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.