ASUS X79 System Design Contest Round 3

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Jimmys Ultimate Gaming Machine
Processor and Case: Core i7 3960X and Corsair Obsidian Series 800D combo $1249.98
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Motherboard $469.99
RAM: Corsair Vengance Quad Channel 32GB 4 x 8GB x2 $659.98
Graphics Card: ASUS HD6970DCII x2 $759.98
SSD: Corsair Force GT 120GB SSD x2 (RAID 0) $379.98
HDD: 1TB Seagate Barracudas $279.98
Power Supply: Corsair AX1200 Modular PSU $287.39
Cooling: Corsair Hydro H100 $119.99
DVD Burner: Asus Black Blu-Ray burner $99.99

Total: $4307.26

To be honest, I found it hardto actually spend $5K, and I even doubled the RAM, SSD and upped the PSU as well. I tend to stay around $1500 myself but if I had $5K, this is what I would do. Then use the leftover money for a monitor, KB and such. Or food. One of the two.

I also love that the combos for the mobo and CPU all tend to have GSkill RAM only. Still the CPU combo with the Obsidian 800D is nice. Its a amazingly nice, and large, case.
 


That's what I've been think'n; The case itself, is a part of my question though too - because my scratch-built steel+aluminum cases make brands like a Lian Li look like the recycled trash that they are, and only take ~25hrs to build a single, non-production unit.
However, while I feel mine are better than those other crappy designs, I guess for this purpose, I should just list a COTS cube for simplicity's sake...
 

I'm surprised sound cards are what you're concerned about. There's an ASUS power calculator that shows that a lot of entries don't have a sufficient PSU, a lot of these entries don't have an EATX case (you actually state your case will fit this EATX board, unlike most), and a lot of these entries want to use three or more of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121429

If someone actually put together a system with a sufficient PSU for what they've bought, a case that will fit the motherboard and otherwise followed the rules of the contest to create a working PC design, you might consider them adding a sound card a poor use of cash, but at least they're in the minority of people buying components that will all work correctly together.
 
The "Just Right"
Processor: Intel Core i7-3960X 1049.99
Processor Cooling: Prolimatech Megahalems 74.99
Processor Fan: Scythe Kama Adjustable 10.99
Processor misc: Cooler LGA2011 kit 4.99
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Extreme 469.99
RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR3 (2 x 4GB) 8GB x4 46.99 (187.96)
Graphics: Asus Matrix GTX580 x2 529.99 (1059.98)
Audio: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatality 103.17
Primary storage: Kingston HyperX 240GB 469.99
Secondary storage: Western Digital 2TB Black 228.55
Power Supply: Corsair AX1200 287.39
Case: Silverstone Raven RV02B-W 159.99

Total: 4107.98
 
DRosencraft’s New Project Ultra-High Lowe

1. Processor: Intel Core I7-3930K (in PSU combo deal) $804.98
2. Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Motherboard $469.99
3. RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws Z Series DDR3-2400 16GB kit (x2) $499.99
4. Graphics Card: ASUS EAH6970 2Gb 256-bit (x2) $759.98
5. Storage Device: OCZ RevoDrive 3 X2 240GB $699.99
Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200RPM (x2) $259.98
6. Case: Rosewill THOR V2 $129.99
7. Power Supply: Cooler Master RS-A50-SPHA-D3 1050W (in CPU combo deal) $804.98
8. Cooling: Corsair H80 $93.99
Black Ice GTX Xtreme 240mm Radiator $95.95
XSPC X20 750 Dual Bay Reservoir/Pump $69.95
EK Radeon HD 6970 GPU Water Block (x2) $199.98
EK FC Bridge Dual Serial 3-slot $24.99
EK FC Link (x2) $27.00
PrimoChill 1/2ID 3/4OD Tubing $22.95
XSPC Compression Fittings (x6) $35.94
Sycthe Slipstream 120mm 1900 rpm fans (x4) $33.96
PrimoChill Clear Non-Conductive coolant $19.99
9. DVD Burner: LG Black Blu-Ray Burner w/ LightScribe $21.99
10. Other: NZXT Sentry-2 Fan Controller $21.99


Total: $4853.57

Alright, so, went with the absolute highest clocked memory rather than the most total GBs. Went with crossfire on the 6970 GPUs. Thought about adding a third or fourth GPU but that would have first limited my ability to throw in the RevoDrive, and these **** triple-wide cards are a pain to configure in a case. Did a big thing about the cooling on those GPUs with a full WC setup. If I had a little more room in the budget, say $5500 or $6000, I might’ve gone a little bigger on the WC with separate loops for each GPU and looked at a custom one for the CPU. Threw in a fan controller for the sake of controlling some of the noise. Finally, I tried to only use in-stock products (why I didn’t go with 6990s or some WC components) since I figure if I was to actually try buying a system like this I wouldn’t bank on out-of-stock stuff coming back any time soon unless I was certain. Hopefully by the time the Mods get around to looking at this none of this stuff disappears.
 
Ruxton Powered Harley Davidson EASY RIDER
Processor: Intel Core i7-3960X Extreme Edition Sandy Bridge-E 3.3GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) - $1049.99
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Rampage IV Extreme Motherboard - $469.99
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB (4 x 4GB)x2 - $499.98
Graphics Card: ASUS ENGTX580 DCII/2DIS/1536MD5 GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi)x3 - $1409.97 with MIR
SSD: Crucial RealSSD C300 CTFDDAA128MAG-1G1 - $239.99
Hard Drive:Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0 Gb/s - $239.99
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 - $179.99
Power Supply: SILVERSTONE ST1500 1500W ATX 12V 2.3 & EPS 12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS SILVER Certified Active PFC Power Supply - $329.99 after MIR
Cooling: CORSAIR H100 - $119.99
Audio Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium - $179.99
DVD Burner: ASUS Black 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner- $99.99

Total =$4,819.86

3x ASUS GTX 580s, 32gb of G. Skill RAM, premium audio to take that load off of the motherboard - SSD with enough room for the OS and a traditional HDD for storage.

The CoolerMaster HAF X for the EATX compatibility, 1500w for power to push the three GTX 580 cards and all the other peripherals (USB Devices, etc) - this one is good to go.

 
Build on YouTube under FalconCMH
Central Processing unit (CPU): Intel i7 3960X
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116491&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=1aqo7o6u5r75r
Thermal Interface Material (TIM): IC Diamond 24 Carat
http://www.innovationcooling.com/article1.htm
LG2011/x79 Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Battlefield III Edition
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131803
32GB Memory: 8x 4GB GSkill Ripjaw Z 1866Mhz CAS 9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231500
PSU: 2x Antec TPQ-1200 OC
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371039
GPU: ASUS Matrix 580 GTX (Holding off for Kepler had 4 580s sold them)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121467
500GB SSDs: 2x Crucial C300 250GB - RAID 0
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148363
1.5TB Spinner: WD SATA 6 1.5TB 7200RPM
ASUS DVD/CD
Mouse: MadCatz R.A.T. 7
Keyboard: Razer BlackWidow Ultimate Dragons Age II Edition
Monitor: HP 30" IPS
Sound: Logitech Sound System
Case: Antec 1200
CPU Water Block: EK HF Supreme Full Nickel
Water Pump: Iwaki RD 30
Tubing: Tygon
Compression Fittings: Bitspower
Liquid: Distilled Water w/a silver coil
Reservoir: XSPC Bay Reservoir 5.25
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate x64
MB Water Block: Koolance MB-ASR4E Block
Coolling: 2x GSkill memory coolers
Radiator: 3x 480 Black Ice SR-1 Radiator
Fans: 12x Delta PFBs
Fans: 12x Thermalright FDB 2000
Fan controller: 4x Lamptron FC2
 
Daniel's Extreme System
Processor: Intel i7-3930k LGA-2011 CPU $599.99
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Motherboard $469.99
RAM: G-Skill Ripjaws Z 2133MHz 16GB Quad Channel Kit for X79 $154.99
Graphics Card: ASUS nVidia GTX580 DCII $499.99
Graphics Card: ASUS nVidia GTX580 DCII $499.99
Solid State Drive: Kingston HyperX 120GB SATA III SSD $229.99
Solid State Drive: Kingston HyperX 120GB SATA III SSD $229.99
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA III HDD $99.99
Hard Drive: WD Caviar Blue 500GB SATA III HDD $99.99
Case: Caselabs TH10 $479.95
Power Supply: SeaSonic X-1250 Modular PSU. $269.99
Power Supply: SeaSonic X750 Modular PSU. $149.99
DVD Burner: Asus DVD Burner $19.99


CPU Block: EK Supreme HF Copper w/LGA-2011 Mounting Hardware. $94.95
GPU Block: EK Asus DCII 580 Acetal / Nickel $119.99
GPU Block: EK Asus DCII 580 Acetal / Nickel $119.99
GPU Link Adapter: EK Link Adapter for SLI Bridge $13.50
GPU Link Adapter: EK Link Adapter for SLI Bridge $13.50
SLI Link: EK SLI Dual GPU bridge $20.99
Pump / Reservour: Koolance Black RP-1200 Reservoir and pump. $299.99
Radiator: Black Ice GTX Extreme 480 Rad $147.95
Radiator: Black Ice GTX Extreme 240 Rad $95.95
Fans: Scythe Gentle Typhoon 120MM Ball Bearing x6 $95.70
Compression Fittings: Bitspower Ultimate 3/8" ID Compression fitting. Black x10 $89.50
Tubing: 25M Feser Red Anti Kink 3/8" ID Tubing. $24.95
Thermal Interface: Artic Silver 5 12g tube $24.98


Total as of 12/13 $4966.77
Loop is: res/pump > CPU > 240rad > GPU1 > GPU2 > 480Rad > Res
 
To me, “ultimate” means that I want it all. Fast, silent, slick looking, cool running, energy efficient, great fps in games, good sound, technically impressive and affordable. Normally you have to compromise on at least one or some of these (or most if you're a mortal with a budget), but hopefully what I’ve done here is make something that meets all those wants to bring together an “ultimate” PC.

1. The "Yeah, it does that" Ultimate PC Build
2. Processor: Intel Core i7 3960X … $1,049.99
3. Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Extreme … $469.99
4. RAM: Corsair Dominator Dual Channel Kit (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600 7-8-7-20 … $74.99ea x 4 = $299.96
5. Graphics Card: Asus Geforce GTX 580 1536MB … $529.99 x 2 = $1,059.98
6. Hard Drive: Crucial M4 CT512M4SSD2 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal SSD … $736.99
7. Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 800D ATX Full Tower Case … $249.99
8. Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series Gold AX1200 1200W Certified 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Modular Power Supply … $279.99
9. Cooling: Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooler … $99.99
10. DVD Burner: SONY Optiarc 12x BD-R Drive … $89.99

Extras
1. Secondary Storage: Seagate 1TB SATA III 7200 RPM HDD w/ 64MB Cache … $139.99 x 2 = $279.98
2. Sound: Creative PCI-E Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series Sound Card … $159.99
3. GPU Cooling: Arctic Cooling Accellero Xtreme Plus II 300W GPU Cooler … $84.99 x 2 = $169.99
4. System Fans: Arctic Cooling F12 TC 120mm 0.3Sone 72CFM Temperature Controlled Fans … $7.95ea x 2 = $15.90
5. Fans for H100 CPU Cooler: Arctic Cooling F12 120mm 0.3Sone 72CFM Case Fans … $5.95 x 5 = $29.75
6. For Good Measure: Arctic Silver ... $6.95

Total $4999.43
 



If your read the stats on the board , the board is running Realtek ALC898 8 channel which is an excellent onboard sound card. Problem is you don't get the same connects or out put you do with a dedicated card. If your goal is more then games and want to get the most out of your sound for HD movies and music then a dedicated sound card is the way to go. Just like you wouldn't use a onboard graphics card to play crysis 2 you would use a onboard sound card to play beethoven 5th.
 


Take another look at the rules. All they state are that you need the Asus motherboard and a an Asus video card and the minimum items listed while staying under a $5,000 total. They don't say it has to be a working build. No one will actually be reading all of these posts to judge who has the most "ultimate" build that would a) be silly, b) take forever, c) too subjective, and d) prone to favoritism which wouldn't give everyone a fair chance of winning as required by law with contests such as this. It's an open ended question left up to us the users which is why the rules further state that..."a winner will be randomly chosen from the qualifying builds". I.E they pick a random winner and check to see if their build meets the criteria above, if not they'll move on until they find someone's build that does meet the criteria. Your actual choice of components doesn't mean squat as long as it meets the minimum requirements.

That said, yes, there are a lot of wierd choices, but hey...to each there own.
 
I took a good look at the rules before putting my entry together. I'm well aware that (based on what I read and understood) people don't need a list of components that work together in order to qualify for the contest. I understand people slapping together random components simply to enter the contest, failing to even make sure the components they pick would work together...but with all of those entries, I am surprised to see someone concerned about people adding a sound card.

(It would be nice if the rules had specified that the items all had to be compatible, which wouldn't require subjectivity. I originally came in here expecting to see a lot of cool potential builds before realizing that the only thing I worth learning in this thread was the contest rules. :kaola: It'd be nice if fate was such that the winner had a decent, working build... :) )
 
Romulus's $5K Build

Processor: Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz - $599.99
Motherboard: Asus Rampage IV Extreme X79 E-ATX- $469.99
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 16GB DDR3 1600 - $79.99
Graphics Card: Asus EAH6970 DCII/2DI4S/2GD5 Radeon HD 6970 x2 - $759.98
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB x3 - $749.97
Case: Corsair Obsidian Series 800D - $259.99
Power Supply: Corsair Professional Series Gold AX1200 - $279.99
Cooling: Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooler - $119.99
DVD Burner: Lite-On Black 12X Blu-ray Burner - $99.99

SSD: Crucial M4 CT512M4SSD2 2.5" 512GB - $736.99
Wireless Adapter: TP-LINK TL-WN722N Wireless Adapter High Gain IEEE 802.11b/g/n - $18.99
Monitor: Asus VW246H Glossy Black 24" x3 - $599.97
Mouse: Cyborg Black USB Wired Laser 5600dpi R.A.T.7 Gaming Mouse - $84.99
Keyboard: Razer Black USB Wired BlackWidow Mechanical Gaming Keyboard - $106.99
Thermal Paste: Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - $12.98
Heatsink Surface Cleaner: Arctic Silver Thermal Material Remover & Surface Purifier - $6.95

Total = $4987.74

While some would go with water cooling or mineral oil cooling, I went with a build I could purchase all in from one website. Multiple displays for a nice Eyefinity setup, a large SSD, 3TB's worth of speedy HDD's, and a mouse/keyboard to complete the build for everything you need to start playing the bundled BF3 game (minus an OS). I also thew in a wireless adapter in case you don't want to be hard-wired into a modem/router. If I was given a $5K budget, this really is the build I would put together. I'd use the change to pick up some tasty beverages.
 
Sage's Deliciously Amazing Build

Processor: i7-3960X = $1049.99
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Motherboard = $469.99
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series 16GB = $629.99
Graphics Card: ASUS GTX 590 (x2) = $749.99 Each = $1499.98
Hard Drive 1: OCZ Vertex 3 Series – MAX IOPS 120 GB = $214.99
Hard Drive 2: OCZ Vertex 3 Series – MAX IOPS 240GB = $439.99
Hard Drive 3: Hitachi 3 TB HDD = $209.99
Case: NZXT Phantom Full Tower Case = $124.99
Power Supply: Coolmax 1200W PSU = $199.99
Cooling: CORSAIR H100 Liquid Cooler = $119.99
DVD Burner: ASUS 24X DVD Burner = $19.99

Total = $4979.88

Amazing MB with the fastest processor, one of the fastest video card setups, the fastest ram, an amazingly fast SSD dedicated to OS installation, another for applications and a 3TB HDD for mass storage along with a PSU, Case, and awesome cooling system to compliment it all.
 
1.AC2’s Build
2.Processor: Intel Core i7-3930K $694.00
3.Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme/BATTLEFIELD 3 $469.99
4.RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB $329.99
5.Graphics Card: ASUS MATRIX GTX580 $529.99
6.DVR: Ceton InfiniTV 4 Digital Cable Quad-tuner Card $269.00
7.Hard Drive RAID Controller (RAID 10): LSI MegaRAID Internal SAS 9265-8i $664.99
8.Hard Drive RAID Drives (RAID 10): Quantity 4 - Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 3TB $1159.96
9.Case: Antec DF-85 Chassis $147.56
10.Power Supply: Antec 1200W True Power Quattro PSU $218.92
11.Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H100 $103.74
12.DVD Burner: ASUS Blu-ray Burner $99.99
13:Networking: Intel PRO/1000 Pt Dual Port $140
14:Sound: ASUS PCI-Express x1 Sound Card XONAR ESSENCE $169.04


Total: $4,997.17

- Gaming: Check!
- Multi-Room DVR: Check!
- Light office workload (email / documents): Check!
- Heavy office workload (CAD / Virtual computer labs: Check!
- Processor, Memory, Storage, Networking, Graphics, Sound, low maintenance liquid cooling and hard drive fault tolerance to run it all at the same time all the time?: Check!
 


i can understand your confusion,,, EATX tends to change its size like my gf changes her mind...but we're not talk'n about an SR 2 here.... in all actuality they're only 27mm wider than an ATX.....which leaves 90% of cases on the table........

my original point really strikes the whole point of this contest... and that is to get us to check out the new features... and it certainly seems like giving the on-board audio (with its 110db s2n ratio and all the r'n'd that went into noise reduction) a shot before dumping 200+ into an item which may prove redundant!!!
 
Matt's Quantum Slipstream Machine!

Processor: Intel i7 3960x Extreme Edition $1049.99
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Extreme Motherboard $469.99
RAM: Gskill Ribjaws Z 32 GB (4GB x8) DDR3 2133 Mhz $289.99
Graphics Card: 2x ASUS GTX 590 3072 MB $1500.00
Hard Drive: 240 GB SSD (2x Muskin Enhance Chronos Deluxe 120 GB SSD in Raid 0) $420.00
Hard Drive: Storage Drive Seagate 3TB 7200 RPM) $289.99
Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper $189.99
Power Supply: Seasonic X 1250W PSU $269.99
Cooling: Corsair H100 $119.99
DVD Burner: Lite-On Blueray Burner $79.99
Keyboard: Logitech G19 Gaming Keyboard $143.43
Mouse: Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse $60.38

Total : $4883.81

Edit: Clarify things a bit... The reason why I select 2x 120 GB SSD instead of 3x 120 GB is because the mainboard only has 2 native Intel 6 Gbps port (reluctant to use Marvel 6 Gbps ports due to reliability and does not show up in Intel RST raid system) and the scaling of more than 2 SSD in raid 0 is bottlenecked by the onboard RAID controller. Also, I also include keyboard and mouse because what kind of ultimate system that doesnt have a mouse and keyboard :)
 
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