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iBuypower's $5,500 Ultra Gaming System

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Last response: in Tom's Guide
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June 7, 2007 11:26:38 AM

In May we showed off some systems for the overindulgent. This time, we cut the price tag in half but still ended up with a system built to thrill.

More about : ibuypower 500 ultra gaming system

June 7, 2007 1:11:53 PM

Not worth the money. I'm sure Dell's XPS 720 H2C can outperform this iBuypower for around the same price if not cheaper.

Yea, the Dell uses propriety parts, but it still would kick the iBuypower's butt! Not to mention, I bet the Dell XPS is quieter than the iBuypower.

IMO, I think the one thing that makes Dell's XPS more affordable and overclockable is because of the fact that they use BTX and I'm sure their H2C cooler helps cool the NB off as well compared to todays ATX motherboards.

I know my Scythe Ninja isn't helping cool off my NB, but neither would a TEC cooler due to the layout of the board.

Bottom line... spend $5500 on something else :wink:
June 7, 2007 5:01:17 PM

I'm trying to figure out what kind of power supply they have in that thing. The cables look pretty sweet.
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June 7, 2007 5:19:14 PM

FPS is getting a bit stale, don't you think? Especially since all these computers are pretty damn smokin'. What I'd really like to see is some realistic dollar per performance metric. Right now, benchmarks inherently assume that money doesn't matter.

For instance, let's pretend the Falcon was, I dunno, $7,000 and got an average of 225 fps on Oblivion at 2048x1536. Run the same on the $5,500 iBuyPower, let's say it gets an average of 145 fps. On a "dollar per fps" the Falcon costs you $31 per fps. The iBuyPower would run you about $38 per fps.

Of course, that doesn't really make sense because the human eye can only detect, what, 30 fps? So, say, toss X number of objects into a standard scene until the fps drops below 30. The number of objects on the scene per dollar would be a great metric.
June 7, 2007 7:36:58 PM

I thought they use FPS because they utilize the graphics cards more than other types of games?
June 7, 2007 7:54:01 PM

Quote:
Of course, that doesn't really make sense because the human eye can only detect, what, 30 fps?


The human eye doesn't see things in frames, and we can tell the difference all the way up to 200fps if my memory serves me correctly, but the monitor is the limitation at that point.
June 7, 2007 8:11:55 PM

Quote:
we can tell the difference all the way up to 200fps


Really? Ah...well, I suppose my concern is that after awhile, comparing a rig that throws 234 FPS vs a rig that throws up 198 isn't telling you too much. I mean, it does from the standpoint of maximum performance, but not really what'll get you the biggest bang for your buck.
June 8, 2007 2:58:36 AM

Quote:
we can tell the difference all the way up to 200fps


You sure about that? I thought it was 30fps...Anyway this rig is not worth it, just get an overclocked pc for less. Like an overdrive pc.
June 8, 2007 5:24:25 AM

Quote:
I thought they use FPS because they utilize the graphics cards more than other types of games?


He means Frames Per Second, not First Person Shooter.

I agree, showing 200+ FPS games isn't really useful, but the FPS comparison is still valid. An additional chart showing price/performance would be helpful for the few people who are looking for one of these, but honestly, who here would buy any of these? Either you know how to build your own and would do that, or you don't and wouldn't have the money to spend on one these. There can't be very many people who are loaded AND have no technical knowledge.
June 8, 2007 7:22:18 AM

They should have compared this system to the Dell 720 H2C. From what I can tell, I would think the Dell solution is better, but still nothing compared to an enthusiast build.

As far as cooling the QX6800, you can always piggy-back your case on top of a vapochill or prometeia, or if you don't mind the tinkering, go the peltier route. Intel should not restrict distribution to OEMs when enthusiast have had very powerful cooling solutions available for several years already. Even simple water cooling can do quite well when done right.

If you can cool an overclocked Pentium EE 955, the QX6800 won't be much different.
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