Build advice - musician gamer

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   Budget:

Strongly prefer to stay at a max of $2200. If there's something really worth paying for that would push me somewhat past that, then I'll consider it regardless.

Expectations:

I've got 2 22" monitors running at native res of 1680x1050. I do not expect to change this setup anytime in the foreseeable future.

Usage:

BF3, Diablo 3, etc. Big name AAA titles. Also, I do music work with this PC. Typically this is in Sibelius 7, but I plan to branch out into sound libraries once I get a new machine.

Special Needs:

I need an ASIO-2 compliant sound card for the music work. Currently I have an external E-MU 404 that I could continue using if need be and the W7 driver support is there. Also, 32 GB of RAM is going to be a necessity for the sound libraries I mentioned.

Saved Ticket #: 680247

Originally I had sent a message to the support team at DS asking three questions pertaining to the ODE-3 system:

1. Will adding RAM void the warranty?

2. Will there be room (both a slot and room with the cable routing) to add a sound card?

3. If I do add a sound card and it is from Creative, will this setup have the dreaded snap, crackle, and pop of the Creative/NVIDIA conflict?

The tech didn't answer any of the questions, and instead simply sent me the build I linked above. Seemingly the day after I sent the questions, the ODE builds all changed and their prices went WAY down, making it completely impossible for me to get the same build even close to that price in the configurator.

I'd really appreciate a little guidance here. I'd really rather not spend almost $2500 on the build the tech linked if I can squeeze out of this with an ODE model that I upgrade myself.

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JustinM Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26 Apr 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Topic: Build advice - musician gamer Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 11:16am
	Budget: Strongly prefer to stay at a max of $2200. If there's something really worth paying for that would push me somewhat past that, then I'll consider it regardless. Expectations: I've got 2 22" monitors running at native res of 1680x1050. I do not expect to change this setup anytime in the foreseeable future. Usage: BF3, Diablo 3, etc. Big name AAA titles. Also, I do music work with this PC. Typically this is in Sibelius 7, but I plan to branch out into sound libraries once I get a new machine. Special Needs: I need an ASIO-2 compliant sound card for the music work. Currently I have an external E-MU 404 that I could continue using if need be and the W7 driver support is there. Also, 32 GB of RAM is going to be a necessity for the sound libraries I mentioned. Saved Ticket #: 680247 Originally I had sent a message to the support team at DS asking three questions pertaining to the ODE-3 system: 1. Will adding RAM void the warranty? 2. Will there be room (both a slot and room with the cable routing) to add a sound card? 3. If I do add a sound card and it is from Creative, will this setup have the dreaded snap, crackle, and pop of the Creative/NVIDIA conflict? The tech didn't answer any of the questions, and instead simply sent me the build I linked above. Seemingly the day after I sent the questions, the ODE builds all changed and their prices went WAY down, making it completely impossible for me to get the same build even close to that price in the configurator. I'd really appreciate a little guidance here. I'd really rather not spend almost $2500 on the build the tech linked if I can squeeze out of this with an ODE model that I upgrade myself.

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5403	Quote Reply Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 11:48am
	Hi JustinM....Welcome to the forums. My thoughts would be the ODE 4 if you game on both monitors. The gtx680 will allow you to play BF3, etc on high to ultra settings, both monitors with smooth game play. If you only play games on one monitor you could go to the ODE 2 with the HD 7870 card and get similiar results with single monitor. But, the ODE 2 doesn't have the SSD and the cpu cooler and overcloking isn't as good. Adding your own ram is the way to go and will not void the warranty. The mobo will take a sound card no problem. The slots are there and the case has plenty of room. DS routes the wires behind the mobo for a nice, wide-open look. As far as the snap, crackle and pop, I really don't know. The ODE 4 is a great deal with the cooler, oc'ing, SSD and the 680 to do whatever you want . The build they sent you would cost $240 more ( with less the sound card they added) and have less gaming performance than the ODE 4. But you'd have to add the extra ram. I haven't checked ram prices lately, but it's gotta be cheaper. Their build they sent you does have the 7950 card, better than the 7870 but not worth the ectra money for your resolution. If you go with 32GB ram you'll need Win 7 pro to handle over the 16GB limit of Home Premium. Hope this helps and good luck. Here's a similar build to the ODE 2 with the 7870 card and has the 32GB ram and Win7 Pro installed. Plus this build has the HafX case, the best for air cooled systems. Config # 681269 Cost $ 2024 Add another $160 for the sound card I didn't add. Not sure if it's something you'll do yourself. This build assumes gaming on one monitor, otherwise your better off with ODE 4. Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Does Not Support SLI or CrossFire) System Memory: 32GB DDR3 1600Mhz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Corsair A50 120mm Fan High Performance Cooler H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty Edited by bprat22 - 28 Apr 2012 at 1:12pm

JustinM Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26 Apr 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Posted: 28 Apr 2012 at 1:54pm
	Yes. I should have mentioned that I'd be unlikely to use both monitors for a game. Typically I'll have a game up fullscreen on the primary monitor and something else like a web browser up on the other.

JustinM Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 26 Apr 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Posted: 02 May 2012 at 1:10pm
	Okay, a little tweak to that build. My only remaining questions are: 1. I changed out the CPU to the 3770K because, well, why not, but I took out the DS overclock because I'm simply not comfortable with overclocked systems. Is that motherboard enough to handle the CPU? I'm aware that it fits, but is it good enough? Should I upgrade the motherboard to 2. Part of me really wants to give SSD a go, but I don't know if I want to pay for it. I know of all the upsides and the downsides, but I guess I'm curious about usage. If I get the smallest one, is it best to use the remaining space after OS install or leave it for rewrite cycles? I'm leaning toward the latter, but there are still a lot of programs out there that vomit all over themselves if they're not installed where they expect to be installed (i.e., in C:\Program Files) and that worries me. Ticket 683219 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X Processor: Intel Core i7 3770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) (Requires Z77 Motherboard) Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V LX (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Does Not Support SLI or CrossFire) System Memory: 32GB DDR3 1600Mhz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible) Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x AMD Radeon HD 7870 2GB Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Corsair A50 120mm Fan High Performance Cooler H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

Asangard Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Digital Storm Live Chat Rep. Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1134	Quote Reply Posted: 02 May 2012 at 1:59pm
	Hi JustinM and welcome to the forums The motherboard you selected has the Z77 chipset which is designed for the Ivy Bridge CPUs and backwards compatable with Sandy Bridge. The 3770K CPU is Ivy Bridge so your board will do just fine. It doesn't support SLI/Crossfire so you wouldn't be able to add a 2nd graphics card. For a bit of an upgrade the Z77 Sabertooth is made with what ASUS calls "Tuff" components and to military specs (5 yr warranty from ASUS). It also supports SLI/Crossfire. I am in the same boat as you when it comes to SSDs. I have never owned one but have been doing a lot of research for my next purchase (hopefully soon). So I will let someone else chime in on that.
	All evil comes from within, Not from Without, Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path, Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy.