Computer GEEKS to the rescue!

[StarsMine]

Its a full tower, meaning BIG case. But it will give you alot of options as to things to do inside of it in the future.
What sort of design are you looking for? the cases in the builds you showed us were a Thermaltake m10

I dont know of any case that does not have Front panel USB or audio/mic.

[ZERO]

I will assume this case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811139008
His budget is tight so now let me get to work.

If there is money left over he can have: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119160 that he wanted.

[ZERO]

• Intel Core i7-3820 Sandy Bridge-E 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 2011 130W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73820
  
  • $299
  • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115229
• EVGA SuperClocked 02G-P4-2682-KR GeForce GTX 680 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card Overclocked to 1124MHz
  
  • $499
  • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130769
• ASUS P9X79 LE LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
  
  • $229
  • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131855
• Kingston HyperX 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2133 Desktop Memory XMP Model KHX2133C11D3K4/8GX
  
  • $62
  • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104287
• PC Power and Cooling Silencer Mk II 950W High Performance 80PLUS Silver SLI CrossFire ready Power Supply
  
  • $130 (mail in rebate)
  • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817703028
• Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD1 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC 7mm Internal Solid State Drive
  
  • $214
  • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148530
• TOSHIBA DT01ACA100 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
  
  • $79
  • http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822149382

With a $99 case this configuration is over budget by <$20 depending on discounts ect.

The above config blows the shit out of all 3 rigs you showed performance wise. This configuration can also be dramatically improved over time with minimal investment. All of the products used are not only of high performance but also the finest quality available. Remember that all that speed does not help if the parts stop working. Also I have 2 of that SSD (not in raid) and they are very fast. This is all top of the line level gear and all within your budget.

[ZERO]

Let me compare my build to this one as they come out to same price +-$5
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16883229344

• CPU: Same
• RAM: BETTER: 50% less but much faster and of the highest quality available
• GPU: BETTER: 680 vs a 670 and the 680 is OC and of a high quality provider.
• M/B: UNKNOWN: It is hard to say but I can assume you this one not only has more ports better warranty and build quality better BIOS better OC ability and has 2 PS/2 ports which also define it as being serous about supporting gamers that know that while old PS/2 is actually faster than USB as a result of the nature of the standard. (hard to find ps/2 mice now a days but I would never use a USB keyboard for gaming rofl) Also we support up to 64GB of RAM vs32. I think it is clear who is on top.
• PSU: BETTER: <<<<800W vs 950W Power matters and this is the highest quality PSU you can buy. Backed by one of the longest warranties out there I have had many over the years and only lost 1 due to me not cleaning my case for 3 years and starting a dust fire. Or do you want your gear running on an over rated OEM 800w pos that likely only gets up to 500w unless it is in a blast freezer.
• HDDS: BETTER: Sure we got like 62% of the capacity but we got way way more speed

Over all the system I priced out blows the prebuilt shit out of the fucking water sends it to the moon takes its lunch all while just strolling along. Not only does it have better stock performance but much greater room to grow. This is equipment built to last and to be expanded upon. We are not talking about bargain bucket parts hear but true top of the line in every regard. Sure we do skimp a bit on a case being <$100 and only a 1TB storage drive. However those are things you can always change when you got more money. Also the case here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811139008 is a great value for the money and your not really giving anything up as far as features go. This case will support any expansions you want in the future other than a massive RAID 6. For that you are going to want a full tower or a double full like what I use. However those types of cases are for a different class of systems. Not gaming systems like what you want but for >$7000 super computer systems that actually need all that space for drives. Keep the purpose of your systems in mind when selecting a case as there is no reason to be throwing down money for something crazy unless your going for >$2500 systems where your budgeting for a particular look as well.

[StarsMine]

Zero, Needs to be switched to Canadian.
And Yes your build is better then mine, however many of the upgrades like using an SB-E instead of SB or IB doesnt increase gaming performance. and the 3820 does not have an unlocked multiplier meaning less to no Overclockability. Also since intel has stated they have no intention of making consumer IB-E chips the upgrade path is expensive. Hasswell-E will be on 2011 socket but wont fit in the x79 boards. Its supposedly going to be like Am3+ vs Am3.

Also PC Power and Cooling used to be fucking amazing, untill they got bought buy OCZ (now owned by seagate) and since the aquisition their quality has never been the same, Seasonic has passed them in quality and delta matches them for a cheaper price. I dont see the reason in getting a 950W PSU when even sli 680s and a SB-E would only need a solid 700W PSU. still a solid PSU. I should look up the voltage regulation and ripple on that thing, That looks like an amazing price.

But yea EVGA is the bomb aint it , You see EVGA's attempt to get into the PSU market? I forget who builds it (I think its seasonic...) But its the most feature heavy PSU I have ever seen, and its fucking EVGA. Do want.

If cyber does buy anything evga, when you regester it, use my affiliation code so I get 2 evgabucks out of the deal to go towards my next upgrade

Zero, they have started to really gotten the problems of USB out of the way. you can up the polling rate to 1khz on many modern boards, and N'key rollover is getting more common. in a mouse there are alot of feature advantages in USB you cant get with ps/2.




Everything said and done, For gaming and his budget I would think taking away the x79 platform and go SLI instead, or simply allow the CPU to OC. a 2600k @ 4ghz (little extra cooling needed, but you should not need to mess with things like voltages) will beat a 3820.

[ZERO]

They key is that a doubt that he will actually do the extra cooling and oc. Also to do SLI that would be 800$ right away. I went with a fast single card and then down the road he can SLI with a second one. As for that socket it is more of an investment as well. That socket should continue to suport new cpus for years to come. Ah now I see what you said about the Hasswell-E dam. Still though you would get an advantage from quad channel memory.

For the PSU I went big b/c that is something he can keep using 10 years from now. The price difference was not very large.

All of these issues does remind me of why I am so glad I planed for this shit in advanced. Even if I actually needed a new system I would hold off for a few more years b/c on the CPU side all the offerings are terrible in my opinion. Although I do plan to permanently abandon consumer equipment after this build. It will be xeons and ECC for me.

[CYBER]

holy fuck, nearly got lost in there... soooo whats the final verdict? zero's rig or stars? dun dun dunnnnn