3XS Black Widow Extreme - New Oct 09

[dips]

I am thinking of purchasing the 3XS Black Widow Extreme PC but wanted to know how quiet the PC actually is considering the watercooling components that are inside.

How should the PC be maintained in terms of watercooling and are there plenty of upgrade options available in the Corsair Obsidian 800D case for the future.

Also is it worth changing the Core i7 920 to a Core i7 975 Extreme since the latter is already overclocked at 4ghz. Also Intel have released the Core i7 960. Is it worth going for this processor and will you be including this in your configuration options.

I have added 2 1GB XFX HD 5870, 850Mhz GPU, 1600 SPs, 4800Mhz GDDR5 graphics cards in place of the Nvidia GTX 275. How good are the ATI 5870 cards and will it run Batman Arkham Asylum?

Can Windows 7 Ultimate - 64 bit be added as an option?

I would be grateful if SCAN can provide an expert opinion on this before I go ahead and purchase as I am looking for a gaming rig to replace my 8 year old P4 system and if someone can list me a very good gaming spec then that would be much appreciated

Regards

Dips

[inter8ection]

Also is it worth changing the Core i7 920 to a Core i7 975 Extreme since the latter is already overclocked at 4ghz. Also Intel have released the Core i7 960. Is it worth going for this processor and will you be including this in your configuration options.

Not many games are CPU limited to the extent that would make any difference. However if you have the cash to splash, why not

I have added 2 1GB XFX HD 5870, 850Mhz GPU, 1600 SPs, 4800Mhz GDDR5 graphics cards in place of the Nvidia GTX 275. How good are the ATI 5870 cards and will it run Batman Arkham Asylum?

Again, you could easily run Batman with a single 5870.

Can Windows 7 Ultimate - 64 bit be added as an option?

Definitely, if you contact them.

I would be grateful if SCAN can provide an expert opinion on this before I go ahead and purchase as I am looking for a gaming rig to replace my 8 year old P4 system and if someone can list me a very good gaming spec then that would be much appreciated

Your intended build is on the extreme side of things, and would be more than powerful enough to play every single game on ultra high settings on a 30" screen.

[Noggin]

How should the PC be maintained in terms of watercooling and are there plenty of upgrade options available in the Corsair Obsidian 800D case for the future.

The case is huge, room for any upgrades you want at all, I think scan said the other day they are planning to make videos on how to top up the water cooling etc, something I'm interested in seeing too.

Also is it worth changing the Core i7 920 to a Core i7 975 Extreme since the latter is already overclocked at 4ghz. Also Intel have released the Core i7 960. Is it worth going for this processor and will you be including this in your configuration options.

I don't think so, I belive scan normally get around 3.8-4.0GHZ out of the 920s when overclocking with water cooling, Realistically the best they are going to get out of the 975 is 4.2GHZ, so you are paying £500 more for 10% more cpu performance at best and quite possibly only 5%. at the same clock speed the 920 and 975 will have identical performance. Forget the 960 for sure and only concider the 975 if you don't care about value at all.

I have added 2 1GB XFX HD 5870, 850Mhz GPU, 1600 SPs, 4800Mhz GDDR5 graphics cards in place of the Nvidia GTX 275. How good are the ATI 5870 cards and will it run Batman Arkham Asylum?

The 5870's are awesome and even just one of them will run pretty much every game at the highest settings at 1900x1200 resolution (with the exception of crysis perhaps, might not quite get full settings with one card) and beyond, easily handling batman. 2 of them will complete decimate anything you throw at it for a few years.

Can Windows 7 Ultimate - 64 bit be added as an option?

You don't need something to be on the config screen to buy it, ring scans sales team, they will sell you a pc with anything you want in it.

I would be grateful if SCAN can provide an expert opinion on this before I go ahead and purchase as I am looking for a gaming rig to replace my 8 year old P4 system and if someone can list me a very good gaming spec then that would be much appreciated

The things you have listed give you an awesome gaming machine, list you budget and what size monitor etc you want, do you want a keyboard and mouse? and we can give you a proper spec.

[Noggin]

I'll give you a high end spec using the black widow extreme with water cooling as a base, but remember this is a dream pc, you can easily spend a 1/3 of this and have a great gaming pc. While very high end the parts I pick will still take value into concideration(which basically means 920 not 975, and no silly money memory).

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D
Intel i7 920, 2.66Ghz, 4.8GT/s QPI, @ 4Ghz with 20% OC
3XS System Core-Logic Overclocking*10 - 20%*
6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600), CAS 7
2x 1GB XFX HD 5870, 850Mhz GPU, 1600 SPs, 4800Mhz GDDR5
Water Cooled Graphics Cards
850W Corsair HX Series Modular
80GB intel SSD (this isn't on the config page, you will need to ring when ordering this)
1.5TB Western Digital Green, IntelliPower, 32MB Cache
LG BH08LS20 - 8x Blu-Ray Writer, Reader & DVDRW - Retail Box
Creative X-Fi Titanium - PCI-E )
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit (not on config page)
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse - 3200dpi
24" Dell U2410 Ultrasharp Widescreen LCD flat panel monitor, IPS panel (not on the config page)

That comes to £3900 and is a serious dream machine with high end monitor, mouse, keyboard and amazing performance, ssd, tons of storage, sexy looks of course you need to chose what colour lighting, tubing, fluid etc you want.

If thats too much you can knock it down to about 3 grand by switching to windows 7 home premium (you really sure you need ultimate?) chosing a £200 pound 24 inch monitor rather than the high end dell one, droping the blu-ray writer, droping the second 5870, switching to a 650W PSU, droping the sound card and using onboard sound. If you wanted to spend more the most obvious change is to step up to a 30inch monitor since you have the performance for it.

Do remember though you can make an awesome gaming machine for a grand, but it's always nice to treat yourself.

[Philipp]

Hi dips,

Great to see your looking at the Black Widow Extreme, you will not be disappointed,

In answer to your questions,

The system is quite, we use Gentle Typhoon fans on the rads and these are controlled via a Aquaero fan controller that will speed up or slow the fans depending on system load.

The case is nice and large, future upgrades are not going to be a problem, in regards to maintance the water should be replaced every year or so, you can send your system back to scan and we can do this,

Personally I would stick with the 920, on the BWE it will be clocked 100% stable at 4Ghz, as noggin has pointed out using a 975 will increase it to maybe 4.2-4.3Ghz not worth the additional £££.

The 5870s are fast cards and 2 in Crossfire will provide an abundance of performance, you’re not going to have any issues playing games with those cards!!

Sure windows 7 ultimate is not a problem, I will be adding it to the system shortly,

If you have any further questions feel free to post up here or email me at philipp@scan.co.uk

Best Regards

[Philipp]

I'll give you a high end spec using the black widow extreme with water cooling as a base, but remember this is a dream pc, you can easily spend a 1/3 of this and have a great gaming pc. While very high end the parts I pick will still take value into concideration(which basically means 920 not 975, and no silly money memory).

Corsair Obsidian Series 800D
Intel i7 920, 2.66Ghz, 4.8GT/s QPI, @ 4Ghz with 20% OC
3XS System Core-Logic Overclocking*10 - 20%*
6GB (3x2GB) Corsair Dominator GT DDR3 PC3-12800 (1600), CAS 7
2x 1GB XFX HD 5870, 850Mhz GPU, 1600 SPs, 4800Mhz GDDR5
Water Cooled Graphics Cards
850W Corsair HX Series Modular
80GB intel SSD (this isn't on the config page, you will need to ring when ordering this)
1.5TB Western Digital Green, IntelliPower, 32MB Cache
LG BH08LS20 - 8x Blu-Ray Writer, Reader & DVDRW - Retail Box
Creative X-Fi Titanium - PCI-E )
Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit (not on config page)
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse - 3200dpi
24" Dell U2410 Ultrasharp Widescreen LCD flat panel monitor, IPS panel (not on the config page)

That comes to £3900 and is a serious dream machine with high end monitor, mouse, keyboard and amazing performance, ssd, tons of storage, sexy looks of course you need to chose what colour lighting, tubing, fluid etc you want.

If thats too much you can knock it down to about 3 grand by switching to windows 7 home premium (you really sure you need ultimate?) chosing a £200 pound 24 inch monitor rather than the high end dell one, droping the blu-ray writer, droping the second 5870, switching to a 650W PSU, droping the sound card and using onboard sound. If you wanted to spend more the most obvious change is to step up to a 30inch monitor since you have the performance for it.

Do remember though you can make an awesome gaming machine for a grand, but it's always nice to treat yourself.

Some good advice here!!

Stick to having a good monitor, I recently spent £200 on a Dell 22inch IPS over a 24inch TN the quality is amazing and I’ll never go back to a TN panel!

[Ganty]

i'll echo the IPS fan club, mine just came a day early(philip would know what i mean by...just my luck )

[inter8ection]

I have had a Dell 27" for just over 2 years now, still happy with it of course.

But for the price of the Dell U2410, I would be tempted to look at the 24" LED Apple one.

[dips]

Hi philipp,

Many thanks for your reply. Instead of Windows 7 Ultimate - 64 bit edition, I may go with Windows 7 Professional - 64 bit as I do not require all the extra features such as Bitlocker etc with Ultimate therefore can you list the Pro version as an option on the config screen for the PC.

Also how easy is it it replace the water in the PC which you said has to be done each year if I do not want to send the PC to SCAN.

How many years should this PC last considering that there is always something else around the corner. A lot of manufacturers have done away with the core i7 975 extreme as the core i7 920 is extremely overclockable.

Regards

Dipen

[Philipp]

Hi Dipen,

Sure we will be listing both versions, I will get them added now...

Flushing the water is relatively straight forward, it does however require opening up the system and the loop using the compression fittings, We can talk you through the steps and we are also creating a video with step by step instructions.

The system will last a good few years and with upgrades even longer, the Rampage board will support the next gen Intel CPUs and the graphics cards you have selected have just been released.

Cheers

[dips]

Hi Philipp

How many expansion slots does the Obsidian 800 have. How many USB slots are available and where are they located and is there a firewire card included.

I want to make sure that I buy the right PC that is futureproof mainly for gaming and for other uses and hope that the Black Widow Extreme is the way forward. I know that there are no reviews of this PC at the moment but with SCAN's reputation, this must be an excellent PC.

I see that you have included Win 7 Pro and Ultimate 64 bit OEM in the config list. May go for Ultimate.

After selecting the relevant options, the PC comes to around £3847.73.

Regards

Dips

[Philipp]

Hi Dips,

It will have 2 spare 5.25 drive bays for Optical drives,

It can store 4 HDDs in the front caddy and a further 2 inside the case,

It has 4 USB ports on the front with Firewire and audio jacks, these are all connected and usable, the firewire is run of the mainboard rather than an additional card.

I can fully understand the need to make sure the system is as future proof as possible, feel free to ask as many questions as you like, we are in no rush to take your money our main concern is making sure your happy with the system and getting what you want!!

We have a few reviews lined up for the Black Widow Extreme, and have sold a number already

Have a great evening!

Best Regards

[dips]

Hi Philipp,

Is it worth going with 12GB of memory or will the 6GB of memory be ok to run everything inc games as the website states that it is not recommended to go for 12GB due to the overclock of the PC.

Also, with the people who have purchased the Black Widow Extreme, have they gone for the standard spec as it is.

Where are the reviews for the new Black Widow Extreme or will they be posted later.

Regards

Dips