The Rate My System Hour

[Siba]

Now with easily clickable hypertext links, prices and expectations!

Holding everything in place with the right amount of space...
LIAN LI PC-A10A Silver Aluminum ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
$229

Can't slaughter horde without a motherboard...
eVGA 122-CK-NF68-AR Socket T (LGA 775) NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
$240

A combo deal on RAM that's as good strawberry jam...
CORSAIR XMS2 DOMINATOR 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model TWIN2X2048-6400C4D - Retail
$315 -$20 combo -$20 instant -$40 mail in rebate
$494 for the whole combo, this is the part where we do the mambo.

These processors are all the rage, you'd almost think they needed a cage...
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - Retail
$308

Here we have a video card, try not to get too hard...
eVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
$650

These so I don't have to forage for storage...
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3500630AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$149

SAMSUNG 18X DVD±R DVD Burner With 12X DVD-RAM Write Black E-IDE/ATAPI Model SH-S182D - OEM
$29

MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive - OEM

For all the boys, let's make some noise...
Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeMusic 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card - Retail
$93

Last but not least some power, I hope it lasts more than an hour...
SILVERSTONE SST-ST56F ATX12V/ EPS12V 560W Power Supply - Retail

Some heft my wallet has lost, due to this system's total cost:
$2,168.15

I hope you've enjoyed my attempt at spreading some cheer, let's all be thankful, for the holidays draw near.



Happy thanksgiving guys.

 

[apt403]

trade the psu for this other then that it looks like a great system, no need for critiquing.

 

[RooD]

i like Silverstone...

and nice system thats pretty much what i just ordered -some stuff and swap the e6600 for the xeon version hehe

 

[Siba]

While it should be taken with a grain of salt, the reviews on newegg seem better for the Silverstone. Is 560w not enough for the 8800gtx? Nvidia specifies 450w, and I chose the Silverstone mainly because of its efficiency. Figure a high efficiency psu = less heat + less energy consumed, and less heat = longer life.

 

[DrakeofGolkar]

The system looks good and the ahem "poetry" sets it apart from all the other "please validate my spending" posts.
I hope you have some speakers already otherwise that soundcard will go to waste.

 

[Siba]

2 Ascend acoustics CBM170SE bookshelf monitors on a Panasonic XR55 as well as Sony MDR7506 headphones. I'm all set for now, until I decide to go surround. Then I'll need a new sound card, which should pale in price compared to the rest of the speakers

 

[ProSlayer]

I like this PSU the best: OCZ 700W http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817341002

Enough for future upgrades as well.

 

[Siba]

They don't post any efficiency specs. I'd like to keep waste heat down to a minimum, graphics card is probably going to be putting out enough as it is :?

 

[waylander]

Nice system... and please do NOT swap out the Silverstone PSU for the Antec, even if it is more power. If you want/need more power then go for a Silverstone 650 or 750.

There is a reason Falcon NorthWest uses Silverstone PSU's for their high end gaming machines...

 

[Chainzsaw]

Siba,

I would swap out that Dominator RAM, for some 2GB PC 6400 OCZ Platinum memory. I know it's awesome ram, but it's somewhat overpriced for what it is. You would get more performance by getting a faster HD then faster ram with your set up.

It will save you some $$$ and you could use that to upgrade your somewhat weak Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 500GB hard drive with a Raptor 150GB 10,000 one. If you could also get a spare 250-400GB one that would be great.

It has been said that your HD is 1000 times slower than the next fastest component in a computer.

I have 2x150GB raptors in RAID 0 and man, i'm never looking back to 7200RPM HD's!

Just a thought on your high end machine! Cheers.!

 

[Siba]

The dominator ram wasn't that much more expensive. Switching that for OCZ might have been cheaper, but I don't think it would have allowed me enough headroom to switch to a 150gb raptor as those drives are still about $225 and my current drive is only $150.

I also plan on overclocking to about 400mhz fsb, so the dominator sticks match up with my plans for the future

I definitely want to get at least a 74gb raptor for OS and programs sometime though.

 

[Grizely1]

I have the silverstone 600w modulated psu, can't go wrong, GREAT unit.

 

[skyguy]

Here's the authority on PSUs.......

The Antec didn't rate very well. And no offense, but it's a MESS of wires, not even sleeved!
http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=12

The Silverstone rated better but it runs HOT, and you said you don't want that:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=30

The OCZ rates VERY well except for the ripple encountered. In real life situations, this won't make a difference. OCZ is very cool, efficient, looks good, affordable, and great amps on the 12V:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/review_details.php?id=35

 

[Siba]

Thanks for the links to the reviews. One thing I want to point out though is that the Silverstone he reviewed was the Zeus, or ST56ZF. The unit I am buying is a standard ST56F

 

[mad-dog]

KUDOS to you for one of the funniest and most creative "rate my rig" threads i have ever seen.....
You did your homework on this one, i am a advocate of overkill psu's and will suggest a top-level FSP unit like this one: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104015
other than that, good job

 

[SPARTAN-117]

You're gonna need a Quad SLI capable PSU if you ever intend to do SLI with a pair of 8800GTX's due to the fact that each card requiers 2 PCI-E power connectors. PC Power & Cooling makes a 1kw Quad SLI capable PSU for $600. Here's the link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817703007 , this thing proably could power a small town for a year or so :lol: .

Ever thought of getting a Raptor from Western Digital for your primary drive (apps, games, ect.)? WD makes a 150gb version of the Raptor for $276. Here's the link http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136034 .

Otherwise looks good. You're getting a pretty good deal for all your parts. I spent $2500 on my rig 3 moths ago. Here's my beast 8O :

AMD 64 X2 3800+ OC'ed to 2.2 Ghz
BFG 7900 GTX 512 mb OC'ed
ASUS A8N-SLi Deluxe
2 Gb Kingston Value RAM CAS Latency 2.5-3-3-6
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 4
Westen Digital 74 Gb Raptor ADFD
2x Western Digital 250 Gb Caviar SE
3x Thermaltake Hardcano 14 HDD coolers
Thermaltake Blue Orb II CPU cooler
Zalman VF-Cu 900 Blue LED VGA cooler
Thermaltake Extreme Spirit Northbridge cooler
PC Power & Cooling 510w PSU

 

[Siba]

I went ahead and purchased the rig...hopefully the Silverstone will hold up for a while. If it doesn't, that fortron looks amazing on paper. Does anyone know of any reviews for it?

I don't really plan on going SLI unless someone gives me a second 8800gtx. It might happen when my friend builds his rig; rather, gets me to build his for him since he doesn't keep up with all the tech. At that point I'd have to consider something 800w+ :?

 

[SPARTAN-117]

Don't "waste" your money on PSU's that are cheaper than more expensive higher quality PSU's. If you'll look on newegg at the customer reviews you'll get a good idea of how long someone owned that PSU before having problems. In fact Alienware uses only PC Power & Cooling PSU's or Silverstone PSU's so I'd say they're pretty good PSU's, although IMHO, PC Power & Cooling gives you the absolute best bang for your buck.

 

[Siba]

In the event that this silverstone psu doesn't quite cut it, or dies on me altogether... the Fortron 700w that mad-dog linked to looks darn sexy. I'll definitely have to keep that one in mind, along with the raptor hd that chainzsaw mentioned earlier in the thread. Thanks for all your input guys!

 

[mad-dog]

As my bud Spartan-117 pointed out the Silverstone is top-shelf, right up there with Fortron and PCP&C.
Nothing fancy here, no blue lights, windows or removeable cables.... just rock-solid rails and high-efficiency (>85%)