i7 Build - Finalized - $1651.38 - Best PC on the planet! JK

It's taken two months but here it is. "Patience is a virtue and good things come to those who wait." "Yeah, right!!" It took me this long to save the $$!!

CASE - Paid $149.99 (Fry's) - Cooler Master HAF932 - NewEgg Link

MOBO - Paid $259.99 (Fry's) - GIGABYTE GA-EX58-UD4P - NewEgg Link
MOBO - ASUS RAMPAGE II EXTREME

CPU - Paid $199.99 (Fry's) - Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz (Revision D0) - NewEgg Link

CPU Cooler - Paid $62.43 (New Egg) - COOLER MASTER V8 - NewEgg Link

PSU - Paid $164.99 (New Egg) - CORSAIR CMPSU-750HX - NewEgg Link

GPU - Paid $199.99 (New Egg) - XFX Radeon HD 4890 Xtreme (Free HAWX) - NewEgg Link

RAM - Paid $154.99 (Fry's) - CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) - NewEgg Link

HDD 1 - Paid $99.99 (Best Buy) - WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM (Boxed Retail) - NewEgg Link
HDD 2 - Paid $94.99 (New Egg) - WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM (OEM) - NewEgg Link

DVD 1 - Paid $28.99 (New Egg) - SAMSUNG SH-S223L - NewEgg Link
DVD 2 - Paid $47.99 (New Egg) - PLEXTOR Black 24X PX-880SA - NewEgg Link

Thermal Compound - Paid $7.98 (New Egg) - ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 - NewEgg Link

Fry's 3yr Warranty MOBO/CPU - $89.99

Tax: $78.78 (I hate the tax but I saved $80 on the CPU over Newegg's price and also saved $9 in shipping for the mobo)

UPS Shipping: $10.31

Rush: $2.99

Total: $1651.38 (No monitor or OS)


I know the PSU & RAM are overkill but I liked the color scheme.

I should get the last few items via UPS in the next couple days. Then I have to put it all together.

Future additions will be 23-24" LCD, Blu-ray burner.

Thanks so much for all the help with this build. I could not have done it without you guys. Special thanks to sammorris from AfterDawn.com

Wayne

FYI: Beware!! This computer stuff can be addicting. When I first decided to build a computer, my budget was $500-600 and started on May 19th. Two months later I am done with a total cost of $1651.38. AfterDawn Link to First Build Post

 

I know it's only $5, but why the retail hard drive and Coolermaster V8?

 

"I could've had a V8®" V8

I had a gift card at BestBuy and got them to match the OEM price on the HDD with Newegg's price which was $99.99 at the time.

Why not buy the V8? It's cool. haha

 

Fair enough on the coupon, I assume you got it for less than $94.99 or else it was a bit of a waste
As for the V8, cool as it looks, pretty much every other cooler its size and price performs a lot better.

 

V8:

Point me to some reviews/comparisons that you like.

I guess the proof will be in the pudding. Temps...

It's almost the least expensive item of my whole build so if it's weak, I will change. If I'm still not happy, I will cool the processor with the radiator in my Chevy truck.

 

The V8 isn't actually as bad as I remember (perhaps I'm thinking of the V10) but an Ultra-120 Extreme 1366RT cools to a similar extent (1ºC better, but thats not really much) with a reasonable 1600rpm, whereas the V8 has to run at a noisy maximum 2000rpm to achieve it.

 

Noise shouldn't be an issue.

I have two kids.

 

Here's a few pictures before it all comes out of the boxes.

 

That case and box look familiar... LOL at the last picture.

 

You may not believe this. Last night, I started opening boxes and everything looked really cool. I waited until last to open the motherboard. When I opened it, this is what I found. I will post the pics in a sec. Needless to say, it was NOT a motherboard.

 

These were taken at the return counter at Fry's electronics in Irving, TX.







All that was in the box was leftover parts from a build. Needless to say, I was very upset last night. It was late so the store was closed so I was so mad, I just went to bed.

 

Oh, but there is more.


This morning when I got up, I got the mobo box and the crap inside, my receipt and headed for the Plano, TX Fry's Store. I called ahead to let them know I was coming. I asked to speak to Ben the Store Manager but he was not in so I had to speak with a rookie named Larry Hill. What a clown!! I explained to him what had happened and before I could even finish explaining it to him he said, "there is nothing we can do for you". I nearly LOST IT but I kept my cool. I explained that I wanted to show him the box and the things in it and he told me, "it would be a waste of your time because there is nothing that I can do for you". It took everything in me to not go through the roof. I told him that I was headed to the store and that we were going to look at it together. Then I hung up.

I thought about the way this "so called" manager had treated me so I called another local store in Irving TX. I asked to speak to the manager and was transferred to Brandon Barnes. After just a few words with Brandon I knew that I was speaking with someone who knew what customer service was all about. IMO, customer service is not giving the customer everything they want but I do think it is doing the right thing and that's all I expected. I did not even call this other store to get them to make everything better. I called and started the conversation with a request for advice. Explaining what had happened and how I was treated. I expected no more than for him to say that,"NO", that is not the way I should have been treated. Instead, Brandon said, "I don't mind helping you in this situation". Needless to say that I did not go to the Plano store. I'll shorten this to keep from writing a book. Brandon and several other customer service reps inspected the contents of the box and concluded (without 100% certainty) that it was left over parts from a build they at FRY's themselves had done. Brandon gave "ME", "The Customer", the benefit of the doubt. Fast forward... They did not end up having another Gigabit UD4P like the one I "tried" to buy. I saw that they had the ASUS Rampage II Extreme board and I asked if they would consider discounting it some and I would just get it. I really liked the board from the start but could not justify the cost. He did better than that. He gave me the Rampage at not additional cost. Plus updated the extended warranty I had bought to cover this board instead. Again, the "Right" thing to do. Needless to say, I was happy with the results. It turns out that Brandon was actually an Assistant Manager but I think he should have his own store. Asst MGR's Larry Hill and Warren Fortson (another clown) need to take some lessons.

While I was there, I ended up buying a 23" LG Monitor, 2 Plextor DVD Burners, a D-Link USB Wireless N adapter, a 100pk spindle of Verbatim DVD's, The Complete "Andy Griffith" Series on DVD, and a 20oz Coke Classic. Almost $500 that I had not planned on spending. Special thanks to Dane Stone for his excellent service and help picking this stuff out.

Although during previous dealings with the Plano TX store I found the actual Store Manager, Ben Garrido, to be top notch, I will never step foot in that store again because of these two managers in particular. It's interesting how a couple of bad apples can ruin a whole bussel.

As a last thought, I will say that Fry's could tighten up there return and checkout procedures. The so called "Check and balance System" is a bit antiquated and very time consuming for the customer.

Here are a couple pics for you.












Below shows the price reduction of $110 for the diff in price between the UD4P and the Rampage.



So, as Paul Harvey used to say, "And that's the rest of the story".



Wayne

 

There are a lot of parts in there I don't recognise. Looks like they gave you their leftover stock box. Can't say that ever happens when I buy online, not from reputable stores anyway. Microdirect are known for doing stuff like that, which is why I never tell people to shop there.

 

Glad you got a replacement board, but a Rampage II, well, let's see how long it lasts...

 

What do you mean by that? Have more to share?

 

I've owned four Asus boards. All of them have failed in the warranty period. After the fourth (A top-spec Maximus II Formula) I'd had enough. I have yet to have a board from Gigabyte or MSI fail on me except for one FOA X48-DS5 (and had I only used a single graphics card I would never have noticed, as it was only a fault when using both PCIe slots together).

 

Sounds like the same kind of issues that I have had with these. But they sure are a hell of a lot of fun.

 

Then imo the UD4P you should have had is an Audi R8. Pretty much as fast but without the grief because it's actually built properly

 

I never can seem to get the last word in. That is, except with my wife and mother and they are "Yes Ma'am".

 

Hah, been there! (though not wife obviously)