This is my second build and I'm really excited about it. I'm still waiting for a couple components to be delivered, and hopefully it'll be running by next Monday or Tuesday.

Here's the specs-

Corsair Obsidian 800D
EVGA Z68 FTW EATX
Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost). I'm going to OC it to 4.5-5 GHZ.
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB
Two overclocked GTX 460's (768). One is an EVGA and the other is a Zotac.
Main HDD is a 1TB WD Green. Secondary HDD is a 250 GB WD Black. I also have a 2TB WD and 300 GB Seagate Freeagent Pro external HDD.
Prolimatech Megahalems Rev. B CPU cooler with a Scythe Ultra Kaze 3000 RPM fan. I considered the H70, but I'm not comfortable with water around $$$$ of components. Plus there's regular maintenance required that I'd have to pay someone to do. I also doubt it would cool much better than the Megahalems. I'm using them in my current computer with the same fan and it's unbelievable.
Corsair Professional Series Gold AX850 modular PSU
For added case cooling - six 120mm COOLER MASTER'S and one 140mm XIGMATEK eXTREME SILENT
Windows 7 64-bit
24" ASUS ProArt. I just bought this monitor a couple months ago and the colours are absolutely stunning.
Cable managed and connected to my Denon AVR-3801 receiver powering Paradigm Monitor 9's.

It's replacing my current setup -

-Antec 900-cable managed
-Core 2 Quad Q6600 GO slackr (batch #L740B257) 2.4 GHz overclocked to 3.2 GHz
-EVGA Nforce 680I SLI A1
-EVGA GEFORCE GTX 460 X 2
-Corsair Dominator 8500C5D DDR2 1066MHz Memory (2 x 2048MB)5-5-5-15-2T at 2.1V
-Prolimatech Megahalems
-Thermaltake TR2 RX 750 W
-WD Caviar Green (WD10EADS) 1TB
-WD Caviar 250 GB
-Seagate Freeagent Pro 300 GB external HD
-Windows 7 64-bit
-24" ASUS ProArt
-Denon AVR-3801 receiver powering Paradigm Monitor 9's

Pretty sweet setup. I noticed you didn't include any cold cathode lighting for the inside of the PC case -- good call. What kind of video card are you getting?

I think these are the video cards:

Ah, thanks. My eyes were drawn to the links.

Man, we don't need another "that's what she said" tonight.

Thanks, dude. I'm super excited.

I have seen those lights on builds, Peter; but I didn't know what they were called. Thanks. And yes, they are a bit much.

But they're blue! BLUE!!!!!

But you've gotta have the hard drive coolers with the blue light fans. Mine has those.

Storage? If you can budget it, I'd spring for an SSD or two. If you can't, drop one of the 460s and get one. You'll get more performance out of that than out of the rather iffy SLI.

The six COOLER MASTER case fans have blue lights .



Ken, thanks for the sage advice. I've broke the bank this month, but I do plan on getting at least one SSD next month.

The video cards and HDD's are being transferred over from my other PC. And you're definitely right that SLI can be iffy, but luckily I haven't had any problems, and the two overclocked 460's can easily handle anything.

Are SSD's notoriously unreliable? I've read though a lot of reviews and this seems to be a common complaint. The review averages aren't very high on many, if not the majority of the drives.

On top of that, I looked at VelociRaptor drives and some people state the reason they chose it is because of firmware hassles and reliability issues with SSD's.

Hmmmmmm, I'm thinking that I just might go this route utilizing SRT using my 1 TB Green drive, seeing that my components are all compatible.

Thoughts?

Thanks

It's faster than mechanical storage, but not as fast as an SSD.

There's bugs that crop up with every new generation of SSD. I believe they're mostly resolved on the current ones, though. I would probably do a Windows System Image backup every week or so on the SSD, just so you can restore it easily if something goes haywire.

Have a look at anandtech.com for authoritative articles on SSDs and the Intel tech you're referring to. Techreport also has good data.

Thanks for the advice, Ken. I just read an article on anandtech.com and was aware about the risk of data loss using the maximum performance setting, which does raise concern, especially because I don't have a UPS.

There's the increased performance boost, at a cheaper price than a SSD (I couldn't see me getting one smaller than 150 GB for the OS and some programs), but the risk of data loss.

With a SSD, would you load a browser and other daily used programs on it? That's my understanding.

Thanks

I've also read about a lesser life expectancy with SSD's, and I'm literally on my computer all day because I'm bedridden. Something to consider, or hogwash ?

It is less, but it's still over 3-5 years, AFAIK.

I use a 256GB SSD in my laptop, so obviously I have everything on it. If I were to get one for my desktop, though, I'd probably get ~128GB and then load the OS, applicaitons, and games on that, and store my data on a hard drive.

I only have 36 gigs free on my 160 gig SSD. That's only OS and applications. I keep my games on a 1 TB drive strictly for games, and I have another 1 TB drive for all of my media and data. If I keep taking advantage of the Steam deals, I may need to upgrade to a 2 TB sooner rather than later. Or just uninstall the ones I'm not actually playing, but why do that, right? Anyway, I don't know how much space most people need for their applications, but I don't even feel like I have that many, and I'm already feeling like I don't have enough breathing room.

I'd like to upgrade to a larger SSD for my main drive, though. While I've had zero issues, I definitely wouldn't be doing SSD by itself. I think I'll be glad at some point that I have my data on its own drive. I'd like to use my current SSD for my PS3. I don't use my PS3 enough to need the 500 GB that I currently have in it, so I think I'd rather have the performance versus the space.

There's been some reports going around about SSD failure, data loss, early deaths, but if you have been working with computers long enough you come to know that ANY component could fry as early as day 1. I've even seen a CPU die which is EXTREMELY rare (no overclock, no voltage push).

Secondly, know that every first generation new technology will take some time to improve and then awhile longer for the negative old news to disappear. This is how stereotypes stick with a product long after the issues have become negligible.

The SSD has made the largest single increase in my system speed in years. It is worth every dollar and since the inception of SATA3 (6GB), the read and write rates are literally 4 times or more faster than disc drives.

In regards to data loss, SSD failure, no one should be using one single drive to house everything they own regardless of storage type.
If you don't have a backup for whatever your choice of storage, i have no sympathies.

And with that thought, i'll do my two click backup right now...

I've been meaning to post some pictures of my build and finally got around to it moments ago. The case is gargantuan. With everything installed, it weighs around 50 pounds, and it's too long to sit perpendicularly on my dresser (I'm thinking of getting a shelf the width of case and mounting it on the wall).

My sisters friend put it together for me and did an amazing job on cable management; the temps are sweet.

I'm going to get an Intel 510 120 GB SSD, and a 1TB SATA3 6GB/S 7200RPM WD Caviar Black next month.

Excuse the grainy pictures, my caregiver has shaky hands.











Custom fan mod to cool my video cards.



Peace

WoW! Very nice! Makes my build look like a red-headed stepchild.

Thanks.

It's all depends on our needs. I'm impressed by what you've done on your budget.

Very clean too Cam. Nothing worse than a high end build with a rats nest of wires.

Yeah, buddy. The airflow is quite impressive. Only downside being that it's REALLY loud.

It's right beside my bed, and although I'm used to it (it's just white noise), people comment about it all the time.

Hey, no comments about Ken.

A nice build.

I've got my eye on this case probably very shortly:
http://www.corsair.com/pc-cases/graphite...tower-case.html

Another awesome Corsair case. Any ideas what you're going to fill it with, bud?

I'm waiting to see what happens to CPU prices once ivy bridge finally comes out. I've been rocking this old C2D 3Ghz for a long while now, thou can't complain all I've had to do is upgrade my video cards and games remain completely playable.

They'll be exactly the same. Intel's got no serious competition, so they're not likely to do anything different price-wise.

Seriously?

Dude.

I see no ports, so plush toys are out.

On a serious note, why do all gaming cases have transparent windows and screaming bright LEDs. I would find that so distracting

Even nerdy white boys need some bling.

Fred, my case came with only a few fans that don't have LED's because it's really manufactured for water cooling. "I" put all the blue fans in it. I just like the look, and you get used to it.

I have one friend that consistently complains about the lights (she complains about everything under the sun), but it's only when the room is dark ::nuff said::. Nobody else has complained about them, lights out or not .

I'm sure ivy won't be any cheaper but sandy bridge might drop in price some.

Looky what landed at my doorstep today . The cables still need to be managed because I couldn't wait to try the beast out.

Apologies for the blurry picture.

Yowza. Congrats.

Thanks, Ken. I was playing Hitman: Absolution on ultra settings last night. My two 460's couldn't handle the game above medium because it's so graphically intensive. Now I can play the game the way it's intended. It's a whole new experience.

Wow, Wicked video card. I'm jealous!

Nice clean looking innards too. Very nice!

Thanks buddy. It's my little hobby.

Looks like you went big. I bet you're really waiting for a truly good head-mounted display. That would be awesome.

Reminds me of my build I did about 4 years ago. Yours is bound to be better and faster, because of the newer parts. So far, the only problem I've had with mine, is 1) I'm on my 2nd mouse, 2) Occasionally I don't get any video output on a power up. When this happens, I have to hold the power button to shut it down. Wait a few seconds. Then power it back up. I always have video the 2nd time. This happens, about once a month.

Maybe I should pull the cards, then reseat them.

Heh. I always have some kind of weird problem like that with my builds. I think I'm going to just send my current machine to my father-in-law and give it up. Carpal tunnel doesn't let me game any more, anyway.

Too much wrist-crankin' action, eh?

Other wrist.

Lucky!

Wow, that's a lotta video card. With that glowing logo on the top edge does it double as a batman skylight at night?

It is pretty bright, Fred. And you just love the flashy lights . Given the cost of the GPU (it's really two), a Batman or Batwoman should come with.

Ken prefers the "Left Handed Stranger."

Maybe if you point it out the window, turn it on and put a little catnip out Catwoman will show up tonight