what rig would you take?

[Artas1984]

I am building a rig and i want to compare it to a competitor rig, that stands at the same price in store. So i want your thoughts on what would you take?

The one that i have is (selling price 870 EU)
This rig is 1 year old:

Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 {3000 MHz 6 Mb} + Zalman CNPS9500A LED Cooler
ASUS P5E3 Premium {Intel X48}
Corsair XMS3 {2X2 GB DDR3 1600 MHz}
2X XFX Radeon HD4870 in ATI CF 512 Mb DDR5
1X Seagate Barracuda ES.2 {1 Tb 7200 rpm 32 Mb SATA}
Thermaltake Armor VA8000 case
Coba NitroX IT-7750SG Limited Edition 750 W EPS12V Aluminum PSU
DVDRW, card reader, Logitech keyboard & mouse

Retailer variant (selling price 870 EU)
This rig is new and is is store.

Intel Core i7 860 {2800 MHz 8 Mb} + default Cooler
GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H {Intel H55}
unknown RAM {2X2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz}
1X GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 260 216 SP OC 896 Mb DDR3
1X unknown HDD {1 Tb 7200 rpm 32 Mb SATA}
GIGABYTE GZ-X6 case
Chieftek 750 W PSU
DVDRW, card reader, Logitech keyboard & mouse


So there you have it. The rig in the retail store has a superior CPU, a power supply that is almost as good as my one, but that is just it. I clearly have the advantage in everything else despite the fact that my rig is 1 year older. But i am not sure if a customer would see the benefit of it - most important - the benefit, that i have an enterprise class HDD, an enthusiast grade hi-end Intel X48 motherboard, better RAM and Cooler, and of course, a full tower case. And most important the fact that someone would not be afraid of having ATI CF of 2 HD4870 over a single VGA like HD4870X2 or HD5870 or GTX 470...

Would this justify the equal price?

Also the retailer states that the PC hits 3.47 GHz max OC. I have not tried my OC yet, i wonder what could i hit with E8400 and ASUS P5E3 Premium.
Can i hit 9X450 FSB on 1.375 V to get 4 GHz or do i need 8X 500 FSB and perhaps 1.425 V?

Also would you spend another 285 EU and get the same PC, but with GTX 470 instead of GTX 260 216 SP OC and a P55 board instead of H55?

Also, i am not sure why even these days the retailers can not build a rig with an Core 2 Duo E8600 and ltwo fast video cards or a single super high-end, but they rather go with an Core i7 860/920 and single HD5770 or HD5850 and call it a gamer's PC..

 

[ChanceCoats123]

To be honest, the ram is better on yours, the boards are both solid, an e8400 (edit: I recall someone with an e8400 running 4.5ghz daily on air.) can go pretty high with the right cooling, 2x4870's would beat on a single 260gtx and since I'm a Seagate fan, your drive is more appealing to me. Not to sure on the Psu's, but the cases/ other accessories don't matter to me.

Yours for sure.

 

[umarrehman187]

i would defo take yours, like you said the only downside to yours is that the cpu is not better then the one in rig 2 thats it....

 

[Bobnova]

Keep yours.

 

[Chixofnix]

Maybe I read your post in a different light... are you asking for advice for building a competing system as a business? If so, I think you're leaving out the costs of running the business / paying yourself / insurance / business taxes and such !

If it's a question of "am I getting more for my money by spending my time and doing the building myself," the answer is always yes .

[EDIT] ok i re-read and realize i'm off!

While you won't have trouble building some agreement here that your rig is generally equal or better for most, you pointed out a flaw: the ill-informed consumer may ask his "techie" buddies what's the latest processor out there, may look at that first spec, and then decide to look elsewhere. Be aware that while you are selling a decent rig, but it can be trickier than a bulletin board posting to find an educated/enthusiast purchaser who desires years-old technology.

You may want to consider any warranty/repair service from the store model rolled into their price before determining your final price - are you offering such services and taking on liability ($$) for repairs and general end-user-idiocy? You may want to lop off a bit to justify.

 

[wingman99]

I would just upgrade yours where you need it.

 

[dummyyy]

yours.. your rig will last you couple more years and by that time the second option would be outdated too lol.. damn technology.