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Which company have you guys used and what reasons do you prefer them? I'm thinking of building a 3000 machine, but I am kind of lost as to what company I want to go with. I have a friend who bought from IBP, and his computer is very nice. But then I've also heard great things about DS. About how their overclocking is much better etc.
Tell me what you guys think.
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Do it yourself and save 25% on their price tags. Seriously, its really simple, plenty of guides online. Post what you want to do with your rig and we'll help you piece together a build. (please include a budget since that is the most important).
Both of those companies are terrible for overclocking compared to what you can do yourself.
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do it yourself, you'll save a load of money and it's really easier to build a computer than it seems to be.
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I would suggest building it yourself or just buying the parts and getting somebody knowledgeable to build it for you. Around here we usually don't get people asking for $3000 machines, so it could also make for some interesting discussion
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I pretty much know how to build the computer, I've done it multiple times. I'm just not all too familiar with adding liquid cooling, over-clocking ram/CPU/Graphics card. I honestly just want a professionally computer with proper wiring.
To give you an idea of what I am looking for: ( Bolded the main components )
Netbook / Notebook Bundle None Case CoolerMaster HAF 922 Mid Tower Gaming Case - Black iBUYPOWER Labs - Noise Reduction Advanced - iBUYPOWER Harmony SRS Sound Reduction System iBUYPOWER Labs - Internal Expansion [4-Port] iBUYPOWER Internal USB Expansion System Case Lighting Cold Cathode Neon Light - Red Processor Intel® Core™ i7 960 Processor (4x 3.20GHz/8MB L3 Cache) iBUYPOWER PowerDrive PowerDrive Level 3 - Up to 30% Overclocking Processor Cooling Asetek Liquid CPU Cooling System w/ 240mm Radiator [SOCKET-1366] Memory 6 GB [2 GB X3] DDR3-1600 Triple Memory Module - Corsair Dominator Video Card ATI Radeon HD 5870 - 1GB - Single Card Video Card Brand Major Brand Powered by ATI or NVIDIA Motherboard EVGA X58 SLI -- Intel X58 Chipset CrossFire and SLI Supported w/ 8-ch HD Audio, Triple-Channel DDR3, Gb LAN, S-ATA Raid, USB 2.0, 3 PCI-E MB 3-Way SLI Motherboard Add-on None Power Supply 1000 Watt -- Corsair CMPSU-1000HX Power Supply Quad SLI Ready Primary Hard Drive 80 GB Intel X25-M MLC SSD - Single Drive Data Hard Drive 1 TB HARD DRIVE -- 16M Cache, 7200 RPM, 3.0Gb/s - Single Drive Optical Drive 24X Dual Format/Double Layer DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Drive - Black 2nd Optical Drive [8X Blu-Ray] LG BLU-RAY Reader, DVD±R/±RW Burner Combo Drive - Black 3D Premium Surround Sound Onboard Network Card Onboard LAN Network (Gb or 10/100) Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium + [Free 60-Day !!!] Microsoft Office 2007(Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Access ....) - 64-Bit Headset Logitech G35 Surround Sound Headset Warranty Standard Warranty Service - Standard 3-Year Limited Warranty + Lifetime Technical Support Rush Service Rush Service Fee (not shipping fee) - No Rush Service, Estimate Ship Out in 5~10 Business Days Keyboard Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard w/ Game Panel LCD Advanced Build Options Tuniq TX-2 High Performance Thermal Compound The best interface between your CPU and the heatsinks Advanced Build Options iBUYPOWER Specialized Advanced Packaging System Protect your investment during transportation! Advanced Build Options Professional wiring for all cables inside the system tower Achieve exceptional airflow in your chassis
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That isn't $3000
It's more like a $2300ish? And not a very good one at that It's very wasteful. 1kW psu for 1 video card is a joke!
Wiring is very easy if you buy a large case (which you are!), and I doubt that it is worth the money that they charge for "professional wiring". Wiring in a case like the HAF 932 or HAF 922 should be a breeze tbh. Just spend an extra hour and buy a modular PSU and you should be fine.
Liquid cooling isn't that hard either if you buy that Corsair H50 liquid cooler. It's a simple liquid cooling system for the CPU, and it performs quite well. It also seems very easy to install
That said, unless you plan to do some huge overclocks, you don't need liquid cooling anyways.
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Yeah I plan on OC'ing the 930, it's the same proc as the 950 from what I've been told.
What do you suggest parts wise? I want to keep the SSD/1 TB.Haf 922, if you go with a faster I7, all the better. I just want a named brand PSU, that's why I went with the 1k , everything below that was generic on IBP. Also went with 1k based on me getting another 5870 down the line.
What do you suggest about sound card? I'm hearing that onboard audio is very good now and that I don't need a card. Also, I've read somewhere that I could get some G35's ( Logitech ) with a chip in the headset for sound. Only time I use speakers is for home theater. I would totally build my own but it's been a very long time and I forget how to match socket types to CPU, and how to match RAM to my mobo.
Let's see what you can come up with.
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On March 29 2010 16:11 Lobotomy wrote: Yeah I plan on OC'ing the 930, it's the same proc as the 950 from what I've been told.
What do you suggest parts wise? I want to keep the SSD/1 TB.Haf 922, if you go with a faster I7, all the better. I just want a named brand PSU, that's why I went with the 1k , everything below that was generic on IBP. Also went with 1k based on me getting another 5870 down the line.
What do you suggest about sound card? I'm hearing that onboard audio is very good now and that I don't need a card. Also, I've read somewhere that I could get some G35's ( Logitech ) with a chip in the headset for sound. Only time I use speakers is for home theater. I would totally build my own but it's been a very long time and I forget how to match socket types to CPU, and how to match RAM to my mobo.
Let's see what you can come up with. If you insist on wasting your money in this venture, go to their custom thing and choose the cheapest x58 base, then configure it like this: HAF 932 Full i7 920 6 GB DDR3-1600 5870 1GB 850W Coolmaster realpower pro (assuming you want cf later) 80GB intel x25-m 1.5 tb drive
Comes out to $1900
Absolutely do not waste money on getting a more expensive i7, the 920 already overclocks like a beast, you can hit 3.6 easy with 0 experience, and save the 100 dollars it would cost you to upgrade a proc and pay for their overclocking service. Read this: http://www.overclock.net/intel-cpus/477151-how-overclock-i7-920-a.html
If you want a sound card (you should want one, but get better speakers / headphones with it), then buy an ASUS Xonar DS seperately and stick it in there. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132013&Tpk=asus
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Glad I asked here, would save me a lot of money. What type of fan do you suggest for the CPU Xmshake?
Also had a question about RAM, going 1800 over 1600 really worth it? What about generic Corsair VS Corsair Dominators? I've heard great things about A-DATA too.
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On March 29 2010 16:35 Lobotomy wrote: Glad I asked here, would save me a lot of money. What type of fan do you suggest for the CPU Xmshake?
Also had a question about RAM, going 1800 over 1600 really worth it? What about generic Corsair VS Corsair Dominators? I've heard great things about A-DATA too. Their liquid cooling thing is free so I'd just go with that. It looks like the corsair thing so it should be good. If its not the corsair thing, choose the xig or the v8.
No, going over 1600 is only worth it to guys who really care about their benchmark scores. Switching to the A-data models is probably a good idea but not necessary. The differences would not be noticeable to you. (not to discredit your intelligence on the subject or something, you just won't feel the difference or see the results from switching to better ram)
EDIT: actually just stick with the basic 1600. You can probably even go down to the 1333 if you want. It won't change anything for you but the pricetag.
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I only plan on using this computer for gaming,the occasional photoshop, game recording and everyday use. I'm thinking if I build my own, Newegg will ship me the parts faster. ( In a bout a week cause I am in California ) But if I go with IBP, they will take a month at least. I can assemble the PC. Do you think I should just look for Newegg/Tiger Direct deals and go with your suggested build?
Heh the last PC I built was a 3800 AMD 64 bit 1 core. = P So I am kind of out of the loop. But I want a good machine for Starcraft II and other possible titles down the line.
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Okay. How bout 2k -2.5k range? Monitor included , 24+ , does MS still matter on monitors?
Some notes: I would like to stick to an EVGA mobo 6g ram Preferred 5870 INTEL SSD I would like the HAF 922, but let's see what you can come up with. Creative Sound card would be nice. Already have Creative THX 5.1 speakers that rock, got them after a good night playing Blackjack =P Decent PSU
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On March 29 2010 17:35 Lobotomy wrote: Okay. How bout 2k -2.5k range? Monitor included , 24+ , does MS still matter on monitors?
Some notes: I would like to stick to an EVGA mobo 6g ram Preferred 5870 INTEL SSD I would like the HAF 922, but let's see what you can come up with. Creative Sound card would be nice. Already have Creative THX 5.1 speakers that rock, got them after a good night playing Blackjack =P Decent PSU
I hit all your requirements with edits. I'm going to bed now, pm me with any questions.
The asus soundcard is better than any creative crap btw.
Oh, and order from amazon if you can, that way you can avoid getting hit by taxes. They deliver most parts in 5 days as opposed to 3 from the egg.
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If you still plan on buying from one of these sites, I can offer a bit of my personal experience. I went with Digital Storm back in 2007 and haven been very happy with my decision.
When I was researching, I almost went with iBuypower, but I could find very little good said about them at the time. I came across Digital Storm, signed up on the forum and asked a few questions. They helped me, and I liked what I saw, so I placed an order. Not sure about how either prices their stuff now, but back when I ordered, Digital Storm was a good $200 or so more than a comparable iBuypower machine.
But it was worth it, as everything up to receiving my computer was great. They called me at one point during the building process, and said that they were out of the video card I specified, and they just wanted to make sure it was okay to use a comparable card (same model, just different brand - like EVGA to XFX or something).
My computer runs smoothly and has only ever had minor overheating problems, but I'm assuming that's from an overclocked processor without more than a fan to cool, and by no means a problem on their end.
My experience with iBuypower is very minimal. I had a friend who paid for overnight shipping once, and his computer arrived about a week late, but once he had it he was happy. And reading the reviews on Resellerratings, Digital Storm was the clear choice.
If they're around equally priced, and you're absolutely set on going with one of the two instead of building your own, I can honestly recommend Digital Storm. Especially since they give you a free 3 year warranty and tech support for as long as you need it (I'm assuming they still do this).
If you have any specific questions about them, let me know and I'll try to answer as best as I can.
Edit: Btw, if you do end up going Digital Storm and want to be nice and say I referred you, PM me. If their system is still in place, and you use my information, they'll send me a check. No worries if you end up going with them and don't want to do it though.
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There was a time when I was a laptop mania, and researched heavily into which laptop to buy... I first toppled across iBuypower, then Digital Storm, then finally xoticpc.
The last one was by far the best choice assuming you're on a budget < $2000. If you want to go hardcore, I guess DS is the way to go. I've only heard had stuff from iBuypower. So yah.
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Do you plan on crossfiring later on?
In general sound cards are a waste of money unless you're doing audio editing or something similar/have an amazing sound system. Onboard is very good now.
I'll throw a build here when I get back from school in 7 hours ish
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Yeah I do plan on getting Crossfire down the line.
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I don't see why you need a 5870. 5770 x2 out performs 5870 x1 from what I've seen and even 5870 x2 is only slightly better than 5770 x2 for twice the price. That's what I'm planning on for my build at least. Still not sure if I want to get an i7 though or just get an i5.
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