Dream Machine

[swimdude0614]

Hey guys,

I'm no hardware expert by any means, but I know enough to have built about 6 computers by now (mine, my parent's, a couple friends', etc) and I've started a little side business (mostly consisting of a website and nothing more - http://customcomps.pigasus.com) just in case someone else wants to buy a computer from me. But... since no one really likes buying from a 17 year-old, I get kinda bored.

I've now thrown together a spreadsheet of the dream machine - I call it Bragging Rights. I'm not expecting anyone to ever buy this from me, but I was curious what your alls opinions were on the parts I chose.

When choosing parts I only ever looked at the price if there were two near-identical parts by the same manufacturer and I couldn't see a difference... then I'd just go with the more expensive one to be on the safe side.

So, the Excel file is attached... whatcha think?

David

 

[Fitseries3]

qx9775 is 771 socket and will not work on the rampage. get a qx9650. the qx9770 is the same chip but costs more.

you cant run sli on the rampage. either get 2 4870x2s or use a 790i.

better yet....

get a i7 / x58 setup.

and why not 3 gtx280s?

invest more money into better cooling.

get 2-4 WD velociraptors. you'll see much better performance.

thermaltake armour is very outdated. look into lian li or silverstone.

24" acer rocks!

dont waste money on 2000mhz ddr3 when any good set of 1600mhz ddr3 can OC to and past 2000mhz easily.

why do you need 2 dvd burners? this is pointless.

and wtf? buy used stuff and save yourself 70% of the cost.

 

[Mussels]

Lol. I think fit just made you eat that list.

 

[swimdude0614]

yikes.... he kinda did. lol

well, i like the case. that's entirely preference. just so long as the cooling doesn't suck... and it doesn't look it does. and i'm going with aircooling. i've no experience with water cooling and no money to try experimenting so... that's that.

ok... after looking up 771... it's SERVER cpu?!? wtf is up with that? alright... w/e. well, i've read incredible things about the wolfdale CPUs... are the yorkfield the same architecture just double the cores? i noticed they have the same FSB and 45nm build.

i didn't get 3 vid cards cause the board only had 2 slots. are the 4870x2s as good as the 280s? i generally stick with Nvidia for games...

oh, and is the 790i actually good? i've built two computers using MSI's build of 650i and me with my *limited* knowledge of OCing couldn't get an E6750 past 3GHz. after that i lost all interest in the Nvidia XXXi boards and stuck with gigabyte.

oooo! 300gb velociraptors. last time i checked those things, they were all 1.5gb/s and 80gb. i fixed the spreadsheet... lol. price just jumped nearly a grand.

the monitor. great. at least you liked SOMETHING i chose.

as i stated above... overclocking isn't my strong point. i'd rather just get the 2000mhz stuff to begin with.

i don't know about you, but i like being able to have two cds in at once (for instance, i play C&C Red Alert and never know if i want to play allies or soviets). and i figure... i've i'm gonna have two cd drives, may as well spend the extra $20 to make them both DVDrw and lightscribe.

oh, if i ever had that much money (or half that much money.... or a quarter that much money...) it would go into my Saab, not computer. so it's a mute point. i just enjoy dreaming.

 

[Fastmix]

You'd better stick to your day job.

 

[swimdude0614]

oh that was harsh. all-too-true though. well what do you think of my other systems?

bang for your buck is just the cheapest thing i can find that will run. actually, it just has to walk, not even run. it's aimed towards fellow students who don't have any money but like the idea of maybe having a computer in their room or something.

gamer's bargain is aimed towards the gamer on a budget. it's supposed to be enough to get you started and leave room for upgrading - hence forth the expensive motherboard (and hopefully a good one?). anything that can't be added on to (processor, mobo, psu) i tried to get the very best so that money isn't wasted, where as the gpu i bought a decent one, and figured they can go sli once they save up more money.

self-esteem boost is meant for the non-gamer who just wants a good, powerful computer for average home use. internet, email, word processing, maybe some online video. just a generally good computer.

 

[ShadowFold]

Whats an xls file?

 

[Polarman]

Excel Spreadsheet File

 

[pbmaster]

Excel lol

 

[ShadowFold]

Where do I get that

 

[pbmaster]

You can either download it from Microsoft, or Open Office has something similar for free.

 

[Polarman]

You beat me to it!

You can use this if you don't have any Office software.

Excel Viewer:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...f9-ce06-4e1c-8dcf-f33f669dbc3a&DisplayLang=en

 

[swimdude0614]

i use openoffice. the best free stuff out there. i'd have uploaded them in opendocument format but the lovely forums wouldn't let me.

 

[ktr]

The qx9775 was made mostly for intel skulltrail...

As for you selection, it could be better, mostly the motherboard selection...and your labor is low. Each system build with OS should be at least $150.

 

[swimdude0614]

The qx9775 was made mostly for intel skulltrail...

As for you selection, it could be better, mostly the motherboard selection...and your labor is low. Each system build with OS should be at least $150.

well, the motherboards is where i have great trouble finding one. i have very little experience so i rely on the specs and reviews that i read on newegg. and i've also heard that the P35 chipset is an excellent overclocker so i went with that if it was an option.

as for my cost, i stoop that low because i feel like it. it's still better than $6.75/hr at mcdonalds and it's tax free.

and who's gonna pay $150 to a 17 year old with no formal experience?

-Edit-
if you've got a suggestion for a better motherboard, i'd love to hear it. that's why i posted the sheets.

 

[ShadowFold]

Well I don't know how to open those but P35's are old. P45's replaced them and they are alot better and have a lot more features.

 

[DanishDevil]

ShadowFold, do you really not know what Microsoft Office Excel is?!?!?!?!?

 

[MKmods]

Hey swimdude0614, good job so far, Everyone learns from experience and has to start somewhere.

Congrats on taking the first step. One prob with advertising comps here is 99% of forum guys build their own. Look to places where other people have no clue how to build a comp and sell to them.
TPU is a great place to get tips, tricks and deals so hang out and ask questions.

(lol, ur website is nicer than mine)

 

[swimdude0614]

lol! yeah, i'm sure not looking for advertisement here. as soon as i get my site fully updated (I started implementing the database tonight), i'll fix up a little flyer and start puttin them on doors.

 

[Wozzer]

I wouldn't allow your age to interfer with your business. There's no need for the customer to know how old you are....

I mean - Do you know how old the last person was who served you a burger at McDonalds...?

What i'm trying to say it - What they don't know, won't hurt !

Keep at it - Your not loosing any money. Just get friends and family to spread word of mouth

 

[DaMulta]

My personal Dream Machine ATM.......personal

Intel BOXD5400XS Dual LGA 771 Intel 5400(Skulltrail) Extended ATX Motherboard-$609.99

2 of these
Intel Core2 Extreme QX9775 3.2GHz 12MB L2 Cache LGA 771 150W Quad-Core Processor - Retail $1,549.99

Total $3,099.98

2sets 16GB of memory
Crucial 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR2 FB-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) ECC Fully Buffered Dual Channel Kit Server Memory Model CT2KIT51272AF80E - Retail $665.00
$1,330.00

2 x2 ATi cards
Palit Radeon HD 4870 X2 $529.99
Total $1,059.98

PALIT NE/TX280+T305 Geforce GTX 280 1GB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 (2.0 ... PALIT NE/TX280+T305 Geforce GTX 280 1GB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $407.99


areca ARC-1680IX-24 PCIe x8 SAS RAID Card - Retail $1,249.99

6 SAS drives in Raid 0
Fujitsu MBA3300RC 300GB 15000 RPM Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) Hard Drive - OEM 339.99 each
Total $3,399.90
Install Blue-Ray Burner

Addonics AE5SACSUF Aluminum 5.25" USB & 1394 External Enclosure - OEM $81.99
Take it to table next to you
SIIG 16.4 ft. FireWire 6-pin to 6-pin Cable Model CB-NF4412 - Retail Your Price:$14.99

two of these
Pioneer Black 4X Blu-ray DVD Burner SATA Model BDR-202BK - OEM Your Price:$359.99
# Type: Internal Blu-ray Burner Your Price:$359.99
# Cache: 4MB
# BD-R: 4X
# BD-RE: 2X
# DVD+R: 8X
# DVD+RW: 4X
# DVD-R: 8X
# DVD-RW: 4X
Total $719.98

AuzenTech Auzen X-Fi Prelude 7.1 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Interface Sound Card Total: $174.99
SPDIF Out Optical and Coaxial

Water cooling parts
DD-Tieton for GTX280/260 $144.95

2 of these
DD-4870-X2 Water Block $139.95

2 of these
MC-TDX for Intel 775 CPU/Boards$59.95

Black Ice GTX480 $136.95

DD-Skulltrail Southbridge $74.95

Danger Den Dual 5 1/4" Bay Reservoir $31.95

2 of these
DD12V-D5 Pump Fixed Speed by Laing
Our price: $76.95

SANYO PLV-Z2000 1920 x 1080 LCD Home Theater Projector 1200 ANSI Lumens 15000:1 $2,499.99
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Display Size 40" ~ 300"
Native Resolution 1920 x 1080

DA-LITE 89758 Designer Contour Electrol Projector Screen - Retail $509.99
Specifications Viewing Area: 52" x 92"
Diagonal: 106"
Screen Material Matte White
Screen Format HDTV(16:9)



Denon AVR-5308CI 7.1-Channel Home Theater Receiver
# 150 Watts x 7 Channels
# Audyssey MultEQ Pro calibration installer ready
# Audyssey MultEQ XT Auto-Setup/Room EQ
# HD Radio with simulcast capability
# XM Radio Ready

$5,500.00
# Sound System
# DTS-HD
# Output Power
# 7 x 150W RMS (20Hz to 20kHz) @ 8Ohm 0.1% THD
# Channels
# 7.1 Channel

TUNER:
# Sound System
# Dolby Digital Surround
# Dolby Pro Logic IIx
# DTS-ES
# DTS Neo:6
# DTS 96/24
# Neural Surround
# Dolby TrueHD




Definitive SuperCube Reference 14" 1800 Watt Powered Subwoofer

$1,899.00

* Dimensions: 16-3/4" W x 16-3/4" D x 16-15/16" H
* Frequency Response: 11 Hz - 200Hz
* Driver Complement: One 14" long-throw subwoofer coupled to two 14" infrasonic radiators

* Built-in Amplifier: 1800 watts Digitally-Coupled Class D Amplifier
* Low Pass Crossover: 24 dB/octave continuously adjustable variable (40 - 150 Hz) plus
* Unfiltered LFE direct coupled input
* High Pass Crossover: 12dB/octave continuously variable (40 - 150 hz)
* Speaker level: 6 dB octave (80 Hz)
* Finish: Piano gloss black
* Weight: 111 lbs.

6 of these
1left front 1 right front
1middle left 1 middle right
1 left rear 1 right back
Kef XQ40GLOSSBL 3-Way Floorstanding Loudspeaker (SOLD EACH)
$2,000.00

* Full bandwidth three-way floorstander
* Unrivalled off-axis performance from KEF's latest 165mm (6.5in.) Uni-Q® midrange/HF array with new 'tangerine' waveguide
* Two 165mm (6.5in.) ultra-low distortion bass drivers in dedicated enclosures
* Reference Series inspired audiophile grade tiered crossover to eliminate coupling effects
* Magnetically shielded
* Design: Three-way bass reflex
* Drive Units: 2 x 165mm 6.5in.) LF,165mm (6.5in.) Uni-Q with 19mm (0.75in.) aluminium dome HF
* Frequency Range at +- 3dB*: 45Hz - 55kHz
* Crossover Frequency: 400Hz, 2.5kHz
* Amplifier Requirements: 15 - 200W
* Sensitivity (2.83V/1m): 90dB
* Maximum Output: 112dB
* Impedance: 8O (min 3.2)
* Magnetic Shielding: Yes
* Weight: 24.3kg (53.5lbs)
* Dimensions (H x W x D); 1020 x 231 x 302mm 40.15 x 9.09 x 11.88in.

total 12000

Center
Kef XQ50CGB 3-Way Center Channel Speaker - Gloss Black
$1,250.00

Dalton Recliner

EZ Table - Left Handed or Right
Our Price: $232.89

Magazine Cabinet - Color Story Crimson Red Recliner Table - Powell Furniture - 286-265
$204.01

o baby

 

[King Wookie]

DaMulta, you mining diamonds in that moonbase of yours?

Good to dream. Keeps one interested. Just try to balance it with appreciating what you have, but that part's hard. I have a pretty decent gaming rig, but keep browsing for the next upgrade.

 

[Chris_Ramseyer]

That is some funny shit. I don't know weather to laugh or cry but I have like 90% of that stuff in my computer room.


You would have to ditch those weak ass SAS drives and put in some real muscle:

Single Drive Performance

Just wait till I post the review that shows what 8 do in RAID 0, can you say PCIe overload.

 

[DaMulta]

$8678.95
for a ten pack of those
http://sector29.com/PRODUCT_PAGES/249/249-T30395-ST3450856SS-10PK.html

 

[Chris_Ramseyer]

I will let 7 of them go for 3600 shipped anywhere in the US.

Come on Dream Machine builder, you want the best, here it is! LOL