Need Professional Advice (8 Q’s)

------------------------------My Story -----------------------------

Hello all.  Long story short, I have been a generic HP customer for almost 10 years now and I have to say I have become severely disappointed in their computers.  It seems like as soon as you get the computer, it is immediately outdated, underpowered for what I want to do, and the expense does not justify the purchase.  I have had my current HP 8120n for two years and it is almost dead.  I even swapped out the video card (thus the inclination to buy a custom PC in the first place)… but the computer just sucks.  I am resolved to buy a custom PC from Digital Storm because it seems better to spend a fair amount up front for a long life span than a moderate amount twice over the same course of time. I have gone over the custom build options and this is what I have come up with;

--------------------------My Configuration ------------------------

Chassis Model: Digital Storm HailStorm (Black OPS Edition)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 960 3.2GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: !SALE: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1200W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)
Expansion Bay: External USB Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
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 22x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards
H20 Tube Color:Blue Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With Zalman Performance Fans (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: Touch 2000 Aerocool Temperature Display & Fan Controller (Requires Chassis Airflow Upgrade)
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds with Noise Dampening Material)
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Memory: Yes, Overclock memory frequency (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed)
Boost OS: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Warranty: 4 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)

------------------------Total and Objective ----------------------

The total comes out to $5,219 (including $450 in discounts).  I find this to be a reasonable price for the computer I intend to buy.  I am intent on buying within the next few weeks pending the answers to my questions, so I would deeply appreciate any professional advice you can offer on the questions below.

---------------------------My Questions ---------------------------

[1. QUESTION ABOUT PROCESSOR] For the processor, I decided to go with [Intel Core i7 960 3.2GHz] rather than the [Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 975 3.33GHz] because of two reasons; the difference in price is $453 and opting for “Stage-1” overclocking on the processor increases the performance above the more expensive option.  Is this reasoning correct? 

[2. QUESTION ABOUT MOTHERBOARD] For the Motherboard, would it make a difference whether or not I upgrade the motherboard (+$84) from [EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset)] to the [Asus P6x58D Premium SLI (Intel X58 Chipset)]? 

[3. QUESTION ABOUT POWER SUPPLY ] For the power supply, is a 1200 watt power supply overkill for what I have (or too little)?

[4. QUESTION ABOUT HARD DRIVES] For the Hard drive, I discovered that the Hailstorm case (Corsair Obsidian Series 800D) has room for a total of 6 hard drives, 4 in the hot-swappable area and 2 in the area below the aforementioned area.  What I intend to do is put the operating system on a single 1TB Western Digital and tuck that away on the bottom, leaving the 4 hot-swappable bays open and, as time goes on,  I can expand as I (and my wallet) please.   I would love to put all the hard drives in to begin with, but buying the hard drives now are not as cost effective as getting them elsewhere and just having myself put them in (for example, to get a bank of 4-2 TB hard drives, I would spend $676 with another internet store compared to $1248 on Digital Storm).  Is this a plausible/efficient scheme?  Am I missing something in my reasoning?

[5. QUESTION ABOUT INTERNET ACCESS] For internet access, I was considering the [Killer Xeno Pro] (+$130).  I don’t do online gaming, but I download  a lot using bittorent and so on.   I get mixed reviews of it… some say it is great if you have a slow computer and some say it is great for overall efficiency.  Is it worth it? 

[6. QUESTIONS ABOUT VIDEO CARDS] For video cards, I am leaning towards [2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)].  I don’t want to skimp out in this area, so I want the best bang for the buck.  I have a few sub questions in this category;

*****[VIDEO CARD QUESTION A] Is the [2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)] a good choice? 
*****[VIDEO CARD QUESTION B] Is the [2x SLI Triple (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)] better than the cards mentioned in the previous question since its +$70 more? 

[7. QUESTION ABOUT COOLING] For cooling, I wanted to make sure my computer runs cool and (just as important) runs quietly.  To that end, I opted for the “Extreme Cooling” [H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards] as well as upgraded fans, the “touch 2000 aerocool display,” and Noise Suppression package.

*****[COOLING QUESTION A]  Is this overkill?  If it is, what would be adequate to ensure the computer runs cool and quiet?  A lower water cooling system?  More fans?  If it isn’t enough, should I get the chassis mod side window fans if it is not? 
*****[COOLING QUESTION B] Also, would getting the noise reduction stuff (particularly the padding) make the computer look like it has carpeting?  I have no idea what is involved in the sound reduction process, but it seems to me that if you do put down sound suppressant material in the computer, you sacrifice cooling and heat transference via the case itself.
*****[COOLING QUESTION C] If I do get the stage 6 cooling, do I even need the sound suppression material because the computer would be essentially running quieter in any case? 

[8. QUESTION ABOUT BOOSTING] For “boosting,” I opted for a stage 1 overclock on the processor, overclock on the video cards, and overclock on the memory , and a tweaking of the operating system.  Given the options I have, are these wise things to do?



Edited by VideCorSpoon - 04 Apr 2010 at 2:00pm

Hmm..
1. Bitmister is right.
2. EVGA is overall a better brand with good support.
3. 1200 watt is probably necessary given you're overclocking. The 480's gobble power like PacMan eats yellow pellets so any overclocking on them might lead to needing more than 1000W. It's a good safety precaution to go 1200W anyway because PSU degradation over time might lead to the 480's becoming unstable. That said, I have no idea what brand DS uses for the PSU's on the 1200W. If you call, they should be able to clarify and help you out.
4. First off, no good reason to put the OS on a 1 TB drive. It slows down search times and makes AV and other search functions a pain. You might be better of getting a decent SSD for the OS from a third-party and using the 1 TB drive for storage. All that power you have, it'd suck to have the bottleneck be the hard drive.
5. No good use for the Xeno Pro. Not with your rig anyway. It can't speed up how fast you get info from the ISP. Only the ISP can do that. So if they suck, your connection will suck. That said however, i'm not sure about the bittorrent stuff. It might be economical, if you're downloading so much, to invest in it so it can download stuff idly while the computer is mostly powered down. Though that's only an option if you download alot but it might pay for itself on electric bill payments alone if it can dodge using the CPU and the vid cards. If you do get it, make sure it's what you want. It'll eat up space that could be used for a sound card.
6. SLI'd 480's are super-powerful but it depends wildly on what your monitor is and what you want to do. The 470's are the budget option and not generally as good, if you have the cash, go 480's. May even want to see if you can get the EVGA 480's... i know they have Hydrocopper's for them too. Not sure the price though.
7.  a. yes it's a bit overkill. I'll agree with most of what BitMister said on this. However, you may want to look at getting some Gentle Typhoon fans (credit: Justinkerr) for the radiator as those seem to be very good. DS does allow for you to use outside parts in the build, just make sure you tell them.
     b. not sure, haven't seen anyone use it.
     c. You still have fans but not many and the vid cards are the main noise contributors so i'd say no, prolly not. It depends on how sensitive you are to noise.

First off, thank you bitmister and satsunada for the very informative posts.  I appreciate it. 

As far as question #1 is concerned, I suppose the consensus is to go with the 930 2.8 GHz processor rather than the 960 3.2 GHz.   My main concern is making sure the processor I have is going to be good (and powerful) for a longer period of time.  For example, if I overclock the 930, I would (from my limited understanding) get somewhere around or possibly a little bit more power than the 960.  But if I get the 960 (and overclock it), will that perform better than the 930 overclocked?  Honestly, I don’t know much about it, so any elaboration would be greatly appreciated.  

As far as question #2 is concerned, you guys are probably right about the EVGA board rather than the Asus.  I will have to look into the brand itself, but what you guys say about it leads me to believe it is definitely more reliable and popular.

As far as question #3 is concerned, I am definitely worried about under powering the system.  I want to have enough power to really run the system without any setbacks but also have a PC that does not consume that much amount of energy.  So I am still torn between the 1000 and 1200 watt power supply.  I did find a formula for calculating the correct amount of energy consumption, but I think that given all the intricate options (and especially the necessity for lead way in terms of excess power),  I will definitely take your advice satsunda and as DS to clarify or even tell me which power supply would be more than adequate.

As far as question #4 is concerned, I really appreciate this point.  I wondered whether or not a larger hard drive for the operating system would make the system slower overall.  It seems like it is better to get a smaller hard drive (most likely an SSD) and then do storage on the larger hard drives.

As far as question #5 is concerned, it seems more like the Xeno pro will not do my particular system any good.  It still looks like a great product, just probably not the best thing for me.

As far as question #6 is concerned, the 2x GTX 480 1.5GB’s sound just about right then.  

As far as question #7 is concerned, so basically do not upgrade the fans, don’t bother getting the aero touch because apps can manage that, and don’t bother with the sound suppression system?   To tell the truth, I think that the Stage 6 cooling system would do most of the work anyway, so the upgraded fans, the aero touch thing, and the sound suppression system would sorta be redundant.  Is this correct?

As to your questions in post #4 satsunada, my budget would be under $5500.  I don’t want to spend that much money on the system… but not too little where I am left wanting a short time later.  My screen resolution size right now is 1980x1080 on two screens of the same make (HP w2338h).  What I would be using it for varies widely.  I download a fair bit, I play the occasional PC game (total war, etc.), I use Adobe Photoshop CS4, Adobe After Effects, etc. for fun and profit, etc.  I just want to make sure that whatever I pick up down the road, the computer will be able to handle it, whatever that may be.



Edited by VideCorSpoon - 04 Apr 2010 at 5:14pm

1. you should go with a 930, cause with the oc there will be no difference between 975/960/930 oced to 3.7GHz.

2. depends on your needs, you want to go with evga they have the best support, the LE or 3x sli will give you all you need.

3. your psu is too much not for what you have listed but because what you have listed is overkill and half of it is pure waste of money you will see no performance gain from, but I will get in to this further with you, but we need to know your monitor's native resolution to see what you need.

4. with all the cases you get many HDD bays, cause remember you can always turn a 5.6" bay to a HDD bay also. Now remember you always want your OS drive to be easily accessible, specially if you want to backup that drive with cloning, you can add drives as you go that is the best bet but remember the HDD rule;

HDD1 = fast drive: os/apps/games

HDD2 = regular large drive: media/personal/work file storage

Don't fill up your HDD1 more then 50%, if think you will need more room for it then pick a bigger one.

the question is that what is the use of this pc and why do you need so much space?

look into external cases the have like 4 or 5 hotswap bays instead, that is what I do, I have so many HDDs I can't even tell you, the external multi HDD cases are great.

5. Killer Xeno Pro = pure waste of money, nothing will make a big change to your isp speed and such other then your isp. even with games it barely makes a difference.

6. again we can't really tell you what you need unless you tell us what your resolution is, this is very important, if your resolution is 1600 x 1200 for example, then the configuration you have is so much overkill that I could come in the middle of the night and remove half of the stuff and you would never even notice it the next day, unless I told you about it.

7. if you want ta truly quiet LC setup then you will need to pay and ask ds to use Scythe "Gentle Typhoon" on your rads, otherwise the stock fans they use on the rads are loud.

the fan upgrade fans are even louder, the touch 2000 is pure waste of money, it does not control all your fans, it does not report accurate temps as some free softwares do.


trap noise, trap heat, so the sound package is not a good idea.

8. the only boos you want is the oc on cpu. the only other things you want is ram fan only, no oc on gpu/ram and no tweak on os.

as soon as you tell us what the native resolution of your monitor is, I can show what you need to run games at max settings with high aa and af.

Thanks everyone for these great bits of advice, I really do appreciate it.  Based on the consideration of everyone’s suggestions, I have revised my configuration list as follows;

------------------------V2 Configuration------------------------

Chassis Model: Digital Storm HailStorm (Black OPS Edition)
Processor: Intel Core i7 960 3.2GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: !SALE: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1200W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)
Expansion Bay: External USB Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (150GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards
H20 Tube Color:Blue Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)
Boost OS: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition)
Warranty: 4 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)

Based off of everyone’s suggestions, I decided to;

1)    Probably stay with the 3.2 GHz Processor (sorry, it’s hard to shake the “no replacement for displacement” mentality.
2)    Stay with the EVGA motherboard
3)    Definitely keep the 1200 watt power supply
4)    Instead of going with a single 1TB hard drive for the operating system, I decided to go with a 150GB WD Velociraptor HDD and a single 1 TB WD HDD for storage (for now at least).  I think the velociraptor is probably a good middle ground between the slow and large HDD and the smaller/quicker (yet very expensive) SSD option for the operating system hard drive.
5)    Defintely nixing the xeno pro idea
6)    Definitely keeping the 2x GTX 480 1.5 GB video cards
7)    Nixed the sound suppression, aero fan control, and upgraded fans in favor of a complete replacement of all the fans with scythe gentle typhoon fans.  After researching them, it makes all the sense in the world to spend the extra money and replace the stock fans.  
8)    Only doing the CPU boost and a memory fan kit w/o the memory overclocking.  I suppose 12 GB of ram is enough, and I don’t want to overstress anything leading to potential downtime.

---------------------------------Special notes for technician--------------------------------------

What I am trying to do now is compile a list of things beyond the standard list to give the technician.  This is what I have been able to come up with;

1.    Special request #1: I want all fans replaced with “scythe gentle typhoon” fans for quiet operation.
2.    Special request #2: I want a 2nd fan installed under the hot-swappable hard drive fan.
3.    I want the two hard drives installed on the bottom section leaving the top 4 hot-swappable bays free for future use.
4.    I want the dvd rom and multi card reader installed in the 2nd from the bottom bay and third from the bottom bay (dvdrom on top/card reader on bottom) (for aesthetic purposes)

Is there any other special requests, etc. I should mention or do?

This actually brings me to another point I would like to get anyone’s opinion on.  I understand from quite a few reviews that the temperature buildup in the 800D (i.e. hailstorm) is surprisingly high.  Something to do with how there is one obstructed intake at the bottom and too many exhaust fans in the main area.   One solution I thought would help is installing a second cooling fan under the hot-swappable drives for extra airflow.   The second (and please give me your thoughts on this) is the reversal of the rear fan to become an intake.  I did this little picture to illustrate what I mean (the white square and circle is the extra fan I wanted to put in).  



It seems to me that as large as the venting area is at the top, and given that the design is intended to draw cool air from the bottom and discharge warm air from the top, then reversing the rear fan seems the best thing to do.   This one review of the case in particular on overclock3d.net (on youtube the “corsair obsidian 800D review Part 5” stated that after 30 minutes of heavy load, the temperature in the lower part of the main zone of the case reached 85 degrees.  I don’t know if this is particularly hot for the inside of a case in general but the guy seemed pretty concerned.  He noted that by switching around the rear fan so that it became an intake of cold air, the inside temperatures reduced dramatically.  Now, I don’t know if I really need to do this considering that I have a stage six cooling option, but in principle, I would still need to optimize airflow.

Which brings me to another point, which is that if I do do a switching of the rear fan to an intake, then I am relying totally on the upper parts of the chassis for ventilation.  A BIG QUESTION is whether or not the stage six cooling radiator sucks in air from the top into the system or blows air out from of the system.  Does anyone know what direction the airflow is on the stage 6 H20 system?



Edited by VideCorSpoon - 05 Apr 2010 at 1:31pm

DST4ME,

For the processor, I am starting to see where you are coming from.  I am reading on various other forums as well that the 930 is basically the same as the 960 aside from a slightly higher clock speed.  Other than that, both have the 8mb smart cache, core number, bus speed, etc. (and keep in mind that I have no idea what I am talking about, this is just a blind numbers comparison).  And if I understand the whole process correctly, the clock speed will be change in either case to a higher level anyway (because I have opted for over clocking), so that negates the only difference between the two.  Is this reasoning correct, or is there any other detail that would make this even more substantiated?  

For the 12 GB of Ram, I do use adobe photoshop, adobe after effects, and other software that consume a lot of the computers powers that be.  Do you think that 6 GB of memory (the next lowest option) would be adequate for what I do?  My current computer uses 4 GB and it takes forever to render, etc.  But the computer also sucks in all other respects, so maybe the Ram is not to blame.  

For the 1200 watt PSU, do you think that 1200 watts (given what I have in my system) is too much power?  I also see where you are coming from suggesting the enermax unit.  Some say that it is a little bit quieter.  

Now you make it sound as though the H20 stage 6 system is not completely adequate (or could be better).    What would your ranked recommendations be for a better radiator (to work better with the gentle typhoon fans) and waterblocks.   Heck, is there a better water cooling system out there than the one I opted for?  You mentioned EK, swifttech, and for the radiator feser or XSPC.  What would you suggest would be your first pick for each?

As to the airflow setup, the information about the radiator taking air into the case makes the exhaust fan at the back the only one as far as I can tell.  So I will definitely be nixing the idea of flipping around the rear fan.  

As far as fans are concerned, two of my main objectives are that they be adequate and quiet.  I understand that the scythe gentle typhoon is the most quiet and most efficient.  Is there a different brand that makes less sound and better performance?  

Also, in your opinion, is it worthwhile getting the memory fan kit?


This is the 3rd configuration taking into account your suggestions.

------------------------V3 Configuration------------------------
Chassis Model: Digital Storm HailStorm (Black OPS Edition)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: !SALE: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1250W Enermax Galaxy EVO (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Recommended)
Expansion Bay: External USB Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (150GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards & Chipset
H20 Tube Color:Black Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)
Boost OS: FREE: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Warranty: 4 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)

The changes from version 2 are;

1.    Changed from 3.2 to 2.8 GHz processor.
2.    Changed to 1250 Watt enermax PSU
3.    Upgraded the H20 Stage 6 to include CPU, dual sli video cards, and chipset.

Edited by VideCorSpoon - 05 Apr 2010 at 5:28pm

So in a revised configuration, I got rid of the chipset cooling option since as you say, with the stage one, it seems like a waste in any case for just a stage one over clock which I do agree.  I read a few reviews about chipset water cooling and the guys that do do it do some pretty hardcore things anyway.   I nixed the OS tweaking because you are right to point out that there may be some things I need (which I would have no earthly idea how to reinstate).  

As far as the hard drives are concerned, I agree that an SSD would be a lot faster and more efficient.  But maybe the 150 GB Velociraptor would be good enough for the OS since its small and (judging from the superficial numbers) relatively fast.  

However, I think I’ll stick with the 12GB memory just in case, to make sure I have enough and that I don’t have to mess around with it in the future.  I am also going to inquire how much more time and money would be required to switch the water blocks with more efficient ones, as well as the radiator.  Seems prudent to me, so we’ll have to see what the DS tech guy has to say on the matter.

Awesome, I think this just about does it for the configuration of the system.   Here is the final version;

------------------------V4 (Final?) Configuration------------------------

Chassis Model: Digital Storm HailStorm (Black OPS Edition)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: !SALE: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1250W Enermax Galaxy EVO (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Recommended)
Expansion Bay: External USB Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (150GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards
H20 Tube Color:Black Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service)
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Warranty: 4 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)

 Is there anything else that should added or subtracted, requested, etc.?  I have not dealt with Digital Storm before, and I have tried the “request help” option and the “live chat” and asked some basic question to which I have yet to get a response.  It sounds from other reviews as though they only respond when you call them directly.  That seems rather troubling consider how much money people pay on average for their systems.  

 

Edited by jaypeetee44 - 08 Apr 2010 at 7:44am

Originally posted by VideCorSpoon   A big lesson learned is that bigger and most expensive is not always better

you nailed it on the head

config looks great

Our pleasure and congrats

can't wait for the pics and specs

Mine hit stage 7 today. Suspense is higher than ever. I just hope it gets to me in one piece!

Edited by Zimbawan - 12 Apr 2010 at 10:28pm

@VideCorSpoon, ya they are pretty good at it.

@Zimbawan, its time to pray to the shipping gods