iBUYPOWER: 4.0GHz QX9650 and 3-way SLI 8800 Ultras
by Matt Campbell on April 10, 2008 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Final Thoughts
Before examining the pricing, we were ready to rate iBUYPOWER down considerably. It was frustrating to have such a seemingly capable system with all-around high-end hardware be so constrained by small problems and annoyances. Instead of being able to relax and stretch the system's limits, it was an exercise in patience to constantly overcome one problem or another.
However, their price point is extremely competitive within the marketplace. The hardware present in the review configuration carries a small premium for system assembly, OS installation, and 3-year warranty coverage. This is a strong point in their favor for "power users" who have the knowledge to tweak their system after delivery.
For a system at this price point ($5,000+), we suspect most buyers are looking to be coddled more than iBUYPOWER can offer. This includes all of the "extras" that most boutiques can offer (OS optimization, performance testing, system binders, pre-installation of games, mouse pads, etc.), as well as a solid out-of-box experience largely free of problems. If that's what you're after, we cannot recommend this particular system. Honestly, we're really hesitant to recommend 3-way SLI systems to all but the most demanding users, as they truly are on the bleeding edge.
However, iBUYPOWER has numerous offerings, and many are better overall than the system reviewed here. If you are a gamer or power user looking for a company that offers system assembly and warranty coverage at a small price premium (and we think this particularly applies in the entry/midrange segment), iBUYPOWER is worth a look. Even enthusiasts can appreciate the time and effort saved by letting someone else do the initial assembly, testing, and OS installation. With the huge selection of components and an extensive online configurator, those who understand hardware can custom-build a system and let someone else do the dirty work.
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m2super - Thursday, April 10, 2008 - link
I bet if you pull 2gb of ram from the system with all the cards in you wont get this error message!Do a google search of this annoying issue quite a few people with vista 64, 4gb of ram and an sli config. The fact nvidia/ms havent done anything to resolve it is bs imo.
kuraegomon - Thursday, April 10, 2008 - link
I run SLI-ed GTX's, with RAID and overclocked Q6600. The only reason for a setup like this is to game at 1920x1200 or above. I have a 30' monitor, and like to game at 2560x1600 whenever possible. I believe that triple-SLI only makes sense with 2560x1600 resolutions, and you'll need the extra GPU-to-GPU bandwidth/lower latency that the 790i will provide, to really examine this. Sorry to say for anyone who bought one, but the 780i is already obsolete. (Of course, my 680i Striker Extreme is even moreso).Matt Campbell - Thursday, April 10, 2008 - link
Higher resolutions are in the queue for our next high end rig.Maffer - Thursday, April 10, 2008 - link
You just run into very annoying problem which has been with 780i quite quite a long time now. Please see this thread:http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=256404&mpa...">http://www.evga.com/forums/tm.asp?m=256404&mpa...
You can find lots of people with the same problems right there. Nvidia is doing nothing to solve this crap. Some folks have switched to 790i system and problems vanished. This cannot be the solution though. Please Anandtech, if you have any powers to do something about this...at least poke nVidia around with a large trout or something :/
67STANG - Thursday, April 10, 2008 - link
I think people that build these "uber" machines forget their target audience: "the enthusiast". What enthusiast buys a machine like this rather than building it themself?I don't know about anyone else, but part of the fun of a high end computer is building it (at least for me). I wouldn't want to spend $5k+ on a system that I probably could have built myself for much less...
Granted it gets very high scores on benchmarks, but it would be hard not to with what is in it... I believe something could be built that could beat this for hundreds less. Pass.
abhaxus - Sunday, April 13, 2008 - link
There are most definitely people out there that buy the fastest computer available but have no clue how they are built.To use a car analogy... you are arguing that everyone who buys an Impreza WRX is stupid because you could buy the RS and put a turbo on it and go just as fast. The WRX is pre-tuned, has a warranty, and has a badge that says it's fast. These are the same people that buy a Dell XPS or Alienware rig.
To a semi-knowledgeable but not guru-level person, saying "i have an alienware pc" is a lot easier than "I have an overclocked 3.2ghz quad core pc with 2 8800GTS's in SLI"
Noya - Thursday, April 10, 2008 - link
Exactly...you don't buy a review article on a hardware tech site.HOOfan 1 - Thursday, April 10, 2008 - link
If these are the problems that are going to crop up and you will have to troubleshoot them yourself (which seems the case from reading the reviews on resellerrating.com) then you may as well just build it yourself and save even more money.