Views
Build
| Category | Specification |
|---|---|
| Chasis | CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000 |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz 1366 Quad-Core |
| Motherboard | ASUS P6T7 WS Supercomputer |
| Graphics Processor | BGF Tech nVidia GeForce GTX 280 |
| RAM | OCZ 6 GB DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800/OverClock) |
| Chasis Cooling | 2 Top, 1 Back, 1 Bottom Chassis Fans |
| CPU Cooling | Cooler Master Hyper N520 CPU Cooling |
| Main Hard Drive | Crucial 64 GB Solid State Drive |
| Storage Hard Drive | Western Digital 1 TB HDD @ 7200 |
| Power Supply | CoolerMaster UCP 900 Watts |
| Optical Drive | LITE-ON 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA LightScribe |
| Display | Sharp Aquos 32" HD LCD 1080p |
Updates - My Progress (and costs) To-Date
Things I have already purchased ($1896 Total)
| Chasis | Motherboard | CPU Cooling | Graphics Card | Power Supply | Static Guard |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
| Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 (NewEgg $179.99) | ASUS P6T7 WS Supercomputer (NewEgg OpenBox $307.99) | Cooler Master Hyper N520 (TigerDirect $39.99) | BFG NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 (TigerDirect $269.99) | Cooler Master UCP 900W (NewEgg $69.89) | Ultra Antistatic Wrist Strap (TigerDirect $6.99) |
More things I've already purchased
| Intel Core i7 CPU | Solid State HD | Hard Drive 2 | DVD/CD Burner | OCZ DDR3 RAM | Asus Wireless Adapter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 
| 
| 
| 
| 
|
| Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz 1366 Quad-Core (NewEgg $589.99) | Crucial 2.5" 64GB SATA II (NewEgg $224.99) | Western Digital 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (NewEgg $99.99) | LITE-ON 24X DVD+R 24X DVD-R SATA LightScribe (NewEgg $28.99) | OCZ 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) (NewEgg $157.99) | ASUS PCE-N13 IEEE 802.11b/g/n PCI Express Wireless Adapter Up to 300Mbps (NewEgg $39.99) |
Things I plan on buying
| Fan Controller | Transparent Side Panel | Heat-sink Gel |
|---|---|---|
| 
| 
|
| AeroCool Touch 2000 (NewEgg $59.99) | COOLER MASTER Transparent Acrylic Side Window (NewEgg $29.99) | Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound (NewEgg $6.99) |
Things I said I was going to buy, but at last second I changed my mind
- GPU - EVGA GeForce GTX 280 Superclocked (NewEgg $354.99)
- Mobo - EVGA E758-A1 3SLI (x16/x16/x8) 1366 Intel X58 Core i7 Crossfire E-LEET OverClocking (NewEgg $299.99)
Notes
- Jan 7th, 2010
About 3 days after I purchased the Cosmos Chassis, NewEgg released a combo deal that paired the Cosmos 1000 ($200 retail) with a 900W Cooler Master power supply ($200 retail) for a total of $249.97 to my dismay. I used their online chat support and the rep agreed to hook me up with the powersupply at the combo price, thus I got myself a $200 power supply at $70 bucks. Things going good so far! I've been reading a lot of reviews and buyer comments, and I'm starting to get an idea of what to look for in a processor and motherboard (mobo). I've gleaned that you shouldn't buy a mobo that has more than you need. Match it with the chip you want (in my case I'm going to go with an i7 Intel 1333 processor), the speed of your desired RAM (I'm shooting for 1600+) and don't buy the latest model and anything with lots of options that you don't know anything about. This sounds pretty reasonable, but when the mobos are are all lined up in the online store, I'm tempted to pay 15 dollars more for feature X and 10 dollars more for feature Y and so on, until I'm about $150 dollars from the original board I was after. Finally, always always always read the customer reviews.
- Jan 19th, 2010
As I'm shaking the change out of my piggy bank, I'll update ya'll on my second "big" round of purchases. On paper, I feel like I've won this round; but only time will tell, and that time is whenever UPS makes with the merchandise. I've found out several things about myself the last few days. 1) I have an unrelenting thirst for the optimal setup for my budget. 2) I'm not really sure what my budget is. And 3) I'm able to haggle... with myself. Oh, here's a ProTip for ya, NewEgg charges sales tax to goods shipped in California, TigerDirect does not. After checking the open-box items every few hours at these two fine online suppliers, I found an ASUS P6T7 WS Supercomputer mobo for $150 off retail, and $100 off what they're charging for unopened boxes at their own online stores. So I immediately went to YouTube to check the benchmarks for this beast, and not only did it crush the EVGA mobo I had in mind, since it was open box it was cheaper than EVGA, aaaaand the YouTube video that was demoing the ASUS board was doing so in a CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000. Haaa! Bradley Monakhos 01:47, 20 January 2010 (UTC)
- Jan 20th 2010
- II. Open Box Refund Only Return Policy
- 1. Summary
- Return for refund within: 30 days
- Return for replacement within: non-replaceable
- 2. Detail
If you purchase an Open-Box product Newegg guarantees only that you will receive the product itself;
accessories MAY OR MAY NOT BE INCLUDED with Open-Box products. Newegg will not send you a missing accessory,
even if the missing accessory is required in order to properly make use of all the product’s advertised functions.
- Jan 21st 2010
So far I'm at $875 spent. I still need to get the CPU, RAM, and Hard Drive in order to have a working computer. There are a few other things I could add (i.e. DVD burner, fan controller, etc.), but just those three things for now. The CPU is pretty much set, the Intel i7 3.2 GHz is around $590 and it's not going to change for a while. The RAM and HDD are still somewhat up in the air. I know I want a solid state HDD for my boot drive, and I know I want OCZ branded RAM. That's about $160 for 6 GB of DDR3 RAM and $270 for a 60 GB OCZ solid state HDD. That puts me at about $1000 left. If the computer works, said and done at $1875 and I'm a happy camper because that is what I spent on my Macbook Pro; the Macbook Pro that comes out around 7 years from now will be about as fast as this computer I will have finished building in a few weeks.
Chassis
- Cooling
- Board Compatibility
- Stacking Ability
- Aesthetics and Durability
- Cable Management
- Drive Bays
- Tower Space
- Front Ports
After doing a bit of research I've decided to go with the Cosmos 1000 by Cooler Master. It has a nice combination of features which include: tool-free Structure, tree kit side panel installation, finger pressing buttons for quickly maintaining or upgrading 5.25" drive devices, detachable aluminum HDD trays, an air intake system (dual bottom an intakes to draw in cool air and reduces system noise), 120 mm bottom Ian fans, detachable aluminum HDD, stacking feature that optimizes cooling performance.
Full Steal Tower
Extended ATX, ATX
Four 120mm Fans
USB2.0 x 4, IEEE 1394 x 1, Audio x 2, eSATA x 1
CPU/Processor
- What I could afford
Intel Core i7-960 3.2 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366
- What I want
Intel Core i7-975 Extreme Edition 3.33 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366
Cooling
- CPU Cooler
- Stock Fans
- Possibly water cooling
Motherboard
- What I purchased
ASUS P6T7 WS SuperComputer
The motherboard will achieve outstanding and dependable performance in the role of a Personal Supercomputer when working in tangent with discrete CUDA technology—providing unprecedented return on investment. Users can count on up to 4 CUDA cards(One of them should be Quadro graphic card) that are plugged into P6T7 WS SuperComputer for intensive parallel computing on tons of data, which delivers nearly 4 teraflops of performance (Benchmark Video). It is the best choice to work as a personal supercomputer on your desk instead of a computer cluster in a room.
- What I was going to buy
EVGA E760 CLASSIFIED "Overclocker's Pick" 3-Way SLI + PhysX 1366 Intel X58 EATX Intel Motherboard
The board is based on the Intel X58 platform and supports the Intel Core i7 processor. You can install up to 24GB of triple channel DDR3 1600+ memory to run the front side bus at full speed.
There are 4 PCIe x16 slots supporting 3-way SLI configuration. is the board has native support for Gigabit Ethernet and RAID, increasing throughput by eliminating bottlenecks on the motherboard. The Dual Gigabit ports support DualNet technology for a fast 2GB network connection. Plus, RAID levels 0, 1, 0+1, and 5 are supported flexible RAID application.
Memory
It's not that all RAM is created equal, it's just that all good RAM is pretty much the same. I have 6 GB of DDR2 in my Macbook Pro, and never max it out. So I think that 6 GB of DDR3 in this build will be plenty. If not, I always have the 64 GB Solid State HD for quick memory swapping.
The respected players in the world of RAM
- OCZ
- Corsair
- Crucial
These guys are also pretty good.
- G.Skill
- Kingston
- Patriot
I only have first-hand experience with OCZ, Crucial, and G.Skill, and haven't had any problems with any of them.
Video Card 1
BFG Tech nVidia GeForce GTX 280 2GB 16X PCIe Video Card
Video Card 2 and 3
Two more nVIDIA cards to come later for triple channel SLI.
Dedicated PHYSX Card
NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 16X PCI Express (Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA) [+102] More Brand Major Brand Powered by NVIDIA [+0] EVGA Powered by NVIDIA [+5]
To have the Dedicated PhysX Card option, you must:
- Select NVIDIA video card(s) as your primary video card.
- Select a motherboard with an appropriate number of PCI-E slots to accommodate your video card and Dedicated PhysX Card.
Multiple Video Card Settings
Non-SLI/Non-CrossFireX Mode Supports Multiple Monitors
Hard Drive
Extreme Performance (RAID-0) with 2 Identical Hard Drives (600GB (300GBx2) Gaming Western Digital VelociRaptor 10,000RPM SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache WD3000GLFS)
512GB (256GBx2) Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk (Nearly Instant Data Access Technology) [+1200]
Data Hard Drive
Single Hard Drive (1.5TB (1.5TBx1) SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 32MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)
160 GB Intel X25-M 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk (Nearly Instant Data Access Technology) [+373]
Optical Drive 1
LG BH08-LS20K 8X Internal Super Multi Blu-Ray Rewriter (Black Color) [+143]
Optical Drive 2
LG 22X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drive (BLACK COLOR)
Sound
HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO
Creative Labs SB X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty Champion Series PCI Express Sound Card [+199]
Network
Onboard Gigabit LAN Network
Killer Xeno Pro Gigabit High Speed Online Gaming PCI Network Interface Card [+99]
Extra Thermal Display
NZXT Sentry LX Aluminum High Performance Fan Control, Clock, & Temperature Display [+69]
Wireless 802.11B/G Network Card
Linksys WMP110 802.11 b/g/n Range Plus PCI Wireless Adapter Network Card [+66]
IEEE1394 Card: None
None
IEEE 1394 CARD AND DRIVER [+19]
Computer Case with SD/MMC Reader Inside, Screw-free Installation Model Number:H920-Mini desktop computer case
Power Supply
Rosewill Xtreme Series RX950-D-B 950W Continuous @40°C ,80 PLUS Certified, ATX12V v2.2 & EPS12V v2.91, SLI Ready CrossFire Ready, Active PFC "Compatible with Core i7, i5" Power Supply - Retail
The Actual Build
| The Work Station | Motherboard Install |
|---|---|
| 
|
| Power Supply Install | Cords Everywhere |
|---|---|
| 
|
| Power Supply Install | Cords Everywhere |
|---|---|
| 
|
| Power Supply Install | Cords Everywhere | |
|---|---|---|
| 
| 
|
Comments
Leave a Comment
Dec 31 2009 10:45 am
You forgot the neon lights... What you need all that video processing for? This supposed to be your parting gift from Riley? I'm actually thinking about building my own, but never been down that road. Maybe I could pick your cpu (aka brain) sometime.
Dec 31 2009 6:22 pm
@JB The post may be misleading, in that I'm showing options under each heading, whereby only one item will be chosen from the lot under each heading. NVIDIA cards can be used by programs like matlab to increase computation power, so they have a function beyond graphics processing.
Jan 07 2010 6:36 pm
Jan 7th, 2009 About 3 days after I purchased the Cosmos Chassis, NewEgg released a combo deal that paired the Cosmos 1000 ($200 retail) with a 900W Cooler Master power supply ($200 retail) for a total of $249.97 to my dismay. I used their online chat support and the rep agreed to hook me up with the powersupply at the combo price, thus I got myself a $200 power supply at $70 bucks. Things going good so far! I've been reading a lot of reviews and buyer comments, and I'm starting to get an idea of what to look for in a processor and motherboard (mobo). I've gleaned that you shouldn't buy a mobo that has more than you need. Match it with the chip you want (in my case I'm going to go with an i7 Intel 1333 processor), the speed of your desired RAM (I'm shooting for 1600+) and don't buy the latest model and anything with lots of options that you don't know anything about. This sounds pretty reasonable, but when the mobos are are all lined up in the online store, I'm tempted to pay 15 dollars more for feature X and 10 dollars more for feature Y and so on, until I'm about $150 dollars from the original board I was after. Finally, always always always read the customer reviews.
Jan 19 2010 6:48 pm
As I'm shaking the change out of my piggy bank, I'll update ya'll on my second "big" round of purchases. On paper, I feel like I've won this round; but only time will tell, and that time is whenever UPS makes with the merchandise. I've found out several things about myself the last few days. 1) I have an unrelenting thirst for the optimal setup for my budget. 2) I'm not really sure what my budget is. And 3) I'm able to haggle... with myself. Oh, here's a ProTip for ya, NewEgg charges sales tax to goods shipped in California, TigerDirect does not. After checking the open-box items every few hours at these two fine online suppliers, I found an ASUS P6T7 WS Supercomputer mobo for $150 off retail, and $100 off what they're charging for unopened boxes at their own online stores. So I immediately went to YouTube to check the benchmarks for this beast, and not only did it crush the EVGA mobo I had in mind, since it was open box it was cheaper than EVGA, aaaaand the YouTube video that was demoing the ASUS board was doing so in a CoolerMaster Cosmos 1000. Haaa!
Jan 25 2010 6:49 pm
Alright people, I made my last big purchase today, and now I have everything I need to have a working computer.
Specs:
CPU: Intel Core i7-960 Bloomfield 3.2GHz 1366 Quad-Core + Cooler Master Hyper N520 CPU Cooling RAM: 6 GB OCZ DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) with Over-Clocking HDD: 64 GB Solid State Drive & 1 TB HDD @ 7200 MOBO: ASUS P6T7 WS Supercomputer GPU: nVidia GeForce GTX 280 ODD: Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW
LCD: 32" Sharp AquosFeb 12 2010 10:56 am
Dude, this is getting out of hand. 900W power supply?!? i7 960?!? Gamers would cringe if they found out such a beast will never see a game during its lifetime!
My comp just went down. Think it's the motherboard. Was just about time for a new one anyway. How long is the build taking you? I want to put my next system together myself, but am a bit impatient (and preoccupied). Maybe I'll go with a barebones kit or something.
You getting a sound card?Feb 12 2010 1:21 pm
Right... I did go a bit overboard. I guess it was inevitable; blame newegg's side-by-side comparison feature. The computer is actually "finished!" Since I have my laptop, I kinda approached my build with hobbyist motivation, and enjoyed the process of hand-picking each piece. That said, I've read a bunch of ridiculous forum posts knocking the barebones kit idea, but I think it's brilliant to save time and money on buying a kit that comes with most of the hardware you want anyway. The built took about 4 or 5 hours, and the sonofagun booted up on the first try. There was a kinda epic moment when I turned it on the first time. The monitor was completely blank for about 5 seconds (thinking - no way in hell this is going to work), then suddenly a blinking cursor appeared in the top right corner of the screen. Snap! Ohh she's a beast Jerms. I just put a tiny overclock on the CPU and it immediately jumped to 4.3 GHz. If you're in the market for a mobo, I would seriously consider buying ASUS brand. I probably spent a little more than you need to spend (the ASUS P6T7 is the most ridiculous thing out right now). I justified buying it because of the onboard 8-channel "Azalia" HD audio, so it saved me from needing a separate HD audio card. But it also comes with a suite of overclocking tools, like most ASUS boards. Just make sure whichever one you get fits into your chassis. If you have a full tower, then most ASUS and EVGA boards will make due. Also, be sure the board form-factor matches your CPU, either Intel or AMD (if you want to salvage your current RAM, you need to make sure the board supports what you got - DDR2 or DDR3 - 1600/1333/1066). Some ASUS boards come bundled with a "G.P. Diagnosis Card" which will be handy when you replace the board and find out the mobo wasn't actually the problem.
Feb 15 2010 12:28 pm
A'ight, dude. Think I'm gonna just go ahead with a complete build; will be a good learning experience, if not a cheaper option. So many questions, though! Obviously first is processor. Going with intel, but not sure whether to go with the i7-860 (which uses the cheaper 1156 mobo), or the i7-920 (or the 930 which is gonna be released in a couple weeks) which gets stellar reviews, but uses the 1336 and is probably overkill for me (my max requirements will be for video editing and maybe a bit of matlab).
It's ridiculous how these fucking set ups support up to 24GB RAM. 24!
What OS are you running?Feb 15 2010 4:42 pm
Atta boy. I think the i7 930 will be a smart choice. You brought it up the issue of the power supply before, but I didn't address it because I thought you were going to be staying with your same system. Don't skimp on power; having ample wattage will ensure system stability. Also, when your shopping for a chassis, on newegg, make sure you see what the combo deal is with a power supply. I almost screwed myself by not doing this. Thankfully, since I just purchased the chassis a few days before I was buying the power supply, they were nice, and gave me the combo deal price. Minimum 800W. Second, I'd totally recommend getting a solid-state hard drive. The damn things are so expensive right now, but their worth it. I got a 64 GB SSHD by Crucial, and a cheap Western Digital 1TB internal HD. You just need a SSHD with enough room for Windows or OSX, and some software. The other HD can be for your music, movies, etc. I've never seen a computer boot up so quickly. Other tidbits... when you peruse newegg or tigerdirect for your CPU, you'll find that a few of the options are labeled "OEM" meaning Original Equipment Manufacturer and some are labeled as "Retail." OEM will ensure that you pay the lowest price, but it also means that you won't get the repackaging extras, most notably, a CPU fan. Make sure if you purchase OEM over "Retail" that you get yourself a fan to cool your CPU.
Here's the essentials to build a working computer:
Chassis Power Supply Motherboard CPU CPU Fan RAM Hard Disk Drive Graphics Card
CD/DVD DriveFeb 15 2010 5:15 pm
Oh, and I haven't settled on a main operating system yet. I wanted to go with the 64 bit Windows7 but I've been finding that all the programs I want to run aren't compatible yet. I can't friggin believe that Microsoft doesn't have backward compatibility for XP. It's just a travesty....and yet there is a Microsoft fanboy out there, right now, jesting on a youtube message board that nothing runs on OSX and everything runs perfectly on Windows. I don't know what I had expected with W7 though, especially when I haven't made the jump to Snow Leopard yet. These guys and their "most advanced operating system" bullocks. Way to go gentlemen, way - to - go. Next release -- iWindows -- so advanced it runs on californium. (rant points?)
May 26 2010 2:36 pm
Brad, you are RAD!