System Builder Marathon, June 2011: $2000 Performance PC

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Will all this fit in a backpack when I have to edit video on the road?? (kkkkkkkkkkk)
Regards,
Spencer in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro in fact and soon heading to the Amazon!)
 
[citation][nom]srgess[/nom]2000$ wtf ! I came to 1807$. Perso i would change case, videocard,ssd,cpu cooler. I guess you added extra 100-200$ for screen, OS.Seasonic SS-850HT: 125$XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283: 30$2x A-Data S599 SSD: 120$ x2 (240$)Lian-Li PC-9F :106$LG WH10LS30: 89$2x MSI R6970: 320$ x2 (640$)8 GB G.Skill DDR3-1600: 74$Intel Core i7-2600K: 314$ASRock Z68 Extreme4: 189$[/citation]

Well I came to $2000. The higher the price, the more it turns me on lol.
 
SBMs are a great idea, which makes what I am about to say much more difficult.Please understand that I have the best interest of this site at heart and don't consider me a whiner.

I was a bit skeptical about the Lian-Li case. But after seeing the hardware installation page ANDconfirming that TH had enough budget to buy better cases, I totally disagree with their choice. They got lucky that their cards have their power cables on the side or they wouldn't fit in at all.

I mean what's the purpose of spending $140 on a case like this!!!. The alternate choices include (All of them have 8+ expansion slots):-

1)CM HAF X: Since their budget is $2000 and they only used $1935. Why don't they spend the remaining budget on this case which undoubtedly has better airflow and more room for components?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

2)Corsair 650D: This case would be a better fit for the components than the case they used and the price tag is quite affordable

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

3)Corsair Graphite 600T:- A very popular and affordable case that has one front and top 200 mm fans and 120 mm rear fan

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139003

4)Thermaltake Armor+: A case with 10 expansion slots and good airflow

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133056

The only reason I didn't mention anymore models( including my own storm sniper) is that they mentioned a possible need for 8 expansion slots. I might be mistaken of course, but I don't know what happened with this SBM and the last one but, most of the case choices in those SBMs don't seem to make sense to me at all.

There was a gentleman who responded to my comments in the last SBM and he was arguing the build quality of the cases that I recommended and claiming that the 300 illusion has better build quality than most of the models I recommended. Does this argument stand for this SBM too? I don't think so.
 
[citation][nom]youssef 2010[/nom]They got lucky that their cards have their power cables on the side or they wouldn't fit in at all.[/citation]

No luck involved with the graphics cards fitting, it was all planned. As for cooling, the Three Hundred Illusion is actually a tiny bit better than the Lian-Li but too many people wanted an expensive-looking case to go with this component level.

If a side window were wanted, the Nine Hundred Two might have been picked (in spite of its gaudy lighting).
 
[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]No luck involved with the graphics cards fitting, it was all planned. As for cooling, the Three Hundred Illusion is actually a tiny bit better than the Lian-Li but too many people wanted an expensive-looking case to go with this component level.If a side window were wanted, the Nine Hundred Two might have been picked (in spite of its gaudy lighting).[/citation]

O.K. then I apologize for this part but still. Can you explain your choice of Lian-Li over Corsair, Coolermaster, or Thermaltake?

The reason I'm posting a comment is that I want an explanation for your choice. So, If you can provide me with a logical reason to overlook a case such as the HAF X which has better airflow and more room. Since 6970s vent partially inside the case, the added airflow could help the temperatures.
 
lets not blame the editors entirely for this lackluster SBM, because this is largely AMD's fault. We all know what we wanted to see for the june SBM, bulldozer, and the deadline slipped unsurprisingly away. I sincerely hope the $1000 build tried something more interesting, like a dual hd6870 or gtx 560 build, which is entirely possible at current prices.
 
........Adding to the previous comment, a case with a side window is of no concern to me. I simply care about better performance and value,nothing more.

My comments are written out of my eagerness to learn so, please don't get me wrong.
 
[citation][nom]youssef 2010[/nom]Our previous build consumed slightly less energy, though this can be affected by small things like GPU temperature.[/citation]

Explain please. How can GPU temperature translate into a 30Watt difference in power consumption!!!!!. The only explanation I could think of, however stupid it may be, is that a different motherboard was used.
 
[citation][nom]JamesSneed[/nom]Holy hell I got down voted like crazy for saying you should have used a Lian-Li PC-9F on the last $2000 build. Anyhow at the time I said it newegg had it on sale for $99.[/citation]Yes, prices have changed since the thing was ordered. And I never voted you down 😛
 
I'm biased....

I will generally avoid any motherboard with "extreme" as part of the product title. This is a huge marketing red-flag for me.

IMO, a Z68 board needs to have an NF200 controller for the PCIE slots, otherwise, the board is stuck at x8 when you go SLI with it, as this one is.
 
I bought all the items here but have a problem getting it to work, I set the two adata SSD to raid zero (using both the intel and marvel raid), raid configures fine in bios (both controllers) then go to install win7 64 bit, windows see the drive but i get numerous (and different) errors with windows drivers on DVD, freshly downloade from intel and from the motheboad install disk, here are the errors
1. Windows will say cannot install to this drive
a. I wiped the partitions on another computer then windows would allow install
2. Install freezes at between 4 and 8%
3. After the freeze again have to re initialize the disk

Any ideas how it was done here?
 
Why go with Intel dammit. With amd you save money and still get good perfrmance. Everything else is good. Oh im not sure but didn'e the 6990 beat dual 6970s? If so the 6990 would be a better choice
 
[citation][nom]arabiansakr[/nom]I bought all the items here but have a problem getting it to work, I set the two adata SSD to raid zero (using both the intel and marvel raid), raid configures fine in bios (both controllers) then go to install win7 64 bit, windows see the drive but i get numerous (and different) errors with windows drivers on DVD, freshly downloade from intel and from the motheboad install disk, here are the errors1. Windows will say cannot install to this drivea. I wiped the partitions on another computer then windows would allow install2. Install freezes at between 4 and 8%3. After the freeze again have to re initialize the diskAny ideas how it was done here?[/citation]
1.) Connect drives to ports 0 and 1 on the Intel controller
2.) Set BIOS to RAID. DISABLE the Marvell controller if it's not being used.
3.) The Intel RAID BIOS GUI prompts "Ctl-I to enter RAID setup" for around two seconds. Do that before the prompt goes away.
4.) Set your RAID array.
5.) Install Windows 7 WITHOUT adding drivers during installation. Windows 7 default driver works.
6.) Install CHIPSET drivers.
7.) Optional: When you're done installing Windows and other drivers, install Intel Rapid Storage Technology utility, which adds an improved driver.
 
[citation][nom]amk09[/nom]I would do anything to get a rig like this, sucks growing up in a poor family[/citation]

I hope you win the big prize, man!
 
I'm very fortunate that every couple years, I'm able to build a new recreation rig, so thanks to Tom's for the SBM's, they've been invaluable so far. I don't typically buy cases, but build them myself, but I do like the look of the case in this build. I guess I'm one of "them", that don't want neon and windows, just a nice sleek black case. With all that said, this year is my next build cycle, and given my generous budget I'm looking to raid a pair of 128GB SSD's on a sata 3 controller, any thoughts on a good setup for that?
 
I think the Lian-Li case looks nice, but the airflow issues as well as extra hassles in using one would steer me towards the Antec Three Hundred instead. After all, if we're getting warmer temperatures from a higher-end case, then no amount of external bling can offset the temperature increase.

All in all, I think I would have preferred the previous build. It just seems more rock-solid that way.
 
Hi,
if you're already using two SSD as raid, why not adding a third SSD for performance boosting the HD, the Z68 board should support SSD Caching, shouldn't it?
sam
 
I honestly only have one problem with this build, and I'm kind of surprised no one else has said anything. Why on a $2000 build would you use a non-modular, 80-plus Silver PSU, when you could have used a modular 80-plus Gold certified PSU?

Even under full load this rig never hits even 700 watts, so putting in something like the Seasonic X750 Gold would have been a better choice and still kept you under budget.
 
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