ABS Ultimate X9: Core 2 Extreme Hits a Speed Bump
by Jarred Walton on August 18, 2006 1:35 PM EST- Posted in
- Systems
Features and Price
It is always possible to configure your system differently, focusing on increasing storage capacity or tweaking various other options. Here are the specifications of the Ultimate X9 we received:
There are frequently drawbacks to purchasing a prebuilt system -- more limited BIOS options, potentially proprietary designs, slightly reduced performance in the name of stability, generic designs, etc. Thankfully, most of those concerns are not present the ABS Ultimate X9. Everything present in the system can easily be purchased online or from a local computer store (assuming the Core 2 Extreme processor is in stock). How much does it cost to put all the parts together yourself? We did a little research and came up with the following price list (from Newegg):
At first glance, there's a pretty big price discrepancy between what ABS is charging and what it would cost to purchase the parts from Newegg. The catch is that ABS charges $500 to officially support the 20% overclock of the processor; otherwise you void your warranty. The total difference in price without the ABS "System Optimization" is just over $300. That gets you a fully equipped system that can be unpacked, set up, and running within a matter of minutes once you receive it, along with a one year warranty on the entire system. How long does it take to assemble such a system on your own, and are you willing to put in the time? That's something the individual will have to decide.
To help you determine exactly what is involved in putting the system together, let's talk a bit more about the system design, build quality, features, etc.
It is always possible to configure your system differently, focusing on increasing storage capacity or tweaking various other options. Here are the specifications of the Ultimate X9 we received:
| ABS Ultimate X9 Specifications | |
| Case: | Gigabyte 3D Aurora |
| Motherboard: | Intel 975XBX (Bad Axe) |
| Processor: | Core 2 Extreme (20% overclock to 3.520 GHz) |
| Heatsink/Cooling: | Gigabyte GH-WIU01 Liquid Cooling System (CPU and GPUs) 1 x 120mm Front Fan 2 x 120mm Rear Fans 1 x 80mm CPU Fan 1 x 120mm External Radiator Fan |
| RAM: | 2 x 1024MB Corsair CM2X1024-6400C4 4-4-4-12 Timings |
| Graphics: | 1 x X1900 XT 1 x X1900 CrossFire Edition |
| Hard Drives: | 2 x 150GB Raptor 10K RPM in RAID 0 |
| Optical Drives: | Samsung 16X DVDR with DVD-RAM and LightScribe Sony 16X DVD-ROM |
| Expansion Slots: | 2 x PCIe X16 with 1x16 or 2x8 data connections 1 x PCIe X16 with X4 data connection 2 x PCI |
| Expansion Bays: | 5 x 3.5 inch internal bays 2 x 3.5 inch external 5 x 5.25 inch external |
| Audio: | Sigmatel 7.1 HD Audio onboard Creative Soundblaster X-Fi XtremeMusic Installed |
| Power Supply: | Enermax Liberty 620W Modular PSU 1 x 24-pin; 1 x EPS/ATX12V; 8 x SATA; 8 x 4-pin Molex; 2 x mini Molex (floppy) 2 x PCIe 6-pin |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Pro |
| Front Ports: | 2 X USB2.0 1 x 6-pin FireWire 2 X 3.5mm Audio (Headphone and Microphone) |
| Rear Ports: | 1 x PS/2 Keyboard 1 x PS/2 Mouse 1 x Parallel 1 x Serial 1 x Audio I/O Panel 1 x Optical S/PDIF Out Port 1 x Coaxial S/PDIF Out Port 1 x RJ45 4 x USB2.0 |
| Extras: | Watercooling on CPU and GPUs Blue LED Fans 20% CPU Overclock |
There are frequently drawbacks to purchasing a prebuilt system -- more limited BIOS options, potentially proprietary designs, slightly reduced performance in the name of stability, generic designs, etc. Thankfully, most of those concerns are not present the ABS Ultimate X9. Everything present in the system can easily be purchased online or from a local computer store (assuming the Core 2 Extreme processor is in stock). How much does it cost to put all the parts together yourself? We did a little research and came up with the following price list (from Newegg):
| Component Price List | ||
| Case: | Gigabyte 3D Aurora | 140 |
| Motherboard: | Intel 975XBX (Bad Axe) | 252 |
| Processor: | Core 2 Extreme (20% overclock to 3.520 GHz) | 1150 |
| Watercooling: | Gigabyte GH-WIU01 Liquid Cooling System | 123 |
| RAM: | 2 x 1024MB Corsair CM2X1024-6400C4 4-4-4-12 Timings | 276 |
| Graphics: | X1900 XT | 326 |
| Graphics: | X1900 CrossFire Edition | 399 |
| Hard Drives: | 2 x 150GB Raptor 10K RPM | 512 |
| Optical Drive: | Samsung 16X DVDR with DVD-RAM and LightScribe | 37 |
| 2nd Optical Drive: | Sony 16X DVD-ROM | 25 |
| Audio: | Creative Soundblaster X-Fi ExtremeMusic | 122 |
| Power Suply: | Enermax Liberty 620W Modular PSU | 155 |
| Operating System: | Windows XP Pro | 143 |
| Sub Total: | 3660 | |
At first glance, there's a pretty big price discrepancy between what ABS is charging and what it would cost to purchase the parts from Newegg. The catch is that ABS charges $500 to officially support the 20% overclock of the processor; otherwise you void your warranty. The total difference in price without the ABS "System Optimization" is just over $300. That gets you a fully equipped system that can be unpacked, set up, and running within a matter of minutes once you receive it, along with a one year warranty on the entire system. How long does it take to assemble such a system on your own, and are you willing to put in the time? That's something the individual will have to decide.
To help you determine exactly what is involved in putting the system together, let's talk a bit more about the system design, build quality, features, etc.
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JarredWalton - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
As I pointed out on page 2, the price charged by ABS really isn't bad. I mean, $300 extra to build a super high-end setup, relative to what you'd pay at Newegg? That's not to say I think buying ultra-high-end isn't a bit crazy anyway, but getting all the watercooling and such installed isn't a 30 minute task. Anyway, you can always build a better PC for less money on your own, but you also then are fully responsible for supporting that PC if anything goes wrong. I'm fine with that, most of the people posting are fine with that, but there are a lot of people out there that would rather pay someone else to do the work. I've charged people $200 or so in the past to build a moderate system, and that's probably less than I would charge now.plewis00 - Friday, August 18, 2006 - link
Does anyone else think it's absolutely criminal to spend that amount of money on a system which would then turn out not to be 100% stable? In fact, any system which isn't 100% stable out of the box (unless by some freak one-off accident) I would consider a failure, like this one.DigitalFreak - Friday, August 18, 2006 - link
If you're going to spend that much on a system, you should be dealing with Alienware, VoodooPC, etc. This ABS system appears to be junk.BTW, you guys should take a page from Hardocp on how you conduct your system reviews.
rjm55 - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
-H- has turned into a joke in the mind of any real enthusiast. Stupid reviews like the Core 2 Duo launch "proving" AMD outperforms Conroe are posted, and then any one who questions his majesty is banned from making comments. You end up with King Kyle and his adoring "yes massah!" loyalists around his feet. Every REAL enthusiast I know has been banned from -H- at least once for asking questions - it's almost become the red badge of courage to be banned form -H-. Compare that to AT where hard questions and comments always stay up, are encouraged, and actually debated by Editors.Every one knows -H- only rewards Editors Choices to whoever bought his last truck. His recent Editors Choice to the ECS KA3 MVP has everyone I know rolling on the floor laughing. You start with the idea you need to give an Editors Choice to ECS. You run benchmarks that are meaningless and very few, that you know will "prove" the ECS was a great board. You ignore the fact this is the AM2 board that is the WORST overclocker anyone has ever tested - and mention quickly it doesn't even have the means to adjust CAS latency and runs Corsair 1066 at 800 at CAS 5 timings AT BEST (every other AM2 board can run it at 3-3-3). You can bet the award was payment for the new truck ECS bought this year. Based on the fact -H- has recently moved from giving anything Abit an Editors Choice to now trashing Abit, so it's a pretty safe bet Abit isn't buying the trucks any more.
You don't have to believe what everyone who tells you about -H-. Just go to -H- and ask a hard question about test methods or how a conclusion was reached. You'll be banned so fast it makes your head swim. Hitler also surrounded himself with yes men, as apparently do many other Texans who avoid reality.
JarredWalton - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
Careful! We might ban you from our forums for turning on white text! ;)rjm55 - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
has turned into a joke in the mind of any real enthusiast. Stupid reviews like the Core 2 Duo launch "proving" AMD outperforms Conroe are posted, and then any one who questions his majesty is banned from making comments. You end up with King Kyle and his adoring "yes massah!" loyalists around his feet. Every REAL enthusiast I know has been banned from {H] at least once for asking questions - it's almost become the red badge of courage to be banned form . Compare that to AT where hard questions and comments always stay up, are encouraged, and actually debated by Editors.Every one knows only rewards Editors Choices to whoever bought his last truck. His recent Editors Choice to the ECS KA3 MVP has everyone I know rolling on the floor laughing. You start with the idea you need to give an Editors Choice to ECS. You run benchmarks that are meaningless and very few, that you know will "prove" the ECS was a great board. You ignore the fact this is the AM2 board that is the WORST overclocker anyone has ever tested - and mention quickly it doesn't even have the means to adjust CAS latency and runs Corsair 1066 at 800 at CAS 5 timings AT BEST (every other AM2 board can run it at 3-3-3). You can bet the award was payment for the new truck ECS bought this year. Based on the fact has recently moved from giving anything Abit an Editors Choice to now trashing Abit, it's a pretty safe bet Abit isn't buying the trucks any more.
You don't have to believe what everyone who tells you about . Just go to and ask a hard question about test methods or how a conclusion was reached. You'll be banned so fast it makes your head swim. Hitler also surrounded himself with yes men, as apparently do many other Texans who avoid reality.
Kalessian - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
whoa, how did you manage to break the comments system?JarredWalton - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
Urg... just to recap, don't post the {H} abbreviation with brackets instead of braces. You know how {B} and {I} do bold and italic? {H} does highlighting, which in this case means white text. We should probably disable that feature, though it does make things somewhat entertaining. ;)
rjm55 - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
What a f$#&ing joke!! has turned into a joke in the mind of any real enthusiast. Stupid reviews like the Core 2 Duo launch "proving" AMD outperforms Conroe are posted, and then any one who questions his majesty is banned from making comments. You end up with King Kyle and his adoring "yes massah!" loyalists around his feet. Every REAL enthusiast I know has been banned from {H] at least once for asking questions - it's almost become the red badge of courage to be banned form . Compare that to AT where hard questions and comments always stay up, are encouraged, and actually debated by Editors.Every one knows only rewards Editors Choices to whoever bought his last truck. His recent Editors Choice to the ECS KA3 MVP has everyone I know rolling on the floor laughing. You start with the idea you need to give an Editors Choice to ECS. You run benchmarks that are meaningless and very few, that you know will "prove" the ECS was a great board. You ignore the fact this is the AM2 board that is the WORST overclocker anyone has ever tested - and mention quickly it doesn't even have the means to adjust CAS latency and runs Corsair 1066 at 800 at CAS 5 timings AT BEST (every other AM2 board can run it at 3-3-3). You can bet the award was payment for the new truck ECS bought this year. Based on the fact has recently moved from giving anything Abit an Editors Choice to now trashing Abit, it's a pretty safe bet Abit isn't buying the trucks any more.
You don't have to believe what everyone who tells you about . Just go to and ask a hard question about test methods or how a conclusion was reached. You'll be banned so fast it makes your head swim. Hitler also surrounded himself with yes men, as apparently do many other Texans who avoid reality.
rjm55 - Saturday, August 19, 2006 - link
has turned into a joke in the mind of any real enthusiast. Stupid reviews like the Core 2 Duo launch "proving" AMD outperforms Conroe are posted, and then any one who questions his majesty is banned from making comments. You end up with King Kyle and his adoring "yes massah!" loyalists around his feet. Every REAL enthusiast I know has been banned from {H] at least once for asking questions - it's almost become the red badge of courage to be banned form . Compare that to AT where hard questions and comments always stay up, are encouraged, and actually debated by Editors.Every one knows only rewards Editors Choices to whoever bought his last truck. His recent Editors Choice to the ECS KA3 MVP has everyone I know rolling on the floor laughing. You start with the idea you need to give an Editors Choice to ECS. You run benchmarks that are meaningless and very few, that you know will "prove" the ECS was a great board. You ignore the fact this is the AM2 board that is the WORST overclocker anyone has ever tested - and mention quickly it doesn't even have the means to adjust CAS latency and runs Corsair 1066 at 800 at CAS 5 timings AT BEST (every other AM2 board can run it at 3-3-3). You can bet the award was payment for the new truck ECS bought this year. Based on the fact has recently moved from giving anything Abit an Editors Choice to now trashing Abit, it's a pretty safe bet Abit isn't buying the trucks any more.
You don't have to believe what everyone who tells you about . Just go to and ask a hard question about test methods or how a conclusion was reached. You'll be banned so fast it makes your head swim. Hitler also surrounded himself with yes men, as apparently do many other Texans who avoid reality.