Highly Recommended Q6600 based custom build

I think building a custom PC is certainly a worthwhile endeavor, if you're a hard-core gamer. For trading I just don't see the need for it. Unless you're going to be doing something really computer intensive, it doesn't make much sense to me. Even so, the PCs you can buy now are plenty powerful and as observed, you can always have a Dell built to your exact specs with extra ram, more powerful processors, higher-output PSUs, dual graphic cards, etc. I think having one pre-built the way you want with XP Pro is the most hassle-free way to go to get a solid dependable trading PC.

I guess if you have a lot of time on your hands and really want to build your own, then I reckon it has its place and has certain advantages. But remember, time is money and in that regard its going to be very expensive to build.
 
Quote from Gravestone Doji:

I think building a custom PC is certainly a worthwhile endeavor, if you're a hard-core gamer. For trading I just don't see the need for it. Unless you're going to be doing something really computer intensive, it doesn't make much sense to me. Even so, the PCs you can buy now are plenty powerful and as observed, you can always have a Dell built to your exact specs with extra ram, more powerful processors, higher-output PSUs, dual graphic cards, etc. I think having one pre-built the way you want with XP Pro is the most hassle-free way to go to get a solid dependable trading PC.

I guess if you have a lot of time on your hands and really want to build your own, then I reckon it has its place and has certain advantages. But remember, time is money and in that regard its going to be very expensive to build.
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All it takes is 30-90mins (depending on experience) to assemble the hardware and 2-3hrs to install the operating system/drivers/soft. Most people that I know who purchase new from a manufacturer almost always reformat and do a fresh install of the O/S. Reason being the manufacturer typically presses an unreal amount of bloat/background software on the HD, which noticeably hinders the true capable performance of the machine. I prefer not to have 50+ processes running when I turn on the machine for the first time.

Also take note this thread was directed at "DIY" types, which for the most part are the younger tech generation folks such as myself (27). I'm more than happy to spend a weekday afternoon after market close to put a system together even though I have plenty of $ to buy the latest hot-rod workstations from Dell/IBM. The reason I go custom is I find the selection of components superior, less expensive (I'm frugal), and enjoy satisfaction of building. There are plenty of other traders here that have a similar demeanor.

Just priced out a Dell T3400 with the closest spec possible to my build mentioned above (including 150GB Raptor/2g ram, Q6600, Dual NVS290 etc) and the subtotal was $1512. Dell has inferior motherboard (non-overclock capable), power-supply, cpu cooler, yet for a ~$500 premium compared to build specs in my OP.

Different strokes for different folks.
 
Not one to pick nits... but (1) every time I've ever "priced the equivalent to a Dell" as if I were going to build it myself, I've always come up with about $100 difference in parts, and (2) it seems those who do build their own, exaggerate the price differential.

I just priced parts from Newegg as in your example. And in spite of Dells rep of "price markup on upgrades", I found a differential of only $150, not $500. And that's not including the cost and benefit of the T3400's 3-year warranty.

Then again, if one has a place where he can buy parts 30% cheaper than Newegg, the diff could get to $500 I suppose.
 
Quote from gnome:

Not one to pick nits... but (1) every time I've ever "priced the equivalent to a Dell" as if I were going to build it myself, I've always come up with about $100 difference in parts, and (2) it seems those who do build their own, exaggerate the price differential.

I just priced parts from Newegg as in your example. And in spite of Dells rep of "price markup on upgrades", I found a differential of only $150, not $500. And that's not including the cost and benefit of the T3400's 3-year warranty.

Then again, if one has a place where he can buy parts 30% cheaper than Newegg, the diff could get to $500 I suppose.
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Inaccurate.

Prices listed (~$950 total) in original post are those that were paid at the time of post (Microcenter, Newegg, Buy.com). Rebates on Abit board ($169-$35) and two evga v.cards ($89- $30) were priced in. Saved at least ~$500 at the time of build compared to the closest offering from Dell.

Here's the T3400 for $1792+
(Q6600,2GB 800 DDR ECC, Dual NVS290, Raptor 160 10k, 16x DVD burner)
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=555&l=en&oc=MLB1669&s=biz

Also, you are not factoring in the over-clock capability of going custom. For ex, the Q6600 SLACR ($199@ Microcenter) runs 100% stable 800mhz (3.2ghz) over standard clock with headroom, which is very typical for this chip/motherboard combination. With a quality CPU cooler such as the Tuniq, the chip @ 3.0 and stock voltage runs only 1-2 C warmer than a stock Q6600 using the Intel retail cooler (used in Dell system). Temperature is what dictates CPU life-cycle. In real-world ALU calculations, that comes out to an approximate 36% CPU advantage over stock cycle or equivalent to the Extreme QX6850 (a $990 Dell upgrade to go from Q6600 to QX6850 on Precision T3400).

CPU comparisons:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/08/dual_vs_quad/page32.html

All in all, a considerable amount of more processing power compared to a stock cycle Q6600 running on a non-adjustable generic Dell/HP/IBM motherboard.

One could argue $1500+ was saved if I wanted to purchase a computer from Dell with similar processing power as the SLACR @ 3.2.

Also worth noting the complementary 5yr warranty on Raptor HD, lifetime warranty on ram, 5 yr warranty on power supply, and 3yr warranty on mobo (extended for $40). Rarely does a CPU ever die.

There are so many benefits to going custom that it's such a no-brainer for those with interest/capability. Like I said, this thread will only appeal to DIY types. Most that have never built their own system nor researched components in depth, generally can't appreciate the difference.
 
Quote from Syprik:

Inaccurate.

Prices listed (~$950 total) in original post are those that were paid at the time of post (Microcenter, Newegg, Buy.com). Rebates on Abit board ($169-$35) and two evga v.cards ($89- $30) were priced in. Saved at least ~$500 at the time of build compared to the closest offering from Dell.

Here's the T3400 for $1792+
(Q6600,2GB 800 DDR ECC, Dual NVS290, Raptor 160 10k, 16x DVD burner)
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=555&l=en&oc=MLB1669&s=biz

Also, you are not factoring in the over-clock capability of going custom. For ex, the Q6600 SLACR ($199@ Microcenter) runs 100% stable 800mhz (3.2ghz) over standard clock with headroom, which is very typical for this chip/motherboard combination. With a quality CPU cooler such as the Tuniq, the chip @ 3.0 and stock voltage runs only 1-2 C warmer than a stock Q6600 using the Intel retail cooler (used in Dell system). Temperature is what dictates CPU life-cycle. In real-world ALU calculations, that comes out to an approximate 36% CPU advantage over stock cycle or equivalent to the Extreme QX6850 (a $990 Dell upgrade to go from Q6600 to QX6850 on Precision T3400).

CPU comparisons:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/08/dual_vs_quad/page32.html

All in all, a considerable amount of more processing power compared to a stock cycle Q6600 running on a non-adjustable generic Dell/HP/IBM motherboard.

One could argue $1500+ was saved if I wanted to purchase a computer from Dell with similar processing power as the SLACR @ 3.2.

Also worth noting the complementary 5yr warranty on Raptor HD, lifetime warranty on ram, 5 yr warranty on power supply, and 3yr warranty on mobo (extended for $40). Rarely does a CPU ever die.

There are so many benefits to going custom that it's such a no-brainer for those with interest/capability. Like I said, this thread will only appeal to DIY types. Most that have never built their own system nor researched components in depth, generally can't appreciate the difference.
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Only a little innacurate.. I didn't swap the CDR for DVDRW

1. I didn't account for the rebate on mobo, nor on the video cards.. but I included 2, NVS 290s @ $120 each, for $240, with no rebate. ("Apples to apples, best we can, you know.)

2. I priced out the Dell T3400, with Dell upgrades and come to $1463.

For the Newegg prices,

$34 2Gig Ram Kit, including rebate
235 Q6600
139 OEM WinXP Pro
69 Corsair VX450 PSU
200 X38 mobo.. the cheapest they had
170 150G Raptor
90 case, est. price
30 DVD, est. price
240 2, NVS 290 video cards
40 Keyboard and mouse, est. price
_______

$1247

In addition...

1. The T3400 as offered is PLENTY good enough for trading for almost everybody. And you won't save much trying to "build it yourself" with comparable parts.

2. If you wanted the upgrades... and started with the basic T3400 and did the simple parts upgrades yourself... RAM, DVD, HD, (which is what I'd recommend) you'd cut the difference to nearly zero.

3. Having a "parts and service" warranty is not the same hassle as having a "parts only" warranty. With the DIY rig, you'll have to deal with each part separately and "send it in". Dell's going to "bring a part with them and install it in your home or office".

The T3400 would still not be overclockable, but you wouldn't be giving up much else.

I stand by the premise. "A Dell T3400 as offered, is a good value".
 
Saving money is not the only reason for building your own rig. There are many more which were already discussed in the previous posts. I used to buy dells but for the past 3 years have been building my own. The quality of parts of the OP's system are few notches superior to dells eventhough they have the same spec's. In my opinion buying dell is like buying a kia or a hundai.

Quote from gnome:

Only a little innacurate.. I didn't swap the CDR for DVDRW

1. I didn't account for the rebate on mobo, nor on the video cards.. but I included 2, NVS 290s @ $120 each, for $240, with no rebate. ("Apples to apples, best we can, you know.)

2. I priced out the Dell T3400, with Dell upgrades and come to $1463.

For the Newegg prices,

$34 2Gig Ram Kit, including rebate
235 Q6600
139 OEM WinXP Pro
69 Corsair VX450 PSU
200 X38 mobo.. the cheapest they had
170 150G Raptor
90 case, est. price
30 DVD, est. price
240 2, NVS 290 video cards
40 Keyboard and mouse, est. price
_______

$1247

In addition...

1. The T3400 as offered is PLENTY good enough for trading for almost everybody. And you won't save much trying to "build it yourself" with comparable parts.

2. If you wanted the upgrades... and started with the basic T3400 and did the simple parts upgrades yourself... RAM, DVD, HD, (which is what I'd recommend) you'd cut the difference to nearly zero.

3. Having a "parts and service" warranty is not the same hassle as having a "parts only" warranty. With the DIY rig, you'll have to deal with each part separately and "send it in". Dell's going to "bring a part with them and install it in your home or office".

The T3400 would still not be overclockable, but you wouldn't be giving up much else.

I stand by the premise. "A Dell T3400 as offered, is a good value".
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Quote from options2001:

I used to buy dells but for the past 3 years have been building my own. The quality of parts of the OP's system are few notches superior to dells eventhough they have the same spec's. In my opinion buying dell is like buying a kia or a hundai.
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I would highly disagree with that claim.

The T3400 is a more than adequate TRADING RIG and it is very competitively priced in my opinion. I just bought one new with a 3-year warranty and North American support for $806 + $90 ( 2 Gigs of ECC 800 memory purchased separately on sale at Dell ) = $896 + tax
Free shipping and at my door in 3 days.

These are the specs of my machine:

1 223-6898 Dell Precision T3400 Convertible MiniTower Processor E8200, 2.66GHz, 1333 FSB, 6MB L2, 525Watt power supply.

1 311-7463 Mini-Tower Chassis Configuration, Dell Precision T3400

1 311-7481 1GB, 667MHz, DDR2 NECC SDRAM Memory, 2X512, Dell Precision T3400

1 310-7949 Entry Level, USB, No Hot Keys keyboards, Dell PrecisionWorkstations

1 320-5871 Dual nVidia,NVS 290, 256MB dual DVI, Graphics Card, Dell Precision T3400

1 341-5235 80GB SATA 3.0Gb/s with NCQ and 8MB DataBurst Cache Dell Precision T3400

1 341-5209 C1, All SATA, NO RAID for 1 Hard Drive

1 341-5255 No Floppy Drive, Dell Precision

1 420-4860 WINDOWS XP PRO SP2, with MediaDell Precision,English Factory Install

1 310-7959 Dell USB 2-Button Entry Mouse with Scroll for Dell Precision

1 313-5712 48X/32X/48X CD-RW/DVD Combo Drive, Data Only, Dell Precision T3400

1 420-7979 Cyberlink Power DVD,Software for Dell Precision

1 986-1580 Basic Support: Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response Initial Year

1 989-3758 Dell Hardware Limited Warranty Plus Onsite Service Extended Year(s)

1 985-6212 Basic Support: Next Business Day Parts and Labor Onsite Response 2 Year Extended

1 989-3757 Dell Hardware Limited Warranty Plus Onsite Service Initial Year
 
I built a system 2 months ago with almost the same components as you except for

Memory went with corsair 2 x 2 gb ddr2 800
Hard drive - samsung spinpoint 750 GB sata
Cooler - zerotherm nirvana cpu cooler.
windows xp64 pro(All programs and devices working great so far)

All other parts are exactly the same. This system is so much faster than my E6600 system overclocked to 3.2 GHz I built last year

I plan to overclock my q6600 to about 3.2 also, which should make it quite a bit faster


Quote from Syprik:

After vetting a series of different components, have finally landed on a winning combination. Strongly recommended for those "Do it Yourself" types seeking rock solid stability and power. Hope the component list below will help generate ideas where to start looking.

High performance/cost ratio: ~$950 plus cost of LCD's. I'm rather anal, vetted components for a great deal of time, been building my own systems since the late 90's. Extensively stress tested(Prime95,Memtest,etc) and is bulletproof at 3.2GHz (I throttle it back to 3.0 for trading, however). Use caution when looking at current Asus motherboards. For years I have been an Asus die-hard given their inherent stability, but the last year has shown a significant decline in quality. I am not alone with this sentiment. Abit/Gigabyte have come out with real winners for P35 chipset. X38 chipset still too immature for my taste.


03/2008 Trading System Build

Processor: Intel Quad Core Q6600 G0 SLACR @ 3.2GHz OverClock ($199)
www.microcenter.com

Motherboard: ABIT IP35 PRO ($135)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16813127030

Memory: 2 x 1GB G.SKILL DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual ($45)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16820231098

CPU Cooler: Tuniq Tower 120 ($40)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16835154001

Video Cards: 2 x eVGA 8600 GT PCI-e x16 (2 x $60)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16814130085

Hard Drive: WD Raptor 150GB WD1500ADFD 10,000rpm 16mb SATA ($159)
www.microcenter.com

20x DVD Samsung SATA Burner ($30)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...N82E16827151154

Antec P182/P180 Case ($100)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16811129025

Power Supply: Corsair HX620 ($115)
http://www.buy.com/prod/corsair-620.../203270718.html
Made by Seasonic. Very high quality, server-grade components.

XP Pro SP2 ($0)

System powers (3) 24" Samsung LCD's. System is virtually dead silent. Reviews on Newegg associated with each component speak for themselves.

Extremely satisfied. Smoothly runs more charts in Multicharts than I know what to do with. CPU load is roughly 1/7th compared to my retired AMD 64 3000+ running same trading platform.
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Quote from Gravestone Doji:

I think building a custom PC is certainly a worthwhile endeavor, if you're a hard-core gamer. For trading I just don't see the need for it. Unless you're going to be doing something really computer intensive, it doesn't make much sense to me. Even so, the PCs you can buy now are plenty powerful and as observed, you can always have a Dell built to your exact specs with extra ram, more powerful processors, higher-output PSUs, dual graphic cards, etc. I think having one pre-built the way you want with XP Pro is the most hassle-free way to go to get a solid dependable trading PC.

I guess if you have a lot of time on your hands and really want to build your own, then I reckon it has its place and has certain advantages. But remember, time is money and in that regard its going to be very expensive to build.
More...

Excellent post!

In my mind, there really is an important distinction to be made between a TRADING rig and a GAMING rig. For most Trading purposes, a Gaming rig is complete "overkill".

Besides, you can have the fastest processor in the world such as an Intel QX9770 with 12 MB's of L2 cache and a 1600 MHz FSB - - - and it isn't going to be able to get out of its own way if your broadband connection to your trading server sucks and you have other connectivity "bottlenecks" . . . some of which may be out of your control.

Ever done a "trace-route" from the West Coast back to your trading/quote feed servers in NY or NJ and seen what kind of latency your getting over the various "hops"?

Not much you can do about that unless you want to fork-out a BIG chunk of money every month for a dedicated line.
 
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