$993.02 corei7/Gtx275/1tb black/6gb gaming build.

[sheepdogexpress]

Blows a dell out of the water, because it has overclocking ability, even on stock heatsink. Also a much much much better videocard(this videocard is 4x times faster on a high enough resolution), a much larger capacity power supply. A faster and larger HD. Better components. So if a 1000 dell core i7 deal pops up, get this instead.

$186.68. x58-udr3
http://www.directcanada.com/products...cture=GIGABYTE
$309.79. Core i7 920
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/19...el/BX80601920/
$21.99 samsung 22x burner
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...7&promoid=1190
$80.00 patriot ddr3 1600 6gb
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820220365
$199.99 BFG OC Gtx 275
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...3&promoid=1190
$99.85 1gb Caviar black
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/17...al/WD1001FALS/
$29.73 logisys tower case
http://www.bestdirect.ca/products/20...puter/CS206BK/
$64.99 500w seasonic modular
http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...promoid=1190l]
$993.02

Inspired by terrybears thread, but in corei7/NV/AMD flavour.
All the pricematches are there.

[Bskll]

left out the OS.

[mysticalinfluence]

Your ATX case is trash your going have cooling & airflow issues with it. I would get the Coolermaster Elite RC-330 instead for $46.00.

Coolermaster Elite RC-330 : http://www.directcanada.com/products...e=COOLERMASTER

[sheepdogexpress]

left out the OS.

I am assuming people have a computer with xp(old licence), since that what most people run still. Or running windows 7 beta.

Even then(116 vista home premium), this thing is atleast 3x faster in games, even with a stock heatsink, this thing will OC to 3.3 ghz, which is already faster than the extreme edition. With the dell, your forced to buy an extreme edition if you want faster than 3.2 ghz.

With the dell, your bios doesn't allow for overclocking, your power supply is 360 watts, so you would not want to overclock with a decent videocard because these core i7 are beast for drinking power.

From what I remember, the 999 dell had 6gb ddr3(slower stuff), 640gb hd(a slower series), 4670 videocard, 360 watt ps, none overclockable MB. That a huge downgrade.

When you only have to pay 1 tax, that takes care of the 60 dollar extra this system costs, even if you buy the OS, 116 dollars gets you alot of stuff.

This thing won't likely overheat that badly as there is a front case fan, which is what dell does and all the heat is expelled outside the case looking at the Videocard heatsink design and the airduct over the CPU. Personally I would upgrade the case too but this is RFD and getting bang for your buck. But I am simply taking what a dell offers(the 999 dollar one), and either improving or atleast maintaining that level.

If you look at the dell xps 430.
http://www.dell.com/content/products...aspx/xpsdt_420

There only 1 front case fan and I don't think you can install one on the back.

[mr_raider]

PSU is a bit weak for an i7 + gtx275

[sheepdogexpress]

600w is more than enough.

Theres a reason people can run a corei7 and crossfired 4870s off a hx620.

Heck dell in there studio xps run a core i7 and a 4670 off a 360w ps. 600w should give more than a enough room for a gtx 275.

[BlueMax]

left out the OS.

And the 22-24" LCD monitor!

You gain a video card though.

[joepinchpenny]

Assembly fee.
Dell Warranty.

I'd agree that you build a faster computer for $1000, but for the same reason people buy retail computers with huge markups, sometimes its just more convenient.

[sheepdogexpress]

And the 22-24" LCD monitor!

You gain a video card though.

This is the system I am talking about.

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/s...d.php?t=738275

It didn't come with a monitor.

Personally I find assembly fun, you also get to customize your system alot more. However, when you want to buy the components you actually want, you usually get carried away. Still those, my system blows most system away because its clocked stablely at 4.5ghz with HT on.

I can bench close to 4.7 ghz(and this is only under water), if I didn't start building pc at some point, I would probably have to pay 4 times the amount at some boutique builder to get this performance and even then they probably wouldn't clock it as high.

The point, if your willing to learn, building your own has a value added effect that pretty much priceless because you can get performance that not even released from a processor manufacturer, or even by a boutique builder.

Or course if your lazy, you could get ncix to assemble it for you, but seeing the trouble some people take to do a pricematch, I say assembly is far lower risk for the time.

You might get a warranty with dell too, but its only a year. Building it yourself, you get much longer warranties component wise. E.g harddrives(5 years), videocard(lifetime) etc.

[Silver Bullet]

It's not easy to beat the Dell system if you're not going to play games. Really a 4670 isn't going to play much and good luck upgrading anything.

--

My shot at the 1k i7.

$ 62 - Antec 300
$ 75 - Corsair VX550W
$196 - Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R
$318 - Core i7 920
$ 95 - Mushkin HP HP3-12800 6GB DDR3
$ 79 - WD 640GB Black
$ 25 - Samsung SH-S223F
$249 - EVGA GeForce GTX 275 (896-P3-1170-AR)
------
$1099

Pricecanada as source for all prices. 550W is more than enough (I don't wanna hear anything about it), 640GB same as Dell though sheepdogexpress got away with a TB, I guess depends on your priorities.

--

sheepdogexpress - Not a bad setup, but I won't touch the OCZ PSU with a ten foot clown pole and the ram has a $30 MIR

[sheepdogexpress]

It's not easy to beat the Dell system if you're not going to play games. Really a 4670 isn't going to play much and good luck upgrading anything.

--

My shot at the 1k i7.

$ 62 - Antec 300
$ 75 - Corsair VX550W
$196 - Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R
$318 - Core i7 920
$ 95 - Mushkin HP HP3-12800 6GB DDR3
$ 79 - WD 640GB Black
$ 25 - Samsung SH-S223F
$249 - EVGA GeForce GTX 275 (896-P3-1170-AR)
------
$1099

Pricecanada as source for all prices. 550W is more than enough (I don't wanna hear anything about it), 640GB same as Dell though sheepdogexpress got away with a TB, I guess depends on your priorities.

--

sheepdogexpress - Not a bad setup, but I won't touch the OCZ PSU with a ten foot clown pole and the ram has a $30 MIR

I would of went with a 5xx watt PS but, honestly, you would get stomped by people suggesting a corsair 750tx.

Personally the best deal is the seasonic 650w, which for 75 dollars is a dream, but ahhh, that special is not running this week.

I noticed you don't like ocz in general silverbullet, bad experience?

Did you try a new d0 yet? I am #2 or 3 in Canada on hwbot, in 3dmark 06,05,03, superpi32m, wprime 32m because I am using one. They are great. However because of it, if you decide to see your current d0, you take a heavy loss. I sold mine for 270.

[mr_raider]

Now that PCP&C has been gobbled up, Seasonic is one of the few OEMs I still trust. Don't get me started on Antec either. As for OCZ, their high stuff is good, but the mid range I wouldn't touch.

[bahasad]

Both builds are great. I wish I saw this before I paid for my AM3 setup .

As for OCZ PSU, I had a 600W StealthXstream which powered an 8600GT SLi setup and an overclocked AMD X2 3800+ for the last two years. The computer was on for many days at a time. I had no problems.

I bought the 600W ModXstream that sheepdogexpress used, and it is pretty convenient because it is modular. It has active PFC and good efficiency. It is a little limited on cables though.

I wouldn't get the 550W...just too low. Although Corsair PSUs are good.

[sheepdogexpress]

Both builds are great. I wish I saw this before I paid for my AM3 setup .

As for OCZ PSU, I had a 600W StealthXstream which powered an 8600GT SLi setup and an overclocked AMD X2 3800+ for the last two years. The computer was on for many days at a time. I had no problems.

I bought the 600W ModXstream that sheepdogexpress used, and it is pretty convenient because it is modular. It has active PFC and good efficiency. It is a little limited on cables though.

I wouldn't get the 550W...just too low. Although Corsair PSUs are good.

I am curious, how much did you pay for your AM3 setup?

For those curious, only the dell xps 730x allows for overclocking, and a comparable build goes for 2250(although you get an OS, and a nice case).

If I was going to build a 2250 build....

Lets just say you would have one of the fastest 24/7 computer in Canada.

Heck I will say the upgrades for a 2250 build.

Spend 22 dollars, get a d0.
Get a MB like the T power x58 for about $90 more.
Get 3 gtx 275, this is $500 more.
Change the PS to a hx1000, $180 dollars more.
Get a koolance at 350 block $95
Get a thermochill pa120.3 $100
A t line, couple barbs, $10
Masterkleer line $8
Danger den pump $61
6 fans yate loon $ 30
Antec HAF upgrade. $135
Fan controller $20
= 1229
+ 1060
= $2289
= 4.5ghz core i7 + tri SLI gtx 275 = serious beatdown of anything from Dell, alienware, Falcon, Voodoo.
(loading times might not be the best)
4.5 ghz is not guaranteed of course, but at this point I think 4.4 on good water is pretty safe on a d0.

http://service.futuremark.com/result...eResultType=14

My 3dmark06 is the second fastest in canada(behind a ln2 cooled processor by a world class overclocker) and this computer above would be faster than that. So I am not bulling anyone.

http://www.hwbot.org/searchResults.d...inTotalPoints=

[bahasad]

CPU: AM3 Phenom II X3 720 - $302
Motherboard: MSI 790GX - (included in above)
Video Card: Evga GTX260 Core 216 SC - $203
Hard drive: Hitachi 1TB - $87
Case: Coolermaster Storm Scout - $138
PSU: OCZ ModXstream 600W - $71
Ram: Haven't got it yet, but leaning towards 2GB DDR3 1333MHz OCZ Reaper - $57
DVDRW: $30

Total: $888

This is with tax, minus rebates, add or subtract a dollar or two. I might add another hard drive, and might get the ram used. Also I might take out the GTX260