To build or not to build... that is the question.

[STMahlberg]

Well I knew it would happen, I just didn't figure so fast. I knew I should have stayed away from you guys... I've got the damn crunching bug again. While moving I got rid of 7 of my rigs which leaves me with 3; The Annihilatrix and 2 Dell Optiplex GX-280s. So I fire up my main rig to crunch again, mind you, I told myself I would not do this again. Only because of RL issues that now I have to pay for my own power and I probably won't have a job somewhere between Monday and next July.

So my main rig is running and I start reading all of your posts and I can feel it... you know that feeling where you think you can squeeze out just a little more credit?

Plus the fact that I have 4 GPUs sitting on the counter taunting me. So I figure okay, I'll fire up one of my GX-280s so I can run one of my GTX-460s... it couldn't cost that much extra to run right??? I figure, I'll just eat every other day... I'll be fine.

Still there is the other GTX-460 sitting there beckoning to be used. And the 2 HD5830's what am I suppose to do with those? I just can't let them sit there, it wouldn't be right. Now I think I have to get the GX-280 running; it's only $15 a month to run. That's only 3 Starbuck coffees, which I can't afford to drink anyways so what the hell. I'll do it this weekend.

Now I want to build a complete new system... I must be out of my mind. I was thinking of making a twin for The Annihilatrix; I can get another MSI 890FXA-GD70 and AMD Phenom II X6 1100T for only $324.98 (after rebate). And I can save money by not buying another $200 case... I'll just set it on the glass coffee table I have; glass is an insulator, it will get plenty of cooling, and I don't drink coffee anymore.

Yeah, that's it... I'll do that.

PLEASE SOMEBODY STOP ME!!!

[Tomis]

Don't do it you will starve to death before your electricity bill arrive. Go and get a job in whatever field you were working in. Also you might have to save electricity so you took out the cooler and the next day your house will be on fire :0. Instead just stand in one of those job fair line with and umbrella in case you get baked . Is that good enough for you?

[spingadus]

Come back to the Dark Side...


A bag of rice or potatoes goes a long way. Or top ramen, you can survive at subsistence levels for years. And who needs heat? That's what a jacket is for.

[Beerdrinker]

Do what you can with what you have.

1. You will never get enough $ for the old Dell´s to fund a new build.
2. always RL first. You can´t eat your pc´s - this is afterall just a hobby.
3. You are already producing more than 99% on the team.
4. The team are better of with you producing and participating - rather than you going bankrupt..

[DrPop]

hahaha...oh man, I feel the same way you do, STM. I'd love to see my RAC go sky high again...but not unless it's sustainable.

PS - I'm glad to have you back, even if you just stick with your 1 big hog. You can always sell the GPUs to team members and get the RAC back that way for the team...just a thought. Or, could sell them and save the cash in a pile to use for funding electric for your big rig!

[Fire$torm]

PLEASE SOMEBODY STOP ME!!!

Sorry, but why would we WANT to do that???

[c303a]

You should have posted this thread in the one that is headed "You know you are a cruncher when..."

So you sit in the heat and swelter in summer and rely on the GPU cards for heat in the winter and of course you don't eat. Just as long as you pay your utility bill your RAC will stay up and you will be at peace with yourself. YEP, looks like we : have a very dedicated cruncher. Congratulations, you have passed all the tests.

[STMahlberg]

You should have posted this thread in the one that is headed "You know you are a cruncher when..."

So you sit in the heat and swelter in summer and rely on the GPU cards for heat in the winter and of course you don't eat. Just as long as you pay your utility bill your RAC will stay up and you will be at peace with yourself. YEP, looks like we : have a very dedicated cruncher. Congratulations, you have passed all the tests.

LOL Thank you.

[STMahlberg]

First, I'm going to bore you to death in my first paragraph then I will ask my questions in the second. Although I do try to inject a little humor into my employment and financial situation, it's the only way I can maintain what little is left of my sanity, the circumstances are real. I moved to save money because of possible layoffs; I managed to lower my rent but it ended up being a wash because I now pay utilities. I did save $300 a month in fuel costs since I'm now only 1/2 mile from work instead of 22 miles. I am reasonably assured that I will have a job till the end of June; as long as there are no additional cuts, I should be able to skate through another 18 months from that point in which I can retire with 30 years. If I don't make it, I have a contingency plan which is a move to Dallas where my Mom lives who is actually excited at the prospect of me moving in... she has a large 3 bedroom home there and lives alone. I'm not sure which has more dignity, being 49 and having to move back in with my Mom... or shooting myself. That being said, I also have some extra cash on hand which is why I am considering building another system.

Onto the not so boring stuff.

I am still extremely pleased with my last build which was The Annihilatrix. Below is the configuration. The only thing that I would do different is the PSU; it is massively over-sized. I didn't know this until I was done building it and hooked it up to a data logger... it only uses 660 watts.



The final damages...

Case - COOLER MASTER HAF X $199.99
PSU - Ultra X4 1200-Watt $269.99
RAM - CORSAIR XMS3 8GB $99.99
MOBO - MSI 890FXA-GD70 $199.99
CPU - AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Thuban $269.99
CPU Cooler - Corsair Hydro Series H70 $99.99
GPU (3) - SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5870 $849.97
HDD - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB $89.99
DVD Drive - Lite-On $21.99
Fan 200mm (2) - COOLER MASTER Megaflow 200 $39.98
OS - Windows 7 Home $189.99

Sales Tax $3.24
Shipping & Handling $5.80
Subtotal: $2,322.82

Promotions: $30.00
Rebates: $30.00
Discounts: $15.00
Total Discounts: $75.00

Total: $2,247.82

I am considering building another one using the same motherboard and CPU; currently the combination is on sale right now at NewEgg for $324. Here is was I am looking at currently.

MSI 890FXA-GD70 & AMD Phenom II X6 1100T Black Edition Thuban 3.3GHz

CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s

LITE-ON DVD Burner

I already have a spare Rosewill 850 PSU, and 2 ATI HD 5830's.

For the time being, I'm not going to buy a case; I want another HAF X but I don't want to spend $189 for one right now. I also plan on going with air-cooling for the CPU and I'll add on the liquid cooling later... maybe... depends on the temps.

The above parts will cost me ~$458. Is there any reason you can see not to buy these parts or perhaps a substitution in parts? Keep in mind, I am pretty set on having another 6-core system unless something else makes more sense.

[Mike029]

A great read as always Steve. Suspense, Humor tragedy, etc That AMD cpu is power hungry. Adding another 3 gpu's build is going to add another $100.00 to your bill. Another Idea would be to see if you could sell the extra GPU's you have on the side together with one or two of the GPU's in the Annihilatrix and get a GXT 590 or 2 GTX 570 ($700.00) Put them in the Annihilatrix.

I'm getting over 700k in Dirt with my 570. Other teammates with the 590 are probably doing close to a million per day with that card. This way you get the credit boost you want without the extra box burning up you latte money. Plus those pesky extra cards won't be lying around to taunt you anymore.

Just an idea my friend and great to have you back. Now we need to keep you here. *salutes*