"Dude, you got a Dell!"

System Owner: eduncan911
3DMark Fire Strike: 0
3DMark 11: 14,089
Community Score: 10
3DMark Vantage: 36,977
3DMark 06: 0
SuperPi 32M:

ELIGIBLE

System Details

Component Type Brand Product

Motherboard Dell (OEM) 730x X58 3-way SLI mobo

CPU Intel i7-920 C0

Frequency: 3.6 GHz FSB / QPI: 172 MHz Multiplier: 21 x Stepping: 4
VCore: 1.42 v VTT Voltage: Default PLL Voltage: Default

RAM Mushkin 3x Ridgeback 1600mhz 4GB CAS 8

Frequency: 1376 MHz Timing: 8-9-8-24 Voltage: 1.6 v

Graphics Card EVGA 3x 580 FTW Hydro Copper 2 3072 MB

GPU Frequency: 955 MHz Shader Frequency: 1910 MHz Memory Frequency: 2100 MHz SLI: Yes

Case

Dell

XPS 730x

Cooling

Custom

Dual Phobya 280 rads, 1/2" ID tubing, everything in Parallel

Solid State Drive

OCZ

Vertex 3 LT 240 GB

Solid State Drive

OCZ

Vertex 3 LT 240 GB

Monitor

Planar

SA2311W 120Hz 3D Vision Ready

Monitor

Planar

SA2311W 120Hz 3D Vision Ready

Monitor

Planar

SA2311W 120Hz 3D Vision Ready

Power Supply

Corsair

AX1200

Notes

My primary development machine, with a tad of gaming.

Shotgun Water Cooling Theory v2.o has been completed. It was the equivalent as to stuffing a big block Rat motor into a 3rd Gen Camaro: it can be done, with some significate modifications to stuff in those large radiators.

Upgraded to 3-way 580 FTW Hydro Copper 2s w/3072 MB (kept hitting vram limits in 2D Surround @ 6000x1080). Stock MOBO and crappy i7 920 C0 stepping limiting me for a while, until i upgrade them (Z68 hopefully). I tend to tackle the hardest stuff first.

The i7 920 is limiting my scores (hence the ranking). But as for gaming, several games are doing very well with this setup. For example, Battlefield Bad Company 2 (BFBC2) runs at an average of 78 FPS at 6000x1080 resolution with everything set to HIGH and 4xAA. Peaks to 140 FPS at times, and drops to the 60s during heavy PhysX (which BFBC2 implemented their own PhysX engine that uses the CPU, not the GPU, so I am limited there). Several older titles are in the 300 to 400 FPS at 6000x1080 resolution. All in all, the CPU is limiting me in only scoring so far. So when I upgrade the mobo/cpu later this year, looks like I'll only see a small bump.

I bought the original system from Dell for one reason: the case! It's the only Dell case that allows you to install your own ATX/E-ATX mobo. You have to have one to understand. See the Facebook group "Dell XPS 730" for more details.

Comments

Posted By Date Text

mpoffo
06/20/2014
05:25 PM

Very nice set-up in nice case!

6dracing
06/11/2012
10:43 PM

Love the mods youve done to this.

eduncan911
02/13/2012
07:24 AM

System has been down as I am parting out the remaining OEM parts in a refurbish build I am doing. Currently planning on upgrading to the X79 platform in the next month, with external cooling for the GPUs to give better control of where I direct that heat (e.g. out the window). My office gets up into the 90s after 2 hours of gameplay, which is unbearable. Also, I am in the middle of taking Dell's original H2C Hybrid TEC cooling system and overhauling it with larger TECs and custom waterblocks and radiator to cool the X79 chip. Basically, I'll be splitting up the loops and putting the GPUs in their own.

eduncan911
09/14/2011
06:06 AM

Thanks Miahallen! Yeah, Dell blew me away with these cases when I did their blog site back in 2006. The ESA control board is what makes it so cool, besides the extremely thick and sturdy aluminum casing. Took me 4 years, but I finally got a refurb one on the cheap. And, as you can see here, I gutted it! lol

miahallen
09/08/2011
04:23 PM

Nice Dell! (That's the first time I've ever said that LOL)

eduncan911
08/17/2011
05:30 PM

3-way EVGA 580 FTW 3 GB Hydro Copper 2s purchased. Shotgun Watercooling Theory v2.o designed and ordered. In progress, stay tuned in the next couple of months while I cut, build, and tune... Still using the old Dell mobo for now. Goign to see what X79 holds. When I win the $1000 giveaway, I'll upgrade the mobo/cpu! :)

eduncan911
06/10/2011
09:37 AM

Hehe. Thanks guys and the for the hopes of the P67 contest. :) Really wish I could find your rigs here in a search to help vote yours up. Can you give a direct link? I know the admin said they are releasing a version of the site that allows you to click the author names, and see all of their builds. Hopefull that comes soon. This case is a special Dell case. It was designed to allow the user to swap out the mobo and PSU with any aftermarket unit for upgrades. The custom lighting (16 colors and 11 LEDs) options is nice, and the 9 internal super-bright white "Work Lights" that come on when you open the case have a 24 hour battery! Never need a flashlight to work on the internals. Really, the build quality in this case is insane. Well beyond the 8 or so Antec, Silvertek, and Thermaltek cases I've had over the years. As a matter of fact, I'm thinking of buying one or two more from eBay just to stock up on them.

armydrifter
06/06/2011
12:08 PM

Dude You got a dell it will be even better if you could win the P67 to do a 2600K build!

JJSmooth
06/02/2011
09:47 PM

Nice looking machine, too bad its DELL : ( (ha,ha). Good luck with the P67. I am still running a 790 so I feel your pain..

eduncan911
05/30/2011
10:38 AM

I hope to one day upgrade to an EVGA P67 mobo for several reasons: * The oem Dell mobo is limited to 6 GB of ram, where I need 12 to 16 GB for my virtual machines I use for consulting - I'm constantly hittng this limit and it's hindering my work. * The P67 chipset allows for full 1080p streaming to a remote device (bigscreen). * SATA III for my OCZ 240 GB SSD!!! Thank you! -Eric

Total Comments 10

"Dude, you got a Dell!"

System Details

Component Type Brand Product

Notes

Comments

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