I recently posted an entry titled "Goodbye Dell" after an exceedingly poor experience with Dell earlier this year. As a result of that experience, I decided to build my own PC rather than deal with a pre-built distributor, and it was the best move I could have made (this was the first PC I've ever built). I'll post a quick summary of the system with some photos, then go into detail for those who have an interest in this sort of thing.

Quick System Specs :

• i7-920 CPU @ 3.8GHz
• EVGA X58 SLI motherboard
• 2-way SLI : EVGA GTX 285 SSC
• OCZ Platinum RAM (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600MHz
• Prolimatech Mega Shadow CPU cooler + M12-P NoiseBlocker PWM fan
• 300GB Velociraptor SATA HD (system)
• 640GB Caviar Black SATA HD (data)
• SoundBlaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
• Corsair 850TX PSU
• CoolerMaster Storm Sniper SGC case
• Vista Home Premium 64-bit o/s
• SyncMaster 2043BWX flat panel
• 3DMarkVantage score 28,503

System Photos :

Final Build :

Build and System Details :

The case is from the CoolerMaster Storm Series; a Sniper SGC with the black mesh side panel - a roomy case with awesome cable management, which I think is ideal for a first build (click the image to the left for a larger view). For some reason CoolerMaster left the inside of both side panels and the case unpainted, so I painted mine black to match the outside (note: CoolerMaster have recently started manufacturing the Sniper case with the insides painted black as well). If anyone was wondering, I used Rust-oleum 7220830 textured 12-ounce black spray paint to get a similar finish to the existing case.

The case includes a built-in fan and LED controller which is very handy, however I was a little confused at first with the wiring, and from online searches I quickly found I wasn't alone there. I figured it out soon enough and created a schematic in photoshop which should make it easier for others to follow in future (I have posted this diagram in CoolerMaster help forums as well):

The case comes with two 200mm fans with blue LEDs (one intake at the front, one exhaust on top) and a standard 120x25mm exhaust at the rear of the case, plus support for additional fans to be mounted on the side panel and on the bottom of the case. I replaced the fans with quieter Scythe S-Flex 120mm fans (model SFF21F) which have the fluid dynamic bearings, and they still move a decent amount of air at 1600RPM / 63.7CFM - the only fan I didn't replace was the CM 200mm intake fan in the front. I've also added another S-Flex 120mm intake fan on the bottom of the case, and another is mounted inside the case specifically for additional cooling on the graphics cards. All fans are fitted with anti-vibration kits, and most of the time they run around 40% power.

The CPU is an i7-920 (C0 batch # 3836B215) which I run clocked at an extremely stable 3.8GHz. It can go higher, but I don't want to over-stress it outside of bench-testing. Would have been nice to have a D0 stepping version as they can clock higher generally speaking, but I'm happy with the C0.

There is 6GB of RAM installed in the form of OCZ Platinum (3 x 2GB) DDR3 1600MHz sticks, and have Corsair CMXAF2 fans on them for additional cooling. I keep the RAM fans powered low enough (around 40%) that it's next to silent as well. There is not much noise from the case at all other than the 'whoosh' of air most of the time.

The motherboard is an EVGA x58 SLI (model 132-BL-E758-A1, rev1.1) and I'm very happy with it. The clocking ability is great, as is the SmartFan function, and EVGA support is second-to-none in my experience. For my own reference as much as anything else, the BIOS settings are on auto / default other than the following:

• CPU Host Frequency : 200Mhz
• CPU Clock Ratio : 19x
• CPU VCore : 1.35V
• CPU VTT Voltage : +220mV
• DIMM Voltage : 1.65V
• Memory Frequency : 2:8 (1600Mhz)
• Memory Timing : 7-7-7-24
• EVGA VDroop control : with VDroop
• Turbo Mode Function : disabled
• Intel HT Technology : enabled
• SmartFan (CPU) : >70°C = 100%, <30°C = 40%
• PnP / PCI : init display PCIE
• Onboard Data : JMB362/3 disabled (I don't use them)

The CPU cooler I initially used was a CoolerMaster V8, although I replaced the stock interior 120mm fan as it developed a fairly loud noise at higher RPM. The replacement I dropped in was a Delta AFB1212SH-PWM 120mm fan with fluid bearing and significantly higher airflow at 3400RPM / 113CFM on full power, although it was a bit noisy on full load. I have since replaced the V8 with a Prolimatech Mega Shadow CPU cooler, and use a single NoiseBlocker M12-P PWM fan in push setup, and it is far more quiet on full load than the Delta, and the Mega Shadow cools better than the V8, particularly under load. The PWM fan is directly controlled by the motherboard SmartFan controller. I used top quality Shin-Etsu X23-7783D thermal compound for mounting the CPU cooler. At 3.8GHz, the CPU runs in the low 40's°C on idle, and peaks at 70°C under full load on Prime95 for hours (ambient room temp around high 70's to 80°F) - that was on core #1, which is the hottest; core #4 peaked at 66°C on the same tests.

The graphics are powered by a two EVGA Geforce GTX 285 SSC cards run in SLI (model 01G-P3-1287-AR). I only had one originally, but got another one later second-hand. These cards come with a stock core clock at 702Mhz, shader clock at 1584MHz, and memory clock at 1323MHz, which is what I run them at most of the time, although they can comfortably clock quite a lot higher than that. I replaced the thermal paste and padding in both graphics cards, which made a significant difference to the temperatures both at idle and under load. I used Artic Cooling MX-3 thermal compound on the GPU's, and replaced the stock thermal padding with 1mm EK thermal padding cut from a 160mm x 150mm sheet from FrozenCPU.com. Since then, the cards both run around 41°C idle and max at 79°C after 30 minutes under full load using the FurMark benching utility, with an average FPS of 60. Ambient room temps were around high 70's to 80°F at the time. Stoked. I use MSI's AfterBurner utility specifically because of the fan speed controls - I currently have the GPU fans set to run at 50% power at any temp up to 50°C, and then have the curve set in a straight-line ramp to hit 100% power at 80°C or above. As mentioned at the start of this post, other parts in my build are as follows:

• 300GB Veliciraptor SATA HD (operating system and most software)
• 640GB Caviar Black SATA HD (data)
• Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer sound card
• Corsair 850TX PSU
• SyncMaster 2043BMW wide-screen flat panel at 1680x1050 res
• Vista Home Premium 64-bit o/s
• BIOS version E758SZ2R
• NVidia driver 186.18

I also threw in a couple of blue cold-cathode lights for effect since they were so cheap. I have tested the system on 3DMarkVantage (benchmarking utility) at performance level and scored 28,503 (GPU 24,741, CPU 52685). That was at 3.8GHz clock CPU, and the graphics running at 710/1602/1341 clocks.

Note in the last couple of photos that the added cooling fan blowing on the graphics cards looks like two 120mm fans screwed together (or one really fat single fan). What happened is that the airflow from the 120mm fan by itself seemed to blow on a wide angle, so it was not all directed at the graphics cards as I intended. The solution was to add a fan shroud to focus all the airflow towards the cards. Rather than pay for a shroud, I just ripped the guts out of an old 120mm fan so all that was left was the outer frame, and there ya go - instant shroud, and much cheaper than buying one! On the very last photo with the Mega Shadow CPU cooler, I moved the lower GTX 285 down to a lower PCIE slot for improved airflow and cooling.

Most of the parts were purchased through Newegg.com, although a few parts came from FrozenCPU.com and one of the graphics cards I got second-hand through the EVGA forums. In most cases I purchased items on sale or with good mail-in rebates, and in some situations was able to get additional combo discounts as well, although I did not buy any refurbished or open-box items (other than the second-hand graphics card).

Newegg.com sent me a couple of large items in open-box condition by mistake (the original motherboard and graphics card and a couple of smaller items that came in one shipment). After the hell I went through with Dell, I just thought, "oh no, not again!" when these open-box items arrived, but Newegg were awesome about it; they were very apologetic, replaced the items at no additional cost to me and put them on overnight delivery, and gave me a surprising $200 total credit for my troubles. That is great service, and because of it, they have assured my custom in future, as well as my strong recommendations to others.

Here's the kicker; after discounts and rebates etc, the total cost of this system was just under $2,000. The system I was going to buy from Dell originally was far inferior, and cost just over $2,000. When I went to Dell and configured a PC on their system similar to what I ended up with, the price was nearly $4,000. Amazing huh? All that, and their service sucks too.

I posted a few years ago about this incredibly gifted artist, but after skimming over the old entry and revisiting the artist's website, I thought a repost was in order. Believe it or not, the images below are composed in chalk on public pavements. No, I am not joking.

The artist's name is Kurt Wenner, and I urge you to check out his website at www.kurtwenner.com showcasing some of his work as well as his biography etc. Make sure to check out his fine art portfolio and street painting portfolio in particular. A truly gifted artist.

Pictures published here with the express written permission of Karen Schmidt for Kurt Wenner.

A long story, and one many who have experienced poor service will relate to, but a little history first. About 6 years ago we purchased a Dell 4600, mainly because sharing the existing pre-2001 Dell XPS-something PC was becoming a bit of a mission when we both needed it, particularly for study. The new 4600 was a very reliable PC for years, and little maintenance was required besides adding a small amount of RAM and later replacing the stock video card with a cheap used ATI Radeon X1300.

About 2 years ago, the original Dell XPS that Ice used finally died and was replaced with a new Dell E520 - nice deal with a decent 3GHz dual core processor with Vista o/s, then-current NVidia graphics card, and I added RAM to bring it up to max for the system. Ran great, and still does.

All was good, until eventually my 4600 could not handle some of the newer software on the market that I needed to use, and was very slow on the newer software that it was able to run. After increasing frustration with it, I managed to convince Ice that an upgrade was in order since the PC was about 6 years old, with the provision the the new PC should not need replacing for about another 5 years. Considering we had enjoyed a good history with Dell, I ordered a new Dell XPS 630i which, although pretty expensive, would likely be as future-proof as I could get for quite a few years into the future without buying some monster $4,000+ beast ..plus the 630i was on special.

Things went downhill very fast from that point. I found out before the PC had even been assembled that the expensive single graphics card they were selling it with was not compatible with the motherboard - it would work, but it would be significantly bottle-necked. I could instead have ordered two of a different model graphics card running in SLI for several hundred dollars less than the single one alone, and it would have given much better performance! I was not impressed.

I called Dell to change the order to the cheaper cards in SLI, and did not expect much problem as they had clearly sold me a system that could not function to their advertised specifications. Quick online research confirmed Dell had already returned the same system to earlier customers for full refunds. Unfortunately for me, Dell had recently outsourced their 'help' desk to India, and the one thing that Dell really had above all the other PC retailers - top customer service - was instantly destroyed in the process, as I soon found out.

The 'help' desk was anything but helpful. When I said I wanted to change the order, they at first flat-out refused, and said I had to cancel and order new. Ok fine, so I said cancel the order. The guy became extremely argumentative and reluctant to cancel, and said if they canceled it I would have to pay a substantial restocking fee - despite me being able to provide a website written by their own XPS PR guy confirming exactly the problem I had with the existing order, and that Dell had already issued full refunds on it to other customers. The guy then said I had to contact their tech guys in USA, get them to note on my file that the issue was valid, then for me to call back to the help desk and they would cancel the order with no restocking fee.

It was a mission to get through to the tech guys in the USA, and although they seemed surprised at the request coming from a customer, they were happy to confirm the issue and note it on my file accordingly - as soon as I mentioned it they knew exactly what I was talking about. So from there I rang back to the unhelpful desk (and I will mention that wait times on the phone were at least half an hour every time I rang, sometimes much longer). The guy I spoke to confirmed that the previous rep had noted on the file there would be no restocking fee with tech confirmation, then confirmed the tech guys had confirmed the issue was valid, then proceeded to tell me that they could not cancel the order and that I had to wait for it to be assembled and delivered, and then call back for a return. What the.. It didn't matter what I said from this point, he flat out refused to cancel and said the order had to go through the system. Ok whatever, if they want to pay all that shipping because their return/cancellation process sucked, then so be it (turns out that was a lie, made so they could get credit for the sale and keeping the return rate down).

In the following days while waiting delivery, I contacted the head of PR for the XPS in USA by email (name slips my mind now) and he replied that I was correct and that they had been giving refunds in the past and that if I had any problems all I had to do ask for a manager and mention his name and it would be fine. Great.

As soon as the PC was delivered, I called them. I couldn't believe what happened next. The guy I spoke to this time (yet another Indian guy called 'Dave' or something like that) confirmed everything I said was noted on my file and said he would process the return, but then said I would be charged a restocking fee of 15%. I said, "What?? You just confirmed not 2 minutes ago that my file said there would be a full refund if the tech guys confirmed the issue!" At this point the guy became very aggressive and proceeded to yell at me (seriously) and threatened to hang up if I couldn't take no for an answer. I was stunned for a few seconds, then I let rip. I'm sure half our apartment building heard the string of expletives I used at this point, but I didn't care - this guy was an asshole and he deserved every bit of it. Surprisingly the guy didn't hang up, so I told him to put me through to his manager. I was furious.

The manager was a piece of work - yet another guy with a thick Indian accent and a very English name, and clearly didn't care what was written on the file or my claims of what the bigwig PR guy said, he was backing his team member and that was that. After some ridiculously obtuse comments from this guy, I once again mentioned the PR guy and that I had an email to prove it. He called me a liar (I'm not kidding) so I called him a worse name and said, "give me your email address and I'll forward you a copy right now while we are on the phone". When he received the email a few minutes later he went very quiet for about a minute, and then said he needed to confirm it. I said go ahead, but I would wait on hold while he did it. About 20 minutes later he comes back sounding a little shaken and saying, "well this changes everything - you should have told me about this earlier." Had I been in the same room I would have punched him right in the face at that point.

In the end I got my full refund back and will never deal with Dell again. Idiots - had they not been such complete and utter assholes, I would have bought a differently configured PC from them and they'd still have a sale plus a satisfied customer! As a result of their crap, they have lost a couple of once-loyal customers. In addition, this story has been repeated to a number of people online and off, and I know for a fact of several individuals that were about to buy a Dell and have been dissuaded as a direct result of this story, and have purchased another brand instead.

But what about replacing the 4600 PC? Well that's another story - I ended up building my own PC, and literally saved thousands of dollars doing it. What I ended up building cost about half of what Dell were asking for a similar configuration. I'll post about it soon.

Check out this similar story titled, "Trapped in Dell Hell" from another Dell victim - certainly some similarities. No surprise to see Dell stock is currently down about 50% from what it was 2 years ago.