Drew... err Corri's Build

[Corri]

As Some of you know I Ordered a new System.
I just got word that it is being processed.
I think it would be cool to Log each stage of the build, and post pictures of the sea of boxes that will soon take over my house.
The Load out for this system
Xion 2 Black Case
2 EVGA GeForce GTX 260 Super Clocked 896MB Video
1 Seagate 500GB Serial ATA
1 Seagate 1.5TB Serial ATA
VDRW 20X SATA w/Lightscribe
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6700 2.66 (Bundled... will be upgraded)
EVGA nforce 780i SLI Socket 775 Motherboard
2 OCZ SLI 4096MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz ( I downgraded... just to save a few bucks)
Logitech G5 Black/Blue Laser Mouse
Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit
Zboard USB Keyboard

Update Soon.

 

[mm3]

Do yourself a favor and make you're first "upgrade" to a Core 2 Extreme. i7 isn't worth it yet.

 

[Corri]

Do yourself a favor and make you're first "upgrade" to a Core 2 Extreme. i7 isn't worth it yet.

I am, that was the plan to begin with.

 

[Mr Alex]

Well then wuts all this then about i7.

Crap, well, I'll Get i7 just for the lols, once it becomes better, 2 the extreme will be Pentium 4 in comparison.

 

[IncompleteDude]

The i7 is great if you're planning on running a database or web server, otherwise not so much.

Also, I'm partial to ATI cards this generation. I feel they will have more longevity. Games are shifting away from texture heavy shaders to math heavy ones, and ATI has a massive advantage there. Just look at any benchmark for GRID. This is the future of how games will perform, especially console ports which are quite texture bandwidth limited.

However, for most current games, it's a tossup.

I would also be hesitant on buying the superclocked version, because 90% of the time you can OC a regular card to the same speed anyways.

 

[Corri]

I would also be hesitant on buying the superclocked version, because 90% of the time you can OC a regular card to the same speed anyways.

I like factory clocked more because I dont risk frying it.



Oh.. and
Components have shipped, UPS 2nd Day Air

 

[Mr Alex]

Bah I'll wait for core i7 to go back up to pwnage, I'm sure it will kick some ass soon with more gaming friendliness, or maybe it will get socket 940'd. Then I'm off to the other new socket.

 

[Corri]

I'm waiting for the Extreme 16 Core to come out in 2010... thats extreme pwnage

 

[Corri]

Monitors, OEM, and Case has arrived

 

[mm3]

For $900 look what I landed on TigerDirect:

20" 1680x1050 Acer Widescreen Display
-5ms, 2500:1, DVI

nVidia GeForce 9500GT 1024MB DDR2 PCI-e 2.0 Dual Link DVI (2x)

Intel DG45ID Motherboard
-Intel G45 Express, Socket 775, DDR2 800/667 MHz, 7.1 Audio, PCI Express 2.0 x16,
-DMI, DVI, S/PDIF, SATA RAID, eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire, Gigabit Ethernet

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 8192MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (4 x 2048MB)

Ultra Grid Mid-T Case with Ultra LS600 600 Watt Power Supply

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor HH80562PH0568M - 2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, OEM, Socket 775

Cooler Master / X Dream / Socket 775 / Intel CPU Cooler

Masscool 120mm Sleeve Bearing Case Fan 2x

Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB Hard Drive - 7200, 8MB, SATA-150, OEM

Ultra 4 Channel Fan Controller 2x



Now for a gaming rig like that, $900 is a sweet deal.

 

[Corri]

For $900 look what I landed on TigerDirect:

20" 1680x1050 Acer Widescreen Display
-5ms, 2500:1, DVI

nVidia GeForce 9500GT 1024MB DDR2 PCI-e 2.0 Dual Link DVI (2x)

Intel DG45ID Motherboard
-Intel G45 Express, Socket 775, DDR2 800/667 MHz, 7.1 Audio, PCI Express 2.0 x16,
-DMI, DVI, S/PDIF, SATA RAID, eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire, Gigabit Ethernet

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 8192MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (4 x 2048MB)

Ultra Grid Mid-T Case with Ultra LS600 600 Watt Power Supply

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor HH80562PH0568M - 2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, OEM, Socket 775

Cooler Master / X Dream / Socket 775 / Intel CPU Cooler

Masscool 120mm Sleeve Bearing Case Fan 2x

Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB Hard Drive - 7200, 8MB, SATA-150, OEM

Ultra 4 Channel Fan Controller 2x



Now for a gaming rig like that, $900 is a sweet deal.

Damn, that is pretty sweet... But my rig isn't finished, this is just the initial build, RAM, and CPU will be upgraded.

 

[Corri]

To those of you who know or don't know...
I am aware SLI will not run dual monitors... but here is a simple script that I will use to switch between the two

Option Explicit

Dim WshShell
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")

' Open the SLI Mutil-GPU applet.
WshShell.Run("rundll32.exe nvcpl.dll,LaunchMultiGpuApplet")
' On slower machines this Sleep value may need to be increased.
WScript.Sleep(500)

' Send the keystrokes to change the mode.
WshShell.SendKeys("%E")
WshShell.SendKeys("{ENTER}")
WScript.Sleep(500)
WshShell.SendKeys("{ENTER}")

WScript.Quit(0)


Which "apparently" you dont need in the 200 series

 

[Corri]

Build is complete, had a few snags...

First off; one of the GPUs was DOA
Second... The I/O pannel did not fit with the mobo standoffs, I had to bend out the component holes...
Third; Due to my oversight... I had mistakenly not put enough heat paste on the CPU and cooler causing it to over heat after an hour or so... recovered form that completely
Out side of that, she runs fantastic on one GPU... cant wait to get the other back after sending it to Evga.

 

[IncompleteDude]

fyi, you can't fry hardware by increasing the clock speed, only make it unstable. It's increasing the voltage that carries risk. Of course, this assumes you are keeping an eye on the temps, and using CPU intensive stability testing programs to make sure temps/stability are good. Either way, by using small increments without pushing the absolute limits, it's virtually impossible to ruin your hardware. OCing is really not that dangerous. It it was, AMD/nVidia wouldn't freely give out software that automatically overclocks your hardware (ex. Overdrive, nTune).

With some exceptions, most factory OCed cards are just a money grab, imho. But if you have money to burn or your time is too valuable to OC properly, then by all means go ahead.

 

[Jon]

For $900 look what I landed on TigerDirect:

20" 1680x1050 Acer Widescreen Display
-5ms, 2500:1, DVI

nVidia GeForce 9500GT 1024MB DDR2 PCI-e 2.0 Dual Link DVI (2x)

Intel DG45ID Motherboard
-Intel G45 Express, Socket 775, DDR2 800/667 MHz, 7.1 Audio, PCI Express 2.0 x16,
-DMI, DVI, S/PDIF, SATA RAID, eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire, Gigabit Ethernet

Corsair Dual Channel TWINX 8192MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Memory (4 x 2048MB)

Ultra Grid Mid-T Case with Ultra LS600 600 Watt Power Supply

Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Processor HH80562PH0568M - 2.40GHz, 8MB Cache, 1066MHz FSB, Kentsfield, Quad-Core, OEM, Socket 775

Cooler Master / X Dream / Socket 775 / Intel CPU Cooler

Masscool 120mm Sleeve Bearing Case Fan 2x

Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB Hard Drive - 7200, 8MB, SATA-150, OEM

Ultra 4 Channel Fan Controller 2x



Now for a gaming rig like that, $900 is a sweet deal.

That's basically what I'm looking at right now... same CPU mobo and everything.