$5K Computer Project

[Golgo_13]

Ok, so here's the scenario.

There's a tournament tomorrow I'm participating in where the top prize is a custom computer up to $5000. What kind of rig would you build with that kind of money? I'd be interested to see some recommendations.

Keep in mind that you won't score any points for being frugal and deliberately staying under budget since it's all being payed for by the event sponsors. You want to get as close to $5k as possible while getting the most for the money.

 

[tehrobzorz]

if you win, get a qx6800, 2 8800gtx, asus striker, 1tb storage + 4 raptors in raid 0 with a lian li a10b or somthin like the p182 or TT kandalf + OCZ 850w psu + 2gb of OCZ flex mem with a watercooled sys. oh and a sound card to. plus some coke ... say the coke is used in the watercooling so theyll have to pay for it hehe..

 

[MU_Engineer]

I'd build a dual-CPU workstation with a good RAID storage system. Oh, and get a pair of 20.1" or bigger monitors (if I didn't have them already )

 

[proof]

a phasechanged ihsless qx (doesn't matter which one), 2 8800ultras, the ultimate water cooler for the ultra, 8gb of ram, 4scsi 15k rpm drives in raid 1+0 (300gb ones). And the most pimped out case you can get, that's what I would do. Don't forget a sweet 24" monitor

The 8800Ultra is just an overclocked 8800GTX... And if the QX will be phase change cooled, there is absolutely no need what so ever to risk taking the IHS off. I may purchase the new FreeZone Quad SLI cooler because I love my CPU cooler. Since it will only be cooling a regular SLI as opposed to Quad, I will mod it to cool both NB and SB chipsets. Also, add a nice qaud AC rad and a new pump.

 

[proof]

I would mod it. Put a rad or two on it.

 

[Wonderwill]

if you win, get a qx6800, 2 8800gtx, asus striker, 1tb storage + 4 raptors in raid 0 with a lian li a10b or somthin like the p182 or TT kandalf + OCZ 850w psu + 2gb of OCZ flex mem with a watercooled sys. oh and a sound card to. plus some coke ... say the coke is used in the watercooling so theyll have to pay for it hehe..

Why not 4 GB of RAM and a kilowatt PSU? I don't think the Coke will cost that much...

 

[goldragon_70]

A day is not enough time for me to resurch something that good. But I would SLI two 8800gtx's and a quade core, and about 8 GB of ram, and water cooling.

 

[tehrobzorz]

:? blah you guys REALLY suck, all this nonsense about 8800s and quad cores ... pfft!! :lol: be real man 8O and look for those amd fx 55s 8) and oc it to hell + quad sli 6200s 8) and unlock them and get 4gb or ddr500 !! then, pimp the hell out of it!

* note sarcasm *


but serz.... you ddnt win did u :twisted: :twisted:

 

[tehrobzorz]

i dnt like the p190 =( they made the case ugly by stickin a PHAT fan on the side >< it doesnt look "cool" anymore

 

[proof]

Where can I get LN2?

 

[proof]

I was planning on doing both chipset and proc with LN2.

 

[proof]

True.

 

[goldragon_70]

could just talk to the manufacturers and get the stuff that they are still testing too.

 

[proof]

What?

 

[goldragon_70]

Intell and AMD will sometimes sell hardware in beta testing to users that will give them feed back. But it's a very short list.

 

[goldragon_70]

Actually the biggest problems I've heard are compatibility with other external hardware.

 

[proof]

Yeah, I already called Intel.

 

[proof]

QX6800

 

[proof]

I want it for free.

 

[Golgo_13]

but serz.... you ddnt win did u :twisted: :twisted:

Nah. The competition was down in Austin for the World of Warcraft TCG. A combination of bad luck and opponents' lucky draws/time constraints in their favor had me on a losing streak. The top 8 from the tournament got invitations to Nationals and are playing off today for first prize, which is the computer up to $5k.

I already qualified for Nationals from a regionals event though, so I'm already set for that. Then if you make it in Nationals you go to Worlds and first place in Worlds wins $100,000.

Chances are I won't make it that far due to probability alone, but I figure I've got just as good of a chance as the next guy. There's also prize money just for placing high as well.

 

[proof]

There is a WoW worlds tournament? Damn, I thought it was already pretty bad that you would sit at home playing WoW, but to do it in public? Thats just indecent...

 

[Golgo_13]

It's the card game, not the video game. They're radically different. It's highly similar to Magic: The Gathering, but you don't automatically lose when you don't draw lands like in M:TG.

They did have computers set up for PvP duels with premade characters at the event, but noone really used them. I don't play the computer game myself as from what I've seen it's way too time consuming and I'm categorically opposed to paying to play a game that I've already bought.

Call it geeky or whatever, but those that win big cash at Worlds and get corporate sponsors will just have to suffer through that stigma in their piles of money I guess.

 

[proof]

... There is a WoW trading card game? Who, that is too funny...

 

[proof]

Yeah, it would be bitchin if it did...

 

[proof]

What is the difference between an Engineering Sample and a regular proc?