Another potential first time buyer

Dear Forum Members,

As the header already mentions, i am thinking of buying a system from DS.
So far i build my sytems myself, however as life goes on you start to have less and less time and patiance for such projects...especially with work and kids around.
So far i never had a Liquid Cooled system but always wanted one.
Main reason for it that i have the impression that it is hopefully very silent. Or atleast more silent than my current air cooled system.

Here the config i am thinking of so far, id really like some input.

Chassis Model:  Black OPS Aventum II
Exterior Finish:  Onyx Black Matte Finish with Red Stand
Processor:  Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 4960X 3.6GHz
Motherboard:  ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition X79
System Memory:  32GB DDR3 2400MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX
Power Supply:  1200W Corsair Pro Platinum Series with Corsair Link
Optical Drive:  Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer
Storage Set 1:  2x SSD (1TB Samsung 840 EVO)
Storage Set 2:  2x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
Storage Set 3:  2x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
RAID Config1:  RAID 0
Graphics Card(s):  2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux Level 3: Digital Storm Exotic Custom Cooling System (2x Video Cards + CPU + Chipset)
Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 2
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (
Boost Graphics Card(s): Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Boost OS: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system

So, what i am thinking is that if i do not like the Noise of the Corsair Vents that i might switch them out with some BeQ! or some Noctu. I am thinking that that might give me another few Db lower than it has right now.
I wonder if any of you have some exp about the noise lvl of the Aventum II.
Also, how hard is it to change the Fans in the Aventum.

My budget is rather open ended and with a system like this i expect not to have to worry about if it can run a game for at least the next 2 years.
Its mainly used for gaming, however i do use it for PS6 and lightroom, as i am Semi Prof Photographer. Which is the reason i do not want it to be too noisy.
Frankly i hate it if i have to work in PS6 or Lightroom and feel  like i sit in a wind tunnel.

Cheers,

Noctilux

As far as noise, all feedback to the forums is that the Aventum is quiet.   Can't give you dba but feedback has been great. I don't think you need the fan upgrade or noise package but DS would tell you for sure.

Here's one link that briefly explains the newer chips.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/7874/haswelle-8-cores-x99-ddr4

Lots of unknowns and 2nd half 2014 release.  It is rumored to support the newer DDR4 ram sticks, but not a lot of info on those either.  Plus the newer mobo would most likely fully support with native and added ports for USB 3.0 and SATA 6. 

Tough to say if waiting is recommended.  There's always something new just around the corner and you'd have to see if your Lightroom and other apps would utilize the added cores.  My guess is, yes they would at some point.   Plus the faster memory would help.

The article does talk of the draw back of the older X79 mobo's, with less USB3.0 and SATA 6 ports.  

This build is no slouch for sure and whether waiting is worth it is so dependent on what you need down the road. 








Edited by bprat22 - 04 Apr 2014 at 5:21am

My Aventum II has 15 fans in it and it runs at ~40dB idle and ~50db full tilt. This may sound like a lot but here's a scale for comparison...



Also, with an open budget why not just go all the way SSD??

Noise levels are very subjective. One persons wind tunnel is another's reasonably quite system. It also has to do with the frequency of the noise, different people are bothered by different frequencies. With DS's cooling control system in your build you will most likely be able to tune it to your taste. Changing fans might help or hurt, since different fans will generate different frequencies of noise.

As far as waiting for the next technology, there will always be that next big thing, but if you keep waiting for it, you never upgrade. But to best of my knowledge Haswell-E isn't going to be released until at least the 2nd half of this year. So that is sometime between July 1st and December 31st. And that time frame isn't set in stone. They could find something wrong enough with the platform that they hold it longer. Or, just decide to wait because they don't need to release it yet since no one else can beat the performance of their current chips. When people ask questions like this, I always tell them if they are ready for an upgrade do it. The one exception would be if there is a finite release date on a new generation of parts. That is not the case here.

Computer technology changes very fast. It's like a new car... loses half it's value as soon as you drive it off the lot.

You can wait, you can buy. It's up to you. To quote fstcvc -

"But if I keep waiting for the next best thing, I'll never have anything."

Peace