System Builder Marathon, Dec. 2009: $1,300 Enthusiast PC

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tapher

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2304x1440 max resolution Sony FW900 or HP A7217A monitors in perfect working order can be had reliably for $200, so I think those who post from the point of view that this $1300 build is an over-achiever graphically might rethink their position. I have 3 of them, and when Eyefinity drivers are finally updated to account for bezels, I will be one happy dude.
 
G

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I just got most of my i5 setup (sans GPU) from a NewEgg combo deal. I'm happy to see such good results from the CPU. FWIW:

1 x ($104.99) MB GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 P55 RT - Retail
$104.99
1 x ($79.99) PSU ROSEWILL|RG700-S12 700W RT - Retail
$79.99
1 x ($199.99) CPU INTEL|CORE I5 750 2.66G R - Retail
$199.99
1 x ($93.99) MEM 2Gx2|GSKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail
$93.99
1 x ($109.99) HD 1.5T|ST SATA2 ST31500541AS - OEM
$109.99
1 x ($79.99) CASE NZXT| LEXS - 001BK RT - Retail
$79.99
1 x ($-97.95) DISCOUNT FOR COMBO #306543
$-97.95

Shipping and Handling: $0.00
Total Amount: $570.99
 

Computer_Lots

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[citation][nom]clayn[/nom]I just got most of my i5 setup (sans GPU) from a NewEgg combo deal. I'm happy to see such good results from the CPU. FWIW:1 x ($104.99) MB GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD2 P55 RT - Retail$104.991 x ($79.99) PSU ROSEWILL|RG700-S12 700W RT - Retail$79.991 x ($199.99) CPU INTEL|CORE I5 750 2.66G R - Retail$199.991 x ($93.99) MEM 2Gx2|GSKILL F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Retail$93.991 x ($109.99) HD 1.5T|ST SATA2 ST31500541AS - OEM$109.991 x ($79.99) CASE NZXT| LEXS - 001BK RT - Retail$79.991 x ($-97.95) DISCOUNT FOR COMBO #306543$-97.95Shipping and Handling: $0.00Total Amount: $570.99[/citation]
Good luck with that Rosewill Power supply. Those things usually last about a year tops.
 

astro56

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I see no reason for having dual 5850's. I mean seriously if you're looking for that much power, you should go with a 920 setup. Instead one 5850 and core i7 860 would give you a more balanced build. It's a really nice build, but I suggest this alternative to any one playing video games and doing work.
 

geok1ng

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The case of this system showed less airflow problems than the Lian Li of the $2500 system. 2x140mm Fan top-mounted would do wonders for a multi-gpu setup.
Amazing idle power consumption on the new system.
 
While I haven't been a fan of i5, I liked the lessons from this build. Sure, most people would use an aftermarket cooler, and I think we can readily imagine the results with such a cooler, and maybe a top fan. It isn't the machine I would have built for myself (I'd have gone one GPU and i7+cooler) because I'm a non-competitive RPG player who knows he doesn't [yet] need this much graphics muscle, but that doesn't mean I can't appreciate the thought and effort that went into this build. I really like how frugal it was at the socket. I'm really looking forward to the $700 build.
 
Hmmm, I just noticed a "theme" I hope is not repeated in the $700 build. Both builds so far have had thermal problems; yesterday's from a sorry case choice (sorry, that's how I see it), and today's from relying on the stock cooler. I only do mild overclocks (and kudos for the undervolting), but I'd get a better cooler if only to keep the noise down.
 

mrgrey

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Nice ideas...however, buyers will note that newegg.com no longer carries the P55-UD4P. Which is a shame, because I agree with this article having done my own research and had slated this MB as the one I was going for. Does anyone know a *trustworthy* alternative to newegg.com?

 

dimitrik

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I'm probably in a minority but I just don't see an "enthusiast" system with 2 GPUs and an i5 CPU - I would expect the opposite - an i7 860 CPU overclocked to the max and a single mid range GPU - this looks more like a gamer only build to me, it sacrifices way too much processing and multitasking for graphics and that's not the be all and end all of computing anymore IMO.
 

kyle4rp

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HELP!!

I bought all of this stuff from newegg for my first build! Exactly the same stuff.

System boots fine, but Win 7 oem disk freezes during install constantly. Cannot instal. Got as far as the pick a HDD to instal too, and SATA drive not even found, but was found in BIOS.

I formated the SATA drive to NFTS with my XP laptop and a SATA/USB connector. Now, it continues to freeze. I've taken out one RAM stick, One Graphics Card, and only have the DVD and HDD installed.

I even purchased a PS/2 Dinosaur keyboard instead of my USB wireless mouse/keyboard. To no avail.

This is the wrong section for help...i know, but this is the exact same build.

Anyone!?
 

cleeve

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[citation][nom]kyle4rp[/nom]HELP!!I bought all of this stuff from newegg for my first build! Exactly the same stuff. System boots fine, but Win 7 oem disk freezes during install constantly. Cannot instal.[/citation]

Wow. I'm sorry to hear that dude, it went smooth as butter when I made the build. Can't think of why Win7 would freeze except some bad RAM maybe? You shoudl run memtest off a bootable CD and put the RAM through the paces. I've had new RAM that was bad more than once.
 

kyle4rp

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I just figured it out tonight...it's 3:30 in the morning. I needed to pump up the RAM in the BIOS x8 setting I think. Works like a charm now....on to the next problem. Win 7 installer is not recognizing my Hard Drive.

I formated the entire thing with NTFS using my XP laptop. Tried it again, and still no go....well, it's one pile of crap into the next. Googled it to death and still the same problem. I did put some files on it from XP just to test it...it works.

Any suggestions? THANKS!
 

kyle4rp

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No, not an easy time at all.

I'm using all the same stuff as this build. SATA drive from WD 640G.
The good news is the freezing problem is solved. I almost shot the computer!

I originally thought the MOB was bad, so I purchased a new p55(A)-ud4p Gigabyte instead of the p55-ud4p that's on this build. Should make a difference.

Do i really need to flash the BIOS....Really??? I downloaded all the drivers from Gigabyte for this MOB and tried installing them during the windows instal prompt...but none worked.

BIOS flash...really???? ah man! Never done one and don't want to screw it up if I don't have to.

Thanks for helping though man.
 

cleeve

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[citation][nom]kyle4rp[/nom]BIOS flash...really???? ah man! Never done one and don't want to screw it up if I don't have to.[/citation]

BIOS flashing is pretty easy, the only rule of thumb is to avoid windows-based flashing tools.

All you need is a bootable USB stick, the newest BIOS from the gigabyte site, and the flashing program (often included in the BIOS download)

Then you boot to command line with the USB stick and launch the program with the appropriate command.

It's easier than it sounds. :)
 

kyle4rp

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Well, you da man! I didn't have to Flash the BIOS though. Now that the freezing problem was fixed by overclocking memory to 8x, I tried an old 100G IDE HDD, and it installed with no problem.

So guess what!? I'm rocking the new 2009 Dec $1,300 build!

It's beautiful. I'm leaving my Toshiba Laptop of 5 years. What can I say, who doesn't enjoy a big honking set of Double DDR3 Rams and a CPU that don't stop! Oh Snap!
 

cleeve

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[citation][nom]kyle4rp[/nom]Now that the freezing problem was fixed by overclocking memory to 8x, I tried an old 100G IDE HDD, and it installed with no problem.So guess what!? I'm rocking the new 2009 Dec $1,300 build! It's beautiful. I'm leaving my Toshiba Laptop of 5 years. What can I say, who doesn't enjoy a big honking set of Double DDR3 Rams and a CPU that don't stop! Oh Snap![/citation]

I'm glad to hear that! Unfortunate that you had to jump through all the hoops, but sounds like you're happy with it! :)
 

kyle4rp

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I've search around on google and on Tomshardware for instructions on exactly how to overclock this $1,300 build. I've used information from several sites and even some youtube 'howto's" and all freeze up the system.

One thing to note. With factory setting my system will not work. I must overclock the memory to 8x for it to work. Any change to up or down on the memory freezes the system. Could this be a RAM issue? If not, what settings did you guys use in the BIOS to overclock?

Thanks tons!
 
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