World's Craziest Build?

[John_C]

Here is a config I just put together for a friend. Not a combination anyone here is likely to see very often.

Lian Li V2000 plus II Computer Case QTY: 1 279.99
Lian Li EX-34 Expansion (front fan) QTY: 1 35.95
Corsair HX620 Power Supply QTY: 1 169.99
Nexus 80mm Real Silent Case Fans QTY: 2 23.90
S-Flex 120mm 800rpm case fans QTY: 4 73.40
Zalman 9700 CPU cooler QTY: 1 59.99
ASUS P5B-E MB QTY: 1 150.99
Intel E6600 Core 2 Duo CPU OEM QTY: 1 315.00
Corsair Valueselect 2GB DDR2 667 RAM QTY: 2 319.98
Seagate 7200.9 500GB HD QTY: 2 299.98
Gigabyte 7600GS 512MB Video QTY: 1 126.99
18" SATA II Cables QTY: 2 5.98
Lite-On 20X SATA DVD QTY: 2 93.98
12" SATA cables (DVDs) QTY: 2 3.90
Lian Li Addl Silver CD Bezel QTY: 1 7.49
Link Depot 10' dual link DVI-D cable QTY: 1 13.99
30" Dell 3007WFP LCD Monitor QTY: 1 1274.00
Windows Vista QTY: 1 117.99
MSFT Office 2007 Home & Student QTY: 1 129.00
TV Card - WinTV-150-MCE QTY: 1 64.99
Intel based Apollo Modem QTY: 1 12.99

The immediate thing I suspect people will notice is pairing a 30" monitor with a cheap 7600GS card. That card is just a "throw away" intended to last until summer and then buy a top end card once the dust settles and the drivers mature in the current DX10 wars.

The case is pretty expensive because appearance was important. The rest of the components are all "bang for the buck". Some might question that description of the 30" monitor, but it is discounted now to clear stock in anticipation of the new model that is coming out with 92% color gamut (which isn't especially important for this system) so we took advantage of the current discounts.

We'll OC the CPU to 3.0GHz with a 333 FSB for decent performance out of the 6600 and run the RAM at 1:1 667. The hard drives will run RAID 1. I suggested RAID 10 with 4 320's, but he is HD failure averse and didn't want the risk of the additional drives.

Anyway, that was this morning's project. Just thought I'd share since it is a rather unusual build.

 

[Heyyou27]

Don't get a 512MB 7600GS; it's marketing crap, as that card's too slow to really gain anything from the extra memory. This would be better, and cheaper too. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130073

I also personally prefer the Powercolor TheaterPro550 PCIe 1x card, but that's just me.

 

[CmdPT]

Why did he get a 7200.9 HD, he should of got 7200.10. The 7600GS is a little too slow, if anything he should of just got a 7600 GT OC/KO its alot better than the 7600 GS.

For the RAM why did he choose a Valueselect RAM if he is going to spend $320 on RAM he should of just stayed away from Valueselect RAM's. He should of just got a Corsair XMS2 or something.

Would he really need that TV card? For $65 he should of got a better Video card instead of that.

 

[jamesgoddard]

Would he really need that TV card? For $65 he should of got a better Video card instead of that.

You need it if you want to watch TV....

 

[IcY18]

What was the particularly unusual part of the build? Don't mind me asking because i didn't really notice it was?

 

[fate0n3]

Nice computer few things i see first of all is the ram i would highly recommend with a nice system like that not going with any kind of VALUEselect memory. And not sure where you are getting your pricing but i would def get this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145034
It is a 2 gig Corsair XMS DDR2-800 kit 4-4-4-12 which is a lot better then any Valueselect and is only $234.99 not sure if you are forced to by local or something along those lines. Second I would recommend any of the Seagate 7200.10 drives over any of the 7200.9 drives the performance is a lot better with the .10 drives and they are roughly the same price. And the last thing i would complete recommend the ASUS P5B Deluxe over the ASUS P5B-E better cooling and OC from WHAT i have read. And it is only $28.00 more added to the price. I would highly recommend buying a better motherboard. I am sure others who have the ASUS P5B Deluxe personally will be able to give you more insight and better thoughts on it but I can say all i hear is really good things about that board and its OC power and features. It is a really really sweat board from all i have read and heard on the forums.

 

[heltoupee]

For the cost of that monitor, and considering that you're putting a TV card in, have you considered looking at an entry-level to mid-range HDTV instead of the monster 30" Dell? The only reason I'm asking is that if TV viewing is going to be a part (even small) of daily use, I would probably be happier with the additional inputs an LCD HDTV would provide, and the panel on that Dell monitor is probably comparable to the panels in 30" to 42" LCD HDTV's.

 

[torque79]

For the cost of that monitor, and considering that you're putting a TV card in, have you considered looking at an entry-level to mid-range HDTV instead of the monster 30" Dell? The only reason I'm asking is that if TV viewing is going to be a part (even small) of daily use, I would probably be happier with the additional inputs an LCD HDTV would provide, and the panel on that Dell monitor is probably comparable to the panels in 30" to 42" LCD HDTV's.

are you kidding? the resolution of this monitor is 2560 x 1600, which is MUCH better than any HDTV you could buy. Of course the HDTV would be larger for the same price, but unless his primary use is for television watching he's better off with a monitor because it has SUPERIOR resolution.

the only significant con I see is it's not HDCP compliant. That does not matter yet, but eventually if the movie industry begins activating and requiring HDCP that could be a problem.

 

[John_C]

Lots of good comments and questions. Thanks.

The many comments regarding the graphics card are likely on target. I really don't pay attention to lower tier cards normally and didn't bother with much research since it is a temporary stand-in that will only last a few months. What I most liked about it was that it is fanless and we're going for a reasonably quiet build. Part of the reason on waiting for a DX10 card is to see how quickly they will shrink to 65nm and compare the noise profiles. That said, I'll look into replacing it with one of the ones mentioned.

CmdPT, nice catch on the 7200.9 instead of .10. I'll swap that. Thanks.

Fate0N3, I'm not sure what benefit he'd get from the higher end memory. We're not going for an extreme overclock here so 667 is all that's needed. From the various benchies I've read, the 800/4-4-4-12 memory would buy <5% of additional performance which is visible only in benchmarks. I'd push the oc a lot higher if I really wanted to squeeze the last ounce of performance out of this build. Am I missing something? I just don't see the value in high end memory today except for those really trying to push the envelope.

I agree torque79, the Dell monitor with high res is a given. He wants a TV card in it for occasional use, but the monitor needs to be a solid computer screen first and foremost. The only real question regarding the Dell was whether to buy now at a discount or wait a few weeks for the new -HC model. He decided the old one was a lot better than what he has now and he think that is great, so he took the discount.

 

[heltoupee]

the resolution of this monitor is 2560 x 1600, which is MUCH better than any HDTV you could buy. Of course the HDTV would be larger for the same price, but unless his primary use is for television watching he's better off with a monitor because it has SUPERIOR resolution.

Yes, that there is the other side of the coin. For some of us, having a 1920X1080 42" display would be more desirable than the 2560x1600 30" one. Right now, he is waiting to see what the next best video card is, so I'm assuming this is going to be a PC gaming machine, so you are probably right. The Dell is a better choice. Then again, for the cost of that vid card you can have an Xbox360 and quite a few games that would rock on an HDTV. If he's planning to use as media center, HDTV beats Dell hands down (unless physical space is an issue)

For pure computing use, I'd definately go with the 30" Dell (who wouldn't). For gaming/media center/TV viewing, I'd consider the HDTV. I really would.

 

[John_C]

Yes, that there is the other side of the coin. For some of us, having a 1920X1080 42" display would be more desirable than the 2560x1600 30" one. Right now, he is waiting to see what the next best video card is, so I'm assuming this is going to be a PC gaming machine, so you are probably right. The Dell is a better choice. Then again, for the cost of that vid card you can have an Xbox360 and quite a few games that would rock on an HDTV. If he's planning to use as media center, HDTV beats Dell hands down (unless physical space is an issue)

For pure computing use, I'd definately go with the 30" Dell (who wouldn't). For gaming/media center/TV viewing, I'd consider the HDTV. I really would.

Luckily for the guy buying this machine, he already has a big screen HDTV home theater. He just wants to be able to pull up a TV show on his PC from time to time or maybe digitally record an old VCR tape while he is in his office hiding away from the wife and kids. So the last thing he wants in there is an xbox. Instead of hiding from the kids, he'd find himself having to constantly chase them away. 🙂