Dreadnaught L3 build - feedback requested

Budget:
$4.5k or less... for gaming and home productivity apps. I have the monitor, keyboard, and mouse already. I might look for a simple set of speakers to go with it.

Expectations:
Snappy response, including bootup and shutdown.
Perfect 60+ fps on ultra settings specifically on 25-man raiding in WoW and potentially other 3-D games at 1900x1080. Blu-ray video at 1900x1080.

Usage:
Gaming - Warcraft, other more current 3D games. Light photo editing. Large mp3 and photo libraries. Usual home computing tasks and Blu-ray movies.

Special Needs:
Only factory OC (if any).
Prefer single GPU over SLI.
Cool and quiet.
Glitz is unimportant.
I really need consistent 60+ fps at 1900x1080 for 25-man WoW raiding. I'm not sure if WoW is CPU-bound, GPU-bound or both.
I might possibly add an external HD drive bay - I'm not sure what that amounts to or what is needed to swap between one or more separate drives.
Add media/CF/SD card reader
Larger SSD if available. Like the Crucial 512 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT512M4SSD2 $590 on Amazon.

Saved Ticket #: 683215 Dreadnaught L3 build with changed items in bold. Null choices were eliminated in this post. I'm not attached to any particular component--this just looked like a good starting point.

Specifications:
Total Price with Instant Savings: $3,580.00

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB 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 (180GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series)
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (3TB HITACHI Deskstar (7200 RPM) (SATA 6Gbps) (H3IK30003272SW)
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 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooler (240mm Radiator) (Extreme-Performance Edition)
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With Zalman Performance Fans (Up to 6 Fans)
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 2 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds with Noise Dampening Material)
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 4 Year Limited Warranty

Any thoughts? Thanks!
jdmaddison

I have a Dell ST2421L 24" Widescreen LED Monitor with a native resolution of 1920x1080.

Would the GeForce GTX 690 be better than 2x GTX 680's? It would certainly be much cheaper ($1000 vs $1500) and physically contains the same 2 GTX 680 GPUs.

I expect that I will have CPU intensive applications. If nothing else, I'm presently working on resurrecting a previous system that self-destructed as a virtual machine under Oracle VM VirtualBox. This unit will need to last 3-4 years for me, so I'm willing to go for a higher-end processor.

jdmaddison...Until we see test results for the 690 it's tough to say.  Historically, the dual gpu cards like gtx590, while having a following, did have to be de-tuned and ran hot.  Plus, being in field service for decades, I always look at the cost to replace.  One 680 in sli would be cheaper to replace than a single sli 690 if things went wrong.   If they did it right this time , then the 690 will be a popular option, esp. for those with non-sli mobo's.

Edited by bprat22 - 03 May 2012 at 3:56am

That looks like a really awesome configuration! I'm definitely picking up those changes. I'd like to ask about a few changes however. Mainly increasing the size of the SSD and hard drives, as well as adding the SSD and HD bays.

• 1x (480GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series) [+$661] (I hadn't seen this one before)


• 2x (2TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) (SATA 6Gbps) [+$178] (faster units than the 3TB?)


• Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) [+$65]

I don't know how much space there is in the chassis, but I'm interested in seeing if these would all fit:

• Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black) [+$19] and


• Dual Solid State Hard Drive Hot Swap Bay [+$35]


• Hard Drive Hot Swap Bay (EZ-Rack) [+$39]

And here's where things get a little strange. How bad would it be to combine all three internal drives with the respective Hot Swap Bays (Adding another $39 for a second HD HSB)? I know they really wouldn't really be hot swappable if the OS is running from a drive in a removable bay, but I really like the capability to backup the system to a second set of drives (1 SSD + 1 2TB HD) and easily swap them out when the system is turned off. If that were impractical, I think I'd stick with the three expansion choices (if they even fit) and simply mount the second HD in the single HD HSB. So, is this even practical?

Thanks!
jdmaddison

OK, thanks for some excellent feedback. I've reduced the extraneous stuff a bit and bumped up the SSD. I'm not sure that I'll use all of it right away, but I think I eventually will. The GTX 690 should be under warranty, so I'm not so worried about the cost of replacing it. At worst, I could probably replace it with a single GTX 680.

o I'm not committed to any brand or size of HD, as long as it is 2 TB or larger. Recommendations?
o I'm tempted to increase the RAM to 32GB (~$200)

I've added about $700 to the base spec FrankW designed for me (Thanks!) Do my changes make sense, aside from spending more than I probably need to? I'm thinking this may be pretty close to my final build...

Ticket Number: 683712 - $4,634.00 (+$39 EZ-Rack)

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 3770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) (Requires Z77 Motherboard)
Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Higher Overclocks and Unique Wi-Fi Features)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black) <b></b>
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (600GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series) <b></b>
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (2TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) (SATA 6Gbps) <b></b>
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) <b></b>
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690 4GB (Includes PhysX) <b></b>
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Phanteks PH-TC14PE Extreme Performance
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 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard)
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 (Extra Large) <b></b>
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 4 Year Limited Warranty

Thanks,
jdmaddison

Reviews of the GTX 690 just became available.  Chech the hardware section of the forums for a thread on the GTX 690s if your interested.  Near the end of the thread one person posted 2 links to reviews on the GTX 690 and I posted a 3rd link.

Hi jdmaddison,

It is important that you get just what you want but it seems to me you are missing the bullseye. I went back and read your first post and this stands out in my mind:

"Expectations:
Snappy response, including bootup and shutdown.
Perfect 60+ fps on ultra settings specifically on 25-man raiding in WoW and potentially other 3-D games at 1900x1080. Blu-ray video at 1900x1080."

I am sorry but with many games in 3D you are going to fall below 60fps. In some cases below 30fps if you use ultimate settings. I can understand cutting somethings due to budget but I don't understand the single 680 GPU. I think you have sacrificed your Power Supply and GPU in order to get that big hunk of a SSD.

Of course I don't understand everything you want to accomplish but why do you want such a large SSD? For a gaming machine I think you have made some changes that undermine ultimate gaming. If it was me I would get a 250Gb SSD and if you fill that up for some unknown reason, than add a second 250Gb SSD later down the road.

As to your last build. If it is what you want then go for it. However, it is not the ultimate gaming machine that I thought you wanted. Of course that is just my opinion.

Frank

Edited by FrankW - 04 May 2012 at 1:42pm

jdmaddison,

There is no reason to have all your games on the SSD. Only the ones you are currently playing need to be on the SSD. You can move the older games back and forth between the SSD and the HDD as you decide to play them. The same for your programs. Programs you seldom use don't need to be on the SSD.

Just take your time and work through everything and you will end up with a great machine.

Frank

Thanks for your help. I've played around some more and I think I've kept the config a bit closer to FrankW's recommendations this time around. I do have more disks than the original spec, but I've tried to keep them to the same class or series of disk. I know I've gone over my original budget, but I'm replacing a system that had a lot of media and programs on it, so I will need the space.

Ticket Number: 684603
Total Price with Instant Savings: $4,899.00

Have I kept to the components that make up a solid build?

Will the 2 SATA HDs will be mounted into the two removable bays at the bottom?

Any other guidance?

Thanks,
jdmaddison

Hi jdmaddison,

That is a killer 3D gaming setup for 1920 x 1080/1200 resolution.

Based on what you wrote in your first post I don't know how you will ever use 4TB of HDD storage. For a gaming machine that is way over the top. That is probably true with your SSD storage also. You must have some use in mind other than gaming. As bprat22 mentioned 32Gb of memory is way more than any gamer would ever use. If you are not running gigantic spread sheets or doing drafting I think 16Gb would be a better choice. That is up to you.

If you like what you got I think it is a go.

Frank

That build is great.   The Noctua D14 and Phanteks are the best air coolers.  Either will work great .No problem there at all.