School Tech Department Showcase PC

[NumenorLord]

Hey, I was just asked to design a high-end showcase PC for my school's tech department (budget of ~$5,500 for this project). The money is left over from what they didn't spend it on this year (just extra cash laying around). It will be given to the top fundraiser of the class of 2006 (for all four years of high school, who happened to earn something like $7,000 over four years). Here is what I've come up with so far:

Lian Li PC-65 Case
Silverstone Zeus 650 watt Power Supply
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe motherboard
AMD Athlon 64 FX60 Processor
2x1GB OCZ Titanium DDR400 memory @ 2-3-2-5
Dual eVGA GeForce 7900 GTs in SLI (500/1500 MHz)
Dual Raptor X 150 GB SATA Hard Drives in Raid-0
Dual Maxtor DiamondMax 10 300 GB SATA 3.0GB/sec Hard Drives in Raid-0
Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro Sound Card
Wireless Card, DVD-Rom Drive, DVD-RW Drive, Floppy Drive, Dell 2005fpw 20" widescreen monitor, and Logitech Z-5500 5.1 THX speakers

 

[sandmannight]

I would go for 2 x1900xt's in crossfire. But thats just me. For a setup like that you may want to consider watercooling

 

[NumenorLord]

Woops, I forgot to put that on the list, but don't worry.

 

[kyleawesome]

this has absolutly nothing to do with what you've asked, but if I heard that was the grand prize, all of a sudden I'd have an extra 4000 in my coffers! (basicly buying it, but still...)

 

[NumenorLord]

Yeah, it was sort of a surprise because they just had money left over. Now I wish I had fundraised a... bit more (fundraised at all for starters).

 

[unbiased4u]

Firstly, I think you should get a better showcase PC case....the Lian-Li looks good, but it has to be more flashy. If you can find a blue Cooler Master Wavemaster, then get one, they're gorgeous in person. They're discontinued though, I wanted one ....Some cases I think you could get are the Asus Vento, Cooler Master Cavalier, Wavemaster, or one of those other quiet Lian-Li cases. Silverstones are good too, but find the most aesthetically appealing case for you and most of the population...because after all, it's for show right? I'd personally recommend a wavemaster, but it's your choice

And go for 7900GTX SLi...SLi is more efficient and performs better than Crossfire in most cases. Money really isn't an issue because $5,500 is a lot of money

You should spend $1000-$1500 on a nice Samsung/Sony/Viewsonic 24"/23" LCD. That sure will attract a lot of attention 8)

Also, since it is a show case PC, you could overclock it with thermal cooling and get InSaNe!1! speeds! That would impress everyone

You could also go Intel to impress the stupid people when you OC it to 6+Ghz and they think you have the fastest computer ever :twisted: But I don't suggest this direction

If you don't OC, it will still impress lots of people....trust me :lol:

edited for grammar

 

[unbiased4u]

Oh, and if you are looking for a case with a window, just add one yourself, or hire someone to do it for you...it's very cheap to do, and looks good... Add tons of mods hehe :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:

everything else looks good

 

[NumenorLord]

Hmmm, the parts just for the computer add up to about $4100, not including shipping, the water cooling, the monitor, or the speakers. Let's see... shipping will come out to about $200. That's $4300. The speakers and monitors will cost about $700 combined ($5000). The OS is another $150. Last but not least is about $300 for water cooling, about about $50 for a keyboard and mouse (I'm thinking some decent multimedia keyboard + MX518).

 

[unbiased4u]

Ok, whatever....SLi, isn't that good, but neither is Crossfire...OMG!! 9 frames/sec more! Wow! Let's rejoice!! Seriously, both Crossfire and SLi are really good performance boosters. I've looked at other websites such as the gamepc.com and other reviews. Sometimes Crossfire wins by a lot and sometimes SLI wins by a lot. (they were comparing the 1900XTX vs the 7800GTX for some reason) Other review sites come out about the same. So either way, you're getting the top of the line, and that's all that matters
Are the 7900GTX's cooler and quieter than the X1900XTX's? I'm not sure... they might be better at OC'ing than the XTX....I heard the GTs are loud though...

An acrylic case is the perfect way to show off the PC! A good view from any angle 8)

As for the KB/Mouse, get a Logitech...high quality, or a Microsoft ergonomics one....the Logitech is better though...

good luck with the system! It really kicks arse

 

[NumenorLord]

Hmmm, I'm slapping two GTs in just because I can, and it will be for bragging rights (which I think SLI and crossfire are mostly about, in actuality). Also, I'm taking off the stock heatsink and fan and putting another, more efficient one on each of them. Not sure yet though. I'm thinking maybe the Vantec Iceberq (so I can still have three free PCI slots on the motherboard).

 

[unbiased4u]

EXACTLY!! That's what the case is for too

Yes, the Iceberqs are good....which monitor are you getting? A Dell? Sony? Samsung? Viewsonic? Those all are good, but the Dell is the cheapest (in terms of price and quality). Just take your pick

I've never used a Cooler Master Wavemaster, so I don't know what the interiors like

 

[mesarectifier]

Were you being serious when you said OC it like hell? I really don't think anyone would be that impressed with you blowing up an FX60 and you certainly wouldn't be too happy paying for a new one. I thought you couldn't OC FX's anyway

 

[unbiased4u]

Ok, so overclock a Pentium D to 5Ghz+ then Yes you can OC FX's

 

[rodney_ws]

Why not get Thermaltake's Tai-Chi water cooled case?

 

[rodney_ws]

Were you being serious when you said OC it like hell? I really don't think anyone would be that impressed with you blowing up an FX60 and you certainly wouldn't be too happy paying for a new one. I thought you couldn't OC FX's anyway

LOL... AMD's FX series is meant for overclocking... that's really what seperates it from their X2 series (that and a lot of $) Sure, you can overclock an X2, but the FX is definitely more friendly in this regard.

A better question would be... why overclock a $1000 processor... especially when it's essentially a gift for someone else... that should be up to the owner.

 

[Breman]

I thought the differnce between regualer X2 and the FX60 was that the FXs had an unlocked multiplier... but I very well could be mistaken, as i've never sceen let alone worked with one.

I'm with most of the others, I'd recomend getting a flashy case..

 

[NumenorLord]

I'll be doing absolutely no overclocking on my own, though I will offer to overclock it to a safe amount after explaining the pros and cons of overclocking. For example, I might offer to OC the cpu by a very safe 400 MHz, but I will ask before I do so. However, on this system that is just a bit overkill. I'm also purchasing a 20" Dell widescreen monitor. That's what I have, and it is very, very nice. Don't listen to the morons that have never owned one - Dell monitors are absolutely fantastic (unlike the desktops). In fact they're about the only good things Dell sells (perhaps the notebooks are ok as well).

 

[mesarectifier]

Which AMD64 processor is it that sucks for OC? I know Opteron has a good reputation for expansion, and people do A64s all the time (is X2 any different?). That only leaves the FX.

 

[NumenorLord]

I think all AMD64 processors are fantastic for overclocking. I've seen Semprons, FX, X2, and Athlon 64's all overclocked a lot.

 

[mesarectifier]

Perhaps I'm getting confused. It has been a looooooooooooooooong day

 

[mcgruff]

For a school prize maybe a LAN-party-tastic Aspire X-Qpack could be a good choice. Will need to go mATX, of course.