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

[YoDude9999]

Sweet looking rig. Wish I could get mine to look so pretty inside LOL.

[STMahlberg]

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*

That is a good idea but I was hoping to add core power as well. I was reading about the i7 2600K... It's nice but the chip alone is almost as much as the combo I want to buy.

I hate this... too many decisions. I probably need to rethink this and put the money into some Studio Lighting instead.

[spingadus]

You could try the AMD route and go for the Phenom x6. It's only about $160 with 6 cores. I'm not running any, but I see a lot that do.

[STMahlberg]

You could try the AMD route and go for the Phenom x6. It's only about $160 with 6 cores. I'm not running any, but I see a lot that do.

That's what my main rig has... I was thinking about building another one. I had posted what I was looking at further down in the posts.

[DrPop]

STM - I have the AMD 1100T as well. It's a power hog if you O/C it a lot. But, it can be pretty fast for the $. There is no doubting the Sandy Bridge is better performance per watt...but it's a chunk of change up front. If you do go the AMD route, I would consider a mobo that you can drop the new 8 core bulldozer in when it comes out. You want an AM3+ socket mobo, or an AM3 mobo with a BIOS upgrade like the Gigabytes have. A good low cost example is the ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ for just over $100. Mate that with an X6 CPU of your choice and a nice speedy machine for low cost that could take 3 of your GPUs.

[STMahlberg]

STM - I have the AMD 1100T as well. It's a power hog if you O/C it a lot. But, it can be pretty fast for the $. There is no doubting the Sandy Bridge is better performance per watt...but it's a chunk of change up front. If you do go the AMD route, I would consider a mobo that you can drop the new 8 core bulldozer in when it comes out. You want an AM3+ socket mobo, or an AM3 mobo with a BIOS upgrade like the Gigabytes have. A good low cost example is the ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ for just over $100. Mate that with an X6 CPU of your choice and a nice speedy machine for low cost that could take 3 of your GPUs.

I looked at the AMD's Bulldozer and see it's suppose to be released September 19th... 8 Cores, now that's what I'm talking about. Sweet... but of course the Motherboard that I want isn't AM3+. And with 8 cores, she's going to have to be my new main rig, which must have the best. So now I'm wondering if I should sit and wait it out.

As I write this, I am reinstalling the OS on my other Dell GX-280. Once I have that up and running I'll figure out what the increase in my power bill; I estimate that the additional cost of all 3 rigs will be in the $80 a month range going on old data logging information. I'll take a couple 24 hour meter reading to make a more accurate estimate.

Now I really don't know what to do... Build another X6 rig to get my last 2 unused GPUs running which I could have up by the end of the week... Then build the Bulldozer as a new main rig in September. It seems that I keep running into the same problem... more GPUs than computers to run them. Selling them is not an option. Three rigs seems to be the way to go... I won't need to heat the apartment with them in the winter and the power bill won't be a big deal; it's the 5 months of Summer we have here that is the killer.

aCK!!! Information Overload!!!

I'm going to go bang my head on the wall now.

[DrPop]

Actually, I agree with you that 3 rigs is about right. I have 2 now, and my Bro. has 1 that he runs BOINC on for my ID, but right now only 2 of the three are fully functional. That is why my RAC is so low today. If you want to go AMD route, nothing wrong with getting an AM3+ mobo now, and then upgrading to a Bulldozer CPU later. I wish my mobos would allow me the upgrade, but alas, it appears I will be buying new mobos down the road... which mobo do you want now? Maybe we can find you an AM3+ mobo that is similar in spec and price, and then you can just sell the x6 CPU later when you get a bulldozer, or move it to another rig that has a smaller CPU at that point. Just some thoughts...

[Aux10]

OS - Windows 7 Home $189.99

Getting the retail version is a no no. You should have gotten the OEM version and paid half the price!

[Fire$torm]

FWIW: Cooler Master HAF-X RC-942-KKN1 - $169.99 w/Free Shipping (Before $10.00 MIR)

Most Intel Enthusiast & Mid-range CPU prices will not come down until Bulldozer hits the streets so AMD is the better value for performance per dollar. But you need to keep in mind that MB manufactures will start cutting back on older products which will raise the price for available stock. So the best time to buy is probably right now while there is still a certain level of uncertainty surrounding Bulldozer's availability and performance potential.

[STMahlberg]

Actually, I agree with you that 3 rigs is about right. I have 2 now, and my Bro. has 1 that he runs BOINC on for my ID, but right now only 2 of the three are fully functional. That is why my RAC is so low today. If you want to go AMD route, nothing wrong with getting an AM3+ mobo now, and then upgrading to a Bulldozer CPU later. I wish my mobos would allow me the upgrade, but alas, it appears I will be buying new mobos down the road... which mobo do you want now? Maybe we can find you an AM3+ mobo that is similar in spec and price, and then you can just sell the x6 CPU later when you get a bulldozer, or move it to another rig that has a smaller CPU at that point. Just some thoughts...

Here is was I originally posted.

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.

Getting the retail version is a no no. You should have gotten the OEM version and paid half the price!

According to Microsoft, if you install that software on your own PC, you don’t have a “genuine” copy of Windows. Basically you have just broken the law if you are doing this; also, you cannot upgrade the system using the upgrade software.

FWIW: Cooler Master HAF-X RC-942-KKN1 - $169.99 w/Free Shipping (Before $10.00 MIR)

Most Intel Enthusiast & Mid-range CPU prices will not come down until Bulldozer hits the streets so AMD is the better value for performance per dollar. But you need to keep in mind that MB manufactures will start cutting back on older products which will raise the price for available stock. So the best time to buy is probably right now while there is still a certain level of uncertainty surrounding Bulldozer's availability and performance potential.

I am leaning towards building the above system but I need to see what my power bill will be running the 3 rigs I have now. I should have that information in the next couple of days.

Wow! That's a great price on that case.