ASUS Xtreme Design contest: stage 2 build

[Seventh_Sliver]

Danny and I have been working double hard to bring you guys the pictures and videos we promised. As of now, we have split up to tackle both aspects of the Computer. Danny will be working mainly on testing the features of the motherboard, and I (Jonathan) will be working to complete the modded Haf 932 case.

 

Quick Update:

 

Danny has already tested a few features of the ASUS P7P55 PREMIUM motherboard and will have pics and videos up soon.

 

I have completed the removable motherboard tray and am working to complete the rear of the case. Almost finished!!! As with Danny's case, updated pictures are coming!!!!!! So stay tuned!

Edited December 16, 2009 by Seventh_Sliver

[redtigerdragon]

Ok guys, here are some more pictures of the parts, before I put them in the machine...

 

The PSU

 

Memory

 

Keyboard

 

CPU

 

GPU

 

Mouse

 

Mobo

 

SSD

 

Here are some pics of the case build, note the mobo tray isn't done yet in these pics:

 

Top view of mobo tray

 

Mobo tray

 

How it goes in the case

 

We were up too late for the GF's...

[redtigerdragon]

Here are some pics of putting the parts in a temp case, a CoolerMaster CM 690:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[redtigerdragon]

Here's my adventure with ASUS Express Gate. This was before the OS install.

 

The first screen you see is pretty straight forward. You have options, form browsing the interwebs to looking at pictures. This is a pretty handy feature If you just need to hop on and make a quick reply on a post.

 

 

So, now it's time to use it. The obvious first move is to check out OCC...

[redtigerdragon]

All in all, pretty painless. I had some extra steps, as no OS was installed and it was my first time using it. Total took less than a minute to get through, even with the extra steps. This will be handy to just jump on real quick and check email and posts. Next up is to try the chat feature:

 

That was just as easy, if not easier than the internet. Again, quick and painless. I was able to chat with friends before telling them I had to get back to work.

For the final part, I decided to try skype. This is just the setup, as I don't actually have an account. I wanted to see if it would be easy enough for a first time user.

 

That was, once again, EASY! I'm starting to see a pattern here. ASUS put a lot of thought into this integrated OS of theirs. The whole thing is well designed and very easy to use, and can get you in and out very quickly. Stay tuned for more info on all of the Mobo features.

[redtigerdragon]

Hey guys and gals, new video:

. Check out how easy it is to get an 18% overclock! Got it up to 3.45 with the touch of a button. That's nearly .5GHz over the next higher up model, the i7 870! The price difference between the two at the egg is over $250, and that's what ASUS saves you with literally just the push of a button! See how easy it is using the link above! Edited December 18, 2009 by redtigerdragon

[redtigerdragon]

Ok, so I REALLY wanted to show how easy Auto Tuning was, so I had typical end users try it out:

.

[Seventh_Sliver]

So here's a big update... We have been working all weekend on the Asus Xtreme Design project! Lots of pictures of the progress and its almost complete!!!! A few more little tweaks and its ready to be painted.

 

Now, We aren't experts at this whole modding gig. In fact, this is Danny and I's FIRST MOD EVER! And so we want to warn you that this mod will not be perfect. We tried our best to get as close to our concept design as possible.

 

Here are some of the last pics you will see before the finished product is unveiled!

 

 

This is the back of the computer in progress....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Seventh_Sliver]

And some more of the motherboard tray...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[redtigerdragon]

Hey guys and gals, TWO more new videos,

and

. Keep it tuned as I show you how much better the BIOS looks after installing the latest, and how much higher I get it.

[redtigerdragon]

Hey Guys and Gals, check out the last OCing video:

. Got up to 3.9, I was stable at 4.0, but temps got as high as 95c, so I wasn't comfortable with it.

[redtigerdragon]

Alright guys, here's us testing the SSD using the SATA 6.0 slots on the ASUS P7P55d Premium Motherboard. We tested it using HD Tach, and will use one of OCC's recent reviews (found here) to compare against.

 

Here is the table for reference on all of the OCC graphs

 

Here is a chart of average read time compared to...

 

...our average read time shown above. You can also see random access time and CPU utilization above as compared to...

 

...OCC's findings on random access and...

 

...OCC's findings on CPU utilization using various drives.

 

Here is OCC showing results of burst speed on those drives compared to...

 

...our burst speed findings.

 

 

 

 

Last but not least is the nice graph output HD Tach gives you. All in all this drive is pretty competitive in all categories.