Description

This machine...well, it gets used for pretty much everything from photo work, video editing, folding (in its spare time) gaming on up to being abused in the name of research. It's my computer and, as a result, it's usually malfunctioning due to ...uh...poor input device...selections. She always bounces back and has yet to let me down. Do note that this is the current configuration, it may not last long as my romance with technology is fickle and desire to know things has steadfast inertia. Luckily, so does the parts market. In the past year everything on this box was replaced except for the motherboard, CPU and graphics cards and I expect to swap those out with Intel's next big enthusiast platform release. I passed over Ivy Bridge-E because it wasn't a significant upgrade over sandy bridge-e. Time will tell what lies in store for this machine, i'll be sure to keep it updated. =)

Comments

  • 69 months ago
  • 4 points

A beast of a build with rather interesting choice of parts.

Monster CPU with an average high-end Mobo; CPU cooler is not the best with your budget; GTX 680s are not the best to SLI, they are very well balanced individually but in this setup its hard to reach the high efficiency a single GTX Titan Blk can reach.

I recommend additional case fans for that 3-way SLI of yours.

Heck, let's say that I envy your liberty at spending, and I am slightly sour about it. ;)

  • 69 months ago
  • 2 points

I never really intended to use the X79-UD3, it was purchased as part of a combo with the CPU from Micro Center. I was going to sell it to recoup some of the cost of the CPU and had an Asus Sabertooth X79 on order. Needless to say I got antsy to play with the processor and never bothered to make the switch. The sabertooth ended up in another build for a high-dollar customer so I just kept things the way they were. I've never really felt held back by it, and an entry level X79 board is kind of like an entry level Porsche...still pretty fun, no? The 680's were more for show than anything else, as they were in my shop floor gaming PC. A stack of graphics cards is always a good conversation starter. That being said they perform rather phenomenally. To quote Tom's Hardware

"Titan Versus SLI and CrossFireX When it comes to pitting the Titan versus dual-card setups, the Titan loses every battle. This is particularly interesting considering a pair of GTX 680s will cost just a bit less than the $1,000 Titan (though are a bit noisier), and dual HD 7970 cards will only run you about $800 these days, which is a smokin' deal. The Titan holds its own though, but we were shocked to see it only manage 22fps in Crysis 3, though the 4XSMAA setting we ran really hits these cards in the family jewels. It did look amazing though."

The gap only widens with the third 680, as SLI scaling has been much improved with drivers.

Temps are fine, there are fans that don't show in the photos, including a 200mm roof fan. Same goes for the CPU cooler, I could afford better, but it hasn't given me a reason to replace it.

Also, don't envy the budget, it's business for me...I just get to take some of the parts home at the end of the day >.>

  • 68 months ago
  • 2 points

Hehe, in that case I am very happy for your build. :)

Personally I would still go for single GPU rather than multi GPUs in SLI/CrossfireX, but to each his own.

It is hard to get the perfect build, I guess I would have to get my game up to match some of you old timers.

Cheers Man!

  • 68 months ago
  • 1 point

I usually so suggest to my clients that they begin with one, solid card rather than having multiple GPUs off the bat. I also suggest that they get a motherboard with extra PCIe x 16 lanes for possible expansion down the road. Additionally, until quite recently, I also suggested AMD over Intel for folks who don't need the best of the best and are looking for a machine that will last a very long time. I say this because historically they had a great upgrade path, with many of the AM2 boards going on to support AM3 processors (although hamstringed on the hypertransport). I just recently upgraded him to a Phenom X4 955 and 560 Graphics (way more than he needs really) and the bugger runs like it's brand new. Rather sure the board is the Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 and the build is coming up on it's 10th birthday soon...with any luck he'll get a total of 12 years or so out of this box, possibly more. These days however AMD is being unpredictable in terms of which socket they might (or might not) allow an upgrade path on. This has left me in the difficult position of asking my longevity customers which Intel chip they can afford, since I'm not confident enough that any socket out there is going to have a lifespan like the AM2 did.

  • 68 months ago
  • 1 point

Thx for the insight!
That's very good info man, the rig I'm currently building uses the AM3+ socket, perhaps you can give me some tips as I also plan to use this rig for at least 5 years.
Link to Build

  • 69 months ago
  • 2 points

Looks good, let's hope your computer stays together :P

  • 69 months ago
  • 1 point

I have busy hands, it may not remain this way for long. Heh.

  • 69 months ago
  • 2 points

More pics?

  • 69 months ago
  • 1 point

Coming soon.

  • 69 months ago
  • 2 points

WOW, that is a nice build and seriously, you spent a lot of money on that CPU, i know it has 6 cores, extreme edition and all of that but it is the "same" performance as the newest i7 4770K edition + way cheaper; But that was your choice i would only recommend changing that CPU cooler, other than that great, little jealous on that SSD :)

  • 69 months ago
  • 2 points

Agreed, a sweet build. A little much with a 1 TB SSD, but good work overall. You may want to check that remark about the 4770k being just as powerful as a 3960x 6 core, the 3960x will out perform the 4770k in every way.

  • 68 months ago
  • 1 point

I stated it was only as powerful for gaming purposes. That being said CPU intensive games (MMORPGs for the most part) will benefit from the additional cores and L3 cache. For almost every other purpose it outperforms the 4770k, but it's difficult to speak in absolutes...there are a lot of applications out there. =)

  • 69 months ago
  • 2 points

Indeed, obviously the 4770K wasn't around when I purchased the Extreme Edition processor, but i intend to resell the unit down the road (I have a computer store) to recoup some of the loss and I had never played with one of the enthusiast processors from Intel. It really is a great piece of kit, but at too high a cost. I would put it on par with the 4770 for gaming, but all around performance puts the 3960X in the driver's seat. Remember that it may only have 2 additional physical cores, but that translates into 4 logical cores. The other reason I would still choose the extreme processor to this day is the X79 platform, which is far superior to the 1150 setup. Memory bandwidth is a huge plus due to quad channel technology, more PCIe links (total) on the motherboard so I can actually use all the potential of the triple SLI and nearly double the L3 cache compliments the SSD nicely when referencing recently used data. These are all things that are complete overkill currently, but leaves the platform with a lot of life in it going forward. Cheers.

  • 69 months ago
  • 2 points

How is it like gaming on a monitor with a 14ms response time? Can you really feel the latency? Does it affect the games that you play?

  • 69 months ago
  • 1 point

I actually don't notice any ghosting or tearing believe it or not. I was a bit concerned myself but I got it at a good price (far less than it says in the build) so I went for it.

  • 69 months ago
  • 2 points

Cool build. Is the name supposed to be a My Chemical Romance reference? +1

  • 69 months ago
  • 1 point

Thank you, and yes it is =)

  • 61 months ago
  • 1 point

says corsair for the CPU cooler even though it says Antec on the description :P

[comment deleted]
  • 66 months ago
  • 1 point

It has functioned flawlessly with rock stable voltages, i have no regrets.