Show the world your Xtreme Design!
ASUS has joined forces with Antec, Intel , G.Skill, Nvidia, Razer, Samsung and FiringSquad to empower YOUR Xtreme ideas! Enter in a chance to win $1800 in system hardware, and a chance to attend CES 2010 in Las Vegas!
Tell US:
-How would you build your "Xtreme" System if you won the sponsored hardware.
-What is your "Xtreme Design" system's goal.
-How ASUS' "Xtreme Design" motherboard features help your system and daily life.
-Anything else that convinces us to pick your idea from the participating forums below.
This contest has 3 Stages:
Stage I:
1. Tell us what you would do with “Xtreme Design Technology!” How can ASUS’ Xtreme Design features work for you? (Psst! Do your homework here: http://promos.asus.com/US/p55/index.htm )
2. Log-in to a designated participating forum.* Post your system project goals, anticipated challenges, diagrams, and sketches. Convince us you are capable of building your Xtreme Design! (Post your submitted link in ASUS's facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=315017200108
3. Win freaking awesome hardware including an ASUS Xtreme Design P7P55D Premium motherboard, Intel Core i7 processor, Nvidia Graphics, Samsung SSD, Razer Keyboard+mouse, Antec power supply, and G.Skill Memory! ASUS will select up to twenty (20) innovative proposals that show off Xtreme Design in a real working scenario. Winners will be announced for “Stage I” on http://Facebook.com/ASUSOfficialPage Nov. 13th 2009.
Stage II:
1. Twenty (20) “Stage I” winners will receive and build their concept on their sponsored hardware. Winners will show off their experience for 30 days. Share pictures and videos! Talk about your build! Document your process! Post screen-shots and tell us how you feel about "Xtreme Design". Convince us that your design is show-worthy!
An ASUS P7P55D Premium motherboard and the following sponsored products will be sent to winners. Feel free to design/use your own case, thermal soultion, additioanl GPU , additional storage, additional memory to enhance your Xtreme Deisgn
2. Five (5) engaging posters will be selected for special brand-spanking new hardware upgrades Dec. 14th.
Stage III:
One (1) lucky Xtreme Design champion will get a free trip with their rig to show off at the ASUS booth during CES 2010 in Las Vegas! Jan. 7th.
OUR SPONSORS and PRIZES!!
Antec has sponsored (20) Quattro 850 Watt PSU
Antec's TruePower Quattro is more compact than most competing power supplies of the same wattage, yet ideally suited for handling the most demanding system specs.
Intel® has sponsored (20) Core i7 CPUs
The new Intel® CoreTM i7 Processor: Ultimate smart performance. This new processor features Intel Turbo Boost Technology and Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, which together activate full processing power exactly where and when you need it.
G.Skill has sponsored (20) TDS series Memory kits
The G.Skill DDR 2133 CL9 4GB TDS "Trident Series memory is especially suited for overclockers, and comes equipped with the turbulence cooling fan.
Nvidia has sponsored (20) ASUS GTX260 GPUs
Configure your PC with the Power of 3 and build your new Xtreme Design PC with the three essential pieces to get an experience to match your style. Nvidia GPU + Intel Core i5/i7 + ASUS P55 Motherboard = The power of 3!
Razer has sponsored (20) Lycosa keyboards and Deathadder mice
Execute complex combat maneuvers with swift dexterity. Launch your assaults timed to perfection. Annihilate your enemies and reign supreme on the battlefield. You now have the
tactical advantage on every terrain, and your enemies' fates are in your hands.
Samsung has sponsored (20) 128GB SSD drives
An extremely efficient SSD for PCs applications, Samsung's SSD features world-class sequential read and write performance.
Thanks to all of our Sponsors and GOOD LUCK!! SHOW US WHAT YOU'VE GOT!!
Hello there. My game name is Lemiwinks, real life name Travis Parker. I have browsed over this contest and after some careful consideration, planning and designing I am going to put my entry for the contest into this reply.
First, lets go over my planned project goals. They include...
- Be visually appealing
- New creative design layout which will lower temperatures across the whole system
- Unobstructed view of the entire motherboard and any parts attached to it.
- A system which will not only make people go, "Wow.", but which will also be able to decimate any modern game with performance.
- Make the Case as thin as possible while still efficiently dissipating any heat created
- Efficiently dissipating all heat created by the system in a way that utilizes the least amount of active cooling while still achieving maximum results.
- Keep the design and concept simple enough that if someone else wants to reproduce it for themselves they can.
- Budget the entire custom design so that it will cost no more than $300 for the case, custom cutting, and any parts that I need to purcahse.
The Extreme Design by ASUS is both innovative and practical. Below I've listed aspects of the Extreme Design that I think will help me achieve my goals.
- I like overclocking my processor but I am still relatively new to it, so the Turbo V feature will help me achieve a stable overclock without settign any incorrect voltages.
- The T.Probe design will help achieve lower board temperatures, and thereby lower overall system temperature
- The power phase regulation and efficiency will help achieve better power efficiency when using my computer for non intensive task, such as browsing the internet or writing this post.
- The Q design will make assembling, upgrading, and testing any parts in it a breeze.
- The full 6 Gb/s SATA support ensures that I will get maximum performance from any drives I currently have or will upgrade to in the future.
Now that I've talked a bit about the goals, lets do something a little more exciting, and look at the design that I've come up with which I consider to be innovative and a new efficient way to dissipate heat from all of the parts iI'll be using.
Before we start with diagrams and descriptions, Let's go over all of the parts I'll be using for this, and what I want to computer to do. I want it to be a beast of a gaming machine, which will use GTX 260's in SLI to output a high quality game environment on a dual monitor setup that will use nVidia Geforce 3D Vision glasses. Parts that I will be using that aren't provide for by sponsors include...
- 1-2 pairs of nVidia Geforce 3D Vision glasses. http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j115/fcma172/Com
- 2 Samsung Syncmaster 2233 22" 3D ready Monitors http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j115/fcma172/Com
- ASUS GTX 260 216SP for SLI http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j115/fcma172/Com
- Slim CD/DVD Burner
- Corsair CHC H50 Closed Loop CPU Water Cooler
Now that you know what I'll be adding to the system and it's general goals, lets take a look at how it will be presented and look.
The way we've planned to dissipate all of the heat in the machine is by basically making nature naturally work for the case. Since heat naturally Rises and cool air naturally goes down, it would make sense to put the hottest parts at the top of the case, so that they will have the heat they generate naturally rise up and out of the case, away from the rest of the parts. To this end, I've actually taken the motherboard and turned it 135 degrees from it's normal orientation so that the PCI slots are pointing up and to the right, instead of flat and to the left.
What this has done is put the GPU's at the highest point you can make them in the case. Since GPU's are the biggest heat generators in any system, (especially if you are running 2 cards in SLI, which I plan on doing), this will allow them to dissipate their heat straight up and out of the case immediately, instead of having them pass over the rest of the board and components before getting to cool themselves.
To aid the GPU's in dissipating their heat quickly and efficiently, we've actually opened the side panel of the case by making a cut out over all of the PCI slots. By doing this, we have made it easy for the GPU's to not only vent hot air in another direction, but we have allowed the GPU fans to pull in air to cool across the cards and blow out the back of them from directly outside the case, which ensures that the air will not be pre-heated by other components. This will also allow us to make the entire motherboard chamber even thinner, since the extra height of the PCI cards and their power connectors will be compensated for by the vent cutout. I've planned on placing a raised piece of acrylic over the entire cutout, to ensure a high airflow and to protect the parts from prying fingers.
Now that we've addressed heat dissipation in the GPU's, lets take a look at the CPU, the second greatest heat generator in any system under load. To aid in heat dissipation for the CPU, we are going to be using a Corsair brand closed look water cooling system. While this is a step in the right direction, I know we can do more with the design. Since I'm trying to dissipate heat as best I can while not heating any of the motherboard, I decided to put the actual radiator for the closed loop system outside of the case itself. To do this, I plan on building an enclosure for just the radiator and 2 fans, 1 intake and 1 exhaust, into the right side (if viewing from the side panel) of the case stand. This chamber will not only at as a high flow wind tunnel just for the radiator, but it will isolate any heat gathered by the radiator from any other parts in the system. Also, since the intake for the radiator will be ambient air, it will provide very cool air to the radiator that wont have any heat contamination from the GPU's or other parts, like it normally would. For an idea of how the flow will be set up with this wind tunnel, check out this simple diagram I drew. http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j115/fcma172/Com
To further isolate any heat from the Motherboard, I have also planned to place the PSU outside of the case. This will not only help in the aesthetics inside of the display area of the case, but it will also isolate another heat source from the rest of the components. The PSU will be located on the left side of the case stand, and will intake air from the back side of the case, which again will be simply exhausted out of vents cut into the side of it's acrylic enclosure.
The only case fan that I've included into the design you'll notice is on the lower right side of the case, directly to the right of the RAM. This fan will intake air through vents in the side of the acrylic base, and blow this air directly across the RAM modules and towards the GPU's. From there, the air from this fan will either directly exhaust out the side vent, or hot air generated from it will naturally rise along the graphics cards and then be blown out of the case.
With each component section isolated from each other heat generating part, I aim to achieve maximum cooling, while having every part actively cooler, and at the same time, using the least amount of fans/power to achieve this goal. I believe that if successful, this will be an extremely more efficient design for heat dissipation that will not only improve performance of the parts, but longevity.
The next area which we'll consider is the power cable routing and drive placement. In keeping the case as thin as possible, for an optical drive we will be using a slim CD/DVD burner which will be located underneath the motherboard tray. For storage, we plan on placing the SSD on the opposite side of the case, but also underneath the Motherboard tray. The power and reset switches will be located directly above the CD/DVD Drive in the same layer, but on the top right panel instead of lower right. Putting all of these devices in this layer will allow us to keep the layer to a minimum thickness. For power and connectors, we plan on also routing all power connectors from the PSU through the same layer. for simplicity.
To prevent visual obstruction to the parts and still keep this a functioning machine, we are going to put all of the necessary connectors for it on one small panel next to the Radiator exhaust fan, but isolated from it. Cables that connect this panel to the Motherboard will all be routed underneath the Motherboard, to prevent any visual impedance to the Motherboard itself. This panel will include...
- 2 DVI-D Dual Link ports for a Dual Monitor setup (provided by 2 Male to female extension cables attached to the GFX in the case)
- 1 E-SATA port for external storage
- 2 USB 2.0 ports for the Mouse and the Keyboard
- 1 Microphone Jack and 1 Headphone jack for audio
These ports should allow us to not only keep everything visually appealing, but they will be located out off the way enough to almost hide all connections from the computer to any devices.
Last but not least, we have the back of the case. I plan to have some sort of design (finalized design pending) in vinyl which I'll apply to the bottom layer of Acrylic, which will be opaque, so that and users will not be able to see and of the cabling underneath the motherboard tray.
As I said earlier, one of my main project goals was to keep the design simple and easy to replicate so that a user at home can build themselves a case similar to this without difficulty. I also want to keep the cost of the case low without sacrificing any design for cost. To this end, my target budget is no more than $300 for this project, and that includes all of the hardware I'll need t purchase to finish this, which includes the closed loop water cooler, slim CD/DVD burner, and the 3 fans. I anticipate this will be one of the biggest challenges aside from the fabrication of the case itself. I do believe it is an entirely achievable goal though.
The actual Acrylic I plan to use for the case will most likely be provided by a pre built acrylic case kit, and any custom pieces I plan on having fabricated from Acrylic bought at a local specialty store.
I anticipate the biggest challenges I will face when actually building this case (if selected) will be in adding the extra layers of acrylic underneath the Motherboard, though it should not be too difficult. Currently the only design challenge I face is to figure out an effective way to secure the sidde panel and all of the clear sides without sacrificing the visual appeal of the case itself.
Either way the contest goes, I have faith in my design, both in it's innovative idea's and how it can practically be put to use. I hope I am selected from stage 1, so that I may share the experience, and merit of my concepts with you all.
EDIT: After discussing the design with some of my peers, we have decided that the case design which I have come up with will need more static air pressure in order to help to provide more efficient cooling. To do this, we plan on putting in 4 case fans which will blow across the motherbaord front to back. Because of this, we will most likely no longer have the fan on the lower front of the case blowing across the RAM, since it is being replaced by these 4 fans.
We're going to have the fans set inside the case isntead of against the walls. There will be 2 on the front side of the motherboard, intaking air across the RAM and the SLI video cards. The other 2 will be directly across the case. I've included aa sketch below.
Before I move any further, I would like to discuss my goals in building this xtreme design system. First of all, my top priority is to showcase the quality components within the case by making the interior of the case very clean and keeping all the cables and wires well hidden. In addition, I would like to show off the performance and overclocking ability of the components by using a very efficient cooling method to achieve maximum performance. I hope to do all this while still maintaining a relatively normal external appearance so people do not feel too intimidated to try an replicate it themselves.
Several of the Xtreme Design features included on the ASUS P7P55D Premium motherboard will assist me in achieving these goals. First and most importantly, the Hybrid Phase technology will be very important. Hybrid Phase technology allows for excellent power efficiency and also allows the MOSFETS on the board to run cooler and allow for increased overclocking headroom. In addition, the TurboV technology will allow for easy one-step overclocking to achieve maximum performance.
Now for the details of my planned build. The additional hardware I will need to purchase includes:
Corsair Obsidian 800D case
A second Asus GTX260 video card
Wire sleeving to sleeve each power supply wire individually
All the required hardware for a custom water cooling loop (Apogee GTZ, radiator, full-cover waterblocks for the GTX260s, pump, reservoir)
The design for my build is inspired by the design of the ASUS P7P55D Premium motherboard. The tubing used will match the color scheme of the board and other elements as well. The water cooling loop will add to the overall look of the system and assist in maintaining a clean appearance and facilitating a silent computing experience anyone can appreciate.
Furthermore, I will be sleeving each individual wire from the power supply to better hide them and to make the ones that cannot be hidden more attractive and maintain a clean appearance. I will also be making a custom mounting for the Samsung SSD that will allow it to be much more visible and also I will be cutting a second window in the side panel to allow the SSD to be be seen even with the side panel in place. Below is a very rough concept image I will be using for inspiration throughout.
I will also be using my skills as a photographer to provide high quality, appealing pictures of the process along with detailed descriptions of all stages of the process to allow anyone to create a similar system if they desire.
I look forward to having an opportunity to bring my vision to fruition and sharing the process with everyone 
I had the idea to convert a case to look something like Maingear's new Shift case by turning the motherboard 90 degrees.
I would be basing this design on an older Thermaltake Kandalf case I have lying around. I would of course be relocating the power supply to the bottom as well as adding a hinged panel to the top of the case. All connections which are usually at the back of the case will then be at the top.
For cooling I will be using a Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme with the required LGA 1156 mounting brackets. I will also be adding a 1TB Seagate hard drive for storage, etc.
My reconfigured case may not end up looking exactly like the pic below but will have the same general design with cool air entering the bottom and exiting the top.
My plan is to use this system for general PC gaming as well as video editing and running folding@home.
While this is some high grade hardware, I opted not to put the goods on display. Rather, I went the opposite route and decided to take the computer out of the computer room and, in doing so, make it a bit inconspicuous.
I love watching football and what not on TV. However, I hate having to go all the way across the house to jump into a Call of Duty game during halftime or whenever the TV loses my interest. Well, a stylish ottoman would be a nice addition to any TV Room while at the same time offering me the perfect setting for this competition. By putting the computer inside this piece of furniture, I would be able to achieve my goal of switching from the HD gridiron to the HD battlefield in an instant as well as making it the focal point of the home's entertainment.
The basic design would entail a rectangular wooden box with screens on the side to allow for the air flow needed to cool the enclosed computer. One of the sides would open to grant access to drives, ports, etc. Atop of this compartment lies the real design. The cushion would be a lid that opened, revealing on the underside a 22” flat screen monitor with JBL speakers on either side. Inside the hidden compartment, the keyboard and mouse would be readily available along with all the games I might want to play, tucked neatly away into handy compartments.
Some of the foreseeable difficulties in constructing this project would be 1) furniture construction and 2) providing power to a piece of furniture sitting in the middle of a room. The first, while a bit tricky, is nothing I can't handle. I've worked in carpentry since a boy and my latest project was a porch swing made entirely from gorgeous red wood; an ottoman would be walk in the park in comparison. I have the monitor, speakers, wood, and all the necessary wood working equipment to do the job. The second obstacle regards aesthetics rather than functionality. A common extension cord would do the trick but would prove a bit unsightly in providing power to the island-like furniture. I think I'd opt for an in-floor outlet; in my case, conveniently already in place.
I am anxious to put this design into reality and hope I get the opportunity with the selection to be a finalist. Heck, I'm anxious to put this into reality regardless of being selected. It's such a convenient idea I wonder why I didn't think of it sooner.
-Michael Armour
slugbug wrote:I had the idea to convert a case to look something like Maingear's new Shift case by turning the motherboard 90 degrees.
I would be basing this design on an older Thermaltake Kandalf case I have lying around. I would of course be relocating the power supply to the bottom as well as adding a hinged panel to the top of the case. All connections which are usually at the back of the case will then be at the top.
For cooling I will be using a Tuniq Tower 120 Extreme with the required LGA 1156 mounting brackets. I will also be adding a 1TB Seagate hard drive for storage, etc.
My reconfigured case may not end up looking exactly like the pic below but will have the same general design with cool air entering the bottom and exiting the top.
My plan is to use this system for general PC gaming as well as video editing and running folding@home.
now that system looks sick
