How to build a Skulltrail machine for $2,500

Intel's gunning hard for the high end of the gaming market with the new Skulltrail platform, but nothing about it is cheap -- the D5400XS mobo at the heart of the platform costs $649 to start, and the flagship "fastest ever" config features two $1,499 3.2GHZ QX9775 processors. Still, if you're a hardcore gamer, you know you want it, so the folks over at Techgage have put together a handy guide to building a Skulltrail system for just $2,500 -- sure, you're not getting those crazy processors for that money, but the specs are still pretty respectable. Techgage priced out a pair of $300 2.3GHz Xeon E5410s, a single NVIDIA 8800GT-based graphics card, 320GB drive, 4GB of RAM and all the chassis bits for $2,520 -- not bad, not bad at all. Grab your screwdrivers and check out all the sample configurations at the read link.

[Paul @ Feb 20th 2008 4:26PM]

Toss in a second 8800GT for only $250 more and it gets even better (seriously, if your already paying $2500, whats $250 more?)

[fashionista @ Feb 20th 2008 5:01PM]

10%

[Gorillamonk @ Feb 21st 2008 9:34AM]

more money

[OneLove @ Feb 21st 2008 12:57PM]

I guess you are not a financial adviser. (If you are paying $3000 whats $250 more,...if you are paying $3250 whats $250 more...lol)

[Richard @ Feb 20th 2008 4:31PM]

Thanks for posting this! I'm looking to build a desktop after I buy my laptop so this will definitely help.

[Aguiluz @ Feb 20th 2008 4:34PM]

I'm fine with a dual core. Thank you. There are not enough games to take advantage of eight cores. Maybe if you play NFS Carbon and ALT-TAB to BioShock, then ALT-TAB to other game that you think of while using Folding at Home at the same time.

P.S: Are you on F@H? Then join the Engadget team!

[Kamokazi @ Feb 20th 2008 4:36PM]

Absolutely agree...basically if you don't play Supreme Commander (it sees a nice boost from quad) or use other heavily multithreaded apps, dual core is more than enough.

I'd recommend a P35, X38, or 780i chipset mobo with a E8400 right now to get the best bang for your buck.

[David @ Feb 20th 2008 4:59PM]

I just tried alt-tab for the first time after i read your comment. thank you, god

[TJ Johnson @ Feb 20th 2008 5:20PM]

My Mac Alt+Tab function is better than your PC Alt+Tab function!!

LOL, just kidding. I wish I could afford to build my own system but I decided paying the 40% premium was a much more fashionable idea.


//Seriously, my MBP is putting me through gadget withdraw.

[ByronGman @ Feb 20th 2008 6:30PM]

@TJ Johnson

My Windows Key + Tab function pawns your Mac Alt + Tab Function.

[Oliver @ Feb 20th 2008 7:01PM]

my macbook air touchpad gesture activates exposé, so i've got you all beat!

[ByronGman @ Feb 20th 2008 7:06PM]

@ Oliver

Touche.

[Aguiluz @ Feb 20th 2008 4:42PM]

I predict someone will post these so I will get ahead of them. (Sarcasm)

"Will it Play doom?"

Erm... YES WE KNOW, YES WE KNOW! Now try something new. Doom will run on a pitching iPod and a pitching phone [n80?] so a big PC will not have a pitching problem. This is getting old.

"Will it Blend"

No. It won't fit.

Now, no offense. I am really annoyed of old jokes. Repetitive. Repetitive. Repetitive.

[Scott @ Feb 20th 2008 5:08PM]

Forget about Doom... Where are these "pitching iPods" and "pitching iPhones" you speak of? Something the MLB is deploying for spring training perhaps?

[TJ Johnson @ Feb 20th 2008 5:23PM]

Yes, but will it play Doom 2? More importantly, will it dice?

[John @ Feb 20th 2008 5:38PM]

*crying* I wish I could blend you!

[Abuzar @ Feb 20th 2008 6:37PM]

Yeah it wont fit, that case is HUGE. I have it and I never expected it to be this big, it also weighs about 50 lbs.

Yeah I know the will it blend thing is a joke.

[Gorillamonk @ Feb 21st 2008 9:39AM]

time to move up to the wood chipper. that could get the job done.

[ebet @ Feb 21st 2008 4:13PM]

But will it fit inside a manila folde...



bah! nevermind...

[phanbouy @ Feb 20th 2008 4:44PM]

I'd rather build a Scull Trail. Especially if you could hear Vincent Price in the background.

[Aguiluz @ Feb 20th 2008 4:49PM]

I would hear this sound in the background:

Chi-Ching! (Coins pouring)

[Magnulus @ Feb 20th 2008 4:48PM]

But does it come with internet installed?

[wickedpheonix @ Feb 20th 2008 4:55PM]

You can build a better gaming machine for $2500. Considering the fact that the extra processors don't make much sense for gaming, the FB-DIMM RAM is too slow for gaming, and you can build a $2500 PC with an nVidia 8800 Ultra and a quad-core AND 4 GB of RAM, I don't really know why you would build an inferior Skulltrail machine unless your new purpose in life is to show your friends 2 CPU heatsinks in your rig.

[bartoron @ Feb 20th 2008 5:04PM]

Or maybe it's because you need to run Folding@Home at the speed of light.

[paragraph @ Feb 20th 2008 5:18PM]

Only suckers run dual-cpu... quad-cpu is where it's at... and only suckers have one, clustering is where its at.

Yeah, i'm telling you to spend a fortune on 5 quad-quad xeon rigs and a host machine just to play crysis... but really... isn't the number of processors/cores an extension of how dig your bick is?

[phanbouy @ Feb 20th 2008 5:28PM]

what's wrong with the name Biggus Dickus?

[CraigJ @ Feb 20th 2008 5:30PM]

"isn't the number of processors/cores an extension of how dig your bick is?" what does my disposable lighter have to do with it?

[jmX @ Feb 20th 2008 6:37PM]

I know this may blow gamers minds, but there are quite a few people at home who constantly max out their quad cores, and are wanting 8, 16, or more core machines already. Not everybody is trying to get 10fps more in supreme commander, some of us are trying to work on next next gen graphics, scientific computing, next gen data visualization, etc, and yet we still could make use of a high powered dual GPU setup as well. The skulltrail makes sense in those applications. I know intel and this article are framing the machine as a gamer machine, but think beyond that and get over the whole "2 cores is enough for me, so this machine is worthless" argument. The machine is a step in the right direction, and I'm glad it's finally out there.

[vulgardaclown @ Feb 20th 2008 7:42PM]

And does anyone find it funny whenb i say his wifes name... incontinencia buttocks.

[Eric Leung @ Feb 21st 2008 5:28AM]

i don't know about yours, but i know my bick isnt disposable while i guess you could call it a lighter

[wickedpheonix @ Feb 21st 2008 7:54AM]

My point being that we're talking about a $2500 machine here, and what the best components for the buck are. Sure, if you got 5 grand, go ahead and get 2 8800 Ultra's and 8 CPU cores altold - all I know is that on my $2500 config I can run Crysis at 1920x1200 with the DX10-XP config hack at 40+ FPS, and I doubt that you can do that with a 8800 GT.

[Chris @ Feb 20th 2008 5:15PM]

I'd rather have 4 graphics cards than get another $1400 cpu. But all you millionare Supreme Commander fans out there be my guest(and just for the hell of it put a video on youtube)

[David Fitzy @ Feb 20th 2008 5:30PM]

There's a hugely extensive testing of skulltrail on Toms Hardware they found the memory just bottlenecked the whole system so badly it wasn't worth the extra money; A single dual/quad-core is faster at most desktop applications especially games.

[Nick @ Feb 20th 2008 5:30PM]

Voodoo/Falcon NW/Alienware are rediculously expensive to begin with.. I cant even imagine how much they will charge for a machine with this board in it.

[DaveM @ Feb 20th 2008 5:43PM]

What is the case picture here?

[Natedog @ Feb 20th 2008 5:49PM]

Looks like the Thermaltake Armor or a variation of it.

[Havok @ Feb 20th 2008 5:50PM]

It's a Thermaltake Armour case, and it happens to be my exact model : P

It looks impressive, and, although I haven't tried, it could probably take a couple hits from a metal baseball bat and still live : O

Steel Aluminum Alloy ftw

[Sauerkraut @ Feb 20th 2008 6:09PM]

this is news?

[slackercow @ Feb 20th 2008 8:06PM]

i'm with this guy.

[lordebon @ Feb 20th 2008 7:13PM]

Funny, I built a PC about a year and a half ago using that same case, heh.

[venk @ Feb 20th 2008 11:38PM]

Not even the $6000 version can run Crysis at Very High settings at an acceptable frame rate. :(

[Zephyr @ Feb 27th 2008 4:44PM]

"How to build a computer for $2500 and compare it to the Skulltrail" -- Did I get that right?