Don't have any input on building a gaming PC, as I don't game but if you looking for sources, I use Canada Computers a lot. They keep adding more & more stores (plu you can order online) & their prices always seem to be some of the best out there.

NCIX generally seems to be more expensive the Canada Computers but they run a lot of sales & sometimes have some pretty good deals.

Never thought Tigerdirect had great prices and their stores just seem to be old junk, probably that didn't sell online (well atleast the Markham store)

Yeah Tigerdirect stopped being a good place to go as soon as these other places started popping up.
If you are going to buy parts online no buddy beats Memory Express' price beat policy.

Hey Bryan, as I recall you were looking at SSD's. Just wanted to update that the SSD in my desktop for 2 years just died, taking all the documents with it, and for the last couple weeks, the SSD in my toughbook has been hanging for moments at a time which is apparently a sign of a dying SSD (Both OCZ drives. One Vertex II and the other a Vertex III as I recall).

I just picked up a Crutial M4 today after hearing everyone rant and rave about it. Installing new OS and moving folders now. Oh, and a RAM upgrade. 24GB @ 1600 Oh yea...
In terms of better stores, I'd say NCIX and Canadacomputers are pretty much neck and neck. Before NCIX was in Ontario, I had them ship my whole system from BC and they had it to me in under a week for less then $30! This thing was a monster as well! They had to ship a Coolermaster Stacker full tower.

I'm running a Cosmos tower now, but have been itching for quite some time for the Cosmo II Case. It's nothing short of a beast, but frack is it ever beautiful and well built.

24GB of RAM? Holy!

I need to build something soon to run Xplane 10 across my 3 screens. Even with the graphics set to lowest its maxing out both CPU and the GPU.

Wow Stephan, sorry to hear that.
From what I have read the only brands you should go with is Crucial and Kingston.
I have a HAF 922 and I thought that was big!!

http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/case/ultra-tower/cosmos-2.html

This thing is king of the tower! So many hot swap drives... I need this thing because I currently have 8 HDD and I'm always having to swap one out because I only have room for 6 on the board. lol.
And she weighs 50lbs!
I'm rocking it's little yet older brother
http://www.coolermaster.com/product/Detail/case/full-tower-cosmos-series/cosmos-s.html



The weakest part of my system atm is my first gen i7 920 core. Aside from that, running 2xGTX280s (in SLI when gaming) and a whopping 4.5TB of storage (it's almost full... ) I have the computer hooked up to my 46" as well for movies/games/browsing from the couch. Aside from that, 4 screens span my desk. When I clean the damn thing, I'll be sure to post a picture.
Oh, and logitech z5500 speakers I'd never sell these puppies!

Definitely need to swap out that CPU and those video cards They are showing their age now

The video cards are still going strong and perform great. As for the CPU, it can still d it's job, just isn't the head honcho he used to be.

FTFY

I'm still rocking a Phenom II x6 1190t and in any game it dosent show its age at all. I also use a HD7970 and any game I choose gets maxed out with all the eye candy on my 42" lcd


for the money I'll always use amd.

I used to be an AMD guy, but I needed a new rig when intel had just released the i7 a couple years back. It was a no brainer at the time.

And of course there is porn on there Sal! But the other 3tb are movies and shows . Hahaha. I kid I kid. I horde programs like a mad man. Games, adobe stuff, networking utilities, etc.

I have about the same amount of storage though it's not that full, only have 3TB almost full. I assume with that many drives you are running raid?

I usually run my stuff in RAID, but never the OS drive.

I'm looking at picking up some of those WD red drives to store all my media stuff on. Supposedly they have longer lives.

A picture would be sweet. I haven't done anything computer related really since I started working on the car, but updating my setup has got to happen soon.

After getting the i5, I will never try AMD again. i5 is the best bang for the buck that there is, and the K series is amazing OC but keeps cool temps. I got my i5 3570k for $215 on sale at Canada Computers

I got the same one with a watercooling setup. It is good but i can't OC it nearly as much as i would like. The integrated heat spreader on these are not very good which sucks for OCing. I was thinking about pulling it off and repasting it but i don't want to have to buy a new one if i slip.

I have mine to 4.5ghz no problem, with the Corsair H70 water cooling setup. Never goes above 60 full load. I'm gonna try and hit 5ghz. But I also may buy a fully real water cooling setup with the hoses that go from the cpu to the video card and back to the radiator.

No raid. All drives .
With the most recent SSD upgrade, the minimal requirement for RAID is no more.
All of the other drives are mainly for reference and storage.








Enjoy

That's a serious setup...just need to clean up that desk, and vacuum too, while you're at it.

That's cool, I have the v6 GT, pretty happy with it!

I just whipped off the front cover. . carpet basement gets very dusty very quickly.

Oh damn, we are posting pics are we

Here is the one i am working on:









There isn't much so far. I5K overclocked with water cooling and 8 gigs of ram. WD black 500gig drive.

I don't need much space in my workstations when i have this bad boy.

Nice!
One of the companies left the airport after going bankrupt not too long ago and we got to pillage what ever they left behind. I picked up 4 server racks Not sure what to do with them yet.....

You mean 4 units or the whole racks?

I suppose I mean 4 units. Only one mounting rack.

Nice!

I just use a home built stereo rack to hold my server. Sold one and only got the old one left. I'll post my setup when I get home from work.

There.

The inside:


Cooler is a Corsair H100. Had to cut into the case a little, and can only fit one fan.

The temporary setup:


Stuck as being a shared desk for now as we are still sorting where to put things from moving.

have you guys never heard of cable management!?

My case used to look like that until I got a taste of cable hiding and much prefer the look and was very meticulous with my last build.

In the case or outside the desk? The case I have has no room in the back for cable management. Its a fairly ugly computer case, but it was only $25.

The desk is only a mess because its shared with the family and everyone leaves their stuff on it.

haha, inside the case was what I was referring to.
I too am still working on outside the case, that one is definitely more difficult for me.

Outside the case is the tough part. My last build in an HAF 932 looked amazing inside. This case barely has room inside. Goal is to pick up another 6970 soon now that the 7xxx series has been released for a while. Going to have to do some more modding of the case for this.

what happened to your HAF?

Sold it. That build cost something like $1800. I may upgrade to a larger case, but probably not.

Oh wow, that's wild!

Cable management. Thank you!! Inside AND out!!

Hey sal i found a case i know you will like. http://hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTM3Mzc2Njg4Nm8xZzhyY0VEamVfMV8xX2wuanBn

I like

Amazing

Hey Johnny any tips on cable management outside?