NorthWoodPecker

Captains Nerds log: September 1st, 2009.

As I write this, I’m sitting at work doing…this
The first chapter of the rig is done and up 'n' running.

Consider this an intro, since I'm at work I don't have access to pictures and benchmark results.


I finally had the bank to make a complete new rig.

I had some doubt whether to go all-in 775 or budget 1366, but after a month or so of comparing prices,
reading reviews, staring at account balances, I decided to pull the trigger on a mid-high-end 775 build.
These are the parts I ended up ordering:

MB: eVGA nForce 780i SLI FTW
CPU: Intel Q9550 E0
HSF: Noctua NH-U12P
GPU: XFX GeForce 9800GT 512MB
RAM: 4GB OCZ Blade PC9600 CL5 low voltage
Drives: 2x OCZ 30GB Vertex SSD's
Case: CM690 Pure
Monitor: Samsung 23" SyncMaster P2350

Accessories:
-60x25mm Akasa fan for NB
-80x15mm Hiper fan for behind the MB tray
-120mm SilverStone susCool fan to pull on the Noctua
-2x140mm Scythe Kaze Maru case fans
-Corsair Dominator Airflow fan
-Arctic Cooling MX-3 (had to try the new stuff)
-2x 2.5"->3.5" drive mounting frames for the ssd's
-Some splitters and converters

Now, as you might have spotted, there's missing a PSU. Also 60GB isn't much in such a killer setup.
That's because some parts will be reused from my old rig: (Btw, link to my Torture Rig is here <- and what an upgrade huh? )
PSU: Cooler Master Real Power RS-520 (Modular)
HDD: 1TB WD Green

The plan is to start with aforementioned specs, and then later on (when HD5k and GTX300 series hit the street, and prices on current high-end GPU’s drop a bit) extend to a 2-way SLI + PhysX setup. This will of cause also require a new PSU.


I had to order from 2 different places. MB, RAM, and SSD's from one place, the rest from another.
And here's the sad part; you can't make a mountain of sugar without someone peeing on it.

Since the MB and RAM had 10-14 days delivery, I ordered that and the SSD's around the 1st of August to be sure I had it for my last week of summer vacation in late August.
Sadly, the delivery on the RAM kept being postponed. When they finally exceeded the point where I couldn't get them in time, I had to cancel them.
This was not that big of a deal. I would simply have to order them at a later point.
Luckily my brother had a DDR2 system which I could borrow some HyperX's from.

A day or two after I canceled the RAM, the order got shipped to my parents' place, where I was going to spend my last week of vacation while they were sucking summer sun on Mallorca
The rest of the stuff got ordered, so it would be ready for pickup when I got to "the farm" (parents' place).
I ordered from the shop I use to buy all my components from, when I lived back home @ "the farm".

Weekend came and due to the distance between where I live and "the farm", I couldn't make it in time to pick up the goods before closing time.
Had to get my brother to pick it up the day after.


This concludes my intro, next will be the build chapter (Pictures included), followed by overclocking configuration and benchmarks.

Lastly, I apologize for the somewhat massive text wall. I hope someone will take the trouble of reading through it.

Stay tuned.

/NwP

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NorthWoodPecker

Reserved for build progress.

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NorthWoodPecker

Reserved for overclocking configuration and benchmark results.

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