Its soon time to join the upgrade brigade

[Apache Warrior]

15% off NZXT Cases at Newegg.
Use Promo Code: NZXTAUG11
Apache

[WalkinTarget]

Sorry Apache, I think your build really looks great, and I give it a hefty two thumbs up, but ... like a moth drawn to the flame ... that Level 10 GT keeps pulling me in

Just watched a video on it and it fits the bill. SATA backplane, side fan with contact point (no umbilical cable !!) and dual radiator support. I am still kicking it around, but here's the wishlist so far:



What was originally a $700 budget has blown up to $1100 and change. Hell, I might as well add another 1tb of storage since my boot partition is getting full. Its starting to get a bit out of hand, but I'd be disappointed if I didn't build something to be proud of when its all said and done.

[Duke{CLR}]

I would love to hear how you like the level 10.

[BadHabitz]

I find it interesting how you're willing to pay more for your case than your CPU, which is the brains of the operation.

[Apache Warrior]

http://www.maximumpc.com/article/fea...d_best_pc_ever
Why don't you just build this one? It has a custom paint job too.
Apache

[WalkinTarget]

I find it interesting how you're willing to pay more for your case than your CPU, which is the brains of the operation.

Different strokes I guess. You think I should get the 2600k and a $50 Raidmax instead ?? I'm not buying top of the line gear, and you see the games I play are not even considered modern, nor do they even stress my CURRENT Q6700 rig. I really enjoy the unique aspect of that case, and I know just what I want in a case, but its very rare that you get everything in a case you want.

SATA backplane ?? check
Side fan contact point powered ? check
support for dual radiator cooling ? check

The same argument can go like this: Why are you investing $120 in a watercooled setup when air cooling can get within 3? and be bought for $40 ?? I'd answer that by saying a quiet case is my main priority, and my current air cooled Nirvana NV120, while a great setup, makes a HUGE amount of noise that I literally cannot deal with anymore.

Another thought - a good case can be re-used on 2 upgrades before its minuses outweigh its pluses. A great case can be re-used for three upgrades. So between two good cases at $130 a piece or one great one at $260, its pretty much a wash.

Apache, that issue started me thinking big on the case. I was fully prepared to go with my existing case, but common sense is out the door on this build. You'd think I'd have learned the common sense thing after the ATV wreck, wouldn't you ??

Edit: After measuring the hutch this thing is going in, its a tight squeeze in width. The case is listed as 11.1" wide and I measure the hutch at 11 5/8" wide. That only gives me about a half inch for the side fan to pull in air.

[WalkinTarget]

Sometimes its the little things that get you. I never bothered to measure the hutch that houses my PC. Even my Antec P180 sticks out of the front by 1", negating the hutch door from closing over it (on purpose so my kids can't close the door and bake my PC).

So I measured the cases I was interested in and found that none fit unless I hack out the knockout hole on the back of the hutch itself. Its open to an extent, but not enough to allow a full tower case to poke out completely.

This also brings up the issue of a top mounted dual radiator that vents into the hutch and will presumably not vent the hot air out the back of the hutch compared to a rear mounted single radiator. So I scrapped my H100 cooler plan and replaced it with an H80 to vent out the back.

Its almost a bad time to be buying, what with Ivy Bridge and Bulldozer on the near horizon, and possible releases of newer cards from either AMD or Nvidia. I can definitely wait a month or so if it means I can get better/faster hardware in the long run.

Caddy, looks like that Antec will be freed up after all You are not that close to be, but I can hold onto it if you are ever in the neighborhood.

Bad, I will point to the article that Apache linked on the Maximum PC Dream Machine build and you'll see that they spent $311 on their 2600K and over $800 on the case with its $600 custom paint job. It may not be what you would do for your build, but it is what some people do just because it gives it a personalized touch.
There is no better time to buy than when a top of the line CPU costs $311. The Dream Machines of days long ago featured $750-900 CPUs that no one could afford to buy. AMD is forcing Intel to keep its prices this low, or else we would not be buying that chip for anything close to that amount.

[WalkinTarget]

So far I ordered an Antec 750w PSU and another WD 1tb Black HD to RAID with my existing HD for the build. I inquired as to whether I could get free shipping on the Level 10 GT and they offered to provide a one time credit on the shipping after I purchase it.

Still undecided on the video card. I'm probably going to end up with the MSI, altho I don't like the 3 year warranty. I've always gone eVGA but they have no higher end cooling options other than the reference one, so I tend to go for the wild setups.

Case in point: I found a good deal on a Zotac GTX 480 Amp card (Zalman cooling) for $250. The warranty doesn't carry over so I am avoiding it for now. If anyone has any card recommendations, I'm still interested in hearing them. Just be aware that I like non-reference cooling on my cards.