(+106 rating, 113 votes)
Loading ...- Processor (CPU) (x1) : AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz Socket AM2 125W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX6000CZBOX - $112.99
- Memory (RAM) (x1) : G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail - $44.99
- Video Card (x1) : ASUS EN8800GT/HTDP/512M GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - $139.99
- Hard Drive (x1) : Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM - $43.99
- Optical Drive (x1) : LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model DH-20A4P-04 - OEM - $20.99
- Motherboard : MSI K9A2VM-FD AM2+/AM2 AMD 780V Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail - $73.99
- Case : Service Net Replacement Extended Warranty Plan The product will be replaced and shipped directly to you at no charge(more info) * 1 year: $9.99 * 2 year: $14.99 $20.99 Linkworld 313-06-C2228 Black/ Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Linkworld 313-06-C2228 Black/ Silver Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail - $26.99
- Power Supply : Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX Power Supply - Retail - $34.99
- Total Price for this build : $498.92
9 Comments Received
106 votes in the last few days of the contest, no comments…
Suspicious much?
I haven’t been watching the scores as much lately, but 2nd place was still 43 votes when I checked 4 or 5 days ago. Could I get some input from karbin on this?
i agree with you there vvav. even when voting this one down, it doesn’t drop the votes at all. unless voting for this machine has been locked, i don’t see how my vote wouldn’t count against this build.
I’m looking into it guys. Crazy-Bored - I removed the ability to vote down posts a couple weeks ago. You can’t vote down anyones posts.
I’m looking through the log for recent ratings to make sure that they’re not all from one IP, etc. Theoretically it should screen for that, but its possible it borked.
I’ll have an update tonight
karbin, this may help you or it may not, but a local radio channel here in mn had a voting issue similar to this one, where if you cleared your cache, and refreshed the page it would allow you to vote as many times as you liked. but it’s only a theory.
Well, karbin, even if they aren’t from the same IP, it doesn’t make any sense to not get any comments from any of the people who voted for him. Unless you can find an explanation like the guy having his own site and asking people who visited it to vote for him, it’s probably safe to assume he cheated, though I might just think that because I’d like to win. Your decision, I suppose, though I’d like to at least see what sort of time frame he got all those votes in.
It would be easy enough to use a series of anonymous proxies or a utility like tor to vote for one build over and over without using the same IP. A better check might be to see if all of the votes came from the same user-agent / platform / browser, although these could be spoofed as well.
I think that the real proof is in the unusual number of votes without any comments.
Alright, I’ve been trolling the logs and the database files, and talking to stevep. The rating algorithim uses a combination of IP, cookies, and user(if registered). I tried to game it a couple times and had no success prior to creating the contest for security purposes - though that’s not to say it isn’t possible.
He appears to/and claims to have sent out a mass email to his contacts - 90% of the incoming hits to his site were from mail.yahoo.com or mail.gmail.com, etc. There’s a believable mix of internet explorer, firefox, safari/different resolutions as well. He got the votes over 24 hours or so.
I’ve gone ahead and awarded the computer prize to him, however I will also give a $100 second place prize to vvav for his incredible work and involvement in the community. VVAV, if you have paypal or moneybookers, please let me know - or I can send you a check. my email is - again- npryor@gmail.com
Thanks karbin, and sorry for the delay in responding. I’m in a funny situation with my internet right now, but I’ll get back to you in the next couple days.
Sent you an email (from vvav93 at yahoo) a few days ago, karbin. Just confirming that it IS my email.
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