Ballymoss

If you want to see some REALLY extreme rigs have a look at this thread
OCN Water Cooling Club And Picture Gallery
Since its a few years old and 3500 pages long (!) its best to start at 3500 and go backwards.

This guy on ebay has one of the craziest rigs I have ever seen for sale there.Everything is the best of the best (TWO GTX 690's!!). Even at £2000 it would only be half price!
Watercooled Quad 690GTX SLI 3960x CPU Gaming Machine + Dell UltraSharp U2713H | eBay

Xyro

Hah, that was great until the part where they filled up the water - that was just silly. Chucking buckets of water in the vague direction of your PC probably isn't a brilliant idea.

__________________

Ballymoss

I think he was really just showing off the "water effect"? If it was possible to make a commercial version of that with choices of different cases and GPU etc it would be fun to play around with.

Fr0stTr0n

Its still a work in progress but here is my Asus ROG themed case build "Dark Wind" built using the new Cooler Master HAF XB case.

Just got the replacement fans and lighting system installed. Next up is custom sleeved cabling for the new Corsair AX860 PSU, window kit, possible ROG decal and rewiring and a small LED soldering job.

System is running a i5 2500k @ 4.6ghz with evga GTX 670 FTW 2gig

Last edited by Fr0stTr0n; January 6th, 2013 at 08:38 PM.

Ballymoss

Very impressive!

Ballymoss

My new 360mm radiator with 3 Phobya Nano 2G fans. I KNOW! they look like Swastikas

pbf98

Much love to EVGA! Submitted a help ticket last night and support replied this morning, thats what I like to see in a company!
Plus your video cards are just amazing, any pc I build will run evga!

EVGA_RobB

That's great to hear. Please feel free to email me at webmaster@evga.com should you have any issues.

By the way, if you guys like comparing rigs, we have a website (Mods Rigs | Powered by EVGA) where users can post and compare their systems. Also, every 200 systems posted we give away a $1000 Sponsorship (usually to a place like Tiger Direct, Newegg, Amazon, etc).

Ballymoss

EVGA_RobB if you want to upgrade to 3 x LCD monitors why don't you get the EVGA GTX 690? It supports 4 monitors, 3 by DVI and one mini display port.

Ballymoss

Watercooling is going in. That isn't a leak - its my sweat

Attached Images

uploadfromtaptalk1357840778235.jpg (54.5 KB, 8 views)

Ballymoss

My Raystorm waterblock, flanked by an army of RAM.

Attached Images

uploadfromtaptalk1357857981500.jpg (66.8 KB, 27 views)

EVGA_RobB

Very low margins on Graphics Cards, which means not much of an employee discount. Alas, I don't have an extra $1000 laying around. I'd love to have one though!

Ballymoss

That sucks. You ought to get a union behind you and demand the right to cheap high end graphics cards!

Ballymoss

All plumbed in , cables tidied up and given a quick dust. Water cooling has saved me 6 cables and the whole rig runs much quieter.

Attached Images

uploadfromtaptalk1358001392082.jpg (75.1 KB, 15 views)

Mehta23

Nice!

I don't think you mentioned it, but what kind of monitor setup do you have?

mikedt

Looks more like a row of catherine wheels to me.

The swastika is often used around these parts, as it represents eternity or forever. Which is a good thing.

__________________
The People's Guide to Android in the People's Republic.
Honorary Grand Poobah Shenzhen University English Corner.
http://welcometomychina.tumblr.com/
There are nine million bicycles in Beijing.
There are nine million Androids in Shenzhen.

Last edited by mikedt; January 12th, 2013 at 10:53 PM.

pbf98

What case is that? It looks awesome!

Savage Shadows

Not a rig, but a question on the value of a GPU. I found an ad on good old CraigsList, the poster is wanting to trade their "very lightly used pny nvidia geforce gt 620 graphics card" for Skyrim for the 360. I recently traded my 360 in while GameStop was holding a double trade in value promo, because I wanted to get a decent value out of it while it still worked (thought it might be on its way out, sometimes couldn't even open Netflix). Point is, got a free dl code for Skyrim when I got my new 360, and have been debating whether or not to use it, and still have not.

I am interested in building a rig. Something decent enough to maybe get into some casual but high end PC gaming, but not something top of the line. Although it definitely needs to be capable of some serious Photoshop usage, as it may soon be part of my work.

I know very little about how different PC components stack up against each other (I follow mobile and console gaming tech instead). So my questions are, is this a worthwhile trade? And would this be worth using if I want to take advantage of a system with 6GB of RAM and maybe a decent overclocked i5?

__________________
Want to share something? Do it for free! http://db.tt/TZm94Al2
Have I helped you? Hit thanks!

Savage Shadows

More on my previous post.

I think I found a lot of good stuff at some GREAT deals! But, I'm not entirely sure. Not to mention, these are all used parts. Let me know what you guys think!

PNY NVIDIA GeForce GT 620 graphics card (very lightly used)
price: trade for Skyrim for 360

Intel i7 930 (used)
ASUS P6T SE (used)
Corsair XMS3 6 gigs 1600mhz ram (2gigs x 3) (used)
Zalman copper cpu cooler (used)
price: $180 (before negotiating)

I still need a memory drive, tower, and power unit (easy stuff). I might also add a little bit of ram, but I would only use what I can fit in three of the dim slots so I can run in triple channel mode rather than single. But I need help deciding if the parts I'm looking at are worth it.

I was just told that the group of components for sale have been run at the following:
"Max over clock I pushed was 3.8ghz and i ran that for 24/7 for about 2 years. Highest temp I saw the chip get to was 74 celcius."

The main purpose for building this rig is for use with a new job I am interviewing for today. I would be using Photoshop quite heavily for lots of photography. I think I would also finally get into some video editing as well, as well as some casual coding and learning to work with 3D programs such as modeling and game design (again, casually and on the side).

Should I go ahead with this? Should I negotiate? Any tips on this in general?




edit: ha can't forget I still need a disc drive if I want to get some form of an operating system running :P

Last edited by Savage Shadows; January 14th, 2013 at 03:37 AM.

Ballymoss

Looking at those components the CPU and motherboard are excellent but the GTX 620 is a turkey, a GTX 460 is way more powerful and can be had quite cheaply used on ebay. I would suggest selling your Skrim on ebay and putting your money towards a high spec used GPU. RAM is very cheap nowadays so no problem there.DVD drives are likewise very cheap - I use a Samsung Writemaster which I bought off ebay for a few pounds. For a hard drive I would suggest an SSD (solid state drive) of about 80gb for your operating system and something like 1 Terabyte for everything else. If you get Custom PC magazine they have just done a review of affordable mid tower cases and their "top choice" was the Xigmatek Midgard I I - great looking and packed with useful features. If you want to build your own PC I suggest searching Youtube for "how to build a PC", I linked to a useful video earlier in this thread.

Mehta23

I recommend the Newegg vids as they were really good and helpful when I built mine.

I also agree with Ballymoss that a 620 is a bit.... bad? I would have said a 560Ti is a really great bang-for-buck card if you can afford it.

Savage Shadows

Thanks a ton, guys! I didn't want to get a gpu that wouldn't take advantage of the i7, i appreciate the tip. I have a Seagate goflex 1tb external drive. Would I be able to remove that from its housing to use in a rig? Also, you don't think those components were used too extensively to be a concern?

Ballymoss

There would be no problem moving the seagate hard drive out of its enclosure and it would save you money. Personally I have no problem with second hand components -obviously you take a chance but I have bought components from Novatechltd on ebay and they are "refurbished" but always give flawless performance.

pbf98

I got some updated pics of my setup, more than just the original 2 I posted..



























My only complaint is with the motherboard and case setup I cant run SLI because of the PSU, and cpu heatsink are in the way.

Also sometimes it starts up with out keyboard and mouse any way to know what causes that?

Ballymoss

Your setup looks fantastic a personally I love the NZXT cases. And your PSU is ample to run SLI. Do you mean it doesn't have the 6+2 connectors?

pbf98

No I mean there isn't enough clearance haha the heatsink halfway covers one of the pci express slots and then the third one is just below the video card. If there is the clearance I am not sure that I'd be comfortable with how close it would be.

I have started to notice frame rate drop while playing some games. It used to run all day at 60 fps in 1080.. now the next step down its running at 50 with random drops in the 20s
Its not heat thats the problem it runs between 55 - 60c while playing my games which is mostly black ops 1. Not dust, I clean my PC weekly. I don't know what is causing the drop in performance. So i was thinking either SLI or newer bigger card haha..

I was looking through the cases and this one just stood out so much, it said buy me lol so I did. I just wish I had better cable management skills

Last edited by pbf98; January 14th, 2013 at 02:12 PM.

Mehta23

Wow, man your setup is actually sweet!

I may post pictures soon ....

mikedt

As water-cooled PCs seem to be the current fad the moment. Along with the blue LED craze.

I have to ask, just how reliable and watertight is the Chinese plumbing used in systems like these? I know that water and electricity do not mix.

Ballymoss

Since you do it yourself, how safe it is partly down to the quality of the components you use but largely to how good a plumber you are.
Water cooling the RAM looks great but is largely unnecessary, cooling the GPU brings benefits but voids the warranty.
Having said that, the moment when you power it up and it works is quite a rush!

pbf98

I like the blue lights cause blue would be my favorite color haha

I myself,have never trusted water cooling enough to use it on my pc. haha

Ballymoss

I have never understood the appeal of those galumphing great air coolers. At the risk of repeating myself if you got a "sealed loop" cooler such as the Corsair H100 you'd have loads of space. Re the keyboard and mouse are the Drivers up to date?

mikedt

The H100 is pre-made of course. Presumably they warranty it watertight as well. It's not a DIY mass of plastic pipes and jubilee clips, that you fill up, turn on, and cross your fingers.

I got thinking about this, because we had a mass of plastic pipes and jubilee clips(the central heating system) explode on us yesterday, in a torrent of hot water and steam. If that happened inside a PC, or even if it sprang a leak, game over I think.

TBH I like air cooled, probably because I drove a VW Beetle for years.

Last edited by mikedt; January 14th, 2013 at 08:54 PM.

EVGA_RobB

Not sure on other companies, but taking off the stock cooler and using a GPU waterblock WOULD NOT void EVGA's warranty unless there was water damage. All we require is that if you have to send it in for RMA, you remove the waterblock and reinstall the original heatsink. Or for those who don't want the hassle, we usually produce a limited quantity of high end cards in a series with our own custom blocks already in place.

EVGA_RobB

What type of usage will the graphics card be providing? Heavy Gaming? Monitor Resolution? All of these things are important when choosing a video card. For instance, I have a 570 right now and that plays most games that I play on high with no problem (single monitor, 1920x1080). That said, games like BF3 I may need to turn a few things off to get desired performance. If you decide to go triple monitor (surround gaming), then you would need a very high end card or SLI 2 decent cards. For my usage, I will be switching to 2 x GTX 560s until I can afford a major upgrade (triple monitor setup now).

Ballymoss

The impression I got from Savage Shadows was that he didn't want to break the bank when building his PC. Thats why I suggested a GTX 460 as a very affordable but powerful card and of course it could be run in SLI with a higher power PSU.

Thats impressive - I didn't know that. I have the GTX 690 and I couldn't contemplate ripping off the beautiful cast metal casing and installing a waterblock myself. What is the price differential between a reference GTX 690 and one with a pre installed waterblock?

Last edited by Ballymoss; January 15th, 2013 at 05:29 AM.

Savage Shadows

Mostly heavy hi-res photoshop usage (32 bit image quality sort of stuff) and graphic design with some dabbling into learning some basic game design. And likely dual display between an hdtv and a hi-res monitor. I MIGHT decide to do some casual gaming, but I've never been big into pc gaming.

You are right, budget is what I'm going for here. I'm trying to build something for around $250. I might even try flipping a couple of rigs though to raise my budget. I was thinking I could build something with the components mentioned, 500 gb and a standard dvd drive for around that, and sell it for $350 without too much hassle. That right there should land me a brand new i7-3770. I figure that if I could make $75-$100 a flip, I could build myself a respectable rig with new parts in about a month.

imnotmikal

Since this post, I have upgraded to a Radeon 7970, and taken the 2 1TB drives out of a RAID 1 and made them into a 2TB RAID 0.

__________________

Mehta23

Dont think they have a water cooed 690 yet

EVGA | Products | Product List

Ballymoss

Its always worth, when looking at money for a new pc, to look around your place for things you could sell on ebay. In my own case when I was looking at rebuilding my second pc (it eventually turned into a completely new build!) I used to have a collection of about a thousand photos of old railway stations and trains. I sold them off on ebay and got staggering prices - at one stage I was averaging £100 A DAY. The rest is history.

Mehta23

£100... in a day?

I did £1K over a couple years by selling food/drink in school.

But I have nothing I can sell. I also tried looking into flipping rigs, but that didn't work out too well, and being a "kid" made it a bit harder.

Last edited by Mehta23; January 15th, 2013 at 03:44 PM.

Ballymoss

The golden rule I have found on ebay is that it is better to split a rig into parts rather than sell it whole. People generally will not bid a realistic price on a complete rig, no matter how high end it is.

Mehta23

Oh, like motherboard bundles.

My old pc has nothing really of value - 1.6GHz AMD Sempron Single core, 1GB ram, 80gb hdd no graphics card...

EVGA_RobB

Correct. We did not. We did do 680s as well as a few of our other 6 series cards IIRC.

NVIDIA's direction on the cooler for the 690 was insane (good), so we didn't mess with it. We will have to see what the next series brings to find out if there will be another dual GPU solution and if we choose to put it to water (and no, I don't have any inside info at this time when or what the next GPU series will be announced).

Fr0stTr0n

Got my Asus ROG themed project "Dark Wind" finally all done!

Last edited by Fr0stTr0n; January 24th, 2013 at 01:11 PM.

pbf98

Did you do the plexi installation and fitting yourself? I love the way the case turned out and makes me want to do something similar

Mehta23

*dies with envy*

Fr0stTr0n

I bought that from coolermaster, all I did was install the etched Asus ROG emblem but I have done my own windows in the past other case projects like "Night Fire" and "Cold Fusion" using kits

Ballymoss

Superb work Fr0sTr0n !
Speaking of Coolermaster I have managed to order the alternative full height window side panel and it arrives this afternoon, all the way from Holland. Can't wait

Ballymoss

Speaking of which....

Attached Images

uploadfromtaptalk1359117054398.jpg (50.8 KB, 11 views)

Mehta23

Wow.

Meanwhile the side panel on my case doesn't even align properly, so there's a bit of light leakage :-(