Boutique Sandy Bridge-E PCs Priced From $6K to $13K

Intel's latest processor caters very well to these manufacturers, sparking memories of times of super-expensive PCs that could cost more than $30,000.

If you want to order a Sandy Bridge-E PC today, and you don't intend to build such a PC yourself, your options are still very limited. You will have to go to boutique PC vendors such as Digital Storm, Origin PC or Maingear.

Basic systems with Intel's i7 3930K processor start at around $2600, while 3960X systems command a premium of at least $500 and can be ordered as overclocked versions with clock speeds of between 4.5 GHz and 5.2 GHz. A typical overclocked 3960X system with vendor-recommended options appears to be running in the $6000 to $8000 range. However, the option lists are long and a Sandy Bridge-E system can be pimped out with plenty of features to reach more than $12,000 at Digital Storm and more than $13,000 at Origin. Maingear goes well beyond that with custom paint jobs, optional dual 46-inch displays or Samsung's 23-inch 6-panel display, you would be looking at close to $22,000 for your new PC.

Read more about the new Sandy Bridge-E in our full review.

  • saturnus
    Ok, I think the term that you pay a large premium for slightly increased performance just got taken to a whole new level.
    Reply
  • halcyon
    $6000-$8000 needs to include quad/tri-SLi/CF and multiple large SSDs in RAID
    Reply
  • mouse24
    I think ive started to appreciate my 500 dollar build more, so much cheaper for nearly the same performance....
    Reply
  • 11796pcs
    You spend all that money and then the developers make crappy games. Sigh.
    Reply
  • Trialsking
    Save yourself around $3000 and read the Tom's Hardware forums and learn to build/OC yourself.
    Reply
  • christop
    I see no point in buying sandyE just go with the regs and be happy. The tiny increase is not worth it.
    Reply
  • slhpss
    bleh... wake me up when Ivy Bridge gets here...
    Reply
  • "...command a premium of at least $500..."
    Five Hundred bucks you say? Sounds like great deal to me.
    Reply
  • festerovic
    If you added up the "extra stuff"

    6x 46" 1080p Tvs = around 8k
    2x dual GPU video cards (nV or ATI) = 2k
    + RAM CPU, SSD RAID, bad azzz mobo (and all the other ish) = 3k

    wheres the other 9k going on the 22k build?????
    Reply
  • festerovic
    just spotted the specs - dual xeon and workstation graphics cards (x2) would definitely cost a lot more. Still...
    Reply