset
 GeForce 8600GT
 320Gb SATA2
 Sony DVD-RW
 CoolerMaster 420w

 2x:
 Intel E2180 @ 3Ghz
 2x1Gb DDR2 800Mhz
 Gigabyte Mobo with P35 chipset
 ATi Radeon x1950 Pro
 320Gb SATA2
 DVD-RW

 AMD Athlon X2 4800+
 2x1Gb DDR2 800Mhz
 Mobo nVidia 410 - GeForce 6100 IGP
 320Gb SATA2
 DVD-RW

 AMD Athlon X2 3600+
 2x512Mb DDR2 800Mhz
 Mobo nVidia 410 - GeForce 6100 IGP
 120Gb SATA2
 DVD-RW

 LCD Monitors:
 Acer AL2016W
 Acer AL1916W

 Speakers:
 Logitech X-230
 Logitech X-540

 Sony MDR-CD180 headphones (I know, I'm here to change it!)

 Microsoft Optical Confort 3000 mouse
 Benq X120 Keyboard

 I think I'm forgetting something...


----------



## Eagle_Driver

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Ethelred* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Currently you are running at 3.0GHz (9x333MHz) so you're ram is running at 333MHz (~DDR667). While at the same time you're timings are most likely really low or can be. Or at the very least if you modded them in the bios you could lower them to probably 4-4-4-12 or possibly quicker._

 

This is what I've found with 5-5-5-15 DDR2-800 memory when run at DDR2-667 speed. To the nearest values (round even), the "correct" timings of 5-5-5-15 rated DDR2-800 memory would be 4-4-4-12 @ DDR2-667.


----------



## AgentVX

Core 2 Duo E4300 @ 3GHz (Thermalright SI-128 heatsink)
 Asus P5B-E Plus
 2x1GB TwinMOS DDR2-667
 HIS Radeon X1800GTO, flashed to XL and clocked at 594/594 for gaming
 Chaintech AV-710
 Seagate 200GB
 Antec TruePower Trio 430W
 Lian Li PC7B+

 Viewsonic VX2235wm (22" widescreen)
 Cheapass keyboard
 Logitech G5
 Altec Lansing VS3151 (for surround gaming, youtube videos, low quality streaming music, etc)

 Waiting for the next generation of graphics cards so I can upgrade that part of my system (damn you Crysis).


----------



## klenk

Well, its the bare minimum for todays computing standard but here goes:

 Ultra X-Connect 500W Power Supply
 ASUS A7V333 Rev 2.x
 AMD Athlon xp 2100+ 1.7 ghz
 XP pro SP2
 Thermaltake tornado cpu fan (loud as hell)
 1GB PC2300 266mhz total (1x 512mb pc3200, 2x 256 pc2700)
 Thermaltake RAM heatsinks
 Maxtor 60GB primary
 Maxtor 160 GB secondary (dying)
 CoolerMaster CoolDrive 4
 ATI Radeon 9600 series (yes its AGP)
 crappy combo DVD ROM/CD writer
 Sony 4x DVD writer
 std 1.44 floppy drive (iono why its there... never use it anymore)
 3x Blue LED fans
 More blue LED case & floor lights
 Clear Acrylic Case with Dragon etched side panel

 19 inch Sony LCD multi function display (MFM-HT95 or so it says)
 Logitech Elite keyboard with its crappy mouse (yes, they're wired)
 Sony TMR-IF630R wireless headphones (crap sound, okay for TV 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)

 I built this age old computer in 2002, since then it's gone though the video card updates (GeForce 2 > Geforce3 > ATI radeon 9600) as well as RAM (2x 256MB + 1x 512MB) and PSU change (400 > 500w which I think is an overkill, not to mention the fans) and Case switching (aluminium > acrylic in 2004)

 Couldn't be bothered taking it out of its case anymore, hey if it ain't broke don't fix it right? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Peace


----------



## DocHamm

Although there are more in the house, these are mine alone...

 Desktop:
 Intel Core 2 DUO 2.66GHz
 2GB RAM DDR2 2.67 GHz
 Thermaltake 500 watt Dual-Fan PS
 NVidia GeForce 8600 GTS 256
 1 x WD 250GB SATA 7200 (system)
 2 x WD 200GB SATA 7200 Data [RAIDed]
 BenQ DVD DD DW1625
 Creative SoundBlaster Live! [*digital out to speakers]
 Cambridge Digital FPS-2000 Speakers
 Windows XP Professional
 Antec LanBoy Case
 Viewsonic VX2245wm 22" LCD Monitor w/iPod Dock
 Aura eLuminX Keyboard
 Logitech Trackman Marble

 Laptop:
 HP Pavilion DV8327US
 Intel Core Duo Processor T2050
 1.6GHz w/Centrino Technology
 1GB RAM DDR2
 2 x 80GB HDDs
 17-inch WXGA+ TFT Display
 8X DVD+/-RW Drive
 Windows XP Professional
 USB Drives:
 WD Passport 160GB
 WD 120GB in Metal Speed Box

 Gone are more than I care to count, including IBM Netfinity servers, along with the SGI quad-xeons, which are awesome in-room heaters during the winter months but suck when the electric bill arrives. Currently a stack of parts about 4' cubed stands next to the front door ready to move out. No more than two systems for moi anymore!


----------



## afireinside

The latest 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Asus Maximus Formula SE
 3060 xeon @ 3.73ghz
 Gskill 4gbpq @ 500mhz 5-5-5-15
 3870 crossfire @ 850/1251
 2x 74gb 8mb raptors RAID 0
 320gb seagate 7200.10
 CM real power pro 750w
 CM stacker 830 EVO SE
 x-fi xtreme music


----------



## kevg73

wow nice comp... wanna give me one of those 3870's/ the ultra 120-extreme? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 my specs:
 e6600 @ 3.4
 2gb ddr2 800 4-4-4-12
 dfi infinity 975x
 7950gt
 250gb WD hdd
 soundblaster audigy 4 (dont hate me, i just ordered a DAC)
 19" samsung 931b


----------



## fat pat

heres mine, its coming up on 2 years old, with some little changes in the interim

 asus a8n5x mobo
 eVGA 6800 gs
 amd s939 3800+ x2 @ 2.8, the chip will do 2.9 with some extra volts
 antec 500w true power
 antec super lanboy
 2x 250gig wester dig satas in raid 0
 xtreme music
 mx 1000 mouse
 saitek eclipse II keyboard, currently set on the blue color
 samsung 730b monitor


----------



## lottocdr

lol, i'm just using a laptop
 no gaming for me


----------



## DoubleEs

Here's mine -

 PC1 

 Q6600 @ 3.1 with TR Extreme 120 HSF
 2 x 250 HD
 8800 GTS
 2 gig Ballistix RAM
 Tagan PSU
 X-Fi SC
 EMU 0404
 XP Pro

 PC2
 Q6600 @ 3.1 with Zalma HSF
 Antec Fusion case
 2 x 500 HD
 2 gig Geil RAM
 XFX 7900XXX GTS
 X-Fi SC
 MCE 2005

 PC3 
 Q6600 @ 3.1 with TR Extreme 120 HSF
 ATI 512MB 1900XT
 2 x 250 HD
 2 gig Ballistix RAM
 X-Fi SC
 XP Pro

 PC4

 C2D 4300 @ 2.8
 Nvidia 6600GT
 2 gig Corsair DDR RAM
 Kubuntu 64 7.10


----------



## Huckster

Outdated, but still loved for a cheap person like me 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Powermac dual G4 running OSX 10.4.11 (would crawl w/ win, very snappy for my needs in osx tho 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 Dual powerpc cpu's @1.25ghz 
 Ati Radeon Pro 9600
 1.5 gig ram
 1x 80g, 1x 250g WD, 1x 20g old clunker hd i found
 1x dvd-rom stock drive, 1x LaCie dvd-write drive w/ lightscribe

 Acer 22" lcd, irocks blue glow keyboard, A4tech gaming mouse (adjustable dpi 500-2000? rocks anyhow)

 Lots of noisy fans which i've modded/replaced to make slightly less noise, including one epoxied to back of psu for heat management. still the biggest detractor to a quiet listening environment. There is a reason why its the "wind tunnel" model.


----------



## jh4db536

i cant see myself spending a lot on computers these days:
 every couple years ill buy a new cpu and mb on sale.

 desktop:
 P4 3ghz...gonna go celeron next time
 1g RAM
 ATI x1600 256meg; handmedown
 Viewsonic X series 22" LCD
 b-Enspirer soundcard
 TEAC CDRW & DVDRW - loudest drives ever, super fast DAE. has survived years of abuse.
 145gig Seagate Cheetah 15k w/ adaptec controller - had this for years, never upgraded/never plan to. really noisy, gets hot. enterprise reliability...works for me.
 Razer Krait mouse - probably the best $30 i spent on computers

 looking into a better powersupply. i burned out 3 in 1.5 years. do they make quality audiophile PS for comps?

 laptop:
 runs Office07, Foobar, and holds a large amount of my lossless. that's all i need.
 128ram
 266mhz
 60gig harddrive - i found it in the school library lol.
 Edirol UA1 USB for 24bit DAC


----------



## Cousin Patty

e6600 OC'ed to 3.48ghz watercooled with Corsair Nautilus
 2gb Crucial Ballistix linked and synced 
 evga 680i A1 mobo
 nvidia 8800GTX OC2
 EMU 0404
 Corsair HX620 PSU
 Windows XP sp2


----------



## jnev

right now I'm running a 2.2ghz macbook pro with 4gb ram as my main computer (I'm in college, not enough room for a desktop).

 my desktop that I keep at home is a few years old, but here's the specs anyways:

 2.8ghz prescott @ 3.5ghz
 120mm zalman heatsink with AS5
 abit aa8xe motherboard
 evga 6600gt
 creative audigy2 ES
 2x80gb, 1x300gb
 dvdrw

 eventually I'll upgrade it, it's just that now I really don't have much use for it as I don't have any room for it in my dorm; once I get a apartment next year I will definitely bring it up to school.


----------



## `danny

Intel E6420~3504mhz@1.43V
 ASUS P5K Deluxe
 2x1GB Crucial Ballistix 5-5-5-10@DDR1051
 EVGA 320MB 8800GTS~610/1840
 574GBs Of Storage
 OCZ GameXStream 700W PSU
 Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
 Logitech G15 & MX518
 Thermaltake Armor Series
 Fiber out --> Headroom 2005 DAC --> Little Dot II++ --> Senn HD595s


----------



## ken36

Hardware Overview:

 Model Name:iMac
 Model Identifier:iMac4,1
 Processor Name:Intel Core Duo
 Processor Speed:1.83 GHz
 Number Of Processors:1
 Total Number Of Cores:2
 L2 Cache:2 MB
 Memory:1 GB
 Bus Speed:667 MHz
 Boot ROM Version:IM41.0055.B08
 SMC Version:1.1f5


----------



## Eagle_Driver

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Eagle_Driver* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Okay, so my updated rig is now:

 CPU: E6750
 Memory: 2GB (2 x 1GB) OCZ "Vista Upgrade" PC2-6400 @ DDR2-800
 MB: P5K
 GPU: 7800GT (for now)
 Case: Antec Super Lanboy
 Monitor: Acer 19" widescreen
 DVD Drives: LG GSA-H62L SATA; Lite-On 160P6S IDE
 Operating System: XP Pro w/SP2 and all critical updates to date

 I may get an 8800GT or an HD2900 series GPU in the somewhat near future._

 

I kept that promise. A BFG 8800GT OC came into my system. Now I can play the slightly older games at maxed-out everything, and even Crysis at moderately high settings at my monitor's native rez.

  Quote:


 So my updated rig is now:

 CPU: E6750
 Memory: 2GB (2 x 1GB) OCZ "Vista Upgrade" PC2-6400 @ DDR2-667
 MB: P5K
 GPU: BFG 8800GT OC
 Case: Antec Super Lanboy
 Monitor: Acer 19" widescreen
 DVD Drives: LG GSA-H62L SATA; Lite-On 160P6S IDE
 Operating System: XP Pro w/SP2 and all critical updates to date

 I may get an 8800GT or an HD2900 series GPU in the somewhat near future. 
 

The older parts are going to be sold rather than built into a new rig. High-tech parts, especially high-performance ones, can kill anybody's budget...


----------



## krmathis

Main Computer:
 15" Apple MacBook Pro
 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 2GB RAM
 160GB 7200rpm hdd

 Secondary computer:
 15" Apple PowerBook G4
 1.5GHz Freescale PPC7447A
 1GB RAM
 100GB 7200rpm HDD


----------



## Zarathustra19

Lets see...my good computer or my crappy one?

 Lets go with the better one. Nothing special in comparison to some of the comps on here.

 AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core Processor 4600+ @ 2.41 GHz
 2 GB of RAM
 320 GB HDD
 20 GB secondary HDD
 160 GB External HDD
 Creative X-fi Platinum Sound Card
 Nvidia GeForce 6500 Video Card (the 6600GT died 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)

 I guess thats about it. Waiting for an upgrade or two, maybe some more RAM for christmas.


----------



## uppis

Eh I think this is the slowest one this far..
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 900mhz Intel
 512mb RAM
 4gb ssd
 Integrated Intel graphics whatsoever
 7" screen

 But still, from cold to full functionality 20sec.
 And the name of this laptop is Asus eee pc, in black of course..

 But thank god for photoshop I have something better.


----------



## owkia

E6600 @ 3.2Ghz
 EVGA 640MB 8800GTS @ 648/1026
 2x2GB G.Skill RAM
 Asus P5N-E SLI mobo
 320GB Seagate 7200.10 HDD
 750GB Seagate 7200.10 HDD
 24" Soyo DYLM24D6
 Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer
 Corsair HX520W PSU

 I have the CPU and northbridge watercooled right now and will eventually be adding to the loop so it can cool my GPU as well.


----------



## lordmozilla

Here goes :

 Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz (333x9 - i'm not original) on artic cooling freezer 7 pro
 Leadtech 7800GTX TDH 256mb
 4x1gb Corsair XMS2 667mhz (i've always hated not 1:1 ratios)
 MSI P35-Neo2 FR
 Adaptec 29160
 Fudjitsu 18GB 15k rpm
 IBM 18GB 10k rpm
 500GB seagate sata 7200.10
 250GB Hitachi/IBM Desktar sata 72000rpm
 80GB samsung sata 7200rpm
 LG blueray/hd-dvd combo drive sata
 NEC DVD+RW drive IDE
 Creative Audigy 2 platinum Ex

 Since we're doing multi comps :

 E6600 @ stock
 Intel 965 chipset (unkown foxconn mobo) ICH8 southbridge
 2GB (2x1GB 800mhz DDR2)
 ATi X1550

 AMD Athlon XP2500+ M @ 2.2ghz (3200+)
 Abit NF7-S rev.2.0 bios D27
 Matrox G400 max 32MB
 2x512MB geil PC3200 @ CAS 2.0
 Creative Audigy SE (brother recently gave it to me)

 Via EPIA 5000
 2x512MB SDRAM 133mhz
 Via S3 8MB
 Asterisk digium PCI card

 I'll stop there, i do have an A64 3200+ loaned to my sister, my old XP200+ loaned to my bro, my dual P3 1ghz server (most stable machine ever), and there's my mum's dual opteron built by me (unlike the dual P3 is not very stable hence why it never replaced the dual P3 server. Then theres laptops but they are boring just 3 sony vaios, 2 Pentium M's and one Core2 all with 1GB of ram (core2 has 2GB and nvidia 6xxx cards).


----------



## donovansmith

Neither of my machines are particularly impressive, but here goes:

 Laptop:
 Apple iBook G4
 1.2GHz Freescale PowerPC 7450 CPU
 1.25GB PC2700 DDR SDRAM
 60GB internal hard drive
 DVD-ROM/CD-RW combo drive
 ATI 9200 graphics with 32MB VRAM
 12" internal XGA LCD
 320GB Western Digital MyBook FireWire external drive
 19" Westinghouse external LCD monitor (via KVM switch)
 Mac OS X 10.4

 Desktop:
 HP Pavilion 1710n
 2.2GHz AMD Athlon64 X2 CPU
 1GB PC5300 DDR2 SDRAM
 320GB Seagate SATA internal hard drive
 HP LightScribe DVD writer
 LiteOn DVD writer
 GeForce 7600GT PCI-X graphics card
 19" Westinghouse LCD monitor (via KVM switch)
 Ubuntu 7.10


----------



## Chipp

CPU:Intel E2160 @ 333x9, 1.3 bios vcore (vdroop takes it down to 1.232 actual voltage)
 Motherboard:Asus P5B Vanilla
 Graphics Card:ATI X1900XT @ 648/720
 Memory:OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Platinum Revision 2
 Hard Drive:120gb Hitatchi Deskstar IDE
 Optical Drive:NEC DVDRW
 Power Supply:CoolerMaster RM-500
 Display:Viewsonic G71F CRT
 Case: CoolerMaster Centruion 5
 Sound Card:X-Fi Xtreme Music


 Apologies for the messy formatting... I copied and pasted from a system specs script at OCN....


----------



## ecommerce813

Intel Pentium 805D OC to 3.3GHz
 Gigabyte 965P DS3 3.3
 2GB OCZ RAM
 2x iRAM in RAID0 + WD 7200ATA 250GB x2
 VisionTek x850XT
 Dell WFP2707
 Chaintech AV 710 (coming)
 Modded Corsair Cool
 Tagan TG580-U22
 Old server case
 Logitech MX5000 BT
 Wacom Intuos3 9x12
 SP2


----------



## lordmozilla

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Chipp* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_CPU:Intel E2160 @ 333x9, 1.3 bios vcore (vdroop takes it down to 1.232 actual voltage)
 Motherboard:Asus P5B Vanilla
 Graphics Card:ATI X1900XT @ 648/720
 Memory:OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 Platinum Revision 2
 Hard Drive:120gb Hitatchi Deskstar IDE
 Optical Drive:NEC DVDRW
 Power Supply:CoolerMaster RM-500
 Display:Viewsonic G71F CRT
 Case: CoolerMaster Centruion 5
 Sound Card:X-Fi Xtreme Music


 Apologies for the messy formatting... I copied and pasted from a system specs script at OCN.... 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

nice but you forgot to say how much ram you have 

 How are you finding that X1900XT btw?


----------



## Chipp

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *lordmozilla* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_nice but you forgot to say how much ram you have 

 How are you finding that X1900XT btw?_

 

Whoops, 2x1gb 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I like it quite a bit - quite a nice overclocker with the VF900 on it. (I received the card without the stock cooler so I can't offer a comparison there...) This system pushes me to just over 6300 in 3DM06 on XP, and handles what I play maxed at 1280x1024 (UT3 and SupCom mostly - no AA in either and 8x AF in both). 
hwbot.org - Chipp's 3Dmark 2006 score


----------



## BigSurSpoon

AMD ATHLON X2 5200+ @2.66GHz
 2x1GB PC6400 DDR2-SDRAM
 Nvidia GeForce XFX 8800GTS 320 (should have waited for the GT 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)
 320GB Seagate SATA
 Case: CoolerMaster Centruion 5
 Display: SCEPTRE NAGA III 20.1"
 Sound Card: X-Fi Xtreme Music (modded)

 Bleh... I already need to upgrade..


----------



## lordmozilla

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Chipp* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Whoops, 2x1gb 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I like it quite a bit - quite a nice overclocker with the VF900 on it. (I received the card without the stock cooler so I can't offer a comparison there...) This system pushes me to just over 6300 in 3DM06 on XP, and handles what I play maxed at 1280x1024 (UT3 and SupCom mostly - no AA in either and 8x AF in both). 
hwbot.org - Chipp's 3Dmark 2006 score_

 

you like te VF900 ? i thought it was a bag of *****. Thats just abit under my 7900GTX 512MB (oc'd a little can't tell you how much cause i'm at work  ), but i have a Q6600 @3.0ghz and 4gb of ram. I'm kinda tempted to go to 8gb actually (i run linux 64bit for everything but games and blueray/hd-dvd playback)

 I can play UT3 @ 1680x1050 with 8xAF smoothly (i'm not at 60fps all the time but nicely above 40)


----------



## Al4x

bear in mind its a laptop

 dell xps m1710 laptop
 17inch 1920x1200 TFT
 core 2 duo t7600G 2.33GHZ @ 2.83GHz
 4gb ram
 nvidia 512mb 7950 gtx
 160gb 7200rpm 8mb
 wireless
 bluetooth
 HD DVD

 Dropped down 10 wooden stairs with no scratches!
 love the multicoloured lights!


----------



## n_maher

Just got my Sager 5972 (Built on Clevo M570RU) laptop yesterday:

 - Display: 17" WUXGA "Glare Type" Super Clear Ultra Bright Glossy Screen (1920x1200)
 - Processor: Intel 45nm "Penryn" Core2 Duo T8300 2.4GHz w/3MB L2 On-die cache - 800MHz FSB
 - Video Card: 512MB PCI-Express nVidia GeForce 7950GTX 
 - Ram: 4,096MB DDR2 667 PC2 5300 (2 SODIMMS) Dual Channel Memory 
 - 1GB Intel Robson Turbo Memory 
 - Optical Drive: ~Combo 8x8x6x4x Dual Layer DVD +/-R/RW 5x DVD-RAM 24x CD-R/RW Drive 
 - Primary Hard Drive: ~ 200GB 7200RPM (Serial-ATA II 300 - 16MB Cache)
 - Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Installed


----------



## Al4x

that thing is huge! how do you find it for games?


----------



## n_maher

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Al4x* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_that thing is huge! how do you find it for games?_

 

Assuming your talking to me I find it great for games. I loaded up COD4 and Quake4 last night and it will run them both at max resolutions with all the goodies turned on.


----------



## Al4x

have you tried crysis, cause mine cant manage that at hi, im gonna get xp back on it!

 nice bit of kit, amazing what they can pack in!


----------



## tkam

Server:
 2 x Opteron 275s
 4GB ram
 nvidia 7600
 4 x 1TB HD's in RAID5 on 3ware 9650SE

 Desktop:
 Intel Q6600
 4GB ram
 nvidia 8800gts
 4 x 500GB HDs in RAID5
 24" Dell LCD

 Laptop:
 Sager NP5793
 17" WUXGA Screen
 Intel Core 2 Duo T9300
 4GB Ram
 nvidia 8800gtx
 200GB 7200rpm HD
 Panasonic UJ-220 Blu-Ray Drive


----------



## n_maher

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Al4x* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_have you tried crysis, cause mine cant manage that at hi, im gonna get xp back on it!_

 

I don't have access to crysis and probably won't any time soon. I doubt it would run it at max settings since just about no laptop really can (even w/ the 8800) so that's not much of a concern. I bought it for both work and play and needed something to have reasonably high levels of graphics processing capability but not bleeding edge power. Plus, I can always move up to the 8800 if I want to, it just wasn't worth another $500 to me right now.

  Quote:


 nice bit of kit, amazing what they can pack in! 
 

Indeed, it is quite nice.


----------



## indysmith

Black MacBook
 2.16GHz Processor,
 2GB RAM,
 160GB Hardrive,
 OSX Leopard.


----------



## forsakenrider

asus eee pc
 900mhz intel mobile cpu
 512mhz ram (soon to be 2 gigs)
 4 gig ssd
 Touch screen mod
 running eeeXubuntu


----------



## kalis104

Dekstop:
 Intel Q6600
 4GB Ram
 8800GTS 512MB
 Auzentech Prelude X-Fi
 74GB WD, 320GB Maxtor, 750GB Hitatchi
 Vista Home Premium

 Lappy:
 Dell XPS gen 2
 2.13 GHz Pentium-M
 2GB Ram
 7800GTX
 Windows XP


----------



## tk3

Me:
 Using some pre-built thing from Dell from like 5 years ago, but it's good enough for me since I don't play any taxing games or graphics processing software etc.
 Recently added a new monitor, Samsung syncmaster 226bw, since my house was broken into and they jacked some stuff, including the old monitor.

 Just built a new PC for my bro though:

 E2180 2 GHZ overclocked to 3.3 atm, but can probably go even higher
 2 GB DDR2 6400
 The new ATI HD3850 / 512, overclocked some
 And some parts from his old comp.

 All in all a PC that performs well (can run NWN2 on fairly high settings/highest resolution without noticeable slowdown), and parts costs was pretty low. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 It's surprising how cheap PC parts are becoming, you can get really good performance for little money, compared to awhile back.


----------



## milkpowder

Using a couple year-old Dell Inspiron 9300 laptop atm at university. I'm really surprised how fast it is running despite the dated components.

 Intel Centrino 1.86GHz
 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM
 80GB 5,400rpm internal
 500+320GB external WD HDDs
 nVidia GeForce 6800Go 256MB (this one overclocks like mad!)
 17" 1440x900 internal + 22" 1680x1050 Samsung 2232BW external


 Back in Hong Kong I use a desktop (shared with my dad for gaming because I also bring my laptop back home for non-gaming duties). It's reasonably quick but the processor is really dragging the system down. It does run Crysis, World in Conflict and Bioshock with most of the goodies on max, which isn't surprising given the resolution of the monitor.

 AMD Athlon X2 4400+
 Asus A8N Premium
 2GB DDR2 6400 (iirc)
 2 x 300GB RAID 0 internal
 120+500+500GB external Iomega, WD, LaCie HDDs
 nVidia GeForce 8800GTX 768MB
 19" 1280x1024 Sony HS95P


 XP Pro on both machines.


 I'll hopefully be able to get a new rig for uni. Eyeing a 790i or X48 based quad core, 9800GX2 or 3870 X2, wd raid 0/10 raptor system. It should be good
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 A 24" 1920x1200 Samsung would sweeten things even further


----------



## AuroraProject

Gaming rig:
 EVGA 680i mobo
 Intel X6800 @4ghz
 2gb Crucial Ballistix
 EVGA 8800gtx
 2-74gb Raptors in RAID 0
 2-320gb Seagates
 Audigy 2 Platinum
 Corsair 620w psu
 Water cooled, D-Tek Fuzion, EK full coverage block on the 8800, Danger Den 680i northbridge block, Swiftech 3x120 radiator, Swiftech pump.

 HTPC:
 Intel D975XBX2 mobo
 Intel E4300 @ 3.25ghz
 EVGA 6800 Ultra
 1gb G-Skill
 320gb Seagate
 750w Silverstone psu
 Water cooled: Swiftech 2x120 radiator, Danger Den cpu & gpu blocks, Swiftech res, Swiftech pump with Petras top.

 Laptop:
 Apple MacBook Pro
 17" screen
 ATI Radeon X1600 256mb graphics
 Intel Core Duo @ 2.16ghz
 2gb ram
 120gb Seagate (soon to upgraded to a 320gb Western Digital)


----------



## Dorito123

Lian-Li PC-A70 Black
 PC Power and Cooling 750 quad
 Asus A8N32-SLI 
 Opteron 185 2.6 x 2
 Mushkin Redline DDR 4000 2 gigs
 Raptor 150 HD
 Seagate 320 HD
 Plextor PX-810SA
 8800GTS 640MB KO ACS3
 8800GTS 640MB KO ACS3 
 Sony 23' LCD 1920x1200


----------



## krmathis

*Primary:*
 15" Apple MacBook Pro
 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 2GB RAM
 160GB 7200rpm HDD
 Mac OS 10.5.1

*Secondary:*
 15" Apple PowerBook G4
 1.5GHz Freescale PPC7447A
 1GB RAM
 100GB 7200rpm HDD
 Mac OS 10.5.1


----------



## ingwe

Garmin GPS III+
 I took it apart one lazy afternoon and discovered it is powered by an Intel 386Sx chip. 

 You didn't specify ::which:: computer.


----------



## s4nder

Intel Q6600 @ 3 GHz
 2 gigs of RAM
 8800GTX

 Now if only there were any good games to play with it... I'm back to Fallout 2 due to lack of games.


----------



## StealthyCow

E6750 @ 3.0 GHz
 2GB Crucial Ballistix RAM
 250 GB Seagate 
 pretty coolermaster case
 7900GS (back up off my old gfx card plz)


----------



## vibin247

17" Gateway P-7805u FX Edition Notebook:

 Intel 2.26GHz Core 2 Duo P8400
 4GB 1066MHz DDR2 RAM
 Mobile Intel PM45 Express Chipset
 320GB SATA 7200rpm HDD
 Nvidia GeForce 9800 GTS
 Windows 7 Ultimate
 20" Apple Cinema Display

 I also have a PowerMac G4 sitting unused in my closet. I miss Mac OS X at times, but Win7 is quite stable.


----------



## brotherlen

old rig

 evga 680i/780i (via evga upgrade program)
 2GB Corsair Ram 4-4-4-12
 2 8800 GTX video cards
 1 Razer Sound card
 QX6700 quad core
 Mountain mods twice 7 case (awesome company)
 2 Raptor drives
 1 500 GB drive
 750 watt PSU silverstone

 New rig (being sent now)
 Fragbox DIY case
 QX6700 or q6600 (depending on temps)
 4GB Ram OCZ 4-4-4-12
 1 raptor, 1 500 GB drive
 Asus HDMI Matx mobo
 asus 8800GTS (g92)
 ESI Juli@ soundcard

 If the SFF doesn't do well, it'll be posted in the sales forum and I'll go back to the full sized beast, and I'll add some liquid cooling.

 MacBook Pro 2. GHz, 1.5GB ram, (upgrading to 3) 250GB HDD, tiger patterned logo (biggest performance upgrade yet!)


----------



## obobskivich

current rig:

 DFI LanParty UT RDX200-CF DR
 AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+
 PNY GeForce 7900GS 256MB
 4x512MB PC3200 DDR400
 SB Audigy 2 ZS Platinum

 all powered by a Corsair HX-520, sitting inside of a Cooler Master RC-690 case 

 currently toying with various designs of a new PC ranging from conservative 4-core setups to outlandish quad GPU 8-core setups with a few terabytes of storage (but really, does anyone need that?)


----------



## skyline889

I have some new parts coming in, so hopefully they'll all arrive safely. Still have to decide whether I want to keep the E6600 I have coming in or sell it and go with a Q6600 or an E8400 though.

 Current Rig:
 Asus P5WD2 Premium
 Intel P4 560J
 2x1gb DDR2 533
 EVGA 7600GS
 EMU 1212m

 Coming:
 Gigabyte P35-DS3R
 Intel E6600
 2x2gb OCZ SLI-Ready DDR2 800
 EVGA 7600GS (Might just upgrade to 512mb G92 depending on when the new 9800s come out)
 EMU 1212m


----------



## snoop_005

Abit AW9D-MAXX
 Intel C2D 2.4ghz@3.6
 2 gig OCZ DDR2
 eVGA 88000GTX
 Asus Xonar D2X
 NEC 20WMGX2 LCD


----------



## jdimitri

Mine..

 Q6600 @3Ghz
 Gigabyte P35-DS3P
 2gb of DDR2-800 RAM running at 667 4-4-4-12
 Geforce 8800gt
 500gb WD SATA
 Asus 22"
 Logitech wave keyboard combo <-- my favourite bit

 Vista Home Premium 64bit (if i can go back i'd stay with 32 bit though i think..)


----------



## nor_spoon

Lian Li PC6070B Scand
 Asus Commando
 4x1024 Crucial PC8500
 Intel Q6600@3,3
 Asus 8800 Ultra
 2x500gb Samsung Spinpoint T166 SATA
 Sony SDM-S205KB 20" LCD


----------



## soul05

Antec P182
 Jetway J939GT4-SLI-G
 AMD Athlon64 x2 3800+
 A DATA 4x1gb DDR PC3200
 ATI X800GTO softmodded to X850
 2x750gb Samsung Spinpoint SATAII
 2x320gb Maxtor SATAII
 Turtle Beach Santa Cruz
 Hyundai Imagequest 19" LCD
 Klipsch Promedia 5.1

 im going to be upgrading my video card soon to either an 8800gt or 8800gts...and i want to upgrade my monitor to a 28" LCD.


----------



## DesertInTheShape

black macbook
 lg flatscreen (a big one)
 mac keyboard 
 mac wireless mouse
 bose speakers (companion 2)
 big mouse pad
 apricorn external
 seagate external

 insignia pc setup (lol)


----------



## Tokenganjaclan

Can Mac users apply? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Power Mac G4 MDD
 Overclocked Sonnet Encore Dual 1.8 
 2Gs Ram Maxed
 ACARD AHArd Ultra ATA/133 PCI Hardware RAID 0
 250GB Western Digital Caviar SE ATA 8MB Cache 
 Seagate 500G External
 Pioneer D112 Dual Layer DVDr

 Case Mods by me, idea stolen from xceler8
 One weekend and aLOT of cussing 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 If you notice the 1st night shot I added an 80mm on top of my heatsink. If fits perfect into the HD slot, I just can't piggy-back another HD. But it stays WAY cool with the 120 and 80 mm fans. I used an 80mm for the case mod as well. But instead of blowing into the case I have it blowing out. The design of this case is ass IMO. All the heat sits in the top pocket once the case is closed. So this way I can suck the heat out from the top. It also allowed me to replace the screamin demons that came stock in the power supply. The night time pics don't do it justice. This thing is BRIGHT red at night 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Before:





 After:


----------



## gjc10212

Antec Sonata 3
 500w Earthwatts PSU
 Abit Ip35-Pro - Bios 14
 Q6600 - go version @ 3.2ghz (lapped)
 Ultima 90i CPU cooler - (load 67c) - (idle's @ 36-39) +120mm scythe
 4gb of Corsair Dominator @ 890. (1066 spec)
 x1 320gb Seagate
 x1 500gb Seagate
 MSi 8800 GTS (512mb) @ 730 (stock)
 Vista 64
 Pioneer 212 dvd rw
 Onboard Sound
 Dell 2007wfp

 -----

 PCMark 06 @ 14500ish


----------



## JSTpt1022

Antec P180
 Asus Maximus Formula
 E6750
 Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800
 ATI x1950
 E-MU 1820M
 WD 250GB
 WD 500GB
 Plextor PX-716A


----------



## FrederikS|TPU

Gigabyte 3DMercury with modded watercooling.
 Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
 Intel C2D E6420 2.13 GHz @ 3.4 GHz
 2 GB CellShock DDR2-1000 (4-4-4-12) RAM
 WD Raptor 36 GB (Inside rubber dampening) + some storage disks.
 Inno3D 8800GTS 320 MB @648 MHz Core, 2GHz RAM (Effective) with a Thermalright HR-03 Plus cooler + 120 mm fan on. 
 Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music. HeadRoom Total BitHead.
 All fans @ 7v.


----------



## Daroid

Haven't followed the desktop pc market for years, so i don't know what's good and whatnot. My desktop i still a nicely working AMD Athlon Thunderbird 1.2 GHz from 2001 with the first ever red pcb color motherboard available 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 It's all on laptops now, since i'm required to use one mostly...

 Lenovo/IBM T60p 2623-DDU with one upgrade, so it becomes:
 Intel Core Duo T2500, 2.00 Ghz
 15" 1600x1200 IPS LCD
 3 GB Hynix PC-5300
 ATI FireGL V5200, 256 MB ded.
 100 GB 7200 drive
 Intel 3945 WLAN / BT
 Fingerprint reader
 9 cell battery
 OS:
 OpenSuSE 10.3
 Windows XP Pro US/EN
 + Advanced dock containing a PCI-e card: DNTV Live Hybrid S2 (dual analog and DVB-T tuner).

 and an external Hitachi P7K500 500GB SATA drive in an IcyBox enclosure.


----------



## Outro

Cooler Master Stacker
 Real Power Pro 1000w psu
 Asus M2N32-Sli WE
 Amd athlon 64 x2 6400+
 Zalman 9500
 4x1gig mushkin
 2x bfg tech 8800gtx's sli'ed
 x-fi fatal1ty
 1x 150g wd raptor (primary)
 2x 500g wd caviar
 1x LG blu-ray/hd dvd combo drive
 2x samsung dvd burners
 28" (27.5") Hanns-g Monitor
 logitech g9
 logitech g15
 griffin powermate
 Klipsch 2.1

 Think that's it..


----------



## milkpowder

That's an awesome gaming setup, apart from your AMD processor!
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 What you really need is one of those brand new 45nm Intels!


----------



## wanderman

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *milkpowder* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_That's an awesome gaming setup, apart from your AMD processor!
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 What you really need is one of those brand new 45nm Intels!_

 

then he would have to deal with the crappy 600/700 series nvidia mobos. The chip he has is fine for gaming and unless he is playing at low res he is going to be gpu bound. 

 What he really needs imo is a set of 2x2gb sticks and some phenoms.


----------



## Arainach

My Latest Addition:

 Dell Latitude D620
 14.1" 1440x900 Screen
 1.66Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
 160GB 5400RPM Hard Drive
 2GB RAM
 64MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 110M
 Vista Business Edition

 Compact, Light, well-built, and I love it. The 4 USB ports are a Godsend, as I'll be bringing this thing to Seattle for the summer and the ability to plug in a USB Mouse, Keyboard, and Flash Drive all at once is essential.


----------



## Manny Calavera

Q6600 g0 @3.20Ghz 1.3250 VOLTS||Thermalright ULTIMA 90I + Scythe 12cm Kaze Jyuni 800RPM 41CFM 13.7Db + IC Diamond 7||2X1Gb Crucial Ballistix Tracer PC6400 4-3-3-7@ 400 x 8
 XfX 8800 GTS 512 @ 740/1930/2209 + ICD7 + Volt Mod ||Asus P5K-Deluxe WiFi AP||Corsair HX520||Nec 2470WNX-BK + LG 1751S||FuNC.1030R||XpPro.Sp2 
 Lian Li PC-65B + II||Western Digital 150GB RaptorX|| WD 750Gb HD x2|| WD 2500KS ||Samsung 183s||SB Audigy 2 ZS||G11+MX518 + ASUS Eee PC 4+8G Galaxy Black


----------



## MichaelPublic

AMD X2 3000+ @2.6Ghz
 2Gb 400Mhz Ddr Corsair ram
 36Gb Raptor
 7900Gt 256mb, overclocked when necessary
 modified ThermalTake Aquarius watercooling system - quiet
 a couple 250 Gb drives
 Creative live 5.1 USB external 24bit used with ASIO as SPdif output
 (audio is the important bit)
 It's older but does what I need.


----------



## nopietns

Epox EP-9NPA 
 AMD Opteron 165, @2700
 RADEON X800 @ FireGL
 2x SAMSUNG HD501LJ
 ESI Maya 44
 1 Gb Patriot TTCD Ram


----------



## Simon Sez

macbook black
 2 GB Ram
 320 GB HD
 Operating Systems: 

 OSx Leopard
 Ubuntu
 Windows XP 

 Triple boot


----------



## Insanity

8800gtx 660/2125 stock cooling (vanilla evga gtx, came 575/1800)
 e6750@3.75ghz 1.4 vcore 450 fsb
 2gb Ballistix tracer ddr2 800 @ 450mhz (ddr2 900) 4-4-4-12 1t 2.2v
 Abit IP35 Pro 1800 bus speed
 Zalman 9700
 Antec 900 case
 Acer 2015w lcd, P-MVA panel (not some terrible TN panel found in every 22in screen)
 320gb Seagate 7200.10
 650W Silverstone Olympia 54A on single 12v rail
 Razer Deathadder
 Windows Vista Ultimate x64

 Sometimes i dual boot Fedora 8 as well.


----------



## CountChoculaBot

P182
 Asus Maximus Formula
 Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz (Tried 3.6Ghz... wasn't even stable at 1.5v. Pissed me off 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





)
 TRUE 120 w/ 1000RPM Ultra Kaze
 4GB RAM
 8800GTS 512 MB (Once again, bad luck @ OC'ing. This thing barely went up at all -_-)
 Planning a step up to 9800GX2

 So far, it's ridiculously quiet in my P182. I'm switching out all the case fans to 800RPM slipstreams soon. And, despite all the low RPM fans, cooling is great. <40C idle Q6600, 60Cish load.


----------



## brotherlen

double post, sorry. Please remove


----------



## brotherlen

Asus MATX HDMI
 qx6700
 DIY fragbox
 4gb OCZ RAM 4-4-4 timings
 500gb hd
 36gb raptor, vista/xp pro and soon kubuntu (hopefully)
 600 watt OCZ PSU
 DLink xtreme N wireless
 ESI Juli@ sound card/ sometimes Razer barracuda soundcard
 ASUS 8800 GTS (g92)

 perhaps liquid cooled sff is in my future.


----------



## Elluzion

case: LIAN LI PC-A70B Black Aluminum ATX Full Tower
 mobo: Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3R
 cpu: Q6600 G0 @ 3.0ghz (1.30625v) <still working on it
 mem: Crucial Ballistix 2gb (2x1gb) DDR2 800
 psu: Corsair 520hx
 gfx: EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 512Mmb
 cooling: Watercooling


----------



## JSTpt1022

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *CountChoculaBot* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_P182
 Asus Maximus Formula
 Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz (Tried 3.6Ghz... wasn't even stable at 1.5v. Pissed me off 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)
 TRUE 120 w/ 1000RPM Ultra Kaze
 4GB RAM
 8800GTS 512 MB (Once again, bad luck @ OC'ing. This thing barely went up at all -_-)
 Planning a step up to 9800GX2_

 

NICE setup.


----------



## terrymx

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *CountChoculaBot* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Planning a step up to 9800GX2

 So far, it's ridiculously quiet in my P182. I'm switching out all the case fans to 800RPM slipstreams soon. And, despite all the low RPM fans, cooling is great. <40C idle Q6600, 60Cish load._

 

Just my opinion: The 9800gx2 is just two 8800gt, after seeing some of the first reviews it doesn't seem any amazing, disapointing in performance leap actually.

 EDIT: I take my word back, the 9800GX2 seems excellent for 2560 resolution, but only worth it for people with very big screen lcds.

 It seem like going to be $599 new then its way above the HD3870x2 price, which isn't far behind in performance, but price wize is much more affordable, and I would guess ATI will lower it's price again on this occasion to compete with the new 9 series, so it'll be even lower than $400. 9800's seem to be recycled stuff from the 8 series with higher clock, still using G92 chip. The 9800gtx seem a better deal though, since it's going to be about twice cheaper and I am sure it will be right up there in the performance factor.

 I would rather save up for the most expensive generation 10 cards, which most likely comes out within this year also.


----------



## wanderman

with the ati setup you also have the option of crossfire down the road.


----------



## skyline889

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *terrymx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Just my opinion: The 9800gx2 is just two 8800gt, after seeing some of the first reviews it doesn't seem any amazing, disapointing in performance leap actually. It seem like going to be $599 new then its way above the HD3870x2 price, which isn't far behind in performance, but price wize is much more affordable, and I would guess ATI will lower it's price again on this occasion to compete with the new 9 series, so it'll be even lower than $400. 9800's seem to be recycled stuff from the 8 series with higher clock, still using G92 chip. The 9800gtx seem a better deal though, since it's going to be about twice cheaper and I am sure it will be right up there in the performance factor.

 I would rather save up for the most expensive generation 10 cards, which most likely comes out within this year also._

 

The new 9 series refresh was really disappointing for me. They basically ditched the high end 768mb GTX and Ultra and just refreshed the line with the G92 tech introduced with the 8800GT. I've also heard that the 9800GTX is really just an overclocked GTS G92, so it might not be worth the $350 price tag since you can get the GTS for about $220-240 these days. I've been running an EVGA 7600GS for a while now and was looking forward to a new card with the new 9 series but so far, it has just been a dissapointment. I think I might just pick up one of the G80 GTXs or maybe the new 9600GT, which to me, is the only card in the line worth buying since it offers nearly the same performance as the GT/GTS for $50-100 less.


----------



## terrymx

I had the 8800gtx for a while, now it's starting to be come very affordable. There is a factor to help choose between the 8800gts 512mb G92 and the 8800gtx G80. It seem that the 8800gts can be a couple frames rate higher for the most part, but at higher resolution, ie 1920x1200 with AA AF on, the higher memory bandwidth lends it way for the 8800gtx. They all are affordable now though.

 I think the Palit 9600GT is a good deal. If I didn't already has a faster card I would buy the Palit 9600gt for these factors: hdmi and spdif outputs, much lower power consumptions and temperatures. It almost compared with the 8800gt, overlocked it should. But right now I would wait for both the 9800s to come out so all prices would settle down even more.

 I think it's good for the market now that ATI is finally beginning to pull out products that compete with Nvidia. I might be owning one again, if they just improve the user interface of their drivers...


----------



## skyline889

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *terrymx* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I had the 8800gtx for a while, now it's starting to be come very affordable. There is a factor to help choose between the 8800gts 512mb G92 and the 8800gtx G80. It seem that the 8800gts can be a couple frames rate higher for the most part, but at higher resolution, ie 1920x1200 with AA AF on, the higher memory bandwidth lends it way for the 8800gtx. They all are affordable now though.

 I think the Palit 9600GT is a good deal. If I didn't already has a faster card I would buy the Palit 9600gt for these factors: hdmi and spdif outputs, much lower power consumptions and temperatures. It almost compared with the 8800gt, overlocked it should. But right now I would wait for both the 9800s to come out so all prices would settle down even more.

 I think it's good for the market now that ATI is finally beginning to pull out products that compete with Nvidia. I might be owning one again, if they just improve the user interface of their drivers..._

 

Thanks for the post, this was very helpful for me. I do have a 1920x1200 monitor now but I don't do a whole lot of gaming, mostly COD4, HL2, and Bioshock, certainly nothing demanding like Crysis, so the GTS might actually be the better choice for me. It's hard to decide though, the GTX is commanding only about a $50 premium over the GTS right now so it looks mighty tempting. Who knows though, I may end up just picking up a 9600GT and using the saved cash to buy a HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drive so I can take this A30 back to Best Buy.


----------



## Al4x

2.33 core 2 @2.83GHz t7600G
 4GB ram
 512mb 7950 GTX graphics
 160GB 7200rpm 8mb
 320GB 5400 or hd dvd drive
 1920x1200 17inch

 ^ laptop


----------



## krmathis

*Primary:*
 15" Apple MacBook Pro
 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 2GB RAM
 160GB 7200rpm HDD
 Mac OS 10.5.2

*Secondary:*
 15" Apple PowerBook G4
 1.5GHz Freescale PPC7447A
 1GB RAM
 100GB 7200rpm HDD
 Mac OS 10.5.2


----------



## verymagicalguy

Thought I'd brag a bit:
 E8400 @ 4.0ghz
 2gb DDR1066
 8800GTS 512mb (G92) 
 320GB HDD
 22" Acer @ 1440x900

 Although It's not my computer 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I built it for a friend. But I get to play with it for a couple of days!


----------



## RoosterX

Primary: 
 - Lian-Li PCB25B 
 - 3GHz quad core
 - 4GB cl4 pc6400 ram
 - LG L245wp-bn 24" lcd monitor
 - Gigabyte 8800GTS 512
 - Acoustic Energy 'Aego M' pc speakers + Sennheiser HD595
 - Audigy 2
 - Plextor PX760A + PX716A dvd burner's
 - 750 + 250 GB Seagate Sata HD's
 - Logitech MX510 mouse
 - Razer Tarantula keyboard

 Secondary:
 - CoolerMaster Stacker
 - AMD Athlon 64 x2 3800+
 - 2GB cl2 RAM
 - Auzentech X-Mystique DD Live sound card
 - Asus 8600GTS 512MB
 - LG 42LY95 42" 1080P LCD screen/TV
 - NEC DVD burner
 - Seagate Sata HD's 3x500 + 320 + 160GB

 Xbox 360 and a Wii =)

 Soon a Pimeta headphone amp and maybe a Auzentech X-fi Prelude on Primary if i am not satisfied with my Audigy 2 card


----------



## terrymx

did something really stupid, tried fitting my 8800gtx (14") into my microatx case (17"). ended up getting rid of the raid setup to make room, and installing vista ultimate sp1 my brother got from the microsoft handout, seem to be running faster.

 q6600
 intel g35 microatx (seems to run faster than my p965 express chipset)
 patriot 2gb 1ghz
 8800gtx


----------



## theSEA

Intel E6600
 Zalman 9700NT/liquid cooling
 Asus Commando
 Corsair XMS2 Dominator 1gb*2
 HD2900XT 512mb CF
 2*Seagate Barracuda 11 500gb + Seagate Barracuda 10 320gb HDD
 Asus Xonar D2 sound card
 Creative T20 speaker
 2*Pioneer DVD burner
 LG 1953T LCD
 Thermaltake ToughPower 1000W
 Silverstone TJ-07


----------



## Edwood

New workstation:

 E8400 @3.6GHz (could go to 4GHz easily, but I didn't want to overclock the RAM FSB)
 Scythe Mini Ninja Cooler
 8GB RAM
 Abit IP35 Pro
 PNY Verto Geforce 8600 GT
 3x HDD (WD6400AAKS 640GB and WD3200AAKS 320GB x2)
 Antec Phantom 350 PSU
 Scythe S-Flex SFF21D 120mm Fans x2
 Dual Boot (separate HDD's) Vista Home Premium x64 and Vista Ultimate x86
 Custom Hard Drive Power Switch (DIY by me).

 -Ed


----------



## Iron_Dreamer

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Edwood* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_New workstation:

 E8400 @3.6GHz (could go to 4GHz easily, but I didn't want to overclock the RAM FSB)
 Scythe Mini Ninja Cooler
 8GB RAM
 Abit IP35 Pro
 PNY Verto Geforce 8600 GT
 3x HDD (WD6400AAKS 640GB and WD3200AAKS 320GB x2)
 Antec Phantom 350 PSU
 Scythe S-Flex SFF21D 120mm Fans x2
 Dual Boot (separate HDD's) Vista Home Premium x64 and Vista Ultimate x86
 Custom Hard Drive Power Switch (DIY by me).

 -Ed_

 

The masses demand pics, Ed! Everyone needs to see just how you managed to cram it all in there.


----------



## Edwood

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Iron_Dreamer* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_The masses demand pics, Ed! Everyone needs to see just how you managed to cram it all in there._

 

I'm knee deep in Work and Taxes right now, but yes, I'll post pics. I'll be starting a thread on [H] and SPCreview as well.

 Oh, and that damned red LED burned out again. Argh! I need to buy a decent one now, or maybe it's the craptastic Rat Shack resistor. I guess I could go for a different color for the x86 HDD.

 -Ed


----------



## lordmozilla

I should soon receive my workstation :

 2x Xeon 54xx @ 2.5ghz (can't remember the exact model number but the 2..5ghz 12MB cache 80W ones)
 16GB DDRII 667mhz
 Nvidia 8600GT passive
 Tyan i5400X motherboard
 Coolermaster Comsos RC-1000
 Corsair HX650
 Dual Thermalright HR-01X
 Noctua 120mm fans

 Dual 24" 1920x1200 monitors (probably going to go with acer ones price/specs seem ideal).


----------



## Cartmaizm

Mine is:

 CPU: Q6600 G0 @3.3ghz stable
 HD: Samsung 2x500gb
 Screen: Samsung 226BW 22"
 Speakers: Yamaha YHT-185B
 Case: Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570
 Cooling: Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme with Scythe 120mm includes fan control
 Fan Controller: Zalman Fanmate 2
 PSU: corsair HX-620
 Keyboard: Logitech G15 Refresh
 Mouse: Logitech G9
 Mousepad Razer eXacTmat
 Optical: Asus 1814BL
 Mobo: Gigabyte P35C-DS3R
 Ram: 2G Kit-800 (2x1G) A-DATA–Heat Spreader x2
 Sound Card: Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Pro
 Assesories: Arctic Cooling MX-2 Compound
 GPU: Asus 8800GT @ 724mhz/999mhz/1810mhz (when benching)
 GPU cooling: Thermalright HR-03-GT with sythe 92mm fan.


----------



## wanderman

3.3 on air what are your temps and voltage.


----------



## TheAnomaly

E4400 @ 2.7 ghz (fooling with manual voltages and memory timing seemed like too much work so i left it at the max clock the stock memory timings could handle)
 Corsair XMS 2 gigs (forgot exact speed...)
 Gigabyte P35-DS3R
 Samsung 500 gig SATA hdd
 Lite-On DVD burner
 EVGA 8800GT 512 meg
 Tuniq Tower 120 w/ Arctic Silver thermal paste
 Lian Li A05B (2 stock 120mm fans)
 Corsair 520HX
 MX518 mouse; cheapo Mitsuko keyboard carryover from my old rig
 Vista HP x86

 assembled by yours truly...grand total was barely over $1,000 after rebates


----------



## JmRoq

Current desktop consists of:

 Q6600 G0 @3.0ghz
 4gb Mushkin DDR2-800
 2x 250gb WD Sata2 raid 0
 1x 400gb Hitachi Sata for storage
 ATI HD2600XT 512mb
 DFI P35 mobo
 HT Omega Claro sound card / EMU 0404 USB
 Corsair 620HX psu
 Pioneer DVD-RW
 Klipsch Promedia 4.1
 Gateway 21" HD LCD
 Logitech MX-518 / Saitek Eclipse keyboard
 Windows XP-64


----------



## guyx1992

This PC is quite old, 3 yrs old. 

 Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz 1Mb Cache 32 bit (530)
 1.5GB DDR2 533MHz Dual Channel
 ABIT AA8-3rd Eye
 Western Digital 120GB 8Mb Sata
 Maxtor 6V250F0 DiamondMax 10 250GB
 BenQ LCD 17" 16MS (FP737s-D)
 ATI Radeon X600 PRO 256MB PCIe
 Samsung DVD RW S182D
 NSX-BLI4 (Connect in RCA Cable)


----------



## fraseyboy

Needs a bit of an upgrade:

 Gigabyte GA-965P-S3
 Core 2 Duo E6300 1.8ghz OC'd to 2.4ghz (stock cooling)
 Corsair XMS2 2gb DDR2-800
 MSI 7600GT 256mb Stock Overclocked (Will upgrade to 8800gt 512mb in near future)
 250gb Seagate 16mb Cache Hard Drive
 Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
 Sapphire ATI Theatre 550 Pro TV Tuner
 2 x 80mm case fans
 Ugly Noisy Case (around 50db)


----------



## fault151

Mac pro 3ghz quad.
 7gig ram
 x2 hard drives 1000gb total
 rammed with design programs!


----------



## Cousin Patty

Somewhat modest now:

 e6600 OC'ed to 3.3ghz (Watercooled with Corsair Nautilus)
 2gb Crucial Ballistix 4-4-4-12 running at 1:1 733mhz
 BFG 8800GTX OC2
 DFI DK T2RS P35 Mobo
 Corsair HX620
 EMU 0404 PCI
 750gig Seagate
 200gig Maxtor 
 120gig Maxtor


----------



## skyline889

Got a couple new parts in, I'll be replacing the E6600 with a GO Q6600, the 7600GS with either an 8800GT or GTS 512mb, and I have an HX620 coming in to replace the HX520. I'm also taking my HD-A30 back and buying a Blu-ray/HD-DVD optical drive instead. Going from a 17" to a 42" was much more satisfying than going back to the 17" then a 24" but the colors on the Westy's MPVA panel look worlds better.

 Lian Li RF w/Scythe Kaze-Jyunis
 Corsair HX520.
 Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R
 Intel E6600 OC'd to 3.6ghz (Orthos Stable) @1.475v
 Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme w/Scythe S-Flex/AS5
 4gb OCZ SLI-Ready DDR2 800 @ 5-4-4-15
 EVGA 7600GS
 EMU 1212m
 WD Raptor 150gb
 Hitachi 1tb
 Maxtor 500gb
 Westinghouse L2410nm


----------



## Steggy

Thinkpad T61
 14.1 Standard
 Core 2 Duo T7300 2.0 GHZ
 2 GB DDR2 RAM
 100 GB HDD (plan on upgrading soon)
 Nvidia Quadro 140m 
 mmyep.


----------



## lamboman

E4300 @3GHz (Coolermaster Hyper 212 to keep the temps down, great cooler)
 X1950 Pro (Asus EAX1950 Pro to be exact) - Clocks still to be sorted. At stock ATM.
 2 Gigs of OCZ Platinum PC6400 (pretty bad overclockers, but w/e)
 Asus P5K-E Wifi-AP
 All in a CM690 (quality is pretty bad, but I am not too bothered for now)

 Next upgrades will probably be a 9800GTX if the performance is good enough, and a new case, a Lian Li or Silverstone.


----------



## PYROphonez

Just recently upgraded (couple weeks ago), so brand new parts.
 E8400 at stock speed, though I hear it overclocks quite nicely.
 4 GB of Corsair XMS2 ram, 4-4-4-12 timing.
 MSI NX8800GT
 400GB 7200 RPM SATA HD
 X-Fi Xtreme Music


----------



## lamboman

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *PYROphonez* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Just recently upgraded (couple weeks ago), so brand new parts.
 E8400 at stock speed, though I hear it overclocks quite nicely.
 4 GB of Corsair XMS2 ram, 4-4-4-12 timing.
 MSI NX8800GT
 400GB 7200 RPM SATA HD
 X-Fi Xtreme Music_

 

You should be able to get around 4GHz or more with a decent cooler. Don't leave it at stock!


----------



## grawk

91 p575s with 16 p5+ processors and 32gb of ram + 45 32way p6 servers with 128gb of ram and 8way IB interconnect, plus ~300tb of san attached disk.


----------



## The Legend

E6750 @ 3.4
 ASUS P5B-Deluxe
 PC P&C Cooling 750w Silencer
 4GB DDR2 G.Skill PQ
 2 x WD Raptor X | RAID0
 XFX 8800GT
 X-Fi XtremeMusic


----------



## Shizelbs

q6600
 4GB DDR2 OCZ Reaper
 8800 GTS 512mb


----------



## FallenAngel

E2140 @ 3.2GHz (300x8)
 GA-P35-DS3L (F7 Bios)
 2GB Corsair 6400C4 @ 400MHz (1:1) 4-4-4-12
 BFG 8800 GT 512mb
 PC P&C SILENCER 610
 Seagate 7200.11 500gb (I wouldn't recommend, a bit noisy)


----------



## saturnine

Latest:

 Main rig:
 Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe + Black Edition 6400 + 4gb Corsair 6400C4
 MSI 8800GT + ATI TV Wonder Elite + X-Fi Fatality
 1TB WD + 320 WD + 74gb WD Raptor (OS) + 160gb Seagate
 600W SeaSonic + Rocketfish re-brand Lian Li case
 Vista Ultimate X64
 24inch Gateway monitor







 Lappy toppy:
 Sony SZ-650N/C 13.3"
 Core2 Duo T7500 + 4gb Corsair 6400
 200gb Hitachi 7200rpm HDD
 Vista Business x64





 (The Toshiba behind it was last year's BB Black Friday special, and was sold to my neighbor) 

 Second rig:
 Cheapie Biostar MB + Sempron 3000+ @ 2.5ghz
 1gb Kingston 533mhz DDR2 + 80gb WD
 X1900xtx + 550w BFG power supply
 Win XP Pro
 19inch Viewsonic monitor


----------



## guyx1992

My computer was a gift to me when I was 12, Now I'm 15 and 5 months. 
 These are my specs:
 Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz 1Mb Cache 32 bit (530)
 1.5GB DDR2 533MHz Dual Channel
 ABIT AA8-3rd Eye
 Western Digital 120GB 8Mb Sata
 Maxtor 6V250F0 DiamondMax 10 250GB Sata
 Western Digital 80GB IDE 
 Hauppauge PVR150 MCE
 BenQ LCD 17" 16MS (FP737s-D)
 ATI Radeon X600 PRO 256MB PCIe
 Samsung DVD RW S182D
 Sunbeam Transformer (Case)
 Generic PSU 520W
 Windows Vista Ultimate x86 (32 Bit)


----------



## roastpuff

Just finished upgrading both rigs on Thursday, and then testing, re-installing programs and final personalization. Overclocking will come later after break-in. 

 Primary: 

 AMD X2 5000+ BE (still stock @ 2.6) & Gigabyte GA-M56S-S3 (Nforce 560) & Scythe Ninja Plus Rev.B HSF (HUGE tower, barely fits!) 
 2GB OCZ DDR2-800 Platinum Rev.2 (2x1GB)
 Galaxy 8800GT OC (650/2000) 512MB
 500GB Hitachi Deskstar
 500W Antec EarthWatts + Sonata II
 XP Pro SP2
 19" Acer widescreen LCD. 

 Secondary: 

 E2180 (stock HSF, currently @ 2.4) & Biostar 945GC chipset mobo.
 2GB OCZ DDR2-800 Platinum Rev.2 (2x1GB) 
 Powercolor X1900GT 256MB
 250GB WD Caviar
 350W Fortron + Moneual 775 case
 XP Home SP2
 15" Dell LCD (REALLY BAD - 25ms refresh. Definitely needs to be replaced).


----------



## terrymx

My wish list:
 MicroATX motherboard with DDR3 and internal wifi card.
 8 cores cpu.


----------



## Brian_the_King

Just got my new laptop for school in the fall!

 HP Pavillion tx2000z
 Windows Vista Home Premium x64 SP1
 AMD Turion X2 TL-68 Gold Edition
 nVidia GeForce Go 6150
 4096MB DDR2 533MHz RAM 5-5-5-15
 250GB 5200RPM HD
 Onboard Realtek HD Audio
 8 Cell Lithium Ion battery




















 ps the writing was for another forum, but there you go


----------



## wangerin




----------



## epaludo

My laptop is a Dell XPS M1210 with intel core 2 duo T7200 processor, 80GB hard drive, 2.5GB of ram, 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7400 TurboCache, the 9 cell battery, all the optional accessories (except the web cam) and running vista. I also have a 320GB external maxtor hard drive.
 My desktop PC don't get much use lately. Wireless is amazing ...


----------



## Iron_Dreamer

Nice, wangerin! I wonder how high we could OC that E8400 in Edwood's machine? I got it to 3.6GHz with no sweat, I bet it's got at least 3.9-4.0 in there.


----------



## HeyItsBattleKid

Got my components picked out, just have to wait for the semester to finish up:
 Q6600 G0 (+3.2Ghz)
 - Thermalright Ultra Extreme CPU HS
 Gigabyte P35-DS3L
 G Skill 2x2GB
 eVGA 8800GS (I'll overclock what I can out of it)
 Corsair TX650 PSU
 Seagate 7200.11 500GB HDD
 CoolerMaster RC-690 (Black Semi-Gloss Interior Paint Job)
 Acer 19" 1680x1050 Monitor
 Hopefully a pair of M-Audio Q40's in short time...
 HT Omega Striker Sound Card


----------



## Dominat0r

Intel E4500 @ 3.2Ghz (320x10)
 Abit IP35-E w/ TT Big Typhoon/100CFM fan
 4x 1024 G.Skill PC6400 DDR2 4-4-3-5
 BFG 8800GT 512mb @ 695/1740/975
 2x WD 120GB SATA - 1x WD 16MB 250GB SATA 3G
 Xfi XtremeMusic - Klipsch 2.1
 CoolerMaster Praetorian / BFG 650w PSU
 Samsung 2232BW 22" Widescreen LCD

 Here is my nearly revamped desktop =) Trying to get use to the MAC OS to prepare myself for a possible MAC purchase.


----------



## aldave

Current:
 antec p180b
 C2D e6750 @3.55
 8800 GTS 320 @ 600/1000
 2Gb crucial ballistix pc8500
 Gigabyte p35-dq6 rev 1.0
 Scythe Ninja
 320 gig wd hdd
 Audigy 2 ZS Platinum
 Antec neohe 550
 18x Samsung DVD burner
 Samsung 206bw 20" monitor
 Logitech G9
 Audio Technica ad900
 Logitech Z-5300e
 Func Industries Archetype 1030
 Generic Dell Keyboard

 Soon to get:
 some intel x38/48 mobo
 C2D e8400
 MSI 8800gts 512 
 Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
 Bigger power supply


----------



## skyline889

Upgraded some parts, sent the 500gb and 1tb HDs in for RMA, and have Vista Ultimate 64 awaiting installation. 12,141 in 3DMK06.

 Lian Li RF w/Scythe Slipstreams
 Corsair HX620
 Gigabyte P35C-DS3R Rev2.0 w/F10 BIOS
 Intel C2D E6600 w/Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme/Scythe S-Flex E @ 3.6ghz 1.45v
 2x2gb OCZ SLI-Ready 5-4-4-15 @ 1:1 800mhz
 EVGA 8800GTS 320mb Superclocked @ 663/1549/1026mhz
 LG GGC-H20L HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Optical Drive
 EMU 1212m
 150gb WD Raptor
 2x750gb Seagate (7200.10/7200.11) Cudas


----------



## Dominat0r

You guys should get rid of the GTS's and get a 8800 GT 512...i upgraded my 640 GTS and with the overclock its MILES ahead of the 320/640 GTS.


----------



## milkpowder

^^
 Or a 9800GTX. They're going for peanuts nowadays and extremely fast too!

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Brian_the_King* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Just got my new laptop for school in the fall!

 HP Pavillion tx2000z
 Windows Vista Home Premium x64 SP1
 AMD Turion X2 TL-68 Gold Edition
 nVidia GeForce Go 6150
 4096MB DDR2 533MHz RAM 5-5-5-15
 250GB 5200RPM HD
 Onboard Realtek HD Audio
 8 Cell Lithium Ion battery






 ps the writing was for another forum, but there you go 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

That's a very nice laptop! How much did it cost?


----------



## skyline889

The 9800GTX is basically just an overclocked 8800GTS 512mb, so it's not worth the premium imo, especially when the GTS can be had for around $200 these days and with proper cooling, can be OC'd to the same speeds. I don't game too much right now and I don't play Crysis so I'm going to wait for the 9900GTX before I really upgrade since the targeted release date is only a few months away and it's said to be much more of a step-up than the G80 -> G92. I'm also not really a fan of single slot cards, ie 8800/9600GT, so I would prefer to wait. The only card I would've considered right now would've been the 8800GTX and that thing runs too hot for my liking so I decided against it.


----------



## gjc10212

My MSI 8800 gts (g92) oc version @ 730 - temps hit 59c load in crysis @ 1050 res using high settings. (Thats using an Accelero s1 rev 2.


----------



## guyx1992

OMG all your computer's make my computer look bad. 
 Please someone post a bad pc so I'll feel good about my PC


----------



## skyline889

If it makes you feel any better, I just sold a socket 478 combo on eBay for $150, so they're still people interested in old school tech!


----------



## milkpowder

^^ 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I have a few year-old Dell i9300 laptop...

 Intel Centrino 1.86GHz
 2 x 1GB DDR2 PC-5300 
 80GB 5,400rpm + a few externals (320GB, 500GB, 80GB)
 GeForce 6800 Go 256MB @ 390/370
 17" WXGA+ plus external 22" WSXGA Samsung 2232BW
 Windows XP Pro SP3

 I was just wondering whether it would be worth upgrading to 4GB RAM, WD 320GB HDD and Vista Home Premium? I don't really game but am a heavy user, eg a dozen or more browser tabs (FF3b5, IE7), iTunes, Foobar, uTorrent, explorer windows, word, powerpoint, picasa, etc... 2GB is just enough although I do go over when I have a huge images folder open with thousands of thumbnails (max size/quality) showing...


----------



## guyx1992

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *milkpowder* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_^^ 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I have a few year-old Dell i9300 laptop...

 Intel Centrino 1.86GHz
 2 x 1GB DDR2 PC-5300 
 80GB 5,400rpm + a few externals (320GB, 500GB, 80GB)
 GeForce 6800 Go 256MB @ 390/370
 17" WXGA+ plus external 22" WSXGA Samsung 2232BW
 Windows XP Pro SP3

 I was just wondering whether it would be worth upgrading to 4GB RAM, WD 320GB HDD and Vista Home Premium? I don't really game but am a heavy user, eg a dozen or more browser tabs (FF3b5, IE7), iTunes, Foobar, uTorrent, explorer windows, word, powerpoint, picasa, etc... 2GB is just enough although I do go over when I have a huge images folder open with thousands of thumbnails (max size/quality) showing..._

 

You still have a better computer 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 A better VGA, more RAM, more HD space (not that it matters), a better external monitor. But I think my CPU is better o:

 BTW, I use Vista Ultimate with my stinky computer and It's fine. I think you probably are a heavier user so don't take my word for it. 
 Try it first.


----------



## BetaLyr

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *milkpowder* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_^^ 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I have a few year-old Dell i9300 laptop...

 Intel Centrino 1.86GHz
 2 x 1GB DDR2 PC-5300 
 80GB 5,400rpm + a few externals (320GB, 500GB, 80GB)
 GeForce 6800 Go 256MB @ 390/370
 17" WXGA+ plus external 22" WSXGA Samsung 2232BW
 Windows XP Pro SP3

 I was just wondering whether it would be worth upgrading to 4GB RAM, WD 320GB HDD and Vista Home Premium? I don't really game but am a heavy user, eg a dozen or more browser tabs (FF3b5, IE7), iTunes, Foobar, uTorrent, explorer windows, word, powerpoint, picasa, etc... 2GB is just enough although I do go over when I have a huge images folder open with thousands of thumbnails (max size/quality) showing..._

 

If you're planning on upgrading to Premium 64bit, then you should go with 4GB RAM. 32bit (with SP1) can recognize 4GB RAM, but can't use it all.
 A HDD upgrade is probably necessary. You should probably go 7200rpm, too.
 Though, Vista is really useless. It's prettier, but will slow down your machine.

 Btw, does Firefox 3 beta still have the memory leak problem?

  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *guyx1992* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_My computer was a gift to me when I was 12, Now I'm 15 and 5 months. 
 These are my specs:
 Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz 1Mb Cache 32 bit (530)
 1.5GB DDR2 533MHz Dual Channel
 ABIT AA8-3rd Eye
 Western Digital 120GB 8Mb Sata
 Maxtor 6V250F0 DiamondMax 10 250GB Sata
 Western Digital 80GB IDE 
 Hauppauge PVR150 MCE
 BenQ LCD 17" 16MS (FP737s-D)
 ATI Radeon X600 PRO 256MB PCIe
 Samsung DVD RW S182D
 Sunbeam Transformer (Case)
 Generic PSU 520W
 Windows Vista Ultimate x86 (32 Bit)_

 

What's your Vista score?
 I'm surprised that you can run Ultimate with only Pentium 4 and 1.5GB RAM...



 I just got my new R61 today! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 (Err, yesterday, actually. xD)
 14.1", 1440x900
 Intel Core 2 Duo T8300 2.4GHz (Penryn)
 nVidia Quadro NVS 140m (equivalent to an 8400GS--128mb dedicated)
 2GB RAM, 2 DIMM
 160GB, 5400rpm
 DVD-DL Recordable
 Vista Home Premium, 32bit
 (With the LG Philips screen and Chicony keyboard.)

 Old laptop:
 HP dv9005us
 17", 1440x900
 AMD Turion TL-50, 1.6GHz
 nVidia GeForce Go 6150 (integrated)
 1GB RAM
 100GB, 5400rpm
 DVD-/+RW
 XP MCE 2005, SP2

 Tweaking Vista was really frustrating :/
 My Vista score is 4.0, graphics being the bottleneck.


----------



## guyx1992

I got 3.7 on the vista score. 
 It's an Ultimate 32BIT.


----------



## Eagle_Driver

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *guyx1992* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I got 3.7 on the vista score. 
 It's an Ultimate 32BIT._

 

In your system, the weak link is definitely the X600 PRO graphics card. Still, even that is perfectly fine for typical users.


----------



## Benny99

CPU : Intel E6750 @ 3.7ghz
 Motherboard: Gigabyte P35-DS3L v2.0
 Memory: 2x2gb Crucial Ballistix at 1111mhz @ 5-5-5-15-2T
 GPU: Asus 8800gts 640mb 
 PSU: Antec Quatro 850 watt
 Case: Antec 900
 CPU cooler :Zalman 9700
 HDD: 250GB Seagate Sata


----------



## chesebert

Q6600 @ 3.5
 4GB DDR2
 8800 GTS 512 @ 770/2200
 6 HD combined > 3TB


----------



## uraflit

i need to upgrade =(

 P4 Northwood 2.4B Ghz
 512 PC2700 RAM
 5900XT (replaced my old ti4200-- this card taken from a pile of discarded products at my dad's work lol)
 80gb+300gb+500gb external


----------



## srozzman

I just built a "new" system, for cheap, as in less than 500 dollars

 AMD 4000+ x2
 Biostar TA770 AM2/AM2+
 2 x 1gb Adata ddr2 800 Ram
 Sapphire ATi Raedon 2600xt
 WD 7200 RPM IDE HDD
 Coolermaster Centurion 5 case, blue

 No overclocking, because i cant get a stable one... 

 Running Ubuntu 8.04 if anyone cares


----------



## Brian_the_King

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *milkpowder* 
_...
 That's a very nice laptop! How much did it cost?
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Hey thanks man, my config was ~$1500. Really not that bad imo considering specs and the fact that it's convertable. I like it, anyway


----------



## Binky's Owner

AMD XP 2600+ @ 3100ish
 2Gb ram
 300G hdd
 passive 7600GS (i think)
 slowly dying 21" Dell CRT


----------



## indikator

just upgraded recently

 AMD Athlon X2 5600+
 Biostar Tforce 690G-AM2
 2 GB of value RAM
 Powercolor Radeon HD3870 with Zerotherm
 500 GB of storage
 Sony DRU-820A
 Antec NeoHE 430
 Antec P150
 Viewsonic vx2025wm
 and not forgetting Sennheiser HD650 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I have spend a lot of money, really should stay away from a local poison forum


----------



## bassoprofundo

My Main Box (have 7 more but will stick to 1 for simplicity's sake 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




):

 Intel Core Duo E6300 @ 3ghz w/ ZALMAN CNPS7700-CU
 Gigabyte 965P-DS3 Rev3
 4gb Patriot Extreme Performance PC2-6400 DDR2
 EVGA 640mb Geforce 8800 GTS
 2x Acer AL1916w Widescreen 19" LCDs
 72gb Quantum Atlas 15k II
 36gb Seagate Cheetah 10k.1
 147gb Quantum Atlas 10k2
 500gb WD RE2 SATA
 Adaptec 39160 SCSI Adapter
 Plextor Premium 52x CDRW
 Samsung 20x SATA DVDRW
 Soundblaster Audigy2zs
 ABIT AirPace Wi-Fi PCI Express Wireless Adapter
 4-port PCI Firewire adapter
 Black IBM Model M13 w/Trackpoint Keyboard
 Razer Boomslang CE Mouse
 Supermicro SC750a tower (painted black)
 Antec Trio 650w PSU
 Midiland S4 7100 speakers (for those times when headphones just won't do)
 Diamond 56k modem
 Vista Ultimate x64


----------



## saintalfonzo

I travel for work and a laptop is more practical for me, but I wanted the power of a desktop. It's been great and does everything I want. My only beef is that the sound card inputs/outputs are located on the front, which makes absolutely no sense.

 Sager 9262
 17" WUXGA (1920x1200)
 Q6700 2.66 Ghz
 4Gb ram 
 2x160 Gb seagate momentus 3gb/sec 7200 rpm hds RAID 0 
 Nvidia 8800m gtx ( soon to be sli if it becomes worth it )
 3 500Gb external hds and one 250Gb from seagate, WD, and Maxtor ( I like to keep a mirror of my music, kind of like an external RAID 1 )


----------



## guyx1992

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *guyx1992* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_My computer was a gift to me when I was 12, Now I'm 15 and 5 months. 
 These are my specs:
 Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz 1Mb Cache 32 bit (530)
 1.5GB DDR2 533MHz Dual Channel
 ABIT AA8-3rd Eye
 Western Digital 120GB 8Mb Sata
 Maxtor 6V250F0 DiamondMax 10 250GB Sata
 Western Digital 80GB IDE 
 Hauppauge PVR150 MCE
 BenQ LCD 17" 16MS (FP737s-D)
 ATI Radeon X600 PRO 256MB PCIe
 Samsung DVD RW S182D
 Sunbeam Transformer (Case)
 Generic PSU 520W
 Windows Vista Ultimate x86 (32 Bit)_

 

I'm probably gonna upgrade to a 9600GT and an FSP 400W PSU.


----------



## A<aA?

Antec p180 case
 Asus P5K
 Intel E8500 (oc'd)
 2gb Ratriot RAM
 Geforce 8400 GS
 74Gb Western Digital Raptop
 = total PC setup came to about £700 (corsair PSU, samsung dvdrw drive, scythe ninja, windows XP).

 20" Samsung HDTV - on offer for £179

 PS3 40Gb - got it cheap off a friend for £140


----------



## Kr1z

Antec P182
 6 120MM Yate Loon Mid Speed Fans
 1 120MM Antec Tri Cool Fan
 MSI P35-FR2 Motherboard
 4GB 4x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR-800 @ 850 2.2v with Corsair Ram Fan
 Q6600 G0 @ 3.4 GHZ 1.3v Tuniq Tower 120
 Nvidia 8800GT 512MB@ 650/1800/2000 with Artic Cooling S1 and Turbo Module
 Seagate Barrcudda 500GB 7200.11 32MB cache
 Corsair HX520W
 LG 20x Dual Layer DVD Burner
 Auzentech Prelude
 Windows Vista Ultimate Service Pack 1 x64 Bit
 BenQ G2400W LCD


----------



## devotee101

Dell D820 laptop in the lounge, Dell D620 laptop in the office, both running Vista.

 Athlon 64 3700 with 3Gb ram and a couple of hard disks running XP and OS X Leopard. I'd run Leopard on the D820 if it wasn't for the fact there are no stable wireless drivers.


----------



## krmathis

*Primary Home:*
 15" MacBook Pro
 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 2GB RAM
 160GB 7200rpm HDD

*Secondary Home:*
 15" PowerBook G4
 1.5GHz Freescale PPC7450
 1GB RAM
 100GB 7200rpm HDD

*Work:*
 14" Lenovo T60
 2GHz Intel Core Duo
 2GB RAM
 100GB 5400rpm HDD


----------



## Dominat0r

Intel E4500 C2D (stock 2.2ghz) @ 3.2Ghz (320x10)
 Abit IP35-E - TT Big Typhoon/100CFM fan
 4x 1024 G.Skill PC6400 DDR2 4-4-3-5 (800)
 BFG 8800GT 512mb @ 695/1740/975
 2x WD 120GB SATA - 1x WD 16MB 250GB SATA 3G - Seagate 500GB USB
 Xfi XtremeMusic - Cambridge Model 12's 
 CoolerMaster Praetorian / BFG 650w PSU
 Samsung 2232BW 22" Widescreen LCD
 Vista 32bit Home Premium, dual boot with XP pro

 My laptop-

 Asus G1S Lappy
 C2D @ 2.0ghz
 3GB Ram
 160GB HD
 512mb Nvidia 7700 Graphics
 15.4" Ultrabright (shiny finish) 1680x1050 Native res
 Vista 32bit Home Premium


----------



## Schubie

antec 900
 q6600 @ 3.3 with T.R.U.E & fm121
 asus p5k-c mobo
 8800gts 320 meg
 2 gigs ozc spec. ops. edition ram.
 enermax liberty 620 watt.
 seagate 320 main drive, 2 hitatchi 250gigs for backup and storage.
 viewsonic vx924
 logitech z-5500.
 xp pro.


----------



## Zodduska

my silent pc -

 Case - Lian-Li PC60 / ZALMAN MFC1 Plus-S Fan Controller / 5x Scythe S-Flex 120mm
 PSU - Corsair 620HX
 Mobo - Abit IP35-Pro
 CPU - Intel Q6600 @ 3.2 400x8 / T.R.U.E.120
 RAM - 2GB Crucual Ballistix PC2-8500 @ 800 4-4-4-12 1T
 VC - Evga 8800GTS 640 @ 640x2000
 HDD - WD 500GB Caviar SE16 (SPCR bungie decoupling)
 Audio - Audigy 2 ZS / Klipsch ProMedia 5.1 Ultra //see sig
 Monitor - IBM P275 (21" Trinitron CRT) 1600x1200@100Hz
 Keyboard - Cherry G84-4100 (my favorite piece of pc hardware ever)
 Mouse - Razer Deathadder / Steelseries QCK heavy
 OSs - Vista x64 Ultimate / XP Pro

 bonus but completes the experience..
 Chair - Herman Miller Aeron w/posturefit 
 Footrest - Humanscale footmachine FM300B


----------



## thornygravy

X-Dreamer Case (tons of mods) like 11 fans lol
 Asus P4V8x-x MB
 P4 3.0ghz @ 3.4ghz
 Ati Radeon x1950 pro 512mb AGP superclocked
 2gb kingston pc3200
 Gigabtye rocket cooler
 X-fi XtremeGamer
 ATI TV Tuner (forget the model)
 2x Maxtor 250 gb hard drive
 500 Maxtor external
 XP Home

 Does everything I want it to, even plays crysis at a steady 40fps!


----------



## mistat0m

nforce 680i motherboard
 8800 gt 
 getting: western digital 36gb raptor (for vista)
 getting: western digital 500gb caviar (replacing hard drive that just died)
 core 2 duo e6850 conroe 3.0 ghz
 rosewill case (can remember the exact one, doesn't really matter, it is really dented from some accidents)
 vista home 64 bit
 8gb ram (can't remember what company)

 I can't wait until I get those hard drives, because my other hard drive completely died, and right after I got my 8800 gt also.


----------



## 6RS

Macbook Core duo, 2.0 GHz
 2 Gb RAM
 Seagate 7200.2
 Apple 23 inch externa LCD monitor

 MyBook 1TB
 Hitachi 5K500
 to run daily backups at home and at work

 Waiting for the next Apple sub-notebook with the specs of a Macbook.


----------



## Libertad

Pentium D 920
 Sapphire HD 3870
 2x 1024 DDR2 533 Wintec RAM
 ASUS P5VD2-X Mother board
 Sanyo 19 wide screen LCD (1080i)

 runs all my games max (except Crysis) BTW Mass Effect is AWESOME


----------



## whee

main;

 samsung 245bw
 coolermaster cosmos case
 corsair vx550 psu
 ab9 quadgt (p965e)
 q6600 (g0) @3.6ghz (400x9) on cooler master z600
 8800 gts 512 (g92) @ 780core/1850shader/2200memory(1100x2)
 4x crucial 1gb pc8500 ballistix
 emu1212M (optical out)
 2.46TB over 6 sata hds (3x seagate, 2x samsung, 1x wd)
 razer tarantula/logitech g9
 on vista ultimate x64

 laptop;

 lenovo t61 14.1" (4:3 ratio screen)
 t9300 2.5ghz 
 160gb seagate 7200rpm hd
 3gb generic ddr667 (1x2gb, 1x1gb)
 intel x3100 integrated graphics
 intel wifi 4965AGN
 on vista business x64


----------



## bego2

CPU: E2180 @Freezer7pro
 MBO: Asus P5B @ Zalman zm-nb47j & zm-nbf47
 RAM: 1X 1GB Kingmax 667mhz 2X1gb OCZ XTC Platinum DC kit 800mhz
 HDD: Seagate 320gb sata2 & Seagate 160gb ata
 VGA: Gainward 6600gt + VF700cu + FanMate2
 psu: Chiftek 360W 
 lcd: Philips 200ws8fb
 OS: Win xp, SP2
 Other stuff : DVD/RW:Samsung SH-S203B;Mouse:Logitech mx518;Case:Sharkoon R9 EE


----------



## Ricey20

Main Comp
 CPU: Q9450 @ 3.2ghz stock voltage
 CPU Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra 120 eXtreme
 Mobo: Gigabyte X48 DQ6
 Ram: 4x2gb Gskill DDR2 1000
 HD: WD Raptor 150 Primary OS, 2x500gb WD Storage drives, 2x1TB RAID 1 backup
 VGA: EVGA 8800GTX
 PSU: Ultra X3 800W
 Case: Silverstone TJ10
 LCD: 37" Westinghouse LVM-37W3
 OS: Vista Ultimate 64-bit
 Misc: Liteon DVDRW, Logitech MX1000 Bluetooth/Razer Lycosa Keyboard

Laptop
 Macbook Pro 2.4Ghz
 160GB HD
 2GB Ram
 8600GT


----------



## Eagle_Driver

Quote:


 So my updated rig is now:

 CPU: E6750
 Memory: 2GB (2 x 1GB) OCZ "Vista Upgrade" PC2-6400 @ DDR2-667
 MB: P5K
 GPU: BFG 8800GT OC
 Case: Antec Super Lanboy
 Monitor: Acer 19" widescreen
 DVD Drives: LG GSA-H62L SATA; Lite-On 160P6S IDE
 Operating System: XP Pro w/SP2 and all critical updates to date 
 

It's been a while since I last updated the specs of my rig. I have since replaced the motherboard, memory and one of my DVD burners. Also, got into Vista, and so far so good after installing SP1 on it.

 So, my updated rig (as of June 14, 2008) is now:

 So my updated rig is now:

 CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
 Memory: 2GB (2 x 1GB) Corsair XMS2 DHX TWIN2X2048-6400C5DHX @ 5-5-5-18 @ DDR2-800
 MB: Intel DP35DPM
 GPU: BFG 8800GT OC
 Case: Antec Super Lanboy
 Power Supply: Corsair HX520
 Monitor: LG 19" widescreen
 DVD Drives: TSSTcorp/Samsung SH-S203N SATA; Lite-On 160P6S IDE
 Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit with Service Pack 1 and all critical updates to date


----------



## The_X

You guys with your new, fancy PCs!

 iMac:
 333mhz G3
 192mb RAM
 40gb HDD (which is uselessly large, since the computer can't do anything that would require 40gb)
 6mb ATi Rage
 CD-ROM
 15" CRT
 OS 9.2.2

 Powerbook G4:
 1.33ghz G4
 1.25gb RAM
 60gb HDD
 64mb GeForce FX5200 Go
 Combo Drive
 12" LCD
 OSX Leopard

 Giving up gaming has saved me a TON of money! I don't even really see why I'd need a new computer any time in the future, except when Apple drags my ass kicking and screaming into the Intel age.


----------



## ziplock

*Mobo:* Abit IP35-Pro
*PSU:* Antec Trio 550W
*Case*: Antec SOHO Tower
*CPU:* Intel E6320 1.8 @ 2.8ghz
*RAM:* 2GB OCZ DDR2 800
*Video:* BFG Nvidia 7950GT 512MB
*LCD:* Samsung 940BW 19" Wide
*HDD1:* Seagate 500GB SATA2 
*HDD2:* Maxtor 320GB SATA1
*DVD Burner:* Plextor 712SA SATA1
*Wifi:* Abit 802.11g AirPace PCIE card
*Keyboard:* Generic laptop style keyboard
*Mouse:* Razer Deathadder
*Misc:* x4 fan controller w/ Vantec stealth fans, Zalman CNPS9500AT for CPU and VF700-AlCu for GPU. Entire system runs about 15dB idle. Loudest noise is the hard drives spinning.

 It gets the job done I guess. Plays AoC at 50FPS. Looking to upgrade to 8800GT or CF setup if I get a good deal.


----------



## mr56k

Just got my new iMac Intel Core 2 @ 2.4GHZ W/ 2GB DDR2 800MHZ. Awesome so far!


----------



## batmanwcm

Lian-Li A05B w/ Window
 C2D E6600 @ 3.6GHz
 Swiftech MCP 335 w/ Petra's Top
 Apogee GT Block
 Swiftech MicroRes
 Black Ice GTS 240 Radiator
 Abit IP35-E
 2GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2-800
 BFG 7900GS OC 
 600w Ultra Infinity PSU 
 Logitech G15 
 Razer Death Adder
 Dell 2405FPW


----------



## Double Edge

Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 @ 3.6ghz
 Thermalright 120 ultra w/ Arctic Silver
 Antec P180 w/ all nexus 120mms
 Corsair 620 HX
 EVGA 122-CK-NF68 w/FSB @ 1600mhz
 8GB DDR2 Kingston HyperX 4-4-4-11 1T @ 800mhz
 -> RAM drive allocated 4 gigs to quickswap
 2x EVGA 8800 GT 512mb in SLi
 2x sata WD Raptor 10k rpm single platter 74gbs in RAID 0 16 block
 sata Seagate NL35 400 gb
 Plextor CD/DVD/DL etc
 Razer Lachesis
 Elysium ELPK106BK (bought in tokyo in person)
 Samsung 226CW
 IBasso D2 & AKG K701s
 WinXP x64
 Sexy Quiet Cool

 4.275 Ghz OC 6+ hr prime95 120F (stable/overkill/un-necessary)


----------



## chesebert

upgraded my case to P180 Swiftech.

 Q6600 @ 3.6Ghz w/ 1.4V

 120mm rad inside the case is not that ideal but everything is inside the case, and that's really nice.

 much improved acoustic performance...


----------



## Agent69

Dell Dimension e520n with G965 Chipset
 E6300 Core 2 Duo (1.86ghz; L2 stepping)
 GMA X3000
 4GB RAM
 Lite-On DVD+-R/RW Drive
 160GB Samsung SATA HDD
 Linksys WMP-54G v4.1
 Dell 1907FP 19" LCD screen (1280x1024)


----------



## Bonthouse

Custombuilt by me:
 Sharkoon Rebel 9 Value
 Intel Core2Duo E2160 1,80Ghz @ 2,80Ghz, 1,17v
 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3
 2x G.Skill PC6400 @ 840Mhz 4-4-4-12
 Nvidia 8600GTS + VF700 Papst 12dB fan mod
 1390 GB divided over 5 HDD's
 All Papst 12dB fans

 Overclock won't get higher than 45 celsius


----------



## baggag1

Compaq V6000 CTO. T7200@2.00Ghz, 1gX2 OCZ DDR2 5300 ram, WD 320g, Vista Ultimate 32bit, DVD -+ WR., GMA 950.


----------



## ANGELSS

an HP m8430f:
 HP w1907 lcd Monitor
 Windows Vista Home Premium 64 bit
 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 2.4 GHz
 4.0 Gb of Ram
 NVIDIA GeForce 8500 GT 512 mb
 750 GB Hard Disk Drive
 Wifi, TV tuner, DVR, etc.


----------



## hmai18

12" iBook
 1.33Ghz PPC
 1.5Gb RAM
 120Gb Samsung HD
 Combo Drive

 connected to a Dell 2007WFP S-IPS.

 WD 500Gb GreenPower HD in a Rosewill eSATA/FW400/800/USB enclosure for media storage/Time Machine


----------



## dvessel

MacBook Pro 2.2GHz C2D
 4 GB RAM OCZ
 300 GB Internal HD Western Digital
 20" Apple Cinema Display
 1 TB Time Capsule for backups.

 OS X Leopard and Windows XP through VM Ware Fusion for testing web pages. My work involves designing and coding compatible web pages through Drupal CMS.

 Old Custom PC collecting dust:
 Lian Li PCV-1200 case (beautiful black aluminum)
 AMD 64 somthing.. I forget
 Some ATI card. Was decent at the time.
 Lan-party motherboard .uhh
 X-Fi sound card.
 Strong Arm keyboard with mechanical switches.

 Basically, this was a waste of time built 3 years ago to play games. One day it'll be gutted and converted it into a linux box or hack it to load OS X.


----------



## lordmozilla

updated desktop :

 Q6600 @ 3.0ghz 1:1 ratio with memory  (well 1:2 since FSB is quad pumped but...)
 MSI P35 Neo2 board
 4x 1GB DDR2 667mhz corsair XMS2
 Leadtech 7800GTX 256MB TDH G70
 Adaptec 3400S (quad U160 scsi controller)
 Raid 5 of 4 Seagate Cheetah 18GB 15kr pm 8mb cache drives
 Intel Pro1000 Dual port PCI-E 4x NIC
 Seagate 500GB SATA II 32MB
 Hitachi 250GB SATA II 16MB
 Samsung 80GB SATA I 8MB
 Phillips SAA7130
 Corsair VX550
 Samsung DVD+-RW drive

 Bit of a weird rig, lots of stuff in there... but fast. And not so quiet.


----------



## megawzrd

still chugging on:

 4200+ x2 939
 asus a8ne
 2gb ddr400
 ati x800xl
 audigy 2z
 74gb raptor
 500gb storage


----------



## jfindon

Intel X3350 quad @ 3.2GHZ (for now)
 Abit IP35 Pro motherboard
 4 GB GSkill RAM DDR2 1000
 320GB + 500GB SATA HDD
 MSI 8800GTS OC 512MB
 XIGMATEK HDT-S1283 120mm heatsink
 PC P&C 610W PSU

 Guess that's about it.


----------



## John E Woven

Hi guys!

 Intel E4300 @ 3.6ghz
 Abit IP35-e
 4x1gb pc6400 (2x1gb crucial baliistix, 2x1gb ocz gold)
 320 + 300 + 160 + 500 sata
 Visiontek 4850
 Silverstone ST50EF+
 Scythe Infinity 
 Thermalright HR-03

 etc.


----------



## Dzjudz

Intel C2D E8400 3.0GHz
 ASUS P5Q motherboard
 4GB DDR2 RAM
 1TB HDD
 8800GT 512MB OC
 Antec Three Hundred and 5 huge fans


 Intel C2D E6750 2.66GHz
 ASUS P5N motherboard
 2GB DDR2 RAM
 160GB HDD
 8800GTS 320MB OC
 Cooler Master Centurion and 5 fans


----------



## Hardcoreckn

Athlon X2 3800+
 Asus AVM-N
 2GB DDR400
 Raptor X
 eVGA 8800GTS 320MB


----------



## arnoldsoccer4

Intel Pentium d at 3.6
 3gb ddr2 ram (have 4 but makes system unstable)
 250+320hdd
 7950gt


----------



## fault151

3.Ghz Quad Mac pro
 7gb ram
 22inch samsung flat screen monitor
 750gb hard drive = 250 gb hard drive
 Loaded with Graphic Design, Web Design, Movie editing and music production programs.


----------



## ioXt_2

My Mac Pro:
 2.8Ghz Quad x2
 1.57TB HD (750gb, 500gb & 320gb)
 6gb RAM
 23" HP & 20" Dell
 8800GT


----------



## nigi

E6600 - 3150mhz cpu
 abit ab9 pro mobo
 320 gig hd samsung + 500 gig external hd iomega
 8800 gts 320mb 575-1350-900mhz
 2x1gig corsair xms2 ddr2 memory
 corsair 520w psu
 optiarc dvd drive


----------



## potato28

C2d E6300 @ 2.8 ghz
 Gigabyte P965 DS2 mobo
 500 gig Seagate 10, 250 gig Seagate 11, 160 gig Seagate 7 
 8800 GT 512 @ 670/1850
 Thermaltake 600W 
 2 gigs of Geil DDR2-800
 Samsung 20" widescreen monitor
 DeathAdder and el cheapo keyboard
 LG something or other DVD burner
 HD555 and XF-I for my sound


----------



## Edwood

Latest addition for my main Workstation is now a Velociraptor.

 C2D E8400 @3.6GHz with Scythe Mini-Ninja
 Abit IP35 Pro mobo
 8GB RAM
 300GB Western Digital Velociraptor (Windows Vista x64) removed from stock IcePack, now in a 2.5" Scythe Enclosure, suspended in a 3.5" NoVibes 
 320GB Western Digital WD3200AAKS (Windows Vista x86 alt boot via hardware switch)
 640GB Western Digital WD6400AAKS (Scratch / Page File / Shared Data Drive)
 Cheapo Slim Laptop DVD Drive
 PNY GeForce 8600GT modded with Passive cooling
 Antec Phantom 350 PSU
 Modded HTPC Case
 Wacom Cintiq 21UX 


 My crap box / surfing / music computer is still in process of being rebuilt. Ugh, what a PITA.

 Pentium M 2.1GHz passively cooled with Zalman cooler
 AOpen i855 GMEm-LFS Mobo
 2GB RAM
 120GB Seagate Barracuda V (Windows XP TPCE 2005)
 320GB Western Digital WD3200AAKS (Scratch / Page File / Data Drive)
 Benq DW1640 DVD-RW Drive
 Crappy Radeon 9200 passively cooled
 RME HDSP 9632 Sound Card
 HDA Digital X-Mystique Sound Card
 Seasonic S12 modded with Scythe 120mm Fan


 Those are my two most used desktop computers. I have way too many others to list, most in various stages of rebuilding/disrepair.

 -Ed


----------



## pow3rtr1p

Well, might as well.

 E8400 @ 3.9 GHz 
 2 x 1 GB Team Group DDR2 1066 RAM
 Sapphire x1950XTX
 DFI Lan Party DK P35 T2RS
 Bluegears b-Enspirer
 Western Digital 250GB
 Cooler Master Stacker 832
 Silverstone Decathlon 750W


----------



## tensaichen

Q6600@stock (for now) w/ Tuniq tower cooler
 4gb Corsair Dominator 8500
 ASUS Striker Extreme
 Evga 8800 Ultra
 X-Fi Extreme Fatality

 Antec 900 case


----------



## choomanchoo

IBM BlueGene/L

 cheapie


----------



## skyline889

Added some new parts again, this'll probably be the last update for this computer. Also, built a new SFF pc for college. This will definitely be my last SFF build; the heat is ridiculous and the workspace is way too cramped. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Got a new laptop too but nothing to write home about, had to split my budget with my PC. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 PC1
 Lian Li RF w/Scythe Slipstreams
 Corsair HX620
 Gigabyte P35C-DS3R Rev2.0 w/F10 BIOS
 Intel C2D E6600 w/Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme/Scythe S-Flex @ 3.6ghz 1.45v
 8gb OCZ SLI-Ready 5-4-4-15 @ 1:1 800mhz
 EVGA 9600GT
 LG GGC-H20L HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Optical Drive
 EMU 1212m
 150gb WD Raptor
 2x750gb Seagate Cudas

 PC2
 Lian Li V350B
 Corsair HX620
 Asus P5E-VM HDMI
 Intel C2Q Q6600 w/Thermalright SI-128 @ 2.4ghz 1.1685v
 4gb Patriot Extreme 4-4-4-12 @ 1:1 533mhz
 BFG 8800GT OC
 Samsung 20x SATA
 X-Fi Fatal1ty Pro
 80gb WD Raptor
 500gb Seagate Cuda

 Laptop
 HP DV9810US
 AMD TL-60
 3gb DDR2 @ 533mhz
 Nvidia 7150m
 160gb HD


----------



## mr56k

AMD Phenom X4 @ 1.8GHZ
 640GB Sata Drive
 ATI HD3200
 8GB DDR2 Corsair Ram
 32" LCD TV as main monitor
 Windows Vista X64


----------



## yoff

- *Apple iMac G5* Mac OS X + 1 Go Ram
 - *Apple Macbook* 2 Ghz Intel core 2 Duo Mac OS X 10.5.4 + 2 Go Ram
 - 500 Go AluIce + 120 Go LaCie


----------



## dgbiker1

Just got a nice new computer at work, an absolute CAD beast.
 Quad core 3.6GHz
 500GB HD
 768MB Nvidia Quadro FX 4600
 4GB Ram
 Xp pro

 At home, still on my trusty old macbook w/ 1.8GHz dual core, 2gb ram, and 120GB HD.


----------



## philodox

What's the deal with those quadro cards? Are they really *that *much better at CAD than the high end gaming graphics cards?


----------



## meat01

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *philodox* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_What's the deal with those quadro cards? Are they really *that *much better at CAD than the high end gaming graphics cards?_

 

I have used high end gaming cards with Solidworks and Pro/e and been very happy. Gaming cards handle the speed of rotating complex assemblies, but Quadro cards are supposed to handle the speed while producing a high quality surfaces without missing facets. If a company is paying, I would go with a Quadro. If it were my money, I would use a Geforce card.

 For 2D CAD, I would not bother with a Quadro card.


----------



## dgbiker1

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *philodox* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_What's the deal with those quadro cards? Are they really *that *much better at CAD than the high end gaming graphics cards?_

 

In Pro/E it's made huge differences in my experience since they are tuned for vector applications instead of rapid texture refreshes. They also do a better job of smoothing lines (ie quality vs quantity of frames). I work with master models of trucks (ie the full cab of a semi) with models of everything down to a fastener (tens of thousands of parts), and I've noticed a huge difference.
 Good link comparing them here.


----------



## zx10guy

Gaming box:

 Intel E8400
 EVGA 780i
 2x EVGA 8800 Ultras
 4GB DDR2 OCZ memory
 150GB WD Raptor
 1100W ABS power supply

 Network fileserver:

 Compaq Proliant 3000
 2x 500 MHz Intel PIII
 768 MB SDRAM ECC memory
 Compaq RAID controller 128 MB onboard cache with battery backup
 2x15GB 15000 RPM SCSI Ultra 2 (RAID 1)
 8x15GB 10000 RPM SCSI Ultra 2 (RAID 5)
 Dual power supplies
 4x 100Mb Intel/3Com NICs channel bonded

 Main laptop:

 Dell Inspiron E1505
 Intel T7200
 2 GB DDR2
 80 GB Seagate 7200 RPM SATA
 AMD x1300 GPU
 Ultrasharp display
 Dual layer DVD burner

 Acer Aspire 3680
 Intel Celeron 1.8 GHz
 1GB DDR2
 60 GB HD
 DVD/CD-R drive

 Miscellaneous boxes running various services on my home network.


----------



## PuffyElvis

Dell Precision T3400 E8200
 4 GB RAM
 3 NEC Multisync 2090's


----------



## Khanate

Laptop 17 inch screen
 2.26ghz dual core
 4 GB DDR3
 Geforce 9800 GTS
 200 GB HDD 7200 rpm


----------



## krmathis

*Main:*
 15" Apple MacBook Pro
 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo
 2GB RAM
 160GB 7200rpm HDD

*Secondary:*
 15" Apple PowerBook G4
 1.5GHz PPC 7447
 1GB RAM
 100GB 7200rpm HDD

*Work:*
 14" Lenovo T60
 2GHz Core 2
 2GB RAM
 100GB 5400rpm HDD


----------



## saintalfonzo

Laptop: Sager 9262
 WUXGA Glossy
 Q6700 2.66 GHz Quad
 4 GB RAM
 2X160 GB 7200rpm HDD RAID 0
 Nvidia 8800gtx 
 4x500 Gb external HDD for d
 double backup of music library


----------



## chesebert

Laptops:

 15" IBM IPS flexview T60
 T7400 2.16GB
 3GB RAM
 300GB 5400rpm
 X1300 ATI
 Dell 2007wfp LG SIPS external monitor

 14" 4:3 IBM T60 
 1.85Ghz Core2D
 2GB RAM
 X1400 ATI 
 100GB 7200rpm HDD

 14" WXGA+ Lenovo T61
 T7500 2.2Ghz
 3GB
 Intel 3100 integrated
 100GB 7200rpm HDD


----------



## jterp7

14" Asus W3J
 T2400 1.86Ghz
 2.5gb RAM
 250gb x 2 5400rpm internal
 250gb x 2 5400rpm external
 ATI x1600 256MB

 connected to a Samsung 4066f 40" LCD 1080p


----------



## firefox360

Lenovo ThinkPad T61p 15.4" 16:10
 Intel C2D T9300 2.50GHz
 Nvidia Quadro FX 570M 256MB
 Corsair 4GB DDR2-667 PC2-5300
 250GB 5400RPM

 connected to a Dell E228W 22" LCD.


----------



## skyline889

Sold the SFF to my sister's bf and went full-tower again. Took two months to build because ****** case seller, sold me a V1000 instead of the V1200 that we agreed on and took over a month to refund my money. Would've just bought a faster laptop had I known I would get screwed over like this. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




*
 Home*
 Lian Li RF w/Scythe Slipstreams
 Corsair HX620
 Gigabyte P35C-DS3R Rev2.0 w/F10 BIOS
 Intel C2D E6600 w/Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme/Scythe S-Flex @ 3.6ghz 1.45v
 8gb OCZ SLI-Ready 5-4-4-15 @ 1:1 800mhz
 EVGA 9600GT
 LG GGC-H20L HD-DVD/Blu-Ray Optical Drive
 EMU 1212m
 150gb WD Raptor
 2x750gb Seagate 7200.10/11 Cudas
*
 College*
 Lian Li RF
 Corsair HX620
 Asus P5Q-Pro
 Intel C2D E8400 w/Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme (Lapped) @3.0ghz (For now)
 8gb Patriot Extreme 5-5-5-12
 BFG 8800GT OC
 Samsung SH-223Q
 X-Fi Fata1ty Pro
 80gb WD Raptor
 500gb Seagate 7200.10 Cuda
*
 Laptop*
 HP DV9810US
 AMD TL-60
 3gb DDR2 @ 533mhz
 Nvidia 7150m
 160gb HD


----------



## Ad Rock

Asus Commando
 Intel e6600 (running at 8x400 everyday, has hit 4.5ghz when I play with my dryice pot)
 Crucial PC-8500 2x1GB DDR2
 ATI 3850 512MB
 OCZ Powerstream 520w
 2x300GB Maxtor DiamondMax 10 HDD

 I used to overclock this rig semi-competitively, now it just sits here while I do school work on it.


----------



## brotherlen

EVGA 780i
 Asus 8800GTS (G92)
 ESI Juli@
 Razer soundcard
 lightscribe drive
 Intel QX6700
 Water cooling
 "twice 7" mountain mods case
 4 GB OCZ Ram
 Wireless "N" card
 500 GB drive, 2x 36GB raptors
 Deck "toxic" keyboard
 Razor copperhead mouse, and aluminum mousepad, also razer (mouse pad and keyboard are my favorite upgrades)

 Macbook pro 15incher (1st version)
 250GB HD, 1.5GB Ram

 considering offloading for new macbook pro, and the LED display coming out.


----------



## chef8489

Computer not quite finished yet but here are the current specs I am using.
 Cooler master 830 evo
 Pc Power and cooling 750 quad
 MSI p7n diamond- has xfi card included
 q9450 oced to 3.2
 4 gigs ocz reaper 1066
 2 xfx gtx 260 xxx slied
 wd black 1tb
 wd 320
 Lg blue-ray hd dvd combo drive
 Asus 22x dvd burner- replacing it with LG blue ray burner
 Samsung t260 25.5 monitor
 Logitech g15
 Logitech g5
 Logitech z5500 speakers
 Razer Destructor mouse pad.

 Still have to get the blue ray burner,4 more gigs of ram, and another 1tb or 1.5 tb drive.


----------



## lolopop81

My current computer is a
 Dell 150 Optiplex
 256 MB of RAM
 74 GB Hard drive
 3.5 Floppy Drive
 Windows XP Home Version 2002
 Plain CD Drive

 I am going to build my new computer on Thursday!
 4 GB of RAM
 We are still deciding what we will do for a hard drive
 Windows XP Home and/or Windows Vista Home Premium and/or Windows 7
 CD/DVD RW Drive


----------



## Zodduska

Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
 Corsair 620HX
 Abit IP35 Pro
 Intel Q6600 @ 3.2 GHz TRUE 120
 4GB DDR2-1066 OCZ Reaper @ 800MHz 4-4-4-12 1T
 EVGA GTX295 @ 670 x 1440 x 1198
 WD Caviar 500GB 7200RPM SATA
 Sony DVDR
 ZALMAN fan controller 5x Scythe S-Flex 120mm
 Lian-Li PC-60 

 pretty much the same as the last time I posted it but updated video card and possibly ram and OS.


----------



## Deathsnapper

Intel Q6600 @ 3.2GHz (cooled by Vendetta 2)
 ATI 4870
 Gigabyte UD3P
 4GB (2x2gb sticks) Mushkin 800mhz @ 4-4-4-12
 Corsair 750TX PSU
 WD 640gb Caviar SATA
 Antec 900; all (5) fans replaced with Noctua NF-P12 (very quiet! The PSU is the loudest thing in my system), 200mm top fan set to low.

 Running Vista x64 business (love my free microsoft software/OSs for being part of MSDNAA 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





)


----------



## majid

Since 2 weeks ago:

 Mac Pro (eight-core 2.93GHz Nehalem-EP)
 8GB RAM
 32GB Intel X25-E SSD (boot/apps)
 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F1 (homedir)
 nVidia GeForce GT120
 HP LP3065 30" LCD
 Matias Tactilepro keyboard
 Benchmark DAC1 (over Toslink) connected to HD650 and Audioengine A2

 running OS X Leopard.


----------



## T_K

Q6600, stock clock
 680i SLI LT mobo
 8GB don't remember what RAM exactly
 4 x 750GB Seagate drives in RAID 0+1
 2 x 8800 GTS 512
 X-Fi Xtreme Gamer Fatal1ty
 HAF 932 case
 UPS
 24" Benq LCD, don't remember the model but it's a really good one, not the $300 crap.


----------



## Bonthouse

E2160 @ 3.2Ghz
 4GB G.Skill DDR2 @ 900Mhz
 Gigabyte GA-P35DS3
 8800GT
 2x Samsung 320, 1x Samsung 250, 2x Samsung 250 and 1x LaCie 320 by Sam Hecht
 And two big fat 23" flat CRT's by HP


----------



## raffy

Core i7 @3.4Ghz
 6mb Corsair Dominator 1600 DDR3 
 EVGA X58 SLI
 EVGA GTX 285 SC
 WD Raptor 74gb
 WD Black Edition 750gb
 ASUS MK241 LCD Monitor
 Coolermaster HAF932


----------



## hmai18

Unibody Macbook.
 2.0GHz Core2Duo
 4GB DDR3
 160GB HD (internal)
 500GB WD Green (external)

 Connected to a confirmed IPS panel Dell 2007WFP.


----------



## Omerta

Core I7 920 overclocked to 3.8ghz
 6GB DDR3 OCZ Platinum at 1520mhhz
 300gb raptor
 640gb western digital black
 Asus p6t deluxe motherboard
 EVGA GTX 280
 Corsair 1000w psu
 Zalman GT1000 Case

 connected to a Samsung 305t, with a g9 mouse and g19 keyboard


----------



## Nebby

Core2Quad QX9550
 8gb Crucial ram
 Gigabyte EP45-UD3P
 300gb Seagate 15k.5
 5x Samsung F1 raid 5
 Adaptec 31605
 Antec P180

 Waiting for the Nehalem EP's to come out before upgrading.


----------



## Ares

Core 2 Quad Q6600 @3.0 
 A-Data 3gb of DDR2 @ 667
 2x Seagate 320GB 7200.10 
 ATi 4870 @760,885
 X-Fi Elite Pro 
 OCZ SxS 600Watt 
 Denon DRA345 - Marantz SP1000/Sony SS-B1000


----------



## skitlets

My 3 1/2 year old build is looking a little dated, so I got a new gpu and psu recently.
 E6600 @ 2.8 - 3.0ghz (passively cooled with Scythe Ninja)
 Gigabyte 965P-DS3 (Might swap with a P5B Deluxe I've got lying around)
 4GB OCZ Platinum
 WD 250GB HD, 1TB Green, 1TB Seagate external (Perhaps OCZ Vertex is in the works?)
 4870 1GB
 Corsair 850TX
 Vista Ultimate 64 Bit
 All housed in the original P180 and connected to a 24" HP LP2475W.


----------



## Headphile808

AMD 5000+ Black Edition @3.2Ghz
 Asus Lion Square Cooler
 Asus M3N72-D
 4GB G Skill DDR2
 250GB Samsung/500GB Samsung
 1TB Samsung External/Thermaltake Max4 Enclosure
 XFX 9600GT 512MB
 Sondigo Inferno 7.1 Soundcard
 Xigmatek NRP 750W
 HP w2207h Monitor
 Logitech G5/G15/Evoluent PostureRight Gelpad/Corepad XXXL Deskpad/Razer Exactmat/Exactrest
 XP Pro 32-Bit
 Antec 900
 Also have a Antec 1200 for My next build...
 Aloha
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 Headphile808


----------



## dctokyo

Motherboard: ASUS Rampage Extreme * 1003 BIOS*Windows XP/64//Processor:E8600 //Cooling: ZALMAN CNPS 9900//Memoryatriot DDR3 PVS34G1600LLK 8GB//Video Card: Gigabyte GXT 280 //HDD/2x WD 74 GB VelociRaptor RAID 0//Sound Card: PCI-e X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty //Case:SilverStone FT01-B//Power Supply: SeaSonic M12 700 watts //Monitor: Dell 2407WFP 24" x 2


----------



## thedips

apple white macbook...
 2.4 GHZ intel core 2 duo
 500gb @ 5400 rpm hd
 4GB 667 DDR2 SDRAM
 Intel GMA X3100


----------



## krmathis

*Main:*
 15" Apple MacBook Pro
 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo
 2GB RAM
 160GB 7200rpm HDD

*Secondary:*
 15" Apple PowerBook G4
 1.5GHz PPC 7447
 1GB RAM
 100GB 7200rpm HDD

*Work:*
 Lenovo ThinkPad X200
 2.16GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 3GB RAM
 160GB 7200rpm HDD


----------



## yuckymucky

Laptop: (work machine)
 Dell Latitude D830
 Intel C2D T9300 (2.50GHz)
 15.4 WUXGA 1920x1200 screen
 256mb Nvidia Quadro NVS 140M
 4GB DDR2 memory

 Desktop:
 Abit IP35 Pro mb
 Intel C2D E6750 2.95GHz
 GSkill 4GB DDR2
 2x Seagate 320GB drives
 Samsung 22x DVD+-R DVD SATA
 Evga GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked video
 Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 sound
 Seasonic S12 550W ps
 Samsung 226BW 22" monitor
 Logitech G5 v2 mouse
 Logitech Ultrathin Illuminated keyboard


----------



## mark2410

erm going of the top of my head

 main media box

 9500 phenom
 abit something motherboard
 8gb ram
 radeon 3600
 2.4 tb hdd space
 ye olde ancient original ms bluetooth mouse and keyboard (i love them both dearly)
 auzentech x-plosion sound card
 vista biz 64

 old media box and back up machine
 1.8ghz duron
 abit nf7-s 
 1.25gb ram
 radeon 9500 pro
 bout 600ish gb hdd space
 soundstorm (which i miss, its was so good)
 xp pro

 doing work laptop (dell)
 17 inch 1920 x 1200 screen
 2.2ghz core 2 duo
 3gb ram
 geforce 6600 mobile
 500gb hdd space
 some crap sigmatel junk sound
 vista biz 32

 bedroom laptop 
 15inch 1280 x 800
 1.73 ghz core duo
 1.5gb ram
 radeon x200 mobile IGPU
 60gb hdd
 some realtek sound thing
 vista home premium

 kitchen laptop

 12inch G3 ibook
 700mhz
 640mb ram
 20gb hdd
 osx 10. something, not the newest one but the one before

 have other desktops parts and more or less full machines that are sat at parents. just listed the ones with me and attached to a wall socket


----------



## apatN

Intel C2D E6750 @ 3,5ghz
 2gb Corsair RAM @ 860MHZ, stock timings atm I think
 XFX 8800GTS 640 @ 650/1050
 Samsung 320GB HDD
 WD 1TB HDD
 20" LG L206WTQ


----------



## skitlets

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *yuckymucky* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Logitech Ultrathin Illuminated keyboard_

 

How do you like that keyboard? I've heard it sometimes exhibits keyblocking. Have you run into any problems?


----------



## yuckymucky

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *skitlets* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_How do you like that keyboard? I've heard it sometimes exhibits keyblocking. Have you run into any problems?_

 

I checked out the same reviews about keyblocking but I have not had any issues at all, and I type decently fast. That is not to say that you won't have any issues but I have not.

 If you like typing on laptop keyboards it is probably the best keyboard that you can get, plus the illumination is just cool.


----------



## yoff

*MacBook* (2007) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




 7200 rpm / 32O GB HD
 2 GB RAM

*Imac G5*


----------



## Arainach

*Lenovo X200 Tablet (Caligula)*

 Intel C2D SL9400 (1.86Ghz, 6MB L2)
 3GB DDR3 RAM
 12.1" 1280x800 Screen (Wacom Pen/Touch Support)
 160GB 5400RPM HD
 2GB Intel Turbocache
 9 Cell Battery
 Bluetooth, Webcam, Microphone
 Docking Bay w/ 8X DVD-RW
 Intel 5300 A/G/N Wireless

*Dell Latitude D620 (Commodus)*
 Intel C2D T2300 1.67Ghz/3MB L2
 3GB DDR2 RAM
 14" 1400x900 Screen
 120GB 5400RPM HD
 6 Cell Battery
 Dell 1390 A/G Wireless

*Desktop (Tiberius)*
 AMD X2 4800+ (2.4Ghz, 2MB L2)
 2GB PC3200 DDRAM, Corsair Value
 2x 20" 1600x1200 screens (total 3200x1200)
 Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe Motherboard
 512MB eVGA 7950GT GPU
 Hard Drives: 250, 250, 500 (Internal), 250, 750 (External) - Total 2TB
 Chaintech AV-710 Sound Card (connected via Optical to Yamaha RX-V559 Receiver -> Grado RS-1 Headphones, B&W 685 Speakers)


----------



## Gitbags

AMD Phenom II x3 720 @ 3.3ghz (stock volts)
 Stock cooler
 Gigabyte ma790x-ud4 mobo
 2gig kingston hyperx 8500
 xfx 4870 512mb
 m-audio 24/96
 audigy 2zs 
 samsung f1 640gb hd
 panasonic dvd-rw (can't remember which one but its a good 4years old)
 Coolermaster igreen 600w psu
 Akasa eclipse 62 v1 case


----------



## smrtby123

Laptop:
 Widescreen Gateway
 1.8 Ghz AMD Turion 64
 1.5 Gb DDR-333 
 60gb HDD
 Dual boot XP/Ubuntu(Xubuntu)
 Would go full ubuntu if maple, pro/e, matlab, etc would work.


 Gaming PC:

 AMD 5000+ Black Edition (3.1 Ghz)
 4 Gb PC6400 DDR2 (Running at 1066)
 ASUS M2N-32 SLI Deluxe Wireless Edition
 2x Nvidia 8800 GTS 512 (SLI)
 VIA 7.1 Envy24 soundcard 24/96 (Wolfson DAC)
 Ultra ATX Case
 Ultra 700W Modular PSU
 Xigmatek HDT-S293 cooler
 Western Digital 500gb SATAII HDD 32mb Cache
 Lite-on SATA DVD burner
 Cyber Snipa Stinger gaming mouse
 Saitek Eclipse II Illuminated Keyboard
 Func F-Series Smooth mousepad

 All plugged into my 52" Olevia HDTV and Onkyo 7.1 surround sound. Oh yeah it rules.

 The M2N-32 wireless feature is amazing. It has a wireless card that plugs into a USB header that is near the backpanel, which saved me from having to buy another wireless card, and also frees up a PCI slot.


----------



## t3haxle

Meh, not the best, but it still runs games on the Xbox level seamlessly.
 CPU:AMD Turion 64x2 Mobile Technology @ 1.9Ghz
 No graphics card on a laptop
 Two gigs of memory
 15.4" screen at 1280x800 native resolution.
 Windows Vista Home Basic
 100 gig hard drive
 10 gigs recovery


----------



## GuitarFreak

[size=x-small]e8600@4.3GHz 1.28v/swiftech apogee GTZ/MCR320/MCP655
 EVGA 790i Ultra 
 MSI GTX280 760/1520/1250
 4GB Patriot Viper DDR3-1800
 PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750w
 Auzentech X-Fi Prelude
 500GB WD Caviar | 500GB Seagate 7200.11
 320GB WD Caviar | 160GB Samsung
[/size] [size=x-small] Cosmos S
 28" Hanns-G + 22" Gateway monitors[/size][size=x-small]
[/size]
 Pics here:
ImageShack® - Gallery
 and http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7298/crw9533.jpg


----------



## LFF

Pentium 4 @ 2.5Ghz
 1 GB RD-Ram
 Geforce 2 MX
 Intel Mobo
 500 GB Maxtor
 19 Inch Sony Widescreen

 Yes, yes - I know. I need to upgrade badly. I can't even run Foobar and Firefox at the same time.


----------



## SactoMan101

Here's my system spec:

 HP Pavilion a6400f with:

 Intel Pentium Dual-Core CPU E2200 (essentially a Core 2 Duo CPU with reduced size CPU cache running at 2.2 GHz) on ASUStek Benecia motherboard with on-board video, Realtak on-board audio, gigabit Ethernet jack, six USB 2.0 ports and two Firewire 400 ports
 3 GB system RAM
 Western Digital 500 GB Serial ATA-II hard drive with Windows _Vista_ Home Premium (SP1) preloaded
 HP-DT-ST Serial ATA-II DVD burner drive
 Built in card reader for Compact Flash, SD/MMC, xD and Sony _Memory Stick_ flash memory cards
 ZyXEL ADSL modem connected to Ethernet port
 Logitech QuickCam Connect webcam connected to USB 2.0 port
 Logitech MX500 mouse connected to USB 2.0 port
 Microsoft Natural Elite keyboard connected to PS/2 keyboard port
 Samsung SyncMaster 930B 19" LCD monitor connected to VGA DB-15 port
 Klipsch Groove PM speakers connected to line out 3.5 mm stereo jack connector
 HP Officejet J3680 connected to USB 2.0 port

 I also have a Western Digital 750 GB external hard drive I connect to USB 2.0 port for regularly weekly incremental backups and also connect my 3G iPod nano and SANSA Clip portable media players to the USB 2.0 port on an as-needed basis.

 EDIT: I have replaced my Samsung SyncMaster 930B LCD panel with a new LG _Flatron_ W2053TQ-PF 20" widescreen monitor with 1600x900 maximum resolution as of June 1, 2009.


----------



## Enigma974

AMD Phenom II 940 X4 Black (3.6Ghz)
 Cooler Master Cosmos S
 Cooler Master Real Power Pro 850W
 ASUS Crosshair II Formula
 G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066
 (2 in SLi) XFX GeForce GTX 260 Core 216
 LITE-ON 22X DVD Burner with LightScribe iHAP422-08l
 Seagate FreeAgent Pro 750GB External
 (2) Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5TB
 (2) Western Digital Caviar 250GB
 Sceptre 40” Full 1080P LCD HDTV
 Auzen X-Fi™ Forte 7.1 --> HFI 780's 
 Logitech Cordless Optical TrackMan
 Cooler Master Aluminum Alloy Keyboard

 Just finished this last week, I love it! 
 The Mouse is the only thing brought over from my previous system.


----------



## iriverdude

Why didn't you buy a Intel? afaik this time round they're faster than AMD's.


----------



## dazzer1975

dell dimension e521
 500gb hdd (2x250gb)
 dvd rom
 dvd re-writer
 multi card reader
 amd athlon 64 x2 dual core 5000+ 2.6ghz
 4gb ram
 32bit vista ultimate
 256mb ati radeon x1300pro
 20" lcd
 netgear gigabit switch
 buffalo 500gb gigabit nas
 buffalo 1tb ext hdd
 freecom 500gb ext hdd
 iomega 500gb ext hdd

 2 year old at present more or less


----------



## Enigma974

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *iriverdude* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Why didn't you buy a Intel? afaik this time round they're faster than AMD's._

 

to get a gain in performance over the AMD's you have to spend 100's more. 

 the performance to price ratio is a lot better with the new AMD's


----------



## xkRoWx

*Apple Unibody MacBook:
*Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4GHz
 2GB DDR3 1067MHz
 250GB S-ATA
 nVidia 9400m
 Leopard
 Logitech MX Revolution (Bluetooth)

*Desktop*:
 AMD Athlon 3500+ 64Bit
 ASUS A8N motherboard
 nVidia 6600GT 256MB
 2GB DDR2 667MHz
 180GB S-ATA
 Windows XP
 Samsung T220
 Logitech Z-530
 Logitech MX 5500 keyboard only.
 Logitech G5 gaming mouse


----------



## PerformanceFirst

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LFF* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Pentium 4 @ 2.5Ghz
 1 GB RD-Ram
 Geforce 2 MX
 Intel Mobo
 500 GB Maxtor
 19 Inch Sony Widescreen

 Yes, yes - I know. I need to upgrade badly. I can't even run Foobar and Firefox at the same time. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			



_

 

That isn't normal at all. Perhaps a clean Windows install is in order?


----------



## roastpuff

I have an opportunity to get a Phenom X2 (not Phenom II) 9500 for $99 CAD - is this worth it? Currently running a X2 5000+ BE, but I want to upgrade the secondary rig from the E2200 on it currently so that I can at least edit photos better using Lightroom. 

 My Macbook Pro is showing its age and having trouble when editing large sizes and series of RAW files... quite slow!


----------



## iriverdude

Quote:


 My Macbook Pro is showing its age and having trouble when editing large sizes and series of RAW files... quite slow! 
 

More RAM? Is the HD light going mental?
 As to PC, if your CPU demand is quite high I'd upgrade to a quad. Make sure your applications use multi-core (new Photoshop)

 Hang on a sec 9500 is quad.


----------



## roastpuff

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *iriverdude* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_More RAM? Is the HD light going mental?
 As to PC, if your CPU demand is quite high I'd upgrade to a quad. Make sure your applications use multi-core (new Photoshop)

 Hang on a sec 9500 is quad._

 

I've got 2GB on the MBP at the moment (Core Duo 2.16, DDR2-667) and I can only max it out to 3 (but probably not worth the effort) so I'm thinking of moving my photo-editing to the secondary desktop that's not being used by my sister since she's got her EEE now. The secondary is having some issues and is in pieces, as I'm sort-of rebuilding the entire thing so as to eliminate the constant-restart bug which it is afflicted with. 

 The laptop's HDD might be an issue too, in affecting speed. I'm also running out of space! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 The secondary desktop is running an Intel E2200/2GB setup right now, which is ok for general use/light gaming but probably not enough horsepower as Lightroom is lagging a bit when I run it on the primary desktop which is X2 5000+ BE (not-OCed... yet)/2GB. 

 I'm still on XP 32-bit so I'm hesitant to upgrade to 4GB of RAM right now.

 And yes, the Phenom I'm mentioning is a quad. And there's a special deal going on for it right now. http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...s&promoid=1033


----------



## Iron_Dreamer

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *LFF* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Yes, yes - I know. I need to upgrade badly. I can't even run Foobar and Firefox at the same time. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Egads man! I had no idea you had that kind of issues. I should at least try to resuscitate it a bit the next time I am in town.


----------



## Edwood

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *iriverdude* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_More RAM? Is the HD light going mental?
 As to PC, if your CPU demand is quite high I'd upgrade to a quad. Make sure your applications use multi-core (new Photoshop)

 Hang on a sec 9500 is quad._

 

Unless you're batch processing a lot of Raw files constantly, you're always better off getting more RAM when it comes to Photoshop.

 Oh, and upgrade to a 64 bit OS with a PC and Photoshop CS4.


----------



## roastpuff

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Edwood* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Unless you're batch processing a lot of Raw files constantly, you're always better off getting more RAM when it comes to Photoshop.

 Oh, and upgrade to a 64 bit OS with a PC and Photoshop CS4. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

But, but I'm waiting for Windows 7, because I don't want to upgrade to Vista and then upgrade again! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	







 I prefer to use Lightroom, because I find Photoshop a bit intimidating - are the functions the same?


----------



## zeroibis

*Silver Bullet II*
 CPU: i7965 @ 4.2GHz CPU-Z Validator 3.0
 RAM: 3GB Hyper-X DDR3-2000
 GPU: GTX 280 @750|1307|1614 techPowerUp GPU-Z Validation avz3
 HDD: 1TB Deskstar, 2x 150GB Cheetah 15.6 (15,000rpm) SAS-RAID 0, 250GB Maxtor Diamond
 Soundcard: X-FI Extreme Music
 Cooling: Custom water/quiet with silent mode
*
 Silver Bullet 1.5*
 CPU: Dual 2.5GHz Xeons
 RAM: 2GB Hyper-x
 HDD: 1TB Deskstar, 3x WD Raptors 75GB in RAID-5, 250GB Maxtor Diamond
 GPU: Geforce 7800gs
 Cooling: Custom water/air/very loud and old

*Silver Bullet 1.4*
 TV Computer
 CPU: Pentium 4 2.4Ghz
 RAM: 1GB Hyper-X
 HDD: 75GB IBM Deskstar (2001)!
 GPU: Geforce 6 series with component out
 Soundcard: Soundblaster Live 5.1 (2001)

*Alienware Laptop*
 2001-2002
 CPU: Pentium 4 2.4Ghz (not the mobile version)
 RAM: 1GB
 GPU: I think a mobile 9000 series ATI card

 All of these run WIN XP Pro except the 1.4 which runs home. All run PC Power and cooling PSUs except the 1.4 sometimes gets its swapped out for use in testbeds.


----------



## twylight

Core i7 3.2 quad core (oc to 3.8)- 12gb 1600 ddr3 matched set memory (whatever the hell it is in the core i7)
 3x500gb 15k SAS, adaptec 5805? controller
 Nvidia 285
 some 1200w power supply - corsair I think
 V10 cooler on the proc


----------



## lahtis

AMD X2 5050E
 DFI LanParty Jr 790GX
 2x2gb Kingston 1066MHz DDR2
 1x 120GB Seagate HDD
 2x Extern 500GB WD my book essential editions
 Silverstone ML02 (120w psu)
 Esi Juli@

 Only thing i want upgrade is HDD this one now keeps horrible noise but i want 256GB SSD and they still cost too much.


----------



## Joshatdot

AMD Phenom X3 8650
 ASUS V2-M3N8200
 2x1GB DDR2 800MHz
 MSI GeForce 9600GT OC
 Asus VH242H 23.6" Widescreen LCD
 onboard sound (PCI & PCI-X slots are blocked, debating to get a EMU 0202 or 0404 USB)


----------



## Mitchell.lax

Intel C2D e4500 @3.2ghz
 2x1gb DDR2 800 @ 950 my - tracers died <3
 ASUS p5k
 ATI radeon HD4830 512mb
 250gb,200gb,500gb,750gb,1000gb HDD's of various manufacturer
 Benq 24' and ChiMei 22'
 Coolermaster cosmos with 500w psu
 Logitech G5-G15 combo.


----------



## crowley

Bout to purchase:
 Apple Mac Unibody
 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
 4 MB DDR3 RAM
 250GB HDD
 NVIDIA GeForce 9400M

 1TB and 500GB WD external HDD


----------



## Vayate

Desktop:
 Intel Core2 Quad Q6600
 4GB 1066MHz DDR2 RAM
 eVGA 750 SLI FTW mobo
 eVGA Nvidia 7950 GX2 (carry over from an old board, it's basically a power-hungry 8800GT)
 1x WD Raptor 10,000 RPM HDD
 1x WD Caviar 250GB HDD
 1x WD Caviar Black 1TB HDD (with ~80GB free D: )
 Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty Professional

 Tablet:
 Intel Core2 Duo 2.13GHz
 1GB 1066mhz DDR2 RAM
 120GB 7200RPM HDD
 Intel 945 graphics chipset 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




 Creative Audigy ZS2 PCMCIA


----------



## Azazel90x

Intel Core 2 Duo 8400 - 2.2ghz
 4gb 1066 DDR2 ram
 320gb, 7200 RPM HD
 Nvidia 9800m 512mb 
 Vista 64bit


----------



## sachu

Intel Core 2 Duo - E6750 Overclocked to 3.33GHz
 8GB 1066 MHz GSkill RAM
 Gigabyte EP-45-UD3P Motherboard
 EVGA GTX260 892MB Graphics Card
 2 x 500GB Western Digital 7200RPM
 ESI Juli@ Sound Card
 PC and Power Cooling 750Watt PSU.
 Cooler Master CM690 case
 HannsG 28 inch full HD monitor


----------



## ljokerl

Desktop: 
 C2D E6850 3.0Ghz
 Rosewill Rosewill RCX-Z775-EX Cooler
 4Gb OCZ Reaper-1066
 Gigabyte EP45-DS3R Mobo
 Sapphire ATI HD4850
 2xHitachi Deskstar 160Gb (Raid 0)
 Samsung T1 500gb (storage)
 WD Essentials 640Gb (ext)
 Antec Nine Hundred Two + Earthwatts 550W PSU
 Saitek PC Gamers Keyboad/Logitech G9
 Samsung 20" Widescreen (main)
 Sony 17" 5:4 (sec)
 XP Pro/Fedora 7

 Work:
 PIV 3.2 Ghz HT / 2Gb Ram / Ati x800 / 200Gb HDD

 Laptops:
 PIV 2.4Ghz / 512 Ram / 32+128Mb GeForce 4 Go / 60Gb HDD
 1.6Ghz Atom / 2 Gb ram / Intel 945 / 160Gb HDD (EEEPC)

 phew...


----------



## Charles_1985

Desktop - self-built last year:
 -ASUS Maximus Formula X38 mobo
 -Corsair HX620W power supply
 -Intel Q6600 G0 @ 3.6GHz (1600MHz bus), Thermalright 120U cooler (lapped)
 -4GB Corsair XMS2 DHX 4-4-4-12
 -2x Western Digital 640GB in RAID 1, 2x Western Digital 320GB in RAID 1
 -Dual HIS Radeon HD 4670 512MB video cards in CrossFireX
 -Razer Barracuda AC-1 sound card
 -Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 case w/ 2x 12" (side) and 2x 4" (front) blue cathodes, all Scythe SFF21F fans 
 -Vista Ultimate 32-bit
 -Gateway 24" monitor

 Also an HP Pavilion dv5t laptop I bought last year - 15.4" 1680x1050, 2.26GHz CPU, 512MB Nvidia 9600M GT video card, 4GB RAM.


----------



## C38368

Oh, I love these threads! Wish I'd bothered to look in this forum years ago!

 -Intel DX48BT2 "BoneTrail 2" motherboard
 -Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9650 (C0 @ 9x378MHz, 1.250 Vcore)
 -OCZ Reaper HPC PC3-10666 (2x2048MB, 1210MHz effective @ 6-6-6-16 1T)
 -Palit HD4870 512MB
 -M-Audio Audiophile 24/96
 -Trendnet TEW-623PI Wireless N Draft adapter
 -Western Digital WD2500KS (OS drive - Vista Ultimate 64-bit)
 -Western Digital WD1600AAJS (alternate OS drive - Ubuntu 8.04 32-bit)
 -Western Digital WD3200KS (alternate OS drive - Windows 7 RC1 Build 7100 64-bit)
 -Western Digital WD3200AAKS (storage only)
 -Western Digital WC6400AAKS (music only)
 -Kingwin 3-unit hotswappable SATA drive cage
 -Lite-On eSAU208 extrenal USB DVD-RW
 -Seasonic M12-500
 -Danger Den Torture Rack, black w/ red tray
 -Dell 2001FPW
 -Logitech Y-RR54 wireless keybaord
 -Logitech G5 mouse

 Primary cooling: Laing DDC3.2 w/ Alphacool XSPC top -> D-TEK FuZion v2 -> Danger Den MPC-X38 -> Black Ice GTX240 (Scythe S-Flex SFF21F x2 in pull config); 7/16" Primoflex tubing & 1/2" 'Fat Boy' barbs throughout
 Secondary cooling: Laing DDC3.2 w/ Alphacool XPC top -> Danger Den DD4870 full cover block -> Black Ice GTX240 (Scythe S-Flex SFF21F x2 in pull config); 7/16" red Primoflex tubing & 1/2" 'Fat Boy' barbs throughout


----------



## zerodeefex

I'm a huge nerd. I've done water, water w/chiller, phase. I'm on air right now because I can't scare away the girlfriend, but I'll be back with my prommy sometime:

 Q9550 @ 4.4 GHz (520 x 8.5)
 UD3P
 4x2 GB DDR2-1066 @ 520
 GTX 280 way past 285 speeds 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 A veociraptor boot
 an extra 1.5 TB for work space
 20WMGX2 for photo work and a cheapie hanns-g 28" for gaming
 Stacker 830 (the newest revision)
 Corsair HX620
 Deathadder
 Lycosa

 My server has 4x1.5 TB right now. We'll see when I need more. All my CDs in flac don't make a dent. Full BD rips do, though 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I dislike having to pop them into the PS3, so I like to rip them and stream them to my htpc (x2 be-2400, hd4550, BEVS drive silenced, passive scythe ninja, single system fan and single PSU fan).


----------



## roastpuff

Just upgraded the secondary system so that it surpasses the primary rig! 

 AMD X2 7750 BE
 AMD 780G 
 2x2GB Corsair XMS2
 X1900 (old card - will be replacing soon hopefully)
 500GB Hitachi Deskstar. 

 Not much other than an optical and... yeah.


----------



## roastpuff

Double post... whoops!


----------



## Zodduska

Just a heads up to any PC Gamers out there, Empire Total War is currently only $29.99 at Gamestop.. it's supposedly overflowing with bugs but this price so soon after release was too good for me to pass.


----------



## Loser777

Q6600 @ 3.6GHz 1.32v (1.2125v VID) (L737B778 Hand Picked, went through five Q6600s to get to this gem)
 Xigmatek S1283 (My temps are starting to shoot up now, stupid summer)
 9800GX2 @ 730/1852/1000 
 4GB Samsung 5-5-5-15, 1.9v (My BallistiX died after four months at stock speeds and voltage, Crucial really needs to get their act together)
 20,322 3dmark06, (Benched w/ CPU @ 3.915GHz, 1.477v and 9800GX2 @ 730/1850/1000)

 Would be pushing my CPU to 4+GHz, but my 650W Corsair is slowly dying on me.


----------



## Joe91

E6850 @ stock (3GHz) w/ Tuniq 120 HSF
 EVGA 680i 
 EVGA 8800GT 512MB
 Cheap Kingston 2GB 800MHz kit
 2x 250GB 7200RPM Seagate Barracuda's
 Onboard sound


----------



## Czyrix

3Ghz cedar mill P4
 2x 1GB Wintec AmpO DDR2 667
 ATI Radeon HD3850(512MB)@ 675/944
 DFI LANParty cxf3200 
 Thermaltake Armor 
 Zalman Cu7000B
 2x Scythe 120mm fans
 320GB seagate barracuda 
 500GB hitachi deskstar
 1TB seagate barracuda


----------



## ast

Edit:


 Just bought one yesterday from Costco:


 Intel® Core™ i7 Processor 920 (2.66GHz)
 8MB Intel Smart Cache 
 6GB DDR3 triple-channel memory (3 x 2GB)
 Intel X58 chipset mainboard 

 LG 6X Blu-Ray/HD and 20X DVDRW/CDRW Combo Drive

 ATI 4870 HD 1GB Discrete graphics card (HDTV Compatible) 
 ------------------------------------------

 The most noticeable improvement is the DVI video output, it is wayyyyyy better than the good ol' RGB on my 28" LCD 1080p monitor. 


 .


----------



## derek8555

Lol damn everyone has nice stuff...

 Here is my humble PC:

 CPU: Q6600@stock 2.4GHz
 RAM: 4GB DDR2-800 5-5-5-12
 MOBO: Asus P5K P45-based
 GPU: 8800 GT w/ 512MB GDDR3 @reference speed
 HDD: 500GB ST, 320GB WD
 SOUND: E-MU 1212M PCI
 PSU: Silverstone ST56F
 CASE: Inwin something......
 LCD: 22" Samsung 225BW


----------



## SlaughterX

Dell XPS 630i 
 Nvidia nForce 650i Motherboard 
 Intel Core 2 Q6600 Quad-Core 2.4GHz Processor 
 500GB HDD 
 320GB HDD 
 4GB OCZ Platinum 800MHz DDR2 RAM 
 Sapphire ATI Radeon 4870 512MB 
 Memory Card Reader w/ Bluetooth 
 16x DL DVD+RW 
 16x DL DVD+RW w/ 6x Blu-Ray & HD-DVD ROM 
 Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit SP2
 Samsung 226BW 22" LCD Monitor 
 Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard 
 Logitech G5 Gaming Mouse 
 Microsoft Wireless Controller Receiver 
 Microsoft Xbox Live Vision Camera 
 Linksys Wireless PCI Adapter w/ Speedboost

 It's all connected to my Sony STR-DG720 AVR w/ Sony 5.1 speakers, and 30" Samsung CRT HDTV.


----------



## adam_eu

*cpu*: Intel Q9300 @ 3.0 GHz
*cooling*: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme + Fender 120mm
*motherboard*: ASUS P5Q
*ram*: OCZ Reaper 2x2GB DDR2 1066 MHz
*graphic card*: EVGA GeForce 8800 GT (overclocked)
*hdd*: WD 500GB + WD MyBook 500GB
*soundcard*: onboard

*display*: LCD Asus MK221H 22"

*case*: Chieftec LBX-01B-B-B b/z + Revoltec 120mm
*psu*: Nox 600W

*keyboard*: Logitech S510 cordless
*mouse*: Logitech MX518 + QcK mini
*tablet*: Wacom Voilto2

*OS*: Windows Vista 64 Home Premium


----------



## LordZ

I built this PC in late '06(the vid card is a recent upgrade; originally, a 7600GT that was supposed to be a temporary place holder until the 8800 GTX came out but lasted longer than I thought):
 Asus P5B Deluxe Wifi
 Intel C2D E6400
 Patriot 2x1GB DDR2 800
 EVGA GTX 260
 Audigy 4
 150GB Raptor, 640GB Caviar, 1TB Caviar GP
 Thermaltake Armor Series w/ 750 Watt Toughpower
 Acer 22" WS LCD
 Logitech 5.1 speakers
 ATH-AD700, Plantronics A770
 MS Media Keyboard
 Logitech G5 mouse
 Win XP Pro

 There's more but I'm too lazy to continue and I don't feel like listing the specs for my media PC or all the stuff it is hooked up to.

 Yeah, I need to upgrade again but I'm going to wait until I find my CPU struggling with games. Currently, it only struggles a little when pushing settings to the max.


----------



## 3602

CPU: Pentium M 2.26 GHz
 RAM: 256MB
 HDD: 40GB
 Graphics Card: Mobility Radeon 9200

 Go ahead. Laugh.


----------



## LordZ

I'd cry if that was my only PC. =(


----------



## nickosha

cpu: Intel E8400@stock
 cooling: Stock cooler, I'm planning on getting a better one soon.
 motherboard: ASUS P5Q Pro
 ram: OCZ Fatal1ty 2x2GB DDR2 1066 MHz
 graphic card: Asus 4850 Top@750/1100
 hdd: WD Caviar Black 500GB
 case: NZXT Hush
 PSU: OCZ modxstream 500W
 display: Olevia 32" 720p HDTV (it works out alright)
 KB+M: Some wireless logitech kb+m
 OS: Windows Vista 64 Home Premium


----------



## tomulacrum

Sony Vaio FW Laptop, White (December 2008):





> 2.53GHz Intel Core 2 Duo P8700
> 4GB DDR2-SDRAM
> 320GB 7200rpm SATA HDD
> Blu-Ray Read/Write Drive w/Light-Scribe
> ...


And a 24" 1920x1080 monitor plugged into the HDMI port. To anyone considering a multi-monitor setup: Do it.


----------



## jkroon

Intel Core i7 920
 Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P motherboard
 Gigabyte GV-N285-1GH-B video card 
 6GB triple channel DDR3 1333 
 1 TB Western Digital Caviar Black 
 Asus 6x Blu-ray drive 
 Samsung DVD burner 
 Corsair 850 Watt power supply 
 Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 tower 
 Acer H233Hbmid 23" LCD


----------



## Joshatdot

Barebones - ASUSTeK Computer INC. V2-M3N8200
 Processor - AMD Phenom(tm) 8650 Triple-Core Processor
 Memory - G.Skill F2-8500CL5-1GBPK (2x1GB DDR2-1066)
 Video Card - MSI GeForce N9600GT-T2D512-OC
 Sound Card - Realtek ALC1200 8-Channel High Definition Audio Codec
 Hard Drive - Western Digital WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA
 Monitor - ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor
 Mouse - Logitech MX-518


----------



## wilpower

E8400 @ 3.6 ghz, 4gb ocz reaper, 4850 sapphire, 1tb caviar, soundblaster xtreme xfi, dell 2209wa + 2208wfp ultrasharp monitors


----------



## PYROphonez

Just received my new laptop a couple days ago.

 Lenovo Thinkpad T500
 T9400 2.53Ghz 1066Mhz 6MB L2
 4 GB DDR3
 320Gb Hard Drive
 Radeon 3650 256mb (With switchable graphics)
 LED backlit screen
 etc...

 So far it's been great. Lenovo does a fantastic job.


----------



## MCC

I've done some updates since I last posted.

 Desktop: 
 Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.325GHz, 1.9GHz FSB (475x7 from 266x9)
 DFI LP Black P35-T2RS motherboard
 4GB DDR2 RAM, 950MHz, 5-5-5-10 (1:1 ratio)
 OC'd 512MB Radeon 4850
 1TB WD Caviar Black + 320GB Seagate 7200.10 (both full)
 LG Bluray/HD-DVD combo drive
 HP LP2475W 24" IPS monitor

 Laptop:
 Lenovo Thinkpad W500
 Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz, 1066MHz FSB, 25w TDP for better battery over performance)
 4GB 1066MHz DDR3 RAM (aftermarket)
 320GB Seagate 7.2k HDD (aftermarket)
 Switcable graphics: 512MB ATI FireGL/Intel X4500HD
 15.4" 1680x1050 CCFL display (no LED available at this resolution)
 9 cell battery, Intel 5300 wireless, bluetooth, 1.3MP webcam


----------



## ML Infamous

Desktop:
 Intel Core i7 920 
 EVGA x58 Classified
 EVGA GeForce GTX 285
 AuzenTech X-Fi Prelude
 6GB of Corsair DDR3 @ 1600MHz
 (2) OCZ 60GB Vertex SSD in Raid 0
 Samsung CD/DVD Drive w/ Light Scribe
 Dell 2209 22" IPS Monitor 

 The CPU and GPU are both water cooled and I have a second Dell 2209 coming as soon as they go back on sale.


----------



## revolink24

MSI K9A2 Platinum
 Phenom 9950 BE @3.06GHz with Xigmatek HDT-S1283
 8GB 1066 DDR2 (G.Skill)
 Sapphire HD Radeon 4850
 2x Acer 22" 1680x1050
 Zalman ZM600-HP
 Lots of hard drives
 Antec P182


----------



## DBrim

New laptop on the way... old one is on its last legs.

 Dell Studio XPS 13
 2.66 GHz C2D processor (centrino 2 I think)
 4 GB 1066 DDR3 RAM (upgradable to 8 later)
 NVidia 9500M 256MB Hybrid SLI Graphics
 256 GB SSD.

 Got it on heavy discount which let me get the SSD. This thing is going to fly.


----------



## jjsoviet

Dude, you guys have nice rigs! The question remains though: Can it run Crysis?

 My specs:

 Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66 GHz E4700 processor
 nVidia GeForce 9500 GT 512 MB video card
 250 GB Hard Disk Drive
 Windows 7 Build 7077
 2 GB DDR3 RAM


----------



## krazyxazn

Intel C2Q Q6600 @ 3.4Ghz
 2x 2GB G.Skillz Ram
 nVidia Geforce 8800GTS 640MB
 2x 320 GB in Raid 0 (640GB)
 1.5 TB storage drive


----------



## revolink24

G.Skillz? Whats that, like G.Skill gone even more horribly named? 
  Quote:


 The question remains though: Can it run Crysis? 
 

And yes, yes it can.


----------



## nyjets28

gonna be building soon:

 c2d e8500 3.16 ghz
 2 x 2gb ocz reaper hpc
 74gb raptor
 2 x 1tb wd caviar
 ati radeon hd4670 512mb


----------



## jjsoviet

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *revolink24* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_G.Skillz? Whats that, like G.Skill gone even more horribly named? 

 And yes, yes it can._

 

Sweet! I would love to get that rig. How much do the parts cost?


----------



## pow3rtr1p

AMD Phenom II 920
 DFI 790GX Board
 4 GB G Skill Pi RAM
 eVGA 8800GTX
 640GB WD Caviar Black
 Silverstone Decathlon 750W PSU
 Cooler Master Stacker 832
 Stupid Onboard Sound (for now...)


----------



## crazyjeeper

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.0GHZ
 EVGA 780i
 Thermalright 120 Ultra Extreme CPU cooler
 4GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800
 2x XFX 8800GT XXX
 Thermaltake toughpwoer 750w modular
 Asus Xonar Essence STX
 2.75TB of storage
 160gb WD system drive
 Coolermaster RC-690

 Logitech G5 mouse
 Cheap logtiech wired keyboard

 Monitors:
 Samsung T240HD
 Samsung 216bw
 Samsung 216bw


----------



## nickosha

My computer died the other day. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I cleaned it all out, took it apart, put it back together, reset it by taking out the CMOS battery, and tried different memory configurations and it still won't work.

 I'm thinking that it is probably the motherboard because of the weird things that are going on when I try to turn it on. Sometimes it won't pass POST, once it booted all the way, it's said memory failure AND video failure at different attempts, and nothing I do can make it consistently give me the same result. It also has been freezing on the Asus startup screen and in the BIOS.


----------



## edart

CPU Zilog Z80A 8-bit 3.54 MHz 
 Clock speed 3.5 MHz 
 RAM 48 Kb 
 ROM 16 Kb 
 Audio 1-bit DAC 1 channel, 5 octaves 
 Tape/mic input 1-bit, Z80 bus, tape, RF television
 8 color 32 x 22 character text display
 Resolution 256 x 192 pixels
 External tape recorder or microdrives 
 £129.95


----------



## MCC

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *edart* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_CPU Zilog Z80A 8-bit 3.54 MHz..._

 

CPU: 1.02MHz MOS 6510 (8-bit)
 RAM: 64KB
 Display: 40 column, 16 color. PETSCII character set
 Audio: Mono, 3 simultaneous channels 
 Storage: 170KB 5-1/4" floppies, cassette tape + cartridges available

 Should be easy to guess what this is.


----------



## Iron_Dreamer

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *nickosha* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I'm thinking that it is probably the motherboard because of the weird things that are going on when I try to turn it on. Sometimes it won't pass POST, once it booted all the way, it's said memory failure AND video failure at different attempts, and nothing I do can make it consistently give me the same result. It also has been freezing on the Asus startup screen and in the BIOS._

 

Def. sounds like a mobo to me. How old is it? Hopefully if it is recent enough, you can just migrate your parts to a new mobo.


----------



## nickosha

It's only 6 months old so I'm pretty sure I can get it replaced. It's weird because it worked flawlessly from the first time I turned it on. I've had a busy past few days but this reminds me that I need to go to the Asus support forums and see what they think before I send it in.

 I'd try switching my parts over to another MB or testing parts by switching them in and out but I don't have any spare parts around and I don't even know anyone who would let me borrow stuff to test with. Hopefully that won't be a problem.


----------



## blawhh

AMD Althon XP 2200+ 2 ghz
 512 MB RAM
 64MB stolen RAM for my INTEGRATED nvidia mx440 
 60GB HDD
 CD ROM


----------



## Zodduska

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *nickosha* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_My computer died the other day. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I cleaned it all out, took it apart, put it back together, reset it by taking out the CMOS battery, and tried different memory configurations and it still won't work.

 I'm thinking that it is probably the motherboard because of the weird things that are going on when I try to turn it on. Sometimes it won't pass POST, once it booted all the way, it's said memory failure AND video failure at different attempts, and nothing I do can make it consistently give me the same result. It also has been freezing on the Asus startup screen and in the BIOS._

 

Power Supply and RAM are likely suspects too.


----------



## nickosha

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Zodduska* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Power Supply and RAM are likely suspects too._

 

I know, I wish I could find out by switching some parts out but I don't have any spare parts and I can't think of anyone I could borrow them from. Most of my friends either have old prebuilts, macs, or laptops. I don't think it is the RAM though, because it worked fine for 6 months and I tried different configurations to no effect besides giving other random errors. The PSU is a possibility though, but I don't know how to check it besides switching in a new one.

 Edit: I googled a little bit and apparently I can test my power supply with a multimeter so I might try that.


----------



## Zodduska

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *nickosha* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I know, I wish I could find out by switching some parts out but I don't have any spare parts and I can't think of anyone I could borrow them from. Most of my friends either have old prebuilts, macs, or laptops. I don't think it is the RAM though, because it worked fine for 6 months and I tried different configurations to no effect besides giving other random errors. The PSU is a possibility though, but I don't know how to check it besides switching in a new one.

 Edit: I googled a little bit and apparently I can test my power supply with a multimeter so I might try that._

 

For the RAM it might be worth asking a local computer specialty shop to test it, I've had one test it for free when I was in a similar situation. I've also had several sets suddenly go bad after working fine for either a few hours or a few months.


----------



## Sherlock19

Antec Nine Hundred Two Stell Mid Tower
 ASUS M4A79T Deluxe motherboard
 AMD Phenom II X4 955 3.2 ghz quad core cpu
 EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Core 216 Superclocked Edition video card
 CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) RAM
Newegg.com - Hanns·G HH-251HPB Black 24.6" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 15000:1(800:1) Built-in Speakers - LCD Monitors (my screen)
 Corsair 650 watt psu
 ASUS Xonar STX

 pretty sweet just got it anticipating Left for Dead 2 and Mordern Warfare 2


----------



## EluamousNailo

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 940 @ 3.7 GHz
 GPU: 2xGTX 285 SLI (EVGA & XFX)
 RAM: OCZ Reaper HPC 4GB
 PSU: Corsair 850TX
 MB: Foxconn Destroyer
 HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB SATA HDD / WD 320 GB SATA HDD
 Monitor: ASUS 23.6" monitor 1900X1200
 Case: Coolermaster HAF 932

 I love it.


----------



## mierenneuker

Intel quad core Q9400
 4 GB ram
 Ati 4870 (512 MB version)
 Creative X-fi titanium.

 I still need to replace the stock CPU cooler.


----------



## JeJeP

iMac (Early 2008)
 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo
 3 GB DDR2-667 Ram
 Ati HD2400 128 MB (hey, I can run Fallout 3)

 MacBook (Late 2006)
 2.0 GHz Core 2 Duo
 1 GB DDR2-667 Ram
 Intel GMA 950 (ugh)


----------



## exphy

Main PC:
 Xeon X3210@3.4Ghz
 Motherboard DFI DKP35
 6GB ram
 Raptor 36GB bootdisk
 2TB of other HDD's
 ATI HD4850

 and all I do with it is downloading movies, browsing the net and office stuff.........

 IBM X31(on the go laptop, nice with a PVA panel. Also used as a portable setup when shooting thetererd with my DSLR) and a Dell D830(with the 9cell and the extra 6cell battery) when I need a bit of power when away from home


----------



## craiglester

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *mierenneuker* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Intel quad core Q9400
 4 GB ram
 Ati 4870 (512 MB version)
 Creative X-fi titanium.

 I still need to replace the stock CPU cooler._

 

Yep.. replace the intel cooler stat. although mine was nice and quiet, (theyre good in that respect), it wasn't a very good cooler. I got some water cooling stuff for my Q6600 with 4850 and it runs way quieter, and significantly cooler

 the 4850 dropped from 80 degrees idle to 40 degrees under load. awesome.


----------



## noxlord

My machine is small, sturdy, powerfull but mainly *SILENT*




 The 120mm and 200mm low-speed fans are quite silent. Not dead silent, but quiet enough for me.

*CPU:* Intel E8400 OC 3.6Ghz (Passively cooled by Scythe Ninja2 rev.2)
*Memory:* Patriot Extreme viper DDR2-8500 4GB
*Mobo:* Dfi LP JR P45
*Case:* Antec mini P180
*HDD:* 2x320GB, 1x640GB
*GPU:* ATI HD4850 (passively cooled by Artic cooling Accelero S1)

 No sound card yet, I am using my Audio-gd Compass in USB.
 My monitor is a Westinghouse 24" P-MVA.

 [size=xx-small]This is an old picture, I removed the ide drive.[/size]


----------



## MomijiTMO

What temp penalty do you get running at 3.6 passively? How hot does your 4850 get? Can't say I see too many passive set ups so I honestly have no clue.


----------



## jnev

Well the motherboard on my desktop finally fried after 6 years of duty, the last year of which it was on HTPC duty. I upgraded the CPU, motherboard, and RAM. I'm using the HD3300 integrated video on the motherboard because I don't game and just need it to ouput 1080p video. Here's hoping it'll last another 6 years 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 AMD Phenom II X4 955
 Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H
 2x2GB G.Skill DDR2
 1.2TB (spread between 4 HDs)
 Antec 550W PSU (Same PSU I've been using for 6 years and it's still kicking! *knock on wood*)

 All running Windows 7 Ultimate. The first MS OS I've actually liked in a looong time. Prior to this I was 100% Linux/Mac


----------



## noxlord

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *MomijiTMO* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_What temp penalty do you get running at 3.6 passively? How hot does your 4850 get? Can't say I see too many passive set ups so I honestly have no clue. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

My cpu run at 67C under Linpack stability test and my GPU run at 77 under stress. Those temps are when they run both at the same time. The Ninja is a massive heatsink ...


----------



## Steggy

Desktop: "Blue Steel"
 CPU: Core i7 920 @ 2.66ghz 
 Motherboard: Asus P6t SE 
 Memory: 6gb Mushkin DDR3 Triple Channel 
 Graphics Card: XFX ATI 1gb 4850
 Hard Drive: 1tb Western Digital 
 Power Supply: Corsair tx650w 
 Case: Antec 900
 Monitor: 22" Viewsonic Vx2260wm
 Cooling: Prolimatech Megahalems Heatsink(Megatron) and 2 scythe S flex CPU fans
 Lamptron 6 channel fan controller

 Laptop: Thinkpad T61
 Core2Duo @ 2.0ghz
 2gb RAM
 100gb 7200rpm HDD
 Nvidia Quadro NVS 140m GFX
 No battery
 and only has 1 hinge that is completely stripped. have to buy some replacement hinges on ebay one of these days.

 Netbook: Asus EEE PC
 crappy specs
 crappy specs
 crappy specs
 Basically the very first model but with a 9 inch screen. 800mhz cpu and 512ram...keyboards kind of ****ed on it i have to call asus


----------



## fenixdown110

AMD Phenom II 920 2.8 GHz quad core overclocked to 3.22 GHz 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




 Asus mobo
 4 GB ram
 1 TB HDD + Seagate 760 GB external + (2)Acomdata 250 GB external
 ATI Radeon 3300 HD
 Thermaltake M9
 26" Viewsonic VX2640W 3ms full HD
_Aune MKIISE DAC_

 Dell 6000 laptop download mule
 1.6 GHz Centrino
 1.25 gb ram
 30 gb hdd
 15.4" 1920x1200 rez


----------



## intoflatlines

Intel P8400 C2D @ 2.26 GHz
 Intel X4500MHD integrated graphics
 4 GB DDR3 RAM
 250 GB 5400 RPM HDD
 Intel 5100 AGN Wireless
 14.1" WXGA+ matte w/LED backlight

 Not very stunning specs but it gets great battery life and is amazingly solid.


----------



## deltaspirit

e7400 overclocked to 4.0 @1.36 vcore
 GA EP45 UD3R
 4 GB 800mhz ocz
 XFX 4890 overclocked to 950/1050@stock
 Asus xonar DX
 1.5TB 
 Corsair HX620

 24" 1920x1200 display
 logitech g5
 logitech g15
 steelseries 5L

 No need to upgrade yet.


----------



## fenixdown110

^^ Now that is overclocking.


----------



## deltaspirit

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *fenixdown110* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_^^ Now that is overclocking. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Thanks. I forgot add that my cpu is cooled by a Scythe mugen 2 and my GPU has the stock XFX cooler. All in a Modded LIAN LI A05B


----------



## El_Doug

you got VERY lucky with that chip - amazing overclock for such a voltage


----------



## deltaspirit

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *El_Doug* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_you got VERY lucky with that chip - amazing overclock for such a voltage 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Thanks. The average OC for this chip is 3.6-3.8, so i'm not THAT lucky. I have seen the same overclock with the same voltage on another forum. IMO The e7400 is very underated, too many people like the e8400. Just to add this is stable with prime 95 for over 20+ hours, I attempted 4.1 with this voltage but sadly it failed 1 thread in prime95 after half and hour.


----------



## fenixdown110

I'm hoping to upgrade again soon. I might be able to get my hands on a scuzzy drive.


----------



## DeusEx

Where can I get an HD 5850? Newegg's been out for weeks...


----------



## MaoDi

Got myself a Asus G51VX-A1 not that long ago. Changed the Audio Processor to Asus' AV200 (Custom Oxygen HD chip), more heatsinks for 1GB GTX260, now has 6GB DDR3 SDRAM.

 Got it for a bargain =)


----------



## Su&!

edit


----------



## derek8555

Got myself a new laptop for school not long ago...

 Lenovo Thinkpad X200
 C2D P8600@2.4GHz
 3GB DDR3 1066
 250GB 5400rpm HDD
 12.1" WXGA
 X4500 IGP
 Intel BGN Wifi
 6-cell battery


----------



## Juaquin

Desktop rig:
 CoolerMaster Stacker Case
 Gigabyte P35-DS3L Mobo
 Intel E5200 oc'd to 3.5GHz
 4GB RAM
 HD4850 512MB oc'd to something or other, I forget
 500GB Window 7 64-bit drive / 320GB Vista drive
 24" BenQ G2400BW
 Filco Brown Cherry switch keyboard
 Razer Mamba mouse
 This rig needs a complete overhaul as soon as I find a game I can't play on reasonable graphics settings (oh, and the money to do it).

 Server:
 Shuttle Barebones KPC
 Intel E2280
 2GB RAM
 2x 1TB drives
 DVD drive with Autobrake for automatic netflix ripping
 Windows Server 2008

 MacBook Pro 13":
 2.26Ghz C2D
 128GB SSD (self-upgraded)
 4GB RAM (self-upgraded)
 Snow Leopard + Bootcamp/Parallels Windows 7

 Asus EeePC:
 Junk, currently running a linux distro for lack of any other use. Hacked internal USB hub and bluetooth before I realized what a pain the tiny keyboard/screen were and eventually broke down and bought the MBP.

 iBook G4:
 Machine customer did not want anymore and I decided to use for testing. Will not turn on unless you push down hard on the bottom case to force the badly soldered video chip into contact with the main board. Anybody need a replacement screen or other parts from it?


----------



## jp_zer0

My rig is boss. (IMO at least)

 Core i5-750 @ 4.0Ghz
 GA-P55-UD4P
 4Gb DDR3 @ 2000Mhz CL8
 XFX HD5850
 1tb HDD
 Seasonic M12D 850W
 PC-K62 steel case from Lian Li

 and, most importantly,

 24" HP LP2475 (H-IPS) I freaking love that screen. But I also hate it soooo much at the same time.


----------



## fenixdown110

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *jp_zer0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_My rig is boss. (IMO at least)

 Core i5-750 @ 4.0Ghz
 GA-P55-UD4P
 4Gb DDR3 @ 2000Mhz CL8
 XFX HD5850
 1tb HDD
 Seasonic M12D 850W
 PC-K62 steel case from Lian Li

 and, most importantly,

 24" HP LP2475 (H-IPS) I freaking love that screen. But I also hate it soooo much at the same time._

 

I totally agree except for the monitor. I don't think it does the setup justice imo. 12 ms response?! Mine takes only 3ms. Check out the Viewsonic VX2640W.


----------



## Juaquin

Manufacturer specs for latency, refresh rate, etc have no standard for measuring so values vary widely. The best way to tell if a screen is good is to actually use it. There was a website out there that did real-world testing of response time, latency, etc but I can't seem to find it now. I wouldn't be putting down monitors based solely on little numbers on a manufacturers website, just like here at head-fi most people don't rely _solely_ on an amp's THD or any other quantitative measure. That Viewsonic is only a TN panel after all (like my monitor), and most graphics pros would tell you that TN is junk.


----------



## jp_zer0

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *fenixdown110* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_I totally agree except for the monitor. I don't think it does the setup justice imo. 12 ms response?! Mine takes only 3ms. Check out the Viewsonic VX2640W. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Very different types of monitors here. But I can tell you for sure that the input lag is unnoticeable for me and I'm coming off CRT (0 ms).

 The LP2475w is actually a professional photography screen.


----------



## jp_zer0

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Juaquin* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Manufacturer specs for latency, refresh rate, etc have no standard for measuring so values vary widely. The best way to tell if a screen is good is to actually use it. There was a website out there that did real-world testing of response time, latency, etc but I can't seem to find it now. I wouldn't be putting down monitors based solely on little numbers on a manufacturers website, just like here at head-fi most people don't rely solely on an amp's THD or any other quantitative measure. That Viewsonic is only a TFT panel after all (like my monitor), and most graphics pros would tell you that TFT is junk._

 

You mean TN 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




. All LCD's are TFT.

 Some TNs can get really accurate colors after calibration but still not apt for graphics use because the overall picture is uneven. The colors are constantly shifting when you move your head around.

 But I completely agree that the usual specs given reflect pretty poorly the actual performance of a monitor. Kind of like headphones, the specs sheet is basically worthless.


----------



## fenixdown110

Gotcha. I was kind of knew it was for a work application where response time wasn't an issue.


----------



## Juaquin

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *jp_zer0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_You mean TN 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Yes, yes I do. It really is time to get some sleep.


----------



## chesebert

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *jp_zer0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Very different types of monitors here. But I can tell you for sure that the input lag is unnoticeable for me and I'm coming off CRT (0 ms).

 The LP2475w is actually a professional photography screen. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

That's a great LCD. H-IPS is still the king of LCD tech for picture/color quality.

 I have 2 Dell 2007 H-IPS and I love my dual 21in


----------



## fallingreason

Intel C2D E6850 3.0gHz - Cooled by Zalman 9700NT
 Asus P5E mobo
 4gb OCZ Platinum PC8500
 XFX 8800GT XXX Edition
 X-Fi Xtreme Music
 Samsung WriteMaster
 1TB WD Caviar Black x2 (one external housed in Antex MX1)
 Antec Nine Hundred

 Monitor: Samsung T220
 Speakers: Logitech Z2300
 Mouse: Logitech G5
 Keyboard: Logitech Wave
 Webcam: Logitech Ultravision SE


----------



## majid

Mac Pro (dual 2.93GHz quad-core Xeon X5570)
 12GB RAM
 OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, 64-bit kernel
 256GB Corsair-branded Samsung PB22-J SSD (Boot + Apps)
 2x2TB 7200rpm Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 HDD (software RAID 0, home directory)
 2TB 5400rpm WD Caviar Green (Time Machine)
 nVidia GeForce GT120 video card (Mini Displaylink + dual-link DVI)
 HP LP3065 30" LCD
 Matias TactilePro keyboard
 Razer Diamondback mouse
 Benchmark DAC1
 Sennheiser HD800
 Audioengine A2
 Apple iSight firewire webcam
 Fujitsu fi-5120C document scanner
 Nikon Super Coolscan 5000ED film scanner + SF210 slide feeder and SA-30 strip film feeder
 Nikon Super Coolscan 9000ED MF film scanner
 Epson Perfection V500 Photo scanner
 Epson Stylus Photo R2880 printer


----------



## Sasahara

Intel i7-920 clocked to 4.03 GHz
 Asus P6t Deluxe V2
 6 GBs Corsair XMS 3 1600 MHz ram (Cas 8 timings)
 Thermalright lapped TRUE (pressure modded + lapped)
 x2 WD Velociraptors in RAID 0 (300GB models)
 EVGA GTX 275
 Corsair HX 1000
 Coolermaster HAF 932
 Saitek Eclipse II keyboard
 Microsoft Sidewinder x8 mouse
 x2 HP w2338h monitors (1080p)


----------



## jp_zer0

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Sasahara* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Intel i7-920 clocked to 4.03 GHz
 Asus P6t Deluxe V2
 6 GBs Corsair XMS 3 1600 MHz ram (Cas 8 timings)
 Thermalright lapped TRUE (pressure modded + lapped)
 x2 WD Velociraptors in RAID 0 (300GB models)
 EVGA GTX 275
 Corsair HX 1000
 Coolermaster HAF 932
 Saitek Eclipse II keyboard
 Microsoft Sidewinder x8 mouse
 x2 HP w2338h monitors (1080p)_

 

Holy power supply overkill.


----------



## Sasahara

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *jp_zer0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Holy power supply overkill. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 


 Yeah, I completely agree. It is mainly there since the GTX 275 is just an in-between before the new GeForce 300 series comes out. Even if it doesn't crush the ATI cards it should lower prices across the board. Planning to 2 (or maybe even 3 way) SLI them together or for X-Fire. I could have easily gotten away with one of Corsairs less powerful offerings as you have pointed out.


----------



## JeJeP

Laptop: 
 Late 2006 MacBook
 2.0 GHz C2D
 1 GB of 667DDR2
 GMA950 (ugh)
 80 gigs HD

 Desktop:
 2008 iMac 20"
 2.4 GHz C2D
 3 GB of 667DDR2
 ATI 2400 XT
 250 gigs of HD


----------



## d0n7bl1nk

Current Rig (Ol' Faithful):
 AMD Phenom II X4 940 @ 3.4GHz and 1.34V
 Xigmatek HDT-S1283
 GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P
 G.SKILL 2x2GB DDR2 1066 5-5-5-15
 XFX Radeon HD 4870 1GB @ 826MHz/950MHz
 WD 500GB Caviar Black
 Samsung 22X DVDRW
 Corsair HX850W
 Cooler Master HAF 932
 Logitech MX518
 Logitech G11
 Asus VH242H 1080p


----------



## Duggeh

Intel Core 2 Q9550
 Thermaltake Big Typhoon
 OCZ DDR3 1333 2gb
 Asus P5Q3 Deluxe
 Zalman HP-1000 PSU
 Velociraptor, Raptor 74, assorted storage drives.
 ATI HD4870
 Arctic-Cooling Accelero S2
 Thermaltake Xaser III case
 DGM 24" PVA TFT
 Logitech MX1100

 Built it about 15 months ago. It replaced an Athlon XP2800+


----------



## FallenAngel

Desktop:
 E8400 @ 3.6GHz (400x9)
 G-Skill 4GB @ 1GHz 4:5
 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L
 Raptor 150
 WD 500
 8800GT
 HP LP3065

 Laptop:
 Lenovo R400 (14.1" WXGA - 1280 X 800)
 P8400
 2GB PC3-8500 DDR3
 80GB, 5400RPM SATA
 CDRW/DVD
 And of course : 9 Cell Battery, runs ~ 10 hours with normal use


----------



## GMF2010

My system...

 I'm itching to build a new machine, but this is more than adequate for the time being. Also, all I play is Counter Strike: Source, and it handles it with ease.

 Antec 900
 Intel C2D e6700 @ 3.4 ghz (couldn't get much higher without failing after 24 hours of Orthos)
 4 gb Corsair Dominator pc 6400
 Enermax Infiniti PSU - 750 watts
 Vigor Gaming Monsoon II (peltier cooler)
 eVGA 680i mobo
 eVGA 8800 Ultra - 768 mb (overclocked, though I forget the exact specs)
 WD Raptor 150
 WD 500 gb x2
 Benq fp241w 24" (P-MVA Panel) Great monitor, it's a shame they don't make it anymore.. The TN market domination is not my forte, but I understand why it has become the trend.


----------



## digitaldave

Laptop:
 Apple MacBook Pro 15" 2007
 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo
 nVidia GeForce 8600M GT
 160GB HD
 2GB RAM

 Desktop:
 Core i5-750 Quad Core
 ATI HD5770
 4GB RAM
 160GB HD


----------



## FallenAngel

Decided to revisit my overclock yesterday, partly because of this thread. New Specs:
 Desktop:
 E8400 @ 3.88GHz (485x8)
 G-Skill 4GB @ 970MHz 1:1
 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L *BIOS F8* (Latest F9 has terrible 400FSB limit)
 Raptor 150
 WD 500
 8800GT
 HP LP3065


----------



## d0n7bl1nk

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *FallenAngel* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Decided to revisit my overclock yesterday, partly because of this thread. New Specs:
 Desktop:
 E8400 @ 3.88GHz (485x8)
 G-Skill 4GB @ 970MHz 1:1
 Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L *BIOS F8* (Latest F9 has terrible 400FSB limit)
 Raptor 150
 WD 500
 8800GT
 HP LP3065_

 

What CPU cooler are you using, FallenAngel?


----------



## LeTiger

Desktop: 

 Coolermaster Centurion Case
 Q6600 OC'd to 3.0
 Crucial 2gb DDR2 1000 (PDXLAN Edition)
 Evga 680i
 OCZ 700w
 8800GTS 320mb
 WD 1.5tb, 1tb, and 750GB hdd (not pictured)
 Creative X-Fi xtreme gamer (bleh)
 LG optical
 Re-Fanned with Scythes
 Zalman 9500cnps
 All other heatsinks are Thermaltake


----------



## celcius

Intel Q9650 @ 3.906Ghz (9x434, 1.224v) w/ Tuniq Tower
 Asus Maximus II Formula @ 1736 fsb (bios 1901)
 4GB dual-channel Corsair Dominator pc8500 @ 1084Mhz & 5-5-5-15-2T 2.1v
 EVGA GeForce GTX 285 @ 722/1476/1351 & 75% fan speed
 PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1 Kilowatt psu
 X-Fi Xtrememusic + Logitech X-530 + Audio Technica ATH M20
 dual Seagate Barracuda SATA2 250GB 7200rpm 16MB buffers
 Dual Lite-On LH-20A1S's
 CoolerMaster Stacker 830 Evolution
 Windows 7 Professional x64


----------



## bhd812

i upgrade and built my own machine early November..

it may not be the most efficient way of computing but i dont get blue screens using this bad boy


----------



## Buff

PC Power & Cooling 750 PSU
 Intel i7 920 Processor
 6GB OCZ ram DDR3/1600
 eVGA SLI LE Motherboard
 PNY 275GTX video card
 Intel 80GB SSD + 500GB Seagate HDD
 Generic DVDRW
 Windows 7


----------



## dhaninugraha

MSI MS-6787 motherboard
 Pentium 4 2.0GHz
 1.0GB RAM
 80GB Seagate ATA100 HDD
 BenQ CD-RW
 generic CD-ROM
 Digital Alliance GeForce FX5500 256MB VGA card
 Acer 17" LCD monitor
 Logitech keyboard & mouse
 Windows XP


----------



## Roope

Gigabyte EX58-UD4P
 Intel i7 920 @ 3.2 (lowered for a hot summer) with Noctua U12P SE
 6GB OCZ i7 Edition 1600 MHZ
 Gigabyte GTX285
 Western Digital 640GB Black HDD
 Windows Vista


----------



## Dunceiam

MSI X58 Pro
 Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.8Ghz (Noctua NH-D14)
 6GB G.Skill DDR3 1333Mhz
 Diamond 4870x2 2GB
 Omega Striker 7.1 Sound Card
 (3x) Patriot Warp V2 32GB SSD's (RAID0)
 Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, and a seperate 500GB drive.
 Cosmos S Full Tower
 Samsung T240HD 24" Monitor
 Saitek Cyborg Keyboard
 Razer Copperhead Mouse

 Have some old photos (the monitor, CPU cooler, and HDD have been changed since the photos were taken. I've also moved the case to the floor, and added a seperate 22" monitor on the desk.)

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/7095/dsc01712x.jpg ('scuse the cable management)
http://img38.imageshack.us/img38/7731/dsc01703v.jpg
http://img35.imageshack.us/img35/3328/dsc01716r.jpg


----------



## JmRoq

Will soon be looking into upgrading a few components to prepare for some of 2010's upcoming games, but as it stands...

 Intel Q6600 @ 2.8 on DFI P35 mobo
 8gb Mushkin DDR2 800
 ATI Radeon 4870
 HT Omega Claro soundcard
 Corsair HX620w psu
 2x WD Black 1tb hd (Raid 0)
 1x WD Green 1tb (storage)
 Pioneer DVD-RW
 24" Viewsonic lcd (1080p)
 Saitek Eclipse keyboard / Razer Diamondback mouse
 Windows Vista Ultimate 64


----------



## fallingreason

Asus P5E mobo (x38)
 Corsair HX620 PSU
 Intel C2D E6850 w/ Zalman 9700NT @ 3.0ghz (stock)
 4gb OCZ Platinum DDR2-PC8500 @ 1066mHz (stock)
 1GB WD Caviar Black x2 (1 internal 1 External for complete backup and data portability)
 XFX 8800GT XXX edition
 X-Fi Xtreme Music (hotrodded w/ LM4562 opamp & Blackgate Powercap)
 Samsung Writemaster DVD-R/RW
 MultiCard Reader
 NZXT Sentry2 Fan Controller

 HIDs - Samsung T220 22" LCD, Logitech G5, Logitech Wave KB.


----------



## donovansmith

Mine is truly nothing impressive, but it does just what I need:

 Apple Mac mini (late 2007 rev.)
 1.83GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU
 4GB RAM
 500GB Western Digital Scorpio hard drive
 Internal OEM Mitsumi DVD-ROM/CD-RW
 External Lite-On DVD-RW/CD-RW
 External Western Digital 320GB FireWire hard drive
 Upgraded Atheros draft 802.11n Airport Extreme card
 Mac OS X Leopard 10.5.8
 Westinghouse 19" 1440x900 LCD monitor

 I plan to massively upgrade my external storage eventually since I'm running out of space very quickly due to using my computer as my media center. I don't see myself replacing the computer itself for quite a while since I not only got it last year (on clearance) but it also does everything I need quite well. The fact that it consumes relatively little power and is quiet also helps since I leave it on all the time.


----------



## french2013

mid 2009 13.3inch macbook pro
 2.53 ghz processor
 4gb ddr3 ram
 256 gb hard drive
 running snow leopard


----------



## PiccoloNamek

Here are the specs for my new PC... just built it!

 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate (Really nice OS!)
 Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840 (This thing is GIGANTIC and has tons of space and excellent airflow)
 Heatsink: Thermalright Ultra-120 eXtreme (This gigantic aluminium heatsink is what allows me to overclock my CPU so far. It has lots of fins, heat pipes, and a big-ass fan)
 Motherboard: ASUS P6T (Lots USB ports, Firewire ports, HD Audio, Gigabit Ethernet, Intel X58 chipset, among other things) 
 PSU: Corsair TX850W (Lots of power for my current and voltage hungry devices)
 CPU: Intel Core i7-920 2.66Ghz Quad-core (Overclocked to 3.80Ghz)
 GPU: nVIDIA GTX 295 Dual-core graphics card (Single slot SLI!)
 RAM: 6GB Corsair Dominator 1600 running in triple channel mode
 HD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM SATA
 Optical Drive: LG GH22 DVD Rewriter (DVD-R 22x, DVD-R DL 12x, DVD-RW 6x, DVD-RAM 12x, DVD+R 22x DVD+R DL 12x DVD+RW 8x CD-R 48x, CD-RW 32x)







 Nice and clean inside. Excellent airflow.






 My new PC sitting next to my girlfriend's old PC case. Man!


----------



## deltaspirit

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *deltaspirit* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_e7400 overclocked to 4.0 @1.36 vcore
 GA EP45 UD3R
 4 GB 800mhz ocz
 XFX 4890 overclocked to 950/1050@stock
 Asus xonar DX
 1.5TB 
 Corsair HX620

 24" 1920x1200 display
 logitech g5
 logitech g15
 steelseries 5L

 No need to upgrade yet._

 

Just an update my E0 q9550 came in and is currently running at 3.4ghz with a 1:1 ram ratio and all voltages @ stock. I'm currently looking to pick up some 1066mhz ram because I'm limited to 400 FSB with my current 800mhz ram and have no desire to overclock it
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




If anybody is interested in selling me some 1066mhz ram or interested in my e7400 please pm me!


----------



## Tingc222

A little old now, but still runs like a champ:

 Model: Clevo M860TU, distributed by Eurocom Canada
 Processor: Intel P8400 25W 2.26GHz Penryn
 RAM: 4GB DDR3-1333
 Video: nVidia 9800M GT 512MB onboard DDR3
 HDD: Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500GB 5400rpm
 Audio out: Echo Indigo DJX Expresscard DAP
 Screen: 15.4" 1680x1050 (very very nice IMO)
 2hr battery life with movie playback (pretty impressive for such power)

 All in a 7lb 15.4" laptop chassis. Plays all modern games with authority. total cost $2000 September 2008


----------



## XxATOLxX

Just got a new laptop:
 Asus UL50VT
 Core 2 ULV SU7300
 15.6" 1366x768 screen
 500gb HD
 4GB Ram
 Nvidia G210M / Intel Integrated switching graphics
 Rated at 12 hours battery, I can probably get 6-8 hours realistically.


----------



## Dzjudz

My system:

 OS: Windows Vista 64-bit
 Case: Coolor Master CM690
 MoBo: Asus P6T
 CPU: Intel Core i7 920 (OC to 3.33GHz)
 CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 2
 GPU: nVidia GTX285 (OC)
 RAM: 3GB OZC Platinum 1333 triple channel
 PSU: Cooler Master Silent Pro M500
 HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F1 1TB
 DVD: Samsung SH-S223F

 I just realised that I put this system together in January/February 2009, making it a year old. It's still mostly top of the line and pretty much the same price as when I got it (perhaps the only exception being brand new video cards). Seems I built it at just the right time!


----------



## TrumpOrMonkey

OS: Windows 7 64-bit
 Case: Lian Li PC77B
 MoBo: Gigabyte EX58-UD5
 CPU: Intel Core i7 920
 CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12P
 GPU: XFX ATi Radeon HD5870 Extreme
 RAM: DDR3 1666 G.Skill Trident 6GB Triple Channel kit
 PSU: Seasonic M12D 750w
 HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
 DVD: SATA Pioneer 218

 I built this computer 1 month ago and I won't be spending any more on my PC for 4 years or so. (I'm going to put my money towards headphone rigs instead 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)


----------



## Volkum

*Gaming rig:*

i7 920 @ 3.86ghz
DFI T3eH8
3x2GB OCZ PC3-12800 1600MHz
Intel X25-M G2 160GB
WD5000KS 500GB
eVGA GTX 285 & XFX 8400GS
Auzentech Prelude X-Fi
Silverstone ST75F
Lian Li V2100a Plus
Windows 7 Pro x64

 Monitors:

(2) HP LP2465
Dell 2405FPW 
 (yep, triple 24"s)

 Watercooling loop:

D-Tek Fuzion
MCW60 & Swiftech GTX 285 Uni-sink
MCW30
MCR320
MCP655

*Linux desktop:*

XFX MI93007 9300
E8400
2x2GB Muskhin PC2-8500 1066MHz
WD800JB
M-Audio Revolution 5.1
Corsair CMPSU-400CX
Silverstone GD04
Gentoo linux x86_64


*VM & file server*

Supermicro X7DBE
Supermicro 826E1-R800B
(2) E5320 quad core 1.86GHz
(4) 2GB PC2-5300 FB-DIMM
Adaptec 5805
(2) Seagate 250GB ST3250318AS - RAID 1
(6) Seagate 2TB ST32000542AS - RAID 5
Proxmox VE (Debian based)


----------



## HeardAnimal

macbook pro non-unibody
 2.5ghz c2d
 4 gigs ram
 120g ocz agility ssd
 250g hd


----------



## iPoodz

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *XxATOLxX* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Just got a new laptop:
 Asus UL50VT
 Core 2 ULV SU7300
 15.6" 1366x768 screen
 500gb HD
 4GB Ram
 Nvidia G210M / Intel Integrated switching graphics
 Rated at 12 hours battery, I can probably get 6-8 hours realistically.



 [IMG/]http://www.apcmag.com/images/apc/product-hunter/notebook-hunter/img/content/ASUS-UL50_b.jpeg[/IMG]_

 

You'd be surprised at the battery life you can get with conservative settings. I know a guy who can get 10-11 hours easily with that laptop.

 As for me:

 Laptop
 15.6" 1680x1050 screen
 nVidia 9700m GT
 2.26 GHz processor

 Nothing great, but if it can run TF2 and Civ IV, I'm a happy camper.


----------



## Steggy

I forget if I ever posted my desktop. whatever. i'll do it again if i did.
 Case: Antec 900
 Motherboard: ASUS P6T SE
 CPU: Intel Core i7-920
 GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4850
 RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 6GB Triple Channel DDR3 1600 PC3 12800
 HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 
 Optical: Pioneer Black 5X BD-ROM 12X DVD-ROM 32X CD-ROM
 PSU: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX
 Heatsink: Prolimatech Megahalems
 CPU Fan: Scythe S Flex
 Fan controller: Lamptron 6 channel controller
 Monitor: 22" 1080p Viewsonic Vx2260wm
 Speakers: 2.1 Hivi Swans M10's
 Mouse: Logitech G5
 Keyboad: meh.

 and here are some pr0n pics. first pic was from when i just built it and used stock cooling.


----------



## cyberspyder

I love the Hundreds hat


----------



## Steggy

Thank ya. It was hard to get a hold of since it was from a past season.


----------



## Landis

OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
 CPU: Intel Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz 1.3v
 Heatsink: Random old Zalman
 RAM: 4GB (2X2GB) Corsair XMS2
 Motherboard: Gigabyte UD3P (P45)
 GPU: BFG Nvidia GTX 260 
 Soundcard: HT Omega Claro Halo 
 PSU: Rocketfish 700w (For $40, it's done a hell of a job! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)
 HDD #1: Seagate Barracuda 500GB (16mb)
 HDD #2: Seagate Barracuda 1TB (32mb) [currently bricked]
 HDD #3: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB (32mb) 
 HDD #4: LaCie 750GB external
 Case: Thermaltake StrikerMX 


 I'll probably end up doing a new build later this year, but the case will have to go soon (too loud).


----------



## brotherlen

Lenovo T400
 2.8 GHz
 2GB Ram
 500GB HDD
 ATI 3470 w/intel hd4500 switchable graphics
 "high" nit LED screen BRIGHT!!!
 WiMax, 3g phone card capable
 Win 7 Pro and Ubuntu Studio


----------



## J W

CPU: Intel Q6700
 RAM: Corsair XMS 4 GB
 VGA: XFX 9600 GT
 Motherboard: Abit IP35e
 HD: WD6400AAKS
 PSU: Corsair 550VX
 ZERO DAC
 Monitor: NEC 20WMGX2
 Mouse: Logitech trackman
 Keyboard: IBM Model M
 Speakers: Audioengine A2s


----------



## pacmantravis

Computers are my first hobby (career too)

 Desktop:

 CPU: Intel Core i7 920 OC'd to 4Ghz
 Fan/Heatsink - Cogage True Spirit
 Motherboard - ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
 RAM: G. Skill 12GB DDR3
 VGA - ATI Radeon 3870X2
 HD1 - WD Velociraptor 300GB
 HD2 - 1TB Western Digital Black
 HD3 - 1TB Western Digital Green
 Ext HD - Fantom 2TB eSata
 Optical - Sony Optiarc 7240S (Who needs bluray when you can download?)
 PSU - PC Power and Cooling Silencer 910
 Monitor 1 - Dell 2407 WFP
 Monitor 2 - Samsung T240HD
 Keyboard - Filco Majestouch Tactile Click NKRO (AWESOME KEYBOARD)
 Mouse - Logitech G5
 Speakers - Logitech Z-2300 :-/
 Case - Rocketfish/Lian-Li Aluminum case

 Laptop:

 Currently in Dell "production" and waiting to ship. Loving Dell reseller discounts, 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 Arctic White Dell Studio XPS 16 w/4GB RAM, 256GB SSD, RGBLED 1080P Screen, and P8700 proc.


----------



## milkpowder

Envy 15-1100 series
 Intel i7-820QM
 8GB DDR3
 ATI Mobility Radeon HD5830 1GB
 500GB 7.2k HDD
 15.6" 1080p LED-backlit
 Centrino Advanced-N 6200
 Win 7 Pro

 Runs fast, but hot. Battery life with 6-cell is miserable too.


----------



## deltaspirit

I just picked up an acer aspire

 specs are..

 i5 430m
 ati hd5470
 17"lcd
 4gb ddr3
 500gb HD
 dvd writer
 6 cell ion


----------



## CANiSLAYu

2008 Mac Pro
 Dual 2.8GHz Quad Core "Harpertown" Intel Xeons
 12GB PC6400 DDR2 ECC
 512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT
 Dual Super Drives
 Samsung 305T 30" LCD
 Audio setup in signature (also a pair of Audioengine A2's via the line out on the m902)

 Internal storage:
 WD Raptor 150GB (OS X/applications)
 320GB drive (Windows 7 Bootcamp drive)
 500GB drive (iTunes storage, Apple Lossless rips, various video)
 1TB drive (photos)

 External storage:
 1TB networked drive (backup & share the iTunes drive)
 2TB USB 2.0 (two 1TB drives in one enclosure, backup everything else)


----------



## arcer63

not enough...


----------



## jasonwc

Core i7 860 w/ Coolermaster V8 Cooler
 Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R (10x USB, 2x eSATA, 8x SATA)
 DDR3 1600 4 GB
 ATI Radeon 5850 (Asus EAH5850)
 Samsung 24x DVD-RW
 Zonet 802.11n

 Storage: 6.5 TB 
 WD Caviar Black 1 TB 7200RPM
 2 x Samsung 1.5 TB 5400 RPM
 2 x Fantom eSATA External 1 TB
 1 x Fantom USB External 500 GB

 Monitor: 
 Samsung 40" 1080p LN40B530
 Westinghouse 24" 1920x1200 LN2410NM (MVP Panel)


----------



## trungerz

Hi All - Computers are also my first hobby! 

 Main: 

 Core I7 920 w/ Prolimatech Megahalems Rev.B
 Gigabyte GA-X58-UD3R w/ 6GB DDR3 RAM
 MSI GTX260 Core 216
 Intel SSD 160GB Gen2
 PC Power & Cooling Silencer 750
 Dell 3008WFP 30"
 Silverstone TJ09 Black Case

 Server w/ Win Server 2008 R2:

 Intel Quad-Core Q6600 w/ Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme
 Gigabyte GA-EP35C-DS3R w/ 8GB DDR2 
 Kingston 64GB SSD
 Enermax Infinity 720W PSU
 RocketRaid 2320 SATA Raid Card
 7 x 1.5TB Seagate 7200RPM in RAID5 
 $5 PCI video card
 Lian-Li V2110B Case

 NAS:

 Synology DS209+
 2 x 2TB WD Green HD


 NETBOOK: 

 Asus 1000H


----------



## OPTiK

Main (built over a year ago):

 Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale@4.0GHz
 6 Gigs Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM
 Asus Ati Radeon HD 4850 w/ Accelero S1 cooler (~30C idle)
 Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS
 4x 120 GB Seagate HD (Raid0 - OS partition)
 2x 500 GB Western Digital HD
 2x 640 GB Western Digital HD
 2x 22inch Samsung 226BW
 Antec 900 case (modified for better cable management)
 Corsair TX750W PSU

 Raid0 really makes this thing fly.






 Netbook (picked up a few months ago):

 Dell Mini 10v running OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.2 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K L2Cache) 
 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM@533HZ
 Intel GMA 950 GPU (1024x600)


----------



## CrazyRay

Model Name:Mac Pro
 Processor Name:Quad-Core Intel Xeon
 Processor Speed:2.26 GHz
 Number Of Processors:2
 Total Number Of Cores:8
 L2 Cache (per core):256 KB
 L3 Cache (per processor):8 MB
 Memory:12 GB
 Processor Interconnect Speed:5.86 GT/s


----------



## acameron56

CPU: Q6600 OC to 3.5 w/ zalman CNPS9700
 Mobo: Gigabyte UD3P P45
 Case: Coolermaster Stacker
 GPU: XFX black ed. 9800 GX2 w/ EVGA 8800 gts for physx
 Ram: 4 gigs of corsair DDR2
 Monitor 1: Dell 2407wfp A04
 Monitor 2: Viewsonic VX2345WM
 HDD1: WD Caviar black 1TB
 HDD2: WD Caviar 640 gb
 HDD3: seagate barracuda 320 gb
 HDD4: seagate barracuda 250 gb
 PSU: Seasonic M12D 850W
 Keyboard: Saitek Eclipse II
 Mouse: Razer Deathadder w/ steelseries QcK Heavy
 Speakers: JBL creatures
 and of course lots of fans and some lights 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.

 Wanted to upgrade to core i7, but can't afford both hobbies and to be fair I don't need the extra power....so in the end my ears won the fight


----------



## marvin

Processor: i5-750 @ 3.6 GHz w/ Corsair H5O
 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3L
 RAM: 8 GB DDR3
 Video Card: Radeon 5870 w/ Thermalright Spitfire & VRM-R3
 HD: WD Caviar Black 1 TB
 Monitor 1: NEC EA231WMI
 Monitor 2: NEC EA231WMI
 Monitor 3: NEC EA231WMI
 Sound 1: NuForce Icon, Klipsch XB-10
 Sound 2: Headroom Microstack, Grado HF-2

 Figured that PC gaming was dying and I might as well see it out in style.


----------



## Eagle_Driver

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Eagle_Driver* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_It's been a while since I last updated the specs of my rig. I have since replaced the motherboard, memory and one of my DVD burners. Also, got into Vista, and so far so good after installing SP1 on it.

 So, my updated rig (as of June 14, 2008) is now:

 So my updated rig is now:

 CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6750
 Memory: 2GB (2 x 1GB) Corsair XMS2 DHX TWIN2X2048-6400C5DHX @ 5-5-5-18 @ DDR2-800
 MB: Intel DP35DPM
 GPU: BFG 8800GT OC
 Case: Antec Super Lanboy
 Power Supply: Corsair HX520
 Monitor: LG 19" widescreen
 DVD Drives: TSSTcorp/Samsung SH-S203N SATA; Lite-On 160P6S IDE
 Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 32-bit with Service Pack 1 and all critical updates to date_

 

It's been more than 16 months since I made my last post in this thread. During that time I have updated and upgraded my main system several times, so that it is now as follows:

 CPU: Intel Core i7-920 OC'd to 3.5GHz (that's as far as I want to go on the stock Intel CPU cooler; I feel that my overclock can go higher if I had a better cooler)
 Memory: 6GB (3 x 2GB) Corsair XMS3 TR3X6G1600C7 (CMX6GX3M3A1600C7) @ 7-7-7-20 @ DDR3-1400
 MB: Intel DX58SO
 Hard Drive #1: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
 Hard Drive #2: 2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 (1TB each - 2TB total) in a RAID 0 array (for video editing)
 Hard Drive #3: Western Digital MyBook Home 1.5TB (connected via eSATA)
 GPU: VisionTek Ati Radeon HD 4850
 Sound Card: Creative X-Fi Extreme Music PCI (a legacy from the days when I had my last AMD system to date, an Athlon x2 3800+ Socket 939 with 2GB of DDR400 memory)
 TV Tuner Card: ATi Theater 650 PCI-e
 Case: Antec Nine Hundred
 Power Supply: PC Power And Cooling Silencer 750W
 Monitor: LG 19" widescreen
 Blu-Ray Drive: LG BH08LS20 (SATA)
 DVD Drive: Pioneer DVR-216D SATA
 Speakers: Altec ACS-48 (a 2.1 system that's 11 years old and still going strong!)
 Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
 Mouse: Logitech Trackman Wheel (trackball)
 Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-Bit with all critical updates to date
 Miscellaneous: IEEE 1394b PCI-e card

 This leaves one PCI-e x16 slot and one PCI-e x4 slot open in my system. My new motherboard has only one PCI "legacy" slot whereas my previous Intel motherboard had three. It's time for the other motherboard manufacturers to follow suit and reduce the number of legacy connectors on their newer motherboards. Some of their latest and greatest models to date still have way too many legacy connectors taking up space that could have been utilized for newer features; for example, the Asus P6T series have only one PCI-e x1 slot but two PCI "legacy" slots, plus legacy floppy, IDE and PS/2 connectors up the wazoo on most models in the series. To Asus' credit, however, the P6T series have three full-length PCI-e connectors which make full use of the 36 PCI-e 2.0 lanes on the X58 chipset's IOH. The Intel X58 reference motherboard does not make full use of the 36 lanes since the board has only two full-length PCI-e 2.0 slots and thus is limited to 32 lanes; its PCI-e x4 slot uses the same PCI-e 1.x bus as the PCI-e x1 slots - the one that's connected to the ICH10R that's used with the X58 chipset. Plus, the only reason why most motherboard manufacturers choose to disable the chipset's dedicated LAN bus connection in favor of eating up one PCI-e 1.x lane with a PCI-e LAN controller from Realtek or Marvell is that the Intel LAN controller chips that are meant to be used with the chipset's dedicated bus cost Taiwanese motherboard manufacturers more money than the third-party PCI-e LAN controller solutions.

 My only upgrade plans for the next couple of years would be to replace my existing video card with a workstation-oriented card since I hardly play games any more on this PC.


----------



## melomaniac

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *OPTiK* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Netbook (picked up a few months ago):

 Dell Mini 10v running OS X Snow Leopard 10.6.2 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Intel Atom N270 (1.6GHz/533Mhz FSB/512K L2Cache) 
 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM@533HZ
 Intel GMA 950 GPU (1024x600)_

 

nice! just decided to do just that last week. luverly!


----------



## ShinyFalcon

Intel E5200 @ 3.33 GHz with Thermalright HR-01+ heatsink
 2GB G-Skill RAM, 4-4-4-12 at 2.0V
 Gigabyte ES2L
 NEC EA231WMi 23" and LG L227WTG 22"
 Sapphire HD4830 with Accelero S1
 PC Power and Cooling 500W
 Samsung HD502HJ 500GB drive
 Western Digital WD3200 320GB drive
 Some generic Rosewill case
 Scythe 120mm fans for CPU/GPU, and Noctua 80mm for PSU/case (since my case is bad, PSU fan went bad, and I hate noise)

 Soon to get a netbook...


----------



## jjeremycai

CPU: AMD X4 Phenom II Black Edition Quad @ 3.2 Ghz
 RAM: DDR2 Corsair 4 GB @ 1333
 HD: Hitachi 1 TB HDD 
 GPU: ATI 4800 Series 1GB DDR3
 Mobo: MSI Gaming ____ dunno
 Case: Raidmax Sagitta 
 PSU: Corsair 750V
 OS: Windows 7 Signature Edition, Mac OSX Snow Leopard, Ubuntu


----------



## G.Trenchev

That's:
 MB:Jetway I35P-SG
 CPU:Intel E2160@3Ghz
 RAM:2Gb@1Ghz
 VGA:ATI Radeon X1950pro(soon gone)
 PSU:450W Chieftec
 Disp: Dell 2209WA


----------



## Al4x

i7920 
 asus p6t
 6 GB g skill 1600 MHz ripjaw
 1GB 5850 ATI radeon 
 850W TX Corsair PSU
 Samsung 8x BD ROM drive
 300GB 10'000 RPM WD velociraptor
 1.5TB seagate 7200RPM
 + a few smaller ones
 Dual tuner DVB-T TV card
 Coolermaster 922

 Dell U2410 IPS panel 24" - stunning monitor!
 microsoft 8000 wireless bluetooth led keyboard
 Win 7 64bit

 now overclocked to 3.8GHz


----------



## markkr

Macbook Pro 13
 2.53GHz Core 2 Duo
 8GB Ram
 500GB, 7200 RPM HD
 Apple Wireless Keyboard
 Apple Mighty Mouse

 Lenovo T400
 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo
 4GB Ram
 320GB, 7200 RPM HD
 256MB Dedicated ATI Graphics


----------



## Marcus_C

CPU: AMD X2 Athlon II @ 3.0 Ghz
 RAM: DDR3 Corsair 4 GB @ 1333
 HD: Samsung 500GB/500GB/1TB HDD's
 GPU: Geforce 8800GTX 768MB DDR3
 Mobo: MSI 785G
 PSU: Corsair vx550
 OS: Windows 7 64bit
 SC: Acer 22"


----------



## spookygonk

In need of an update... (though similar spec to Duggeh and others)

 AMD Athlon 64 3200+
 2GB ram
 80gb + 80GB + 160GB IDE HDD
 ATI Radeon 8500
 DVD DL Rewriter
 22" Fujitsu WS LCD

_plus_ 3.25TB of external storage over four disks.

 What I'm using now to browse head-fi (and mostly listen to music on):
 Acer Aspire One
 1.5GB Ram
 320GB HDD _plus_ 120GB external drive
 Intel 5100 wifi N card
 1.6Ghz processor


----------



## 3X0

Case/Mobo: Shuttle SG45H7 (G45-based SFF, ~13 liter volume)
 CPU: 3.4GHz Q9550 (400MHzx8.5) @ 1.10v
 RAM: 8GB (2GBx4) DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 @ 1.825v
 GPU: HD 5850 @ 0.975v
 SSD: 160GB X25-M G2
 PSU: 300W 80Plus PSU (2 12V rails @ 14A each)
 OS: 7 Pro x64
 Disp: Viera TC-L32S1
 HDD: 750GB WD MyBook Essential
 HID: MX518
 KB: Cheapest keyboard I could find

 Lot more than I need right now.. glad I didn't spend the extra couple hundred on Nehalem.


----------



## melomaniac

just added two Dell Inspiron mini netbooks, and shoehorned Snow Leopard on them...


----------



## nealric

Pretty out of date these days: 

 E2200 Allendale Oced to 3.0ghz on stock cooler (used to be water cooled, but eventually decided watercooling is just too much of a hassle)
 Asus P45 mobo
 4gigs of generic DDr2
 Nvidia 8800gt 
 250gig hard drive + 80 gig hard drive (Rack mount) 

 Even with all the old specs, I really don't find this machine wanting for anything I do on a regular basis. It's also old to the point that it doesn't really make sense to upgrade it, since sockets have changed and DDR2 is no longer the standard. 

 May be a while until I am back to the latest and greatest. Frankly, I've found in the day of "good enough" it isn't really necessary any more. That said, I fondly remember the days of OCing AMD xp1600s to 2.0ghz on chilled water 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 My rig used to way a solid 80 lbs. Too bad I didn't save any pictures.


----------



## Jarmel

CPU: Intel I7 870 (OC to 4.0ghz)
 RAM: DDR3 2000 G-Skill 8 GB 
 HD: WD 2 TB
 GPU: ATI 5870 x2 in Crossfire(slight OC on both)
 Mobo: MSI P55
 Case: Cooler Master CSX (Gargoyle paint job) with sound proof padding
 PSU: Kingwin 1000W
 Drivesioneer BD burner, LG BD burner
 OS: Windows 7 Professional


----------



## MintMouse

Case: Antec 1200
 Mobo: GA-EX58-UD3r
 CPU: i7 920 @ 4.54Ghz
 RAM: 3x2Gb OCZ Platinum @ ~1800mhz
 GPU: 2xHD4890s crossfired.
 SSD: 2x80GB Intel X25-M
 HDD: 2x320Gb Seagates in raid 1.
 PSU: Antec Earth Watts 750W.
 SC: Asus Xonar STX.
 OS: Windows7 64-bit.
 Disp: 22" Asus 1080p monitor.
 Mouse: Microsoft Sidewinder x8.
 KB: Microsoft Sidewinder x6.


----------



## schweinhund

Case: Silverstone FT01
 Mobo: EVGA X58 Classified 
 CPU: i7 920 @ 4.2
 GPU: GeForce GTX 285
 Ram: Corsair Dominator 1600 cl8 6 gigs
 HDD: Western Digital Cavier Black 500 gig x 3 Raid 0
 PSU: Corsair HX850
 SC: X-Fi Extreme Music
 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit
 Display: Samsung 24" 1920x1200
 Mouuse: Logitech G5
 KB: Razor Lycosa


----------



## Turb0Jugend

Case: Built it myself
 Mobo: Asus P5KC
 CPU: C2D E6850
 GPU: Gainward 4850 512MB
 Ram: Corsair TWIN2X 4GB
 HDD: Samsung SpinPoint 3x500GB 1x1000Gb
 PSU: Corsair HX620W
 OS: Dual boot: Windows Vista Ultimate Black Edition 32-bit & Win 7 Ultimate 64-bit
 Display: Dual screen: Samsung BW2253 & Samsung 940N
 Mouse: Roccat Kone
 KB: bZerk

 A bit outdated, I'm gonna upgrade after the military


----------



## stang

Pile of junk at the moment, just sold both my GTX 285s to fund my audio hobby 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Case: CoolerMaster Stacker 830 with window
 Mobo: eVGA X58 Classified
 CPU: i7 920 at 4.2ghz
 GPU: ATI 4770 (epic fail)
 Ram: 6x2GB G.Skill Trident 2000mhz
 HDD: Seagate 500gb (had 128gb SSD, have spare Intel X25M 80gb, planning on using with another comp build)
 PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200w (I know, TT, but it was $275!)
 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
 Display: BenQ G2400W
 Mouse: Razer Deathadder 3500dpi (Logitech MX518 broke 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)
 Keyboard: Logitech G15 (absolutely wonderful)


----------



## Trysaeder

^ you have quite a bit of money.

 Lian Li K58
 i5 750 @ 4.0ghz
 GB P55a-UD3r
 Onboard sound (want Auzen Forte)
 GTX 220 (surprisingly, this makes up 70% of my fan noise)
 2x2gb G.skill ripjaws 1333mhz (want trident)
 Some ****ty samsung hdd 1tb (want Spinpoint T3)
 antec some**** 550 or 600 w 
 Thermaltake T3 (want 3x Noctua NH-U12P SE)
 x64
 BenQ G2410(was gonna be either 3x g2410 or dell U2410, but neither T.T)
 Logitech G9x (biggest waste of money EVER)
 Das Keyboard Ultimate (almost as big a waste of money, but I love it)


----------



## stang

Well yer kinda I guess 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 And it is my money, not from mum 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 BTW there is no such thing as a GTX 220


----------



## G.Trenchev

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *G.Trenchev* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_That's:
 MB:Jetway I35P-SG
 CPU:Intel E2160@3Ghz
 RAM:2Gb@1Ghz
 VGA:ATI Radeon X1950pro(soon gone)
 PSU:450W Chieftec
 Disp: Dell 2209WA_

 

Update:
 Got HIS HD4850 today


----------



## stang

How come you went with a 4850 and not a dx11 card? The only reason I sold my second gtx 285 was coz I wanted a gtx 285 card, then bought the Beyer DT880 and am short in cash for an ATI 5850 lol. I am waiting for the release of the gtx 470/480 (should be very, very soon) then the 5850 price will go down a bit.


----------



## saturnine

MB: DFI T3eh8 X58 mobo
 CPU: i7 920 @ 4.0ghz
 RAM: 6gb Corsair dominator 1600mhz
 Video: XFX 5870 XXX
 PSU: BFG 1kw
 Sound card: X-Fi Fatality, upgrading to Asus Xonar
 HDD: WD Velociraptor 300gb + 2 1tb Seagates
 Monitor: Samsung 2693hm
 KB: Logitech G15
 Mousey thing: Logitech G9x
 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 / Sabayon Linux


----------



## Eagle_Driver

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *stang* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_How come you went with a 4850 and not a dx11 card? The only reason I sold my second gtx 285 was coz I wanted a gtx 285 card, then bought the Beyer DT880 and am short in cash for an ATI 5850 lol. I am waiting for the release of the gtx 470/480 (should be very, very soon) then the 5850 price will go down a bit._

 

The problem here is that a good DX11 card is still too expensive, and any "DX11" cards in the same price range as the 4850 are all downgrades in performance. (Though granted, the 57xx series cards are roughly in the same performance and price range as what the 4850 originally sold for last year.)


----------



## G.Trenchev

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *stang* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_How come you went with a 4850 and not a dx11 card? The only reason I sold my second gtx 285 was coz I wanted a gtx 285 card, then bought the Beyer DT880 and am short in cash for an ATI 5850 lol. I am waiting for the release of the gtx 470/480 (should be very, very soon) then the 5850 price will go down a bit._

 

There was only 5670 in this price range('bout 100$),which I would not consider as a serious gaming card.As for DX11,IMHO I'll never need it...same as DX10 for the last 3 years.
 Still great performance(3x times faster than my old card) and cool'n'quiet as well.I like


----------



## Hyperfluxe

i7 930 @4.5 Ghz
 Asus P6X58D Premium
 Gskill 6GB Ram @1600 Mhz 7-7-7-24
 Noctua NH-D14 Heatsink
 ATI HD Radeon 5850 XFX
 Corsair 750HX Modular PSU
 Western Digital SATA 6gbps Caviar Black 500GB x 2 (RAID 0 config)
 Samsung SH-S243D CD/DVD Writer
 Windows 7 home Premium
 Asus Xonar DX

 All under an HAF 932 AMD edition along with my Logitech G15, Logitech G9, and Dell 24inch monitor.


----------



## stang

Wow 4.5ghz. How long is it stable under linx and what are your temps?


----------



## Dakallday

Cooler Master CM690 II Advanced Case
 Intel i7 920 2.66ghz.
 Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R Motherboard
 Corsair 6gb 1600 ram
 ATI Radeon HD5850 Video Card
 Corsair HX750 Power Supply
 Intel 40gb SSD
 Western Digital 1TB


----------



## stang

OC that 920 to 4ghz and the 5850 to 1000mhz core speed 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I have my i7 920 at 4ghz and am getting a 5850 in a couple of weeks 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 BTW it's nice to see someone who uses an SSD as their OS drive. I used to own 1 120gb one, but sold it, as I know the prices would drop a lot (which they did, by $100 in a month). Am going to get one for my b-day in May


----------



## revolink24

Its about time for an upgrade for me.


 Phenom 9950 Black Edition (3.1GHz OC)
 4GB 1066MHz DDR2
 ATI Radeon 4850
 Lots of hard drives.... 3TBish
 Wacom Bamboo Tablet
 IBM Model M keyboard and Saitek Eclipse II keyboard
 Antec P182
 Logitech MX Revolution on Steelseries I-2
 Dual 22" Acer LCDs


----------



## Nebby

Just built a small torrent server.

 MB: Intel DH57JG
 CPU: i3-530
 HS: CoolerMaster Gemini II
 RAM: Corsair 4gb
 PSU: Silverstone 300watt SFX (came with case
 HDD: Intel X25-V + WD GP 1.5TB
 OS: Win 7






 I have to say it was a fun experience getting the heatsink to fit in there but it was definitely worth it. Idles at 23C and doesn't get much hotter when it's just torrenting.


----------



## revolink24

Holy crap thats one hell of a torrent server. I would have just built one on an atom board.


----------



## DanTheMiataMan

Ok so my friend just scored me a i7 860 and a Intel X25M-G2 for dirt dirt cheap.

 Now I have a 360/ps3 where I do most of my gaming and have been out of PC gaming and such forever. Like last time was in like 2002 when CS was in Beta 7 or something.

 The only big thing I miss about PC gaming is RTS and RPG (Dragon Age/ NWN / Diablo type RPG's). 

 Do I go with a m-ATX case and MB or do I go with a small ATX case and MB?

 The only real difference other than size is that unless I wanna drop like 200ish on a mATX MB if i ever choose to go SLI/CF they mostly all have 16/4 and i hear/read that 16/4 is pretty useless. Where most of the full ATX MB's have 16x or 8x/8x. The only reason this even tickles my fancy is that I've read that 2 mid-range like sub 100 dollar cards running in SLI/CF 8x/8x can put out as much of an umph as a single big spendy large card. 

 Also most of the mATX cases can support size wise a GTX260 as the biggest card that could fit.


 so... yeah help me out mATX with a single semi nice card or go for a full ATX and go 2 mid-range and such. Again I don't think I'd really play FPS or Racing or anything other than like RTS and RPG's. I'd mostly use the computer for Photochop, Stats programs, Typing papers, music, 720p/1080p video editing, and of Folding =)


----------



## Head Injury

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *DanTheMiataMan* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Ok so my friend just scored me a i7 860 and a Intel X25M-G2 for dirt dirt cheap.

 Now I have a 360/ps3 where I do most of my gaming and have been out of PC gaming and such forever. Like last time was in like 2002 when CS was in Beta 7 or something.

 The only big thing I miss about PC gaming is RTS and RPG (Dragon Age/ NWN / Diablo type RPG's). 

 Do I go with a m-ATX case and MB or do I go with a small ATX case and MB?

 The only real difference other than size is that unless I wanna drop like 200ish on a mATX MB if i ever choose to go SLI/CF they mostly all have 16/4 and i hear/read that 16/4 is pretty useless. Where most of the full ATX MB's have 16x or 8x/8x. The only reason this even tickles my fancy is that I've read that 2 mid-range like sub 100 dollar cards running in SLI/CF 8x/8x can put out as much of an umph as a single big spendy large card. 

 Also most of the mATX cases can support size wise a GTX260 as the biggest card that could fit.


 so... yeah help me out mATX with a single semi nice card or go for a full ATX and go 2 mid-range and such. Again I don't think I'd really play FPS or Racing or anything other than like RTS and RPG's. I'd mostly use the computer for Photochop, Stats programs, Typing papers, music, 720p/1080p video editing, and of Folding =)_

 

My suggestion: Go full MB and a mid-tower. It'll give you more room to play around. Go with a single card now, but find a MB with 8x/8x. Then in the future when whatever card you picked is dirt-cheap and not up to snuff anymore, buy another and SLI/CF it.

 My suggestion for card: Wait for the pressure of Nvidia's GTX400 series to push the ATI 5000 series down in price. The 5000 series has been selling above MSRP due to demand, but when the GTX400 is finally released to the public it will be enough competition to lower prices. However, initial benchmarks don't look promising for the 400 series, and even the 470 will probably be overkill for you. Buy a 5850 when it gets to like $250. One hell of a card. Nearly as good as the $350 GTX470, overclocks like nobody's business (but you probably won't have to worry about that), sips power like a $100 consumer card, and is nice and quiet too.

 If you don't need that much power, get one of the 5700 cards, which still have the benefit of power sipping. I still suggest waiting to see what happens to prices though.

 Oh, and PLAY FPS! PC was made for RTS and FPS. If you play FPS on a console, you're missing out.

 And for everyone else in the thread: My new rig is in my profile. I'm also a SSD-for-boot-drive user, and it's great. 37 second boot from cold, everything in Explorer is very snappy, installation might as well be instant for all but the biggest programs. Even GIMP loads in less than ten seconds, which takes half a minute on my other PCs.


----------



## DanTheMiataMan

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Head Injury* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_My suggestion: Go full MB and a mid-tower. It'll give you more room to play around. Go with a single card now, but find a MB with 8x/8x. Then in the future when whatever card you picked is dirt-cheap and not up to snuff anymore, buy another and SLI/CF it.

 My suggestion for card: Wait for the pressure of Nvidia's GTX400 series to push the ATI 5000 series down in price. The 5000 series has been selling above MSRP due to demand, but when the GTX400 is finally released to the public it will be enough competition to lower prices. However, initial benchmarks don't look promising for the 400 series, and even the 470 will probably be overkill for you. Buy a 5850 when it gets to like $250. One hell of a card. Nearly as good as the $350 GTX470, overclocks like nobody's business (but you probably won't have to worry about that), sips power like a $100 consumer card, and is nice and quiet too.

 If you don't need that much power, get one of the 5700 cards, which still have the benefit of power sipping. I still suggest waiting to see what happens to prices though.

 Oh, and PLAY FPS! PC was made for RTS and FPS. If you play FPS on a console, you're missing out.

 And for everyone else in the thread: My new rig is in my profile. I'm also a SSD-for-boot-drive user, and it's great. 37 second boot from cold, everything in Explorer is very snappy, installation might as well be instant for all but the biggest programs. Even GIMP loads in less than ten seconds, which takes half a minute on my other PCs._

 

I dont plan to OC at all. I did that back in the day but now I just want sh** to WORK problem free without sounding like a freaking tornado in my room or having to deal with WC'ing. 

 I know PC's are all ZOMG FPS MOUSE AND KEYBOARD FTW FFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUU but I'm not that big into FPS and the few that I am into I can deal with just fine on a console. Again RPG's and RTS is what I miss as RTS suck on consoles and RPGs with lots of controls (Dragon Age, NWN type, Diablo type, etc..) suck as a controller has only so many buttons.

 Also for a Video card looking max $150 bux.


 BTW these are the three cases

http://www.sizeasy.com/page/size_com...-vs-My-Item-2-

 LIAN LI PC-A05NB Black Aluminum ATX Mini Tower Computer Case is the biggest one 

 LIAN LI PC-A06FB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case is the 2nd biggest one

 LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Computer Case is the smaller one


----------



## Nebby

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *revolink24* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Holy crap thats one hell of a torrent server. I would have just built one on an atom board._

 

The Core i3-530 actually rivals the atom in terms of power usage and is a lot more flexible in terms of what you can do with it. I had an atom torrent box before and all it could really handle was torrenting. With this setup, I can use it as a media transcoding/streaming server if I wanted to and still have power left to spare


----------



## no1likesme

I built a new system about a week ago, specs are as follows:

 AMD Athlon II x3 425 unlocked to a Phenom II x4 b25
 Asrock cheapo motherboard
 ATI HD5770
 4gb ddr3 memory
 320gb hdd
 Gigabyte case
 Antec 400w psu
 onboard sound for now until I can afford a nice usb interface

 Not exactly high end, but for $600 shipped it gets the job done.


----------



## 9pintube

REAL SLOW (dsl) DELL


----------



## mattkosem

Core i7 920 @ 4.4Ghz w/HT
 EVGA Classified E760
 XFX 5870 XXX
 Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty
 6GB OCZ DDR3-1600 cas7
 Corsair 850HX

 Cooled by: HK 3.0 LC, HK GPU-X³ 5870, TFC360, MCR320 & lots of slow fans
 Housed in a Mountain Mods Pinnacle 24

 --Matt


----------



## iamthecheese

Thermaltake armor case
 720 w OCZ modXstream PSU
 Phenom II 955 at 3.6
 2x2g corsair ddr2
 Crossfire 4850s
 a random assortment of HDs


----------



## RyzeHD

I can't sleep so what the hey, here it goes:

 AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4ghz
 Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4
 4GB (2x2GB) Kingston Hyper-X DDR3 1600
 Powercolor Radeon 4850
 WD Black 750GB SATA HD
 Seagate FreeAgent 500GB USB External HD
 Rosewill 550watt PSU
 Cooler Master Mid-Tower Case


----------



## Logos

Wow, some of these builds make me feel like mine is getting long in the tooth or something. At 1.5yrs, I guess that is fitting:

 Intel Quad-Core Q6600 @ a conservative 3ghz
 Zalman 9700 CPU cooler
 Asus P5Q-Pro
 4GB Mushkin Redling PC2-8000
 WD Black 640gb+ WD Black 1tb
 Corsair 750hx PSU
 Diamond Radeon 4870x2
 Antec P-182 Case

 Currently serving my needs very well.


----------



## stang

Haha, yes, yours is very old actually. Need to upgrade to i7 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I had a Q6600 at 3.2ghz, but i7 came out and anyone who loves to play games obviously needs to get it, so I did 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I would consider my comp alright, not too good though. i7 920 4ghz, evga x58 classified, 6gb 2000mhz ram. I am awaiting an ATi 5850 and will buy another shortly for crossfire. I did own two evga gtx 285 at 680mhz core in SLI, but sold them for DX11 ATi cards


----------



## joomongj

as for mine:

 i7 940 OC'd to 3.34GHz
 OCZ 12GB @ 1600MHz
 GTX 295 quad SLI
 loads of Western Digital HDDs: ~ 7.5TB across 2 machines
 Antec 1200 Chassis
 Dell U2410, LG L246WP-BN, LG W2243T-PF displays
 Thermaltake 1200w PSU
 Megahalems w/ 2x 120mm Scythe dual fans
 Logitech G500 mouse
 Logitech G19 keyboard
 Steelseries SX pad

 Gonna chill w/ my outdated 295s until Crysis 2 comes out.


----------



## stang

Nice system. Where are the SSDs though? A system like that NEEDS SSDs 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Hmm Quad SLI, I was gonna do that, but even two gtx 285s were plenty. I was running Crysis maxed out 1920x1200 at 54fps so I was happy


----------



## joomongj

No SSDs...No raids either. Price depreciates so fast it ain't even funny. Won't be gettin' SSDs until they iron out speed degradations over time.


----------



## stang

Pretty much same reason I sold mine. I have an Intel X25-M 80gb laying around for another comp build, but that won't get done for a while 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I am waiting to get two Intel X25-M 80gb SSDs for RAID 0. That will easily hold all my data 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I am not the person who has a massive music or movie collection


----------



## joomongj

lol can't help it. Ever since joinin' head-fi my HDDs' been mewlin' even more. Lossless files are teh bomb....


----------



## stang

I only have 105GB of stuff 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 About 30gb of that is music. Funny thing is, 20gb of that is mp3 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Got songs from my friend 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Well, I am almost done with audio. I have the AD700 for gaming, HF-2 for metal and DT880 should be arriving soon. They are great at both metal, rock and gaming 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 All I want now are some M-Audio AV40 and the Audio-GD DAC-19 DF 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 After that, I plan on buying a new computer case (from Stacker 830 to Silverstone Tj07), sleeve all my cables, get some really nice quiet, fast black fans, some cathodes (probably white 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




), two ATi 5850 and a couple Intel X25-M SSD. Liquid cooling would be awesome but I am not exactly the kind of person that has $1k to spend on something that won't many my computer run any faster 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I could overclock even more but that won't make much of a difference


----------



## skyline889

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *stang* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Haha, yes, yours is very old actually. Need to upgrade to i7 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I had a Q6600 at 3.2ghz, but i7 came out and anyone who loves to play games obviously needs to get it, so I did 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I would consider my comp alright, not too good though. i7 920 4ghz, evga x58 classified, 6gb 2000mhz ram. I am awaiting an ATi 5850 and will buy another shortly for crossfire. I did own two evga gtx 285 at 680mhz core in SLI, but sold them for DX11 ATi cards 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 






 Condescending much? There's nothing wrong with a C2Q system for gaming. i7 does not offer a significant performance increase or in fact, much of any performance increase, in terms of gaming over the older C2Qs. For gaming, even X58 is not a vast improvement over the older X48 chipset unless you plan on running a CrossfireX or Quad SLI system, which really, is just overkill for most. 

 GPU is what matters at this point, and the 4870x2 is still a capable card (On par with the 5870). Once DX11 hits mainstream, this will of course change but it hasn't yet, and the 4870x2 is still a fine card, just very power hungry.


----------



## stang

Haha i7 is a lot better than C2Q that's for sure. I went from X38 with q6600 at 3.2ghz to X58 with i7 920 at 4.2ghz and i got quite a large leap in fps when I used GTX 285 SLI. Overkill would be two 5970, two 5870 is fine. I am personally gonna get two 5850 because they can be overclocked to beat a 5870 easily. Yes, you can overclock the 5870s, but apparently they don't OC as well, thus the 5850 a better choice.

 4870X2 is a pretty good card, but in my eyes, it is very, very old and I hate having old computer hardware, mainly graphics cards 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I need to keep up to date with technology


----------



## mellojello

Core i5 qud core cpu @ 2.67
 4gb ram
 1TB hardrive
 HSI ati 4870 video card

 Built this baby during the fall, have not looked back =]


----------



## stang

OC that CPU 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 O btw if anyone cares, my ATi 5850 just arrived and I have it overclocked from 725mhz core to 960mhz core (1.2V). I could get it to 1000mhz but am still eager to play a few more games before running stability tests


----------



## _Stooge_

Built last summer...

 Core i7 @ 3.36
 OCZ DDR3 1600 6g RAM
 Gigabyte ex58-UD4P MB
 BFG GTX 275 Overclocked
 850w Corsair PS
 WD 1TB HD
 Coolermaster V8 CPU fan (Totally Badass)
 Coolermaster HAF-922 Case (Also Totally Badass)

 Hopefully gonna upgrade to a Fermi card this summer. We'll see how the prices look once I get some extra cash. When i get that taken care of I'll most likely ramp my CPU up to around 3.8 which should get me through another year before i get the upgrade itch...


----------



## Head Injury

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *stang* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_OC that CPU 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 O btw if anyone cares, my ATi 5850 just arrived and I have it overclocked from 725mhz core to 960mhz core (1.2V). I could get it to 1000mhz but am still eager to play a few more games before running stability tests 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

Yikes, 1.2? What's the temperature get to in FurMark? I dared not go past 1.15v just to be safe, and topped out at a "cool" 85C.

 What's your memory at?

 Also, funny story about temperature. I had my old gaming PC in a crappy $10 case with 0 airflow because I was cheap and didn't overclock anyway. During comparisons my 7950GT still peaked at 128C before I stopped the test. Surprised it lasted three years without problems!


----------



## nolocus

CPU: Intel 1.7GHz
 RAM: 512MB

 yeah....


----------



## stang

I would literally rather die than have to use such a slow computer -.-

 Oh btw HeadInjury, I didn't see your comment 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Anyway 1.2V is completely safe, some even go to 1.3V. I will try Furmark at 950mhz core and 1100mhz Memory on 1920x1200, 0AA and normal mode (NOT extreme burning). 1000mhz core was fine last night, just then I tired 960mhz and it stuffed up (screen went spaz and had to restart, was only 78c on extreme burning mode). I will update this post with results after 10 minutes of using Furmark.

 EDIT: 1.2V, 960mhz core, 1100mhz memory, 90% fan: 72c
 yesterday when it was cooler I git 1.2V, 1000mhz core, 1150mhz memory, 80% fan 66C

 I have a warm ambient temperature right now. At stock 725mhz core and stock 1.08V, I idled at 26c a few hours ago. Right now at those settings I am idling at 34c. Ambient temp REALLY helps component temperatures


----------



## PiccoloNamek

I've posted my specs before, but here is a more detailed readout for the technically inclined:

CPU-Z Validator 3.1

 Seeing "GTX 295" in the readout is really starting to bug me... time to upgrade to one of the 400 series cards! (I have serious upgraditis when it comes to my video card... even though the GTX 295 is still an extremely powerful card that will probably play most games for at least the next year, probably more, I feel the need to get rid of it as soon as possible...)


----------



## stang

Shouldn't have to be technically inclined to under stand that 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Was just looking at it; 1.4V at 3.8ghz? Is that true? I can run 1.32V at 3.8ghz on my i7 920 D0. More like 1.3V if using hyper threading though. BTW the GTX 295 are great cards, just behind in technology, which is why I sold my two gtx 285's 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I wanted DX11, even though right now it is fairly useless. I have a 5850 now overclocked to 950mhz core 1100mhz memory (enough as of now) and MIGHT get another. I can afford it, but there are other things like speakers, cable management (going to sleeve PSU cables), CDs etc that are also on my list


----------



## PiccoloNamek

Silly me, it never occurred to me to lower the voltage. I did, and got a little temperature reduction. Nice.


----------



## stang

You should actually get about a 10c drop when on 100% load


----------



## PiccoloNamek

I just tested it with Intelburn, and you're absolutely right. Pretty sweet!


----------



## stang

Haha have fun. I am not having much at this point in time. MY 5850 is being a pain. 2 days ago I could game at 1000mhz on the core. Just then I tried playing Rainbow Six Vegas 2 at 950mhz (1.2V) and the screen blacked out for a few secs then went normal. Just 10 seconds or so after that the screen went white and I was forced to restart the computer 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I would really like to get 1000mhz again, but it doesn't seem possible in games. In Furmark, it is fine 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Not a temp problem, as it got to 56c when it froze.


----------



## DanTheMiataMan

Anyone wanna share their view on what mobo to use

Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD4 LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

 or 

Newegg.com - EVGA 121-LF-E652-KR LGA 1156 Intel P55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard


----------



## stang

Most definitely the evga. Gigash*t are pathetic. 6 of my friends have one of their mobo's and ALL have either died or have something wrong with them (PCI-E lane stopped working etc).


----------



## joomongj

Yes evga hands down. Their stellar customer support is unprecedented. But it's conditional meaning as long as you register your products within 30 days of purchase date. I nicked one of the ss caps during the cpu heatsink installation on my x58 e758 mobo when I was assembling my rig 16 months ago, so I requested a RMA and they shipped a replacement no questions asked. They will ask for the proof of purchase when you request RMAs so keep those handy. Also you will find their forums quite active and helpful w/ the exception of a few trolls here and there.


----------



## attika89

*HP Pavilion dv7-1070eg*

 2.53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T9400
 Memory4096 MB (2 x 2048 MB)
 NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT
 640 GB (2 x 320 GB) (5400 rpm)
 Blu-Ray ROM 
 17” WXGA (1440 x 900)
 Altec Lansing speakers
 TV Tuner DVB-T


----------



## jantze

Lian Li PC-A71F / AcoustiPack Extra
 Nexus RX-5300 / Xilence Rubber Frame
 Asus P6X58D Premium
 Intel Core i7 930 @ 3.8Ghz
 Prolimatech Megahalems / Arctic Cooling MX-3
 Corsair TR3X6G1600C7 (7-7-7-20-1T)
 Intel X25-M 160G G2
 Scythe Quiet Drive / Samsung F3 1TB
 Scythe Quiet Drive / Samsung F1 500GB
 LG CH08LSRBB (Blu-Ray 8x SATA)
 Ati Radeon HD 4350 Silent (on order: PowerColor Go! Green HD5750)
 Noctua NF-P12-1300
 2 x Noctua NF-P14 FLX
 2 x Noctua NF-S12B-FLX

 Dell 2407WFP
 Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
 Razer Lachesis mouse

http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...C/P1010886.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...C/P1010891.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...C/P1010896.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...C/P1010901.jpg
http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/d...p/P1010486.jpg


----------



## 3X0

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *stang* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Haha i7 is a lot better than C2Q that's for sure. I went from X38 with q6600 at 3.2ghz to X58 with i7 920 at 4.2ghz and i got quite a large leap in fps when I used GTX 285 SLI. Overkill would be two 5970, two 5870 is fine. I am personally gonna get two 5850 because they can be overclocked to beat a 5870 easily. Yes, you can overclock the 5870s, but apparently they don't OC as well, thus the 5850 a better choice.

 4870X2 is a pretty good card, but in my eyes, it is very, very old and I hate having old computer hardware, mainly graphics cards 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I need to keep up to date with technology 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

i7 is okay for multi-GPU setups (CFX, SLi, GTX 295, HD 5970, HD 4870x2, et alia), but as an upgrade from C2Q it's useless for single-GPU. Unless you only play SupCom.

 I just built a new i7-930 + HD 5850 system and it's only noticeably faster at movie editing. Gaming is like 0% difference at 1080P coming from the 5850 + my stock Q9550. And this is in BFBC2 which is a little more CPU-heavy than GPU-heavy.


----------



## hasanyuceer

Hard Modded Dell 6400 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Core 2 Duo 2.13Ghz 4mb cache (T7400)
 30Gb Ocz Vertex SSD + 120Gb Toshiba HDD (Yes, two disks in laptop)
 4 Gb Ram
 9 Cell battery (~4 hours)
 Ati X1400

 Also painted dark bronze and UV Green and lightened the DELL logo on LCD cover..


----------



## stang

Well I did have a multi gpu setup and I had the cash so why not keep up to date? I am confused right now though. Because I already have one Intel X25-M 80gb (was going to use for a comp for my mum) I could get another for approx $260 for RAID 0, since that isn't going to be built for a while and SSD prices are dropping. Then with my b-day money+money I have now, I could most likely afford a second ati 5850 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 But if I went with one Intel X25-M 160gb, it means I could easily add another down the road and have a total of 320gb, which would be more than enough for all my data. 160gb will be enough until X-mas or so this year, but after that, I will need more storage and want to go all out SSD and never use a hdd again. I can afford the 160gb now and for bday get approx $300, but I am still short approx $120 for the 160gb 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I BADLY need to sell my Qinpu A-3 amp I see.

 What I really need to do is two Intel X25-M 160gb RAID 0. Two ATI 5850 as of now is not needed, as Crysis 2 is not out yet


----------



## Nebby

You will lose TRIM with RAID though


----------



## stang

Is TRIM really worth it though?


----------



## 3X0

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *stang* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Is TRIM really worth it though?_

 

Just google that to find the answer.

 In short, yes, absolutely. Nothing is worth forgoing TRIM for any kind of serious SSD usage.

 The 160GB G2 is amazing. Benches a little faster than the 80GB, too.


----------



## stang

I was debating whether it was worth it or not. One 120gb SSD is no way near enough. I need either 2 Intel X25-m 80gb, two OCZ Vertex 120gb or onw Intel X25-M 160gb. In several months, I expect to have saved up for another 160gb. 

 It will all boil down to availability at my price range tbh.


----------



## Nebby

You can always use symlinks to redirect folders to a storage drive for the programs that don't need the speed 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  Quote:


  Originally Posted by *3X0* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Just google that to find the answer.

 In short, yes, absolutely. Nothing is worth forgoing TRIM for any kind of serious SSD usage.

 The 160GB G2 is amazing. Benches a little faster than the 80GB, too._

 

It would make sense since the 160gb is essentially two 80gb's in raid 0 on the inside.


----------



## stang

Not really. The 80gb write speed is 70mb/s, while the 160gb is 100mb/s. That really doesn't matter in the real world though. Access times and the 4k read and write times are very important though


----------



## TheAudioDude

Here is my HTPC (the parts should be arriving this week):

 AMD Athlon II X2 245 2.9GHz Dual Core
 Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H uATX Mobo
 G.Skill DDR2-1000 2x2GB
 ATI Radeon HD 5450
 Lian-Li PC-V351B Case
 Antec EarthWatts 380W PSU
 LG Blu-Ray/HD-DVD reader/DVD burner


----------



## Nebby

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *stang* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Not really. The 80gb write speed is 70mb/s, while the 160gb is 100mb/s. That really doesn't matter in the real world though. Access times and the 4k read and write times are very important though 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

That's why I said "essentially" 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Intel also seems to be apparently artificially capping the write speeds if benchmarks are anything to go by. Understandable though, since I can see wanting to differentiate their different product levels.

 I agree though, the access times and the small read/write speed are their main benefits.


----------



## yosoypeanut

Case: Antec 902
 MB: ASUS M4A785TD-V
 CPU: Phenom II X4 965 BE Deneb
 GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5770
 HS: Zalman 9700
 RAM: CORSAIR XMS3 4GB
 PSU: 1000 Watt Kingwin
 HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB + WD Caviar Blue 500GB 
 OS: Windows 7


----------



## Zorander

I have had my AGP-based, socket-939 system for ages and finally upgraded. This is what I have now:

 MB: ASUS P7P55 D-E
 CPU: Intel Core i7-860
 HS: Prolimatech Megahalem (passive cooling)
 GPU: SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5850
 RAM: Kingston HyperX KHX1600C8D3K2/4GX
 PSU: Corsair HX620
 HDD: Kingston SSDNow V+ 128GB & WD Caviar Green 1.5TB
 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

 What I'm keeping from the old system:
 Case: Antec P180
 Display: Dell 2709W
 Sound: E-Mu 1212M
 HIDs: Logitech wireless (forgotten the model no but they're 6-year-old now)


----------



## chrisftl

Hardware:
 -Cooler Master Stacker 830
 -eVGA nForce 780i motherboard
 -Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66 GHz (not overclocked) quad-core processor
 -eVGA nVidia GeForce 9800GX2
 -4 GB Corsair Dominator DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Memory - 4 x 1 GB (Timing - 3-4-3-9)
 -Zalman CNPS9700 CPU Fan/Heatsink
 -Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB 7,200RPM SATA HDD
 -Silverstone ST1200 1200 watt power supply
 -Plextor PX-740A CD/DVD multi-drive

 Peripherals:
 -Acer p243w 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor
 -Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX-certified 200 watt speakers
 -Seagate FreeAgent 500GB external HDD
 -Saitek Eclipse, Logitech DiNovo, Apple mini wireless keyboards
 -Logitech G500 mouse


----------



## stang

same case as me chrisftl 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 The only case I would consider an upgrade is the Silverstone TJ07. 

 BTW, since all the new SATA III 6GB/s SSDs are coming out, I may as well wait until they come down in price. In about a month, I could afford a Crucial C300 256gb, but would rather not spend like $760aud on an SSD and have no more money to buy anything else. I think I will stick to something like the Intel X25-m 80gb, Seagate 500gb hdd and get another ATi 5850. Speakers would be cool, but I don't really need them.


----------



## DanTheMiataMan

Just ordered all my junkz

 Case: Lian Li V351B
 MB: EVGA P55 Micro
 CPU: Intel Core i7-860
 HS: Noctua NH-U9B SE2
 GPU: XFX HD 485X
 RAM: Gskill (2x2gb) Eco Series 1.35v 7-7-7-21 2N
 PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W (Cheaper than the 500 or 550)
 HDD: Intel X25M-G2 80GB
 OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit


----------



## skyline889

Very nice build! Only thing I'd be a little worried about is the OCZ psu as it's based on a cheaper Sirfa design.


----------



## DanTheMiataMan

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *skyline889* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Very nice build! Only thing I'd be a little worried about is the OCZ psu as it's based on a cheaper Sirfa design._

 

*Shrug* 4 star on Newegg with 300 reviews and all the review sites said it was decent. at 35 dollars I couldn't say no. The other was a Cooler Master Silent Pro M600 but that was 62 bucks.


----------



## stang

Might as well post my specs again, along with a few peripherals:

 Case: Cooler Master Stacker 830 w/ window
 PSU: Thermaltake 1200w (was only $275aud)
 CPU: i7 920 @ 4ghz
 GPU: ATI 5850 @ 1000mhz/1100mhz
 RAM: 3x2GB G.Skill Trident 2000mhz @ 1600mhz
 Motherboard: eVGA X58 Classified E-760
 Sound card: X-Fi Elite Pro
 HDD: Seagate 500GB
 SSD: Intel X25-M 80gb
 Monitor: BenQ G2400W (no need to upgrade)
 Mouse: Razer Deathadder 3500DPI (Logitech MX518 broke)
 Keyboard: Logitech G15
 Mouse pads: Razer Sphex, Razer eXactmat, Razer Goliathus Speed (medium)


 I thought of going RAID 0, but it just won't be worth it. One 80gb SSD for my OS and main programs is plenty. HDD will remain for a while I think for other things like games i rarely play, music and videos.

 I do plan on buying some computer speakers instead of another 5850, but we will see in about a month what I end up getting


----------



## chrisftl

OH MAN. haha forgot to mention that i also have a creative sound blaster titanium sound card.

 and yeah, stang. our cases are lil' beasts. no joke though, it's HUGE. i had to actually buy a new desk to fit it. (uh, i needed a new desk anyway, though. haha) i'm not sure how to feel about the tj 07. i feel that lian li cases and maybe antec are the only companies that can one-up. i've seen a few other contenders recently, but i don't really remember any of them.

 my only gripe is the front panel connecters are so flimsy and badly wrapped. one bad move on those sharp corners in the case, of which there are plenty (i can't go in it without my hand coming out full of mysterious scratches), and those cables are done.


----------



## stang

Yeah it's pretty shocking on the inside. No real means of cable management and those front panel cables are terrible, almost too short to reach the connectors on the mobo. I once accidently pulled one of the cables from the front panel and canot get it back in again, as the case is so cramped there, I need to pull it apart 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Have you seen the CM ATCS 840? DAMN! Inside you could fit a stacker 830 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 It is monstrous on the inside, PLENTY of room for the motherboard etc. But the only real case I consider an upgrade is the Tj07. I would only buy that if I were going liquid cooling though.


----------



## cifani090

Intel Core i5
 8gb DDr3
 NVidia non branded GTX 260
 And crappy looking to upgrade asus parts


----------



## Edwood

Here's my new Photoshop/Painter Box Workstation

 CPU: i7-920 @4GHz (with Megahalems Rev B Heatsink)
 Mobo: Asus Rampage II GENE (Thermalright HR-05 IFX on the North Bridge)
 RAM: 12GB DDR3 Corsair XMS
 Video: Radeon 5450 1GB DDR3
 OS Drive: Intel X25-M 160GB
 Data Drive: WD Velociraptor 300GB (In Scythe SilentDrive 2.5 in NoiseMagic NoVibes III)
 PSU: Seasonic X650
 Case: LanGear Da Box






















 -Ed


----------



## grokit

Mac Pro Intel Xeon Quad Core "Nehalem" 2.93 Ghz
 8 GB RAM (2 x 4 GB), DDR3 ECC 1066 MB

 OS X Snow Leopard / Windows 7 Home Premium (Dual-Boot)

 Internal SATA: 
 Apple SuperDrive, Pioneer BDR-205 Blu-Ray 
 2 x 640 GB HDD Hitachi, WD OEM (Boot Camp, Apple Backup)
 2 x 750 GB HDD WD GreenPower (ALAC, AIFF)

 External Storage:
 DroboDrive, 4 x 1.5 TB WDD GreenPower via FW-800

 NVIDIA GeForce GT 120 (512 MB):
 Dual-Link DVI > Apple 30" Cinema Display
 ADP > VGA > amp, a/b switch, Epson DLP, 32" LCD

 Built-in Airport, Bluetooth, SP-DIF Optical I/O

 Logitech Trackball, MagicMouse, Apple Aluminum Keybord

 Fubar USB I/O DAC/ADC, Supplier PSU


----------



## anetode

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *Edwood* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Here's my new Photoshop/Painter Box Workstation

 CPU: i7-920 @4GHz (with Megahalems Rev B Heatsink)
 Mobo: Asus Rampage II GENE (Thermalright HR-05 IFX on the North Bridge)
 RAM: 12GB DDR3 Corsair XMS
 Video: Radeon 5450 1GB DDR3
 OS Drive: Intel X25-M 160GB
 Data Drive: WD Velociraptor 300GB (In Scythe SilentDrive 2.5 in NoiseMagic NoVibes III)
 PSU: Seasonic X650
 Case: LanGear Da Box









_

 

That's a beautiful build: fully utilized case but with ample & quiet cooling. Only thing I'd add is an ugly bolt-on handle for portability


----------



## TheAwesomesauceShow

Intel Core i7 920
 EVGA Classified 760
 Corsair Dominator 6gigs
 Intel G2 80gig (OS use)
 2 PNY 9800gtx+ sli (planing on upgrading soon)
 LG Blu-ray burner
 WD 4tb (storage)
 Corsair HX-1000 - 1000watt(don't worry I have a 4 yr old sony laptop for daily use
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)
 Coolermaster Cosmos S computer case
 I watercooled the cpu, and nb/sb chipsets
 and lots of delta fans
 I cable sleeved pretty much every wire except the 6 pin gpu wires
 edit:
 bought an akasa fan controller and replaced the lamptron fan-atic one and turned it around facing the interior of the case(looks really bad-@55)
 I added some more pics
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 hope you guys like it
 I took out the watercooling parts since I'm going to change the rotary fittings and clean out the wc system.


----------



## stang

Wow haha. We got the same mobo, cpu and ssd


----------



## TheAwesomesauceShow

Quote:


  Originally Posted by *stang* /img/forum/go_quote.gif 
_Wow haha. We got the same mobo, cpu and ssd 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


_

 

I had the Intel G1 32gig and it quickly filled cuz of vista, so I tried the Corsair p256 ssd and when I boot up with additional hdds, it BSOD on me(though it was the mobo so I RMAd it and it still had the same problem). So I will be sticking with Intel


----------



## stang

I had a SuperTalent 128GB, but it's performance decreased 40mb/s in a month, so I sold it


----------



## RuiCanela

My desktop Power Macintosh G5 Dual Core (2.0) Specs (Late 2005, M9590LL/A, A1177, PowerMac11,2) @ EveryMac.com
 Upgrades
 6,5 GB ram
 WD Raptor 10.000rpm

 Laptop
MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.4 15" (08) Specs (Early 2008, MB133LL/A, A1260, MacBookPro4,1) @ EveryMac.com
 Upgrade
 4Gb Ram


----------



## TheAwesomesauceShow

added so more pics


----------



## meticadpa

i7 920 at 4.4GHz, HT off.
 EVGA X58 SLI LE motherboard.
 6GB of Crucial Ballistix Tracers.
 Sapphire HD5850.
 Antec TruePower New 650W.
 1 Western Digital 500GB AAKS, 2 Samsung F3 500GB in RAID 0.
 Custom made tech station.
 Prolimatech Mega Shadow CPU cooler.
 LG 24" 1920 x 1200 monitor.


----------



## stang

How the heck did you manage 4.4ghz? How stable is it in LinX and/or Prime95? None of the flags go from green to red before 30 minutes?


----------



## DanTheMiataMan

Once PS was in less than 1mm of space from Cooler to PS.

 Now to find free time to install a OS


----------



## ast

*i-7  960  3.2GHz*
*12 GB  1800MHz RAM*
*128 GB SSD for OS*
*1 TB 7200rpm as main storage*
*Radeon 5870  video card*
*Gigabyte motherboard with USB 3.0*
*Bluray burner*
   
  ....................................................


----------



## The_X

I have a Lenovo T60p:
   
  2.16ghz Core Duo T2600
  3gb RAM
  15" UXGA Flexview screen
  FireGL V5200
  100gb main OS drive
  320gb secondary drive (sometimes swapped with a DVD burner as needed)


----------



## DrIce926

Main very-near-silent aircooled PC (but of course, so my Grados don't suffer):

   

  Corsair 620HX PSU (5 year warranty)

  Gigabyte MA790GP-UD4H (AMD 790GX chipset, "UltraDurable3", 3 year warranty)

  AMD Phenom II X4 940, w/ Thermalright 120 Extreme (True Black, blah blah), "doglips s-clip mod" (google that) to fit AM2 properly

  8GB G.SKILL HK series DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 (lifetime warranty)

  My "ol' reliable" XFX 8800GT XXX 512MB w/ Thermalright HR-03GT (lifetime warranty)

  1GB Samsung HDD

  1.5GB Samsung HDD + 1.5GB WD Green HDD on RAID1, main data storage (soon, after I pay $1000 to recover some data in a month)

  Rosewill Black Case

  Scythe 120mm S-FLEX "D" series fans (800RPM, super quiet, MTBF: 150,000 hours) + custom ducting system for CPU heatsink

  X-Fi XtremeGamer w/ PAX 2.15 Drivers

   

  Other stuff:

  Samsung 2233rz *120hz* 22" monitor - best monitor I've ever used, including CRTs, *for gaming.  *TN means the colors aren't as accurate, oh well

  Win7 x64 w/ Switcher (like expose for mac), GridMove, F.lux (no more sleepless nights), VirtuaWin and Acronis 9 backups

  EMU XBoard 49 MIDI Keyboard Controller

  Linksys WRT54G-TM w/ Tomato custom firmware (delicious! lol)

  Verizon FIOS 20mbit up/down

   

  I had and sold my Intel 160GB X25-M G2 SSD in preparation for when I can actually afford one without living on ramen like a jobless tard (aka now).  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




   

  It's not particularly impressive anymore, but I've put a huge amount of thought into each and every one of the components.  I wouldn't have changed a thing, it's around a year old now, with the 8800GT and the X-Fi being closer to 3 years old.  I'm also a sucker for warranties, haha.


----------



## 1audioz

*Desktop:*
   
  AMD Phenom II X4 920 @ 3.22GHz (stock HSF)
  Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3P, F4 BIOS
  8GB G.Skill NT Series DDR2-800 5-5-5-15
  Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 1GB
  Dual Pioneer DVR-216
  750GB WD Caviar Green HDD =(
  1TB WD Elements External-HDD
  Antec Three Hundred (2 x Antec 120MM, 3 x CoolerMaster SuperFan 120MM)
  Antec TruePower Quattro 850W
  Samsung 2433BW 1920x1200
   
*Laptop 1:*
   
  ASUS F3Jv
  Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 @ 2GHz
  15.4" WSXGA+ TFT 1680x1050
  2GB OCZ DDR2-667
  NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 
  200GB Hitachi 5.4k HDD
   
*Laptop 2:*
   
  Lenovo Thinkpad T410
  Intel Core i5-540M @ 2.53GHz ~ 3.06 GHz
  14.1" WXGA+ LED 1440x900
  4GB DDR3-1066
  Intel GMA HD
  320GB Seagate 7.2k HDD


----------



## taylor

my main pc is a HP 8510w laptop, vintage 2007
  It's a Core 2 Duo "Santa Rosa" T7500 2.2GHz
  4GB of DDR2-667
  Qudro FX 570M graphics
  120gb 7200rpm hard drive
  Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
   
  One of the really nice things is that it has amazing pixel pitch. It's a 15.4" widescreen capable of 1920x1200. Took some getting used to, but the high resolution is awesome.
   
  I also rock out with an Acer Aspire One, vintage 2009
  Atom N270 at 1.6GHz
  1GB of RAM
  160gb 5400rpm hard drive
  Windows XP Home SP3
   
  And, I do have a desktop, vintage 2006 or so
  Athlon FX-55 2.6GHz
  2GB of DDR-400
  Radeon X1300 PCI-E graphics
  Chaintech AV-710
  Biostar 939 nForce mobo
  Seasonic S12-330w PSU
  Samsung 250gb SATA drive
  AOpen cube case
   
  I carry the netbook with me almost all of the time. It weighs 2 pounds and lasts 2 and a half hours on a 3 cell battery.
   
  The laptop is what I use for everything. I have a docking station, and it spends far more time there than it does anywhere else. It's hooked up to an IBM Model M keyboard, a Microsoft Sidewinder mouse, my Maverick DAC, a 25.5" Asus LCD monitor, and a 160GB Seagate external hard drive.
   
  The desktop is just sitting around at the moment. It used to be my main PC before I got the laptop. When I move into an apartment in August, I'm planning on hooking it up to my roommate's plasma TV and my other roommate's surround sound system. For peripherals, I have a pair of 500gb Western Digital usb hard drives, and a Microsoft wireless KB and mouse. I'm going to map network drives and connect them via gigabit, so it should be great for streaming videos and music.


----------



## rx7_fan

Alienware Aurora
  Core i7 920 2.66 ghz Water-cooled (can be level 1 overclocked to 3.2Ghz when needed)
  12GB DDR3 RAM
  500GB HD
  ATi 5770
  Xonar STX
  Logitech G15 Keyboard
  Logitech G5 Laser Mouse
  24" LCD
  Blue Sky International Media Desk 2.1 Studio Monitors


----------



## The_X

[oops, posted twice]


----------



## Vergex2

Coolermaster CM 690 (the silhouettes seen through the grills are incredibly sexy)
  Corsair HX 620
  DFI Lanparty P35 T2RS Dark
  Intel Q6600
  Sunbeam Core Contact Freezer (around 500 rpm)
  OCZ Platnium 2x1 GB DDR2-800 4-4-4-15 (or 4-4-4-12, too lazy to check. Having tons of memory is incredibly overrated, I find it hard to even use 50% of my RAM. Just shut off your computer once in a while...)
  Evga GTX 280 SC
  Seagate 11 500 GB x1 (my other 'died' in a power outage. I decided to turn on my computer once early in the morning to get ready for use about 10 minutes later, and seconds after I press the power button, I get rolled... x_x)
   
  Fans stock, though I removed 2 because they died. Damn abysmal quality fans that come with the case.

 Q6600 @ stock, very cool and quiet I suppose. I should really get to overclocking it some time, and taking advantage of DFI's OC potential. However, either due to repeated cases of bad chips (CPUs) or just a simply inept overclocker, stabilizing 3.4GHZ at an acceptable temperature and stability (P95 4 threads small FFT for 12-24 hours) for 24/7 just hasn't happened.

 GTX 280 SC at stock too. My last one had problems, and this one won't overclock for its life without artifacting past its stock clocks. Gave up folding too as a result, I had over 200k points in F@H..


----------



## MooTaters

Intel C2D Wolfdale E8400 3GHz
  DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R
  Mushkin DDR2 800 4GB(4x1GB dual channel)
  Zotac 8800gt 512MB 700MHz core, 2000MHz memory  clock
  X-Fi extreme gamer professional series(PCI)
  Thermaltake Armor case not armor+ and without the side panel fan
  Thermaltake 680W PSU
  WD 680GB caviar black w/ 32MB cache
  Replaced 120mm case fans with 88cfm Yate Loons(UV/LED blue)
  Logitech G15 keyboard revision 1
  Logitech G500 gaming laser mouse w/ Func Surface 1030(classic)
  Samsung SyncMaster 940B 19" LCD
   
  Still plays some of the latest games on medium to high graphics, but I need some money to upgrade the dang thing.(too many hobbies and what not right now)


----------



## 71877

Intel Core2Duo E6600 @ 3ghz with Tuniq Tower 120 cooler
  MSI P45 Neo-F
  HIS HD3870 512mb IceQ Turbo @ 900mhz core, 1200mhz memory
  4gb DDR2 800mhz Corsair XMS2
  OCZ GameXstream 600w
  Thermaltake Armor
  Samsung T166 500gb HDD
  Samsung P120 250gb HDD


----------



## Shike

Q6600 @ 3.2ghz w/Enzotech Xtreme HSF
 4GB Crucial Ram DDR2 800
 GA-P35-DS3L
 eVGA 9800GTX+ @ 770/1836/1123 (core, shader, ram)
 Auzentech X-Fi Prelude
 1TB Seagate 7200.12 (no issues)
 Lite-On DVD-RW
 Windows 7 Pro
  Filco Majestouch Brown keyboard
  Razer Deathadder w/ icemat v2 & mouse bungee
  CM Stacker 832 painted by Smooth Creations (won from ATI)
  HP LP1965 LCD
   
  Should be all relevant info.  Pic of the case:


----------



## rgonz

Intel Core i7 860 @ 3.2ghz
 ASUS Maximus III Formula
 Patriot 6GB DDR3
 Sapphire HD 5870 1GB GDDR5
 Intel X25-M 80GB SSD
 WD Caviar Green 2TB
 Antec Fusion Case


----------



## Surreal.

Intel Q9400 @ Stock 2.66
  Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
  G.Skill 4GB DDR2 1066
  Western Digital Black 640GB 7200RPM
  eVGA GTX 260 Core 216
  Corsair 650W
  Windows 7 Ultimate Signature Edition
  Antec 900
  Sony Bravia 32"
  Saitek Eclipse II
  Razer Copperhead
  Cyber Snipa Tracer
   
  Some of you guys have nice rigs, nice!


----------



## Iron_Dreamer

Quote: 





surreal. said:


> Intel Q9400 @ Stock 2.66
> Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R
> G.Skill 4GB DDR2 1066
> Western Digital Black 640GB 7200RPM
> ...


 

 You're not doing to badly, either.  Though that Q9400 could use an FSB bump, if it was up to me.  I currently run a Q9550@3.62GHz, which is as high as my wimpy DDR2-800 will let me go stably.


----------



## JamesL

fairly old rig.. I keep looking for a reason to upgrade but I can't find any reason to asides for the lack of win7 audio drivers (I don't use my onboard soundcard anyways).  System's still zipping along without the slightest hiccups or slowdowns.. .
   
   
   
  Dell 24" 2407wfp / Ergotron LX arm
   
  Intel e6750 @ 3.4GHz
  4gb g.skill ddr2 ram
  Abit IP35-E
  250gb Seagate HDD
  HD3850
   
  Surplus Chassis & PSU from Velocity Micro (Lian-Li made)


----------



## celcius

[size=x-small]Intel Q9650 @ 3.906Ghz (9x434, 1.224v) w/ Tuniq Tower
 Asus Maximus II Formula @ 1736 fsb (bios 1901)
 4GB dual-channel Corsair Dominator pc8500 @ 1084Mhz & 5-5-5-15-2T 2.1v
 EVGA GeForce GTX 285 @ 700/1476/1300 & 65% fan speed
 PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 1KW SR
 X-Fi Xtrememusic
 dual Seagate Barracuda SATA2 250GB 7200rpm w/ 16MB buffers
 Dual Lite-On LH-20A1S's
 CoolerMaster Stacker 830 Evolution
 Windows 7 Professional x64[/size]


----------



## complex

Antec P193
  Noctua NH-U12P 1366
  Corsair 850HX
  Asus P6T Deluxe
  Intel Core i7 920 running at 3.4
  6 GB Corsair Dominator DDR3-1600
  WD 300 GB VelociRaptor
  Radeon 5970
   
  Dell 3007WFP-HC
   
  And a recent 15" MacBook Pro, with both machines hooked up to the monitor and my keyboard/mouse via a Gefen KVM.
   
  Edit: And a Mac mini hooked up to my TV and Drobo with ~1.7 TB.


----------



## DanTheMiataMan

Quote: 





complex said:


> Antec P193
> Noctua NH-U12P 1366
> Corsair 850HX
> Asus P6T Deluxe
> ...


 
   
  Hows the U12P working for you?  I got the U9 and it is doing pretty dang amazing and I cant even hear it.


----------



## treblagnahc

Intel Core i7 860 Lynnfield Core LGA 1156 @ 2.8ghz
 eVGA P55 SLI LGA 1156 Intel P55 Express Motherboard
 4GB (2x2gb) Crucial BallistiX DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) CL8
 PNY XLR8 nVidia Geforce GTS 250 512MB PCI-E x16 Graphics Card
 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32M SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
 24x ASUS SATA DVD Burner
 600Watt OCZ StealthXStream Powersupply
 Antec NSK6580 Super Mid Tower Case
 -120mm Tricool x1
  -92mm Tricool x1
  Cooler Master Hyper 212+
  -120mm CM Blade Master PWM
  -120mm Antec Tricool w/Blue LED
 Airlink101 AWLH3028 802.11g Wireless PCI Adapter
 Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64
 Creative Live! Pro Webcam
 Creative Inspire T2900 2.1 Speakers
 Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 4000
 Thermaltake BlacX Hard Drive Docking Station
 AOC 2236Vw 21.5" Full HD 1080P Monitor


----------



## complex

Quote: 





danthemiataman said:


> Hows the U12P working for you?  I got the U9 and it is doing pretty dang amazing and I cant even hear it.


 

 It's nice, but it's so huge I had to remove the side panel fan and mod the filter on the P193 so I could actually close the panel over the heatsink. Interestingly, the P180 I had before had no problems.


----------



## Furface

ASUS P5-QE Mainboard
  Intel Dual Core 3.0 GHz
  2 x 1 GB Crucial DDR2 800
  Nvidia Quadro FX-4400 PCI-e
  Adaptec AHA-39160UW 64-bit PCI SCSI card
  Seagate 36GB 15k UW SCSI boot drive
  Hitachi 160 GB SATA
  Seagate 500 GB SATA
  SONY DVD Re-Writer
  Samsung 932 19" LCD Monitor
  Monster 800 series DVI Dual Link cable


----------



## mmd8x28

Not to sure if I posted mine..
   
  I'll just let the screenshot do the talking.
   
  http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v395/Evilweredragon/power.png


----------



## JxK

OS: Commodore Kernal
  CPU: Mos Tech 6510 @1.023 MHz
  Memory: 64kB RAM
                20kB ROM
  Video: VIC-II (320x200)
   
  Oh, woe is me.


----------



## mmd8x28

Hey I got one of those up in my closet.  Commodore 64!!  
  
  Quote: 





jxk said:


> OS: Commodore Kernal
> CPU: Mos Tech 6510 @1.023 MHz
> Memory: 64kB RAM
> 20kB ROM
> ...


----------



## revolink24

Just upgraded, wooo. Now I just need a new gpu.
   
  Antec P182
  Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5
  AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition (6 core)
  Xigmatek HDT-S1283
  G.Skill Ripjaws 4GB DDR3 1600
  Zalman ZM-600HP
   
   
  And my lovely system bottleneck: ATi Radeon 4850
   
  Oh, and some 4TB of hard drives.


----------



## gsilver

Computers are my first hobby...
   
  Cooler Master Stacker 830
  Asus Rampage Formula
  4GB DDR2
  Intel Q6600
  Intel X25-M 80GB
  Radeon 5870
  2x WD Caviar Black 1TB (Raid 1)
  3x optical drives (one is a Blu-Ray writer)
  Logitech Illuminated keyboard
  Logitech G500
  ASUS Xonar Essence STX


----------



## f10167

Desktop:
   
  Gateway FX6800
  Intel i7 920
  9GB DDR3 Ram
  Radeon 4850 1GB
  2 x 500GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 in raid 0
  Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro (bough it because of $70 rebate)
  Harman/Kardon Sound Stick II + Sony SA-WM20 (active sub-woofer yay)
  Logitech G9
   
  Laptop:
   
  Gateway 7811FX
  Intel T9600
  4GB DDR3 Ram
  Geforce 9800m GTS 512MB
  Hitach 7k200 200GB + Seagate 7200.2 200GB in raid 0 (tech replaced the original seagate hdd with Hitach's after RMA'ed)
  Echo Indigo IOx
  Razor DeathAdder
   
  I'm not a fan of Gateway but i got them both as refurbished (desktop for $465 and laptop for $650). Slick deals!


----------



## revolink24

I just got a 5770, woo.
   
  Quote: 





revolink24 said:


> Just upgraded, wooo. Now I just need a new gpu.
> 
> Antec P182
> Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5
> ...


----------



## Mdraluck23

Hp DV4i... Pretty nice laptop, no complaints. I got it customized, as I am looking to do a little CAD work in and after college. Solid performance, no freezes or crashes, powers through multitasking like no other computer I've had, iTunes (meh), AutoCAD, AnyDVD, Chrome, AVG, Microsoft word, All at once!
   
  Core i5 540m 2.53 ghz: great mobile processor IMHO, shoots up to 3.06 ghz, hyperthreaded! 
  6gb DDR3: HP brand, basically... Nothing else to say here. I need it for CAD.
  Ati radeon 4550 512mb GPU: Pretty humble gaming performance... runs CSS on max-ish settings.
  500 gb 7200rpm.
   
  I have a really cruddy "Hanspree" 25 inch 1080p TV/Monitor combo, with my XBOX 360 hooked into it.


----------



## Headlab

I use my desktop for work and play, so it gets a fair bit of lovin' from my wallet (almost as much as the dang head-fi):
   
  Intel i7 920 oc'ed to 3.6GHz
  Intel DX58SO motherboard
  6GB Corsair Dominator DDR3
  2 x MSi Radeon 5870 in Crossfire
  HP Dreamcolor 2480ZX monitor
  3 x 2TB Western Digital HDDs
  Antec P183
  Razer Diamondback
  Razer Arctosa (damn hard to use in the dark 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




)
   
  Built by yours truly with the help of a six-pack of beer!


----------



## Uncle Erik

Heh:

 AMD Athlon 64 2.0GHz (single core)
 Radeon 9800Pro
 4GB RAM
 320GB Seagate drive
 Coolermaster solid aluminum case
 20" ViewSonic monitor (1600x1200)
 Running Fedora 4

 White MacBook with 2.0GHz Core2Duo, 2GB RAM

 I've toyed with upgrading, but they keep going. When one of them kicks off, I'll get something new.


----------



## revolink24

Woah, that sounds almost exactly like my last build erik, with a different sized hard drive. It had a habit of making everyone in call of duty 4 look like those green plastic army men. Or just clay models.


----------



## peli_kan

Quote: 





headlab said:


> I use my desktop for work and play, so it gets a fair bit of lovin' from my wallet (almost as much as the dang head-fi):
> 
> Intel i7 720 oc'ed to 3.6GHz
> Intel DX58SO motherboard
> ...


 


 You have a 2408ZX?  That's DECADENT.  How much did it cost you?
   
  I've been on the hunt for a 24" H-IPS monitor for a while, but prices are still higher than I'd like.  Most probably I'll have to settle on a 22"-23" e-IPS or S-IPS panel instead.


----------



## R04R

Just purchased this off newegg a couple minutes ago! 
   
  -AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz - C3 Revision HDZ555WFGMBOX

 -MSI 890GXM-G65 AM3 AMD 890GX SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

 -SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100273L Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 CrossFireX Support Video Card

 -OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) OCZ3G1333LV4GK.NE

 -SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" -Bare Drive

 -CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC

 -COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN3 CM690 II Basic Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

 -ASUS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

 -Nippon Labs Ultra Thin Premium 0.5M (1.64 ft.) Mini SATA II Cable With Locking Latch SATA-0.5-MINI

 -Nippon Labs AD-USB-SATA USB to SATA HDD Bridge Adapter

 -Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest (DVD)

 -Newegg $10 Promotional Gift Card

 Subtotal $612.92
 Tax $50.57
 UPS 3 DAYS $5.80
 Order Total $669.29
 Mail-in Rebates $35.00-
 Grand Total $634.29


----------



## gorb

amd phenom ii x4 920 w/ kingwin xt-1264 hsf
 gigabyte ga-ma790x-ud4p
 msi 8800gt oc
 8gb g.skill pi black ddr2 800
 corsair hx620
 antec 1200
 samsung sh-s223l
 640gb wd caviar black
 4x1tb wd caviar green
 1.5tb samsung ecogreen f2
 1tb seagate 7200.11
 sharp lc-40le700un
 yamaha rx-v795
 energy rc-10 on auralex mopads
 orb audio super eight
 audio technica ath-ad700 w/ zalman mic
 filco majestouch linear force
 logitech g500
 x-trac hammer
 d-link dns-323 w/ 2x 2tb samsung ecogreen f3
 apc xs1200
 footrest


----------



## MuuMuu

Have largely kept the same system for the last 3yrs.  Recently upgraded CPU and VGA so that I'm ready for FF14...  I was worried that the CPU upgrade would overload the PSU, but turns out the Wolfdale quad-core @ stock uses less power than the C2D at both idle and load.  More than fast enough for now & power's so damn cheap where I live, that I may just wait till 22nm hits the streets to rebuild my PC.
   
  Asus P5B Deluxe
  C2D E4300 1.8Ghz @ 2.4Ghz -> Q9300 @ 2.5Ghz stock
  Scythe Ninja Rev.B w/ 1500RPM fan
  2GB -> 4GB DDR2
  ATI Radeon 1950xtx -> 5770 1GB
  SB Audigy2 -> X-Fi Prelude
  320GB Seagate -> Add 1TB Samsung -> Add 2TB Hitachi
  Cheap DVD Writer
  Seasonic 430W PSU
  Antec P180
  Earthsoft PV4 (video capture)


----------



## Bloodhowler

i7 920 @ 4.0GHz 
  ATI 5870 900/1275
  6GB DDR3 Patriot 1333MHz
  Cosmos S
  WC'ed


----------



## taylor

Just upgraded about three weeks after this post.
   
  Current rig:
  Phenom II X6 1050T
  Asus 785 MB
  MSI Radeon 5750 1GB
  4GB G.Skill DDR3-1600
  700w OCZ PSU
  Thermaltake Element G case
  Lite-On DVD Burner
  1TB Seagate 7200rpm SATA
  1TB Samsung 7200rpm SATA
   
  It's fast, but I am really kicking myself for not dropping a couple extra bucks and getting a Core i7-930. Supposed to be a much nicer CPU, especially for gaming.
   
  If I could get my money back in full, I'd replace it with a Core i7-930 and a GTX 460.
  
  Quote: 





taylor said:


> my main pc is a HP 8510w laptop, vintage 2007
> It's a Core 2 Duo "Santa Rosa" T7500 2.2GHz
> 4GB of DDR2-667
> Qudro FX 570M graphics
> ...


----------



## azncookiecutter

Quote: 





taylor said:


> Just upgraded about three weeks after this post.
> 
> Current rig:
> Phenom II X6 1050T
> ...


 
   
  Cool stuff, got a similar setup going right now. All AMD, mainly because I get a discount from work, which just so happens to be ATI (and AMD, in extension).
   
  Phenom II X6 1055T
  Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
  Asus ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
  8GB Corsair XM3 DDR3
  620W Seasonic PSU
  Antec P193
  Lite-On BluRay drive/DVD burner
  OCZ Vertex 60GB
  2 WD Caviar Blue 320GB
  Dell 2209WA


----------



## mralexosborn

Newly built PC. 
   
  AMD Athlon II 630 @ 3.6 Ghz
  Gigabye GA-MA785GM-UD2H
  4GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066 
  500GB Seagate Barracuda HDD
  XFX 5770
  Corsair 650TX
  Windows 7 64-bit
  Samsung DVD Burner
  Thermaltake V3 Black Edition
  Coolermaster Hyper 212+


----------



## Pseudonyms

*OS:* Win7 64bit, Ubuntu 10.04 just for giggles and when I want to mess around with it 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




*CPU:* Core 2 duo 2.66ghz @ 3.3 Ghz (Upgrading to something better when I get the money)
*HDD1:* 300gb Maxtor (Yeah. I know. It was free)
*HDD2:* 1000gb (1tb) Seagate
*HDD3:* 500gb Western Digital
*GPU:* Sapphire 4870 1gb
*RAM:* 4gb Corsair XMS2 DDR2 RAM
*PSU:* Antec 550 watt (Need a new one)
*MOBO:* Gigabyte GA-X38-DQ6
*Sound Card:* Asus XONAR STX (PCI)
*CASE:* Azza Solano 1000 (blue.  Got it on newegg for like, $70 and free shipping during a sale )
*Heatsink: * Coolermaster Hyper TX3
*FANS: * 2x 230mm Blue LEDs, 2x 140mm Blue LED fans, 2x 120mm Fans.
   
  Older PC that I've been upgrading for the past two or three years.  It's in for a big upgrade soon because of some of the dated hardware as far as my Mobo, CPU, and RAM goes.
   

   
  Most recent picture I have of it, for reference. Haven't gotten one with my Xonar card in it yet.  I've only spent like, $300 on it because the rest of it was parts I have just acquired over the years


----------



## mralexosborn

@Pseudonyms
   
  Get rid of that weaksauce. Haha.


----------



## Pseudonyms

Our hardware specs are about the same, bud.


----------



## thinkpol

*CASE:* Silverstone TJ-07 with internals powder coated (flat black)
*PSU:* Seasonic X750 Gold (sleeved with million dollar PC sleeving)
*RAM:* 12gb (3x4) G.skill Ripjaws
*HDD*: 2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB (raid 0)
*SSD*: 2x OCZ Vertex 2 100GB (raid 0)
*GFX* 2x HD5870
*MB: *Asus Rampage III Extreme
*Heatsink: *Thermalright Venomous X
*Fan Controller*: Lamptron FC5
*Sound Card*: Asus Xonar Essence ST
*Processor: *i7 930
   
  Noiseblocker, San Ace fans throughout.


----------



## latent

I got a new rig begin May this year. All the PC's my parents bought before are 5+ years old. I replaced one of them on my own costs because it was necessary for my needs. Spent more money on the SSD and heatsink and cut down my budget for the processor. My GFX has to drive a 30'' monitor so I also didn't cut budget on that. 
   
*CASE: *Cooler Master CM 690
*PSU:* Cooler Master Silent Pro M 600W
*RAM:* GEIL 4GB DDR3-1333 Kit CL7
*HDD*: WD1002FAEX (1 TB SATA 600)
*SSD*: OCZSSD2IVTXLE50G (50 GB)
*GFX:* HIS 5770 IceQ
*MB: *Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4 
*Heatsink: *Scythe Orochi Rev. B
*Processor: *AMD Athlon X4 II 630
*Optical Drive:* Samsung SH-B083L (DVD + Blu-ray)
*Wireless Network Card:* TP-link TL-WN851N
*Others:* Sharkoon swapframe (for the SSD), Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, 8 silicone fans (one had to be removed due to unexpted ''noise-making'' (made the case shiver)), Kensington Combination Lock (unused)
*Grand total: *1245 EUR (including assembling and postage).
   
  My Dell 3008 WFP 30'' monitor was 1400 EUR and that's a good price (yes these things are incredibly expensive!) for it if you compared to what it's pricetag has been in the past.


----------



## stevenswall

1.6ghz CPU (Pentium III)
  2gb RAM
   
  On-Board audio and graphics
   
  40+ open applications without freezing... Thanks to Puppy Linux!


----------



## mralexosborn

@Pseudonyms
   
  Talking about the dual core proc. 
   
  People uses Pentium III? I have heard the legends but....


----------



## cifani090

*CASE: *Crappy Ass Asus case (upgrading to Corsair 800D soon)
*PSU:* Delta 400 Watt (Upgrading to Corsair 850 Watt soon)
*RAM:* Off Brand 8gb DDR3 1333
*HDD*: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
*Video Card:* Nividia Extremely rare (Non-Branded) GTX 260 
*MB: *Crappy Asus motherboard
*Processor: *Intel i5 650
*Optical Drive:* RW DVD Multi Recorder
*Wireless Network Card:* Linksys Wireless-N 
*Others:* Windows's 7


----------



## Pseudonyms

Well now I'm just confused. Mine isn't a pentium III. This is mine: http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=30784
   
  And I got it for free, along with the mobo so I'm not complaining 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  But it seemed like you were talking about the pentium III above your post.
   
  Either way, I love my processor.  It overclocks fine and I didn't pay a cent, so I'm perfectly happy


----------



## mralexosborn

I was talking about the guy a couple lines below you. But as long as you are happy. 
   
  Can anybody recommend a sound card for about $50 or less? or (while I am at it) recommend a pair of headphones (sub $90) with decent bass, preferably closed (does not have to be), and sounds good with ALL music?
   
  Sorry if I am ruining this thread.


----------



## EnOYiN

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> I was talking about the guy a couple lines below you. But as long as you are happy.
> 
> Can anybody recommend a sound card for about $50 or less? or (while I am at it) recommend a pair of headphones (sub $90) with decent bass, preferably closed (does not have to be), and sounds good with ALL music?
> 
> Sorry if I am ruining this thread.


 

 I'm sure someone can since this is Head-Fi after all, but I think people would prefer it if you started your own thread for this in the headphone forums. If you haven't already I suggest you take a look at this to start off with.
   
  Now for my computer specs:
   
   
  Case: Cooler Master Cosmos Pure Black
  PSU: Sharkoon of about 600W.
  Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P
  CPU: Phenom x4 @ 3.2 with Scythe Mugen 2
  GPU: ATI HD4890 (Sapphire Vapor-X I think it was)
  RAM: 8 GB Corsair XMS3 DHX
  Drives: 2x 60 GB OZC SSD in RAID 0 (stripe size 128 I think) and a 320GB Samsung drive.
  Optical Drive: Plextor PX-860SA
  Mouse: Steelseries Xai.
  Pad: The biggest thing Corepad is selling.
  Keyboard: Cherry G803000something. It has black switches either way.
  Screen: iiyama Prolite E2407HDS
  OS: Windows 7 64
   
  That's about it. I've had it for about a year now. Working well enough so far. I might swap the videocard next year if needed.


----------



## mattering

Case: HAF-X
  PSU: Antec Truepower 850W.
  Mobo: MSI P7N SLI Platinum
  CPU: Intel Core2duo E8400 @ 3.8GHz
  GPU: 2x Nvidia ASUS 9800GT [This was a dumb choice LOL]
  RAM: 4GB Kingston DDR2 800MHz
  HDD: 1x 1TB Seagate Barracuda 
  ODD: 1x LG Supermulti DVD RW
  OS: Win 7 64-Bit
   
  If you are wondering why the heck there is a HAF-X in the list, I'm buy parts slowly for my new rig


----------



## Endless

Case: Cooler Master Scout
  PSU: Corsair 650 watt
  Mobo: Asus Gene Rampage II
  CPU: i7-930 @ 3.33 (Scared of going further).
  Ram: Corsair 6gb DDR3
  GPU: XFX Radeon HD 5850
  Cooling: Corsair H50
  HDD: Western Digital 640gb
  ODD: LG Supermulti DVD RW
  OS: Windows 7, Windows XP, Fedora, Ubuntu; in quadruple boot.
   
  Cost: $1,200.
   
  And tons of Scythe Ultra Kaze fans for extreme ventilation!


----------



## mralexosborn

<3 in reference to that ^.


----------



## Endless

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> <3 in reference to that ^.


 

 Sadly, all I play is Maplestory and low graphics / cpu intensive games. LOOOL. Complete waste of my rig. ;D


----------



## 9pintube

SLOW!


----------



## mralexosborn

How about you send me your i7 930 and 5850 and I send you my Athlon II 630 and 5770? Deal? Deal.


----------



## Endless

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> How about you send me your i7 930 and 5850 and I send you my Athlon II 630 and 5770? Deal? Deal.


 

 Pffft. I just have to wait for Starcraft 2 to come so I can use my rig effectively.


----------



## mralexosborn

How do I put this? I hate you. 
   
  But what a nice system you have...


----------



## Endless

I kind of regret getting my graphics card though. Sure it can run every game on the market, but you can also do the same with a 200 - 150 dollar card. I don't NEED the Highest High settings, I can own noobs fine with medium settings. Plus, the card is so heavy that I need a ribbon to support it from bending. However, the i7 was a god sent from my old Pentium 4 processor. Best 200 dollars i've spent on this rig.


----------



## mralexosborn

Once again: I WILL TRADE MY 5770 FOR YOUR 5850!!!!!!
   
  Yeah, my 5770 plays nearly everything on max. Except not with AA. Oh well...I will upgrade eventually.


----------



## kingtz

Here's by uber sexy notebook:
   
*Sager NP8690*
  (Clevo W860CU)
  Display: 15.6in backlit LED 1080p
  CPU: i7-720QM
  RAM: 4GB DDR3 1333MHz
  GPU: Ati HD5870M 1GB GDDR5
  HDD: 500GB 7200rpm


----------



## manaox2

Desktop I built back in March:
   
  Core i7 920 OC'd to 3.2 Ghz (for RAM speeds and cool stable temps year round)
  6GB OCZ gold DDR3 PC3-1600 RAM
  ASUS P6T WS-Pro mobo
  Coolermaster v8 CPU cooler
  Corsair TX850W PS
  OCZ Agility 60GB SSD
  2 Samsung F3 1.5 TB HDD
  LG Black BD-ROM
  ASUS EAH4350 512MB passive video card (not a gamer)
  Windows 7 Pro
  28" Hanns-G HH281 monitor
  Thermaltake Black Case w/ 120mm top and side fans (side fan removed).
   
  Only real regret was to not go with an IPS monitor.


----------



## mralexosborn

Nice system. No great graphics card, but that is okay.


----------



## manaox2

The drops on the ATI HD 5850 are finally starting I think. Newegg had them for $250 after code with no rebates last week.  I'm going to keep waiting, but if I had more money and an IPS monitor already, would be tempting.


----------



## mralexosborn

*Whispers so he wont be heard by AMD folks* (Get the GTX 460 or 470).


----------



## manaox2

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> *Whispers so he wont be heard by AMD folks* (Get the GTX 460 or 470).


 

 For the money, the 460 is $30 cheaper and I know it overclocks well. But so does the 5850 (which has eyefinity) and it definitely is going to beat it. The 460 is made to compete with the 5830 and the 470 is harder to get and more expensive now.


----------



## mralexosborn

460 was made to compete with the 5770 (which I have *sigh*) and it blows it out of the water. The GTX465 was made to compete with the 5830. 
  The GTX series tessellates better than all the ATI cards. That is a fact. So if you want a card that will be relevant in the future get the GTX460.


----------



## stang

5850 is a great pick I think. I am an Intel fanboy, but couldn't care less about the graphics cards. I mean, I love looking at the new ones and how they perform in games, at overclocking etc, but I am not an ATi nor Nvidia fanboy. ATI's cards run cooler, quieter (generally) and have MUCH better price/performance ratio than nvidia's cards. I have had my 5850 for ages now (several months or so) and it is still doing me fine, no need to upgrade as of yet. I am glad I went from three gtx 285 down to one 5850. I was able to upgrade my headphone setup and I can still max out any game I want and have good fps.


----------



## mralexosborn

I am not a fanboy of any of them. The GTX line performs better than their ATI competitors.


----------



## stang

But then you have to factor in heat, noise, cost etc. Yes you can go liquid cooling, but you wouldn't have to if you had an ATi card (5850 anyway...). Nvidia for performance, ATi for bang for buck.


----------



## mralexosborn

I agree 100 percent with you. But I would rather go with performance since it is not that much more.


----------



## Seaside

Guys, I have questions.
   
  The money is kinda tight and we need two computers,
  Just can't stand our old computers any longer. They're built in 2003 and 2004, too slow and tiny problems pops up every month.
   
  I think there are 3 options for me.
   
  1, AMD phenom II and 5850
   
  2, i5 750 and 5770
   
  3. i7 930 and 5850
   
  Other parts like ODD will be taken from old systems.
   
  The question is,
   
  - what you guys think about option 1 and 2? which is better?
  - How much option 3 will better than option 2 game performace wise? Worth to pay the difference in cost?
   
  Thanks.


----------



## mralexosborn

Option 3 definitely! Best processor and graphics card!
   
  The Core i7 chips preform beautifully, totally worth the price! But option 2 is still good. The i5 750 is a beast and the 5770 play most games on high (no AA). I have the 5770.
   
  AMD isn't worth it. I have the AMD Athlon II X4 630. It is only great because I got it for $140 including the motherboard.


----------



## Endless

Quote: 





seaside said:


> Guys, I have questions.
> 
> The money is kinda tight and we need two computers,
> Just can't stand our old computers any longer. They're built in 2003 and 2004, too slow and tiny problems pops up every month.
> ...


 
   
  Option 3. BY FAR. The i7 930's performance is WAYY better than option 2 by light years. If you live near a microcenter, you can get an i7 930 for 200 dollars only, as opposed to 280 or 290 on Amazon or Neweggs. Best 200 dollars I've spent on electronics, EVER.
   
  Keep in mind that the i7 930 uses DDR3 ram. This means that you will have to invest in a better motherboard that can handle an i7 processor as well as DDR3 ram to efficiently use the processor. Another 300 - 400 down the drain...
   
  If the money issue is a bit.. excessive, then do not get the 5850 until you have the money to spend. Get a budget level video card and wait for the 5850 to drop. I bought mines in full for 300, now it's 250? Sobs. T_T


----------



## revolink24

I honestly don't think the performance is a great enough increase the cost. What resolution is your monitor? If it's 1680x1050 or lower, you should absolutely be fine with a 5770. I use a Phenom II X6, which is a great processor, but you really can't go wrong with any reasonably priced processor these days, from Intel or AMD. I'm pretty happy with my current setup. I would say just get the Phenom II and a 5770, but thats just my opinion... Another good option would be the i7 860 and a 5770. The reason for the 860 is that it is basically a 930 for the 1156 socket, where motherboards and RAM are much cheaper.


----------



## Endless

Quote: 





revolink24 said:


> I honestly don't think the performance is a great enough increase the cost. What resolution is your monitor? If it's 1680x1050 or lower, you should absolutely be fine with a 5770. I use a Phenom II X6, which is a great processor, but you really can't go wrong with any reasonably priced processor these days, from Intel or AMD. I'm pretty happy with my current setup. I would say just get the Phenom II and a 5770, but thats just my opinion... Another good option would be the i7 860 and a 5770. The reason for the 860 is that it is basically a 930 for the 1156 socket, where motherboards and RAM are much cheaper.


 
   
  AGREED on the i7 860. However, there is little room for future upgrades because DDR3 and 1156 sockets are the future. However, there is little difference in performance between the i7 860 and the i7 930, and there ARE tests that prove that the i7 860 do better than the i7 930 on some applications. Either way, you will be happy with your upgrade.


----------



## mattering

I think socket 1366 is the future but i heard intel is gonna make a new socket for sandy bridge? or am i wrong?


----------



## manaox2

Quote: 





mattering said:


> I think socket 1366 is the future but i heard intel is gonna make a new socket for sandy bridge? or am i wrong?


 

 I thought socket 1366 was the future for quite a while when I bought my mobo, but your right. The six to eight core variety with the new sockets will not be likely to launch until late 2011 though. There will be an 1155 and 2011 socket version of these, 1155 sockets are not backwards compatible with 1156. 
   
  Differences are as quoted by a commentor:
  (1) a few new instruction sets, the most notable being AVX, that will still require software to be written to take advantage of them-probably around the two-year timeframe for AVX usage to become anything more than a novelty
 (2) native SATA 6Gb support, as opposed to a third party onboard controller chip.
 (3) Upgraded DMI (4 lanes PCI-E v2.0 for "Southbridge" duties)
  The new chipset retains the dual channel DDR3-1333 (official support) and sixteen lanes of PCI-E 2.0 that the P55 enjoys. 
   
  I agree with the comments assessment, I wouldn't bother with an upgrade. Grab a new RAID controller, don't worry about quad channel RAM with the prices of triple channel already, and still be prepared well into the future. Upgrade when the 22nm chips and associated hardware becomes affordable, its pretty darn hard to max out the quad core i7 abilities for the average user already.
   
  From techspot:
  Quote: 





> Sandy Bridge chips will also require a brand new socket, LGA 1155 and later on LGA 2011 for six and eight core variants, neither of which will be backwards compatible with older CPUs. Expected to launch later this year.


----------



## Seaside

Yeah, socket change and incompatibilites b/w sockets is something that bothers me.
   
  Intel's new sandibridge will use 1155 and it won't be compatible with 1156. It is typical intel stuff. AMD taped out bulldozer core CPU few days ago. If it is AM3 compatible or fast enough to compete i7 of the same speed, it could be a worthy consideration though, there's absolutely no info available at this moment. It seems like things will stay that way till the end of this year, and some of current platform will be phased out soon due to the release of new cores.
   
  One of my computer has AGP slot, thus, not upgradable. The other is socket 939, which is obsoleted. That happened within 6 months after the purchase. It really sucked. I don't want something like that happening to me again though, what can I do about it? You're gonna buy computer when you need it.
   
  After reading opinions above, I am kind of leaning towards i5 + 5850 now.
   
  Thanks guys for responses.


----------



## N17

Intel Core i7 930 @3.5 gig
  6gig DDR3 1600-G.skill
 2.5tb of harddrives
  ATI 5850
  Xonar Essence STX
   
   2x 24" dell monitors
  Great for browsing the internet
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  2010 13" Macbook Pro


----------



## mralexosborn

Wow. I like it. Good job.


----------



## tdockweiler

In the past I would always upgrade my computer every year and have a better computer then I really needed. I no longer play games or do anything that requires a super fast PC. I do like something decent for video encoding, but not overkill. This computer is probably a year or two outdated, but still gets the job done!
   
  Q6600 2.4ghz Quad Core @ 3.0 ghz
  4GB DDR2
  1TB Seagate 7200rpm
  Creative Audigy 2
  ATI 4350 (took out my 4870 to save electricity and because I stopped playing games)
  2 2TB Seagate 7200rpm drives in Raid 1 (storage)
  Windows 7 64bit
  24" Dell LCD
   
  If I upgraded to a new computer it would be the best budget CPU you could get for under $200. I don't need a Core i7 really, but it'd be nice.
  I may just get a Core i5 laptop soon instead of upgrading my desktop. I haven't felt like my desktop needed an upgrade.
   
  Next thing I may buy though is a decent SSD drive.


----------



## Headlab

Quote: 





peli_kan said:


> You have a 2408ZX?  That's DECADENT.  How much did it cost you?
> 
> I've been on the hunt for a 24" H-IPS monitor for a while, but prices are still higher than I'd like.  Most probably I'll have to settle on a 22"-23" e-IPS or S-IPS panel instead.


 
   
  Yeah I admit it's a bit of overkill. It cost around R18 000 here in South Africa, which works out to $2400.
   
  I seriously love the dang thing - RGB LED backlighting makes for great eye candy and CRT-like black levels. So good for photos as well as gaming .
   
  If you're after H-IPS take a look at the LP2475w - I had one previously and was very happy with it.


----------



## Jonoshop

*Processor:*​     AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 630 Processor  ~2.8GHz
*Memory:*​     4x 1GB G.Skill 
*Hard Drive:*​ * *  250 GB
*Video Card:*​     NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260+
*Monitor:*​     LG Flatron W2343T
*Speakers/Headphones:*​     Logitech Z230
*Keyboard:*​     Razer Lycosa
*Mouse:*​     Razer Orochi
*Mouse Surface:*​     Razer Kabuto
*Motherboard:*​     Asus M4A77TD
*Computer Case:*​     Coolermaster Centurion 5 II

   
  Runs BFBC2 on 1920x1080 maxed out graphics @ 50-80fps.
  Does everything I need, and only cost $700 to build all up.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





jonoshop said:


> *Processor:*​     AMD Athlon(tm) II X4 630 Processor  ~2.8GHz
> *Memory:*​     4x 1GB G.Skill
> *Hard Drive:*​ * *  250 GB
> *Video Card:*​     NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260+
> ...


 
   
  Noice! I have the same CPU clocked @ 3.6Ghz.


----------



## Jonoshop

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Noice! I have the same CPU clocked @ 3.6Ghz.


 

 Thats pretty mint, what cooler do you use?
  I haven't needed to overclock yet, but will most probably end up clocking to around 3.3Ghz in the near future.


----------



## mralexosborn

I HAD a Hyper 212+ until UPS shipped my PC and f*cking broke it. Bent the copper pipes!
  So now I am using the stock cooler.
   
  Max temp w/ Hyper 212+ was about 50C
  Max temp w/ UPS broken Hyper 212+ was about 73C then immediate blue screen
  Max temp w/ Stock is about 55-60C
   
  This is full load (OCCT) OC'ed to 3.612. Any higher the CPU says "F*CK YOU" and blue screens.


----------



## moocow111

I'm still using the computer I haven't upgraded since 2006.
   
  3.6ghz P4 Processor
  2GB RAM
  Geforce 7900GS
   
  I don't plan on upgrading it anytime soon either, it performs just fine for what I do.


----------



## MegaMushroom

Intel i7 860 on a Gigabyte P55 UD4P board
  Diamond HD5850
  650W Aerocool PSU
  4 gigs of ram
  650 gig hard drive
  and a 19 inch TV serving as my monitor.


----------



## KyungMin

built this like 3 1/2 years ago (correction maybe 2 1/2 years all i remember it was at the end of march however many years ago)
  Q9300 quad core 2.5ghz
  MSI P7N MB
  WD raptor X (10,000 RPM)
  seagate 1tb (x2)
  8gb Crucial ballistix
  EVGA 8800GT akimbo 1gb
  630 watt raidmax PSU
  antec ninehundread case
  thermaltake duOrb cpu cooler
  22" samsung syncmaster 2ms seek time (main monitor)
  37" vizio 1080p (secondary monitor)
  Sound blaster 7.1 surround for my 22"
  Onkyo 5.1 surround for my TV
  both are connected to my PC
  I watch alot of anime
   
  working on building a new rig this year
   





   




   




  this pic is from before i moved...


----------



## nullstring

Quote: 





kyungmin said:


> built this like 3 1/2 years ago
> Q9300 quad core 2.5ghz
> <snip>
> EVGA 8800GT akimbo 1gb


 

 You might have your date a bit wrong...
   
   

 Core 2 Quad Q9300 
 SLAMX (M0)
 SLAWE (M1)
  2500 MHz 2 × 3 MB 1333 MT/s 7.5× 0.85–1.3625 V 95 W LGA 775 March 10, 2008 
 EU80580PJ0606M
  $266

  wow, that pasted really well.


----------



## KyungMin

Quote: 





nullstring said:


> You might have your date a bit wrong...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 maybe is was 2 1/2 it's been a while sorry about that...


----------



## mralexosborn

Stop it!


----------



## majestic12

My current rig:
  i7 920 @ 3.2GHz
  MSI X58M uATX mobo
  6 gigs of OCZ gold PC3 12800/1600MHz @ stock voltages and timings
  X-fi Elite Pro
  EVGA GTX 275 superclocked edition
  Kingwin Mach1 700 watt modular PSU
  Cooler Master Elite 341 case
  2 Hitachi 3.5 inch hard drives (both 32 meg caches /7200 RPM) one 500 gigs, the other is 2 terabytes
  Razer Tarantula keyboard
  Razer DeathAdder mouse
  Phillips AMBX lighting system
  A bunch of other peripheral devices (Saitek X52 joystick, etc.)
  Samsung 21.5 inch 1920x1080 monitor (not sure of the model number -away from home at the moment)
  It was a fun build!  I will post a few pictures when I get back home.


----------



## audionewbie999

CPU: Core 2 Q9450 @ 3.20GHz
  Motherboard: EVGA nForce 790i Ultra
  Video Card: EVGA GTX 470
  Memory: Corsair XMS3 DHX 4GB DDR3-1600Mhz
  HD: 500 GB Seagate Barracuda
  PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W
  Display: Samsung SyncMaster 216BW
  Case: Thermaltake VA8003BWS Black
  Cooling: Coolit Systems Freezone Elite


----------



## majestic12

I switched a few things around and got a new desk, but this is how it looks generally.  The lighting makes a lot of difference I think.


----------



## cifani090

What is your computer case?http://www.head-fi.org/forum/thread/508390/what-is-your-computer-case#post_6871169


----------



## Tinola

CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 4.004ghz @ 1.488v Motherboard: BIOSTAR TA890FXE GPU maker:




 Graphics Card: GTX 460 900/1800/2000 Memory: G.Skill Red Ripjaws 1600mhz 4GB Hard Drive: 500GB Samsung Spinpoint F3 Power Supply: XFX 650W XXX Display: Crappy Sun Microsystems SunRay 170 for now... Case: NZXT Beta Evo Classic Sound Card: Integrated Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
   

 CPU Cooling: Megahalems w/ San Ace 9G1212H1011


----------



## earthpeople

Case:  Antec 300
  PSU:  Cooler Master GX750
  Mobo: Gigabyte GA-P55A-UD3
  CPU:  Intel Core i5 750 (usually at 3.2GHz, but I've had it up to 3.8GHz stable. Haven't tried higher.)
  CPU fan:  Scythe Samurai-ZZ (with AS5)
  GPU:  ATI HD5770 (Gigabyte GV-R577SO-1GD)
  RAM:  4GB G.Skill Ripjaws 1600MHz
  HDD:  WD Caviar Black 750GB
  ODD:  Lite-On iHAS424-98
  OS:    Windows 7 Pro 64bit


----------



## revolink24

How do you like that six core? I have one myself and have been unable to max it, it's a great processor.


----------



## yossi126

Case: NZXT Tempest
  PSU : Corsair VX450
  Motherboard: Gigabyte EP43-DS3L
  Core: Q6600 @ 2.9 Ghz
  Fan: Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro
  GPU: 9800GTX+
  RAM: 2X2GB Samsung
  HDD: 1TB Samsung HD103SJ + 160GB Hitachi + 640GB WD
  OS: 7 Ultimate 64-bit


----------



## Welly Wu

I bought an ASUS N61JV-X2 notebook PC two weeks ago. Here is the direct link: http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=RZGwDN2NnWZ7NhbH . Here are my specifications:
   
  Intel Core i5-430M dual core CPU at 2.27 GHz with two hyperthreads
  NVIDIA Geforce GT 325M Optimus with 1 GB of VRAM and CUDA programming
  Two USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0
  500 GB 7,200 RPM hard drive partitioned into two separate drives; one 50 GB slice for Ubuntu
  Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate x64 bit Edition and Ubuntu GNU/Linux 10.04 Lucid Lynx LTS x64 bit
  Mobile Intel HM55 chipset
  4 GB of DDR3 1066 MHz SODIMM SDRAM; I am upgrading to 8 GB of Crucial DDR3 1066 MHz SODIMM SDRAM toward the end of this September 2010
  DVD Super Multi Double Layer drive
  802.11 A/B/G/N Wi-Fi
  1 WLAN On/Off switch
  10/100/1000 Base T
  1 RJ-45 LAN Jack
  1 Microphone and 1 headphone S/PDIF jack
  1 VGA Mini D-Sub 15 pin
  1 HDMI
  1 E-SATA
  Altec Lansing SRS Premium Sound
  Numeric keyboard
  6 cell 4400 mAh Lithium Ion battery
  2.80 kg weight
  2 year global warrant
  1 year accidental damage warranty
  30 day no dead pixel LED screen warranty
   
  It cost me $900.00 USD with an additional $37.63 for UPS Standard Overnight Delivery which is a competitive price for the features set
   
  I still am doing research into notebook PCs and few other PC manufacturers sell various models that compete with my ASUS N61JV-X2 in the crowded $800 - $950 USD price bracket.


----------



## CodyZ532

AMD Phenom II X4 945 Deneb 3.0GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor (I'm going to overclock to 3.4 GHz when I get a new fan)
   
GIGABYTE Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Video Card
   
   Hanns·G 28" 3ms Widescreen HDMI LCD Monitor
   
GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-UD4P AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 790X ATX AMD Motherboard
   
Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
   
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA 
   
Windows 7
   
RAIDMAX SMILODON  1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case With 500W Power Supply
   
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) 
   
Koutech USB 2.0 3.5" Card Reader
   
  I built it in November last year, decent for a 17 year old, huh? Now I'm saving for a replacement for that noisy stock fan, I'll be getting a Zalman most likely.


----------



## mattering

I just built a new Rig~ 
   
  CPU: i7 950 [Cooled by a Prolimatech Megahalem with 2 Xigmatek Fans]
  GPU: 5870
  RAM: 6GB DDR3 Crosair 1600MHz
  Mobo: MSI X58A-GD65
  HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Black
  PSU: Crosair HX750
  Case: HAF-X
  ODD: Normal Samsung DVD-Drive
  OS: Windows 7


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





mattering said:


> I just built a new Rig~
> 
> CPU: i7 950 [Cooled by a Prolimatech Megahalem with 2 Xigmatek Fans]
> GPU: 5870
> ...


 

 I hate you. XD


----------



## Satellite_6

My laptop's not bad, not like I care about computer specs much tho. Video-games suck nowadays so I don't play them.
   
  intel i5 430m processor
  4 GB one-thousand-something mhz DDR3 RAM
  500 GB Hard drive
  creative sound card (which sounds terrible unfortunately)
  some bad integrated graphics card
   
  windows 7


----------



## mattering

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> I hate you. XD


 
  Wahahaha~ ... shall i take that as a compliment? X3


----------



## Welly Wu

Who is the manufacturer? This looks similar to my configuration except yours does not have a dedicated GPU. How do you like it so far?
  
  Quote: 





satellite_6 said:


> My laptop's not bad, not like I care about computer specs much tho. Video-games suck nowadays so I don't play them.
> 
> intel i5 430m processor
> 4 GB one-thousand-something mhz DDR3 RAM
> ...


----------



## Satellite_6

Quote: 





welly wu said:


> Who is the manufacturer? This looks similar to my configuration except yours does not have a dedicated GPU. How do you like it so far?


 

 It's a dell studio 17. I bought it because it was marketed as looking (meaning the screen) and sounding good. Alas, it only looks and sounds decent at best. It's also annoyingly large. Still, it runs so much smoother than my family's old desktop that it makes me happy.


----------



## Pacha

ASUS Commando (vcore & vdroop modded)
 Intel Q6600 @ 3.2GHz
  Twintech 8800 GT 512Mo (vgpu modded)
 Crucial Ballistix PC5300 C3 D9GMH 2 * 2Go
 2 * WD VelociRaptor 150Go RAID 0
 2 * Samsung Spinpoint F3 1To RAID 0
 Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
 Seasonic S12 600

 WaterCooling :
  1A-SL2 CPU // 1A-SL2 GPU
 Eheim 1048 + magicool 25
 2 * Black Ice Pro 3


----------



## Seaside

Recently I assembled two sets of new computer in 8 years.
   
  Each of them has
   
  Intel i5-760 2.8G @ 3.8G
  Asus P7P55D-E PRO mainboard
  GSkill DDR3 CL7 4Gs
  Zalman Performa CPU cooler
  XFX ATI HD5850
  Samsung 24X DVDRW
  2 * Samsung F3 1TB for data storage
  XFX XXX edition 650W PSU
  Cooler Master CM-920II Advanced case
  Samsung P2770H monitor
  Logitech G500 mouse
   
  And of course, some old HDDs and keyboards from old rigs.
   
  Intel just reduced i7-930 price right before I made up my mind.
  The decision between getting i5 system vs. getting i7 system + 2G more memory by paying additional $200 gave me headache for couple days.
  I told the wife about this, she looked at me from top to bottom and gave me a word of wisdom.
  What the hell you think you're making them for? I read manga files, and you watch internet porns.
   
  LOL. I went ahead, bought i5 system and more HDDs.


----------



## mattering

@ Seaside...thats a pretty solid build 
   
  CPU: i7 950 [Cooled by a Prolimatech Megahalem with 2 Xigmatek Fans]
  GPU: 5870
  RAM: 6GB DDR3 Crosair 1600MHz
  Mobo: MSI X58A-GD65
  HDD: 1TB WD Caviar Black
  PSU: Crosair HX750
  Case: HAF-X
  ODD: Normal Samsung DVD-Drive
  OS: Windows 7
  Sound Card: Asus Xonar Essence STX
   
  did a small edit on it...just got a new sound card ^_^ [now its time for me to get a new headphone + amp wahahahaha]


----------



## Seaside

Thanks mattering. Yours is even better.
  Yeah, I do need new soundcard or a DAC. On-board VIA sound in my board is suprisingly OK for what it is though, it's only what it is. I am opening my old DVD player up to see if I can make it's D-A converter circuit useful for my need.


----------



## Gatepc

MacBook Pro i7 Specs:
   
  2.66 GHz i7 cpu 
  8GBs DDR 3 ram
  500GB 7200 rpm drive
  GT 330m ( OC'ed ) GPU 
  1680x1050 15" built in screen ( with LED backlighting ) 
  1920x1200 24" Apple cinema display ( LED backlighting ) 
  1440x900 19" Samsung ( these monitors are in a triple monitor setup I am using a USB display adapter for this third display )
  1tb Firewire 800 drive for backup 
   
  Internet speed down 28Mbps 
  Internet speed up 1Mbps ( I hate my upload speed lol ) 
   
  also I have a old dell running as a server with Ubuntu linux on it.


----------



## mattering

Damm that download speed is smexy -drools- well im satisfied with my 12mbps download speed  and my on board audio sux soooo bad...couldnt even drive my DTX-80 ~__~


----------



## Azanulimbar

INTEL CORE I7-950 3.06 GHZ LGA1366
 
   
KINGSTON KHX1600C9D3K3/3GX DDR3 3GB (3X1GB) PC12800 1600MHZ HYPERX GENESIS TRIPLE CHANNEL KIT
   
   
   

  [size=x-small]*ASUS P6T SE*



[/size] 
   
*PNY GEFORCE GTX460 1GB DDR5 PCI-E *
   
  as fast as hell


----------



## Gatepc

Quote: 





mattering said:


> Damm that download speed is smexy -drools- well im satisfied with my 12mbps download speed  and my on board audio sux soooo bad...couldnt even drive my DTX-80 ~__~


 

 Yeah my integrated audio sucks too. I have to get a dac/amp soon. Integrated headphone dac/amps are not really meant to drive akg 702s ether lol.


----------



## Zol0ft

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition
 CPU fan: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
  GPU: ASUS HD5850
  RAM: Kingston ValueRAM KVR1333D3N9K2/4G
  Mobo: Asus M4A88TD-M EVO/USB3
  HDD: 500GB WD
 SSD: OCZ Vertex Series SATA II 2.5" 60GB
  PSU: be quiet! Straight Power E7 600W
  Case: Lian Li PC-A05N BLACK
  ODD: Sony Optiarc AD-7240S
  OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit
  Sound Card: X-fi Music


----------



## mattering

Quote: 





tolisgtr said:


> INTEL CORE I7-950 3.06 GHZ LGA1366
> 
> 
> KINGSTON KHX1600C9D3K3/3GX DDR3 3GB (3X1GB) PC12800 1600MHZ HYPERX GENESIS TRIPLE CHANNEL KIT
> ...


 

 3GB of RAM? People would usually go with 6GB of RAM on that setup XP

  
  Quote: 





gatepc said:


> Yeah my integrated audio sucks too. I have to get a dac/amp soon. Integrated headphone dac/amps are not really meant to drive akg 702s ether lol.


 
   
  You mean the built-in headphone amp/dac on the Essence STX?
   
  Theres lots of mix reviews about it...some say that they can drive the AKG K701 and some say they cant...some say they can but it doesnt drive them to their full potential.


----------



## AhokZYashA

seems my specs is the worst here huh?
  C2D E7400 @ 3.5GHz
  2x1GB DDR2-667 @ 834MHz
  Asus P5KPL-AM
  500GB Hitachi DeathStar 7200RPM
  nVidia 9600GT 512MB @ 775/1950/1800 stock(650/1650/1400)
  17" samsung
  onboard sound
   
  quite fast though, got 6.8 in Win 7 WEI


----------



## mralexosborn

Hmm, not sure if this is the right place to post this kinda inquiry but why not? (READ: Not trying to hijack the thread.)
  Would any of you be interested to have a computer built for you?


----------



## Gatepc

Quote: 





mattering said:


> 3GB of RAM? People would usually go with 6GB of RAM on that setup XP
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Sorry I did not mean the Essence STX I meant my built in laptop audio card lol I bet the Essence STX is a LOT better then my card.


----------



## devin_mm

I'm currently running a few systems, I have two spare Ati Radeon 4870X2 sitting here doing nothing
   

Desktop
Monitor: Dell 3008WFP
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
Motherboard: Asus P6X58D Premium
Memory: 12GB Patriot Viper
Video: ATi Radeon 5970
Hard drives: Intel SSD 80GB, 4x1.5TB Segate
Powersupply: PC Power & Cooling Turbo Cool 1200Watt
Chassis: Corsair Obsidian 800D
OS: Windows 7 Pro

Server
CPU: 2x Intel Xeon E5430 (quad 2.66GHz)
Motherboard: Supermicro X7DWA-N 
Memory: 16GB FD-DIMM DDR 667
Video: Geforce 6800gs
Hard Drive: 2x 500GB Western Digital Black RAID 1
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos
Powersupply: 550Watt Antec modular
OS: Windows Server 2008 R2 enterprise
   
  Media player:
  CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6300
  Motherboard: Asus P5QPL-AM
  Memory: 2GB DDR2
  Video: ATi Radeon 5670 for DTSMA and TrueHD streaming
  Harddrive: Segate 500GB
  Case: Antec Sonata 2
  Powersupply: some Corsair PSU
  OS: Windows 7 Pro running XBMC
   
  Media Storage
  HP Mediasmart ex475 with 4x2TB WD Green Power drives over half full


----------



## Nebby

Not a thread hijack, but I'm going to guess (via stereotyping) that the people looking in a "post your computer specs" are all about building their own computers 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 You're probably better off fishing for customers elsewhere.
  
  Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Hmm, not sure if this is the right place to post this kinda inquiry but why not? (READ: Not trying to hijack the thread.)
> Would any of you be interested to have a computer built for you?


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





nebby said:


> Not a thread hijack, but I'm going to guess (via stereotyping) that the people looking in a "post your computer specs" are all about building their own computers
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Ehh, I have seen a few with lackluster computers but you are probably right.
  Hmm, where to put this...?


----------



## Nebby

Well if their computer is lackluster to them, then it would be easy to assume that they're not seemingly embarrassed enough to avoid posting them here =)
 [size=medium] 
  Also, assuming you're building them for profit, there's a good chance you'll need to register as a MOT to sell your services.
  Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Ehh, I have seen a few with lackluster computers but you are probably right.
> Hmm, where to put this...?




​[/size]


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





nebby said:


> Well if their computer is lackluster to them, then it would be easy to assume that they're not seemingly embarrassed enough to avoid posting them here =)
> [size=medium]
> Also, assuming you're building them for profit, there's a good chance you'll need to register as a MOT to sell your services.​[/size]


 

 STOP MAKING VALID POINTS!


----------



## flexium

CPU: Phenom II x6 1055t OC to 3.9Ghz
  CPU fan: Scythe Mugen 2
  MOBO: Gigaybyte 890gpa-ud3h
  RAM: 2x2 GB Rams 
  GPU: Gigabyte GTX 460 768MB OC to 860Mhz
  PSU: Antec True Power Quattro 850W
  Case: Cooler Master 690 II advanced
  Hard drive: WD Caviar Blue 640GB 7200rpm
  Monitor: Dell Ultrasharp 2209wa 1680x1050


----------



## beamthegreat

Cpu: Intel core 2 duo 2.26
  Ram: 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
  Gpu: Nvidia 330m
  Harddisk: seagate 500 gb 5400rpm
   
  I know.. My spec sucks. Im going to buy a gaming desktop in the next few months.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





beamthegreat said:


> Cpu: Intel core 2 duo 2.26
> Ram: 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
> Gpu: Nvidia 330m
> Harddisk: seagate 500 gb 5400rpm
> ...


 
  *whispers*...build one...


----------



## flexium

Quote: 





beamthegreat said:


> Cpu: Intel core 2 duo 2.26
> Ram: 4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
> Gpu: Nvidia 330m
> Harddisk: seagate 500 gb 5400rpm
> ...


 
**yell* BUILD ONE!!!!*


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





flexium said:


> **yell* BUILD ONE!!!!*


 

 *giggle*
  You know I could always build one...
  QUICK! KILL HIM! HE ADVERTISED SERVICES!
  But on a serious note, it is not difficult, just do it and save a couple (hundred) bucks.


----------



## Gatepc

I also agree build it! its not hard as said it in some cases it will save you a ton of money ( depends on how high end you go ) Usually the higher end it is the more money you save. Plus it can be tons of fun picking out computer parts to mix and match 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





" class="bbcode_smiley" height="" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//smily_headphones1.gif" title="
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




" width="" />
  
  Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> *giggle*
> You know I could always build one...
> QUICK! KILL HIM! HE ADVERTISED SERVICES!
> But on a serious note, it is not difficult, just do it and save a couple (hundred) bucks.


----------



## mattering

Quote: 





gatepc said:


> I also agree build it! its not hard as said it in some cases it will save you a ton of money ( depends on how high end you go ) Usually the higher end it is the more money you save. Plus it can be tons of fun picking out computer parts to mix and match
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Yeah agree with gatepc ...its REALLY fun to build your own desktop 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  
  Quote: 





flexium said:


> **yell* BUILD ONE!!!!*


 

 LOL! yes...*BUILD YOUR OWN GAMING DESKTOP!!!! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	


*


----------



## stang

Building a PC is a piece of cake. Tried when I was 13 and nothing went wrong. 16 now and still build my own obviously. Dead simple and you can customize it the way you like it. Save a lot of money by building it yourself too.


----------



## djmattm

Ok i post my specs too:
  Dfi LanParty LT X48 t2rs
  Intel E5200 @ 3800mhz Liquid Cooled by HK 3.0lt
  2gb ddr2 kingston
  Ati Radeon 4850 @ 710 - 1055 Liquid Cooled by Koolance VID485
  Western Digital  black caviar 160gb
   
  Quite basic specs but supersilent thanks to the watercooling and i can still play everything at 1680x1050 so for me it's ok.


----------



## _Spanky_

My "I do what I can with what I have" build:
   
   

 Gigabyte EP45-UD3P F10 Bios Rev 1.1 – Replaced Northbridge & Southbridge OEM TIM with AS5 – MCH Voltage: 1.34 [BIOS Template]
 Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 E0 @ 3.92GHz (38% OC) – FSB: 490MHz (47% OC) – Voltages: 1.38125v (BIOS) 1.36v (CPU-Z) – Heatsink: Lapped GeminII Heatsink + AS5
 8GB (4x2GB) G.Skill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK @ 980MHz – Timings: 5-5-4-12 – Voltage: 1.9
 EVGA NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB – 720/1476/1260MHz (Gaming) and 486/1080/891Mhz (Idle/Desktop) [GPU/Shader/Mem]

   
  More info & pictures - http://wordpress.natescomp.com/about-2/network-computers/


----------



## flexium

Quote: 





_spanky_ said:


> My "I do what I can with what I have" build:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 I am a little surprised that you are OCing and running a pretty powerful video card with only 550-Watt Antec True Power Trio.


----------



## Jodiuh

My PC currently resides in the newegg shopping cart. But its going to be one of these...just not sure which. 

 Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760
 Item #: N82E16819115067
 $199.99

 ASUS P7P55D-E Pro LGA 1156 Intel P55 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
 Item #: N82E16813131621
 $179.99

 G.SKILL ECO Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7D-4GBECO
 Item #: N82E16820231321
 $95.99

 Grand Total: $446.97

 _________________________________________________________________


 Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80601930
 Item #: N82E16819115225

 ASUS Sabertooth X58 LGA 1366 Intel X58 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
 Item #: N82E16813131665
 $454.98 - Combo

 G.SKILL PI Series 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL7T-6GBPI
 Item #: N82E16820231335
 $154.99

 Grand Total: $609.97


----------



## mattering

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> My PC currently resides in the newegg shopping cart. But its going to be one of these...just not sure which.
> 
> Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760
> Item #: N82E16819115067
> ...


 
   
  What are you gonna do with the computer? also...no GPU and no PSU??


----------



## Jodiuh

Open every program I use and leave them running for days, game heavily, some video xcoding, avoiding head-fi. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  The PC P&C 610 will be carried over from the previous setup as will a 470. The only parts needed are chip, board, and ram. I'm considering a new heatsink though. Either the Venomous X or the Silver Arrow, depending on the configuration.


----------



## flexium

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Open every program I use and leave them running for days, game heavily, some video xcoding, avoiding head-fi.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Venomous X is a good one. Not sure about Silver Arrow. I strongly recommend Scythe Mugen 2 though. It is works well and is very quiet.
   
  Usually I would say the first set up is what I would support. But seeing that you plan to game heavily and open EVERY program you use for days, 6GB of rams would probably help. I still think the CPU is a little bit overkill for what people do with their computer these days.


----------



## _Spanky_

Quote: 





flexium said:


> I am a little surprised that you are OCing and running a pretty powerful video card with only 550-Watt Antec True Power Trio.


 

 Same here. 2 graphics cards actually 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




" class="bbcode_smiley" height="" src="http://files.head-fi.org/images/smilies//smily_headphones1.gif" title="
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




" width="" /> The PSU is probably at least 2 years old as well. Going any further than 3.92ghz gives lockups and bsod's. I've been running this for quite a while and haven't had issues with it while gaming, encoding videos or average use. I've returned valid results from WCG, ran Prime95 all night, memtest all night, everything's groovy.


----------



## furyagain

Core i7 920 @ 3.65ghz
  6gb ddr3
  Evga X58 mainboard
  Ati 5970 + 5870 tri-fire ( selling them soon, when next gen ati comes  at the end of this year)
  Forte 7.1 sound card
  western digital black 500gb X2 raid 0
  seagate 7200.12 500gb X2
  cool master hAF 932 case
   
  a year old now,,
  need to upgrade it soon


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





flexium said:


> Not sure about Silver Arrow.


 
   
  Here's a pic.
   



   
   
  I'm starting to lean to the i5 for the lighter heat output alone.


----------



## revolink24

If price is no object and you're still starting to lean for the i5, I'd say that's a good choice 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Here's a pic.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## LFF

Quote: 





furyagain said:


> Core i7 920 @ 3.65ghz
> 6gb ddr3
> Evga X58 mainboard
> Ati 5970 + 5870 tri-fire ( selling them soon, when next gen ati comes  at the end of this year)
> ...


 

 Upgrade?!? Man, I would love to have the same specs!


----------



## manaox2

I just wanted to add that I upgraded my 6GB OCZ Gold DDR3 1600 kit that I see on a lot of kits around after it needed to be RMA'd for a stick going bad after 6 months to the Mushkin Redline 1600 6GB kit. I set the timing at 6x8x6x20 1T, and its been very rock solid for a month. If you didn't already get the point from the newegg reviews, stay away from the OCZ Gold series. I couldn't be happier with the Mushkin kit.


----------



## Jodiuh

I have had the best luck with g.skill and supertalent. Ocz and corsair have always given me problems. For the same $ u can have a set of mid range xms that can't clock or tighten for crap or some pi or eco that run on less voltage, clock higher, and offer cl breathing room. Ocz's stix are just ugly. :/

 BTW: I went the i5 route and picked up a venemous due to its awesome mount and much more reasonable price. Ewiz has it for $53 shipped thru tomorrow if anyone's looking for a good cooler.


----------



## mattering

I might sell my 5870 and get the HD6000 when they come out...but it depends how much performance gain is there lol


----------



## brentatent12

*HP HDX 20'' Laptop*
   
*Processor:* C2D @ 2.6Ghz
*RAM:* 8GB Crucial Memory
*HDD1:* 120GB OCZ Agility SSD
*HDD2:* 500GB 7200RPM Hitachi
*Graphics:* nVidia 8800M GTS (512MB)
*Optical Drive:* Blu-Ray
*Wireless:* Bluetooth 2.1 EDR + Intel A/G/N
*Other:* Hybrid HDTV Tuner and 4 Altec Lancing Speakers + Subwoofer
   
About 2 1/2 years old now...


----------



## _Spanky_

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> I have had the best luck with g.skill and supertalent. Ocz and corsair have always given me problems. For the same $ u can have a set of mid range xms that can't clock or tighten for crap or some pi or eco that run on less voltage, clock higher, and offer cl breathing room. Ocz's stix are just ugly. :/


 

 I have to agree, G.Skill is definitely good stuff. I've only had low-end Kingston and Corsair to compare it to. Corsair isn't bad, they RMA real quick. I truly love my G.Skill sticks though, you can see why:
  8GB (4x2GB) G.Skill F2-8500CL5D-4GBPK @ 980MHz – Timings: 5-5-4-12 – Voltage: 1.9
   
  Although, I disagree on the ugly aspect. I spend more time using my computer than I do looking at it, so performance means more than looks to me.


----------



## dirkpitt45

Quote: 





mattering said:


> I might sell my 5870 and get the HD6000 when they come out...but it depends how much performance gain is there lol


 


  TBH I'd wait for the 7xxx. With AMD dropping the "ATI" name they're also changing the naming scheme. Seems they're also dropping the stream processor count, which could be a sort of test for the 7xxx series. 
   
http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f62/upcoming-6850-6870-oct-18th-236804/#post1847689


----------



## gsilver

Spec-wise, the 6xxx series doesn't seem worth it, IMO.
   
  I went from an X1950 to a 5870, and that was worthwhile. It makes the most sense to buy a new card only when your old one no longer handles the games you want to run with it well, and then get the current mainstream card (yes, I realize that the 5870 is a luxury item compared to the much lower priced yet nearly as fast 5850).
   
  I actually tried going Crossfire this generation, but that was too much of a pain. The increased framerates weren't worth the added heat/noise/driver issues.


----------



## Andru08

* Apple iMac 27" 2.8GHz Corei7 Quad Core Desktop.*
   
*  Memory: *8 GB RAM
*  Graphics:* ATI Radeon HD 4850 @ 512MB RAM
*  Displays:* Apple 27" LED-Backlit TFT/IPS 2560 x 1440, Samsung 52LNA750 1920 x 1080 @ 24 Hz
*  Storage:* Hitachi 2TB, OptiArc  DVD-RW, Apple 1TB TimeCapsule
*  Connections and Expansion: *1* *FireWire 800, 4 USB 2.0, 1 SDCard
*  Communications: *Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR, Gigabit Ethernet, Airport Extreme Wi-Fi 802.11n/a/b/g
*  Input Devices:* Apple MagicTrackPad, Apple Magic Mouse, Apple Wireless Keyboard
  *Other Input Devices*: IR Receiver with Apple Aluminum IR remote, built-in iSight webcam*  *
*  Audio:* Intel High Definition with S/PIDF Optical Digital Audio Input/Output combo with Line In/Out/HDMI output
   
*  HDTV Tuner/DVR:* Elgato Eyetv Hybrid
   
*  Surround Sound System:* Yamaha RX-V3800, Energy Take5 surrounds, Energy C100 front, Energy S10.3 subwoofer
  *Other Computers*: Apple 2.4GHz Aluminum MacBook,  Apple 2.6GHz Aluminum MacBook Pro, Apple iPad 3G/WiFi 64GB
  *Handheld*: Apple iPhone 4 64GB, Apple iPod Touch 32GB


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





andru08 said:


> * Apple iMac 27" 2.8GHz Corei7 Quad Core Desktop.*
> 
> *  Memory: *8 GB RAM
> *  Graphics:* ATI Radeon HD 4850 @ 512MB RAM
> ...


 

 Get out of here with your nonsense. XD


----------



## azncookiecutter

Quote: 





gsilver said:


> Spec-wise, the 6xxx series doesn't seem worth it, IMO.
> 
> I went from an X1950 to a 5870, and that was worthwhile. It makes the most sense to buy a new card only when your old one no longer handles the games you want to run with it well, and then get the current mainstream card (yes, I realize that the 5870 is a luxury item compared to the much lower priced yet nearly as fast 5850).
> 
> I actually tried going Crossfire this generation, but that was too much of a pain. The increased framerates weren't worth the added heat/noise/driver issues.


 

 Agreed on that one. I went from an 8800M GTS to HD5870 (although granted, it was because I sold the laptop for a full-blown desktop rig).


----------



## Jodiuh

So much fud in that Amd gpu link/forum. Now if it read 6750 and 6770 then I might buy it. 

 LOL @ the Mac.


----------



## mattering

i lol @ the mac too XD...meh only time will tell whether the performance gain would be big enough for us to buy it ....rumors says that its 2 times faster than the current HD5xxx .__.


----------



## Somnambulist

I doubt it'll be massively faster, after all these are just refreshes not a whole new architecture. The 6770 is rumoured to be about the same as a 5850, so work your way forward from there. As usual the most sensible option will be to get the best single performance card for your money (and probably overclock it like many people did with the 5850), although not as soon as they come out, since prices are always inflated for the first couple of months.
   
  The only game I can think of that kicks a single 5870 at the moment is Metro 2033, so unless you're saving for a rig that can laugh in the face of Crysis 2 it may be more prudent to get a 5970 on the cheap or something once the Southern Islands cards come out.
   
  I'm going to build a Windows 7 rig purely for gaming and want an iMac for everything else, as even with fairly mid-level graphics cards they can handle everything I'd want it to do easily. The iMacs design really isn't suited for high-end gaming anyway, it's just a (lovely) screen with a computer somehow stuffed behind it, on a stand.


----------



## mattering

iMacs do have really really awesome screens i have to say...forgot what panel they were using XP...E-IPS Panel? idk i totally forgot abt monitors ....i might get another 5870 for crossfire...dont know...still wondering XD


----------



## marvin

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> I doubt it'll be massively faster, after all these are just refreshes not a whole new architecture. The 6770 is rumoured to be about the same as a 5850, so work your way forward from there. As usual the most sensible option will be to get the best single performance card for your money (and probably overclock it like many people did with the 5850), although not as soon as they come out, since prices are always inflated for the first couple of months.


 

 It's about the same as the jump from 4xxx to the 5xxx generation. Performance wise, the 5770 is about even with a 4870.
  
  Quote: 





dirkpitt45 said:


> TBH I'd wait for the 7xxx. With AMD dropping the "ATI" name they're also changing the naming scheme. Seems they're also dropping the stream processor count, which could be a sort of test for the 7xxx series.
> 
> http://www.tech-forums.net/pc/f62/upcoming-6850-6870-oct-18th-236804/#post1847689


 

 The stream processor configuration underwent some major changes. The reason why 7xxx series cards will have less stream processors is because AMD changed the stream processor clusters from 4x low complexity + 1x high complexity units to 4x medium complexity units. Shader cluster performance ends up being somewhat faster to about the same, while die area per shader cluster shrinks by a bit.


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





mattering said:


> iMacs do have really really awesome screens i have to say...forgot what panel they were using XP...E-IPS Panel? idk i totally forgot abt monitors ....i might get another 5870 for crossfire...dont know...still wondering XD


 

 That's one of the reasons why iMacs aren't THAT bad value wise. You're getting a monitor that would usually cost a fair wad on it's own included. LED backlit IPS goodness, with the 27" one having that crazy high resolution. I may try and get one via the refurb store to save money, but then again if I want to get a Sandy Bridge iMac via that I'll be waiting a long time since the refurb store takes about a year to catch up with whatever they are selling new.
   
  You'll probably be able to get another 5870 for a steal once the 6xxx cards come out. Whether you'll need that extra power depends on what you're actually playing, since a 5870 on it's own handles most things well at 1920x1080/1200 unless you're pushing maximum AA on everything. You've already got a DX11 card so it's not like you'll be missing out on much. A single card will always be better though, but most things support crossfire these days and I know loads of people with dual 5850s who haven't had too much trouble.


----------



## flexium

I vote for dell 2209wa for the best IPS monitor out there unless you want high resolution in which case you really need a top of the line GPU. 
   
  Honestly, I don't know why anyone would need higher resolution than 1680x1050 or 1920x1200


----------



## dirkpitt45

^^ My samsung syncmaster 2343 is 2048x1152 and I love it. It's discontinued now though


----------



## mattering

haha i used to have 2 9800GT in SLI...had no problem with that ....i want a good monitor but i already have one...a 21.5" LG W2241T... [was restricted by space lastime XD]...i might sell it and get a good nice 30" monitor XP


----------



## Nebby

Any sort of graphics work, video work, or anything where screen real estate is useful. I enjoy the extra resolution on my U2711, it's a marked difference from the 20" I came from.
   
  Quote: 





flexium said:


> I vote for dell 2209wa for the best IPS monitor out there unless you want high resolution in which case you really need a top of the line GPU.
> 
> Honestly, I don't know why anyone would need higher resolution than 1680x1050 or 1920x1200


 
   
  Here's my current setup
  Display: Dell U2711, Dell 2007WFP (eventually 2, once I can upgrade to a motherboard with enough slots for a second gpu)
  CPU: Intel q9550
  RAM: 8gb OCZ
  Mobo: Gigabyte EP45-UD3P
  Video: EVGA GTX280
  Sound: Asus STX
  Raid Card: Adaptec 31605
  Hard drives:
  Samsung F1 1TB x5 Raid6
  Intel X25-E 64gb
  Intel X25-M G1 80gb
  Intel X25-V 40gb
  Network card: Intel CT Desktop NIC
  Disc drive: LG Blu-ray drive
  Case:Cooler Master HAF 922


----------



## NomadicAce

CPU: AMD X3 435 unlocked 4th core and the glob of L3 cache (3.7ghz)
  RAM: 2gb...I do not need anymore than that
  Graphics: 5770
  Harddrive: 7200rpm 160gb 2.5" drive (I have a NAS system)
  Multimedia Drive: Lite-on 124 (dirt cheap)
  Case: Rosewill Challenger
  Monitor: old 24" CRT...it does not lag like those silly LCDs
   
  Oh and more fans than you can imagine!
   
  To mattering: I would not spend the cash on another 5870 you cannot just look at the retail price of the card you also have to consider the impact on your electricity. Not to mention you really will not gain that much as far as games go, and the next generation of cards is coming your way.
   
  I use to have an ultra high end setup back with the qx9770 and 4870x2 cards and I must say I could not be happier with my el cheapo system of today, bang for buck.


----------



## mattering

@ Nomid ace...dont you find that the RAM would be bottlenecking the 5770?  cause i think that it will but idk >__>. 5870 really doesnt take a lot of wattage under idle or load compared to other cards + i wanna play lots of my games with AA and AF so i decided on the 5870 [though the 5850 would be a good card too ]


----------



## NomadicAce

RAM has nothing to do with the system bottlenecking so long as i have available ram and the ram speed is adequate (which it is more than). 5870s use quite a bit of power under load. I will agree that it is not so bad while idle.
   
  Nvidia scales quite a bit better than ATI in Xfire/SLI. Silly ati and their driver issues. Regardless a Xfire 5870 system will do very well and if you have the money for it be my guest I just do not find it really worth it: each to their own!
   
  edit: yes the 5850 is a great card...I had thought of getting it instead of the 5770, but decided I could use a little less eye candy in my life.


----------



## Nebby

I wouldn't be able to work with 2gb RAM, my apps often cache more data than that alone...


----------



## mattering

2GB is never enough for me LOL!..I remember last time...1GB used to be a lot XD


----------



## flexium

Quote: 





nebby said:


> Any sort of graphics work, video work, or anything where screen real estate is useful. I enjoy the extra resolution on my U2711, it's a marked difference from the 20" I came from.
> 
> 
> Here's my current setup
> ...


 
   

  Yes. I shouldn't have assumed everyone has the same need as me. There are definitely applications where high resolution + bigger screen will be very helpful. I do standby that with high resolution, the need for high-end graphics card is higher as well. 
   
  All I am saying is I, as a moderate gamer and student, am more than satisfied with a 22 inch screen.
   
  Great setup with all those SSD and 8gb Ram 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  Just wondering, I have heard that nVidia revs up the gpu with dual monitor all the time. Is that true?


----------



## Nebby

Nothing wrong with being satisfied with what you have 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 For high resolution, if you're speaking of gaming that isn't "hardcore" then a mid-range to upper mid-range graphics card will do fine (depending on how much antialiasing you need). If someone either doesn't game or casually games then a mid-low to low end card will do fine for most things. I've used a pure 2D card with a 30" monitor before with no issues (yes, it was a professional 2D card...but still!) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  It's absolutely true that nvidia cards will run at a higher performance level if you have two monitors, they will not drop to the full low-power mode. On the other hand, that doesn't mean it revs up all the way. When I measured my card, I think the power draw difference between one and two monitors was something like 10-15watts more power draw. If you're familiar with the GTX280, you know that the power draw difference between idle and full bore is a bit more than 10-15 watts 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Quote: 





flexium said:


> Yes. I shouldn't have assumed everyone has the same need as me. There are definitely applications where high resolution + bigger screen will be very helpful. I do standby that with high resolution, the need for high-end graphics card is higher as well.
> 
> All I am saying is I, as a moderate gamer and student, am more than satisfied with a 22 inch screen.
> 
> ...


----------



## Jodiuh

I've pooped bigger firefoxes than 2GB.


----------



## mattering

What?! how???...most firefox takes up is like...300mb of my ram lol.


----------



## NomadicAce

1000 tabs? what?
   
  I do not understand how you guys can use sooooo much ram. If you are doing heavy rendering or something maybe I could understand, but for day to day task and gaming I cannot fathom more than 6gigs. And that would be for a heavy multi-tasker that does not like to close down programs.


----------



## mattering

hell 4GB is enough for hardcore gaming XD


----------



## NomadicAce

Well not if you want to play a game while running a browser, a voip, and running multiple virus scans...thinks to my friend. He uses 6gigs and utilizes most of it.
   
  2gigs is enough for hardcore gaming...so long as you run no other programs. I can show proof!
   
  Also Jodiuh I want to see a screenshot of your memory usage when you have a 2gig+ firefox...because that is just absurd. Firefox has taken steps to use up less ram...do you have a lot of add-ons and keep up a lot of tabs?


----------



## Somnambulist

It's harder to do this now as 5xxx series cards aren't being made now, stocks are slowly dwindling and you can't do it on all of them e.t.c. but many people bought 5850's and overclocked them to 5870 speeds. Anyway, the 6xxxs are nearly upon us so no point getting one now, not least because it looks like their won't be any kind of price drop as they're just selling through the last of their stock. 
   
  The one thing I really want to know, even about benchies is... how big will they be?! I'm seriously considering getting a Silverstone FT02 case... the limited edition one with a red interior as I don't want to have to chase retailers up about whether the normal version has the new AP fans in and need to order soon, but a 5970 fits in that with like half a millimetre to spare! I'm hoping the Cayman and Antilles cards aren't any bigger than the current ones or I'll have to think about another case, but I want the FT02 since it's the best-looking case that slays for air-cooling.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





nomadicace said:


> Well not if you want to play a game while running a browser, a voip, and running multiple virus scans...thinks to my friend. He uses 6gigs and utilizes most of it.
> 
> 2gigs is enough for hardcore gaming...so long as you run no other programs. I can show proof!
> 
> Also Jodiuh I want to see a screenshot of your memory usage when you have a 2gig+ firefox...because that is just absurd. Firefox has taken steps to use up less ram...do you have a lot of add-ons and keep up a lot of tabs?


 

 Did you really just take "I've pooped bigger Firefoxes" as a valid comment?


----------



## NomadicAce

I assumed he meant popped. O is right next to P and i could consider opening the firefox application as popping it open.
   
  I dislike trolls...I just assume everyone is a decent person = (


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





nomadicace said:


> I assumed he meant popped. O is right next to P and i could consider opening the firefox application as popping it open.
> 
> I dislike trolls...I just assume everyone is a decent person = (


 


  Haha, it's okay. Everyone is a decent person? Look at who was elected as our...nevermind...


----------



## raymondlin

I just got a Drobo FS !


----------



## mattering

ONLY 1.72GB USED?!?!?! O__O...I already used up 194GB on my 1TB XD


----------



## Nebby

Did you just get your 1TB drive as well? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  Quote: 





mattering said:


> ONLY 1.72GB USED?!?!?! O__O...I already used up 194GB on my 1TB XD


----------



## mattering

Well yeah i just got my computer like last month XD....on the first day i already used like 40GB [excluding space needed for OS]


----------



## stang

Lol first day my internet reset for the month I filled up another 80gb of my hard drive. When I first put together my computer/format it I fill about 700gb of my hard drive. Very little actually, since you can now get 2TB drives, showing how much data people actually have.


----------



## raymondlin

That was like an hour after I got it lol
   
  I've backed up over 185G now, 300G to go 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  I plan to fill it with 5 x 2TB drives, so 500G is nothing.  
   
  I have a 1.5TB drive connected to my iMac,
  a 500G sitting not plugged in with backup photos
  the PC internally has over 1TB (120+320+640), connected to it is a 1.5TB drive and a 1TB drive.
  I also have a broken 2TB WD external drives doing nothing that needs RMA.
   
  and no, i don't download movies or TV shows, I take a lot of photos, the Canon 5D2 produces photos average 25mb per photo, so thats 50mb if you count the backup.


----------



## Jodiuh

Desktop's down @ the moment, but here's a screenie of FF on the netbook. It's only got a couple gigs, so I have to limit what I do. With as many extensions as I've tossed on there, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them had a terrible memory leak.


----------



## xabu

I need a system which is highly portable and delivers desktop power nonetheless and I like to have only ONE system, so:

 Sony Vaio VPC Z11 C5E:

 Intel i7 M620
 Windows 7
 8GB RAM 1066MHz DDR3-SDRAM
 512GB SSD (4 x 128 GB) with two modules (2 x 2 x 128 GB)
 WAN, W-LAN, LAN
 13,1" AdobeRGB Full HD resolution LCD (1920 x 1080)
 NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 1GB
 Bluray disc writer
 Firewire, USB, HDMI, Expresscard, VGA
 Fingerprintsensor
 1,5 kg, battery included
   
  combined with Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX, Sennheiser PC 300 G4ME in-ear headset
   

 When used stationary combined with:
 LCD DELL U2410
 Logitech Z-10 Stereo Speaker
 2 x Buffalo 1GB USB 3.0 Drives
 Logitech Performance Mouse MX
 Logitech diNovo Edge Keyboard


----------



## steven2992

I've built this system a few weeks ago. I'm considering water cooling but I'm not entirely sure it's worth the extra €400 and the risk of a leak. 

   

  CPU: i7 930 Cooled by the stock Intel cooler for now

  GPU: 5850

  RAM: 6GB DDR3 Corsair Dominator CMP6GX3M3A1600C8

Mobo: Asrock X58 Extreme 3

  HDD: 500GB samsung

  PSU: Corsair HX850

  Case: Corsair 700D

  OS: Windows 7


----------



## mattering

Well first you gotta ask yourself if you're gonna OC that 930 up to like 1.4GHz over stock clock...if yes then go ahead...if no..get a Prolimatech Megahalem ...or a Noctua NH-D14 XD


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





mattering said:


> Well first you gotta ask yourself if you're gonna OC that 930 up to like 1.4GHz over stock clock...if yes then go ahead...if no..get a Prolimatech Megahalem ...or a Noctua NH-D14 XD


 

 Or get 4 Hyper 212+'s...


----------



## Jodiuh

Or a Venomous for $54 shipped.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Or a Venomous for $54 shipped.


 


  Or a freezer.


----------



## mattering

Yeahhh or that lol....just dont go for a prebuilt water cooling...their results are like high end air cooling


----------



## vrln

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 950
  RAM: 4 GB
  HD: 750 GB
  GPU: Radeon 4890
   
  Only game I play on PC is Starcraft 2...


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





mattering said:


> Yeahhh or that lol....just dont go for a prebuilt water cooling...their results are like high end air cooling


 
  Yep. I think Microcenter has a Danger Den kit for around $300.


----------



## Jodiuh

High end water can get bent! I know 3 guys using $400~$500 setups. They've all had leak problems, none of them are much quieter than a good air cooled setup, and they're all running chips 200~400mhz higher than what you'd get on a $60 air cooler. Their gpus run a little faster too. :/

 That $ could go towards another gpu and an ssd. Water is failboat IMO.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> High end water can get bent! I know 3 guys using $400~$500 setups. They've all had leak problems, none of them are much quieter than a good air cooled setup, and they're all running chips 200~400mhz higher than what you'd get on a $60 air cooler. Their gpus run a little faster too. :/
> 
> That $ could go towards another gpu and an ssd. Water is failboat IMO.


 


  The point is that if you already have 3 GTX480's and 20 SSD's in raid 0 you need another expense. Liquid nitrogen is better IMO. I have two tanks going now. Living in a freezer gets a tad chilly too. Pizza boxes keep on falling. ...but I digress.


----------



## manaox2

Wow, 512Gb SSD. That seems huge for a SSD.

 If you open a lot of vids in youtube or something through firefox (30 or so 10 min vids), its really not hard.
  Quote: 





nomadicace said:


> Well not if you want to play a game while running a browser, a voip, and running multiple virus scans...thinks to my friend. He uses 6gigs and utilizes most of it.
> 
> 2gigs is enough for hardcore gaming...so long as you run no other programs. I can show proof!
> 
> Also Jodiuh I want to see a screenshot of your memory usage when you have a 2gig+ firefox...because that is just absurd. Firefox has taken steps to use up less ram...do you have a lot of add-ons and keep up a lot of tabs?


----------



## Mdraluck23

Does anybody here play Minecraft?


----------



## midget

currently on a 4yr old laptop
   
  15.4in 1280x800
  AMD Turion 64 TL-58 @ 2.25ish Ghz (OCed)
  4gb 667mhz ram
  160gb 5400rpm hd
  Nvidia Geforce go 7150m (integrated, FSB OCed to.... 528mhz i think)
   
  just purchased (and am eagerly waiting for)
   
  17.3in 1600x900
  Intel i7 720qm
  8gb DDR3
  500gb 5400rpm hd (thinking of going 7200)
  ATI 5650 (1gb dedicated)


----------



## mattering

You'd be surprised how quiet and good water cooling is...IF you are gonna extreme OC...Swiftech is a great company to get watercooling blocks and stuff...also Maxishine's rig  is quiet and uses watercooling


----------



## BASGTA

BFG GS Series 550W (Want to get a new one soon)
 E6500 @ 3.1GHz (Unstable at my previous of 3.3GHz)
 3GB DDR2 425MHz (1GB OCZ + 2GB Kingston)
 Diamond 4870 1GB (Can get it up to 830Mhz/1010Mhz, but my CPU bottleneck's it at default speeds so I don't bother)
 AsRock G41M-VS2 (L2 2MB) (Want to get a new one soon)
 250GB OS/Music + 250GB Games/Gamefiles + 80GB Storage
 HP LP2065 20inch 4:3 Monitor


----------



## abhijollyguy

LCD: Dell UltraSharp U2311H

 Motherboard: ASUS Maximus Formula (X38 Chipset)

 Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9650(3.0 GHz with 12MB L2 Cache) OC'ed @ 3.6 Ghz

 RAM: Kingston HyperX 2x2GB 1066 MHZ (5-5-5-15) @ CL 4-4-4-12 @800 MHz to maintain 1:1

 Graphics Card: MSI N275GTX TWIN FROZR OC Edition (As Main Card)

 Graphics Card: XFX 8600GT 512MB DDR2 (As Physx Card)

 Hard-Disk: Western Digital Caviar Blue 400GB

 SMPS: CoolerMaster Real Power M520(Modular)

 CPU Cooler: Thermalright Venomous-X w/ 2 x Scythe Slipstream 120mm 1900 RPM 110CFM Fans as PUSH/PULL Config.

 Cabinet/Chassis: CoolerMaster HAF932 with 230mm front Red LED Fan as intake, Scythe Slipstream 120mm 1900 RPM 110CFM Fan Bottom Fan as intake, 230mm Side Fan as intake, 230mm Side Fan as exhaust and 140mm Rear Fan as Exhaust.

 Sound Card: ASUS Xonar DX

 Speakers: Altec Lansing MX5021

 Headphone: Sony MDR-XD200

 UPS: APC Back-UPS RS1100VA


----------



## Marlene

Lian Li PC-8N
  ASUS P5Q SE Plus
  Pentium E6300 (Wolfson 3-M)
  Western Digital WD6400AARS 640 GB
  Western Digital WD5000AADS 500 GB
  Zotac GeForce 9500 GT
  8 GB GEiL DDR2-800
  ASUS Xonar Essence ST
  E-MU 0202 USB
  Enermax Pro82+
   
  Noctua CPU cooler, two Enermax fans. You wouldn´t believe how silent it is - for a system cooled with air.


----------



## steven2992

Quote: 





mdraluck23 said:


> Does anybody here play Minecraft?


 
   yes, minecraft is awesome. Right now I play only minecraft and sc2 


  
  Quote: 





mattering said:


> You'd be surprised how quiet and good water cooling is


 

 The problem is that the air cooling is already fairly quiet and that there are 3 other PCs in the same room that can only be air cooled. So it wouldn't really make a difference anyway.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote:


mattering said:


> You'd be surprised how quiet and good water cooling is...


 

 Unless you're using fans slower than 800 RPM, my setups going to be quieter, less hassle, within 15% clocks, and over 400% less expensive than some high end Swiffy toys.


----------



## Nebby

With the (relatively) recent advances in heatsink cooling, it's difficult to choose watercooling over a normal heatsink fan combo. Once you start upping your cooling requirements and complexity, then it starts to make more sense for watercooling (dual cpu + SLI = lots of heat to manage). Even then, I personally dislike the maintenance aspect of watercooling; if you run it long enough you will eventually have to add water and in extreme cases flush out the system and refill anew. 
   
  Speaking from my experience watercooling a dual xeon system a year or two back.


----------



## beamthegreat

Help guys!! I need to know how many watts I need to have to power my PC and a budget motherboard (hopefully under 100$). Here are the things that I have in mind. 
  CPU AMD PHENOM x4 945 3.0 GHZ
  GPU ATI 5870
  Harddrive 1 tb 7400
  ram 4gb
  motherboard ???
  psu ???
  thanks.


----------



## dirkpitt45

550w corsair or comparable brand. 
   
  750w if you plan on xfire down the road.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





beamthegreat said:


> Help guys!! I need to know how many watts I need to have to power my PC and a budget motherboard (hopefully under 100$). Here are the things that I have in mind.
> CPU AMD PHENOM x4 945 3.0 GHZ
> GPU ATI 5870
> Harddrive 1 tb 7400
> ...


 

 For a PSU I would recommend the Corsair 650TX for one card or 750TX or even 850TX if you plan on XFiring. As for the MoBo, look at compatible MoBo's on Newegg with good reviews, that is the simplest way to pick one out.


----------



## playboyd

[size=medium] PC:
Intel core i7 extreme 975 (O.C. run @ 4.1GHz)
Corsair Cooling Hydro Series H50 CPU Cooler
ASUS Republic of Gamers - Rampage III Extreme
Corsair Dominator GT 6 GB PC3-12800 1600 Mhz Triple Channel DDR3 CAS 7 Memory Kit CMT6GX3M3A1600C7
XFX ATI Radeon HD 5970 2GB DDR5 HD597ACNB9 (used to run crossfire with another asus ati 5870 but now use only 5970)
WESTERN DIGITAL 600GB VELOCIRAPTOR 3.5INCH 10000RPM 32MB CACHE SATA6.0GB WD6000HLHX
Corsair CMPSU-1000HX 1000-Watt HX Professional Series 80 Plus
Corsair Case Graphite Series 600T - wait for shipping
Samsung XL-2370-1 23-Inch Widescreen LED LCD Monitor
This is running as a heater in my room.
Accessories:
Steelseries 6Gv2 Keyboard
SteelSeries Xai Laser Mouse
SteelSeries 9HD Gaming Surface
   
Mac:
MacBook Pro 15": CTO late 2008 unibody
Intel 2.8GHz / 4GB DDR3 / GeForce 9400M/9600MGT-512MB / HDD 320GB 7200rpm
Monitor out to EIZO ColorEdge CG241W
Accessories:
2x eSATA 2TB Lacie 2big quada RIAD HD FW800/400, USB
500GB Lacie
320GB Lacie (for Time Machine)
Apple Wireless Mouse and Keyboard
Wacom Intuos 3 pen tablet 
Twelve South BookArc stand​[/size]


----------



## NomadicAce

Hey Beam,
   
  I know these guys are suggesting corsair psus...and they are good but after building several systems for friends, co-workers and so on I would suggest one of the following:
   
  550w Seasonic s12
   
  or if you plan on upgrading
   
  silverstone strider plus 850w
   
  As for a mobo the Asus M4A785TD-V EVO  would be my recommendation, I have never had any problems with it and have used it in over 10 builds (for other people)
   
  These are simply my suggestions and you should do research and hear other peoples opinions as well. Hope the build goes well!


----------



## beamthegreat

thanks for the replies. I'll build one before halloween.


----------



## mattering

Have fun with that build...and i love your profile pic 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 ...Ikaros with k701?


----------



## beamthegreat

Quote: 





mattering said:


> Have fun with that build...and i love your profile pic
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Close, its actually Ikaros wearing an HD 800


----------



## mattering

Ahhh woops...I didn't see them properly muahaha


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





beamthegreat said:


> Help guys!! I need to know how many watts I need to have to power my PC and a budget motherboard (hopefully under 100$). Here are the things that I have in mind.
> CPU AMD PHENOM x4 945 3.0 GHZ
> GPU ATI 5870
> Harddrive 1 tb 7400
> ...


 
This is your new power supply. If anyone disagrees, they are wrong. Use $30 off promo code EMCZYZR42 to bring price down to $109.99. I believe this code will expire today, so hurry. As for motherboard, you're going with AMD, so I cannot in good faith recommend anything.


----------



## NomadicAce

I cannot disagree with anything Seasonic...but his system would do fine with the 550w i suggested...
   
  edit:
   
  http://www.excaliberpc.com/588588/seasonic-s12-energy-plus-ss-550ht.html
   
  cheaper is cheaper


----------



## mattering

i'd always go 750watts just in case i wanna do something in the future haha


----------



## zombiefreak

CPU
     Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600  @ 2.40GHz  
     Kentsfield 65nm Technology
 RAM
     8.0GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 400MHz (5-5-5-18)
 Motherboard
     ASUSTeK Computer INC. P5K-E (LGA775)
 Graphics
     ATI Radeon HD 5850
 Hard Drives
     977GB Western Digital WDC WD10EACS-00ZJB0 ATA  (IDE)    42 °C
 Optical Drives
     ELBY CLONEDRIVE SCSI CdRom
     ASUS DRW-24B1ST ATA
     LITEON DVD-ROM LTD163 ATA
 Audio
     ASUS Xonar DS
  Monitors
      VA2223wm @ 1920x1080
     W2353 @ 1920x1080


----------



## ccbass

At this point, 750W is a minimum for any decent PC.  PSU prices have dropped significantly and there isn't really any reason not to have enough power just in case you want to upgrade.
   
  So.  I'm thinking about building a new PC.  I've been pretty bored lately and as much as I love my Macbook Pro, I miss having a PC too.
   
  Grrrr.
   
  So much new tech has been coming out since I built my last PC for a friend when C2D/C2Q were still king. 
   
  Any suggestions?


----------



## mattering

For CPU, get like an i5 or i7 or 6 core AMD. For GPU, get like a 5770 or better...nVidia isnt really worth the price haha..and like 6GB of DDR3 1600MHz ram 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and for PSU u can decide on that haha


----------



## Jodiuh

ccbass said:


> At this point, 750W is a minimum for any decent PC....Any suggestions?






 If you mean a clocked i7/x58/470 SLI setup, then yes that would be the minimum for a "decent" PSU.



Tech Report's system guide would be a good place to start.


----------



## Nebby

Was going to comment on that....power supply efficiencies change depending on the load. If you massively oversize the power supply there's a decent chance your system will use more power than with a smaller power supply that's more efficient at the given load.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





ccbass said:


> At this point, 750W is a minimum for any decent PC.  PSU prices have dropped significantly and there isn't really any reason not to have enough power just in case you want to upgrade.
> 
> So.  I'm thinking about building a new PC.  I've been pretty bored lately and as much as I love my Macbook Pro, I miss having a PC too.
> 
> ...


 

 I am pretty sure a decent 650w PSU will run most single card solutions...
  If you plan on upgrading to a dual GPU solution then sure.

  
  Quote: 





mattering said:


> For CPU, get like an i5 or i7 or 6 core AMD. For GPU, get like a 5770 or better...nVidia isnt really worth the price haha..and like 6GB of DDR3 1600MHz ram
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  That's like saying Intel isn't worth the price. Sure it is more expensive but if you look at the benches then it is well worth it. I would have bought the GTX460 over my darned 5770 if it was out when I was buying parts.
  Definitely 5770 or better though. My 5770 (OC'ed) runs most new games on high with a little (2x or 4x usually) AA without it getting too hot.


----------



## ccbass

Quote: 





mattering said:


> For CPU, get like an i5 or i7 or 6 core AMD. For GPU, get like a 5770 or better...nVidia isnt really worth the price haha..and like 6GB of DDR3 1600MHz ram
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 I'm looking at the I7 Lynnfield based chip.  Nvidia has fallen behind a bit.  But holy balls batman, these double slot GPU coolers are massive. 

  
  Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> If you mean a clocked i7/x58/470 SLI setup, then yes that would be the minimum for a "decent" PSU.
> 
> 
> 
> Tech Report's system guide would be a good place to start.


 

 Maybe it's just me.  Some single card GPUs can suck up 250-300W at full bore.  300 ****ing Watts.  I think it was a AMD gpu.

  
  Quote: 





nebby said:


> Was going to comment on that....power supply efficiencies change depending on the load. If you massively oversize the power supply there's a decent chance your system will use more power than with a smaller power supply that's more efficient at the given load.


 

 There are a fair number of 80%+ efficiency 750W PSUs last time I checked.

  
  Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> I am pretty sure a decent 650w PSU will run most single card solutions...
> If you plan on upgrading to a dual GPU solution then sure.
> 
> 
> ...


 


  Intel procs are well worth it.  They dominate on all fronts, budget, moderate, and ultra expensive.  The phenoms aren't bad, but they really can't compete.
   
  About the whole Nvidia and AMD battle, I thought AMD's latest offerings were raping the crap out of Nvidia offerings?


----------



## NomadicAce

Yeah a 750w psu is not required for a "decent" system. An efficient psu is always required and seasonic, corsair, silverstone, enermax all make great psus.
   
  The link jodiuh gave has a good/decent  set of system suggestions, but the prices are a bit out of date. The mobo is great for the AMD build(s). 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Most single card solutions + quad core systems can run on anything between 550-650w. I am basically only excluding the gtx 480 and the 5970, you probably can run them if you go with 650w.
   
  If you do go with a multi-card setup i would go with Nvidia, as they scale a hell of a lot better than the ATI cards. Single cards I would go with 5770,       gtx 460 (1 gb version), 5850, gtx 470.
   
  Instead of the 5870 I would suggest looking into 2x gtx 460 (1 gb). Past that I do not think it is worth the price of admission.
   
  Edit: The gpu that sucks 300w was probably the Asus ARES 5870x2 or the 5970 which are both actually two gpus on a single pci card.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





ccbass said:


> I'm looking at the I7 Lynnfield based chip.  Nvidia has fallen behind a bit.  But holy balls batman, these double slot GPU coolers are massive.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  Well, I love Intel it is just too pricey for me. I got the Athlon II 630. This is a quad core CPU that I OC'ed to 3.6Ghz. Intel didn't have that for $100. For sub $150 I think the Athlon II CPUs are the way to go. But thats only for super budget builds.
  As for nVidia and AMD, yes I think the GPUs coming out this coming weekend will do that. But not until then, haha.


----------



## Nebby

Yes, but depending on the power supply some of them lean more towards the 80% part when loaded lightly. I'mspeaking from the viewpoint of having built an ultra-efficient mini server box, so the little things such as power supply efficiency ranges interest me 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  Quote: 





ccbass said:


> There are a fair number of 80%+ efficiency 750W PSUs last time I checked.


----------



## ccbass

I'm looking at a budget of around $1700 +/- $200.
   
  First decision.  Full tower or Mid tower?  Weight is not an issue.  Neither is size.  Enough room for 2 optical drives, and at least 4 HDs.  Oh, and a double slot gpu cooler.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





ccbass said:


> I'm looking at a budget of around $1700 +/- $200.
> 
> First decision.  Full tower or Mid tower?  Weight is not an issue.  Neither is size.  Enough room for 2 optical drives, and at least 4 HDs.  Oh, and a double slot gpu cooler.


 

 Lian-Li full tower. That is what I would get if I had the money.


----------



## NomadicAce

I think the corsair 600t looks interesting, lots of unique features which seem useful. Kind of pricey for a mid tower and I have not used it.
   
  Here is a good video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64JDcsyQqt8&feature=player_embedded#!
   
  Lian Li is quality! But an Antec or Cooler Master would be cheaper and offer similar cooling for less, but would not have as nice of a shell. I would suggest getting something that looks appealing to you, has fairly thick panels, and offers at least 2 fans (an intake and an exhaust)


----------



## Jodiuh

I've got a 4yr old Stacker so of course I'm going to nudge you in that direction.

 Cheap: $70 coolermaster 692/690v2, whatever, its the new one 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 good cooling, cramped

 Not cheap: $200ish coolermaster Haf X
 Great cooling, roomy

 Probably not cheap: $300ish corsair 800D (is that right?)
 Good cooling, roomy, and a looker

 These will all make you smile. But only the Haf X can make you a better person.


----------



## mattering

Go for the HAF-X >D...I have it and im in love with it muahahaha~! XD


----------



## ccbass

Hmm.  Side fan yes or no?
   
  I think 4 fans are a minimum.
   
  2 front, 2 back, maybe 1 side?
   
  Obviously given my price range, it'll be air-cooled.


----------



## Jodiuh

More fans, less psu I say. Shoot for 8~10.

 Finally got most everything together this weekend. Still missing the 2nd GPU and Intel's G3 SSD. It's much cooler running than the i7/x58/470 setup before it. 

 Out on the town...




 The full Monty...




 Stacker 810 with convenience holes, suspended drives, carpeting, and lighting
 4 year old PC Power & Cooling 610 silencer
 Intake fans: 3 Scythe SFLEX E 1200 RPM
 Middle fans: 2 Scythe SFLEX E 1200 RPM
 Exhaust fans: 2 Arctic Fans (gobs of flow, very quiet, these fans kick ass)
 Thermalright Venoumous X (washer mod) with Thermaltake SmartFan A2018 @ 1450 RPM (variable, cranked for LANs)
 Asus P7P55D-E Pro v 1.01G (improved Foxconn socket/bracket)
 i5 760
 G.Skill 4 GB 1600 CL7 1.35 V (great skill in memory!)
 Striped Velociraptors, Mirrored Deathstars, Sammy Optics
 EVGA GTX 460 1 GB reference cooler
 Auzentech Forte X-FI

 Its not silent, but the noise floor's quite low and everyone recieves a solid blow job.


----------



## NomadicAce

Finding something with 2 in the back is rare. More than likely you will have 2/3 in the front, 1 in the top (typically larger), 1 in the back, and you can add your own on the side.
   
  So long as you only do reasonable overclocks you are probably fine with just an intake, exhaust, and a nice heatsink with 2 fans in a push/pull configuration. However if  you really want that many fans your probably should look at the Antecs and Cooler Masters as you will get more fans for the money: I will list some reasonably priced cases.
   
  (150ish) Pricey Group: Antec 1200, CM Haf 932, Lian Li PC-A70F, Corsair 600T
   
  (100ish) Middle of the Road Group: Antec 900, CM 690/ CM692, CM Haf 922,Lian Li PC K62
   
  Cheapie but notable: Antec 300, Rosewill Challenger (lots of fans at this price)
   
  Some people like NXZT but I have never really been impressed. All of the cases I listed have good enough airflow unless you keep your room really warm (75 degree F+). I do not really think it is worth going much over $150 unless it is just a case you REALLY like.
   
  If anyone thinks my suggestions are not good, go ahead and correct me I have not used all of those cases...just most of them (building computers for other people).
   
  Also I should note I do like silverstone cases, but they do not really make anything cheap.


----------



## ccbass

I really hate flashy cases.  They piss me off.  Anything with 3242352 LEDs is a no go.  I have no issue with a LED or two inside so you can see the insides, but having an LED for EVERY fan is no good.  Plus, I will probably have this on a lot in order to rip movies and I need to sleep.
   
   
  You striped vraptors?  Damn.  But drive failure could be a bitch, unless you backup a lot.  Wouldn't carpeting just hold heat and collect dust?  I mean it looks cool, but isn't it just hurting your PC?
   
   
  As for OC'ing stuff.  I'm not sure if I want to yet.  I've really lost the OC touch and I haven't done it in so long, I would probably forget something and fry a chip.


----------



## Nebby

You should always treat your hard drives as if they will die at any time, so backup shouldn't be an issue 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 I'm wary of the benefits of striping anyways, most usage cases don't benefit from crazy sequential read speeds. I actually went from a raid of 15k drives to one SSD and noticed performance benefits from the faster seek times 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Carpeting is helpful for sound damping; it does insulate and collect dust as you said though.
  
  Quote: 





ccbass said:


> You striped vraptors?  Damn.  But drive failure could be a bitch, unless you backup a lot.  Wouldn't carpeting just hold heat and collect dust?  I mean it looks cool, but isn't it just hurting your PC?


----------



## NomadicAce

You can always remove the leds from the fans...Not too many cases now of days do not have led fans. I understand the reason for not liking them...I am not a fan (pun not intended) of them.
   
  The CM 692 basic and Antec 300 (basic not illusion) do not have any led, and has a lot of room for more fans:
   
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGvBjEmXJnI&feature=player_embedded
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UX_nXwX_EzU
   
  They should both be large enough for you, so perhaps one of those would be a good choice.
   
  Other than that the other ones I suggested do have a lot of LEDS...sorry. The corsair 600t has white leds so i am not sure how bright/annoying they would be.


----------



## dirkpitt45

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> I've got a 4yr old Stacker so of course I'm going to nudge you in that direction.
> 
> Cheap: $70 coolermaster 692/690v2, whatever, its the new one
> 
> ...


 


  The 690v2 is not cramped. I switched from an antec 900 to the 690 II advanced, its better in almost every way imo. There really is nothing in that price range that's comparable to the 690II. I've had a megahalems and TRUE copper in it, and they all fit fine, provided you mount one side fan on the outside of the side panel, which is easy enough to do. Also had xfire 5870s, which fit quite nicely. You don't have a ton of room compared to the 800D, but more then enough for air cooling or a simple water loop. 
   
  The 690II has just enough space, enough for everything to comfortable, but not an excessive amount of open space left over; like your stacker (which is also a great case). It keeps the actual size of the case down, which may be a consideration for some people. 
   
  IMO for ~100 go for the 690II, for slightly more, original HAF, and for even more, 800D. Personally I don't feel the extra $50+ is worth it for the Haf X, might as well spend 100 (compared to original haf) more and get something real nice like the 800d. Not saying the Haf x is bad, it's also a great case, but I find it kind of tacky. 
   
  The silverstone TJ07 is my favourite case of all time, but its ridiculously exspensive.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





> Originally Posted by *ccbass* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> You striped vraptors?  Damn.  But drive failure could be a bitch, unless you backup a lot.  Wouldn't carpeting just hold heat and collect dust?  I mean it looks cool, but isn't it just hurting your PC?
> 
> As for OC'ing stuff.  I'm not sure if I want to yet.  I've really lost the OC touch and I haven't done it in so long, I would probably forget something and fry a chip.


 
   
  They're pretty snappy. I sliced off a 74GB partition so it's using the first 37GB of each drive to store the OS. Since the outside of the platter moves quicker, it increases sustained xfer rates about 25% and lowers random access times about 15%. It still feels like kicking sand around compared to a newer SSD though. Backup's a non issue because only OS files are stored there. I'll do monthly backups, but no important data would be lost because it's all on the mirror.
   
  Because there's so much air flow in the case, dust's kept to a minimum. A quick burst of air per month's all that's needed. And even then, there's not much dust to clean anyway. The foam's quite thin and flat, there's no threads for dust to fall into as the word "carpeting" might suggest. From memory, I believe it did increase temps, but only slightly. Certainly not enough to lower an overclock.
   
  Honestly, clocking's not that difficult if you look through some guides. Here's a decent place to get started for the latest Intel chips. Then just pick a forum like hardforum, overclock.net, xtremesystems.org, ocforums, etc and you'll more than likely find topics for your board and your chip (or one close to it.) For the X58/930 setup, it took me about 30 minutes to get a working 4.0Ghz clock stable w/ 20 rounds of LinX maxed out. And the best part's that a good board will allow you to run the chip @ it's default clocks and voltages when it's idling as well as providing reliable S3 power states. It's pretty hard to screw up some hardware if you spend time researching first.
   
       Quote:


nebby said:


> I'm wary of the benefits of striping anyways, most usage cases don't benefit from crazy sequential read speeds.


 

 Windows boots up quite a bit quicker and games load faster too. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 If I'm stuck w/ mechanicals for now, I'm gonna do whatever I can!
  
  Quote: 





dirkpitt45 said:


> The 690v2 is not cramped. I switched from an antec 900 to the 690 II advanced, its better in almost every way imo.


 
   
  Here's some images from my CM690v1 build...
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Cases/IMG_2121-1.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Cases/IMG_2119-1.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Cases/IMG_2117-1.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Cases/IMG_2097-1.jpg

 And the Stacker 810...
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/810lanpartyp35.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_2186.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_2866.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_2865.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_3165.jpg
 http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v212/jodiuh/Stacker%20810%20Black/IMG_2890.jpg
   
  I don't see how you can describe the CM690 as anything but cramped after looking at those pictures. A bigger case allows for more room which  makes a case much easier to deal with. It gives space for more fans or whatever else you wanna fit in there. It's taller and easier to hit the power button or reach the optical drive. And with wheels it's a cinch to move around. For LAN's, I use one of the larger Thermaltake carrying straps, so that's not even an issue. Unless there's a budget concern or you lack a gym membership, I see no reason to go w/ something smaller like the CM690 or even worse the 900...yuck.
   
       Quote:


			
				NomadicAce said:
			
		

> If anyone thinks my suggestions are not good, go ahead and correct me I have not used all of those cases...just most of them (building computers for other people).


 
   
  With the exception of the 900/1200 recommendations, everything else seems fine. They were ok on release, but there are better options now. And they've got updated towers in the Dark Fleet line. The P183's a wonderful option provided your not tossing a pair of 480's in there. It's incredibly quiet and IMO much better looking than something like my butt ugly Stacker or even their newer 690's or Haf's.


----------



## Nebby

Not saying that there's no benefit, just saying that there isn't much benefit for most users 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I can't go back to mechanical drives after running SSD for any duration of time 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
  Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Quote:
> 
> Windows boots up quite a bit quicker and games load faster too.
> 
> ...


----------



## Jodiuh

If by most users you mean those that don't boot into windows or play games, then yes, it has little benefit for them.
   
  Fortunately, I've done a pretty decent job staying away from SSD's. I almost put a RealSSD in here, but chose to hold off for one more round.


----------



## stang

Just get a fast SSD for your OS and put everything else onto hard disk drives. That is, if you are not loaded with cash and can afford to go all out Solid State.


----------



## Jodiuh

No way dude. I already boned myself by going w/ Lynnfield months before Sandy Bridge comes to play. Don't wanna be saddled w/ Sandforce or Marvell controller's when Intel's pulling out their goodies. OC failure on the previous drives can be nasty.


----------



## Nebby

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> If by most users you mean those that don't boot into windows or play games, then yes, it has little benefit for them.
> 
> Fortunately, I've done a pretty decent job staying away from SSD's. I almost put a RealSSD in here, but chose to hold off for one more round.


 
   

  Have you done benchmarks comparing before and after? Not all games benefit as much from a fast hard drive. Did you measure the boot up time difference? Saying that every user that boots into windows and plays games will benefit from a raid is far too generic a recommendation. When I first got my raid card + 15.k6 Cheetah's, I put the three of them into a raid 0 to see how the performance was and my conclusion was that you just don't get that much benefit from raid 0 in *most *games and most user situations. Yes, you'll shave a few seconds off your windows boot time and a few seconds here and there on level loads but for the gains, all that hardware is a waste (especially when you consider the downside of raid 0).
   
  As for booting, I really only care about that for my laptop; with my main computer the longest part of bootup is the raid card bios anyway 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  We'll just have to agree to disagree; I've gone through my overclocking phase so I can see where you're coming from but to me it doesn't seem like it's worth it anymore.


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





ccbass said:


> I really hate flashy cases.  They piss me off.  Anything with 3242352 LEDs is a no go.  I have no issue with a LED or two inside so you can see the insides, but having an LED for EVERY fan is no good.  Plus, I will probably have this on a lot in order to rip movies and I need to sleep.
> 
> 
> You striped vraptors?  Damn.  But drive failure could be a bitch, unless you backup a lot.  Wouldn't carpeting just hold heat and collect dust?  I mean it looks cool, but isn't it just hurting your PC?
> ...


 
   

  P180 series, or if you are planning on serious case longevity (using it for the next few builds) I say go all out and get a Corsair 800D/Silverstone TJ10/Lian Li


----------



## dirkpitt45

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> I don't see how you can describe the CM690 as anything but cramped after looking at those pictures. A bigger case allows for more room which  makes a case much easier to deal with. It gives space for more fans or whatever else you wanna fit in there. It's taller and easier to hit the power button or reach the optical drive. And with wheels it's a cinch to move around. For LAN's, I use one of the larger Thermaltake carrying straps, so that's not even an issue. Unless there's a budget concern or you lack a gym membership, I see no reason to go w/ something smaller like the CM690 or even worse the 900...yuck.


 

 The original 690 is not the 690 II; http://i28.tinypic.com/wjdvnl.jpg, Only a 4850 in there though, older pic, would take a newer one, but don't have a camera atm. 5870 is just slightly longer, I'd say there's about 2 inches from the end of it to the hdd cages. Excuse the terrible cable management, was the first pic I took when I got the case and didn't clean everything up yet.  
   
  I don't agree with the "bigger is better", smaller is more work cable management wise, but not worse. I've got 6 fans, 1 on the bottom, 2 on top, 1 on the back, 2 up front, plus the 2 on the side panel so 8 actually. Not that amount of fans matters really, but I only lose a degree (on the cpu) with all the panels on compared to off. The power button and wheels work for you, but not all of us keep our pc's under our desks, mine sits on top to the right for easy access. IMO I prefer no wasted space, which you don't have with a mid-tower and air cooling. You've got just enough (or slightly less depending on your case), unlike the stacker, where you've got tons of room all around the motherboard, filled with nothing. Now if you're going to go water cooling with a loop for gpu, south/north bridge, and cpu, then you'd obviously want a full tower. But for air cooling why bother? Spend the extra $100 on a 40gb SSD for a boot drive and call it a day.


----------



## Jodiuh

Thanks from sharing your thoughts guys. It definitely gives others looking for something new a couple of perspectives. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Look at what overclockers club just went through!

 http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/azza_hurrican_2000/print/

 It sure looks ugly, but its hard to argue with the cooling or price!


----------



## Nebby

You weren't kidding when you said it looks ugly


----------



## Jodiuh

Yeah, definitely something you hide under the desk. Or decorate with pink streamers and turn in your man card. You really have a choice with the hurrican. (Stupid name too)


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





nebby said:


> You weren't kidding when you said it looks ugly


 


  Ugly is an understatement. Cheap and plasticky looking is more accurate.


----------



## Jodiuh

No that is one area where I do appreciate my 1,000 lb Stacker. I can sit on it, stand on it, kick it, bang into doors and walls...all without fear of damaging anything inside. Its like a mini fallout shelter.


----------



## XxATOLxX

I got rid of the Asus UL50VT and replaced it with an Alienware M11x R2. I like it so far, the only thing I don't like is this new Nvidia Optimus, you can't really tell what video card is running and sometimes it ends up draining my battery rapidly. As of right now, I'm pulling a little over 4 hours of battery life, which isn't as good as the UL50VT, but I'm willing to sacrifice battery life for extra speed. What I'm trying to set up right now is to have the Alienware as my main computer, it pretty much does everything faster than my desktop anyways. Once I get a good docking setup and a USB dac, I'll phase out the desktop which is starting to get pretty dated.
   
  Future upgrade might be an SSD hard drive, assuming that they'll come down in price or if I even end up keeping this laptop as long.
   
   
  Specs:
  i7 640UM
 4GB RAM
  320GB HDD
  GT335M w/ Optimus


----------



## WalkmanMan

E Machine Desktop (Current)
   
  AMD Athlon 3500+ 2.2GHz
  2 GB DDR400 RAM
  160GB 7200RPM HD
  Zotac GeForce 9600GT
  350W PS
  17" 720p LCD
   
  HP Compaq Desktop (Prior)
   
  AMD Opteron 146 2.0GHz
  1 GB DDR400 RAM
  80 GB 7200 RPM HD
  Ati Radeon X850XT
  300W PS
  15" 1080p CRT
   
  Gateway FX Laptop (Other)
   
  Core 2 Duo 2 GHz
  4GB DDR2 RAM
  320GB HD
  GeForce 9600GT M
  17" 720p LCD
   
  The HP Compaq Desktop was the fastest but the graphics card died. It was faster because of CPU and GPU architecture or something, I don't know. Guess specs can be misleading though.


----------



## mattering

Your E-Machine is faster than ur old desktop and ur laptop is faster than your old desktop lol....I haz gateway FX too..the FX P7809G but  i'm in love with my desktop 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




...oh and that azza case didnt look half bad....srsly...when all the LEDs were lit up though ...Benchies on the 6870 and 6850 are out...considering that the 6870s are around 230USD...they are quite the bang for your buck


----------



## ccbass

So I was looking at cases, and I was thinking about the RV02 from silverstone.  Vertical cooling?  Yes please. 
   
  I'd probably upgrade the fans, as they're probably low CFM fans.  Not to mention they are 120mm and 180mm.  Damn large.


----------



## Somnambulist

Get the newer version with AP181 fans, but even with the older version you don't need to change anything, it's a beast at air-cooling. I've seen people change the 120mm fan for something a tiny bit quieter, but nobody touches the 180mms fans because they are godly.


----------



## ccbass

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Get the newer version with AP181 fans, but even with the older version you don't need to change anything, it's a beast at air-cooling. I've seen people change the 120mm fan for something a tiny bit quieter, but nobody touches the 180mms fans because they are godly.


 


  What's the new version? 
   
   
  I would probably get a fan controller.  I don't want them running full bore when I'm trying to sleep.  Why not upgrade the 180mm fans?  What CFM are they now?


----------



## Somnambulist

Silverstone released a limited edition version of the FT02 case (the FT02B-WRI) with their new Air Penetrator fans, and then started filtering the fans down into the regular models. I believe if you buy off Newegg or even Amazon you should get the updated version (it says on the box that it has AP fans). The main difference is that they concentrate the airflow better, there's a video on YouTube of them demonstrating this with dry ice or something.
   
  There's a high/low switch for the 3 180mm fans on the top. 90% of people leave the fans on low because temps are only marginally inferior and you get less noise obviously. The FT02 is a bit quieter than the RV02 due to some sound-dampening material inside, and on low it's very quiet for a stock case.
   
  Check this out, as although it's the FT02B-WRI, the internals are virtually identical to the RV02 minus the HDD arrangement:
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/cases/2010/08/12/silverstone-ft02r-w-review/3


----------



## ccbass

So what should I get?  I kind of feel like 3 x 180mm fans pushing air in is too much for 1 x 120mm fan is to push out.
   
  The FT02 or the RV02?


----------



## Somnambulist

The air also rises out through the expansion slots, and there's grills and stuff at the top. A user on OC3D or Hardforum, I forget which, tried changing the 120mm fan, and also adding another fan behind the expansion slots (he had to remove the shroud on top of the case) and it made no difference at all to temps. The cases bring in cool air from the bottom, and all the hot air in the case rises out the top. You don't need much exhaust because the 180mm fans are creating a vertical wind tunnel.
   
  RV02 is aimed more at the gaming crowd. It's a fair bit cheaper, a little noisier, FT02 is aimed more at the enthusiast. It's quite expensive (not Lian Li expensive though), and quieter. It has 7 expansion slots, where as the  RV02 has 8, which is made to cater for triple or quad GPU setups. I think it has less HDD bays though.
   
  I'm getting the FT02 myself because it's aesthetically more pleasing to me, although I'm waiting to see how long the enthusiast 69xx series cards will be, since both cases only just manage to fit a 5970 in, before committing. The midrange 68xx series all fit, obviously.


----------



## Jodiuh

The raven look ridiculous IMO, but the ft02's not too bad.


----------



## ccbass

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> The air also rises out through the expansion slots, and there's grills and stuff at the top. A user on OC3D or Hardforum, I forget which, tried changing the 120mm fan, and also adding another fan behind the expansion slots (he had to remove the shroud on top of the case) and it made no difference at all to temps. The cases bring in cool air from the bottom, and all the hot air in the case rises out the top. You don't need much exhaust because the 180mm fans are creating a vertical wind tunnel.
> 
> RV02 is aimed more at the gaming crowd. It's a fair bit cheaper, a little noisier, FT02 is aimed more at the enthusiast. It's quite expensive (not Lian Li expensive though), and quieter. It has 7 expansion slots, where as the  RV02 has 8, which is made to cater for triple or quad GPU setups. I think it has less HDD bays though.
> 
> I'm getting the FT02 myself because it's aesthetically more pleasing to me, although I'm waiting to see how long the enthusiast 69xx series cards will be, since both cases only just manage to fit a 5970 in, before committing. The midrange 68xx series all fit, obviously.


 


 Apparently the they are based on a positive pressure system.  The influx of air keeps positive pressure in the case, and then the top fan shoves out the hot air.
  
  Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> The raven look ridiculous IMO, but the ft02's not too bad.


 


  At this point I like the FT02, however I won't rule out the RV02 for the fact you can mod the case and merely unplug the front LEDs.


----------



## Somnambulist

Oh yeah, forgot to add, you can search for SilentPCReview's review of the FT02B which cover the noise levels, and check out 3DGameMan/Rodney 'I talk like a robot' Reynolds review on YouTube which also has a fan noise test. I think the noisiest components will probably end up being the HDDs or any coolers on the GPU, especially if it's something insane like a GTX480.


----------



## Jodiuh

Or any card with a red label and the letters a, t, and


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Or any card with a red label and the letters a, t, and


 


  My ATI card with a stock cooler is silent.


----------



## azncookiecutter

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Or any card with a red label and the letters a, t, and


 


  It's AMD now. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  I should know, I'm working there again this term.
   
  But to the point, I have a 5870, and it's quieter than the case fans of the P193 and even the CPU cooler.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





azncookiecutter said:


> It's AMD now.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  MY 5770's fan is loud...at 100%. LOLOLOL
  Silent when not gaming, audible when gaming. Never *szchhhhhh* though.


----------



## azncookiecutter

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> MY 5770's fan is loud...at 100%. LOLOLOL
> Silent when not gaming, audible when gaming. Never *szchhhhhh* though.


 
   

 [size=medium] I never hear more than a slight whoosh when gaming. Although, I do use closed headphones nowadays when gaming, since the combo of loud roommates + no speakers pretty much force you to use headphones.  ​[/size]


----------



## joe

Thread cleaned, guys and gals.


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Oh yeah, forgot to add, you can search for SilentPCReview's review of the FT02B which cover the noise levels, and check out 3DGameMan/Rodney 'I talk like a robot' Reynolds review on YouTube which also has a fan noise test. I think the noisiest components will probably end up being the HDDs or any coolers on the GPU, especially if it's something insane like a GTX480.


 

 Here's the SilentPCReview noise testing for the case:
   
   
 [size=1em]
 *SilverStone Fortress FT02B Baseline Noise*
 Measuring mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle left/front of case
   
*12cm fan*
   
*18cm fan front*
   
*18cm fan mid*
   
*18cm fan back*
 *SPL*
 (dBA@1m)
 *FT02*
  RV02
  9V-750rpm
  low
  low
  low
 *19*
  19
  full speed
  low
  low
  low
 *21*
  20
  any speed
 *high*
  low
  low
 *23~24*
  23
  any speed
  low
 *high*
  low
 *23*
  N/A
  any speed
  low
  low
 *high*
 *23*
  23
  any speed
 *high*
 *high*
  low
 *27*
  26
  any speed
  low
 *high*
 *high*
 *26~27*
  26
  any speed
 *high*
  low
 *high*
 *27*
  26
  any speed
 *high*
 *high*
 *high*
 *30*
  28~29
   

[/size]   
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1015-page5.html
   





   
  Hope this helps. The YouTube review is with the older fans. With the newer fans the 5970 fits without problem. Also you might notice the RV02 is quieter in that table, but when a full enthusiast system is installed the FT02's overall volume doesn't go up as much.


----------



## beamthegreat

Just built a gaming rig last week. Heres my specs
  CPU amd 955 BE o.c @ 3.6 g
  GPU ati HD 5870 o.c @ core 910 mhz core & 1270 mhz memory
  RAM Kingston 2x2 gb 1600 ddr3
  PSU 730 watt
  HDD wd 7200 rpm 1 tb 3.5" HDD
  Gigabyte 770t motherboard


----------



## akaTRENT

Mid 2010 MacBook Pro (CTO)
  Intel Core i7 2.66 Ghz
  15 inch Hi Res Anti Glare Display.
  4gigs DDR3 RAM
  500gig HDD @ 7200 RPM
  1 Terabyte G Drive, @7200 RPM
  Blue Snowball


----------



## rj200

amd phenom II x6 1090T @ 4.3ghz | asus crosshair IV formula​ 2x2gb supertalent 2200c8 | 128gb g.skill falcon ssd​ sapphire ati 5850 | x-fi xtrememusic​ 640gb wd blue | samsung dvdrw​ corsair tx850w | windows 7 64-bit​ ddc3.25 xspc restop | BIX II | mc-tdx | BIP​ lycosa-g9-z2300 | 26" 1920x1200 lcd​  ​ 

​


----------



## Joytoy

At the moment: 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  O.S.:
 Win 7 64 bit

 Monitor LCD TV:
 Sony KDL-52EX705

 Case PC:
 Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced
 with dock "hot swap" HDD (AHCI active)

 BD Player LG + multicard reader

 Fan PC:
 n.2 Noiseblocker PK-1 da 140mm on TOP @600rpm <9+3dB

 Dissipator CPU:
 Cocage Arrow
 + n.1 Noiseblocker PK-1 da 140mm @650rpm <9dB

 Thermal Compound:
 OCZ Freeze Extreme

 CPU:
 Core i7-860 2.8Ghz 8MB + hypertreading + Turbo Boost + SpeedStep

 Motherboard:
 MSI P55-GD85
 (bridge PLX, USB 3.0, SATA-600, Active Phase Switching, DrMOS)

 RAM:
 DDR3 8GB / 1333Mhz TEAM ELITE DC KIT CL9

 Graphic card:
 XFX Nvidia 8800 GTS 512mb Alpha Dog Ed.
 with HR-03 GT + Scythe S-FLEX da 12cm @550rpm

 PSU:
 Semifanless SEASONIC X-750 80 Plus Gold - 750 W Modular

 HDD:
 SSD Intel X-25 M with TRIM 
 +
 Samsung F1 da 1TB

 Audio Card:
  Asus Xonar Essence STX modded with OPAMP Burson
 +
  Beyerdynamic Tesla T1

 Keyboard:
  Razer Reclusa

 Mouse:
  Steelseries WoW
   
  mouse pad:
  Steelseries S&S
   
  Joy!


----------



## MCC

I upgraded the internal storage on my laptop to an SSD a couple of weeks ago. It absolutely runs circles around my 3.5GHz (from 2.4GHz) C2Q desktop. Quite simply the largest speed boost for day-to-day tasks from a single component upgrade I've ever witnessed. Code compiles lightning fast and Modelsim loads in 4 seconds vs. 15 on an 8 core/32GB RAM departmental remote machine. 
   
  Lenovo ThinkPad W500
   
*OS *
  Windows 7 Ultimate x64
   
*CPU*
  Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 (2.4GHz, 3MB L2, 1066MHz FSB, 25w TDP)
  Undervolted at all speed steps. 0.8750V - 0.9500V vs 1.0000V-1.2500V stock.
   
*RAM *
  4GB Crucial DDR3 1066 RAM (2x2GB)
   
*Storage *
  Samsung 64GB SSD (MZ-5PA064/US) [Passworded]
  320GB Seagate 7200.3 hard drive (Ultrabay) [BitLocker FDE] OR:
  Dual layer DVD burner (Ultrabay)
   
*Graphics/Display *
  512MB ATI Mobility FireGL V5700 / Intel X4500HD switchable graphics
  15.4" 1680x1050 16:10 CCFL widescreen
   
*Misc.*
  Intel 5300 AGN wireless, 9 cell battery, Bluetooth, webcam


----------



## yooss

AMD Mobile Duron 900MHz
  SDR 256MB
  some crappy S3 graphics with DX8.1 (lower than unichrome)
  half dead 30G HDD
  CD/DVD combo drive but DVD not working
  3.5 Floppy
  some 1024X768 display.
   
  Oh, it was broken a few days ago(I think the SB chip melt), and instead of buying a new one, I bought the Hifiman player.


----------



## the wizard of oz

Apple PowerMac G5 enclosure • Corsair VX450 • Asus T2-AH1 939MB • AMD 64 2x2.2GHz • Zalman 7000CU • Corsair XMS 2x1GB DDR • Maxtor 80GB • Seagate 250GB • Pioneer DVD-RAM • Generic TN 19" 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 • US Keyboard with numberpad • Thanko Silent Mouse EX > Hackintosh / W7 / Lucid / XP >> WTB Onkyo SE-200PCI LTD • Cinema Display 30" • Western Digital Caviar Green 2x1TB RAID1
   
  Apple Mac Mini G4 • PPC 1.42GHz • Samsung 1GB SD • Seagate 80GB • Panasonic DVD-RAM • Cinema Display 20" • UK Keyboard with number-pad • Thanko Silent Mouse EX • > Leopard >> WIP Mac Mini Server enclosure • USB to 2xSATA adapter • Western Digital Scorpio Blue 2x320GB RAID1
   
  Apple iBook G3 • PPC 500MHz • Samsung 512MB SD • Seagate 40GB • Sony DVD-RAM > Tiger


----------



## shane55

Got my first 'company' built computer in about 20 years... I had been building my own up to this point.
  So I got a laptop... also a first for me.
   
  Dell Studio 14"
  i7 - 740QM Quad core (with 2.93Ghz Turbo Boost)
  1GB ATi Raedon Vid
  6GB DDR3 1066Mhz RAM
  500GB @ 7200 rpm HDD
  SoundBlaster x-Fi
  Win7 64bit
   
  Couldn't stand all the Dell stuff and addware, so I formatted the drive and installed Win7 clean, drivers, software... and now it's actually 'mine'. I'll probably throw an SSD in there eventually (when the costs become reasonable).
  But I've only had it since last Thursday, so it's pretty new.
  Only gave it a couple minutes listen late last night with iTunes ALAC music. Pretty quiet, and the quality is pretty good (for mobile), but I'll be hooking it USB to my DAC1-Pre when at home for 24bit/96khz output.


----------



## ohaider

I built this rig during Summer.
   
  Specs:
   
  OS: Win 7 x64
  CPU: Intel Core i7 860 2.8 @ 3.6GHz
  HSF: Noctua U12p SE2
  MOBO: Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3
  RAM: 2x2GB Crucial Ballistix Tracer 8-8-8-24 @ 1720Mhz
  PSU: Corsair HX-750
  GPU: XFX HD5850 1GB GDDR5 @ 775/1125
  CASE: Lian Li/Lancool K62 Dragonlord
  HDD: 2x360 Seagate Barracuda Raid0
  Running with a dell U2311H @ 1920x1080
   
  Completely destroys most of the games I play with the exception of games like Metro 2033, maxed out.


----------



## hardtarget666

Been running this for 6 months now.
   
  i7 920 Overclocked to 4.01GHz
  Gigabyte X58A-UD3R
  6GB Patriot Viper DDR3 1600Mhz
  ATI HD5850 @ 850/1200
  Samsung F3 1TB HDD + WD 2TB Caviar Black HDD
  Pioneer BDC-202 Blu-Ray Drive
  Microsoft X4 Gaming Keyboard
  Logitech G500 mouse
  CM Silent Pro 700Watts
  CM Storm Scout Case
  Dell 2209WA
  Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit


----------



## Sil3nce

Operating System
 Win 7 64 bit Ultimate/ Ubuntu 10.10

 Monitor
 Acer 1080p

 Case
 Corsair Obsidian 800D

 CPU:
   
  Intel Core I7-950 with Hyperthreading 8 cores

 Motherboard:
 Asus p6td deluxe

 RAM:
 G skill trident plus 3 times 4 gb 12+

 Graphic card:
 dual sapphire vapor-x radeon hd 5870

 PSU:
 Corsair 850 W
   
  Cooling:
  Liquid Cooling

 Audio Card:
  Creative X-Fi Sound Blaster Titanium Fatality

 Keyboard:
  Razer Lycoza

 Mouse:
  Logitech Mx-518 Mod
   
  Mouse Pad
  Crappy Egyptian One


----------



## mralexosborn

I'm in the market for a new mouse for gaming. What would you guys recommend $60 is the ceiling.


----------



## Sil3nce

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> I'm in the market for a new mouse for gaming. What would you guys recommend $60 is the ceiling.


 


  Logitech mx-518 or g500 for build quality and using it forever and ever without a downgrade to performance.


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> I'm in the market for a new mouse for gaming. What would you guys recommend $60 is the ceiling.


 


  I persoanlly use the g500 and I think its round 60 now? Another option would be the newish Zowie EC-1/EC-2, which is driverless. I've heard good things about it.


----------



## Sil3nce

Quote: 





ohaider said:


> I persoanlly use the g500 and I think its round 60 now? Another option would be the newish Zowie EC-1/EC-2, which is driverless. I've heard good things about it.


 
  agree


----------



## mralexosborn

What about the Deathadder? It's $45 on Amazon.


----------



## Sil3nce

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> What about the Deathadder? It's $45 on Amazon.


 


  Would rather not. Lots of complaints on the endurance of the cable and it's an older model that I personally dislike using.


----------



## mralexosborn

This is the 3.5G, so it's the newer model. I may just get it for the price.


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> This is the 3.5G, so it's the newer model. I may just get it for the price.


 
  I'm not sure about the newer model, but the older/original DA served me well for over 3 years('07-'10.) While I've never had any problems with my DA, Sil3nce is right about of the sturdiness of parts used in the DA like the side buttons wearing out. I've never had any problems with the cord that he mentioned, though.
  
  I switched to the g500 because I felt it was time to 'upgrade'.


----------



## stang

I have the Deathadder 3500DPI version. My Logitech MX518 (just lesser version of G5 really) was way better. Just fit SOOOOO much better in my hand. The Deathadder is uncomfortable for normal use, but good for serious FPS gaming use (I use claw grip whilst gaming). Still, the MX518/G5 are much more my type of mouse.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote:


			
				stang said:
			
		

> I have the Deathadder 3500DPI version. My Logitech MX518 (just lesser version of G5 really) was way better. Just fit SOOOOO much better in my hand. The Deathadder is uncomfortable for normal use, but good for serious FPS gaming use (I use claw grip whilst gaming). Still, the MX518/G5 are much more my type of mouse.


 
   
  That's exactly how I would describe those 2 mice. The DA tends to push up on my palm too much, causing pain.
   
  When my 518 started overheating, I took a risk on the Steelseries Ikari Laser. Not only did it track better, but I've never had a mouse fit so well before. It literally disappears beneath my hand. The material on top's not gloss, so it doesn't get super sticky. It's just...perfect.
   
  The only other mice that have my attention @ this time are the Mionix Naos 5000 and SS's new WoW Cataclysm. They both appear to have the newer Avago 9500 sensor and have clearly been influenced/made from the Ikari's design.


----------



## MCC

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Quote:
> 
> That's exactly how I would describe those 2 mice. The DA tends to push up on my palm too much, causing pain.


 

 I believe the DeathAdder is designed to be used with a gel wrist rest. It's very uncomfortable without one but fits perfectly in my hand when used in conjunction with my exactmat.


----------



## Jodiuh

To make up for my terrible post of that ugly case a week back, click here and read about a $115 case that looks...well, pretty fantastic IMO.


----------



## Nebby

That case doesn't look bad at all, but I found the picture comparison between the silver and black versions entertaining. The silver version is still black, but has a thin silver trimmed frame on the front.


----------



## Jodiuh

It's like those sunglasses on racks @ walmart or the local gas station. They just can't sell em wo/ a ghetto stripe.


----------



## Sil3nce

mmhm still prefer the corsair obsidian


----------



## stang

Quote: 





mcc said:


> I believe the DeathAdder is designed to be used with a gel wrist rest. It's very uncomfortable without one but fits perfectly in my hand when used in conjunction with my exactmat.


 


  I actually own the exactmat with the gel wrist rest, sphex and goliathus speed. Mouse pads are the "Audiophile cables" of computer use for me 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Don't make that much of a difference, but I love how some of them look.


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





stang said:


> I actually own the exactmat with the gel wrist rest, sphex and goliathus speed. Mouse pads are the "Audiophile cables" of computer use for me
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 If you need to really get precision, a good mousepad is useful. I find their strengths (for me) actually are in doing precise graphic design work rather than gaming. I couldn't go back to a normal mousepad or (gasp) a desk surface now.
   
  For reference, I'm using a Steelseries I-2/Icemat.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





stang said:


> I actually own the exactmat with the gel wrist rest, sphex and goliathus speed. Mouse pads are the "Audiophile cables" of computer use for me
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  No, I must disagree. I like to have my mice ridiculously fast and my standard no-DPI-settings mouse isn't cutting it even with the Windows mouse speed set to max. I have about a 6x9 space to use my mouse to a lack of desk space, oh the clutter. 
  I like the Ikari but it's $80 at Best Buy. Is the Ikari worth $20 over the Deathadder?


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





			
				Sil3nce said:
			
		

> mmhm still prefer the corsair obsidian


 

 Well, me too...but my wallet disagrees.
  
  Quote: 





			
				mralexosborn said:
			
		

> No, I must disagree. I like to have my mice ridiculously fast and my standard no-DPI-settings mouse isn't cutting it even with the Windows mouse speed set to max. I have about a 6x9 space to use my mouse to a lack of desk space, oh the clutter.
> I like the Ikari but it's $80 at Best Buy. Is the Ikari worth $20 over the Deathadder?


 
   
  Same. From func to exactmat to destructor. I'm sure there's something even better out there now. If I left my mousepad @ home for a LAN, I would drive back. Even if it was an hour away.
   
  As far as the Ikari vs DA debate. Well...it's just no contest if you're a palmer. The DA hurts and the Ikari's more comfortable than you can possibly imagine. It's like velour ear muffs as opposed to a senn 280 vinyl deathgrip. If you have a BB near you, it's a no brainer w/ their return policy. See if you can find a coupon and I think it goes on sale for $60 now and then.


----------



## fenixdown110

Anyone got the new GTX 580?


----------



## Jodiuh

W/ Galaxy GTX 470 GC's going for $220AR @ Fry's? I hope not.


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





fenixdown110 said:


> Anyone got the new GTX 580?


 


  I've only read one thorough review and I gotta say, the card is just beastly in terms of speed, reduction of heat, and power consumption! :>


----------



## MomentofSilence

I7 930 O/C 4GHZ
  6 GB Tri Channel Ram
  2 TB Raid0 + 30 GB SSD Bootdisk
  Radeon 5850
  SB X-Fi Pro
   
  Dual Monitor with 24 LCD screens non HD.


----------



## fenixdown110

Exactly. I'm very pleased with the reduction of power usage and heat levels. In fact, I went from a GTX 470 to a 460 for that reason alone. I guess I'll be hopping back up as soon as the 580 prices drop a little. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Quote: 





ohaider said:


> I've only read one thorough review and I gotta say, the card is just beastly in terms of speed, reduction of heat, and power consumption! :>


----------



## mralexosborn

I would be disappointed if anybody here had a $600 card. There is so much audio gear wasted...XD


----------



## NomadicAce

If any of you are silly enough to purchase the 580 before the release of the cayman series. Please feel free to slam your head against the wall many many times.
   
  I would rather a new pair of headphones for 600 dollars than a new gpu that only performs 40%-50% better than my 5770 (in benchmarks on various games that I actually play and at resolutions that I play at) why should I compare at 2560x1600 if I do not play at that resolution or do not play that game?
   
  And the 50% does not make the game go from unplayable to playable simply..."nicer" but my eyes are bad anyways so I can hardly tell the difference.


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> I would be disappointed if anybody here had a $600 card. There is so much audio gear wasted...XD


 


  x2
   
  I will probably never spend that much on a computer part...a ~$300 card is more than sufficient.


----------



## Somnambulist

It's worth waiting for Cayman for two obvious reasons:
  1) the performance might be better, if you absolutely have to have the fastest card (until Antillies comes out!).
  2) Depending on the performance/price, and competition induced price drops, you can pick the best card for your budget. If a 6970 is roughly the same as a 580 but costs $100 less, then it becomes a no-brainer unless you're either a fanboy or need things like CUDA.
   
  Although people can spend their money on whatever they can afford, the thing with graphics cards is they are updated every 6 months or so, and currently since many games on the PC are console ports, even current cards can handle most releases just as well as they did earlier in the year. At the end of the day if your FPS is good, then getting a card to knock it up imperceptibly higher isn't an exercise in value for money. 
   
  When the 58xx series cards came out, the best value for money card was a 5850 OC'ed to 5870 speeds. Right now, 6870 CrossFire is pretty impressive, as the 6xxx series seem to scale a fraction better than the SLI of the 4xx cards, although currently 470 SLI kicks a single 580 into the ground, albeit with heat and noise issues at a great price due to temporary price cuts. If NV knock out a cool and quiet 570, and price it right... well, you get the idea.
   
  Normally with computer stuff you should just get what's available if future hardware is more than a couple of months away, but the Cayman cards are supposed to be out the end of the month, so it's a couple of weeks.


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





ohaider said:


> x2
> 
> I will probably never spend that much on a computer part...a ~$300 card is more than sufficient.


 

 Not strictly true. If you have say, a 30" monitor at 2560 res, or are playing on an Eyefinity multi-monitor setup and want all you game graphics maxxed out, a single high-power card is better than a multi-card set up in terms of noise, heat and power consumption and therefore things like a 580 are attractive. Some people don't have a case or mobo that's compatible with multiple GPUs either. There's also issues with micro-stutter (subjective) and some games not supporting multiple GPUs, although that's less of an issue these days.
   
  Generally if you're gaming on a single monitor at 1920x1080/1200 and below, you don't need the 'best of the best' these days, the upper midrange cards are perfectly adequate and better value for money in the long run, especially if you can overclock them yourself.


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Not strictly true. If you have say, a 30" monitor at 2560 res, or are playing on an Eyefinity multi-monitor setup and want all you game graphics maxxed out, a single high-power card is better than a multi-card set up in terms of noise, heat and power consumption and therefore things like a 580 are attractive. Some people don't have a case or mobo that's compatible with multiple GPUs either. There's also issues with micro-stutter (subjective) and some games not supporting multiple GPUs, although that's less of an issue these days.
> 
> Generally if you're gaming on a single monitor at 1920x1080/1200 and below, you don't need the 'best of the best' these days, the upper midrange cards are perfectly adequate and better value for money in the long run, especially if you can overclock them yourself.


 
  I see what you're saying, but I was just talking about for my setup
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




. I'm only running one Dell U2311h @ 1080. That's probably the only reason why I said my card was 'sufficient.' Other then that, if I did decide to use a bigger monitor or run multiple monitors, then I would have to agree with you.

 I also agree with you that a single powerful card > multiple GPUs. Now the issue micro stuttering - I wonder if they're ever gonna be able to fix that(or did they already?)


----------



## Somnambulist

I've seen it explained on OCUK before, it's basically something to do with how they share what you see on screen, and that essentially the tech used has a ton of room for improvement but nothing much has changed over the last few years, although scaling on multiple cards has improved a lot, so it's there's way less diminishing returns there.
   
  Not sure what card I'll get myself but it'll probably be either a 6950 or 570 overclocked to 6970 or 580 speeds, depending on price and which overclocks best. If an OC'ed 6950 comes within 5-10% of a stock 6970, then it should hit that sweet spot of giving you lasting high performance but without paying full wack every time you need to upgrade (which should be when you can't max a game you like, not every time new cards come out!).
   
  Nice monitor btw, I'm torn between that and the new BenQ EW2420 in the 'quality for a guy on a budget' price for the Mac Mini I want to get. Different panel tech but neither is TN and they both seem very, very good for the price. I'd love the Dell Ultrasharp 24" but it's rather expensive!


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> I've seen it explained on OCUK before, it's basically something to do with how they share what you see on screen, and that essentially the tech used has a ton of room for improvement but nothing much has changed over the last few years, although scaling on multiple cards has improved a lot, so it's there's way less diminishing returns there.
> 
> Not sure what card I'll get myself but it'll probably be either a 6950 or 570 overclocked to 6970 or 580 speeds, depending on price and which overclocks best. If an OC'ed 6950 comes within 5-10% of a stock 6970, then it should hit that sweet spot of giving you lasting high performance but without paying full wack every time you need to upgrade (which should be when you can't max a game you like, not every time new cards come out!).
> 
> Nice monitor btw, I'm torn between that and the new BenQ EW2420 in the 'quality for a guy on a budget' price for the Mac Mini I want to get. Different panel tech but neither is TN and they both seem very, very good for the price. I'd love the Dell Ultrasharp 24" but it's rather expensive!


 

 Yeah, the last time I heard complaints about micro stuttering was in the 9800gx2, lol.
   
  I'm probably just going to stick to my current card(5850) for a few years, but if the price is right I may do the same thing you're planning on doing.
   
  Thanks, I can't help you too much with your decision since I don't know anything about the BenQ, but I'll give you some impressions of the u2311h.
   
  The colors on the display are beautiful and accurate like you've read, I'm sure. The only complaint I have with the u2311h is the fact that it can only run 1080@60Hz. I don't know how much you care about monitor Hz for gaming(if you game at all), but I got used to it and I also want to point out that the response time isn't really that slow. I did notice ghosting when I first got it, but after a week it didn't bother me at all anymore. Hope this helps you in your decision between the two.
   
  The build quality of the monitor is superb, aswell. The screen only wobbles a bit if you like, say, bump the table by accident. It also has a ton of adjustment options.
   
  The OSD is easy to navigate for adjustment of the colors, brightness, and so on.
   
  I just can't say enough good things about this monitor. If you ever see the deal for it again, don't hesitate to pick one up...I didn't 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Hope helps you make your decision.


----------



## fenixdown110

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 I agree. That's the exact situation I'm in. I have a 2560x1600 monitor, but I don't want to SLI due to power consumption and space. However, buying early isn't very wise anyways. Once the Cayman 69XX cards are released, the price wars will begin and I can find a better deal on a 580.


----------



## pterodactilo

Mine's: DELL Precision M4500 (bought on August 2010)
   
   
  -> CPU: intel Core i5 2.4 GHz
  -> RAM: 2 GB 1333 MHz DDR3 RAM
  -> Hard Disk: 320 7200 rpm
  -> VGA: Nvidia FX1800M
  -> Onboard sound: IDT "high definition " CODEC ( nothing spectacular but it sounds pretty decent out of the headphone jack though)
  -> Screen: 1600x900 White LED
   
  Planning to upgrade RAM right now and to replace the whole system when second iteration of Sandy Bridge arrives (or maybe the next architecture).


----------



## ccbass

Quote: 





pterodactilo said:


> Mine's: DELL Precision M4500 (bought on August 2010)
> 
> 
> -> CPU: intel Core i5 2.4 GHz
> ...


 

 Sandy Bride is the next tech to arrive.  Then it's something like Ivy Bridge. 
   
  Either way, SB is the next tech launching from Intel in Q1 2011.


----------



## Somnambulist

Mainstream Sandy Bridge Q1, Enthusiast SB Q3 I think. The latter should be the one to get if you're interested in overclocking or high-end performance, although I imagine even the mainstream parts will be very good for everything an average home user would throw at it.


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





ohaider said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
   
  If the 5850 isn't hindering your gaming experience in any way, then there's no need to upgrade. At the end of the day there's a massive amount of willy-wagging with graphics cards. I've seen people running 580 TriSLI already, just for a single monitor. Utter madness!
   
  I intend on running two separate monitors, one for gaming and GPU intensive stuff like the odd bit of 3D modelling which will be a 120hz display (I'm not fussed about playing games in 3D, I just want the increased hz for a more CRT-like experience), the other for internet/iTunes and stuff that's more suited to an IPS or similar panel's strengths, which is where the U2311h might come in. Thanks for the review!


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





fenixdown110 said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Same. I'm kinda leaning towards the green side purely because some of the CUDA and other features would be of use to me. Btw Cayman has been delayed a week or two, and I believe it's purely because the release of the 580 surprised them, they weren't ready, and now they're tinkering with the cards to make them a bit faster. According to the original leaked roadmap a 6970 should be just below the 5970 (which is the dual card), with the dual card 6990 being the crown jewel in the line up and being the fastest thing you can get. The 580 trades blows with the 5970 but at a cheaper price point, so you'd imagine that AMD are now trying to bump the card up a fraction so it's roughly in the same ballpark.
   
  There's also a 570 coming out, which will be basically as good as a 480 but quieter and cooler. If it overclocks well I might well get that, since I imagine that would come within about 5-10% of a 580 at stock, but for a fair bit less cash.


----------



## fenixdown110

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 That's good to know. I think the 570 would be the most ideal card for me then. However, I'll have to look at the comparing benchmarks to decide for sure. I might have to go with the 580 after all then.


----------



## Jodiuh

As a self confessed Nvidia fan boy, this REALLY pissed me off.
   
  Oddly enough the fix still hasn't been rolled in after 8 months. Even more ridiculous, I fixed my problem by upgrading from a Q9550 @ 3.6 Ghz to an i5 760 @ 2.8 Ghz. Meanwhile a friend on a 4850/phenom triple had a better gameplay experience than myself and a fat headed fermi flop.
   
  Still can't get myself to cross to the other side, we'll see about the new stuff. Bummer about the delays. I agree w/ above that it probably didn't outperform the 580 by as much as they'd of liked. Back in the oven! How bout a new heatsink fan unit ATI!


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  Yeah, I've seen that already, too. Pretty crazy if you ask me...I looked at the prices and the 580's are going for $579 a piece.
   
  That would be a really productive setup, I think. I'll probably do something along those lines in the future. You're welcome, haha.


----------



## Mdraluck23

Whoaaaa we have some crazy quotations on this thread... five deep!


----------



## rhythmdevils

I have 32 GB ram in my Macpro.  I think that might make me pretty cool.  Got the Ram for free, so I just filled her up 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  Also have 2 2.66 GHz 6 core processor.  And with Raided 4TB internal drives, it runs Adobe Lightroom pretttty quick


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





rhythmdevils said:


> I have 32 GB ram in my Macpro.  I think that might make me pretty cool.  Got the Ram for free, so I just filled her up
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  I hope you have a job that makes use of the $10000 desktop there.


----------



## rhythmdevils

Definitely. But I wouldn't buy such a beast, I have a nice hand me down /trade arrangement with a client.


----------



## mralexosborn

I got the Deathadder. I am not sure how I feel about it. Drivers seem...finicky? It works though. It's cool and blue.


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





rhythmdevils said:


> Definitely. But I wouldn't buy such a beast, I have a nice hand me down /trade arrangement with a client.


 


  Sounds good, one hell of a computer you've got out of it.


----------



## Somnambulist

rhythmdevils I take it you're running the AMD hexcore, as if that was the i7 980 and you weren't pushing it to 4gz and beyond... well, they'd be stern words said! 
   
  And lol@32GB RAM. I think I'd struggle to even think of a use for even half that.


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> rhythmdevils I take it you're running the AMD hexcore, as if that was the i7 980 and you weren't pushing it to 4gz and beyond... well, they'd be stern words said!
> 
> And lol@32GB RAM. I think I'd struggle to even think of a use for even half that.


 

 I'm pretty sure they're not the AMD. Apple doesn't use AMD. They use Intel. Secondly, the AMD (Which I have) is a 3.2GHz. Thirdly, it's a Xeon processor.
   
http://ark.intel.com/Product.aspx?id=47922


----------



## rhythmdevils

Like I said, I'm not entirely sure I would invest in all that RAM but I surely wasn't going to turn it down.  I can't think of a better use for it than the gargling Final Cut Pro monster.


----------



## Nebby

i7 980's can't be used in dual setups, only xeons can be 
  
  Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> rhythmdevils I take it you're running the AMD hexcore, as if that was the i7 980 and you weren't pushing it to 4gz and beyond... well, they'd be stern words said!
> 
> And lol@32GB RAM. I think I'd struggle to even think of a use for even half that.


----------



## fenixdown110

It's a Mac with Xeon server processors.


----------



## ohaider

Definitely Intel Xeons. I have never seen Apple use AMD before.


----------



## LostOne.TR

lenovo x201
 i7 620m
  intel onboard graphics
  no cd drive
  4gb samsung  ddr3 1066MHz


----------



## dirkpitt45

Quote: 





rhythmdevils said:


> I have 32 GB ram in my Macpro.  I think that might make me pretty cool.  Got the Ram for free, so I just filled her up
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  I Lol'd. 
   
  Lightroom room it actually very well optimized for an adobe program. It's very usable even with RAW files on my dad's netbook. Though RAM wouldn't change much after you pass 6gb..


----------



## LostOne.TR

^ how many sticks of ram did it take to hit 32?


----------



## rhythmdevils

Quote: 





dirkpitt45 said:


> I Lol'd.
> 
> Lightroom room it actually very well optimized for an adobe program. It's very usable even with RAW files on my dad's netbook. Though RAM wouldn't change much after you pass 6gb..


 

 It's clearly overkill, I'm not going to argue with that.  BUT you're wrong about Lightroom.  It's one thing if you're flipping through a library of 400 pictures, mostly jpegs from a D90 or point and shoot.  I currently have 70,000 pictures in my library, and that's only the last year of shooting, and it's all RAW images from 12 and 24 megapixel cameras.  My macbook pro can't handle that well, and your Dad's netbook certainly can't either 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  
   
  I can't remember how many sticks of RAM I got the computer with them already installed.  
   
  I didn't mean to create a hubub, I just thought you guys would get a kick out of it.


----------



## mralexosborn

Do all mice have problems with tracking on normal surfaces like the Deathadder?


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Do all mice have problems with tracking on normal surfaces like the Deathadder?


 


  That depends on what you mean by "normal." Are you using the DA straight on the table; do you have a mousepad?


----------



## mralexosborn

Just straight on the table. I was thinking of abusing Best Buy's holiday return policy and getting the Ikari when I get a gift card. I am not sure.


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Just straight on the table. I was thinking of abusing Best Buy's holiday return policy and getting the Ikari when I get a gift card. I am not sure.


 


  You may want to invest in a mousepad. Also, it may not be the best option going for the Ikari; heard mixed reviews about it being complete garbage to the best mouse ever. I have also read in reviews that the Ikari has insane lift-off distance, etc. It has a really nice grip, though. I guess the best thing for you to do is to see if you can try it out first at the store to see if you like the feel of it.


----------



## ohaider

oops dbl post. stupid lag..


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





			
				mralexosborn said:
			
		

> Just straight on the table. I was thinking of abusing Best Buy's holiday return policy and getting the Ikari when I get a gift card. I am not sure.


 

 I just flung the Ikari laser around on my cheap white resin table and there's no problems. Of course, it's nowhere near as comfy as a Razer Destructor...yeah, get a mouse pad. 

  
  Quote: 





			
				mralexosborn said:
			
		

> Do all mice have problems with tracking on normal surfaces like the Deathadder?


 

 Optical mice will be prone to more inaccuracy w/ less response than the newer laser sensors. They're usually fine on a good mouse pad though. IIRC, I used the DA on an eXactmat and a Func. Pretty good mouse, but not comfortable for myself and the sides/top always caused my hand to sweat and stick.
  
   
  Quote: 





> Originally Posted by *rhythmdevils*
> 
> 
> 
> I didn't mean to create a hubub, I just thought you guys would get a kick out of it.


 

 It's ok, I got booed for 1.5 + GB Firefox sessions. How much more does an SSD help out w/ your specific workload?

  
  Quote: 





			
				ohaider said:
			
		

> Also, it may not be the best option going for the Ikari; heard mixed reviews about it being complete garbage to the best mouse ever. I have also read in reviews that the Ikari has insane lift-off distance, etc.


 
   
  Also, it may be one of the best options to go for the Ikari laser; written positive reviews and comments based on using it for over 3 years. I have also noticed insanely low lift off distance (~1 mm) that really helps the low sens gamer. Here's a running ranking of the mice I've used...
   
  Steelseries Xai
  Pros - excellent tracking and a good step up from the Ikari Laser w/ same cord and surface qualities
  Cons - buttons too hard to depress/way too much effort, shape sucks, definitely not for right handed palmers, gets warm
  MX Revolution
  Pros - super comfortable, nice cool surface, snappy wheel!
  Cons - wireless poo poo for gaming, middle click tough, heavy
  G9
  Pros - good sensor, good wheel
  Cons - where's the rest of the mouse? it's like I got 1/2 a mouse here?! (definitely for fingertippers) 
  Ikari Laser
  Pros - the most comfortable mouse I've ever used, primo shape, surface reduces sweat considerably, button placement, ease of middle click, lightweight, 2nd gen laser tracks very well/better than MX518, extremely low liftoff, long moldable cord stays put, fast microswitch buttons
  Low - I'm on my 2nd one and the skin's peeling up top in small places, mwheel noisy, software is garbage, sensor's not the best around anymore
 MX518
 Pros - very comfortable, surface keeps palm/thumb/pinky cool, lots of buttons and even more functionality w/ uberoptions, very precise tracking, on-the-fly switching, low liftoff, lightweight
 Cons - silly color, wheel doesn't side to side, annoyingly fat cord needs assistance (mouse bungie, twisty tie a foot up)
 MX510
 Pros - see above, blue color looks great
 Cons - slightly less precision and buttons
 DeathAdder gen 1
 Pros - extremely precise tracking, very tactile feeling primary buttons, long thin cord that doesn't get in the way, very low liftoff
 Cons - top gets warm and sticky sides combine to make this uncomfy for prolonged gaming sessions, lack of buttons, great feet
 IE3
 Pros - kept me happy for a long time
 Cons - it's no 518 (honestly, it's been awhile since I've used it) 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



 Habu
 Pros - great feet, it lights up blue?
 Cons - laser just does not feel precise enough for me, fit 'n' finish (specifically the side buttons), bsoded my computer more than once
 G7
 Pros - it's almost comfy
 Cons - it weighs a bit too much, it's missing a button, it lags, the batteries need to be changed to often, laser engine
 MX1000
 Pros - lots of buttons
 Cons - it lags...a lot, 1st gen laser
 G5 V2
 Pros - it got back it's button
 Cons - it looks like spidey had his way w/ it, it feels like spidey had his way w/ it, laser still lacking
 Copperhead
 Diamondback
 Both of these mice screwed up the side buttons completely and neither are anywhere near as comfy as the logi or some of razer's newest
   
  The G9x, G500, and Xai all use the latest Avago sensors and track exceptionally well. The Xai's a bit specialized and a little less desirable than what Logi's using. There's also the Mionix Naos 5000 and the upcoming WoW Cataclysm from Steelseries that's got me all hot and bothered.


----------



## rhythmdevils

> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

  
  Do you mean Solid State Drive?  I don't, I have all spin up drives, though the same client just got a new macpro with 2 raided 500gb solid state drives.  Man that thing is going to be a beast. 
   
  I do have 2 raided 2TB drives, which I have all my photographs on.  I discovered that the bottleneck in my system was the read speed from the hard drive, and having the raid seems to make it a bit faster.  It's still frustrating though when I have 2,500 pictures to go through.  Even a bit of a load time for each image really adds up.


----------



## Jodiuh

Yup, that's what I was getting at. I'm no RAW junkie as most of my pics come from a 2006 Powershot or my Galaxy S, but Picasa does not fly as quickly as I'd like.
   
  I almost bit this round, but am waiting on the new Intel G3's which should be out in short order. Cannot...wait...to get rid of the velociraptors...stupid loud noisy things.


----------



## mralexosborn

Yeah, I won't be returning the Deathadder. Cheap POS plastic on the Deathadder gets scratched to hell...WITH NORMAL USE. Teflon feet also scratched up, I need a mouse pad, it keeps moving by itself. Luckily I grip with a hybrid of palm and claw so the form factor is nice. In game DPI changing is hell though. Worst $40 spent? No, but close.


----------



## Somnambulist

Not worth posting pics just yet, but I have begun the 'general browsing/audio heaven' side of my computer set up. This is going from literally just an old Dell M60 laptop and not a whole lot else. I have acquired a 2010 Mac Mini via the Refurb store, saving me a hundred pounds, and managed to get the keyboard and magic mouse for £40 less than new. I just need the monitor, then I can start working on saving and deciding what DAC, speakers and external firewire HDD bay to get (that's not Drobo expensive!) to put all the music on. Exciting times!
   
  It's just the base model @2.4ghz w/2B RAM. I'm considering upgrading the RAM, either a 2x2G set or a 2x4GB set, but I read somewhere the newer Mini's can accept more than 4GB but don't actually use any of it past that amount. It'd mainly be for messing about modelling in Silo or SketchUp if I can be bothered to learn it, and when I move from a Pod X3 and amp to the Guitar Rig software, Kontrol interface and VST plugins, using the monitors for playback Plan is basically have monitors with balanced inputs for the DAC and regular for the Kontrol thingy.
   
  Btw this is my first ever Mac haha. I'd like an iMac 27" but that's something for the future! 
   
  Regarding mouse mats, I'm probably going to get a Boogie Bug XL for my desktop haha, it's HUGE but looks smart. I have a keyboard tray underneath the desk, but I'll probably put the keyboard and mouse for the gaming set up on that, and get something else there. Greedy = me.


----------



## Shike

Are current laser mouses still suffering from negative acceleration issues?  Also, are any of them able to track on glass mousepads yet?

 Till they are I'm hanging onto my Deathadder and Icemat V2 for dear life.


----------



## fenixdown110

Quote: 





shike said:


> Are current laser mouses still suffering from negative acceleration issues?  Also, are any of them able to track on glass mousepads yet?
> 
> Till they are I'm hanging onto my Deathadder and Icemat V2 for dear life.


 


  Some can glass track already. I believe they call it a 'dark laser'.


----------



## rhythmdevils

Speaking of mice, do any of you have an opinion on the best-tracking mouse around?  I picked up a "Magic Mouse" at Best Buy and I hate it.  Doesn't track right with the blue tooth connection at all.  I was thinking to get a gaming mouse.  Photoshop is really annoying when the cursor doesn't track well.  Thanks for any tips


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





rhythmdevils said:


> Speaking of mice, do any of you have an opinion on the best-tracking mouse around?  I picked up a "Magic Mouse" at Best Buy and I hate it.  Doesn't track right with the blue tooth connection at all.  I was thinking to get a gaming mouse.  Photoshop is really annoying when the cursor doesn't track well.  Thanks for any tips


 


  FWIR the Steelseries Ikari should be a good match due to good ergonomics. I don't know about tracking though.


----------



## Shike

Quote: 





fenixdown110 said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  Really?  I'll have to look into them.  If they also eliminated the negative acceleration on slow sensitivity issue they may finally be worth considering.


----------



## Jodiuh

SS Ikari Laser's pretty good, some have noticed issue. I use a fairly low sens and am fine w/ it. If you're interested in that shape, I would skip the Ikari and go straight for the Mionix Naos 5000 though. Or wait for the Cataclysm from SS.
   
  http://www.mionix.net/page.php?al=naos5000
  http://steelseries.com/products/games/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm/world-of-warcraft-cataclysm-mmo-gaming-mouse


----------



## fenixdown110

Quote: 





shike said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Sorry. I got the term wrong. It's actually a "Darkfield Laser". Here's a pdf describing the details.
  http://www.logitech.com/images/pdf/briefs/Logitech_Darkfield_Innovation_Brief_2009.pdf


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





rhythmdevils said:


> Speaking of mice, do any of you have an opinion on the best-tracking mouse around?  I picked up a "Magic Mouse" at Best Buy and I hate it.  Doesn't track right with the blue tooth connection at all.  I was thinking to get a gaming mouse.  Photoshop is really annoying when the cursor doesn't track well.  Thanks for any tips


 

  
  Some mice just don't get on with certain materials/mouse mats that others do, have you tried changing the surface?
   
  Btw guys, I picked a monitor. HP ZR24w, not the cheapest of consumer-ish IPS screens, but about £150 cheaper than the Dell U2410 and like that it's 16:10, where as all the other IPS and cheaper TN panels are 16:9, which I'm not a fan of! Boogie Bug seems to be out of stock and won't be in for a while, so I may get a Corepad C1 XXXL for my desktop.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Almost 3 feet by a foot and a half. I hope you mouse's DPI is set to 4 1/2 so you can take full advantage of the size.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





			
				Somnambulist said:
			
		

> HP ZR24w


 
  Is that a wide gamut panel? I returned the U2410 because of the ridiculous colors and extreme brightness. Still on my old 2007 WFP cause it's the only panel so easy on my poor sun blasted eyeballs.


----------



## fenixdown110

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Enjoy the monitor. The ZR series are excellent!


----------



## rhythmdevils

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Yeah I tried it on my current mouse pad and also on wood, and on my lap.  I currently have a kensington mouse and it works fine on this mousepad.  Though the pad is really old maybe I should get something high tech. 
   
  I think it's a blue tooth issue because I read about others having similar problems.  Which I think is absurd.  I mean who cares about having a blue tooth mouse anyways, I just want it to track properly.  I will have to exchange it at Best Buy, so I guess I'll get whatever gaming mouse they recommend.  But I imagine, if their headphone selection is any way to judge, that they won't carry the best mice.


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





rhythmdevils said:


> Speaking of mice, do any of you have an opinion on the best-tracking mouse around?  I picked up a "Magic Mouse" at Best Buy and I hate it.  Doesn't track right with the blue tooth connection at all.  I was thinking to get a gaming mouse.  Photoshop is really annoying when the cursor doesn't track well.  Thanks for any tips


 

 Any high sensitivity laser mouse should do. Something to seriously consider is a different mousepad as well. I've had my Steelseries I-2 for over a year and I'm still in love with it.


----------



## rhythmdevils

Wow they actually make high-tech mouse pads amazing.  So you notice a difference?  I might give it a shot.


----------



## marvin

Quote: 





rhythmdevils said:


> I think it's a blue tooth issue because I read about others having similar problems.  Which I think is absurd.  I mean who cares about having a blue tooth mouse anyways, I just want it to track properly.  I will have to exchange it at Best Buy, so I guess I'll get whatever gaming mouse they recommend.  But I imagine, if their headphone selection is any way to judge, that they won't carry the best mice.


 

 You'd be surprised. The local Best Buy's carry a pretty good selection of mice. They're a bit slow on getting stock of the newest ones, but there's usually a good selection of higher end mice from Logitech, Razer, and Steelseries.


----------



## Somnambulist

It's not wide gamut (I wouldn't be doing colour critical work on it and I'm not a pro-anything!), but I will need to calibrate it as it's only 'good' out the box, but can be calibrated to excellency. A guy on OCUK is lending his Spyder 2 out to people because he's altruistic lol, I'm going to get in line.
   
  The Corepad is more a 'deskpad' your keyboard goes on it too, see (different surface, same concept):
  http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8624/dscf1374q.jpg
   
  Gives your arm something soft to rest on, and means there's no way you'll run off the sides of your mat! I think it looks smart generally too! No scratching your worktop surface either, and I think you can even stick it in the wash.
   
  Just checking the Magic Mouse is okay for it. I know that the rails under the mouse can be pretty noisy with plastic mats, hence the desire to get a nice quality cloth one which should glide.


----------



## Jodiuh

Oooh! A placemat for my keyboard! Do want!


----------



## Somnambulist

They look smart. Corepad offer a few different products at that 90x45cm size, but the C1 is the 'best' as far as a gaming surface goes.


----------



## Shike

Quote: 





revolink24 said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  If the I-2 is what I think it is (the Steel Series branded Icemat (aka glass) ) I've tried using it with laser mouses and unfortunately they won't track on semi-frosted glass (at least none I used).


----------



## Nebby

It can actually work with laser mice. I had a G7 that wouldn't work with it when it died so I RMA'd that and got a new replacement. The replacement worked just fine with the Icemat.
  
  Quote: 





shike said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## Shike

And you have absolutely no issue with it jumping around at all?  Which color icemat are you using?  My copperhead absolutely refuses to track glass mousepads without jumping all over.
  
  Quote: 





nebby said:


> It can actually work with laser mice. I had a G7 that wouldn't work with it when it died so I RMA'd that and got a new replacement. The replacement worked just fine with the Icemat.
> 
> Quote:
> 
> ...


----------



## Nebby

With the original G7 if I was lucky it would jump around but most of the time it was as if I wasn't moving the mouse at all. With the newer G7, I had no issues whatsoever with my black icemat.


----------



## ohaider

I would just suggest getting a high quality cloth pad; Talent, qck, etc. It'll also keep your mouse feet from deteriorating.


----------



## Jodiuh

Went to a LAN yesterday and someone brought a pad by SteelSeries and some "grease" to decrease friction. He said the pad was aluminum, but it felt even lighter. Size was between the exactmat and destructor. Not quite as thin as the destructor, bit close. It was noticeably cold like the exactmat...maybe cooler. Surface wasn't perfectly smooth, but definitely not rough like destructor. Once the grease was applied and I got a chance to push his Xai around, I knew I'd found my new pad.

Ill post back when I get in touch with him and find out the name.


----------



## revolink24

I use my icemat (I-2) with my MX Revolution laser mouse and it tracks beautifully.


----------



## ohaider

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Went to a LAN yesterday and someone brought a pad by SteelSeries and some "grease" to decrease friction. He said the pad was aluminum, but it felt even lighter. Size was between the exactmat and destructor. Not quite as thin as the destructor, bit close. It was noticeably cold like the exactmat...maybe cooler. Surface wasn't perfectly smooth, but definitely not rough like destructor. Once the grease was applied and I got a chance to push his Xai around, I knew I'd found my new pad.
> 
> Ill post back when I get in touch with him and find out the name.


 


  SteelSeries SX is the name of that pad. I'm not sure if the grease that they supply for you to wipe for it messes with tracking when you swipe really fast though. A lot of users reported that way back.


----------



## Jmin

I have the MacBook Pro 15 inch
  which is running mac OSX 10.5.8, and bootcamp windows 7
  with 2 GB 1067 MHz DDR3
  2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor
  and 250 GB hard drive


----------



## s2odin

MBP 13" 
  C2D 2.26 ghz
  500gb HD
  2gb RAM (hopefully 4 or 8gb kit for Christmas)


----------



## Mr. B

EVGA P55 SLI - Intel Core i5-750 - 4GB DDR3 1600
   
  Full Parts list:


Spoiler



Antec P180 Case
 Seasonic S12-500 500 watt Power Supply

 EVGA P55 SLI 132-LF-E655-KR LGA1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
 Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor BX80605I5750
 with Scythe Mugen 2 CPU cooler

 EVGA GeForce GTX260 Core 216 896MB DDR3 Graphics Card 896-P3-1255-AR
 A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 SDRAM

 Western Digital Caviar Black WD6401AALS 640GB 7200 RPM hard drive
 Two (2) Samsung EcoGreen F2 HD154UI 1.5TB hard drives (for RAID1 media storage)
 ASUS DRW-24B1ST SATA DVD Burner
 Rosewill RCR-IC001 40-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader

 Scythe Kaze Master 5.25'' Bay Fan Controller
 Three (3) YATE LOON 120mm Case Fans (D12SL-12)

 Linksys WMP54GS PCI Wireless Card


----------



## Jodiuh

Haha! Love the spoiler. It's been about a month and I've started to  settle in w/ the new parts. I've noticed a tremendous difference from the Q9550 C2D to the i5 760 in L4D2 and BC2. Minimum framerate's been given a healthy boost and there's a much smaller delta between the min/max making for a very smooth gaming experience. Still unsure if I wanna keep the 460, look out for a 470 deal, or wait for AMD's next toy though. The 460 @ 800Mhz seems to just get me by @ 1680 x 1050. SLI's a great option, but multi gpu bugs scare me after the Crysis/8800GT SLI failure.
   
  EDIT: I always screw that up...miss BBcode.


----------



## Somnambulist

The high-end AMD single cards are out next week, I think it's the 13th, might be the 15th, the 6950 and 6970. SLI 460's are pretty amazing for the money as they offer better than GTX580 performance in some cases...but IMO it's much less hassle to just get the best single card you can for the money.
   
  I know for a fact these AMD cards are a hard launch because OCUK says they're practically swimming with stock, unlike the GTX 5** which have been paper launches with limited stock and low availability right now. It's been hinted the pricing is really good too. No idea on performance though, although the 6970 won't be as fast as a 5970 (well, when the dual cards are sped up to 5870 speeds which is what you're supposed to do with it), but probably competing comfortably with the 580 for a lot less money. Even if you stick with Nvidia you might as well wait since they'll probably be deals and price drops after AMD put their cards out.


----------



## Jodiuh

I'm really enjoying all the 69XX leaks. 
   
  6970 ~ 2000 shaders, 1500 shaders, 300 watts, equal to a 225 watt 570. It's like they're messing w/ us.


----------



## Achmedisdead

I'm not a PC gamer, so the graphics card is fine for my needs.


----------



## marvin

I'm kinda stuck in a situation where it doesn't matter what the actual performance is vis-a-vis the 580GTX, I'll still be getting a 6970. New rig needs an Eyefinity capable single card solution since I'm trying to stuff everything into a Silverstone Sugo case, and a 5870 doesn't quite hack it at 5760x1080. Just hoping power consumption is on the lower end of 200W so I can outfit it with a quieter HSF solution.


----------



## s2odin

I'm just stoked for the new mobile GPU's to be released.
   
  Although I'll probably pick up a desktop gaming rig since I don't really like gaming on a laptop since they run too hot.  I'm just amazed how much power some laptops offer.  Some have dual 5870's or even dual gtx 480m's (ridiculous).  
   
  Desktop processor + 3 HD's + dual gtx 480m's = win


----------



## Jodiuh

Just what qualifies for a GTX 480M these days? I mean, what's the desktop equivalency?


----------



## s2odin

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Just what qualifies for a GTX 480M these days? I mean, what's the desktop equivalency?


 


  GTX 465 I think


----------



## Jodiuh

Now that makes the lanner inside smile.


----------



## s2odin

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Now that makes the lanner inside smile.


 


  Check out the specs on the Clevo X7200   Fastest desktop replacement out there.  But it costs like 2x the price of a desktop with the same specs.


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> I'm really enjoying all the 69XX leaks.
> 
> 6970 ~ 2000 shaders, 1500 shaders, 300 watts, equal to a 225 watt 570. It's like they're messing w/ us.


 


  Yeah it's weird. OCUK's admin basically said he thinks these cards will be as successful as the 58xxs, that it's bloody quick and amazing value for money and it's his word I'll take rather than some of these weird benchmarks popping up and about from 1-2 sources. Essentially the rabbit comes out the hat very soon though. Wednesday I think but it could well be tomorrow for all I know.


----------



## Somnambulist

Should see NDA lifted around 5am GTM tomorrow night (or realistically Wednesday morning). From what I can tell it's basically the following:
   
  Like the 5870 to the GTX480, the 6970 is a bit slower than a GTX580. However the pricing of the card will be a LOT more attractive, perhaps £100 less, and to top it off, the cards overclock nicely as deliver epic Crossfire scaling (better than SLI, finally). Once again it will be down to the monster AMD card, the 6990 to be the single thing you can get (although it's obviously a 2-in-1 card). Therefore AMD win in terms of value for money, stock availability and dual card performance, but if you want a single card then the 580 is still the fastest.
   
  Also like the 5850, the 6950 seems to occupy that sweet spot of being in an affordable price point for a lot of people but with offering super performance when overclocked. 
   
  The 6900 cards are awesome at tessellation too, although ultimately it's still really a preserve of benchmarks rather than actual useful implementation in games.


----------



## Somnambulist

Overclocked 6970 beats a 5970 (single card v.s. dual card), so the 6990 will no doubt be insane. 2x6950 is around the same money as a GTX580 and offers better performance (microstutter perception not withstanding). All cards are pretty power-friendly, don't get insanely hot or loud, 6970 is the same size as a 5870.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> Overclocked 6970 beats a 5970...pretty power-friendly, don't get insanely hot or loud...


 
   
  Is this from your own personal hands on testing? If not, where are you getting this info?
   
Did you see this?


----------



## Somnambulist

Overclockers UK forum. Various internet people were spouting a lot of negative press about the cards, so apparently the NDA was partially lifted yesterday and places like OC who had stock ready to sell were allowed to post a few results to restore sanity. Expect full reviews to start trickling out in a few hours, although they'll be the ones that get uploaded then taken down since I think it's another 8-9 hours till it's officially OK to post.
   
  But yeah, the cards seem to be fantastic value for money given they are marginally slower in terms of brute force than their green equivalent cards, so unless you want to get nvidia for things like CUDA or you have irrational fanboy love, then AMD look like the sensible choice to spend your pennies on (and also overclock better and scale better than nvidia's!).
   
  EDIT - yeah that's the OCUK store's picture. They have a tradition of building 'stock pyramids'. Wanna eat more popcorn? That's just a THIRD of their 6970 stock and doesn't even show any of the 6950s. That's how confident they are that these will fly off the shelves, although the appalling lack of 580's due to their paper-launch will probably help too.


----------



## Somnambulist

OCUK now have them for sale:
  http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=1752
   
  Staggeringly good price. The 6970's are all from the same place and are reference design so brand is irrelevant. Under £300!!!! 
   
  Compare this to the Nvidia cards:
  http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productlist.php?groupid=701&catid=56&subid=1812
   
  If I was a gamer I know where my money would be going...
   
  EDIT - people seem to agree, he's selling about 5 a minute so far and there aren't even any proper reviews up yet.


----------



## highonsound

are the 6970 card longer the the gtx580? just wondering if it would fit into my rig


----------



## mongolianfly

My main was built by me a couple of years ago and contains:
   
  Intel E8500 3.16Ghz
  4GB Corsair RAM
  Gigabyte motherboard
  Sapphire HD4870 512mb
  Cooler Master CM690 case
   
  I plan on building a quiet music-playing computer with the following specifications:
   
  Mini-ITX fan-less D510 atom motherboard
  2GB Kingston Valueram
  DIY wooden case
  2x 120mm fan
  ESI Juli@ sound-card


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





highonsound said:


> are the 6970 card longer the the gtx580? just wondering if it would fit into my rig


 


  It's 10.8" long, bout the same as earlier cards.
   
  Reviews out. Conclusion =
   
  For people who want value for money:
  If you game at <1920x1200/1080 on one screen get a 570, this applies more because at lower resolutions you want to apply more AA, and on high res displays less is needed.
  If you game at 1920x1200/1080 and above on one screen or are going to use multiple screen either for EyeFinity or general use, get a 6950.
   
  For people who can afford whatever:
  580 is still the king until the 6990 comes out. Late EDIT - a 6970 is a great option if you want to run 3 monitors on one card. Nvidia only let you run 2 displays per card, with AMD you can run 6 IIRC. 
   
  Cards are begging to be overclocked.
   
  Thing to bear in mind IMO, is, what cards do you really NEED if you're a gamer to be able to play nearly everything maxed. The answer is that only Metro 2033 with all the eye-candy (Depth of Field is rubbish though?!) is going to smack even a 580 about at high res. For every other game, the cheaper mid-to-high and cards will give you acceptable-to-great framerates. Most PC games at the moment are poor console ports, and since current consoles are 5 years old... well, you won't be needing the latest and greatest cards.
   
  I would also say if you own a GTX4xx series or AMD/ATI 58xx series, it's really not worth upgrading to either (unless you can't deal with the heat/noise of the 4xx's). Both new series are about 10-15% better than the previous ones, so really if you can already run everything to a level of satisfaction... why bother changing? The only game coming out I would keep my eye on is Crysis 2, but given that Crysis Warhead runs miles better than Crysis on the same system and they look virtually identical (Crysis is just badly coded) I'd expect it won't be a repeat of the 'you need to wait at least 18 months for computers that will be able to play it at max settings'.


----------



## highonsound

^ i agree...save your money until more high demand game comes out like crysis 2


----------



## Somnambulist

Indeed and even with Crysis II there's nothing to say it's going to be a ridiculously demanding game. If I had bought a 4xx series or 58/59xx series card, I'd be waiting till late next year at the earliest for the cards that are on smaller nanometer processes and are almost guaranteed to be much faster and more interesting. These new cards are just more efficient, and better cooled versions of the last ones.


----------



## Jodiuh

Great summary. At $300 the 6950 costs nearly 50% more than a 470 and offers very little gain once they've both been clocked.

These things should have been priced at least $50 less.


----------



## Kuze

The video card market is a bad joke right now, cards are being pumped out faster than you can get to the store and show hardly any improvements, take it from me... save your money, get something sufficient.
  GTX460 1GB model for around $160 will do just fine for the ports of today, wouldn't upgrade until 1 year after new consoles arrive. I play BFBC2 and it runs smooth @1680x1050 maxed.


----------



## AKIMbO

Main Rig:
  i7 920 @ 4.2ghz
  6gbs of 1600mhz OCZ Ram
  Foxconn Bloodrage Mobo
  BFG GTX 280 OC version
  2x WD 320gbs HDDs in Raid 0
  Corsair 800D case
  Creative Titanium HD
   
  CPU, NB, GPU are all being watercooled.
   
  Is anyone thinking of upgrading to Sandy Bridge or are you just going to wait it out with your current rig?  I'm going to wait it out myself.


----------



## Nebby

For i7, I'd say wait it out. I'm still running a core 2 quad so Sandy Bridge is looking mightily tempting. One thing about buying older video cards is that it's worth a look at checking the power consumption. Some of the older cards use significantly more power, so you might be paying the difference in electricity bill costs  I'm still running a gtx280, but I'm considering switching to the new amd cards.


----------



## AKIMbO

The 570 is looking very tempting at the moment.  More powerful than the 480 and it stays way quieter.  I am a little disappointed with the performance of the new ATI offerings (although I'm still waiting for performance testing with newer ATI drivers).


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





kuze said:


> GTX460 1GB model for around $160 will do just fine for the ports of today, wouldn't upgrade until 1 year after new consoles arrive. I play BFBC2 and it runs smooth @1680x1050 maxed.


 
  Got a SD alert for a 1GB Palit going for $130 earlier today. BC2 finally plays smooth for me. I had originally tried to run it w/ an E8400/260 216, but no dice. A Q9550 improved things, but it took an i5 760/470 to keep a 60 minimum w/ 4x AA @ 1680...no HBAO of course. 
    
  Quote:


akimbo said:


> Is anyone thinking of upgrading to Sandy Bridge...


 
  *raises hand*
   
  From what I've been reading over @ XS, it looks to have as much as 20% more OC headroom and run games up to 20% quicker w/ 20% less power consumption.
  
  Quote: 





nebby said:


> I'm still running a gtx280, but I'm considering switching to the new amd cards.


 
  Booo! Hisss!
   
  Newegg's got an EVGA GTX 470 SC for $230 AR w/ free shipping right now. Why anyone would put another $120 down for a 570 that "might" offer 15% improvement's beyond me.


----------



## mralexosborn

> akimbo said:
> 
> 
> > Is anyone thinking of upgrading to Sandy Bridge...
> ...


 


  Not to mention the price, oh the price. Not even $350 for the top quad core chip coming out in January.


----------



## Somnambulist

If you want to OC Sandy Bridge you need the processors with K on the end of the names. Also the ones coming out are the mid-range ones, you'll have to wait later in the year for the 'enthusiast' processors, although the mid-range may well be better than the current i7 quad cores.


----------



## Somnambulist

Quote: 





akimbo said:


> The 570 is looking very tempting at the moment.  More powerful than the 480 and it stays way quieter.  I am a little disappointed with the performance of the new ATI offerings (although I'm still waiting for performance testing with newer ATI drivers).


 


  Well, the thing is BOTH brands refreshes are really only 10-15% improvements over the first lot of DX11 cards, so it's not really surprising that NV still have the fastest single card because the 480 was a fair bit ahead of a 5870 and it was the dual card 5970 that competed with it (beats it in most games, loses in the benchmarks with a lot of tessellation e.t.c.). AMD/ATI have played the 'value for money/efficiency' card for a long time now; two 6950s cost less than a 580 at the moment (v. low availability = even higher prices) and beat it by like 25% or something. What you have to remember is the new AMD cards cost less than the 5850 and 5870 when they launched but offer cooler, quieter cards that while only having a bit more general performance, offer massively better tessellation performance (in order to have some parity with NV) and also scale almost 100% in CrossFire; two 6970's beat SLI 580s at high res because the scaling is so good they close and pass the gap the single cards have. Not really worth upgrading if you already have 5850s or 5870s, but then the 570 and 580 weren't really worth it if you owned 470s and 480s.
   
  Regards the 570, it depends what res you play at. The 6970 pulls ahead of the 570 in games at high res (i.e. 1920x1200 and above), particularly DX11 ones, but in other cases they trade blows fairly equally. The 58xx's improved quite a bit with drivers, so you can expect the same with the 69xxs. Also there's the fact that a single 6970 can power up to 6 screens, the 570 will only do 2 AFAIK and for only a bit more money has 2GB of RAM which is essential for high res/multiscreen gaming since they are creeping up in terms of memory usage. If you game at 'below full HD' then it's likely you'll want to apply a fair bit of AA to your games, in which case the 570 is right card. However like the 580 stock is slowly dwindling away and I doubt they'll be in supply in large quantities till a bit into the new year. By contrast AMD seemed to have delayed releasing their cards in order to built up plenty of stock, and so go into the new year having far more availability. If you can't buy a 580 anywhere and when you do find a place they have them at crazy inflated prices... then you see 6950 CF for less money and plenty of stock...
   
  EDIT - the NV cards are obviously better if you're desperate for Physix in games (which isn't really worth it) but more importantly you can 3D game with them right now, which is obviously still a relatively new thing and requires a 120hz monitor (which are all naff TN panels  )


----------



## Jodiuh

somnambulist said:


> ...the ones coming out are the mid-range ones...





With the potential for being over 40% quicker, I don't know if I'd call the $311 2600K "mid-range." 

I briefly owned an i7 930, but couldn't make use of HT, don't have anything that needs triple channel, and had no intention of running 3 video cards. The lower heat output from the 760 was very welcome.


----------



## Nebby

Well I'm currently in the odd position having three monitors, but only enough pcie slots for one card. When I upgrade, I'm tempted to pick up an Amd video card if only for the ability to run three monitors straight out of the box; the extra benefit being that it doesn't turn off power-saving mode when more than one monitor is hooked up (thanks nvidia!). It also looks like the new cards from Amd also have decent performance at high resolutions, which is important to me since my main monitor is a 27" with a 2560x1440 resolution. Personally speaking, I'd look into picking up the 570 over the 470 with the power and noise level changes alone. That's just me though, YMMV.
   
  Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## Omfgnoway

Just ordered my first build, here are the specs:
   
  Case: Antec 300 
  CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 
  GPU: PNY GTX 460 overclocked
  RAM: G. Skill ripjaws 4GB DDR3 1333mhz
  Mobo: Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 
  PSU: Antec Earthwatts 650W
  HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
  Some random dvd drive
   
  How'd I do?


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





omfgnoway said:


> Just ordered my first build, here are the specs:
> 
> Case: Antec 300
> CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE
> ...


 

 Why'd you get a Phenom? It would have been worth the set up to a Core i5/7.


----------



## Omfgnoway

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 My budget was pretty strict at $700 so I doubt I could've squeezed those in. Are they really that much better? I doubt I would make much use of the hyperthreading, but I'm really new to this so what do I know :\
   
  Edit: Wow, probably should have looked at benchmarks for the i5 760 before settling on the 965. Oh well, lesson learned...more research next time.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





omfgnoway said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
   
  I personally have the Athlon II X4 630. It is only $100 so it's a good deal but not a great proc. The Phenom just isn't a value buy.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Omfgnoway* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> 
> My budget was pretty strict at $700 so I doubt I could've squeezed those in. Are they really that much better? I doubt I would make much use of the hyperthreading, but I'm really new to this so what do I know :\
> 
> Edit: Wow, probably should have looked at benchmarks for the i5 760 before settling on the 965. Oh well, lesson learned...more research next time.


 
   
  760 goes for $180 and the USB3 board's only $95. I got mine for $160 thanks to slickdeals. Setup a keyword alert next time. $100 Triple.Fi's, free UE-700's, free chicken!!
   
  EDIT: You haven't put it together yet? Maybe consider a return if they'll let you.


----------



## Anjexu

DX58SO
  i7 920
  G.Skill 6GB DDR3, don't remember timings/specs (lol)
  OCZ Vertex 2 60GB 2.5" SSD
  Some WD 400GB HDD (For storage, of course)
  ATi HD 4850
  ASUS Xonar DX
   
  Not sure what my PSU is, I think it's some overkill 750W PSU that my brother bought.  He always spends too much on computer stuff.


----------



## Murmaider

Pentium 4
  2.53 ghz
  2gbs ddr2100
  40gb hard drive
  xfi extreme music pci not pci express 1x
  nvidia 7600gt
  Windows 7 ultimate
  2 WD external hard drives 750gb & 1.5tb
  all of this in Thermaltake Shark full tower case :]
   
  got it for Christmas on December 22, 2002 at Circuit City lol
  8 years old and still running like a champ


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





> I personally have the Athlon II X4 630. It is only $100 so it's a good deal but not a great proc. The Phenom just isn't a value buy.


 


  You have got to be kidding me. The Phenoms, especially the X6s, are the best values in processors.


----------



## NomadicAce

Unlocking Athlon X3s to Phenom X4s is value, but I would say the 965 BE (and the hexacore) and company are a good value as well. Actually the only intel worth thinking about until the new series comes out in the next 2 weeks is the 760. And if you do not need that much processor...most of us do not, then AMD options are bigger bang/buck.


----------



## Jodiuh

Athlon X2 3800 was my last AMD chip. I remember it being SO much smoother than the P4 630 it replaced.


----------



## yifu

Well they are but seriously AMD hasnt updated its core architecture for quite a while, which means that clock for clock intel always beats AMD, which is why amd puts 6 cores in a 200 dollars cpu, which is pretty useless as most apps only use dual core.
  Quote: 





revolink24 said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## Jodiuh

But only takes one game to bring forth upgraditis. That game is Bad Company 2 Vietnam. Runs like a dog on an E8400/260 and a dream on 760/460. I don't think I've enjoyed playing online this much since Left 4 Dead 1 came out. LAN party's only exasperate the screaming, yelling, swearing, and mouse abuse.


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





revolink24 said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Sorry.


----------



## revolink24

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  No problem, no harm done.
   
  I just think that the 6 cores are incredible value, especially if you're *not* a gamer. They overclock well and handle multitasking as well as video encoding applications insanely well.
   
  Running a 1090T at 4.0 GHz right now.  This isn't to say that Intel doesn't have their fair share of values. They're actually probably about equal on VFM, you just have to choose based on your purposes.


----------



## deltaspirit

Currently running
   
   
  i7-920 @ 4.0 W Noctua NH-U12P SE
EVGA x58 sli
6GB OCZ 1600mhz
5870 1GB
Corsair HX620
2X WD 640GB Black in raid 0
  Modded lian li a05b
  Filco majestouch MX black
  Razer deathadder
  Dual dell 2407WFP's


----------



## Somnambulist

In other news, if you buy a 6950 you can essentially unlock it to become a 6970. Stonking value card:
  http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18221844


----------



## MCC

Quote: 





somnambulist said:


> In other news, if you buy a 6950 you can essentially unlock it to become a 6970. Stonking value card:
> http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18221844


 

 Now if only I could afford a $300 video card, all would be well. Yet I have to wonder if newer, faster graphics cards really make a difference only because today's games are developed for PowerPC consoles and haphazardly ported to x86 machines without many changes to the engine.
   
  I'm starting to think this way because Left 4 Dead 2 runs spectacularly well on my laptop with everything on max sans AA- at native resolution (1680x1050). And my laptop has a FireGL v5700 mobility, AKA Radeon 3650. I've overclocked both the GPU and VRAM by 25% but that's still quite surprising to me. Yet my desktop, with an overclocked 4850, shows some weakness running Fallout New Vegas. You know, that game with a barely modified engine from 2006. That doesn't look nearly as good as L4D2.


----------



## cunning

from a few years back
   
  e6750
  asus rampage formula
  BLACK TRUE-120
  MSI 8800GT
  1TB Hitachi HDS720
  1.5TB Seagate 7200.11
  Silverstone TJ-07 black /w side option
  pioneer dvr-12
  enermax 720
  a few noctua and scythe fans


----------



## Somnambulist

Forgot to post this but at Christmas Crucial were selling RAM for an absolute steal, so I bumped up my mid-2010 Mac Mini to the max! 
   
  http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c49/paulybobs/RAMlol.jpg


----------



## Landis

CPU: Intel Q6600 @ 3.0Ghz
  Motherboard: Gigabyte UD3P
  Video Card: BFG GTX 260
  Memory: Corsair XMS2 (4 x 1GB)
  Sound Card: HT Omega Claro Halo
  HDD #1: Seagate 500GB Barracuda (16mb Cache)
  HDD #2: Western Digital Caviar Black (32mb Cache)
  HDD #3: Intel X25-M Solid State 160GB
  Optical #1: Lite-On DVD-RW
  Optical #2: LG BD-RW / HD-ROM / DVD-RW
   
  This computer could run anything... Three years ago.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





mcc said:


> Yet I have to wonder if newer, faster graphics cards really make a difference only because today's games are developed for PowerPC consoles and haphazardly ported to x86 machines without many changes to the engine.


 

 Battlefield Bad Company 2's an amazing experience with framerates above 60 @ all times.


----------



## revolink24

If they're above 60, then you really should turn vsync on.


----------



## Jodiuh

Screen tearing doesn't bother me. Mouse lag does.


----------



## revolink24

That's why I have forced triple buffering 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




.
   
  Although with any well executed vsync mouse lag should be nonexistent.


----------



## Jodiuh

Haven't messed with it in a long time. Honestly, I don't even notice the tearing. 

Might try it later tonight tho. Thx.


----------



## MooTaters

Just got a gtx460 SE to finally replace that 8800gt.


----------



## elementunkn

*Manufacturer:*  Custom Built
 *Processor:*  Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 Cores), ~2.4GHz
 *Memory:*  4GB RAM
 *Hard Drive:*  700GB
 *Video Card:*  NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
 *Monitor:* Acer 20" *Sound Card:*  Realtek HD OnBoard
 *Headphones:* Razer Carcharias *Keyboard:*  Logitech G11
 *Mouse:* Razer Deathadder *Mouse Surface:*  Fry's Rug
 *Operating System:* Windows 7 Ultimate x64 *Motherboard:*  Gigabyte
 *Computer Case:*  Xion Solaris Green Case


----------



## deltaspirit

Quote: 





elementunkn said:


> *Manufacturer:*  Custom Built
> *Processor:* *Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.4GHz*
> *Memory:*  4GB RAM
> *Hard Drive:*  700GB
> ...


 


  4 Cores, not cpu's.


----------



## elementunkn

Copied and pasted from XFire. Didn't notice that.
  My bad


----------



## revolink24

Heh, that's funny I was about to say "I bet that's from XFire...."
   
  I appreciate XFire telling me I have 6 CPUs.
   
   

Manufacturer:​  Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
Processor:​  AMD Phenom(tm) II X6 1090T Processor (6 CPUs), ~3.8GHz
Memory:​  4096MB RAM
Hard Drive:​  3TB of them
Video Card:​  ATI Radeon HD 5700 Series
Monitor:​  Acer AL2216W + Acer X223W
Sound Card:​  Digital Output (E-MU 0404 | USB)
Speakers/Headphones:​  Grado HF2
Keyboard:​  IBM Model M
Mouse:​  Mionix Naos 3200
Mouse Surface:​  Steelseries I-2 (Icemat)
Operating System:​  Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit (6.1, Build 7600) (7600.win7_gdr.100618-1621)
Motherboard:​  Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5
Computer Case:​  Antec P182


----------



## PhaedraCorruption

CPU maker:




 CPU: i7 920 @4.3GHz HT on 1.35v (8 Threads) Motherboard: Asus Rampage III Extreme GPU maker:



 Graphics Card:     MSI's Nvidia GTX470 Twin Frozr II Golden Edition/Limited Edition (Card #1373 out of 2500) Memory: 6GB Corsair Dominator @2GHz CL8 Hard Drive: 4x 250GB 7200.10 RAID0 & 8x WD 2TB Caviar Green Optical Drive: TSSTcorp DVD+RW TS-H653A Power Supply: CoolerMaster Real Power PRO 1000w Display: 2x Samsung 245BW 24" 3840x1200 Case: Custom Built Acrylic Test Bench Sound Card: Creative X-FI Titanium w/ Parasound DAC-1000 Speakers: Velodyne Quad + Tannoy Sub Headphones: Fostex T50RP v2 Mouse: Microsoft SideWinder x8/Logitech MX Revolution Mouse pad: United Federation Of Awesomeness(Custom Pad) Keyboard: Flico Zero Tenkeyless Operating System:  Windows 7 x64 Ultimate

     
  Cooling
   

 CPU:  Swiftech GTZ Watercooling Loop
 Memory: Corsair DOMINATOR Fins
    
  But I would say it changes every months, I keep upgrading.


----------



## deltaspirit

Quote: 





phaedracorruption said:


> CPU maker:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Straight outta overlock.net


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





phaedracorruption said:


> MSI's Nvidia GTX470 Twin Frozr II Golden Edition/Limited Edition (Card #1373 out of 2500)


 
   
  Pics/clocks, stat. That sounds fantabulous.


----------



## PhaedraCorruption

Quote: 





deltaspirit said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  Right you are.


----------



## mralexosborn

Oh my God. I am excited about Sandy Bridge.


----------



## PhaedraCorruption

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

  
  I can't drag it out of my system just to get a snap at it, but here are some pictures of when I was putting my system together.
   



















   
  Plus my old 4870x2s here









   
  Entire System:
   






   
  And my bencher!



   
  I don't have the custom case yet, but I'll be sure to get pics of it when completed.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Oh my God. I am excited about Sandy Bridge.


 
   
  As am I. Nice Intel NIC on that board too.
  
  Quote: 





phaedracorruption said:


> ...here are some pictures of when I was putting my system together.
> 
> I don't have the custom case yet, but I'll be sure to get pics of it when completed.


 

 Those look amazing w/ the all cu heatsink. Just ran OC scanner on a stock clocked Galaxy GC 470 and it touched 92C w/ auto fan, haha! Can't wait to see the case you chose.


----------



## mralexosborn

4.8 Ghz...and it is already supposed to be fast...
   














































































































































































































































































































































































































   
  ...maybe I won't wait until Christmas...


----------



## deltaspirit

Nice, those are unlocked 465's right?
  Quote: 





phaedracorruption said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## PhaedraCorruption

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  Choose? Oh no, I'm not buying a case. Like I said, I'm having a case MADE for me out of acrylic. Custom to my every desire. Not by a company either, single man. The best.


----------



## PhaedraCorruption

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

   
  920/2005 @ 1.175V 68 C in OCScanner.
   
  Not my screencap though, that would be off the original owner I bought it off of. I never see the need to go past 875 for day to day gaming. In fact, I leave it on stock unless I'm recording at the same time.


----------



## Jodiuh

Friend had a custom acrylic case made...it's bending now, lol. He's looking into something else...I'll find out and get back to ya.


----------



## MooTaters

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Friend had a custom acrylic case made...it's bending now, lol. He's looking into something else...I'll find out and get back to ya.


 

 I had to help build a pc we made for one of my college courses that they do in one of those I think mid tower acrylic cases.  Trust me, never build a decent rig into those cases.  We had a horrible time trying to get liquid cooling, with large tubes plus even the power cables took up a lot of space with a modular psu.  There was just no space for cable management and the pump and reservoir and tubing plus one of the much larger graphics cards for the time.  Of course had to have the radiator on the outside.  They made plans for the next year to try and find a nice larger case...hopefully a full tower.  The teacher just liked that the whole case was clear.  My thought is a window will do fine as most people don't see a nice windowed custom pc plus there's space to hide things.  Sort of sad that the only thing it was really used for was to show off to people. :/


----------



## Landis

Quote: 





elementunkn said:


> *Manufacturer:*  Custom Built
> *Processor:*  Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q6600 @ 2.40GHz (4 Cores), ~2.4GHz
> *Memory:*  4GB RAM
> *Hard Drive:*  700GB
> ...


 

  
  HMMM... You have the same CPU, video card, amount of memory, OS version and motherboard manufacturer as me.
   
  Please stop stalking my computer!


----------



## Royel91

Just recently built for a friend.
   
  Case: COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced
   
  Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5
   
  Hard Drive: Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
   
  CPU: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T
   
  CPU Fan: Scythe SCMG-2100 MUGEN-2
   
  Graphics: Radeon HD 6870
   
  Power Supply: Seasonic X650
   
  Memory: G.SKILL 8GB
   
  Should've been a bit more patient and waited another month for the new sandy bridge processors >.<
  An Intel core i5-2500k would've been sweet.


----------



## revolink24

royel91 said:


> Just recently built for a friend.
> 
> Case: COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced
> 
> ...




It's okay, seems like they were more evolutionary than revolutionary anyway. That build sounds great. 6 cores should be quite future proof, especially for productivity.


----------



## Kassem

Case: Antec 900
  Motherboard: Gigabyte EP45-UD3P
  CPU: Intel Core2Quad Q6600 G0 Engineering Sample OC'd to 3.6ghz 
  CPU FAN: TRUE 120
  Hard Drive: 1x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB and 1x WD Caviar Black 1TB
  Graphics: XFX Radeon HD5850 Black Edition
  PSU: 1000W - Want to say OCZ, but I cant remember.
  Memory: 4GB OCZ FLEX DDR2 1200mhz\
  Monitor: 26" Samsung ToC @ 1920x1200
  Sound Card: EMU-0404 PCI Modded by MisterX
  Headphones: AKG K701
  Mouse: Logitech MX518
  Mousepad: Steelseries QcK Heavy
  OS: Windows 7 x64 Professional MSDNAA


----------



## Jodiuh

After owning a 460, 470, and 6870 for at least a week, I can say the 460's been my favorite. At least in BC2 and Alien Swarm. It's as cool as 6870, a touch warmer. But it performs better when gaming online in BC2. At least when clocked up to 850Mhz vs 950Mhz on 6870. GTX 560 should be an excellent choice provided it's priced @ or below $250.


----------



## mralexosborn

*regrets not waiting a few months for GTX460*


----------



## spookygonk

My 6GB of RAM for my X58 Gigabyte mobo cost me £150 last June. Had a look at prices yesterday and that 6GB is now £54, just over a third of the cost. I think it's time to go to 12GB (_just because I can_).


----------



## marvin

Shoebox is up and running.

 Intel i5-750
 8 GB DDR3 1333 SDRAM
 Gigabyte GA-H55N-USB3 Mini ITX
 AMD Radeon 6970 2GB
 2x Patriot Inferno 120 GB SSD
 Silverstone Sugo SG07 Case
   
  Runs a touch hot and loud at the moment, but not really surprising for a mini-ITX system. Nothing that a few 120 mm fans and a Dremel can't take care of, but I'm going to see if I can quiet it down without resorting to that.


----------



## yawny

Intel i7 970 @ 3.2 gHz (with 120mm Noctua cooler, soon to be overclocked)
  Asus P6X58D Premium mobo
  6gb of Corsair DDR3-1600 RAM
  Kingston 128gb SSD
  2 Western Digital 1Tb drives (Caviar Black and green) plus tw0 old 250gb drives in SATA 1)
  EVGA Nvidia GTX470
  HT Omega Striker 7.1 Sound Card
  LG Read/Write Blu-Ray Drive
  All inside a HAF 932 case glowing red with extra fans


----------



## moocow111

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 Dual-Core @ 3.8 GHz
  Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 7900GS
  RAM: 2GB
   
  It sure does get the job done for being so crappy. I haven't upgraded this beast in probably four years. I'll probably buy a laptop this summer for college next year.


----------



## Jbossner

[size=inherit]
 ​   
*Processor:*​  Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9550 @ 2.83GHz, 4.00GHz
*Memory:*​  4GB 1066 Corsair Dominator
*Hard Drive:*​  60GB SSD (Main Drive) + 2x1Tb
*Video Card:*​  ATI Radeon HD4870
*Monitor:*​ LG W2252TQ + Samsung 19"*Sound Card:*​  Realtek HD ----> Cambridge Audio DacMagic
*Headphones:*​ K702*Keyboard:*​  Stock ASUS
*Mouse:*​ Razer Copperhead*Mouse Surface:*​  Razer eXactMat --> Control
*Operating System:*​ Windows 7 Ultimate x64*Motherboard:*​  Gigabyte DS4P
*Computer Case:*​  Antec 1200


[/size]   
   
  Seriously That stupid case has so many screws, When I cleaned it and replaced the Hard drive I counted over 34 Screws to do it -.-


----------



## crazybovine

Processor: i5-750 overclocked from 2.66GHz to 3.8GHz
  GPU: ATI Radeon 5870
  Memory: 4GB Corsair Dominators
 Hard Drive(s): Intel X-25M 80GB SSD, Western Digital Black Caviar 1TB HDD
 Operating System: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
  MotherBoard: Gigabyte P55-UD3R
  Keyboard(s): Filco Tenkeyless Blue Cherries Otaku Edition, Filco Tenkeyless Brown Cherries
  Mouse: Logitech G9X
 Mouse Surface: SteelSeries QcK MousePad: Starcraft Edition (Kerrigan)
 Monitor: LG W2286L
 Computer Case: HAF 922


----------



## cyberspyder

What I had:

*Case: *Some Asus barebone
*Processor:* Intel P4 3.0Ghz (Netburst FTW!)
*Motherboard:* Some random one that came with the barebone
*Ram:* Mismatched sticks of DDR400 (total 1GB)
*Hard Drive:* 80GB PATA WD
*Videocard: *ATI 9600XT (that died, back to Intel extreme graphics now)
*Monitor: *Samsung 940/941BW (refresh rates ****ed up lines are running up and down the screen)
*Soundcard:* External uDAC to a JBL Power 20
*External *Storage: Buffalo 250GB Drivestation
*Mouse: *Logitech MX518
*Keyboard: *Random Microsoft wireless
*OS: *Windows XP

What I am in the process of bulding:

*Case: *Antec SOLO
*Processor:* Intel 2600K Sandy Bridge
*Motherboard: *Gigabyte P67-UD5
*Ram: *16GB DDR3-1600
*Hard Drives: *120GB Corsair Sandforce SSD with dual 2TB WD Greens (in RAID 1 for data)
*Videocard: *ATI/AMD 6950 (probably replace by a Firepro or Quaddro workstation card)
*Monitor: *NEC IPS EA231WMI
*Soundcard: *External Benchmark DAC1 Pre to dual-mono Gainclones
*External Storage: *Dual 2TB WD Greens in Macally G5-esque enclosures
*Mouse: *Logitech MX518
*Keyboard: *Apple BT, Filco/Leupold tenkeyless
*OS:* Windows 7 64bit


----------



## commandercup

My computer is a bit sad, but it works for everything that I need it to do.
   
*Case: *CM Elite 360 (Custom Window)
*Processor:* AMD Athlon II X4 640
*Motherboard:* Cheapo MSI Board
*Ram:* Some random Patriot DDR3 (4GB)
*Hard Drive:* 1TB Seagate 7200RPM Drive
*Videocard: *ATI HD 5770 1GB
*Monitor: *Samsung P2770HD
*Soundcard:* Fiio e7 DAC/AMP
*Mouse: *Logitech G500
*Keyboard: *Filco Tenkeyless with Brown Switches
*OS: *Windows 7 64Bit


----------



## sari0n

I'm using a HP envy14 that I got on sale for a decent price.  The Beats Audio sucks (as expected) and the speakers are really weird, they take a lot of power for some reason.  In fact, my AD700's are louder than the speakers, if I just plug them in and don't adjust the volume at all the sound leaking out from them will be more than what was coming from the speakers.  I dunno if it's a hidden volume control because this sure has a lot of them or if the speakers are just designed like that.
   
*Processor:* i7 720 qm
*Motherboard:* dunno
*Ram:* 8gb ddr3
*Hard Drive:* 500gb 7200 rpm
*Videocard: *ATI 5650 1GB
*Monitor: *14.5" HP BrightView Infinity LED Display (1366x768), too bad they ran out of the Radiance displays
*Soundcard:* Some Beats garbage + total bithead
*Mouse: *Logitech VX Revolution
*Keyboard: *none yet
*OS: *Windows 7 64Bit


----------



## marvin

Quote: 





sari0n said:


> I'm using a HP envy14 that I got on sale for a decent price.  The Beats Audio sucks (as expected) and the speakers are really weird, they take a lot of power for some reason.  In fact, my AD700's are louder than the speakers, if I just plug them in and don't adjust the volume at all the sound leaking out from them will be more than what was coming from the speakers.  I dunno if it's a hidden volume control because this sure has a lot of them or if the speakers are just designed like that.
> 
> *Processor:* i7 720 qm
> *Motherboard:* dunno
> ...


 
   
  Also have a Envy14 for my laptop, and definitely agree that the built in sound is complete crap. The speakers sound tinny and are way underpowered, while the headphone jack has a pretty high noise floor.


----------



## Xpresser

*CPU:*  Intel E8500 3.16GHz OC'd to 4.12GHz (I have no need for a quad core as long as this CPU overclocks this well)
*CPU Cooler:*  Thermalright Ultima-90
*Motherboard:  *ASUS P5Q Deluxe
*Memory:*  8GB Mushkin DDR2-1066 OC'd to 1095Mhz
*GPU:*  Gigabyte GTX 470 SOC (OC'd further to 845/1690/3900)
*Soundcard:*  X-Fi XtremeGamer
*Monitor:*  LG L227WTG 22" 2ms LCD
*Power Supply:*  PC Power & Cooling 750w Blue
*Hard Drives:*  2x Western Digital 640GB & Samsung F4 320GB (1.6 TB Total Internal)
*Case:*  Antec Nine Hundred (moving everything into new LIAN LI PC-K62 Black)
*Keyboard:*  Logitech G11
*Mouse:*  Cooler Master Sentinel Advance 5600dpi
*OS:*  Windows 7 64-bit & Windows XP Pro in Dual Boot
   
  Slide show of the build: http://bit.ly/dp3p2y (some parts have been upgraded since taking these photos such as GPU). Click on center of first photo to enable captions


----------



## 2deadeyes

Relatively new setup around 6 months old
   
  CPU: i7 930 OC'ed to 4.2GHz
  CPU cooler: Noctua U12P
  Mobo: Asus Rampage II Extreme
  Memory: 12GB Corsair Dominator 1666MHz
  GPU: 2x nVidia GTX 580 in SLI
  Sound: None; USB DAC in B&W MM-1 speakers
  PSU: Corsair HX 850
  HDD: 1x Intel x25m 80GB SSD; 2x Samsung 1TB
  Case: ABS Canyon 695
  Monitor: NEC 3090WQXi
  Keyboard: MS Ergonomic keyboard
  Mouse: Razer Mamba
  OS: Win7 x64 Enterprise


----------



## Jodiuh

Started playing around w/ stock settings to see just how much it affects games...not much. Fun to see temps I've not seen in 5 years though, haha.


----------



## 3602

Store-bought portable computer. Entry-level with low specs, but a big screen. I'm the guy who wants sheer screen _size_ above all else, so... Although let's not be bombastic, I cannot watch SDTV on a 52".
  INFO: All numbers _outside_ of brackets are advertised. All numbers _inside_ are as displayed by Ubuntu Sysinfo. Terms in quotation marks are dubious and/or suspect.
Official specs here.
*HP dv7-4104ca*

 *"AuthenticAMD" Turion II P540, 2 (1) MB L2 with AMD Premium Vision*
 *4 (3.6) GB DDR3, speed unsure*
 *ATI MobilityRadeon HD 4250 (4200). Ubuntu also detects the presence of nVidia so as of right now I have both ATI and nVIdia drivers running (without a problem).*
 *"HD+" "LED" 1600x900 17.3" screen*
 *Dolby "Advanced" Altec Lansing speakers*
  Fun stuff. HP (although its _dy_ logo continues to confuse me) explicitly warns not to use this computer on the lap, and that's probably why it calls this computer as a "notebook". Although folks really need to go down to their local Staples/Office Dépôt and check out the current A4/U.S. Letter sized "real" notebooks...


----------



## marvin

Ouch, Intel's halted shipment of P67/H67 chipsets and doing a recall due to a SATA bug. Looks like Ports 0 and 1 are fine, but 2-5 will undergo eventual performance degradation. That's going to hurt sales a bit.


----------



## Speedv1

Macbook Pro i7 2.66GHz - it gets the job done 
   
  Intending to get an iMac 21" sometime this or next year.


----------



## ex0du5

Cooler Master HAF X
  Corsair AX850
 Gigabyte P67 UD4
 Intel i5 2500K @ 4.6GHz
 8GB G.Skill DDR3-1333
 2x EVGA GTX 570
 Intel 80GB SSD G2
 2x Samsung 2TB 5400RPM
 Lamptron FC-6 Fan Controller
 Thermalright Venomous X + 2x Thermalright 120 800RPM fans


   
  And my display, of course:


----------



## sari0n

Quote: 





speedv1 said:


> Macbook Pro i7 2.66GHz - it gets the job done
> 
> Intending to get an iMac 21" sometime this or next year.


 


  =P for that kind of money it better get the job done


----------



## Speedv1

Quote: 





sari0n said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 I try to forget how much it cost lol. But yeah, it's my OSX-Windows-Ubuntu all in one that works for hours and works superb .


----------



## 3602

I got a question for you guys with extremely powerful (and costly) computers: Just how much of that power are you using most of the time?


----------



## marvin

Quote: 





3602 said:


> I got a question for you guys with extremely powerful (and costly) computers: Just how much of that power are you using most of the time?


 

  
  Tiny fractions. Most of the time it's sitting at < 25% RAM usage, < 50% of max clock, < 25% utilization on one core, <5% utilization on the other three. Same for the displays, usually only have one of the three powered on. The power is mostly there for use as a gaming rig, but that takes up a fairly small percentage of my time at the computer.


----------



## TheAudioDude

It's still in the planning stages, but here's the PC that will get me back into PC gaming and started in HD-video encoding:
   
  Intel Core i7-2600K (will overclock to >4GHz)
  Haven't decided on motherboard yet... still researching
  G.Skill Ripjaws 12GB (3x4GB) DDR3 1600 RAM
  Radeon HD6970 2GB GPU
  Crucial 64GB Sata-III SSD
  Western Digital Black Caviar 1TB Sata-III harddrive
  SeaSonic X760 760W PSU
  Noctua NH-D14
  2 Scythe S-Flex 120mm fans (the two I would use are in my HTPC)
  Cheap DVD drive which has yet to be determined
  Re-using my Silverstone KL02 case
   
  Will it run Crysis on my 61" DLP? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  On second thought, all of these on Newegg are ~$160 cheaper than my budget, and I can get some parts even cheaper at Microcenter.  Upgrade to GTX580 you say?


----------



## Speedv1

Quote: 





3602 said:


> I got a question for you guys with extremely powerful (and costly) computers: Just how much of that power are you using most of the time?


 


  Not that often. Honestly to really work my laptop I'd have to do a LOT of stuff - I mean watch tv on an external harddrive, backup my harddrive, update gbs worth of stuff, download from itunes store, listen to music, edit using photoshop, lol you get the idea. I just really hate lag - so the lack of it is awesome .


----------



## Xpresser

Quote: 





3602 said:


> I got a question for you guys with extremely powerful (and costly) computers: Just how much of that power are you using most of the time?


 


  When playing one of my favorite games, Bad Company 2, my GPU is often at 80-95%. When running Photoshop, converting videos, running multiple tasks my CPU is running at 90-100%.


----------



## Jodiuh

I've seen BC2 hit upwards of 90% usage across 4 physical cores w/ 99% usage on a GTX 460. I have no idea how this runs on consoles.


----------



## mralexosborn

Xbox 360 has graphics on par with 16 bit systems, what?


----------



## Jodiuh

I mean, it's not terrible, but playing the Crysis 2 demo exhibits the same sort of "anything past 10 feet" looks the same feeling I get w/ other console shooters. It's too hard to pick things out...no contrast, everything jumbles in together.


----------



## mralexosborn

Hey guys, isn't fun to try and argue that PC gaming is superior to console gaming and all you hear back is ignorant rage? I have a PS3 and my "gaming rig" and I go to my computer 99.99999%. Hell even the online community on PC is nicer, still immature, but more courteous in some ways. 
  Grr.


----------



## Jodiuh

I had been gaming on the console for a little while...Forza 3, MW2, and a bit of Halo Reach. But after playing L4D on PC and trying the L4D2 demo on the 360...well, it sucked. I couldn't see anything. 

  It's so nice to sit on the couch w/ the bigger A/V experience too. But as rarely as I game nowadays, it's more often than not on a pc...at a LAN party, lol. I'm so terrible for lack of play...always getting owned, haha!


----------



## mralexosborn

Sitting about two feet away from my 23 inch monitor, I can safely say I can see, but I see your point. L4D2 multiplayer can be the most stressful, intense experience ever. Many-a-time I have found myself playing until 4am...


----------



## sari0n

Quote: 





3602 said:


> I got a question for you guys with extremely powerful (and costly) computers: Just how much of that power are you using most of the time?


 


  Well, my computer isn't "extremely powerful" but it's relatively new.
  According to my CPU meter, I usually use around 2-3 gb of ram and generally under 15% of my cpu (i7 720qm).  That's just for normal functions such as web browsing, downloading/uploading, chatting, word processing, and music.  I generally like to keep all of my stuff open so I'll almost always have at least 10 tabs, skype, msn, gtalk, windows media player, utorrent, dropbox, ms word, and various other random programs open at any given time.  I don't play any mmorpg's currently because they take too much time but back when I did I used to keep 4-5 clients running at all times - that's like another 2gb of ram. 
  When I actually do stuff like play games or do CAD I obviously use much more power.  Since I don't like to close my programs the 8gb of ram does come in handy.  It's really nice being able to dual screen and have, say, 3ds max on one, Unity3d(some engine I've been playing around with) on another, and still be able to chat and look up online tutorials easily.  Even then I rarely go above 6gb of ram although it's nice knowing you have a little extra elbow room.  My CPU only occasionally gets close to 100% when I burn disks/render/decompress stuff while doing some other tasks.
  So I'd say I do make use of the power on my computer.


----------



## stang

Wouldn't call my computer extremely powerful (i7 920 @ 3.2ghz, 6GB 1600mhz RAM and two ati 6870), but I probably use about 15% of that most of the time  Thing is, when I want to do something, I want to do it properly. I don't want things on my computer to take ages to load, get lag and/or low fps etc.


----------



## 3602

Yeah that's always cool. And come on, what is more powerful than an i7 (probably 980X) right now? Xeon? Phenon II x4? Of course ATI Crossfire is always impressive.
  It's interesting. I have 4GB (actually 3.6) of RAM and I most use like 800MB of that, and according to some Ubuntu software my P540 stays at 800 (833?) MHz for 97% of the time. But we all use computers differently and the Dell Precision has 32GB of RAM. Long as they don't run 30 Crysises (Crysii?) together.
  That said, DIY gaming rigs are always a marvel to behold. Just the sheer lights and fans.


----------



## dscythe

nothing to brag about really, 3.1ghz amd quad core, 4gb ddr3 ram, ati radeon 5770 1gb, 500gb WD caviar blue, 19 inch monitor and a deathadder


----------



## BlutoSlice

Intel Q4400 @ 3GHz
  4GB DDR2
  ATI  6850
  Xonar Essence STX
  2 X1GB SATA
   
  I have my eye on a nice i7 sandy bridge system but that can wait untill Battlefied 3 is released !


----------



## Dr-Ludvig

Well, i got myself 2 year old home built computer, still going strong, though i most say that it is beginning to show some signs of aging :b

 SPECS:

*CPU*: Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 3,16 Ghz @ 4.2 GHZ
*CPU Cooling*: Noctua NH-U12P
*MB*: Asus P5Q Deluxe
*GPU*: Nvidia Geforce GTX 260 (The first one)
*Ram*: 2x2 GB DDR2 1066 Mhz Mushkin
*HDD*: 3x1 TB + 1x2 TB (Samsung Spinpoint F1/F4 and WD Green's) for storage, and an Intel X-25M G2 80 GB SSD for OS
*PSU*: Enermax Modu82+ 625 W
*Sound*: Creative X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty
*Case*: Antec P182 all fans replaced with Noctua
   
   
  Could use some upgrades, but then again, it plays pretty much any new game, and with that SSD it feels just as snappy as a new!


----------



## desktophifi

Its a 1yr old rig, im looking to upgrade.
   
  Processor: AMD Phenom X4 9750 2.4Ghz 4MB (quad core)
 Mobo: MSI 785GTM-E45 AMD 785G Socket AM2+ 
 Rams: Kingston HyperX DDR2
 Cooling: Asus Arctic Square
 HDD: Hitachi (300Gb)
 PSU 500W
 Video: Nvidia 9800gt
 Network: Airlink Wireless PCI Adapter
 DVD Hp Dual layer


----------



## PhaedraCorruption

[size=medium]As requested, pictures of my completed test bench:
   
  Specs still remain roughly the same... i7 920 @ 4.45GHz, GTX 470 @900/2400, 2x Caviar Black, HD-DVD + Blu Ray Burner, X Fi Ti, Rampage III Extreme, custom watercooling system, 1000w PSU.
   
   
     



  



  



  



  



  



  



  



  



  



  



  




  
   
​


----------



## googleborg

very nice setup you got there 
   
  my dustbucket...
   
   

   
  Core2Duo e4500, 4 gigs ram, ATI HD4770, 80gig SSD, etc, plays games just _fine _
   
  what is really good about this PC is the case, an NZXT evo beta, they are almost certainly the best case you can get for the money, ever  (about £35).


----------



## Jodiuh

Got rid of that whiny blow dryer (470) and replaced it w/ a silent 560...forgive the phone pic quality.


----------



## dave3533

i7-875k @ 4Ghz - Noctua NH-D14
  MSI P55 GD-85
  Mushkin Ridgeback 4GB DDR3 2000
  BFG GTX 295
  XFX Black Edition 750W
  LianLi V1200
  Dell 2001FP x2
  X-fi Music w/ Klipsch Pro Media 5.1
  Nuforce Icon HDP to Denon D7000's
   
  Time for an upgrade of the video card, but it supprisingly still plays most new games at 1600x1200 with max settings.


----------



## Jodiuh

You'll get your 590 soon enough. When do we get our picture of this monster machine?


----------



## dscythe

Quote: 





phaedracorruption said:


> As requested, pictures of my completed test bench:
> 
> Specs still remain roughly the same... i7 920 @ 4.45GHz, GTX 470 @900/2400, 2x Caviar Black, HD-DVD + Blu Ray Burner, X Fi Ti, Rampage III Extreme, custom watercooling system, 1000w PSU.​


 

 It's...beautiful man


----------



## Jodiuh

Not very lan friendly though. 

  I'm looking @ Fractal's Arc MIDI right now. It won't be released til April-ish according to a rep on overclock.net. But @ $100 and a much, much easier LAN buddy than my current Stacker tank gorilla case...
   
  http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2&prod=57


----------



## marvin

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Not very lan friendly though.
> 
> I'm looking @ Fractal's Arc MIDI right now. It won't be released til April-ish according to a rep on overclock.net. But @ $100 and a much, much easier LAN buddy than my current Stacker tank gorilla case...
> 
> http://www.fractal-design.com/?view=product&category=2∏=57


 

 Yep, the Stacker's a bit of a beast. My old Stacker case positively dwarfs my Silverstone SG07.
   

   
  Only crappy thing about the SG07 is that it's pretty tough to silence the GPU without breaking out a dremel. Got tired of wrestling with CPU heatsinks in such a small case, so I just stuck in a Corsair H50 and called it a day there.


----------



## deltaspirit

Quote: 





dscythe said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  Please don't quote all of the pics like that, it's a waste of bandwith and the pics are merely a few posts above.
  
   
   
   
  Fedex is dropping off my powercolor 6950 2GB today, I sent in my broken powercolor 5870 3 weeks ago and getting 6950 back. I plan on flashing the bios to a modded 6950 bios with unlocked shaders and clocking it at 6970 clocks or higher to give me %25 more performance coming from a 5870.


----------



## Fonglol

Nice set up *PhaedraCorruption*
   
  My specs
   
  Proccessor: Intel Core I7 930 @ 4.2 Ghz
  Cooling: Corsair H50
  Mobo: ASUS P6X58D-E
  GFX: EVGA Geforce 470 GTX
  RAM: Corsair Dominator 6 Gig DDR3
  HDD: 1 TB + 2 TB external
  PSU: Kingwin Mach1 1000 W
  Case: Antec 900


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





deltaspirit said:


> I sent in my broken powercolor 5870 3 weeks ago and getting 6950 back.


 
   
  Now there's a nice surprise!! Guess I'll be looking for a PC if I ever go for a dirty Radeon.


----------



## sari0n

Wow that beast doesn't even look like a computer.


----------



## Jodiuh

Yeah, not sure what it is w/ bench setups, but there owners seem to be a bit obsessed, lol. Mine's an ottoman w/ a pillow on top.


----------



## dscythe

Quote: 





> Please don't quote all of the pics like that, it's a waste of bandwith and the pics are merely a few posts above.


 
   Sorry, edited and removed.


----------



## Huxley

Gigabyte x58 ud7
  i920@ 3.0ghz
  Prolimatech megahalems
  Lian li pc50r armorsuit
  Crucial C300 128gb ssd
  Wd caviar blue 640gb
  Sapphire 5970oc
  Peak dvb
  Roccat kone+
  Sidewinder x6
   
  Plus other bits and bobs all hooked up to my denon 1802r and 5 wharfdale rubiance speakers.
   
  Tv is getting on a toshiba 32wlt66 but i intend to replace it soon with a 40" 8000 series samsung led


----------



## 3602

Did I see a glowing logo of Asus ROG? Nice. Lab's lead chem guy has a G73 (G17? Anyway the 17.3" twin-exhaust F-117 one). Looks much more "serious" and "industrial" than Alienwares.


----------



## Roller

I don't really like that whole stealth bomber Asus has going for those laptops. But then again, I also don't like Alienware styling ever since they were bought by Dell. Older Alienware pcs were more to the point and with better hardware on each generation. Though stealth bomber or not, G7x do have nice specs, and slightly less mobile limited hardware, which is always nice.


----------



## earerror

Currently upgrading to i7.....
  Still Need to save some bucks.


----------



## klanse

Phenom II X3. Radeon HD 4770. DDR2 4gb.


----------



## deltaspirit

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 Well the card was shipped in it's retail box without any extra protection. And unlike XFX's boxes this one was really small and offered almost no protection. I've got the card running at 900/1400 with unlocked shaders.


----------



## LingLing1337

Intel Core i3-540 overclocked to 4.2ghz
  MSI GTX465 Golden Edition unlocked to full GTX470
  Gigabyte GA-H55-USB3 
  CoolerMaster HAF 912 case
  4GB G.Skill Ripjaws
  1TB HD103SJ Samsung HDD
   
  Budget beast. Runs anything I throw at it, no questions asked.


----------



## Jodiuh

> Well the card was shipped in it's retail box without any extra protection. And unlike XFX's boxes this one was really small and offered almost no protection. I've got the card running at 900/1400 with unlocked shaders.


 
   
  XFX would have had the inventory needed to replace that 5870.


----------



## Train

Intel Core i7 920 @ 4.00GHz
 TRUE 120 (lapped)
 ASUS P6T Deluxe V2
 Corsair Dominator 6GB (3 x 2GB) DDR3-1600MHz
 EVGA GTX 275 896MB @ 756 core / 1566 shader / 1296 memory
 WD VelociRaptor 300GB (OS), WD Caviar Black 640GB (storage)
 Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium
 Corsair TX650W
 Coolermaster Cosmos S
 Dell 24" UltraSharp U2410
   
  Hard to believe it's already been over a year and a half since I built it. I usually don't bother spending much money upgrading a rig; I find it more fun to build an entirely new one every couple years. I patiently await Ivy Bridge and beyond.
   
  Anyway, used to run the i7 at 4.2GHz, but dialed it back a notch thanks to some very uncomfortable desert temperatures.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





train said:


> Anyway, used to run the i7 at 4.2GHz, but dialed it back a notch thanks to some very uncomfortable desert temperatures.


 
   
  lol
   
  I kicked the 760 back all the way to stock due to those very same temperatures. After enjoying weeks of 20C room temps, it's creeping up past 25C as of late.


----------



## Train

Heh, yeah, I began to find it unbearable and pulled all the overclocks back to stock during the summer and fall months. Only an industrial-sized A/C could keep up with the outside temps _and_ high-powered space heater.
   
  It's starting to get warm again, though...


----------



## ElectroGeek007

I work for the Computer Services department of my university. One of the benefits of this job is that I get to salvage a lot of hardware that is damaged or decommissioned, but still useful. My latest catch is a computer which was used as part of a cluster server.
   
  2x  Single-core HyperThreaded Xeon 2.4GHz CPUs 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  SuperMicro X5DPA-GG Motherboard (http://www.supermicro.com/products/motherboard/Xeon/E7501/X5DPA-GG.cfm)
  2 GB 133 MHz ECC DDR RAM
  80GB IDE HDD
  8 MB ATI Rage XL integrated video (woot, lol)
  and a case that seems to be almost bulletproof.
  Also of note is the fact that there is no audio output from the motherboard, so I may add a sound card at some point.
  I am currently using it with Windows 7 Professional and an (also salvaged) HP L1710 monitor.
   
  Not state of the art, but not obsolete either, especially for media/gaming server use. I currently have it running a Minecraft server.


----------



## 3602

OMG, RAAAAAAAAGE
  Man those where good days.


----------



## celcius

My current rig:
  Intel Core i7 930 @ 4Ghz (20x200, 1.3v)
  Noctua NH-D14
  Asus Rampage III Extreme
  6GB Corsair Dominator @ 1600mhz 7-8-7-20
  EVGA GTX 580
  Corsair HX 850w
  Corsair P128 w/ Icy Dock
  dual 250GB Seagate Barracudas
  Silverstone Raven 02
  X-Fi Titanium HD
  Logitech MX518 & Alienware keyboard
  Windows 7 Ultimate x64


----------



## Jodiuh

Little restructuring...

Moved from a GINORMOUS Coolermaster Stacker to a Fractal Design Define R3...quite the move. Here's the end result though.


----------



## deltaspirit

Looks good, I moved to a 700D not too long ago when it was on sale for $150.
   
   
   
  My rig as it is right now.
   
   
  700D
  BFG-LS 1200
  I7-920 @ 4.0
  NOCTUA NH-U12P SE
  EVGA X58 SLI
  WD CAVIAR BLACK 640GB RAID 0
  CF 6950 (1536 SHADERS, 900/1400)
  12GB 1600MHZ CAS9
   
   
  A pair of 120gb mushkin castillo deluxe's are in the mail, they will go in for raid 0.
   
  running 3600x1920 portrait eyefinity on three 24"'s


----------



## TheAudioDude

Here's the one I built a few weeks ago for gaming:
   
  Core i5-2500k (OC'd to 4.2GHz)
  Asus P8P67 motherboard
  CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ (great heatsink... keeps my temps around 50C under full load in Prime95)
  G.skill Ripjaws 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3-1600
  ATI Radeon HD6950 (unlocked shaders and overclocked to 880/1375)
  Samsung Spinpoint 1TB HD
  Corsair 620HX PSU (re-used from old build)
  SilverStone KL02B case (re-used)
  Logitech MX518
  Standard Lenovo keyboard
  Win7 Home
   
  So far the only game I've really played is Amnesia (...why was this game created?) and I've had no issues other than the occasional need to change my underwear 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





.  Looks great on my 61" DLP.


----------



## ozz

MacBook Pro
  2.53 C2D
  4 GB DDR3 1067 Ram
  250 GB HD
  9400M
  OS  10.6.7
  External drive -  WD  1TB
   
  HP G42
  Turion II  2.4
  3 GB DDR3 
  320 GB HD
  ATI  4250
  OS Windows 7 Home 64-bit
  External drive - WD  500 GB
   
  iPad gen1


----------



## bcasey25raptor

toshiba satellite l655d laptop
  amd athon 2 p320 dual core at 2.1 ghz
  4gb ddr3 ram
  640gb hard drive
  ati radeon hd 4250 graphics with 256mb dedicated video
  windows 7 home premium
  all together cost me $673


----------



## bik2101

Core i5-2500k (OC'd to 4.3GHz)

  Asus P8P67 Pro motherboard

  Corsair H50 liquid cooler (gives me great idle temps around 26 C)

  G.skill Ripjaws 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1600 CAS 7

  2 ATI Radeon HD 6850 CrossFire

  Crucial C300 SSD 128GB (SATA III)

  2 x 500GB WD RE4 (RAID 0)

  1 x 1.5 TB Seagate Barracuda (RAID 1)

  650 W PSU

  Cooler Master RC 690

  Logitech Illuminated Keyboard

  Razer DeathAdder

  Win7 Ultimate


----------



## Ultimateanthem

Intel i5-2400 3.2 ghz quad
Asus p867 mobo
4gb ram( 2x 2gb) ddr3-1600mhz
Ati radeon 6850 x1( sometime in the future to be two) 
1 tb wd 7200 rpm
1000 watt psu
Samsung cd/DVD drive
Cooler master 952? ( don't exactly recall specific number)


----------



## bik2101

Soo clean. I love it. How's the air circulation in that case? The cable management is awesome. I don't want to post pics of my setup because there are wires everywhere
  
  Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Little restructuring...
> 
> Moved from a GINORMOUS Coolermaster Stacker to a Fractal Design Define R3...quite the move. Here's the end result though.


----------



## jh4db536

800D+360copper rad+swiftech pump and blocks apogee xt/chipset
Aerocool 15blade blacks 140s bottom intake and 120s pushpull exhaust on radiator and case backside
Quadcore 4ghz 12mb L2 lapped and polished
Ram timing clamped to CL4
Occt Stable 12hrs
Gtx480 on water/nibitor reflashed

Diy Opus dac dual mono usb or dac1 from motherboard spdif - diy balanced beta22

System pretty old but haven't found a need for anything better yet. Am able to squeeze the pulp out of older components with WCing.


Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk


----------



## Maverickmonk

Laptop:
  Sony VAIO EB Series
  4gb ddr2 ram (stock. Someday I'll upgrade to 8GB once I get to solidworks and autocad in school)
  i5-520 processor
  500GB harddrive
  Bluetooth
  Bluray
  ATI  HD5470
   
   
  Desktop: Old as hell
  AMD Live 64 bit dual core
  8gb ddr2
  2x 320GB harddrives
  GeForce 8800GTS videocard
  1000w powersupply
  Windows XP home
  Antec case with 4x 250mm fans and one beast 5" fan on top
   
  ^Someday that thing needs to be rebuilt for Windows 7, but since I switched to consol gaming (too many hackers...) it's not a priority


----------



## Jodiuh

bik2101 said:


> Soo clean. I love it. How's the air circulation in that case? The cable management is awesome. I don't want to post pics of my setup because there are wires everywhere
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Its alright. The vents need to go tho. Too much restriction of air flow. It can be so much quieter and look better without them IMO. I can play Crysis 1 on very high with 4xaa at 20 to 40 fps or BC2 with same settings at 60 to 90 fps on this at 1680x1050 slightly clocked (CPU 3.6Ghz GPU 950Mhz)...


Intel Core i5-760
Asus P7P55D-E Pro
Thermalright Venomous X 
G.skill Eco 4GB 1600 CL7
Corsair F90
Hitachis in a mirror
EVGA GTX 560 Ti SC
Asus Xonar DX
Dell 2007WFP 
Corsair AX750
Fractal Design Define R3
4 Scythe SFLEX E 1200 RPM 120 mm
Logitech Illuminated
Razer DeathAdder Black Edition Artisan HEIN 3.g
Win7 64


Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt using Tapatalk


----------



## Blisse

Built a $1000 gaming rig summer 2009. Obviously depreciated. Has almost no value now.
   
  AMD Phenom II X4 905e 2.5 GHz
  Sapphire Radeon HD4870 1Gb
  Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P
  G.Skill 4Gb DDR3-1333
  OCZ ModXStream 600W
  Cooler Master 310
  Corsair A70
  2 Noctua NF-S12B
   
  Razer DeathAdder
  Razer BlackWidow
   
  Computer silent except for graphics card. Need to replace the heatsink and fan, or get a better case.
   
  40 idle with side panel, 30 idle without side panel...
   
  Was going to get Hyper 212+ for $30, but A70 was on sale for $35.


----------



## Snag1e

Intel core 2 quad q6600 @ 3.5 ghz
4 gb ocz ddr2
Gigabyte EP45-UD3R mobo
EVGA GTS-250 
OCZ Vertex 2 64 GB SSD (Boot Disk)
2x WD Blue 500 GB 7200 RPM in raid 0
Windows 7 X64
2 Dell 19 inch 1440 X 900 monitors
I know it's starting to get old .......... but it still does everything I need it to =].......


----------



## elwappo99

Built this guy back during christmas... no problems at all
   
  Asus ROG Rampage Formula III
  i7 950 (3.4Ghz)
  12gb (2gbx6) PNY 1600 ddr3
  2x 300gb WD Velociraptors (Raid 0)
  2tb Samsung spinpoint
  Asus hd5850 1gb ddr5
  27" Asus monitor
  Asus D2 Xonar sound card
  (I see a Asus trend here.....)


----------



## crayonhead

3 computers
   
  Lenovo Thinkpad R61i
  Intel Pentium Dual Core 1.73 GHz
  998 MB RAM
  120 GB HDD
  Intel GMA 945 Graphics processor
  Windows XP
   
  Dell Mini 10v
  Intel Atom 1.6 Ghz
  1 GB RAM
  160 GB HDD
  Mac OSX
   
   
  MacBook Pro

  Intel Core 2 Duo 2.4 GHz

  4 GB DDR3 1067 Ram

  250 GB HD

  9400M

  Mac OSX


----------



## Sumpfkraut

It's all here.


----------



## thp777

Ive got a simple little machine  I use it for 3d modeling and animation
  core i7 920 4.3ghz
  asus rampage ii gene mobo
  18gb ushkin 1333 ram
  640gb,500gb,150gb hdd
  evga gtx 260 with 40% overclock
  xfx 8400 gts
  650w corsair psu
  4 monitors: 21.5" samsung led, 21.5" acer lcd,15" emachines lcd, 15" dell lcd
  wacom bamboo, spacenavigator 3d mouse, really old compaq keyboard
  Ultimate ears TripleFi 10s sound great thru integrated supreme xfi card
  Windows 7 ultimate
   
  gtx 560ti crysis edition that i won is on the way


----------



## elwappo99

Quote: 





thp777 said:


> Ultimate ears TripleFi 10s sound great thru integrated supreme xfi card


 


  On these ROG boards, those aren't actual X-fi cards. I think its Realtek audio, with a X-fi software


----------



## thp777

You may be right
  Still sounds great though. Even though its integrated I get no hiss or interference
  nice rig btw


----------



## nick n

AM3 Athlon II 620 Quad Core @2600 ( overclocks nicely to 3.5 on stock heatsink )
  Gigabyte GMA785GMT-UD2H Motherboard ( using onboard sound may change that but zero issues so far )
  2x 2GB OCZ Platinum DDR3 @1333 7-7-7-20 timings
  250 GB Seagate ( main )
  2 x1 TB Seagates ( duplicate backups I don't want to lose a TB of stuff especially the tunes...)
  FSP BlueStorm II 500W PSU
  Saitek Eclipse backlit keyboard ( blue ) 
  OCZ Equalizer 6 DPI-setting mouse
  Running Ubuntu Linux 9.10 Karmic Koala
  LG 21.5 " monitor for now
  Pioneer DVD/RW 115 Black Drive
  Audioengine A2 speakers and also split-out to Stereo Amplifier and restored JBL88 Novas
  Case is going to recycling hopefully within a week. It's an old ( formerly beige and heavily modded ) 24" tall by 7.5" wide server tower.
  Swapping into a custom art-deco type industrial looking project case, which will have no fans, completely passive cooling. Modded case is Coolermaster Elite100 Matx/Itx.  Got one of the last few Scythe Orochi CPU heatsinks that I could find. The thing is a monster. Something like a kilogram. ( 2+ lbs ). Also going to use a Thermalright HR-05 High Riser Northbridge cooler, 20 Enzotech MOS-C1 solid copper mosfet heatsinks and other assorted stuff. Have a slightly modded an FSP ZEN400 passive PSU ( just a giant heatsink no fan ) for this build. Removed the blue anodizing with SuperClean de-greaser and had it professionally polished, painted the housing black, replaced the thermal paste on the heatsink interfaces with Arctic Cooling MX-3 ( took a whole tube) with a riveted wallmount bracket on the backside. I'm sweating bullets because I never tried it before I modded it .... oh well. I'll find out soon enough. At least there's no extra screws lying around... If it's a dud that will give me an excuse to get a newer passive Seasonic PSU.
   
  that's that.
   
  oops also have an old ASUS A7N8X board with a cherry picked Barton Core Athlon Mobile ( yep LAPTOP CHIP ) 2800+ cooled by a 120mm Scythe S-Flex on a Thermaltake Volcano Heatsink, an EVGA 7600GT SC with an Accelero VGA cooler, 80 gb Seagate IDE, Soundblaster Audigy2 card. Has too much nostalgia for me to get rid of it. Good as an emulator and Flatout 2 , have to have Flatout2. That's the Windows XP box.
   
  jeeze also have a few AGP Vidcards and an old DFI KT400A board and another A7N8X _I forgot about_ and some other Bartons with great stepping codes. I need to drop that stuff into a scrap bin at work.


----------



## lbj

I built my computer last Sept as a photoshop workstation.
   
  AMD Phenom II X4 3Ghz
  CoolerMaster Hyper 212+ cpu heatsink
  Gigabyte GA-870A-UD3 mobo
  8 GB Mushkin DDR3 1333
  Asus ENGT240 video card
  2x Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB hard drives
  LG blu-ray burner
  Antec 300 case
  Seasonic 400w fanless psu


----------



## manaox2

There are sadly not enough SSD drives in these builds. The majority of your systems here are bottlenecked the most by your hard drive speeds by far.


----------



## ZorgDK

Quote: 





manaox2 said:


> There are sadly not enough SSD drives in these builds. The majority of your systems here are bottlenecked the most by your hard drive speeds by far.


 

  
  Yep SSD's are a huge upgrade. Working with Sony Vegas is A LOT faster with SSD's. Also a game like Arma2 streams textures much faster.


----------



## bik2101

Quote: 





manaox2 said:


> There are sadly not enough SSD drives in these builds. The majority of your systems here are bottlenecked the most by your hard drive speeds by far.


 


  agreed! at least for the boot/apps drive, SSD's should be used with all these nice i7's and sandybridge setups.


----------



## AudioTroll

HI..
  computers and me dont realy get along, but I been drooling some all-in-one computers the last few days.
   
  but I dont know computers from computers 
  and I want something nice for my money.
  planing on using it for watching movies,and making music..the music part is the more important.
  fot those day then inspiration comes and the studio is faar away.. hehe 
   
  you guys seem to know computers, can you point me to a nice one in the 600-1000$ range?
  saw this one http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H4WNT6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER
  is it as good as I think?
   
  appreciate the help..thanks


----------



## revolink24

manaox2 said:


> There are sadly not enough SSD drives in these builds. The majority of your systems here are bottlenecked the most by your hard drive speeds by far.




I wish I had SSDs. I might get one eventually just for my C: Drive, but I consume huge amounts of data and move it around often, so I have 6 traditional HDDs in my computer right now.


----------



## Snag1e

Quote: 





bik2101 said:


> agreed! at least for the boot/apps drive, SSD's should be used with all these nice i7's and sandybridge setups.


 

  
  haha I'm still using an old q6600 set up, and I have an SSD as a boot drive....Grabbed it off newegg about 4 months ago when it was on sell. Boot times are insane. =D


----------



## Dr-Ludvig

Quote: 





manaox2 said:


> There are sadly not enough SSD drives in these builds. The majority of your systems here are bottlenecked the most by your hard drive speeds by far.


 


  Agreed! Those 300 bucks i spent on my SSD is the best upgrade i've ever done to my pc! Alot of people complain they're still to expensive, but really, once you've tried having an SSD as boot drive, there's no way you're going back!


----------



## vTL123

Alienware Aurora
  Alienware/Foxconn X58 MATX
  i7 920 @ 3.2Ghz
  Corsair H50 Equivalent
  15GB RAM 1333
  HD5970 @ Stock
  2x 1TB Spinpoint F3 R0
  500Gb 7200.12
  Titanium HD
  875W Stock PSU
  Acer G235H 23" / Alienware OptX 23" 3D / Acer V233H 23" Eyefinity Setup
  Win 7 Home 64Bit
  Gigabyte Ghost M8000X
  Razer Blackwidow
   
  No Upgrades for the next two years because this has cost me $5000 already....even though an SSD would be nice. Maybe a Physx card? A Fan controller?   
   
  And in my own opinion guys, for my uses, I don't think a SSD would benefit me THAT much but I do agree that the Hard Drive is today's bottleneck. Which is why I have 8GB of RAM allocated as a RAM disc


----------



## wind016

Quote: 





dr-ludvig said:


> Agreed! Those 300 bucks i spent on my SSD is the best upgrade i've ever done to my pc! Alot of people complain they're still to expensive, but really, once you've tried having an SSD as boot drive, there's no way you're going back!


 

 I heard SSD have very high failure rates. I'll get one in a year or two maybe after the technology has fully matured.
   
  I built my computer. Relatively standard specs but I haven't found much reason to upgrade anything though.
   
  Intel i5 2500K unlocked
  EVGA GTX 460
  Asus Sabertooth P67
  Antec Nine Hundred Two case (there's 4 huge fans built-in!)
   
  I'm looking to try out SLI or 3-D, but saving up for a 3-D compatible screen.


----------



## azncookiecutter

Quote: 





wind016 said:


> I heard SSD have very high failure rates. I'll get one in a year or two maybe after the technology has fully matured.


 

 Haven't had any issues with either my X25-M or original Vertex. Haven't heard much horror stories with SSDs in general regarding reliability. I've had way more notebook hard drives die due to shock and movement, something a SSD is immune to.


----------



## bik2101

ditto.
  
  Quote: 





azncookiecutter said:


> Haven't had any issues with either my X25-M or original Vertex. Haven't heard much horror stories with SSDs in general regarding reliability. I've had way more notebook hard drives die due to shock and movement, something a SSD is immune to.


----------



## bik2101

$5000????? really? how? i might be off on my prices a bit, but it just doesn't seem to add up. and no, this is not meant to be taken as me doubting you, i'm just surprised. 
  but 15gb of ram? even with 8gb as ramdsik, do you really need that much?
  Quote: 





vtl123 said:


> Alienware Aurora
> Alienware/Foxconn X58 MATX
> i7 920 @ 3.2Ghz
> Corsair H50 Equivalent
> ...


----------



## Snag1e

Quote: 





bik2101 said:


> $5000????? really? how? i might be off on my prices a bit, but it just doesn't seem to add up. and no, this is not meant to be taken as me doubting you, i'm just surprised.
> but 15gb of ram? even with 8gb as ramdsik, do you really need that much?


 
  Yeahhh....That's a lot. More than it should be at least....but I guess that's what happens when you buy alienware, and don't build it yourself...  Nice computer none the less though. =]


----------



## Dr-Ludvig

Quote: 





wind016 said:


> I heard SSD have very high failure rates. I'll get one in a year or two maybe after the technology has fully matured.
> 
> I built my computer. Relatively standard specs but I haven't found much reason to upgrade anything though.
> 
> ...


 



 High failure rates? Not really.. The very first SSD's that came out some years ago, might have had some start up problems, but as of right now, i don't really think this is the case.. There have been a few examples of updating firmware locking drives, which is why i never update firmware until it has been out for some time.. Also some batches of drives have had some errors, so yeah i wouldn't jump on the newest SSD's before there are some solid reviews of them (Anandtech is usually the one i look for, they do great SSD reviews, and other SSD related articles) but personally i haven't had a single problem with my Intel X25-M, and no signs of wearing either, after a good 1.5 years of pretty tough use..


----------



## Snag1e

SSDs do have a limited number of read / write cycles, however, If you don't defrag them (they don't need it anyway), and disable the page file (or move it to a HDD) they will last for quite a long time problem free.


----------



## bik2101

yeah. throw the page file onto a HDD that you use for data or RAM disk if you feel like it. personally, i see no difference in having my page file on ram disk versus hdd, and definitely no to the defrag - actuially i think you are not supposed to, more than them not needing it, i think i've read that defraging ssd's is bad for them.
  Quote: 





snag1e said:


> SSDs do have a limited number of read / write cycles, however, If you don't defrag them (they don't need it anyway), and disable the page file (or move it to a HDD) they will last for quite a long time problem free.


----------



## Snag1e

It is bad for them, as they have a limited number of read / write cycles, and defraging does a lot of read / write. It is also unneeded, because SSDs don't work like HDDs do. They don't have moving platters, and heads that have to jump around finding fragmented file parts...... fragmentation *will not* slow an ssd down like it will a hard drive. However, defraging *will* contribute to wearing an ssd out faster.


----------



## vTL123

Quote: 





snag1e said:


> Yeahhh....That's a lot. More than it should be at least....but I guess that's what happens when you buy alienware, and don't build it yourself...  Nice computer none the less though. =]


 
   


  Quote: 





bik2101 said:


> $5000????? really? how? i might be off on my prices a bit, but it just doesn't seem to add up. and no, this is not meant to be taken as me doubting you, i'm just surprised.
> but 15gb of ram? even with 8gb as ramdsik, do you really need that much?


 


  Yeah. Customs are much more worth it, but I'm really just a kid who naggs his dad to buy him a custom but doesn't want to deal with all the warranty and RMA processes so he purchases a pre-built system equivalent to the custom + extras. But I do have to go out to work occasionally.
   
  Dell are overpriced, but I suppose me/dad's experiences with their support and services have made up that price difference between Alienware and Customs...
   
  As for the RAM, I ordered mine with 6GB of RAM (3x2GB), but since 6GB isn't enough for AutoCad and because of the RAM limitations of 16Gb of Win 7 Home, I went ahead and bought a set of 3x4GB and a 3x1GB set of memory.  
   
  IMHO I don't need this much, but its just nice having it. Isn't that with everything?


----------



## bik2101

LOL.. but i feel like you could have cut down a bit on the RAM then you could have just bought an SSD
  Quote: 





vtl123 said:


> Yeah. Customs are much more worth it, but I'm really just a kid who naggs his dad to buy him a custom but doesn't want to deal with all the warranty and RMA processes so he purchases a pre-built system equivalent to the custom + extras. But I do have to go out to work occasionally.
> 
> Dell are overpriced, but I suppose me/dad's experiences with their support and services have made up that price difference between Alienware and Customs...
> 
> ...


----------



## Butler

Wassup ladies!?
   
  15" Quad Core i7 Macbook Pro, With Thermal Paste Mod
  Matte Screen Upgrade
  8 GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
  256 GB SSD
  Optibay Mod: 750GB 7200RPM HDD
  1GB AMD Radeon HD 6750M
  External Super Drive


----------



## elwappo99

And it cost the same as the alienware listed above  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  Quote: 





butler said:


> Wassup ladies!?
> 
> 15" Quad Core i7 Macbook Pro, With Thermal Paste Mod
> Matte Screen Upgrade
> ...


----------



## Butler

Quote: 





elwappo99 said:


> And it cost the same as the alienware listed above


 
   
  Oh I don't doubt it. However, this isn't all leisure. As a event photographer and as well as my courses here at the university, involving much of the adobe suite- These are the kind of things which save me time, and put me ahead of the competition. That and I sell my Macbook pro every year or so for close to what I paid for it and then buy the current fully upgraded model, and I save a lot of money in the long run.


----------



## fruitflavor

desktop 1
  phenom II x6 1090 @ 3.7 with 212+
  msi 790 fx gd70
  2x asus 9600 gso top
  4gb ocz black
  antec ea 750
  wd 1.5 green
   
  desktop 2
  q 9450 stock during warm days
  asus rampage
  2* nvidia 285. 1 bfg, 1 dont remember
  1gb ram.
   
  need another rig. perhaps in september.


----------



## SoupRKnowva

just built myself a brand new computer the other day. Ive been out of the PC world for several years not, I built my own computer back in my junior year of highschool, but then as soon as i went to college, i got a macbook pro, and havent looked back. But several months ago i started hankering to build my own computer, so finally i got around to it.
   
  Intel Core i5-2500k OC'd stable to 4.5GHz from 3.3GHz on air
  Coolermaster 212+ cooler for the CPU
  XFX Radeon hd 6950 1GB oc'd to 850 on the core and 1300 on the memory
  8GB of Gskill ram
  MSI motherboard w/ 1X16x PCI-e slots(forgot the exact model)
  OCZ Vertex 2 50 GB SSD(for windows and certain core programs)
  1TB Seagate 7200.12 for everything else(music/games)
  Seasonic 620W modular powersupply
  All inside a Antec 300 case(which is probably one of the best cases i've used, very quiet, and i filled the extra 3 fan slots!)
  Asus 24" 1080p monitor
  Windows 7 64bit Home Premium
   
  its freaking fast! and all for what i consider to be pretty good value, got the 6950 for 209 dollars and the 2500k is only 225. not to mention that it boots in all of like 20 seconds, which is neat
    
  Downloaded the free version of 3DMark11 and was getting around 4800 stock, and now im getting around 5400 with both OC's. runs crysis 2 at max settings great


----------



## Blisse

The Sapphire Xtreme Radeon HD 5850 is ridiculous. I'm playing things on maximum without a problem. I've never done that before. Very nice. I want an SSD next, but I'll probably stalk for sales or price drops first. But then I also have audio gear I want... and another keyborad... 
   
  I have a water cooler that I don't use or need... I can't justify switching to an i3 since I'm pretty happy with my Phenom II. The costs aren't worth it now. Maybe in a couple of years.


----------



## SoupRKnowva

Quote: 





blisse said:


> The Sapphire Xtreme Radeon HD 5850 is ridiculous. I'm playing things on maximum without a problem. I've never done that before. Very nice. I want an SSD next, but I'll probably stalk for sales or price drops first. But then I also have audio gear I want... and another keyborad...
> 
> I have a water cooler that I don't use or need... I can't justify switching to an i3 since I'm pretty happy with my Phenom II. The costs aren't worth it now. Maybe in a couple of years.


 

 from what ive seen that xtreme card for as long as supplies last is a pretty incredible deal, good job snagging one.
   
  I would also say that the i3 wouldnt be too much of a jump, but going for the i5 2500k, the unlocked chip, would be a worthy upgrade, sandy bridge FTW


----------



## PiccoloNamek

http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1806805
   
  My Current Specs


----------



## taylor

An update to my new rig, bought about 4 months ago:
   
  Intel Core i5-2500K
  Gigabyte P67A-UD4
  16GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1333
  Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2GB
  Intel X-25M 120GB SSD
  Samsung MP4 320GB 7200RPM HDD
  Corsair AX850 PSU
  Fractal Design Define R3 case
  Coolermaster Hyper 212+
   
  It's a nice rig. I love my Fractal case, it's really sleek. None of that gimmicky crap, it's just a plain black box, with lots of sound-deadening material and dust-filtered, quiet fans. Nearly inaudible. I mostly play Source games, and it slays them (I will hang at 150+ FPS with every setting turned all the way up). The one and only thing I would consider upgrading would be an extra 6950 for crossfire, when they are selling used for <$175 after the next generation comes out.


----------



## RexAeterna

antec 900

nspire 750w psu

gigabyten MA770 mobo

amd phenom II 965 c3@4ghz

3gb super talent ddr2@900mhz

XFX 5870@stock

750gb WD green HDD

24'' Sony GDM-FW900 professional CRT


----------



## manaox2

Quote: 





taylor said:


> An update to my new rig, bought about 4 months ago:
> 
> Intel Core i5-2500K
> Gigabyte P67A-UD4
> ...


 


 That is a nice rig.


----------



## deltaspirit

Quote: 





deltaspirit said:


> Currently running
> 
> 
> i7-920 @ 4.0 W Noctua NH-U12P SE
> ...


 


   
  Updated.
   
   
  i7-920 @ 4.0 HT W Noctua NH-U12P SE
EVGA x58 sli
12GB G.SKILL 1600MHZ
2X 6970's
BFG 1250W
  2X MUSHKIN CALLISTO 120GB RAID 0
2X WD 640GB Black in raid 0
  CORSAIR 700D
  Filco majestouch MX black
  STEELSERIES IKARI
  TRIPLE U2311H EYEFINITY


----------



## ocswing

Intel i5-2500k @ 4.2ghz w/ Zalman 9900MAX
  EVGA GTX 560ti
  G.Skill 8gb DDR3-1600
  Corsair Force SSD 120gb
  WD 500gb Caviar Black
  WD 1tb Caviar Blue
  Asus P8P67-M
  Cooler Master 700w Silent Pro
  LG Bluray/HDDVD drive
  Lian-Li PC-A04 case
  Dell 20" Ultrasharp


----------



## Great Sound

Intel corer2quad Q8200 @ 2300 MHz
  NVidia GT430
  WD green blabla 1 TB @5400 RPM
  4 GB apacer DDR2 ram1066MHz
  RECOM Power engine 600+(600W)
  Gigabyte G41m-comob mobo
  In an old trusty packard bell case with no side panel,will uprage the case soon though


----------



## nolocus

She's on her last legs these days.
   
  Intel single core 1.70 GHz
  496 MB RAM


----------



## UserFriendly

Pentium D 2.8Ghz
  1GB RAM
  320 GB HDD
  Bought for $150 at a second hand store.


----------



## gore.rubicon

i5 430M
  4Gb Ram
  320 WD
  310m
   
  Barely gets by, cooling is finicky


----------



## Lazerboy2000

Just got a Macbook Pro in the mail today!
   
  2.2Ghz i7 Quad-Core
  750GB Harddrive @ 5400RPM
  4GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
  15" glossy display
   
  This will be replacing my old Fujitsu T4220 tablet that got fried.


----------



## Battou62

Custom build:
   
  AMD X6 1055T Processor @3.85 Ghz
  Biostar TA890FXE Motherboard
  HIS Radeon HD6850
  Crucial C300 64G SSD + Mechanical Backups
  CM HAF 912 Computer Case
  GSkill Ram 1600 Mhz 4 Gigs
  BFG EX1000 PSU
  LG 22" L227WTG Monitor


----------



## ElectroGeek007

Bitcoin mining FTW...
   
  Old Antec case
  Intel D975XBXLKR motherboard
  Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 CPU (1.86 GHz)
  2 GB generic DDR2 RAM
  Antec EarthWatts 750w Power Supply
  Sapphire Radeon 5870
  Visiontek Radeon 5850
  (coming soon) Sapphire 5830
  ...and 6 fans (I need more/better ones, I have to leave the side off the case currently)
   
  For you Bitcoin people, it currently gets about 820 MH/s


----------



## Ra97oR

Intel Core i7-2600K CPU @ 4.50GHz
Corsair Vengeance 1600Mhz CL-9 DDR3 (4x4GB)
ASUS P8P67 Pro
2 x Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB RAID 0, Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470
ASUS Xonar Essence ST with HA5000
Antec Signature 650W PSU
Fractal Design, Define R3


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





electrogeek007 said:


> Bitcoin mining FTW...
> 
> Old Antec case
> Intel D975XBXLKR motherboard
> ...


 

 Oh Bitcoin. My silly 5850 only gets 190MH/s. :/
  It paid for a couple computer upgrades already though.


----------



## ElectroGeek007

Quote: 





mralexosborn said:


> Oh Bitcoin. My silly 5850 only gets 190MH/s. :/
> It paid for a couple computer upgrades already though.


 
   
  Hmm... It should be getting more than that, even without any overclocking or voltage increases, as per this list: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison. What brand and model is yours, and what mining client are you using? Reference or not? Mine is currently stable at 385 MH/s, you should be able to get more out of yours than you currently are.


----------



## snapple10

Per Amazon site:  Product Features 
 1.6 GHz with Turbo Boost up to 2.8 GHz
 4GB of DDR3 1066MHz SDRAM, 2 slots, 8GB Max
 640GB Hard Drive (5400 RPM); BluRay Drive Combo; Wi-Fi 802.11 bgn
 17.3-Inch HD+ LCD Display; 2.0MP Webcam; Bluetooth; HDMI Port; ATI HD5730 Graphics Engine with 1 GB DDR3 Dedicated VRAM
 Windows 7 Home Premium (64 bit) Operating System
  Processor, Memory, and Motherboard


  
 *Processor:* 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7
 *Number of Processors:* 4
 *RAM:* 4 GB
 *RAM Type:* SODIMM
  Hard Drive


 *Size:* 640 GB
 *Type:* Serial ATA
  Cases and Expandability


 *Size (LWH):* 16.5 inches, 11.2 inches, 1.6 inches
 * Weight:* 7.5 pounds


----------



## mralexosborn

Quote: 





electrogeek007 said:


> Hmm... It should be getting more than that, even without any overclocking or voltage increases, as per this list: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Mining_hardware_comparison. What brand and model is yours, and what mining client are you using? Reference or not? Mine is currently stable at 385 MH/s, you should be able to get more out of yours than you currently are.


 
  *290MH/s
  I am using poclbm's miner. I can't OC my 5850 very much just because it is sort of a dud of a card. It gets very unstable.


----------



## Alghazanth

Coolermaster 942 HAF X
  EVGA X58 3-SLI
  i7 950 @ 3.8ghz
  2x GTX 480
  6GB DDR3-1600
  80GB Intel SSD/1TB WD Caviar Black
  X-Fi Fatal1ty Champion
  CM Silent Pro Gold 1200w PSU
  Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
  Samsung Syncmaster 305T+ (30" 2560x1600)


----------



## petercintn

Hanns-G HH281 Monitor
  PC Power & Cooling 750 watt Power Supply
  MSI P55 GD60
  Xeon 3440 @ 3.8ghz w/ Swiftech GTZ block
  G Skill 12800CL7 4gig @ 1900mhz 8-9-8-24
  MSI Hawk Talon GTX 460 @ stock w/ stock cooling
  Maxtor 320gig x2 / Samsung 1tb
  Lite-On DVDRW
  Antec 1200 case
  Laing DDC pump w/ XSPC Reservoir
  Swiftech triple rad w/ push/pull config


----------



## LedJam

PC: HP Workstation Z800
  Processor: 1x Intel Xeon X5660 (6 Cores @ 2.8GHz)
  Ram: 6GB 1333MHz DDR3
  Graphics Card: Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1024MB "Golden Sample"
  Primary Storage Drive: Kingston 256GB SSD
  Secondary Storage Drive: 1 TB - standard - Serial ATA-300
  Monitor: HP 2310ti (23")
  Network Attached Storage: Seagate BlackArmor NAS440
   
  ........mmmmmm....Num-Nums! I like!


----------



## Tilpo

I always thought my system was relatively bad, it being a budget system, but this thead showed me it is more in the direction of average 

Anyway, here I go:

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE, overclocked 3.9GHz (quad core)
Graphics Card: Sapphire HD5770 Vapor-X
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
RAM: 1x 4GB 1600MHz DD3
Storage: 1x 1TB (7,200 RPM) + 1x 1.5TB (5,400 RPM)
Case: Lancool Dragon Lord PC-K62
PSU: Cooler Master Real Power M520 (520W, 80-plus certificate)

And now for the fun part:

Mouse: Razer Naga
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow (cheap and easy accesible mechanical keyboard)
Gamepad: Razer Nostromo
Mouse mat: Roccat Sense Adrenalin Blue
Main monitor: Iiyama ProLite T2250MTS-1 (22" optical touch screen, very nice for forum browsing when not typing, and a good monitor otherwise)
Second monitor: Acer V233h (cheap 23" monitor)
Third monitor: Acer 1703 sm (14" monitor dedicated to foobar2000 use only)

And in my opinion the audio is also part of the computer's specs, but we'll just leave that out for the sake of this thread


----------



## MegaMushroom

I feel mine's even more half-assed than usual... 
 Processor: Intel i7-860 (stock clocks for the time being... found no real need)
 Graphics Card: 2 Diamond
 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-P55-UD4P
 RAM: 2x 2GB 1600MHz DDR3 G.Skill Ripjaw
 Storage: 1x 640GB 7200rpm WD Caviar Black
 Case: Cooler Master CM690
 PSU: Aerocool Horsepower 650W
  Cooling: 2x generic 120mm Cooler Master case fans
            Cooler Master TX-3 direct contact heatsink 92mm fan
  Misc:
  Mouse: Razer Lachesis
 Keyboard: Saitek Eclipse
 Gamepad: Razer Goliathus
 Monitor: Generic Insignia 19in TV (I've no real need to upgrade yet.)
  Extra storage: WD 1TB external drive
   
  ...and for the hell of it... Arctic Cooling TX-2 thermal paste.


----------



## Tilpo

megamushroom said:


> Gamepad: Razer Goliathus




I think you mean mouse mat. What I meant with gamepad was a left-handed keypad made for gaming:


----------



## Blisse

I totally want one of those, but I'm not sure how much time I really have for gaming. It's such a bother. And I only really play Starcraft, so it's not like it'll really help. But having one would be so nice, haha.
   
  But first sell my BlackWidow and get a Noppoo Choc Mini. ^^


----------



## Tilpo

blisse said:


> I totally want one of those, but I'm not sure how much time I really have for gaming. It's such a bother. And I only really play Starcraft, so it's not like it'll really help. But having one would be so nice, haha.
> 
> But first sell my BlackWidow and get a Noppoo Choc Mini. ^^



I can tell you that in my opinion the Nostromo was worth every penny. I mostly play minecraft these days, in which case it is fine in terms of the amount of buttons (you only need about 6). 
The Nostromo is very comfortable, much more so than your average keyboard, even the ergonomic keyboards. 

And why did you want to sell you BlackWidow, not criticizing your new purchase, but simply wondering whether I made bad purchase 
I personally bought the BlackWidow as it's a relatively cheap mechanical keyboard, with which nothing is supposed to be wrong. And it was even more cheap compared with other keyboards as I could order it from a Dutch store instead of a foreign one, saving me quite a bit of shipping costs.


----------



## Blisse

Quote: 





tilpo said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  I want to get a Noppoo Choc Mini, nothing against the BlackWidow, except maybe that the left CTRL key resonates. There are no faults whatsoever with my BlackWidow, but I still want to upgrade. Damn Head-fi.
   
  I'm going to Hong Kong in the summer, so I might as well pick up a nicer keyborad, but even without going, I'd get it, since it's about $30 more than the BlackWidow for a bit better quality. It has a nice compact layout which I will probably need next year in university. And it just looks like it'd be a nice buy. Not sure what I'd do with my BlackWidow though since I don't really want to get rid of it.
   
  I never use the Macro keys, and the Noppoo has those relaly nice Function keys. 
   
  Canadians usually have it pretty bad because import fees from the U.S. are killer even though I'm literally 2 hours away from the border.


----------



## MegaMushroom

Quote: 





tilpo said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 I stand corrected... Mouse pad... easy enough mistake to make. Especially in the wee hours of morning.


----------



## TheAnomaly

i got a new (Asus) laptop in last week for going off to grad school (architecture). it's a sweet little number for $800:
   
  -13.3" led screen
  -sandy bridge i5 2410M
  -4gb memory 1333
  -500gb hard disk
   
  but the best two features, i think, are the nvidia 520M graphics and the standard 8-cell battery. the nvidia card means i can play games reasonably well and get some real gpu acceleration for my school programs. and the 8-cell battery seems poised to delivery an honest to goodness 9 hours battery life for web browsing/streaming use. wow! i'm quite impressed with it so far, but i can't help but wonder if i should've waited to see the refreshed macbook air specs. any suitable configuration, though, would've been around 50% more than this Asus.
   
  the desktop is ooooooold:
   
  -C2D 2ghz
  -tuniq tower
  -gigabyte DS3R
  -6gb ram (mixed)
  -WD 500gb hdd
  -EVGA 8800GT
  -corsair 520w PSU
  -lian-li A05B case
  -dell 3007wfp
   
  i should be building a new desktop soonish. that old thing isn't up to the task anymore. there's also something wrong with the motherboard...


----------



## Battou62

Update 

   

  Intel i5 2500K Processor @4.4 Ghz

  Asus P8P67 Pro Motherboard

  HIS Radeon HD6850

  Crucial C300 64G SSD + Mechanical Backups

  CM HAF 912 Computer Case

  GSkill Ram 1600 Mhz 4 Gigs

  BFG EX1000 PSU

  LG 22" L227WTG Monitor


----------



## dilpal

AMD  Phenom X4 945 3.0 Ghz
  ASUS  M4A785TD-V _EVO_  Motherboard
  Nvidia 8600 GT
  ADATA DDR3 4 GB RAM


----------



## Peter2290

Asus P8P67 Pro
  Intel Core i7-2600k @ 4.5GHz
  EVGA GTX 560 Ti
  G.Skill Sniper 8GB 1600MHz RAM
  OCZ Vertex 2 120GB SSD
  WD Caviar Black 1TB HDD
   
  Lancool PC-K62 case
  Thermalright MUX-120 heatsink
  Dell 2005FPW 20.1" 1680x1050 monitor
  Mionix Naos 5000 mouse + Propus 380 mouse pad
  Das Model S Professional Silent keyboard
   
  thats pretty much it


----------



## qweasd

could be just me but ive moved away from PC. now a normal laptop is enough. no more games on computer


----------



## jaredn13

Core i7 970 @ 4GHz
  Asus Rampage Formula III Motherboard
  12GB (3x 4GB) G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1600
  SoundBlaster Titanium HD
  XFX AMD HD6950 2GB (x2 crossfire)
  OCZ Vertex 2 180GB SSD
  2x Western Digital Green Power 1TB
  Seagate GoFlex USB 3.0 2TB
  Cooler Master Silent Pro Gold 1000w PSU
  Apple Cinema Display 27"
  Custom Antec P180 case with two 140mm side fans and rear mounted Corsair H50 radiator
  Logitech G110 keyboard
  Cyborg Rat7 mouse
   
  I'm really considering selling the 970 and mobo and buying an i5 2500k and p67 mobo.  I don't really use all 6 cores (12 threads). Plus the 2500k overclocks REALLY well.


----------



## SARodrigues

Not just you. Since I started travelling frequently between countries a few years ago, I only use laptops due to their ease of mobility. It pissed me off at first, but soon after my desktop died I never looked back. Almost everything portable now: Laptop, 2.5" external hard drives, USB tvtuners, etc.
   
  I've learned I used to buy things a lot more powerful than I would ever need (since I rarely game), so I prefer to save my money to something else. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  I also noticed how much unnecessary stuff I used to have (and carry around). I do miss having a desktop though, but when I decide to buy one, it will most likely be a cheap media center connected to a nice TV and what not.
   
   Quote: 





qweasd said:


> could be just me but ive moved away from PC. now a normal laptop is enough. no more games on computer






   
   
   
   
  Just to comply with the thread I'll post my main laptop specs (3 or 4 year old now):
   
  - Core 2 Duo T5550 (1.83Ghz)
  - Nvidia GeForce 8400M GS (256MB)
  - 4GB DDR2 (Samsung)
  - Realtek HDA ALC268 (Double Streaming)
  - Toshiba HDD 320GB, 5400rpm, Sata-II
  - LG Philips 15.4" LCD (BrightView)
  - Integrated Webcam and Stereo Microphone
   
  It is usually accompanied by:
  - Remote Control
  - USB Bluetooth
  - Generic 2.4Ghz Mouse or a cheap Logitech wired one
  - Xbox360 Gamepad
  - USB DVB Tv-Tuner
  - Two 2.5inch external hard drives (100GB pata & 160GB sata)
  - HP Stereo Headset (now dead, will be replaced - hopefully today - by Sennheiser HD238 Precision)
  - Two usb Modems from two different countries (Mobile Internet)
  - A bunch of different cables for different stuff lol


----------



## Dreaming Of A Better ... (Jun 19, 2020)

...


----------



## Tilpo

dreaming of a better ... said:


> Intel i5 2500K
> 
> Asus P8P67 Evo
> 
> ...




To think he has money left to spend on headphones!
You must be a both rich and happy man.


----------



## dilpal

Quote: 





tilpo said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 And also see his rig.


----------



## manaox2

I bought a Dell U2410 H-IPS monitor and a Filco ninja tenkeyless keyboard with cherry brown switches for my birthday. Its a smaller monitor, but man does it look better from below. It also makes the bookshelf speakers sound much better sitting inbetween.


----------



## ocswing

Quote: 





manaox2 said:


> I bought a Dell U2410 H-IPS monitor and a Filco ninja tenkeyless keyboard with cherry brown switches for my birthday. Its a smaller monitor, but man does it look better from below. It also makes the bookshelf speakers sound much better sitting inbetween.


 
   
  24" monitor ... smaller? I know monitor sizes continue to creep up, but that's not really a smaller monitor lol. I would really like one or two! Though I don't care so much about size as pixel density. Really wish they'd stop pushing the HD resolutions on computer monitors.


----------



## Tilpo

dilpal said:


> And also see his rig.



That's what I meant; His rig is very costly, so I'm suprised he still has enough money left to buy a headphone rig after buying his PC.


----------



## manaox2

My last monitor was a 27.5" Hanns.G. It was twisted neumatic which had bad clouding from the back lighting and horrible miscoloration at off angles and bad shadow detail. I don't miss it. It is very highly rated on newegg, mostly because its huge for the price and has a quick response time. Those users must have no idea what they are missing.

 24" is fairly large, but its nice to be able to sit back at the studio desk and easily read the forums with the monitor on the shelf using a 1900x1200 resolution. If I had anything lower then 23" the monitor would have to be at my face to make it possible and my blu-ray and games would all be scaled down from what they could be.


----------



## Tilpo

manaox2 said:


> and my blu-ray and games would all be scaled down from what they could be.



Why would that be? Most 23" monitors have 1920*1080 resolution.
And I personally don't mind having my screens close to me. Maybe because I'm pretty much forced to, since my middle screen is a touch screen, and as we all know: Touchscreens do not work when you can't reach them.


----------



## ocswing

Quote: 





manaox2 said:


> My last monitor was a 27.5" Hanns.G. It was twisted neumatic which had bad clouding from the back lighting and horrible miscoloration at off angles and bad shadow detail. I don't miss it. It is very highly rated on newegg, mostly because its huge for the price and has a quick response time. Those users must have no idea what they are missing.
> 
> 24" is fairly large, but its nice to be able to sit back at the studio desk and easily read the forums with the monitor on the shelf using a 1900x1200 resolution. If I had anything lower then 23" the monitor would have to be at my face to make it possible and my blu-ray and games would all be scaled down from what they could be.


 

 Ha, yeah I can see how that's a step down in size, but overall the Dell 24" is a better monitor IMO. They do offer monitors below 23" now with 1920x1080, but if you're using it for viewing movies that would still be rather small. I have a separate 42" TV for that stuff, and an old 20" Dell Ultrasharp that runs 1600x1200.  I use my monitor a ton and I'm anywhere from 18" to 3ft away. I'm close enough to notice the difference. It bugs me that I pretty much have to go to 24" IPS and spend a lot of money to upgrade because pixel density just isn't important to manufacturers anymore.


----------



## manaox2

Quote: 





tilpo said:


> Why would that be? Most 23" monitors have 1920*1080 resolution.
> And I personally don't mind having my screens close to me. Maybe because I'm pretty much forced to, since my middle screen is a touch screen, and as we all know: Touchscreens do not work when you can't reach them.


 


  Yeah, I believe I said less then 23" because most monitors below that don't have the resolution to display 1920x1080 resolution Blu-Ray. It would be a little small to care so much about the resolution I'm getting there too as ocswing mentions. I love ripping my Blu-Rays as they play without all the menus instantly and are less of a hassle then messing with discs and waiting the long waiting times. I wouldn't mind a screen close to me as I regularly did with other desktops and laptops in the past, but its nice to have the desk space in front cleared for projects, papers, and not messing with my speaker's sound. I was tempted by the 21.5" dell IPS touchscreen for up close work, but couldn't justify it. I do watch Netflix at night before bed sometimes on my Droid X, so the small size up close doesn't really bother me, so much either. I really like being able to see and make out everything in the picture though on the monitor, hated how much strain I put on my eyes trying to make out things happening in the shadows. It was a bummer dealing with that just after building a serious PC.
   
  I completely get your point about pixel density. I have a 46" LCD in the main room that I use with an old computer as a HTPC watching movies and listening to the full sized tower speakers that I would hate having to use for browsing the internet or typing a document. Stand a few feet away from it and the pixel size is obvious and distracting enough that I would never recommend one as a main computer monitor.


----------



## Jonnoh

I have a 120Hz 15" laptop screen that does 1920X1080.  Posting with it right now.


----------



## TSIG

I have a new 2011 MacBook Pro 15" quad core i7 with 2.2 GHZ processing.  I still have to upgrade it to 8GB of RAM, but I have removed the optical drive, and placed a 160GB Mercury Extreme SSD.


----------



## 3602

* AMD Turion II P540
  * AMD M880G w/ ATI HD 4250
  * Cannot run most 2008 and beyond games


----------



## dibbler67

Sager NP8150-S1 (laptop)
   
  i7 2720QM
  AMD HD6970m 2GB DDR5
  8GB DDR3
  500GB @7200 rpm
  15" 1920x1080 Gloss
   
  Love it.


----------



## the wizard of oz

80GB _DiamondMax 10_ HDD running _XP_ gave up the ghost (RIP 2005-2011), so now running _Ubuntu_ on the 250GB _Caviar Black_ only. Also, I moved this AMD64X2 system back into its _T2-AH1_ Barebone.
   
  The PowerMac case will soon host a whole new system. Truly silent, and faster.


----------



## sari0n

No one I know owns an IPS monitor and the demos in stores are all hooked up to the same computer running some really low resolution so I haven't been able to see the difference in quality yet.  I was considering getting one, but they're somewhat pricey and I'd really like to see one first.
  I'm using a 22" acer monitor with 1920x1080 resolution that I got for $70 xD, it works fairly decently for now since I don't do anything really graphically intense.


----------



## kaixax555

Custom rig 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Intel i5-750 2.66GHz 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  2x2GB Corsair 1333MHz DDR3 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Hitachi Deskstar 320GB 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  HP DVD1270i DVD Drive with Lightscribe 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Sapphire ATI Radeon HD5750 1GB Vapor-X 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Andyson F500m modular PSU 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Lancool K62 casing 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Acer P235H 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  HP Wireless Keyboard and Mouse 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Logitech Z103 2.1 Speakers 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Iomega 500GB External HDD 2.5in permanently attached to my computer


----------



## Szadzik

Desktop bought around 2 years ago:
   
  HP IQ830UK All-in-One
   
  Intel C2D 7450@2,13GHz
  8GB DDR2 RAM
  1TB WD Caviar
  25.5" 1920x1200 touchscreen
  nVidia 9600 GS
   
  Laptop bought a year ago:
   
  HP Envy 14 1050
   
  Intel i5-450@2,4GHz
  8GB DDR3
  500GB HDD @7200
  80GB Vertex 3
  14" 1366x768
  ATI 5650


----------



## Msulit87

Laptop
   
  AW M17x R1
   
  Intel QX9300 @ 3.01Ghz
  Nvidia GTX280 SLI
  500GB HDD
  8GB DDR3
   
  Never buy an Alienware...They should rename the company to "Diminishing Returns" -_-


----------



## beerguy0

Desktop machine I just built:
   
  Intel i7 2600K CPU (Currently running at 3.4 GHz)
  16GB Corsair Vengeance RAM (4x4GB)
  Asus P8 Z68-V Pro mobo
  Corsair H50 Liquid Cooler
  EVGA GTX 560 Ti Video card (1GB)
  Corsair TX750 power supply
  Corsair Obsidian 650D mid-tower case
  1TB Western Digital Caviar Black 7200 RPM main drive
  1.5TB Seagate Drive
  40GB Corsair SSD
  LG DVD drive
  Windows 7 Pro 64-bit
   
  I haven't overclocked it yet, but this baby is fast.


----------



## kaixax555

beerguy0 said:


> Desktop machine I just built:
> 
> Intel i7 2600K CPU (Currently running at 3.4 GHz)
> 16GB Corsair Vengeance RAM (4x4GB)
> ...




That's nice

Gonna pair a sound card or DAC with it?


----------



## beerguy0

Quote: 





kaixax555 said:


> That's nice
> 
> Gonna pair a sound card or DAC with it?


 

 I'll probably add a DAC at some point. My priority was enough power for HD video editing, and to have a machine that will serve my needs for a few years.


----------



## nizzki

17" MBP with 2.9GHz C2D. It's getting a bit dated though.


----------



## Jodiuh

Quote: 





beerguy0 said:


> Desktop machine I just built:
> 
> Intel i7 2600K CPU (Currently running at 3.4 GHz)
> 16GB Corsair Vengeance RAM (4x4GB)
> ...


 


  I'm giving you a high five for building almost exactly what I would! But I'm deducting points for onboard sound! FWIW, our major difference is with my 760/P55. For Bad Company 2, you'll be looking at 250 to 300 watts fully loaded from the wall! Efficient and fast!
   
  Edit: I can pull 60 frames minimum @ 1680x1050 with 8x MSAA, so that should give you something to look forward to! We'll probably need another 560 for BF3, but I'm concerned about the relatively low framebuffer. I've seen it hit 75% on the 1GB with above settings.


----------



## marvin

My Silverstone's SG07's power supply decided to bite the dust, so I figured it was time for a bit of a change up.
   
  Intel i5-760 @ 3.8 GHz
  MSI P55 Big Bang Fuzion
  8 GB DDR3 1333 SDRAM
 3x AMD Radeon 6970 2GB
  3x NEC 23" EA231WMi Monitors
 2x Patriot Inferno 120 GB SSD
  1x WD 2TB HD
 Silverstone Raven RV02 Case
   
  Really need to get around to installing a watercooling setup. Fan noise is killing me.


----------



## RiceEatin2010GT

my rig-
   
  Silverstone ft02w
  Intel 2600k overclocked to 4.5ghz with noctua cooler
  asus p8p67 deluxe motherboard
  1000 watt corsair power supply
  2 evga gtx 570's in SLI 
  8gb of corsair dominator ram
  128gb crucial c300 SSD
  1TB western digital black
  Asus xonar STX with Sennheiser HD650's


----------



## beerguy0

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> I'm giving you a high five for building almost exactly what I would! But I'm deducting points for onboard sound! FWIW, our major difference is with my 760/P55. For Bad Company 2, you'll be looking at 250 to 300 watts fully loaded from the wall! Efficient and fast!
> 
> Edit: I can pull 60 frames minimum @ 1680x1050 with 8x MSAA, so that should give you something to look forward to! We'll probably need another 560 for BF3, but I'm concerned about the relatively low framebuffer. I've seen it hit 75% on the 1GB with above settings.


 
   
  I built this machine for editing photos and HD video. I'll be adding a soundcard or DAC at some point. If I go with a soundcard, then I need new speakers, so I may just buy or build a DAC.


----------



## NamelessPFG

Flagship desktop (3.5 years old):
   
  -Intel Core 2 Duo Q6600 (3.2 GHz 8x400) / Sunbeamtech Core-Contact Freezer
  -8 GB (4*2 GB) G.SKILL DDR2-800 (5-4-4-12)
  -Galaxy GeForce 8800 GT
  -Auzentech X-Fi Forte
  -Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P 2.0
  -PC Power & Cooling Silencer 610
  -2.5 TB combined storage (2*HD103SJ, 1*WD5000AAKS)
  -Aplus/ABS Tagan Black Pearl
  -Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
   
  I'll upgrade the graphics card after the next generation of graphics cards (specifically NVIDIA's Kepler) hits the market. The mobo, CPU, and RAM will likely hold out until 2013. It's actually been through a few upgrades since I've had it-2 GB to 8 GB RAM, new full-tower case with much better airflow, and the two HD103SJs.
   
  Classic gaming desktop:
   
  -AMD Athlon XP 3200+
  -2 GB (2*1 GB) Corsair XMS DDR-400
  -eVGA GeForce 6800 Ultra
  -Auzentech X-Fi Prelude
  -Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe
  -some generic PSU I haven't bothered to look up
  -200 GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 HDD
  -Lian-Li PC-61B
  -Windows XP Professional
   
  This one's built to handle somewhat older games than the flagship, but isn't completely flawless with certain Win9x-era titles to the point where I'll have to build another that's even older and tailored for Win98SE. It's still a useful backup, mostly composed of parts I got for free or cheap...save the X-Fi Prelude, but that was intended for my flagship until the front left/right audio jack on the A7N8X-E started acting up and I decided to "upgrade" the flagship so this machine gets the Prelude as a hand-me-down.
   
  HP EliteBook 2730p
   
  -Intel Core 2 Duo SL9400 (2.13 GHz in dual-IDA mode)
  -4 GB (2*2 GB) ADATA DDR2-800
  -Intel GMA 4500MHD
  -Analog Devices SoundMAX AD1984A
  -Intel X18-M G1 80 GB SSD
  -12" 1280x800 BOE Hydis AFFS+ LCD / Wacom Penabled
  -Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
   
  My main mobile machine. Gets a ton of battery life with the additional slice battery, has one of the best screens I'll find on any notebook in terms of image quality and viewing angles, and I can write and draw on it as needed, allowing me to go paperless. Also, while the sound capabilities are meager at best, the headphone jack at least isn't noisy like a typical desktop motherboard.


----------



## Jodiuh

$10 bucks says Kepler picks a fight with Kentsfield like Fermi before it.


----------



## NamelessPFG

You mean to say it'll bottleneck?
   
  I'm fully expecting that (every computer has a shifting bottleneck depending on the current workload), but the idea is that the 8800 GT is my current biggest bottleneck for my uses, then the upgrade (may not be Kepler, but it sounds like Fermi would bottleneck already) would shift that back to Kentsfield/Q6600 (albeit overclocked), and whenever I get around to doing that big system overhaul afterward, I'll just carry over the new graphics card, which will likely be the bottleneck for gaming performance again since the CPU's a few generations newer and most games have the bulk of their workload on the GPU.
   
  But I won't be that overtly concerned about it so long as I can run every game I have at a constant 60 FPS or higher...doing that with Crysis on Very High DX10 won't be easy, though, to say nothing of what future games like Battlefield 3 might demand.


----------



## mcdeeda

Derksterp:
  Lian Li Lancool K68
  MSI 890FXA-GD70
  AMD Phenom ii X6 1100T
  2x Sapphire Radeon HD 5970
  16GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
  OCZ Vertex 2 32GB SSD
  2x WD Caviar Black 1TB HDD
  Hitachi Deskstar 2TB HDD
  Raidmax 1200w PSU
  LG Blu Ray Burner
  Monitor: Sony GDM-FW900
   
  all watercooled with Danger Den parts
   
  Lapderp:
  Lenovo Thinkpad T520:
     Intel i7 2820QM
     8GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
     256GB Samsung 470 Series SSD
     500GB HDD
   
  Mouse: Microsoft Arc Touch
  Keyboard: Filco Majestouch 2 w/ Cherry MX Blue


----------



## nwsswn

iMac:
  27 inch
  Core i7 2.93 Ghz
  8 GB RAM
  Lion


----------



## Astrozombie

Family PC:
  AMD X4 3ghz, 2GB, GT240, MSI 790XT, WD 320gb, 22'' lcd, OCZ Modxstream 500, custom case/theme, 7 HP x64, i need to finish sleeving some wires.
   
  My Rig:
  E7300@3.4ghz, 4GB, GTX460, Gigabyte Ds3, WD 640gb, Corsair 520HX, 24'' lcd, Lian-Li K58, custom theme, 7 HP x64, waiting for AMD Bulldozer to land before i decide on the next CPU overhaul.


----------



## ilikepooters

Thought i'll post the specs now i'm done upgrading.
   
  Intel i5 680 @ 4.86Ghz
  ATI Radeon 6950 flashed to 6970
  8GB Corsair 1866Mhz DDR3
  120GB OCZ Vertex 2 SSD
   
   
  it fliessss


----------



## nwsswn

wow, 4.86ghz!  is the whole thing liquid cooled?


----------



## sh4w

HAF 922
Asus P5Q Pro Turbo
Q6700 @ 3.8 ghz
random 800 mhz DDR 2 ram
9800GTX+ @ 810/1890/1253
random 7200 rpm hdd 500 gb

need to upgrade soonish ~,~


----------



## crapmonster

Very out of date but what I've been running for a few years now.  Will probably upgrade in the next month.

 Core 2 Duo E7500
 ASRock 4CoreDual-VSTA
 2x2GB DDR2
 XFX Radeon HD4850 1GB
 WD Caviar Black 1TB
 Seagate Barracuda 300GB
 Corsair TX650W


----------



## NoKTurNal

I have two laptops, *both Windows 7*
   
HP HDX 16 (Out of production)
   
   
  Core Duo P8700 @ 2.53ghz
  Ram 4GB 1600 DDR2
  Geforce 9600M GT 1GB Dedi
  WD 500GB 7200RPM
   
Levono Ideapad Y560
   
   
  Core i7 Q740 @ 1.73 , w/threading 8 cores
  Ram 8GB 1600 DDR2
  ATI HD5700M 1GB Dedi
  WD 500GB 7200RPM


----------



## buffalowings

antec 900 v1.0
 amd phenom II x6 3.3ghz overclocked to 3.7ghz
 voltage 1.42
 cool n quiet, 1ce disabled
 power setting on performance
 hyper 212 plus cooler with two 110mm fans (2000 rpm)
 arcticsilver alumina thermal paste
 8gb ram
 evga 560 ti overclocked to superclock levels
 gigabyte 990fx mofo 
 realtek 889 soundcard
 750watt coolermaster psu
 two 110mm front case fans
 one 110mm back case fan
 one 220mm top case fan
 1tb samsung 7200rpm hardrive


----------



## kaixax555

Quote: 





mcdeeda said:


> Derksterp:
> Lian Li Lancool K68
> MSI 890FXA-GD70
> AMD Phenom ii X6 1100T
> ...


 



 There ain't a Lancool K68 bro
   
  Are you talking about the Lancool K58, the one shown below?


----------



## ilikepooters

Quote: 





nwsswn said:


> wow, 4.86ghz!  is the whole thing liquid cooled?


 


  Only with a cheap solution, Antec Kuhler 620, luckily my chip is a good one so does that speed with only 1.4v
   
http://store.antec.com/Product/cooling-cpu_cooler/kuhler-h2o-620/0-761345-77085-9.aspx
   
  not quite 100% stable though so i downclock it a bit for 24/7 use, but still it runs solidly at around 4.66Ghz under 100% load


----------



## RiceEatin2010GT

great clock speed but it Inst everything.  That will get significantly out paced by a way lower clocked 4 core processor in most meaningful apps/benchmarks.
  
  Quote: 





nwsswn said:


> wow, 4.86ghz!  is the whole thing liquid cooled?


----------



## ocswing

Quote: 





riceeatin2010gt said:


> great clock speed but it Inst everything.  That will get significantly out paced by a way lower clocked 4 core processor in most meaningful apps/benchmarks.


 

  
  Except he was referencing an Intel Core-i5. So 4 cores and a good clock speed


----------



## RiceEatin2010GT

nope that core i5 is a dual core chip. 2 cores with HT
  Quote: 





ocswing said:


> Except he was referencing an Intel Core-i5. So 4 cores and a good clock speed


----------



## aurabullet

i7 930 oc'd to 4.7
  12gb ddr3 2000mhz
  gtx 480 x2 sli ssc versions
  vertex 2 x2 120gb raid 0, 1tb 7.2k rpm hitachi
  1200w psu
  sniper storm case
  asus xonar st
  rampage III mobo
   
  x2 23.6" acer 120hz 3d gaming monitors
  3d vision kit


----------



## cdnaudiophile

My main rig:
   
  i7 920 @ 4.2GHZ
  Asus P6T Deluxe
  12 GB Patriot Viper 1600mhz DDR3
  4 WD RE3 500GB HD's in Raid 0
  2 XFX 6990 in crossfire
  Corsair AX1200
  Corsair 700D
  Asus Xonar STX
  3 46" Samsung 1080p 120hz LCD's
  Win 7 Ultimate 64
   
  My Laptop:
  Mac Book Pro
  15" Hi-Res Screen
  2.4GHZ Dual Core i5
  8gbs DDR3 1066
  240GB OCZ Vertex 3
  OSX 10.7.1
  Win 7 Enterprise
   
  Headphones:
  AKG 701's
  Sennheiser HD650's
  Grado RS1i
  Grado SR60i
  Denon D2000
  Sony XB500


----------



## Arbite

AMD 955 BE @ 4ghz under Coolermaster Hyper 212+
  Gigabyte 880GM-USB3
  4gb G.Skill Ripjaws 1333mhz
  2gb 6950 unlocked to 6970
  Corsair HX620
  Kingstong 64gb SSD
  1tb Samsung
  2tb Samsung
  Antec P180 mini
  Benq G2400WD


----------



## ocswing

Quote: 





riceeatin2010gt said:


> nope that core i5 is a dual core chip. 2 cores with HT


 

 Oh, first gen. Hyper-threading pretty much puts it at 4 cores though. Regardless, in practical applications software has to make use of the extra cores for them to do any good. Things are getting better on that front, but a lot of stuff still only supports two cores.


----------



## RiceEatin2010GT

Not exactly i would still rather have a true 4 core processor even if it didnt have HT.  HT isnt that effiecent but yea depending on what ur doing not all things require 4 cores.  Although as time goes on more and more things will benefit from it, i think were finally getting to that stage. 
  
  Quote: 





ocswing said:


> Oh, first gen. Hyper-threading pretty much puts it at 4 cores though. Regardless, in practical applications software has to make use of the extra cores for them to do any good. Things are getting better on that front, but a lot of stuff still only supports two cores.


----------



## buffalowings

Quote: 





arbite said:


> AMD 955 BE @ 4ghz under Coolermaster Hyper 212+
> Gigabyte 880GM-USB3
> 4gb G.Skill Ripjaws 1333mhz
> 2gb 6950 unlocked to 6970
> ...


 


  what is ur ambient temp (room temp) and what is the idling/full usage temps?


----------



## Arbite

Quote: 





buffalowings said:


> what is ur ambient temp (room temp) and what is the idling/full usage temps?


 

 Ambient is generally ~20-22 degrees. Idle temp is ~29-30 and full load hovers around 47.


----------



## dibbler67

Quote: 





arbite said:


> Ambient is generally ~20-22 degrees. Idle temp is ~29-30 and full load hovers around 47.


 

 Wow, I admit I'm not familiar with this processor but that is very low. Nice.


----------



## Arbite

Quote: 





dibbler67 said:


> Wow, I admit I'm not familiar with this processor but that is very low. Nice.


 


  Well, Canberra is cold and my computer sits next to the window.


----------



## Dreaming Of A Better ... (Jun 19, 2020)

....


----------



## ilikepooters

Quote: 





riceeatin2010gt said:


> great clock speed but it Inst everything.  That will get significantly out paced by a way lower clocked 4 core processor in most meaningful apps/benchmarks.


 

 Not really much about in respect to multi-threaded stuff at the mo, i used to be a hardcore overclocker and bencher and true this would get stomped in synthetic benchmarks by quad and hex cores but in real world situtions (current games etc) it really flies, nothing to justify having 4 cores yet.
   
  I originally had an i7 875K in this rig running 4.13Ghz but decided to downgrade to the i5 680, higher clockspeed does alot more for me.
   
  In the future if the majority of games start supporting 12+ threads i'll consider upgrading, but i'll take raw clock cycles with 4 threads for now.


----------



## buffalowings

Quote: 





arbite said:


> Ambient is generally ~20-22 degrees. Idle temp is ~29-30 and full load hovers around 47.


 


  @___@ something is wrong with mine.... phenom II x6 blk edition 3.3ghz, 23-24 ambient, 36-38 idle and 60-64 full load @__@ oh my aching head


----------



## RiceEatin2010GT

We need to know what "full load" is exactly. Gaming for instance does not put 100% load on all cores.  You need to run prime95 or linx to really see load temps.  My i7 2600k rig during gaming clocked at 4.5ghz on air will only hit around 50c.  If im doing some encoding and or running linx with the new avx binaries it will be drasticly higher.

  
  Quote: 





buffalowings said:


> @___@ something is wrong with mine.... phenom II x6 blk edition 3.3ghz, 23-24 ambient, 36-38 idle and 60-64 full load @__@ oh my aching head


----------



## buffalowings

Quote: 





riceeatin2010gt said:


> We need to know what "full load" is exactly. Gaming for instance does not put 100% load on all cores.  You need to run prime95 or linx to really see load temps.  My i7 2600k rig during gaming clocked at 4.5ghz on air will only hit around 50c.  If im doing some encoding and or running linx with the new avx binaries it will be drasticly higher.


 

 by full usage, i mean 100% using amd overdrive stability tester, that is, all 6 cores


----------



## ilikepooters

Quote: 





buffalowings said:


> @___@ something is wrong with mine.... phenom II x6 blk edition 3.3ghz, 23-24 ambient, 36-38 idle and 60-64 full load @__@ oh my aching head


 

 running the stock air cooler with the generic thermal paste perchance?
   
  if so something like this would be better...
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/corsair-cooling-air-series-a70-high-perf-heatpipe-2-fan-cpu-cooler-intel-775-1366-1156-amd-am2-am3
   
  and slap some MX2 paste on there.
   
  Your temps seem quite reasonable for a 6 core on stock cooler if thats the case, but aftermarket solution will be alot better, and will even give you some overclocking headroom.


----------



## buffalowings

urm...i'm using a hyper 212 with two 110mm fans...


----------



## Arbite

You're also using a different CPU to me. As for full load, those temps were taken while running 3dMark Vantange.


----------



## RiceEatin2010GT

3dmark vantage is a graphics test so thats why your cpu load temps are low.  buffalowings your load temps are more in line with being normal.  You cant take cpu load temps from a graphics benchmark.
  
  Quote: 





arbite said:


> You're also using a different CPU to me. As for full load, those temps were taken while running 3dMark Vantange.


----------



## Arbite

Quote: 





riceeatin2010gt said:


> 3dmark vantage is a graphics test so thats why your cpu load temps are low.  buffalowings your load temps are more in line with being normal.  You cant take cpu load temps from a graphics benchmark.


 
   
   
  Vantage actually tests both CPU and GPU. Just depends on the test you're using. The AI and Physics tests are CPU based.


----------



## buffalowings

interestlyingly enough, even a few degrees of ambient temperatures do make a big difference, in the morning (about right now), the temperature is about 70-71f and the temperature never went above 57c ( reached 57 but for very brief moments) and reached a unprecedented 28c


----------



## RiceEatin2010GT

go run prime95 and youll see you cant use those temps.
  Quote: 





arbite said:


> Vantage actually tests both CPU and GPU. Just depends on the test you're using. The AI and Physics tests are CPU based.


----------



## Arbite

Quote: 





riceeatin2010gt said:


> go run prime95 and youll see you cant use those temps.


 


  Max temperature was 50 degrees after running prime95. http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/1555/primej.png
  Didn't run it for very long though. How long is a standard prime95 stress test?


----------



## RiceEatin2010GT

people go nuts in the overclocking community and will run prime95 on small fft setting for 24 hours straight.  In my opinion that is insane if its prime95 stable or in my case for sandy bridge linx with the avx binaries for around 2 hours your good to go.  i would try running hwmonitor instead of your current from what ive read that doesnt offer the most accurate temps.


----------



## narutofan36

quadcore q6600 
  ati 4970
  4gb ram
  500 gb hd


----------



## crapmonster

Haven't put together yet but just upgraded to this:
  i5-2500K
 MSI P67A-G43
 XFX HD6870 1GB    
 G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333
 Samsung Spinpoint 1TB
 Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
 Corsair TX650W
 Fractal Design Define R3 Case


----------



## zx10guy

Got a new server about a week ago.
   
  Specs:
   
  Dell C6100 (4 sled option) with 24 300Gb 10K RPM SAS drives and dual 1100W power supplies
   
  Details of sleds:
   
  2 Intel X5560 processors
  24 GB DDR3 ECC memory
  2 1 GigE Intel onboard NICs
  LSI RAID controller (RAID 0,1,0+1)
  10 GigE Chelsio T3 NIC


----------



## Cappuccino

Gateway NV75s lappy. I use it to play games.
   
  17.3" LED LCD
  [(1.5ghz, rated @ 3.50) AMD Quadcore A8-3500m + Radeon HD 6620G (512mb V-Ram)] APU
  4GB DDR3 
  640GB HDD
  DVD Drive
  1.3 MP webcam
  Keyboard 
  Track-pad
  Buttons
   
  ES SO HIGH TEEEECH. But really, I like this computer a lot. I've got Rocketdock and rainmeter on it, and it just looks gorgeous on the screen. Also, not that big but I can play Far Cry 2 on Med-High Settings @ 1600x900.


----------



## tvrboy

I think I am the only person in the world who ever purchased an Asus N73jq. Pretty obscure high-end laptop. It comes with BANG AND OLUFSSEN ICEPOWER speakers though. Needless to say, not exactly the same quality as their real stuff.
   
  17.3" screen
  i7 740QM max 2.93 GHz w/turboboost
  500GB HDD
  6 GB RAM
  Blu-Ray Drive
  GeForce GT425M
  USB 3.0, HDMI, eSATA, optical out
  aluminum chassis
   
  Even though it doesn't use current-generation hardware, it's still plenty fast. I wouldn't recommend it unless you want a desktop replacement though. It weighs 7.5 pounds and won't fit in any computer case. I should have got the G73 instead, major fail. I also have an EEE 1001p which i just love cause when somebody asks me what my computer is I say "EEE!!!!!!!"


----------



## cifani090

Quote: 





tvrboy said:


> I think I am the only person in the world who ever purchased an Asus N73jq. Pretty obscure high-end laptop. It comes with BANG AND OLUFSSEN ICEPOWER speakers though. Needless to say, not exactly the same quality as their real stuff.
> 
> 17.3" screen
> i7 740QM max 2.93 GHz w/turboboost
> ...


 

 Wow cool laptop. How's the sound? The resale on those laptops are really bad, about 1/3 of retail.


----------



## tvrboy

Quote: 





cifani090 said:


> Wow cool laptop. How's the sound? The resale on those laptops are really bad, about 1/3 of retail.


 


  Thanks. The sound is much louder than any other laptop, because the speakers are larger and actually have some power behind them. But I wouldn't call them nice speakers - same quality as any consumer computer speakers (like logitech or something). That wasn't the reason i got the laptop, just a neat bonus. I'm not surprised the resale is bad... it usually is with these kind of products. It was a gift though.


----------



## 2deadeyes

Recently upgraded to i7 990X from i7 930; everything else remained the same.
   
  i7 990X @ 4.6GHz
  12GB Corsair Dominator
  Sparkle GTX580 SLI
  80GB Intel X25 SSD
  2 x Samsung 1TB HD
  ABS Canyon 695
  Corsair HX850
   
  Razer Mamba
  MS Natural Ergo 4000
  B&W MM-1
  NEC MultiSync 3090WQXi-BK


----------



## EpicPie

Instead of upgrading to a 990x, you would have been better off going Sandy Bridge. lol

Here is my sigrig I have on OCN, nothing spectacular but I love my rig. ^_^


----------



## Boond




----------



## Tilpo

The developers preview of Windows 8 came out on I think the 13th.
Anyone in this thread already using it?


----------



## ElectroGeek007

Quote: 





tilpo said:


> The developers preview of Windows 8 came out on I think the 13th.
> Anyone in this thread already using it?


 
   
  Me! I downloaded it as soon as it was available, and installed it on my 4+ year old laptop (Acer Aspire 5920g). Runs like a dream. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





 I am definitely looking forward to how it will improve throughout the rest of its development.


----------



## InFn-0

wooden stuff


----------



## HiGHFLYiN9

I built a computer a few years back and feel like it's about time to give it a little upgrade. The motherboard is an X58 and the graphics card is an ATI 4870. I'd like to drop a new video card in it but I figure if I get one of the newer 6950s it's only going to be a couple of months before ATI and NVidea fire off a few new moderately-priced cards and drop the prices of their existing models. Anyone have a hypothesis for when the newer cards will be coming out?


----------



## TopspinTEC

Compaq Presario
  15" LCD
  1.86ghz centrino single core T1350
  2GB DDR2 @533
  80GB HDD
   
   
  Eh, it works fine.  I don't play games anymore so I don't need much.


----------



## Dreaming Of A Better ... (Jun 19, 2020)

...


----------



## bcasey25raptor

Acer aspire 5742g
   
  intel core i3 370m 2.4ghz
  4gb ddr3 ram
  ati radeon 5470 512mb
  500gb hard drive
  windows 7 ultimate 64bit.
   
  Toshiba satellite L655D
   
  Amd athlon ii p320 2.1ghz
  4gb ddr3 ram
  ati radeon hd 4250
  640gb hard drive
  windows 7 home premium 64 bit.
   
  thats all i have.


----------



## optyx

New custom build
   
  Antec 900
  Antec 700W Modular PSU
  Core i7 2600k @ 4.2GHz
  12GB Corsair Vengeance Ram DDR3 1866
  EVGA GTX 570 HD
  Creative Labs E-Mu 1212M
  1 TB Western Digital HDD
  320GB Seagate HDD
  750GB Western Digital HDD
  MSI P67A-G45


----------



## HiGHFLYiN9

Quote: 





dreaming of a better ... said:


> @ HIGHFLYIN9 you can expect new cards in 2011 Q4 - 2012 Q1, Nvidia will release their new cards in 2012, ATI still might do it this year (if they do it'll be around xmas time)


 

 Thanks for the heads up!


----------



## Rossinator

Here's my noobish build. Technically it's my second build, but it still has some stuff from my first. I didn't do nearly as good as I could with it due to not knowing enough, and believing some of the wrong things. I hope to one day do a second build, but it looks like it might take a long time until I have enough money. If anyone knows good sites, etc, where I can learn, please let me know. I found AnandTech and Futuremark not too long ago which seem like good places to learn.
   

   
  Power Supply: Corsair TX750W
 Motherboard: ASUS P5GL Pro
 CPU: Core 2 Quad Q9450 @ 3.2GHz
 RAM: 4GB Mushkin 1066MHz
 HDD: WD 320GB, Seagate 250GB
 Video Card: nVidia GTX285
 Monitor: 23" Full HD Acer X233H


----------



## Raizor

Built this in the beginning of the year.
   
  Case: NZXT Phantom
  Motherboard: Asus P8P67 Pro RMA'd for rev3.0
  CPU: Intel i5 2500k @ 4.2ghz RMA'd because it self-destructed with my motherboard
  RAM: 16GB G.Skill Sniper DDR3 1333
  Storage: Intel X25M G2 80GB SSD and Synology DS211 NAS with 2x2TB Hitachi drives in raid 1 for bulk storage
  GPU: 2xHD6950pro 2gb in Crossfire
  PSU: SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W
  Monitor: 23" LG W2363D
   
  Kind of regret some of my choices but oh well.


----------



## Raizor

Quote: 





rossinator said:


> Here's my noobish build. Technically it's my second build, but it still has some stuff from my first. I didn't do nearly as good as I could with it due to not knowing enough, and believing some of the wrong things. I hope to one day do a second build, but it looks like it might take a long time until I have enough money. If anyone knows good sites, etc, where I can learn, please let me know. I found AnandTech and Futuremark not too long ago which seem like good places to learn.


 
   
  This site has pretty good information on system building:
http://www.hardware-revolution.com/


----------



## 3X0

I just built a new system two weeks ago. The net outlay for the build was ~$30.. and this is going from LGA 775 to LGA 1155. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  Antec Three Hundred Illusion
  Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 mATX Mobo
  i5-2500k @ 4.5GHz (45x, stock voltage; 1.320v at load) on a Corsair H60
  2x4GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3-1600 CL9
  eVGA GTX 480 @ 820/1640/2000MHz on stock voltage with a Zalman VF3000F
  Crucial M4 64GB SSD
  1TB Hitachi DeskStar 7200RPM
  Antec EA-650
   
  Spent roughly $560 on the new build (I got the GTX 480 with the Zalman cooler for FREE from a very kind fellow over on some hardware forums) and sold my old Q9550/8GBDDR2/R5850 system for about $530 total.


----------



## Butler

Sold my maxed to the teeth 2011 MacBook Pro that I've been gaming on for quite some time to build this rig for gaming. She was built for BF3 and she'll do it on ULTRA. I'm a long time BFBC2 Veteran.

Switching over to a macbook air as a mobile solution just because I still need a laptop to edit photos with and get actual work done with.

Meet: CYLONRAIDER




*Case: *Antec Lanboy Air Red *Motherboard: *GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD4 W/ Core i7-2600K 4.8Ghz (OC from 3.3 GHZ) *Graphics Cards (Crossfire):*2 X ASUS DCII Radeon HD 6970 2GB CPU *Heatsink: *Antec KUHLER H2O 920 Liquid Cooling System *SRT Read/Write Cache SSD:*Corsair Force Series GT 60GB SATA III *Hard Drive: *VelociRaptor 450GB 10000 RPM SATA III *RAM:*CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) Red & (2 x 4GB) Black, DDR3 1600 *PSU: *Antec High Current Gamer 750W

Nothing has made her sweat yet, only a handful of more days untill she gets put to the real test. BF3!


----------



## cifani090

Butler, that is a hell of a computer. I need to really build a computer, as my parents required me to buy a box computer, which i got a i5 Asus. What did it cost you to build it, if you dont mind me asking.


----------



## Tilpo

Congratulations Butler, that's a pretty sweet rig. I wish I had something like that. 

Although I don't get it why people need overkill rigs. I'm fine with my two-year-old performance PC (~$600). It can run most new games on fairly high settings.
I personally spend about as much money on my PC as I do on peripherals
. 
With audio I can understand overkill; there are audible differences. With PC's the difference is not really noticeable, or is it?

Although in both cases there is also overkill for the sake of overkilling. E.g. driving a $300 can from a $2000 amplifier with cables costing more than the cans. Or any amplifier costing more than $500 would be overkill, really.


----------



## Rossinator

Quote: 





tilpo said:


> Although I don't get it why people need overkill rigs.


 


 No one needs overkill rigs, just like no one needs $500-$1k headphones or $1k+ amps/dacs. But they sure are nice. Running new games on max settings at high resolutions with AA and 60fps all the time is sweet. Being able to run slightly older games with graphics mods, 16xAA, insanely high view distance, etc, is also sweet.


----------



## 3X0

Quote:


butler said:


> Sold my maxed to the teeth 2011 MacBook Pro that I've been gaming on for quite some time to build this rig for gaming. She was built for BF3 and she'll do it on ULTRA. I'm a long time BFBC2 Veteran.
> Switching over to a macbook air as a mobile solution just because I still need a laptop to edit photos with and get actual work done with.
> Meet: CYLONRAIDER
> 
> ...


 
  Why the 2600K? The i5-2500K would do BF3 just as well.


----------



## music_man

a p4 class machine is still fine for a lot of people. well with 7 not vista. i mean it runs fine on an atom netbook with 1gb. as said, big machines are cool. many people get those big machines and use like 10% of them. of course games and audio/video processing require cutting edge machines.


----------



## chef8489

Mine is not much.  Here are the specs.
  corsair 800d
  1200 wat corsair psu
  asus rampage 3 extreme x58
  intel core i7 950@4.2
  3 evga gtx 580 superclocked
  12 gig patriot viper ddr3
  3tb had space
  blue ray burner
  3 lg 27" monitors
  razer ironclad
  razer lychesis 5600
  Logitech g19
  Logitech z5500


----------



## Tilpo

chef8489 said:


> 3 lg 27" monitors



Very nice!


----------



## oqvist

Getting some really good mileage out of my computer thanks due to the console age.
   
  Coolermaster Stacker chassi (original version)
  Silverstone Zeus 850W
  Watercooling setup consisting mostly Swiftech gear. External triple radiator. Thick tubing totally on the limit of the possible but it works.
  Asus Commando I965 mainboard
  Intel Core 2 duo 2,4 gig at 3,6 gig
  2x2 GIG Corsair RAM (orginally 4x1gb teamgroup extreme)
  Geforce GTX 580 upgraded from 8800 GTX.
  Creative X-fi Elite Pro soundcard
  Had the Asus Essence ST for a while but the drivers of the Elite Pro was superior.
  Bunch of harddrives and all kind of pheripherals I won´t bore you with.
  Novint Falcon, CH hotas setup with the lefty frankenmod for lefthanders,  Fanatec Turbo S wheel, Fang EZboard gameboard, Saitek Yoke, CH rudder pedals a couple of mices etc.
   
  Monitors a 6+year Sony KDL 32" bravia LCD TV and a BenQ XL2410T 3D monitor.


----------



## Butler

3x0 said:


> Quote:
> Why the 2600K? The i5-2500K would do BF3 just as well.




2600K is considered a better bang for the buck processor by some, the features of the i7 over the i5 is notable enough for me to warrant the price difference. I consider the 2500K more of a low-end performance chip, as opposed to the 2600k which is middle of the road. 

The extreme editions or the upcoming sandybridge-e? Yeah. That's overkill and the bang for the buck isn't really there.

I don't mind you asking.. It cost me ~1600 USD after mail in rebates and packages deals...maybe even a little less. Thats… Not including the Bifrost I'm going to be running the audio through. (heh) I had a lot of patience and waited for some insane deals on newegg and built it over a few months. For example the case is 180$ and I got it for less than 100 with coupon codes, sales, and MIR's. 

I want to have a somewhat future proof machine because I really love good graphics and I love overclocking. This will keep me content for quite awhile, and I'll sell it when it's still worth something so I can pay for it's replacement. And the bang for the buck? Nearly too good to be true. Sometimes I think New Egg steals stuff off the back of trucks.


----------



## Mozu

HAF922
  MS Sidewinder x4
  Zowie EC2
  i5 2500K @ 4.5GHz
  Coolermaster Hyper 212+
  8GB of G-Skill Ripjaws @ 1600
  ASUS P8P67 Pro Rev. 3.0
  ASUS 560Ti DCII/TOP
  OCZ ModXStream 750w
  1TB Spinpoint F3
  320GB WD Caviar Black
  ASUS VW246H 24" Monitor
   
  Needless to say, a 2500K was a massive upgrade over my old E2200 setup.


----------



## NamelessPFG

Not a bad setup there...actually reminds me that I'm still using a Core 2 Quad system that dates back to the end of 2007 at the core, but I'm waiting for just one more generation of graphics cards before I step up from the 8800 GT.
   
  One thing seems kind of odd, though...
  
  Quote: 





oqvist said:


> Thrustmaster hotas setup with the lefty frankenmod for lefthanders


 
   
  I've never heard of a Thrustmaster lefty HOTAS, certainly not the Cougar or Warthog. CH Products, on the other hand...there's a few lefty Fightersticks and Pro Throttles around.
   
  I'm not left-handed, but if there is such a thing as a left-handed Cougar or Warthog, I'm sure the folks at SimHQ might like to know about it.


----------



## Mozu

Quote: 





oqvist said:


> Getting some really good mileage out of my computer thanks due to the console age.


 
  I'm not sure that half-assed console port after half-assed console port is good mileage.  
   
  *twiddling my thumbs until Guild Wars 2 and Metro 2033: Last Light*


----------



## oqvist

Quote: 





mozu said:


> I'm not sure that half-assed console port after half-assed console port is good mileage.
> 
> *twiddling my thumbs until Guild Wars 2 and Metro 2033: Last Light*


 


 Lol certainly isn´t but as mentioned it´s tiresome having to upgrade your computer every year or so to keep up if you like to max things out .
   
  NamelessFPG that was a brainfart. It´s of course CH. Have the fighterstick and their throttle moddified for lefties. Fighterstick is really good. The throttle not so much but it works


----------



## 3X0

Quote: 





butler said:


> 2600K is considered a better bang for the buck processor by some, the features of the i7 over the i5 is notable enough for me to warrant the price difference. I consider the 2500K more of a low-end performance chip, as opposed to the 2600k which is middle of the road.


 
  I find that the converse of what most hardware forums and reviews suggest.
   
  Features the i7-2600K has over the i5-2500K:
  Hyper-Threading (negligible for gaming, very important for media encoding)
  2MB L3 cache
   
  They both overclock the same pretty much, provided you disable the HT on the 2600K. Essentially for gaming-only you're paying $100 more on the 2600K for 2MB of extra cache. If you're doing media encoding and crunching videos/MP3s on the side, you made an outstanding choice. If you're focusing on BF3 and games I would've used the difference for a larger/faster/better SSD (Crucial M4 for example).
   
  For example my i5-2500K @ 4.5GHz would outperform the 2600K @ 4.4GHz with HT on Crysis, M2033, BFBC2. The 2MB cache wouldn't make up for the 100MHz difference and the HT actually hurts gaming performance a little bit.
   
  More power to you for going for the big boy chip, but I find the 2600K an extremely unusual and uncommon choice for a gaming-focused build; usually people spend the savings on a better GPU, bigger SSD, more RAM, etc. (though I think your choices besides the SSD are solid).
   
  If the i7-2600K is middle-of-the-road then what is high-end? You could say i7-970, i7-980X, i7-990X etc. but those chips don't overclock nearly as well as Sandy Bridge on average so SB ends up performing better for gaming and most non-media stuff. With the recent showing from BD I would say the i5-2500K and i7-2600K simply are the best silicon you can get.


----------



## NamelessPFG

Quote: 





> Originally Posted by *oqvist* /img/forum/go_quote.gif
> Lol certainly isn´t but as mentioned it´s tiresome having to upgrade your computer every year or so to keep up if you like to max things out .
> 
> NamelessPFG that was a brainfart. It´s of course CH. Have the fighterstick and their throttle moddified for lefties. Fighterstick is really good. The throttle not so much but it works


 

 I suppose it helps in my case that I'm still willing to play older games that can be maxed out quite easily, though for some of the newer titles (Rise of Flight comes to mind), I am feeling the itch for a new graphics card to get those framerates to a consistent 60 FPS or more...
   
  As for CH Products gear, my biggest complaint there (at least in stock form) would be how some edge on the Fighterstick or their yokes manages to dig into my palm a bit. Not the best of ergonomics...but I take it that the lefty HOTAS has a nice, round feeling to it that avoids that. That's pretty much the only complaint, really, which is a testament to everything else that CH gets right. (Note that I haven't handled the Pro Throttle at all, just a lot of their sticks, old and new, one of the newer Flight Sim Yokes, and the Pro Pedals.)
   
  If only I could modify the Fighterstick with a different, smoother handle...but that's beyond my capabilities for now.


----------



## C38368

It's been awhile since I last came through here, and in that time my computer has seen a change or two. Mostly thanks to my HD4870 deciding to explode one Thursday night last year. Literally. Yeah, that was nice. One injudicious video card purchase later and I was left with two HD5870s (I bought a second-revision PCB that wasn't compatible with the water block I'd acquired), and nobody wanted to buy the spare.
   
  But one fella over on OC Forums did offer to trade me for a motherboard and CPU that he was looking to offload, and thus a trade was born. Out went my old QX9650 and Bonetrail 2, in favour of:
   
  -Asus Maximus III Formula
 -Intel Core i5-760 (21x204MHz @ 1.352V)
 -OCZ Reaper HPC PC3-10666 (2x2048MB, 1220MHz effective @ 6-6-6-16 1T)
 -Sapphire Radeon HD5870 Eyefinity6
 -M-Audio Audiophile 24/96
 -Trendnet TEW-644UB Wireless N dongle
 -Western Digital WD6400AAKS (Windows 7 Ultimate)
 -Western Digital WD20EARX (storage)
 -Western Digital WC10EADS (music only)
 -iStarUSA trayless hotswap cage
 -Lite-On eSAU208 extrenal USB DVD-RW
 -Seasonic SS-560KM
   
  Video display services are still provided by my well-loved Dell 2001FPW, and human input is courtesy of a Logitech Y-RR54 wireless keybaord and G5 mouse. I've also got a Saitek X-58 flight controller next to me. Waiting for the end of the semester to come... Wing Commander is on GoG now. Pretty sure that's what the break will be like.
  The whole thing is still built in a black Danger Den Torture Rack.
 I've collapsed my cooling system down to a single loop now. Two Laing DDC3.2 pumps w/ Alphacool XSPC tops in serial feed an EK Supreme HF, Danger Den Summit and EK ASUS-FC board blocks, cooling via two Black Ice GTX240 radiators and Scythe S-Flex SFF21F fans in pull configuration. Tubing is still 7/16" Primoflex over 1/2" Fat Boy barbs.


----------



## oqvist

I don´t have such trouble with the handle. No rough handles. I have big hands though which is pretty much a necessity. The original is probably designed for pilots wearing gloves I would expect. I can´t say I am to much of a CH fan. Their gear are robust, like their drivers and I do hope it will hold up better then the Saitek line of ambidextrous joysticks has. I have almost been through them all lol. But the CH Yoke didn´t feel as precise or as thought through as the Saitek Yoke for example. The pedals could have a better design like the throttle as well. But well it works and will hopefully work for a long time.


----------



## Madcatyoji

Greetings all, this is a thread I can sink my teeth into for a first post! I build custom systems as a side job, I'm an IT guy by trade.
   
  My system:
  AMD X6 1090T Running @ 4.4ghz stable
  Asus Crosshair IV Mobo
  64gb Solid state start up drive (OCZ Vertex 2)
  8GB DDR3 @ cas 7
  Rosewill 1000 watt PS
  Dual Radeon MSI 6970's
  Liquid cooled with EK blocks
  18" triple pass Magicool extreme radiator
  MCP-655B water-pump
  HAF-932 Case - heavily modified
   
  All of this is running on Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
  I'm using a Samsung 40" LED-LCD HDTV for my monitor until I can afford my eyefinity set up.


----------



## oqvist

Nice setup. How is AMD stacking up to Intel these days. OC vs OC.


----------



## Mozu

Let's just say Bulldozer was not worth the wait, and leave it at that.


----------



## Dreaming Of A Better ...

update time
   
Intel i5 2500K
Asus P8P67 EVO
2 x 4GB Mushkin Silverline
XFX 6970 2GB
Crucial M4 128GB
Crucial M4 256GB
Samsung F4 2TB x 2
Corsair AX 1200W
Cooler Master ATCS 840
  
Dell U2711 
Topre Realforce 105UB 
Logitech G500 
Logitech G27
  Logitech Rumblepad 2


----------



## 3X0

New system..
   

  Asus ROG Maximus IV Gene-Z
  Intel i5-2500K @ 4.5GHz 1.300v (70'C Linpack and Prime95 Small FFT load)
  4x4GB G.Skill Sniper Low-Voltage DDR3-1600 @ 1.25v
  eVGA GTX 580 SC @ 850/1900/2098MHz (FTW speeds)
  256GB Crucial M4 SSD
  850W Cooler Master Silent Pro M850
  Silverstone Fortress FT03
   
  CPU cooler is Noctua NH-D14. Noctua NF-S12B front push (ULNA adapter), Noctua NF-P14 middle pull (ULNA adapter), Noctua NF-P12 rear pull. Case fans are 2x Nexus D12SL-12s at the bottom left of the image and top right pulling air upward.
   
  Silence was KEY, hence the GTX 580 instead of the 6950 or 6970, and hence the ULNA adapters. System is whisper quiet -- it's as quiet as my old Shuttle which only had one 92mm fan in the system.
   
  Now I only have to get Noctua to ship me some fan clips so I can ditch the cable ties on the NF-S12B..


----------



## revolink24

oqvist said:


> Nice setup. How is AMD stacking up to Intel these days. OC vs OC.




They're competing on price/performance, but not nearly top end performance.


----------



## Butler

3x0 said:


> I find that the converse of what most hardware forums and reviews suggest.
> 
> Features the i7-2600K has over the i5-2500K:
> Hyper-Threading (negligible for gaming, very important for media encoding)
> ...




With my degree in New Media I do a lot of encoding actually (and some folding FWIW), but honestly it wasn't even that- processor cache is the fastest memory there is and hyper threading even for it's negligible performance increase (it's all dependent on the application) made the extra cost worth the benefit.

I've never read anything about HT hurting performance in gaming though. There are a handfull of games that use more than 3 threads and take advantage of it.

My GPUs are fine, the bang for the buck in purchasing 2 6990s isn't justifiable...and a bigger SSD is generally useless because the Z68's chipset allows for Intel's Rapid Storage Technology (SRT) which makes a ~60GB SSD and a normal HDD out perform hybrid drives and nearly competes with the actual performance of a SSD. For example, I use my 60GB SATA3 SSD as read write cache for my 450GB SATA3 10K RPM drive, and the results are absolutely astounding. You should look into SRT, the performance for what you pay for a smaller SSD paired with a HDD is really a great break through.


----------



## FinBenton

AMD 1055T
  GTX480
  8GB HyperX
  100GB intel ssd
  2TB WD caviar green
  SuperFlower Golden King Platinum 550W
  Fractal Design R3 case
   
  I might get another GTX480 for some BF3 gaming


----------



## 3X0

Quote: 





butler said:


> With my degree in New Media I do a lot of encoding actually (and some folding FWIW), but honestly it wasn't even that- processor cache is the fastest memory there is and hyper threading even for it's negligible performance increase (it's all dependent on the application) made the extra cost worth the benefit.
> I've never read anything about HT hurting performance in gaming though. There are a handfull of games that use more than 3 threads and take advantage of it.
> My GPUs are fine, the bang for the buck in purchasing 2 6990s isn't justifiable...and a bigger SSD is generally useless because the Z68's chipset allows for Intel's Rapid Storage Technology (SRT) which makes a ~60GB SSD and a normal HDD out perform hybrid drives and nearly competes with the actual performance of a SSD. For example, I use my 60GB SATA3 SSD as read write cache for my 450GB SATA3 10K RPM drive, and the results are absolutely astounding. You should look into SRT, the performance for what you pay for a smaller SSD paired with a HDD is really a great break through.


 

 With that then your CPU choice is beyond reproach. I think your GPU choices are excellent as well (nothing against them) -- I would've preferred 6970s for the price-to-performance myself, but I needed the GTX 580 for the superior noise performance.
   
  As for SRT I have another system with the same processor speed as my current (4.5GHz i5-2500K) but a 64GB Crucial M4 + 1TB Hitachi DeskStar 7200RPM in RAID with SRT and my M4 256GB considerably outperforms it. With SRT you gain quite a bit of speed over the base hard drive but you are just not at that SSD level. I would use the 64GB purely as a boot drive and forgo SRT altogether.
   
  In fact my 256GB M4 system boots into windows about 5 seconds faster than the SRT system, because the latter has to wait for the hard drive to spin up and engage before getting in there.
   
  What do you think of the 920? My SRT system has a Corsair H60 but the pump noise is a little loud and not really controllable. I went with the Noctua NH-D14 in my new system for the outstanding noise performance. It's dead silent with the adapters, but my temps get up to around 70'C Linpack load @ 4.5GHz.


----------



## Butler

3x0 said:


> With that then your CPU choice is beyond reproach. I think your GPU choices are excellent as well (nothing against them) -- I would've preferred 6970s for the price-to-performance myself, but I needed the GTX 580 for the superior noise performance.
> 
> As for SRT I have another system with the same processor speed as my current (4.5GHz i5-2500K) but a 64GB Crucial M4 + 1TB Hitachi DeskStar 7200RPM in RAID with SRT and my M4 256GB considerably outperforms it. With SRT you gain quite a bit of speed over the base hard drive but you are just not at that SSD level. I would use the 64GB purely as a boot drive and forgo SRT altogether.
> 
> ...




The 920 is very similiar to the H80 by Corsair. It's fat 120mm radiator in push pull. I've yet to get my computer past 72ish degrees without getting my overclock unstable. I was going to go with the H100 untill I realized I couldn't mount it a 240 radiator on the top of the inside of my case because even low profile RAM would get in the way. That was a shame.

From what I've read the 920 only slightly out performs the H80 if not is equal to, but the 920 was a little more expensive but I was willing to pay for it because the pump seems to be more reliable from the reviews I've read. I suppose that can be attributed to the fact that Antec had a company who only makes water cooling design and manufacture it on their behalf and just stamped the Antec logo all over everything. 

The charts I've seen about SRT vs SSD were competitive enough for me, I suppose. I understand what you mean with a boot/OS SSD with everything else on the HDD but that makes using steam inconvenient whereas the default and unchangeable game directory being in program files. Meaning I would have very limited room for games being installed. I know I know I could do linked folders which would point the steam directory to the other drive but I honestly don't want to deal with it.

I had the boot SSD and storage HDD set up in my macbook pro I just sold and it was a killer set up- but I only had a handfull of programs I needed on OSX like the adobe suite. It worked well there.


----------



## Draygonn

Last fall I wanted the challenge of building an aircooled 480 SLI rig that was cool and quiet. AXP coolers and a tweaked ATCS 840 airflow got the job done. Stealth modded the fan controller and blu-ray drive to keep the sleek looks.

Dell Ultrasharp U2711 and Alienware OptX AW2310 120Hz | i7 950 @ 4.0 w/H70 | Cooler Master ATCS 840 | Sparkle Calibre GTX480's in SLI | Gigabyte X58A-UD3R | Corsair HX850 | 6G Kingston HyperX 7-7-7-21 | OCZ Vertex 2 60G + Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB | Steelseries 6Gv2 & XAI | Leopold Tenkeyless w/ Cherry MX Blacks | Creative X-Fi Titanium HD


----------



## Butler

I didn't even know alienware had gotten into the monitor business… But I guess that makes sense because alien ware is essentially just dell and dell sells monitors.


----------



## Draygonn

butler said:


> I didn't even know alienware had gotten into the monitor business… But I guess that makes sense because alien ware is essentially just dell and dell sells monitors.




They both have LG screens and the same OSD. I bought them both off Dells website. The 120Hz is the only one they slapped the Alienware name on, maybe they wanted to give it a gaming slant in marketing.


----------



## Butler

Also, Draygon, Why isn't your radiator in a push pull? Just curious.


----------



## Draygonn

butler said:


> Also, Draygon, Why isn't your radiator in a push pull? Just curious.




It is. One Panaflo H1Bx is hidden between the H70 and rear of the case.

 Pull<=H70<=Shroud<=Push


----------



## C38368

Just found my camera. Happily, it still works!
   
  So I can now subject you all to pictures 
   
  This one made my machine look the least-dusty. Looked better before I uploaded it, however...


----------



## Tilpo

c38368 said:


> Just found my camera. Happily, it still works!
> 
> So I can now subject you all to pictures
> 
> This one made my machine look the least-dusty. Looked better before I uploaded it, however...



That looks awesome. I wonder how much noise it produces, I bet not a whole lot. 

Btw, the person in your profile picture; is that Lucia Cifarelli? Looks like her.


----------



## Draygonn

@ C38368, that is a really cool setup.


----------



## C38368

Thanks, both 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  @Tilpo~ It _can_ be quiet, but to be quite frank I don't have it set up to be so right now. There are certainly quieter ways to rig a Torture Rack (actually installing the cover and isolating the fan mounts would be a good start), and there are most definitely quieter cases out there. But this one looks neat and is pretty easy to work on (it was developed as a test bench originally), so it's what I use.
   
  And yes, my avatar is Lucia Cifarelli. I'm a bit of a fan


----------



## kalkain

I just finished putting together my new computer the other day... at last! Been running about with a hand me down laptop for too long
   
  CPU: 15-2500k with Hyper212+ fan
  Mobo: ASrock z68 pro3-m 
  GPU: HD6950 (but has bios flashed so it has the performance of a 6970) 2GB
  RAM: 8GB CL9 GSkill RipjawsX
  HDD: 1TB 7200rpm Seagate
  Liteion 24x optical drive
  PSU: FSP aurum 750W gold
  Wrapped in a CM storm enforcer case 
   
  Mouse: Razer Lachesis
  KB: A4tech keyboard
  Monitor: Viewsonic 22inch 
   
  It's a huge upgrade from what i used to own and it's great. love it to bits.


----------



## Parall3l

I'll be building a budget rig around Christmas time, it'll be based on a 6870 and i5 2500K, or GTX560 depending on how far the price will drop 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Currently using a 2010 Macbook


----------



## 77Pat

_CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K_
 Mobo - Gigabyte UD4 - early adopter and did not switch out since I did not want to risk removing heatsink on first build
  RAM - Averix 4gb Standard 1333
 HSF - Thermlright Silver Arrow
 GPU - _Asus 6850_ DirectCu
 PSU - Antec New TP-550
 HD - Intel 40gb SSD (boot)
 Samsung F3 1TB (storage)
  Case - _Lian Li Lancool_ K-PC62R1
  DVD - LG DVD Burner (not currently reading because of the early bug)
 Monitor- Dell u2311h
 OS- Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
  sound card- emu 0404 usb
  mouse- logitech g500
  keyboard- logitech k120 (saving up for mechanical)


----------



## Rebel975

GTX580 SLI, i7 2600K @4.5Ghz + HT, 8GB OCZ Gold 1600, OCZZ1000M, Thermalright Silver Arrow, HAF X, MSI P67A-GD65, ASUS Xonar Essence ST, LG UH10LS20... um, Hans-G 28" monitor (1920 x 1200, would like to see a 28" 120Hz or to buy an Ultrasharp).


----------



## dhaninugraha

EDIT: double posted, my bad.


----------



## dhaninugraha

Processor: Intel Core i5 2400 (3.1 GHz)
 RAM: G.Skill Gaming Series 8GB DDR3 10666
 Mobo: Gigabyte GA-Z68M-D2H
 GPU: Galaxy GTX560 Ti
 Optical drive: LG DVD-RW
 Hard drive: WD Caviar Black 500GB
 Case: Xigmatek Asgard II black & orange
 PSU: Xigmatek NRP-PC602
 Networking: TP-Link TL-WN722G USB Wi-Fi dongle
 Display: Dell ST2320L
 Misc: 1x Bitfenix Spectre 120mm fan (rear) & 1x Xigmatek fan that came w/ the case (front)
   
  sorry Mom, but I guess you and Dad will have to have dinner on the couch from now on:

   
   
   
  yeah, messy, I know:


----------



## Totally Dubbed

Hehe - I only use mine for video editing/rendering:
   
  Thinking of an upgrade sooner or later 

 -Running Windows XP 32 bit (YEAHH BABY!)
  -E6500 @2.93 dual core, OC'ed to 3.53ghz per core 
  -Nvidia 7600 GT (oh i remember playing that on the highest quality on BF2142 )!
  -2GB OCZ Platinum RAM - Can't put more, as ASUS are world class idiots (long story short, spent money for repairs, when they needed to update my BIOS as my CPU was newer than the board, so my board doesn't accept more than 2GB...)
  -ASUS P5K premium
  -2TB HDD's
  -Edimax EW-7728
  -Asus Xonar D1
   
  -20" ASUS PW201 monitor & use it as my screen to play on the 360 via DVI to HDMI lead !
   
  -Mouse: Logitehc MX revolution
  -Keyboard: Logitech K350
   
  -Sound system: Logitech Z-5500
   
  -Old school case:
   

   
  My old motherboard (above) lol
   
   

   
  (I also had LED lights in there, but now don't use em )


----------



## The_X

Is Bitcoin mining actually economical?  Like, can you get back a profit after factoring in electricity and reasonable payback time on the computer?
   
  I just got this beautiful Thinkpad W510:
   
  1920x1080 95% Adobe gamut 15.6" display
  Core i7-820QM processor
  12 gb RAM
  160 gb 7200 rpm HDD (I don't use much space, so SSD is coming soon)


----------



## Butler

dang man is that case beige? sexy.


----------



## Totally Dubbed

Quote: 





butler said:


> dang man is that case beige? sexy.


 
   
  are you talking about mine?
  If so - its old school white matte lol


----------



## Butler

White Matte, Beige, close enough.

It's a case color that used to be all the rage, but has since left on the side of the road as "dated" and "ugly as sin".

But not you, you're bringing it back. How hip of you!

Man I should spray paint my rig beige. Irony.


----------



## Totally Dubbed

Quote: 





butler said:


> White Matte, Beige, close enough.
> 
> It's a case color that used to be all the rage, but has since left on the side of the road as "dated" and "ugly as sin".
> 
> ...


 


  hahaha
  yeaaaahhh maaaaayyynnneee 
   
  EDIT:
 In fact I'm looking to upgrade my PC...soon, not immediately, any of you guys got recommendations?
  I want to keep it below £700, I'm from the UK, and prefer having it pre-made rather than custom build it
  I would be using it only for video editing, not gaming.


----------



## FunkMasterFlex

MSi 970A-G45
NZXT Apollo Case, Black
Fatal1ty 550W
Sapphire Radeon 6870
AMD 955 II X4, Quad Core
   
[size=1.4em] G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) [/size]


----------



## skree

i LOVE seeing that a few are still running the good old Socket A AMD Athlons in here. My rig used to be a lot more overclocked than it is, watercooled... i've added hard drives(!) over the years
   
  AMD XP-M1600 @ 2400mhz (actual, not XP rating)
  DFI Infinity Rev A NF2 (Nvidia Soundstorm sound)
  1gb Corsair BH-5 DDR PC3200 @ 240mhz CL2 11-2-2-2
  Asus Geforce4 Ti4200 128mb
  custom heatsink
  Coolermaster ATCS-201 case
  Tagan 480w PSU
  Samsung Spinpoint 80gb IDE (c
  ditto SATA 500gb temporary storage drive
  Xenta 2.4ghz Laser Mouse
  cheap keysonic usb mini keyboard and a quite old IBM business keyboard (ps/2)
  Homemade sound output switcher to switch between Sony MDR-EX35 and a seperates hi-fi with eltax liberty floorstanders
   
  (in a DIY USB 10x HDD switcher caddy)
  2x Seagate 2tb
  2x seagate 1.5tb
  samsung spinpoint 500gb
  IDE Hitachi GXP 120gb
   
  still going strong, still reasonably snappy with a stripped down winXP and carefully chosen software - for example, i still use winamp 2.95. Only really used as a browser/chatter/media centre/downloader type pc although i've edited a few mp3s recently. I'm so happy with this pc and its now low power my next one is going to be one of those netbook CPUs on a mini-itx motherboard.


----------



## Blisse

Can't wait for ivy Bridge so I can finally update this computer...though if the floods don't clear up I don't think I'm going to still...


----------



## Butler

totally dubbed said:


> hahaha
> yeaaaahhh maaaaayyynnneee
> 
> EDIT:
> ...




I never recommend alienware for prebuilt performance computers. There are plenty of groups that will do it and get you better hardware for less, like "Falcon Northwest".


----------



## Totally Dubbed

Quote: 





butler said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 


  In the UK, overclockers and chillblasters are good custom PC sites


----------



## manaox2

I just finished tweaking and overclocking a dv6-6135DX notebook for HTPC/travel duty with some light gaming. It came with a slow 640GB 5400rpm hard drive, bdrom drive, USB 3.0, and 6GB of DDR3 1333mhz RAM. After some tweaking of voltages and bios mods, it now has a llano A8-3500 clocked at 2.6ghz with 6620M on the APU and a 6750M discrete card clocked at 750mhz stream processing/850mhz memory running stable with three hours of prime95 and MSI Kombuster testing.
   
  Now for the final and most brutal test; visiting head-fi's homepage!


----------



## Cheapy

There are a lot of nice rigs in this threads. Heres mine now roughly 2 years old,

 CPU: Phenom II X3 710 with a quick bump up to 2.8Ghz not tried unlocking it into a quad yet
 MOBO: Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P
 RAM: 4Gb Corsair cheap stuff
 GPU: GTX260 Core 216
 Sound Card: Xonar DG
 PSU: Corsair HX 520W
 HDD: 320Gb Samsung Spinpoint F3
 Case: Fractal Define R3
 Cooling: Coolermaster Hyper 212+
 Display: Viewsonic VX2260WM (22" 1920x1080 )
   
   
  Quote:


totally dubbed said:


> hahaha
> yeaaaahhh maaaaayyynnneee
> 
> EDIT:
> ...


 
  If your put off building yourself as your scared you might blow somthing up/kill bits then have a look at scan's scansure insurance. Pretty much if you mess up while building with an honest mistake they will replace the component for you.


----------



## Totally Dubbed

Quote: 





cheapy said:


> If your put off building yourself as your scared you might blow somthing up/kill bits then have a look at scan's scansure insurance. Pretty much if you mess up while building with an honest mistake they will replace the component for you.


 
   
  thanks for the info bro - and no i don't think at least not now that custom building is cheaper or more efficient than a pre-built one.
  Is this wrong of me to think that?
   
  Used to be worth custom building, now its not as much.


----------



## Cheapy

Sorry forgot to check the thread. Yeah now custom builds are only really done for the enjoyment of building somthing or for doing  gaming/specific program build.
   
  I enjoy building and tinkering with things so custom was the way for me and I enjoyed it. If you just want plug and work then prebuilt is the way.


----------



## Rebel975

You can get way more for your money by building your own.
   
  Want to guess how much I paid to build my computer? And then do you want to guess how much it would cost to buy a prebuilt with these specs? Try 2-3x as much, if they even let you pick the latest stuff.


----------



## Blisse

AMD HD5850
AMD Phenom II 905e
Corsair A70
2x2 G.SKILL, 2x4 Kingston
Gigabyte GA-MA770T-UD3P
650W OCZ ModXStream
Fractal Design R3

BenQ G2420HD, LG L192WS

Runs ridiculously quiet (thank god for Fractal). Also thank god for 8 USB ports, even though I run a USB hub still...
CPU usually at 31, GPU hovers at 50 idle, 60 while gaming, and HDD less than 40.
If I only plug in 1 monitor, I idle at 24, 40 and 30 respectively. Very nice for me. 

Can't wait for Ivy Bridge so I can build another one, and give this one to my dad or something. It's starting to get outdated, though replacing the HD4870 helped quite a bit. You definitely get your money's worth building versus pre-built. At least $100 difference, if not more.


----------



## Torontoraccoon

Motherboard in repair, so using a random board.
   
  3 way SLI gtx 580
   
  980x Intel CPU
   
  24 gb of ram
   
  2 SSD's in RAID 0 and a HDD


----------



## kenvisor

Quote: 





torontoraccoon said:


> Motherboard in repair, so using a random board.
> 
> 3 way SLI gtx 580
> 
> ...


 

 preety impressive setup, they all seems to took all the budgeting fun away though,
  just your cooling seems off the stream compared to your other components,
  i wonder how far can you oclock your 980.


----------



## chewbroccoli

core i7 920
  9GB ocz DDR3-1600 RAM
  3x seagate 500GB HDD in RAID 5
  1x WD 500GB Caviar black boot drike
  1x GTX 280
  1x creative SB audigy platinum
  pc power and cooling 1kW PSU
   
  custom case and water cooling.


----------



## frisiviti

Dell XPS15
   
  Core i7 2820QM Quad Core (3.4GHz Turbo Mode)
  8GB DDR3 RAM 
  256GB Patriot Wildfire SSD
  BluRay reader + DVD burner
  B+RG LED backlit screen (16")
  JBL Speakers at 10 watts + 12 Watt Subwoofer (I love these speakers)
  NVidia GT525M 
  2X USB 3.0
  1X USB 2.0
  Backlit Keyboard
  9 Cell Battery- good for 3 to 6 hours


----------



## Cheapy

Quote: 





blisse said:


> AMD HD5850
> AMD Phenom II 905e
> Corsair A70
> 2x2 G.SKILL, 2x4 Kingston
> ...


 

 What temp do you get for the northbridge on your motherboard?
   
  Its a nice bang for buck set-up there.


----------



## kiler

E8200 2.66 @ 4.1 Ghz cooled by AC Freezer 13 
  Asus P5KC
  4 Gb DDR3 corsair 1333 @ 1530 mhz
  8800 GTS 512 @ 785/1820/1085
  Onboard sound (omg crime right here )
  LC power 550W PSU
  Nox Coolbay Side Windows
   
  Cool rig still, but I regret that I haven't bought a quad core when I first bought the hardware. I should keep it for more 1 or 2 years before I upgrade.


----------



## music_man

well i will give one spec that might be of interest to a lot of you. the power went out yesterday. before the ups could even switch on(5ms). the "ultra" power supply smoked. literally. i mean you could not see in here! scared the sh... out of me. after that i elected not to use ultras lifetime guarantee. i got a corsair professional series. this, was after seeing pic's of the inside on a website. i think i can say for all mankind, this power supply is the real deal. i was very lucky none of my machine was damaged. however it easily could have been. so i am saying guys if you are building an expensive machine don't think the power supply is the place to save money. doh! i am sure their are others of this quality but this fit the bill for me. i got model ax1200 but they all look darn good.


----------



## PomPWNius

Intel Core Duo 2ghz
2gb RAM
64gb Hard Drive
 You know your jealous


----------



## kylezo

*Budget Gaming Rig:*
   
[size=9pt]MOBO: [/size][size=9pt]*ASRock 990FX Extreme4 P1.10*[/size]
[size=9pt]CPU: [/size][size=9pt]*AMD Phenom II x4 960T 3.8 GHz @1.35v*[/size]
[size=9pt]GPU: [/size][size=9pt]*Sapphire Radeon HD 6870*[/size]
[size=9pt]PSU: [/size][size=9pt]*Corsair Builder Series V2 CX500w*[/size]
[size=9pt]RAM: [/size][size=9pt]*Patriot Signature 8GB (4x2) DDR3-1600*[/size]
[size=9pt]CPU Cooler: [/size][size=9pt]*Stock*[/size]
[size=9pt]HDD: [/size][size=9pt]*Hitachi 500GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache*[/size]
[size=9pt]OS: [/size][size=9pt]*Win 7 Home x64*[/size]

   
  My first custom build from the ground up, grand total: $698 shipped ^_^ My 960T unlocks to 6 cores with perfect stability! Just too hot to run OC'd on the stock HSF. I can get it to like 3.2GHz but it starts running at ~60C under Prime95 load. Granted, it never reaches those temps irl, but I'll wait to get an aftermarket cooler to switch to 6 cores so I can still get a decent clock rate.


----------



## manaox2

Quote: 





kylezo said:


> *Budget Gaming Rig:*
> 
> [size=9pt]MOBO: [/size][size=9pt]*ASRock 990FX Extreme4 P1.10*[/size]
> [size=9pt]CPU: [/size][size=9pt]*AMD Phenom II x4 960T 3.8 GHz @1.35v*[/size]
> ...


 

 60C on load doesn't sound bad at all to me. As long as its stable at the temps it hits, you probably can go higher safely. Just don't try getting above 80, or 75 to be reasonably safe. Clock rate matters a lot more than number of cores in most apps and gaming anyway.


----------



## Szadzik

ShirukenShiruken
  MoBo: Asus P8Z68 Deluxe Gen/3
  CPU: Intel i7 2700K
 GPU: Radeon HD 6870
 PSU: Seasonic X-760
 RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600mHz
 CPU Cooler: Scythe Shuriken
  SSD: OCZ Vertex 3
  HDD: Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB 64MB
  OS: Win 7 Ultimate x64
   
  Screen to be bought - Dell U2711 or Asus VK278Q.


----------



## Blisse

cheapy said:


> blisse said:
> 
> 
> > AMD HD5850
> ...




Sorry about that, went back home for break and didn't bring the tower. For some reason everything is lower now, off two monitors... o-o Might be because my room temperature's a lot colder. Also, I think it's 600W, not 650W. Pulled out the 2x2GB because it was causing blue screens. 8GB is plenty for my needs.

On idle, Motherboard 22, CPU 21, GPU 50, HDD 30. GPU is running at 33%. 

Gonna note I have 2xCorsair, 2xFractal and 2xNoctua fans in the case. Still very quiet.


----------



## Mdraluck23

CPU: AMD Fx6100 @ 4.2ghz with Cooler master N520. Idles at 19C tops out at 43C. I may bump it to 4.4 or so.
  RAM: 16gb Corsair DDR3 1600mhz 4x4
  GPU: Sapphire HD 6870
  SSD: Samsung 64gb
  HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200rpm
  Case: Cooler Master E430 case.
  MOBO: MSI 990XA-GD55
   
  Need some quieter fans.... Recommendations for unlit 120's?
  $560. I'm paying it off already with CAD productivity. I should have gotten a CAD class card... I can upgrade. They're very very expensive.


----------



## kylezo

Quote: 





manaox2 said:


> 60C on load doesn't sound bad at all to me. As long as its stable at the temps it hits, you probably can go higher safely. Just don't try getting above 80, or 75 to be reasonably safe. Clock rate matters a lot more than number of cores in most apps and gaming anyway.


 


  +1 that! But from everything I've read about this chip (and other Thubans) 62 is about as high as you want to go...71 is the tjmax and that's after adjusted core temp readings, which would add about 7-12C...so at 60 core temp I'm looking at 67-72C if my thermal info is correct (and the numbers come from AMD). Nevertheless, the silicon won't start melting till 97C > hahaha.


----------



## CrucifixationOfFaith

mdraluck23 said:


> CPU: AMD Fx6100 @ 4.2ghz with Cooler master N520. Idles at 19C tops out at 43C. I may bump it to 4.4 or so.




Where do you live ? In an igloo ?


----------



## noway

My CPU is an Intel E8700.  I know they are quite rare and in the time since I bought it I have become more conservative with electrical costs so I am running it stock at 3.5 GHz.  (I know this is heresey!)


----------



## KyungMin

The setup is a little old now but...
  Antec 1200 case
  Core I7 950 3.06ghz
  Asus Rampage II
  6gb patriot
  Intel 80gb SSD
  samsung 2tb
  WD 2tb green
  WD 1 tb
  Seagate 1tb
  Seagate 1tb external
  EVGA GTX 570
  Antec 1000 watt PSU
  Corsair H70 CPU cooler
  LG bd-rw
  LG dvd-rw
  Asus 27" monitor 2ms
  Sony Bravia KDL-46NX810 240hz 3D (for my movies)
  Sound blaster 7.1 (for my ASUS)
  Yamaha RX-V567 w/ Infinity TSS-800 7.1 (for the sony)
  apple wired keyboard
  Logitech G700 mouse
   
  Pretty much just use it to watch anime I don;t game much...


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





kyungmin said:


> The setup is a little old now but...
> Antec 1200 case
> Core I7 950 3.06ghz
> Asus Rampage II
> ...


 


  Your Asus 27" is it VE278Q by any chance?


----------



## UnityIsPower

Quote: 





crucifixationoffaith said:


> Where do you live ? In an igloo ?


 


  LMAO... I'm building my next PC ATM. Waiting for the Ivy Bridge and then I'll finish it up.


----------



## Rebel975

Intel is coming out with the i7 3820 (quad core) in mid-February. It's not a K model, but apparently it can get to 4.6GHz effortlessly.

 Estimated price is $280.

 I want the PCIe 3.0 and the 40 PCIe lanes. I want to give each of my future GTX780's sixteen PCIe lanes. Total investment would be around $600 if you include a motherboard. I'd probably pick up a SSD at that time since I will have to reinstall Windows anyway.
   
  A used 2600K sells for $150+ on eBay. My motherboard? I'll be lucky to get $50 for it. So I should have around $200 off on this upgrade.
   
  If they come out with an affordable, unlocked, 6 core CPU then I'd upgrade within the same generation. Otherwise I'll have the same CPU till X89 comes out.


----------



## hien34

Waiting to move to build a desktop gaming rig again, but I've currently got:
   
  Alienware M11X R2 -
  Core i5
  Nvidia 335/Optimus
  8gigs 
  500gig hd
   
  Alienware M17X R3
  Core i7
  8 gigs DDR3 1600
  Radeon 6990
  Crucial M4 256gig SSD
  500gig hd
  1080p
  KillerN wireless
  Blu-ray
   
  I want to build a new rig with dual monitors (one of my Dell 20s just died after....5 years?), i7-quad and probably a single ATI 7970


----------



## music_man

i know this is silly but i hoped some one could offer advice. old amd64 3400+ venice.. stock is 2.4ghz. runs fine. i can get 2.64 on stock vcore at 11,11.5 or 12. runs linpack half an hour(didn't go longer). agp and pci are fixed on k8ne. radeon 3850. 4gb matched @400. any 3d app crashes in seconds.

question: i do not understand how it runs linpack and agp is not o/c'd but 3d crashes instantly? the o/c is not that big.

i know this is kind a waste of everyones time but if anyone had a quick idea i'd appreciate it.
thanks

edit: never mind i fixed it. thanks. apparently it says pci bridge is fixed but not exactly. at a multi of 12 i can get 2.8ghz with half a volt more than stock. you would be surprised what a machine this old can do. or maybe not.

edit again: i guess this is why they call it old technology lol. the k8ne. i can get half a volt more or it jumps right to 1.5 volts more ouch! glad that did not blow it though. i will certainly not run it it that. hit 70c at idol duh.


----------



## kylezo

Why do you have 7TB of storage?
  
  Quote: 





kyungmin said:


> The setup is a little old now but...
> Antec 1200 case
> Core I7 950 3.06ghz
> Asus Rampage II
> ...


----------



## skree

Quote: 





kylezo said:


> Why do you have 7TB of storage?


 
  probably the same reason I've got a similar amount for my absolutely ancient Socket A AMD Athlon rig. All my media is stored on hard drive. All. barring a few console games on DVD I haven't been able to back up. I am not so good at looking after DVDs and CDs, but with a decent hard drive array plugged in i've not lost any data for years.. moved a lot off to an external stack recently.
   
  I get my cd or dvd, rip it to the computer, put it back in its case and put it away in big plastic boxes. Then there are the (legitimate) downloaded things i own.
   
  few hundred gig free spanned across six drives lol


----------



## kylezo

That's still an enormous volume of data. Easily 700+ dvds...you must watch a lot of movies. Plus now you've got a similar amount of storage on a separate rig, so I'll be easy and say 5 more TB...plus a 3rd external stack...I'll just assume that's redundant backups just in case? wow. I have backups of everything too, and I don't use CDs or DVDs at all, and I've got more storage than I know what to do with...then again I'm not housing the entire history of cinema as apparently you are ;P
  
  Quote: 





skree said:


> probably the same reason I've got a similar amount for my absolutely ancient Socket A AMD Athlon rig. All my media is stored on hard drive. All. barring a few console games on DVD I haven't been able to back up. I am not so good at looking after DVDs and CDs, but with a decent hard drive array plugged in i've not lost any data for years.. moved a lot off to an external stack recently.
> 
> I get my cd or dvd, rip it to the computer, put it back in its case and put it away in big plastic boxes. Then there are the (legitimate) downloaded things i own.
> 
> few hundred gig free spanned across six drives lol


----------



## Mdraluck23

Quote: 





crucifixationoffaith said:


> Where do you live ? In an igloo ?


 



   
  Apparently, my good sir. I have no doubts that when summer rolls around I'll have to lower it


----------



## liamstrain

MB Pro Running 10.6.8
  2.66 Ghz Intel Core i7
  8gb RAM
  Matte display (1680x1050)
  Hitachi 7200rpm 500gb drive
  nVidia GeForce GT 330M 512mb
  Superdrive/FW800/USB 2.0
  Wacom Intous 2 6x8 tablet
  Logitech MX Laser mouse
  Optical S/PDIF audio out (or USB) to external DAC
   
  External monitors:
  home: Apple Cinema 24
  work: EIZO ColorEdge CG245W-BK 24 inch
  Spyder 3 pro calibration
   
  2x 4TB RAID 1 external archive/backup (4x 2TB) via Firewire 800
  2x 500GB 7200rpm portables


----------



## music_man

does anyone's specs include an audiophile power cable, power conditioner(not computer gear). assuming you use it for audio.

warning: please do not start the debate here!!!!! i just want to know if anyone uses that.


----------



## liamstrain

Not mine. Not in our recording or mastering studio either.


----------



## Semus

Suppose I'll add my specs here
   
  Intel i7 950 @3.07 GHz
  Asus Rampage II Extreme MB
  12GB Corsair Dominator 1600 MHz
  Kingston SSDNow V+ Series 128GB
  2X Western Digital 500GB HDD's 7200RPM
  SupremeFX-XFi sound card
  Logitech Z5500 5.1 surround system
  Logitech G15 Keyboard
  Razer Death Adder - mouse
   
  I also use:
   
  Kenwood VR-605 Receiver
  JBL TLX121 front speakers
  JBL J2045 rear speakers
  Logitech Z5500 Subwoofer for the Sub
   
  It's an odd setup. I have sound coming from my sound card directly to my receiver, and then I have a subwoofer pre-out that goes directly to the Z5500 control unit so that I can use the Sub.
   
  I still own a Sunfire Super Junior, but the speaker is blown. I need to get a replacement. The amp is still good. Maybe I'll sell the Super Junior as is. Haven't decided.


----------



## music_man

get the driver. that is a nice subwoofer. you won't get much blown for it. i am actually surprised that blew. must be a defective one.


----------



## CrucifixationOfFaith

mdraluck23 said:


> Apparently, my good sir. I have no doubts that when summer rolls around I'll have to lower it




I did not undermine your statement, so no proof is needed.
With air cooling the CPU, at least when idle, will run (at least) few degrees above ambient. The question is - what is the room temperature ?


----------



## Mdraluck23

Our house is set to 65F in the winter and off at night. 18.3333C. Sounds about right?


----------



## music_man

it is 35f and you have the heat off? you are a strong one indeed! if i turned off the heat my 2600k would probably go 20 jigahertz lol.


----------



## kylezo

Quote: 





music_man said:


> it is 35f and you have the heat off? you are a strong one indeed! if i turned off the heat my 2600k would probably go 20 jigahertz lol.


 


 1.21 JIGAWATTS?!?!


----------



## Fugue




----------



## music_man

i want to be able to come here and post specs for an atom that has neither water nor air(passive)! i cannot find all the parts though :mad:


----------



## CrucifixationOfFaith

music_man said:


> it is 35f and you have the heat off? you are a strong one indeed! if i turned off the heat my 2600k would probably go 20 jigahertz lol.





kylezo said:


> 1.21 JIGAWATTS?!?!


----------



## Mdraluck23

Sweatpants are the best. So fluffy and warm. They should be more socially accepted. #NOSHAME


----------



## Quake1028

..-.. Intel i5-2500K @ 4.2Ghz | GIGABYTE GA-P67A-UD3
 ..-.. MSI N460GTX Hawk 1GB | G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB
 ..-.. Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB | ASUS DRW-24B1ST
 ..-.. Cooler Master HAF 912 | Corsair CMPSU-650TX
 ..-.. Saitek Cyborg | Logitech MX 518
 ..-.. Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit


----------



## Cheapy

Quote: 





kylezo said:


> My first custom build from the ground up, grand total: $698 shipped ^_^ My 960T unlocks to 6 cores with perfect stability! Just too hot to run OC'd on the stock HSF. I can get it to like 3.2GHz but it starts running at ~60C under Prime95 load. Granted, it never reaches those temps irl, but I'll wait to get an aftermarket cooler to switch to 6 cores so I can still get a decent clock rate.


 


  For Phenom II the safe max temp was 62°C after that it starts throttling or shuts down to prevent damage. Probally want to keep it below 55° just to have some safety margin for summer. Intel chips can get hotter before they start to throttle etc. Now you get the joy of pulling apart your newly built computer just to fit a CPU cooler backplate 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





.


  Quote: 





blisse said:


> Sorry about that, went back home for break and didn't bring the tower. For some reason everything is lower now, off two monitors... o-o Might be because my room temperature's a lot colder. Also, I think it's 600W, not 650W. Pulled out the 2x2GB because it was causing blue screens. 8GB is plenty for my needs.
> On idle, Motherboard 22, CPU 21, GPU 50, HDD 30. GPU is running at 33%.
> Gonna note I have 2xCorsair, 2xFractal and 2xNoctua fans in the case. Still very quiet.


 

 Thanks. Yeah my mobo is around the 25 mark but the northbridge reckons its doing ~82 so it seems to be a stuck sensor then as it doesnt vary apart from plus or minus 1 under heavy or light loads.


----------



## iamtwon

Intel i5-2500K
  Noctua NH-U12P SE2 CPU cooler with Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound using the blue cables on the CPU cooler for lower fan speed.
   
  ASUS P8Z68 V-Pro
  8GB G.Skill RipjawX 8-8-8-24 1600mHz
  Corsair AX-850 PSU
  EVGA NVIDIA GTX 560ti DS
  Crucial M4 128 GB SSD
  1TB WD Caviar Black
   
  All that's in a Coolermaster Storm Enforcer
   
  Thermaltake BlacX USB/eSATA HD Dock (really like this thing)
  SoundDevices USBPre 2 + SM-58
  Dell U2312-HM IPS Monitor + and old square Acer flat for dual.
  Logitech G9x
  Filco Majestouch 2 Cherry MX-Blue w/ PBT black engraved caps
   
  I couldn't be happier with this setup with the exception of... video card fan noise and the USBPre2 adding 60 seconds to my bootup time (still haven't figured this out).


----------



## usp45

-I7 930 overclocked to 3.6ghz cooled by thermaltake frio
 -Asus P6X58D Premium motherboard.
 -6gigabytes of ram running at 1600
 -2 EVGA GTX470 video cards running in SLI
 -500gig  Western digital Caviar Black 500gig 7200rpm 32mb cache.
 -1000w power supply
 -Housed in a Full size Cooler Master HAF-X case.
 -windows 7


----------



## ocswing

Quote: 





iamtwon said:


> Intel i5-2500K
> Noctua NH-U12P SE2 CPU cooler with Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound using the blue cables on the CPU cooler for lower fan speed.
> 
> ASUS P8Z68 V-Pro
> ...


 
   
  Does your motherboard have a boot from USB option? Try turning that off and see if the boot time goes back to normal.


----------



## focs

- Intel i7-2600K 3.6 Ghz (no need oc) with Scythe MUGEN 2 Rev.B
  - ASRock P67 Pro3
  - 8 GB Corsair Vengeance LP White 9-9-9-24 1600 MHz
  - MSI Nvidia GTX 480 with Arctic Accelero Xtreme Plus II
  - Corsair Force Series F60
  - Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB
  - Asus Xonar D2X
  - Be Quiet Special Edition White 600W E7 Modular PSU
  - Thermaltake Element T case
   
  - Logitech Z-10 Speakers
  - Logitech G15 Keybord
  - Cyborg R.A.T. 7 mice
  - Samsung B2330
   
  Thinking to swap this for macbook


----------



## Blisse

cheapy said:


> blisse said:
> 
> 
> > Sorry about that, went back home for break and didn't bring the tower. For some reason everything is lower now, off two monitors... o-o Might be because my room temperature's a lot colder. Also, I think it's 600W, not 650W. Pulled out the 2x2GB because it was causing blue screens. 8GB is plenty for my needs.
> ...




I was using SpeedFan and I got that problem. One of the censors only read 80C. I turned it off for a couple hours and back on, and auto-80C, so I figured it was a sensor problem, and used another program.


----------



## VortexBlast

Intel Core i7 920 @ 3.8GHz
  Corsair H70 + 2 Gentle Typhoons AP-15 Push/Pull
  Corsair XMS3 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 9-9-9-24 1600MHz
  Asus P6T Deluxe V1
  Gainward Nvidia GTX 280 (overclocked to 621/1350/1134)
  Asus Xonar Essence STX
  Corsair Force Series F120 SSD
  Seagate Barracuda 1TB
  Corsair TX750W PSU
  Sony Optiarc BWU-500S Blu-Ray Burner
  In a Silverstone Raven RV-01 Case.
   
  Logitech G9 Mouse
  Logitech G11 Keyboard
  Audioengine A2 Speakers
  Asus VK222H Monitor (calibrated using Datacolor Spyder3 Pro)
   
  In desperate need for an upgrade. Some components are 3 years old!


----------



## Salm0n

Asus P6X58D-E
  i7 930 (stock clocks as it's summer here)
  6GB (3x2GB) Corsair XMS 3 DDR3 1600 7-8-7-20
  Sapphire 5870 Vapor X
  Corsair HX 750
  Prolimatech Megashadow w/ 2x Scyth slipstream 1200RPM fans
  1TB Western Digital Caviar Black
  Coolermaster HAF922
   
  thing is too loud. total of 7 fans in it. I can hear the humming easily with my M50s on.


----------



## deltaspirit

i7@STOCK/NH-D14
 X58
 6990+6970
 6GB DDR3
 240GB Vertex 3 MAX IOPS
 2xWD 640GB
 AX1200
 3240x1920


----------



## bravo4588

Intel Core i5 2500K @ 3.3GHz
  Gigabyte Z68XP-UD3
  Gigabyte ATI Radeon HD6770 OC 1GB
  Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB 1600MHz (4GB*2)
  OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA 3 SSD
  Seagate Barracuda 1TB
  Corsair HX650 PSU
  Corsair 400R Tower Case
  Samsung Syncmaster BX2450 @ 1920*1080


----------



## thenorwegian

My old workhorse...
   
  Intel core 2 quadcore Q9650 (3,1mhz) (slight overclock to 3,33mhz...I don't want more heat)
  MSI P45 neo-f
  Sapphire radeon hd 5670 "ultimate edition"
  Corsair twin2x pc6400 DDR2 8gb
  Western digital black 1 terrabyte (system disk)
  2x Samsung spinpoint F3 1 terrabyte
  Sunsway usb 3.0 card
  Hiyatek usb 3.0 docking station with western digital greenpower 2 terrabyte disk (backup)
  Asus xonar essence stx
  Silverstone sst-st50nf nichtjar 500w psu (fanless)
  Fractal design define R3 black pearl case
  3x schyte gentle typhoon 800rpm fans
  Akasa nero S cpu cooler
   
  I only use the pc for photoshop and listening to music, so I really don't need anything more powerfull. It's VERY stable as it is, and the only noise I can hear is the faint humming of harddrives.


----------



## nihaz

Intel i7 2600K
  Asus P8Z68 V-PRO motherboard
  Noctua D14 CPU cooler
  Afox GTX 580
  RipJaws 16 GB ram
  Silicon Power SSD 2 X 60 GB in RAID0
  Western Digital Black 1TB HDD
  Corsair HX850 PSU
  Coolermaster HAF X Case
   
  And about 6 case fans hahahah 
   
  Currently not overclocked, but will be doing so soon...
   
  Originally started out as a "I need a new computer" i7 build, but turned into a "lets go overboard" kinda thing...
  Use it to do word processing only...
   
   
  LOL JK
   
  Battlefield 3 mostly... but do a fair bit of MATlab, AutoCAD and 3D Modelling using Engineering software.


----------



## Evilcalyptic

Laptop Sager NP8170
Gen2 Intel Core i7 2960xm 2.7Ghz Quadcore *OC'd to 4.2Ghz*
AMD/ATI Radeon 6990m 2GB OC'd
16GB DDR3 1866 Kingston
120GB Intel 510 Solid State
750GB Seagate HDD 7,200rpm 32mb cache
Bluray Burner
Intel Advanced-N 6230
IC Diamond Thermal Compound

you dont wanna know how much this laptop cost me


----------



## nihaz

Over 9000? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  but seriously... around $3K?


----------



## Evilcalyptic

yeah it was 3,100

but i needed something more powerful than my last setup.


----------



## gustavQ

My modest setup:
   
  CM 690
 AMD Phenom II 955 BE 3.2 GHz @ 3.8 Ghz
 ASRock 890GX Extreme4 R2.0
 ATI RADEON HD4890 1GB
 Crucial Ballistix Sport 2x4GB PC3-12800 DDR3-1600MHz 10-10-10-28
 Corsair TX650M

 Kit WC Thermaltake Bigwater 745

 Samsung SyncMaster 931BF 19'

 Logitech X-230


----------



## Rebel975

My Hanns-G 281D monitor has started to die. It will go from a black screen to the source, to black again, several times after turning it on. It also sometimes does it just randomly during use.
   
  I'm replacing it with one of these: Samsung S27A500H 
   
   
  Starting off with one, but will (likely) buy two more as soon as I have some more money.
   
  Originally, I was planning on getting a Dell U2711, but I decided that going for triple monitors would be awesome. Besides, since I play PC as well as Xbox games, it makes sense to have a 1080P monitor. No stretching or black bars for me.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> My Hanns-G 281D monitor has started to die. It will go from a black screen to the source, to black again, several times after turning it on. It also sometimes does it just randomly during use.
> 
> I'm replacing it with one of these: Samsung S27A500H
> 
> ...


 


   
  Why not Asus VE278Q or even VK278 with builtin camera instead of the Samsung? The Asus get much better reviews.


----------



## Szadzik

My new PC:
   
  Zalman HD503 and inside
  Asus P8Z68 Deluxe/Gen3
  Intel i7-2700K
  MSI HD6870
  Corsair Vengeance 8GB 1600mHz
  60GB SATA III SSD
  2TB HDD
  Zalman Quiet Fans
  LG BD Writer
  Asus VK278Q
  Logitech K360 and MX Performance


----------



## Rebel975

Quote: 





szadzik said:


> Why not Asus VE278Q or even VK278 with builtin camera instead of the Samsung? The Asus get much better reviews.


 

  
   
  The energy saving features on the Samsung are a huge plus for me. As for the reviews, most people don't like the base on the Samsung because they don't know that it can snap into place. They usually just rest it on the stand and then complain that they are afraid it's going to separate. Duh! You have to snap it on. The only other complaints are usually that they didn't like the power button. Big deal.
   
  The biggest reason I didn't get the Asus though was because a friend of mine just bought that Asus model a couple days ago and it came with a dead pixel. I know, I know. Any monitor can come with a dead pixel. However, I just treated his experience as if it was mine and  decided to get something else. Depending on what happens he will likely order the same Samsung model as me or go for the Acer S273HL. He really needs the energy saving features though. One time he left his monitor on for so long that it now has the Windows task bar burned into it. hahahah.


----------



## nihaz

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> The energy saving features on the Samsung are a huge plus for me. As for the reviews, most people don't like the base on the Samsung because they don't know that it can snap into place. They usually just rest it on the stand and then complain that they are afraid it's going to separate. Duh! You have to snap it on. The only other complaints are usually that they didn't like the power button. Big deal.
> 
> The biggest reason I didn't get the Asus though was because a friend of mine just bought that Asus model a couple days ago and it came with a dead pixel. I know, I know. Any monitor can come with a dead pixel. However, I just treated his experience as if it was mine and  decided to get something else. Depending on what happens he will likely order the same Samsung model as me or go for the Acer S273HL. He really needs the energy saving features though. One time he left his monitor on for so long that it now has the Windows task bar burned into it. hahahah.


 


  +1 on the dead pixel...
   
  I bought an Asus monitor to go with my computer build not too long ago and I ended up having to swap it out because it had a dead pixel...


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> The energy saving features on the Samsung are a huge plus for me. As for the reviews, most people don't like the base on the Samsung because they don't know that it can snap into place. They usually just rest it on the stand and then complain that they are afraid it's going to separate. Duh! You have to snap it on. The only other complaints are usually that they didn't like the power button. Big deal.
> 
> The biggest reason I didn't get the Asus though was because a friend of mine just bought that Asus model a couple days ago and it came with a dead pixel. I know, I know. Any monitor can come with a dead pixel. However, I just treated his experience as if it was mine and  decided to get something else. Depending on what happens he will likely order the same Samsung model as me or go for the Acer S273HL. He really needs the energy saving features though. One time he left his monitor on for so long that it now has the Windows task bar burned into it. hahahah.


 


  Should not colour reproduction and how the screen works not be your criteria instead of a stand and power saving?


----------



## DanXbix

Just joined the forum today and looking for some new headphones anyway here is my specs
   
  Alienware m18x
  Core i7 2960xm @4.2ghz
  16gb 1600mhz DDR3
  2x 580m GTX SLI
  120gb Vertex 3
  750gb 7200rpm HDD
  BDRE Drive
  XiFi Sound
  18.4" 1920x1080 LCD
  Nuforce uDAC2


----------



## nihaz

Quote: 





danxbix said:


> Just joined the forum today and looking for some new headphones anyway here is my specs
> 
> Alienware m18x
> Core i7 2960xm @4.2ghz
> ...


 

 Woah.. they managed to fit 2 GTX 580s into that laptop? Granted its the mobile version but.. What?? My fullsize version of that card is probably the same thickness as that laptop..
   
  Anyway.. NICE specs for your laptop  hope you have many fun years of use with it


----------



## Rebel975

Quote: 





szadzik said:


> Should not colour reproduction and how the screen works not be your criteria instead of a stand and power saving?


 


  I'm sure it reproduces colors just fine.
   
  Please re-read my previous post. I clearly stated why I didn't get the Asus. Another negative was reading the reviews that say that it started flashing black. That's what my current monitor does.
   
  I never said that the stand was my reason for getting the Samsung.
   
  If the Samsung arrives and doesn't live up to my expectations then I will return it and get something else. I seriously doubt this will happen though.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> I'm sure it reproduces colors just fine.
> 
> Please re-read my previous post. I clearly stated why I didn't get the Asus. Another negative was reading the reviews that say that it started flashing black. That's what my current monitor does.
> 
> ...


 


  Why so aggressive? I only suggested that the Asus is better than the Samsung according to reviews. One dead pixel does not make a screen useless, and if you do not like a dead pixel, get the screen replaced. Buying a screen is much more than just choosing a manufacturer. It took me over a month of research and I was also on the verge of buying Dell U27, but despite its advantages, it has some serious disadvantages. For its price tag and not looking at IPS panels, that Asus is the most versatile screen out there. Great colour reproduction, no input lag, great contrast.
   
  Review:
   
  http://www.digitalversus.com/lcd-monitor/asus-ve278q-p10118/test.html
   
  Here is a review of the one you want from the same shootout:
   
  http://www.digitalversus.com/lcd-monitor/samsung-syncmaster-s27a550h-p12083/test.html
   
  Reverse ghosting, less connection options, more expensive than the Asus.


----------



## Rebel975

Not being aggressive. Just responding to your points. Like I said, if it looks like crap then I'll return it. As for the connections, all I'll ever use is HDMI.
   
  What is reverse ghosting anyway?
   
   
  Edit: Please don't take me as being aggressive. I apologize if that's how I come off. If the Samsung is disappointing I _will_ be honest and say so, right as I put it back in the box and ship it back. Although, I really hope I don't have to do that. This Hanns-G is getting worse every day.
   
  Man, now you have me all convinced that the Samsung is going to be a complete letdown. I really hope it isn't. I don't like the idea of waiting another week+ for a second monitor to get here.


----------



## nihaz

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> Not being aggressive. Just responding to your points. Like I said, if it looks like crap then I'll return it. As for the connections, all I'll ever use is HDMI.
> 
> What is reverse ghosting anyway?
> 
> ...


 
   
  Buy the Samsung and the ASUS... best of both worlds? 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  But in all honesty... It's all up to you as the user of the screen right? If you like it.. then you shouldn't let what others say about it get you down about it  
   
  Just my 2c


----------



## Rebel975

Haha.. one of each. Well, the monitor comes in tomorrow. I'll be sure to let you guys know what I think of it.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> Haha.. one of each. Well, the monitor comes in tomorrow. I'll be sure to let you guys know what I think of it.


 


   
  Good luck. I did not mean that hte Samsung is bad, but I think there are better choices for the price and if you can, just exchange it. 
   
  Reverse ghosting is when you see a trace of something as it moves across the screen.


----------



## Rebel975

The monitor came in. After tweaking some settings it's looking pretty good. The only real downside is the stand. It's kind of wobbly. But, I can sandwich it between my speakers and it doesn't wobble at all.
   
  I'm definitely not going to get 2 more of these though. I'll use this until the 2012 monitors start rolling out and then sell it.
   
VA278Q
   
  ^I just heard about that one. The resolution is definitely appealing. I want to know how much it costs, what it's response time is, and to see some reviews claiming that it is awesome for gaming.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> The monitor came in. After tweaking some settings it's looking pretty good. The only real downside is the stand. It's kind of wobbly. But, I can sandwich it between my speakers and it doesn't wobble at all.
> 
> I'm definitely not going to get 2 more of these though. I'll use this until the 2012 monitors start rolling out and then sell it.
> 
> ...


 


  Good you're happy with the screen.
   
  That new ASUS will be around 2x the cost of a full HD one, same as all those from Hazro and Dell.


----------



## Rebel975

Yeah. Hopefully it has a relatively low response time/input lag. I may want to go for one really nice screen instead of 3 screens due to me playing a lot of games on a system that can only support one screen anyway (the Xbox). We'll see though. This Samsung can hold me over until some new stuff comes out.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> Yeah. Hopefully it has a relatively low response time/input lag. I may want to go for one really nice screen instead of 3 screens due to me playing a lot of games on a system that can only support one screen anyway (the Xbox). We'll see though. This Samsung can hold me over until some new stuff comes out.


 


  I will be waiting for a 'cheap' 2560x1440 monitor too. I hope this Asus can bring some changes to the current lineup and make competition a bit better and make prices drop a bit. I also hope it will fix the problems of other hi-resolution screens like the Dell one. If so, I will definitely be buying one sooner or later.


----------



## Rebel975

Check out the LG DM92. It could be a game changing monitor if it comes in at 1080P. Basically no bezel, so it'd be perfect for triple screen gaming. Plus, it's an IPS, so it'll look good too. Hope it doesn't cost an arm and a leg.


----------



## FieldEffect

N/A


----------



## ZorgDK

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> My monitor has started to die. It will go from a black screen to the source, to black again, several times after turning it on. It also sometimes does it just randomly during use.
> 
> I'm replacing it with one of these: Samsung S27A500H
> 
> ...


 

 That's odd, my Hanns-G 281D from 2008 is starting to do the same thing. I'm thinking it could be a software issue, due to upgraded Catalyst drivers perhaps. In any case, I'm looking for a new monitor, the contrast and black levels are horrible on this thing. 
   
  Do you think the Samsung S27A500H is a big improvement from the Hanns G one?
   
  I was thinking about getting Samsung SA850 27" with PLS panel. It might be better to wait for new models to come out though.. Not sure, the price is still pretty high on this one, it ought to drop some soon I reckon.


----------



## Rebel975

I wouldn't recommend the S27A550H. Mine has developed a serious defect within a few days of owning it. The colors are extremely whacked out and the contrast is crazy. No amount of tweaking of the settings will fix it. I've got an RMA and will ship it back to Newegg later today.
   
  A friend of mine bought a S27A550H the same day I did and his now has 2 dead pixels. When he first got it it didn't have any.
   
  It looked pretty good when I first got it, but not good enough. If the LG DM92 gets bad reviews then I am going to just say 'screw it' and get a Dell Ultrasharp.
   
   
  Edit: The S27A550H also has a horrible stand. I like the idea, but it's just not stable enough. Just moving my mouse around would make the monitor wobble.
   
  As for the Hanns-G 281D, it's not a software thing. Both my computer and my Xbox do the flashing black screen thing. It has to do with some poor quality caps. There are a lot of Google results of people fixing it by replacing the caps (the stock ones bulge out).


----------



## GetsugaSSJ

My Beauty, lol
   
  I5 2500k @ 5.2
  GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme SLI
  2x2 Corsair Dominator
  EVGA P67 FTW
  Antec HCP 1200 custom sleeving
  Custom water cooling for CPU and RAM (RAM just for looks, lmao)
  Danger Den Tower 29 LDR


----------



## Shogunner

Here, nothing special. My CPU is clocked to 3.7ghz and my audio device is a US-100. I will be getting a 7970 soon enough thankfully.


----------



## gustavQ

Quote: 





shogunner said:


> Here, nothing special. My CPU is clocked to 3.7ghz and my audio device is a US-100. I will be getting a 7970 soon enough thankfully.


 


  Shogunner, what is the software that you are using to show your specs?


----------



## Cakebaker

Quote: 





shogunner said:


> Here, nothing special. My CPU is clocked to 3.7ghz and my audio device is a US-100. I will be getting a 7970 soon enough thankfully.


 

 What's the load temp on your Phenom?


----------



## PhoebeFairchild

I received a nice Christmas gift from my best friend. He got me a System76 Bonobo Professional with these specifications:
   
  Ubuntu 11.10 64 bit
  Ubuntu One with free 5 GB of storage
  17.3" Full HD LED Super Glossy Surface (1920 X 1080)
  Nvidia GeForce GTX 580M with 2.0 GB GDDR5 Video Memory
  2nd Generation Intel Core i7-2960XM Processor Extreme Edition (8 MB L3 Cache, 2.70 GHz)
  32 GB Dual Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1333 MHz (4 X 8 GB)
  Dual 240 GB Intel 520 Cherryville SATA-III 6 GB/s Solid State Drives
  8X DVD+/- R/RW 4X +DL Super-Multi Drive
  Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 802.11 A/B/G/N Wireless LAN Module
  Bonobo Pro extra Lithium Polymer battery
  Standard Carrying Bag
  3 year LTD. Warranty and 3 year Technical Support
   
  It cost him almost $6,000.00 dollars. We've been friends for years. I am grateful to him.


----------



## music_man

guys i was hoping you could "tell" me a spec lol. what settings would you use to o/c vengence 1600mhz on a z68 board? thanks.


----------



## Rebel975

music_man said:


> guys i was hoping you could "tell" me a spec lol. what settings would you use to o/c vengence 1600mhz on a z68 board? thanks.






Personally, I wouldn't OC the ram. You'll see basically no performance increase and the system may become unstable. Ram is notorious for causing BSoD's if not set up correctly.


----------



## nihaz

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> Personally, I wouldn't OC the ram. You'll see basically no performance increase and the system may become unstable. Ram is notorious for causing BSoD's if not set up correctly.


 


  +1
   
  Agree, I returned my RAM to stock after trying various 'recommended' timings by friends who OC professionally/competitively..
  IMHO too much trouble for a very slight gain...
   
  I don't know about your specs, but if you are looking for a speed boost and have not yet purchased SSDs, I would highly recommend getting them. Newer versions of the sandforce controller enable read/write speeds of around 900/900 (2 SSDs in RAID0) which means very fast boot/loading times... how fast? Windows & loads up within 10 - 15 seconds from POST (when your computer does the beeping thing) screen


----------



## music_man

i am going to agree with you! anytime i have messed with ram even a little i got bsod/reboot city. it says it is overclockable but i figure i should leave well enough alone. it would not boot at 1933mhz so i do not see any point in going say 1700 over 1600. i guess the answer is ram is not really overclockable regardless of corsair's marketing claims. like you said, perhaps a little but not enough that it would make a difference. i do not know if 2100 i would see a difference but i did want it. problem is it is 4 times the price of the 1600 right now.


----------



## Rebel975

RAM speed is basically irrelevant. A number of other things can/do show real world speed increases: SSD's, faster CPU/GPU's, MORE ram (depending on your application and how much you already have), etc. I seriously wouldn't worry about the ram speed. Overclock the CPU and GPU if you want to actually see some increased FPS.


----------



## music_man

i did not think it was worth it but worth checking with you guys. thanks. this is a very fast machine, extreme proc,3 sli, raid ssd etc. i wanted the 2100 memory but honestly tiger did not even have it at the warehouse that day. they told me there is not a lot of demand due to the cost and small gain.


----------



## Blisse

-nvm-


----------



## Rebel975

blisse said:


> -nvm-




I saw your comment before you edited it out. You were right. People with SATA3 motherboards can see much higher speeds with SSD's. I guess I forgot that not everyone has a SATA3 motherboard. Now that you mention it I wouldn't recommend buying a SSD unless you have SATA3.


----------



## music_man

indeed. i have ssd's in raid on sata3. sata3 seems to be a waste for platter drives. a platter drive can not come even close to that speed even if the controller can. i say anyone that has sata3 ports get at least one $75 ssd and plug the platter drive into the sata2. my ssd's are intel 520's which i think may even be faster than sata3!


----------



## bowei006

NZXT Nemesis Elite Gaming Chasis
-3 LED 12cm Fans
-Mid ATX
-Front shield panel w/7light changing LED's

AMD Phenom II X4 965 BE 125W( rev.2) CPU 
-Code Nameeneb
-Quard Core. Runs at 3,4GHz. Overclockable to 4.1GHz
-128KB L1 Cache
-2MB L2 Cache
-6MB L3 Cache
-AMD K10 Architecutre.
-Idle Temp: 28 C

Corsair H50 Liquid Cooling
-1600 RPM built in pump
-Artic Silver 5 thermal paste used
-Copper conductive heat plate
-Dual Fan config. 

Asustek M4A78T-E
-AMD 790GX Dragon Chipset
-Socket AM3 (938)
-AMD SB700 Southbridge

PQI Dragon RAM
-3-2GB(6GB) DDR3
-Dual Channel
-CAS Latency 9-9-9-24-33
-669MHz or 1333MT/s
-Heat spreader

ATi Radeon HD 5770 Overclocked graphics
-1024MB GDDR5 @1330 MHz
-128-bit bandwith
-Core Clock @ 925MHz
-AMD RV840
-40nm design

Asustek VH236H Monitor
-23"
-1920x1080 w/ progressive scan(meaning 1080p)
-16:9 aspect ratio
-2ms response time. GTG(gray to gray)

OCZ ModXstream Pro PSU
-700W
-Modular
-1-140cm Fan

Backup- Tuniq Ensemble 1200W


----------



## music_man

that is really cool for that cpu even on water i think. good job.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> I saw your comment before you edited it out. You were right. People with SATA3 motherboards can see much higher speeds with SSD's. I guess I forgot that not everyone has a SATA3 motherboard. Now that you mention it I wouldn't recommend buying a SSD unless you have SATA3.


 


  I have SATA II on my laptop and got a huge performance boost over a 7200 HDD. I have two of them at the same time, so I am not losing all the space for just speed.


----------



## music_man

i think i have a problem. i7-3960x. big after market air cooler. hits 94c on intel burn but gets success. ouch! do i need to work on getting that temp down. or if it is stable is it ok? that is the temp in the bios monitor.


----------



## Blisse

szadzik said:


> Quote:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




I removed my comment cause the person you were referring to did have a SATA3 board, so it was irrelevant unless you were being very general. My bad. :d

I think Rebel is saying that buying a SATA2 SSD limits you to 250/250, which is excellent, but because tech is moving so quickly, you can spend $10-20 more and get a SATA3 SSD, which is a massive improvement over that. And if you put a good SATA3 SSD with SATA2 ports, you're wasting a lot of money. I personally haven't gotten an SSD for this reason.

@music_man, does the 94C change from like boot up to load? Download a temp monitoring program. If not, it could be a faulty sensor. If yes, then I would make sure I seated the heatsink properly, and spread the thermal paste evenly. 94C is way too high if you have a big heatsink.


----------



## music_man

even though it passed intel burn the bios is warning me "overclocking is too high" at boot. it is at 4.77ghz. just pressed the "twin turbo" button. if that is not too high i will check the heat sink. at boot a lot of apps are loaded. it is 70f in here. the cpu is at 38c idle. i am not getting any bsods or lock ups.


----------



## Rebel975

I don't know what the recommended thermal limit for a 3XXX series is, but the 2XXX series was not supposed to get over 72C. I'm assuming our CPU's both have the same thermal limit of ~100C (the point at which it shuts down to protect itself). If I'm right then 94C is way too hot.


----------



## music_man

intelburn creates insane heat. it can actually kill a cpu. i am also on a big o/c for any air. however prime95 only gets me to 67 after several hours of small. the truth is no application anywhere creates that type of heat so i am not actually going to worry about it. if it starts with bsod's i will lower the o/c. the good thing is these cpu's will most likely shut down at some point. old cpu's simply fried. however i am not going to keep pushing it into the 90's! btw, 3dmark gets me to 59c. which is a real application. a demanding one no less. i did not mean to sound to be smart. truth be told i was stupid to go running something like intel burn and expecting anything less. it is like a torch to paper. so i don't know what i was expecting. now, i do not really suggest that anyone goes and runs it to see what i am talking about. do so at your own risk!


----------



## yawny

Figured I'd post my specs. I'm running it stock now, no need to OC this CPU, besides, it refuses to heat up. 
   
  Intel i7-970 hex core cooled by Noctua NH-D14
  Asus P5N32-Premium or some such mobo
  3x2gb Corsair DDR3 ram @ 1600
  128gb Kingston V+(?) SSD w/ 2.5tb additional storage on 3 WD Caviar Blacks
  EVGA GeForce 470
  Corsair 1000w SilentPower PSU
  HT Omega Striker 7.1 sound card
  HAF 932 case w/ red sound-activated cold cathode. 
   
  I built this one a little over a year ago and she's served me well. No bleeding edge anymore, but a beast for sure. The bottleneck seems to be the graphics card at this point, but I'm too broke to upgrade it. Damn my too many hobbies. 
   
  I can dredge some pictures up if need be. Along with playing and listening to music, building/tweaking PCs is one of my favorite hobbies.


----------



## kylezo

Quote: 





cheapy said:


> For Phenom II the safe max temp was 62°C after that it starts throttling or shuts down to prevent damage. Probally want to keep it below 55° just to have some safety margin for summer. Intel chips can get hotter before they start to throttle etc. Now you get the joy of pulling apart your newly built computer just to fit a CPU cooler backplate
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 

 960T is a Zosma (Thuban), tjmax is 70C. These chips will go up to mid 80s without dying though  And hey, the silicon doesn't melt till about 95! hahaha... Although I'd never push it past mid 60s, and we all know prime95 adds ~12C to what you'd see under a 'real' full load. I was actually able to get this chip at 3.1GHz at 1.075v...ran cool as a mofo ^_^ Now I'm running 3.65GHz at 1.3v (stock).


----------



## Cheapy

Quote: 





kylezo said:


> 960T is a Zosma (Thuban), tjmax is 70C.


 


  Ah I hadnt realised they changed it for Thuban chips. Thanks for the head up.


----------



## music_man

wondering why realtemp and speedfan are 14 degrees hotter than bios? bios is the diodes afaik.
   
  darnit. it is throttling under linpack. i need to check the hsf seat.....


----------



## Shogunner

Ahh sorry, forgot to check the thread.
  Quote: 





gustavq said:


> Shogunner, what is the software that you are using to show your specs?


 

  
  I use Speccy.

  
  Quote: 





cakebaker said:


> What's the load temp on your Phenom?


 


  It's around 45-50 at it's worst actually, I was running a few things in the background, so it's at 41. It usually idles around 28-35 depending on room temperature.


----------



## music_man

it will not crash/shut down at 4,77ghz,it throttles but i decided that is much too high. i put it to 3.8 and it goes to 58c gaming 74c intelburn 32c idle. i just do not want to kill a new expensive machine for bragging rights. also i manually set the voltage in the bios to the stock spec. the board had the voltage way too high on auto. i read that is an issue with sandybridge boards. it is fine now. 3.8ghz is plenty for me. if nothing to brag about.


----------



## DanXbix

I'm running 4.3ghz 4core 8theaded load holds in wprime and great temps! No throlling! Can go higher But 4.3 is great. I'm on a laptop to Alienware m18x with a i7-2960xm extreme CPU - a fantastic mobile CPU


----------



## music_man

darnit! i read the cpu cores should be 5c above inside temp if properly cooled. i spent a lot to have them build this. it is 47-50c idle at 1600mhz and .768 volt today! it is 17c in here. what could possibly be going on? other weird thing is i read bios reading should be higher than core temp. since bios is being loaded. nope! my bios is 20c lower than core temp. i am very frustrated. perhaps bad sensor? if that means bad cpu...... in fact it did not throttle either. it stayed at 4.77 but got up to 102c in real temp. interestingly the chip did not shut down or throttle. so i am really guessing bad sensor. or is it a bad cpu? i really hope not. if you guys have an answer id really appreciate it. thanks.


----------



## music_man

it is now at 3.77 ghz on all six cores. cpu stock is 1.2 vcore. i have it down to 1.12 vcore. stable on intel burn 15 minutes. got up to 78c and did not throttle. tjcase is 72.6,tjmax 98,thermal cutout 111. i think perhaps my case sucks. anyways this is fine with me. very quiet and hits 62c on skyrim. i guess that's what i have. at least it o/c's a little on an undervolt. i see people maxing out at 50c on air but i just don't have that kind of luck. the joke is at stock speed the fan did not hit max rpm on intel burn but it went to 76c. oh well. i did not mean to hijack this thread we can return to specs. i think you already know mine


----------



## Jason7141

Sorry if I'm a little late to the party but here are my specs:
   
  Intel Core i7-2600k
  Gigabyte z68 
  8gb ram corsair
  560ti twin frozr II edition
  750 watt power supply
  haf 912 case
   
  What i need/want (dedicated sound card) anyone interested in helping me


----------



## Tilpo

jason7141 said:


> Sorry if I'm a little late to the party but here are my specs:
> 
> Intel Core i7-2600k
> Gigabyte z68
> ...




Why not get an external DAC instead of a soundcard? They usually tend to be superior in terms of sound quality, and additionally the extra software that soundcards bring has almost become redundant since games always use their own SFX engine. 
It does however depend a bit on your budget, and what headphones you are going to use with it. (or speakers, but then you might find that you're in the wrong forum)

If you are set on spending little get something like the Asus Xonar DS (~$50). One step up would be the FiiO E7 DAC, (~$90) and another step would get you the Audio-GD NFB-12 (~$200).


----------



## Jason7141

Hey thanks for the response,
  Well right now I'm using a pair of MDR-NC7's until I can get a nice pair of grado's or the ath-m50's. But to connect them to the pc i'm running them into a guitar rig mobile from native instruments which outputs better quality than the onboard sound card (don't know how much better it could be) but i was thinking about an e7 when i get better phones


----------



## kylezo

Conversations like this are why i love this forum, hahaha. 2 passions under one roof


----------



## Jason7141

Quote: 





kylezo said:


> Conversations like this are why i love this forum, hahaha. 2 passions under one roof


 


  Are you referring to this particular post of head-fi itself? Either way I agree


----------



## kylezo

Quote: 





jason7141 said:


> Are you referring to this particular post of head-fi itself? Either way I agree


 


 Just the way the conversation was like, "nice rig, what's your soundcard?" "oh, idk what sound signature I'm gonna have for my next cans so I'm not sure yet" hahaha


----------



## Emporio

Intel i7-950 cooled by a corsair H80
 Intel DX58SO mother board
 Nvidia 470 GTX
 2 x Seagate 1TB Harddisk
 Windows 7 Home Premium 
 Coolermaster GX 750W Bronze
 NZXT Hades Computer case
 3 x 2 GB RAM

 That's it, quite an old setup! Looking forward in getting a new GPU ^^ Recommendations anyone?


----------



## music_man

i have a new spec. h100. first one was defective. overheat shutdown in 10 seconds. second one idling at 18c, 36c under full load! cool! lol.


----------



## music_man

just a question guys please. i lowered the pwm fan control from stock 1.75 to 1.50. i was wondering if it can still go max fans if it needs to? thanks.


----------



## nihaz

Quote: 





music_man said:


> just a question guys please. i lowered the pwm fan control from stock 1.75 to 1.50. i was wondering if it can still go max fans if it needs to? thanks.


 


  I'm fairly sure that it depends on the motherboard... Some do and some don't.. Does it have a quiet mode or performance mode?
   
  IE: My CPU cooler fan is always rotating at the same speed, regardless of the temperature of the CPU
   
  edit: Why lower the fan speed? The cooler the better, even if the noise it quite loud...


----------



## music_man

because i am trying to listen to music in here lol. it is a digital controller on the front of the case bot the motherboard. they will still spin faster the hotter it gets but it is rpm per c. so i will not have as much cooling at any temp as on max. max is like a friggin jet engine. no good for me. right now it is turned way down and it is idling at 21c. prime95 gets it to 41c. that is good enough quite frankly imo. sure, the colder the better but i can't stand it that loud. at max i kind of guess i could break 5ghz but i don't really mind 4.5. the 6 core does not o/c as good as the 2500k to begin with.


----------



## blufox4900

Recently upgraded my computer
   
  8gb DDR3 1600 ram
  Sapphire HD 6850
  AMD FX-6100 Stock
  1TB Western Digital HD
  64GB Crucial M4 SSD
  Asrock 970 Extreme 3
  Antec BP550 psu
   
  Quick question, if the cpu socket is AM3+ should older amd cpu coolers work on it? I bought an aftermarket sunbeam core contact freezer cooler for my cooler but for some reason it wouldn't fit, off by just a cm but just won't fit regardless so I'm sticking with stock cooling for now.


----------



## Cheapy

Thought it was the same mounting as AM3 which is the same as AM2+. Only think I could think of was that you got somthing back to front etc or if its clips onto the CPU socket frame mayby that has changed slightly?


----------



## phantomgrave

- Antec 900
  - i5 2500K @ 4.3/4.4Ghz (can't remember)
  - Asus P8P67 Rev. 3
  - MSI GTX560Ti Twin Frozr II/OC
  - 8GB GSkill Ripjaws 1600
  - Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
  - Corsair HX850
  - Logitech MX518
  - Logitech K800
  - Windows 7 x64
  - LG W2353V
   
   
  I pretty much only boot it up to play Battlefield 3. Everything else is done on my 13" MBP (early 2011) with 8GB RAM and 500GB Seagate Momentus XT upgrades.


----------



## Astrozombie

So i moved my rig over to the plasma to play games, watch movies n such a whole lot easier. Then i set up some cheapo rig in my room, lol it was...
   
  P4 1.8ghz Willamette
  512mb DDR
  VIA Savage S3 graphics on MSI mobo, upgraded to Radeon 7000 hoping for native 1680*1050 and it still wouldn't work.
  80gb IDE HDD
   
  And i loaded Windows 7 on it! Haha! Not sure if it was the RAM or CPU, probably both, but it was just unusable! Replaced it with:
   
  Athlon 64 3000+ (which is awesome cause it was my first gaming rig CPU)
  1GB DDR
  Asrock board that just so happens to have AGP and PCI-E, woot!
  HD3450, woohoo full screen!
  Xonar DG
  200GB SATA
  I ordered that Logisys clear case i always wanted for it as well! Should be here soon.
   
  Of course my rig was:
  C2D@ 3ghz
  4gb
  GTX460
  Xonar DS
  WD 640GB
  Corsair modular 520W
   
  Family rig:
  Athlon X4 (soon to be X6)
  2GB
  GT240
  Xonar DG
  WD 320GB
  OCZ modular 500W
   
  All of them crunching World Community Grid, if head-fi doesn't have any crunching teams we need to start one! Helping find cures for cancer, mapping the internet, math equations or looking for aliens, it's all good fun!


----------



## Rebel975

I broke down recently and bought a HP ZR2740w. Such a beautiful monitor, and the anti glare coating doesn't bother me at all. I just need a graphics card with a displayport output and everything will be perfect.


----------



## music_man

guys i read most sandybridge boards like to run the "auto" vcore setting around 1.36. the cpu takes 1.2. won't this kill the cpu? i lowered it manually to get 1.2 which was actually setting it at 1.08 and got instant bsod. perhaps the readings and sensors are just not accurate on this stuff? i am just worried about killing the cpu. thanks.


----------



## 2deadeyes

ABS Canyon 695
  Corsair HX850 PS
  Intel i7 990X
  12GB RAM Corsair Dominator
  nVidia GTX580 SLI
  Samsung 830 512GB for OS/Apps
  Crucial M4 128GB for games (BF3 99% of the time)
  2x2TB Samsung Spinpoint for storage
  B&W MM-1 speakers
  Razer Mamba
  NEC LCD3090WQXi


----------



## nihaz

Quote: 





2deadeyes said:


> ABS Canyon 695
> Corsair HX850 PS
> Intel i7 990X
> 12GB RAM Corsair Dominator
> ...


 

 Beautiful set up, I must say though... that the mouse pad you have is incredibly large... what sensitivity do you usually use for BF3?


----------



## 2deadeyes

Thanks! I switch mouse sensitivity on-the-fly when scoped with sniper rifles in BF3 (I believe from 2000 to 800 dpi) so the large surface area is definitely needed. I also like the extra granular control I have when editing images, especially zoomed in, using the large mouse pad and low dpi.


----------



## Parall3l

I'll be receiving my cousin's old PC (LGA775 based) in April. Some of the planned upgrades are

 HD6850 (Might be bottlenecked by CPU)

 8GB DDR3

 60GB SSD

 New case (HAF922 ?)

 New PSU (Maybe)


----------



## Rebel975

LGA775 dual core or quad? If it's a quad you should be fine for now, although you'd certainly see better FPS with a newer processor tech like Sandy Bridge. If it's a dual core then that is going to be a serious bottleneck for sure. I guess I'd recommend you just overclock the CPU as much as you can until you can afford to upgrade to a newer platform.
   
  All bottlenecks aside, what seems to suffer the most with an older platform is your minimum FPS. Even if we both get the same Max FPS, your minimum might be a lot lower than mine. This means that you'll have those times where your FPS drops down so much that the game stutters or even seems to lag out for a moment.


----------



## Parall3l

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> LGA775 dual core or quad? If it's a quad you should be fine for now, although you'd certainly see better FPS with a newer processor tech like Sandy Bridge. If it's a dual core then that is going to be a serious bottleneck for sure. I guess I'd recommend you just overclock the CPU as much as you can until you can afford to upgrade to a newer platform.
> 
> All bottlenecks aside, what seems to suffer the most with an older platform is your minimum FPS. Even if we both get the same Max FPS, your minimum might be a lot lower than mine. This means that you'll have those times where your FPS drops down so much that the game stutters or even seems to lag out for a moment.


 


  It should be a dual core. With all the ivy bridge stuff coming out, the sandy bridge stuff is surely going to have a price drop, I'll take advantage of that later when it happens. The benchmark of the dual cores looks good enough for now. I'm not certain about overclocking since the PC is after all, a little old, and my cousin is the type that leaves them running all day.


----------



## Blurr

My computer specs, build this more than 2 years ago, have only upgraded the 460 GTX to an 6950 and replaced the HDD with a SSD for OS and applications. I use my samsung 40inch full HD tv as a monitor.
   
  Case: Coolermaster HAF 922
  CPU: AMD Phenom II 955 BE @ 3,6Ghz
  CPU cooler: Zalman CNPS 9700NT
  GPU: Sapphire 6950 1GB
  RAM: OCZ platinum 2x2GB
  MB: ASUS M4A785TD-M EVO
PSU: OCZ ModXstream 700Watt
OS drive: Crucial M4 64GB
Internal drive:
WD 500GB
 Pioneer DVR17J dvd writer
 External:
Lacie 250 and 320GB
Toshiba storE 1TB


----------



## s043uf

Been going through gear quite alot this last year, but finally landed on the following rig specs:
   
  NZXT H2 case
  Asus P67 Sabertooth B3rev
  i7 2600k running at 4,4Ghz
  Corsair H80 With Gentle Typhoon 1850:s in PnP
  16Gb Corsair Vengeance
  Asus 6970 DirectCu2
  Asus Xonar Essence ST
  Intel 320 120Gb
  3x2Tb Western Digital Green


----------



## jh4db536

800d w/ RX360 topmount, swiftech & xspc blocks, EKwater pump
2600k @4.5ghz
Gskill 2133 ram
Gtx480 w/ bios hacked and unlocked
Agility3+caviarblack in hybrid raid/smartresponse mode
Aerocool blackshark 140/120 fans


Sent from my T-Mobile G2 using Tapatalk


----------



## Rebel975

After numerous problems (infinite boot loop, voltage issues*, incredibly long start up times, an absolutely pathetic EFI**, etc.) my motherboard has decided to stop displaying any video (and no, it's not the GPU - the system just doesn't boot far enough for the GPU's to start up). I put my 2600K on eBay. I wanted to upgrade anyway. I picked up a 128GB Samsung 830 SSD and will get a new mobo/cpu soon. Socket 2011 here I come. 
   
  *1.45v for 4.5 GHz on the MSI mobo.1.32v for 4.5GHz on an ASUS board. The voltage also went up under load. So ridiculous. 
   
  **Up was down and down was up, childish color scheme/layout, etc. 
   
  Good riddance to a horrible motherboard.


----------



## SkinnyPuppy

Quote: 





parall3l said:


> It should be a dual core. *With all the ivy bridge stuff coming out, the sandy bridge stuff is surely going to have a price drop*, I'll take advantage of that later when it happens. The benchmark of the dual cores looks good enough for now. I'm not certain about overclocking since the PC is after all, a little old, and my cousin is the type that leaves them running all day.


 


  That has never happened before, so don't count on it.
   
  Anyway, my specs
   
  Intel i5-2500k
  HD 6870
  Gigabyte Z68MA-D2H-B3
  Intel 320 120gb SSD
  Barracuda green 2tb HDD
 Corsair 650watt PSU
  Corsair XMS3 RAM 8gb 1333
  Corsair 400r case


----------



## thedunnyman

Samsung Galaxy S2


----------



## thedunnyman

Anybody overclocked theirs so much that it burnt out?


----------



## HK47

i5 750 (Noctua NH-U12P)
 Asus Maximus III Gene
 Asus GTX580 
 8gb Corsair Vengeance
 120gb Samsung 830 SSD
 2tb Samsung Spinpoint F4
 1tb Samsung F3
 500gb Hitachi somethingsomething
 Corsair Obsidian 800D


----------



## Rebel975

I've ordered an AsRock x79 Extreme6 motherboard and recently picked up 8 GB worth of Samsung's 30nm ram. Supposed to be really good for stability/overclocking. I'll get an i7 3820 within a week.


----------



## Akin

HP DV6
  amd radeon hd 6770
  intel core i7 2630 qm
  15.6 inch 1366 x 768
  Superbly epic awesome mega beats audio (lol jk, I don't love it but I still have it)


----------



## Jodiuh

I just wanna take a moment to shat all over my corsair f90 ssd. From day 1, I dealt with f4's in brilliant blue. I tolerated having quick boot disabled for nearly a year to reduce thes occurrences. Late last month, @ midnight on Friday, in the middle of a very enjoyable BF3 session...she blue screened and never came back.

I learned 2 things from this.

1. Intel SSD's are worth their price premium.
2. Yearly backups don't cut it. 

Edit:...missed this...



rebel975 said:


> ...and recently picked up 8 GB worth of Samsung's 30nm ram. Supposed to be really good for stability/overclocking.




That stuff is AWESOME. I have an Asus P7p55d-e pro with a mild 3.6ghz oc and an i5 760. For a year I ran 2x2 of g.skills Eco cl7 and never had a ram related issue. The bf3 runs better on 8 claims eventually got to me and I tried corsairs low profile low voltage vengeance line...2x4. I got 7e's and never passed more than a few intel burn runs. Upping imc vtt and vdimm did nothing. Same results with some mushkin 1.5v cl8 2x4's. Finally, I gave these $40 wonder toys a shot. Not only are they stable @ 1.35 cl7, but I'm running 4x4 with no changes on the voltage front for imc or CPU! Worst packaging ever, sure. But between the intel ssd and this ram, I can sleep the pc again for the first time in a year without having to worry about any crashing. Thankfully, I've yet to see a blue screen with this combo. A+, highly recommend this ram.

Edit: They are actually shorter than the dimm clips, making ram sink vs heat sink fights a thing of the past.


----------



## DefQon

Copy and paste from [H]
   
  MAIN/Streamer:
  i7 960@4.3GHZ/ Noctua D14 Push/Pull config. (Spare 990x lying around haven't bothered installing)
  24GB Mushkin DDR3 2000 Black RidgeBack
  Asus Rampage II Extreme
  3xGTX465 Overclocked (2x ECS + 1x Gigabyte) - Got 3x GTX680's haven't installed awaiting PSU upgrade
  X-Fi Titanium Pro Fatal1ty
  5x2TB WD Green and Seagate LP, 1TB Hitachi, 2x750GB Samsung, 2x 120GB OCZ Vertex Plus SSD Raid 0
  Enermax 1250W Revolution85+ PSU
  Antec P280 Case
  Logitech G110 Keyboard
  Logitech G9 and Razer Deathadder v2 (use both)
   
  HTPC:
  Q6600@3GHZ
  4GB Kingston DDR2 800
  Gigabyte G31M-ES2L
  Kingston ssdnow v1 64GB SSD, 2x1TB Seagate Barracuda's
  Gigabyte GTS450
  TP Link WMP300N
  Gigabyte ODIN 720Watt PSU
  HP m8070a case
   
  NETBOOK for work/uni:
  Asus 1215N
  4GB DDR3 RAM upgrade
  500GB Hitachi drive upgrade
  12.1 inch LED screen
   
  And no I rarely or don't play games.


----------



## Jodiuh

Just an FYI, I saw 100 less watts than my 580 with 680. In game with a 2600k, I barely tapped 300 watts with one. person was too loud tho. Have fun with ur upgrade!!


----------



## Rebel975

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Edit:...missed this...
> That stuff is AWESOME. I have an Asus P7p55d-e pro with a mild 3.6ghz oc and an i5 760. For a year I ran 2x2 of g.skills Eco cl7 and never had a ram related issue. The bf3 runs better on 8 claims eventually got to me and I tried corsairs low profile low voltage vengeance line...2x4. I got 7e's and never passed more than a few intel burn runs. Upping imc vtt and vdimm did nothing. Same results with some mushkin 1.5v cl8 2x4's. Finally, I gave these $40 wonder toys a shot. Not only are they stable @ 1.35 cl7, but I'm running 4x4 with no changes on the voltage front for imc or CPU! Worst packaging ever, sure. But between the intel ssd and this ram, I can sleep the pc again for the first time in a year without having to worry about any crashing. Thankfully, I've yet to see a blue screen with this combo. A+, highly recommend this ram.
> Edit: They are actually shorter than the dimm clips, making ram sink vs heat sink fights a thing of the past.


 


   
  I've had tons of trouble with 4 x 2GB of OCZ Gold 1600 and a MSI P67-GD65. I read some awesome things about the Samsung ram though and went for it. As for the packaging- it really wasn't that bad. I just opened it with scissors.
   
  As for the SSD comment- yeah, I went for reliability over pure speed.


----------



## Jason7141

So with these awesome setups what do you guys play? i feel like that should be included here.


----------



## Blisse

jason7141 said:


> So with these awesome setups what do you guys play? i feel like that should be included here.





Rate the games you are playing recently


----------



## Rebel975

I was playing Skyrim and Kingdoms of Amalur before my computer bit the dust. I am playing at 1440p though- hence the computer specs.


----------



## Zulkr9

1090T @4ghz
  8gb ram
  HD7970
  1.5TB HDD
  128 GB SSD
  850 W Thermaltake Toughpower.
   
   
  I really need a new cpu and with GTX 680 out Im as pissed of as hell :/


----------



## Jodiuh

Ivy cometh soon.


----------



## DefQon

Quote: 





zulkr9 said:


> 1090T @4ghz
> 8gb ram
> HD7970
> 1.5TB HDD
> ...


 
  Just wait until Ivy Bridge comes out, current 1155 boards will be cheap by then and with a bios update will work with Ivy's. When ATi releases there next 7990 and 7870 series, the prices will be very competitve with nvidia's offerings by then, sell your 7970 and grab a cheaper 680 by then.


----------



## Rebel975

My build is finally up and running. I haven't had a chance to try overclocking or anything yet. As for now, all I can say is SSD's are SO worth it! One of the best PC purchases I've ever made for sure.


----------



## lungStruck

My primary computer:
   
  Apple iMac 27"
  Core i7 2.8Ghz
  12GB DDR3
  1TB HDD
  ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB


----------



## PLUSSOUND

Here are mine:
   
  Apple iMac 24"
  2.8 Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo
  4GB DDR2
  500GB HD
   
  "Macbook Mini" (Mod Dell Mini running OS X)
  2GB RAM
  100GB HD


----------



## jjacq

Mine is alright,

 AMD Phenom 925 II @ 2.8 quad
  12GB DDR3 RAM
  Radeon HD 5770
  some asus mobo I forgot about
 Xonar DG


----------



## Makiah S

... mine is scary
   
  look at your own risk!


Spoiler: Warning%3A%20SCARY



Pentium 4 3.02ghz
 3gb DDR Ram
 200gb HDD
 1 300Gb External HDD
 1 120Gb External HDD
 64mb On Board Video
 "19" Monitor with 1024x768 max Res


  Needless to say I need an upgrade... and I've got some college money coming in that will hopefully cover such an upgrade >.>


----------



## Mdraluck23

CPU: AMD Fx6100 @ 4.2ghz with Cooler master N520. Idles at 25C now that it isn't as cold out and the house is warmer, tops out at 43C or so. I may bump it to 4.4ghz when I get some more fans.
 RAM: 16gb Corsair DDR3 1600mhz 4x4
 GPU: Sapphire HD 6870
 SSD: Samsung 64gb
 HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200rpm
 Case: Cooler Master E430 case.
 MOBO: MSI 990XA-GD55
   
  What is the quietest fan out there? Performance isn't a HUGE deal because i have stock case fans and one OLD one right now.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





lungstruck said:


> My primary computer:
> 
> Apple iMac 27"
> Core i7 2.8Ghz
> ...


 
  Hackintosh would've been a better choice for you.
   
  My build, which is a little oudated:
  Phenom II X6 1100t@4.5GHz
  Corsair H70
  HIS Reference 2GB 6950 flashed to 6970 bios
  2x4GB Corsair Dominator advertised timings
  W7 Home Premium
  And for the person above me, Noctua has really quiet fans, I also like Scythe's Gentle Typhoon, but they're discontinued on newegg, I think they still have them on Amazon though.


----------



## OnyxVulpe

i7-2600
10gb DDR3 (2x4gb, 1x2gb)
128gm Crucial M4 SSD
2TB Hitachi HDD
Sapphire HD 6850

Runs everything I have, Battlefield 3 at High preset.


----------



## Szadzik

Just purchased a Fractal Design Define R3 and a Seasonic x-760 that will be replacing my Zalman HD-503 and Corsair GS800.


----------



## Greyson

Windows 7 x64
   
   
  Intel Core i5 Quad 2500k @  3.5GHz OC
   
  16GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 RAM
   
  EVGA P67 FTW K2 Sata 6GB/s USB 3.0 Motherboard
   
  EVGA GeForce GTX 560Ti GPU
   
  Asus Xonar D2X Soundcard
   
  Corsair TX850 850 Watt PSU


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





szadzik said:


> Just purchased a Fractal Design Define R3 and a Seasonic x-760 that will be replacing my Zalman HD-503 and Corsair GS800.


 
   
  And a pair of Noctua NF-S12B ULN 120mm to place them in the fron slots. The one that comes with it might go to the bottom, or not be used at all.


----------



## Makiah S

Quote: 





sniping said:


> Hackintosh would've been a better choice for you.
> 
> My build, which is a little oudated:
> Phenom II X6 1100t@4.5GHz
> ...


 

 Not bad, I got a new rig today with specs simmilar to that. In fact I'm getting a Sapphire HD 2gb 6950 Unlocked, so I want to OC it to 6970 bios as well :3 [tell me how you did it]
   
   
  but
   
  i5 3550 [not OC ing]
  Gigabyte UD3H Z77 Mobo
  2x4GB Corsair 1600mhz, [with advertised Timings as well]
  750 gb HDD
  600w OZC Modular PSU
  Rosewill Challenger Case
  21.5" 1920x1080 HD Monitor
  Sapphire HD 2GB 6950 Unlocked
  W7 Preium
   
  $900 total :3


----------



## Makiah S

Quote: 





greyson said:


> Windows 7 x64
> 
> 
> Intel Core i5 Quad 2500k @  3.5GHz OC
> ...


 

 Looks nice, but why 850W psu? Are you planning to do SLI? Still though nice rig. That 560 ti is a nice card [got my HD 6950 2GB New cheaper than a 560 ti :3]
   
  But it looks good [sorry for double post]


----------



## manaox2

Quote: 





mshenay said:


> Looks nice, but why 850W psu? Are you planning to do SLI? Still though nice rig. That 560 ti is a nice card [got my HD 6950 2GB New cheaper than a 560 ti :3]
> 
> But it looks good [sorry for double post]


 

  850w will be better regulated at a lower than spec'd draw and run cooler with less noise as well as give it room for future builds and upgrades. Its also why I really like to overspec the power supply a bit.


----------



## Makiah S

Quote: 





manaox2 said:


> 850w will be better regulated at a lower than spec'd draw and run cooler with less noise as well as give it room for future builds and upgrades. Its also why I really like to overspec the power supply a bit.


 

 Ahh, well there you go. The Spec for the card I'm getting is like 500w I think, and I'm using a 600w. I don't plan on upgrading this system anytime soon so it should be fine for now, but when I do look to upgrade I'm sure I'll go going with all High end stuff, more so than I did this time and build a whole new rig. It's fun learning about the new Technology. I've actually looked into a build a few times now, once in 2010, once in 2011, and now in 2012, and thankfully I'm buying in 2012, as the last 2 years I was broke >.>
   
  But for those who plan to upgrade, yea Over Spec'd would be a smart investment!


----------



## Dreaming Of A Better ... (Jun 19, 2020)

...


----------



## GodOfDeath

i7 970
  12gb of Patriot ram
  MSI GTX 570 TF3
  Asus ROG Rampage 3 Formula
  Logitech G5
  Filco Blue 104 WHITE
  Lian Li A05NB
  Gskill 120gb SSD
  WD 1TB Black
  Seasonic Gold 750w
  Buncha Gentle Typhoons AP-15


----------



## DougofTheAbaci

I'm running an iMac for my main machine (what? It's pretty, has good specs, and never breaks). But I just built myself a server with the following specs:
   
  Processor: 3.33 Ghz i3
  RAM: 8 GB
  OS Drive: 40 GB SSD
  Storage: 5 x 2 TB HDDs in ZFS raid1 array.
   
  Running Ubuntu Server 12.04. Best thing I ever did. Ran me just north of $1,000 for the entire thing (I had an extra 2 TB sitting around) and now I have one device that can handle all my media storage, backups, downloads, etc. Next step is to get a ruby environment up and running so I can do some local development. Also need to set up some git repositories... Fun times ahead!


----------



## Odium Child

i7 2600k @ 4.7ghz (1.33 vcore)
  16GB Corsair Dominator RAM
  Asus Z68 Deluxe Motherboard
  MSI Twin Frozr II 6950 GPU
  128GB Corsair SSD
  1TB Seagate HDD
  Corsair H100 Closed Water Loop
  Corsair 800D Case
  850W CoolerMaster Modular PSU
 Asus Xonar DG Sound Card


----------



## EnOYiN

dougoftheabaci said:


> I'm running an iMac for my main machine (what? It's pretty, has good specs, and never breaks). But I just built myself a server with the following specs:
> 
> Processor: 3.33 Ghz i3
> RAM: 8 GB
> ...




I never knew ubuntu was able to do ZFS. Is that a recent thing or did I just miss that all this time?


----------



## DougofTheAbaci

Quote: 





enoyin said:


> I never knew ubuntu was able to do ZFS. Is that a recent thing or did I just miss that all this time?


 
   
  It's not built into the OS, you have to install it. I went with ZFS for Linux (which does a kernel extension). So far the only downside I found was that it didn't auto-mount my zpool every time my server started up, but I was able to sort that pretty easily through Webmin. If you're interested in trying it out I highly recommend it. I found it to be quite easy. Nothing has gone wrong yet so I don't know how well it works on that front but everything I've heard about ZFS is that it's pretty rock solid, which is why I went for it over RAID.
   
  For anyone curious, It's running wired over a gigabyte network and I get around 70-100 MB/s of practical transfer speed. Better than USB 2.0 or FW800 so it works pretty well, I should say. Plus all the side benefits of having a server you can do whatever you want to.


----------



## EnOYiN

dougoftheabaci said:


> It's not built into the OS, you have to install it. I went with ZFS for Linux (which does a kernel extension). So far the only downside I found was that it didn't auto-mount my zpool every time my server started up, but I was able to sort that pretty easily through Webmin. If you're interested in trying it out I highly recommend it. I found it to be quite easy. Nothing has gone wrong yet so I don't know how well it works on that front but everything I've heard about ZFS is that it's pretty rock solid, which is why I went for it over RAID.
> 
> For anyone curious, It's running wired over a gigabyte network and I get around 70-100 MB/s of practical transfer speed. Better than USB 2.0 or FW800 so it works pretty well, I should say. Plus all the side benefits of having a server you can do whatever you want to.




I worked with some Solaris servers before, but I've never managed to learn enough about the system to make me want to run it on a server at home. ZFS being the only reason I would want to run a Solaris server in the first place. So, I might give this a shot with debian.


----------



## compuryan

Sager NP8150 15.4" laptop with AMD 6990m graphics. Kicks sooo much ass.


----------



## Yeti tunes

i7 ivybridge 3770s
  16gb ddr3 @ 1600
  z77 gigabyte mobo
  1050w corsair psu
  gtx680 evga
  2x 120gb ssds - agility 3s in raid 0
  2x 2tb western digitals in raid 1


----------



## stevenlongs




----------



## DefQon

Slight Rig update for me
   
  i7 990x @ 4.8ghz
  24GB DDR3 Mushkin Ridgebacks
  2x120gb OCZ Vertex Plus in Raid 0 (Win 7 Pro OS)
  2x2tb Seagate LP's in Raid 0 (Steam/Data)
  2x2tb WD Green in Raid 5 (Redundancy to Backup my Data Raid)
  2x1tb Seagate Barracuda in Raid 5 (Server 2k8 Data/Backup)
  1x1.5tb WD Green (Server 2k8 OS)
  Logic Point Raid Controller PCI
  Creative x-fi Fatal1ty Pro 
  3x EVGA GTX480 in Tri SLi
  Enermax 1250Watt PSU
   
   
  Upcoming:
   
  6x4TB WD Blacks
  6x8gb Corsair DDR3 1333 Ram
  Enermax Platimax 1500watt PSU


----------



## lord_tris

[size=1.4em] LIAN LI PC-Q08R [/size] [size=1.4em] ASUS P8H77-I[/size] [size=1.4em] 2600k[/size] [size=1.4em] 16gigs of Giel Black dragon[/size] [size=1.4em] 2-120g OCZ Vertex 3[/size] [size=1.4em] 1-40g OCZ agility 2[/size] [size=1.4em] 1-90g OCZ agility 2[/size] [size=1.4em] 1-500g WD Black[/size] [size=1.4em] Corsair h60[/size] [size=1.4em] Corsair AX850[/size] [size=1.4em] AMD 6950[/size] [size=1.4em] TT Meka G1[/size] [size=1.4em] Logitech G700[/size] [size=1.4em] Griffin PowerMate[/size] [size=1.4em] Logitech 5500 system with Cerwin vega book shelves and replaced sub with a sony[/size] [size=1.4em] I-inc 28 inch lcd[/size]


----------



## Wirbel

i7 930 @ 4.2
ASUS P6X58D-E
G.Skill PI 12800 6GB
eVGA GTX570
WD Caviar Black 640GB
OCZ Vertex 2 60GB (OS)
ASUS Essence STX
Corsair HW850 Modular
Corsair 800D
27" ASUS Monitor + 46" Sony LCD TV
   
CPU, GPU, and mobo are all on water + custom sleeving.
   
Probably won't upgrade anytime soon, but do plan to add more storage and probably increase my SSD storage.


----------



## Dreaming Of A Better ... (Jun 19, 2020)

...


----------



## lobotomizer

*Antec Three Hundred Two*
*Intel Core i5 2500K*
*corespeed: 4.5 GHz*
*voltage: 1.56 V*
   
   
*ASUS P8Z77-V Pro*
*Patriot Viper Xtreme DIV. 2 8GB 2X4GB*
*Sapphire Radeon HD 7850*
*memoryclock: 1375 MHz
 memory: 2.0 GBytes
 coreclock: 1185 MHz*
   
*Mushkin Chronos 120GB 2.5IN SATA3 Sandforce SF-2281 SSD*
*Western Digital Caviar Blue 500GB 16MB Cache 7200RPM 3.5IN SATA*
   
*Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850*
   
*Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo*

*7-Noctua NF-F12 PWM*
*1-Noctua NF-F14 *
   

   
*windows 7*
*Logitech Z-5500*
*CM Storm Trigger Mechanical*
*Steelseries Limited Edition Diablo III*
   
*Samsung S27A950D*


----------



## Rebel975

^Is all of that voltage on the CPU necessary? It seems excessive to begin with (wasn't the maximum recommended by Intel 1.52v?), but since it's only at 4.5GHz it seems really bad. When I had a 2600K it hit 4.5GHz (with Hyper Threading enabled) with only 1.32v. It ran Prime95 for 36 hours with those settings. Maybe I got lucky and got a really good chip, or perhaps you were unlucky?
   
  How is that monitor? I was considering it, but I took it off my list after my s27a550h developed serious color issues after only 2 days of owning it. I ended up getting a HP ZR2740w, and I love it.


----------



## SoupRKnowva

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> ^Is all of that voltage on the CPU necessary? It seems excessive to begin with (wasn't the maximum recommended by Intel 1.52v?), but since it's only at 4.5GHz it seems really bad. When I had a 2600K it hit 4.5GHz (with Hyper Threading enabled) with only 1.32v. It ran Prime95 for 36 hours with those settings. Maybe I got lucky and got a really good chip, or perhaps you were unlucky?
> 
> How is that monitor? I was considering it, but I took it off my list after my s27a550h developed serious color issues after only 2 days of owning it. I ended up getting a HP ZR2740w, and I love it.


 
   
  yeah i hit 4.5 GHz on my 2500k with 1.35v, but then again, that was the most that MSI motherboard would even let me use. it was Prime95 stable for over 12 hours


----------



## brunk

Intel 3960X @ 4.9ghz ~1.35v
  32gb RAM @ 1866 (downsized from 64gb, not needed yet) Corsair Vengeance
  Asus Rampage IV Extreme mobo
  1x AMD 7970 (not a hardcore/performance gamer atm)
  LSI MegaRAID SAS9280-16i4e with SSD key (CacheCade/FastPath) and BBU
  13x Seagate 2TB HDDs
  4x Intel 510 series 250GB SSDs
  Enermax MAXREVO 1350w PSU (future proof and has several/long connections)
  Enermax GT Fulmo case lined with FatMat noise absorption panels (hint...hint...!)
  Corsair H100 watercooler (gets the job done) push/pull Noctua 120mm fans
  CyberPower 1350VA / 810W PFC compatible Pure sine wave UPS
  BluRay Drive
  TV tuner card
  3x 27in. 1080p monitors
  Corsair Vengeance K90 Mechanical Keyboard (reds are so smooth and not click/clacky)
  Razer Naga Epic mouse (macros aren't just for gamers, neither is comfort lol)
  2x Razer Goliathus Mouse pads
  Razer Nostromo (Diablo III only)
   
  Amazingly, my rig only consumes about 275w under normal/idle condition. I use this for many, many things. You name it, I do it. Except for 3D modeling.


----------



## Rebel975

Quote: 





brunk said:


> Intel 3960X @ 4.9ghz ~1.35v
> 32gb RAM @ 1866 (downsized from 64gb, not needed yet) Corsair Vengeance
> Asus Rampage IV Extreme mobo
> 1x AMD 7970 (not a hardcore/performance gamer atm)
> ...


 
   
   
   
  I bolded the items I'm jealous of. Anyway, what's it like having 3 monitors? Any regrets? I went with a single high res screen instead of 3 low res ones.
   
  How much does your PC weigh? lol


----------



## Tilpo

rebel975 said:


> I bolded the items I'm jealous of. Anyway, what's it like having 3 monitors? Any regrets?I went with a single high res screen instead of 3 low res ones.



Well, in my opinion having three monitors is incredibly useful. It's one of those things you never want to lose once you've gotten used to it. 

Having one big screen is a lot more convenient with regards to have near fields on your desk, on the other hand. Currently I'm putting my speakers sideways and resting the two outer screens on the speakers, but this is far from practical as you can imagine.


----------



## brunk

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> I bolded the items I'm jealous of. Anyway, what's it like having 3 monitors? Any regrets? I went with a single high res screen instead of 3 low res ones.
> 
> How much does your PC weigh? lol


 

 My 3x monitors are actually the Samsung 3D ones that have 120hz capability. It was nice when I had 2x 6990's but have long sold off those lava rocks lol and glad i did. Hi-Res is nice, but I found more screen real estate and a non-blurry image higher on my priority list. You can't run all 3 on 3D, just one, but that 120hz is oh so nice.
   
  I also have an HDMI splitter that I use, that goes to a 47in. screen for even more viewing options.
   
  Good question on the weight lol. I'm certain it's ~50lbs. Maybe more... casters on the bottom are a lifesaver. I bought those HDDs when they were $70 a pop, just before the natural disaster. I'm almost done with my second data rollover.
   
  Tilpo is right, once you go 3 monitors, you can never go back. You've been warned! Oh, and that FatMat stuff is a god send, it stinks at first (tar) but goes away in a week. I'm surprised it hasn't been commonplace honestly.


----------



## Rebel975

You need some Nvidia 3D surround action. 2x GTX 690 anyone?
   
  I would love to get 3 monitors, but my console gaming doesn't mesh well with the idea. (I game on both my Xbox and my PC) Maybe next gen will let you game with multiple screens? I doubt it.


----------



## brunk

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> You need some Nvidia 3D surround action. 2x GTX 690 anyone?


 

 Yea if I cared about gaming that much currently. I'm patient and will eventually either get a second 7970, 690 or a future dual GPU card. Just not any time soon, which doesn't bother me.


----------



## Tilpo

rebel975 said:


> You need some Nvidia 3D surround action. 2x GTX 690 anyone?
> 
> I would love to get 3 monitors, but my console gaming doesn't mesh well with the idea. Maybe next gen will let you game with multiple screens? I doubt it.



Ah well, I don't really game at all so I'm fine with me trustworthy HD5770 (which is already overkill, actually).


----------



## Rebel975

I had a single GTX 580, and got a second with 1440p in mind. The rumors of the GTX680 were saying that it's a midrange card (meaning that it should of been the GTX 660 of this generation) that turned out to fair well against AMD's top of the line, so I think I'm going to wait until the 685, 780, or whatever it is comes out next.
   
  The only annoying thing in my set up at the moment is the fact that my GPU's don't have displayport outputs and my monitor has limited inputs (only 1 dual-link DVI and 1 displayport!). This means that I have to share the dual-link DVI with my xbox and PC - aka, I have to constantly swap cables.


----------



## Tilpo

rebel975 said:


> I had a single GTX 580, and got a second with 1440p in mind. The rumors of the GTX680 were saying that it's a midrange card (meaning that it should of been the GTX 660 of this generation) that turned out to fair well against AMD's top of the line, so I think I'm going to wait until the 685, 780, or whatever it is comes out next.
> 
> The only annoying thing in my set up at the moment is the fact that my GPU's don't have displayport outputs and my monitor has limited inputs (only 1 dual-link DVI and 1 displayport!). This means that I have to share the dual-link DVI with my xbox and PC - aka, I have to constantly swap cables.



My bro had a similar predicament and solved it by buying one of these, and it works really well. I can't find a DVI one, but I'm sure there are some.


----------



## Rebel975

Yeah, I have one of those. I run the Xbox's output to a HDMI switch, and then convert it to single link DVI for the monitor. The problem is that the PC is doing 1440p via dual-link DVI, and HDMI doesn't support resolution that high. So I'm pretty much stuck switching cables until I get a GPU with displayport, at which point I'll be able to run all HDMI sources > switch > DVI and PC > displayport.


----------



## devouringone3

I still never took time to read to find out about the best monitors, cases, and PC components. I feel like it's going to take my perfectionist self years of time, planning and energy, and many ten of thousands of dollars... and I'm not even playing current gen video games yet, I've stopped at Unreal Tournament 99 and Diablo II LoD.
   
  17" WXGA+ 1440 × 900 resolution Dell Inspiron 1720 (Christmas 2007)
  Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T7250 (2 X 2 GHz)
  NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT (256 MB)
   
  2 X 2 GB Crucial DDR2 RAM (266⅔ MHz)
  160 GB Hitachi Travelstar
  320 GB Western Digital Scorpio
  8X tray-load dual-layer DVD+/-RW
  5 USB 2.0
  2 USB 3.0
  SPDIF out
   
  BUT
   
  Topre Realforce 87U Silent, I have a really nice keyboard
   
  Which is decent to play Stepmania on (and with my Grados), the only video game I still play (casually).


----------



## Wirbel

Quote: 





devouringone3 said:


> and I'm not even playing current gen video games yet, I've stopped at Unreal Tournament 99 and Diablo II LoD.


 
   
  Sadly, you haven't missed much ... those games are still incredible compared to most games released since 2000


----------



## lobotomizer

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> ^Is all of that voltage on the CPU necessary? It seems excessive to begin with (wasn't the maximum recommended by Intel 1.52v?), but since it's only at 4.5GHz it seems really bad. When I had a 2600K it hit 4.5GHz (with Hyper Threading enabled) with only 1.32v. It ran Prime95 for 36 hours with those settings. Maybe I got lucky and got a really good chip, or perhaps you were unlucky?
> 
> How is that monitor? I was considering it, but I took it off my list after my s27a550h developed serious color issues after only 2 days of owning it. I ended up getting a HP ZR2740w, and I love it.


 

 I copied some video on youtube to do the overclock when I first got it, I did try to lower the voltage and run prime but it failed overnight so I just went back to the old profile and left it 
   
  The monitor is really nice for gaming, the colors are excellent, it has a bit of light leaking out of the bottom corner which seems to be a common problem but it doesnt bother me 
  I've only used 3D a couple of times on the PC  (cant figure it out with a PS3 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





) the 2D > 3D works great if you need a 3D fix at the push of a button
   
  You made me go into my Bios  I did the one button OC and ended up with 4.3GHz @ 1.3v I just ran prime for the last 24hrs with no problems and didnt hit 70°


----------



## Sylverant

Just built my first desktop 1 month ago:

 Monitor: HP LCD w2207 @ 1680x1050 (recycled from my old Vista HP Elite from 2007)
 mobo: Asrock z77 Extreme4
 cpu: Intel Core i7 3770k
 PSU: Corsair Builders Series CX600V2
 gpu: Gigabyte HD6850 OC 1GB
 Soundcard: Asus Xonar Essence STX (with stock drivers, Xonar Uni drivers are being difficult)
 Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212+
 Ram: Corsair Vengeance 1600 2x4GB
 Case: Cooler Master HAF912+200mm Cooler Master top fan
 Disc Drives: 2 Samsung generic dvd/cd combo's
 HDs: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SATA III SSD in AHCI and Seagate 1TB Barracuda HD (installed seperately)
  1983 IBM Model-M mechanical keyboard (given to me by a friend, and missing keycaps F12, keyboard 3, and numpad .)
   
  Yes, I know I cheapened out on the gpu and psu, but I did still have a price limit and that card is probably the best deal on the market for $150, although I'll be upgrading it in a year with my psu. Running everything nice and cool and stock. I threw in the generic's burners becuase they were dirt cheap, but will replace them with a Bluray Drive (for the top slot) and a Wii-rip compatible DVD drive on the bottom.

 This may sound a little strange, but rather than get an IPS, I'm hoping to upgrade to perhaps the best CRT Monitor ever made; the Sony FW900. The search has been long and treacherous, while rife with failure...but I will prevail! Won't mind sacrificing giving away my crap speakers at all 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Also, since no first build is without issues and mess-ups, I'll admit that my biggest mistake was breaking off the Barracuda's power pins and getting them stuck in the psu's SATA power cable. Works just fine due to the exactness of how the pins broke off, but I've included it in an image backup as I'll need to replace it alongside with my psu later down the road.


----------



## DougofTheAbaci

Why on earth would anyone ever get a CRT anymore? Better resolution? Nope. Better size? Nope. Better colors? Nope. Better power usage? Hahahahaha, nope.
   
  You are literally choosing inferior technology over easier to find and likely cheaper technology. This isn't choosing vinyl over FLAC, it's choosing ether for your anesthetic instead of novocaine. Sure, it works, but not nearly as well and is actually bad for you.


----------



## PFULMTL

I have a build I'm currently modding, but I'm rarely home. I still have to order parts but will do later. If you want to see what I have done 
 http://forum.coolermaster.com/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=15631

Current specs:
-Asus PZ77-I? hell I forgot
-Intel 2500K with EVGA Superclock sink
-8GB Corsair Vengeance LP 1600mhz,( temporary)
-750W Silverstone Strider Gold Evolution
-640GB Caviar Black (temporary)
-Cooler Master Elite 120 case

Future parts will be a single large SSD, GTX 670 or 660Ti, and a desktop amp/DAC that will fit inside the middle gap. Surprisingly, I don't play games much anymore. I play ROMs mostly.


----------



## Sylverant

Quote:


dougoftheabaci said:


> Why on earth would anyone ever get a CRT anymore? Better resolution? Nope. Better size? Nope. Better colors? Nope. Better power usage? Hahahahaha, nope.
> 
> You are literally choosing inferior technology over easier to find and likely cheaper technology. This isn't choosing vinyl over FLAC, it's choosing ether for your anesthetic instead of novocaine. Sure, it works, but not nearly as well and is actually bad for you.


 
   
  No need to be so serious, I was only playing. I know that any mid to high end $600 IPS panel will be better looking than even the best CRT, and that's being kind. I just kinda find the fact that the FW900 had features back in 2001 that LCD monitors didn't have till much later (2304x1440 resolution at 100Hrz) to be cool. It was my dream monitor for the longest time, and unless I can find it for around $100, I know it will stay that way. I'd probably just use it for games and DVD's at native res anyways since their are no drawbacks to lowering a crt's resolution.

 In the end I'll just get the Dell U2410 when it goes down further in price.


----------



## SoupRKnowva

Quote: 





sylverant said:


> Quote:
> 
> No need to be so serious, I was only playing. I know that any mid to high end $600 IPS panel will be better looking than even the best CRT, and that's being kind. I just kinda find the fact that the FW900 had features back in 2001 that LCD monitors didn't have till much later (2304x1440 resolution at 100Hrz) to be cool. It was my dream monitor for the longest time, and unless I can find it for around $100, I know it will stay that way. I'd probably just use it for games and DVD's at native res anyways since their are no drawbacks to lowering a crt's resolution.
> 
> In the end I'll just get the Dell U2410 when it goes down further in price.


 
  Go get a shimian, 27inch IPS using the same panels that dell and apple use, with no bells and whistles for 280 bucks shipped. ive had mine for like 6 months now, and its one of the best computer decisions ive ever made. i cant hardly look at cheapo tft panels anymore.


----------



## Sylverant

Quote:


souprknowva said:


> Go get a shimian, 27inch IPS using the same panels that dell and apple use, with no bells and whistles for 280 bucks shipped. ive had mine for like 6 months now, and its one of the best computer decisions ive ever made. i cant hardly look at cheapo tft panels anymore.


 
   
  Thanks for the great advice. I would never have thought to consider barebones Korean monitors with Cinema/Thunderbolt displays. The HP w2207 was great for 2007, but after 5 years I do want to upgrade the monitor. Just wondering, but which model do you own, and where did you buy it? The most popular model seems to be the Achieva Shimian QH270-lite. Even at $330 for a perfect pixel model, that's a hell of a price.


----------



## DefQon

Updated spec's for me ignore my old one posted here.
   
   


Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!



Main: i7 980x@4.3GHZ, 24GB Mushkin DDR3 2133 Black RidgeBack, Asus Rampage III Extreme, 3x GTX480's, X-Fi Titanium Pro Fatal1ty, 4x2TB Seagate LP, 2x2TB WD Black, 2x 640gb VelociRaptor, 2TB WD Green, 1.5TB WD Green, 2x120GB OCZ Vertex Plus SSD RAID 0 with TRIM, Enermax 1250Watt Revolution85+ PSU, Antec P280 Case.


   
   
  Sadly no optical drive, need an external usb enclosure for my LG Blu-ray drive.


----------



## DougofTheAbaci

souprknowva said:


> Go get a shimian, 27inch IPS using the same panels that dell and apple use, with no bells and whistles for 280 bucks shipped. ive had mine for like 6 months now, and its one of the best computer decisions ive ever made. i cant hardly look at cheapo tft panels anymore.




Agreed, they are the exact same LG panels but a fraction of the cost. Granted, corners are cut elsewhere but the display is going to look brilliant.


----------



## ocswing

Quote: 





dougoftheabaci said:


> Why on earth would anyone ever get a CRT anymore? Better resolution? Nope. Better size? Nope. Better colors? Nope. Better power usage? Hahahahaha, nope.
> 
> You are literally choosing inferior technology over easier to find and likely cheaper technology. This isn't choosing vinyl over FLAC, it's choosing ether for your anesthetic instead of novocaine. Sure, it works, but not nearly as well and is actually bad for you.


 
   
  Honestly, it depends on what you're going for. The top end LCD panels definitely are top performance, but they also cost a lot and to get a decent resolution you need to go 27" or above. 1900x1200 at 24" isn't really that great. With the older CRTs you can get very similar performance and better resolution, but with a smaller monitor size. Pixel density matters to some people.


----------



## DefQon

Quote: 





ocswing said:


> Honestly, it depends on what you're going for. The top end LCD panels definitely are top performance, but they also cost a lot and to get a decent resolution you need to go 27" or above. 1900x1200 at 24" isn't really that great. With the older CRTs you can get very similar performance and better resolution, but with a smaller monitor size. Pixel density matters to some people.


 
  CRT's = bad for your eyes!


----------



## SoupRKnowva

Quote: 





sylverant said:


> Quote:
> 
> Thanks for the great advice. I would never have thought to consider barebones Korean monitors with Cinema/Thunderbolt displays. The HP w2207 was great for 2007, but after 5 years I do want to upgrade the monitor. Just wondering, but which model do you own, and where did you buy it? The most popular model seems to be the Achieva Shimian QH270-lite. Even at $330 for a perfect pixel model, that's a hell of a price.


 
   
  i wouldnt worry about the perfect pixel, me and none of my friends who have bought them have had any trouble of even a single bad/stuck/dead pixel without. though if it makes you feel better, do it, its still a ridiculous value. And ive got the QH-270 lite, its amazing.
   
  Ive got an acer 24in cheapo tft thing that i was using till i got it, and i figured i would use it for like IRC and Foobar and run two monitors, but i dont, because i cant stand to look at it back and forth with the IPS right next to it -_-


----------



## Sylverant

!680x1050 is pretty bad at 22" to be honest. Games and HD look fine at a normal 2-3 feet distance, but dvd's...ugh, I have to sit 5-8 feet away from the monitor befor I'm satisfied with the picture.How does a high resolution 2560x1440 27" inch ips panel deal with displaying dvd's? Will they be entirely unwatchable at a normal 3 foot distance?


----------



## DougofTheAbaci

Quote: 





ocswing said:


> Honestly, it depends on what you're going for. The top end LCD panels definitely are top performance, but they also cost a lot and to get a decent resolution you need to go 27" or above. 1900x1200 at 24" isn't really that great. With the older CRTs you can get very similar performance and better resolution, but with a smaller monitor size. Pixel density matters to some people.


 
   
  That's what my work display is, works pretty fine for me. Granted, a 27" is better (which is what I have at home) but more expensive. As for same resolution, no. CRTs top out at 72ppi, anyway, where most moder LCDs are 96ppi+. There is literally no reason to get a CRT. Worse refresh rate, as well. And, you know, cancer. So... Yeah. CRT if you want worse tech for more money. Good plan.
   
  Quote: 





sylverant said:


> !680x1050 is pretty bad at 22" to be honest. Games and HD look fine at a normal 2-3 feet distance, but dvd's...ugh, I have to sit 5-8 feet away from the monitor befor I'm satisfied with the picture.How does a high resolution 2560x1440 27" inch ips panel deal with displaying dvd's? Will they be entirely unwatchable at a normal 3 foot distance?


 
   
   
   I have a 24" screen at work (Dell UltraSharp) and it's fine for most of my work. As for the DVD thing... Well, of course. You're blowing up a 640x480 image to 1680x1050! Of course it's going to look like crap! Some systems (not screens, this is done through the OS) can scale up the picture, but it's rarely as good as HD, when not done professionally.
   
  A bigger screen won't help with that. Getting those movies in HD will.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





sylverant said:


> !680x1050 is pretty bad at 22" to be honest. Games and HD look fine at a normal 2-3 feet distance, but dvd's...ugh, I have to sit 5-8 feet away from the monitor befor I'm satisfied with the picture.How does a high resolution 2560x1440 27" inch ips panel deal with displaying dvd's? Will they be entirely unwatchable at a normal 3 foot distance?


 
  Who watches movies at 3 feet from the screen? Do you also watch TV from 3 feet away?


----------



## Sylverant

Quote:


szadzik said:


> Who watches movies at 3 feet from the screen? Do you also watch TV from 3 feet away?


 
   
  No, but I do use my computer monitor at around that distance, as I thought most people do. Siiting far from a 22" inch monitor is annoying, but a 27 inch would be just fine.


----------



## DougofTheAbaci

Quote: 





sylverant said:


> Quote:
> 
> No, but I do use my computer monitor at around that distance, as I thought most people do. Siiting far from a 22" inch monitor is annoying, but a 27 inch would be just fine.


 
   
   Optimal is supposed to be something like two feed.


----------



## GeorgeStorm

I recently got a U2711, and use it for watching film/tv quite a lot, haven't watched any standard definition content on it yet really, but it's fine for watching stuff on, when watching something on it I'm a couple of feet back, not sure, probably 2-3 and it's good.
   
  Current specs are a llano based setup, with a GTX570, 256gb M4, 4 x 2tb hdds, Asus Xonar Essnce ST (soon to be replaced by an E7/E9 combo) all in a fractal arc mini (cpu cooled by a 240 rad in the roof)
  Plugged into that are my monitors: a U2311H in vertical on the left, then a U2711 as my main (in horizontal )
  Speakers are a pair of SOLO6Cs, headphones are DT770 pros.
  Keyboard is a KBC Poker with cherry blacks, and mouse is a CMStorm Sentinel Zero-G
   
  However I'm in the process of upgrading, downsizing and going back to air cooling (well, going to use a H70) since it's just less hassle when moving it to/from uni.
   
  Just picked up a Lian Li V351, will be putting a mitx board in (not sure which yet), i7 870, same drives, gpu etc.


----------



## fuzzyash

im currently using a asus k53e laptop (got it last year)
  intel i5 2410 cpu, 8 gb ram, 750 gb hard drive @ 5400 rpm, and crappy inte hd3000
  nothing compared to the computers around here but i got it at $599, which is still a better deal than most of the stuff out there today...


----------



## LordShad0w

Current all-rounder/work rig consists of the following:

 2x Asus ML239 23" IPS
 Asus Xonar Essence ST
  Intel i5 2500k (will upgrade to i7 once I get busier/more clients)
  Kingwin 850watt modular PS 80+Gold
  16gig Corsair Vengeance LP 8-8-8-24
  EVGA Geforce GTX 550Ti
  2x Samsung 128gig SSD for OS and Programs
  2 tb WDEARX 7200rpm and 64mb cache green drive for music only (internal)
  2tb WD My Book for movies only
  4x 2tb WDEARX 7200rpm and 64mb cache green drives in ProBox for backup purposes


----------



## Makiah S

My First all around/Gaming Rig
   
intel i5 3550 cpu
AMD Radieon 6950 HD Sapphire OC edition
OCZ 600 Watt psu
8 Gb Corsair Vengance [8-8-8-24]
1 750gb Drive [OS Programs Videos]
1 200gb Drive [More Videos]
1 120gb External HD [Once again more Videos]
1 320gb External HD [Music]
1 Zowie Celeritas CherryMx Brown Keyboard
  1 Corsai M60 Mouse
1 Sony 16" 1024x720 LCD 
1 Acer 23'' 1920x1080 WideScreen LCD  {primary display}
   
  And within about 6-7 months I'm looking to sell this and build another!


----------



## Jodiuh

Got a new toy. 







Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## kskwerl

mshenay said:


> My First all around/Gaming Rig
> 
> intel i5 3550 cpu
> AMD Radieon 6950 HD Sapphire OC edition
> ...




Mechanical keyboards ftw!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


----------



## SoupRKnowva

Quote: 





jodiuh said:


> Got a new toy.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  It makes it less fun when you block out the identifying labels -_-


----------



## Sylverant

Quote: 





mshenay said:


> 1 Zowie Celeritas CherryMx Brown Keyboard


 
    
  Nice keyboard 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Quote:


kskwerl said:


> Mechanical keyboards ftw!
> Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2


 
   
  Agreed. As much as I love the 1983 Model-M, I just picked up a refurb Professional S daskeyboard, and I have to say that the lighter press is quite nice. The extra usb 2.0 hub is real convenient for mobile stuff too.


----------



## PFULMTL

Some progress with buying parts for my rig.  Now the specs are:

 -Intel 2500K + EVGA Superclock.
  -Asus P8Z77-I
  -8GB Corsair Vengeance LP
  -Silverstone 750W Strider Gold Evolution
  -Cooler Master Elite 120
   
  New:
  -256GB Samsung 830 SSD
  -GTX 660Ti
   
  Last missing piece is a great USB DAC/amp small enough to fit in a MITX case.   I have a Fiio E7, but it's just not wowing me.  The real sad part is that although I built a new rig, I'm never home long enough to even use it or game.  I after I got the new parts, I didn't even install it.  I just took them out of the boxes and they are just sitting on the floor.  $500 wasted.


----------



## ElectroGeek007

I've updated many parts in my computer since a year or so ago when I last posted in this thread, so...
   
   

  *[size=inherit]CPU*  Intel Core i5 2500K @ 4.5 GHz
corespeed: 4.5 GHz GHz
voltage: 1.38 V





 *[size=inherit]RAM*  G.Skill Ripjaws: 16GB @ 1600 MHz
size: 16 GBytes

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Optical Drive*  Yes
   

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Monitor*  Samsung B2230
   

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Power*  Thermaltake TR2 750W
   

 [/size]

  *[size=inherit]Motherboard*  Asus P8Z68-V LX
revision: Rev X.0x

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Hard Drive*  256 GB Crucial M4
count: 1
capacity: 256 GBytes

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Cooling*  Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus
   

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Monitor*  HP L1710
   

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Case*  Corsair 400R
   

 [/size]

  *[size=inherit]Graphics*  Gigabyte Radeon HD 7950
memory: 3072 MBytes
coreclock: 1000 MHz
memoryclock: 1300 MHz

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Hard Drive*  2TB Seagate Barracuda XT
capacity: 2000 GBytes

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]OS*  Windows 7 Professional x64
   

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Keyboard*  Ducky Shine DK9008S (Blue)
   

 [/size]

 *[size=inherit]Mouse*  Razer TRON mouse

 [/size]


[/size]   
  Whoa, I can copy-paste directly from OCN and have the formatting still intact! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  Coming soon:
  Overlord Computer Tempest X270SE monitor (2560x1440!)
  and probably another Radeon 7950 to run in CrossfireX, due to the above monitor


----------



## adamschuetze

Oh my computer is so old, circa 2003 I'd guess. It was top of the line at that time, at least 

Asus P4C800 motherboard
2 GB Corsair RAM
Intel P4 HT at 3.2 GHz
2x WD 740 Raptor in a RAID 0 array (OS and software)
1x WD 1.5 TB SATA (data)
M-Audio Audiophile 2496 
ASUS GeForce 4600Ti

Still runs wicked fast.


----------



## Dyaems

All stock and outdated could prolly upgrade a thing or two in my pc specs, but not sure what it is and still looking for a cheap deal xD
   
  Thermaltake Element T Case
  Intel Q8200 with Stock HSF
  Palit GTX260
  MSI P45 Neo3 FR
  2x 2GB OCZ Platinum 1066mhz PC8500
  Modded Creative Soundblaster Live! CT4620 replaced all capacitors with Nichicon for audio caps
  Corsair TX650
  80GB Maxtor SATA HDD for OS only (yep it is still working perfectly without any bad sectors)
  2TB WD Caviar Green (dead, currently under RMA)
  2x 640GB WD Caviar Green and Black
  Samsung Optical Drive
   
  Samsung T220
  dying Logitech G5
  dying Logitech Illuminated Keyboard
  ...and a piece of yellow paper for mousepad =)
   
  pros use a piece of yellow paper for mousepad!


----------



## mechgamer123

Looking to build a new computer soon, probably around black friday so I can grab some good deals. Right now my desktop is:
  AMD Athlon X2 5000+ 2.6Ghz
  OEM HP motherboard
  3GB DDR2 533 RAM (Already have 16GB of DDR3 1600 ram to replace this when I get a new mobo)
  2 1TB internal drives (WD Black and Seagate Barracuda)
  MSI NX8800gt
  500W PSU
  Antec 900
  Logitech G15 1st generation
  Logitech MX Revolution
  Dell 23" Monitor main, HP 19" secondary
   
  New addition:
 OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD.
   
  That SSD really makes my PC fly again. But I'm looking to get an i3/i5 depending on the budget I have, with a decent motherboard.
  Any suggestions?

 Also, my HTPC:
  Silverstone HTPC case
  Biostar TA75M
  AMD A6-3650 APU
  4GB DDR3 1600 (Currently have the 16GB waiting to be dropped in my Desktop here as well)
  OCZ Vertex 4 64GB SSD (Yes, Newegg had a sale on OCZ vertex 4's as well as a coupon for buying the APU)
  Seagate barracuda 320GB HDD for Music and Ero-Games 
  2TB external WD Essentials with media


----------



## tool462

Do you live near a Fry's or MicroCenter?
   
  If you don't need anything fancy from your motherboard, you can get a combo deal for next to nothing.


----------



## mechgamer123

tool462 said:


> Do you live near a Fry's or MicroCenter?
> 
> If you don't need anything fancy from your motherboard, you can get a combo deal for next to nothing.



Unfortunately I do not, the closest one is in California, which is about a 12 hour drive from where I'm at.


----------



## ZGojira

Current Specs:
  Silverstone Raven RV02 White
  Intel i7-3930K @4.6GHz + Corsair H100 (2x Aerocool Sharks)
  ASUS P9X79 Pro
  8 x 4GB 1600 Kingston HyperX + Kingston HyperX RAM Cooler
  120GB Kingston HyperX SSD
  1TB 7200 Segate HDD
  ASUS 6970 DCII + Gigabyte 6970 Crossfire
  1000W Silverstone Strider Gold
   
  Connected 'Stuff':
  5x 23" LG IPS Monitors
  Razer Naga
  Razer BlackWidow Ultimate
  Razer Nostromo
  3 Switch Foot padel
  PS2 Controller (Joybox)
  Roccat Apuri
  3x USB hubs
   
  Audio:
  onboard --toslink--> Behringer DEQ2496 --toslink-> ASUS Essence One -> Audio Technica A2000X


----------



## William007

My computer sucks, but i do have a 30mbps internet connection


----------



## quincyjo

I have 2, maybe 3 main laptops:
   
  Portable:
  Sony Z1
  i7-620m
  6gb RAM
  256gb SSD
  640gb HDD
  1080p 13.1" 90% gamut LCD
  Nvidia gt 330m
  3.6lbs
   
  Test system:
  MSI gx640
  i7-740qm
_*Nvidia Quadro K5000m 4gb gddr5 *_(basically a GTX 680m, one helluva upgrade)
  8gb RAM
  random 250gb HDD
  random 20$ 15.4" Matte WSXGA+ lcd
  custom made 230 watt power adapter
   
  More stable gaming system:
 Gateway nv78 w/ steampunk mod
  Core 2 Quad extreme q9200 ES 
  HP ATI 5870m gddr5 (also one helluva upgrade)
  Clevo x7200 heatsink
  17.3" LED backlit, matte 1080p LCD
  same random 250gb HDD


----------



## micrors4

I have an Alienware M11X for a laptop:
  Core 2 Duo OC @ 1.8GHz
  Nvidia GT335m
  8GB of G.Skill RAM
  256GB SSD
   
  Desktop:
  AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE OC @ 4.0GHz
  8GB of G.Skill RAM
  2 x 1TB hardrives RAID 0
  2 x GTX460 SLI can't remeber the OC off the top of my head
  Antec Khuler H20 120 CPU cooler (liquid cooler)
  24" View Sonic 1080p


----------



## cassull

I have a desktop and a Thinkpad for class.
   
  Desktop: 
   
  Intel i7 2700k
  4 x 4GB G.Skill DDR3 RAM
  Cooler Master HAF 922 case
  Corsair TX650W PSU
  Asus Xonar DX soundcard
  Samsung 830 256GB SSD w/1TB Hitachi HDD
  Galaxy GTX460 video card (it was cheap!)
  Crossover 27" LED 2560x1440, Dell U2412M 1920x1200 , Dell U2311H 1920x1080p monitors. Bothers me that they're all different resolutions, but they were on sale at different times and I couldn't resist 
   
  Laptop: 
   
  Lenovo Thinkpad T430s
  I can't quite recall the specs, even though I just got the laptop, I don't use it very often. Has an i5 Ivy Bridge processor, 6GB RAM, Intel 120GB SSD, Intel onboard graphics... Nothing special.


----------



## Speedv1

Yix! Just placed an order for an Alienware M17X:
   
  i7-3840QM
  Radeon 7970M
  12GB DDR3 Ram
  1 TB HDD (have a Crucial M4 128GB at home I'll be installing in it)
  1920x1080 (non-3D, don't like it, won't buy it)
   
  And oddly the sales agent was really nice and provided some discounts! Down from ~$3000 to just under $2400 (with a 3 year accident protection warranty)
   
   
  Now the waiting game begins..


----------



## micrors4

You will definitely be happy with the Alienware, mine is three years old but can still hold its own to much newer laptops when it comes to gaming and handles every game I throw at it.  They are built like tanks and meant to last, sounds like a good setup, but report back on what you think of it when you get it.


----------



## Pianist

My current desktop config:
   
  Intel i5 2500k @ 4 Ghz
  Gigabyte P67-UD3-B3 mobo
  Crosair XMS3 DDR3 1600 Mhz 8Gb
  OCZ Vertex 2 60 Gb SSD for OS
  Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB HDD for data
  Asus GTX670 Direct CUII 2 Gb @ 1035/7200
  ViewSonic vx2250vm 1080p LED
  Audigy 2 ZS with kx Project drivers + any of my cans for sound
  Cheap, crappy generic case, mouse, keyboard (lol, don't care about these things)


----------



## C38368

I can't upload pics from work, so I'll try to remember to do that later. Maybe. But here are specs:
   
  Intel Core i5-760 @ 4.0GHz
  Gigabyte GA-P55-UD3R
  2x2048MB OCZ Reaper HPC PC3-10666
  Sapphire HD5870 Eyefinity6
  M-Audio Audiophile 2496
  Western Digital 6400AAKS (Windows 7 Ultimate)
  Western Digital WD20EARX (general data)
  Western Digital 1TB of unrecalled model (music)
  Lite-On external USB DVD­±RW
  Seasonic X-560
  Danger Den Q20 ("Abyss" ATX, dual bay front)
   
  Cooling provided by:
  EK Waterblocks HF-1 Supreme
  Danger Den DD5870
  HWLabs Black Ice SR-1
  Laing DDC3.2
  XSPC BayRes Two, single
  Scythe S-Flex SFF-21F (x3)
  And an indeterminate length of 7/16" ID Masterkleer
   
  I have a 2x4096MB module kit of Crucial PC3-stupidlyfasterthanIneed en route from Newegg as I write this, as the lowest memory multiplier that Gigabyte provides is x6, which effectively limits BLCK overclocks to ~190MHz. Hopefully, I'll break 4.5GHz on this CPU then. It's good to at least 4.6...
   
   
  Quote: 





mechgamer123 said:


> Unfortunately I do not, the closest one is in California, which is about a 12 hour drive from where I'm at.


 
  You're in Washington? There is a Fry's about 20 miles south of Portland, in Wilsonville. I have no idea if that's actually any more convenient for you, but it's something...


----------



## BoneEnterprise

Oh one of these threads?
  Here is my meager little rig.
   
*CPU*: Intel i7-2600K w/Noctua NH-D14
*MoBo*: ASUS P8Z77-V PRO
*RAM*: 16 GB Samsung DDR3 PC3-12800
*GPU*: MSI GTX 680 Lightning
*Audio*: ASUS Xonar ST
*Monitor*: ASUS VW266H 25.5" Monitor
*Case*: LianLi PC-V2000Bplus II
*PSU*: Corsair 850HX
*OS Drive*: Crucial M4 MLC 512 GB SSD
*Storage Drives*: 4 x 2 TB Samsung F4 HD20UI


----------



## Speedv1

So I opted out of the whole Alienware M17X/M18X idea and decided to build a custom rig. Got it all ordered and should be here next week, here are the specs:
   
Processor: i5-3570k ($200)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V Pro ($200)
Ram: Corsair Vengeance LP 16gb ($80)
GPU: Gigabyte HD 7970 ($370)
Power: Corsair AX750 (modular) ($150)
Wireless: D-Link Xtreme Wireless N (DWA-566) ($50)
HDDs: Intel 330 180gb ($100) and Seagate 2TB 3.5" 7200rpm ($100)
Media: Asus Blu-ray Writer ($50)
Case: Coolmaster HAF XM ($120)

Monitor: LG IPS231P ($180)
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow ($90)
Mouse: Deathadder (already own)
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium (already own)
   
Excited!


----------



## micrors4

Let me know how it runs crysis, always interesting to see how my aging system competes with newer ones.


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





micrors4 said:


> Let me know how it runs crysis, always interesting to see how my aging system competes with newer ones.


 
   
  Unmodded Crysis isn't worth running!


----------



## DefQon

My comp eats Crysis for breakfast.


----------



## micrors4

My computer can run Crysis 2 with the patch for ultra graphics, the HD texture pack, and Maldo's HD texture pack at 50 FPS, not bad considering the graphics cards are 2 years old and it has an AMD Phenom II X4, mind you they are all heavily overclocked and water cooled.


----------



## Speedv1

I don't actually own Crysis and not too sure when I'll get to it haha. I'll be running NFS Most Wanted, Skyrim, GTA IV, Mass Effect 3, and a couple others. And it's all arriving tomorrow! Already told everyone to leave me alone tomorrow lol .


----------



## FatmanSize48

i5 3570k 4.6 GHZ, using H100 cooling
  2x GTX 670 2 GB in SLI, very OCd (Forgot how much I OCd em)
  16 GB 2800mhz RAM
  128 GB SSD
  1 TB 7200 RPM HD 
  1 TB Intellipower HD (Music)
   
  Keyboard: Das Keyboard (The best keyboard I've ever used, lol I'm only 15)
  Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Black Edition (No LEDs=great!)
   
  Eats Crysis 3 alpha for breakfast


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





speedv1 said:


> I don't actually own Crysis and not too sure when I'll get to it haha. I'll be running NFS Most Wanted, Skyrim, GTA IV, Mass Effect 3, and a couple others. And it's all arriving tomorrow! Already told everyone to leave me alone tomorrow lol .


 
  Make sure to check out all the graphics/texture mods for Skyrim/GTA/ME3.  You don't want to fail to impress your console playing friends with your vastly superior graphics.


----------



## Rebel975

I play Skyrim with like 30 mods at the moment. The only one that has killed my performance so far was Skyrim HD. But then again, I am already playing at 1440p, so...

GTX 580 SLI
i7 3820 @ 4.5GHz
8 GB of ram
etc.


----------



## dlwilladsen

3 socket 775 pc's and 1 NAS running WHS.  2 pc's are XP, 1 is Win8.  Keyboard & mouse are physically connected to an XP pc, but control that XP and the WIN8 pc via MaxiVista software, and the other XP pc via logmein.com.  Win8 pc has sound card (Omega Claro Plus), USB to an Ayre DAC, and jRiver Media Center software player.  Music files all stored on NAS as .flac.


----------



## skinnygamer12

Cooler Master HAF X
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T with Cooler Master Hyper 212
ASUS Crosshair V Formula
8GB G.SKILL Ripjaws @ 1600MHz
EVGA GeForce 560Ti 448 core
HT Omega Striker 7.1 (will soon be upgraded to ASUS Xonar STX)
60GB OCZ Solid III SSD
750GB WD Caviar Black
Corsair AX850 850W modular PSU

Runs BF3 on ultimate at 1080p at 40+ fps so I'm happy


----------



## proton007

i7-3770k , overclocked to 4.4 GHz 
  Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
  Noctua NH-D14
  Kingston HyperX Genesis 8GB Low Profile RAM
  MSI Radeon 7850 Twin Frozr III
  Corsair Force GT SSD 64GB
  WD Caviar Black 1TB
  WD Caviar Blue 1TB
  Seasonic X 760W Modular PSU
  Antec P280 Chasis
  2x Noctua NFP12 Intake Fans.


----------



## tool462

Seasonic X 760...one of the sexiest PSU's ever made.


----------



## Speedv1

So just got everything and put it together, I changed a couple things and this is now what I'm running:
   
  i5-3570k
  Asus P8Z77-V Pro
  Cool Master Hyper 212
  Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB
  Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970
  Adata SX900 256GB SSD
  Seagate 2TB 7200rpm HDD
  Asus Blu-ray/Dvd Burner
  Corsair AX750
  Cool Master HAF XM case
   
  Really impressed with how it all runs!


----------



## micrors4

Quote: 





speedv1 said:


> So just got everything and put it together, I changed a couple things and this is now what I'm running:
> 
> i5-3570k
> Asus P8Z77-V Pro
> ...


 
  How do you like that CPU cooler, I heard they were great value and was thinking about getting one for another pc I have laying around so it doesn't run as hot in the summer.


----------



## Speedv1

micrors4 said:


> How do you like that CPU cooler, I heard they were great value and was thinking about getting one for another pc I have laying around so it doesn't run as hot in the summer.




Well I haven't over clocked my rig or anything but from reviews it looks excellent (especially when you consider it's low price)


----------



## PintoDave

My system is outdated, the last upgrade was a year after I initially built it.
   
   
  Seasonic 600W SLI PSU
  2x Logitech MX Revolutions -- Icemat 2nd Edition: Black
  Plextor 16x SATA DVD-RW -- LG 16x DVD-/+RW/RAM
  2x eVGA 7800GT OC SE in SLI - IBM P260 Trinitron 21" & Samnsung 997DF Diamondtron 19"
  2x 1GB Mushkin SP3200 (3-3-3-8)
  Seagate 200GB SATA -- WD 120GB SATA -- Seagate 300GB SATA
  939 AMD A64 3800+ X2 @ 2450 -- ASUS A8N-SLI
  HDA X-Plosion DTS -- Logitech Z-680 rev. 2


----------



## skinnygamer12

micrors4 said:


> How do you like that CPU cooler, I heard they were great value and was thinking about getting one for another pc I have laying around so it doesn't run as hot in the summer.




I've got the Hyper 212 and its great. Keeps my six core 1100T beast under 50C under load. If your case has room for it its gotta be the best cooler at the price


----------



## Sylverant

Quote:


skinnygamer12 said:


> I've got the Hyper 212 and its great. Keeps my six core 1100T beast under 50C under load. If your case has room for it its gotta be the best cooler at the price


 
   
  I have the 212+ and would also have to agree


----------



## micrors4

I know they are fairly tall, but how tall are they? Would they fit in your typical case from an off-the-shelf computer?


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





micrors4 said:


> I know they are fairly tall, but how tall are they? Would they fit in your typical case from an off-the-shelf computer?


 

 You need to make sure your chasis can accomodate the height. Typically they'll list it in the specs. If you buy a chasis, mid towers can accomodate 160mm. But I don't think off the shelf chasis can support these coolers, usually they'll design it acc. to their own specs.


----------



## micrors4

I looked at it at Bestbuy and figured it would most likely not fit, so I did the only logical thing, bought a water cooling system for my computer and used my stock cooler from my black edition AMD CPU which was much better than the original cooler on the old computer anyways.  However I have now caught the water cooling bug and want to use it in every place I can, luckily I have a big case to accommodate it all.


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





micrors4 said:


> I looked at it at Bestbuy and figured it would most likely not fit, so I did the only logical thing, bought a water cooling system for my computer and used my stock cooler from my black edition AMD CPU which was much better than the original cooler on the old computer anyways.  However I have now caught the water cooling bug and want to use it in every place I can, luckily I have a big case to accommodate it all.


 

 Custom water cooling is nice....especially the open loop ones.


----------



## clackers

Just ordered and planning to put together this winter break:
   
  Fractal Design Define XL
  Asus P8Z77-V LK
 i7-3770k
  Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970
  Cooler Master Hyper 212
  G.Skill Ares 16 gb
  Western Digital Caviar Black 1 tb
  Western Digital VelociRaptor 500 gb
  Asus DVD-burner
  Seasonic X-750


----------



## olsenn

Alienware R3
  Intel i7 2600k+ Overcloocked to 3.5GHz
  Nvidia Geforce GTX 590
  16GB DDR3 RAM
  128GB SSD (OCZ Vertex 3)
  2x1TB 7200RPM HDD in Raid0 Configuration
  Asus D2X Soundcard


----------



## Speedv1

Quote: 





micrors4 said:


> Let me know how it runs crysis, always interesting to see how my aging system competes with newer ones.


 
   
  I remembered you asked this and as I recently (Black Friday) gave in and bought Crysis 2. Runs flawless at maximum settings, no lag whatsoever - it's an incredible game (so far!).
   
  Just wanted to update.


----------



## micrors4

Do you have the DX11 update and the high res texture packs?  It makes a huge difference in the look of the game but it does take a performance hit of course.


----------



## Speedv1

Quote: 





micrors4 said:


> Do you have the DX11 update and the high res texture packs?  It makes a huge difference in the look of the game but it does take a performance hit of course.


 
   
  I'll install them later on and let you know. Don't think I have them as it looks like you have to seek them out on the web individually (they don't install with the Steam bundle)


----------



## Speedv1

Quote: 





micrors4 said:


> Do you have the DX11 update and the high res texture packs?  It makes a huge difference in the look of the game but it does take a performance hit of course.


 
   
  A) DAMN that looks nice! and B) Roughly 60 FPS with everything to max.


----------



## chumpas

Hey Guys, I'm new and I thought I would introduce myself in this post:
   
  Anyways: my rig (Desktop)
  CPU: 3.2 QuadCore AMD Phenom II
  RAM: 4GB DDR3 RAM (1600)
  HDD: 500GB + 120GB
  Video: AMD Radeon HD 5770
  MOBO: Asus one, cant remember model.
  21 inch monitor by ASUS 
   
  My portable:
  MacBook Air (2012)
  13 in. Display
  120 SSD
  1.8 dual core Intel i5
  Intel Inegrated HD 4000 Graphics
   
  Spare:
  MacBook Pro (2009) - trackpad doesn't work/battery needs replacement
  2.26Ghz Core2Duo
  4GB 1333Mhz DDR3
  160GB HDD


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

Corsair 800D
Asus maximus v gene
Samsung low profile memory (overclocked to 2400mhz at 10-11-11-28-1t)
i7 3770K (overclocked to 4.9ghz)
Custom water cooling, 2x360mm radiators with an xspc raystorm block.
Asus direct CU2 top GTX 670 (overclocked to god knows what)
Corsair HX650watt PSU
Average DVD drive
2 corsair foce 3 90GB SSDs in raid 0 (I am aware there is little benefit, I just got a heck of a deal on the two drives and decided "what the heck" and put them in raid) 
1TB samsung HDD
60GB agility 3 SSD for linux
Asus essence STX
2x1920x1200 24 inc monitor. One is dell and the other is samsung (both overclocked to 2560x1600 at 62hz)
Custom sleeved cables (still working on it  )
NZXT hue
Razer Naga epic molten edition
Razer black widow ultimate
AKG Q701 (trying to overclock them  ) 
Harman Kardon AV 110
Random sony 5.1 speakers.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> Corsair 800D
> Asus maximus v gene
> Samsung low profile memory (overclocked to 2400mhz at 10-11-11-28-1t)
> i7 3770K (overclocked to 4.9ghz)
> ...


 
  Can I get a picture of your system?


----------



## Rebel975

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> 2x1920x1200 24 inc monitor. One is dell and the other is samsung (both overclocked to 2560x1600 at 62hz)


 
   
   
   I see what you did there.


----------



## DefQon

Updated my rig: Extract from [H]:
   
   
  Excuse me for the bad quality pictures.
   
  Here's a picture of Monolith v2.
   
   

   

   

   

   
   

   
   
   

   
  More updates to come soon.


----------



## Sylverant

Hi guys, I'm planning on upgrading my rig with a new power supply for a planned HD7970 purchase in the near future, is the Antec High Current Pro 850W a good buy for $200, or can I do better?

 Also, the psu is capable of outputting 40A per rail, but what is its total amp output? Where can I find info like that?


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





sylverant said:


> Hi guys, I'm planning on upgrading my rig with a new power supply for a planned HD7970 purchase in the near future, is the Antec High Current Pro 850W a good buy for $200, or can I do better?
> 
> Also, the psu is capable of outputting 40A per rail, but what is its total amp output? Where can I find info like that?


 
  The HD7970 is quite power efficient. Either way, this is enough http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012&Tpk=corsair%20hx650w The Corsair HX series is extremely good. Although it may look like 650w isn't enough, and that you might want 750w, the 750w version can actually be passed as a 900w power supply, but they sell it as 750w so they can get the Gold certification. 
  $200 is NOT a good price btw. If you look here, the 750w model of the High Current Pro series might not actually be 80PLUS Gold. http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Antec-High-Current-Pro-750-W-Power-Supply-Review/1632/7/


----------



## DefQon

Quote: 





sylverant said:


> Hi guys, I'm planning on upgrading my rig with a new power supply for a planned HD7970 purchase in the near future, is the Antec High Current Pro 850W a good buy for $200, or can I do better?
> 
> Also, the psu is capable of outputting 40A per rail, but what is its total amp output? Where can I find info like that?


 
  What's the rest of your rig specs? Even if you have a overclocked i7 you can get away with a good 650watt psu which will be plenty. The Corsair HX series is pretty good.


----------



## Sylverant

Quote:


defqon said:


> What's the rest of your rig specs? Even if you have a overclocked i7 you can get away with a good 650watt psu which will be plenty. The Corsair HX series is pretty good.


 

 Here's is my current rig:

 Monitor: HP LCD w2207 @ 1680x1050 (recycled from my old Vista HP Elite from 2007)
 mobo: Asrock z77 Extreme4
 cpu: Intel Core i7 3770k
 PSU: Corsair Builders Series CX600V2
 gpu: Gigabyte HD6850 OC 1GB
 Soundcard: Asus Xonar Essence STX
 Heatsink: Cooler Master Hyper 212+
 Ram: Corsair Vengeance 1600 2x4GB
 Case: Cooler Master HAF912+200mm Cooler Master top fan
 Disc Drives: 2 Samsung generic dvd/cd combo's
 HDs: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SATA III SSD in AHCI and Seagate 1TB Barracuda HD (installed seperately)
 mechanical daskeyboard

 I'm willing to pay extra for something that's fully modular, which is why I was looking at the Antec. I had some trouble routing the cables on the Builders series, and the sata power connector on my hard drive actually broke from the stress. It works now, but I'll have to replace that with a 2tb Barracuda when I buy the psu. For a single card setup I know that 650W is enough, but the 40A max power of my Builders series is not.


----------



## proton007

I would appreciate if someone can advise me on this. I'm stuck on whether or not should I get a 27" 2560x1440 panel.
  I currently use a 21.5" 1920x1080 panel.
   
  Primary usage is movie watching, gaming (occasionally) and coding. I like two things about the 27" panel:
  1)  The pixel size is smaller than the panel I have.
  2)  Screen real estate. Especially useful when you want to have multiple documents open for reference etc.
   
  So is it worth the $$??


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

sniping said:


> Can I get a picture of your system?




yes, but it is kind of crappy. This is what I had after my last mod. I have been working on the wires and cleaning everything up since then, so forgive the poor condition of the rig.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





proton007 said:


> I would appreciate if someone can advise me on this. I'm stuck on whether or not should I get a 27" 2560x1440 panel.
> I currently use a 21.5" 1920x1080 panel.
> 
> Primary usage is movie watching, gaming (occasionally) and coding. I like two things about the 27" panel:
> ...


 
  Most likely, yes. I see people dump bundles of money getting 4 GTX 690's with custom 12-way SLI drivers but have fail monitor setups. I would advise buying from a place with a 30-day return policy or something of the like, if you decide you don't want it. You should try it for sure.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> yes, but it is kind of crappy. This is what I had after my last mod. I have been working on the wires and cleaning everything up since then, so forgive the poor condition of the rig.


 
_Very_ nice. I love the white tubing.


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

proton007 said:


> I would appreciate if someone can advise me on this. I'm stuck on whether or not should I get a 27" 2560x1440 panel.
> I currently use a 21.5" 1920x1080 panel.
> 
> Primary usage is movie watching, gaming (occasionally) and coding. I like two things about the 27" panel:
> ...




Is it worth the extra money (assuming you are referring to a catleap monitor).......yes. 

Are there better options? Probably. I had the option to get a 2560x1440 monitor or a second monitor. Due to complications with my PC and lots of other things I went with the second monitor. I am so glad I did. I can be playing a game on one screen, and manage my music play list from the other. It is immensely handy when coding or watching your emails.


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

sniping said:


> _Very_ nice. I love the white tubing.



Just wait until I can get everything sleeved up and a proper mobo.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> Just wait until I can get everything sleeved up and a proper mobo.


 
  Maximus V Gene isn't proper?


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

sniping said:


> Maximus V Gene isn't proper? :eek:




Nope. A proper motherboard would be like MSI M-Power. 

I consider proper to be black and atx to e-atx. The most proper motherboard I have ever seen would be the asus rampage 3 extreme black mobo for the 1366 socket. 

Plus I have actually had a crap ton of issues with this board. None of which asus will fix because they all have to do with overclocking. Since the board runs on stock just fine, they won't replace it. But either my motherboard or my CPU has been giving me all sorts of funky voltage problems.


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> Is it worth the extra money (assuming you are referring to a catleap monitor).......yes.
> Are there better options? Probably. I had the option to get a 2560x1440 monitor or a second monitor. Due to complications with my PC and lots of other things I went with the second monitor. I am so glad I did. I can be playing a game on one screen, and manage my music play list from the other. It is immensely handy when coding or watching your emails.


 

 Well, the catleap is the cheapest of all, but it has a high failure rate (~10%) and its glossy.
   
  And yes, I'm wondering on whether another 1920x1080 display would be better, because I already have one. 
  Besides, the price for 27" display is close to three times that of the 1920x1080 display.
   
  I guess the only thing going for the 27" is the ppi. If its not retina quality, then its no point.
   
  Update: No use, the 27" is 108ppi, slightly higher than 102ppi of my existing display. The laptop I'm typing this on is 112ppi, but its only slightly sharper.
   
  I guess I need a 22" 4K display


----------



## DefQon

Quote: 





sylverant said:


> I'm willing to pay extra for something that's fully modular, which is why I was looking at the Antec. I had some trouble routing the cables on the Builders series, and the sata power connector on my hard drive actually broke from the stress. It works now, but I'll have to replace that with a 2tb Barracuda when I buy the psu. For a single card setup I know that 650W is enough, but the 40A max power of my Builders series is not.


 
   
  The HX650 will be plenty with ample amounts of amps on the 12v rail which powers your gfx card, hard drives etc. It is also modular. The builders series i.e. CX is more of a bargain line/ entry level from Corsair.


----------



## DefQon

Quote: 





sniping said:


> Most likely, yes. I see people dump bundles of money getting 4 GTX 690's with custom 12-way SLI drivers but have fail monitor setups. I would advise buying from a place with a 30-day return policy or something of the like, if you decide you don't want it. You should try it for sure.


 
  There is no such thing as 12 way SLI. Max is 4 way which is due to the dual GPU core's on one single PCB, you can possibly have 4 physical GTX690's connected up but the last two will not provide any sort of performance boast whatsoever. The max supported is 4 way SLI by 2 dual GPU solutions or 4 physical single GPU solutions, Octo and 12 is not possible.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





defqon said:


> There is no such thing as 12 way SLI. Max is 4 way which is due to the dual GPU core's on one single PCB, you can possibly have 4 physical GTX690's connected up but the last two will not provide any sort of performance boast whatsoever. The max supported is 4 way SLI by 2 dual GPU solutions or 4 physical single GPU solutions, Octo and 12 is not possible.


 
  No, I'm pretty sure you can have 4 GTX 690's. NCIX has been doing pre-builts with four of them.


----------



## Sylverant

Quote:


defqon said:


> The HX650 will be plenty with ample amounts of amps on the 12v rail which powers your gfx card, hard drives etc. It is also modular. The builders series i.e. CX is more of a bargain line/ entry level from Corsair.


 
   
  Thanks! Due to both sale pricing and rebate on Newegg, the HX750 is actually cheaper by $5. The way I see it, for such a small amount more the extra 8A is worth it. I'll be safe for my next monitor, a 16/10 1920x1200 model, and the 7 year warranty is also appreciated.

 Edit: Also, compared to the HX650, the HX750 is a different beast altogether:

 http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Corsair-HX750W-Power-Supply-Review/775


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

sniping said:


> No, I'm pretty sure you can have 4 GTX 690's. NCIX has been doing pre-builts with four of them.




You can not run 4 way SLI with 690s. It is simulated 4 way sli. The idea is that you have 2 GPUs per card, so when you have 2 cards, you effectively have 4 way SLI. If you could SLI 4 690s it would be 8 way SLI which would be overkill for pretty much any monitor setup that exists.


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

proton007 said:


> Well, the catleap is the cheapest of all, but it has a high failure rate (~10%) and its glossy.
> 
> And yes, I'm wondering on whether another 1920x1080 display would be better, because I already have one.
> Besides, the price for 27" display is close to three times that of the 1920x1080 display.
> ...




It is retina quality. In fact, the screens that they use for the catleap monitors are the same ones that go into apple screens for their retina iMac displays. 

As for the failure rate, you really just have to find a good seller on ebay. I recommend you go over to overclock.net and check out their catleap monitor club and ask around there. Otherwise 2560x1440 is a waste of money compared to having more 1920x1080 screens.


----------



## RingingEars

My "new" computer that I have been running is hitting the 3 year mark.
  My Phenom II 955 Deneb and Asus GTX460 Fermi have been great OCers and have done well these past 3 years, but "out with the old and in with the new" as it were.
   
  New build:
  i7 3770K
  ASRock z77 Extreme6
  OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD
  EVGA 670 FTW+ 4GB
  Noctua D-14
  Some 32" 1080p TV/monitor I haven't decided on yet...
   
  I'll be using some components from my current computer: a Cooler Master HAF 922 packed full of fans, Corsair HX650 PSU, 16GB Mushkin DDR3, Seagate 1TB HDD, 2x LG Blu-ray burners, Razor Deathadder, and some cheap MS keyboard...
   
  I'm confident the new setup will OC very well. Should get me by for another couple years or so....


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> It is retina quality. In fact, the screens that they use for the catleap monitors are the same ones that go into apple screens for their retina iMac displays.
> As for the failure rate, you really just have to find a good seller on ebay. I recommend you go over to overclock.net and check out their catleap monitor club and ask around there. Otherwise 2560x1440 is a waste of money compared to having more 1920x1080 screens.


 
   
  Well, retina quality would be something > 200 PPI, which is only possible with a 4K display in this size.
   
  So I guess its better to get a good 21.5" IPS panel.


----------



## DefQon

Quote: 





sniping said:


> No, I'm pretty sure you can have 4 GTX 690's. NCIX has been doing pre-builts with four of them.


 
  You can have 4 physical GTX690's yes, but by SLI configuration only two of the card's can SLI'd due to its dual GPU structure which will result in 4-way SLI.
   
  Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> You can not run 4 way SLI with 690s. It is simulated 4 way sli. The idea is that you have 2 GPUs per card, so when you have 2 cards, you effectively have 4 way SLI. If you could SLI 4 690s it would be 8 way SLI which would be overkill for pretty much any monitor setup that exists.


 
  Exactly well said, not to mention the 2 other spare GTX690's won't be doing anything besides drawing power in gaming situations, unsure if professional 3d work will take use of the extra card's, but you might be able to set it to physx dedicated mode or apps such as Folding will only be able to take advantage of the extra GPU's. As of now, there is no such thing as 6/8/12 way SLI, even 4 way SLI setups won't provide you enough of a big boast for it's value and very little games support it, only benchmarks will take use of the extra GPU's or other complex computational application that's been programmed to handle the extra hardware.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





defqon said:


> Exactly well said, not to mention the 2 other spare GTX690's won't be doing anything besides drawing power in gaming situations, unsure if professional 3d work will take use of the extra card's, but you might be able to set it to physx dedicated mode or apps such as Folding will only be able to take advantage of the extra GPU's. As of now, there is no such thing as 6/8/12 way SLI, even 4 way SLI setups won't provide you enough of a big boast for it's value and very little games support it, only benchmarks will take use of the extra GPU's or other complex computational application that's been programmed to handle the extra hardware.


 
  Yes, indeed. That particular PC NCIX built was for some sort of folding application and they stated that the last two card would be wasted if it was used for gaming. I was just using it as an example to support my point.


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

proton007 said:


> Well, retina quality would be something > 200 PPI, which is only possible with a 4K display in this size.
> 
> So I guess its better to get a good 21.5" IPS panel.




I thought you were talking about the apple "retina" display. Not a true retina display.


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

sniping said:


> Yes, indeed. That particular PC NCIX built was for some sort of folding application and they stated that the last two card would be wasted if it was used for gaming. I was just using it as an example to support my point.




http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-690/specifications

If you look at SLI it will say Quad SLI. I am thinking that this is what you saw on the NCIX page. It is understandable that you thought it might have been 4 690s in the same computer, but that isn't true. 

There is a difference between quad SLI and 4 way SLI. Quad SLI means you have 4 GPUs with two cards. 4 way SLI is making use of 4 separate SLI channels (4 actual video cards). 

If you still saw something that told you there were 4 actual GTX 690s in one PC, it was utter false advertisement because it is impossible. 

If you want proof just google it.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-690/specifications
> If you look at SLI it will say Quad SLI. I am thinking that this is what you saw on the NCIX page. It is understandable that you thought it might have been 4 690s in the same computer, but that isn't true.
> There is a difference between quad SLI and 4 way SLI. Quad SLI means you have 4 GPUs with two cards. 4 way SLI is making use of 4 separate SLI channels (4 actual video cards).
> If you still saw something that told you there were 4 actual GTX 690s in one PC, it was utter false advertisement because it is impossible.
> If you want proof just google it.


 
  No, it's on the NCIX PC Facebook page. Go back a week or two, there's a picture of all four cards in the system. Here, I'll save you the time.
   

  They said on that post that 15 of these systems were made.


----------



## Whitetriton

AMD Phenom II X4 945
  AsRock 970 Extreme3
  2x 4GB PC 10700 G. Skill Ripjaws
  1x 128 GB Samsung 830 SSD
  1x 256 GB Samsung 830 SSD
  Asus DG Soundcard
  EVGA Geforce 210
  Antec 4482 case with 380W Earthwatts Bronze PS
  Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
  Silverstone TEK PCI USB 3.0 card
   
  24' AOC monitor
  Audioengine 2 speakers
  
  Put system together myself. . .and it actually works.


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

sniping said:


> No, it's on the NCIX PC Facebook page. Go back a week or two, there's a picture of all four cards in the system. Here, I'll save you the time.
> 
> 
> 
> They said on that post that 15 of these systems were made.




What........the........****???????

I have friends who work for nvidia. I know people who had an hand in building pieces of the 690 GPU and all of them say that that can NOT happen. Period. :eek:

The ONLY way I can even conceive of something like that happening is they paid a crap ton to pay for designer drivers to get that to work and even THEN I doubt that it will work at 100 percent.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> What........the........****???????
> I have friends who work for nvidia. I know people who had an hand in building pieces of the 690 GPU and all of them say that that can NOT happen. Period.
> 
> 
> ...


 
  I'm not really interested, but if you are, you should shoot NCIX an email, they'll probably have much more to say than I do.


----------



## Tjj226 Angel

sniping said:


> I'm not really interested, but if you are, you should shoot NCIX an email, they'll probably have much more to say than I do.



I will because I sent an email to one of my friends who works for nvidia and his response was What as well. NCIX has some splaining to do


----------



## Blisse

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-gtx-690/features

Interesting, their description only says 2 at max as well.


----------



## ru57y

1
  MacBook Air
  1.6ghz Core2Duo
  4Gb Ram
  GeForce 320m
  128gb Samsung SSD
  10.8.2
  (this is my own machine) 
   
  2
  iMac 21" 
  3.06 Core2Duo
  8Gb Ram
  Radeon HD 4670
  1Tb WD HDD
  with attached Apple Cinema Display
  10.8.2
  (this is my work machine) 
   
  3
  Core2Duo 2.4ghz (OC'd to 2.8) 
  Random HP Mobo I *borrowed* from work
  4gb Ram
  Asus Radeon 6770 (2gb) 
  Dell monitor
  1x128gb OCZ SSD
  1x2TB WD HDD
  Win 7 Pro x64
  (this plays games and houses 1.5tb of music)


----------



## Rebel975

4 way SLI is the max. The thing is, if you look closely, you can see that those cards don't even have SLI bridges installed. That would seem to indicate that those are some hardcore folding@home machines (or some other program like that). They literally don't even make SLI bridges that support more than a 4 way configuration. AKA- there is no way to use more than 4 GPU's for gaming.
   
  I suppose you could have 2x GTX 690 plus an additional 690 for PhysX, but only one GPU in the 3rd 690 would be used, and it would be an extreme waste of money.*
   
   
   
  *I had a GTX 460 in my system for PhysX once. After finding out that it had 1-2% usage at any given time I decided to send it back and get another 580 instead.


----------



## daigo

My new computer:
  i5 3570k with a CM Hyper 212 Evo air cooler
  ASRock Z77 Extreme4 motherboard
  Corsair Vengeance Black 2x4gb
  EVGA 670gtx
  Crucial M4 SSD 256gb
  Western Digital HDD 1.5tb x2
  Corsair 550D case
  Seasonic X660 psu
  Win7 Home Premium 64bit
   
  Still using my old peripherals
  Dell 2408fpw and HP ZR24w 24" monitors
  Logitech G9 mouse
  DasKeyboard cherry blue keyboard


----------



## abcd

i5 3570k
  hyper 212 evo
  z77x-ud3h
  16gb corsair vengeance 1600mhz
  90gb corsair force 3 ssd
  1tb wd caviar green 7200rpm
  Sapphire radeon hd 7970 overclocked
  Asus xonar ds
  corsair 440r
  corsair enthusiast 650w
  win 7
   
  and I have an O2 amp with HD 650's.


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





tjj226 angel said:


> I thought you were talking about the apple "retina" display. Not a true retina display.


 
   
  Well, I took a look at the 27" iMac display, and I like it. I'm planning to get the 27" WQHD display, not from apple ofcourse.


----------



## Destroysall

My Windows PC (primary machine) is rather growing to be a dinosaur in terms of technology today.  I built it a few years back.  I have since considered either investing into a Mac or building a new machine.
   
  My specs thus far are:
   
  AMD Athlon II X3 445 Processor - 3.10 GHz
  ASRock M3A770DE AM3 Motherboard
  Kingston HyperX DDR3 1333 4Gb RAM
  Western Digital Caviar Blue 500Gb
  Galaxy GTX 460 768Mb Nvidia Graphics Card
  Rosewill Green 630W Power Supply Unit
   
  Really nothing fancy. For a $500 setup, it plays games rather well. However, I've rarely played games as of recent since I've grown to spend most of my time creating and studying music along with listening. Plus, I have been actively working on film and other video projects, so gaming is something I unfortunately do rarely of.
   
  destroysall.


----------



## Szadzik

Got myself a new laptop for Christmas.

Sony VAIO Z13
i7 3612QM Quad Core
8GB 1600mHz RAM
2x128GB SSD in RAID 0
FHD screen 
HD 4000 and HD7670
BR Writer


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





szadzik said:


> Got myself a new laptop for Christmas.
> Sony VAIO Z13
> i7 3612QM Quad Core
> 8GB 1600mHz RAM
> ...


 
  Nice storage setup.


----------



## beaver316

Quote: 





szadzik said:


> Got myself a new laptop for Christmas.
> Sony VAIO Z13
> i7 3612QM Quad Core
> 8GB 1600mHz RAM
> ...


 
   
  Looking at those specs and knowing Sony, that must have cost and arm and a leg.
   
  Anyway my terrible and outdated setup:
   
  Sony Vaio FW21E
  Intel Core 2 Duo P8400 2.27Ghz
  Ati Mobility HD 3470
  640GB HDD 5400rpm
  4 Gig ram
  LCD 1600x900
   
  Cost me a fortune at the time, about 5 years ago.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





beaver316 said:


> Looking at those specs and knowing Sony, that must have cost and arm and a leg.
> 
> Anyway my terrible and outdated setup:
> 
> ...


 
   
  It did indeed, but having had other premium quality laptops with lower specs, I can say it was worth it. The screen, lightness, batttery life, SSD speed at 900MB sequential read cannot be found on ANY laptop available right now under 5 pounds.
   
  Quote: 





sniping said:


> Nice storage setup.


 
   
  Lightning fast is the expression


----------



## Dyaems

My newly built budget rig because I'm poor =(
   
  All Stock:
  NZXT H2 Classic White
  Pentium G860
  MSI Z68A G43 (G3)
  8GB x2 Kingston HyperX
  PowerColor HD7850 Fling Force Edition
  64GB Plextor SSD
  500GB WD Caviar Black
  Corsair TX650
  NZXT 120mm fan
  NZXT 140mm fan
  Corsair K60
  Logitech G5
   
  Gotta love that black/white theme inside my case xD


----------



## Sylverant

Well, I ordered a couple of parts a few days ago:

 The Corsair HX750
  Seagate Barracuda 2tb
  Corsair Vengeance 32gb (4x8gb)
 Sapphire Vapor-X HD 7770 Ghz Edition 1gb (for my families Sandybridge i5 as a gift; sadly it didn't come in time)

 Can't wait to open the thing up and get to work with those cables!


----------



## Cheapy

Some very nice kit in this thread. I am looking at upgrading my rig starting with getting most likely a Sapphire 7950 Vapor-X. Just looking for any feedback off any owners with one or any 7950 for that matter?
   
  Current specs at moment are below:
   
  Phenom II X3 710 (Upgrade to Haswell during summer most likely)
  Coolermaster Hyper 212+
  Gigabyte MA770T-UD3P
  4GB Corsair RAM
  XFX GTX 260 Core 216
  Corsair HX520
  2TB and 320GB hard drives
  Xonar DG


----------



## connordddm

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 965 - 3.4GHz quad core
 CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo 
 Motherboard: Gigabyte 990XA-UD3
 RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair XMS3 DDR3-1600MHz (I think or it's 1333)
 GPU: 2x ASUS GTX 560 Ti DirectCU II TOP OC in SLI
 SSD: Samsung 840 120GB 
 HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM
 Case: Corsair 700D Full Tower
 PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W
 OS: Windows 7 HP 64 bit

 Also: Logisys RED Meteor lights.


----------



## mikeaj

Quote: 





szadzik said:


> It did indeed, but having had other premium quality laptops with lower specs, I can say it was worth it. The screen, lightness, batttery life, SSD speed at 900MB sequential read cannot be found on ANY laptop available right now under 5 pounds.


 
   
  To be honest, I got something with similar specs (but much more average build of course) on a Black Friday sale for a tad above $900 after shipping.  Depends how much you value the weight and worksmanship and size, and so on—which I don't much, with my current usage.  It'll be quite different for each person.
   
  Dell Inspiron 17R SE (7720)
  Intel Core i7-3630QM
  Nvidia GT 650M 2GB GDDR5 / Intel HD 4000 Graphics — Optimus
  8GB 1600 Mhz RAM
1TB 5400 rpm HDD + 32GB mSATA cache
  *immediately replaced storage with Intel 330 180GB SSD for $100 in a separate purchase; forget spinners for main drives*
  17.3" 1920x1080 matte panel — contrast and colorspace coverage are surprisingly good for a laptop in this range, at least to casual eyeballing, but it's just a TN
   
   
  The fan stays off when listening to music and most web browsing, at least with the way I have it set up.


----------



## raymondlin




----------



## connordddm

Quote: 





raymondlin said:


>


 

 Wow... With those kind of specs, I'd expect that you would be running Windows...


----------



## raymondlin

Nope, I really am too lazy to keep a windows machine up to date, virus free, defrag etc these days. lol


----------



## raymondlin

You know, i have no idea how good the graphic card is, or the CPU lol.
   
  Just googled, the GPU alone is like $450 ?!


----------



## Cheapy

Yeah both the GPU and CPU are top of the range stuff.Very nice/expensive choices!


----------



## raymondlin

Well, it is for my photography business so I budgeted for it and the whole thing came within budget so that was that ! lol
   
  It is once in a 3 years purchase so I like to max it out because i need to last.  
   
  I know the CPU is the top of the line but i am unsure of the GFX since with Apple it is rather limited with choice, i just upgraded it to what they had on offer...whatever it may be so there wasn't really any research need to be done really since it is not like I could pick and choose.


----------



## Sylverant

Quote:


raymondlin said:


>


 

 The iMac's may basically run off of laptop parts now, but really, you could do anything with that setup; I'd kill for a barebones laptop with those specs. Really nice


----------



## raymondlin

This is what it looks like.
   
  Wacom Intous 5 Medium Touch Tablet
  Drobo FS (13TB of HD)
  3TB USB 3.0 HD external
  1TB Apple Time Capsule + 1.5TB HD for added storage


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





raymondlin said:


> Nope, I really am too lazy to keep a windows machine up to date, virus free, defrag etc these days. lol


 
   
  LOL, was Win 98 the last one you used?


----------



## raymondlin

Quote: 





szadzik said:


> LOL, was Win 98 the last one you used?


 
  Windows 7 was the last OS, it was okay I guess.
   
  I had XP before that for ages, put W7 on, but within about 4 months I got my first iMac and after that I didn't really touch the PC again.
   
  I finally stripped and took it apart last week.
   
  This was the CPU before I made it into a keyring lol


----------



## connordddm

Quote: 





raymondlin said:


> This is what it looks like.
> 
> Wacom Intous 5 Medium Touch Tablet
> Drobo FS (13TB of HD)
> ...


 

 lol I like the cardboard doll thing on your desk!


----------



## Blisse

Screw the specs, overkill for non-graphics/animation people. I want the tablet. :3


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





raymondlin said:


> Windows 7 was the last OS, it was okay I guess.
> 
> I had XP before that for ages, put W7 on, but within about 4 months I got my first iMac and after that I didn't really touch the PC again.
> 
> ...


 
  It's funny how people going from low-spec Windows machines go to multi-thousand dollar Macs and complain about poor perofrmance of their Windows PC .


----------



## mikeaj

Quote: 





raymondlin said:


> Well, it is for my photography business so I budgeted for it and the whole thing came within budget so that was that ! lol
> 
> It is once in a 3 years purchase so I like to max it out because i need to last.
> 
> I know the CPU is the top of the line but i am unsure of the GFX since with Apple it is rather limited with choice, i just upgraded it to what they had on offer...whatever it may be so there wasn't really any research need to be done really since it is not like I could pick and choose.


 
   
  Don't worry, GTX 680MX is top-of-the-line for laptop / all-in-one gear.  Actually it uses the same chip as the desktop GTX 680, the top-of-the-line single GPU Nvidia graphics card, just at maybe 70% of the clock speed.  As long as thermals are okay... then again, at idle, it's not like they're spewing massive amounts of heat all over the place.
   
  Now, if you held onto the Windows machine about half a year more, the CPU model would be 10 years old.  
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  I'll second those tablets being cool, but does the form factor really work?  I'd guess the larger versions are better to work with, but then again, I've never used one and would never have any use for such a thing.


----------



## raymondlin

Nah





szadzik said:


> It's funny how people going from low-spec Windows machines go to multi-thousand dollar Macs and complain about poor perofrmance of their Windows PC .


 

Lol I bought a core 2 duo iMac between the windows machine and this one.


----------



## JD1993

RAM: 8GB 1600MHZ DDR3
  CPU: Intel quad core Q6600
  GPU: 2gb GDDR5 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660
  HDD: 500gb Seagate
  FiiO E17/E9k DAC/AMP (External soundcard)
  Monitors: x1 20inch (1650x1050), x1 18inch (144x900)


----------



## Cheapy

Quote: 





blisse said:


> Screw the specs, overkill for non-graphics/animation people. I want the tablet. :3


 
  Plus the monitor. The apple displays always look amazing.


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





cheapy said:


> Plus the monitor. The apple displays always look amazing.


 
  Glossy. Eww. I'd pick a top end Dell Ultrasharp or at the real top end an Eizo Coloredge or NEC Reference.
  I believe the Apple Cinema screens share the same LG panels as the lower end Dell Ultrasharps and LG's own IPS displays so they are capable screens nontheless.


----------



## DeadlyNeodymium

http://i47.tinypic.com/2j0xqg5.jpg
   
http://i48.tinypic.com/2rprw9e.jpg
   
http://i45.tinypic.com/2ztio75.jpg
   
http://i47.tinypic.com/6zqalk.jpg
   
  Intel Core i5-2500k @ 4.5GHz w/ Cooler Master Hyper 212+ Cooler (Lapped)
  8GB DDR3 Corsair Vengeance Ram (Heatsink removed)
  MSI Z77A-G45 Motherboard
  ATI Radeon HD 5770 @ 990MHz With Accelero Mono Cooler
  1TB Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM HDD
  160GB Hitachi Deskstar 7200RPM HDD
  128GB OCZ Vertex 4 SSD
  ASUS DVD Drive
  Corsair TX750W PSU
  Corsair Carbide Series 500R Case
  2x Cougar Vortex PWM Fans
  LG Flatron E2350 23.5" Full HD LED LCD Display
  Curtis Mathes amplifier, and EQ (from when their company started dying and they contracted Technics, so it's not that good, but it does it's job)
  Pioneer CS-M758 Floor Speakers with 12" Subwoofers
  Audio Technica ATH-M50s
  Roland Fantom X8
  Roland JX-305


----------



## raymondlin

Quote: 





tangster said:


> Glossy. Eww. I'd pick a top end Dell Ultrasharp or at the real top end an Eizo Coloredge or NEC Reference.
> I believe the Apple Cinema screens share the same LG panels as the lower end Dell Ultrasharps and LG's own IPS displays so they are capable screens nontheless.


 
   
  Well, yes, For $3,000 screen only, it'd better be better.
   
  Apple's screen comes with the iMac, and they are not asking $3,000 for them with no computers inside.
   
  FYI, go check out these new iMac screen in person.  It is glossy but minimal reflection which is quite freaky.  I am sitting in front of it, working in Photoshop and Lightroom, watching a movie, surfing the net and I cannot see myself in the reflection.  I see no reflection.  I am waving my hands at the screen as I type this.  I see no thing but this post.
   
  The only way I could see something reflect back is held up my phone (screen on) and wave in front of it, yet I can only see a VERY dimmed reflection of it, like someone passed it through a 4 stop Neutral Density filter.  And this is ONLY when the image on screen is black.
   
  So, before you go Eww, Go check it out.


----------



## DeadlyNeodymium

Quote: 





raymondlin said:


> Well, yes, For $3,000 screen only, it'd better be better.
> 
> Apple's screen comes with the iMac, and they are not asking $3,000 for them with no computers inside.
> 
> ...


 
  There are korean companies that take the rejected IPS panels from Apple from their 27" Cinema Displays (1600p).  The funny thing is, these monitors look just as good, with a couple dead pixels MAYBE.  Sometimes there are no dead pixels at all.  But at that resolution, dead pixels are barely visible let alone bothersome.  The best thing is, these go for around $300 on ebay, and they are all the rage on Overclock.net and other forums.  They're really worth checking out.  I'm considering getting one.
   
  They make Apple Cinema Displays and other professional IPS displays not worth it.  They're real.  And a few also can "overclock" to 120hz, making them the only display that can do 1600p at 120hz.
http://techreport.com/review/23291/those-27-inch-ips-displays-from-korea-are-for-real
http://www.tested.com/tech/pcs/449537-korean-monitor-guide/
   
  There are many different brands.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-ACHIEVA-Shimian-QH270-Lite-27-LED-Quad-HD-DVI-2560x1440-16-9-6ms-PC-Monitor-/110833856200?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item19ce366ec8
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-YAMAKASI-CATLEAP-Q270-SEi-27-LED-S-IPS-2560X1440-WQHD-6ms-DVI-D-PC-Monitor-/140853868709?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item20cb8b78a5
   
  The catleaps have a certain model that easily does 120hz.  These are SERIOUSLY WORTH CHECKING OUT.  They look just as good, clear, and bright.


----------



## Tangster

I didn't say anywhere in my post it was a bad screen. I was expressing my dislike of glossy monitors, which strain my eyes more than matte screens.
  I guess comparing them to those screen was rather one sided of me though, the Cinema screens are more comparable to the prosumer market than those ultra high end ones with true 10 bit LUT and such.


----------



## raymondlin

Well, you are comparing a $3,000 screen to something that retails for 1/3 of its price.
   
  Seriously, give glossy screen a try.  I got a matt IPS screen, I thought that was good but I find myself much prefer this one.  People hate glossy screen for 1 reason, reflection, and there is hardly any on this and the colours and amazing, not to mention i have read many user reports that they tried calibrating it themselves and see no difference at all.  So they uninstalled the software and put the calibrater back in the drawer.


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





raymondlin said:


> Well, you are comparing a $3,000 screen to something that retails for 1/3 of its price.
> 
> Seriously, give glossy screen a try.  I got a matt IPS screen, I thought that was good but I find myself much prefer this one.  People hate glossy screen for 1 reason, reflection, and there is hardly any on this and the colours and amazing, not to mention i have read many user reports that they tried calibrating it themselves and see no difference at all.  So they uninstalled the software and put the calibrater back in the drawer.


 
   


tangster said:


> glossy monitors, which strain my eyes more than matte screens.


 

   
  As such I find myself reluctant to use a glossy screen as my main monitor, especially when I already have a reasonably decent matte monitor.


----------



## raymondlin

No one is saying go replace your monitor with a new iMac (since this is the only screen with this technology), I am saying don't go Ewww like you did when you read "glossy screen".  This iMac's screen is not the same as the others you have seen so far in your life.


----------



## connordddm

I'm a PC fanboy, but damn dat resolution on Macs. Windows is just so... pixely (is that a word?). Windows 7 users - look at your start button, it's pixely as @$#&


----------



## Rebel975

double post


----------



## Rebel975

^What? lol. Maybe it's pixely on a < 720p screen or something, but not on the 1080p, 1200p, or 1440p screens I've had/have.
   
  BTW- we have an iMac where I work, and the screen is definitely awesome. Unfortunately, it shows reflections. It's not too bad, but does bother me. To be fair, we have a lot of natural light and also a ton of florescent lights (it's an office building).
   
  If I could have it my way I'd configure my room so that the back of my monitor would face towards my light source. Then I could use a glossy monitor and not have any reflections. Because I mean, my ZR2740w does look good (1440p is so sweet), but the anti glare coating is a bit much.
   
  I think the new round of high resolution/IPS monitors are semi-gloss though. Maybe the best of both worlds?


----------



## Tangster

_Crosspost from another thread._
  I don't have a more recent photo of my rig, so here is how it was around March.

   
*CPU: *i5 2500K @5GHz cooled with an EK Supreme LT Nickel and a Coolstream XT 240 with Yate Loon DSL120 fans.
*GPU:* GTX460 1GB @ 910MHz overclock
*Mobo: *MSI P67A-GD55
*RAM: *16GB* *Kingston HyperX Blu running overclocked @ 1866MHz 10-9-9-24
*Audio:* Xonar DX(now Xonar D2X). The rest of my audio rig is in my sig.
*Screen:* LG IPS236V, previously two, now one due to space concerns(speakers). IPS or VA all the way. The TN panel on my laptop is dreadful in comparison.
*Storage: *128GB Crucial M4 Boot, 256GB Crucial M4 Steam and Progams drive, 500GB and 1TB Spinpoint F1 Storage drives.
*Case:* Raven RV-02E with stock AP180 fans
*PSU: *BeQuiet Dark Power Pro 750W
   
*Peripherals:* Steelseries 6GV2 keyboard, Microsoft Sidewinder mouse, Wacom Intuos 4M.
   
   

   
*Laptop:* Asus low end model with AMD C60 APU, 2GB RAM. Runs office and internet. Don't need more from it.
*Tablet:* Nexus 7 16GB


----------



## Cheapy

Headfi the only place where peolpe swap monitors for speakers 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




   
  With the monitors it is a shame the nice 27" 1440p screens are still about the £320 mark. Will be waiting a bit longer for them to drop into my price range.


----------



## connordddm

Quote: 





tangster said:


> _Crosspost from another thread._
> I don't have a more recent photo of my rig, so here is how it was around March.
> 
> 
> ...


 

 I have that webcam lol, it's great.


----------



## DeadlyNeodymium

If I could I would have 4x GTX480's in SLI.  With a 2000 watt PSU.


----------



## Rebel975

I just sold a pair of GTX580's and bought a GTX680. I was trying to hold out for the 780, but really needed a displayport. I'll move back to SLI when the 780's come out. I was also kind of hoping that it'd come out during the step up period I get through EVGA, but I doubt it will.


----------



## DeadlyNeodymium

When youre talking about that kind of cash all you really needed to do was buy a converter...haha unless they don't exist.


----------



## Rebel975

Unfortunately, it seems that you can only convert displayport > dvi/etc., not dvi/etc. > displayport - unless you use a very expensive active converter.

What makes it really expensive is that it would have to be a dual link dvi to displayport active converter, as I have a 1440p monitor.


----------



## DeadlyNeodymium

Oh...haha sorry


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





raymondlin said:


> No one is saying go replace your monitor with a new iMac (since this is the only screen with this technology), I am saying don't go Ewww like you did when you read "glossy screen".  This iMac's screen is not the same as the others you have seen so far in your life.


 
   
  Its not as bad I'll admit, but its still glossy, I like matte screens, and prefer anti-glare ones. Not sure what technology are you talking about.
   
  Personally I find the iMac overpriced for the feature set, but thats my opinion. The display alone shouldn't cost as much, its ~$700 (or less), so charging $2500 for the hardware is bit extreme IMO.
  Still, I liked the iMac screen and bought a 27" monitor from Dell. The resolution is awesome, tons of space, and the IPS panel really shines when it comes to color reproduction. Its factory calibrated. Using it with another 21.5" 1080p screen.
   
  My complete setup:
  Core i7 3770k OC 4.5GHz.
  8GB 1600MHz RAM
  MSI Radeon 7850 2GB DDR5
  Gigabyte Z77U3DX Motherboard
  Corsair Force GT 64GB SSD
  WD Caviar Black 1TB
  WD Caviar Blue 1TB
  Antec P280 Silent Chasis
  Noctua NHD14 Cooler
  2xNFP12 Intake Fans
  27" Dell U2713HM
  21.5" Samsung P2250
  Ducky Mechanical Keyboard (Cherry MX Blue)
   
  OS: Linux (Primary)  + Win 7 (Occasional Gaming)


----------



## Blisse

proton007 said:


> raymondlin said:
> 
> 
> > No one is saying go replace your monitor with a new iMac (since this is the only screen with this technology), I am saying don't go Ewww like you did when you read "glossy screen".  This iMac's screen is not the same as the others you have seen so far in your life.
> ...




No, we're drifting way off topic anyways.

The 27" UltraSharp from Dell costs $850.
The 27" Cinema Display costs $1000.

The Mac Cinema display includes a camera, Thunderbolt and pre-calibrated, easily covering that gap in pricing. They're easily the same quality. There shouldn't be any discussion about this.


Anyways, I have incoming

i5-3570K
Phanteks PH-TC14PE
120GB Intel 520
AsRock Z77 Extreme4
ASUS GTX 670

to fit inside my Fractal R3. It's going to be a black and white rig, hopefully. Need to find white SATA cables XD


----------



## connordddm

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> I just sold a pair of GTX580's and bought a GTX680. I was trying to hold out for the 780, but really needed a displayport. I'll move back to SLI when the 780's come out. I was also kind of hoping that it'd come out during the step up period I get through EVGA, but I doubt it will.


 

 Nevermind, ignore this quote. Any delete buttons -.-, can't seem to find one?


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





blisse said:


> No, we're drifting way off topic anyways.
> The 27" UltraSharp from Dell costs $850.
> The 27" Cinema Display costs $1000.
> The Mac Cinema display includes a camera, Thunderbolt and pre-calibrated, easily covering that gap in pricing. They're easily the same quality. There shouldn't be any discussion about this.


 
   
  I got mine for $650 from Dell during their Christmas deals, pre calibrated. 
  And yes, I'll end the digression here.


----------



## thp777

just built me a new pc for 3d animation since my i7 920 machine is 4 yrs old now.
   
  all red, black and silver color scheme
   
  Intel core i7 3930k 6 core @ 4.9ghz so far still tweaking
  Asus Rampage IV Gene micro atx motherboard
  Corsair H100i liquid cooler
  16gb corsair dominator gt 2133 ram
  4 corsair force series gt 60gb ssds in raid
  Nvidia gtx 670 gpu
  dual seasonic 1u 400w psus ( modded to be smaller with a single 120mm corsair fan in each and individually sleeved wires)
  3x 22" 1080p LED triplescreen setup
  custom acrylic case is currently being laser cut.
  along with casing for custom scratchbuilt mechanical split ergonomic keyboard with red backlit keycaps
  have 3x3tb drives coming in for a custom NAS
  built a 32awg red quadbraid 10ft cable for triplefi10s to match system( sending them off soon to me molded in red)
   
  was a good christmas present for myself
   
  still need to order clear tubing and red coolant and t virus resivior and mod my naga and 3d mouse to red LEDs and then itll pretty much be done


----------



## TrinityX

My computer.
   
  All games are 60-50 fps with maximum graphics.
   
   
   
  Prosessor : 
[size=1em] AMD FX-6100 3,3GHz, 6-core[/size]   
  Graphic card : 
[size=1em] XFX AMD Radeon HD 7950, 3GB GDDR5, DD Edition[/size]   
  RAM :
   
[size=1em] Kingston HyperX 2x4GB, DDR3 1600MHz[/size]   
  Power source :
   
[size=1em] LC-Power 650W, LC6650GP3 v2.3[/size]   
  Motherboard :
   
[size=1em] AsRock 970 Extreme4[/size]   
  Hard drive :
   
   
[size=1em] Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB[/size]   
  Operating system :
   
   
[size=1em] Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit[/size]


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





trinityx said:


> Power source :
> 
> [size=1em] LC-Power 650W, LC6650GP3 v2.3[/size]


 
  From what I've heard, I wouldn't touch an LC-Power PSU with a barge pole.


----------



## Dyaems

Almost finished my new rig, just waiting for a nice price on an HD 7850 Fling Force or a GTX660SE.
   
*CASE*: NZXT H2 Classic
*CPU*: i5 2500K @ 4.2ghz, stock voltage
*COOLER*: Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO
*GPU*: GTX660SE or HD7850 Fling Force (currently GTX 260)
*RAM*: G.Skill 4GB x2and Patriot 4GB x2 both DDR3 1600mhz
*MOBO*: MSI z68a G43 G3
*HDD*: 500gb WD Caviar Black, 640GB WD Caviar Green
*SSD*: 128gb Plextor M5 PRO
*ODD*: LG DVD Writer
*KB*: Corsair K60
*MSE*: Logitech G5
*FAN*: Deepcool UF120 installed at the bottom
*SOUNDCARD*: Modded Creative Live! Platinum CT4760, replaced all capacitors with Nichicon audio-grade, and placed a heatsink on the chip


----------



## MooTaters

Just upgraded from my super old original Thermaltake Armor(with original window side panel minus fan) to the Corsair 600T.  Threw some arctic silver 5 on the cpu finally, got the fan in a push config(instead of pull) and temps dropped 3-5C idle.  After start up the cpu was 30C but now with foobar2000, firefox and a couple other programs running it keeps going between 32-33C.  The biggest deal about this is my case no longer has 2 88cfm 40db 120mm fans running, making music SOOO much more enjoyable to listen to now!
   
  It's an old rig so the specs aren't the latest and greatest, but it still runs just fine for me.
   
  Intel C2D Wolfdale E8400 3.0GHz
  Mushkin 4x1gb DDR2 800
  DFI Lanparty DK X38 T2R
  EVGA GTX 460 SE
  Thermaltake 680W PSU
  WD Caviar 640GB Black Edition w/ 32mb cache
  WD Caviar 1TB 5400rpm Green Drive(storage/backup)
  Some NEC CD/DVD burner drive(I forget)
  Samsung SyncMaster 940B 19" LCD screen
  Logitech G500 mouse
  Func 1030 classic surface mouse pad
  Logitech G510 Keyboard
   
  Note: some of this hardware(PSU, DVD burner, LCD) are from the original build which was over 5 years ago, and still work great, so they have not been replaced.  Though I'd like to get a modular PSU when I get the chance.


----------



## Blisse

My new (re)build is finally complete.

Intel 520 Series 120GB
Intel i5-3570K
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 
ASUS GTX670
Phanteks PH-TC14PE
Fractal Design R3

:3

Going for minimal noise and thermals, also white and black theme.


----------



## PiccoloNamek

http://valid.canardpc.com/2656046

Haven't posted here in a while; here are my current specs.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





piccolonamek said:


> http://valid.canardpc.com/2656046
> 
> Haven't posted here in a while; here are my current specs.


 
  That's a freakishly high overclock, what does your cooling setup look like?


----------



## PiccoloNamek

Like this:


http://db.tt/ll02nTMS

Never comes close to overheating; always runs within spec. Ignore the GTX 295, the photo is rather old.

Basically, it is a _huge Thermalright heatsink with copper block and multiple heat pipes. With two fans attached, it's nearly as good as a water cooler for mid-high end overclocks._


----------



## Omphalopsychite

My complete setup:

 Core i7 3770k 3.40Ghz

 Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H Motherboard
   
  12GB  Patriot Viper Xtreme Dual DDR3 2000MHz Ram

 Samsung 830 Series 64GB SSD

 WD Caviar 500GB x 2

 Silverstone Fortress FT02B Case  (it's a monster but it's quiet and keeps the bits cool)
   
  Seasonic Platinum Fanless 520 W Power Supply

 Thermalright HR-02 Macho Rev. A  CPU Cooler

 NoiseBlocker PLPS  Fan

 Leadtek Winfast DTV2000DS Dual HD Tuner

 23" Dell U2311H  Monitor

 Goldtouch Adjustable Split Keyboard

 Microsoft Trackball Explorer

 Win 7 Professional 64bit


----------



## VeXun

Lol a bit old school here but still running strong and see no reason to upgrade, it can eat up and chew every game I throw at it:
   
  i7 930 @ 3.99ghz Cooled by a prolimotech megahalems with 2x 120MM push pull config
  12gb Corsair DDR3 1600 memory
  2x Radeon 5830 crossfire
  27" samsung LCD & 46" Sanyo LCD extended desktop for media.


----------



## MooTaters

Quote: 





piccolonamek said:


> Like this:
> 
> 
> http://db.tt/ll02nTMS
> ...


 

 What temps do you get under load and at idle?


----------



## PiccoloNamek

At idle my temps are usually around 35-40c, which is around 60c away from the TJ Max.
   
  After running IntelBurn with all threads at maximum stress for about two minutes, the hottest core topped out at around 79c.
   
  In normal use situations, it never even comes close to going that high. Even after looping the physics test in 3D Mark 11 about ten times, I had barely topped 60c, and the cool-down upon closing the program was immediate.


----------



## Magicman74




----------



## tool462

Quote: 





sniping said:


> That's a freakishly high overclock, what does your cooling setup look like?


 
   
  It is average or slightly below average for a normal 990X.


----------



## Omphalopsychite

Out of curiosity ran IntelBurn at max for 10 iterations my stock i7 3770. The max temp was 64C, back to idle around 30c was immediate. Didn't notice any increase in fan noise, it remained quite quiet.


----------



## PiccoloNamek

Quote: 





tool462 said:


> It is average or slightly below average for a normal 990X.


 

 That's what I was thinking. My overclock is nothing special, really.


----------



## RingingEars

Well a month ago I posted my "next computer build" specs based on a z77 platform. My how that has changed...
  A week ago I bought:
  Asus Rampage iv Extreme
  2x EVGA GTX 670 reference cards(love the way water blocks look on the shorty boards) to SLI(and WC soon)
  i7 3820
  Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850w PSU
  XSPC Raystorm RS240 kit.
  Waiting to arrive:
  16gb Viper 1600
  Corsair C70(in white)
  4x Asus 21.5 IPS LED monitors
  Everything else I have... SSD, HDD, keyboard, mouse etc.............
  Future upgrades include another radiator and water blocks for the VGAs (maybe a new pump).
  I used to water cool in the late 90s early 2000s when you had to fab your own gear so it's been a few years...
  This will be the 1st time I have used multiple monitors. Gunna be fun...............


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Well a month ago I posted my "next computer build" specs based on a z77 platform. My how that has changed...
> A week ago I bought:
> Asus Rampage iv Extreme
> 2x EVGA GTX 670 reference cards(love the way water blocks look on the shorty boards) to SLI(and WC soon)
> ...


 

 What config are you using the monitors in? 2x2?


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





proton007 said:


> What config are you using the monitors in? 2x2?


 
  3x1
  Triple with the 4th for browsing, gauges for flight sim, etc....


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> 3x1
> Triple with the 4th for browsing, gauges for flight sim, etc....


 

 Ok, but how does the resolution scale in this case?


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





proton007 said:


> Ok, but how does the resolution scale in this case?


 

 To be honest I don't know. I haven't recieved the monitors yet so I haven't had a chance to play around with them and am just going by what you can do with gtx 670 according to Nvidia, but I imagine the 3 will run at 5760x1080 with the 4th monitor running independently at 1920x1080....


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> To be honest I don't know. I haven't recieved the monitors yet so I haven't had a chance to play around with them and am just going by what you can do with gtx 670 according to Nvidia, but I imagine the 3 will run at 5760x1080 with the 4th monitor running independently at 1920x1080....


 

 Ok...I tried to run a dual monitor setup (eyefinity mode), and it seems it combines two displays. I guess you can do the same..best of luck!


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





proton007 said:


> Ok...I tried to run a dual monitor setup (eyefinity mode), and it seems it combines two displays. I guess you can do the same..best of luck!


 

 Well the icing on the cake is I passed up on the 21.5s. I found the Asus VS238H-P(23") on sale yesterday $10.00 cheaper and a $20.00 rebate on top of that..... So I picked up 4 of those instead.
  FSX is going to look awesome!!!


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Well the icing on the cake is I passed up on the 21.5s. I found the Asus VS238H-P(23") on sale yesterday $10.00 cheaper and a $20.00 rebate on top of that..... So I picked up 4 of those instead.
> FSX is going to look awesome!!!


 

 Wow, 23" is pretty big.


----------



## Rebel975

It is? I use a 27". lol


----------



## El_Doug

He's using FOUR of the 23''-ers though   That IS pretty big!  Heck, I thought my setup was big with a 30'' and dual 17'', but the quad 23's puts that to shame
   
  Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> It is? I use a 27". lol


----------



## Rebel975

Four of them? Alright, that IS huge. I was considering three of those LG "borderless" 27"  (DM92) monitors at one point, but ended up with a single 27" instead. Three would of been ridiculous.


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> Four of them? Alright, that IS huge. I was considering three of those LG "borderless" 27"  (DM92) monitors at one point, but ended up with a single 27" instead. Three would of been ridiculous.


 
  The problem I have with multi monitor setups is the classic...where do I put my speakers? Dual 27" would probably be the largest I could go, or a single 30" with two flanking 20" in portrait. Leave just enough room to set up nearfield monitors properly.


----------



## RingingEars

Thanks for the comments.....
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  Yeah 4-23"s is going to ridiculous, but lots of fun.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



   
  I placed my order(s) for everything else last night. Made a couple changes on the fly. Was going to go white/black theme, but decided on black/red with white accents.
  Here's the final parts list all ordered(no going back now):
  Asus Rampage IV Extreme
  i7 3820(until Ivy-E comes out)
  2x EVGA GTX 670 Reference SLI
  4x4gb(16gb) G Skill Ripjaws Z 2133 quad kit(red)
  XSPC 750 RS240 Kit
  Black tubing
  Monsoon compression fittings(red)
  Corsair C70 case(black)
  4x Asus VS238H-P(23") monitors
  Thermaltake Toughpower Grand 850w PSU
   
  I have everything else(as I mentioned before): SSD, HDD, amp, DAC, yadda yadda yadda.
  Will be getting another rad and XSPC 670 blocks and backplates for the GPUs soon to complete the WCing loop.
  I'll get pics up when it's all done(wont be for a week or so)...........


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Thanks for the comments.....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  Sexy.


----------



## ohh EPiC FAiL

2006 Mac Pro 1,1
  dual Intel Xeon 2.66GHz dual-core processors for now, will upgrade both to 2.66GHz quad cores in the near future
  4GB RAM for now
  X1900 graphics card
  Galaxy GT520 graphics for media
  OCZ vertex 3 120GB SSD boot drive
  Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB storage drive
  Focusrite scarlett 2i2 audio interface
  KRK Rokit 5 studio monitors
  2x insignia 20" monitors
  dynex 32" lcd for media


----------



## Tangster

Put on order out for a Dell U3011, white 3/8ths ID tubing and a bay reservoir. New toys!


----------



## RingingEars

^^Nice!!!
  New toys are always fun.


----------



## DefQon

Oh man, don't know how I'm going to feel soon after parting out from my beast.....


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





rebel975 said:


> Four of them? Alright, that IS huge. I was considering three of those LG "borderless" 27"  (DM92) monitors at one point, but ended up with a single 27" instead. Three would of been ridiculous.


 

 I'm using a 27" (WQHD) + 21.5" (HD).  Its already too big but I like the screen space.


----------



## Dyaems

Finalized and installed my "previous gen monster":
   
  i5 2500K
  Coolermaster Hyper 212 Evo
  MSI Z68A GD80 G3
  G.Skill RipjawsX 8gb x2 1866mhz
  PowerColor 7870 Myst Edition
  Plextor M5Pro 128gb
  WD Caviar Black 500gb
  WD Caviar Green 640gb
  Modded Creative Live! Platinum CT4760
  Corsair TX650
  Deepcool UF120
  NZXT H2 Classic White and its stock fans
   
  I might change my PSU to an NZXT Hale90 650w for aesthetic purposes inside my case but its impossible to find it in our country. I might do a paint job instead.


----------



## RingingEars

Getting Closer...
  Got the monitors and my second GTX 670 in yesterday afternoon. The monitors look great(had to run one at a time though). It took a little adjusting to get them right. Everything was maxed out at 100% on them so obviously no calibration from the factory.
  Anyway... Still waiting on stuff that should be here by the end of the week before I can get the multi-monitor goodness going.


----------



## Tangster

New U3011 monitor. 
   
   

   
  Comparison to my old 23"


----------



## RingingEars

Wow. Nice.
  That 2nd pic sure puts the size in perspective....
  For the price of that monitor I bet it looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.......


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Wow. Nice.
> That 2nd pic sure puts the size in perspective....
> For the price of that monitor I bet it looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.......


 
  It is rather large!
   
  The colour is pretty decent out of the box on both AdobeRGB and sRGB. I've still calibrated it though.


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Wow. Nice.
> That 2nd pic sure puts the size in perspective....
> For the price of that monitor I bet it looks A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.......


 

 Actually for the price, Dell monitors are pretty good, especially the IPS ones. I got my U2713hm for around $650. Not a steal, but still better than buying a $400 korean monitor.
  They also do a factory calibration. I use it next to my Samsung 21.5", and the differences in color accuracy are clearly visible.


----------



## Sniping

Quote: 





proton007 said:


> Not a steal, but still better than buying a $400 korean monitor.


 
  Is there a catch to those monitors?


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





sniping said:


> Is there a catch to those monitors?


 
  Warranty would be a big one....
   
  Well I didn't really care for the Corsair c70 case I got so I'm sending it back.
  I bought a Mountain Mods Pinnacle 18 instead.


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





sniping said:


> Is there a catch to those monitors?


 
   

 Glossy panel
 Bad stand
 Horrible/no warranty
 No OSD
 No Displayport
 Fewer connections in general
 Lower grade backlighting
 No hardware colour calibration


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





sniping said:


> Is there a catch to those monitors?


 

 A few things infact,
  -- No warranty
  -- Glossy display. No anti-glare coating or matte options
  -- No control options on the monitor. 
  -- Dead pixels. Although it can happen with Dell too, usually it happens after you start using the monitor (in other words, they never ship with dead pixels), and they'll replace it if >3-4 such pixels are dead/stuck.
  -- Stability.


----------



## CapitaFK

My main gaming rig:
   
  Case: Corsair 400R
  PSU: Corsair HX650
  CPU: i5 3570k @ 4.7GHz
  Cooler: Corsair H100
  Mobo: Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
  RAM: 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws
  GPU: EVGA GTX 670 FTW
  Soundcard: HT Omega Striker 7.1
  SSD: 120GB OCZ Vertex 4
  HDD1: 1TB WD Caviar Black (volume drive)
  HDD2: 2TB WD Caviar Green (for FRAPS videos only)
   
  Currently using a 32" 1080 Samsung TV as my monitor since my LG crapped out. Waiting for my BenQ 24" 3D monitor to come in.


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Warranty would be a big one....
> 
> Well I didn't really care for the Corsair c70 case I got so I'm sending it back.
> I bought a Mountain Mods Pinnacle 18 instead.


 
   
  Pinnacle is a nice looking case, but it is a bit annoying to build in if you are using multiple watercooled video cards.
   
  I sold my black 24 awhile back.

 For the record the anodized MNPCTech aluminum stuff (grills, buttons, etc) all match the MM anodizing PERFECTLY.


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





tool462 said:


> Pinnacle is a nice looking case, but it is a bit annoying to build in if you are using multiple watercooled video cards.
> 
> I sold my black 24 awhile back.
> 
> For the record the anodized MNPCTech aluminum stuff (grills, buttons, etc) all match the MM anodizing PERFECTLY.


 
  Good to know. Thanks.
  I ended up getting the 24 instead of the 18. More room for R4E.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Multiple cards? How so? Seems like it would be super easy especially if you flipped the motherboard tray upside down.


----------



## suddenhalt

I have the first I7 cpu, first Beats audio and first USB 3.0 in an laptop.
  I have tweeked my ENVY 15 laptop so much I cannot let it go.
  so it has...
  Windows Ult 7 and win 8 dual bootable
it has an I7 q720 win7 4+4 core CPU rated 5.9 of 8
  32GB 1333 RAM        rated 7.2
  AMD Radeon 5830 w/ 1GB rated 6.8 both 2d and 3d
  a Samsung 830 series 256GB SSD  rated 7.4
  It gets hot so it has not only the three copper heatsink fans
  and the laptop it sits on a 120mm fan
  and a CPU cooler w/fan sits on top.
  So I have a seperate keyboard
  a LG scanning mouse
  a Rosewill USB force feedback headset
  Altec Lansing stereo amplified speakers and subwoofer
  usb 3.0 x 7 hub
  1 terebyte usb 3.0 HDD backup
  120 gb SSD back-up drive too.
  external bluray and dvd player
  and the built in and an external camera
  OH yeah
  42" 1080P phillips TV from HDMI and 15.6 laptops display at 1920 x 1080
  and that's just on my 96" x 30" desk
  The real drawback is on a 9 cell battery at half speed
  I get 45 minutes run time.
   
  That's about it. I really need a GOOD pair of headphones.
   
  I am at facebook.com/davidnsutton


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Good to know. Thanks.
> I ended up getting the 24 instead of the 18. More room for R4E.
> 
> 
> ...


 
   
  If you flip the tray you'll be good to go, it is just REALLY close to the floor of the case so if you have 2 or 3 cards you don't have much room to route tubing and I personally don't use any rotary fittings in any of my builds.
   
  Not a big deal obviously, just a nitpick for an otherwise sexy case.


----------



## RingingEars

After researching this build for a couple months I'm finally getting it together.
 I just got done setting up the WCing loop so I'm bleeding the system and letting it leak test for 24hrs.
 (sorry for the crappy pics. I'm working with a cheap Kodak EasyShare C182)


----------



## 34cupablanca

Xigmatek asgard case
Gelid tranquilo cpu fan
Corsair psu
Wd raptor hd 120gb and other 500gb 7200rpm.
Asus xonar sound card
Nvidia low profile graphics card
Asus motherboard with 8gb ram
Intel i5 2500k cpu
Front panel with usb3,e sata, card readers. 
Firewire pci adaptor
Scythe gentle typhoon and akasa apache case fans
Akasa sound insulation kit
Blu ray drive, dvd rw drive
Logitech anywhere mx
Dell 24" 

For audio and music production : focus rite 24 pro and send hd650.


----------



## Tangster

Had to replace the EK DCP pump in my loop yesterday since it was dying. New Laing DDC is much better. Also used a bay reservoir.
  The tube routing is funky so I might revisit the loop with some 90 degree fittings in a month or so.
   
  The new semi-translucent white tubing looks an absolute treat. Much nicer than the old clear tubing, imo.#


----------



## SikkNazty

CPU: Intel i7 3610-QM
  CHIP: Intel HM77 Chipset
  GPU: AMD Radeon HD 7970m
  RAM: 12GB 1600mhz
  DISPLAY: 15.6" FHD Matte-Type (1920-1080)
  HDD: 750GB 7200RPM
  MOUSE: Razer Mamba
  HEADSET: SteelSeries Siberia v2


----------



## Dyaems

how much is a decent water cooling kit nowadays? everyone seems to use it in this generation xD


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





dyaems said:


> how much is a decent water cooling kit nowadays? everyone seems to use it in this generation xD


 
  £150 ish if you're looking at a CPU only loop. Less if you use smaller rads, cheaper fans or a smaller pump with and integrated reservoir.


----------



## DefQon

Quote: 





dyaems said:


> how much is a decent water cooling kit nowadays? everyone seems to use it in this generation xD


 
  Depends, with DangerDen closed down for good and most of their stock cleared at crazy prices, prices from other company's are slightly higher when both products are compared spec to spec wise. Not to mention how fancy do you want your w/c to be, any dyes to be included, how many loops you're running to whether just the CPU or to 1 or multiple gfx cards or RAM. Besides AIO cooling units a custom w/c for 1 CPU and Gfx card and a dual mount rad it's about $250 or so. Though if you're going for AIO w/cing units their are not really worth it as the best air cooler still outperforms the best AIO w/cooler. D14 > H100 and the D14 run's alot more quieter as well.


----------



## Dyaems

i plan before on getting my rig watercooled but i dont have a budget that time. i only plan on cooling my CPU (2500k) and GPU (gtx660). maybe my case may be the cause for getting somewhat high temps for my specs (if OC'd, otherwise, its not) due to the lack of airflow and my ambient temp here is somewhat warm, but i like the looks of my case so i dont want to change it. so i plan on using watercooled system again in he future.
   
  any brands to note for ? i really dont have any idea when it comes to water cooling, i always do aircooling for my previous rigs until now. also, i dont do extreme OCing but i just want my GPU and CPU cool enough not to damage it specially summer is coming in our country soon! 30-37C ambient temps everyday!


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





dyaems said:


> i plan before on getting my rig watercooled but i dont have a budget that time. i only plan on cooling my CPU (2500k) and GPU (gtx660). maybe my case may be the cause for getting somewhat high temps for my specs (if OC'd, otherwise, its not) due to the lack of airflow and my ambient temp here is somewhat warm, but i like the looks of my case so i dont want to change it. so i plan on using watercooled system again in he future.
> 
> any brands to note for ? i really dont have any idea when it comes to water cooling, i always do aircooling for my previous rigs until now. also, i dont do extreme OCing but i just want my GPU and CPU cool enough not to damage it specially summer is coming in our country soon! 30-37C ambient temps everyday!


 
  I like EK, Swifttech and Watercool. Most of the block perform within a few degrees anyway, just pick one with nice looks and easy setup.
  For pumps, you can't go wrong with a Laing D5 or DDC(which are also sold by other manufacturers with their name, like the Brainwavz HM5).
   
  Distilled water and a corrosion inhibitor is a cheap coolant. Add a dye for colour. Mayhems coolants are the best looking.
   
  I prefer compression fittings.
   
  The sky is the limit if you want a really, really pretty setup though.


----------



## Dyaems

thanks for the info!
   
  a simple setup will do since my sidepanels are closed anyway. heck, im not even fond of LED lights! xD
   
  i just want mine to look good on the outside, and look even better on the inside


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





dyaems said:


> thanks for the info!
> 
> a simple setup will do since my sidepanels are closed anyway. heck, im not even fond of LED lights! xD
> 
> i just want mine to look good on the outside, and look even better on the inside


 
  You'll want to be really picky with cable management then. Good cable management can turn a mess of a build into a very attractive build.


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





tangster said:


> Had to replace the EK DCP pump in my loop yesterday since it was dying. New Laing DDC is much better. Also used a bay reservoir.
> The tube routing is funky so I might revisit the loop with some 90 degree fittings in a month or so.
> 
> The new semi-translucent white tubing looks an absolute treat. Much nicer than the old clear tubing, imo.#
> ...


 
  That's a very nice looking rig Tangster. Love the tube color...
  I started my cable management last night. It's a thing of beauty I tell ya. The mountain mods case definitely makes you flex your cable management creativity muscles.
  I'll get some pics up to show what I mean, but at this point I'm at a stand still until Sat. when my Bitfenix Alchemy cables come in...


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> That's a very nice looking rig Tangster. Love the tube color...
> I started my cable management last night. It's a thing of beauty I tell ya. The mountain mods case definitely makes you flex your cable management creativity muscles.
> I'll get some pics up to show what I mean, but at this point I'm at a stand still until Sat. when my Bitfenix Alchemy cables come in...


 
  If there was a thing I wish the raven did better, it'd be cable management. Not enough built in clips on the back(the rear of mine is liberally dotted with stick on cable clips to compensate) and the rotated motherboard makes things extra awkward, extra cm or two of room wouldn't go amiss either since my SSDs are stuck to the rear of the tray. More space for watercooling would also be nice, but it is supposed to be an air cooling case, so I can let that go.


----------



## RingingEars

Well I got this thing up and running last night. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's awesome!!!
  1st SLI and multi monitor setup I've built. It's a beast 
  I only messed around with it for and hour so I haven't put it through it's paces yet(no OC yet), but so far so good.
  I'll get pics up when my new cables come in tomorrow....


----------



## mononymous

Updated my rig last sunday, but never had the opportunity to post it until now... has been a pretty busy week for me.
   
  I think this is my first time posting here on this thread so here are my specs:
  Intel Core i7 3930K
  Asus Rampage IV Formula
  G.Skill Ripjaws X 1600MHz 4X4GB
  MSI GTX 690
  Corsair H70
  Creative ZxR

 Shure SRH 840
 AKG K240 MKII
 Grado SR325i
  Creative Fatal1ty Pro

 Razer Tiamat 7.1
 Onkyo TX-SR604
  Intel 520 Series 240GB (OS)
  Samsung 840 Series 500GB (Games)
  Seagate 1TB RAID 0
  Seagate 2TB RAID 0
  Corsair AX750
  Fractal Design Define R3
  Fans switched to either 

 Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1850rpm
 Thermaltake Silent-X 140mm
  LG Blu-ray Reader
  Dell U2311H and Samsung EX2220
   
  Inserting the image seems buggy... so here's the link
  http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8518/8500314803_50f6afd35c_b.jpg
  and the headphones
  http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8506/8500324283_694e1c08ee_b.jpg
  Here's a slightly older pic showing my monitors
  http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8209/8162502897_cb810b5815_b.jpg


----------



## L33TH4XXZ0R

Bad comp inbound ):
I7 3770k
GeForce GTX 670 4gb GDDR5 
Corsair vengeance 16gb ram
WD Blue 1TB
Corsair GS600W
PL Z77 LK
Cooler Master HAF 912
Antec Kuhler 620 CPU water cooling system
Peripherals
Razer Deathstalker Ultimate
Razer Taipan
Razer Blackshark


----------



## y3110w

Recently built this
   
  i5 3570k
  Corsair H40 cooler
  AsRock z77 Extreme 4
  Samsung 4gb x2
  Crucial M4 128gb SSD
  Hitachi 500gb HD (from my old computer)
  Western Digital 1tb External HD
  Sapphire Radeon 7950 3gb
  NZXT Switch 810 White
  NZXT 650w psu
  Dell S2240M 21.5" Monitor
  Rosewill Cherry MX Red Switch Keyboard


----------



## namizich

i7 3770K 
   
 AsRock z77 Extreme 4
  Samsung 250GB SSD
  WD Black 1TB 
  AMD FirePro V4900
  Two Dell 2713 27" Monitors


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





namizich said:


> i7 3770K
> 
> AsRock z77 Extreme 4
> Samsung 250GB SSD
> ...


 

 Seems you're using yours for 3D/CAD ?


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





proton007 said:


> Seems you're using yours for 3D/CAD ?


 
   
  Based on the title, I'd imagine drawing up some PCBs.


----------



## Fishi

i7-3770k
  ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
  GTX560 SLI
  120GB SSD
  1TB WD Black
5.5TB green HDD (Why so much? For anime of course!) 
  23" Asus LCD Moniter
  22" random Dell LCD Moniter
  Corsair Vengeance 16GB RAM


----------



## holbech

Well currently i haven't really got what you guys would call a computer, as i *sold* my computer:
   
  i7 2600k OC @4,5 GHz  (with custom cooling)
  GTX 580 TF2 
  Intel 520 Series SSD boot drive 
  1TB HDD storage drive
  Corsair 850watt TX2 
  GA-z67-UD3 
  Corsair Vengeance 32 GB 1600mhz 
  in a NZXT Phantom Black.
   
  2x LG 21,5" LED Full HD 
  Razer Mamba 2012
  Razer Blackwidow Ultimate
  Razer Ironclad
  Steelseries Siberia V2
   
  and bought the *new iMac 27" *with fusion drive.


----------



## iamitman

CPU : i73770k
  Mainboard : Asus Sabertooth Z77
  VGA : Asus GTX670 DCII
  HDD : 1TB WD Blue
  Ram : Geil Dragon 8GBx2
  Power : Corsair AX750
  Cooling : Noctua NH-D14 (Awesome!)
  Case : Cooler Master CM690 Advance USB3.0
   
  23" Philips IPS Panel LED Monitor


----------



## Jesterphile

CPU : i5 3570k
 Mainboard : Asus P8Z77-M PRO
 VGA : Sapphire HD7950 OC
 HDD : 128GB Crucial M4 + 1TB WD Black
 Ram : G.Skill Ripjaws 8GB
 Power : Seasonic X660
 Cooling : Noctua NH-U12P
 Case : TJ08-E
  
 Dell U2412HM (24" 1920x1200)


----------



## wburton

My laptop i havent gotten yet's specs
  8gb ram
  500gb 7200rpm hhd with tandem 16gb SATA ssd
  intel graphics 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  Windows 7 HP and XFCE Ubuntu 12.10 (dual boot)
  dolby digital audio v2
  2.20 ghz intel 3rd gen i5 with boost to 3.10ghz
  Lenovo THINkPAD Edge E530
   
  my laptop now
  4gb ram
  320gb 5400rpm hhd
  intel graphics
  win7 hp
  1.65ghz amd e series
  lenovo B575


----------



## Satellite_6

Hmmmm. . . my new-ish laptop is
   
  intel i7 @ 2.2 GHz CPU
  6 GB DDR3 RAM
  nvidia geforce 630M 2 GB GPU
  750 GB HDD
  15" 1920x1080 screen
   
  I loves it. I only use it to play tf2 and that's it really so I don't need anything ridiculous.
   
  It was $900 and no other laptop under $1k had remotely similar specs at the time. 
   
  I think I'll buy an Asus laptop every once and a while in the future.
   
  So much better than the Dell POS I had before.


----------



## RingingEars

Finally got it done. Still have some WCing parts coming, but here it is...


----------



## RingingEars

Here's a couple more...


----------



## Sniping

Awesome system!


----------



## RingingEars

Thanks, but it still has a way to go. I have water blocks coming for the GPUs and another 120.3 res(I think I'll go Alphacool Monsta next), and some other fittings. I want to set up a drain and set up some therm sensors and flow meter... I would like to get a 2nd 655 pump and run duals...


----------



## wburton

hey, how good are Conexant SmartAudio HD soundcards? if I get one will i need a DAC if I use it with an amp?


----------



## Dyaems

changing my case soon from mid-tower to mITX looking forward to it! need to sell few headphones and iems first
   
  fractal node 304
  i5 2500k
  antec kuhler 620
  asrock z77e-itx
  8gb x2 gskill RJX 1866mhz
  evga gtx 660 SC
  seasonic G550 psu
  plextor m5pro
  WD black HDD
   
   
  i dont plan on super OC so the 620 is good as it is, i hope the whole system is silent enough not to be louder than my trusty electric fan behind me! maybe need to replace the stock 620 fan to some aftermarket fans if i dont like the noise for it.


----------



## Spastic

My current 8-9 month old system
   
  Case: Coolermaster HAF X
  CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K
  Motherboard: ASUS PBZ Z-68 Deluxe Gen3
  Graphics card:Inno3D GeForce GTX 580 
  Sound card: Asus Xonar Essence STX
  HDD's: 2 x Seagate 2TB drives 7200RPM
  Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16gb DDR3 1600mhz (4x4gb) 
  PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower 1200W
   
  Should last me for a while.


----------



## LinkPro

AMD Phenom II X4 955
  Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
  16GB Patriot Viper IEM Limited Edition DDR3-1600 (4 x 4GB) 
  MSI HD6950 2GB Twin Frozr II
  WD Caviar Blue 500GB
  Corsair TX750 v2
  Thermaltake Armor A90
   
  Built during my 2nd semester in college, junior now. Almost 3 years old even though some parts were replaced recently. Due for a total overhaul this summer break, gonna be a busy break for me.


----------



## buttons252

My $400 system I just built a few months ago.  
   
  AMD 1090T @ 3.8ghz six core
ASUS M4A88TD EVO
Zalman LQ-320 cooler
2x4gb 1866mhz ddr3 CL9
XFX 5850 w/upgraded cooler
OCZ Agility 3 120gb SSD


----------



## jenneth

i7-3770k
  ASUS Maximus V Gene
  Vengeance LP 16GB DDR3-1600 (2 x 8GB)
  EVGA GTX 680 SC Signature
  Samsung 840 Pro 256GB + WD Scorpio Black 750 GB
  Corsair AX750
  Silverstone FT03 Titanium
   
  Might flip that 680 for an Maxwell next year, we'll see.


----------



## RingingEars

Got the new rad and GPU blocks in...


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Got the new rad and GPU blocks in...
> -pictures-


 
  Damn that case looks spacious. I'm going to have to upgrade my case one day, the Raven RV02 doesn't cut it for watercooling. Maybe a Corsair 900D or a TJ11...
   
  Anyway, some pix of my newly installed EVGA GTX 670SC 4GB. Copy pasting from the PC-fi thread:
   
   
  "Overclocked my GTX670 fairly conservatively with +185Mhz GPU and +300Mhz to the memory for a fairly conservative overclock of 1100Mhz core and 1652Mhz(6608Mhz effective) Vram. Still can't play Witcher 2 on Ultra with ubersampling at 2560x1600. Average frame rate is 24fps with a max of 31 and min of 14. Damn.
   
  I can max Witcher 2 out at 1080p with an average fps of 47 and min of 34, so that's something. Even Crysis 3 isn't hitting my system as hard."
   
   

   

   
   


Spoiler: PC%20Specs



*CPU:* i5 2500K _@ 5GHz_
*CPU Cooling:* EK Supreme + Coolstream XT 240
*RAM*: 16GB HyperX DDR3 _@ 1866MHz_
*GPU:* EVGA GTX670SC 4GB _@ 1100/6608_
*GPU Cooling:* EK FC670 block
*Mobo:* MSI P67A-GD55
*Storage:* 256GB Crucial M4 Boot, 512GB Crucial M4 Programs, 3 x 480GB Sandisk Extreme SSD Storage drives.
*Screen:* Dell U3011
*Case:* Raven RV-02E
*Keyboard & Mouse:* Ducky Shine 2 + KBT Pure + MS Sidewinder X5


----------



## RingingEars

That's a nice looking build Tangster...
  My next case is going to be the CaseLabs ST10...


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> That's a nice looking build Tangster...
> My next case is going to be the CaseLabs ST10...


 
  I could probably build a PC in an ST10 and rent the spare space out as a flat.


----------



## FluxMaven

I have a lot of computers, but the main two I use a lot would be my 2011 MacBook Pro
  2.0GHz i7 quad
  16GB GSkill ram
  128GB Crucial M4 SSD
  500GB HD in place of optical drive
  the optical drive was put into an external case
   
  My PC
   
i7-870
Intel Extreme motherboard
8GB of Corsair Vengeance ram
EVGA GTX 560 Ti Classified
Corsair 650w power supply
80GB Intel 320 SSD
1TB Western Digital HDD
Antec Kuhler H2O 920 Liquid Cooling System
Zalman Z9 Plus case
Dual LG Bluray drives
26" LG display
   
  I love both computers, I do graphic design work on both, and game on both... mostly on the windows box. Would love to get a better graphics card in the PC though, It works just a little too hard pushing 1920x1200 on highest settings of the newer games.


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





tangster said:


> I could probably build a PC in an ST10 and rent the spare space out as a flat.


 

 Very true...
  The SM8 would be a little more humble 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  I'm haveing a love/hate relationship with my mountain mods Pinnacle. It has plenty of room, but no real pazazz. No cable management to speak of so you have to get creative, but that only goes so far...
  Haven't really made up my mind if my next computer part purchase will be a new case or a 2nd pump. I don't "need" either so it's making for a hard choice...


----------



## AAP8

Man you guys all have much better computers than I do ... I have a simple MacBook ... I dont do desktops, but you guys have some sweet rigs.


----------



## FluxMaven

Quote: 





aap8 said:


> Man you guys all have much better computers than I do ... I have a simple MacBook ... I dont do desktops, but you guys have some sweet rigs.


 
  Well if all you need is a simple MacBook, then there is really no need to own a desktop. No sense in wasting money on something you don't need.


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





fluxmaven said:


> Well if all you need is a simple MacBook, then there is really no need to own a desktop. No sense in wasting money on something you don't need.


 
  Need is relative. I don't need schiit loads of headphones either.


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





fluxmaven said:


> Well if all you need is a simple MacBook, then there is really no need to own a desktop. No sense in wasting money on something you don't need.


 
   
  He owns a MacBook, so he already wasted some money for a light up Apple logo


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





tool462 said:


> He owns a MacBook, so he already wasted some money for a light up Apple logo


 
   
  OOOOOOOooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
  Quote: 





tangster said:


> Need is relative. I don't need schiit loads of headphones either.


 
  This is true.
  I have 4 desktops, 1 HTPC, and a laptop(cheap lenovo). I only "need" one, but it's a hobby. Just like audio gear. My WCed comp is more of a "schiits and giggles" rig...


----------



## proton007

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> OOOOOOOooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!
> This is true.
> I have 4 desktops, 1 HTPC, and a laptop(cheap lenovo). I only "need" one, but it's a hobby. Just like audio gear. My WCed comp is more of a "schiits and giggles" rig...


 
   
  Do you keep them switched on ?? Maybe you can use them for BIONC.


----------



## FluxMaven

Quote: 





proton007 said:


> Do you keep them switched on ?? Maybe you can use them for BIONC.


 
  Or Folding@Home. http://folding.stanford.edu/


----------



## remilio

Now I have Dell Inspiron 7720 notebook:
   
  i5 proc.
  8Gb RAM
  1000GB HDD
  NVidia 650M videocard


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





fluxmaven said:


> Or Folding@Home. http://folding.stanford.edu/


 

 Yes. This. for team 32...


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Yes. This. for team 32...


 
  You mean team 35947 of course. Currently 7th.


----------



## RingingEars

^^Looks like now you're 8. We are 5...


----------



## silvrr

Hmm, looks like I can't post photos yet.  
   
  Here's my specs at least:
   
   
  CPU: i5 2500K @ 4.2 GHz
  MoBo: Asus P8Z68-M Pro
  RAM: G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB DDR3 2133
  GPU: XFX 5450
  SSD: Crucial M4 64GB (Boot)
  HDD1: WD Caviar Black 500GB (Storage)
  CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-D14
  Case: Silverstone TJ-08E
   
  and a link to the pic if your so inclined.
   
http://www.flickr.com/photos/adammrugacz/8374192555/in/set-72157619106859603/


----------



## FlyingFungus

I use an abacus...and a commodore 64 on rare occasions.


----------



## kman1211

This computer is a few years old.
   
  AMD Phenom II 965 X4 3.4Ghz
  Gigabyte GA-890GPA-UD3H
  8GB of 1600mhz DDR3 RAM
  AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
  ASUS Xonar DX
  2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 750GB RAID 0
  Zalman CNPS 9500 CPU fan
  Cooler Master Scout Case


----------



## RingingEars

Redid the loop with copper pipes...
  I need to polish them up...


----------



## ElectroGeek007

Wow, that copper piping looks awesome! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 You are one of only a few people I have seen that have used solid piping for their water cooling setups.
   
  My rig has been updated since I last posted it, so I shall post it again:
   
   

   
  Specs:
  CPU: 2500k @ 4.2 GHz (I have a horrible chip, that will soon get upgraded)
  CPU Cooling: Antec Kuhler H2O 620 liquid cooling system
  Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77MX-D3H
  RAM: 16 GB G.Skill RipJaws X @ 1600 MHz
  Video Cards: 2x Gigabyte Radeon HD 7970 OC Edition (1100 MHZ core clock stock!)
  PSU: Corsair HX850
  Storage: 256 GB Crucial M4 SSD (boot drive), Seagate Barracuda XT 2 TB (storage drive)
  Case: In Win Dragon Slayer


----------



## RingingEars

Thank you sir.
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  Here it is finished:


----------



## Tangster

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Redid the loop with copper pipes...
> I need to polish them up...
> 
> 
> ...


 
  That looks sweet. Maybe get the pipes chromed for extra bling?
  Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Thank you sir.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  Mmmm....
   
  Quote: 





electrogeek007 said:


> Wow, that copper piping looks awesome!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
  Tidy build, dual 7970s, quite some grunt there. Pity about your poor 2500K chip. If it makes you feel better mine can clock to 5.3GHz on air.


----------



## xSHAZERx

Hey there, Im planning on building my own gaming desktop, and I wanted your opinions on what you think of my specs.
   
  G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL 
   
  EVGA 02G-P4-2678-KR GeForce GTX 670 FTW 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card 
   
  CORSAIR HX Series HX750 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply 
   
  Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock 
   
  ASUS P8Z77-V LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard 
   
  Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.3GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 69W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80637i53350P 
   
  Seagate Barracuda 7200.14 ST3000DM001 3TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive 
   
  windows 8 64 bit full


----------



## Spadge

xshazerx said:


> Hey there, Im planning on building my own gaming desktop, and I wanted your opinions on what you think of my specs.
> 
> G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
> 
> ...




I can't comment much on what you've got so far as I haven't kept up as late.... but I would certainly suggest that you add an SSD as your boot/programs drive. 128/256 Gig drives are pretty reasonable these days and really speed up system responsiveness/loading times.


----------



## Sniping

Agreed with an SSD...also AMD cards are great value at the moment. I remember the 7950 was just on sale for $210, and AMD is great value in general so you may want to consider going with AMD.


----------



## Blisse

xshazerx said:


> Hey there, Im planning on building my own gaming desktop, and I wanted your opinions on what you think of my specs.
> 
> G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBRL
> 
> ...




You don't need a 750W power supply.
The Rosewill case isn't that good.
Should go for cheaper ram.
Video card is iffy depending on how sales go when you're buying, unless you really want the warranty. On second thought, I don't think that model has the lifetime warranty.
Get an SSD.


----------



## nanashisan

RingingEars that rig is a work of art.
   
  I went for a quiet gaming rig this time. 
   
   
 Specs:
 CPU: INTEL, Core i7-3930K Six-Core, 3.2 - 3.8GHz TB, LGA2011, 12MB L3 Cache
 CPU Cooling: CORSAIR, H80 Hydro CPU Liquid Cooling System
 Motherboard: ASUS, P9X79 Deluxe, LGA2011, Intel® X79
 RAM: KINGSTON, 32GB (8 x 4GB) XMP HyperX Genesis PC3-17000 DDR3 2133MHz
 Video ASUS, GTX680-DC2T-2GD5, GeForce® GTX 680 1201MHz, 2GB GDDR5 6008MHz
 PSU: CORSAIR, AX860i Digital
 Storage: CORSAIR, 240GB Force Series™ GS SSD (boot drive), WESTERN DIGITAL, 1TB WD Caviar® Black x2 (storage drives)
 Case: CORSAIR, Obsidian 550D Black Mid-Tower quiet computer case
  OS: MICROSOFT, Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit Edition


----------



## Sniping

Waiiiiit, I have two questions:
  1: Why the $200 PSU?
  2: Where's the quiet part? o_o


----------



## nanashisan

From Corsair
"Quiet Operation at low loads. Super-high efficiency has another benefit: silence. The thermally-controlled fan doesn't even spin at low loads. It's ideal if you're building a quiet PC or you just want to reduce the amount of ambient noise in your life."
   
  Case, PSU and graphics card were selected based on noise over performance.
  The 550D is corsair's mid-tower quiet case.


----------



## Sniping

Case is understandable, I really like Corsair cases but there are other power supplies that less than half the price of an 860i that you could've used like a CM Silent Pro. Anyways, nice build, I'd never be able to afford something like a 3930K.


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





nanashisan said:


> RingingEars that rig is a work of art.
> 
> I went for a quiet gaming rig this time.
> 
> ...


 

 Thank you sir 
  That's what's nice about water cooling. My PC is damn near dead silent


----------



## nanashisan

Quote: 





sniping said:


> Case is understandable, I really like Corsair cases but there are other power supplies that less than half the price of an 860i that you could've used like a CM Silent Pro. Anyways, nice build, I'd never be able to afford something like a 3930K.


 
  Needed some headroom on the PSU incase I decided to go SLI titans in the future


----------



## Blisse

ringingears said:


> Thank you sir
> That's what's nice about water cooling. My PC is damn near dead silent




I have a Fractal R3 that doesn't make any noise at about 2 ft away. Air cooled with all case fans minus one. It's just about your parts mang. GTX670, 4x Phantek case fans, Phantek cooler. Need to replace the old ass Caviar Black and I'm good. Air cooling ftw.


----------



## Dyaems

anyone tried that asrock audio thingy in their new motherboards? cant find any topic in the other forum (computer audio) so might as well ask here


----------



## RingingEars

Quote: 





blisse said:


> I have a Fractal R3 that doesn't make any noise at about 2 ft away. Air cooled with all case fans minus one. It's just about your parts mang. GTX670, 4x Phantek case fans, Phantek cooler. Need to replace the old ass Caviar Black and I'm good. Air cooling ftw.


 

 Yep. That's about the only thing you hear on mine is the storage HDD when it gets accessed. My main is an SSD so no noise there.
  You can hear a slight hum from the pump, but you have to have your ear right on the case to hear it.


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





ringingears said:


> Yep. That's about the only thing you hear on mine is the storage HDD when it gets accessed. My main is an SSD so no noise there.
> You can hear a slight hum from the pump, but you have to have your ear right on the case to hear it.


 
   
  My 8 year old MCP-655 (rebranded as a bunch of other things, Laing D5, etc) lulls me to sleep every night


----------



## Quartz67

Just helped a friends setup his Level 10:
  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133192
  Definitely my favorite case.  Will be tough to watercool but it looks great.


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





quartz67 said:


> Just helped a friends setup his Level 10:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133192
> Definitely my favorite case.  Will be tough to watercool but it looks great.


 
   
  I remember when they first announced it, I saw the prototypes at CES (2009 I believe) and they were planning on charging $1500 or something stupid.  The actual released model is much cheaper feeling, the prototypes were built like tanks.  Cool case nonetheless!


----------



## Blisse

tool462 said:


> quartz67 said:
> 
> 
> > Just helped a friends setup his Level 10:
> ...




That's not the Level 10. It's the Level 10 GT. The Level 10 is much cooler and more baller and more $$$. It's really not meant to be a case, it's supposed to be a work of art. Cooling should be purely a bonus, it's the looks and aluminum you're paying for.

http://www.ttlevel10.com/

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/news/exclusive_thermaltakes_jawdropping_level_10_chassis_unboxed


----------



## DefQon

The level 10 is one of the worst cases I've worked with just a notch better than the old Antec Basiq beige cases from Pentium 4 days.


----------



## AlanHell

Just find this thread in the Headfi, looks very fun to me~~~~                
  Will just post some specs to reboot the post.
   
 Specs:
 CPU: INTEL  Core i7-980X Six-Core, OC-4.2Ghz, LGA1366, 12MB L3 Cache
 CPU Cooling: CORSAIR H100 Hydro CPU Liquid Cooling System
 Motherboard: ASUS RAMPAGE III Formula  LGA1366, Intel® X58
 RAM:Corsair Dominator GT 12G (6 x 2GB) DDR3 2000MHz 8-9-8-24
 Video EVGA GTX680 Classified 4GB SLi  GPU-OC @1.3Ghz + Gigabyte GTX560 Ti GPU-OC @ 900Mhz PhyX 
 PSU: CORSAIR AX1200 Gold
 Storage: OCZ 120GB Vertex 3 MAXIOPS SSD (boot drive), Sandisk Extreme 240G SSD for game, Seagate NS series 1TB RAID 0 for less played game, 4TB HGST Ultrastar HDD for data. 
 Case: CORSAIR Obsidian 800D Black FUll-Tower With all AF fans and clear window
 I/O: Blackwidow mechanical Keyboard, RAT 9/ RAZER ouroboros/ RAZER mamba, Logitech G27 wheel, RAZER orbweaver etc.....
 SOUND: Creative Titanium Champion Series (Well, as headfi, my other gear will not be interested for ppl here~~~)
  OS: MICROSOFT, Windows 7 Pro 64-bit Edition
   



Spoiler: Warning%3A%20Spoiler!


----------



## phillyd

The "SwitchBox"
i7 3770k @4.7GHz cooled by Danger Den M6 Nickel
Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3
2x4GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 1866MHz @2200MHz 9-10-9-27
MSi Twin Frozr III 7950 @1250/1650
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
Crucial M4 256GB
NZXT Switch 810 Matte Black
Cooler Master Silent Hybrid Pro 1050W
REEVEN RFC-01
Hardware Labs Black Ice GTS 360 in push/pull with Corsair Air SP120's
FrozenQ Liquid Fusion V 250ml black helix res
Monsoon compressions, rotary angled fittings, green LED plugs
Swiftech MCP-655 pump
Duralene tubing
HP 2311x 23" 1080p monitor
KBtalking Pro keyboard with Cherry MX reds and O-rings
Razer Naga Epic
Razer Goliathus Extended


----------



## AlanHell

Quote: 





phillyd said:


> The "SwitchBox"
> i7 3770k @4.7GHz cooled by Danger Den M6 Nickel
> Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3
> 2x4GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 1866MHz @2200MHz 9-10-9-27
> ...


 
  nice water cooler~~~ Is that a custom build one, or OEM one?
   
  I did not see the reviser and pump, if you have it, better show it~~~~~I find putting water inside your case very very sexy~~~~~~


----------



## phillyd

Definitely custom! It's the FrozenQ Liquid Fusion V res and the Swiftech MCP-655


----------



## AlanHell

wow, nice~~~
  How much time you spend to mod it?
  I always wanna to go with custom water cooling, but not sure I got the tools to do the body work.
  Do you have schematics before you start remodel? Or everything just fit in as you install them?


----------



## phillyd

If you pick the right case, everything will fit with little effort.


----------



## AlanHell

As you can see my post in the last page. My case is pretty big but so is my stuff. I am having another 680 coming and not sure I have enough room for the radiator~~~~
   
  I got the full tower because i want to work on some water cooling system, but in the end, I think there is more than just screw drives I need~~~~


----------



## OmarCCX

I've got a 
   
  i5 3570k @ 4.2ghz (Had it at 4.7, decided to keep the voltage low)
  Corsair H100i (Going to sell it and get a Noctua D14)
  G.Skill Sniper 2133MHz DDR3 RAM (Looks kinda ugly quite frankly)
  Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H (Really regret not spending the extra $40 on the UD5H)
  Crucial M4 256GB
  Fractal Define R4 in white
   
  Dualbooting Windows 8 and OS X 10.8
  Don't have a GPU yet, I'm looking at getting the GTX 760 in a few months. I'll post pics of my case when I get it, because right now it looks awfully dull.
   
  Also planning on getting an HRT MSII and a pair of studio monitors. I'm done with headphones for the time being.


----------



## AlanHell

if you wanna get the best performance to price, try get an AMD card~~~~ For my experience, Nvidia is going down slop on their driver for a while and there is not a signal release in the past year to support NVIDIA. (No phyX and no Nvidia titile game anymore due to the fact that both next gen console is using AMD bundle~~~).
  This is coming from an NVIDIA fan boy who only uses Intel and Nvidia for his entire life~~~~~~~
   
   
  P.S.
   
  Before you switch your cooler, make sure your G.skill is not to high~~~ The reason I got the H100 is because my corsair donimator GT is too high and come with fans. The only thing that can fit in is the stock cooler or water cooler~~~~~~~
  How dual boot an mac OS? I have 3 OS now: Ubuntu, win7 and win 8.


----------



## OmarCCX

Quote: 





alanhell said:


> if you wanna get the best performance to price, try get an AMD card~~~~ For my experience, Nvidia is going down slop on their driver for a while and there is not a signal release in the past year to support NVIDIA. (No phyX and no Nvidia titile game anymore due to the fact that both next gen console is using AMD bundle~~~).
> This is coming from an NVIDIA fan boy who only uses Intel and Nvidia for his entire life~~~~~~~
> 
> 
> ...


 
  I know AMD's performance looks tempting, but right now they don't have as much support on OS X as Nvidia does. That's the only thing holding back my GPU choices. Although considering the new Mac Pro uses Radeon cards, support should get better. Heck, I might just end up waiting for AMD's next gen. I barely play games during school semester anyway.
   
  I'm pretty sure the Sniper RAM fits under the Noctua, I think I remember them being on the cooler's compatibility list.
   
  And to dual boot OS X you need a supported motherboard. Most Gigabytes and Asus motherboards are natively compatible, some MSI and Asrock MB's need a bit of tweaking to get them to work. Once you have the supported MB it should be a pretty straight forward install. You do need a copy of Mountain Lion and a Mac to create the USB disk. I just bought an 8GB flashdrive solely for this purpose.
   
  There are lots of guides on www.tonymacx86.com


----------



## AlanHell

might give it a shot. Mine 680s are not MAC version, so might be tricky~~~ Do have an USB drive, a 64G one, but it is an usb3.0 SSD, so might be tricky again~~~
  Hack, just for fun~~~~


----------



## OmarCCX

Quote: 





alanhell said:


> might give it a shot. Mine 680s are not MAC version, so might be tricky~~~ Do have an USB drive, a 64G one, but it is an usb3.0 SSD, so might be tricky again~~~
> Hack, just for fun~~~~


 
  The GPU doesn't need to be Mac compatible. When you're installing it, you need to remove any GPU and use Intel HD, then after you install OS X you can install the GPU and the drivers. All Nvidia GTX 5xx, 6xx and 7xx seem to be compatible with OSX. As for the Radeons, you need the latest OS X 10.8.4 for the 7000 series to be compatible.
   
  I tried making the USB drive with a Mountain Lion I got from a certain pirate website, but that didn't work. I kept getting an error. You need the original Mountain Lion from the app store (which is $20).


----------



## AlanHell

lol, too bad my mother board is X58, there is noway I got an intel HD in it~~~~~~
  Guess gonna wait till Ivy-extreme come up~~~~


----------



## OmarCCX

X79 support on OS X isn't as good as 1155 / 1150 though.


----------



## AlanHell

I guess I will go Chrome OS then~~~~ Just for fun~~~~


----------



## OmarCCX

Quote: 





alanhell said:


> I guess I will go Chrome OS then~~~~ Just for fun~~~~


 
  Or build an X79 rig with compatible parts and have OS X + Chrome OS. haha
   
  I main OS X, I only use Windows for games and emulators. Having an exposé for switching programs makes me a 1,000 times more productive.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





omarccx said:


> Or build an X79 rig with compatible parts and have OS X + Chrome OS. haha
> 
> I main OS X, I only use Windows for games and emulators. Having an exposé for switching programs makes me a 1,000 times more productive.


 
   
  Heard of Rocket Dock and the likes?


----------



## OmarCCX

Quote: 





szadzik said:


> Heard of Rocket Dock and the likes?


 
  Yeah, they don't feel the same. Besides, I use iMessage a lot.


----------



## Szadzik

Quote: 





omarccx said:


> Yeah, they don't feel the same. Besides, I use iMessage a lot.


 
   
  Alright, you like closed eco-systems, sorry.


----------



## OmarCCX

I actually prefer Linux, but I can't use all my programs there.


----------



## AlanHell

Well, if all games runs on OpenGL, I I will use my ubuntu more often~~~
  Truth is, they don't.
   
  So I am stuck with windows and DX11~~~
   
  Anyone have good cooler recons? My H100's fan controller is dead~~~~~~~


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





alanhell said:


> Anyone have good cooler recons? My H100's fan controller is dead~~~~~~~


 
   
  Why not just run the fans off a PWM header on the mobo?


----------



## AlanHell

Quote: 





tool462 said:


> Why not just run the fans off a PWM header on the mobo?


 

 This is what I did, but just for short time. I need something that has fan control over temperature. I use to use corsair link, but I think the native CPU fan controller also works fine to me.
   
  You know as a noobie headfier that have only been here for less than 2 years, I do own some open head phones that require some quiet listening. As I play music on my PC, I think even I turn off half of the fan, my PC will still be cool~~~~


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





alanhell said:


> This is what I did, but just for short time. I need something that has fan control over temperature. I use to use corsair link, but I think the native CPU fan controller also works fine to me.
> 
> You know as a noobie headfier that have only been here for less than 2 years, I do own some open head phones that require some quiet listening. As I play music on my PC, I think even I turn off half of the fan, my PC will still be cool~~~~


 
   
  If it is a PWM header you can make your own noise profile in the BIOS based on the temp of the CPU, what motherboard do you have?
   
  I can help you set it up if you aren't familiar with that.


----------



## AlanHell

Quote: 





tool462 said:


> If it is a PWM header you can make your own noise profile in the BIOS based on the temp of the CPU, what motherboard do you have?
> 
> I can help you set it up if you aren't familiar with that.


 

 Thank, I have ASUS Formula III (X58)
   
  I believe my PWM has 2 extra header for the temperature sensor so the fan profile will be using the reading on that sensor.
  Only the Qfan control is linked to the NB or CPU I think.
   
  Besides, I do have a internal fan controller, so if I spend some time, I believe I can use the fan controller to get it work. But, I think it is time to give my CPU cooler an update since the H100 seems to be a little bit problematic.
   
  P.S.
  I have the corsair AF series fans which only have 3 pin controllers. So I believe it is been controlled by voltage/current other than PWM pules. Not sure the PWM header will work in my case~~~


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





alanhell said:


> Thank, I have ASUS Formula III (X58)
> 
> I believe my PWM has 2 extra header for the temperature sensor so the fan profile will be using the reading on that sensor.
> Only the Qfan control is linked to the NB or CPU I think.
> ...


 
   
   
  Rampage III Formula will be able to adjust voltages on the fan headers from 4.4v to 12.1v so if you can't make the BIOS Q-Fan work you could try Asus' program called TurboV Evo and use the Fan Xpert tab within the program.
   
  Not saying you can't get a new cooler (I for one, hate the "all in one" "water" coolers) but just trying to help you avoid spending cash if you don't have to


----------



## AlanHell

tool462 said:


> Rampage III Formula will be able to adjust voltages on the fan headers from 4.4v to 12.1v so if you can't make the BIOS Q-Fan work you could try Asus' program called TurboV Evo and use the Fan Xpert tab within the program.
> 
> Not saying you can't get a new cooler (I for one, hate the "all in one" "water" coolers) but just trying to help you avoid spending cash if you don't have to



Well, for now, this is what I use.But I think sooner or late my pump will break, and I need something to cool my 4.2ghz six cores......

I really want to go custom cooling, but not on my old pc, gonna wait till new extremes come out. 

Thanks for your help though, much appreciated


----------



## tool462

Quote: 





alanhell said:


> Well, for now, this is what I use.But I think sooner or late my pump will break, and I need something to cool my 4.2ghz six cores......
> 
> I really want to go custom cooling, but not on my old pc, gonna wait till new extremes come out.
> 
> Thanks for your help though, much appreciated


 
   
  No problem, shoot me a PM if you need any assistance putting together your first real loop.  I keep up to date on the stuff coming out and have probably done 200-250 loops so I can help steer you clear from any issues


----------



## PintoDave

Newest addition to the computer systemss.

PowerBook G4 12" 867MHz 640mb RAM 80gb hard drive. Plan to upgrade to 1gb RAM. Works great as a portable for work spreadsheets and what not. Running Tiger.

Its my first mac that I have owned that can run X decently, and I'm absolutely loving it!


----------



## Donten




----------



## nomnomguy

Desktop
Intel Core i7 4770K
MSI gaming Z78 GD-65
Corsair Vengeance LP (8gb)
2X ASUS GTX 680 in SLI
 640GB WD caviar Black
 128gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
 Samsung 27' 1920X1080 
  
 Laptop
 Alienware 17 
 Intel Core i7 4930MX
 16GB Ram
 Some kind of 256 gb SSD (installed by alienware)
 Some kind of 1tb HDD (installed by alienware)
 Nvidia GTX 780m 4GB
 17' 1920x1080 IPS display 120 HZ Nvidia 3d Vision capable


----------



## Sniping

Man that Samsung display is holding your $1K+ GPU setup back, Qnix QX2710 bro!


----------



## Dizzante

MSI 990FXA
 16 GB Crucial Ballistix DDR3 2000
 Powercolor AMD Radeon 6870 Myst Edition
 NZXT 850 Watt PSU
 AMD FX8350 Black
 2 x Corsair 128 GB Force SSD's
 1 TB Seagate 7200 RPM HDD
 Corsair Liquid CPU cooler


----------



## whitedragon551

NVIDIA 770GTX
 12Gbs of DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
 Intel i7 4700MQ 2.4Ghz-3.4Ghz CPU
 750Gb 720 RPM SATA3 300 16Mb Cache HD
 Win 7 x64 Pro
 Intel Dual Band AC7260 802.11 A/AC/B/G/N 2.4/5.0Ghz + Bluetooth WLAN card


----------



## Szadzik

whitedragon551 said:


> NVIDIA 770GTX
> 12Gbs of DDR3 1600Mhz RAM
> Intel i7 4700MQ 2.4Ghz-3.4Ghz CPU
> 750Gb 720 RPM SATA3 300 16Mb Cache HD
> ...


 
  
 What does all this GPU and CPU power mean without an SSD? Nothing at all.


----------



## whitedragon551

szadzik said:


> What does all this GPU and CPU power mean without an SSD? Nothing at all.


 
 Its in the works. I have a Samsung 840 Evo on the way.


----------



## Szadzik

whitedragon551 said:


> Its in the works. I have a Samsung 840 Evo on the way.


 
  
 Copletely changes performance. Since I got my first SSD a few years back, I would never even consider a PC without one. Now using a RAID 0 SSD and that is unbelievable speed.


----------



## RingingEars

Anyone have future build plans when Star Citizen launches...... How many of you have pledged already to game and reserved you ship(s) and hanger?


----------



## HPuser9083

_*My metal*_
 ----------------------------------------------------------
 HP dc5750 SFF
 CPU: 1.8GHz AMD Sempron 3400+
 GPU: ATI Radeon Xpress 1150 on-board, Gallium r300g driver.
 Audio: Realtek on-board, ALSA.
 HDD: 80GiB.
 RAM: 1.5GiB.
 OS: Archbang 32-bit, kernel 3.11.1-2-ARCH.
 WM: Openbox.
 ----------------------------------------------------------
_*My virtual machines*_
 ----------------------------------------------------------
 Manjaro 32-bit, kernel 3.11.1-1-MANJARO.
 Fedora 20 Alpha RC4 32-bit, kernel 3.11.1-300-fc20.i686.
 Debian Sid 32-bit, kernel 3.10.11-1 (linux-image-3.10-3-686-pae).
 ----------------------------------------------------------
*Virtual machine screenshots*
 ----------------------------------------------------------

 
 
  
  
 ----------------------------------------------------------
_*Screenshots of my main OS*_
 ----------------------------------------------------------


----------



## Emospence

*Rig*: Intel Core i5-3330 @ 3.00GHz | Asrock B75 Pro3 M | Powercolor HD7850 2GB | Kingston 1600MHz CL11 Value RAM 8GB | Plextor M5S 128GB SSD | WD Caviar Blue 1TB HDD | Dell U2312HM | Samsung 24x DVD-RW | Seasonic S12II 520W | Antec Solo | Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
*Speakers*: Swans M50W
*Keyboards*: Filco Majestouch 2, Rosewill RK-9000
*Mice*: Zowie FK, Logitech G400
*Mousepad*: Razer Mantis Speed


----------



## whitedragon551

szadzik said:


> What does all this GPU and CPU power mean without an SSD? Nothing at all.


 
  
 Means plenty. Its still a 7200 RPM 6Gb SATA 3 bus speeds. Sure the biggest bottle neck is the HD, but even then its still limited by the BUS speeds of the motherboard. At any rate I have my Samsung 840Evo installed and the 7200RPM HD is now the secondary drive in a SATA 3 HD Caddy. I removed the disc drive since everything is digital these days.


----------



## chunkystyler

Core 2 Quad Q9550
 HD6950 1GB
  
 No SSD. I really need an upgrade...


----------



## mrip541

4770k @ 4.3 - Noctua D-14
 Asus z87 PRO
 8gigs G.Skill low voltage
 7970 Crossfire
 Samsung 840 Pro 120gb
 Crucial M4 120gb  x2
 Some big storage drive
 OCZ ZX 850
 Some big case with 200mm fans. Can't remember the brand.
  
 It's complete overkill for pretty much everything but it sure is fun.


----------



## SoundPon3

I should think about upgrading my rig one day.....
 Just some notes first: I built it for my 12th Birthday and it was built in 2009 so it isn't the best, but it fast back then 
  
 AMD Phenom 9550 OCed to 3.1ghz
 6gb DDR2 Ram (Can't remember brand)
 ATI HD4890 
 Gigabyte GA-MA785G-UD3H
 Some Zalman cooler
 Asus Xonar D2
 A Bluray combo drive
 1tb WD caviar black
 500gb caviar green
 Coolermaster 650w PSU
 Thermaltake xaser mx6
 24" Monitor
 Win7 Pro
 That's about it. It's certainly lasted lol


----------



## Emospence

soundpon3 said:


> I should think about upgrading my rig one day.....
> Just some notes first: I built it for my 12th Birthday and it was built in 2009 so it isn't the best, but it fast back then
> 
> AMD Phenom 9550 OCed to 3.1ghz
> ...


 
  
 Actually, it looks pretty sweet other than the graphics card


----------



## OmarCCX

soundpon3 said:


> I should think about upgrading my rig one day.....
> Just some notes first: I built it for my 12th Birthday and it was built in 2009 so it isn't the best, but it fast back then
> 
> AMD Phenom 9550 OCed to 3.1ghz
> ...


 
  
 Only needs an SSD.


----------



## darkswan

Intel Core I5-3570K @4.2Ghz
Msi Z77A-G45
CM Hyper 212 Evo
Msi HD7870 Hawk (Will be getting a R9)
Plextor M5S 128GB
WD Caviar Blue 500gb
Rosewill Hive 650W
Corsair 600T


----------



## BRCMRGN

HP Z800 Workstation
 2 x 6-core Xeon X5675 @3GHz
 48GB RAM
 Liquid Cooling
 1100W Power Supply
 nVidia Quadro 400
 2 x Crucial M4 500GB in RAID0
 2TB Seagate disk
 3TB WD disk
 OCZ RevoDrive 3 240GB
 2x27" 1080P Monitors
 Windows 8.1 Pro x64
 4 x USB 3.0 ports


----------



## JIrwin

brcmrgn said:


> HP Z800 Workstation
> 2 x 6-core Xeon X5675 @3GHz
> 48GB RAM
> Liquid Cooling
> ...


 
 Now that's a computer!!!
 Do you do some kind of 3D modelling/rendering with it?


----------



## BRCMRGN

Oracle, 2 diiferent version of SQL Server and a buch of virtual machines. Lab-in-a-box.


----------



## KT66

New PC chez KT66
  
 Dell XPS8700 desktop
 I7 4770
 12 gig ram
 2tb 7200rpm hardrive
 1.5gb graphics card
  
 It is lightening fast. and with my Audiolab MDAC and 
 Foobar I can set the buffering to above 50 and it still
 plays HiRez via WASAPI without a problem, and no more buffering errors.


----------



## darkswan

kt66 said:


> New PC chez KT66
> 
> Dell XPS8700 desktop
> I7 4770
> ...




What graphics card is it?


----------



## pbcustom98

i7-3840QM @ 2.8ghz
 680m
 32gb ram
 128gb Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD3- 
 240gb samsung 830 ssd - storage drive
 blu-ray reader
 1080P matte lcd


----------



## Muinarc

i7-3930k
16GB (4x 4GB) RAM
2x 64GB Patriot Pyro SE SSD in RAID 0
~4.5TB of other storage SSD/HDD
GTX 780 and GTX 560Ti (phsyx)
Dell 2713 HM
H|T Omega eClaro sound card
Custom Water loop using Aqua-computer and XSPC parts
Corsair Obsidian 900D


----------



## mcandmar

Intel i7-3820 @4.6Ghz w/Noctua NH-U12F
 Asus Sabertooth x79
 16GB 2133mhz DDR3 (4x 4GB quad channel)
 Asus 560Ti DirectCU II / Dell U2412M 24" IPS & BenQ GW2260 22" TN
 Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro / Pioneer VSA-E03 / Logitech Fatal1ty headset (gaming setup)
 Hauppauge HVR-3000 Digital TV PVR card
 256GB Samsung 830 SSD
 x2 1TB WD Black HDD in RAID 0 (misc) / x1 2TB WD Black HDD (for music)
 Some DVD writer from somewhere
 Corsair AX850 / APC RS1000 UPS
 Logitech MX518 / HP Keyboard
 Lian-Li PCV-1000 case w/mods
 Windows 8.1 Pro x64


----------



## m-i-c-k-e-y

4 yrs old...still kicking
  
 Case: Silverstone FT-02WRI Limited Ed.
 Processor: i7 930 (OC dynamically to 4.2Ghz) 
 Heatsink: Noctua NH D-14
 Board: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Rev. 2
 Ram: 12Gb (6x2Gb) Kingston Hyper-X 1600Mhz XMP 
 Video: 2 x Gigabyte GV-N480SO-15I GTX480 SOC
 OCZ Revodrive X3 120Gb PCIeSSD - System
 1Tb Western Digital WD1002FAEX Sata III - Data
 1Tb Western Digital WD10EAVS Sata II (In xternal USB) - Backup
 Bluray Writer: Pioneer BDR-205
 Wifi: Asus PCE-N13
 Psu: Nesteq XS-1000 1000w PSU Gold
 Monitor: Dell U2410
 Keyboard: SteelSeries 7G
 Mouse: Razer Mamba
 Speaker: BlueSky EXO 2.1 System
 OS: Win 7 x64 Ultimate


----------



## darkswan

mcandmar said:


> Intel i7-3820 @4.6Ghz w/Noctua NH-U12F
> Asus Sabertooth x79
> 16GB 2133mhz DDR3 (4x 4GB quad channel)
> Asus 560Ti DirectCU II / Dell U2412M 24" IPS & BenQ GW2260 22" TN
> ...


 
 What do you use it for?


----------



## mcandmar

darkswan said:


> What do you use it for?


 
  
 Everything.  Its my gaming rig, my TV and movie rig, music rig, my workhorse (IT guy), and the rest of the time general computing / internet browsing.  Pretty much gets used 24/7... he says @3am browsing head-fi


----------



## GeorgeStorm

New setup:
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=264121

AMD 760k
Gigabyte F2A85XN-Wifi
MSI GTX670
2x4gb Samsung green DDR3
Silverstone 450W SFX PSU (gold rated modular)
Enermax ELC120 cpu cooler
Seagate SSD 600 series 240GB

Still isn't quite finished but it's working, haven't worked out what I'll be doing ssd/hdd wise, probably adding another drive of some sort, also started clocking the cpu but not sure what I'll be aiming for.


----------



## m-i-c-k-e-y

@ george
 At least another separate drive for your data to be safe. Use the ssd for your system.


----------



## GeorgeStorm

m-i-c-k-e-y said:


> @ george
> At least another separate drive for your data to be safe. Use the ssd for your system.




I don't have anything on that PC I couldn't get back in a weekend  (maybe a bit longer depending on download speeds )

Got a Microserver with all of my media, then an external 1tb which I'm using with the PC right now for my music and photos. I think I may use this 'oppurtunity' to sell some of my 2tb drives and get some 3/4tb drives to replace them then have a bit of a shuffle.


----------



## BRCMRGN

m-i-c-k-e-y said:


> @ george
> At least another separate drive for your data to be safe. Use the ssd for your system.


 
 I'm paranoid. My workstation has 2 spinning disks for backup of the SSD drives, using 2 separate back applications on two different schedules.


----------



## m-i-c-k-e-y

Ha! Better be prepared when dooms day comes,,,:biggrin:


----------



## C38368

My last motherboard took a turn for the worse and decided to stop POSTing, forcing an upgrade on me. Turns out, it's next to impossible to find a decent LGA1156 board any longer, so I was forced to move up to a newer package. Darn. So the rig is now:
  
 Intel Core i7-4770K @ 4.6GHz (under EK Supreme-HF)
 Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H
 Crucial Ballistix Tracer DDR3-1333 (4x4096MB)
 Sapphire Eyfinity 6 HD5870 (under Danger Den HD5870 FC)
 Samsung SSD 840 (128GB/Win7 Ultimate 64-bit)
 Western Digital WD10EADS (1TB/music storage)
 Western Digital WD20EARX (2TB/general storage)
 Western Digital WD6400AAKS (640GB/program installations)
 M-Audio Audiophile 2496
 Lite-On external DVD±RW
 Seasonic SS-560KM
 Danger Den Q20
 Black Ice SR-360
 XSPC BayRes One
 Laing DDC3.2
  
 To much dust to post photos!


----------



## MiniMaster

Intel Core i7 3930k @4.6ghz
 Asus Rampage IV Formula
 EVGA GTX 680 4GB [SLI]
 Corsair Dominator GT 16GB DDR3 @ 2133mhz
 (2) Western Digital Caviar Black 500gb [RAID 0]
 (2) Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB [RAID 0]
 Crucial M4 128GB SSD
 HP 24x Multiformat DVD
 Asus USB 3.0 Blu-Ray Burner
 RX360 Radiator
 Corsair Obsidian 800D
 Asus Xonar Essence STX


----------



## Yardsailor

umm lets see...
  
 i7-2600k clocked to 4ghz
 16gb ram 
 Giga
 2x nvida 580s with 4gb ram each
 3x benq 24 inchers @ 144hz
 Wacom Cintiq 24HD
 Logitech Z-5500
 and a mess of other random sound gear...


----------



## AlanHell

I know it might not be related to the thread, but does any of you try to play BF4 on 3D surround and have DX errors telling you that you do not have enough VRAM?
  
 I think my setup meet the minimum requirement of the game, but still, I cannot run the game even with the newest driver, here is my specs:
  
 Intel I7 980X @4.2Ghz
 ASUS Rampage III Formula X58 MB
 Corsair AX1200 PSU
 Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 RAM @ 8-9-8-24-2Ghz (dual triple-channel @ 12G)
 Corsair 800D Full Tower
 Corsair  H100 CPU cooler
 LG BDROM Writer
 Creative Fat1ty Titanium Champion Sound Card 
 3X Benq XL2310t + 1X Benq BL2400 Monitor
 2X OCZ 120G Vertex 3 MAXIOPS SSD RAID 0
 1X HGST Utrastar 4TB HDD
 2X Segate 1TB HDD RAID 0
 3 X GTX680 Classified Sli
  
 I know it is an old PC, but still, I should able to at least run the game.
 (I know running 4 monitor is hard to power, but I don't think it I need more VRAM for now to just run the game with FXAA)


----------



## mcandmar

alanhell said:


> I know it might not be related to the thread, but does any of you try to play BF4 on 3D surround and have DX errors telling you that you do not have enough VRAM?
> 
> I think my setup meet the minimum requirement of the game, but still, I cannot run the game even with the newest driver, here is my specs:
> 
> ...


 
  
 Entirely possible depending on resolution/detail/AA settings.  For example in BF3 @1920x1200 my machine used all of the 1gb vram available, i even had it setup to disable aero effects (windows 7) to free up that last 100mb or so of memory while playing Battlefield.


----------



## randy98mtu

Late 2011 17" Macbook Pro (2.4 GHz i7) with Crucial M4 512 GB SSD and 16 GB RAM.  I use this the most, with my iTunes music library moved to it last week.  I also do my photo editing on it in Lightroom, hence the 17".  I also have a late 2012 mac Mini i7 with a Thunderbolt display in the office, but that is more of a backup/server machine at this point.


----------



## baggag1

Spectre13x2u200 CTO 4th Generation (Intel) i5-4242y 1.6GHz, 3MB L3 Cache+ Intel HD Graphics, 4GB DDR3 Display 13.3in. 1920x1080 touchscreen, 128 GB SSD, Backlit Keyboard, webcam & microphone, 802.11AC WLAN and Bluetooth, 3 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (Slate), 2 Cell Lithium Battery (Base). Solid Aluminum case top and bottom. Windows 8.1 OS 
  
 It has no moving parts inside and the base stays cool. The machine lasts me all day at work and a bit when I get home.


----------



## AlanHell

mcandmar said:


> Entirely possible depending on resolution/detail/AA settings.  For example in BF3 @1920x1200 my machine used all of the 1gb vram available, i even had it setup to disable aero effects (windows 7) to free up that last 100mb or so of memory while playing Battlefield.


 

 I mean 3G is possible, but fill up all 4G of my VRAM with only FXAA seems a little bit harsh. BF4 is almost the same as BF3 in terms of detail and engine, so if I was able to run BF3 with 4XAA and everything ultra and only used up about 2G of VRAM, BF4 should not give me such hard time~~~~


----------



## erikfreedom

intel 4770k cpu
 msi xpower z87 motherboard
 corsair ax1200 psu
 cooler master haf x case
 Samsung 840 evo 120g x2 ssd
 zotac gtx 770 amp edition x2 gpu
 corsair vengeance 2400mghz 16g ram
 windows 8.1 o.s.
 asus xonar essence stx sound card
 Phanteks PH-TC14PE CPU Cooler 
 hifiman ef-6 headphone amp and preamp
 sennheiser hd 800 headphones
 moon audio black dragon v2 deluxe headphone cable
 kyj power cables
 bis rca cables.


----------



## adevriesc

i7 720m
 6 gigs o' RAM
 5870m 1 gig
 2x320 gig hard drives
  
 hoping to get an SSD over the holidays!


----------



## GeorgeStorm

Got some cables for my build, getting closer to complete 

http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=264121

Also looking to do a media PC build over Christmas for the family, stuff I already own:

4gb Corsair Vengeance (already own)
Lian Li PC-V351B (already own)
LG BR drive
Lamptron fan controller

Stuff I need to get:
AMD APU (probably)
matx motherboard
3-400W psu
boot hdd/ssd
storage hdds


----------



## cloudbinary

adevriesc said:


> i7 720m
> 6 gigs o' RAM
> 5870m 1 gig
> 2x320 gig hard drives
> ...




Asus g73?

Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


----------



## adevriesc

Yep. Complete with the classic touchpad issues.


----------



## cloudbinary

adevriesc said:


> Yep. Complete with the classic touchpad issues.



nice. Have one myself. I remember reading a fix before on the notebook forums that worked for me. To be honest though I'm not a touchpad fan. 

Sent from my MB886 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


----------



## adevriesc

http://www.amazon.com/E-3lue-2500DPI-Optical-Black-Gray-EMS140/dp/B0095ONNTC
  
 This is what I prefer. But I can't use it all the time. Best budget mouse I've found.


----------



## Sniping

CM Xornet is my budget mouse of choice, was $10 each two days ago.


----------



## MCImes

My recent build
i5 2500k CPU
Asus P8P67 Mobo
8Gb kingston 1600mgz ram
64gb Corsair C300 SSD
ATI 5770 GPU
2tb 7200rpm Segate HD
Coolermaster Gladiator case


Its almost time to build another one


----------



## kman1211

Desktop. Will be upgraded in about a year.
 AMD Phenom II X4 965 @ 3.7ghz
 8GB of 1600mhz DDR3 Ram
 2x 750 GB Seagate Barracuda HD RAID 0
 AMD Radeon HD 6870 1GB
 ASUS Xonar DX
 Coolermaster Scout case
  
 Laptop: ASUS G74SX
 Intel i7 2670QM CPU @ 2.20ghz
 8GB of DDR3 Ram
 2x 500 GB WD HD
 Nvida GeForce GTX 560M


----------



## Sxooter

Desktop: (windows gaming rig)
 Intel core i5 2400
 8G 1333 RAM
 AMD 7870 GPU
 2x1TB drives 7200rpm
  
 Laptop 1: (windows gaming laptop) N56vz
 1080p screen
 Intel core i7 3830 QC
 NVidia GT650M
 8G 1600 RAM
 1 750GB/7200RPM drive
  
 Laptop 2: (Linux workaday / audio playback / movies etc.) N56dp
 1080p screen
 AMD A10
 AMD 7730 GPU
 16G 1600 RAM
 1 1TB 5400RPM drive


----------



## OmarCCX

You need 3 SSDs.


----------



## Sxooter

omarccx said:


> You need 3 SSDs.


 
 Something like this? BTW we use the 1TB MLC where I work. Maybe I could pick up an old one cheap...


----------



## OmarCCX

sxooter said:


> Something like this? BTW we use the 1TB MLC where I work. Maybe I could pick up an old one cheap...


 
 You could get away with a 120gb on your desktop rig since you have multiple HDDs, but on the laptops it'd be nice to get a bigger SSD.


----------



## AudioJunki3

AMD FX8530
 8GB DDR3 Ram
 Asus Sabertooth  990FX R2.0
 Asus Nvidia GTX 660 ti
 120GB SSD (for system)
 1TB HDD
 Coolermaster 430 Elite
 Powercool 750W PSU
  
 (arctic F12 Pro fans x4)


----------



## AlanHell

omarccx said:


> You could get away with a 120gb on your desktop rig since you have multiple HDDs, but on the laptops it'd be nice to get a bigger SSD.


 

 For some laptops, they have extra msata slots that looks like an internal pci-e and dimm slot. I guess a secondary msata ssd will be cheaper solution?
 For now, ssd over 256G is still a bit too expensive. You can only get discount when you go over 900G. However, the starting price is already an laptop.


----------



## Sxooter

alanhell said:


> For some laptops, they have extra msata slots that looks like an internal pci-e and dimm slot. I guess a secondary msata ssd will be cheaper solution?
> For now, ssd over 256G is still a bit too expensive. You can only get discount when you go over 900G. However, the starting price is already an laptop.


 

 While much faster than spinning media, most mSATA drives are painfully slow. Often better used as cache than primary drives due to smaller size etc.
  
 I ahve two 80G 2.5" form factor drives but don't really feel like fighting UEFI/Secureboom to get it working on windows and in linux it's just not a big win for what I do there. But mSATA as a cache might be a good idea.


----------



## AlanHell

sxooter said:


> While much faster than spinning media, most mSATA drives are painfully slow. Often better used as cache than primary drives due to smaller size etc.
> 
> I ahve two 80G 2.5" form factor drives but don't really feel like fighting UEFI/Secureboom to get it working on windows and in linux it's just not a big win for what I do there. But mSATA as a cache might be a good idea.


 

 they use to be slow, but now they are just as fast as normal SATA III. Normally you won't tell the difference. And yes, the most they came is 250G, but I think that is more than enough for a second OS~~~~
  
 My thinkpad have 160G intel as primary and another 250G mSATA for linux and virtual machine. So far, I find no difference in performance. I think as long as IOPS matches up to a certain speed, it does not matter how fast the maximum continuous transfer rate is~~~~


----------



## PhantomGypsy

Intel Sandy i5-2500K (3.7GHz) CPU
 Asus P8Z68-V Motherboard
 AMD Radeon HD 6800 Graphics Card
 8GB DDR3-1333 Memory
 1TB Seagate HDD
 NZXT Phantom 410 Case
  
 As for monitors, I've got a cheapo Dell 24" LCD gaming monitor and an Asus PA248 24" IPS panel. The IPS is gorgeous.
  
 I really dig my build, though I should really get a sound card. It's a great gaming budget build though; never found a game that doesn't run smoothly at top specs, and the PC is 2 or 3 years old now.


----------



## Unfie

I built a decent computer last month so it's all new other than the 3 TB hard drive, which is 2 years old. Here are the specs:
  
 Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.5 GHZ 8 MB Cache BX80646I74770K
 Video Card: PNY NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card (VCGGTX7702XPB)
 RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory (CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10)
 Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series 760 Watt ATX/EPS Modular 80 PLUS Platinum Power Supply AX760
 OS Drive: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW
 Storage Drive: Hitachi Deskstar 3.5 inch 3TB 7200RPM SATA III 6Gbps 64MB Cache Internal Hard Drive 0S03086
 Optical Disk: Pioneer Electronics USA 15x SATA Internal BD/DVD/CD Burner with 4 MB Buffer BDR-208DBK
 Motherboard: Asus Z87 PRO LGA 1150 Motherboard
 CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus - CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes (RR-B10-212P-G1)
 Case: NZXT Phantom 410 Mid Tower USB 3.0 Gaming Case - Black
  
 It's pretty expensive, but I'm sure it'll be relevant for at least 5 years. If I wanted to run it to the ground, probably 10 years.


----------



## PhantomGypsy

unfie said:


> I built a decent computer last month so it's all new other than the 3 TB hard drive, which is 2 years old. Here are the specs:
> 
> Processor: Intel Core i7-4770K Quad-Core Desktop Processor 3.5 GHZ 8 MB Cache BX80646I74770K
> Video Card: PNY NVIDIA GeForce GTX 770 2GB GDDR5 2DVI/HDMI/DisplayPort PCI-Express Video Card (VCGGTX7702XPB)
> ...


 

 That's awesome. Reminds me of a higher-end version of mine. Have you checked out the NZXT Hue? It looks great in the Phantom and makes trippy lighting effects. I love it.


----------



## Unfie

phantomgypsy said:


> That's awesome. Reminds me of a higher-end version of mine. Have you checked out the NZXT Hue? It looks great in the Phantom and makes trippy lighting effects. I love it.


 
  
 I didn't even know they made things like this. What a party inside the case! lol...not sure if I'd get one, but it would be fun to mess around with for a bit.


----------



## PhantomGypsy

unfie said:


> I didn't even know they made things like this. What a party inside the case! lol...not sure if I'd get one, but it would be fun to mess around with for a bit.


 

 Got one for Christmas, and it's great fun. That said, I'm really just using it because I built my PC years ago and have nothing better to do than aesthetic upgrades at this point (gonna spray paint the highlights on my Phantom green, too to match all my Razer gear. Should be cool).
  It's definitely not the wisest thing to spend money on though lol.


----------



## DonutDeflector

My laptop specs:
  
 Samsung RV711
 Windows 7
  
 177 GB Hard Drive C 
 Processor: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3 CPU M380 @ 2.53Ghz 2.53Ghz
 RAM: 4.00 GB (3.80 Usable) 
 64-Bit Operating System


----------



## OmarCCX

HDD is upgradeable, as is ram. You can turn those smiley faces upside down with $150.


----------



## DonutDeflector

omarccx said:


> HDD is upgradeable, as is ram. You can turn those smiley faces upside down with $150.


 
 Maybe I'll wait a little longer.
 Storage prices drop every year...


----------



## Bananaheadlin

Built a new desktop around 6 months ago so thought I'll post it here too!
  
 Intel i5-4670k
 Gigabyte GA-Z87N-WIFI
 MSI GTX 760 TF
 8 GB DDR3 2400
 120GB Toshiba SSD
 1TB WD Blue
 Bitfenix Prodigy White


----------



## StratocasterMan

Lenovo IdeaCentre A730
  
 Intel i7 4700MQ
 Windows 8.1
NVIDIA GeForce GT745M 2GB
27" All In One QHD Glossy with 10 point PCT Multi-touch 2560 x 1440
1TB 5400 RPM
8.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz (upgrading to 16GB soon!)
Blu-ray/DVD-RW


----------



## DefQon

I went from a i7 980x, Asus Rampage III Extreme, 4 GTX480's to the rig below:
  
i3 2100 (looking for 3770k) Noctua D14 P-P tri fans
32GB Mushkin Redline goodness
Gigabyte Z68XP-UD5
Leadtek GTX680 4GB
Gigabyte GTX670 2GB (Physx)
Creative X-Fi Titanium Fatality Professional with LME47920 dual opamps
12TB need SSD badly
Enermax Evolution 85+ 1250watt
Antec P280


----------



## kvtaco17

i72600k@5.2GHZ with Noctua D14 with 3 fans
 16 GB ram (g-skill)
 2 1TB Hitachi HD's in raid 0
 1 4TB WD drive
 2 Gigabyte GTX 670's in SLI  
 Asus ProV z77
 LanBoy Air
 Corsair TX850m


----------



## RockCrayfish

Most recent custom build:
  
 Case: Bitfenix Prodigy (handles removed)
 CPU: i7 2600K @ 4.5 GHz
 Mobo: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe
 RAM: 16 GM DDR3 1866 MHz
 SSD: 2 x  Corsair Force GT 240GB in RAID-0
 HDD: Seagate 3 TB 7200RPM
 GPU: MSI GTX 780 TI Gaming
 PSU: Seasonic SSR-650RM


----------



## bjmr

Freshly built this weekend:
  
 Intel i7 4770
 32 GB ram
 EVGA GTX 760 (2GB ACX)
 128GB SSD
 **Pending RAID**
 Asus Z87-A Mobo
 Corsair HX750 PSU
 Older Silverstone case
  
 and a 38.5" 4K Seiki for a monitor. Actually, I had to build this machine to drive the monitor, my 4-year old laptop wasn't up to it.


----------



## Unfie

Hmmmm... what are you planning to do with 32 GB of ram? I have 16 GB and that feels excessive.


----------



## DefQon

32gb is not excessive if you use it for memory taxing applications VM's, Lightroom and other video/photo editing programs. I'm making the move to 64GB soon and early impressions is that I'll run out.


----------



## OmarCCX

I should probably upgrade to 16gb from 8gb before DDR3 prices go mad, especially since my memory is 2133mhz


----------



## GL1TCH3D

I'm waiting for DDR4 before I make any upgrades


----------



## Sniping

omarccx said:


> I should probably upgrade to 16gb from 8gb before DDR3 prices go mad, especially since my memory is 2133mhz


 
 It's already gone mad, memory used to be much cheaper than this. 16GB for $100 used to be no problem, but now there are little to no offerings at that price.


----------



## whitedragon551

sniping said:


> It's already gone mad, memory used to be much cheaper than this. 16GB for $100 used to be no problem, but now there are little to no offerings at that price.


 
  
 You can get good DDR3 RAM with 2x8Gb sticks for about $125. If your after gaming RAM with the best timings its upwards of $180-$200 for same quantity. You should be happy you dont have a high end gaming laptop. RAM for my laptop costs around $160 for some 2x8Gb sticks of  GSkill RIP Jaw with crappy 9-9-9-28 timings.


----------



## DefQon

Every thing that uses flash memory has had its price go up since the Hynix plant fire and floods September last year and 90% of manufacturers use Hynix IC's. It's going to be like hard-drives (when WD got flooded) expect about a 9-12 month wait till cool off period for prices to drop down to the norm it was at before.


----------



## ximkolo

kvtaco17 said:


> i72600k@5.2GHZ with Noctua D14 with 3 fans
> 16 GB ram (g-skill)
> 2 1TB Hitachi HD's in raid 0
> 1 4TB WD drive
> ...


 


>


 

 What are your temps running at those speeds on air?  I heard nothing but great things from Noctua and my 2600k was at 5.0 and felt it ran too hot using a Zalmann.  been thinking of replacing it with a Noctua.  We basically have the exact same setup minus the HD, I use all SSD's in RAID and store big crap on a NAS.


----------



## kvtaco17

ximkolo said:


> What are your temps running at those speeds on air?  I heard nothing but great things from Noctua and my 2600k was at 5.0 and felt it ran too hot using a Zalmann.  been thinking of replacing it with a Noctua.  We basically have the exact same setup minus the HD, I use all SSD's in RAID and store big crap on a NAS.


 
 I was trying to nuke this thing at first lol
  
 5.2 was stable until fairly recently (temps in the 70-78C)... it would crash in BF4 at random (I blame EA lol)... I dropped my OC to 5GHZ (63-68C) and now everything great.
  
 It is of note that I keep my house fairly cool. (20C abouts)


----------



## AlanHell

LOL,I use to OC my old i7 to 4.5Ghz, then realize my Graphic card can never drive my CPU out of its idle state.
 Right now I actually run my CPU at stock clock and turn my CPU fan way down so I can enjoy some music.
  
 BF4 is a game I do not think my PC is able to handle. Since I am using NVIDIA card, I can not even fire up the game. I guess I will wait till I have 6G memory on my card, then buy the game.
  
  
 P.S.
 Anyone have tried the new DELL 4K monitor yet?


----------



## DefQon

5.2 on what? Looped w/c'ing? I call bs if you have it on air unless you live in a 5-15'C ambient temperature zone.


----------



## DonutDeflector

For a budget CPU should I use:

 AMD A10-5700 3.4Ghz Quad-Core Processor $128
  
 or
  
 AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad Core Processor $118
  
 The 5800 has faster clock speed but what about core strength?


----------



## OmarCCX

Get the 5800K, the K means you can overclock it.


----------



## lltfdaniel

Amd 8150 @ 3.6ghz
 amd 280x
 32 gb of ram @ 1600mhz
 western digital velociraptor 1tb
ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional AMD 990FX (Socket AM3+) DDR3 ATX Motherboard
corsair tx 650w
Antec 900 case
 dell
	
 u2410 @ 1900x1200
Some dvd drive and that is it.


----------



## DonutDeflector

omarccx said:


> Get the 5800K, the K means you can overclock it.




Yep. Hopeful when I overclock it won't over heat and burst to flames. Good thing the case I choose has a side window.


----------



## OmarCCX

Get a good cooler, like a Enermax T40. It keeps my 4.5ghz 3570k cooler than my H100i ever did for some reason. :|


----------



## Hapster

AMD FX-9370 (at 5.0ghz)
Asus HD 7950 (looking to upgrade to msi gtx 770 here soon)
8gb G.Skill ram 2133mhz
1TB WD Caviar blue 7200
120gb Kingston SSD
Asus M5A99FX PRO R2.0 mobo
Seasonic x650 psu
Zalman Z11 plus hf1
Cooler master seidon 120m water cooling


----------



## Miss Roxy

Asus Sabertooth Z77
Intel Core i5 2500K @ 4.5ghz ( 1.25v )
Corsair H100i
EVGA GeForce GTX 670 FTW SLI
16GB Kingston HyperX Genesis
Asus Xonar Essence STX
120GB Intel 520 SSD
1TB Western Digital Black
750W PCP&C Silencer MK III
Corsair Carbide 500R ( White )


----------



## DefQon

Added another 680 to my rig.


----------



## kuhchuk

Built this computer right before Haswell launched.
  
 Asus P8Z77-V Pro
 Intel 3570k (4.3GHz OC)
 Cooler Master Hyper212 Evo
 Gigabyte GTX 760 Windforce Rev. 2 (Clock offset: 110MHz, Memory Offset: 1350MHz)
 WD Green 2TB HDD
 Corsair AX 750
 Cooler Master Elite 431 Plus
  
 And for my monitor I'm rocking an Asus VG248QE.  Thinking about buying the G-sync module and installing it myself.
  
 Edit:  Forgot to mention it's my first build, and I couldn't be much happier with it.


----------



## BauerFIve

Intel i5-3570k @ 4.4GHz
 Thermaltake Frio
 Asus Extreme z77
 8GB DDR3 1600
 Galaxy GTX 660Ti
 120GB SSD (Kingston HyperX Series)
 1TB HDD (Blue Western Digital)
 850W Antec PSU
 Cooler Master Haf 912
 Creative X-Fi Fatality
  
 Plan on upgrading case, cpu cooler and psu soon.


----------



## DonutDeflector

Here's my new PC!
It's not built yet (I'm doing it myself).

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (Overclocked 3.9 GHz)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A-LED Ball Bearing CPU Cooler 
Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard 
Memory: Kingston Hyper X Blu 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory 
Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Twin Frozr Gaming Edition 1GB Video Card (Overclocked 1316MHz, 6000MHz RAM)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Epic Edition (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case 
Power Supply: Corsair CX430 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply 
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer 
Wireless Network Adapter: Encore ENLWI-N3 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter

This is probably far from perfect for a $500 PC but I have what I want!


----------



## erikfreedom

recently upgraded.
  
 cpu: intel core i7 4770k
 psu: corsair 1200ax single rail modular psu.
 gpu: zotac gtx 770 amp edition 3way sli.
 hard drive: 4 Samsung evo 840 120gig in raid zero.
 memory: 32 gig skill trident x
 motherboard: msi xpower.
 case: cooler master hafx special edition.
 power cable. xyj audio.
 os: windows 7 pro.
 mice: razer taipan
 keyboard: Microsoft reclusa.


----------



## MooTaters

Finally got around to an upgrade.
  
*CPU:* i5 4670K
*Heatsink:* Noctua NH-D14(NF-F12 replace the 120mm which is rear exhaust case fan now)
*GPU:* EVGA GTX 770 2GB SC ACX(cooled)
*RAM:* Mushkin Blackline 16GB(2x8GB) DDR3 2133 Ridgeback heatspreader(so nice to not worry about ram usage anymore)
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte Z87X OC Force
*PSU:* Corsair AX760
*HDD's:* WD Black 640GB 32MB cache
 WD Green 1TB for media(both from previous build)
*Case:* Corsair 600T white(with 200mm Bitfenix spectre pro intake fan)
*Keyboard:* Corsair K70 with Cherry MX blues
*Mouse:* Logitech G500
  
  
 Upgraded from(yeah I know it's some seriously old stuff):
*CPU:* Core 2 Duo E8400 OC'd @3.6GHz
*Heatsink:* Xigmatek HDT-S1283(NF-F12 for maybe 6 months)
*GPU: *EVGA GTX 460 SE 1GB
*Motherboard:* DFI Lanparty DK X38-T2R
*RAM:* Mushkin Blackline 4GB(4x1GB) DDR2 800
 The rest of it is with the new parts listed above.


----------



## AlanHell

Just put away my current PC and build up an summer one.
 Since I am unable to run any game on my Nvidia GPUs in surround, and too cheap to buy anything new from AMD, I give up on gaming on my PC.
  
 Here is how it looks:
 CPU:        Intel Core i3 4330    (Stock cooling)
 MB:           ASUS H81I-PLUS
 RAM:        ADATA XPG V1 Series Black 4GB  
 CASE:      LIAN-LI PC-Q27B Black Aluminum Mini-ITX Tower   
 PSU:        Thermaltake TR2 600W          
 HDD:        Seagate Desktop HDD 4TB       
 GPU:        GTX680 Classified 4G
 Keyboard:   Custom made MAX keyboard with aluminum body and full red, blue, brown, black and green cherry MX key switches.
 Mouse:      R.A.T. 9
 Sound:      HDVD800 external sound card


----------



## alenfromcroatia

Hahahah I don't think I can call this a PC. 
My parents bought me this PC when I was 13 or so. Now I'm 17.
A Biostar **** MB, 1GB of DDR2 ram, 2.1ghz Sempron, 320gb HDD, Radeon 4850 (I bought this a few months ago, before that I was surviving on an onboard "GPU")
I don't really have money for PCs because I barely can save up for my DJ controller, I also need a new DSLR, headphones and etc...
When I get a proper summer job (I couldn't really get it before, I'm now second year in Graphic school...) I'll upgrade everything or better yet just bild a new PC. This PC will be my photography storage when I buy a new HDD or two for it.


----------



## DonutDeflector

alenfromcroatia said:


> Hahahah I don't think I can call this a PC.
> My parents bought me this PC when I was 13 or so. Now I'm 17.
> A Biostar **** MB, 1GB of DDR2 ram, 2.1ghz Sempron, 320gb HDD, Radeon 4850 (I bought this a few months ago, before that I was surviving on an onboard "GPU")
> I don't really have money for PCs because I barely can save up for my DJ controller, I also need a new DSLR, headphones and etc...
> When I get a proper summer job (I couldn't really get it before, I'm now second year in Graphic school...) I'll upgrade everything or better yet just bild a new PC. This PC will be my photography storage when I buy a new HDD or two for it.




Um.....well, at least you could call it vintage?


----------



## alenfromcroatia

LOL, I can brag at least about something!
I have the poorest PC! Hhahahah


----------



## the wizard of oz

You might have the poorest PC, but I have the poorest Mac: 1.42GHz G4 PPC Mac Mini with 1GB RAM, on-board GPU  . Enough for browsing Head-Fi  .


----------



## alenfromcroatia

You've beat me.


----------



## the wizard of oz

Even twice, since I have two with the same specs  !

(I have a dual core Intel Mac Mini awaiting refurbishing in storage though; I will be taking care of it soon)


----------



## superdux

i recently swapped my HDD after it having nearly run 20000Hrs in 5 years.
 I actually can´t afford a new Comp for a while and therefore i am upgrading my RAM (which costs loads because only original built in works decent)
 So my Specs are
  
 Dual Core E5200@2,5Ghz
 HD5570 Graphics
 2x1TB HDD and 1x2TB HDD
 Xonar Essence STX


----------



## Poimandres

Haswell 3770K
 Asus Maximus 6 Hero
 16gb G.Skill Trident X 2400
   2gb Gigabyte Nvidia GeForce GTX 770
 Corsair AX860i
 Corsair H110
 Fractal Designs R4
 Samsung EVO 240gb SSD


----------



## DonutDeflector

Here is the PC I built with my dad. I use it for gaming, school work, video rendering and editing, screen capture, and general use.

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core Processor (Overclocked to 4.1GHz)

CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500A-LED Ball Bearing CPU Cooler

Motherboard: MSI 970A-G43 ATX AM3+ Motherboard

Memory: Kingston Hyper X Blu 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory

Storage: Western Digital RE3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive

Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Twin Frozr Gaming Edition 1GB Video Card (Overclocked 1316MHz, 6000MHz RAM)

Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Epic Edition (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case

Power Supply: Corsair CX430 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSB0 DVD/CD Writer

Wireless Network Adapter: Encore ENLWI-N3 802.11b/g/n PCI Wi-Fi Adapter


----------



## af0h

Commodore C-128 expanded to 512k.
 Hooked up to a 1571 and 1581 floppy drives.


----------



## PintoDave

Picked up a dual 2.0 Power Mac G5 as a secondary to use while the wife uses the main for schoolwork. 320gb hd, 5gb ram, running leopard. Gets the job done quite well considering its age!


----------



## Lorspeaker

just an old mcAIr with 64 g inside...loaded with Audirvana music software laced over ITUNEs.. 
 a reliable workhorse. Hooked a 2TB portable drive externally.


----------



## FLAC Man

mobo: maximus 6 hero
 cpu: 4670k i5
 gpu: gtx 770 sc 2gb
 ram: gskill trident 2400 mhz 8gb
 cpu cooling: h80i cooler/noctua fans
 sound card: asus xonar essence SXT sound card (wonderful card, very much worth the price)
 ssd+hdd: samsung 840 evo 120gb ssd + 2tb seagate
 monitor's: samsung u28d590d UHD (4K) monitor, asus vg248qe (144 hz, 1ms)
 psu: xfx 850 black
 case: fractal define r4
 keyboard+mouse: razer black widow ultimate stealth, razer naga hex red
 mic: razer kraken


----------



## BASGTA

Mobo: AsRock Z77 Pro3
CPU: I5-3450@3.9GHz with Corsair H60 
RAM : 16GBs DDR3@533MHz
GPU: Asus Radeon 7970 DirectCUII
HD: 120GB SSD, + 2TB, + 2x500GB, + 2TB Back up
PSU: Corsair HX750
Case: NZXT Switch 810 (Black)
Keyboard: daskeyboard
Mouse: Logitech G500s
Monitor: HP LP2065@1200x1600 + LG E2442@1920x1080 + Acer P243W@1920x1080


----------



## adpo

Originally built this baby in 2012 and been upgrading it slowly ever since.  Next planned upgrade will be a larger storage drive (clouds can only do so much) and a better monitor for color grading.
  
 Mobo: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
 CPU: i5 2500k@4.5 with Cooler Master Hyper 212
 RAM: 32GB DDR3@1600mhz
 GPU: MSI R7850 TwinFrozr
 HD: 250gb Samsung EVO for boot, 1TB Western Digital Black for storage, several smaller ssds as swap drives for various photo/video gigs
 PSU: Corsair CX430v2
 Case: NZXT Tempest 210
 Keyboard: Das Keyboard Model S Ultimate
 Mouse: Razer Taipan
 Other: Wacom Bamboo Pen
 Monitor: Sceptre 24" 1080 monitor


----------



## Loonatik

Case; Corsiar 750d
 Mobo: Asus maximus V Rampage 
 CPU: i7 3770k @ 4.6 with a corsair h110 
 RAM: 16GB Gskill ddr3 @ 1866
 Graphics: 2x 4gb MSI 680's in SLI 
 Storage: 256gb ssd, 2TB SSHD 
 PSU: Corsair 860i
 Keyboard: Corsair k70
 Mouse: Corsair m40
 Monitors: 27' LG 1080p ips, 27' korean using LG panel 1440p ips. 
  
 Built it late 2012, got 2nd 680 this year which I regret . I should've sold it and bought a 780ti but SLI was too tempting lol. 
  
 If anyone plays league/osu/d3 shoot me a pm if you wanna play!


----------



## wahsmoh

Case: Rosewill Challenger [Modified with clear acrylic window cutout and remaining ventilation around]
 Motherboard: MSI Military Class II (2010) old generation
 CPU: I7 2600k @ 4.4ghz with Zalman aftermarket ball bearing fan and copper heatsink
 RAM: 6 GB DDR3 @2200
 Graphics: ATI Radeon HD7850 2GB
 Hard drive: Corsair Neutron 256GB SSD, Western Digital Black edition 500GB
 PSU: Earthwatts 650W don't remember what kind
 Mouse: SteelSeries Sensei
 Monitor: Asus 21'' widescreen 2ms response time
  
 I built this in 2010 to be futureproof. The SSD was installed later in 2012.


----------



## FLAC Man

wahsmoh said:


> Case: Rosewill Challenger [Modified with clear acrylic window cutout and remaining ventilation around]
> Motherboard: MSI Military Class II (2010) old generation
> CPU: I7 2600k @ 4.4ghz with Zalman aftermarket ball bearing fan and copper heatsink
> RAM: 6 GB DDR3 @2200
> ...


 
 the 7xxx series was out in 2010?? thats quite a rig and it will probably still hold its own until maxwell comes out (new nvidia chip)


----------



## wahsmoh

flac man said:


> the 7xxx series was out in 2010?? thats quite a rig and it will probably still hold its own until maxwell comes out (new nvidia chip)


 
 I should have corrected myself. The original build had an Nvidia GTX570.. I really don't know how I forgot haha. I replaced the GTX570 with the HD7850 in 2012 I believe. I get lost track of time : D


----------



## FLAC Man

wahsmoh said:


> I should have corrected myself. The original build had an Nvidia GTX570.. I really don't know how I forgot haha. I replaced the GTX570 with the HD7850 in 2012 I believe. I get lost track of time : D


 
 LOL! well the gtx 570 is definitely getting old , fermi is outdated as hell, i originally had a gtx 560 and it was struggling with medium settings, ive upgraded to the superclocked 770 but i regret it because it only has 2gb of vram, i recently started gaming at 4k (dont get into it yet lol) and 2gb of vram is definitely not enough


----------



## wahsmoh

flac man said:


> LOL! well the gtx 570 is definitely getting old , fermi is outdated as hell, i originally had a gtx 560 and it was struggling with medium settings, ive upgraded to the superclocked 770 but i regret it because it only has 2gb of vram, i recently started gaming at 4k (dont get into it yet lol) and 2gb of vram is definitely not enough


 
 haha! I know and I am getting old as well. I was 18 in 2010 : O.
  
 I like your name FLAC man!! haha. It makes me image a super hero defending the city of Head-fi from the evils of dynamic compression and fighting the music industry's .mp3 minions. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	



  
 I'm still waiting for the music industry to chop the head off the .mp3 format. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 It sucks and even 320kbps is a downgrade from my .WAVs and .FLACs


----------



## FLAC Man

wahsmoh said:


> haha! I know and I am getting old as well. I was 18 in 2010 : O.
> 
> I like your name FLAC man!! haha. It makes me image a super hero defending the city of Head-fi from the evils of dynamic compression and fighting the music industry's .mp3 minions.
> 
> ...


 
 HAHAHAH!  lol thanks man, i couldnt figure out a name for a long time and i figured my whole library is flac so why not! since ive gone full flac my listening experience dramatically increased (with the help of a cowon s9 and tf10's) i will never go back to the minuscule 320kbps, which is also why i dont want an ipod , i know you can convert to MAXX or ALAC but thats too much work


----------



## mrip541

I just took my relatively large HAF XM system and shrunk it into a Corsair 250D case. Funny thing is my OC is higher with the mITX build. I was running at 4.2 with the full-sized system and with the mITX I can run at 4.7 and even boot at 4.9. Specs are:
  
 Intel 4770k @ 4.7 - 1.3 adaptive voltage
 MSI Z87I Gaming AC
 8gb G.Skill somethingorother
 EVGA Supernova 1300w
 Corsair 250D case
 Corsair H100i
 EVGA GTX 780
 Asus optical drive


----------



## FLAC Man

mrip541 said:


> I just took my relatively large HAF XM system and shrunk it into a Corsair 250D case. Funny thing is my OC is higher with the mITX build. I was running at 4.2 with the full-sized system and with the mITX I can run at 4.7 and even boot at 4.9. Specs are:
> 
> Intel 4770k @ 4.7 - 1.3 adaptive voltage
> MSI Z87I Gaming AC
> ...


 
 nice oc man im running an h80i through my 4670k, i only have it clocked to 4.2 for longevity but i can get it to boot/run games at 4.6, are you using the stock fans on the h100i?


----------



## mrip541

flac man said:


> nice oc man im running an h80i through my 4670k, i only have it clocked to 4.2 for longevity but i can get it to boot/run games at 4.6, are you using the stock fans on the h100i?


 
  
 Yep, I'm using the stock fans. Keeping voltage on adaptive seems to be keeping the temps down. The PSU is definitely too much but I saw a good local deal and couldn't resist. But who knows, maybe having a massive PSU is what's given me the bump in OC. My previous system had a Corsair AX850. The EVGA is also dead silent which is nice.


----------



## FLAC Man

really? i guess with a 240 rad it can get pretty silent (even more so in push/pull) i asked because the stock fans on the h80i sound like a helicopter, i  fixed it with push pull noctua's in order to be completely silent and my temps even improved  (both fans were running the same rpm) and adaptive voltage is the best option for oc as a fixed voltage will constantly run that voltage through your cpu causing very high temps even when you just browse on the web


----------



## mrip541

flac man said:


> really? i guess with a 240 rad it can get pretty silent (even more so in push/pull) i asked because the stock fans on the h80i sound like a helicopter, i  fixed it with push pull noctua's in order to be completely silent and my temps even improved  (both fans were running the same rpm) and adaptive voltage is the best option for oc as a fixed voltage will constantly run that voltage through your cpu causing very high temps even when you just browse on the web


 
  
 Oops. the H100 isn't silent, I meant the PSU. For anything non-gaming, my refrigerator is louder than the H100i, but during games the fans do spin up a good bit but not helicopter level. I had a Noctua D14 so I'm used to quiet cooling and the H100i isn't too bad at all.


----------



## AlanHell

I am pretty sure it is your GPU.........
 For me, my H100 is always on idle no matter what.
 I just cannot find any game that can stress my CPU at all.
 If you ahve ivy bridge, they are so cool I think you can even passive cool them.........


----------



## sub50hz

Case: Corsair 540
 Mobo: Maximus V Extreme 
 CPU: 3770k @ 4.6 
 RAM: 16GB Domnator Platinum 2133
 Graphics: 3 x 7970 @ 1200/1600 (for cold weather time) or EVGA GTX 780 Classified, skyn3t Rev.4 BIOS 
 Storage:
               Windows 8.1: 3 x Samsung 840 Pro RAID5, 1TB WD Blue x 2, Seagate 500GB (games, benchmark utils)
               OSX: 128GB Crucual M4, 1TB WD Black 
 PSU: EVGA 1000 P2
 Monitors: Asus PA248Q + 2 x U2410
  
 Used as a DAW, bencher, photo editing, etc. Foobar in Windows, Audirvana Plus in OSX.


----------



## rawrster

Case: Corsair 500R
 Mobo: Z87 Extreme4
 CPU: i5-4670k
 Cooler: CM 212 Hyper Evo
 Ram: 2x4 GB Corsair Vengeance LP
 GPU: EVGA GTX760
 Storage: 120GB Samsung 840 Evo, 2TB WD Black, 2TB WD Green
 PSU: SeaSonic 660W Platinum
 Keyboard: Corsair K70
 Mouse: Logitech G502
 Win 7 Pro
  
 I might bump up to 16gb total but for now this computer is more than I really need. It's running a dual screen but might go triple if I can get a bigger desk. It's basically for light gaming, music, watching movies and that kind of stuff.


----------



## sub50hz

With the current cost of DDR3, I wouldn't bother unless you're running into major limtations with 8GB.


----------



## AlanHell

sub50hz said:


> With the current cost of DDR3, I wouldn't bother unless you're running into major limtations with 8GB.


 

 my DDR3 use to cost more than $500 for just 6G. (well, it is long time ago, but still fast DDR3 cost a lot)
 I think for memory, speed is more important than capacity, anything bigger than 8G is just for virtual machines or other server applications.


----------



## sub50hz

alanhell said:


> my DDR3 use to cost more than $500 for just 6G. (well, it is long time ago, but still fast DDR3 cost a lot)
> I think for memory, speed is more important than capacity, anything bigger than 8G is just for virtual machines or other server applications.


 
 ECC RDIMMs are _still _expensive -- I have 12 x 2GB in my server (HP ProLiant DL380 G6, 2 x X5560), but just about zero Head-Fiers should care about that. As far as speed vs.capacity is concerned, it's really a toss up in terms of what your applications require. Many modern applications benefit near-zero from speed increases (or timing decreases) -- the only time it starts to become even semi-relevant is if you're doing a ton of file compression, or transcoding video all the time. Capacity should, in 2014, be the number one priority when buying memory. Why? Because modern platforms simply don't benefit from spending 400 dollars on hand-selected ICs that are binned on God's lap. What _does _matter is that having more memory is almost never a bad thing, and some people really do need it. I've had 6x7 film scans (drum, not flatbed) come back well over 2GB a piece. When those are popped into Photoshop for editing, you can bet I'm glad to have ample memory so I don't impede workflow by writing to disk all the time. I'll spare the rest of the dorkery unless someone has any outlying questions (I am SA by trade, large-scale consultant by night 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





, so feel free to toss anything my way).


----------



## zennoukinkai

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Two
 Mobo: Asus P6X58D-E
 CPU: Core i7 950 (Stock)
 Ram: 3x2GB 1333MHz Kingston
 GPU: Sapphire HD7970 Boost
 Storage: 250GB Samsung 840 Evo, 640GB WD, 250GB WD, 250GB WD
 PSU: SeaSonic X-850
 Keyboard: Steelseries APEX
 Mouse: Steelseries Sensei RAW Heat Orange
 Monitor: Asus MX279H, Samsung 226BW
 Audio: Logitech Z4, Audio Technica ATH-A900X - coming in a week 
 Win 8.1 Pro

 Half way through next year I am planning on jumping to Haswel-E, get a new case and upgrade my GPU to the next genereation of Nvidia Cards when they come out (for 4k gsync of course).
  


alanhell said:


> my DDR3 use to cost more than $500 for just 6G. (well, it is long time ago, but still fast DDR3 cost a lot)
> I think for memory, speed is more important than capacity, anything bigger than 8G is just for virtual machines or other server applications.


 

 Or copious amounts of tabs on chrome


----------



## Unfie

I don't know about you guys, but I like to have 20+ tabs open on Chrome for one monitor, a computer game running on the second monitor, and a HD movie running on the third monitor/TV to keep others entertained. The TV plays the movie audio, and I have Foobar configured to run music through my headphone setup. Finally, Folding@Home uses the remaining CPU/GPU power!
  
 It's the only way to justify my 16 GB of ram...yeah, that's it.


----------



## AlanHell

I do have 4 monitors, and foobar is always on one of them (I have 3 feeding 3 different sources, depends on mood, I will pick up different phones and setups)
 I never close my Firefox which always have close to 20 tabs pin and lock on it (Sometimes I tend to open some videos and let it load at background while I am gaming)
 I game on 3D surround as well. (Most of time just 2D with 3 monitor set to 120Hz).
  
 And I think 12G is way too much already................
 I think my GPU is the first one to scream while all my other PC parts remain idle. Before I upgrade my RAM, the VRAM will be the first thing to consider upgrading. I am pretty sure Windows 7 is best optimized for 8G which already have enough page tables to manage everything. As long as you are not doing extreme stuff like encoding 4K video from raw data into mp4 with highest compression rate.


----------



## DonutDeflector

You guys have the high end stuff!
I get the scraps!


----------



## AlanHell

donutdeflector said:


> You guys have the high end stuff!
> I get the scraps!


 

 lol, this is headfi~~~~
 PC is for poor people already.
 My whole build might just cost a cable in other ppl's inventory~~~~


----------



## argentum47

Case NZXT H2
 Mobo Asus P8Z77-V Pro
 CPU i5-2500K @ 4.8 GHz & Noctua NH-D14 (Nofan CR-95C if not oc)
 RAM 4 GB x2 @ 2133 MHz
 GPU ATI 6850
 PSU Seasonic X-460
 Storage Samsung 830 128 GB,  Seagate 256 GB HDD
 Monitor LG's 42-in tv (42LD450)
 Keyboard Topre Realforce 87, Majestouch 104 brown switch
 Mouse Logitech MX518
 Using Musical Fidelity V-link to get optical signal to my audio rig
  
 I used to have a completely fanless pc, but then I started gaming so I had to add some fans


----------



## AlanHell

love your keyboard!!!!


----------



## SkitZ0

Do laptops count?  I'm currently running an AMD A8 3500M (HD Radeon 6620G integrated.....somehow it plays Planetside 2 @ 768p) with 8GB of RAM and a 640GB HDD........aaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's aging.  Fast.  So I'm looking to upgrade to the Asus G750JZ.


----------



## zennoukinkai

skitz0 said:


> Do laptops count?  I'm currently running an AMD A8 3500M (HD Radeon 6620G integrated.....somehow it plays Planetside 2 @ 768p) with 8GB of RAM and a 640GB HDD........aaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's aging.  Fast.  So I'm looking to upgrade to the Asus G750JZ.


 
 If your laptop is ageing I would suggest you look into a desktop as they are more powerful... much more especially for the same price. Keep the current laptop for light gaming on the go and other work related things. Either way its a win win imho.


----------



## whitedragon551

Just built a computer from parts in our bone yard for my dad since he is still using the PC from 15 years ago when I was in middle school.
  
 Dell Precision T3400 chassis, 4Gbs of RAM, Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.6Ghz Quad core CPU, Nvidia Quadro  1700FX GPU as main, Nvidia 6200GT as secondary GPU, 250Gb 7200RPM HD.


----------



## SkitZ0

zennoukinkai said:


> If your laptop is ageing I would suggest you look into a desktop as they are more powerful... much more especially for the same price. Keep the current laptop for light gaming on the go and other work related things. Either way its a win win imho.


 
  
 I can't.  I'm a computer science major and they require us to have a laptop.  If I could I would, and would easily spend $3000+ on it lulz.  Water-cooling e-peen


----------



## rawrster

Laptops have come a long way from my first core2duo in 2006 or so. I have my macbook air for a similar reason. It doesn't do games but basic stuff is good


----------



## pfurey89

3.5 i7
 32gb ram
 1tb ssd 
  
 New iMac, love it for photo editing.


----------



## Jon L

Anybody know how to disable Nvidia's Optimus function?  Googling didn't lead to a good answer.
  
 I did a clean install of Win 8 (then 8.1) onto Sandisk Extreme II 480 GB SSD for Dell 17R SE (1980x1020, i7, 8GB), and now Windows Experience Index is quite high for all, Except for graphics performance.  Intel graphics HD4000 and Nvidia GT650M (with Optimus) can't be as bad as this ChrisPC Win experience says? (Win 8.1 dropped genuine Win Experience ap)


----------



## sub50hz

The Windows Experience ratings are _highly_ inaccurate. If you want an objective assessment of graphics performance, use 3DMark or a similar benching utility.


----------



## Sxooter

skitz0 said:


> Do laptops count?  I'm currently running an AMD A8 3500M (HD Radeon 6620G integrated.....somehow it plays Planetside 2 @ 768p) with 8GB of RAM and a 640GB HDD........aaaaaaaaaaaaaand it's aging.  Fast.  So I'm looking to upgrade to the Asus G750JZ.


 
  
 Take a look at the N56JR if you can find one still. GT760M, Core i7 QC CPU and 1080p screen. Microcenter has them for $999.


----------



## Jon L

sub50hz said:


> The Windows Experience ratings are _highly_ inaccurate. If you want an objective assessment of graphics performance, use 3DMark or a similar benching utility.


 
 Well, it seemed to do just fine, until Fire Strike which stuttered.


----------



## sub50hz

jon l said:


> Well, it seemed to do just fine, until Fire Strike which stuttered.


 
  
 Fire Strike isn't really meant for low-tier mobile GPUs, but the database for  the results should offer you a decent comparison.


----------



## NamelessPFG

Fire Strike makes a single desktop GTX 760 choke and SLI GTX 760s barely manage...until you set the quality to Extreme. I'm not even sure SLI GTX 780 Ti cards would provide a good framerate there.

3DMark has always been absolutely brutal on contemporary desktop hardware, needing a few years for the very top-of-the-line components to catch up. I doubt we'll see a worthy laptop at any price for two or three more years.

On the flip side, 3DMark is also much more demanding than any contemporary game, with very few exceptions. A system that chokes on Fire Strike but churns smoothly through Cloud Gate should still be viable for gaming.


----------



## gradofan1

Any Mac fans here? I have 3 primary and 2 backup...
  
 1) 2009 Mac Pro (the huge tower desktop) with 8-cores (2x 2.26Ghz Quad-core Xeon), 16GB Ram, 2.5TB storage between 4 HDD's RAID, 1GB ATI 5770 HD graphics card, with 27" Apple Thunderbolt Monitor. Needs a 1TB SSD, soon... 
  
 2) 2011 TOTL fully loaded Macbook Pro 15", Quad-Core i7 2.3Ghz w/ TurboBoost, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, ATI 1GB 6750M Dedicated Graphics and Intel 3000 Integrated Graphics, Hi-Res screen (non-retina, but close) 1680x1050.
  
 3) 2011 Macbook Air 13" Dual Core 1.7Ghz i5 w/TurboBoost, 4GB RAM, 256GB SSD, Intel 3000 Graphics Integrated
  
 POST YOUR MAC SPECS!


----------



## brhfl

gradofan1 said:


> Any Mac fans here? I have 3 primary and 2 backup...
> 
> 1) 2009 Mac Pro (the huge tower desktop) with 8-cores (2x 2.26Ghz Quad-core Xeon), 16GB Ram, 2.5TB storage between 4 HDD's RAID, 1GB ATI 5770 HD graphics card, with 27" Apple Thunderbolt Monitor. Needs a 1TB SSD, soon...
> 
> [...]


 
 You don't need to run your heat in the winter either, I take it? 
 I love my Mac Pro 3,1 (2 quad Xeons, 3 SSDs, 2HDDS, 2 optical drives, 16GB RAM...), but boy is it ever unbearable to sit near in the summer months... Thinking I might scale down once this one gives up the ghost... Which is a shame, my computer graveyard is full of Apple towers - G3, G4, and G5. Other than that, I haven't owned a laptop since my first-gen MacBook (Core Duo), and that thing was a piece of crap. I don't think the original Core processors were great, and the transition to Intel and new hardware brought with it some expected snags, but that machine and I had some fights. But I did manage to run both FCP and Avid on it, and it got me through school as my secondary machine, and still technically runs so... Can't complain too much!


----------



## gradofan1

brhfl said:


> You don't need to run your heat in the winter either, I take it?
> I love my Mac Pro 3,1 (2 quad Xeons, 3 SSDs, 2HDDS, 2 optical drives, 16GB RAM...), but boy is it ever unbearable to sit near in the summer months... Thinking I might scale down once this one gives up the ghost... Which is a shame, my computer graveyard is full of Apple towers - G3, G4, and G5. Other than that, I haven't owned a laptop since my first-gen MacBook (Core Duo), and that thing was a piece of crap. I don't think the original Core processors were great, and the transition to Intel and new hardware brought with it some expected snags, but that machine and I had some fights. But I did manage to run both FCP and Avid on it, and it got me through school as my secondary machine, and still technically runs so... Can't complain too much!


 
 Actually my Mac Pro 4,1 doesn't overheat at all... they're not supposed to, your 3,1... maybe your fan is broken, or add cooling agent?
  
 And yeah, the tower Mac Pro's are a classic! Glad to find someone here with another one.. I wish I could afford the new one that looks like Darth Vader..


----------



## gradofan1

brhfl said:


> You don't need to run your heat in the winter either, I take it?
> I love my Mac Pro 3,1 (2 quad Xeons, 3 SSDs, 2HDDS, 2 optical drives, 16GB RAM...), but boy is it ever unbearable to sit near in the summer months... Thinking I might scale down once this one gives up the ghost... Which is a shame, my computer graveyard is full of Apple towers - G3, G4, and G5. Other than that, I haven't owned a laptop since my first-gen MacBook (Core Duo), and that thing was a piece of crap. I don't think the original Core processors were great, and the transition to Intel and new hardware brought with it some expected snags, but that machine and I had some fights. But I did manage to run both FCP and Avid on it, and it got me through school as my secondary machine, and still technically runs so... Can't complain too much!


 
 Also, how did you get 3 SSD's and 2 HDD's in? There are only 4 HDD bays... I'm looking to get a 1TB SSD for my 4,1 Mac Pro as soon as it hits below $300... 
  
 Btw, b/c this thread was started in 2007, in retrospect, it's hilarious to look at the people talking about their "TOTL" machines at the time. "2GB RAM????" OMGGG!!!
  
 But I'm sure it'll be like that in another 7 years. Lol.


----------



## brhfl

gradofan1 said:


> Also, how did you get 3 SSD's and 2 HDD's in? There are only 4 HDD bays... I'm looking to get a 1TB SSD for my 4,1 Mac Pro as soon as it hits below $300...
> 
> Btw, b/c this thread was started in 2007, in retrospect, it's hilarious to look at the people talking about their "TOTL" machines at the time. "2GB RAM????" OMGGG!!!
> 
> But I'm sure it'll be like that in another 7 years. Lol.


 
 4 in bays, 1 in PCI slot. Was meaning to upgrade the SATA backplane, distracted myself with the slotted SSD instead, hah!
  
 I'm assuming the 4,1 has an acceptable carrier for the optical drives? And they come SATA? Because the 3,1... well, it's a well-designed case, except for the optical bays. IDE, for one thing, but because of the length of the cable and the way the carrier slides in, the cable is nearly impossible to keep safe, gets chewed up by the carrier. Finally tore the whole thing apart earlier this year and swapped out the IDE cables for SATA (there are unused ports on the motherboard), and that was my best upgrade - for performance? No... for frustration, yes!
  
 Anyway, my 3,1 doesn't _overheat_, it's just an extremely hot-running machine. That is, I haven't had heat-related issues, except sitting near it is miserable. I have heard that the 3,1 was the hottest-running iteration of the machine. The RAM area specifically, for whatever reason. But, no, everything is working as it should, and I tear the thing down every so often and clean all the fans, get the dust out of... everywhere... and so on. Keep tabs on all the fans and such. It's just... a hot one.
  
_Edit_: Additionally, while I haven't gone this route, you can get sleds that hold 2 SSDs, and run one off of a SATA port on the mobo while the other hits the backplane as normal.


----------



## darkswan

sniping said:


> CM Xornet is my budget mouse of choice, was $10 each two days ago.



X2
I've had mine for 2 years with no issue and works great. I play alot of games too. Paid $15


----------



## TomKure

My main rig, just upgraded it with new CPU, MB, RAM and SSD's about a week ago:
  
 MB: Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming GT (great sound from that OPA2134 on the board)
 CPU: Core i5 4690K (OC'ed to 4.6GHz on 1.213V, with Thermalright HR-02 Macho cooler)
 RAM: 16GB 2400MHz Kingston HyperX Beast (2x8GB)
 GPU: MSI nVidia GTX 770 TwinFrozr OC
 PSU: Seasonic G-Series 450W (might look weak just 450W but it manages just great)
 Windows 8.1 SSD: Samsung SSD 840 EVO 500GB
 Fedora 20 SSD: Crucial MX100 512GB
 Data HDD's: 2x Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM001 2TB 7200 RPM HDD (both 2-platter version)
 Case: Cooler Master HAF 922
 Optical drives: 1x Samsung DVD writer, 1x LG DVD-ROM (bought the DVD-ROM because it reads CD's up to 48x, the Samsung just 40x)
 Display: 24" fullHD TFT-TN Samsung S24C300
  
  
 The on-board audio on the Gigabyte mobo is just great. Not as good as the Schiit stack or the EMU 0404 USB (see my signature), but easily one of the best on-board audio solutions available. The Realtec ALC1150 is mediocre but that OPA2134 OPAMP sure has balls.
 Also, the dedicated USB 2.0 ports for DACs are excellent, my Modi now has 10dB higher SNR than with my prevous mobo (as measured by RMAA), and the main thing is that the noise which I was able to hear from the Modi/Magni stack when connected to the old mobo is now gone.
 Now I'm just thinking of getting a new PSU, probably a 550W Be quiet! one to get some power headroom and less noise on the 5V rail for the DAC.
  
 I recommend the new range of Gigabyte gaming mobos to anyone seeking great sound from the onboard audio or from a USB-powered DAC... just the Gigabyte's UEFI BIOS is not as great as ASUS's or MSI's...


----------



## elbastardo

Built a new one a few months ago. Uncle Sam was generous this year.
  

  
  
  
 Asus PB278Q monitor
 Fractal Design R4 case
 Asus Maximus Hero VI motherboard
 GSkill Ripjaw 8GBx2 1866MHZ RAM 
 EVGA 780 ti GPU
 Intel i7-4770k CPU 
 Corsair HX750 PSU
 Noctua NH-U14S CPU cooler
 Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB SSD
 Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB HDD
 Filco Majestouch mechanical keyboard
 Logitech G500s mouse


----------



## WilliamLeonhart

Being stuck with a Core Quad Q6600 and having intention to return to gaming, I'm starting to feel unhappy looking at all these awesome specs that you posted


----------



## OmarCCX

I've got a 4.5ghz 3570k and I'm already looking forward to upgrading to the 6 core i7 5820k in the future. Nothing's ever good enough ha


----------



## whitedragon551

williamleonhart said:


> Being stuck with a Core Quad Q6600 and having intention to return to gaming, I'm starting to feel unhappy looking at all these awesome specs that you posted


 
  
 Thats a fantastic CPU. Still very capable today. I have one sitting in an auto cad rig right now and I love it.


----------



## WilliamLeonhart

whitedragon551 said:


> Thats a fantastic CPU. Still very capable today. I have one sitting in an auto cad rig right now and I love it.



 

Yep quad-core FTW! Why buy a dual core i5 while I've still got a Quad core running in my rig.



omarccx said:


> I've got a 4.5ghz 3570k and I'm already looking forward to upgrading to the 6 core i7 5820k in the future. Nothing's ever good enough ha



 


Broadwell, right? I remember the huge disappointment when Haswell came out. Not that much about power anymore. It's "mobile first" now.

Anyway I think with limited budget, I'd upgradge my computer 2 or 3 years after each console generation (xbox, ps) come out. My Q6600 and Radeon HD5770 could still drive blockbuster games (like Crysis 3) to acceptable frame-rates until last year, when COD Ghosts quite handily defeated them at Medium settings. I think that most games are developed for console first, so buying a new rig 2 or 3 years after the xbox/playstation come out will maximize my investment. 
Just my 2 cents.


----------



## wahsmoh

I got the Intel corei7 2600k and overclocked it to 4.2 ghz on air cooling. It is also stable and doesn't run hot. Sandy Bridge was a groundbreaking chip and Ivy Bridge didn't raise the gap nearly as much as the first gen did.


----------



## OmarCCX

Ghosts was such a lame game. I couldn't even run it on medium settings with a GTX 760 without any tearing. It was painful.


----------



## nihilill

It's a HPdv6 laptop with AMD a6 3410 and 6750m, upgraded to 4gb ram. It's been having heat issues so i'm in the process of some chassis hacks and CPU voltage tweaks. CPU right now seems happy at under a volt with stock clocks, once summer(40C ambient temps) arrive it'll probably need more messing with.


----------



## boborone

Pretty stoked about my new laptop I just ordered. ASUS Zenbook UX301la. Got the i7 2x256 GB raid 0 version. It's got onboard graphics and sound. But, it's a pretty stout lil ultrabook. Got a 2560 x 1440 13.3" touch screen and 8 GB RAM. I got it for portability. 

My old i5 6 GB RAM HP DV7 weighs about 8 lbs and can't be unplugged anymore. Won't run on battery power. So its relegated to desktop duty. But still runs Elements and AutoCAD 2012 flawlessly. 

But I'm about to change careers and get back into IT, so I wanted something I could throw in a bag and go off with ease. Can't wait till it gets here.


----------



## darkswan

omarccx said:


> I've got a 4.5ghz 3570k and I'm already looking forward to upgrading to the 6 core i7 5820k in the future. Nothing's ever good enough ha


 
 I'm sticking with my 3570K for the forseeable future 
 Even today they have yet to really improve on the 2500K even in terms of gaming. And the difference between that and even the Haswell-E chips is so marginal if overclocked a little.


----------



## skree

New PC - well, i've been building it over time
  
 MB: Asus Maximus V Gene
 CPU: Intel I5 3570k
 RAM: Gskill RipjawsX 2133mhz C9 16gb soon to be 32.
 PSU: Seasonic SS-660-XP2
 HSF: Noctua D14 SE2011 with lga1155 bracket - this version of the D14 comes with PWM fans.
 HDD: WD SE 4tb enterprise drive, Samsung green 3tb, WD caviar black 2.5" 250gb
 SSD: Mushkin Atlas 240gb (C
 Antec NSK3480 case
 AOC i2470pwqu 24" IPS monitor and an old 15" HP f1523 4:3 LCD
  
 No dedicated GPU yet.. in a few weeks, not decided what to get, probably R7 265 or R9 270, will be getting another SSD with it. Got a CM Storm Quickfire TK Stealth keyboard coming and a 360 wireless pad. Thinking about a logitech performance mouse mx. Have a Gigabyte M7800e at the moment. it's ok, no better.
  
 The mighty Athlon XP-M still works, but had become too slow to be convenient. I'm still continually amazed at just how fast this 3570k is
  
 This build is a first for me - mostly high end quality components, designed to a spec rather than what i could get.. and i loves it. Can't wait for the new peripherals


----------



## Rumiho

Current, full overhaul planned for the next set of Intel chips.
  
Intel Core i7-3770K 3.5GHz Quad-Core
Asus P8Z77-V PRO ATX LGA1155
Patriot Viper 3 16GB (4 x 4GB) DDR3-1600
Western Digital Caviar Black 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM
Seagate Barracuda 3TB 3.5" 7200RPM x2
EVGA 02G-P4-2774-KR
Fractal Design Define R4 w/Window (White) ATX Mid Tower
Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V
  
 atm it runs most games on high settings around 60fps so decent for now.


----------



## the wizard of oz

Yes! Finally scored a 30 inch Apple Cinema Display for a good price! Thrilled to bits


----------



## adpo

Right as they announce the new 5K iMac too


----------



## jfaaz

Model Name:    Mac mini
   Model Identifier:    Macmini6,2
   Processor Name:    Intel Core i7
   Processor Speed:    2.3 GHz
   Number of Processors:    1
   Total Number of Cores:    4
   L2 Cache (per Core):    256 KB
   L3 Cache:    6 MB
   Memory:    16 GB


----------



## the wizard of oz

adpo said:


> Right as they announce the new 5K iMac too


I don't like the design of the new Apple Displays or iMacs, and prefer the matte screen too. Plus 30" is still larger than 27" 

Hung up on the wall, it's like a aluminium framed painting.


----------



## Unfie

I have been on a university exchange program since August. Because of that, my desktop has been locked away in my aunt's garage for a while. I have a laptop which is fine for getting homework done, but things aren't the same.
  
 I miss my desktop. The fiber optic internet at the school here is 1 Gbps, but my laptop chokes at 650 Mbps/500 Mbps. How am I going to tap into that few hundred Mbps that I don't need?


----------



## Darthmullet

Asus Z97 Pro [wifi-AC]
 Intel Core i7 4790k @ 4.5 Ghz
 Corsair H110 closed loop cooler
 Corsair Dominator 1866 Mhz DDR3 RAM x32 GB
 SLI EVGA GTX 980 Superclocked ACX 2.0
 Samsung 840 EVO SSD 
 WD Green 3.0 TB HDD
 Corsair Carbide Air 540 Case with Silverstone AP static pressure fans
 Corsair AX1500i PSU


----------



## lbbef

========================================
 LAPTOP
 ========================================
 Aftershock X15S-V2 (Clevo P150SM-A)
 Intel Core i7-4900MQ
 NVidia GeForce 880M
 2 x 8GB Elpida DDR3L 1600MHz
 AU Optronics B156HW01 V7 (15.6" Full HD 95% NTSC wide colour gamut glare display)
 Colour calibrated using X-Rite i1Display Pro
 IC Diamond Thermal Compound
 Intel 730 Series SSD 480GB
 Western Digital Black 750GB
 Intel Dual Band Wireless-AC 7260
 Windows 8.1 Professional with Update
  
 Honestly, my laptop is expensive, but I move around and work a lot, so I need something that is portable and powerful.
  
 ========================================
 HOME SERVER
 ========================================
 Intel Pentium G645
 4GB Kingston DDR3 1333MHz CL9
 Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V
 Cooler Master eXtreme 2 475W
 Cooler Master Elite 343 Black Edition
 Lot's of Harddisks
 Ubuntu Server 14.04 LTS

 ========================================
 OTHERS
 ========================================
 AOC E1659FWU Portable 15.6" USB Monitor

 64GB Sandisk Extreme USB 3.0 Flash Drive
 Western Digital Black 750GB (In Vantec USB 3.0 Casing)

 RealForce 87U All-45g "EK Edition" Keyboard
 Wacom Bamboo Pen and Touch Graphics Tablet
 Genovation ControlPad 683-U Programmable Keypad

 Antec 13 Port USB Hub
 Antec Compact 4 Port USB Hub
  
 Now I just need a good mouse, mousepad and an external monitor (Maybe 3. Thinking of Eizo, NEC or Dell).


----------



## adevriesc

I strongly recommend the Redragon Mammoth if you're mouse shopping. The price point can't be beat.


----------



## SleathX1

adevriesc said:


> I strongly recommend the Redragon Mammoth if you're mouse shopping. The price point can't be beat.


 
 The Corsair M65 (the non-RGB version) is on sale for $49.99 in the US. I highly recommend you check that one out, too.


----------



## SleathX1

Here's my build. The specs are low to mid-end, just like my headphones setup 
  
 Athlon 750k @ 4.4 GHz
 CoolerMaster Hyper TX3
 Asus F2A85-M
 EVGA GTX 750 Ti FTW Edition (1340 Core / 2880 Mem)
 8GB Corsair Vengeance 1600 (2x4GB)
  
 Edit: Formatting.


----------



## SleathX1

darthmullet said:


> Asus Z97 Pro [wifi-AC]
> Intel Core i7 4790k @ 4.5 Ghz
> Corsair H110 closed loop cooler
> Corsair Dominator 1866 Mhz DDR3 RAM x32 GB
> ...


 
 Pics please! What an awesome specs list, lets hope that the box looks as good as I think it does


----------



## Darthmullet

sleathx1 said:


> Pics please! What an awesome specs list, lets hope that the box looks as good as I think it does


 
 I'll work on it  The 980's look better than I ever thought they would, they have lights on the top (front from a side view) which are pure white and match the color scheme well, unlike the blue Windforce or Green reference models.


----------



## SleathX1

Sweet! can't wait, cause those are the same cards that I hope I'll get for my next build!!!!!
  
 (I love EVGA)


----------



## sevendeuce72

My build from last year, which is currently my video editing rig. Really need to set up a RAID 0 though.
  
 Intel Core i7 4770k 
 Gigabyte GA-Z87X-UD3H
 G.SKILL Ares Series 16GB
 SAMSUNG 840 Pro
 Western Digital WD Black 
 CORSAIR HX Series HX750 
 Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
 Cooler Master HAF 932 Advanced Blue Edition
 MSI N580GTX Twin Frozr II/OC GeForce GTX 580


----------



## MidoDaDon

Intel Core i7 4790k 4.0GHz
Gigabyte Geforce GTX980 G1 GAMING
Kingstone 16GB RAM
Kingstone 480GB SSDNow
Western Digital WD Black Edition 2TB
CORSAIR AX 1200i 1200W Platinum
Cooler Master Stryker Case White Edition
ASUS sabertooth z97 mk1 Motherboard

I got this rig at around $1700， still didnt test it though.


----------



## SleathX1

midodadon said:


> Intel Core i7 4790k 4.0GHz
> Gigabyte Geforce GTX980 G1 GAMING
> Kingstone 16GB RAM
> Western Digital WD Black Edition 2TB
> ...


 
 Dude! What about an SSD? Absolutely critical in a high end build like yours. Also a 1200W PSU is totally overkill, especially since you have a Maxwell GPU.


----------



## MidoDaDon

sleathx1 said:


> Dude! What about an SSD? Absolutely critical in a high end build like yours. Also a 1200W PSU is totally overkill, especially since you have a Maxwell GPU.



Sorry I forgot to mention it
Kingstone 480GB SSDNow

Edited on original， Thanks for reminding me.


----------



## SleathX1

Nice! Now you've got a monster build!


----------



## kman1211

Intel i7 3770k 3.5ghz
XFX Radeon HD 7970 Ghz Edition
G-skill 32GB DDR3 RAM
Samsung 840 Pro SSD 250GB x2 RAID 0
Corsair 750W PSU
Cooler Master Scout case


----------



## meat01

Why do people get such big, overkill PSUs?  I assume you do a lot of research on each component and then you fail to Google the "how big of a power supply do I need?"
  
 There are numerous calculators online that tell you how much you need.  CPUs and SSDs are more efficient and unless you are using SLI with high end graphics cards, you would be surprised at how small your PSUs can be and still have room for upgrades.


----------



## Blisse

It's actually interesting the PSU is so large because the 980 is like the most efficient card in a while


----------



## kman1211

meat01 said:


> Why do people get such big, overkill PSUs?  I assume you do a lot of research on each component and then you fail to Google the "how big of a power supply do I need?"
> 
> There are numerous calculators online that tell you how much you need.  CPUs and SSDs are more efficient and unless you are using SLI with high end graphics cards, you would be surprised at how small your PSUs can be and still have room for upgrades.


 
 Who knows, I can use SLI or Crossfire with my 6 year old 750W Corsair which I plan on replacing eventually, not really sure why people go for the 1000W+ power PSU's unless they are running 3-4 power hungry GPU's and overclocking. One of the bigger improvements in high-performance PCs lately I noticed is efficiency.


----------



## jackstack10

Built in 2012. 
 Intel I5 2500k
 Gigabyte windforce GEFORCE GTX 670
 OCX ModXstream 700 w 80 plus PSU
 Asrock z68 extreme 3 gen 3 motherboard
 Hitachi 1TB
 Samsung 840 EVO 500GB SSD


----------



## DonutDeflector

jackstack10 said:


> Built in 2012.
> Intel I5 2500k
> Gigabyte windforce GEFORCE GTX 670
> OCX ModXstream 700 w 80 plus PSU
> ...




The legendary 2500k!


----------



## jackstack10

donutdeflector said:


> The legendary 2500k!


 
 It's kind of amazing how long it's lasted.  I had the fan and heatsink turned off for an entire week without knowing after adding a part or something like that about a year ago and it was running at 100 degrees Celcius, and just a few days ago i found the fan and heatsink wasn't fully pushed into the motherboard and it had been like that for at least a few weeks, still working really well.


----------



## DonutDeflector

jackstack10 said:


> It's kind of amazing how long it's lasted.  I had the fan and heatsink turned off for an entire week without knowing after adding a part or something like that about a year ago and it was running at 100 degrees Celcius, and just a few days ago i found the fan and heatsink wasn't fully pushed into the motherboard and it had been like that for at least a few weeks, still working really well.




Holy Schiit! WOW!


----------



## 520RanchBro

Corsair Carbide 500r Case
 Corsair H100 water cooling
 Intel 4670k OC'd to 4.2 ghz
 MSI MoBo (can't remember, not at home)
 Corsair Vengeance RAM 16gb 2133mhz
 Corsair SSDs (120 and 240gb)
 Seagate 1TB 7200rpm HDD
 MSI GTX770 Lightning GPU
  
 For gaming, audio production and sometimes video and photo editing. Love this machine.


----------



## phantomore

Depends on what computer you talk about, I love computers more than headphones honestly 
  
 Gaming Rig
 Intel i7 4770k
 ROG maximus formula vi
 2x EVGA GTX 760
 2x ADATA 500GB SSD
 2X WD blue 1TB HDD
  
 All well running on a Custom waterloop without a case  I kind of have it running on a make shift test bench? Still waiting for the "case" for me  Or I might just build one my self. 
  
 Laptops - 
 Macbook pro Retina 13in 3.0Ghz maximised on purchase
 Macbook pro non-retina 15inch
  
 That sound about right...


----------



## tk3

New build. Totally overkill, I know.
  
 i7 5820k with a light overclock at 4.2 GHZ
 16 GB DDR4 RAM at 2400 mhz in quad channel mode
 GTX 970
 650W fully modular PSU boasting 92%+ efficiency
 2 SSDs and HDDs (cause I took the ones from my old build to my new)
 Fractal Design Define R5 case
  
 And using my old Filco Ninja and a Logitech G700s for peripherals.


----------



## spykez

AMD 8350 OC@ 5GHz
 Gigabyte 990FX-UD5 (Pictured is the UD3 that I fried the VRMs from pulling too much wattage during a competition for highest OC, died at 5.2)
 2x4GB DDR3 Samsung Miracle Memory
 Sapphire 7950 1100/1600
 Samsung 830 SSD and whatever mech drives for storage.
 Seasonic X650
  
 Cooling:
 XSPC Raystorm CPU Kit (360 rad, xspc raystorm block, res/pump bay combo)
 Alphacool Copper compression fittings
 Koolance quick disconnects (still need to order the right ones so they're not in the middle of the cables)
 Swiftech Komodo 7950 full block
 Alphacool NexXxoS Monsta 120mm
8 XSPC Xinruilian 120mm 1650 RPM Fan for the radiators


----------



## spom

Rig:
 ASRock X58 Extreme motherboard
 Intel i7 920 @ 3.6 GHZ
 Noctua nh-d14 cooler
 12GB Kingston RAM
 256GB Corsair MX100 SSD
 3x 1-2 TB HDDs
 2x Gigabyte Gaming G1 GTX 970's
 Corsair TX-750 PSU
 CM Storm Trooper full tower case
 3x Asus VN279Q 27" 1080p monitors
  
 Audio:
 Logitech Z-2300 2.1 speakers & sub
 Audiotechnica ATH-A900 headphones
 Aurasound Bass Shaker Pro
  
 Peripherals:
 Corsair K60 mechanical keyboard
 Logitech G502 mouse
 Saitek X52 HOTAS
 Logitech G27 wheel
 Track IR 5
  
 a couple pics:


----------



## spykez

...I'm more interested in the pictures of your dog now haha


----------



## the wizard of oz

I was getting more & more browser display errors & security warnings, so have had to move from PPC to Intel Mac Mini to be able to install a more recent OS X supporting a more recent browser version.
Core Duo 1.66GHz, 2GB RAM, 60GB SSD.
The G4 will have the same purpose as the others, media server in the guest rooms.
This does read like a five year old post at least, but these old spec'd computers are sufficient for my uses.


----------



## mimart7

Here is my current rig's specs.  Motherboard and cpu are a little dated, but they still do an excellent job.  I also have a pair of KRK Rokit 5's G3.
  
 Asrock Z77 extreme 4
 G Skill Ripjaws X Series 4 GB (2X2) 1600 6-8-6-24
 ASUS GTX760-DC2OC-2GD5
 GeForce GTX 760
 Samung 830 128 GB SSD
 WD 1002FAEZ 1TB
 Asus Xonar STX
 Seasonic X 850
 Ven X Push/Pull Config
 Win 8.1 Pro


----------



## kapanak

UPDATE:

 I built this last year August/September (2014), recently changed the Graphics Card from a Zotac 750Ti to a GTX 980, added two more sticks of the same RAM, got another SSD (for Win10).
 Also rewired and changed some of the fans.

 Intel Core i7 4790K
 Asus Maximus VII Formula (Z97)
 Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB DDR-3 1866Mhz
 Gigabyte G1 GTX 980
 Samsung SSD 850 Pro 256GB
 Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB
 WD Black 6TB x 2
 ASUS Dual-Band Wireless-AC1900 PCE-AC68 (did not like the built-in one on the Motherboard)
 Corsair Obsidian 750D Case
 Corsair AX1200 (Gold single rail one) PSU
 Corsair H100i CPU Water Cooler
 2 x Scythe S-Flex 120mm on bottom intake
 2 x Gentle Typhoon AP-29 with PWN Mod on the radiator
 3 x Cougar CFD140 Orange/Red LED for front intake and back exhaust
 Monitor: BenQ XL2420Z
 Speakers: Razer Mako 2.1
 Keyboard: Filco Majestouch 2 Ninja Full Size
 Mouse: MadCatz M.M.O.7 Orange/Black with G.L.I.D.E.7 Surface
 Webcam: Logitech C920
 Microphone: Samson Meteor Chrome


----------



## Ratio

Rig: 
  
 Asrock Z68 Extreme3Gen3
 Samsung 256GB 830 Series SSD
 i7 2600k cooled with Thermalright Silver Arrow
 Asus GTX 770 DirectCU II
 1TB Samsung Spinpoint HDD
 8GB Vengeance 1600MHz DDR3
 Lots of Scythe GentleTyphoons
 powered by Corsair AX-650
 packed in Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium Grey
  
 Dell 23'' UltraSharp U2312HM
  
 Originally I had GTX580 Matrix when I bought my rig in 2011, also upgraded SSD from 128GB version Performance 3 Series since it broke down 2 times. I guess when you buy good stuff it lasts longer.


----------



## King of Pangaea

I am considering moving my music to a computer based system.  What I need to know is:
  
 1.  Does processor type or speed have any effect?  Is an i7 better than an i5 or something less?
  
 2.  Does the OS make a difference.  This would be PC, not Mac.  Is one version of Windows preferred over others?  Is there anything wrong with using XP or Vista?
  
 3.  Any suggestions concerning external hard drives?  Are some, or some types preferable over others?
  
 4.  Any other advice someone may have.
  
 Thank you.


----------



## spykez

CPU doesn't matter, you could do this on a P4 for all you care.
  
 OS doesn't matter, software that's on both are great. It's all down to the software you want to use. I have heard people say Fubar sounds better than WinAmp or insert name here sounds better than insert name here but I don't believe any of that. I personally use MediaMonkey. The only point where OS matters is what hardware you have, obviously something super old isn't going to run a newer OS very well but I don't think that's your case.
  
 Stick with the main companies for HDD like Western Digital and Seagate.


----------



## Vatikus

My machine:
  
 Asus P8H61-M LX PLUS R2.0
 i5 - 3470
 Kingston DDR3 12 GB RAM
 EVGA GTX 650 Ti BOOST Superclocked
 2 HDDs amounting to 1.5 TB
  
 It's not much. But I'm happy with it as it can still game a bit and more than sufficient for software development


----------



## spykez

vatikus said:


> My machine:
> 
> Asus P8H61-M LX PLUS R2.0
> i5 - 3470
> ...


 
  
 What do you play?


----------



## Vatikus

Mostly just Far Cry 3 and 4, Dark Souls II and Skyrim lately.


----------



## Arasthel

Rig:
  
 Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit SP1
 Intel Core i5 3570K
 8GB G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1333 (9-9-9-24)
 Asus P8Z77-V LK
 VP171b (1280x1024@60Hz)
 SyncMaster (1920x1080@60Hz)
 1024MB AMD Radeon HD 6850
 500GB Seagate ST500DM002-1BD142
 1TB Western Digital WDC WD10EARS-00Y5B1
  
  
 Quite overdue for a GPU upgrade.


----------



## TomKure

king of pangaea said:


> I am considering moving my music to a computer based system.  What I need to know is:
> 
> 1.  Does processor type or speed have any effect?  Is an i7 better than an i5 or something less?
> 
> ...


 
  
  
 If you are going to listen to your music on a computer, say, from a DAC connected to USB or S/PDIF, I would suggest the OS to be anything from Vista on, because Vista introduced WASAPI, which is an audio interface unmatched in any other OS. I use Linux a lot (not more than Windows 8.1 though), where audio is dealt with using ALSA, which is also good, basically, ALSA is all you need for exclusive audio, but from there it gets more and more complicated (Pulse, OSS, Phonon in KDE, ...) and difficult to configure, that even for all the love I have for Linux, I still prefer Windows 8.1 for playing audio.
 Windows 8 is the fastest, least memory-heavy Windows version since XP - my experience is that it takes about 20-30% less memory then Windows 7 after booting the OS, also DPC has been re-worked in 8, meaning less problems with USB and/or exclusive (WASAPI/ASIO) audio, therefore, for a music-centric machine, I would definitely recommend Windows 8, or, if you cannot stand Metro and the Start screen, wait for Windows 10.
  
 CPU: As mentioned before by spykez, CPU does not matter much. I would personally stay away from current AMD models, as they generally have less performance/more power consumption/heat generation than current Intel CPUs. A nice little Core i3 would be enough for a multimedia rig. Hell, maybe even a dual-core Hasswell-based Pentium would do.
 Just make sure to have at least 4GB of RAM, as 2GB could be not sufficient in some cases, although for just music, 8GB would be an overkill. 4GB is nice.
  
 A SSD, while expensive, will make your system nice and responsive, if you do not want a SSD, then a WD or Seagate HDD will do (I have much better experience with Seagate but other people might prefer WD).
  
 A note about motherboards: I have a Gigabyte Z97X-Gaming GT, not the cheapest, but it has superior integrated audio. It "only" has a Realtek ALC1150 audio chip but behind that is a Burr Brown OPA2134, which sounds very nice and can drive almost anything. I know you will most likely use an external DAC but it is always nice to have an extra high quality audio output. The board also has 2 USB 2.0 ports designed specially for connecting a DAC to them, they have their own power delivery straight from the PSU, not shared with any other sub-system on the motherboard or other USB ports, which, after I measured it, increased my Schiit Modi/Magni stack's dynamic range and SNR by 10 dB compared to an older P45 LGA775 Gigabyte motherboard. Also, a few days ago, I measured all my audio equipment using RMAA and EMU 0404 inputs and found that the motherboard audio had better dynamic range, SNR, THD and IMD than my Schiit stack (with 600, 300 and 25 Ohm headphones connected in parallel to load the amps) (I can provide results of my measurements).
  
 Other manufacturers like MSI and ASUS also have their versions of motherboards with enhanced audio quality, but from what I've read on the product pages of their mobos, I decided to get a Gigabyte one, and it did not disappoint.
  
 If you want more advice, just PM me, I can share some more of my limited experience and knowledge about PCs and audio (although I'm sure there are individuals with much more knowledge and experience with this).
  
 Cheers!


----------



## SleathX1

Okay, well if we're offering PC building advise, I would _*strongly*_ advise going on over to PC-dedicated sites.
  
 www.tomshardware.com
 http://www.pcpartpicker.com/
 http://www.anandtech.com/
 www.reddit.com/r/buildapc
  
 The people over at Tom's Hardware tend to be the most credible, and PCpartpicker is the most helpful utility. Reddit is also a _great _place, and Anandtech is probably the best for review articles. For interactive product reviews, LinusTechTips is god. Check him out over at his Youtube.
  
 Anyways, these are some of the best sources to get knowledge to build a PC! Hope I helped


----------



## spykez

sleathx1 said:


> Okay, well if we're offering PC building advise, I would _*strongly*_ advise going on over to PC-dedicated sites.
> 
> www.tomshardware.com
> http://www.pcpartpicker.com/
> ...


 
 You better add overclock.net to that list -.-


----------



## King of Pangaea

Thanks everybody.  This should give me something to think about.  Plan on using a laptop and an external DAC into my HDVD800.  Probably a new one but I may resurrect an older Toshiba DDR2 era running Vista.  It has my iTunes on it in ALAC format and as soon as I reinstall some messed up drivers it should be good again.  I forget the chip exactly but it's some kind of Intel earlier dual core and with 4GB ram.  I have a much newer i5 laptop running W7 but the Toshiba shouldn't sacrifice any sound quality based on what you guys said, right?
  
 I know there are better aftermarket sound cards available from Asus and others for about $200 but since this will be a home unit I will use an external DAC.  I am thinking J River or something for file management.
  
 Thanks again.


----------



## SleathX1

OH S&^%
  
 yeah lol I forgot a few 
  
 I was in class and dozing off, I didn't really go over every site - there are tons others. Thanks man for reminding me to say this


----------



## DonutDeflector

sleathx1 said:


> OH S&^%
> 
> yeah lol I forgot a few
> 
> I was in class and dozing off, I didn't really go over every site - there are tons others. Thanks man for reminding me to say this




The LinusTechTips forum is also very helpful.


----------



## 520RanchBro

king of pangaea said:


> Thanks everybody.  This should give me something to think about.  Plan on using a laptop and an external DAC into my HDVD800.  Probably a new one but I may resurrect an older Toshiba DDR2 era running Vista.  It has my iTunes on it in ALAC format and as soon as I reinstall some messed up drivers it should be good again.  I forget the chip exactly but it's some kind of Intel earlier dual core and with 4GB ram.  I have a much newer i5 laptop running W7 but the Toshiba shouldn't sacrifice any sound quality based on what you guys said, right?
> 
> I know there are better aftermarket sound cards available from Asus and others for about $200 but since this will be a home unit I will use an external DAC.  I am thinking J River or something for file management.
> 
> Thanks again.


 
 Give JRiver a shot, you get 30 days to try it. I love it.


----------



## spykez

donutdeflector said:


> sleathx1 said:
> 
> 
> > OH S&^%
> ...


 
 I went to that forum once, I felt like I was reading through youtube comments and my IQ was dwindling by a thread. Basically any of the audio equipment we love on here, the users on there dismiss as snake oil.


----------



## mimart7

spykez said:


> I went to that forum once, I felt like I was reading through youtube comments and my IQ was dwindling by a thread. Basically any of the audio equipment we love on here, the users on there dismiss as snake oil.


 
 There are enough computer forums out there, where people are quite a bit more mature.  Typically, the "iq lowering" posts are from younger people who are repeating what they see from other posts. If you need a good forum to find out more about computers, feel free to pm me.


----------



## spykez

mimart7 said:


> spykez said:
> 
> 
> > I went to that forum once, I felt like I was reading through youtube comments and my IQ was dwindling by a thread. Basically any of the audio equipment we love on here, the users on there dismiss as snake oil.
> ...


----------



## King of Pangaea

For any who might be interested, re the thread of thought I was pursuing before concerning best OS and etc. for music, the Jamuary issue of The Absolute Sound has a pertinent article on the subject in which they declare Windows to be superior sounding  to MAC OS for computer music purposes.   Article titled "New Methods for Quantifying Sonic Performance."
  
  
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/tas/
  
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/publications/the-absolute-sound/issues/249/
  
 There doesn't seem to be a link to the article so you will have to rustle up a hard copy if you want to read.  Hey, they aren't going to give their narrow-spectrum high end pearls of wisdom away for free.


----------



## phandrew

Case: Silverstone FT02 USB 3.0
 CPU: i7 5820K @ 4.4Ghz
 CPU Cooler: Cryorig R1 Ultimate
 RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport 2666Mhz DDR4
 MB: ASrock X99 Extreme 4
 GPU: XFX Radeon R9 295X2 8GB @ 1100/1400
 SSD: 480GB Sandisk Extreme Pro
 HDD: 5TB Toshiba 7200RPM
 PSU:  EVGA SuperNOVA P2 Platinum 1200W
 Optical Drive: LG CH12NS30 Blu-Ray Combo
 Headphone: Grado PS1000/DT990/HE400i/PK1
 Microphone: Blue Yeti
 Speakers: Goodmans Maxim + SVS SB2000 Subwoofer
 Soundcard: Luxman DA-100 + Audioengine N22 + Tara labs Vector 2 & Audioquest RCA cables
 Keyboard: Deck Hassium Blue LED Cherry MX Red + Ducky leather palmrest
 Mouse: Mionix Naos 7000
 Mousepad: Artisan Hayate MID Japan Black Large
 Screens: Dell U2713H


----------



## spykez

Glad I'm not the only one that pays ridiculous prices for well built cases. Lian Li cases are my favorite ^__^


----------



## phandrew

I wanted the In Win S-Frame but it was sold out when I ordered my pc


----------



## rvcjew

My Hobby/Work Desktop.
  
 OS: Win 7 PRO x64, WIN 8.1 PRO x64
 CPU: Intel i7 4770K @ 4.4Ghz
 Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VI Extreme
 Memory: 32GB(4x8GB) DDR3 Team Xtreem 2666 @ 2400 CL10 10-12-12-31
 Graphics Card(s): 2x MSI GTX 780 Twin Frozr OC 3GB
 Sound Card: ASUS Xonar Essence STX
 Monitor(s) Displays: ASUS PB278Q, HP 2311xi, 1080p tv
 Screen Resolution: 1440p, 2x 1080p
 Hard Drives:
 256GB 840 PRO SSD
 6TB RAID 1 Array (Movies, Steam)
 1.5TB HDD (Things Before Sorting/Downloads)
 3TB EXT Drive (Secure Backups)
 PSU: AX760
 Case: NZXT White Switch 810
 Cooling: Raystorm,Tank Z,D5 W\ EK Top,2x Razor GTX 780 v2,RX360PshPul
 Keyboard: RK-9000 W/MX Blue switches and Vortex Bi-color PBT double shot caps, Logitech G15 (gutted for LCD)
 Mouse: G400, Puretrak Talent


----------



## DonutDeflector

Current gaming/editing rig:

CPU: AMD FX-6300 @ 3.9GHz (slight OC)
CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS9500
MoBo: MSI 970A-G43
RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu DDR3-1600 8GB
GPU: MSI Twin Frozr GTX 750 [+155MHz Core, +260MHz VRAM]
SSD: OCZ ARC 100 120GB
HDD: Western Digital RE3 1TB
PSU: Corsair CX 430 (I know....)
Case: Thermaltake Commander MS-I Epic Edtion

Keyboard: Monoprice Blue Backlit (Cell Membrane)
Mouse: Monprice 6-button w/ DPI changer
Mosuepad: SteelSeries QcK Mini

Headphones: Sennhieser HD 518

Other: Raspberry Pi 2


----------



## Hapster

CPU: AMD FX 8350 @ 4.7ghz
 CPU heatsink: NiC C5
 Motherboard: ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0
 RAM: G. Skill Ripjaw X series (2x4GB) [2133mhz ]
 HDD: Western Digital 7200rpm (1TB)
 SSD: Kingston SSDnow v300 (120GB)
 GPU: MSI GTX 970
 Case: Zalman z11 plus hf1
 PSU: Seasonic x series x650 gold (650w)
 Optical Drive: HP DVD1265i
 OS: Windows 7
  
 Peripherals:
 Keyboard: Corsair K70 (Cherry MX red)
 Mouse: Mionix Naos 7000
 Mousepad: Rocketfish universal gaming mousepad
 Speakers: Klipsch Promedia 2.1
 Dac/Amp: V-Moda Vamp Verza
 Headphones: Philips Fidelio X2
 Mic: V-Moda Boom Pro
  
 Display: Asus Vg248qe 24' (144hz)
  
  
 I think I've reached my end-game, I don't think there's anything else I need want to upgrade at this point anymore.


----------



## DonutDeflector

hapster said:


> CPU: AMD FX 8350 @ 4.7ghz
> CPU heatsink: NiC C5
> Motherboard: ASUS M5A99FX PRO R2.0
> RAM: G. Skill Ripjaw X series (2x4GB) [2133mhz ]
> ...




That is a baller rig.

I think the only things you COULD upgrade are the RAM for 8GB to 16GB. Still kind of not needed


----------



## Hapster

donutdeflector said:


> That is a baller rig.
> 
> I think the only things you COULD upgrade are the RAM for 8GB to 16GB. Still kind of not needed



Thanks! 
I've thought about it, I don't know if that'd really help either, if I could just buy 4gb, I would. Lol


----------



## DonutDeflector

hapster said:


> Thanks!
> I've thought about it, I don't know if that'd really help either, if I could just buy 4gb, I would. Lol




Maybe you could buy a gazillion 1TB SSDs. 
Because you can.


----------



## DisCHORDDubstep

Built this recently for 200$

CPU: Intel Celeron G1840 (using the integrated graphics on this. Not too bad to be honest. Runs most games decently. I run Red Orchestra Ostfront at max with 45fps. I still plan to buy a dedicated GPU in the future though.)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34
RAM: Crucial 4gb
PSU: Antec VP-450 450w
HDD: Seagate ST3250310CS OEM 250gb
Case: Xion XON-310
Rear Fan: Antec Tricool 80mm fan
Monitor: 21" Sony Trinitron 520GS CRT monitor with a maximum resolution of 1600X1200
OS: Windows 8.1 and Ubuntu Linux. Looking at Kali and CentOS as well.


----------



## rvcjew

dischorddubstep said:


> Built this recently for 200$
> 
> CPU: Intel Celeron G1840 (using the integrated graphics on this. Not too bad to be honest. Runs most games decently. I run Red Orchestra Ostfront at max with 45fps. I still plan to buy a dedicated GPU in the future though.)
> Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34
> ...


 
 Nice build for the cost.


----------



## DisCHORDDubstep

rvcjew said:


> Nice build for the cost.


I had 200$ and decided it was time to take it into my own hands to upgrade from a 2003 eMachines computer running windows XP my parents had gotten and never decided to upgrade to something newer. My first goal was to see if I could even build one for 200$, and if I could I would try to get the best I could with my budget. I rather liked how it turned out. I think I'm gonna be dropping another 300$ or so on another HDD, a SSD, 8gb more ram, and some upper midrange GPU.


----------



## DonutDeflector

dischorddubstep said:


> Built this recently for 200$
> 
> CPU: Intel Celeron G1840 (using the integrated graphics on this. Not too bad to be honest. Runs most games decently. I run Red Orchestra Ostfront at max with 45fps. I still plan to buy a dedicated GPU in the future though.)
> Motherboard: MSI H81M-E34
> ...




Ubuntu?

Is it GNOME?


----------



## Amish

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K @ 4.4GHz
 MOBO: MSI P67A-GD65 B3
 Cooling: Corsair H100i
 MEM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz
 Video: Zotac GTX 980 4GB
 SSD/HDD: Kingston HyperX 240GB SSD / Radeon R7 240GB SSD / W.D.Velociraptor 10k 300GB / 4TB of storage
 Optical Drive: Samsung 22x DVD Burner SH-S223F
 CASE: ThermalTake Level 10 GT
 SOUND: Onboard Loss-less 24-bit/192KHz HD Audio to HK 3490 & Hsu Research HB-1 mkII speakers and or MHDT LAB Pagoda & Bryston BHA-1
 PSU: Corsair HX1000i
 MOUSE: Logitech G600
 KB: Logitech K800
 MONITOR: Samsung Series 6000 40" LED LCD
 OS: Windows 8.1


----------



## DonutDeflector

One of my friend's name is Amish! (An Indian name, not the group of people.)
  
 XD
  
 I don't think you are him, he doesn't have a PC that beast!
  
 Legendary 2500K I see!
  
 Quote:


amish said:


> CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K @ 4.4GHz
> MOBO: MSI P67A-GD65 B3
> Cooling: Corsair H100i
> MEM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) 1600MHz
> ...


----------



## Amish

lol no I'm not him. I grew up in Amish country though back in NE PA.
  
 Yeah the 2500K is such a great cpu. Back when I had a full custom water cooling system I was able to hit 5GHz stable for benchmarking. 4.7GHz 24/7 but when I switched to a more compact water system (Corsair) I had to lower my OC. Great CPU though and eats through everything I throw at it. No need for a new one at this point.


----------



## LingLing1337

I want to build a fanless, rack mounted audio front end pc. Im looking at something like CAPS v4 Pipeline but if anyone has other suggestions let me know


----------



## SleathX1

lingling1337 said:


> I want to build a fanless, rack mounted audio front end pc. Im looking at something like CAPS v4 Pipeline but if anyone has other suggestions let me know


 
 Sounds like one hell of a project!


----------



## Lindentwig

Intel i5 2500k 
 Gigabyte P67a-UD3-B3 Motherboard
 16 GB DDR3
 NVidia 970 GTX
 Xonar DG
 V-Moda Crossfade LP + Boompro mic as main gaming headset.
  
 And my trusty Macbook Pro 15" primo 2011, which is mainly used for music production.


----------



## illitirit

CPU: Intel Core i7 3770k @ 4.8ghz
 MOBO: Asrock extreme 4 z77
 Cooling: Noctua NH-D15
 MEM: 16gb gskill 2133 cas 9 ram
 Video: gigabyte 280x
 SSD/HDD: Samsung 840 pro / Western digital 1TB black
 CASE: Fractal R4
 SOUND: Sound blaster ZX
 PSU: Seasonic Platinum 760w
 MOUSE: Razer Deathadder Chroma
 KB: WASD Code 104 key (cherry mx green)
 MONITOR: 5x random brand 27' monitors
 OS: Windows 7


----------



## atarkovsky

*MB* : Gigabyte G1.Sniper 5
*CPU* : Intel Core i7 4770K 3.5GHz
*CPU Cooler* : Noctua NH-D14
*RAM* : Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Dual Channel
 Samsung SSD 840 Pro 256GB
 Asus Xonar Essence STX II


----------



## rvcjew

atarkovsky said:


> *MB* : Gigabyte G1.Sniper 5
> *CPU* : Intel Core i7 4770K 3.5GHz
> *CPU Cooler* : Noctua NH-D14
> *RAM* : Kingston HyperX Genesis 16GB DDR3 1600MHz CL9 Dual Channel
> ...


 
 Ohh, an E-ATX those are like rare now. Shame the form did not take off and create some really insane boards. What case you have that thing in?


----------



## MattyFillz

*MB: *Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD3 ATX AM3+
*CPU: *AMD FX-9590
*CPU Cooler:* Cooler Master Seidon 120M
*RAM: *16GB hyperX DDR3-1600
*Storage: *Western Digital Red 2TB & Intel SSD 128GB
*GPU: *EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0
*Power Supply: *Corsair RM 750W 80+ Gold certified 
*Case:* Corsair 500R (White)
*Operating system: *Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit


----------



## zennoukinkai

Built a new pc a couple months ago. 

*cpu:* i7 4790k 4.4ghz - 4.8ghz
*cooler:* NZXT kraken X61
*mobo:* Asus maximus hero vii
*ram:* mushkin redline ddr3 2400mhz
*gpu:* gigabyte gtx 970 g1
*psu:* seasonic X series 850w
*hdd:* Samsung 840evo 250gb, Seagate 2tb
*case:* Fractal Design Define R5


----------



## rvcjew

zennoukinkai said:


> Built a new pc a couple months ago.
> 
> *cpu:* i7 4790k 4.4ghz - 4.8ghz
> *cooler:* NZXT kraken X61
> ...


 
 nice rig, what vcore you at for 4.8?


----------



## zennoukinkai

rvcjew said:


> nice rig, what vcore you at for 4.8?




It's at 1.23 stable.


----------



## rvcjew

zennoukinkai said:


> It's at 1.23 stable.


 
 Damn, my delided 4770k at 4.5 is at 1.3 or no go. I got a pretty bad chip lol.
  
 EDIT: you should post some pics of it here. http://www.head-fi.org/t/397869/pictures-of-your-computer-rigs-post-them-here/9705


----------



## kaixax555

Now I just did a massive revamp of my rig a few weeks ago
  

  
 Before upgrade
 CPU: Intel i5-750
 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H55M-S2H
 RAM: Corsair DDR3 2x2GB 1333MHz
 HDD: Hitachi Deskstar 320GB
 GPU: Sapphire HD5750 Vapor-X 1GB
 PSU: Andyson F500m
 Casing: Lancool K62
  
 Now
 CPU: Intel i5-4690k
 Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212X
 Motherboard: MSI H97 PC Mate
 RAM: Corsair Vengeance 2x8GB DDR3 1600MHz
 SSD: Transcend SSD370S 256GB
 HDD: Seagate Barracuda 3TB
 GPU: Palit GTX970 Jetstream 4GB
 PSU: Andyson F500m
 Casing: Lancool K62
  
 And now, some of you will be screaming "Why a H97 board?! Why a Transcend SSD?!"
  
 Well, I did a good bit of research, and I found that unlocked CPUs are overclockable on MSI H97 boards. Yes it will not overclock as well as on a more expensive Z97 board like say the ASrock Extreme6, but it does still overclock pretty well, I find.
  
 The Transcend was a pretty impulse purchase. I was actually looking at the Samsung 850 Evo 256GB, but when I saw the Transcend on offer, I jumped onto it even though I have no idea how good its performance is. Well it has been a few days and I am glad to say I like the Transcend SSD.
  
 I am still planning how much to overclock. Now I am currently working, so I hardly have time to use the computer, let alone overclock. When I have a longer day that I am free, I will see how much I can push this. I believe with what I have I can push the CPU clocks quite a bit.


----------



## Vinyl-FLAC

First post on head-fi isn't about audio, top kek. Anyways,

CPU: i5-4690K @4.9 stable
CPU cooler: Corsair H100i
GPU: MSI GTX 980 OCv1
Memory: Single stick of 8gb @ 1600mhz
Mobo: Gigabyte z97x-gaming 5 

Storage: 256 GB mx100,
120gb Kingston ssdnow,
2tb Seagate for garry's mod.

PSU: Corsair cx500
Case: Corsair 350d


----------



## kaixax555

vinyl-flac said:


> First post on head-fi isn't about audio, top kek. Anyways,
> 
> CPU: i5-4690K @4.9 stable
> CPU cooler: Corsair H100i
> ...


 

 I just realized... how did you even squeeze a ATX mobo in a mATX case


----------



## Vinyl-FLAC

kaixax555 said:


> I just realized... how did you even squeeze a ATX mobo in a mATX case


 
 Works just fine for me, everything seems fine.


----------



## DoppenShloppen

My specs are:
 CPU: amd fx6300 @ 4ghz(could push it further but don't really feel like it)
 CPU Cooler: cooler master hyper 212 plus 
 GPU: Asus r9 270 2gb
 Memory: 8gb kingston blue (dual channel)
 Mobo: Asus m5a97 R2.0
 Storage: 1tb WD Blue
 320gb seagate (boot drive) salvaged from a laptop to replace an old samsung 160gb that died 
 Keyboard: Rosewill Apollo RK-9100xBBR with cherry mx brown switches
 monitors: aoc 21" Ips and an old 1280x1024 dell monitor
 Mouse: logitech mx500 (it may be old but it still rocks!)
 PSU: Corsair cx600
 Case: Nzxt Source 210 Window


----------



## bimmer100

My computer is pretty bad ass... Specs are as follows:

OS Windows 8.1 professional 64bit 

Cooler Master HAF XB EVO 2

Asus Rampage IV Black Edition Motherboard X79

Intel 4820K Ivy-E @ 4.5ghz 

ALL EKWB Custom Water Cooling - Indigo Extreme - Vardar Fans/Noctua / EKWB Extreme CPU waterblock, GPU Classy Water Block, R4BE Water Blocks.

External DAC / Audio-gd Master 11 w/ HifiMan HE-560 headphones + Antlion ModMic 4.0

Vanatoo Transparent One HIFI Speakers + Definitive SuperCube 2000 subwoofer 

Corsair Dominator Platinum 16gb 1866mhz (soon to have blue/white lightbars installed to go with color theme) 

Asus Swift 27" G-Sync Monitor pg278q

EVGA 780TI kingpin edition - EKWB 780gtx Ti classy waterblock -nickel 

Corsair AX1200 Gold 1200watt psu (will be changing to a full set of White cables soon) 

2 samsung evo 1tb SSD - 850 EVO (music drive) and 840 EVO (OS drive)

OCZ Vector 150's RAID0 (240gb ea) 

Samsung 830 240gb for games 

Samsung F3 1Tb's RAID0 storage 

1 WD640gb for crap 

1 WD My Book Pro 1.5tb 

1 Seagate 500gb for more crap 

1 Hitachi 250gb 2.5 external for even more crap 

1 WD20EURS-73TLHY0 2TB 64mb cache - video storage





This was an early photo when I was doing a leak test, still has bubbles in the GPU waterblock...

Still modding! Not done yet!!


----------



## meat01

Why do you have a 1200 watt power supply?


----------



## bimmer100

meat01 said:


> Why do you have a 1200 watt power supply? :eek:  :rolleyes:



It was from my previous setup.
I had two 480gtx in sli, heavily overclocked CPU, 10 standard hard drives, a bunch of fans... and pulling about 900w while gaming. Tested with a kill-a-watt plug... That's not including external hard drives, printers, monitor etc. only the computer, internals and USB devices plugged in. 
Buying a 1000watt wouldn't be good as it isn't too efficient at high load.
Gold class is most efficient and likely a gold series 1000watt would be enough, yet he components used in the Ax1200 were much higher quality and proven to provide better overclocks as the voltages are more stable between the 3.3g, 5v and 12v.
Generally fluctuations can cause freezes and lock ups, I spent a little more and you may believe it's overkill. But I had a good mail in rebate anyhow. The ax1200 in particular is a fantastic power supply and extremely stable. 

Anyhow, no need in selling it or getting rid of it. I choose to continue to use it.
I moved over to ssd's now and most drives are in external NAS raid enclosures now.

I will test it again, but won't be surprised if I'm still pulling around 750-780watt (guesstimate)

Either way, I wasn't going to buy a new "smaller" power supply when this one has been an excellent choice in the last two builds I've had.
I recently downsized my case from a silverstone Raven RV01 to this tiny Haf XB evo II. Primarily as this is small and possible to carry around! 
It's still heavy as hell!
But shed about 20lbs doing the swap to this new case.


----------



## bimmer100

lastly. I bought it for being future proof.
It's not as if it pulls that type of wattage unless you need it.
So it's a no brainer. If I wanted to upgrade To three GPU's I could (maybe, but might get limited even with 1200w). Having a tiny 1000watt or smaller power supply would surely be a problem.


----------



## rvcjew

Damn that is a lot of stuff in a xb evo, sweet rig I have a Core X9 now and it is kinda ugly from certain angles but god the space I have to fit my hands when swapping parts and maintenance for the loop is wonderful.


----------



## OnyxVulpe

CPU: i7-4790k 4.6 @1.25v
 MOBO: Gigabyte Z97X Gaming 7
 RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB
 GPU: Sapphire R9 290 Vapor-X x2
 SSD: 512GB Crucial MX100
 HDD: 2TB Hitachi, 1TB Western Digital Black


----------



## rvcjew

Nice rigs everyone.


----------



## Oklahoma

I just got done with a rebuild on my system after killing the old one.
  
 MoBo: Gigabyte GA-H97-HD3
 CPU: Intel I-7 4790K 4.0Ghz
 Ram: 16Gb DDR3-1600
 Graphics: Asus nVidia GTX980
 Sound: Creative SB-Z
 SSD-OS: Samsung 840evo 240Gb
 HDD-Storage: Seagate 2Tb
  
 Media Server
 Older AMD System running Ubuntu Server and 9Tb Storage with 5 WD-Red 3Tb drives in RAID-6. (Not even close to filling)


----------



## beginner1

Almost done upgrading mine
  
 Enthoo primo
 Maximus V Extreme
 3770K @ 4.5ghz
 32gb dominator platinum 1600
 Titan X @ 1450 / 7900
 Sammy 850 1tb
 SB Titanium HD
 Intel dual gbit nic
 Corsair 1500i
 EK Blocks, d5 pump, noctua f12s on 2 x 480 rads
  
 Lid comes off the 3770K next week in search of 5ghz


----------



## rvcjew

beginner1 said:


> Almost done upgrading mine
> 
> Enthoo primo
> Maximus V Extreme
> ...


 
 Nice what you putting on the cores, or just going naked?


----------



## beginner1

Die to water block with coollaboratory liquid ultra metal compound, the guys over at OCN seem to be getting good results with that stuff, some seeing 30% drops in temp..  First job for me is still to get the lid off, then got a handy delid mount which should get the block back on nicely


----------



## rvcjew

beginner1 said:


> Die to water block with coollaboratory liquid ultra metal compound, the guys over at OCN seem to be getting good results with that stuff, some seeing 30% drops in temp..  First job for me is still to get the lid off, then got a handy delid mount which should get the block back on nicely


 Nice I didn't go naked as I have the raystorm but still rock the ultra under the IHS and yes I did literally drop about 20c-30c depending on applications. I have a 4770k though. 

EDIT: I used the vice method if your looking for a tutorial this one is good it's what I did, it took one wack and mine just came apart. It goes on like water color paint basically, just be patient and don't use too much. http://imgur.com/a/Z3Fea


----------



## adpo

Mine's getting a little bit long in the tooth, so I'm thinking I'll be putting something new together in the next few months as funds avail themselves. Thinking along the lines of dropping whatever the 4790k equivalent skylake and a 980ti into something like a corsair bulldog or silverstone rvz02, then tweaking the **** out of it for near-silent operation under low-medium loads such as listening to music. For storage, I'm hoping a decent-size 4 lane M.2 will be able to make it into my budget by then and just have that as my boot, maybe raid some regular SSDs for non-OS things and I'll just offload all my big files onto external hdds. Going the Bulldog route would mean I could also go water cooling on the whole thing as well. What do you guys think?
  
 Here's my current specs:
 NZXT Tempest + crapton of fans + Corsair CM430
 2500k + CM Hyper 212 @4.5
 Asus Z68 Pro Gen3
 32gb generic brand DDR3/1600
 Zotac GTX 970 @+143mhz core over stock and memory @7999mhz
 Samsung 830 (boot)
 RAID0 Corsair Force GT (games)
 several large WD HDDs (photos and videos, mostly work stuff)


----------



## 520RanchBro

Think I'm going to start upgrading my setup. Currently run:
  
 Corsair Carbide 500R case
 Corsair HX850 Gold PSU
 MSI Z87
 Intel 4670K (OC'd to 4.3 GHz)
 Corsair H110 CPU Cooler
 G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB 2133MHz RAM
 MSI GTX 770 Lightning
 2x Corsair Neutron GTX SSDs (120, 240GB)
 1TB WD 7200 RPM HDD
 ASUS Blu-Ray drive
  
 This rig has treated me well for the past two years and I've been able to play most games at 1080p at max or fairly close to it. Just gave it a good cleaning today and it got me thinking about upgrades.
  
 I've got a friend building his first desktop PC so I think I'll sell him the 770 and get myself a shiny new GTX 980 TI, might add another SDD or HDD but I'm still pretty good on storage.


----------



## nopc0de

Im jelly of all those maxwell gpu's. But I think I'll skip a generation and wait for the pascals.
  
  

```
[b]CPU [/b]Intel Core i5 4690K @ 4 GHz [b]RAM [/b]8,00GB Crucial Ballistix [b]MOBO [/b]Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H-BK [b]GPU [/b]NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti (Gigabyte) ROG PG278Q (2560x1440@144Hz) [b]HDD [/b]3TB Seagate ST3000DM 3TB Western Digital WDC Green 256GB Crucial MX100 (SSD)
```


----------



## Adamsolympia

CPU: Core i7 3770k
 Cooler: Coolermaster Hyper 212+
 RAM:  G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16gb (2x8gb) 
 MOBO: ASUS P8Z77-V 
 GPU: Gigabyte 970 GTX and Asus 970 GTX  SLI
 Monitor: Samsung u28d590d 28" 4K, and Alienware 23" AW2310 120hz 1080p
 Sound: My ASUS Essence ST wouldn't fit mobo after 2nd graphic card, so "downgraded" to a Schiit Fulla USB dac/amp, which to me sounds better so not a downgrade after all 
 Beyerdynamic DT 990 Pro 250ohm
  
 HDD: ATI Radeon 120gb SSD, WD Black 2GB, 1x WD Blue 3gb ,  3x, + 2tb WD Green 2tb , 1x HGST Deskstar 2tb
 + 
 Zyxel NSA320 2-bay NSA w/ 2x HGST Deskstar NAS 3TB 
  
  
 PSU: Corsair AX1200i ..  1200watt is definitely overkill, but I'm definitely future proof for future builds for the next 10 years, which I hope this sucker will last that long. Plus, at 50% load it hits max efficiency @ 90-95% 
 Case: Thermaltake V71 Extreme Tower Case
  
    
 APC BE550G 8 outlet 550VA
  
 Wifi: Netgear Nighthawk AC1900 Router
  
 Peripherals:
 Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow Ultimate
 Mouse: Razer Blackwidow       (all time favorite Mouse/KB combo after 25+ years computing) 
 Gaming: XBOX 360 usb gamepad,  Thrustmaster Warhog Joystick,  Dolphinbar wii sensor bar + wiimote. 
  
 Other actively used computers:
 2012-13 Mac Mini base model, stock
 2014 Macbook Pro laptop base model, stock
 iPad air 2 
 Raspberry pi (1st gen) 
  
  
 Upgrades/etc planned for this year:
 MFG Crosswind Rudder Pedals
 SSD for boot drive 4 desktop. (Probably Intel 730 series x2, 240gb in raid. Crappy SSD I have now was cheap, so just use for Calibre + Ebooks) 
 Ram and SSD for mac mini
 *Maybe* Logitech G27 Gaming Wheel
 HiFiman 400 or 400i headphones (I love my Beyers but I want a darker sound that emphasizes mids) 
 *Maybe* Schiit Modi 2/Magni 2 DAC/Amp  once I'm able to determine if it'll blow away my Schiit Fulla. (I'm fairly new to Hi-Fi audio gear..as good as it already sounds, I can't imagine it getting much better but I'm ready to be surprised  ) 
 Raspberry pi 2nd Gen x2
 *Maybe* Ipad Pro


----------



## Adamsolympia

adpo said:


> Mine's getting a little bit long in the tooth, so I'm thinking I'll be putting something new together in the next few months as funds avail themselves. Thinking along the lines of dropping whatever the 4790k equivalent skylake and a 980ti into something like a corsair bulldog or silverstone rvz02, then tweaking the **** out of it for near-silent operation under low-medium loads such as listening to music. For storage, I'm hoping a decent-size 4 lane M.2 will be able to make it into my budget by then and just have that as my boot, maybe raid some regular SSDs for non-OS things and I'll just offload all my big files onto external hdds. Going the Bulldog route would mean I could also go water cooling on the whole thing as well. What do you guys think?


 
  
  
   I don't have any experience building with silence in mind. In the past, I've always just thrown in the crap-ton of fans and only had my eye toward performance. I have to say, though  - with my latest build evolution I went with a  Thermaltake v71 case loaded with nothing but the 3 200mm fans it came with, in addition to a quiet 140mm fan for exhaust,   and I've been amazed at how quiet it is. The 200mm fans seem to make all the difference. (That and the case is built like a tank, so nothing to rattle)  
  
 Good luck on your build. I'm in the market for some SSDs as well, so many choices! I'm currently looking at intel 730 , but haven't spent a lot of time yet comparing.


----------



## Adamsolympia

bimmer100 said:


> My computer is pretty bad ass... Specs are as follows:


 
  
  Damn, that is pretty boss!  How do you like that form factor for computer case? A lot easier to work in I'd imagine...  Was actually looking at that one in store not long ago, before I picked my standard tower. Speaking of which, Wish I lived closer to Frye's , but stuck here on the Olympic Penn.  Was actually there @ Renton last month when I splurged and spent about a K upgrading computer. First time I had ever been to a tech/computer store anywhere near that big, drooling over all the gear


----------



## beginner1

rvcjew said:


> Nice I didn't go naked as I have the raystorm but still rock the ultra under the IHS and yes I did literally drop about 20c-30c depending on applications. I have a 4770k though.
> 
> EDIT: I used the vice method if your looking for a tutorial this one is good it's what I did, it took one wack and mine just came apart. It goes on like water color paint basically, just be patient and don't use too much. http://imgur.com/a/Z3Fea


 
 Yeah vice method definitely looks like the way to go, unfortunately I don't have a nice crisp bench vice like that just my little dremel vice, the rubber grips are an advantage though and a little flex might squeeze it off nicely, got a 1155 celeron or something rattling around that would make a good test subject, need to check if they soldered those though.  Still been too busy to have a crack, hopefully get a free afternoon soon, good opportunity to inspect the rest of the water gear while I'm fitting it.


----------



## beginner1

adamsolympia said:


> I don't have any experience building with silence in mind. In the past, I've always just thrown in the crap-ton of fans and only had my eye toward performance. I have to say, though  - with my latest build evolution I went with a  Thermaltake v71 case loaded with nothing but the 3 200mm fans it came with, in addition to a quiet 140mm fan for exhaust,   and I've been amazed at how quiet it is. The 200mm fans seem to make all the difference. (That and the case is built like a tank, so nothing to rattle)
> 
> Good luck on your build. I'm in the market for some SSDs as well, so many choices! I'm currently looking at intel 730 , but haven't spent a lot of time yet comparing.


 
 My last setup was silent focused with much of the guts I run now, massive heatsink on the CPU, passive GPU and just ran 1 x 140mm noctua case fan.  It ran hot, but the lidded 3770K runs hot anyway, no room for OC or anything like that but could not be heard in an XL R2 define.  8 fans over rads now still runs quiet under sensible ambients with nice low temps at low loads, crank the load up though and I'm glad I always have the cans handy.


----------



## Hoztel

got a 2012 27 inch mac desktop 
 3.4Ghz i7 over clocks to 3.9
 3 TB Fusion Drive
 32GB DDR3 RAM
 4TB G drive usb 3.0 backup
 1 powered external 1TB Drive for samples and other spare room for my computer's drive.
 and my 1 TB powered external for travel.
 Running Logic 9, Ableton 9, Reason 7
 This computer has been a champ ever since i got it! runs faster than most peoples computers today so no reason to complain.

 currently setting up a new 64 bit machine tho...
 15 inch MBP 5k retina
 2.5ghz i7 
 512GB SSD
 16 GB DDR3 RAM
 gunna be running Logic X(soon) and Ableton 9 on this one all ready to go.


----------



## jettylt

I have:
  
 MBU: Asus maximus VII Hero.Z97
 CPU: Intel I5 4690K OC 4.7Ghz.1.3V
 Ram:Corsair Vengeance 2133Mhz 2x4 Gb.Going to upgrade to 16Gb
 PSU:Evga G2 750W Fully modular.
 GPU:Asus STRIX GTX 970.
 SSD:Samsung evo 840 250Gb.
 HDD:Wd blue 1tb
 Cooler:Corsair h105 with 2x120Mm quiet fans with red led from corsair.
 Case: NZXT H440
 Monitorell u2414h
 Mouse:Logitech g502
 Microphone:ISK CRU1 With suspension arm and filter.
 Keyboardell


----------



## Demoninja

Intel Core i5-4670k
 Gigabye GA-Z87X-UD3H
 G.Skill Sniper 2x8gb
 Samsung 840 EVO 120gb     
 Seagate Barracuda 1tb
 MSI GeForce GTX 760 2gb
 Fractal Define R4
 OCZ ModxStream 600w
  
 All I do on this is go on FB and watch hearthstone streams lol.


----------



## adpo

Shrank everything down into a cute little M-ITX sized case, decided to keep my old sandy bridge chip rather than step up to skylake
  
 Zotac H61 ITX Wi-fi with wifi upgraded to an Intel 7260
 2500k @4.5khz w/ 16GB DDR3
 Corsair H55 w/ Prolimatech Vortex slim pwm fan
 Zotac GTX970
 Dual 250GB in RAID0 and 1TB WD Black
 Silverstone Milo ML07 + SFX-L 500w PSU
 Dual Nanoxia 120mm fans


----------



## CZ4A

CPU: Intel i7-5820K, OC'd to 4.5GHz stable. I think I can get a little more out of it..
 Mobo: Asrock Extreme4 X99
 RAM: 2x 8GB Mushkin Redline Enhanced DDR4 2133
 GPU: Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 970
 PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 850 G2
 CPU cooler: Noctua NH-15
 SSD: OCZ Vector 256GB
 HDD: Seagate Barracuda 1TB
 Case: Enermax iVektor White
 Keyboard: Usually Poker II w/ Cherry MX Clear switches or old Monterey K110 with Monterey blue switches
 Mouse: Gigabyte M6980
 Monitor: Samsung 40" flat-screen LCD TV (will get an actual monitor soon...)
 DAC: Behringer UCA222


----------



## the wizard of oz

Apple AL EN-UK wired with number pad keyboard
 Thanko wired Silent Mouse EX
  
 Apple Cinema Display 30"
  
 Mac Mini Intel 1.66GHz Core Duo
 OWC 2GB RAM
 OWC 60GB SSD with OS X 10.6
  
 OWC Mercury Elite AL Dual Mini
 Western Digital 2x Caviar Blue 500GB HDD in RAID 1
   
Optical out to

 Onkyo A-9010 > D-055

 Lo-spec, but cheap & functional!


----------



## velvetx

VelvetX Desktop Rig:

 Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z87X-OC 
 CPU: Intel i7 4770K 
 Video Card: Gigabyte GTX970 4GB 
 RAM: 8GB G.Skill Trident X Series DDR3 2600 
 PSU: Seasonic Platinum 1000w Modular 
 Sound Card: Creative ZxR (Asus Essence STX II as well)
 Case:Corsair Obsidian 900D 
 Cooling: XSPC Raystorm RX360 Water Cooling Kit w/ D5 Variant Pump
 Hard Drive 1 (OS): Samsung Evo 850 (500GB)
 Hard Drive 2 (Programs):  Seagate ST3000DM001 Barracuda 3TB 7200 RPM Drive
 Hard Drive 3 (Games): Western Digital WD VelociRaptor WD6000HLHX 600GB 10000 RPM Drive 

 Peripherals

 Mouse: Logitech Daedalus Apex G303 
 Keyboard: Das Keyboard 4 Professional
 Monitor 1 (main): Asus VG248QE 144hz 
 Monitor 2 (secondary): Benq RL2450H 24in


----------



## Ethan Groover

I saved up from January to August and built myself what I'd been dreaming of:
  
  
 CPU: Intel Core i7-4790K
 CPU Cooler: Swiftech H220-X
 Motherboard: Asus MAXIMUS VII HERO 
 Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB
 Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Red 8GB
 Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 250GB SSD x2 in RAID0 
 Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB
 Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB
 Case: Corsair 450D ATX Mid Tower Case
 Power Supply: Cooler Master V850

 Noctua NF-F12 PWM x2 for the Swiftech rad
 Noctua NF-P14s redux-1200 x2 for Front intakes
 Noctua NF-S12B redux-1200 for rear exhaust

 NZXT Hue LED Controller
  
 Not included in that list is my Logitech G502, Razer Blackwidow Chroma, and two monitors with a dual monitor mount, one being the QNIX QX-2710 Evolution 2 and the other the Asus VN-247H-P.
  
 I have been very satisfied with it over all


----------



## NiHaoMike

CPU: Core i7-3930k
 MB: DX79SI
 RAM: 16GB 1600 DDR3
 GPU: GTX 970 4GB
 Display: 50" Seiki 4K
 Cooling: 120mm Delta side panel fan with Cindy Wu sensorless DSP drive and 212 Evo with upgraded fan
 PSU: 900W (550W + 350W) Lainey Schmidt digital power system with PFC bypass
 Storage: 128GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD (/, ext4) and 2x 1TB HDD RAID 0 (/bulk, ext4)
 Audio: OpenDAC HD with Diana Navarro analog signal path and Klipsch S3


----------



## Tautologi

Intel Q2D Q6600 @ 3.4 GHz
 8 GB DDR2
 120 + 250 GB SSD
 AMD 6790 slightly OC'ed
 Some random OCZ 600W
 Fractal R2 chassi
  
 Who said old computer are slow?


----------



## Jodlar

Just bought this case 
	

	
	
		
		

		
			




  
 http://inwin-style.com/en/goods.php?act=view&id=805
  

  
 Specs:
 i7 5820k + Corsair H110i GTX
 GTX 980
 32 GB DDR4
 512 Samsung 850 EVO
 600W Enermax Platimax
 2x Dell U2715H


----------



## themastercheif

AMD Phenom II X4 810 2.6 Ghz quad
 12 gb ram, (8 corsair, 4 kingston)
 Asus M5A78L-M Mobo
 EVGA GT 640
 550W generic PSU
 Coolermaster CM Storm Quickfire Stealth keyboard with MX Blues
 SteelSeries Rival optical mouse
 Logitech G430 headset that I'm eventually going to go all Office Space on, then toss in an incinerator. (don'tbuylogitechheadsets,mmkay?)
 two 19" monitors in 16:10 (cause 16:9 can suck it)
 Win 7
 I have a CD drive but it's IDE and the new mobo doesn't have IDE connectors sooooo.
 256gb ssd boot drive and a pair of 1tb hdds in raid 1.


----------



## Voxel-1

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HwtFMp
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HwtFMp/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($25.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 PRO4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($104.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($157.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.59 @ Directron) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked ACX 2.0 Video Card ($324.43 @ Amazon) 
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic G 550W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($73.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 OEM (64-bit) ($92.99 @ Directron) 
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($242.68 @ Amazon) 
Keyboard: Cooler Master Storm QuickFire Rapid Wired Gaming Keyboard ($79.19 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: Zowie FK1 Wired Optical Mouse (Purchased For $0.00) 
Other: Generic USB Optical Drive 
Total: $1545.05


----------



## Voxel-1

List generated by PCPartPicker


----------



## korotnam

Current Laptop:
 -Alienware 17

 Current Desktop Build:
 Chassis: Cooler Master HAF XB II EVO
 Mobo: ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO
 GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB
 CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K
 RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit
 PSU: Corsair RM Series 750 Watt ATX/EPS 80PLUS Gold-Certified Power Supply
 SSD1: Samsung 850 Pro 512GB
 SSD2: Crucial M500 240GB
 HDD: WD Blue 1 TB Desktop Hard Drive
 Cooling: Noctua NH-D14, other Noctua fans


 *Peripherals*
 Monitor1: BenQ XL2430T
 Monitor2: ASUS PB278Q
 Keyboard: CM Storm QuickFire Rapid-i
 Mouse: Razer Ouroboros


----------



## Voxel-1

Cool build! Do you have pics?


----------



## Eustachian

Current Laptop:
 -Alienware 17

 Current Desktop Build:
 Chassis: Cooler Master HAF XB II EVO
 Mobo: ASUS MAXIMUS VII HERO
 GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 4GB
 CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K
 RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB Kit


----------



## korotnam

The setup:

 *Super cramped college living!
  
  
  
 Inside the box:

  
  
  
 ~Sorry about the potato quality photos. Any sense of detail clarity seems to be thrown out the window when I upload them><.


----------



## Evilcalyptic

My box
Asus maximus hero VI
I7 4790k
2x r9 290x
Corsair h100i cooler
16gb corsair vengance 2133ghz
2x intel 512 solid states
Samsung 4k monitor


----------



## insertwordshere

intel i5 4460 3.2ghz quad
inno3d ichill gtx 970
asrock h97m anniversary
a pair of corsair value select 4g ram
1tb seagate synnex drive
logitech g412 mouse
logitech g710 keyboard
logitech g240 mouse pad
cooler master storm scout 2 case
nzxt sentry xt LED fan controller
assembled the PC by myself XD
I love bf4, even though im a level 14 noob.


----------



## missalaire

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/missalaire/saved/ZtghP6


----------



## Unfie

missalaire said:


> http://pcpartpicker.com/user/missalaire/saved/ZtghP6
> 
> 
> 
> Spoiler: Warning: Spoiler!


 
  
 Wow, 3 monitors! Nice wallpapers, by the way.


----------



## Rydell

*Windows 10 64-bit 
 *Intel i5-2500k (Sandy Bridge) 3.3GHz OC to ~4.5GHz 
 -35c idle ~55c load 
 *eVGA GTX 970 8GB 
 *Overlord Tempest X270OC 27" 120Hz
 *G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB DDR3 *1600 (PC3 12800) 
 *Samsung Evo 850 256GB SSD
 *Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower


----------



## Xdaggersoul

I7 4770
 Avexir Core 16GB DDR3 OC'ed to 2000MHz
 MSI Z87 G45 
 MSI R9 280X
 Corsair H100I
 Adata SX900 256GB SSD
 Corsair Air 540 Case
  
 Logitech G510 KB
 Zowie FK 2014


----------



## kman1211

Windows 10 64-bit
 Intel i7 3770K
 G-skill DDR3 1600mhz 32GB
 Samsung 840 256GB SSD(x2) RAID 0
 Gigabyte R9 390
 Corsair HXi HX750i PSU
 Cooler Master Scout Case
  
 Corsair K60 Mechanical Keyboard
 Corsair M45 Mouse
  
 24" Dell SE2416H
 21.5" Dell S2240M


----------



## Bob A (SD)

Nothing special but it handles my needs.


----------



## mikey1964

Even though I'd built my rigs myself, I sometimes get a little fuzzy as to what HDDs I have in 'em because I'd gotten different sized HDD's to fill them up, but anyway, here goes nothing!
  
 Rig 1:
 Intel i7 3960X/Asus Rampage IV Extreme/16GB Corsair Dominator Plat 2133mhz/2x R9 290X EK WB/128GB Corsair Force GT SSD (OS)/Various WD Black HDD/Seasonic X-1250W/64bit Win10 Pro
  
 Rig 2:
 Intel I7 4770K/Asrock Z87 Extreme6/16GB RipJawsX 2133mhz DDR3/2x GTX Titan 6GB/250GB Samsung EVO 850 (OS)/2x 4TB Seagate SSHD/Enermax Max Revo 1500W/64bit Win7 Pro
  
 Rig 3:
 AMD FX8350/Asus Crosshair V Formula/16GB RipJawsZ 1600mhz/2x GTX670/128GB Corsair Force GT SSD (OS)/Various WD HDD's/Corsair HX 1050/64bit Win10 Pro
  
 Rig 4:
 AMD Phenom II X6 T1100/Asus Crosshair IV Formula/8GB KHX Genesis/2x HD7950/120GB Kingston SSD (OS)/Various WD HDDs/Silverstone OP1000/64bit Win10 HP
  
 Rig 5:
 Intel C2Q X9650/Asus Maximus II/8GB KHX DDR2 1066mhz/Sapphire HD7970/Some 128GB Corsair SSD (OS)/Various HDDs/Corsair HX620W/64bit Win10 HP
  
 I do have one more PC, too lazy to see what's in it, but it's an old AMD X2 5200+/Sapphire HD5770 rig which I use as a HTPC.....installed a USB3.0 PCIe card for improved data transfer.


----------



## U-3C

Blah.

http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/pbZgkL

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

*CPU:* Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($308.67 @ DirectCanada) 
*CPU Cooler:* Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($39.88 @ NCIX) 
*Thermal Compound:* ARCTIC MX4 4g Thermal Paste ($11.53 @ Amazon Canada) 
*Motherboard:* Gigabyte GA-Z97X-Gaming 5 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($167.87 @ Canada Computers) 
*Memory:* Kingston HyperX Fury Black 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($79.77 @ DirectCanada) 
*Storage:* Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($118.62 @ DirectCanada) 
*Storage:* Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.73 @ Vuugo) 
*Video Card:* MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($446.22 @ DirectCanada) 
*Case:* Fractal Design Define S ATX Mid Tower Case ($105.47 @ Amazon Canada) 
*Power Supply:* EVGA 750W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($145.92 @ DirectCanada) 
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($122.82 @ DirectCanada) 
*Wireless Network Adapter:* TP-Link TL-WDN4800 PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n Wi-Fi Adapter ($47.23 @ Amazon Canada) 
*Case Fan:* Fractal Design GP14-BK 68.4 CFM 140mm Fan ($21.00 @ shopRBC) 
*Monitor:* LG 25UM57-P 25.0" 60Hz Monitor 
*External Storage:* Western Digital Elements 1TB External Hard Drive ($80.93 @ shopRBC) 
*Other:* Xiaomi Piston 3 Voice of China Edition (Purchased For $28.86)
*Other:* Powerball 250Hz Classic Blue (Purchased For $31.48)
*Other:* Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic Mouse ($48.85)
*Other:* LG GP50NB40 Slim External 8x Black DVD Writer USB 2.0 Retail ($36.43)
*Other:* Audio Technica ATH-AD700X (Purchased For $174.44)
*Total:* $2078.72
_Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available_
_Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-05 01:27 EDT-0400_


----------



## rvcjew

u-3c said:


> Blah.
> 
> http://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/pbZgkL
> 
> ...


 
 Nice rig, just onboard for audio?


----------



## U-3C

rvcjew said:


> Nice rig, just onboard for audio?


 

 Yep. :3
  
 I have a CEntrance DacPort Slim, but I hacked my onboard's drivers to decrapify them and now, to my surprise, I can't hear much of, if not any, difference between the two.
  
 If you have a Realtek ALC1150 chip, you should try this:
  
 http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?t=392085
  
 Gave me virtual surround and got rid of the stuff Realtek was doing in the background. Out of interest, I measured the FR of my onboard vs the DacPort. I know that FR doesn't tell the whole story, but it should give people the idea that onboard audio is very good these days, and budget sound cards really are not worth it anymore if you can set things up right (of course, I made sure to fix any interference issues, and I tried to get the best quality components for my PC, so they won't affect sound. I know that certain cases might have grounding issues, and certain power supplies might generate noise).
  
 Realtek ALC1150, Dolby drivers, everything off:
  
 https://i.imgur.com/eYRdqcR.png
  
 CEntrance DacPort Slim:
  
 https://i.imgur.com/Rf46bq5.png
  
 Notice how it is slightly flatter (but I doubt most people will notice it), but has those random spikes. The spikes are probably due to dirty USB power. On my old laptop, the spikes are greater on the USB 3.0 ports, and were simply all over the place when I plugged the DacPort into a USB 2.0 port.
  
 And...here's the Realtek ALC1150, with the official Realtek drivers (everything is turned off, by the way):
  
http://i.imgur.com/71TJRYI.png
  
 Notice the numbers on the left side. I had to shrink the chart just so the graph fits. I couldn't even do a line out to line in measurement because it was clipping. 
  
 I strongly believe that people who purchased high quality components for their PC claim to hear a "night-and-day" difference after using an outboard solution not because the new sound card is amazing and can produce things that the onboard cannot do, but because the onboard is actually intentionally crippled.
  
 I only noticed this a few weeks after I built the computer. After I hacked Dolby into my PC (I wanted virtual surround. By the way, if you don't like Dolby and prefer something like Creative's SBX, try this trick: https://www.reddit.com/r/headphones/comments/410kj7/creative_dsp_sbx_without_creative_hardware/ ), Windows will automatically revert it to the default drivers when it updates, as it sees the Dolby drivers as outdated. I noticed severe, unbearable differences in terms of audio quality, and it took me a while to realize that my drivers were back to the default ones, so I installed the Dolby ones again. It took another unexpected update for me to realize what was going on and turned off the auto update feature.
  
 I had no knowledge of any change during those two times, but I heard something was wrong immediately, so I should be able to say that I was fairly blind, and that it was not a placebo.


----------



## Music Alchemist

laptop: Alienware M11x R2
 operating system: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
 processor: Intel Core i7-640UM 1.2 GHz quad-core
 RAM: 8 GB
 hard drive: 451 GB
 screen size: 11.6"
 screen resolution: 1366x768
 original price paid: $1,400 (way overpriced)
  
 external hard drive array: Buffalo DriveStation Quad 12 TB (HD-QL12TU3R5)
 original price paid: $1,100


----------



## rvcjew

u-3c said:


> Yep. :3
> 
> I have a CEntrance DacPort Slim, but I hacked my onboard's drivers to decrapify them and now, to my surprise, I can't hear much of, if not any, difference between the two.
> 
> ...


 
 I'll look into this at some point but honestly I rather just keep my onboard off as how it is setup now works fine and each device I have as a source has its own signature that I like for different purposes'. The spikes for your USB 3.0 might be because they are not shielded as well as USB 2.0.


----------



## U-3C

rvcjew said:


> I'll look into this at some point but honestly I rather just keep my onboard off as how it is setup now works fine and each device I have as a source has its own signature that I like for different purposes'. The spikes for your USB 3.0 might be because they are not shielded as well as USB 2.0.


 

 I doubt it's due to shielding, but it is still possible. It's most likely just dirty power.
  
 Just to clarify, I meant to say that the USB 2.0 on my budget laptop gave _huge_ spikes compared to the USB 3.0.


----------



## wahsmoh

Custom built PC I have been upgrading here and there since 2010.. it was originally meant for competitive LANs.. but I retired from pro gaming since and I have gone full 180 into casual gaming again. It's amazing how well the i7 2600k has held up during all this time. It still scores 7.8 on the windows experience with the overclock.
  
 PC-
  
 *Case:* Rosewill Challenger Black ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147153​

*CPU:* Intel i7 2600k Sandy Bridge 3.3ghz (turbo 3.8ghz) LGA1155 **OC'ed at 4.2ghz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070
*CPU Cooler:* ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118223​
*Thermal Compound:* Arctic Silver 7 Thermal paste http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Premium-Adhesive-ASTA-7G/dp/B0087X7262
*Motherboard:* MSI Z68A MSI Z68A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel Z68 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130602​
*Memory:* Corsair Vengeance Pro 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 2133 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233533
*SSD: *Samsung 850 Pro 2.5'' 512gb SATA III 3-D Vertical Internal SSD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147361
*HDD:* Western Digital WD Black 500gb Performance desktop drive SATA 6 gb/s 64MB cache  http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236345​
*Video Card:* Nvidia GTX1080 Founder's Edition 256-bit 8GB GDDR5X http://www.geforce.com/hardware/10series/geforce-gtx-1080 *updated
*Power Supply:* Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W Continuous Power ATX12V http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371015
*Operating System:* Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (x64)
*Monitor:* Asus 21'' 1080P HDMI 2ms 60hz monitor 
audio-
 
*Soundcard: *HT Omega Claro Halo 24-bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271004 (I use only for S/PDIF optical out)
*DAC: *Theta DS Pro progeny version A (I send PCM from HT Omega Claro) --- awesome @#%@ing DAC. It works well for gaming too, especially BF4 and hearing positioning of gunshots and footsteps. I even prefer it over the 7.1 DSP built into the soundcard... much much preferred because i can listen to music with the kind of quality I like and get the most out of my redbook FLACs
*Headphones:* Fostex TH-X00 w/ MrSpeakers Alpha pads
  
 mouse: SteelSeries Sensei
 mousepad(s): SteelSeries QCK+, Reflex Labs 36x12'' giant desk mousepad-thing
  
 Here are pictures of my setup: http://imgur.com/a/x5uH1
  
 I also modified my case a bit.. added a blue cold cathode light w/ switch on back of the case and cut out the metal grill and put in a piece of acrylic I bought at Home Depot
  
*just got a GTX1080!!! now I am really "future proof".. OC'ed i7 2600k hasn't even shown signs of a bottleneck at 4.5 ghz


----------



## rvcjew

u-3c said:


> I doubt it's due to shielding, but it is still possible. It's most likely just dirty power.
> 
> Just to clarify, I meant to say that the USB 2.0 on my budget laptop gave _huge_ spikes compared to the USB 3.0.


 
 Oh yeah, that is odd. Normally it's the other way around rf devices have issues with USB 3.0 because of the shielding.


----------



## Phillipinoh

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/zRd6hq
 Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/zRd6hq/by_merchant/
  
*CPU*: Intel Core i7-4790 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($294.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
*CPU Cooler:* Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($24.89 @ OutletPC) 
*Thermal Compound:* ARCTIC MX4 4g Thermal Paste  ($6.89 @ OutletPC) 
*Motherboard:* ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($82.98 @ Newegg) 
*Memory:* Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
*Storage:* PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
*Storage:* Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($46.89 @ OutletPC) 
*Video Card:* Asus GeForce GTX 970 4GB STRIX Video Card  ($296.99 @ NCIX US) 
*Case:* Phanteks Enthoo Pro ATX Full Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
*Power Supply:* EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($104.99 @ Amazon) 
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit  ($83.89 @ OutletPC) 
*Case Fan:* NZXT RF-FN122-RB 45.0 CFM  120mm Fan  ($5.99 @ Directron) 
*Case Fan:* NZXT RF-FN122-RB 45.0 CFM  120mm Fan  ($5.99 @ Directron) 
*Case Fan:* NZXT RF-FN122-RB 45.0 CFM  120mm Fan  ($5.99 @ Directron) 
*Monitor:* Asus MX279H 27.0" Monitor  ($229.99 @ Micro Center) 
*Monitor:* BenQ XL2720Z 27.0" 144Hz Monitor  ($359.99 @ Amazon) 
*Keyboard:* Cooler Master CM Storm QuickFire TK Wired Mini Keyboard  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
*Other:* AKG K7XX ($199.99)
*Other:* Schiit Magni 2 ($99.00)
*Other:* Schiit Bifrost ($399.00)
*Other:* Zowie EC2-A ($59.99)
*Other:* Vipamz XXXL Non-slip Rubber Base Gaming Mouse Pad ($11.99)
  
*Total: $2615.39*
  
 Built this rig last year only starting with the bare essentials and just built my way up. Eventually gonna upgrade to a i7-5280k, but that means I have to upgrade the mobo and ram. Than once Cyber Monday comes through I'll be getting a GTX 1080 or hopefully a TI if that is a thing.


----------



## mikey1964

I have four rigs, but they aren't the latest since.....well, I don't see a need as they get the job done more than well enough.
  
 Main rig -
*CPU*: Intel i7 3960X
*CPU Cooler:* Corsair H10 AIO
*Motherboard:* Asus Rampage IV Extreme 
*Memory:* Corsair Dominator Plat 2133mhz (4x 4GB quad channel)
*Storage:* Corsair ForceGT 128GB SSD
*Storage:* 3x 2TB WD Black
*Video Card:* 2x Sapphire R9 290X 4GB (custom H2O) 
*Case:* Caselabs Magnum M8 (IIRC)
*Power Supply:* Seasonic X-1250
*Operating System:* Microsoft 64bit Windows 10 Retail 
*Monitor:* Philips 24" 1920x1200 (can't recall model number) 
*Keyboard + mouse:* Leopold FC660C + Logitech G502
*Other:* Grado GS1000i, Fostex T50RP w/Alpha Pads, Audio Technica ATH-A900X LTD
*Other:* Fostex HPA4
  
 2nd Rig -
*CPU*: Intel Core i7-4770K
*CPU Cooler:* Deepcool Maelstrom 240  
*Motherboard:* ASRock Z87 Extreme6
*Memory:* RipJawsX 2133mhz 4x 4GB 
*Storage:* Samsung EVO 850 240GB
*Storage:* Seagate 4TB SSHD + 3TB Toshiba HDD + 1TB Toshiba HDD
*Video Card: *2x Asus GTX Titan 6GB
*Case:* Thermaltake Level 10GT (Black)
*Power Supply:* Enermax MAX REVO 1500W
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64bit 
*Monitor:* AOC Q2963PM UW 29" monitor
*Keyboard + Mouse:* Armaggeddon MKA-5R RGB KB (Kailh Blue switch) + Armaggeddon SRO-5 Havoc III RGB mouse
*Other:* AKG K812, Sennheiser HD800, HFM HEK, HFM HE560
*Other: *Gustard H10
*Other:* Gustard X12
  
 3rd Rig -
*CPU*: Intel Core i7 2600K
*CPU Cooler:* Deepcool Maelstrom 120 AIO
*Motherboard:* Asus Maximus IV Gene-Z
*Memory:* RipJawsZ 1600mhz 4x 4GB
*Storage:* Samsung EVO 850 240GB
*Storage:* 2x 3TB Seagate HDD
*Video Card: *2x GTX670 2GB
*Case:* Fractal Design Define Mini
*Power Supply:* Corsair HX1050
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
*Monitor:* (share monitor as above)
*Keyboard + Mouse:* CoolerMaster Novatouch w/Miami keycaps + Razer DeathAdder
*Other:* Denon AH-D7000, D2000, HFM HE-4
*Other:* OPPO HA-1


----------



## U-3C

> 2nd Rig - *CPU*: Intel Core i7-4770K
> *CPU Cooler:* Deepcool Maelstrom 240
> *Motherboard:* ASRock Z87 Extreme6
> *Memory:* RipJawsX 2133mhz 4x 4GB
> ...


 
 Two Titans...
  
 \(@v@)/


----------



## yomshetan

*MSI GE62 6QD-668FR Apache Pro*
  

Proc *Intel Core i7-6700HQ *(Quad-Core 2.6 GHz / 3.5 GHz Turbo - Cache 6 Mo)
Screen 15.6" * Full HD *(1920 x 1080 pixels)
16 Go RAM  DDR4
 *NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960M* / *4 Go* GDDR5
*SSD M.2 PCIe (2280) with 128 Go* *avec NVMe* + HDD 1 To  7200 RPM
*Windows 10 64 bits*
  
  
**


----------



## DrakeShot

music alchemist said:


> laptop: Alienware M11x R2
> operating system: Windows 10 Home 64-bit
> processor: Intel Core i7-640UM 1.2 GHz quad-core
> RAM: 8 GB
> ...


 
 Lol we have the same specs... so overpriced but it was given to me as a gift.


----------



## Music Alchemist

drakeshot said:


> Lol we have the same specs... so overpriced but it was given to me as a gift.


 
  
 When did you get yours? I got mine at the beginning of 2011.
  
 Have the hinges fallen apart yet? Mine have. I have to rest it against something to even use it.
  
 Do you have any cooling issues? Usually mine is silent, but if I push it too hard, the fan starts going crazy, and it eventually overheats and instantly shuts off.
  
 A few of the upper keys have stopped working on mine too. I connect an external keyboard when I need to use them.


----------



## listen4joy

*CPU*: Intel Core i7 920 2.67GHz
*CPU Cooler:*  Noctua NH-D15
*Motherboard: *GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R
*Memory:* OCZ GOLD 12GB 
*Storage:* Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
*Storage:* Western Digital 1Tx4
*Video Card:* AMD Radeon R9 280X
*Sound Card: *Asus Xonar D2X
*Case:*  Corsair Obsidian 900D
*Power Supply:* CORSAIR AX1200i
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate X64
*Monitor:* Samsung S24C750P 24''
*Keyboard + Mouse:* Microsoft Wave+ Razer Deathadder


----------



## The_Answer (Jul 29, 2017)

.


----------



## Pingupenguins

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/wpmTBP
  
*CPU*: Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
*CPU Cooler*: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler
*Motherboard*: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard 
 Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory
 Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory 
 Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
 Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 970 4GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card
 Case: Corsair 760T White V2 ATX Full Tower Case 
 Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 850W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
 Optical Drive: Asus BC-12B1ST/BLK/B/AS Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer
 Monitor: Asus PB287Q 28.0" 60Hz Monitor
 Monitor: Acer GN246HL 24.0" 144Hz Monitor

 Total: $*2372.70​* in July 2016
  
 Paid: $2086.94 In December 2015.
  
 Now I need a 1080 so I can use all 144hz of my 1440p display. 
  
 Honestly, should have gotten a cheapo card for my rig and waited for the 1080, but I haven't built a computer in about 4 years. Totally lost track of the product cycles. Also might be over kill since I am only playing Dota 2 these days.


----------



## SikkNazty

CPU: Intel i7 4790k (OC @ 4.6GHz)
 CPU COOLER: Corsair H80i GT
 CPU COOLER FANS: 2x EK-VARDAR F4-120 (120mm)
 MOBO: Asus Z97-AR
 GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1070 (OC @ 2010MHz)
 RAM:  Kingston HyperX Fury 16GB (1866MHz)
 PSU: Cooler Master V850
 STORAGE: 1TB 840 EVO SSD, 1TB 850 EVO SSD, 2TB WD Caviar Black HDD, & HGST Touro 1TB HDD (external)
 CASE: Fractal Design Define R4
 CASE FANS: 3x Cougar Vortex CF-V14HP (140mm)
 SOUND CARD: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi HD (external)
 MOUSE: Zowie BenQ FK1
 MOUSE PAD: Zowie G-SR
 KEYBOARD: Corsair Vengeance K70
 HEADSET: Sennheiser PC360
 MONITORS: ASUS VG248QE (24", 1ms, 144hz) & Dell Ultrasharp U2515H (25", IPS)
  
 Total: $3066.39
 http://pcpartpicker.com/list/GnLf8K


----------



## Pingupenguins

sikknazty said:


> CPU: Intel i7 4790k (OC @ 4.6GHz)
> CPU COOLER: Corsair H80i GT
> CPU COOLER FANS: 2x EK-VARDAR F4-120 (120mm)
> MOBO: Asus Z97-AR
> ...


 
  
  
 Hows the corsair? Last one I had got HORRIBLE coil whine.


----------



## DarthGandalf

*CPU:* 6850k
*MOBO:* Gigabyte X99 Designare EX
*GPU:* 2-Way SLI Gigabyte G1 Gaming GTX 980ti
*RAM: *32gb Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR4 3200mhz
*STORAGE:* 400gb Intel 750 Series PCI-E SSD And Four 3tb WD Red Drives In RAID 10
*CASE:* Phanteks Enthoo Primo White
*PSU:* EVGA Supernova P2 1200w
*COOLING: *Custom Loop Water Cooling
*MONITOR: *Triple Surround Asus PG278Q's
*KEYBOARD: *Logitech G710+
*MOUSE*: Razer Deathadder Chroma
*HEADSET: *AKG K7xx.


----------



## OldDude04

*Aorus X7 v2-CF2 Laptop*
  
*OS:* Win 10
*CPU:* i7-4860HQ
*Video:* Dual NVIDIA GeForce GTX 860M graphics with 8GB total (4GBx2) GDDR5 in NVIDIA SLI
*Ram:* 32GB DDR3L-1600
*Storage:* 256GB mSATA SSD / 1TB HDD
*Screen:* 17.3" 1920x1080


----------



## Neccros

*CPU:* 5820k
*MOBO:* Gigabyte X99 Ultra Gaming
*GPU:* EVGA GTX 1070 FTW Editiion
*RAM:* 32gb Corsair Vengeance LED DDR4 3200mhz
*STORAGE:* 480gb SSD 
*CASE:* Fractal Design Define R5
*PSU:* Corsair RM750 
*COOLING:* Air for now... 
*MONITOR:* Dell U2415
*KEYBOARD:* Corsair K70 
*MOUSE*:  Madcatz R.A.T.7


----------



## jettylt

*CPU*: Intel I5 4690K OC 4.5Ghz,
*CPU Cooler*: Corsair H105
*MBU*: Asus Maximus VII Hero
*GPU:* Evga GTX 1080 ''Founders edition''
*PSU:* Evga G2 750W 
*Case:*NZXT H440 (Red & Black)
*SSD:*Samsung evo 840 250Gb.
*HDD:*Wd blue 1tb(Upgradind soon)
*Ram:*Corsair Vengenace 16Gb 2133Mhz.
*Monitor:*Acer Predator 35'' 2560X1080 200Hz.


----------



## wuwhere

Dell Latitude E6530
  
        OS:  Win10 Pro
      CPU:  i5-3320M CPU @ 2.60GHz
    Video:  NVIDIA NVS 5200M
      Ram:  16GB (2-8GB DIMMs)
 Storage:  Samsung SSD 850 Pro 512GB
  Display:  15.6” FHD (1920x1080) Anti-Glare LED


----------



## Mysteek

Whoa, it's been nearly 9 years since I first made this thread. When we look back at the beginning posts it's incredible how fast technology has evolved. I used to think my setup was good.. hahaha...ha..


----------



## U-3C

mysteek said:


> Whoa, it's been nearly 9 years since I first made this thread. When we look back at the beginning posts it's incredible how fast technology has evolved. I used to think my setup was good.. hahaha...ha..




Indeed.


----------



## Vigrith

mysteek said:


> Whoa, it's been nearly 9 years since I first made this thread. When we look back at the beginning posts it's incredible how fast technology has evolved. I used to think my setup was good.. hahaha...ha..


 
  
 I'd never noticed this thread before, I have to say reading through the first few pages made for an interesting experience - I'd almost forgotten how crazy technological advances have been coming in the past few years. It's crazy. Anyway,
  
*CPU*: 6700K
*Cooler*: 280mm NZXT Kraken (meaning to go full liquid but haven't had the time yet)
*MOBO*: MSI Z170A M9
*RAM*: Corsair Dominator 32GB
*GPU*: Founders 1070
*SSD*: 2x 1TB 850 PROs
*PSU*: Evga 1200W
*Case*: NZXT H440 White
  
*Peripherals*
*Monitors*: 34" LG 34UC98 3440x1440 21:9 with two 24" 144hz Asus on either side (probably going to get rid of them and get a second 21:9 LG, hardly play games that warrant 144hz any more)
*Keyboard*: Matt3o's WhiteFox with 62g purple Zeal switches
*Mouse*: Zowie FK2
*Headphones*: Whichever I happen to be using, probably LCD-2s or NightHawks.


----------



## Typo

mysteek said:


> Whoa, it's been nearly 9 years since I first made this thread. When we look back at the beginning posts it's incredible how fast technology has evolved. I used to think my setup was good.. hahaha...ha..


 


 I think it's cool how it's chronological, the posts probably increase in density around hardware releases.

*Build*
*MOBO*: Asus Maximus Hero VII
*CPU**: *i7 -4790k @4.8Ghz
*RAM: *Corsair Dominator 32GB (4 x 8GB)
*GPU: *GTX 980 Ti
*SSD: *Samsung 240 Pro EVO 128GB (System Drive)
*HDD: *2 x WD Caviar Blue 1TB and WD Caviar 2TB
*PSU: *Corsair HX 850
*CASE: *Thermaltake Level10 GT

*Cooling Loop
 PUMP/RES: *Swiftech Maelstrom V2
*CPU BLOCK: *Swiftech Apogee XL
*GPU BLOCK: *Swiftech Komodo NV Special
*RAD: *MCR20 XP

*Peripherals*
*Monitors: *2x Asus VG248QE + 1 Lenovo little **** 1280 x 800
*Keyboard: *Corsair K70 w red switches
*Mouse:* Logitech G502
*Headphones: *Sennheiser 600, recently purchased an HE 400 and I'm definitely loving how it sounds in a game like Battlefield. In terms of gaming headphones though I have a pair of HyperX Cloud 2s and when paired with an amp the quality will startle you considering they are only around 70 bucks.


----------



## alucard177

I changed my pc case some months ago, keeping the old but good hardware:

*Case* In Win 805
*Motherboard* Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H
*CPU* Intel Core i5 2500k
*RAM* Corsair Vengeance 2x4Gb
*GPU* Nvidia GTX 770 SLI
*CPU Fan* Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo 
*PSU* Corsair RM750
*HDD* WD Caviar green 1.5 TB, Seagate 1Tb
*SSD* 1 Samsung 850 Evo 120 GB and 1 250 GB
*Mouse* Razer DeathAdder Chroma
*Keyboard* Razer BlackWidow Chroma

Those are the main specs. And the final result:


----------



## Aerosphere

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/list/mC8Bjc
  
*CPU:* Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($324.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
*CPU Cooler:* Corsair H110i GTX 104.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($149.88 @ OutletPC) 
*Motherboard:* Asus MAXIMUS VIII HERO ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($204.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
*Memory:* Corsair Dominator Platinum 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($229.99 @ Newegg) 
*Storage:* Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($156.33 @ Amazon) 
*Storage:* Samsung 850 EVO-Series 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($156.33 @ Amazon) 
*Video Card:* Asus GeForce GTX 1080 8GB STRIX Video Card  ($724.98 @ Newegg) 
*Case:* Corsair Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($119.79 @ Newegg) 
*Power Supply:* EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($128.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($129.83 @ OutletPC) 
*Monitor:* Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q 27.0" 144Hz Monitor  ($629.00 @ B&H) 
_*Total: $2955.10*_
 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
  
*Periph: *Steelseries 700, Steelseries Qck, ES Velvet, Aq Dragonfly v1.5


----------



## WayTooCrazy

My current build...
  
*CPU:* Intel Core i7-4790K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor
*CPU Cooler:* Noctua NH-U12S
*Motherboard:* MSI Z97A Gaming 6
*Memory:* Corsair Vengence (2 x 8GB @ DDR3-1866)
*Storage:* Crucial MX100 256GB
*Storage:* Western Digital 1TB Blue (7200rpm)
*Video Card:* MSI GTX 970 (2)
*Case:* NZXT S340 (Black & Red)
*Power Supply:* EVGA 850W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
*Operating System:* Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit
*Monitor:* Asus VG248Q 144Hz 24" Monitor (3), VE248Q 24" 60Hz Monitor.
  
_*Total: $Too Much*_
  
*Periph: *Corsair Vengence K70 Kybrd, Corsair Vengence M65 Mouse, Vivo Quad Monitor Stand, and other stuffs.
  
 Note: Picture is prior to upgrading to the NZXT case and larger Z97A motherboard for better airflow for the GPUs

 PC PartPicker...http://pcpartpicker.com/user/WayTooCrazy/saved/#view=qHmhP6


----------



## mikey1964

Just added a new monitor to the mix, an Acer XR341CK and I'm so lovin' it.





It's hooked up to my main gaming rig (i7 3960X + 2x 290X) as well as another rig (FX8350 + HD7970) which can handle light gaming and for watching movies. No pie for guessing what movie is on the pic below...


----------



## WayTooCrazy

Sweet Monitor! I need an upgrade myself (handed off 2 of my monitors to my son).  Is that a scene from Prometheus?


----------



## mikey1964

waytoocrazy said:


> Sweet Monitor! I need an upgrade myself (handed off 2 of my monitors to my son).  Is that a scene from Prometheus?


Give the man a well-deserved pie! I'm really enjoying myself gaming and watching movies. Below is the exact same scene without cropping, ignore the black bars on the sides as you won't see them on a 16:9 monitor, but the dreaded black bars on top and below will be visible on 16:9 monitors though.


----------



## BucketInABucket

Here I go!

i7-6700K
Scythe Kotetsu
Asus MAXIMUS VIII GENE
Corsair Vengeance LED 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 - White
Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB
Fujitsu F300 480GB 2.5" SSD
MSI GTX-1080 GAMING X
Jonsbo UMX4 Window Version (Black)
Corsair AX860i
6 x Corsair ML120 Pro LED (one on the CPU cooler)


----------



## Neccros

OT: Anyone here play MAME on a ultra wide 21:9 monitor??  Does it keep the lo-res aspect ration in the middle of the screen or does it try and stretch it out?
  
 I really want a UW but the things I do I am not sure its the best choice for it


----------



## Rhenoware

Here's mine:
  
 https://pcpartpicker.com/b/cLtJ7P
  
 CPU: Intel Core i5 4590
 CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212+
 RAM: 2x4GB 2133Mhz G.Skill Ares
 Motherboard: AsRock Z97 Extreme 3
 Storage: 1TB Toshiba 7200rpm
 Case: NZXT Switch 810
 Power Supply: XFX 550W PRO
 Graphics card: 9800GTX+
 Keyboard: CM Quickfire XT w/ Cherry MX Blue


----------



## Pacifica

Going strong since 2010!
  

i7 950 @ 3.06GHz
EVGA SLi3 Motherboard
6GB Corsair Dominator 1600Mhz
EVGA GTX 660 FTW
Corsair HX750 PSU
Samsung 950 Pro SSD


----------



## alucard177

This buddy just arrived from amazon. Can't wait to install it.


----------



## atarione

I have been rocking this for awhile now 
  
 i7-4770K /Z87X-UD3H / 12GB DDR3 / Radeon HD7950 / 256GB Cruical M4 SSD / 1TB hitachi HD/ NZXT H630 case / Seasonic  X750 power supply
  
 my desk is messy so a bit older pic but about like this:


----------



## TinkerToyTech

Primary workstation:
 Gigabyte Z170X-UD5H Motherboard
 Intel I7-6700K CPU
 Corsair H110 GTX Cooler
 32GB of HyperX DDR4
 EVGA 970 GTX Video card
 3x27 inch Panels
 Samsung 950 Pro NVMe 500GB SSD OS / App drive
 SanDisk Ultra II SSD 960GB for Rendering / Video transcoding processing
 LSI MegaCache 9260-8i Host Bus Adaptor with:
 6x3TB WD Red drives for file storage in Raid 6 (approx 11TB user storage)
 Fractual Design Case
 Behringer UMC202HD USB digital interface
  
 Secondary Workstation:
 ASUS Z77V Motherboard
 Intel I7-3770K CPU
 Corsair H100i Cooler
 32GB of Crucial DDR3
 AMD Radeon 6950 Video card with 6970 bios
 3x23 inch Acer Panels on tripleheader mount
 Crucial 1TB SSD for OS / Rendering / Video transcoding processing
 LSI Megacache 9211-8i Host Bus Adaptor with:
 6x3TB Seagates for File Storage
 Fractual Design Midtower case
 Alesis 8 channel USB mixer


----------



## WayTooCrazy

pacifica said:


> Going strong since 2010!
> 
> 
> i7 950 @ 3.06GHz
> ...


 

 Since I have been gaming less on my PC and have been coerced to play on the PS4 with friends and family, my computer should be going strong for quite some time as well. I still want to get one of those Mammoth 34" Ultra Wide screens though.


----------



## 460414

Out of curiosity is there visible/perceived trend/correlation to headphones/DACs/AMPs/brands and PC hardware here?  Other than possibly just general higher pc price = higher audio gear price?


----------



## U-3C

nbe9 said:


> Out of curiosity is there visible/perceived trend/correlation to headphones/DACs/AMPs/brands and PC hardware here?  Other than possibly just general higher pc price = higher audio gear price?


 

 No.
  
 Implementation is key, and it's up to the manufacturer to decide how much priority is given to audio. Low end pcs might have a smaller budget, so their designs might neglect audio fidelity. High end pcs might be targeting different people, so even if they mention their audio implementation, it's just marketing. They often are more than willing to sacrifice audio for other features, especially with custom built pcs, where a lot of it is at the mercy of the builder anyways. In my case, my pc was noisy as hell. Then I moved a cable about two centimeters and it is now cleaner than my dedicated dac.
  
 My budget laptop from 5 years ago is still the king though.  Again, it's all in the implementation, not the price they slapped on.
  
 Of course, even in the audio gear industry, higher price doesn't really mean better fidelity, and better fidelity definitely does not mean better sounding.


----------



## 460414

u-3c said:


> No.
> 
> Implementation is key, and it's up to the manufacturer to decide how much priority is given to audio. Low end pcs might have a smaller budget, so their designs might neglect audio fidelity. High end pcs might be targeting different people, so even if they mention their audio implementation, it's just marketing. They often are more than willing to sacrifice audio for other features, especially with custom built pcs, where a lot of it is at the mercy of the builder anyways. In my case, my pc was noisy as hell. Then I moved a cable about two centimeters and it is now cleaner than my dedicated dac.
> 
> ...


 
  
 I don't mean the integrated audio in their PC, I mean correlation between peoples PC specs and their other independent audio hardware eg headphone dedicated amps/dacs etc as a whole.


----------



## U-3C

nbe9 said:


> I don't mean the integrated audio in their PC, I mean correlation between peoples PC specs and their other independent audio hardware eg headphone dedicated amps/dacs etc as a whole.




My apologies for misreading.

-------

Well, you are on Head-Fi after all. People here actually give a damn about audio, where as most people in the planet don't even know this is a thing. 

I run a PC with an r9 390 and an i5-4690k. My preferred setup is my PC's onboard audio and a pair of Phillips SHE3590.


----------



## 460414

u-3c said:


> Well, you are on Head-Fi after all.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 
 Yes, I know. I am talking about here, in this thread.


----------



## TinkerToyTech

tinkertoytech said:


> Primary workstation:
> Gigabyte Z170X-UD5H Motherboard
> Intel I7-6700K CPU
> Corsair H110 GTX Cooler
> ...


 
  
 Plex Server, TiVo show Harvester:
 Asus P8Z77itx Motherboard
 Intel 2600K CPU
 Corsair H100i Cooler
 16GB of Vengance DDR3
 Crucial M500 1TB SSD for Processing
 Headless
 Corsair 250D ITX case


----------



## akg fanboy

17" 1280x1024 CRT
1.2 ghz Pentium 3
ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB
512 mb RAM
60GB HDD
Windows Vista


----------



## Criss969

Core i7 4810MQ
8GB Corsair Vengeance 1866MHz
GTX 860M


----------



## kman1211 (Jun 2, 2017)

Intel i7 5820k 6-core, 12 thread CPU @ 3.86ghz
 ASUS X99 Deluxe Motherboard
 32GB Corsair LPX DDR4 @ 2400mhz
 2x Samsung 850 EVO 512GB Raid 0(1TB total)
 Gigabyte R9 390 8G or EVGA GTX 980 Superclock depending on the game.
 Corsair HXi HX750i PSU
 Corsair M45 mouse
 Corsair K70 LUX Mechanical Keyboard, red LED, cherry-brown switches


----------



## BucketInABucket

Tower:
Intel i7 6700k
Gigabyte GA-Z270MX Gaming 5
Corsair Vengeance LED White 4x8GB 3000MHz
Zotac GTX 1080Ti FE
Samsung 950 Pro 512GB
Fujitsu F300 480GB
WD Green 3TB
Corsair AX860i
Anidees AI Crystal Cube Lite
Corsair ML Pro White fans
Full custom loop in progress

Desktop:
Acer X34A
Tannoy DTM-8 speakers
Sony STR-6060FW
Theta DSPro Basic IIIa
Ergodox Infinity
Corsair M65
8TB WD external drive


----------



## 100VoltTube

Intel Xeon E3-1230 v3
GTX-960
WD caviar black 2TB
SanDisc extreme pro 240GB for Windows 10 and X-Plane 10 (it's a large program, and has its own partition at the moment)
SanDisc extreme II 120GB for Ubuntu
12GB Crucial Ballistix Sport


----------



## PpapaBearD

2017 15" Macbook Pro
3.1 GHz
16GB RAM
Radeon Pro 560
1TB SSD


----------



## seamon

core i7 6850K
32GB DDR4
GTX 1080ti
512GB PCIE SSD+256GB SATA SSD+5TB HDD+6TB HDD
3x1440p monitors


----------



## elucidate (Sep 19, 2017)

i7 7820x @ 4.7ghz
64GB @ 3200mhz
AORUS 1080Ti XE
960 PRO 512GB SSD
1TB Caviar Black HDD x2
PG348Q (for gaming) U3818DW (for stock trading)


----------



## Bellari

Caselabs Tower
I7-6950x(OC 4.2ghz)
Asus Rampage V Edition 10 mobo 
Asus gtx 1080 ti strix overclock edition x 2
64g(8 sticks) Corsair ddr4 3200mhz special edition silver
Samsung 960 pro 512g
Corsair 1500w psu
Soundblaster X7 limited edition
(Gpu, CPU, and mobo all watercooled)


----------



## Trihexagonal (Dec 16, 2017)

The one I'm using now:

Thinkpad T61 laptop
OS: FreeBSD
Kernel: amd64 FreeBSD 11.1-RELEASE-p4
WM: Fluxbox
WM Theme: 8ball
CPU: Intel Core2 Duo T7300 @ 2.00GHz
GPU: Quadro NVS 140M
RAM: 4GB PC2-5300
HDD: 250GB WD Scorpio Black @ 7200RPM
Screen: 15.4" 1680x1050 (WSXGA+) widescreen

Thinkpad: The only laptop certified and to have flown on the Space Shuttle, Mir and International Space Stations.


----------



## GChief

Cheap ass laptop work gave me.


----------



## WilsonT90

Mini itx
6600K
H105i
1070 AIO msi corsair Seahawks x oc
16gb ddr4
2x 250gb ssd
650w psu


----------



## kman1211

Got a new motherboard and CPU, bigger upgrade than expected coming from the 6-core/12-thread Intel i7 5820K.

AMD Ryzen 7 1800X 8-core/16-thread CPU @3.8ghz
Gigabyte Aorus GA-AX370-Gaming K7 motherboard
16GB Corsair LPX DDR4 @ 2800mhz
Samsung 850 EVO 500GB x2
Gigabyte R9 390
Corsair HXi HX750i PSU
Corsair M45 mouse
Corsair K70 LUX Mechanical Keyboard, red LED, cherry-brown switches


----------



## Neccros

kman1211 said:


> Got a new motherboard and CPU, bigger upgrade than expected coming from the 6-core/12-thread Intel i7 5820K.



Wanna sell the 5820K?


----------



## Josh Englert (Jan 6, 2018)

Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX Tempered Glass AG
Intel i7 6700K @4GHz
Noctua D15S CPU Cooler (replaced stock fan w/ BeQuiet! Fan)
G.Skill TridentZ 16GB DDR4 @3000MHz
Samsung 950Pro 512GB SSD
WD Black 2TB
WD Blue 1TB
MSI Z170 MPower Titanium Motherboard
XFX RX 480 GTR Black Edition running @1338MHz
BeQuiet! Dark Power Pro 11 850W
BeQuiet! Silent Wings 3 Fans 140mm x5
Cablemod Red Cables
Cablemod Lighting System

4K Ultra HD Freesync Monitor

Graphics to be most likely upgraded to top end NAVI upon release....


----------



## jh4db536 (Jan 13, 2018)

4 1070ti (Mobo defective cant get the other 2 working...), 6 1080ti, 2 vega64, 1700x


----------



## tens245

Intel i5-6600k
MSI GTX 970
Noctua NH-d15 CPU fan
Corsair 600t case
PC Power and Cooler Silencer MK III power supply

..I think that covers the main parts. Pretty average, but I'm happy with it!


----------



## Dawnrazor

Gigabyte G31-es2L mobo
E7400 cpu
512mb ram
Seasonic fanless psu
Granite psu for usb and hdd
Sotm filter for hhd
Onboard video detuned
Lynx 2b soundcard
Underclocked and undervolted to 900mhz and .85v though those are warm boot specs

It just plays music and isnt even hooked to the internet


----------



## herrsmith

CPU: Intel i5-4690K
Motherboard: Asus Z97M-PLUS Micro ATX
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4 GB)
Storage: Western Digital Blue 1 TB, Green 1 TB, Samsung 850 Evo 0.5 TB
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon R9 280
Case: Silverstone GD05B-USB3.0 HTPC
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer
Operating System: Windows 8.1

It's a few years old, but it works great and looks pretty classy.


----------



## Andr_id

Surface Pro 2017 (m3/4gb/128gb)+4tb HDD
Alienware Alpha R2 (i5-6400t/8gb/128gb/500gb/GTX960)+2tb HDD + 22"


----------



## steph280

jh4db536 said:


> 4 1070ti (Mobo defective cant get the other 2 working...), 6 1080ti, 2 vega64, 1700x


Holy cow are you using this for mining or something?  That's gotta generate some serious heat!


----------



## steph280

This is my dedicated VR gaming build:
MSI Z170A-G45 Motherboard
Intel i7 6700
16GB G.Skill DDR4
2x Samsung 850 500GB SSD
Asus Nvidia GTX1080 Founder Edition
HTC Vive
Fanatec Clubsports system
RSeat RS1 racing cockpit


----------



## jh4db536 (Feb 21, 2018)

steph280 said:


> Holy cow are you using this for mining or something?  That's gotta generate some serious heat!



It's in the back house and that room is a suana with the windows open and room fans going. The psu makes lots of heat and it burns PSU like no tomorrow. Been through a couple seasonic titanium 1500w already. Corsair hx1500 is much better unit.

On another note, I use a mitx ryzen7 build for VR
They need to remake Duke nukem3d cause I reallyrwanna visit the redlight district and throw cash around in VR. Arktika1 is a really fun game, just need the teleportation scheme of robo recall and it would be perfect. They hopefully will remaster metro 2033 since it's the same producer.
Ryzen 1800x
X370 AM4
16gb Corsair
Wd blue m2

This rig mines zecash and monero when I'm not gaming










When the successor to Hades Canyon NUC or gigabyte brix comes out, I'll be all over it


----------



## gzll

longtime lurker of the forum, finally posting lel

i7-6700K
Galax GTX 980 Hall Of Fame
2x8gb HyperX Savage
EVGA Stinger Z170
Seasonic Focus 650w
Intel 540s 128gb SSD
WD Red 2TB
All inside the wonderful NZXT Manta

...I think that's it..?


----------



## CodyZzZ

i5-3570
EVGA 1060 6GB
8GB DDR3
120 GB SSD
500 TB HDD

Logitech G403 Wireless


----------



## rishabh

Recently picked up an iMac Pro, base model. Working great so far.


----------



## Quake1028

Intel i5-2500K @ 4.3Ghz 
ASUS Maximus V Gene
HIS R9 290 4GB 
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB 
SanDisk 128GB SSD 
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Cooler Master HAF 912 
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 
Antec BP550 Plus

Dell SE2717HR 27" IPS FreeSync Monitor 
CORSAIR K55 RGB 
CORSAIR M65 PRO RGB
Vipamz Extended XXXL Gaming Mouse Pad


----------



## ChevyMonsenhor

Older machine with some trick modern hardware hanging from it.

CPU: Intel Xeon X5670 @4.0ghz 
CPU Cooler: Scythe Fuma
Mobo: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD7 Extreme
RAM: 2x 8gb Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600mhz (heatsinks removed)
GPU: Asus Strix GTX1060 6gb 
PSU: Cooler Master G650M
Storage: 1x 240gb SanDisk SSD Plus G26 + 2x Toshiba P300 2TB HDDs 
Chassis: Cougar Panzer MAX

Keyboard: IBM Model M ABNT (1993)
Mice: Logitech M570 + Commatech Iomini 1.1 white
Monitor: Viewsonic VX2776-smhd (1080p IPS, 27 inches)


----------



## twitch133

I built this rig in Jan 2015 with a GTX 980 ICX 2.0... It has been rather disappointing, that none of the CPUs that have been released in the last 5 generations have been an impressive enough upgrade, to get me to spend the money to upgrade... (The insane prices of DDR4 have not helped)

Intel 4790K, stock clocks.
Corsair H00i V1.
AsRock Z97 Extreme 6
EVGA GTX1080Ti FTW3.
4x4GB G.Skill Ripjaw X
Corsair HX750i with individually sleeved cables.
Corsair Obsidian 750D
A bunch of random storage. SSD and spinner.

Ducky One TKL RGB with Cherry Silver switches
Logitech G930
Asus PG279Q
Dell U2518D


----------



## jh4db536 (Apr 28, 2018)

added a new worker..waiting for prices to crash as there appears to be order cuts from retailers
Ryzen 2600/b350 (475 hs)
i shouldve gotten a used 1700. it would've been cheaper, same wattage, and better hash
vega64's 
prices are coming back to sane levels again


----------



## ChevyMonsenhor

I got a new machine on the house, my first proper HTPC.
The specs:
Mobo: ASRock AB350 Gaming ITX/ac
CPU: Ryzen 5 2400G 
CPU Cooler:  AMD Wraith MAX (hand me down from a friend with an 1800X)
GPU: RX Vega 11 (from the 2400G)
Chassis: Xigmatek Eris
PSU: Seasonic S12II Bronze 620W (paid US$20 for it, bnib)
Storage: WD Black M.2 512gb + Toshiba P300 7200RPM 2TB

Its still in progress, when the next generation of Nvidia GPUs land i'll be getting one of them and also upgrading  the CPU in favor a Ryzen 7 2700 or 2700X.


----------



## QueueCumber (Apr 30, 2018)

My current build:



Intel Boxed Core i7-6850K Processor
Noctua NT-H1 Thermal Compound

Corsair CW-9060027-WW Hydro Series H115i Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

2 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1080 G1 Gaming 8G in SLI
Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB DDR4 3200 C16
ASUS ROG STRIX X99 GAMING Mobo
Samsung 950 PRO Series PCIe SSD
Crucial MX300 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD
EVGA SuperNOVA 850 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 850W
LG Electronics Internal Super Multi Drive Optical Drive
Corsair Obsidian Series 750D Airflow Edition, Full Tower ATX Case
Vive Pro
Built it in late 2016. Waiting for the next generation of NVidia cards to drop so I can upgrade the SLI.


----------



## QueueCumber (Apr 30, 2018)

QueueCumber said:


> My current build:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



A pic of my setup. Looks much cooler lit up at night... lol



I guess I should add to the list that I picked up a Vive Pro at launch to play around with.


----------



## ChevyMonsenhor (Jul 6, 2018)

There has been a change in directions with my computers, sold my X58 and shaped the Ryzen HTPC to be my "convertible" system, here are the new specs:
Mobo: ASRock AB350 Gaming ITX/ac
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600x
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i V2
GPU: Zotac AMP! Edition GTX 1070Ti
Chassis: CM HAF Stacker 915R
PSU: Thermaltake ToughPower Grand Gold RGB 650W
Storage: Adata XPG SX6000 512gb + 2x Toshiba P300 7200RPM 2TB + 240GB SanDisk SSD Plus


----------



## superfluke

ASRock X370 Gaming
R7 1800X
Custom Loop cooling, all EK components
Currently only running a GTX 1060. Was using an R9 Fury X but sold it when used prices exploded and it was worth as much as I paid for it new in 2015, haha
EVGA 850 Titanium 
Lian Li PC-07SX
2x 512gb Samsung 950 Pros
an 8tb Seagate drive and a 5tb Toshiba drive for music/movies


----------



## mookil92

6700k
16GB DDR4
GTX1080
250 + 500GB SSD's (8tb NAS for storage)
inWin 303


----------



## EnDva

E5-1650V2
16GB ECC DDR3
1TB HDD + 500GB 950 EVO
Old z420 workstation base
Xfx 750w


----------



## Loz_the_guru

Mine is getting o  a bit now but I can't seem to find a reason to upgrade! 

4670k
8gb ram
Gigabyte z87 board - originally I ran it as a hackintosh 
760gtx

I play some fairly simple games, the most demanding being overwatch/doom. I do flirt with the idea of changing the graphics card though. What do people think is a worthwhile upgrade?


----------



## QueueCumber

Loz_the_guru said:


> Mine is getting o  a bit now but I can't seem to find a reason to upgrade!
> 
> 4670k
> 8gb ram
> ...



At this point I would wait for the next generation of cards. I am running two 1080 GTX in SLI. Looking forward to the next generation releases...


----------



## Loz_the_guru

QueueCumber said:


> At this point I would wait for the next generation of cards. I am running two 1080 GTX in SLI. Looking forward to the next generation releases...



Thanks, I will be holding out for sure but probably for the effect it has on current prices as I'm unlikely to want/need something top of the range. Would a second hand 970 be worthwhile? Or do I need to go a notch higher? I suppose really I'm thinking of the new doom game and fallout 4, as by the time the next elder scrolls game arrives I'll probably need a whole new rig.


----------



## QueueCumber

Loz_the_guru said:


> Thanks, I will be holding out for sure but probably for the effect it has on current prices as I'm unlikely to want/need something top of the range. Would a second hand 970 be worthwhile? Or do I need to go a notch higher? I suppose really I'm thinking of the new doom game and fallout 4, as by the time the next elder scrolls game arrives I'll probably need a whole new rig.



If you want to run next generation games at full bore you’re gonna need a top end card, sorry to say. Maybe wait and pick up a 1080 gtx when next generation releases. But, make sure you have a PSU that can owner it as well, and that your mobo has compatible slots.


----------



## Loz_the_guru

QueueCumber said:


> If you want to run next generation games at full bore you’re gonna need a top end card, sorry to say. Maybe wait and pick up a 1080 gtx when next generation releases. But, make sure you have a PSU that can owner it as well, and that your mobo has compatible slots.



Yeah my case is a node 304 and it's a tight squeeze, a mini itx card is usually a better bet.

I'm not too fussed about absolute max settings, high is good enough for me at 1080p. I'll see what happens to prices but can't really see myself spending over £150 tops.


----------



## U-3C (Aug 14, 2018)

Also looking forward to new releases but have no real reason to upgrade.

Currently running an R9 390 and a 4690k.

Does everything I want satisfactorily, so unless the preformance gains are large enough, I can't find any reason to change anything.

Hoping my next setup will have a 6 to 8 core cpu and something with a 1080 to 1080ti level gpu for 3D rendering. Really wanna go full AMD but Intel and Nvidia are simply more suited for my specific workflow. Intel's offereings aren't enough to warrant the upgrade, and no clue about Nvidia until they announce something.  :/

Biggest gain for me right now is actually a CPU upgrade. But if I change that, I'll need to buy new ram and a mobo, get a new OS and set everything up on it.

As a result, I might as well just get a whole new PC.


----------



## BananaOoyoo

Built my first computer last fall!

8700k
ROG Strix Z370-I
16GB Vengeance LPX (DDR4-3200)
512GB WD Black (M.2)
EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3
Corsair SF600

Cooled by a Big Shuriken 2 Rev. B, a couple Noctua NF-F12s, and Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut

The case is a Node 202. I'm surprised it hasn't caught on fire yet.


----------



## siberianman

I have an Acer laptop i3 5th gen 1 TB HDD 4GB RAM


----------



## kman1211 (Aug 31, 2018)

My current set-up, recently upgraded the GPU. Will get new monitors, better/more RAM, and a faster SSD in the future.

Ryzen 7 1800X
16GB Corsair LPX DDR4 RAM @ 2800mhz
Gigabyte Aorus AX370 Gaming K7
512GB Samsung SSD
Sapphire Nitro+ RX Vega 64
Corsair HXi HX750i PSU


----------



## mikey1964

I don't recall posting here, and I'm too lazy to look thru the posts, so I'll just list my rigs' specs......just upgraded within a month or so, all the GPU's in my rigs:
Main Rig - i7 3960X, 4x 4GB Corsair Dominator Plat 2133, Asus Rampage Extreme IV, Palit RTX 2080 Ti, Seasonic X-1250 PSU, 64bit Win10 Pro 1809
2nd Rig - i7 4770K, 4x 4GB RipJawsX 2133mhz, Asrock Z87 Extreme, Gigabyte RX VEGA 64, Enermax MAX REVO 1500W, 64bit Win10 Pro 1809
HTPC Rig - i7 2600K, 4x 4GB RipJawsZ 1600mhz, Asus Maximus Gene-Z, Leadtek GTX1080, Corsair HX-1050, 64bit Win10 HE 1809


----------



## ChevyMonsenhor

Mine changed drastically in the last few days due to various issues with the motherboard's VRM.
It looks like this now:

Mobo: Biostar Racing X470GT8
CPU: Ryzen 7 1700
CPU Cooler: Corsair H80i V2 (w/ Noctua fans)
GPU: Zotac AMP! Edition GTX 1070Ti
Chassis: Cooler Master Cosmos SE (tinted side panel mod)
PSU: Thermaltake ToughPower Grand Gold RGB 650W
Storage: Intel 760p NVME 256gb + 2x Toshiba P300 7200RPM 2TB + 480GB Inland SSD


----------



## Zhanming057

This is my personal workstation - although actual work does happens on it...

Motherboard: Asus - Z10PA-D8 ATX Dual-CPU LGA2011-3 Motherboard 
Memory: Crucial - 256GB (8 x 32GB) DDR4-2133 Memory 
Storage: Samsung - 850 EVO-Series 1TB 2.5" Solid State Drive 
Storage: Samsung - 960 EVO 1TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive 
Video Card: NVIDIA - GeForce GTX 1080 8GB Founders Edition Video Card *2
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ATX tempered glass
Power Supply: Corsair - 1000W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply 
CPU: Intel Xeon E5-4669 V4*2


----------



## rutter

What do you do on that computer?


----------



## seamon

88 threads on those cpus combined damn


----------



## ConcreteSnake

Mobo: MSI Gaming Z270
CPU: i5 7700k
CPU Cooler: some Scythe
GPU:  GTX 1070Ti
aand 256gb SSD.

And you know what? I have no free time to play any games on it.


----------



## U-3C

ConcreteSnake said:


> Mobo: MSI Gaming Z270
> CPU: i5 7700k
> CPU Cooler: some Scythe
> GPU:  GTX 1070Ti
> ...



Relatable.


----------



## Jaywalk3r

Intel 6820HQ 2.7 GHz i7 quad-core
1 TiB SSD
16 GiB 2133 MHz LPDDR3
Radeon Pro 460 w/ 4GiB VRAM
Intel HD Graphics 530
4x Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gb/s each, theoretical)
4 GiB (4x 1TiB SATA3 SSD) RAID0 (via TB3, ~10 Gb/s actual)

At 2-years old, it's getting a little old for a laptop, but I'll probably use it as my primary machine for another year.


----------



## bimmer100 (Dec 21, 2018)

My laptop setups

13-inch MacBook Pro - Space Gray
With the following configuration:
2.7GHz quad‑core 8th‑generation Intel Core i7 processor, Turbo Boost up to 4.5GHz
Retina display with True Tone
Touch Bar and Touch ID
Intel Iris Plus Graphics 655
16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 memory
256GB SSD storage
Four Thunderbolt 3 ports
Backlit Keyboard - US English

And that MacBook just collects dust, my real laptop of choice which actually gets used daily is this:

Lenovo Carbon x1
●  Processor: 8th Generation Intel® Core™ i7-8650U Processor with vPro® (1.90GHz, up to 4.20GHz with Turbo Boost, 8MB Cache)
●  Operating System: Windows 10 Pro 64
●  Display Type: 14.0" HDR WQHD (2560 x 1440) IPS glossy with Dolby Vision, 500 nits
●  Memory: 16 GB LPDDR3 2133MHz (Onboard)
●  Hard Drive: 1 TB Solid State Drive, PCIe-NVME OPAL2.0 M.2
●  Warranty: 1 Year Depot or Carry-in
●  AC Adapter: 65 watt AC
●  Graphics: Integrated Intel® UHD Graphics 620
●  Battery: 3 cell Li-Ion 57Wh
●  Camera: 720p HD Camera with ThinkShutter and microphone
●  Fingerprint Reader: Fingerprint Reader
●  Keyboard: Backlit Keyboard - US English
●  Wireless: Intel Dual Band 8265 Wireless AC (2 x 2) & Bluetooth 4.1 with vPro

Tested the MacBook Pro vs this CarbonX1 with Dolby vision screen... the Lenovo is significantly better image quality and much more responsive machine all around. I’m not an Apple fan, can’t stand their crapple products. Why I have one? For tech support and just trying to appreciate it for what it is. Certainly not my preference.

And my old machine I’m selling, a good machine too. Fully water cooled with ekwb. 4820k intel and Asus rampage iV black series motherboard, half XB coolermaster case, Corsair ax1200 gold psu, Blu-ray writer, and msi seahawk 1080ti ekwb waterblock. Even mb has full ekwb water block for vcore and nb/Sb.
New computer build specs will post later. At time of writing this it’s under development


----------



## Jaywalk3r

bimmer100 said:


> Tested the MacBook Pro vs this CarbonX1 with Dolby vision screen... the Lenovo is significantly better image quality and much more responsive machine all around. I’m not an Apple fan, can’t stand their crapple products. Why I have one? For tech support and just trying to appreciate it for what it is. Certainly not my preference.
> 
> And my old machine I’m selling, a good machine too. Fully water cooled with ekwb. 4820k intel and Asus rampage iV black series motherboard, half XB coolermaster case, Corsair ax1200 gold psu, Blu-ray writer, and msi seahawk 1080ti ekwb waterblock. Even mb has ful ekwb water block for vcore and nb/Sb.



To each their own. After a few months of trying to work with it, the "premium" PC laptop my employer gave me lived in a drawer until I found a coworker who wanted it. My workflow goes faster on my MBP from a hardware perspective, and even though I use mostly cross-platform tools, the Mac versions of my tools tend be better developed.


----------



## waveSounds

This has been keeping me ticking over since December 2015:

Case: Phanteks Enthoo Evolv ITX Window Edition
PSU: 550W EVGA SuperNOVA G2
Motherboard: ASUS Maximus VIII Impact mini ITX
CPU: Intel Core i5 6600
Cooler: Noctua NH-L9i LP
GPU: EVGA GTX970 FTW+ ACX2.0+
RAM: 8GB (2x4GB) Corsair DDR4 Vengeance
Storage: 2x 250GB hynix SL301 2.5 SATA III, WD 1 TB Elements Portable Hard Drive

I've not made the jump at the display resolution path from 1080p yet because the GTX970 is in its element here, would have to start turning graphics settings down at 1440p and above.

The next thing I do will be to swap the Phanteks Enthoo for one of these.


----------



## Deftone

I had a i3 and GTX960 for about 3 years and been on 1080p for a long time so decided this year it was time to upgrade. 

I didn’t go with 4K monitor because the hardware isn’t quite as powerful as I’d like so I went with 1440p 144hz.

8700k - 5.1GHz 
Gskill trident z - 3800mhz 
Evga 1080 Ti 
Asus z370i 
Evga Gold 650w

Very happy with the performance, I’ll only be replacing the gpu in 3-4 years


----------



## mikey1964

Made some adjustments to my rigs, I'd gotten a PowerColor RX VEGA 64 Red Devil to run with my Gigabyte VEGA 64 in CrossFire mode.
Main Rig - i7 3960X (@4.25ghz), 4x 4GB Corsair Dominator Plat 2133, Asus Rampage Extreme IV, PowerColor RX VEGA 64 Red Devil + Gigabyte RX 64 (CrossFire), Seasonic X-1250 PSU, 64bit Win10 Pro 1809
2nd Rig - i7 4770K (@4.4ghz), 4x 4GB RipJawsX 2133mhz, Asrock Z87 Extreme, Palit RTX 2080 Ti Gaming Pro OC, Enermax MAX REVO 1500W, 64bit Win10 Pro 1809


----------



## waveSounds

@Deftone A fellow brethren of the mini-ITX master race, eh. I salute you, sir. What case are you using?


----------



## Deftone

waveSounds said:


> @Deftone A fellow brethren of the mini-ITX master race, eh. I salute you, sir. What case are you using?



That would be the phanteks enthoo evolve, I’ve had it for around 4 years and 2 systems in it. Thermals are surprisingly ok considering it’s quite cramped at the moment but it’s fully kitted out with 140mm be quiet fans.

2015 - core i3 6100, 8gb DDR3, GTX 960, 1080p

2018 - core i7 8700k, 16gb DDR4, GTX1080Ti, 1440p


----------



## waveSounds

Phanteks sure is popular in here. I've had the the EVOLV ITX for 3 years but have been looking to alternatives, mainly because I want a white case now that it's in a prominent place downstairs. Maybe I'll just get the white EVOLV with tempered glass...


----------



## Deftone

waveSounds said:


> Phanteks sure is popular in here. I've had the the EVOLV ITX for 3 years but have been looking to alternatives, mainly because I want a white case now that it's in a prominent place downstairs. Maybe I'll just get the white EVOLV with tempered glass...


 Ive considered many new cases even the tempered glass version evolv but to be honest i just cant be bothered to dull a full system transplant


----------



## genclaymore

The specs of my setup is,Besides the 3 ML 120 fans that came with the H150, I have 3 more of the same fans that I bought used as fans for my case. I glad that my GTX 1080 FE is still going strong without issues, consider that I don't have warranty, due to it being won from a contest. I hope it keeps on going strong. I did had to replace the paste on the gpu die, due to the existing stuff drying up, turning into chalk.

I7 7800x @ 4.6ghz
Corsair H150I pro
Asus Mark 2 X299
Corsair (16GB) 4x4GB DDR4-3600
Corsair AIr 540
Nvidia GTX 1080 FE
Sound blaster AE-5 paired /w Schiit Jotunheim XLR(R70x,JBL305)
Pioneer BD-RW 2090D
Corsair MP500 M.2 120
Samsung 840 SSD 120GB
Barracuda 2TB
Western Digital 3TB
Corsair RM850


----------



## Kukuk

My computer is needlessly high-spec'd for what I use it for:

Gigabyte X399 Designare EX
AMD Threadripper 2950x OC'd to 4Ghz
Noctua NH-U14S TR4
32GB DDR4-3000 Vengeance LPX in quad channel
EVGA GTX 1080ti SC Black
Sound Blaster AE-5
1x480GB SSD, 1x6TB HDD
Antec HCG-900w
Fractal Design Meshify C
And a plethora of Noctua Chromax fans.

I'm passing on the current RTX series, as Nvidia will likely have 7nm video cards starting next year, or early 2020.


----------



## Voxata

I run an optimized toaster...
Delidded i7 8700K @ 4.8Ghz (Temps under 65C) + Noctua C14S
Asus Z370i ITX
960 Evo 250GB+960 Evo 500GB+C300 2TB SSD
16GB 3600Mhz C16 B-Side
eVGA 1080Ti + Accellero Cooler (Temps under 68C, bottom)
Corsair SF600
Ncase M1 - Bottom exhaust, side/rear intake.


----------



## pretzel06

Processor: Ryzen 7 2700 @ 4.15Ghz 1.37v all core
Motherboard: Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero x470
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ RGB 3200MHz CL14 2x8GB @ 3533MHz CL14 15-15-15-30
Graphics Card: EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC Black Edition
Storage:
MyDigitalSSD BPX 240GB NVME SSD,
4TB Seagate Barracuda HDD,
2TB WesternDigital Red HDD
Case: Coolermaster H500
PSU: EVGA Supernova 850 G1+, 80 Plus Gold 850W
Keyboard: Razer Blackwidow 2013
Mouse: Logitech 402
Monitor: 27" Acer Predator WQHD 1440p IPS 165Hz G-sync


----------



## davisman

Delided 7940x Cool as a cucumber with custom loop and liquid metal @4.7 ghz. I have plenty of thermal headroom to push 4.8, but I enjoy a silent build. 
Asus x299 deluxe 
Gskill 32gb 3200mhz RGB kit 
1tb Samsung 960 pro 
3tb's of Samsung 850 evos 
Founders edition 2080ti on water 
EVGA Supernova platnium 1000 watt power supply w/ sleeved cables. 
Sound Blaster Z for when I game. 

Custom loop parts 
EK rgb Monoblock 
EK GPU block 
EK 250 RGB Reservoir
Hardware Labs 360gts radiator w/ 3 noctua nf-f12s in push
Hardware Labs 360gtx radiator w/ 6 noctua nff-12s in push/pull
EK D5 pump with acrylic top. 
Done with primochill soft tubing and ek compression fittings and some barb fittings where it makes sense. 

Probably some small things I have forgot about, been a year since I built.


----------



## Ellendar

Intel I7 3770k (OC to 4.4GHz)
MSI 1080ti Gaming
16GB RAM G.Skill 1866Mhz DDR3
ASUS Xonar STX 7.1
OCZ 256GB SSD + 1TB HDD
Asus ROG Monitor WQHD with 165Hz

Battlefield V still on Ultra I am happy


----------



## mikey1964 (Nov 30, 2018)

Bought a Samsung C49HG90DME recently, it supports HDR, 144Hz Freesync 2, and best of all, an aspect ratio of 32:9 @ 3840x1080 (think of it as a 4K monitor that's been cut exactly dead center at the middle horizontally). It's due to this aspect ratio (that's awesome for racing games) that I've been buying a bunch of racing games, including Project Cars 2 and Forza Horizon 4)....and a Logitech G29 steering wheel and pedals set.

Below's a pic of it, it's a rough setup now, still have to organize the cables, and more importantly, fine tune the sensitivity of the wheel (I think default's fine for 1920x1080, but 3840x1080 makes it too sensitive, a slight turn of the wheel and I go off too much to one side or the other). Still audio centric despite the crap Logitech speakers (no choice as I have literally no space for my Rokit5 G3, do note the presence of the Oppo HA-1 and the HE-4XX and HD600 on the right front of desk - gotta maintain my audio cred, I have an ENIGMAcoustics Dharma D1000 right at the back of the desk - less chance of accidentally bumping into it). Yes, I'm somewhat embarrassed to have plunged head first into this RGB fan craze....


----------



## Deftone

I have the 32" 16:9 version of that monitor, the colours produced from QLED panel and srgb mode looks beautiful and the contrast is second to none as well. easily worth the £700.


----------



## Amberlamps (Dec 15, 2018)

Corsair Obsidian 800 case, Asus Pro gaming Z170 motherboard, I7 6700k cpu, 32 gigabyte corsair vengeance ram, 1080gtx, 1 samsung 850 pro 500gb ssd, 1corsair force 256g ssd, 2 x ocz summit 120gb ssd’s, 8 normal harddrives, asus xonar sound card and a corsair Ax1600i psu, logitech g910 keyboard and corsair m65 mouse, dell u2410 monitor and 55 inch 4k samsung tv for gaming on.

I forgot, I have a draytek vdsl 130 modem and asus rt ac3200 router, also lg bluray disc burner and corsair something 100gtx water cooling for cpu, which is actually noisier than normal fan cooling.

Think thats about it except for my two beauties,  2 x thrustmaster warthog hotas and trackir head tracking so that I can go all goose and maverick whilst spamramming the chit out of areas with bogeys, my bulldog spamrams is silent death, I hate airquake.  I also have Chord mojo, poly, hugo 2, mscaler and tt2.

Also I got one of them super fast corsair gtx usb 3 lightning fast usb key things, thumbdrive, but it’s a shame to call it a thumbdrive as it’s built like a tank, solid metal, i never use it, it’s plugged into a usb port and it just sits there.

Forgot, I also have saitek combat rudder pedals, for turning a corner whilst flying,  to be honest, I prefer my x58 rig instead, the Z170 6700k rig mentioned above has gave me nothing but problems, my x58 setup was amazing, we shared some good times baby, but now you are locked up in a cupboard.


----------



## waveSounds

@mikey1964 Good God, man. Get your hands back on the wheel lest there be an accident!


----------



## bimmer100 (Apr 3, 2019)

Check out my build in detail here:  
https://builds.gg/kitsunehifi/kitsun-fox-build-chromed-red-copper-tubing-9908

I Personally built this computer build  just in the last month for Professional use doing Content Creation, Photography, Gaming and Audio HiFi - it’s a bit overkill yet I truly enjoy building custom water loops and extreme pc’s. This one has ranked very high in the 3Dmark  world wide charts. I have listed the audio gear used with this PC build and any cables and power related devices for this Build as well.

GENERAL PC BUILD:
Phantek Evolv X in space grey anthracite
*Asus Maximus Formula XI Z390 motherboard
*Intel i9 9900K Coffee Lake @ 5.2ghz all 8 cores - fsbus speed remains at stock 100mhz for audio stability
*TeamGroup Dark Pro DDR4 3200mhz CAS14 - 4x8gb -32gb (Replaced heatspreaders with solid polished nickel from EKWB)
*Corsair AX1600i 1600watt psu (ultra low ripple for smps / USB 5VSB - 5.5mV)
*Razer Basilisk Mouse + Razer Vespula v2 mousepad
*Corsair K95 RGB Platinum Keyboard
*OS Windows 10 professional 64bit
*Roon+Tidal+Jriver+HQ Player Signalyst as well as Audirvana
*Computer sits on a silver finished roller wheel cart as in the photo.

VIDEO / DISPLAY:
*ASUS DUAL RTX 2080ti 11gb - EKWB waterblock -nickel - Fujipoly Ultra Extreme XR pads for video card (17.0W/mK).
*ASUS PG27UQ Monitor (4K, HDR1000, 144hz, G-SYNC)

STORAGE SSD/NVME/Ext OVERVIEW:
Internal:
*(2) Samsung 970evo NVME - (OS drive and content creation drives)
*(3)Samsung 860evo 1tb SSD
External SSD drives :
*Samsung 850evo 1tb backup files
*Portable Samsung T1 500gb SSD portable music drive for audio music
*Portable Samsung T3 1tB

External Mechanical HDD (8 total)
4Drive NAS Tower includes:
*(2) Samsung F3 1Tb each
*WD20EURS-73TLHY0 2TB 64mb cache - video storage
*HGST Deskstar 4TB (HDS724040ALE640)

*Seagate 8tb for more backup of content - audio/video
*WD Book My Book Pro 1.5tb
*Toshiba 5tb

COOLING SYSTEM:
Primarily EKWB Custom Water Cooling Blocks
*EK-Velocity Nickel RGB CPU waterblock
*EK-Vector GPU 2080ti nickel/acrylic Waterblock, VRM waterblock.
*EK-D5 X-RES 250 resevoir and Pump
*Barrow Pure red copper piping with chrome plating
*Barrow and Byski fittings
*Ice Dragon Cooling NanoFluid
*(7)120mm Noiseblocker e-Loop B12-2 fans
*(2)EK-CoolStream PE 360 Radiators + custom mounting solution



Internal PC power filtration devices:
*Elfidelity PC HI-FI Power Filter card PCI/PCI-E HiFi PC audio power purification - PCIe
*Eifidelity PC power fan filter (7 of them... yes, 5! one for water pump, front fans, exhaust fans)

Power layout:
*CyberPower Sinewave UPS - 900watt - CP1500PFCLCD to power PC Alone and ACInfinity SR9 fans for audio gear air circulation (usb powered from front panel of ups)
*Kitsunehifi Isolation transformer (800watt) All my audio related gear is plugged into this Isolation Transformer
*iFi AC and DC Power Filters
*Brick Wall 8 outlet audio grade surge protector


COMPUTER AUDIO SETUP HEADFI/HIFI

AMP/DAC:
*HoloAudio Kitsune Tuned Edition Spring version2 DAC
*HoloAudio Azure Headphone Amp
*iFi Pro iCan Headphone Amp

HEADPHONES: (Favorite headphones listed, not a complete collection):
*(2pair)Meze Audio Empyrean + 8ft Meze XLR (easily my all time favorite headphones) one in black/copper the other is retail version grey/titanium - also have

Norne Audio Draug3 copper and Silver Draug for ea.
*HifiMan Susvara (4pin XLR Balanced Norne Audio 8ft Silver Draug)
*Sony MDR-Z1R (two pairs, one for my wife) (4pin XLR Balanced Norne Audio 8ft
Silvergard S2 for both)
*HifiMan Arya (4pin XLR Balanced Norne Audio 8ft 8wire copper textile)
*Antlion ModMic 5.0 (for MDR-Z1R's to game)
*Tons of WooAudio Double wide headphone stands in black, silver, spacegrey

SPEAKERS HIFI:
*Vanatoo Transparent One self powered Bookshelf Speakers - fed from Spring2 Dac via RCA output
*Definitive SuperCube 2000 subwoofer + Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Double-Shielded Low Capacitance Subwoofer Cable

POWER RELATED components + Cables:
*Jcat Femto USB card powered by Uptone LPS-1 PSU
*Jcat Femto Ethernet card powered by Uptone LPS-1 PSU
*Intona Industrial Isolator (cables used below)
*Intona 0.2M Isolator USB cable VNA+IDS (output side) + KTE Signature USB 1.0M (input side)
*KTE OCC Litz Hybrid 0.5M XLR (from Dac to amp)
*KTE 1.5M Power Cable w/Carbon Fiber sleeved 6mm2 OCC copper w/ kevlar carbon plugs and Rhodium over Copper connections.
*(2) Cerious Graphene Extreme Power Cable 6ft
*(2) Pangea AC-14SE power cord -Cryo'd
*(2) Firewall 64x from LessLoss
*(1) Firewall 5x from LessLoss
*Cerious Graphene Extreme Digital RCA cable (for vanatoos) (sold)
*Madscientist Hex Digital RCA with KLE Silver Harmony
*KitsuneHiFi USB Isolator cable
*Supra HD5 HDMi 0.5M
*Lifatec Silflex Glass optical cable
*Blue Jeans LC-1 Subwoofer cable

OTHER MISC STUFF:
*CableMOD Custom cables (24pin+bridged dual 8pin PCIe+8pinCPU + 4pin CPU) Royal Purple, White and Black
*Netgear X6 R8000 Router
*Apple Ipad mini 3 128gb for remote control of Jriver and mounted on flexible stand attached to desk.
*Apple Macbook Pro 13" touchbar 2018 (spacegrey)- intel i7 4.5ghz 8th gen, 16gb ram, 256gb ssd, TB3
*Lenovo Carbon X1 6th Gen - Intel i7 4.2ghz 8th gen, 16gb ram, 512gb nvme, Dolby Vision screen (this is my favorite workhorse laptop)

Personal Use:
***Aluminum Foil Hat


----------



## Amberlamps (Dec 21, 2018)

bimmer100 said:


> I Personally built this computer build  just in the last month for Professional use doing Content Creation, Photography, Gaming and Audio HiFi - it’s a bit overkill yet I truly enjoy building custom water loops and extreme pc’s. This one has ranked very high in the 3Dmark  world wide charts. I have listed the audio gear used with this PC build and any cables and power related devices for this Build as well.
> 
> GENERAL PC BUILD:
> Phantek Evolv X in space grey anthracite
> ...



Sweet setup.

I used to watercool for the best part of two decades, but then I got old’er and the hassle of it put me right off, plus they are louder and not as good at cooling as newer heatsinks with heatpipes and fans.

My last build, Z170 chipset, I said to myself “thats it, no more watercooling”, so I offloaded all my WC kit and about a week later I saw a sweet deal for a corsair H100gtx all in one kit. I wish I never saw the deal as it’s loud and doesn’t cool that great.

I dunno, the older I get, the more I just want my pc’s to just work without rebuilding and tweaking them and cutting out the fat in windows every few days,

Next time I’m just going to swing for a lump of metal and a couple of noctua’s.

Anyway, even though I’m allergic to watercooling now, you do have a real nice setup 

Edit

I forgot to add that you have the same psu as me, ax1600i, would you believe it if I told you I got it for free?

Because I blew up my ax1500i 

Well, it blew up, by it’s own accord on shutdown no less.

You know when windows has shutdown and your in that 2 or 3 seconds before your motherboard sends the signal to kill the power.

During those few seconds it went snap, fizzle bzzzt pop and blue smoke.

The genie really did escape from the bottle and there was no hope of ever getting that smoke back inside it.

Corsair did me a solid though and did an advanced rma, where you pay the price of a new psu and they send you one and, when they get your bust one they refund you. That was cool, as it got me back up and running much quicker.

I must admit, I do like the roll up sleeping bag that all the cables are in. Much nicer than the bag that came with the ax1500i.


----------



## OG10

I see no one else has made the embarassing mistake of buying a Turing card yet 

8700K @ 5ghz
16GB Corsair Dominator 4000mhz memory
Samsung SSDs.. Incl 970 M2 512GB
Asus Strix 2080Ti


----------



## bimmer100

@OG10

Nice solid build! a screamer!

Personally I didn't find it as a mistake to buy one for my setup. It was basically a must for use with my monitor.
My 1080ti didn't cut it, not even close. The 2080ti barely is enough.
Try 4K 4:4:4  HDR1000 with g-sync and get good frame rates at max settings. It's even pretty good with DXR after they fixed the bugs with BF5....my real mistake was buying BF5! 
the PG27UQ is the best display i've seen but the power required to have decent frame rates at native resolution is a bit much. I'm very happy with the 2080Ti....the price was steep of course.


----------



## bimmer100

Amberlamps said:


> Sweet setup.
> 
> I used to watercool for the best part of two decades, but then I got old’er and the hassle of it put me right off, plus they are louder and not as good at cooling as newer heatsinks with heatpipes and fans.
> 
> ...



thanks for the comments. However when you mention that watercooling is noisy..... really? have you not done custom water cooling loops? only AIO water cooling is noisy imo.... my computer's loudest component is the fans which are stupid quiet at 17dB... to be frank... I can barely even hear my pc. the psu doesnt even spin up the fan...hence my choice of getting the ax1600i as overkill. Actually my noisiest component is the monitor. and it's still almost dead silent. Air cooling...at least for me has been no more...as it requires a bit of airflow or high speed fans to cool a LARGE block of copper etc. noctua makes some wonderful air cooling solutions yet can't compare to the custom water cooling solution i've built. let alone the temps that i'm running at too.

I've had some AIO water cooling units but most are EL CHEAPO and all from the patent owned from Asetek. basic el cheapo pump and sealed cheapo radiator. they sort of cool well. the best ones do fairly decent but are not to be compared to a custom water loop. I've never spent more time on a computer build than my current one. and 90% of said time was assembling the water loop. Trust me... solid red copper tubing is tough to deal with and cut each piece withing 1mm accuracy. It's a wonderful achievement once done and feels sooooo good to finish a project like this. My last machine was a cheaper DDC pump and Noctua fans which were AWFULLY noisy...so replaced with vardar. but my new build with these noiseblocker fans .... good lord they are completely stealth.
my last PSU was an AX1200i and suprised to hear your AX1500 had fried.

well. two diff animals.


----------



## waveSounds

OG10 said:


> I see no one else has made the embarassing mistake of buying a Turing card yet
> 
> 8700K @ 5ghz
> 16GB Corsair Dominator 4000mhz memory
> ...



I'd love to, but one costs considerably more than my entire PC.

You'd better not be using it with 1080p!


----------



## OG10

Lol no, Acer Predator 32" 4K Gsync and Asus 27" 144hz Gsync


----------



## Amberlamps (Dec 23, 2018)

bimmer100 said:


> thanks for the comments. However when you mention that watercooling is noisy..... really? have you not done custom water cooling loops? only AIO water cooling is noisy imo.... my computer's loudest component is the fans which are stupid quiet at 17dB... to be frank... I can barely even hear my pc. the psu doesnt even spin up the fan...hence my choice of getting the ax1600i as overkill. Actually my noisiest component is the monitor. and it's still almost dead silent. Air cooling...at least for me has been no more...as it requires a bit of airflow or high speed fans to cool a LARGE block of copper etc. noctua makes some wonderful air cooling solutions yet can't compare to the custom water cooling solution i've built. let alone the temps that i'm running at too.
> 
> I've had some AIO water cooling units but most are EL CHEAPO and all from the patent owned from Asetek. basic el cheapo pump and sealed cheapo radiator. they sort of cool well. the best ones do fairly decent but are not to be compared to a custom water loop. I've never spent more time on a computer build than my current one. and 90% of said time was assembling the water loop. Trust me... solid red copper tubing is tough to deal with and cut each piece withing 1mm accuracy. It's a wonderful achievement once done and feels sooooo good to finish a project like this. My last machine was a cheaper DDC pump and Noctua fans which were AWFULLY noisy...so replaced with vardar. but my new build with these noiseblocker fans .... good lord they are completely stealth.
> my last PSU was an AX1200i and suprised to hear your AX1500 had fried.
> ...



Yes, I’ve done custom loops lots of time.

When I started I loved it, but nowadays pc’s have lost their shine.  I just want them to work without me needing to mess with them, as I know if I started to mess with them, it will end up bugging me.

What I meant by noisy was, all the fans, extra fans to cool the radiator, which is either 2 or 3 more 120-140mm fans in most cases, then the pump, in my case it was a laing D5. In my pc case I have 9 noisemakers, 3 are cpu pump, gpu and psu fans. The psu is set @ 0rpm and I think that is what caused my ax1500i to pop a cap, as it was on 0rpm for years, since the day I bought it.

Even on low rpm’s there is a constant drone noise due to the fans. I even added resistors to the fans that didn’t let me slow them down.  Also, although WC takes longer to heat up compared to air cooled ones, but once upto speed, say stress testing or playing a game that is cpu limited, they do get noisy depending on the fan profile. I would run them at 100% if my cpu went over 45oC - 50oC, depending on the cpu’s max temp.

I’ve never used solid copper tubing for a loop, I don’t think I’ve seen someone do that before, maybe rich aka darth beavis ? Now that I think of it, I think I did see someone use copper pipe’s, some australian dude years ago, it was at the same time folk were sticking motherboards in mineral oil for a pure passive system.

If you have any other photos of your loop with copper tubing, or even closer shots post them or send them to me via the messaging system as it would be cool to have a look.

That aio I got for cheap, it’s doesn’t compare to a custom loop, and it was a mistake on my part for buying it. First time I’ve been disappointed with a corsair product, but I’m just too lazy to remove it.  I only bought it because my 6700k didnt come with a heatsink and fan, so as I was looking for one I came across the deal and thought I’d give it a spin and see how it goes. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either.

The next rig I build will be a totally passive one. How I’m gunna figure that one out I don’t know, but I do know that it won’t be using mineral oil.

Your setup is nice though. The hours spent on it does show 

Edit.

Regarding the AX1500i making weird noises and smoke. PC was shutting down and windows had closed and the pc was in the middle of that 2 seconds period before the mobo shuts completely down.

The weird noises occured at that stage and then it shut down.

At first I wasn’t sure as I had headphones on, so I looked at things and thought I don’t see anything wrong, so I turned it back on and it started doing it again and I couldn’t rip the plug out of the wall quick enough. Terrabyte’s of pr0n need’s saving,

However,

If I had to guess as to what happened and what caused it. I would say that it was a capacitor that popped because it wasn’t getting cooled down sufficiently over the years, which probably hastened its demise,

Even though they say 0rpm, I don’t think it’s wise to run it at 0rpm all the time, as they still use the old style caps that are designed to pop when failing. The new solid type caps don’t do that.


----------



## Trihexagonal

I'm on my Thinkpad W520 with the old style keyboard: 

Intel Quad Core i7-2760QM (2.40GHz, 6MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
8GB DIMMS PC3-10600 RAM
500GB Hitachi Travelstar 7K500 @ 7200RPM
Nvidia Quadro 1000 with 2GB DDR3 and 96 CUDA cores with Optimus
15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with LED backlight

I'm running FreeBSD 11.2-RELEASE-P7 with Fluxbox as a WM and xmms as my music source. 

I have a website with a beginners tutorial on how to set up a FreeBSD desktop from scratch linked in my profile with screenshots of my machines, examples of Desktop Environments and Window Managers from other BSD users in addition to over 60 wallpapers, if you're interested.


----------



## .Sup (Dec 26, 2018)

I never really took any pics of my system until today I decided to clean the filters, which they were almost as clean as new. I'ts an older system I built in November 2016.


6700k
32 gb DDR4
500gb 960 EVO
Ranger VIII
1070 Amp Extreme
Apple AC Wifi/bluetooth card
Enermax 750 W Gold 80+
Fractal Define C


----------



## bimmer100

Amberlamps said:


> Yes, I’ve done custom loops lots of time.
> 
> When I started I loved it, but nowadays pc’s have lost their shine.  I just want them to work without me needing to mess with them, as I know if I started to mess with them, it will end up bugging me.
> 
> ...



I've used my previous PC and this current one as a 24/7 server that I access from all over. I need to it be reliable and just work. I usually go about 2years between services. Which is about 1hour of draining and filling since the loop was designed for a quick change. The fluid is also designed for long changes. Never have i had gunk up or mess to deal with. I had my last machine for over 5 years and still looked new. Just needed something faster. Reliability has been excellent. Personally I think today is the best time to get into water cooling since it's now mature and more reliable, more quiet, more affordable and easier to work with. Just equally as much crap on the market to steer clear of too.

Just had to test my PC's noise factor. and with a decibel meter my PC got up to 54.2dB under load. but same at idle since fans are at 100% all the time. depending where you measure it's from 50.2dB up to 54.2dB but very quiet.

My EKWB pump is a D5 and silent with it's mounting system. i've got 9 sources of noise in my PC too. and 100% running at full speed all the time, except the PSU is off 100% all the time. It's critical which fan's you choose. As noctua had some of the noisiest fans i've ever owned. garbage in fact, as I tossed em. The vardar fans were better but had a batch of them with defects that were louder than normal. Replaced them and were OK, but the new build spec with NB B12-2's are my fav so far. And my GPU is water cooled, so no noise. I would never run a GPU on air...INSANE how loud it is. NO WAY.  

my 2018 macbook pro gets up over 72dB under load... but laptops are noisy imo. Like a dust buster vacuum cleaner. Idle it's about the same as my PC, which is silent imo.

The PC has has 7 fans. albeit Noiseblocker e-loop B12-2 fans which are so darn quiet (17dB when 100%).  I actually have an external hardrive NAS that is noisier than my computer and that was tested at 57.5dB and decided to take that out of my room and put it next to the router and hookup via usb over the network. Second noisiest item is my monitor which is at peak of 50.5db.

my room's ambient sound with nothing on is about 46.5dB. 

at least to my ears, this is quiet. And i'm able to enjoy music.

My PSU is at 41C and never needs the fan to come on. My old ax1200 never needed the fan on either. But didn't have that issue with caps failing. it's a rare thing. And replacing them with solid caps is not an option with high value caps. Not sure if you are talking about solid electrolytic caps. but there are a lot less choices in values. Depends which cap and it's likely a fluke that it failed. A lot of these caps are designed for a minimum of 85C or even 105C. so I'm shocked if you got your PSU up to these temps. The alternative is that  the cap was just a failure that any component could have. small percentage of components just randomly fail.

Copper piping is hard than Acrylic or PETG. It's actually very new to use copper tubing that was designed for PC's. three companies recently started making it at this time... Bitspower, Barrow, Byski. If you saw other people do it years ago, it was likely plumbing copper and not recommended. Like the linustechtips video they had struggled finding a source of decent copper...still not ideal imo.   I chose Barrow and it's pure red copper with chrome plating. A regular pipe cutter and a ton of patience is required. 1mm accuracy tolerances too. I'm picky so I spent around two days or around 12-14hours of labor to plan/measure/fit/route all the tubing etc.


----------



## OG10

Hey dude, what is the holder with wheels you have under the Phanteks case of yours?
I have carpet and could do with something like that!


----------



## Amberlamps

bimmer100 said:


> I've used my previous PC and this current one as a 24/7 server that I access from all over. I need to it be reliable and just work. I usually go about 2years between services. Which is about 1hour of draining and filling since the loop was designed for a quick change. The fluid is also designed for long changes. Never have i had gunk up or mess to deal with. I had my last machine for over 5 years and still looked new. Just needed something faster. Reliability has been excellent. Personally I think today is the best time to get into water cooling since it's now mature and more reliable, more quiet, more affordable and easier to work with. Just equally as much crap on the market to steer clear of too.
> 
> Just had to test my PC's noise factor. and with a decibel meter my PC got up to 54.2dB under load. but same at idle since fans are at 100% all the time. depending where you measure it's from 50.2dB up to 54.2dB but very quiet.
> 
> ...




Yes, the copper tubing was a damn bling moment and it will be much better for cooling than normal tubing.

However, I could of sworn an australian dude did it ghetto mod style years ago, i.e not using off the shelf parts and this was a good few years back when folk started making their own copper heatsinks. It’s probably still googleable ?  Linus tech tips lol, the dude is well, he just is.....and annoying.

I would clean out all my parts roughly 6-9 months and it’s not the first time schiit has come out funky, and I always used distilled water. 

I will admit I only gunked up 1 cpu block. But that was not entirely my fault, after I removed the void if removed stickers, I noticed ek had done 3/4’s of the job and hadn’t drilled/bored the channels properly, the channels inside the block suddenly came to a stop restricting water flow which to start with was not really apparent during the leak test, only after some bacteria had grown did it then make the problem worse.

I don’t have a noise testing thingy, but the pc next to me is quiet, I would take a guess and say hmm, it’s like a fan in the background, thats what it sounds like, a very soft fan but, gaming or stress testing will ramp the noise up. Some fans are controllable, others not unless I stick in a fan controller.  

The last time I used noctua kit was back in my amd x2 days, sckt 939, fx60, x2 4800, x2 4400 amd x2 3800, memories of good times. I sold that entire line up with asus a8n sli deluxe and a8n32 sli deluxe mobos, lots of ram and 2 7800gtx’s for £110 in 2009. I loved my socket 939 kits and regret selling them. Back when AMD was king. However I’m sure there is a modern day equivelant.

As for the ax1500i, I have no idea what happened, well I have an idea, but no confirmation. It had been running solidly day in day out for years, atleast 4 years, and one day on shut down it started crackling and a bzzt snap noise happened, along with smoke. I presume it was a cap as I could see some old style caps inside, but when I took it out of the case, I shone a torch inside it and saw nothing that looked damaged.  I disconnected it and turned it on and pushed the self test button. As soon as it started up, it made the noise again and the green test ok light remained lit up, showing that “it was ok”.  So........I think the fan not being turned on in those 4 years may of hastened a caps death if it indeed was a cap that took a schiit.

My HX850 from 2010 is still running like a champ, 8 years later. 2010 purchase. for all I know, the 1500 could of been a spider walking into my psu and getting toasted and the popping sound was him blowing up ? I have absolutely no idea asto the cause, as the old style caps all looked good and none were leaking, bulged or popped.

I think you are seeing my post as an attack on you, or water cooling, neither of which is true. Far from it, I used to do the exact same thing you are doing, minus the copper.

All I’m saying is that you have a sweet rig, and I know how much time, money and hard work went into making it and, I’m in no shape or form taking the piss, as your setup is really nice.

It’s just that nowadays I would take the easy route and throw in a couple of fans and get near enough the same temps more or less, but with WC having an advantage, but not as big as it used to be. 

No hatin dude.

What I want is a totally silent rig with passive cooling, for an audio server running roon, that way I can keep it running 24/7.


----------



## bimmer100

OG10 said:


> Hey dude, what is the holder with wheels you have under the Phanteks case of yours?
> I have carpet and could do with something like that!


sure no problem.
it's the
*Pitstop Furniture CPU700C*
. my wife and I both have one. Love it.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQHJLN8/ref=twister_B00DI322YS?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1


----------



## bimmer100

Amberlamps said:


> Yes, the copper tubing was a damn bling moment and it will be much better for cooling than normal tubing.
> 
> However, I could of sworn an australian dude did it ghetto mod style years ago, i.e not using off the shelf parts and this was a good few years back when folk started making their own copper heatsinks. It’s probably still googleable ?  Linus tech tips lol, the dude is well, he just is.....and annoying.
> 
> ...



no problem. just clarifying. extreme custom water cooled loops are significantly quieter than any air cooled solution. point and case. This one is ideal for any serious audio enthusiast that demands silence. It's nearly the same as a passive cooled PC. really. I'm only around 8dB above the noise floor of our quiet office. this is with all lights and all electronics off.  Some people may be fortunate to be in a professional studio environment at around 30db. but most homes will be about 42-50dB in a quiet room unless you live in the city or something. 

and i've never used just plain distilled water since there are no anti mold, anti gunk, or anti corrosion or mixed metals type additives to prolong life. I always use ice dragon nano coolant which had been bought out by Mayhems but not to be mistaken with their other coolants. near zero maintenance and no gunk. nada. Just the plain ice dragon coolant, NEVER add colors/dyes.  And of course always prep all rads, blocks etc with mayhems Blitz pro or my fav...UFO Radiance which works as good and less time. skipping these precious steps will lead to failures and gunk build up.

p.s. get the Roon Nucleus Plus if you want a passive cooled roon server. I have one of those in our other room. works great. 

That I guess qualifies for a computer to mention on this list.  
Roon Nucleus Plus
Intel i7 microprocessor (7th gen with dual core) 
with 8GB RAM, 64GB SSD, 
and internal, 7mm-high, 2.5" HDD/SSD bay populated with a Samsung Evo 850 1tB (optional)

sweet passive cooled audio computer.


----------



## Amberlamps (Dec 27, 2018)

bimmer100 said:


> no problem. just clarifying. extreme custom water cooled loops are significantly quieter than any air cooled solution. point and case. This one is ideal for any serious audio enthusiast that demands silence. It's nearly the same as a passive cooled PC. really. I'm only around 8dB above the noise floor of our quiet office. this is with all lights and all electronics off.  Some people may be fortunate to be in a professional studio environment at around 30db. but most homes will be about 42-50dB in a quiet room unless you live in the city or something.
> 
> and i've never used just plain distilled water since there are no anti mold, anti gunk, or anti corrosion or mixed metals type additives to prolong life. I always use ice dragon nano coolant which had been bought out by Mayhems but not to be mistaken with their other coolants. near zero maintenance and no gunk. nada. Just the plain ice dragon coolant, NEVER add colors/dyes.  And of course always prep all rads, blocks etc with mayhems Blitz pro or my fav...UFO Radiance which works as good and less time. skipping these precious steps will lead to failures and gunk build up.
> 
> ...



It’s cool, folk that havent done a loop for themselves, they don’t know how much work it is, they think it’s like lego.  I always used distilled water so that no minerals would get into the loop, and I do remember trying to match the colour of my water to the colour of my CCT’s, I got  green dye everywhere and I looked inside the pump when I sold it on ebay and years later you could still see a green tinge. I did start using proper coolant that nad anti bacteria stuff in it etc, but that must of been like 2008/9 ish. The last proper setup was my x58 setup and that was bought 2009/10, that lasted til 2015, so my rig is needed updated as we speak.

I want a roon nuc, but not at the price they want for one. £2k or sometjing for just a wifi router, a cpu and a ssd and heatsinks. I really want a 24/7 roon server as there is no way I can leave my puters on, as they eat away at the electricity. I have one of those smart meters and it’s scary accurate.

More than anything i want a totally quiet server, I could go raspberry pi but no, there is a couple of servers that I’m looking at but it will have to wait until I get enough cash.

Again, my posts werent takin the piss, I know the work and cash that goes into a setup, and yoursetup is nice. It’s just that I’ve just went over to the dark lazy side, this is what happens when you buy ipads. Things are glued to my hands,


----------



## KcMsterpce (Dec 27, 2018)

I don't know if I posted here or not. Some nice systems posted! Also, some _efficient_ systems that will do the job for most people. I prefer function over form. My 1080 TI died last month, so I had to replace it. I also replaced the cooler (Noctua NH-D15), since I was up in the guts again anyway. It just so happens that my crap has pretty lights and stuff.
I've been building computers for so long now that I don't even LOOK at the internals unless it's to fix something. All my friends like to go "ooh!" and "ahh!" though, so they seem happier with my build now that it has pretty lights.
I also used to be an overclocking madman, but I don't really care about small jumps in performance. I'm happy as long as my stuff runs smoothly. I had the 8700k up to 5.1GHz. Saved a couple/few seconds on my video conversions, and gained 2-5 extra frames in games. Then I thought "Bah, whatever" and just leave everything at stock settings. I've also grown too old to care about my e-p33n.

What I do like, though, is to edit 4k multi-camera videos with no stutter. I love to play games at highest settings with no lag. I love G-Sync. I also enjoy more than 90fps when playing games, because it's gorgeous.

Here are the obligatory pics:












3
















*The "internals":*
Cooler Master HAF X case
Asus Maximus X Apex Z370
Intel i7 8700k
H115i Pro CPU cooler
32GB Corsair Vengeance RGB
Zotac RTX 2080 Ti AMP
Wireless card

*Storage: *
1TB 970 EVO M.2 (Windows 10 Pro, and programs)
1TB 960 EVO M.2 (Games, and video projects)
2x 1TB Samsung 950 EVO 3.5" SSDs in RAID0 (storage for anything else)

MyBook Duo w/2x 8TB HDDs
4x 4TB external HDDs (one for backup, one for music backup, another for redundant backup, etc...)
1TB Samsung T5 external SSD
1TB Sandisk external SSD (on-the-go file transfers)

*External junk:*
Alienware AW3418DW 34" 3440x1440 widescreen display, 120Hz
(Alternate monitor: 65" LG OLED65C7, just for HDR kicks and giggles every once in a while)

Corsair K95 RGB keyboard
Corsair M65 PRO RGB mouse

SoundblasterX G5 external sound card using:
- Sennheiser HD58X; HD650; Senny PC363D; MrSpeakers Alpha Dogs; AKG Q701; or other headphones

Audeze Mobius (which I think is good, but I don't use it much)

*My laptop*
17" Sager, i7-6700k; 120Hz G-sync display (2560x1440); 16GB RAM; 2x GTX 1070 in SLI; 2x Samsung 960 PRO M.2 512GB in RAID0; 960GB Sandisk SSD; 2TB HDD... I like it for gaming, but also for editing video stuff anywhere I go (I am not home as much as I prefer).

Also, a 15.6" MSI w/GTX 1070, i7-8790HQ, 120Hz display (1080p), 1TB 960 PRO M.2... for lighter travel.


----------



## bimmer100

KcMsterpce said:


> I don't know if I posted here or not. Some nice systems posted! Also, some _efficient_ systems that will do the job for most people. I prefer function over form. My 1080 TI died last month, so I had to replace it. I also replaced the cooler (Noctua NH-D15), since I was up in the guts again anyway. It just so happens that my crap has pretty lights and stuff.
> I've been building computers for so long now that I don't even LOOK at the internals unless it's to fix something. All my friends like to go "ooh!" and "ahh!" though, so they seem happier with my build now that it has pretty lights.
> I also used to be an overclocking madman, but I don't really care about small jumps in performance. I'm happy as long as my stuff runs smoothly. I had the 8700k up to 5.1GHz. Saved a couple/few seconds on my video conversions, and gained 2-5 extra frames in games. Then I thought "Bah, whatever" and just leave everything at stock settings. I've also grown too old to care about my e-p33n.
> 
> ...



Nice rig!! I love that monitor too. It was one of the ones I’ve looked at for a second monitor and agree about gysync. One of those things that once you see it work and do it’s thing it ruins you and you can’t “un-see” it. It’s impressive if you game.


----------



## KcMsterpce

Yeah man, G-Sync is a blessing. I like that FreeSync is cheaper, but since ATI and AMD merged, they haven't been able to keep up with Nvidia and Intel. AMD has been doing better the last couple years for CPUs dpending on your needs/requirements (like threadripper for video editing/transcoding... Wow!), but for GPUs, Nvidia has stomped AMD.
So, I will pay that premium for G-Sync. For now. Haha!


----------



## Shaggy8675

Ok, posting my stuff...
Just did a rebuild cuz my old Radeon 280 died. Had to replace it with the Strix 1070. Did have to make my custom loop a new since that card is way longer.

Specs:
AMD Ryzen 1800x
16gig Gskill 3200mhz
Asus Hero motherboard
Samsung 960 Evo M.2 + several Samsung SSD's
Corsair 750D Air case
Asus Strix 1070 GPU
Corsair K95 keyboard
Razer Ouroboros mouse
Dell 24"IPS screen
Custom waterloop containing EKWB block/rad's, Alphacool fittings/tubing, Heatkiller reservoir
TT Riing 140 RGB fans
Corsair 750w PSU

Think that's the basics..

Here's some pics


----------



## Deftone (Mar 23, 2019)

Time to clean out the little beast, Ive had this rig for about a year and easily the best pc i have ever built and owned.





Intel i7 8700k - 5.0GHz
Asus Strix Z370i Motherboard
16GB Gskill Trident Z DDR4 - 4000MHz
Nvidia Geforce GTX1080Ti EVGA FTW3 - stock
1TB Samsung EVO 860 - game drive
250GB Samsung EVO 860 - OS drive
EVGA 650W powersupply
Phanteks Evolv Mini ITX case
5x 140mm bequiet! silent wings 3 keeping it all cool.

Running all modern games on max settings at 2560x1440 and getting around 90-130fps


----------



## RestlessZombi

Currently (You know cos it changes every few months):
Intel i7 -8700k (Corsair H75 V.2)
Asus Prime Z370A
32GB Corsiar Vengance Ram (3200Mz)
Geforce 1080ti 11gb
2 x Samsung 970 SSD (1 Pro 512, 1 Evo 500)
2 x 1Tb Hard Drive
Corsair 200r Case (RGB Lighting cos "Groovy")
Corsair 850w

1 x Samsing 32" Curved 1440p Display
2 x Acer 21" 1080p Display
Corsair Keyboard / Mouse 

Speakers: Mackie CR3
Headset : Audeze Mobius

For actual Music listening um.. 

Much Headphone Gear.. (See Introduction Thread)

..Much wow


----------



## U-3C

Recently acquired a Surface Book 2 13.5 inch and the newest Surface Pen separately since the Surface Book 2 does not come bundled with one now.

Needed something with a pen input on a display and found a good deal on this one.

i7-8650u
16 GB RAM
GTX 1050 2GB
512 GB NVME SSD


----------



## The Socialist Nerd

The huge problem in my trying to answer this question is "Which rig?"


----------



## RestlessZombi

The Socialist Nerd said:


> The huge problem in my trying to answer this question is "Which rig?"



Thats a nice problem to have  One i kind of understand too.. I have a Surface Pro, MacBook, and two desktop machines..


----------



## U-3C

RestlessZombi said:


> Thats a nice problem to have  One i kind of understand too.. I have a Surface Pro, MacBook, and two desktop machines..



Yep. Aside from a tower at home, have an XPS, an old HP laptop and now a Surface Book 2, but also constantly work between 4 different phones, which honestly I spend more time using for anything other than work. Still need specific software for the last part that aren't available for mobile...yet.


----------



## Jason Van Patten

Specs in the signature, but:


Asus Rampage VI Extreme
Intel i9 7900X which was de-lidded, OC'd to 4.7GHz and water cooled
64GB Corsair DDR4, OC'd to 4GHz
2 NVidia 2080Ti GPUs in SLI (FE cards) also OC'd and water cooled
Sound Blaster ZxR audio
CaseLabs Magnum THW10 case (RIP CaseLabs...  )
The website in my signature has more of listed out.


----------



## .Sup

Decent minesweeper rig Jason


----------



## Jason Van Patten

.Sup said:


> Decent minesweeper rig Jason



Yeah, it can do that and a few other things pretty quickly.


----------



## text (Jun 18, 2019)

1TB Samsung T5 external SSD
1TB Sandisk external SSD (on-the-go file transfers)

Which do you prefer (if either) between the Samsung T5 and Sandisk Extreme SSD? I've been using and enjoying both a T5 and ADATA SE730H but need a 3rd external SSD and would like to spread my backups over 2 or 3 manufacturers if possible, so might get a Sandisk.


----------



## KcMsterpce (Jun 18, 2019)

I have the T5 1TB as well as the Sandisk 1TB extreme portable SSD.

Performance: They are similar in transfer rate/speeds. For large files, I get about 420MB/s to 445MB/s average speed.

Size: The T5 is a little thinner, and slightly wider than the Sandisk. The rubber housing and keyholder option on the Sandisk is good, if you think you want a more rugged protection, and if you want to hook it onto a backpack, or strap. Either one is very light, and easy to slip into a small pocket.

Software: Both have a password protect option, which can be initiated very easily the first time you plug it in. Not sure about encryption reliability (too lazy to check). I did not notice a drop in performance if you choose the password protect, which I have on my T5.

Peripherals: The T5 has a USB-C to USB-C cable, and USB-C to Type A connector.  The Sandisk has USB-A to micro-USB, as well as an attachment for micro to type-C connector. The T5 cable is about 2 feet long, the Sandisk cable is about 8 inches.

In the end, either one performs great, and I'm happy with both.


----------



## m-i-c-k-e-y (Aug 21, 2019)

Posted similar from the USB Audio Player Pro thread.
*Click pictures to enlarge*.

So I had extra cash and thinking to have a small computer in my bedroom. Something a do-it-all kind of thing. My Android TV is good for media playback and occasional surfing in the internet. But when I need something for quick editing (documents. pictures, etc.) its limited.

My last build was 9-10 years ago with this monster (then). And still using it. Specs here.





So enter this baby: A Shuttle DH370 (specs and product page)










Just a little larger than your typical DVD drive and stuffed it with the following:

Intel i9-9900 (disabled Speedstep/Turbo for heat and acoustic purposes)
32Gb (16x2) Corsair Vengeance 2666Mhz
1Tb Samsung Evo Plus m.2 SSD
Intel AC 9260 Wifi + 5.0 Bluetooth
Shuttle PVG01 VGA extention cable (what will I do w/ 2 serial ports?).
Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut as thermal paste.
Will be using the Dell P2415Q 24" 4K monitor from my Android TV.









Some Benchmarks!

Cinebench R15 w/ Speedstep/Turbo on. Note on temps.




Cinebench R15 w/ Speedstep/Turbo off.




CrystalDiskMark




CrystalDiskMark w/ PrimoCache (product page)




SO...Does it whine? Yes, if you turn on SpeedStep/Turbo. I you disable it (w/ a little drop in performance to my surprise), it is very silent.

I was also hoping that If I install JRiver MC 25 w/ Izotope Ozone Advanced 8.02 as plugins, I would have a better chance on SQ, NOW having better HW, from my present setup.
Just a history: Went to Android TV w/ LPS + USB Audio Player Pro route since its sound better (cost less) from my previous PC + JRiver w/ Izotope Ozone as plugin.

NOW...how about the SOUND QUALITY??

My Android TV Box + UAPP is still *BETTER! *
Spent 1,400+ euros to find out (AGAIN) that my 200 euro Android TV box setup is better! 

I was just fortunate that my (other, older) Android TV box (Himedia Q10 Pro) has a USB 3.0 port to my PC so I can access my (then external) HDD.





Now I got a TWIN system. Got a so called do-it-all mini PC that can access my 8TB drive from my Android TV. And, the Android TV for my listening and (along w/ my PC) other media pleasure. My newer Beelink GT-King was moved elsewhere.





Sharing this for those people who wants to go to that road (AGAIN) hoping to have a better media experience.

To what I found out (AGAIN), w/ present hardware, STILL Android TV + LPS w/ USB Audio Player Pro (or similar) provides better SQ at so much lesser cost.

Just here for the music.
Michael


----------



## Voxata

Wow.. a 9900 in that PC. I use a 9700K in a Sandwich build and I had to underclock to get it running cool enough. I bet that rig is an absolute heater under a load! Then again, guess its only slinging media. I'd be getting an i3 in a build like that.


----------



## m-i-c-k-e-y (Aug 22, 2019)

Yeah, not playing games with it l. Relegated to just media playback, surfing and occasional image and document editing.

9900 is 65W btw (w/c DH370 was designed to handle) and the 35W 9900T is hard to get. As said, I disabled speedstep/turbo to limit it at baseclock. And because, it whines when it kicks. When disabled (SpeedStep), its silent and not much heat (media playback, editing use). See Cinebench benchmark, it tops only at 72°C at 24°C ambient at baseclock.

Just, want to see how far I can push this 1.3L barebone system.

I'll run OCCT when I get back to see the real score. But then again its a stress tester. Of which this pc will hardly be seeing (I'll use my main rig for that).

We know on this case, its TDP that counts. You can have an i3-8100 but still, its 65W TDP.


----------



## Voxata

With Intel TDP numbers are a bit fudged, though if you aren't loading it hard life will be easier. I have a SFF using a 8400T 6 core that's delidded and when streaming video it'll hit 65C. It's tuned for silence though.


----------



## mikey1964 (Aug 25, 2019)

I finished building my rig like, three weeks ago perhaps, but have only finished the SSD's and HDD's recently. Decided on a CM H500M case proceeded to build my rig, short of a few parts I'd not quite decided on then, any, the complete specs as follow:
Ryzen R9 3900X (at 4.4ghz all cores) + Thermaltake Water 3.0 360 AIO
Gigbayte X570 Aorus Xtreme
4x 8GB XPG D60G DDR4 3200 Cl16
PowerColor VEGA 64 Red Devil
256GB Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 (OS)
4TB Samsung 860 EVO SSD (Games)
2TB Samsung 860 QVO (Games)
6TB WD Black HDD (Games)
2TB Seagate Barracuda HDD (Downloads, movies, music)
Corsair HX1000 Platinum
CoolerMaster MasterCase H500M






This rig is actually quiter than my other two rigs, fans ramp up only when I game......watching movies and listening to music (using Oppo HA-1 + HD6XX or HD600 or ENIGMACoustics Dharma D1000). WHen I'm not using my cans, I'll run music through my motherboard's audio (Sabre DAC) to my Philips Fidelio HTL1000 soundbar.....usually for movies, sometimes music as well.

Edit - A pic of the case....


----------



## rvcjew (Aug 25, 2019)

mikey1964 said:


> I finished building my rig like, three weeks ago perhaps, but have only finished the SSD's and HDD's recently. Decided on a CM H500M case proceeded to build my rig, short of a few parts I'd not quite decided on then, any, the complete specs as follow:
> Ryzen R9 3900X (at 4.4ghz all cores) + Thermaltake Water 3.0 360 AIO
> Gigbayte X570 Aorus Xtreme
> 4x 8GB XPG D60G DDR4 3200 Cl16
> ...



Every time I see that case I wish CM made the front I/O not shiny as it attracts static like crazy and I think would be cleaner. Nice build. I recently finally got a 3900X and also swapped my R5 panels for the TG addon they made and for not being OG to the case design they look really good. I just had the foam non window panels before.

 Ryzen 9 3900X
NH-D15S
X370 Tachi
32GB(2x16GB) DDR4
EVGA GTX 1080 Ti FTW3
ASUS Xonar Essence STX, Objective 2, NFB-11
500GB 850 EVO (OS, Adobe, Office)
3TB HDD (Downloads)
3TB HDD (Games)
4TB HDD (Storage)
1TB HDD (Music)
2x1TB R1 (Backups)
2x6TB R1 (Videos)
AX760
Fractal Define R5
NF-F12's I had lying around.
BH12LS38


----------



## mikey1964

@rvcjew  Holy crap! You have a 3900X on an X370 mobo? I didn't think any pre-X570 mobo can handle a 3900X! How does it overclock? Presently have mine with all cores at 4.4Ghz, temp's about 35C idle with loads not exceeding 62C thus far.


----------



## rvcjew (Aug 26, 2019)

mikey1964 said:


> @rvcjew  Holy crap! You have a 3900X on an X370 mobo? I didn't think any pre-X570 mobo can handle a 3900X! How does it overclock? Presently have mine with all cores at 4.4Ghz, temp's about 35C idle with loads not exceeding 62C thus far.


If the manufacture releases updates for the right AGESA then a B350 board can run it, also remember it is way more power efficient then ryzen 1 and still more then ryzen +. With my 2600 the PC idled around 300W and I could not take my ram any higher then it's stock XMP and now with the 3900X I idle at about 260W and its memory controller let me push my 2666 ram to 2800 at the fast timings on the DRAM calc for ryzen. Temps from idle on the 2600 with the single fan on the D15S at 42c (all that HDD heat adds about 20C to the case ambient) to the dual fan with the cooler I now idle at 46-52c depending on the room temp (52c is with room at 84F). I load at about 72-75c with all core usage, have not dabbled in per ccx OC'ing yet.
Malcolm

Here is a video on the board I got for reference:


----------



## knivek

mikey1964 said:


> I finished building my rig like, three weeks ago perhaps, but have only finished the SSD's and HDD's recently. Decided on a CM H500M case proceeded to build my rig, short of a few parts I'd not quite decided on then, any, the complete specs as follow:
> Ryzen R9 3900X (at 4.4ghz all cores) + Thermaltake Water 3.0 360 AIO
> Gigbayte X570 Aorus Xtreme
> 4x 8GB XPG D60G DDR4 3200 Cl16
> ...



I see you don't take off the plastic film like myself...  I like to keep things pristine like that.  OCD is bad for that :S


----------



## SilverEars

m-i-c-k-e-y said:


> Posted similar from the USB Audio Player Pro thread.
> *Click pictures to enlarge*.
> 
> So I had extra cash and thinking to have a small computer in my bedroom. Something a do-it-all kind of thing. My Android TV is good for media playback and occasional surfing in the internet. But when I need something for quick editing (documents. pictures, etc.) its limited.
> ...


Impressive Nvme read and write numbers.  I wonder if something like Evo 970 is practical other than transfering files?  Anybody know if it's really signficantly better for general file seeking, etc..?  I understand that in general SSD usually are compared to mechanical drives, but not sure if Nvme with pci 4x bandwidth are really all that practical for real uses.


----------



## mikey1964

knivek said:


> I see you don't take off the plastic film like myself...  I like to keep things pristine like that.  OCD is bad for that :S


Yep, OCD is so bad for that!  But now, with the front plastic peeling off, the OCD guy in me wanna peel it completely off to rid myself of the unsightly plastic peel.....will it never end?!


----------



## ostewart

Not a great picture but oh well.

Cooler Master CK530 Mech Keyboard (blue switches)
Acer H257HU 25" monitor
Razer Naga 2014 mouse

Gigabyte Z270P-D3 Motherboard
Intel i7 6700k OC'd to 4.4GHz
Hypertec DDR4 2133 RAM 16GB (2 x 8GB) OC'd to 2666
Gigabyte Windforce OC GTX1060 3GB graphics card
Cooler Master Hyper 212x cooler
Fractal Design Focus G Case
Fractal Design 2 x 140mm front intake fans, 1 x 120mm exhaust fan
128gb Kingston SSD
2tb seagate HDD
Aerocool Integrator 600w PSU

I want to change the case to one with a PSU shroud and nicer cable routing and upgrade the PSU to an EVGA modular one. And then eventually get a new GPU.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

I'm travelling so my head-fi forum rig is a laptop with a socketed i7700K @ 4.2GHz with turbo to 4.5, 32G RAM, Quadro video card..and Linux. Not the greatest for music...


----------



## rvcjew

gimmeheadroom said:


> I'm travelling so my head-fi forum rig is a laptop with a socketed i7700K @ 4.2GHz with turbo to 4.5, 32G RAM, Quadro video card..and Linux. Not the greatest for music...


Sounds like a Precision or T series?


----------



## gimmeheadroom

rvcjew said:


> Sounds like a Precision or T series?



Tornado F5W FTW 

As far as I know, none of the mainstream manufacturers have socketed CPUs in laptop.s


----------



## Voxata

Not sure if I put this out there ever or not but - who likes SFF?


----------



## PointyFox (Oct 15, 2019)

Voxata said:


> Not sure if I put this out there ever or not but - who likes SFF?



SFF, about as big as an Xbox. Can support full size GPU or small GPU plus liquid cooling. I can fit this in my backpack. Has an overclocked Ryzen 2700x and GTX 2070 currently.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Voxata said:


> Not sure if I put this out there ever or not but - who likes SFF?



I have a Lenovo "Tiny" core i3 box that I use as a dedicated music appliance. I think SFF boxes make great music appliances. It lets you install just the apps and music players you want and not interfere with your regular desktop. I don't run Windows on anything but that box.


----------



## Voxata (Oct 15, 2019)

PointyFox said:


> SFF, about as big as an Xbox. Can support full size GPU or small GPU plus liquid cooling. I can fit this in my backpack. Has an overclocked Ryzen 2700x and GTX 2070 currently.



I have a friend who uses a Node 202 but the temps were a bit squirrelly. I've been digging the nCase though, handles some serious horsepower while still being pretty compact. I was able to find a padded bag to easily carry it as well made by a community member.

I'm running:
9700K Delid @ 5Ghz 70C Gaming w/Noctua C14S push/pull

16GB G.Skill 3600 B Side w/spreaders removed to fit

EVGA 1080Ti SC2 Black 2Ghz OC w/Accellero fans set to exhaust, 65C temp.

Two 970 Evo Plus drives,  250GB OS & 1TB Game - 2TB Micron for storage.

Corsair SF600 PSU

I've since swapped out the cougar fans for a silent industrial grade 120mm PWM fan, just had to solder connectors. Brought down noise and temps.


----------



## Voxata

gimmeheadroom said:


> I have a Lenovo "Tiny" core i3 box that I use as a dedicated music appliance. I think SFF boxes make great music appliances. It lets you install just the apps and music players you want and not interfere with your regular desktop. I don't run Windows on anything but that box.



I've a micro PC as well but it serves HTPC duty. I game as well so I need some solid GPU performance on my main desktop. I do really like the ultra sff for office use though!


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Voxata said:


> I've a micro PC as well but it serves HTPC duty. I game as well so I need some solid GPU performance on my main desktop. I do really like the ultra sff for office use though!



For me it was about having a quiet box to play music from. Nothing worse than hearing PC fans during the soft parts of music...

My music server is also fairly quiet but it is under a table in another room.


----------



## KcMsterpce

gimmeheadroom said:


> As far as I know, none of the mainstream manufacturers have socketed CPUs in laptop.s


This is correct, for the most part. There are desktop replacement laptops with full-on desktop CPUs, but they are very expensive, very hot, heavy/thick, and limited to a few chassis designers. One of the bigger names is Clevo. 
For example, Sager notebooks have Clevo laptops, with desktop chips.
I personally have a 17" Sager with the i7-6700k, 32GB of RAM, and 2x GTX 1070s in SLI. It weighs about 7 pounds, and has two 1-pound power blocks.


----------



## gimmeheadroom (Oct 16, 2019)

KcMsterpce said:


> This is correct, for the most part. There are desktop replacement laptops with full-on desktop CPUs, but they are very expensive, very hot, heavy/thick, and limited to a few chassis designers. One of the bigger names is Clevo.
> For example, Sager notebooks have Clevo laptops, with desktop chips.
> I personally have a 17" Sager with the i7-6700k, 32GB of RAM, and 2x GTX 1070s in SLI. It weighs about 7 pounds, and has two 1-pound power blocks.



Woo hoo, SLI laptop! 

I got mine from Eurocom since the local electronics chain store had a good selection. Not cheap but they have a lot of options and there was a deal from Eurocom going on at the time. I wanted a XEON since I run XEONs in all my desktops but they didn't have one available. Maybe for most workloads the 7700K is faster anyway.

For graphics I have the lowly Quadro M3000M which is more than enough for me since I don't game. Mostly this laptop is just a way for me to browse the web and keep up with email when I'm travelling. And sometimes I use it as a VM host for various OS.

One thing I really like about the Eurocoms is there is no integrated graphics so you don't have to play games with setup. You just install the nvidia drivers and go...


----------



## NZtechfreak

Mine is in my sig.


----------



## Voxata (Oct 16, 2019)

Hi


gimmeheadroom said:


> For me it was about having a quiet box to play music from. Nothing worse than hearing PC fans during the soft parts of music...
> 
> My music server is also fairly quiet but it is under a table in another room.



Agreed, my PC at idle or low load is tuned to be incredibly silent with only the lower heatsink fan spinning at low RPM. Once a game gets fired up though things get audible. Not out of hand, but audible. The benefit of having no stock heatsinks is good cooling at lower RPM.


----------



## Matez

Voxata said:


> The benefit of having no stock heatsinks is good cooling at lower RPM.



Agreed. My last rig was loaded with fans by Noctua, I had a non-standard GTX 980 made by Asus and a passive PSU by Enermax. All this was dead silent in IDLE and manageable under load, far more than my laptop.


----------



## NZtechfreak

I went with Noctua in mine and glad I did, even under load it's not really audible above ambient noise.


----------



## ostewart

Upgraded a little,

Gigabyte Z270P-D3 Motherboard
Intel i7 6700k OC'd to 4.5GHz
Hypertec DDR4 2133 RAM 16GB (2 x 8GB) OC'd to 2666
Gigabyte GAMING OC RTX 2070 Super graphics card
Alphacool Eisbaer 240 CPU AIO
Fractal Design Focus G Case
Fractal Design 2 x 140mm front intake fans, 1 x 120mm exhaust fan
128gb Kingston SSD
2tb seagate HDD
3tb seagate HDD
EVGA 750w G3 Gold PSU


----------



## Wyville

ostewart said:


> Upgraded a little,
> 
> Gigabyte Z270P-D3 Motherboard
> Intel i7 6700k OC'd to 4.5GHz
> ...


Very nice setup Oscar! I have not had a desktop PC in years (I use an ancient MacBook pro and a PS4 for gaming), but keep an eye on developments because I still want a powerful desktop for photo editing and perhaps some gaming.


----------



## PiccoloNamek (Nov 12, 2019)

Did some upgrades recently, performance is way better than my old i7-990x setup: https://valid.x86.fr/6nl6de

Certain tasks in Photoshop like the surface blur or copying and editing smart layers complete almost instantly instead of taking several seconds or even longer. Gained a huge amount of FPS in many games and scored almost 73,000 points in 3DMark2001SE just for fun. 

CPU is running a little hot but not dangerously so. I'll still probably get a better cooler sometime this week, though.

Edit: Picked up a big Noctua cooler and temps are just fine now!


----------



## Amberlamps

Intel Z170, asus pro gamer mobo, intel i7 6700k cpu, 32GB corsair vengeance ram, samsung 850ssd, corsair something ssd, 2x ocz summit ssd's, corsair Ax1600i psu, nvidia 680 4gb evga crazy overclock version and about 20TB of prOn. corsair obsidian 800D case. Windows 10 corsair all in one watercooling.

I haven't used the above rig for the last 2 years, I've transitioned to an intel nuc

Intel i7 8559U BEH barebones nuc, Akasa Turin fanless case, 500gb samsung 870 evo plus m.2 ssd, corsair mp510 960GB M.2 ssd in external inclosure, some cheap ssd for roon backups, 32GB corsair vengeance ram, wifi and bt5 aerials which are extremely hard to connect, anker 10 usb 3 port powered hub. Windows 10.

My nuc is the best non gaming pc I've ever had, 100% silent unlike my old i7 6700K rig. I'd recommend a nuc for any budding audiophile, that and an ipad and you have the best roon experience fullstop.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Amberlamps said:


> My nuc is the best non gaming pc I've ever had, 100% silent unlike my old i7 6700K rig. I'd recommend a nuc for any budding audiophile, that and an ipad and you have the best roon experience fullstop.



Does the NUC not have a fan at all? I have a Lenovo "tiny" box but the fan can be annoying even though it's small. I'd like to go totally fanless but the dedicated fanless rigs I saw were pretty expensive.


----------



## Amberlamps (Dec 7, 2019)

gimmeheadroom said:


> Does the NUC not have a fan at all? I have a Lenovo "tiny" box but the fan can be annoying even though it's small. I'd like to go totally fanless but the dedicated fanless rigs I saw were pretty expensive.



In it's stock form, yes it comes with a fan, but I bought an Akasa Turing fanless case and transplanted the nuc in to that.

Now it's totally silent and runs pretty cool.

http://www.akasa.com.tw/update.php?tpl=product/product.detail.tpl&no=181&type=Fanless Chassis&type_sub=Fanless NUC&model=A-NUC45-M1B

£100 for the case.

Some more info.

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13943/akasa-turing-passively-cooled-chassis-for-intel-bean-canyon-nuc

Also, the version I have is more powerful and better spec'd than a roon nuc, and only costs £800, but you could get it for £400 depending on the parts used.

It's basically exactly the same thing as the most expensive version of the Roon Nucleus that costs £2000+

The roon nucleus is just an intel nuc and roon rock OS.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Amberlamps said:


> In it's stock form, yes it comes with a fan, but I bought an Akasa Turing fanless case and transplanted the nuc in to that.
> 
> Now it's totally silent and runs pretty cool.
> 
> ...



Yowza. That's not cheap. Did you measure the temps with the original case and this one?


----------



## Amberlamps

gimmeheadroom said:


> Yowza. That's not cheap. Did you measure the temps with the original case and this one?



Yes, depending on the speed of the cpu, it could idle at roughly 30oC and top out at nearly 100oC, that is in the stock case with a fan.

In the fanless case, idle speed can be mid 20s to mid 30's oC and top's out at about 80oC when turbo mode is enabled and with the cpu running at 4500mhz.

Usually, it never gets hotter than 35 - 40oC, thats with turbo mode disabled. This nuc gives my i7 6700K cpu a run for it's money and I now use my nuc as my day to day pc using windows 10.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Amberlamps said:


> Yes, depending on the speed of the cpu, it could idle at roughly 30oC and top out at nearly 100oC, that is in the stock case with a fan.
> 
> In the fanless case, idle speed can be mid 20s to mid 30's oC and top's out at about 80oC when turbo mode is enabled and with the cpu running at 4500mhz.
> 
> Usually, it never gets hotter than 35 - 40oC, thats with turbo mode disabled. This nuc gives my i7 6700K cpu a run for it's money and I now use my nuc as my day to day pc using windows 10.



Thanks a lot. That's surprising! Maybe it's cheaper than a better fan 

My local chain carries that brand. I will check if they have their cases in stock.


----------



## Amberlamps

gimmeheadroom said:


> Thanks a lot. That's surprising! Maybe it's cheaper than a better fan
> 
> My local chain carries that brand. I will check if they have their cases in stock.



It's basically just one ( technically two ) big lump of aluminium, excellent for fast heat dissipation.

Very heavy for it's size, but it can be mounted vertically or horizontally. 

The only thing thats tricky is getting new wifi and bluetooth 5 aerials attached to the nuc's motherboard, but it can be done.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Amberlamps said:


> It's basically just one ( technically two ) big lump of aluminium, excellent for fast heat dissipation.
> 
> Very heavy for it's size, but it can be mounted vertically or horizontally.
> 
> The only thing thats tricky is getting new wifi and bluetooth 5 aerials attached to the nuc's motherboard, but it can be done.



I'm running my boxes on ethernet but this is good to know.  Thanks for the help with this!


----------



## Sebastiaan156 (Dec 12, 2019)

Pc is designed for gaming, surfice pro for all else

My pc is a little old lady:

Mbo:   MSI Mpower z97
Cpu:    Intel I7 4790k (4.8 GHz 1.3v)
Ram:   G.skill DDR3 2400mhz 10-10-10
Gpu's: MSI 980ti oc edition X2 in sli (1300 mhz)
SSD:.   Multiple ssd's for 2tb of space
Sound card: Creatieve ZxR (love this one)

Cooling the cpu with an EK costum loop kit with thick 280 rad.

Case is a Corsair obsidian 700 with a Corsair psu Rm 850w

Input:
Corsair k70 RGB silent
Logitech g502 wireless
Xbox one elite controler and PS4 controller
Trust master rs500 race wheel

Screens:
- 4k het 42 inch phillips tv with ambilight linked with Phillips heu lights
- Dell ultra Sharp 27 inch 2560*1440 ips

Sound still my old poor Phillips fidelio X1 as i cant part from her.


----------



## alex9090

My current setup is composed of:
CPU: AMD Ryzen 1600
Motherboard: Asus B350M Mortar
RAM: 16 GB RAM GEIL EVO X DDR4
GPU: R7 260X (desperately asking to be replaced)
PSU: Silverstone 600W
Case: Deepcool Pangu
And for storage 2 SSDs put in RAID 0 and around 2 TB of hard drives.
Overall a decent PC, but it started showing its age and at least the GPU lacks any modern performance in gaming (besides gaming in like CSGO or old school games)
Unfortunately I'm not able to take a picture because the PC is quite dusty, but I will update it when everything is a little clean.


----------



## edoin

My Potato Rig:

CPU: AMD FX-6300
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Extreme 4
RAM: 16GB DDR3-1866 Kingston HyperX
GPU: PowerColor HD7870XT Myst
PSU: Seasonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze
Case: Bitfenix Shinobi Window
SSD: 500GB Sandisk SSD Ultra
HDD: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Blue
Monitor: 19" Samsung SF350 (1366x768)
Cooler: ID Cooling Frostflow 120


----------



## tdockweiler

I probably hold the record here for the least powerful PC.
It's really only for web browsing, office apps, video encoding and no games.
I'm perfectly happy with it and it never feels slow to me. I stopped caring about computers long ago!
I can encode from 1080p to 480 DVD in about 40-45 minutes. Not too bad I guess.
I upgraded from a Q6600 and motherboard that didn't even support USB 3.0!

Intel Core i3-6100
MSI Z170-A Pro (Skylake)
Crucial 8gb DDR4 1066mhz
Onboard video AND sound (!!)

Samsung 850 EVO 256gb (Main. I basically use only 4-5 apps).
Seagate 2TB Raid 1
5tb Seagate Backup Plus drive (SMR..worst drive I ever bought!)
8tb Western Digital Easystore (Red NAS inside!! Love this HD.)
2tb Western Digital Green

Longest use i've gotten out of a PC part is my Dell 24" display. No HDMI, just DVI but default resolution is 1920x1200.
I've seen similar 24" displays at local stores and they only seem to go up to 1080p. Wonder why. I guess my monitor is weird.

I really miss having a dual display setup.

PS Next upgrade might be an M2 drive, but I don't know if i'll notice any improvements really. I know it's a lot better on paper..


----------



## Kukuk

"I'm never going to buy an RTX 2080ti" I said.

"It's too expensive for the performance uplift from a 1080ti. Raytracing isn't going to take off any time soon. I don't need the extra features"

Also me:





I liked how it looked better before, with the video card in one of the lower slots and the sound card above it, but the 2080ti just wasn't getting enough air flow. The 1080ti was fine down there, but the 2080ti puts out significantly more heat.

I've made some small tweaks to my computer since the last time I posted here, but it's largely unchanged, outside the video card.

AMD Threadripper 2950x OC'd to 4ghz
Gigabyte Designare EX X399
32GB DDR4-3000 in quad channel
EVGA RTX 2080ti
2x 512GB NVMe SSDs, 1x 480GB SATA SSD, 1x 6TB HDD
900w PSU

Interestingly, when I first bought this PSU it was so far above overkill it wasn't even funny. Now the PSU merely has "some extra headroom".


----------



## Voxata

This has been my secondary/LAN rig and it has performed very well. Just recently had to pull it apart to extract a dead onboard Wifi card so I took some pictures and upgraded that in the process.

Specs:
9700K Delidded w/Copper IHS Upgrade + Black Ridge HSF V2 (65C Max)
G.Skill 16GB 3600Mhz C16 (B-Side w/heatsinks removed)
Asrock Phantom Z390i
Asus GTX 1070Ti Strixx w/fan shroud removed and SanAce fans attached (games at 50-55C dead silent)
960 Evo 250+500GB+1TB Samsung 850 Evo
Sliger SM560 Case, Corsair SF650 PSU


----------



## Arghavan

bought in late 2016 (except for audio gear):





*Case: *CoolerMaster MasterCase Maker 5
*CPU: *Intel Core i7-6700K
*Motherboard: *ASUS TUF Z170S Sabertoooth
*GPU:* ASUS Strix GTX 1080OC
*RAM: *Crucial Ballistix 8GBx2 2400Mhz
*Storage: *Samsung 250 Pro SSD
*Cooler:* Coolermaster MasterLiquid Pro 240
*PSU: *Corsair RM750
*Keyboard: *Razer Blackwidow X Chroma
*Mouse:* Logitech MX Master
*Monitor:* LG 34UC97 3440x1440p
*Audio Gear: *Topping D10 > JDS EL AMP II > Hifiman Edition X V2, Campfire Audio Solaris


----------



## ostewart

Arghavan said:


> bought in late 2016 (except for audio gear):
> 
> 
> *Case: *CoolerMaster MasterCase Maker 5
> ...



What clock speed are you running the 6700k at?

Mine's really stable and cool at 4.5 with an alphacool eisbaer 240

Very similar spec to my PC, except I'm running an RTX 2070 Super


----------



## Arghavan

ostewart said:


> What clock speed are you running the 6700k at?
> 
> Mine's really stable and cool at 4.5 with an alphacool eisbaer 240
> 
> Very similar spec to my PC, except I'm running an RTX 2070 Super


Mine is at 4.5Ghz too. Still a beast for my day-to-day use.


----------



## JackFX

I7 6700k
MSI GTX 1080 Seahawk

Dual monitors, Asus Predator 279Q.


----------



## tdockweiler

Sort of unrelated note, but has anyone ever checked on a UPS Backup or Kill-A-Watt to see how much power they are actually using at max cpu?
It's pretty interesting!

On my old Desktop PC I was kind of surprised to see that I was only using 130 watts of power! I imagine my current PC is using slightly more than that.
I actually don't even set my PC's power savings mode to "Maximum Performance" at all anymore these days (no gaming).
Setting it too low makes Firefox a little laggy though.

I remember once testing one of the very earliest "netbooks" and got it down to using about the same wattage as a CFL light bulb. Under 10 watts, which is crazy.
It was an early EEE PC by Asus.

I always hear people suggesting a 1000 watt or 1500 watt power supply, but I doubt many would even use half that. It would be interesting to know.

I think I only use a 550 watt power supply, but I use onboard video. If I got a $300 video card I possibly may need to upgrade it.


----------



## RestlessZombi

tdockweiler said:


> Sort of unrelated note, but has anyone ever checked on a UPS Backup or Kill-A-Watt to see how much power they are actually using at max cpu?
> It's pretty interesting!
> 
> I always hear people suggesting a 1000 watt or 1500 watt power supply, but I doubt many would even use half that. It would be interesting to know.
> ...



I think its just better to run a power supply higher then needed as it will last longer and since power draw fluctuates you don't wanna go too close to max as just plugging in a usb device will cause BSOD and potential shutdown failure. 

I think you're right though, most wont use that much power. I can't really think of what kind of standard system that would need a 1000w+ Power Supply, even with Water cooling pumps and RGB in every device. I can think of one type, Bitcoin Mining machines, Graphics cards are known to use 250watts at peak so stick in 4 of them and you might need 1000+... 

Mine has 8700k, 32gb (4x8gb), 2080ti, AIO 2xSSD, 2x3.5inch HD, Bluray Player, RGB and is quoted as max needed 595 Watts. I admittedly have a 850 in there as it was reasonable price when i needed one.I'd be interested in knowing what it does use of that.


----------



## KcMsterpce

tdockweiler said:


> Sort of unrelated note, but has anyone ever checked on a UPS Backup or Kill-A-Watt to see how much power they are actually using at max cpu?
> It's pretty interesting!
> 
> On my old Desktop PC I was kind of surprised to see that I was only using 130 watts of power! I imagine my current PC is using slightly more than that.
> ...


It's better to have more overhead than the required power output of your system at max load. A general rule of thumb is to have 20% more overhead on the power supply unit (PSU) than what your system is capable of. So, if your entire system is going 100% (very rare) and it does 800w, then have a 1000w PSU. That's a massive power draw; just making the math easy.
Also important is to have a reliable PSU that has a good rating (bronze, silver, gold, etc...). Uneven voltages on the rails could degrade your components.
Finally, a PSU with more than needed power draw is not bad. It's not constantly drawing that amount of power. If your system peaks at 500w, for example, and you have a 1000w PSU then the PSU will run cooler, smoother, and have less stress on it. So I always recommend someone get a stable and proficient PSU that is more power than you need. Also, if you plan to upgrade stuff in the future, then you wouldn't have to worry about a new PSU if you already have a PSU for it.
If your computer peaks at 350w, then a 500w is a good PSU to get, so on and so forth.


----------



## SilverEars

Question for you all.  Is 1080ti the best performance value for pricing? There are various 1080ti models, and I'm wondering which 1080ti from which company would be the one to get?


----------



## dazzerfong (Mar 30, 2020)

SilverEars said:


> Question for you all.  Is 1080ti the best performance value for pricing? There are various 1080ti models, and I'm wondering which 1080ti from which company would be the one to get?



If it's cheaper than the 2070 Super, sure. Otherwise, 5700XT is pretty good if you can stand AMD's FineWine approach.



RestlessZombi said:


> I think its just better to run a power supply higher then needed as it will last longer and since power draw fluctuates you don't wanna go too close to max as just plugging in a usb device will cause BSOD and potential shutdown failure.
> 
> I think you're right though, most wont use that much power. I can't really think of what kind of standard system that would need a 1000w+ Power Supply, even with Water cooling pumps and RGB in every device. I can think of one type, Bitcoin Mining machines, Graphics cards are known to use 250watts at peak so stick in 4 of them and you might need 1000+...
> 
> Mine has 8700k, 32gb (4x8gb), 2080ti, AIO 2xSSD, 2x3.5inch HD, Bluray Player, RGB and is quoted as max needed 595 Watts. I admittedly have a 850 in there as it was reasonable price when i needed one.I'd be interested in knowing what it does use of that.



There's also two advantages to 'overkilling' your PSU:

1. You hit the 50% power draw range, which is usually where the most efficient use of the PSU.
2. You don't run things as hot, so the fans don't need to run as fast.
3. Reliability - not hotlining it. That being said, I somehow killed a Seasonic Prime Ultra 1000W the other day less than 1 year into its use when the max power draw is around 750W...........................


----------



## Mikem53 (Apr 3, 2020)

tdockweiler said:


> Sort of unrelated note, but has anyone ever checked on a UPS Backup or Kill-A-Watt to see how much power they are actually using at max cpu?
> It's pretty interesting!
> 
> On my old Desktop PC I was kind of surprised to see that I was only using 130 watts of power! I imagine my current PC is using slightly more than that.
> ...



I have an Alienware i7 7700K 32GB water cooled With an ATX 1080 in a system certified by Alienware to handle 2 1080 graphics cards..
it has a 460 watt power supply..  Running battlefield 4 with all attachments connected Wide open and overclocked, I see 310 watts being consumed.. the system at idle with Gsync monitor on consumes 54 watts and drops to 48 when cpu slows..  this includes all fans, water pump and USB powered devices..  big watt power supplies are more a product of marketing. Not to mention that im measuring the current draw of the unit, so the system is actually using less power depending on power supply efficiency And losses


----------



## dazzerfong

Mikem53 said:


> I have an Alienware i7 7700K 32GB water cooled With an ATX 1080 in a system certified by Alienware to handle 2 1080 graphics cards..
> it has a 460 watt power supply..  Running battlefield 4 with all attachments connected Wide open and overclocked, I see 310 watts being consumed.. the system at idle with Gsync monitor on consumes 54 watts and drops to 48 when cpu slows..  this includes all fans, water pump and USB powered devices..  big watt power supplies are more a product of marketing. Not to mention that im measuring the current draw of the unit, so the system is actually using less power depending on power supply efficiency And losses



Yeah dawg that's a hard no from me.

One GTX 1080 draws 200W. Two will draw 400W by itself. Vendors like to oversell by cutting back on power supplies: it's the one area no-one cares about because there's nothing flashy associated with it.

Monitor isn't connected to your power supply so that's inconsequential.

AIO loops barely consume any power as their pumps are wimpy.


----------



## Mikem53 (Apr 4, 2020)

dazzerfong said:


> Yeah dawg that's a hard no from me.
> 
> One GTX 1080 draws 200W. Two will draw 400W by itself. Vendors like to oversell by cutting back on power supplies: it's the one area no-one cares about because there's nothing flashy associated with it.
> 
> ...



my point was the monitor was included in the Total watts consumed, so the PS actually was consuming less.. seems dell and Alienware know what power is required on a system rated for two 1080 cards using a PS necessary to support the load.


----------



## dazzerfong (Apr 4, 2020)

Mikem53 said:


> my point was the monitor was included in the Total watts consumed, so the PS actually was consuming less.. seems dell and Alienware know what power is required on a system rated for two 1080 cards using a PS necessary to support the load.




Sooooooo........................

(Straight from Dell's support staff: https://www.dell.com/community/Alie...y-be-sufficient-for-the-GTX-1070/td-p/5514895)

460W on a single setup, sure: SLI, you'd have tripped the OCP.


----------



## Oddiofyl

Samsung  Tab A. 10.1”.   32G storage ....


----------



## Mikem53

dazzerfong said:


> Sooooooo........................
> 
> (Straight from Dell's support staff: https://www.dell.com/community/Alie...y-be-sufficient-for-the-GTX-1070/td-p/5514895)
> 
> 460W on a single setup, sure: SLI, you'd have tripped the OCP.



well I should have known “dell certified” is meaningless and worthless, except for marketing..   wasnt Planning on two 1080’s anyway..


----------



## SilverEars

dazzerfong said:


> Yeah dawg that's a hard no from me.
> 
> One GTX 1080 draws 200W. Two will draw 400W by itself. Vendors like to oversell by cutting back on power supplies: it's the one area no-one cares about because there's nothing flashy associated with it.
> 
> ...


Just out of curiosity, does those GTX cards draw that much idle?  That would be terrible if it's drawing that much idle.  I would assume when it's utilizing that much power while the processing at maximum performance for espectially taxing graphics outputs for games?


----------



## dazzerfong (Apr 22, 2020)

SilverEars said:


> Just out of curiosity, does those GTX cards draw that much idle?  That would be terrible if it's drawing that much idle.  I would assume when it's utilizing that much power while the processing at maximum performance for espectially taxing graphics outputs for games?



No: it only draws about 20-50W, depending on which model you got. My 2080 sits around low-20s when nothing is happening. All GPUs nowadays scale power-wise very well depending on the workload.


----------



## PatekBruguetMogul




----------



## gimmeheadroom

I love the tool cabinet as an office cabinet!


----------



## mikey1964 (May 6, 2020)

This is my few month old gaming, entertainment rig....I'd to increase brightness for this shot, so it may be a tad grainy.




System specs:
CPU - AMD Ryzen 2 R9 3900X + Thermaltake Water 3.0 360mm AIO
Mobo - Gigabyte X570 Xtreme
RAM - 2x 8GB Patriot ViperRGB 3600CL17
GPU - PowerColor VEGA64 Red Devil (will be replaced with Big NAVI/Ampere)
SSD - 256GB Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 3.0 X4 M.2 2280 (OS)
SSD - Samsung 4TB 860 EVO + 2TB 860 QVO + 2x 1TB 850 EVO
HDD - 6TB Western Digital Black (Games) + 2TB Seagate HDD (Media)
PSU - Corsair HX1000 Platinum
Monitor - LC49HG90MEXXS
Case - CoolerMaster Mastercase H500M
KB - Topre RealForce 104U 55G
Mouse - Logitech G703
OS - 64bit Windows 10 Pro
Logitech G29 Steering Wheel
Speakers - Samsung K651 soundbar
Audio - iFi Micro iDSD Black Label

And since this is a head gear centric forum, headphones under current rotation:
HiFiMan HE-4
MD Sennheiser HD6XX
ENIGMAcoustics Dharma D1000
HiFiMan HE-560
Denon AH-D7000
Grado GS-1000i

Edit - Had forgotten to include OS SSD and 2nd HDD


----------



## ScornDefeat

*My "bedroom" headfi (and occasional gaming, pro audio, home office lol) PC set-up:*

Case: Fractal Design Define R6 Gunmetal Brushed Aluminum/Steel ATX Silent Modular Mid Tower Computer Case
PSU: EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 750W, Fully Modular
Motherboard: Asrock Z370 Extreme4 ATX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Intel Core i7-8700K Coffee Lake 6-Core 3.7 GHz (4.7 GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 Series)
CPU Cooling: Noctua NH-D15S Premium Dual-Tower 140mm SSO2-Bearing (Self-stabilising oil-presure bearing)
Optical Drive: LG UH12NS40 Blu-Ray Combo SATA 12x Drive
Operating System SDD #1 (Windows - m2 NVME): Samsung 970 EVO M.2 2280 1TB PCIe Gen3. X4, NVMe 1.3 64L V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive
Operating System SDD #2 (Linux - m2 NVME): Samsung 970 EVO M.2 2280 1TB PCIe Gen3. X4, NVMe 1.3 64L V-NAND 3-bit MLC Internal Solid State Drive
Storage SSD: Cruxial MX500 1TB SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal Solid State Drive
External HDD: Toshiba Canvio Advance 2TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0 Red
GPU: MSI NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200
Operating System: Windows 10 / Ubuntu Linux Dual-Boot
Streaming Services: Roon (Bridge), Tidal 
*My "living room" hifi/home audio (and occasional headfi) PC set-up:*

Case: Streacom ST-FC8B-Alpha Fanless HTPC
PSU: picoPSU-160-XT 160w DC-DC 24 pin 12v
External AC/DC Power Brick: LEDwholesalers 12V 12.5A 150W AC/DC Power Adapter with 5.5x2.5mm DC Plug and 2.1mm Adapter, Black, UL-Listed, 3229-12VR2
Motherboard: Asrock H370M-ITX/ac LGA 1151 mITX Intel Motherboard
CPU: Core i5-9400 6 Core Coffee Lake 2.9GHz LGA 1151 Processor (Intel 300 Series chipset)
Optical Drive: TEAC DV-W28SS 12.7mm slot loading DVD/DC drive
Operating System SDD (m2 NVME): Inland Premium 256GB SSD 3D NAND M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive
Storage SSD: Samsung 860 QVO 1TB SSD 4-bit QLC V-NAND SATA III 6Gb/s 2.5" Internal Solid State Drive
RAM: Ballistix Sport LT 16GB 2 x 8GB DDR4-2666 PC4-21300 CL16 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit 2K8G4D26BFSB
Operating System: Audio-Linux
Streaming Services: Roon (Core/Endpoint), Tidal 
*My Roon Remote:*

1.  Apple iPad (7th Generation) 32GB in Rose Gold


----------



## dazzerfong (May 6, 2020)

Eh, might as well put it up.

Case: Be Quiet! Dark Base Pro 900
PSU: Seasonic Prime PX 1000W
CPU: Intel Core i9 9900k
GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 2080
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro WiFi
RAM:  Kingston HyperX 4x8GB DDR4 @ 3200 MHz CL16
Storage: 512GB Samsung 970 Evo + 1TB Samsung 860 Evo
CPU Cooling: Watercool HEATKILLER IV Pro
GPU Cooling: Watercool HEATKILLER IV
Other Cooling: 2 x 420mm EK-Coolstream SE radiators, 7 x Be Quiet! Silent Wings 3 fans, 2x EK-D5 PWM pumps, Aquacomputer aquaero 6 LT
Monitor: Acer Predator X34P, Dell U2415

All my media is on a NAS not in my room, so I don't have to worry about HDD rumble with open headphones.

For those planning on OC and watercool on a Dark Base Pro 900, don't really recommend it. For any serious application, I have to open up the front door to allow for acceptable (< 10*C water delta) cooling. For silence however, it's a wonderful case - absolutely neuters most fans < 800 RPM and coil whine.


----------



## SilverEars

I just saw this.  Ultrawide PC monitor.  This thing's rediculously wide!


----------



## mikey1964 (May 8, 2020)

SilverEars said:


> I just saw this.  Ultrawide PC monitor.  This thing's rediculously wide!
> 
> +snip+


That's the updated res of 5120x1440 (Samsung has one with this res as well), mine's only 3840x1080 but Freesync 2 and 144Hz, but is the same size (49" with 32:9 aspect ratio, basically like having two 16:9 27' monitors side by side.....sorta.

Since mine is a Samsung, it has SVA (super vertical alignment) / Quantum Dot LED; Edge array w/zone dimming. I'd gotten mine about a while back (before the 5120x1440 version was available), no regrets though, at 3840x1080, it's easier on GPU so I can save some money by getting a mid-high level card on my next upgrade. For 5120x1440, 144Hz....I'd have to look at a flagship card. Below is a shot without flash or artificial brightening, the Quantum Dot LED panel just pops with vibrant colors.


----------



## mikey1964

This is my 2nd rig which is diagonally opposite my main rig:




Acer XR341CK 34" 21:9 75Hz monitor
Intel i7 3960X 6C/12T at 4.2Ghz
Asus Rampage IV Extreme
Leadtek GTX1080 Hurricane
250GB Samsung 850 EVO SSD (OS)
500GB Sandisk Ultra SSD (games)
4TB + 2x 1TB Western Digital Black HDD
Seasonic X-1200 PSU
Philips Fidelio HTL9100
Creative SXFI Theater (great for movies)
Probox Hotway HF2-SU3S2 4-Bay Enclosure
Oppo HA-1 (for my various cans)


----------



## Kukuk (Jul 2, 2020)

The new toy I've been playing with the last few weeks: a Razer Blade 15. Really digging this thing; it makes for a great compliment to my desktop. I got it equipped with:

Intel i7 10750H
RTX 2070 Max-Q
16GB@3200mhz RAM
512GB NVMe SSD, and I added another 1TB.
144hz 1080p display

I've never really been invested in laptops, as I could never really see myself playing them on the go much. The last one I had was pretty modestly spec'd, with a frankly garbage screen, and I kinda think the screen was what kept me from really putting time on it. This, by contrast, has a fantastic screen. The one drawback is running it in 60hz causes some pretty noticeable overshoot, but there's only a couple games I have to use 60hz on.

There's also the novelty of having raytracing in a laptop. I've got a couple games with raytracing, and since the screen is only 1080p they run really well, with something like Minecraft RTX almost hitting 60fps most of the time. And on top of that, as more games roll out DLSS 2.0 I can claw back a good bit of performance into the future.


----------



## Voxata (Jul 2, 2020)

Kukuk said:


> The new toy I've been playing with the last few weeks: a Razer Blade 15. Really digging this thing; it makes for a great compliment to my desktop. I got it equipped with:
> 
> Intel i7 10750H
> RTX 2070 Max-Q
> ...



Sweet laptop! I just bought a gaming laptop as well, a used Asus Zephyrus 8th gen 6/12 with 32gb 2666mhz & full fat 1070 inside. 144hz 1080p IPS Gsync. Pretty impressed with how far laptops have come! Just hard to swallow that new price for me. Highly recommend using throttlestop+afterburner to underclock/volt. My unit went from 90C loads to 70-75C.


----------



## Kukuk (Jul 2, 2020)

Voxata said:


> Sweet laptop! I just bought a gaming laptop as well, a used Asus Zephyrus 8th gen 6/12 with 32gb 2666mhz & full fat 1070 inside. 144hz 1080p IPS Gsync. *Pretty impressed with how far laptops have come!* Just hard to swallow that new price for me. Highly recommend using throttlestop+afterburner to underclock/volt. My unit went from 90C loads to 70-75C.



No doubt! I remember for the longest time not even looking at gaming laptops, just because I knew they paled in comparison to their desktop counterparts, but with this I'm really coming close to the overall experience of my desktop. In fact, if this was somebody's sole computer I can't imagine they'd be inclined to invest in a desktop.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it's just 10th gen Intel laptop chips in general, or the way Razer has their tuned, but they don't allow for undervolting. It would be really handy, as Razer is really conservative with their heat limit, throttling the CPU when it hits 80c (which I think most other vendors shoot for like 95c). In general it makes this laptop under perform compared to similarly spec'd laptops, but I guess improves longevity?

I'm kinda curious: what's your Cinebench R20 score? I'd be willing to bet that with the modest heat budget allotted to this chip, it probably performs pretty close to older-gen CPUs. If I just use a balanced setting for my CPU, I get about 2400, and if I prioritize CPU performance I get almost 2700.


----------



## seamon

Lol I'm getting 4369 on my laptop on Cinebench R20. 1809 on Cinebench R15


----------



## Voxata (Jul 2, 2020)

Kukuk said:


> No doubt! I remember for the longest time not even looking at gaming laptops, just because I knew they paled in comparison to their desktop counterparts, but with this I'm really coming close to the overall experience of my desktop. In fact, if this was somebody's sole computer I can't imagine they'd be inclined to invest in a desktop.
> 
> Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it's just 10th gen Intel laptop chips in general, or the way Razer has their tuned, but they don't allow for undervolting. It would be really handy, as Razer is really conservative with their heat limit, throttling the CPU when it hits 80c (which I think most other vendors shoot for like 95c). In general it makes this laptop under perform compared to similarly spec'd laptops, but I guess improves longevity?
> 
> I'm kinda curious: what's your Cinebench R20 score? I'd be willing to bet that with the modest heat budget allotted to this chip, it probably performs pretty close to older-gen CPUs. If I just use a balanced setting for my CPU, I get about 2400, and if I prioritize CPU performance I get almost 2700.



I'll give it a run later when I'm home. Are you sure you can't underclock? Throttlestop+Afterburner are software based and should work within the OS. You can set both to run on boot and the results are great. My laptop sadly doesn't compete as well with my desktop. I'm using a highly clocked delidded 9700K, 3600Mhz tuned b-die and a clocked 1080Ti on the desktop though.

The software also allows for core tuning, I've set my CPU all core freq to 3.4Ghz when loaded on all 6 cores, seems to give me the best thermals/performance ratio.


----------



## Voxata

seamon said:


> Lol I'm getting 4369 on my laptop on Cinebench R20. 1809 on Cinebench R15


Must be a Ryzen productivity chip? I'm scoring 2525 on my i7-8750H in performance mode, with voltage underclock. CPU settles at 3.5Ghz due to TDP limits, 70C fans quiet. I usually run it at 3.4 though. I'm using liquid metal TIM.


----------



## seamon

Eluktronics Mech 15-G3


core i7 10875H
RTX 2080 Super MaxQ
64GB 2933Mhz RAM
1 TB Samsung 970 Pro
4 TB Sabrent Rocket
Also in the picture


Abyss Diana V2
E1DA 9038S-G3 DAC
Samsung T5 2TB
Razer Atheris + Goliathus Mobile
3x Asus MB16AMT


----------



## SilverEars (Jul 2, 2020)

seamon said:


> Eluktronics Mech 15-G3
> 
> 
> core i7 10875H
> ...


Interesting to see the 3X Asus MB16AMT.  Are you on the go a lot?  You don't use better quality monitors on a stationary docking system?  Do you take those three monitors with you?  How is the weight?

Did you purchase this system because you have to be mobile?

What made you choose that laptop?

Personally, if I were to do a laptop rig, I'd make sure it has minimum of two 4k 60hz outputs to quality monitors on a stationary docking rig.  I'm not much of a gamer myself so I prefer monitors that are calibrated for color accuracy like Dell ultrasharps or BenQ IPS.  I'd get minimum '27 4k monitors for a stationary rig.  I've heard Dell uses BenQ panels for their high-end ultrasharp models.


----------



## Voxata

I'm guessing he does workflow on the monitor lot and games on primary. Sweet laptop but that score is still oddly high. Average for that chip is 3400


----------



## SilverEars (Jul 2, 2020)

I found this computer quite interesting.  I haven not seen a Windows PC this small that can run 4k (this is the big deal).  Really tiny.

Ok.  My Amazon Firestick is tinier and can run 4k (video streaming services) as well, but this is a Windows PC.

I was thinking, I can carry this tiny computer and a portable monitor.


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> Interesting to see the 3X Asus MB16AMT.  Are you on the go a lot?  You don't use better quality monitors on a stationary docking system?  Do you take those three monitors with you?  How is the weight?
> 
> Did you purchase this system because you have to be mobile?
> 
> ...


Yes but can't travel nowadays so that sucks.
Weight is not too bad, I usually have them in the luggage.   

This is my mobile workstation when I am on extended business trips.   

The color accuracy of these panels is great imo and I don't need to be super color accurate for my work.



Voxata said:


> I'm guessing he does workflow on the monitor lot and games on primary. Sweet laptop but that score is still oddly high. Average for that chip is 3400



Most OEMs limit the power to around 45W for these mobile CPUs. Eluktronics removes the power limit in a certain profile so if you are not using the GPU, you can take full advantage of the 8 cores.


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> I found this computer quite interesting.  I haven not seen a Windows PC this small that can run 4k (this is the big deal).  Really tiny.
> 
> Ok.  My Amazon Firestick is tinier and can run 4k (video streaming services) as well, but this is a Windows PC.
> 
> I was thinking, I can carry this tiny computer and a portable monitor.



Look into GPD devices


----------



## SilverEars

seamon said:


> Yes but can't travel nowadays so that sucks.
> Weight is not too bad, I usually have them in the luggage.
> 
> This is my mobile workstation when I am on extended business trips.
> ...


Ok, that makes sense.  You really can't carry a full '27 monitor with a stand.  perhaps one day we can get some huge area size monitors to fit in the luggage.  Perhaps a system that comes in a luggage that was made for it.


----------



## Voxata (Jul 3, 2020)

seamon said:


> Yes but can't travel nowadays so that sucks.
> Weight is not too bad, I usually have them in the luggage.
> 
> This is my mobile workstation when I am on extended business trips.
> ...



Yes, resulting in freq drop. What freq does it load at long duration? That score is still way over. That's approaching double what mine is. Unfortunately only if I disable discrete GPU which I didn't do during testing can I go over 45w.


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> Ok, that makes sense.  You really can't carry a full '27 monitor with a stand.  perhaps one day we can get some huge area size monitors to fit in the luggage.  Perhaps a system that comes in a luggage that was made for it.


LMAO!!! Before I had this, I carried 2x25" 1440p monitors + a core i9 9900K + RTX 2080Ti build in a Dancase A4 ITX case internationally. Honestly, I got tired of the bulk and decided to make a mobile setup. This setup gives 70-80% performance + 2 extra screens.



Voxata said:


> Yes, resulting in freq drop. What freq does it load at long duration? That score is still way over. That's approaching double what mine is. Unfortunately only if I disable discrete GPU which I didn't do during testing can I go over 45w.


That's the thing, it's supposed to not drop frequency. The cooling system on this laptop is better than the competition. It's also slightly thicker (0.1-0.2" thicker). It also comes undervolted by 70mV  from the factory. If I am not using the dGPU, it will probably maintain frequency for a long time. I can switch over to 45W mode when I am gaming/using the dGPU. I don't even have to disable the GPU, just not use it at 100% load. 

I got this today and I can probably give you more insight once I have done some super long tests.


----------



## Voxata

Yes I'd love some insight. I heard their laptops are great and it seems so! How's your gaming temps? While I'll drool I don't see one of those in my future unless I score up a deal. $700 or less was my laptop budget so I'm pretty happy. Wish I had some RTX though DLSS is going to be sweet.


----------



## dazzerfong

That's still very oddly high.

Have a 9900k @ 5 Ghz and it's hitting 5200 in R20, so hitting even 80% on a laptop is ridiculously good. The CPU's pulling 170W just by itself when I'm doing that!


----------



## seamon

So did some tests. What this company has done is have 3 modes - Office Mode, Gaming Mode and Beast Mode. In Office Mode, the Power Limit is set to 35W. In gaming mode, its set to 45W. In Beast Mode, they have said FU to the power limit and set it to something unnecessarily high(120W). In this mode, the CPU naturally thermal throttles and clocks down. In most laptops this happens even with power limit set to 45W.

The intended use case scenario - Office Mode when you need battery or silence, Gaming Mode when gaming and Beast Mode for CPU only usage.

I did a 15min stress test using AIDA64 and clocks settled in around 3.6-3.8Ghz all cores drawing in 60-70W. Immediately after the stress test and without letting the CPU cool, I did a R20 run and got ~3900. After a few minutes and cooling some more, I was again getting 4k+. The 4369 was under ideal conditions btw(cold boot).

In gaming mode, the CPU doesn't even break 75C KEKW.

The way they have achieved this is by having an open chassis. There's nothing underneath the keyboard, it's the motherboard directly. So if you spill something on your keyboard, the laptop will be deader than Batman's Parents.


----------



## Voxata

Crazy design, and here I thought the bottom opening for airflow on my laptop was wild.  Thanks for sharing all this info


----------



## SilverEars (Jul 3, 2020)

seamon said:


> LMAO!!! Before I had this, I carried 2x25" 1440p monitors + a core i9 9900K + RTX 2080Ti build in a Dancase A4 ITX case internationally. Honestly, I got tired of the bulk and decided to make a mobile setup. This setup gives 70-80% performance + 2 extra screens.


I was thinking you can get a TOTL Macbook Pro, and get one of these thunderbolt 3, 40Gbps bandwidth connected dedicated video card boxes.  The Macbook Pro should be about to do dual 4k 60hz, and the video card box can carry a 2080RTX TI.  And get the 2 of the largest monitors you can carry on the luggage. 

I thought razor core with thunderbolt 3 to Macbook Pro would be good solution, but it seems a bit bulky.  No doubt that it will provide the best graphics performance, but I wonder if your laptop can be comparable to something like a razor core hooked up to the laptop?   

I think Nvidia can do better than razor core, and shrink that mother down and still provide comparable performance.


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> I was thinking you can get a TOTL Macbook Pro, and get one of these thunderbolt 3, 40Gbps bandwidth connected dedicated video card boxes.  The Macbook Pro should be about to do dual 4k 60hz, and the video card box can carry a 2080RTX TI.  And get the 2 of the largest monitors you can carry on the luggage.
> 
> I thought razor core with thunderbolt 3 to Macbook Pro would be good solution, but it seems a bit bulky.  No doubt that it will provide the best graphics performance, but I wonder if your laptop can be comparable to something like a razor core hooked up to the laptop?
> 
> I think Nvidia can do better than razor core, and shrink that mother down and still provide comparable performance.


I will never use an Apple product. I just despise Apple products. Personally, I think they are all trash and you are way too restricted with them.

Pretty much got tired of carrying big monitors. This setup is much more comfortable and better for productivity. Also this doesn't need much space on a desk. 

Yes, the laptop has a TB3 port and I can connect an eGPU to it but the internal GPU is equivalent to a desktop RTX 2070 and honestly do you need more performance in a mobile setup?


----------



## SilverEars (Jul 3, 2020)

seamon said:


> I will never use an Apple product. I just despise Apple products. Personally, I think they are all trash and you are way too restricted with them.
> 
> Pretty much got tired of carrying big monitors. This setup is much more comfortable and better for productivity. Also this doesn't need much space on a desk.
> 
> Yes, the laptop has a TB3 port and I can connect an eGPU to it but the internal GPU is equivalent to a desktop RTX 2070 and honestly do you need more performance in a mobile setup?


You don't necessarily need more performance than RTX 2070 in a mobile setup, but I was just sayin if wanting top performance in a mobile platform.  The razor core type box would make sense if you lug around a suit-case.

Ok, so your laptop video performance is RTX 2070 level only.  Makes sense if you monitors only support 1440p.


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> You don't necessarily need more performance than RTX 2070 in a mobile setup, but I was just sayin if wanting top performance in a mobile platform.  The razor core type box would make sense if you lug around a suit-case.
> 
> Ok, so your laptop video performance is RTX 2070 level only.  Makes sense if you monitors only support 1440p.


So my main setup is Ryzen 9 3950X + RTX 2080Ti. I use 2x3440x1440 + 4x2560x1440 monitors. I am planning to convert that into a File Server + 2 Windows VMs and making this my main workstation.


----------



## Voxata

Those boxes are sizable though, regardless. My main rig uses an Ncase M1 and I've got a matching carry bag for it and a monitor bag. Still, the laptop is so much more transportable. No excessive cables etc is really nice. For 1080p 144hz, it does the job really nicely. Only downside to laptops are the noise factor though.. closed back headphones are definitely the go-to.


----------



## SilverEars

Voxata said:


> Those boxes are sizable though, regardless. My main rig uses an Ncase M1 and I've got a matching carry bag for it and a monitor bag. Still, the laptop is so much more transportable. No excessive cables etc is really nice. For 1080p 144hz, it does the job really nicely. Only downside to laptops are the noise factor though.. closed back headphones are definitely the go-to.


Yeah, that Razor core is a space hog.  That Ncase M1 is comparable in size.  I wonder what's the smallest form-factor you can fit a RTX 2080 Ti, mini motherboard, a good processor, and be fairly transportable with monitors?


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> Yeah, that Razor core is a space hog.  That Ncase M1 is comparable in size.  I wonder what's the smallest form-factor you can fit a RTX 2080 Ti, mini motherboard, a good processor, and be fairly transportable with monitors?


As I said, I had it in a Dancase A4-SFX. I think it's about 40% smaller than the Ncase M1.
I believe the Dancase should be smaller than the Razer eGPU case.

I had RTX 2080Ti + i9 9900K + 64GB RAM + 3x5TB HDDs + 1x4TB SSD + 2x2TB NVMe M.2 SSDs in the Dancase.


----------



## seamon

Some pics:
https://imgur.com/gallery/lBzXaWy
https://imgur.com/gallery/0hxTOs9


----------



## Voxata (Jul 3, 2020)

seamon said:


> As I said, I had it in a Dancase A4-SFX. I think it's about 40% smaller than the Ncase M1.
> I believe the Dancase should be smaller than the Razer eGPU case.
> 
> I had RTX 2080Ti + i9 9900K + 64GB RAM + 3x5TB HDDs + 1x4TB SSD + 2x2TB NVMe M.2 SSDs in the Dancase.



I'd heavily recommend against the Dancase personally for highend hardware. I've tried the Sliger SM560 and other sandwich cases, using Alphenridge cooler and also tried an ID cooling one that allowed a large 140mm slim fan. Temps go pretty wild as does noise. I had to downclock my CPU to keep things reasonable but GPU temps faired better. I run my M1 side intake bottom exhaust. My 1080Ti overclocked heavily doesn't exceed 65C using bottom exhaust with an accellero cooler. CPU games 45-60C overclocked with a modded Noctua C14S. 70C tops if I want to run 5Ghz. Sure loved the look on the smaller size of the sandwich builds though. It's definitely an aesthetics over function type of case.

HOWEVER, if you don't care about temps it'll work fine with some throttling.


----------



## seamon

Voxata said:


> I'd heavily recommend against the Dancase personally for highend hardware. I've tried the Sliger SM560 and other sandwich cases. Temps go pretty wild as does noise and your CPU cooling can be limited. I had to downclock my CPU to keep things reasonable but GPU temps faired better. I run my M1 side intake bottom exhaust. My 1080Ti overclocked heavily doesn't exceed 65C using bottom exhaust with an accellero cooler. CPU games 45-60C overclocked with a modded Noctua C14S. 70C tops if I want to run 5Ghz. Sure loved the look on the smaller size of the sandwich builds though. It's definitely an aesthetics over function type of case.


That build falls into extreme SFFPCing. The CPU easily reached 85-90C under load and the GPU was around 80-85C. Other than naturally thermal throttling I experienced no problems at all. 70C is like nothing.


----------



## Voxata (Jul 3, 2020)

Hah yeah that definitely falls into that catagory.

I fall into the low temp camp, from the earlier more cautious days I suppose. I don't have any build where CPU/GPU exceed 70C and noise is a huge focus given headphone/studio monitor use. There is the laptop though..ugh, max that will do is 75C, maybe touching 80C for a moment on a hot day under the worst load. On my desktop I use a delidded 9700K which helps and I run the daily OC at only 4.8Ghz all core, since I only game I opted for that chip instead especially after the HT vulnerability debacle from Intel. Been humming along though for quite some time now and the top down/side cooling has really help keep the surrounding components cool as well. I'm hoping the 3xxx series cards yield gains that would justify an upgrade. Glad to see the Ryzen competition doing well too, I've a couple 3600 builds that are surprisingly potent! Tuning ram on those yields huge gains, I've got a kit of 4400 at 3600 C14 tightly wound that gives it a nice uplift. I'll have to snap some pics of my setup when I get home. Probably time to do some dusting too.


----------



## seamon

Voxata said:


> Hah yeah that definitely falls into that catagory.
> 
> I fall into the low temp camp, from the earlier more cautious days I suppose. I don't have any build where CPU/GPU exceed 70C and noise is a huge focus given headphone/studio monitor use. There is the laptop though..ugh, max that will do is 75C, maybe touching 80C for a moment on a hot day under the worst load. On my desktop I use a delidded 9700K which helps and I run the daily OC at only 4.8Ghz all core, since I only game I opted for that chip instead especially after the HT vulnerability debacle from Intel. Been humming along though for quite some time now and the top down/side cooling has really help keep the surrounding components cool as well. I'm hoping the 3xxx series cards yield gains that would justify an upgrade. Glad to see the Ryzen competition doing well too, I've a couple 3600 builds that are surprisingly potent! Tuning ram on those yields huge gains, I've got a kit of 4400 at 3600 C14 tightly wound that gives it a nice uplift. I'll have to snap some pics of my setup when I get home. Probably time to do some dusting too.


Yea I moved out of  SFFPC since I no longer want to carry a desktop with me. I just went ATX and got a Define R6.


----------



## Voxata (Jul 3, 2020)

Your new PC is amazing. I had an R5 case before and really miss it. So easy to liquid cool inside of with gobs of radiator space. When I consider moving away from SFF I'm held back since I've invested so much into my primary PC. I've got a custom made carry bag for the M1, black & silver side panel sets & a whole transport kit that has served well for LANing. I bought a set of really nice Sanace fans that you can solder a PWM head onto for the build for CPU/GPU. Dremeled out the C14S middle bracket so I could bend it to allow push/pull with side intake 92. The top fin array was cut to fit a previous configuration but is still required for fitting on this one too. Removed the ram heatspreaders to be able to wedge it all in there. Not made to be a looker inside but it absolutely pushes a ton of air through.

Bonus PC is one from my LAN. Fractal Nano S case, non window edition. Also a 9700K but this one games at 60C 4.8Ghz after delid and the G10/Corsair 115 cooled GTX 1080 runs at 45C. I really like this one since despite the amount of fans inside it's the quietest rig I've got.


----------



## charlee

I recently upgraded to:
MB: MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
Cooler: Arctic Freezer Esports DUO
RAM: 16GB 3200Hz HyperX
PSU: Cooler Master 650W
SSD: Patriot 1TB
Monitor: AOC 24G2 144Hz


----------



## Voxata

charlee said:


> I recently upgraded to:
> MB: MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX
> CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
> Cooler: Arctic Freezer Esports DUO
> ...


Pics or it didn't happen


----------



## mikey1964

charlee said:


> I recently upgraded to:
> MB: MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX
> CPU: Ryzen 5 3600
> Cooler: Arctic Freezer Esports DUO
> ...


Yeah, post pics or it didn't happen!

You didn't list a GPU in your specs though....


----------



## ChevyMonsenhor

Haven't upgraded in a while, but also didn't post my upgrades in a while either, so here it goes:

MoBo: ASRock Fatal1ty X370 Professional Gaming
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
CPU Cooler: Scythe Ninja 5
RAM: 2x 16gb G.Skill Ripjaws V @3200mhz
GPU: Zotac AMP Extreme RTX 2070
PSU: Super Flower Leadex III Gold 750w
Storage: Inland Premium 1tb NVME + Toshiba X300 4tb
Chassis: Lian Li Lancool One Digital (black)
Monitor: AOC Agon AG322FCX
Keyboard: Leopold FC900R (Cherry Pink)
Mouse: Logitech G502 Lightspeed Wireless
Mousepad: Razer Invicta Quartz


----------



## ostewart

ostewart said:


> Upgraded a little,
> 
> Gigabyte Z270P-D3 Motherboard
> Intel i7 6700k OC'd to 4.5GHz
> ...



Changed my motherboard to an Asus Z170 as it had a little more flexibility when overclocking but I still settled on 4.5ghz as that's the best with my current AIO setup. Now it's housed in a much nicer Fractal Define 7 Compact case with their Venturi 120mm AF fans in the front (x3) and the normal 120mm GP12 in the exhaust spot. It was a really nice case to build in, and is a great size.


----------



## SilverEars (Aug 6, 2020)

seamon said:


> Eluktronics Mech 15-G3
> 
> 
> core i7 10875H
> ...


Is this the most compact laptop with such high spec you found?  I just looked at a Alienware 51M, it's so thick and bulky.  I personally like the size and slim profile of Razor, but do they have high performers that are the slimmest profile?  Anybody know what has the best size in terms of being slim and also perform really well?  What seems to be the best in this catagory?

I really dislike the look of gaming laptops with the nasty color, and hate the rgb color trend.


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> Is this the most compact laptop with such high spec you found?  I just looked at a Alienware 51M, it's so thick and bulky.  I personally like the size and slim profile of Razor, but do they have high performers that are the slimmest profile?  Anybody know what has the best size in terms of being slim and also perform really well?  What seems to be the best in this catagory?
> 
> I really dislike the look of gaming laptops with the nasty color, and hate the rgb color trend.



I was looking for the best performance in the thin and light segment. My laptop which is the Eluktronics Mech 15 G3 is that since it performs around 15-20% better than every other laptop in this category(because of open design I discussed earlier in the thread) and has a mechanical keyboard too. There's literally no other laptop that will outperform this outside of heavy desktop replacements. 

However, it's slightly thicker at 0.9" compared to Acer Triton and Razer Blade which are at 0.7". However, I'm good as long as the thickness is below 1". It's not that different imo. The mech keyboard needs the thickness for key travel.

I too dislike RGB and "GAMER" branding in laptops. This laptop has no branding whatsoever like literally, there's not even the logo of the company. It's completely black, no stickers too. 

Eluktronics also sells the MAX 15 which is the lightest laptop in the thin and light category. It's still at 0.77"

Triton 500 and Razer Blade 15 Advanced are there if you want the absolute thinnest but can sacrifice performance/lightness.


----------



## stephenlee2801

I think the Razer Blade 15 is the option most people turn to for thin performance laptop. I've tried using a friend's for sometime and it's well built and performs surprisingly well considering its build. It's all personal preference but I'd agree with seamon that options that are a little bit thicker might be more desirable (even if its from just a price perspective).


----------



## SilverEars

stephenlee2801 said:


> I think the Razer Blade 15 is the option most people turn to for thin performance laptop. I've tried using a friend's for sometime and it's well built and performs surprisingly well considering its build. It's all personal preference but I'd agree with seamon that options that are a little bit thicker might be more desirable (even if its from just a price perspective).


Holy crap that thing is thin for a gaming laptop!  I don't see why people go Apple with such level of performance you can get?  Lots of Apple laptops are overpriced for what they are when it comes to internal hardware.


----------



## SilverEars

I can't wait until they start putting in OLED displays.  LCDs are no match for OLED's vivid colors.  LCDs look washed out in comparison and I just can't look at LCDs for games and movies anymore.

At home, I prefer to feed all media to my OLED TV.


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> I can't wait until they start putting in OLED displays.  LCDs are no match for OLED's vivid colors.  LCDs look washed out in comparison and I just can't look at LCDs for games and movies anymore.
> 
> At home, I prefer to feed all media to my OLED TV.


Gigabyte is shipping some thin and light laptops with 4K OLED displays. Razer is too I think.

The problem with OLED screens on Windows is that they will burn in pretty fast.


----------



## SilverEars

seamon said:


> The problem with OLED screens on Windows is that they will burn in pretty fast.


True, and that's probably why they were slow to impliment for PC monitors as the OS has static elements in the UI.  There should be solutions out there for the new OLED displays.

I like the thinness of Razer, and general non-flashy, and no nasty gamer look to it.  The issue I have is the damn logo.  I really hate that tramp stamp lookin logo.  They need to do something about that.  I never understood the rgb lighting for gamer stuff.  Are they trying to create a mini-disco in the gaming space? As far as I see it, they are just distractions.


----------



## KPzypher

stephenlee2801 said:


> I think the Razer Blade 15 is the option most people turn to for thin performance laptop. I've tried using a friend's for sometime and it's well built and performs surprisingly well considering its build. It's all personal preference but I'd agree with seamon that options that are a little bit thicker might be more desirable (even if its from just a price perspective).



I like everything about it except the fan noise.  It gets crazy loud under load.  Now I just use it to run Roon core.


----------



## KPzypher

Processor: Intel Core i9-9900K OC'd
Motherboard: MSI MEG Z390 GODLIKE 
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 3200MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 850W Thermaltake (Modular) (80 Plus Gold)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD M.2 (1TB Samsung 970 PRO) (NVM Express) (Extreme Performance)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD (1TB Samsung 860 EVO)
Graphics Card(s): 1x GeForce RTX 2080 Ti OC'd
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux PRO (Graphics Card + CPU) w/ Copper Tubing
Chassis Fans: Corsair ML PRO Series (High Static Pressure) (Magnetic Levitation)
Airflow Control: Corsair Commander PRO Management Control Board & Software
Monitor 1: LG lg38gl950g
Monitor 2: Acer XB271HU
Keyboard: Logitech G915
Mouse: Logitech G Pro Wireless


----------



## stephenlee2801

SilverEars said:


> Holy crap that thing is thin for a gaming laptop!  I don't see why people go Apple with such level of performance you can get?  Lots of Apple laptops are overpriced for what they are when it comes to internal hardware.


Yeah I think previously people paid the Apple premium because they knew that the machining and build quality of the product that they were purchasing would be top notch. There weren't any Windows laptops that screamed 'premium'. I think that started to change 5 or so years ago when MS was releasing their surface laptop products and other brands started making more premium and well-machined products.

I guess most Apple consumers aren't really purchasing apple laptops for the internal specs either but because they're already so deep in the ecosystem and whatever they consider the brand name holds.


----------



## SilverEars (Aug 11, 2020)

Just a question.  Been looking for mouse, but I hate the look of gaming mouses with the nasty rgb and transformer look to them.  Anyway, I can ignore all this as long as performance is good.  What is the most accurate and precise mouse that is highly durable?

Any experts in mouses can tell me what makes a precise and accurate mouse?  Or are they all pretty much the same besides visual designs, ergonomics, and marketting?


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> Just a question.  Been looking for mouse, but I hate the look for gaming mouses with the nasty rgb and transformer look to them.  Anyway, I can ignore all this as long as performance is good.  What is the most accurate and precise mouse that is highly durable?
> 
> Any experts in mouses can tell me what makes a precise and accurate mouse?  Or are they all pretty much the same besides visual designs, ergonomics, and marketting?


I'm using Razer Atheris - compact,sleek, no RGB and long battery life


----------



## SilverEars

seamon said:


> I'm using Razer Atheris - compact,sleek, no RGB and long battery life


What about latency?  I heard latency in wireless have improved to the point of matching wired.

Why did you choose that one? Is it very accurate?


----------



## seamon

SilverEars said:


> Why did you choose that one?


Fit the Black Theme of my workstation, compact, sleek looking and long battery life.


----------



## KPzypher

SilverEars said:


> Just a question.  Been looking for mouse, but I hate the look of gaming mouses with the nasty rgb and transformer look to them.  Anyway, I can ignore all this as long as performance is good.  What is the most accurate and precise mouse that is highly durable?
> 
> Any experts in mouses can tell me what makes a precise and accurate mouse?  Or are they all pretty much the same besides visual designs, ergonomics, and marketting?



Check out the Logitech G Pro wireless.

Its been out for a while, so tried and true, and still considered among the best mouse, wired or wireless.

Most all modern mouse sensors are accurate and very precise, and a good wireless mouse nowadays is just as accurate as any wired mouse.

G Pro's subdued look doesn't scream gaming but it's used often in competitive FPS games due to its accuracy.  It also has relatively long battery life and is light weight.

I use it paired with G915 wireless keyboard, and I love it.


----------



## lord_tris

Pc specs
3900x
Msi x570 carbon
64g g.skill 3600
970pro 1tb
2 870 ssd
EVGA 2080 Super FTW3 Ultra
Asus Rog Helios case
Corsair H115i platinum
Corsair RM1000x psu


----------



## dazzerfong

SilverEars said:


> Just a question.  Been looking for mouse, but I hate the look of gaming mouses with the nasty rgb and transformer look to them.  Anyway, I can ignore all this as long as performance is good.  What is the most accurate and precise mouse that is highly durable?
> 
> Any experts in mouses can tell me what makes a precise and accurate mouse?  Or are they all pretty much the same besides visual designs, ergonomics, and marketting?



If you want functionality, try the MX Master range:

- Good, comfortable size
- Can use literally anywhere as a surface
- Bluetooth + wireless dongle, can use either
- Can pair to 3 devices at once, and switching is simply the use of a button.
- Least intrusive mouse software ever, doesn't even have a tray icon to be active.
- Scrollwheel is amazing to use, can switch between ratcheted and free-spin.  Wish their MX Ergo had this feature.

Downsides
- Not suitable for gaming. Polling rate is very low (90-125 Hz depending on which one you get).


----------



## SilverEars (Aug 11, 2020)

dazzerfong said:


> If you want functionality, try the MX Master range:
> 
> - Good, comfortable size
> - Can use literally anywhere as a surface
> ...


actually, I like that you can switch 3 devices at once.  I need to look into this feature as I have work computer and just regular, and will be using side by side as I'm working remotely due to COVID situation.

I like more smaller sized mouses.  I guess not big hands?  SteelSeries Rival 3 feels just right on my hands.  I want something of that format and be able to switch connecting to minimum 2 devices.  I like the texture grip on Rival 3, and the lightness.

Razer Basilisk X Hyperspeed felt too large in my hand and I don't like those big Logitech productivity ones, too big.

In general, the feel must be light and small.  Scroll wheel is also very important.  I like ones that do not have too much post movement, and has too much resistance when turning.  I like ones that barely have any resistance, but super smooth scrolling.  Two mouses I like scrolling on are SteelSeries Rival 3, and Microsoft Comfort Mouse 4500.  Comfort Mouse 4500 is completely smooth scrolling, and it's quite nice.  Probably not good for gaming, but works well for productivity.


----------



## dazzerfong

SilverEars said:


> actually, I like that you can switch 3 devices at once.  I need to look into this feature as I have work computer and just regular, and will be using side by side as I'm working remotely due to COVID situation.
> 
> I like more smaller sized mouses.  I guess not big hands?  SteelSeries Rival 3 feels just right on my hands.  I want something of that format and be able to switch connecting to minimum 2 devices.  I like the texture grip on Rival 3, and the lightness.
> 
> ...



If you want something similar but in a smaller package, try the MX Anywhere 2S. Has the fast switching feature, and smooth scrolling.


----------



## SilverEars

dazzerfong said:


> If you want something similar but in a smaller package, try the MX Anywhere 2S. Has the fast switching feature, and smooth scrolling.


I wish they were low latency like gaming mice.


----------



## dazzerfong

SilverEars said:


> I wish they were low latency like gaming mice.



Well, unfortunately those are at odds with each other. Gaming mice are intended to be 'fixed' to one computer, and productivity mice tailored to multiple computers have to be compatible with everything so the performance takes a hit.


----------



## SilverEars

dazzerfong said:


> Well, unfortunately those are at odds with each other. Gaming mice are intended to be 'fixed' to one computer, and productivity mice tailored to multiple computers have to be compatible with everything so the performance takes a hit.


So, with these, do you have to buy additional receivers for devices you want to switch to?  I want to do this for keyboard as well, can that be done simultaneously?


----------



## SilverEars (Aug 12, 2020)

Looks like G603 does mult-device connection, but fewer with 2 devices.  It's wireless with no latency, so it hits my two requirements!

https://www.logitechg.com/en-us/pro...htspeed-wireless-gaming-mouse.910-005099.html


----------



## dazzerfong

SilverEars said:


> So, with these, do you have to buy additional receivers for devices you want to switch to?  I want to do this for keyboard as well, can that be done simultaneously?



It's a standard Logitech receiver, _or _you can use BT instead.


----------



## SilverEars




----------



## Kukuk

So everything I read about the Razer 15 2020 model said it could not be undervolted; something about a bios lock to protect against the plundervolt vulnerability. On a whim, I decided to grab Intel XTU to give it a shot. Dropping the core voltage by .120 netted me nearly 400 extra points on Cinebench R20, and this was consistent across all performance profiles. It doesn't drop temps at all, though, presumably because of Razer's heat management.

As a sanity check, I set the core voltage lower, to see if it was actually taking, or I was just getting sporadic scores because of cooling cycles or something. Sure enough dropping the voltage too low caused the system to shut down.

So not really sure why I'm able to undervolt on this model and apparently others aren't able to, but I ain't complaining. At this point I'm kinda tempted to repaste the CPU and GPU and see how much more performance I can gain.


----------



## Kukuk

I recently got a media server set up with a combination of old parts I had lying around and some new stuff.

Intel i5 4690k@2.8Ghz - I underclocked it so I could run the CPU cooler without a fan. As is, it runs at like 56c under full load, which it rarely ever hits.
32GB of DDR3 - Oodles of ram for ZFS cache
240GB SSD for boot
12 TB of HDD space

I'm running FreeNAS and streaming through Plex. With this setup I can get at least 3 streams of full blu-ray quality at once without any playback issues. The only fans running are the PSU and rear exhaust, so it's pretty quiet; although the hard drives are kinda loud. I think I need to stuff some foam into the bottom to damp some of that.










Ripping blu rays has been somewhat tedious, as each one takes between 20 minutes and an hour. Ripping Game of Thrones took me like two weeks off and on because I didn't realize in order for my blu ray drive to read at higher speeds I had to get a separate program.


----------



## Mightygrey

The only thing preventing me from upgrading from this guy is the fact that the 3.5mm headphone-out doubles as an optical digital output...


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Keep it around, for sure. I have a laptop with optical out and it is really nice to have that feature.


----------



## m-i-c-k-e-y (Oct 11, 2020)

Shuttle had unvieled a 3-liter slim barebones w/ a single slot PCIe on the LGA1200 socket: XH410G
Thinking pairing this with a JCAT USB Card XE and a HDPLEX 300W LPS (powering both the barebones and the USB card).

Moving my previous build to the office.


----------



## BananaOoyoo

Downsized from 10.3L to 9.5L!
(Portable monitor should be arriving soon)


----------



## seamon

BananaOoyoo said:


> Downsized from 10.3L to 9.5L!
> (Portable monitor should be arriving soon)


Nice!! Reminds me of my SFF days. What portable monitor are you getting?


----------



## BananaOoyoo

seamon said:


> Nice!! Reminds me of my SFF days. What portable monitor are you getting?



Picked up an Asus XG17! It’s a bit (very?) overkill, but I figure I’ll get enough use out of it.


----------



## seamon

BananaOoyoo said:


> Picked up an Asus XG17! It’s a bit (very?) overkill, but I figure I’ll get enough use out of it.


Nice! Personally use 3x ASUS MB16AMT. I might move upto  3xXG17 if I go with a 17" laptop next upgrade cycle.


----------



## Voxata

WFH


----------



## seamon

Voxata said:


> WFH


What speakers?


----------



## Voxata

LX16s with Dynamo 300s.


----------



## XeNoNF50

Took a few pics on my phone but here's mine. Rtx 3080 & i7 7820x in the pc, Asus ROG PG27UQ 4k 144hz hdr1000 monitor and the Focal headphones and DAC/amp on the desk.


----------



## Voxata

Nice! I'm awaiting my 3080 order.. sure hope it doesn't get cancelled.


----------



## Kukuk (Oct 27, 2020)

So I've decided to pull the trigger on a new PC. The ol' Threadripper just can't push the framerates my monitor supports. A large number of games don't leverage my 2080ti to it's maximum, leaving a lot of performance on the table.

I'm obviously sticking with AMD, but at the moment I'm sorta stuck on what CPU to get. When Ryzen 5000 launches, I think I'll be going for the 5950x, but in the mean time I need something to hold me over. I really want something that will beat the performance of my 2950x for games, but I don't want to spend a lot of money since it's a place-holder. I'd REALLY like a 3300X, but those are rarer than hens' teeth. The 3100 won't quite cut it for me. So at this point my only option is a 3600, but it seems silly since I'm only going to keep it for a few months. It's sort of a long shot, but I'll see if there's either availability for the 3300x, or price drops for the 3600 in the next week or so.

Whatever I get, I'll be slotting it into this, as it seems to be among the best X570 boards you can get without spending $500+.




I feel like if I sell my current Threadripper setup, I should be able to offset the price of the new platform, then the new 5950X will basically be an out-of-pocket upgrade. I don't think like $900 for a 2950X, 32GB of RAM, Gigabyte Designare motherboard, and a Noctua NH-U14S is unreasonable, is it?


----------



## XeNoNF50

Kukuk said:


> So I've decided to pull the trigger on a new PC. The ol' Threadripper just can't push the framerates my monitor supports. A large number of games don't leverage my 2080ti to it's maximum, leaving a lot of performance on the table.
> 
> I'm obviously sticking with AMD, but at the moment I'm sorta stuck on what CPU to get. When Ryzen 5000 launches, I think I'll be going for the 5950x, but in the mean time I need something to hold me over. I really want something that will beat the performance of my 2950x for games, but I don't want to spend a lot of money since it's a place-holder. I'd REALLY like a 3300X, but those are rarer than hens' teeth. The 3100 won't quite cut it for me. So at this point my only option is a 3600, but it seems silly since I'm only going to keep it for a few months. It's sort of a long shot, but I'll see if there's either availability for the 3300x, or price drops for the 3600 in the next week or so.
> 
> ...


I got this board and the 5950x built this weekend is a beast


----------



## PointyFox

Where'd you find a 5950x?


----------



## XeNoNF50 (Nov 11, 2020)

PointyFox said:


> Where'd you find a 5950x?



I got one on day 1 from CCL in the UK.

Anyway my build is done, AMD R9 5950x & RTX 3080 FE (sold the ASUS TUF OC) with a ASUS PG27UQ 4K HDR1000 monitor.











Specs: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/b/Q8zNnQ


----------



## Watagump (Nov 13, 2020)

Intel 9600K @ 4.8
Asus ROG Strix Z390-E Gaming
eVGA 2070 Super
G Skill 16GB DDR4 1600
Asus ROG PG348Q
Samsung 960 Evo
Scythe Ninja 5 CPU cooler, Corsair GL LED fans
NZXT 710i Case
Asus Xonar DX
Logitech 5.1 surround sound speakers
Razor Deathadder Gaming Mouse
Red Dragon LED Mechanical Keyboard, brown switches


----------



## Little4Real

AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Asrock X570M Pro4 mATX 
Asus GTX 1080Ti Turbo
Micron Ballistix CL15 3000MHz E-die RAM (3333MHz CL14 OC)
XPG SX8200 Pro + Sabrent Rocket PCIe 4.0
LG 38GL950G
Custom built keyboard (Fox Lab Key65)

Will post pics later, house is in disarray


----------



## SilverEars (Nov 15, 2020)

XeNoNF50 said:


> I got one on day 1 from CCL in the UK.
> 
> Anyway my build is done, AMD R9 5950x & RTX 3080 FE (sold the ASUS TUF OC) with a ASUS PG27UQ 4K HDR1000 monitor.
> 
> ...


looks nice.  You should look into getting a real ergonomic offuce chair if doing a lot of sitting.  Those gaming chairs are bad for your back over extended sitting.

What's yall's opinions on the new Apple M1 processors?  Seem practical to you?  Expect good performance?


----------



## mikey1964

My computer specs went up a notch with my recent acquisition of a new GPU....


----------



## Kukuk

Is that a 6800?


----------



## mikey1964

Kukuk said:


> Is that a 6800?


Yep, Sapphire Nitro+ RX6800, so far, lovin' it!


----------



## Kukuk

Nice! I really wanted one, but it doesn't seem to perform super well for ray tracing. I'm really hoping it's just a software optimization issue or something, because there's a pretty big gap between AMD and Nvidia on that front as it stands now. For traditional games, though, it seems to be an absolute monster.


----------



## SilverEars (Dec 8, 2020)

Some update on my quest for a nice mouse.  I've been using Steelseries Rival 3 for awhile now, and I luv it.  Very precise, like the mouse shape, the surface texture for good grip, and no issues with mouse click buttons yet.  Hopefully the number of clicks is very durable as they stated.  I didn't like any of the Razer mouses and with Logitech, I've ran into too many complaints about issues with clicking after a short while. 

Only complaint is that the scroll wheel is kinda loud as it has bumps, but the scroll wheel response is very good.

I have the RGB off, I don't like that kinda stuff.


----------



## KcMsterpce (Dec 12, 2020)

SilverEars said:


> Some update on my quest for a nice mouse.  I've been using Steelseries Rival 3 for awhile now, and I luv it.  Very precise, like the mouse shape, the surface texture for good grip, and no issues with mouse click buttons yet.  Hopefully the number of clicks is very durable as they stated.  I didn't like any of the Razer mouses and with Logitech, I've ran into too many complaints about issues with clicking after a short while.
> 
> Only complaint is that the scroll wheel is kinda loud as it has bumps, but the scroll wheel response is very good.
> 
> I have the RGB off, I don't like that kinda stuff.


I really like the Corsair M65. I have three of them. There are many versions though; one has lotsa RGB options, another is just "plain" light, and so on... what annoys me is that I don't care about the special RGB lighting options. However, one of my M65s is a "special" RGB gaming version, and when I plug one mouse from the PC into the laptop(s) or vice/versa, the settings are different on DPI and I constantly switch the mouse pointer options.
If you're interested in the M65, get the one that's the cheapest. They all perform the same.

I'm going to build a new PC March-May. I am buying a single component per month, basically. I figure by March, GPU and CPU availability will be better.
For now, I have 128GB RAM (4x 32GB, 3200/CL16); Asus ROG Crosshair VIII FORMULA; Be Quiet! Darkpower Pro 1000w PSU; Be Quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev. 2 case, and 2x 2TB WD Black SN850 M.2 drives.
I plan to get the 5950x, probably a Noctua air cooler, a 4TB 2.5" SSD, and probably the RTX 3090.
I do 4k videos and music recording, so I just want a workstation that will obliterate video loading lag (when editing), and render times. I also like to play games, so... it'll be good for both functions.


----------



## mikey1964

Kukuk said:


> Nice! I really wanted one, but it doesn't seem to perform super well for ray tracing. I'm really hoping it's just a software optimization issue or something, because there's a pretty big gap between AMD and Nvidia on that front as it stands now. For traditional games, though, it seems to be an absolute monster.


No, it doesn't, and although nVidia's RTX 3000 series is better at RT, all would need DLSS to play games at 'higher' res. While I agree, the future of gaming is RT, I feel that while having RT is a nice feature, it's not quite ready now....hardware wise. I'd wait another 2-3 iterations of GPU (both nVidia and AMD) before I think hardware catches up with RT and doing 4K RT natively might be possible then. I've sold off the Nitro+ RX 6800 and have replaced it with....its bigger sibling, the Nitro+ RX 6900 XT!





The RX 6800 is in the foreground, the RX 6900 XT is at the back. Don't let the angle at which I'd taken the pic fool you, they're exactly the same size....


----------



## Kukuk

RT is a neat novelty at the moment, but I'd agree it's not quite ready to be the focus. I ended up passing on RT in Cyberpunk 2077 just because it was *so* demanding, and even still it's the best looking game on the market.

I'm really hoping AMD's answer to DLSS is driver-level, instead of game-level. To me, that would put them well ahead of Nvidia, as support is somewhat sparse, and even then games that have it don't necessarily support my resolution (3840x1600).


----------



## KcMsterpce (Jan 13, 2021)

Well, finally got the final piece for my build:







Gonna remove the current temporary CPU (AMD 3500) and install the Kraken X63 along with the replacement CPU.






Specs:
Be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev. 2 case
Be quiet! Dark Power Pro 1000W PSU
Asus ROG Crosshair VIII FORMULA motherboard
MSI Suprim X RTX 3090 GPU
128GB (4x32) Trident Z Neo CL16/3200MHz RAM
AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU
2TB Seagate FireCuda Gen 4 M.2 SSD (OS install); 2TB WD Black SN850 Gen 4 M.2 SSD (Video/Audio editing, games, etc...)

I play games, and I do 3-camera 4k videos. So... I wants the quicker render times and extra RAM for smoother buffering during editing.
Once the new CPU is put in, I will tidy up the cables and make it "look pretty".


----------



## mikey1964 (Jun 2, 2021)

Not computer specs related, but news about AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR in short). It seems like not only would FSR support be for AMD RX 500/Vega/5000/6000 series of GPU's, it has been extended to those with GTX 1000 as well. Owner of GTX 1000 series cards, hang on to them, you'd be able to use FSR with 'em, can't tell ya how happy I am as I have a Vega64 Red Devil in my 2nd rig, and a GTX 1080 in my HTPC, so all in all, all my three rigs can benefit from FSR.

AMD has has shown with a demo of a GTX 1060 (one of the weakest GTX 1000 series cards) running Godfall at native 1440P with max ingame setting averaging at 27fps, but with FSR, the framerate went up to an average of 38fps (at 2nd highest preset of 'Quality'). For FSR, there're four levels of PQ setting (I guess it boils down to how powerful your GPU is) ranging from Ultra Quality -> Quality -> Balanced -> Performance, with Ultra Quality having best PQ (aside from native of course) but with the least framerate uplift in games to Performance with the poorest PQ but best framerate uplift.

It's a certainty that PQ will not be comparable with DLSS 2.0, I'm just hoping it'd be between DLSS 1.0 and DLSS 2.0 at Ultra Quality preset. The reason I say this is: nVidia's dedicated hardware + software > AMD's software only approach.  I just hope FSR gains traction with game developers, it should as XBOX One X users can benefit from the performance uplift as well, and there's a ton of games for XBOX. As this is AMD's first iteration of the tech, I do not expect it to perform as well as nVidia's DLSS tech, but hey, owners of older RX 500/Vega series (and up) as well as GTX 1000 series owners can rejoice with a free uplift in games with FSR support.


----------



## Jayden

Here's mine:

Corsair Carbide 400C ATX
Intel i7-5820K
Asus Sabretooth X99 DDR4 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance LPX2400 DDR4 2X 8GB
ASUS GTX960GB TURBO 2GB
Samsung 850 EVO 2.5" 250GB
Coolermaster V650 650W 80+ Gold


----------



## h1f1add1cted (Jul 3, 2021)

*CPU:* Intel 8700k @ 5 Ghz Core / 5 Ghz Cache
*GPU: *EVGA GTX 1070 @ 2050 Mhz / 4500 Mhz
*Motherboard:* MSI MPG Z390I GAMING EDGE AC
*RAM: *2x16 GB G.Skill DDR4 @ 3800 CL16
*Storaghe: *1.5 TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSDs
*Case: *Ncase M1 v5
*PSU:* Corsair SF450 450W
*Water Cooling:* GPU and CPU Watercool Heatkiller IV blocks, external radiator Watercool MO-RA3 420 LT with four Noctua NF-A20 fans

My cooling solution is of course a huge overkill, but I like very cool and silent even under heavy load.


----------



## Death_Block

this thread sucks when you dont have a computer


----------



## U-3C

Death_Block said:


> this thread sucks when you dont have a computer


RIP


----------



## Kukuk (Aug 8, 2021)

I've been chasing a computer gremlin for months, and I think I finally caught the sucker.

I've been having random crashes and freezes for months, and nailing down what the cause was has been extremely difficult. My CPU, memory controller, and GPU all overclocked, and my memory had stability issues with its XMP profile, so I threw extra voltage on it to maintain stability.

The crashes were so unpredictable that I couldn't get repeatable results to test variables. The computer would sometimes go days without crashing, or even weeks. So I started just dialing back overclocks one by one, and going days to weeks between changing variables. First I reset my CPU. Still got crashes. Then I reset my GPU. Still got crashes. Then I stepped back my RAM to 3200mhz. Still got crashes. Then I set my RAM to factory 2100mhz or whatever. Still got crashes. Then I turned PSU's eco mode off. And sure enough! Still got crashes!

Then randomly browsing Youtube, I saw a video of a guy just talking about various memory kits. He made mention of the fact that you shouldn't buy 2 2x8GB kits, but rather you should buy a single 4x8GB memory kit, as there's no guarantee the two kits will work together, even if they're exactly the same spec with the same DRAM chips. Kinda felt like a long shot, but I kicked half my RAM out of my system, and it seems to have fixed the issue. Even with default memory voltage I have no issue with stability hitting the rated 3600mhz.

I had first ran into that memory voltage issue running a prime95 torture test. With the default voltage, the various workers would drop out, even with the CPU at stock speed, and by increasing the voltage I got that particular error to stop. My system hadn't crashed or froze, either before or after adjusting voltage, so I figured that wouldn't be a symptom of bad memory. I figured if memory were the issue, BSODs would be the most telling sign.

So long story short, don't buy two separate kits of memory if you're going to fill all your DIMM slots, just buy a single 4x kit. And don't think you're just going to drop in more memory in the future; it doesn't work that way.

So if anyone wants to buy a 2x8GB kit of Corsair Vengeance LPX 3600mhz, lemme know. I'd do $60 shipped (New they're $85).


----------



## Death_Block

Congrats on your diagnosis, must be a great feeling to finally get to the bottom of it. Computers can be frustrating like that. Hence why I've not owned one for a decade. Still would like to build my own one day but a look at pcpartpicker, whilst they make it easy to pick parts that are compatible,  I've no idea really what parts I want. For eg, what's the point of i7 when some i5's are better? Why i9 over a top end (and again) i5 isn't best? Why do more threads and cores not matter as much? What's the point if everything can almost be over locked anyway? Lmao


----------



## kman1211 (Aug 9, 2021)

Death_Block said:


> Congrats on your diagnosis, must be a great feeling to finally get to the bottom of it. Computers can be frustrating like that. Hence why I've not owned one for a decade. Still would like to build my own one day but a look at pcpartpicker, whilst they make it easy to pick parts that are compatible,  I've no idea really what parts I want. For eg, what's the point of i7 when some i5's are better? Why i9 over a top end (and again) i5 isn't best? Why do more threads and cores not matter as much? What's the point if everything can almost be over locked anyway? Lmao


Honestly right now, the AMD cpus are currently better in most cases than the Intel ones, not only in terms of performance but also in terms of power efficiency. One reason more cores aren't always beneficial is simply due to lack of proper optimization in programs and games to take advantage of higher core counts, this is especially true on older programs and games. Some programs benefit from faster cores moreso than more cores. It really comes down to usage and future proofing in getting more cores. You basically get what's best for your particular usage, what's the best deal at the moment, and how long you plan on keeping the computer without upgrading it.


----------



## SilverEars

Kukuk said:


> I've been chasing a computer gremlin for months, and I think I finally caught the sucker.
> 
> I've been having random crashes and freezes for months, and nailing down what the cause was has been extremely difficult. My CPU, memory controller, and GPU all overclocked, and my memory had stability issues with its XMP profile, so I threw extra voltage on it to maintain stability.
> 
> ...


You built it yourself?  I stopped building my own pc because something always gors wrong like this.


----------



## Kukuk

SilverEars said:


> You built it yourself?  I stopped building my own pc because something always gors wrong like this.



I did, and that's been my experience, too. But I'm stupid and stubborn so I keep diving back in. Hah.


----------



## john2000

Kukuk said:


> I did, and that's been my experience, too. But I'm stupid and stubborn so I keep diving back in. Hah.


Lol same here


----------



## Foulcher (Aug 9, 2021)

PC #1 :

i9 9900k stock
RTX 2070 Super
32 Go Ram
1 To NVME SSD + a bunch of old HDD which still works (the oldest is a 12 years old Samsung F1 and it is the fastest)
Motherboard Asus Z-390E Gaming
Pioneer Blu Ray burner (was from PC #2 but I switched cases)

I paid more than 2000 euros for this and finally I stopped playing games...

PS #2 (PC #1 replaced it, but I use it now in my gf appartment) :

i7 3820 stock
GTX 670
16 Go Ram
512 Go SSD
Motherboard Asus ROG Rampage Gene IV (very powerful and good audio)
Asus Blu Ray burner on an external OWC case

I use none for music aside from extracting my CDs. PC #1 is kinda a waste for my use (I play FFXIV sometimes but it runs very well on the 2012 PC too) but well we all do mistakes 
I wanted to to purchase a RTX 3070 or 3080 to put the 2070S on my PC#2 (I tested it once and it made games run very strongly) but well...they are impossible to purchase at the real retail price (or at least close to) so I gave up and that is what lead me to buy Hifi gear in fact.


----------



## SilverEars

Kukuk said:


> I did, and that's been my experience, too. But I'm stupid and stubborn so I keep diving back in. Hah.


I get major OCD when there's a bug.  I will keep at it until I fix it.  This is why I won't get into building one.  I'd like to avoid such scenario for my sanity.


----------



## Archerious

AMD Ryzen 7 3700
32GB DDR4 RAM
1TB PCIe NVME SSD
AMD Radeon VII GPU (sold in May 2021)
AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT (06/2021)

---------------------------------------------

Still sort of miss the VII, pretty sure I got better FPS @ 1440p playing BDO on that GPU. But a friend said "I will pay $1500 right now for that GPU for my mining rig" when I paid $699 for it, kind of hard to pass up .


----------



## Death_Block

Foulcher said:


> I paid more than 2000 euros for this and finally I stopped playing games...


Does that mean you're thinking of selling PC#1?


----------



## Clairezy

Intel i7 8700k (running stock right now)
Corsair h115i (second one, first one died)
TridentZ 32gb ddr4 3200mhz
Samsung 970 pro 512gb boot drive
Asus Strix 2080ti
Phanteks Enthoo Evolv (2016)

Thinking about eventually upgrading CPU and boot drive in a generation or two and swapping out the case for something more airflow friendly. My AIO pump temps tend to run high in this case even with a push pull config on the radiator. I hear a decent amount of fan noise and have been slowly moving from RGB fans to noctuas as they die. I may end up swapping to an air cooler once I upgrade again.


----------



## Kukuk

Just upgraded to a Ryzen 5950x. I really missed seeing so many threads in my task manager. Hah.





I'm super pleased with it. I'm running with PBO enabled, so I get around 4.1-4.4ghz on all cores, with AVX workloads keeping it sustained at about 3.8Ghz. I've seen some chips are able to boost a single core over 5Ghz, but the highest I've seen is 4.9Ghz (boohoo).

I find myself really impressed by how cool this runs with my Noctua NH-U14S. I was a little worried it might not be up to the task, since my Ryzen 3600 OC'd to 4Ghz still ran fairly warm with it, but the 5950x runs cooler even with PBO. It obviously doesn't run as cool as my old Threadripper 2950x did, but that chip had a lot of surface area to disperse heat, so it would have been unrealistic to expect better from the 5950x.


----------



## KcMsterpce (Aug 24, 2021)

Kukuk said:


> Just upgraded to a Ryzen 5950x. I really missed seeing so many threads in my task manager. Hah....
> 
> I'm super pleased with it. I'm running with PBO enabled, so I get around 4.1-4.4ghz on all cores, with AVX workloads keeping it sustained at about 3.8Ghz. I've seen some chips are able to boost a single core over 5Ghz, but the highest I've seen is 4.9Ghz (boohoo).
> 
> ...


I've gotten my 5950X to 5021MHz for very short bursts during 3dMark runs. I use the Kraken X63, so it's possible that it ekes out just a LITTLE BIT more cooling efficiency to allow the CPU slightly more push than yours, but seriously... who could REALLY tell the difference? So I think you're well within expected tolerances.

I, too, am very happy with my build. It's a monster, and barely breaks a sweat. I have only edited 1080p video files so far, but when I get back to three-camera 4k recordings, I can't wait to see the improvement over my old build (8700k w/32GB RAM and 2080TI with M.2 NVMe).
My current rig is:
AMD 5950X
MSI Suprim X 3090
128GB Neo Trident Z/3200 RAM
1x 2TB Seagate Firecuda gen-4 M.2 (OS and save files)
1x 2TB WD Black SN850 gen4 M.2 (Games and video editing)
1x 4TB 2.5" Samsung 870 QVO SSD (backup and stuff)
Asus ROG Crosshair VIII FORMULA mobo
BeQuiet! Dark Power Pro 1000W PSU
BeQuiet! Dark Base 900 Pro V2 case
Displays: 49" Sony X950H, 55" LG OLED C1


----------



## U-3C

Meanwhile me waiting for Ryzen 8000 to hopefully allow my modded Skyrim to run at 60 FPS in 1440p. 🥺


----------



## Foulcher

Death_Block said:


> Does that mean you're thinking of selling PC#1?



Nope as i still use it but for games that can run on much lower specs. Maybe I will love some games on it onn the future, but for now I am playing FFXIV which runs even on ultrawide 1440 on my 2012 Pc.


----------



## Paul Mohr

Ryzen 3900x, x570 mobo, 64 gigs of ram, 2070 super FTW evga card, nvme 1tb drive and an 850 watt power supply. In an 011 dynamic case with an AIO cooler. Microphone is a Senn e835 dynamic stage mic into a cloud lifter/DBX 286s pre/processor and a 2i2 usb interface. Monitor is my 55" LG C9 Oled tv and sound is ran though my home theater receiver.


----------



## Death_Block

Paul Mohr said:


> Ryzen 3900x, x570 mobo, 64 gigs of ram, 2070 super FTW evga card, nvme 1tb drive and an 850 watt power supply. In an 011 dynamic case with an AIO cooler. Microphone is a Senn e835 dynamic stage mic into a cloud lifter/DBX 286s pre/processor and a 2i2 usb interface. Monitor is my 55" LG C9 Oled tv and sound is ran though my home theater receiver.


Your monitor is the size of my TV!


----------



## Death_Block

Foulcher said:


> Nope as i still use it but for games that can run on much lower specs. Maybe I will love some games on it onn the future, but for now I am playing FFXIV which runs even on ultrawide 1440 on my 2012 Pc.


I get 11fps on low settings, so wipe your bum with that


----------



## Paul Mohr

Death_Block said:


> Your monitor is the size of my TV!


It is a TV. It is an LG C9 55" OLED tv but you can also use it as a monitor. My computer is also an HTPC which I use to watch movies from so it is hooked up to my home theater system rather than a normal computer monitor. I don't have a convential PC set up as in I have a desk with a monitor and all that. I sit in my normal TV/Movie viewing chair and use a wireless keyboard and wireless track ball.


----------



## KcMsterpce (Sep 6, 2021)

Yeah, I have an LG OLED C1 55". 
It's awesome. With 120Hz, native 4k, OLED contrast, Dolby Vision, HDR10, VRR, G-Sync, and FreeSync... as well as super low latency - it's hard to pass up as a monitor.


----------



## Paul Mohr

Update to mine, I recently started using a dedicated computer monitor because I was starting to notice image retention on my Oled tv. So I panicked and went out and got a monitor. MSI Optix mag27cq, 27 inch 16:9 curved va pannel running at 1440 120 hertz. It will do 144 but you have to use the display port and I am using HDMI because I didn't want to buy another long cable. And 144 hz means nothing to me anyway. The little gaming that I do isn't anything that needs it, nor am I that good to warrant it lol. I put it on a little stand with wheels. When I want to use my computer I wheel it over in front of me and when I want to watch movies or whatever I just push it out of the way. The upside is at that distance I don't need to wear glasses. I am near sighted in one eye and far sighted in the other. But for whatever reason at 3 feet I have 20/20 vision lol. Bonus I guess.


----------



## kochoop

Been happy with my used 1080TI that I bought a few years back. Even happier when looking at the used prices and knowing its worth the same if I sold it today


----------



## Gorf

I built this rig early 2020 for video editing in Premier Pro:

Asus Prime X299 Edition 30
Intel i9-10980XE, Noctua NH-U9S
8 Pack Team Group 4x 16gb RAM
Asus Geforce RTX 2080Ti
2x Samsung M.2 970 Pro 1tb (O/S, Premier data)
1x Samsung M.2 970 Pro 512gb (Premier scratch)
1x Samsung SSD 860 Evo 4tb (Lightroom data, Premier data archive)
Seasonic Prime TX-1000 Titanium
Lian-Li PC-011 Air
Asus fan controller
6x Noctua 120mm case fans, 2x Noctua 80mm case fans
2x Eizo ColorEdge CG2420 24"

Synology DS1019+ NAS, 5x WD Red Pro 4tb RAID6


----------



## mikey1964 (Dec 14, 2021)

My original desk was pretty small, even the ULTI clamp-on monitor riser I'd gotten was too long for it (see pic below). I'd even had to resort to 60% or TKL keyboards to save space....





I'd gotten an Omnidesk Pro 2020 (ordered two weeks back) on Saturday and spent about two hours assembling the badboy, it wasn't difficult, just a tad heavy and unwieldy to handy alone. I love that it's motorized so I can adjust the height easily with just a press of a button. It can be raised till I can use it standing up actually, I also love that I now have plenty of desk space so I can now replace the TKL keyboard with a full size Topre or my Ducky Shine 4 Fire 69. I've also ordered two more headphone stands so I can have a choice of 4-5 headphones within easy reach....using an iFi Micro iDSD Black Label (just to right of my handphone)





System specs remain unchanged, I'll list it nonetheless:
R9 3900 X / Gigabyte X570 Aorus Xtreme / 2x 8GB Patriot Viper RGB 3600CL17 / Sapphire Nitro+ RX 6900 XT / 4GB + 2GB + 2x 1TB SSDs (Games) / WD Black 6TB (Games) / Corsair HX 1000 Platinum / 64bit Win10 Pro


----------



## lord_tris

mikey1964 said:


> My original desk was pretty small, even the ULTI clamp-on monitor riser I'd gotten was too long for it (see pic below). I'd even had to resort to 60% or TKL keyboards to save space....
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Cool setup, but I would like to know why your headphones have shower caps on?


----------



## mikey1964

lord_tris said:


> Cool setup, but I would like to know why your headphones have shower caps on?


Isn't it obvious, I take showers with 'em on!

Actually, I use those earpad covers to area around the earpads free of dust. I live in the tropics and it does get hot, dry and dusty from time to time.


----------



## SyntheticusHeadphonius

My Gaming PC is mainly used for Virtual Reality through my Valve Index, but my specs aren't anything too fancy.
RTX 3070 GPU 
Ryzen 7 3700x 
16gb of ram
2tb of SSD to store games on


----------



## Foulcher

I have upgraded my PC because I was frustrated with the 2070 Super in any res. With a RTX 3080 and I have finally played a lot of games (FFXV, Nier Replicant, Horizon, ...) thanks to it (in both UWQHD monitor and 4k Oled TV). My final specs are :

- i9 9900k
- RTX 3080
- 64gb Ram 3000C15
- 1Tb NVME + 2x120Go SATA SSD for programming + 1Tb HDD
- Asus BD burner mostly to rip my CDs and music BD

I also upgraded my case from a Cooler Master MB520 to the expensive Cooler Master Cosmos C700P Black Edition + 9 Noctua NF-A14 and my temps are now much lower, pretty much like open air temps even ingame.

I am mostly a casual solo player and I am pretty happy with it.


----------



## KcMsterpce (Mar 9, 2022)

I have a Be Quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 with the AMD 5950X. Now it has my "old" 32GB of RAM and FireCuda 2TB M.2, 2x 1TB Gen3 M.2 drives, and my 2080 TI. Those are components from my old 8700k build. This was in my 10-year old CoolerMaster HAF X case. It was time to retire that beast (one of the best cases I have ever owned).
I took the RAM and most of the other components, switched out the mobo and CPU. Put it all in a Corsair 4000D Airflow case.












Specs:
MSI MPG Z690 EDGE WIFI DDR4
128GB 3200MHz RAM (Trident Z NEO)
Intel Core i7-12700k
MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3090 GPU
1TB Gen4 WD_Black SN850 M.2 (OS)
2TB Gen4 WD_Black SN850 M.2 (games and video editing stuffs)
4TB Samsung 870 QVO 2.5" SSD (videos, and backup)
EVGA Supernova 1200 P3 PSU
3x Lian Li AL120 fans in the front. 2x SL140mm on top. 1x SL120mm exhaust.
Noctua NH-D15s heatsink/fan.


----------



## Voxata

Nice, you do rendering or something?


----------



## chesebert

5900x, 48GB ram, 3090, 4tb NVME, super flower 1000w PSU. 

I guess it’s time to gear up for 4090 at this point.


----------



## KcMsterpce

Voxata said:


> Nice, you do rendering or something?


Yes. I do 3-camera 4k videos, so editing on slow SSDs and with less RAM makes editing and rendering much less fun.


----------



## Voxata

Understandable. I'm using a 5950X simply because at the time that's all that was available from AMD as all the 5900X's were sold out. Runs well, at least.


----------



## mikey1964

chesebert said:


> I guess it’s time to gear up for 4090 at this point.


I'm gearing up for an RX 7900 XT (but must be at MSRP or near to it as humanly possible, no scalpers' pricing!), prolly do a CPU upgrade to a 5950X myself....but for now, pretty happy with my RX 6900 XT + 3900X.


----------



## chesebert

mikey1964 said:


> I'm gearing up for an RX 7900 XT (but must be at MSRP or near to it as humanly possible, no scalpers' pricing!), prolly do a CPU upgrade to a 5950X myself....but for now, pretty happy with my RX 6900 XT + 3900X.


Surprise: MSRP = scalper price 😅


----------



## Kukuk

Newegg actually has an RTX 3080ti in stock, selling for near MSRP; a first as far as I know. When they were at MSRP, they weren't in stock, and as soon as stock came in scalpers jumped on them.

And because I'm a dingus I jumped on it, upgrading from a perfectly excellent RTX 2080ti.




Running Cyberpunk with raytracing at 60FPS is pretty sweet, and almost worth such a dumb impulse buy. I will say, that despite this being one of the most basic cooler designs, it runs exceptionally cool. It's like a full 10 degrees cooler than my 2080ti.


----------



## Neccros

Kukuk said:


> Newegg actually has an RTX 3080ti in stock, selling for near MSRP; a first as far as I know. When they were at MSRP, they weren't in stock, and as soon as stock came in scalpers jumped on them.
> 
> And because I'm a dingus I jumped on it, upgrading from a perfectly excellent RTX 2080ti.
> 
> ...


I just got my EVGA 12gig 3080 FTW3 Ultra at MSRP...  Building my new PC finally now I got it


----------



## Kukuk

Neccros said:


> I just got my EVGA 12gig 3080 FTW3 Ultra at MSRP...  Building my new PC finally now I got it



Nice! I normally go EVGA, but this Gigabyte one was the only one I saw near MSRP. No regrets, though.

It seems like the high end stuff is starting to normalize, but the more entry-level and mid-level stuff is still expensive.

It'll be nice to be able to recommend PC gaming to people again. Hah.


----------



## Voxata

Kukuk said:


> Nice! I normally go EVGA, but this Gigabyte one was the only one I saw near MSRP. No regrets, though.
> 
> It seems like the high end stuff is starting to normalize, but the more entry-level and mid-level stuff is still expensive.
> 
> It'll be nice to be able to recommend PC gaming to people again. Hah.


Things will crash hard as mining ends


----------



## Kukuk

There's just something funny about using a behemoth modern PC to get over 60FPS on Quake 2.

I think this has shown the biggest improvement over my 2080ti. I was sitting at around 45FPS with that, whereas I'm never dropping below 60 now. I think the improvement to RT cores is more beneficial to this game than the outright horsepower increase.


----------



## Neccros

As I type this, finally getting around to building my new PC.  

Intel i9-11900K
Gigabyte Aorus Z590 Ultra
32 gigs of 3600mhz Corsair Dominator Platinum
5.5TB of NVMe/SATA SSD storage
4tb Western Digital Enterprise spinning rust
EVGA RTX 3080 FTW3 Ultra 12g (bought @ MSRP)
LSI 9207-4i4e HBA attached to a 4 bay ICY DOCK 
EVGA Supernova 850 P2 
3x 140mm Arctic Pressure fans
Scythe Fuma 2 cooler
Fractal Design Define 7, Black and dark tint TG
Dell S2721DGF 27" 1440p 165hz monitor


----------



## Willehallem

Built a VR Rig for sim racing:

AMD Ryzen 9 5900X
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition
MSI MPG B550 Gaming Edge WIFI
2x16GB Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Red DDR4-3200 CL16 (BLS16G4D32AESE)
1TB Samsung PM9A1 M.2 (PCIe/NVMe) PCIe Gen4 (2280)
Seasonic Focus PX 750W
Arctic Liquid Freezer II 420 (AiO)
Fractal Design Meshify 2 XL Light Tempered Glas tower
9 fans

It's kinda nuts that I still can't run full settings in most sims on my reverb g1. Still fun though.


----------



## Trihexagonal (Apr 13, 2022)

Mysteek said:


> Just curious as to what you guys run






This ATM. I don't play video games anymore but ;listen to music all day long, and use Gimp to make all my wallpapers:

FreeBSD 13.0-RELEASE-p11
Lenovo Thinkpad W520
Intel Quad Core i7-2760QM (2.40GHz, 6MB L3, 1600MHz FSB, 45W)
8 GB RAM PC3-10600
Hitachi Travelstar 500GB HDD @7200 RPM
Nvidia Quadro 1000M with 2GB DDR3 and 96 CUDA cores with Optimus Technology
15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with LED backlight
Microsoft Optical Trackball USB mouse

Yours if you want it:


----------



## JosephCW

5900x, 32gb 3600mhz memory, 2tb gen 3 nvme and 1tb gen 3 nvme on a b550 micro itx in an nr200p case with a fuma scythe cooler and a rtx 3070. I do everything on Linux so I have no idea why I bought this good of a graphics card


----------



## Trihexagonal

​
This is the i386 IBM Thinkpad T43 I'm using to post this running Kali GNU/Linux Rolling as a daily driver showing Fluxbox as a Window Manager, Gkrellm for meters, urxvt as a terminal emulator, Xfe for a File Manager and Audcacious for tunes with Firefox-ESR to get here:

IBM Thinkpad T43
Kali 2202.1
Linux 5.16.0-kali7-686-pae
Intel Pentium M processor (Dothan) @ 2.00GHz
2GB PC2-4200 RAM
Hitachi GST Travelstar 7K100 100GB HDD @ 7200 RPM
RV370/M22 ATI Mobility Radeon X300
15.0" TFT display with 1024x768 resolution
HL-DT-ST RW/DVD GCC-4242N 0J05
Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet Controller
Intel PRO/Wireless 2915ABG


----------



## Wasaabi

There you go! 5600X+32G 3600+1060(yes I can't afford a better graphic card).


----------



## AudioMoksha

AMD Ryzen 5600x
Asus x570 e Gaming
RAM T Force Xtreem 16GBx4 3600Mhz
Lian Li SL fans x9
Lian Li Galahad AIO
RTX 2070 Super
Windows 11 on a Gen 4 1TB NVME
Some extra storage on another 1TB NVME and a couple of 2TB HDDs
Lian Li 011D case


----------



## FlyHigh247

Intel i7-5820K
Asus Sabretooth X99 
Corsair Vengeance LPX2400 16GB DDR4
Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD
Asus GTX960 Turbo 3gb DDR5
Corsair Carbide Series 400C ATX Casing
Cooler Master V650 80+ Gold Semi Modular
Cooler Master Hyper 212X

I know this is a very old setup, but what would be a similar tier-ed upgrade? I dont usually game, but I do design work, so i think an i7 is a must.


----------



## Death_Block

ryzen 9 5000 series overclocked
6800xt
16ram 
1tb ssd
first computer ive owned in 14 years


----------



## FlyHigh247

Death_Block said:


> ryzen 9 5000 series overclocked
> 6800xt
> 16ram
> 1tb ssd
> first computer ive owned in 14 years


Enjoy your new rig!


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Trihexagonal said:


> ​
> This is the i386 IBM Thinkpad T43 I'm using to post this running Kali GNU/Linux Rolling as a daily driver showing Fluxbox as a Window Manager, Gkrellm for meters, urxvt as a terminal emulator, Xfe for a File Manager and Audcacious for tunes with Firefox-ESR to get here:
> 
> IBM Thinkpad T43
> ...


Go fluxbox! Great wm. I used it for over 10 years but switched to i3wm a few years ago.


----------



## Trihexagonal

I just taught some guy at the Debian forums the correct way to install it on this platform. He was making it much harder to install than it had to be, had two lengthy posts where he outlined what he had done, still couldn't get it figured out and 1337 as they think they are there, not one of them knew anymore about it than he did.. 

I've used Fluxbox on FreeBSD for years and had just set it up on Kali, which is based on Debian. I gave him my menu, suggested he install 3 programs I use, log into a Fluxbox session and back out to generate te ~/.fluxbox directory, copy my menu into his and he was ready to go. Open the menu at the desktop and there was the text editor, file manager and terminal emulator I suggested he install ready to do business.

They hate me there. I love them all the more for it, in a drive-by fashion where I'm gone before they get a shot off.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Trihexagonal said:


> I just taught some guy at the Debian forums the correct way to install it on this platform. He was making it much harder to install than it had to be, had two lengthy posts where he outlined what he had done, still couldn't get it figured out and 1337 as they think they are there, not one of them knew anymore about it than he did..
> 
> I've used Fluxbox on FreeBSD for years and had just set it up on Kali, which is based on Debian. I gave him my menu, suggested he install 3 programs I use, log into a Fluxbox session and back out to generate te ~/.fluxbox directory, copy my menu into his and he was ready to go. Open the menu at the desktop and there was the text editor, file manager and terminal emulator I suggested he install ready to do business.
> 
> They hate me there. I love them all the more for it, in a drive-by fashion where I'm gone before they get a shot off.


Agreed, the default install is way too complicated. I used to just populate my menu items with a text editor and that's it.


----------



## Death_Block

What's a fluxbox? Lol


----------



## cinisi (Jun 30, 2022)

I run an Asus ROG SCAR 15 for work, and it's my source for most music as well.

Ryzen 9 5900HX
Nvidia RTX3080 10gb
16gb DDR4 memory
1tb m2 ssd


----------



## Corti

cinisi said:


> I run an Asus ROG SCAR 15 for work, and it's my source for most music as well.
> 
> Ryzen 9 5900HX
> Nvidia RTX3080 16gb
> ...


You sure your RTX 3080 has 16 GB of VRAM? Ive only seen 10 and 12 GB GDDR6X versions.
Other than that, nice specs


----------



## cinisi

Corti said:


> You sure your RTX 3080 has 16 GB of VRAM? Ive only seen 10 and 12 GB GDDR6X versions.
> Other than that, nice specs


Sorry I mistyped its the 10gb version  was typing this late at night on the phone haha


----------



## T400 (Jun 10, 2022)

ca. 2009 Lenovo Thinkpad T400 flashed with Libreboot SeaBIOS + GRUB payload

Intel ME has been completely wiped from BIOS with Libreboot

Intel Core 2 Duo T9600 2.80GHz
8GB DDR3 Memory
1440 x 900 Display 
240 GB SSD 
AR5BXB112 WiFi Card
Thinklight 
No Webcam

I also have one with 4GB RAM. Both running Trisquel 10 GNU/Linux. No proprietary software. None.

Free as in freedom!!!
fsf.org


----------



## carbonchris

Ryzen 7 1700x, 8GB DDR4, 112GB SATA SSD, 1TB HDD, 2TB M.2 NVME SSD, GTX 1070
I use a 1440p 144hz screen, but 1080p gives around +20 fps
I would like to upgrade my system, since the gaming performance on 1440p isn't that excellent, but I'm very worried in regards to power consumption on RTX 4000 series GPUs


----------



## Wasaabi

I modded my MSI Gaming X with Thermalright's fans


----------



## mikey1964

carbonchris said:


> Ryzen 7 1700x, 8GB DDR4, 112GB SATA SSD, 1TB HDD, 2TB M.2 NVME SSD, GTX 1070
> I use a 1440p 144hz screen, but 1080p gives around +20 fps
> I would like to upgrade my system, since the gaming performance on 1440p isn't that excellent, but I'm very worried in regards to power consumption on RTX 4000 series GPUs


Going 2x 8GB RAM  would be a good start for sure. A GTX 1070 is a good card, but at 1440P (assuming at a min of High graphics settings) it'd struggle somewhat, so reducing ingame visuals would help. You'd not stated your PSU make and model, so it's hard to say, but as long as you have a solid aka quality 'Gold' rated PSU, you should be okay for an RTX 4060/4070, or perrhaps an RX 7700XT (I am thinking of an RX 7900 XT for my next upgrade).


----------



## TrumpOrMonkey

Ryzen 3700x
B550 Aorus Pro
32gb 3200mhz G.Skill Ripjaws V
MSI Radeon RX570 Gaming X
1TB Firecuda 520 Gen.4 NVMe SSD
3TB + 4TB Western Digital Blue (CMR)
Seasonic M12D 720w
Fractal Design Define R5


----------



## Kukuk

Like 10 different times I thought I fixed my crashing issue, and 10 different times I was wrong. I messed with overclocks, I swapped out RAM, swapped out PSU, swapped out CPU, and swapped out GPU. Just now I finished swapping out motherboard. If this doesn't fix it I'm tossing the whole thing in the garbage.





It's a Gigabyte X570S Aero G, and it's pretty neat looking IMO. In terms of Windows/drivers it was a lot less painful than I expected.


----------



## SilverEars

Kukuk said:


> Like 10 different times I thought I fixed my crashing issue, and 10 different times I was wrong. I messed with overclocks, I swapped out RAM, swapped out PSU, swapped out CPU, and swapped out GPU. Just now I finished swapping out motherboard. *If this doesn't fix it I'm tossing the whole thing in the garbage*.
> 
> 
> 
> It's a Gigabyte X570S Aero G, and it's pretty neat looking IMO. In terms of Windows/drivers it was a lot less painful than I expected.


Send it to me.  I'll make good  use of it.  Thank you.

This is why I don't build computers.  I just buy pre-built stuff.


----------



## chef8489

Hmm here are my specs I built about a year ago. 
Coolermaster cosmos c700m
evga supernova 1300+
Ryzen 9 5900x
Asus Crosshair VIII Dark Hero x570
Corsair Vengeance Pro ddr4 3600  128gb
evga 3080ti
Corsair h115I elite capellix cooler
Sabrent rocket 8tb nvme 
2 4tb wd red drived
1 16 tb external segate hd
8 140mm corsair ql fans
47" samsung g9 monitor









https://i.imgur.com/jFsGzMx.mp4


----------



## Foulcher (Aug 17, 2022)

Oh another Cosmos, I love this case which I upgraded from a MB 510 or 520 (I do not remember, the Noctua NH-D15 was too high for it, it bended my plastic side panel...hopefully it was not made of glass).
Your PCs look really clean, mine is an ugly mess (like my desk) despite the massive available space of this case. I have the C700P Black Edition (less expensive plus I am not that a LED guy).









My PC is a mix of 2019 Q4 material and more RAM + 3080 + PSU + Soundcard from 2021-2022.

Cosmos C700P Black Edition
Antec signature platinum 1000W

Asus Z490-E Gaming
i9 9900k
Noctua NH-D15
MSI Ventus RTX 3080
Corsair Vengeance 3000 c15 64gb (4*16)

Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 tb
Corsair Force 3 120 Gb (from 2012)
Kingston 120Gb
Samsung Spinpoint Fomula 1 tb (from 2008 !)

ASUS BW-16D1HT (Blu Ray)

9*Noctua NF-A14 (including 2 bottom, I purchased the thing on Cooler Master website, honestly it is mostly useless compared to let's say 6 fans)

Soundblaster AE-9
Asus Extension Fan II (not trully supported by my motherboard but it works at fixed speed)

Samsung C34J791WTU (though I play 80% on the time on my TV using a ruipro 15m fiber optic hdmi cable)

There is also a little guy on the third photo, a NUC11TNHi7 with Crucial 32Gb 3200 and a Samsung 980 Pro 500Gb which I only use for dev (Docker, etc.).
I'm also waiting hard the Steam Deck... (hopefully on Q4)


----------



## chef8489

Foulcher said:


> Oh another Cosmos, I love this case which I upgraded from a MB 510 or 520 (I do not remember, the Noctua NH-D15 was too high for it, it bended my plastic side panel...hopefully it was not made of glass).
> Your PCs look really clean, mine is an ugly mess (like my desk) despite the massive available space of this case. I have the C700P Black Edition (less expensive plus I am not that a LED guy).
> 
> 
> ...


I love the cosmos case all the way back to the original cosmos s back in the day I built in.


----------



## Foulcher

Ahah you are lucky to have owned it, I was a teenager when the first version was realeased and my mother would have never accepted such a mosnter. The case looked so futuristic, I always wanted one and was a bit frustrated with other cases.
I hesitated for this one though because of the dimensions but I pulled the trigger and I am really happy now. The cardboard box which contained the case was frightening when delivered  !


----------



## chef8489

Foulcher said:


> Ahah you are lucky to have owned it, I was a teenager when the first version was realeased and my mother would have never accepted such a mosnter. The case looked so futuristic, I always wanted one and was a bit frustrated with other cases.
> I hesitated for this one though because of the dimensions but I pulled the trigger and I am really happy now. The cardboard box which contained the case was frightening when delivered  !


Ah I'm 43 and been building computers since I was a kid in the 80s and 90s. My dad was into computers in the army so I grew up around them in the beginning of the personal computer.then I joined the Army, so it funded my computers I built.


----------



## TrumpOrMonkey

Kukuk said:


> Like 10 different times I thought I fixed my crashing issue, and 10 different times I was wrong. I messed with overclocks, I swapped out RAM, swapped out PSU, swapped out CPU, and swapped out GPU. Just now I finished swapping out motherboard. If this doesn't fix it I'm tossing the whole thing in the garbage.
> 
> 
> 
> It's a Gigabyte X570S Aero G, and it's pretty neat looking IMO. In terms of Windows/drivers it was a lot less painful than I expected.



Did you manage to resolve the crashing issue with your new motherboard? If not it might be worth checking the health of your boot drive. I'm not sure if your SSD is new with a fresh install of Windows, but I know for sure that shifting over a pre-existing Windows boot drive to new hardware can usually cause all kinds of weird issues like that. I lifted and shifted my old Windows install when I got a new CPU, Motherboard and RAM and now it always takes a while to boot and crashes more than usual since then.


----------



## Kukuk

TrumpOrMonkey said:


> Did you manage to resolve the crashing issue with your new motherboard? If not it might be worth checking the health of your boot drive. I'm not sure if your SSD is new with a fresh install of Windows, but I know for sure that shifting over a pre-existing Windows boot drive to new hardware can usually cause all kinds of weird issues like that. I lifted and shifted my old Windows install when I got a new CPU, Motherboard and RAM and now it always takes a while to boot and crashes more than usual since then.



So far it seems to be good, but I could never really replicate the crashes. Aside from the crashes, I also got weird slowdown when just watching videos or browsing the internet from time to time, and I haven't had those either. I might be in the clear, although I've thought that before.

And yeah, I had done a clean install when I got this new PC.

Interestingly, a few minutes ago I was examining the board, and I noticed some sort of liquid had run down the board. I'm thinking later I might pop off the backplate and see where it came from...


----------



## Kukuk

Boy, those are some leaky-ass thermal strips. Doubt they're the culprit, though. I'd imagine whatever it is that's leaking from them is electrically non-conductive.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Overzealous flux job?


----------



## Stevko

X260. 
16RAM 240SSD i5


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Stevko said:


> X260.
> 16RAM 240SSD i5


what's x260?


----------



## Stevko

gimmeheadroom said:


> what's x260?


Thinkpad


----------



## Kukuk

gimmeheadroom said:


> Overzealous flux job?



I wouldn't think so; the pads felt like wet sponges.


----------



## SilverEars

I still got my 1080 GTX, and it's going strong.  Get decent frame rates at 1440p that I game on my LG OLED.  I've had this for so  many years. It's such a great value of a card.  With it, my PC still stomps consoles. 

It still works so well that I have no desire to upgrade.


----------



## KcMsterpce

gimmeheadroom said:


> Overzealous flux job?


We all know that there's a flux capacity. I've known this since 1985!


----------



## gimmeheadroom




----------



## mikey1964

Bought a laptop for my gaming fix while overseas, also have a Nu Force uDAC-3 + Creative Aurvana Live SE, and a pair of Creative Pebble v3 for audio. Since the laptop's for gaming, and I'm also something of a keyboard guy (the idea of playing game with those mushy membrane laptop keyboard doesn't appeal to me), I'd also gotten a Keychron K2 v2 + red PBT shine through keycaps. Oh yeah, laptop specs as follow:
AMD R7 5800H, 2x DDR4 3200MHz, RTX 3070, Win11 Home


----------



## Legato2057

Pretty boring computer choice:

Just an M1 MacBook Pro with 2tb and 16gb of ram.

And 2 8tb SSD’s filled with Movie’s, TV shows, Anime, and Music.


----------



## karangovil

Built this myself during thanksgiving of 2020:

Intel i9-10850K
Asus Rog Strix Z490E motherboard
32 GB DDR4 RAM
NVIDIA 3080 RTX GPU
1TB NVMe M2 SSD
1TB SATA3 SSD
Custom liquid cooling loop


----------



## Kukuk

The new Ryzen 7000 series seems super interesting.



It's sort of a mixed bag in terms of performance, but productivity seems to be its biggest strength. I'm also curious to see how PBO behaves with more modest coolers. Most reviewers are only using water cooling, and these new chips are able to push clock speeds until they hit a 95c temp; I'd really like to see what an air cooler will be able to do. Is it going to be the difference between 5.7ghz and 5.5ghz, or something more extreme? I can't imagine a good Noctua cooler would be too far behind a water cooler, and CPUs are notorious for exponential power consumption increase as clock speed rises.


----------



## SilverEars

Soon, I will be looking for another build computer that will do gaming well. I'm waiting on what happens after RTX 4000 series cards drop.  That's when I will decide on a new gaming PC (that is pre-built) and will be wanting a good card in it that will be good for many years like 1080 GTX has done for me.  I will not build one because I'm afraid it will break and I can't figure out the issue.


----------



## gimmeheadroom

Crossposted from https://www.head-fi.org/threads/pictures-of-your-computer-rigs-post-them-here.397869/post-17138355

I got a new box since after trying to live with my fanless Lenovo with 4G of RAM I could not. The Lenovo M75t mini tower is nothing to look at and there are some annoyances but it runs like a scalded cat. Ryzen 7 5750 8 cores/16 threads. I can transcode a 590M album in WAV to FLAC in about 10,2 seconds elapsed even on a bitlocker filesystem (not sure where the crypto overhead goes whether it's done by the drive or the AMD CPU...)


----------



## m-i-c-k-e-y (Sep 27, 2022)

Speaking of Lenovo. Purchased too a heavily discounted Thinkstation P360 Tiny. Will be arriving tomorrow.
Mine come w/ an i9-12900T and has two SODIMMS and two m.2 NVME Gen.4 slots aside from a dedicated RTX T1000 8Gb.
Will be upgrading it to 64Gb w/ two Kingston Fury mems and two 2Tb SN850X m.2s in RAID 0.

Will update this post when finished setting up.


----------



## SilverEars (Sep 27, 2022)

m-i-c-k-e-y said:


> Speaking of Lenovo. Purchased too a heavily discounted Thinkstation P360 Tiny. Will be arriving tomorrow.
> Mine come w/ an i9-12900T and has two SODIMMS and two m.2 NVME Gen.4 slots aside from a dedicated RTX T1000 8Gb.
> Will be upgrading it to 64Gb w/ two Kingston Fury mems and two 2Tb SN850X m.2s in RAID 0.
> 
> Will update this post when finished setting up.



Basically laptop-like internals without a monitor.  What I'm most interest in is, what is the best graphics card they can fit in a small form-factor and  run fairly cool.  I bet that's a big challenge.  Oh wait, is it steamdeck?

Well, it doesn't have to be a hand portable, but can be transportable to impress me.  4090 RTX in a very small form factor?  anybody up for a challenge?


----------



## UntilThen

My 2 year old PC   

Ryzen 7 3800X
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Elite WiFi motherboard
DDR4 3600MHz 32GB (4x8GB) Cosair Vengence RGB Pro
2TB Seagate Barrucuda 7200rpm SATA3 HDD
M2 Crucial 500GB P2 NVME SSD
M2 Gigabyte 1TB Aorus Gen4 NVMe SSD
DEEPCOOL PEC300 Riser cable
Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2070 Super 8GB Windforce Video Card
750W Deepcool DQ750-M-V2L 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modulare Power Supply Black
NZXT H710i Smart Tempered Glass Mid-Tower E-ATX Case Matte Black
Case Fan 140mm NZXT AER RGB Black
CPU Cooler Corsair ICUE H115i RGB Pro XT Dual 140mm PWM Fans

Acer Predator X34 UWQHD G-Sync Curved 34" IPS gaming monitor


----------



## gimmeheadroom

m-i-c-k-e-y said:


> Speaking of Lenovo. Purchased too a heavily discounted Thinkstation P360 Tiny. Will be arriving tomorrow.
> Mine come w/ an i9-12900T and has two SODIMMS and two m.2 NVME Gen.4 slots aside from a dedicated RTX T1000 8Gb.
> Will be upgrading it to 64Gb w/ two Kingston Fury mems and two 2Tb SN850X m.2s in RAID 0.
> 
> Will update this post when finished setting up.



Those are nice little units but the fan(s) is shrill and annoying for a music appliance. I can recommend the M90n IoT fanless but only for a music appliance. It doesn't have enough RAM for a desktop and it's soldered. But there is good connectivity, even a couple of serial ports.


----------



## m-i-c-k-e-y

That is for my home office. If going fanless I recommend Cirrus7: https://www.cirrus7.com/cirrus7-nimbus/


----------



## KyungMin

Built this a couple years ago and forgot to post
Ryzen 9 3900x
32gb ram ddr4
Xfx 5700xt 8gb
Wd m2 2tb
3x 2tb storage (old school)
8tb external
4tb external


----------



## gimmeheadroom

I have a Ryzen 5 2400G that's dog-slow and no provision for SSD. I'm wondering if I need to toss it or if there is any way to make it run acceptably.


----------



## Trihexagonal (Oct 8, 2022)

gimmeheadroom said:


> I have a Ryzen 5 2400G that's dog-slow and no provision for SSD. I'm wondering if I need to toss it or if there is any way to make it run acceptably.


Build a FreeBSD desktop from it, use a lightweight Window Manager like Fluxbox and only install the minimum amount of 3rd party programs you find necessary to conserve resources.

FreeBSD 13.1-RELEASE-p1
Fluxbox WM
gkrellm2
rxvt-unicode
Audacious 
Xfe FM
Gimp for the shot

Thinkpad W520
Intel Quad Core 2nd Gen i7-2760QM @ 2.40GHz
8 GB RAM PC3-10600
Hitachi Travelstar 500GB HDD @ 7200 RPM
Nvidia Quadro 1000M
15.6" TFT display with 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with LED backlight


----------



## gimmeheadroom (Oct 9, 2022)

Trihexagonal said:


> Build a FreeBSD desktop from it, use a lightweight Window Manager like Fluxbox and only install the minimum amount of 3rd party programs you find necessary to conserve resources.



I'm not sure it would help and anyway I need windows on this box unfortunately. I think the main problem is the SATA drive and there is no way to fix that. I'll probably buy another Ryzen 7 box like I posted above and dump this one eventually.

updated: I have been using i3wm for a few years now. I used fluxbox for over a decade and I like i3wm even more.


----------



## mikey1964 (Oct 29, 2022)

Changed my main rig system specs a little, basically new CPU, more RAM and a new soundbar :
System specs:
CPU - AMD Ryzen R9 5900X + Thermaltake Water 3.0 360mm AIO
Mobo - Gigabyte X570 Aorus Xtreme
RAM - 2x 16GB Patriot Viper DDR4 4000MHz
GPU - Sapphire Nitro+ RX 6900 XT
SSD - 256GB Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 3.0 X4 M.2 2280 (OS)
SSD - Samsung 4TB 860 EVO + 2TB 860 QVO + 2x 1TB 850 EVO
HDD - 6TB Western Digital Black (Games) + 2TB Seagate HDD (Media)
PSU - Corsair HX1000 Platinum
Monitor - Samsung LC49HG90MEXXS 49" 32:9 3840x1080 144Hz Freesync Monitor
Case - CoolerMaster Mastercase H500M
KB - Ducky Shine 2 78 Edition
Mouse - Logitech G703
OS - 64bit Windows 10 Pro
Logitech G29 Steering Wheel
Speakers - Philips Fidelio B97
Audio - iFi Micro iDSD Black Label (Grado GS1000i, ENIGMAcoustics Dharma D1000, MD HD6XX, HFM HE560)


----------



## Death_Block

mikey1964 said:


> Changed my main rig system specs a little, basically new CPU, more RAM and a new soundbar :
> System specs:
> CPU - AMD Ryzen R9 5900X + Thermaltake Water 3.0 360mm AIO
> Mobo - Gigabyte X570 Aorus Xtreme
> ...


Lol - that monitor naming system


----------



## Kukuk

Death_Block said:


> Lol - that monitor naming system



Monitor naming is such a mess; I hate it. The marketing departments of all these monitor companies need to tell the engineers to piss off, they don't get to name the monitors.


----------



## mikey1964

Death_Block said:


> Lol - that monitor naming system





Kukuk said:


> Monitor naming is such a mess; I hate it. The marketing departments of all these monitor companies need to tell the engineers to piss off, they don't get to name the monitors.


Honestly, I ain't 100% sure if I had gotten the model correct as there're some variations to that model, but I've added some more info on the monitor just so it'd be clearer. I agree with you, engineers should just bugger off and leave the naming to the marketing department. I think Samsung's on the right track though, what with the Odyssey G series being easier to remember.


----------



## kman1211 (Nov 2, 2022)

Some updates to my computer

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Thermalright BA120 Cpu Cooler
Gigabyte Aorus AX370 Gaming K7
32GB G-Skill Sniper X DDR4 @ 3600mhz
XFX Speedster AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT
Samsung 970 Pro 512 GB - M.2
Samsung 860 Pro 512 GB - SATA
Corsair HXi HX850i PSU


----------



## Death_Block

New laptop
ROG ryzen 9
Xt6800
1tb SSD
16g ram. Want to upgrade the speed
320hz screen
 Plays everything wonderfully
No issues with cyberpunk 2077


----------



## UntilThen

Death_Block said:


> Lol - that monitor naming system



I like mine - Asus 34" Predator.


----------



## KcMsterpce (Nov 2, 2022)

Computer 1:
Display: 55" LG OLED C1 (viewing videos), 48" LG 48QD900-B OLED 120Hz/138HzOC gaming monitor (for browsing, and gaming)
Case:  BeQuiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev 2
PSU: 1000W BeQuiet! Dark Power Pro
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14 Blackout Edition
Motherboard: Asus ROG CROSSHAIR VIII FORMULA
CPU:  AMD 5950X
RAM:  32GB Corsair Vengeance 3600MHz
GPU: Gigabyte GamingOC RTX 4090
Storage: 2TB SeaGate FireCuda M.2 (OS and video editing/storage); 2TB Western Digital SN850 M.2 (games, mostly); 4TB Samsung 870QVO 2.5" SSD (video and document storage, redundant backup files)
OS: Windows 11

Computer 2:
Display: 49" Sony X950H LED TV
Case:  Corsair 4000D, with LianLi UNI fans
Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
PSU: EVGA 1200W P3
Motherboard: MSI MPG Z690 EDGE
CPU:  Intel 12700K
RAM:  128GB DDR4 G.Skill TridentZ 3200MHz
GPU: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3090
Storage: 1TB Samsung 970 PRO M.2
OS: Windows 10

Computer 3 (Home Theater in a Box):
Display: Epson 5050UBe projector on a 110" projector screen
Case:  Hyte Revolt 3 ITX case
Cooler: Noctua NH-C14S
PSU: Corsair SF750 (750W)
Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix X570-I Gaming (m-ITX)
CPU:  AMD 5700X
RAM:  32GB Corsair Vengeance 3333MHz
GPU: Gigabyte Aorus RTX 3080
Storage: 1TB Samsung 980 Pro M.2
OS: Windows 11

Laptop:
Gigabyte Aorus 17G YD, 17.3" Laptop
300Hz 1080p IPS display
CPU:  i7-11800H
RAM:  32GB DDR4
GPU: RTX 3080/8GB
Storage: 2TB Samsung 980 Pro (replaced from the stock M.2)
OS: Windows 10

EDIT:
I also have a NAS, the Synology DS1520+, with:
4x 14TB HDDs in JBOD, and a 18TB HDD for redundancy/backup of important files/video and audio editing stuff
That was a redundant backup for my 6-year old (still running!) Western Digital Duo 2x 8TB HDD storage in RAID0


----------



## Death_Block

KcMsterpce said:


> Computer 1:
> Display: 55" LG OLED C1 (viewing videos), 48" LG 48QD900-B OLED 120Hz/138HzOC gaming monitor (for browsing, and gaming)
> Case:  BeQuiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Rev 2
> PSU: 1000W BeQuiet! Dark Power Pro
> ...


This thread is post what you have, not what you want. 🤣


----------



## gimmeheadroom (Nov 7, 2022)

Trihexagonal said:


> Build a FreeBSD desktop from it



Late hit, but I have my FreeBSD music server up tonight since some of the music I wanted to hear is not available on the two streaming services I have.

This box only has 8G of RAM, and I gave almost half to zfs arc. It runs samba, minidlna, and OpenBSD's httpd. zfs root mirror, total 16T of fairly good enterprise drives. 
4 core Xeon, no hyperthreading. Performance is perfectly fine given I'm the only one using it. I like that it has low activity compared to the hundreds of processes on a typical Linux desktop setup nowadays.


----------



## Trihexagonal

The two I use most are Lenovo Thinkpad W520 that orignally came loaded with Win7Pro I bought used on ebay for between $200-$300 each delivered. Both have Intel Core i7-2760QM @ 2.40GH and 8GB RAM with 500GB TravelStar HDD utilizing UFS.

This one runs FreeBSD 13.1 and plays YouTube videos from my playlists that are scrobbled to my last.fm account. I have Audacious play a different playlist at the same time and scrobble that as well for a total of almost 81,000 songs played logged to my account this year only.

The other W520 runs FreeBSD 13.0 and serves as my offline multimedia machine for the bedroom. Neither are ever short on resources and I'm very happy with them.


I used to have a Beginners Tutorial on "How To Build A FreeBSD Desktop From Scratch" but took it down after the FreeBSD forums blatant Copyright Infringement of my forum post of it. 

That version addresses FreeBSD 13.0 but there was very little change in version bumps and is still applicable for anyone interested in running one. I walk you through the build process, using ports to compile 3rd party programs  and show you all the Security and System files that needs editing once you hit the desktop. 

You can substitute pkg and save a lot of time, the experience differential not so important if you just want a really nice .mp3 player.

I won't link to it and neither will Google, but is still up there under the name of Deleted Member as Author. This the Second time they tried to ghost the King of the Dead.

As I type:


----------



## gimmeheadroom

I like FreeBSD as a server, as a desktop not so much. NetBSD was probably my favorite BSD for desktop, I love pkgsrc. I have had NetBSD, OpenBSD, and FreeBSD running on something or other since around 2005. I prefer Solaris 10 over all of them, and I haven't gotten into Solaris 11. The main reason I used FreeBSD on this box was for ZFS.


----------



## Trihexagonal

2005 is when I became a Beta Tester for PC-BSD and first got my hands on FreeBSD. Less Moore, of the Moore Bros, tried to ghost me years later, too, once they figred out who I was to them:

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/thr...e-firewall-manager-breaks-pf-firewall.324417/

I had attempted FreeBSD before but the text installer looked too cryptic and beyond my skill level at the time, which it was. PC-BSD got me to the desktop which was all I needed. I taught myself to use ports, never looked at the Hallowed Handbook once, and in 2012 built my first FreeBSD desktop from scratch using a tutorial someone else wrote.

My long-term goal was to learn to use UNIX, wasted $10 buying the Open Solaris Bible and had a Solaris desktop going before I got through the intro.

I've never tried NetBSD. I've had OpenBSD boxen before but FreeBSD felt more polished as a desktop. Probably due to having more experience with, and being more familiar with the workings of it.

Here are shots of my Solaris and OpenIndiana desktops.


----------



## Kukuk

Because I wanted to play with an Arc GPU I ordered an A770.

I also want to support a third player in the GPU market, but the main reason was to play with it. Not sure if I want to keep it as an AV1 encoder after I'm done playing with it, or sell it on.


----------



## Kukuk

Well, I used it for a few days, but I just couldn't stomach it much longer. It's so hard to gauge how powerful it is, because performance and features are all over the place. Even playing one of the included games, Gotham Knights, I couldn't get a consistent experience. It ran well some of the time (at 60FPS), but would also drop into the mid-40s for no reason, even with XeSS. On top of that, ray tracing caused the game to crash. Really, Intel? If you're going to include the game, it looks really bad for you to not make sure it runs flawlessly and feature-complete.

The plus side is, XeSS looks very good, and shows a lot of promise. No idea how much it improved performance, though, as turning it off seemed to cause a bug making the game render at super low resolution.




Cyberpunk ran like junk, despite being a DX12 game.




This is with RT, mind you, but with FSR 2.1. Without RT it ran at like 30-ish, but with dips below 30.





AC Valhalla ran nice. Better than Odyssey, and MUCH better than Origins. Origins stuck to 24FPS, regardless of settings.

I played odd assortments of games here and there, and if they ran alright they typically had frame pacing issue, causing constant hiccups.

I'll probably shelf the card for a few months to see if things get better. I was hoping there'd be one or two games that were a pleasant surprise, and I guess AC Valhalla might have fit that description, but nothing else impressed me.

Also a really dumb quirk with this card: No RGB control or temperature reporting without connecting the card to an internal USB header. (?????)


----------



## KcMsterpce

Kukuk said:


> Well, I used it for a few days, but I just couldn't stomach it much longer. It's so hard to gauge how powerful it is, because performance and features are all over the place. Even playing one of the included games, Gotham Knights, I couldn't get a consistent experience. It ran well some of the time (at 60FPS), but would also drop into the mid-40s for no reason, even with XeSS. On top of that, ray tracing caused the game to crash. Really, Intel? If you're going to include the game, it looks really bad for you to not make sure it runs flawlessly and feature-complete.
> 
> The plus side is, XeSS looks very good, and shows a lot of promise. No idea how much it improved performance, though, as turning it off seemed to cause a bug making the game render at super low resolution.
> 
> ...


To be fair, Gotham Knights is notorious for being an awful, awful PC game. It is entirely CPU dependent. Even with a 4090, framerate drops like a ROCK continuously, going from (let's just throw a number out there) 60fps, down ZERO, then back to unending microstutters and literal game stutters, no matter the hardware. You'll fair a little better with a 7900x than say, an 8700k. But it is still not gonna be a smooth gaming experience. 

I respect that you pitched in with the hope of encouraging another GPU contender. Sadly, their video drivers are so astonishingly bad that many people can't even see the install program unless they use the integrated GPU for a display, install the driver, then reboot to do the rest hahaha

I want to support a new GPU, but also, since Intel already makes mega-billions each year - and they can't even get their drivers to function at the most basic level - I won't pitch in on a purchase. I wouldn't exactly be helping "The Little Guy" or The Underdog, and it might even further enable Intel to give less concern about doing the BASIC THINGS correctly at release (haha).


----------



## Kukuk

It's really astonishing how broken the drivers are, considering Intel has been making integrated graphics for decades; They really shouldn't be this far behind.

Just to further illustrate how bad it is: running Windows games on Steam Deck, through emulation layers, is a more consistent and pleasant experience.

I feel like the inconsistency here would be more forgivable if, at the very least, the latest game releases worked perfectly.


----------



## KcMsterpce

Kukuk said:


> It's really astonishing how broken the drivers are, considering Intel has been making integrated graphics for decades; They really shouldn't be this far behind.
> 
> Just to further illustrate how bad it is: running Windows games on Steam Deck, through emulation layers, is a more consistent and pleasant experience.
> 
> I feel like the inconsistency here would be more forgivable if, at the very least, the latest game releases worked perfectly.


Yeah, I think in time they'll get their stuff in order more than it is now.
As for the drivers issue, it reminds me a lot of when AMD and ATI merged. They couldn't put out a good graphics driver package to save their lives. It took YEARS (3-5 years) before they finally started showing a competitive run against Nvidia. I hope it won't take that long for Intel.
I also hope Intel will continue to sink money into the project, and get it going smooth. I don't like how Nvidia has really gone off the rails this generation, and there needs to be more competition to keep them from ripping off customers and treating the scene like a greed harvester. I think it would be better of the worked harder on sticking to innovation AND fair pricing.


----------



## rivonlol

12700K
3090ti
32gb ddr5


----------



## Eagle_Driver

I have had many computers since Head-Fi was launched way back in 2001, but my current system consists of:


Intel i7-12700K
64 GB DDR4-3600 RAM (yes, I stuck with DDR4 rather than moving to DDR5 RAM for the time being)
GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER (carried over from my previous AMD Ryzen 9 5900X PC, which I stopped using due to its abnormally high idle power consumption, and subsequently sold off)
Two 1 TB Samsung 980 PRO m.2 PCI-e 4.0 SSDs

Will be getting a new GPU within the next few months.


----------



## Kukuk

Cobbled together another computer from parts I had laying around. Was waiting for a case to get here, but it still hasn't shipped.





So I dunno if anybody knows; I certainly don't, and I'm not really sure if Microsoft even knows, but how the hell does Windows licensing work? I had a digital key tied to the motherboard seen in this picture, then transferred it to my new motherboard. The transfer of the key worked just fine, and my main computer is properly activated.

I installed Windows 11 on this pieced-together computer, and signed in with my MS account expecting to tell me it's not activated; which is what I was fine with. This computer is meant to be a novelty to screw around with Arc, so I really did not need the quality of life improvements that come with properly activated Windows. Strangely enough, this did activate, even as a new system tied to my account, rather than registering as a hardware change. My main PC is still activated as well.


----------



## KcMsterpce

Kukuk said:


> I installed Windows 11 on this pieced-together computer, and signed in with my MS account expecting to tell me it's not activated; which is what I was fine with. This computer is meant to be a novelty to screw around with Arc, so I really did not need the quality of life improvements that come with properly activated Windows. Strangely enough, this did activate, even as a new system tied to my account, rather than registering as a hardware change. My main PC is still activated as well.



You are probably fine for now. If Microsoft activated that copy, you're good. I, personally, haven't had a redacted product once it was activated. However, it is possible that once you reformat/reinstall either of those computers, Microsoft may choose to not authenticate. Just be ready. You could try calling the Microsoft Product Key verification phone number if that happens, and... I'd say 50/50 that it will work.
I have had several OEM Windows keys work for a completely new build. But these days, they are more stringent and it's less likely to work, compared to even 5 years ago.


----------



## Kukuk

It's just weird because I would not have expected a digital key to just pop up out of nowhere. When I first moved over all my other hardware from the motherboard above, to the new motherboard it did actually show up as un-activated until I registered the hardware change and transferred the digital key.

The only theory I have is it's because it's Win 11, and my main PC is using Win 10. I know there's a free upgrade from Windows 10 to 11, but I had assumed that just transferred the digital key; maybe it's just a separate key entirely and the new system is the "upgrade".

At any rate, it's fun to tinker with Arc when it's not in my main system. Actually, if all games ran like Spiderman does on the A770, it would be a very pleasant experience using Arc.










High settings, Max RT, 4K/Balanced XeSS.


----------



## chesebert

Didn’t know people actually bought ARC cards. What led you to that purchase decision?


----------



## gimmeheadroom

chesebert said:


> Didn’t know people actually bought ARC cards. What led you to that purchase decision?


Probably went around and around on it


----------



## Kukuk

chesebert said:


> Didn’t know people actually bought ARC cards. What led you to that purchase decision?



Novelty. lol. I already have a 3080ti for proper gaming, but the A770 is pretty interesting to toy around with. Sometimes you can squeeze some pretty great performance out of it, and sometimes it's a trainwreck.


----------



## chesebert

Kukuk said:


> Novelty. lol. I already have a 3080ti for proper gaming, but the A770 is pretty interesting to toy around with. Sometimes you can squeeze some pretty great performance out of it, and sometimes it's a trainwreck.


Cool. We all need an adult toy to play with 🤣


----------



## KcMsterpce

I really hope Intel sticks to the GPU program, and gives it at least two generations of release. Number one hope, though, is that they focus primarily on their drivers and get that sorted well. It would benefit them greatly.
It would also help the consumers to have a THIRD option with competitive price points to decide upon.


----------



## Kukuk

Man, Doom Eternal is another game that highlights just how great the hardware is in the A770.

Ultra Nightmare preset, ray tracing, no upscaling to 4k:












It does drop into the high 40s/low 50s sometimes, but if this game supported XeSS/FSR that would more than clear that up.


----------



## chesebert

Can someone explain to me why I still can’t buy any 4090 now that mining is over? What am I missing?


----------



## gimmeheadroom

chesebert said:


> Can someone explain to me why I still can’t buy any 4090 now that mining is over? What am I missing?



Probably worldwide supply chain shortages, transportation woes, etc.


----------



## chesebert

Kukuk said:


> Man, Doom Eternal is another game that highlights just how great the hardware is in the A770.
> 
> Ultra Nightmare preset, ray tracing, no upscaling to 4k:
> 
> ...


Raja’s fine wine - here we go again 😂


----------



## TheAnomaly

let's see...

Intel i5-9600K
32 GB ram
RTX 3070

it's getting a bit old at this point, but the 3070 really helped it out


----------



## Kukuk

The "case" I got. It just works.





I still can't get over how weird it is to have an AMD CPU with an Intel GPU.


----------



## kman1211 (Dec 9, 2022)

Kukuk said:


> The "case" I got. It just works.
> 
> 
> 
> I still can't get over how weird it is to have an AMD CPU with an Intel GPU.


Honestly interesting times in the computing world. I've personally been using mostly a pure AMD/ATi as my main gaming system since the Athlon 64 days with one exception where I had a i7 3770k until I went with the Ryzen 1800X, still using that same X370 motherboard from then with my 5800X3D. I've had a few Nvidia GPU's such as the GTX 280 and more recently the GTX 1080 Ti on my secondary rigs, but never on my main one. Going to wait a few years for another CPU upgrade where I finally retire the motherboard, definitely going for another X3D chip, they're so nice for gaming. Curious to how the Intel GPU's turn out in the long run. The trend for the power hungry CPU's and GPU's this new generation does concern me some. Though maybe they will reign it some in the future generations.


----------



## msing539

Man the first post in this thread...

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
Galaxy GeForce 8800 GT
2gb PC6400 RAM
X-Fi Xtreme Music
two 320gb seagate SATA drives

How things change.


----------



## Kukuk

kman1211 said:


> Honestly interesting times in the computing world. I've personally been using mostly a pure AMD/ATi as my main gaming system since the Athlon 64 days with one exception where I had a i7 3770k until I went with the Ryzen 1800X, still using that same X370 motherboard from then with my 5800X3D. I've had a few Nvidia GPU's such as the GTX 280 and more recently the GTX 1080 Ti on my secondary rigs, but never on my main one. Going to wait a few years for another CPU upgrade where I finally retire the motherboard, definitely going for another X3D chip, they're so nice for gaming. Curious to how the Intel GPU's turn out in the long run. The trend for the power hungry CPU's and GPU's this new generation does concern me some. Though maybe they will reign it some in the future generations.



I think I've had a 50/50 split of AMD/ATI and Nvidia GPUs, but I've almost exclusively used AMD CPUs. First rig I ever built for myself had an Athlon X2 4200+ with an ATI Radeon X1300XT; I thought that thing was the coolest thing ever. Hah. 

I've had the odd Intel Pentium 3 and Celeron back before I built my computers, but the only computer I ever built with an Intel chip was my 4690k (which I later upgraded to a 4790k) rig. Even at the time I remember the Bulldozer-based AMD chips being hot garbage, so I skipped AMD for that gen.



msing539 said:


> Man the first post in this thread...
> 
> AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+
> Galaxy GeForce 8800 GT
> ...



Yeah, it's a trip going into the early pages of the thread. Aesthetics in particular have changed a lot!


----------



## kman1211 (Dec 10, 2022)

Kukuk said:


> I think I've had a 50/50 split of AMD/ATI and Nvidia GPUs, but I've almost exclusively used AMD CPUs. First rig I ever built for myself had an Athlon X2 4200+ with an ATI Radeon X1300XT; I thought that thing was the coolest thing ever. Hah.
> 
> I've had the odd Intel Pentium 3 and Celeron back before I built my computers, but the only computer I ever built with an Intel chip was my 4690k (which I later upgraded to a 4790k) rig. Even at the time I remember the Bulldozer-based AMD chips being hot garbage, so I skipped AMD for that gen.
> 
> ...


I remember having the ATi Radeon X1950 years ago, I don't recall which Athlon I had back then though. But that was a shared computer. My first computer of my own was a Phenom II X4 940 Black edition cpu with an ATi Radeon 4870. Yeah I skipped the bulldozer cpu's myself.


----------



## mikey1964 (Dec 10, 2022)

I've ordered parts to upgrade my 3900X rig, which has been upgraded with a 5900X. and have ordered some parts from Amazon, to be delivered both here in Canada and back in my home country (to my bud's house). When I get back in February, I'd be upgrading my RX 6900 XT to the RX 7900 XTX, the former will go into my 2nd rig. My i7 3960X and i7 4770 rigs will be retired.

Main Rig -
AMD R9 5900X + Thermaltake BigWater 3.0 360mm AIO
Gigabyte X570 Aorus Xtreme
2x 16GB Corsair Vengeance RGB RT DDR4 3600C16
Sapphire Nitro+ RX 6900 XT (will be replaced by RX 7900 XTX when I get back in February)
500GB Crucial P3 Plus NVMe M.2 Gen 4 x4 (OS + Essential programs)
2TB Kingston NV2 NVMe M.2 Gen 4 x4 (Games)
2TB Teamgroup MP33 NVMe M.2 Gen 3 x4 (Games)
4TB Samsung 860 EVO SATA SSD (Games)
2TB Samsung 860 QVO SATA SSD (Games)
2TB Seagate HDD (or similar) for downloads/music files/movies
Corsair HX1000 Platinum
CoolerMaster H500M

2nd rig -
AMD R9 3900X + Thermalright PA 120 SE
Gigabyte X570S Aorus Elite AX
2x 16GB Patriot Viper Elite II DDR4 4000MHZ (will get it to run at 3600C16 if possible)
(Sapphire Nitro+ RX 6900 XT (when I'm back in February)
500GB Crucial P2 NVMe M.2 Gen 3 x4 (OS)
4TB Leven JS600 SATA SSD
2x 1TB Samsung 860 EVO SATA SSD
2TB WD HDD (or similar) for downloads/music/movies
Enermax MAXREVO 1500 or Corsair HX 1050 (have both, will decide which to use)
SOLDAM XR-1 Black Knight (recently rediscovered in my storeroom, bought it more than 10 years ago)

As usual, I should be back in February with some pics, fell in love all over again with that industrial looking, no nonsense SOLDAM case.


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## mikey1964

Some parts for my build and upgrades have come, gonna have me some fun when I get back!

Some DDR4 3600C16 goodness for my main rig...





More storage goodness for my main rig, also have a 2tb Gen 4 x4 2TB drive on the way....




A cost effective but effective cooler for my 2nd rig (3900X), got an X570S Aorus Elite AX on the way for this CPU





And a just acquired XFX Speedster MERC 310 RX 7900 XTX for my main rig (5900X), gonna have me some real fun with this badboy! Pics taken at shop where my friend had gone to to pick up the card on my behalf, the card in last pic was being held by a member of staff at the shop I'd purchased the card from.


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## gimmeheadroom

mikey1964 said:


> Some parts for my build and upgrades have come, gonna have me some fun when I get back!


You left the serial number showing on the SSD pic.


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## dougms3

My rig built in 2019 then some parts added on over the years,

Phanteks Eclipse 400
Ryzen 5 3600 
ROG Strix x570-F 
GSkill 32gb 3600 Ram 16x2
Radeon rx5700 
Samsung SSD 980 PRO 1TB
Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1TB
Sabrent Rocket 4.0 500gb
Superflower 850w Titanium power supply
EVGA 280mm Liquid Cooler
All Fans replaced with Corsair Mag-Lev Fans
Elfidelity 3x Fan filters
Elfidelity PCI Power filter
Elfidelity Sata filter
Wifi 6 AX6000 PCI card
JCAT USB Card

Building a workstation for work.

Lian Li 205 Mesh Case
Ryzen 7 7700X
ASRock X670E PG Lightning
GSkill Flare X5 32 GB DDR5 6000
Artic Freezer 2 240mm liquid cooler
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD
Powerspec 750w Gold Power supply


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## dougms3

Just built this one today.  Gonna be used as workstation so no graphics card.  The 20 second boot time with the am5 chipset threw me off, I thought something was dead, I hope they fix that in the future.

We've come a long way since the old days, thinking back of the first pc I built back in the days of yonder, a 486 dx 50 with 4 mb of ram and 120 mb HDD.  Played Wolfenstein well and handled wordperfect with no problem 

Lian Li 205 Mesh Case
Ryzen 7 7700X
ASRock X670E PG Lightning
GSkill Flare X5 32 GB DDR5 6000
Artic Freezer 2 240mm liquid cooler
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB SSD
Powerspec 750w Gold Power supply


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## chesebert

dougms3 said:


> Just built this one today.  Gonna be used as workstation so no graphics card.  The 20 second boot time with the am5 chipset threw me off, I thought something was dead, I hope they fix that in the future.
> 
> We've come a long way since the old days, thinking back of the first pc I built back in the days of yonder, a 486 dx 50 with 4 mb of ram and 120 mb HDD.  Played Wolfenstein well and handled wordperfect with no problem
> 
> ...


I think you are missing the most important workstation part.


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## dougms3

chesebert said:


> I think you are missing the most important workstation part.



Is it this?


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## gimmeheadroom

dougms3 said:


> Is it this?


@msing539


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## msing539

gimmeheadroom said:


> @msing539



Isn't the goal to maximize strokes?


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## chesebert

I average 400 stokes per minute.


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## msing539

chesebert said:


> I average 400 stokes per minute.


Hmm 400... Would need to see the graph.


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## dougms3

chesebert said:


> I average 400 stokes per minute.


Sounds like you had alot of practice


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## gimmeheadroom

By @chesebert it's all phase noise and jitter


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## mikey1964

You guys crack me up!!!


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