2010 Sniper Bulid Log

[johneric]

I began toying with the idea of my first build project after lurking on OCC for a while... I was due for a new machine, and in the past I'd been a loyal Compaq customer that followed to HP when they were bought. I was expecting to spend around $1,500 to $2,000 on a new computer in order to keep up with the just-behind-leading-edge tech, where the initial price spike tends to moderate significantly and the performance for the dollar curve is more attractive. As I looked over the couple of components I'd upgraded in my current box, I felt a little wasteful consigning them to an ignominious end as my six-year-old daughter's computer for Disney math games, which was the fate of my last machine. The more I read about enthusiasts building something a little more striking, both in aesthetics and performance, the more I began to feel like that was something I wanted to attempt. So I started shopping, reading reviews, and browsing Craigslist. One afternoon, an i7 920 D0 popped up on Craigslist - it was only a few blocks away and was NIB... I'd read a lot about this particular CPU... the price was too good to pass up. So the kid and I made the trip over to a local coffee shop to meet the seller, and I came home with a new CPU. It was an odd way to begin, but shelling out the dough and actually holding the box in my hands was the proof that I'd made up my mind.

 

Here is my current workspace:

 

 

Not terribly neat, but it is comfortable and reflects my personality - a little scattered, but effective and focused on utility. I write, edit, correspond, and play in this space. Hours after my girls are sound asleep, my keyboard is still ticking. It's my cave, sanctuary, theater and haven. I, like many of you, have saved the universe several times from right here in this room.

 

Committing to the i7 narrowed down my options for the build - I knew I needed a well-ventilated ATX tower and some decent CPU cooling. I had it in mind to attempt the entire build from Craigslist as a sort of gimmick, and there were many cases and coolers to choose from. In reading reviews about the various offerings, I let myself follow tangents when they popped up, which included a brief flirtation with tracking down a Cooler Master Black Label Limited Edition...

 

 

If you haven't seen it, take my word - it is a stunner. I actually found one for sale... in South Africa. Like I said - it was a brief flirtation. Still, in the spirit of the Black label and based on extremely favorable reviews, I was taken by the Storm Sniper Black Edition. It is sexy in an understated way that hints at the muscle beneath without being overt about it. There were none available on Craigs, but in my search for one I came across a really low sale price that offered free shipping and no sales tax, and 6% cash back through the MS Bing Shopping website... two clicks later, and it was on the way.

 

In the same vein, I narrowed my search for a cooler by focusing on good value, performance and aesthetics. The ZEROTherm Nirvana had been impressing some reviewers, and a great sale price popped up the same night I'd decided on the Sniper... click, click pow.

 

So now I had some pretty boxes:

 

 

Time to pick a motherboard and some memory... I'd initially read some great reviews on Asus X58 boards, beginning with the surprising performance of the P6T. I used this as a jumping-off point at first, focusing on higher-end mobos and eventually coming to focus on a board that would include USB 3.0 and SATA III technology. Here, I hit a block - I simply couldn't pull the trigger for some reason. Both Asus and Gigabyte have tremendous offerings in this regard, but both carry big price tags. At about this time, reviews from the 2010 CES began hitting the net, which included a couple of surprises for me... first, the only 6Gb/s HDD available was turning out to be a little bit of a disappointment. As should be expected, I suppose, benchmarking demonstrated that the SATA III tech has room to grow - the pipe is big enough, but the drives can't fill it yet. USB 3.0, however, was showing fabulous potential straight out of the gate, with several devices already poised for release. Along with this news came the press that NEC was putting the controllers for USB 3.0 and SATA III onto a PCIe card... for $30! Suddenly my focus on a mobo with these features changed... that same day, a P6T showed up on Craigslist about 15 minutes from my house. The X58 board that initially caught my eye. It wasn't a very hard decision, so I added to my box collection.

 

 

Now, lest you think I ignored the fabulous feature of the OCC Marketplace, I was very pleased to come across a good deal on some memory. Someone with an EVGA mobo had discovered the now-well-documented incompatibility between a terrific motherboard and the top-end Dominator sticks from Corsair. Along with the i7 920, I knew the RAM was over my head and would not be taxed by the work or play I'm currently enjoying, but the idea that there would be room to grow and try my hand at overclocking proved to be too much of a draw. A couple of PMs and a PayPal click later, and there's another pretty box from Syracuse about to hit my front step here in California. In the mean time, with enough to get started, I began with what I already had...

 

I began with CPU and cooler installs:

 

 

Armed with several reviews for each component and the excellent "How To" guide here at OCC, things went together smoothly and without trouble. Next, it was into the chassis:

 

 

And then it was time for some cable management! I decided to get pretty anal about cables, and the Sniper case offers a lot of options and securing points:

 

 

 

Again thanks to Craigslist, I came across a tremendous value on HDDs that a local DVR company was blowing out. New OEM bare drives were selling for a fraction of the retail cost - I showed up early and snagged a pair of Seagate 7200.11 1.5TBs - thanks to OCC and other reviews around the web, I knew what firmware to look for in these particular drives and discovered they're under warranty until 2013.

 

I expect the Corsair sticks to arrive tomorrow, so there will be another update soon. Sometime over the weekend, I'll begin migrating the PSU and ODDs out of my current box and into the new one. A trip to the USC Bookstore in the next couple of days will put another pretty box on the desk - a retail Windows 7 Professional (full) purchase is looming.

 

Thanks for taking a gander. Comments and suggestions welcome.

 

More soon...

Edited January 25, 2010 by johneric

[sdy284]

looking good

[Queenz]

Looks freaking awesome. I've seen that case in person and it's quite sexy

 

I can't wait to see more

 

 

BTW I'm glad to see your making use of OCC's new worklog section.

[Psywar]

That's an interesting looking case! Is it really loud being all open like that? (By open I mean all the air vents lol)

I do like the wire management you got going on there, the new case I have for this system is pretty much the same way, it allowed me to run all the wires under our around the side of the motherboard to hide all the wires in back.

 

Looks good! I like it!

[greengiant912]

Is this your first build? It is looking very nice if it is. Alot of first timers don't think about stuff like adequate cooling, making sure your fans are put in the right way, cable managment, etc.. That is so important in overclocking.

 

This worklog section is giving me the itch to build a new system... I wish I had money

[Queenz]

I spy a hot soccer mom in the background lol

 

 

I totally agree with greengiant912 The wire management is excellent so far bro.

[fariss]

Excellent post. Well written & great photos.

[R1P5AW]

Looks great!

 

I spy a hot soccer mom in the background lol

 

Come on dude, a little respect...

Edited January 15, 2010 by R1P5AW

[Queenz]

Looks great!

 

 

 

Come on dude, a little respect...

 

 

It's a joke!! I'm interested in the build he's got going

[johneric]

Ha! No offense taken. She is hot - that's why I married her.

[tkrow21]

That is a beautiful desk.

 

The case will complement it well.

[R1P5AW]

It's a joke!! I'm interested in the build he's got going

 

I know I'm just messing with ya.

 

This is an awesome build BTW...pumped for more pics!