Like many of you, I am a pure solo buildist when it comes to pcs but building one's own pcs isn't for everyone. Just wanted to get a good list of custom pc builders in this thread. Know one, list it.

Thanks,
Zozio.

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quote:

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Originally posted by: Zozio
Like many of you, I am a pure solo buildist when it comes to pcs but building one's own pcs isn't for everyone. Just wanted to get a good list of custom pc builders in this thread. Know one, list it.

Thanks,
Zozio.

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http://69.47.81.240/Computers

I probably qualify....

I have been building highend CAD and A/V workstations for 15+ years. I have been using dual CPUs since the Intel 133 MHz on Tyan Tomcat IIIDs.

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Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual AMD 280 Opterons
8GB NUMA enabled DDR333 2.5-3-3-7 RAM
PCI-X SCSI RAID
http://69.14.190.80

quote:

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Originally posted by: mckennma
http://69.47.81.240/Computers

I probably qualify....

I have been building highend CAD and A/V workstations for 15+ years. I have been using dual CPUs since the Intel 133 MHz on Tyan Tomcat IIIDs.

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What do you charge in terms of rates?

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I fix and build custom computers for my part time job. This is my job's website. NCAL Computers

quote:

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Originally posted by: Zozio
What do you charge in terms of rates?

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Labor is usually 15% of the price of the hardware. Most custom builds are $10K+.

It is not that difficult to build on your own. The most difficult part is matching RAM, power supply, and motherboard. The components I use are server grade. I don't put in consumer grade. Depending on the size and complexity of the build it usually requires $500+ in electrical work to be done. Each chassis requires 20A circuit for safe input current and voltage. Server grade UPS for mission critical on a 30A-70A circuit. Separate cooling for the room. You need to upgrade software to current levels. I use Tripp Lite Line Conditioners to protect my workstation. I also installed tape drives for a backup solution. This year the Exabyte VXA-4 320GB 24MB/s tape drives are coming out for around $1000-$1200.

I usually recommend a HP Proliant server for a normal build. If it needs alot of custom, then I build it. I usually use Tyan Server boards, Corsair ECC Reg. RAM, AMD or Intel Server CPUs, LSI Logic SCSI RAID controllers, ATI graphics cards, PC Power and Cooling power supplies or N+1 power supplies. All HP Proliants have two power supplies, redundant fans, all Compaq components, Carepaqs, and etc.

I will not overclock and choose components that won't overclock. I build for highend server grade performance. A pair of dual core AMD Opterons and boards that support NUMA memory management.

When I get done, you won't be slow. My next upgrades are waiting for the electrician. A pair of 280s (dual core 2.4 Opterons), ATI X1950 Pro (single slot PCI-E x16 solution). It was around 47,000 MIPS and over 20,000 MFlops.

I build a complete solution that is fault tolerant and can backup and recover fast.

Even my workstation has issues that the upgrade to K8WE will solve. I probably will have issues with K8WE. I run HP Proliants at work in the server rooms. They have issues. Today, I am running chkdsk on all the Windows servers. My workstation downtime is less than most users. Projects can be done faster. Upgrades are usually $3K each time. I spend $2K a year on software maintenance plans for upgrades and support.


-------------------------
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual AMD 280 Opterons
8GB NUMA enabled DDR333 2.5-3-3-7 RAM
PCI-X SCSI RAID
http://69.14.190.80

ZapWizzard hands down... he did some really good builds, and was a Awesome Modder!

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Desktop:
Phenom II x6 1055T @ 4GHz | 4x2GB Patriot DDR3 1600 @ 2000 | 3x AMD Radeon HD6970 Crossfire

Laptop:
Core i7 2960xm @ 4.2Ghz | 4x4GB Kingston DDR3 1866 | 2x GTX 580m SLI OC 725/1450/1500

quote:

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Originally posted by: Charlie22911
ZapWizzard hands down... he did some really good builds, and was a Awesome Modder!

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Gamepc.com does some good highend builds. Don't buy overclocked or a fancy tower chassis. Put the money into the hardware not eye candy and hype.

-------------------------
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual AMD 280 Opterons
8GB NUMA enabled DDR333 2.5-3-3-7 RAM
PCI-X SCSI RAID
http://69.14.190.80

I post my listings on Craigslist so I dont have to fuss with shipping fiascos but I do build systems for others

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zzzap!

quote:

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Originally posted by: Royal Flush
I post my listings on Craigslist so I dont have to fuss with shipping fiascos but I do build systems for others

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bulls eye

quote:

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Originally posted by: mckennma
Gamepc.com does some good highend builds. Don't buy overclocked or a fancy tower chassis. Put the money into the hardware not eye candy and hype.

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most all, if not everything he does is quality . besides, this was about custom builds, not preassembled .

here is one of his projects incase anyone missed in the modding section:
http://forums.amd.com/index.php?showtopic=14661

here is the one from the link above (second pic) plus another promo build for kingston.



-------------------------
Desktop:
Phenom II x6 1055T @ 4GHz | 4x2GB Patriot DDR3 1600 @ 2000 | 3x AMD Radeon HD6970 Crossfire

Laptop:
Core i7 2960xm @ 4.2Ghz | 4x4GB Kingston DDR3 1866 | 2x GTX 580m SLI OC 725/1450/1500

quote:

---

Originally posted by: Charlie22911
most all, if not everything he does is quality . besides, this was about custom builds, not preassembled .

here is one of his projects incase anyone missed in the modding section:
http://forums.amd.com/index.php?showtopic=14661

here is the one from the link above (second pic) plus another promo build for kingston.

---

Stay away from boxes that are eye candy. Use standard chassis and spend on the hardware. Most add a few hunderd for eye candy. $200 cost for eye candy gets you 1 GB of DDR2 ECC Reg. RAM or a better CPU. You want a chassis that has room to dissipate heat in case fans fail. Extra fans in for cooling redundancy. Make sure you are getting server grade components. Kingston makes RAM. They don't make all the components. Get a detailed list on all components. You want to know everything about every component. You want to know chipset information. Memory configurations. If they won't give you all the information, go elsewhere.

-------------------------
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual AMD 280 Opterons
8GB NUMA enabled DDR333 2.5-3-3-7 RAM
PCI-X SCSI RAID
http://69.14.190.80

well, if anyone is in the north of newzealand, i can build a pretty reasonable priced mid-high range pc, depending on your needs. i don't have a website, or a shop lol. i just build em for hobby, so i don't charge much markup (if your good looking, i wont charge any at all ) send me a pm if you want a build....

if you don't like my stuff, i can recommend other people who can do thing's like server builds etc.

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Work requires research. thus, the Camthraxinator has returned.
AYB Proof that all your base are belong to Queen.


Proud Owner of a bass that's pickups are worth more than the bass itself.

quote:

---

Originally posted by: mckennma

http://69.47.81.240/Computers

I probably qualify....

I have been building highend CAD and A/V workstations for 15+ years. I have been using dual CPUs since the Intel 133 MHz on Tyan Tomcat IIIDs.

---

What PSU's do you use in the hardware you outlined after (apart from PCP&C and N+1)? Ever used Zippy Emacs, Etasis, Andysons, SevenTeam?

quote:

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Originally posted by: Kab
What PSU's do you use in the hardware you outlined after (apart from PCP&C and N+1)? Ever used Zippy Emacs, Etasis, Andysons, SevenTeam?

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Proliants use HP redundant. I see what Tyan recommends for power supplies and contact those vendors for the proper speced power supply. For single power supplies, only PC Power and Cooling. They are customed wired for each chassis to eliminate extra connections and slack in the wiring.

-------------------------
Tyan Thunder K8WE
Dual AMD 280 Opterons
8GB NUMA enabled DDR333 2.5-3-3-7 RAM
PCI-X SCSI RAID
http://69.14.190.80