Nvidia, Falcon Northwest auction off one-of-a-kind gaming PC for charity

[Shawn Knight]

Nvidia and Falcon Northwest recently joined forces to create a one-of-a-kind gaming PC that’s currently being auctioned off on eBay. All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Philip Scholz Memorial Foundation which provides needs-based scholarships and promotes physical activities among today’s youth.

The foundation honors Philip Scholz, a 35-year-old graphic design marketer from Nvidia that lost his life earlier this year. Scholz witnessed a man laying down on the Caltrain tracks at the Santa Clara station in January and rushed to pull him off the tracks. During the ordeal, both men were struck by the commuter train and in a bit of twisted fate, Scholz died while the man he was trying to save survived.

At the time, Nvidia co-founder Chris Malachowsky said the act completely resonated with behavior consistent with Scholz. He was confident, aggressive and capable, Malachowsky added.

The one-off machine features an Intel Core i7-4770K processor, an Asus Z87 Maximus motherboard, 16GB of G.Skill memory, two Crucial 1TB M50 solid state drives and an Nvidia GeForce GTX Titan Black graphics card – all stuffed inside a custom Falcon Northwest Tiki chassis running Windows 7. The system is backed by a full warranty from the boutique PC builder.

There are five days remaining in the auction and thus far, 16 bidders have driven the price up to $6,610. If you’re in the market for a high-end gaming PC or want to donate to the cause, feel free to check out the auction or visit the foundation’s website.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/56629-nvidia-falcon-northwest-auction-off-one-of-a-kind-gaming-pc-for-charity.html

 

[VitalyT]

Like many similar items this one will end up gathering dust on some rich guy's shelf who wanted to tick off against his charity involvement. Probably will be gone for some 300k or similar mindless amount, and f. good riddance, because even for the current $6,610 one can put together a better PC than this one.

 

[Guest]

What an ugly case! My 10 year old Thermaltake Tsunami is a way better looking case. When you find a great case, keep it forever (not like those old heavy Lian-Li monster towers).

 

[misor]

If it's for charity, maybe NVidia CEO should make a bid for 10,000$ or 100,000$.
(charity=tax-deductible?)

 

[dividebyzero]

If it's for charity, maybe NVidia CEO should make a bid for 10,000$ or 100,000$.
(charity=tax-deductible?)

Rory Read should buy it. With an Intel CPU and Nvidia GPU, AMD could make a sequel to their movie. I'd also suggest hiring a leading man that doesn't look like a spastic twelve year old that has no experience with manual labour this time around.

 

[GhostRyder]

Like many similar items this one will end up gathering dust on some rich guy's shelf who wanted to tick off against his charity involvement. Probably will be gone for some 300k or similar mindless amount, and f. good riddance, because even for the current $6,610 one can put together a better PC than this one.

Its for Charity so bids will exceed the real world value. But of course some people are obsessed with having that one item that no one else has. But again since its for charity its for a good cause.

If it's for charity, maybe NVidia CEO should make a bid for 10,000$ or 100,000$.
(charity=tax-deductible?)

That would be cheating lol, though it would be funny (and not surprise me)

What they should have done was put Titan-Z inside, then they might actually sell one LAWLZ.

 

[dividebyzero]

What they should have done was put Titan-Z inside, then they might actually sell one LAWLZ.

Tiki is a two expansion slot chassis.
Titan Z is a three slot design.
Hardware was donated, not sold (discretionary budget rather than sold for revenue)

LAWLZ indeed.

 

[spectrenad]

I really like the design, and it's for a good cause. I'd gladly bid if I had the money.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

I think it looks quite nice but it is a bit too green for my tastes. Maybe they should've gone with a Radeon R9 295x2 instead of a Titan and saved a couple of bucks in the process.

 

[dividebyzero]

I really like the design, and it's for a good cause. I'd gladly bid if I had the money.

Pity that with the 4790K and Z97 launch only a week away they couldn't have included both. There are a couple of fairly well specced mITX boards with M.2 support already outed- the Asus Z97I-Plus is already up for pre-order.

I think it looks quite nice but it is a bit too green for my tastes. Maybe they should've gone with a Radeon R9 295x2 instead of a Titan and saved a couple of bucks in the process.

Couldn't see that happening. The PSU options for the chassis max out at 450Watt- the 295X sucks 500W on its own- then of course there's the conundrum of where to put the radiator and fan...

The Titan retails at $1K, the 295X at $1500, not sure how that would save a couple of bucks. You don't happen to work for the Federal Reserve do you?
I'd agree with the critique of the paint job...looks a little too much like it belongs as an accessory for a boy racers' Toyota Supra

 

[GhostRyder]

Tiki is a two expansion slot chassis.
Titan Z is a three slot design.
Hardware was donated, not sold (discretionary budget rather than sold for revenue)
LAWLZ indeed.

I see your still itching for attention, may I remind you that the original showing of Titan-z had a 2 slot bracket that fit into 2.5 slot size for the cooler which there is plenty of room for and at least one like that has been seen plus insure they would have found a way to make it work. Could have been done as a publicity stunt with "limited edition card" in the name.

http://www.techpowerup.com/img/14-04-29/112a.jpg

Even so as you said it was donated to them, hence they would have just used a different chassis had they gotten one.

Good try though. Only response your getting.

I think it looks quite nice but it is a bit too green for my tastes. Maybe they should've gone with a Radeon R9 295x2 instead of a Titan and saved a couple of bucks in the process.

Pfft, that would be interesting and more like a gamer machine which is the purpose of this machine.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Pity that with the 4790K and Z97 launch only a week away they couldn't have included both. There are a couple of fairly well specced mITX boards with M.2 support already outed- the Asus Z97I-Plus is already up for pre-order.

Couldn't see that happening. The PSU options for the chassis max out at 450Watt- the 295X sucks 500W on its own- then of course there's the conundrum of where to put the radiator and fan...

The Titan retails at $1K, the 295X at $1500, not sure how that would save a couple of bucks. You don't happen to work for the Federal Reserve do you?
I'd agree with the critique of the paint job...looks a little too much like it belongs as an accessory for a boy racers' Toyota Supra

Heh heh. Maybe you never spotted or understood the cynicism of nVidia putting an AMD card in their machine. That's akin to an Apple phone running an Android OS.

 

[cliffordcooley]

Pfft, that would be interesting and more like a gamer machine which is the purpose of this machine.

What the new owner does with the machine is immaterial to why they are holding an auction. The point to this machine is for the auction, not the purpose behind why someone would want it.

And BTW a 2.5 card slot design still requires more than 2 card slots. Especially when you factor in how cramped for space this little case may be. When are you going to learn DBZ knows what he is talking about. He should have proven himself to you by now. I hate taking sides, but damn you keep making crazy comments as comebacks.

 

[GhostRyder]

What the new owner does with the machine is immaterial to why they are holding an auction. The point to this machine is for the auction, not the purpose behind why someone would want it.

And BTW a 2.5 card slot design still requires more than 2 card slots. Especially when you factor in how cramped for space this little case may be. When are you going to learn DBZ knows what he is talking about. He should have proven himself to you by now. I hate taking sides, but damn you keep making crazy comments as comebacks.

First that was a joke...The 295 would not fit at all and takes to much power for that small a platform. I said it's an auction for a good cause, If you had read my first comment you would know I already said that...

Second no it does not... There's a space between the case with a vent which means it would work in my joking situation.

Third, im not going to argue with you on the matter of him. You can believe what you want to from him, that's your choice, he has proven nothing to me and in fact he has proven the opposite with the fact he starts an argument with every post I make no matter what is said and never admits when hes wrong.

 

[Mike Steele]

That's a cool build and a great cause.

 

[dividebyzero]

And BTW a 2.5 card slot design still requires more than 2 card slots. Especially when you factor in how cramped for space this little case may be.

Most certainly. Jamming a Titan Z into a Tiki would mean that the cards' central fan would be pretty starved for airflow (considering it would be hard up against the side panel), even moreso when you consider that the only vent - which couldn't have a fan attached, would be blocked by the aft end of the card....

not to mention that the I/O block on the top of the chassis would need to be taken out for the card to fit.

I hate taking sides, but damn you keep making crazy comments as comebacks.

You've got to admit though that it's hard not to be captivated as it all comes off the rails...

...and I have to admit I have a fascination watching people dig their own holes.

he has proven nothing to me and in fact he has proven the opposite

And they say a picture is worth a thousand words. By my count there's two thousand words of proof in the first two pictures of this post.

and never admits when hes wrong.

Look in the mirror bub.

 

[GhostRyder]

Look in the mirror bub.

Your not even worth my time, added to ignore list since you seem so adamant to start pointless arguments that you change the subject on constantly then storm off claiming your right. Just like you pulled on the old 780ti would never come out in a 6gb edition and how you could cram 5 Titan-Z cards on the FT77A server chassis when each slot was setup for 2 space cards which covered the PCI-E's along with a card that blows the opposite direction (Which ironically your now arguing would not work in this case for a similar reason you said would work on the last debate) would work in it. Last time I will be speaking to you since your not even worth the time it took to post this. Enjoy arguing pointlessly with yourself and pretending to be an expert in everything. Unlike you, I enjoy helping people build or fix a machine and talking about technology at an enthusiast level instead of flaunting around like I am better than everyone.

 

[dividebyzero]

Just like you pulled on the old 780ti would never come out in a 6gb edition

Ah, I remember it well. I believe I said:

Name one company that has a 6GB 780 let alone a 6GB 780 Ti ? There isn't one. There won't be one unless AMD allow vendor 8GB 290X's and Nvidia changes its stance.

Nvidia allowed 6GB 780's ( Palit and EVGA only so far) as soon as Sapphire unveiled their 8GB 290X. Sapphire showed the 8GB card on March 9th, EVGA announced their step-up program for the 780 two weeks later.

and how you could cram 5 Titan-Z cards on the FT77A server chassis when each slot was setup for 2 space cards which covered the PCI-E's

Yes, using common ordinary PCI-E riser cables...just like this selection sold by a rackmount specialist.
Then of course, I also pointed out motherboards that don't actually require many (if any) risers at all- of which there are a few, strange how you forgot about the SuperMicro

...and the Trenton board I clearly illustrated the post with...

Why on earth would you need to worry about spacing and risers with a board that has 18 PCI-E 3.0 slots?

Which ironically your now arguing would not work in this case for a similar reason you said would work on the last debate

You think the cooling is comparable between a very SFF case like the Tiki with its principle airflow means removed, and a 4U rack stuffed with server grade 120x38mm fans? You have the very definition of a "unique perspective"

I enjoy helping people build or fix a machine.

Good for you. Hopefully they get a second opinion.

 

[RebelFlag]

"Good for you. Hopefully they get a second opinion."

Can't help myself, must add it: BAZINGA! LOL