[New Gaming Rig]Post Date: 2010-10-11 |
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Reciprocity 
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Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
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 Topic: [New Gaming Rig]Posted: 11 Oct 2010 at 5:19pm |
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After heming and hawing for weeks and narrowing down what I'd like in a computer and pounding the budget around, I am ready to move forward with the purchase of a new computer from Digital Storm Online!
I will say that I have eyed other producers and even pondered by building my own with the help of friends, but several factors tipped me toward wanting to buy from DSO.
First, the way you have thus far made me feel comfortable about wanting to build and buy through DSO. I had a previously bad experience buying and then modifying my existing rig, so that I really want this to be a beast, but to also be stable and fun!
Second, I appreciate how you have taken me through what the DSO process of building a customized rig is all about. To each person, their computer is obviously so personal and that computer is a means to some end, be it work, play or both. Given todays games, a powerful computer makes the experience that much more enjoyable and immersive, so having a powerful, responsive and stable computer puts the emphasis on gameplay, not on min/maxing, lag, latency etc.
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With that said, here are some of my thoughts, goals and the relative budget:
Budget: $2500
Expectations: I would like to use it in a dual monitor set-up, with one monitor for gaming and the other for surfing the web, watching movies or tv shows, etc. Presently, I game on my primary monitor and will read/study on the second one, or catch up on shows.
Usage: Starcraft II. World of Warcraft. Civilization 5. Diablo 3 (when released?). And any random game I pickup. The mistake I made in my 1st buy a few years back was that it didn't have sufficient power and ability to grow into new games that I might try. While I have heard WOW isn't gaming intensive, I experience a lot of issues with my present rig and I find Starcraft 2 to be difficult on my current rig, so I would like to enjoy both SC2 and Cataclysm, as well as future releases.
Special Needs: None come to mind. I use dual monitors @ work, so I have become accustomed to it at home. Presently I have one ATI Card (4870) running BOTH monitors on Windows Xp32 bit, but it's quite laggy. I enjoy a very immersive gaming experience and have considered buying the Logitech Z 5500 Speakers to get that. I'll turn up my present 5.1 dolby digital SS and game for hours.
The computer is also the center piece of my home. I save documents from work or personal use to it and will do work from home as I can, hence the dual monitors. Or I will take exams, read, research etc. I would *almost* consider a triple monitor setup *(like the ones I have seen), to accomplish this if it was priced right and/or affordable.
Questions:
1. If I am using 2 monitors and using 1 for movies and 1 for gaming, do I need 2 cards?
2. Do I need 2 optical drives? I have no need for a blu-ray at the moment, because I do not own any blu-ray dvds and have no intention of buying one, unless it's priced right in the build. I would rather put the $ toward dual cards or dual drives under a Raid 0 format, or possibly a SSD?
3. Which gets to: Do I need (2) drives or perhaps an SSD and a HD? As I mentioned I game alot, do some trading and
4. I have the Killer m1 nic in my current computer and the SoundBlaster Sound card and would like to buy similar issues for my new computer.
Thank you, Reciprocity! (Andrew)
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Reciprocity
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Posted: 11 Oct 2010 at 5:21pm |
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I should add, the only piece I need is the computer. I have a 22" monitor I am presently using and intend to buy a 25-27" monitor in the near future. My second monitor is a 19" square piece from Dell, but I am gifting that and my old computer to my brother. In all other areas, except for speakers, I am ok, too, so the computer is my only consideration at this point.
I have manipulated a few of the considerations to under 2500 or nearer 2000, but given my aforementioned post, I am not sure 'what' to put into it to achieve my goals and expectations. People have suggested dual cards, ssds as well as 2 drives, etc, but making heads or tails of such things is not my forte.
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!ender_
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Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 11 Oct 2010 at 5:53pm |
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dual monitors wont tax your video cards more than a single monitor as you will only game on one of them
2500 is a good and bad range becuase its plenty enough for gaming power but gets into a touchy range where you can really get the best of everything if you push it up some
you never need more than one optical drive, thats luxury
Max gaming power under your budget: $2452
the "everything" build I was talking about $2814
the realy issue comes where you want to get both an SSD and dual 480s, its just not in the budget range to do.. so you either give up the SSD, or go with dual 470s.
personally, I would do this build, but I do a lot more than just gaming, so the SSD means more to me. if you are mainly a gamer.. it may be more beneficial to go with the dual 480s http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=447257 $2434
If sound is very important to you, you could drop the SSD to 40 gb and get a sound card, another thing to consider
told you its a dangerous range
Edited by !ender_ - 11 Oct 2010 at 5:53pm |
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justin.kerr
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Posted: 11 Oct 2010 at 6:57pm |
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why not game on both at once? lol
 Edited by justin.kerr - 11 Oct 2010 at 6:58pm |
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maxyme
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Posted: 11 Oct 2010 at 9:12pm |
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Steam:pcmaster160
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Reciprocity
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 2:35am |
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You're right !ender, it is a dangerous range!
I have been playing around with your combos and trying to determine whether I should go 1) Dual 480 2) SSD 3) or both.
I have the XFI card now and a Killer m1 nic, so I would like to stay consistent and have such hardware in my new computer.
What benefit does an SSD provide? Keep in mind, I don't know what I don't know, so there may be a benefit to obtaining an SSD that I'm not seeing? I could go with the SSD now, 1 480 and put a 480 in later, or no?
Worst case scenario I could push the budget to 3k and get EXACTLY what I want. I've kept this computer for 3 years, so I would figure a 3k computer would last at least 3-4 years, assuming I take care of it as well? That works out to 1k/yr and I don't game on anything else. I've stopped buying PS3/XBOX games, so all my funds go into a computer.
I am afraid that I would end up getting such a powerful beast and realizing it could do more but not having had the power to do it? Or, skimping when only a few bucks more would put me right where I want to be? I also have a tendency of being an idealist and overconsuming/overpurchasing for no purpose, so I'm guarding against that too.
I want at least 1 480, but why would someone do 2? I don't think Sc2, wow, or diablo 3 would benefit from it, or would it?
These are probably trivial considerations, but I am thinking on what to do each day/night and intend to buy anyday.
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AmbientChong11
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Joined: 16 Sep 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 216 |
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 3:11am |
SSDs, Solid State Drives, are storage media that uses flash memory to store/transfer data. Unlike an HDD which has moving parts, SSDs use semiconductors so there are no moving parts. Think of it as your USB flash drives, but larger in form factor and larger in storage.
SSDs are more reliable than HDDs, stable, faster access, and uses less power. Beats HDDs in performance but are very expensive.
You can have the OS installed in the SSD and it will load very fast.
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maxyme
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 3:34am |
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Personally the only reason I would get dual gfx 480s and why I am is because with 2 you can do widescreen gaming. Basically that means you can game on 3 monitors at once. I mean if you can afford 3 monitors and the dual gfx 480 why not? I mean imagine how awesome that would be. Without doing that I think it would kindof be a waste of money to get dual gfx 480s i guess you could be future proofing yourself a bit but in my opinion I don't think there would be much difference especially not worth the money. A gfx 480 runs great at 1920x1080 alone with 2 and still using that resolution would be overkill in my mind.
You can upgrade in the future you just would have to get a 1200w psu now. But the problem with that is by the time you want to upgrade to dual sly they will already have a better card out and you would be better off upgrading to the new card. |
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Steam:pcmaster160
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!ender_
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 9:08am |
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i fear that a lot of you here are overestimating the demand for video power right now, youll notice that several of the advocates for saving money on this forum who got single cards are going up to 2... myself included. the sad fact is that video demand is ahead of the hardware right now, so buying ONE card right now if two are in the budget, will simply leave you wanting.
2 480s at 1920x should be overkill, and for a while i thought it wasnt. but the way the market is moving, its simply 1: not and 2: even if it was enough, wont be for long
What benefit does an SSD provide?
This was pretty much answered. but my own input here is that its very nice, for higher budgets it can allow a much snappier system. its not a requirement, and at its current price, should go on this list below several things (not including a killer card) it will not directly improve the FPS of your games, only your boot time, load time, save time, anything that involves reading or writing to/from your hard drive.
I could go with the SSD now, 1 480 and put a 480 in later, or no?
budget-wise, it makes a lot more sense to get 2 480s now. you wont save very much by waiting to buy one, and SSD are expected to drop in price pretty soon.. they are also becoming increasingly popular, which should push prices even lower. Adding a 2nd 480 or a SSD is easy, but you are more likely to have to fuss with SLI/video issue than an intel SSD, so i would choose to have the video cards under Digital storms testing/warranty
the other thing, 3 monitor gaming...
look up the benches on 480s at 1920x1080. generally good of course.. now.. with THREE way sli and a 3 monitor set up, your frames per second are already going to come down.. the communication between everything alone would do that, then you are going to take away one of those video cards, making them not only communicate to 3 monitors, but do it with less than standard power for 3 monitors... the idea doesnt make sense to me to even try, i guess we will have to wait till it gets a little more widespread and see how it works out
the problems with this idea are plentiful:
1: you would be using 4 pci slots for 2 video cards and a killer and xfi card, thats a lot of hardware in one place, depending on which motherboard you pick
2: your budget.. i told you 2500 is a dangerous range, you are almost expected to get SLI in this braket.. in order of performance increases, SLI>SSD>sound card>killer card so its not really in the budget if what you are looking for is the best price : performance ratio
if you have a sound card already, why not just install that in this new computer on your own?
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Reciprocity
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 10:32am |
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Thank you everyone and !ender:
Do people put (2) large cards in, XFI and the BigFoot Networks NIC or do the cards and of the aforementione 2 features?
I could pull the XFI and NIC out of my old computer, but I would be fearful of botching something in the new computer (although I did put these into my existing rig) or causing power/heat issues?
I have to believe there are builds which incorporate them and I suppose if I had to go without one, I would ditch the BigFoot Networks card in favor of better sound via the XFI. Perhaps it is a psychological benefit but I have enjoyed pretty smooth, low latency gaming. My only hang up has been ram/cpu/gpu bottlenecking, as I am gaming on a Windows XP 32 bit, 4gb ram, AMD ATHALON 9600 Quad Core 2.30ghz cpu and an ATI AMD 4870 with 1gb of onboard ram and 256 ghz proc.
thanks for all the respones, you are all DEFINITELY helping me building something in epic in this confusing world of tech!
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!ender_
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 10:50am |
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i see where your head is, just feel you might be overestimating the usefulness of that killer card. if you want it you want it, but i'd never consider it in a build where you were near or over your budget. onboard lan is pretty much all you would ever use. maybe try your new rig with and without your current killer card, let us know how they differ?
you are not going to cause problems with either of those cards, id almost 100% insist that you just stick with the xfi card you already have, in the budger/gamer range, sound card tech hasnt changed for years, little reason to buy another.. i think mine came out in 04? still puts out great sound, plenty of driver/software features, no reason to spend another $150
any build from this site with an 860/920+ processor and 4/5gb ram respectivaly is not going to cpu/memory bottleneck you. at least not for any games currently released, not even close
"Do people put (2) large cards in, XFI and the BigFoot Networks NIC or do the cards and of the aforementione 2 features?"
i read this maybe 12 times, cant figure out what you mean at all, lol
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Reciprocity
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 12:31pm |
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Thanks again !ender, this is really narrowing things down!
1. To my 'confusing question'...I wasn't sure if it was common for pc gamers/enthusiasts to put dual cards, a new sound board AND a high performance NIC onto the same MOBO. I mean...wouldn't that create a lot of demand on the PS? And wouldn't it create alot of heat and noise?
2. My only concern with yanking the card i have, which i bought for 150, too, is that right now my present soundcard and the new card aren't properly installed or integrated. In other words, the old soundcard pops up and is still used to provide for my vent, while the XFI soundcard is out the back providing excellent gaming and music sound quality. That, and I wouldn't want to tamper with the perfection that DSO might build.
If you have the onboard soundcard AND the XFI one, can both coexist, or should I be shutting 1 soundcard down?
3. I've been looking at the i7 950 quad 3.06ghz, then overclocking. Thus far, I think I'm ok blowing about 3,ooo$ (or investing as I shall put it).
4. Outside of this upgrade I intend to look at 1) new speakers, since this speaker system is dell and is a pain to have setup 2) a 27" monitor, which is a huge upgrade over the 22" and would put to use a most powerful system. Those items are, however, budgeted for.
5. Where does cooling come in and how would I know what to get? Assuming I get dual 480's and say, put the XFI soundcard in, what cooling stage would I be in? And say the processor is overclocked, but not the GPU?
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!ender_
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 12:56pm |
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1) sound cards yes, network cards no. neither a sound card or killer card has moving parts, so it wont change the noise, also neither should draw enough power to make any difference with the PSU performance
now, for space, anything you add to a case will decrease the amount of space heat has to freely dissapate, but this impact on your core and GPUs temps SHOULD be minimal if the case is properly cooled
some higher budget enthusiasts use bigger boards that have more room to fit additional things like that
2 you could send them your card and have them install it, but the problems you are having are very simple to solve, your onboard sound isnt disabled in the bios, or the drivers werent properly removed before you installed the new card
3 is more than enough processing power with a DSO overclock, no need to go higher or have any concern in that area
4 careful going over 22-23 as you may start to see some pixel stretching
resolution and picture quality are way more important than size, at least in my opinion, for a crisp picture
5 cooling is 3 seperate categories
case, cpu, gpu. nothing else needs aftermarket cooling on a gaming/semi enthusiast level
case: stock cooling on most of the cases is ample. the HAF 932/HAF X shine in this dept for coming with a few big fans that will reduce noise and still perform well for stock cooling, no need to mess with this unless you want to get fancy and order things not provided on the site
cpu: if you read the guide, you already know what this is going to say: noctua u12p, end of story. it does everything any other air cooler can and does it very quietly, and fits on almost anything, no reason to shop around here.
the only way to upgrade from this is LC stage 4 and up, but that is out of this budget range and its simply not needed in any way for a gaming build
gpu: (video cards) all video cards come with thier own stock cooling, the only thing you need to do with these is change the "fan profile" with something like MSI afterburner.. DSO may do this for you, but its best to do it yourself, as only you will know what kind of temperatures you are getting inside your own house, and what noise level you are willing to deal with
LC is the only upgrade from this cooling which again is out of the budget range, it could let you overclock the crap out of the cards and get the most out of them, but aside from not being in the budget, with sli, you wont need to OC much, definitely not enough to justify adding another $700 for LC
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justin.kerr
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 1:16pm |
what is pixel stretching? 2560x1600 res monitor will have a significantly better better image quality than a 22" 1680 x 1050 screen will. Edited by justin.kerr - 12 Oct 2010 at 1:18pm |
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!ender_
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 1:24pm |
what is pixel stretching? a 22" 2560x1600 res monitor will have a significantly better better image quality than a 22" 1680 x 1050 screen will, becuase its an extra 60% of the pixels in the same screen area, meaning sharper, crisper, more detailed images
----- just fixed that for anyone who doesnt read justin as i have learned to  Edited by !ender_ - 12 Oct 2010 at 1:26pm |
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justin.kerr
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 1:32pm |
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yes but you changed what I wrote..
 I did not say a 22" 2560x1600... 
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!ender_
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 1:51pm |
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yea but people who may not know have to understand that both size and res matter, a huge screen with 2560x1600 could still have stretching!
... really huge, but still
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justin.kerr
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 2:12pm |
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what is stretching?
usually 30" monitor will be 2560x1600 res
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!ender_
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 3:25pm |
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"what is stretching?"
was there supposed to be a question mark there?
are you asking what i meant or ..?
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justin.kerr
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 5:15pm |
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yes, I wonder, "question" what you mean by pixel stretching.
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MagiK
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 5:20pm |
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Im reading this on a 30" 2560x1600 screen and *I* am stretching trying to figure out what you are talking about
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justin.kerr
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 5:28pm |
I used all 12 monitors in the house, to look at this post, and am still looking for some type of birthing/stretching on my pixels, need to keep looking. 
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MagiK
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 5:32pm |
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Holy crap, I thought I was over teched with
Edited by MagiK - 12 Oct 2010 at 5:41pm |
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!ender_
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 5:50pm |
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well, i'll keep this to the point as im not sure if anyone is joking and im not getting it....
this is what i said up above:
4 careful going over 22-23 as you may start to see some pixel stretching
resolution and picture quality are way more important than size, at least in my opinion, for a crisp picture
and this is what i edited justins post to say
a 22" 2560x1600 res monitor will have a significantly better better image quality than a 22" 1680 x 1050 screen will, becuase its an extra 60% of the pixels in the same screen area, meaning sharper, crisper, more detailed images
point im trying to make here:
screen size in inches, or real estate as i call it, means next to nothing when not matched with resolution. you can buy 1920x1080 monitors up to 27", maybe more, but as you increase in screen size and stay at the same resolution you lose pixel depth...
losing pixel depth is what happens when you watch a 480p youtube video and switch it to full screen, its basically transmitting the same amount of video information through bigger cells, resulting in a less sharp/crisp picture as the closer the pixels are the more defined lines are.
1920x1080 is pretty happy around 22-23 inches while if you were to compare that to a 1920x1080 monitor that was 27+ inches you will notice a significant loss in pixel depth, which directly translates to a loss of image quality.
I give this warning to anyone who discussing monitors in inches and not in resolution, as someone who is not aware of what im talking about here could buy a 27" 1920x1080 monitor and be unsatisfied with the picture quality Edited by !ender_ - 12 Oct 2010 at 5:59pm |
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justin.kerr
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 5:58pm |
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most all monitors scale their resolution relative to their size. even 24" monitors are usually 1920x1200, which I don't like personally, I like 26" monitors with 1920x1200, but just me. lol this is for spread sheet type work, not gaming, photo work ect, in that aspect, the higher the resolution, the better.
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MagiK
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Posted: 12 Oct 2010 at 6:14pm |
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I've got 2 28" Hannspree monitors at 1920x1200 and they are good for business and web surfing and ssh sessions. Gaming is ok, but for the newer games with higher resolutions I prefer the 2560x1600 DVD's look ok on the Hannspree too.
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Reciprocity
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Posted: 15 Oct 2010 at 1:07pm |
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So what I've gathered from discussions on the monitor is that I want to go 2560x1600 if I look at monitors over 23" in width, correct?
At present I have a 22" monitor, but as my computer is more important and useful to me than a TV, I found value in buying a larger screen, either for NFLX viewing, programs, trading or gaming. Then I would have a 27 and a 22, but in most cases the 27's @ that resolution (2560x1600) are quite expensive, and I'm not just talking 250-400, like MUCH more. Yes?
I'm wittling it down to...
*80gb intel SSD for boot drive
*1tb 7200 rpm, 3.0g sata data drive
* dual gtx 480's (spoke to someone with either 470's or 480's and he loves them)
*holding off on putting in the nic and soundcard and doing that myself (crosses fingers).
*intel core i7 950, 3.06ghz, then overclocked by dso.
*1200pw
*not sure on the mobo nor the cooling system.
I can see the value in a quick boot ssd and maybe down the road, I'd get a larger SSD for gaming. Would the SS be helpful in games like Starcraft 2 or World of Warcraft and Civilization 5, as they have constant map loading occuring from the HD, or not? (Not even sure if those 3 games + Windows 7 would be too big for an 80gb SSD anyways).
Thanks to everyone here that's making my gaming dream rig possible!
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MagiK
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Posted: 15 Oct 2010 at 1:30pm |
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CIV 5 doesnt do a lot of hdd activity the audio files are all that it is pulling up at any particular time from hdd.
Honestly in my opinion, until the cheaper G3 SSD's come out, I would only use SSD for the OS and leave the games on a Regular hdd, My prefeance is a velociraptor but in reality a WD Caviar Black is probably just as good. Also 2560x1600 on less than a 30" monitor is for the young of eye only, at 24" and even 27" things are pretty tiny. I like my $400 28" Hannspree monitors at 1920x1600.... Edited by MagiK - 15 Oct 2010 at 1:33pm |
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!ender_
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Posted: 15 Oct 2010 at 1:39pm |
depends on your wow folder, ive seen huge and small ones
ssd could be helpful for the constant blue bar-ing in both sc2 and wow, other than that, the gains would be pretty minimal.. however i guess if you can afford it and want it, why not?
waiting on the ssd could be good but the waiting game is a dangerous one because if you are ready to buy now and then wait for one thing, then another, then another, it can become and endless cycle... not to mention that i have definitely learned that you typically do NOT want to be on the bleeding edge of new hardware and drivers as that basically defaults you do being a test subject for the company releasing said product
also i wouldnt suggest adding too many things later becuase if you start adding a lot then whats the point of paying for DSO labor and warranty then going through a lot of extra bs to get the rig you want. just my opinion
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Reciprocity
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Posted: 20 Oct 2010 at 3:18pm |
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Reciprocity
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Posted: 20 Oct 2010 at 3:37pm |
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So the referenced build is what I am thinking based on !ender and the other very knowledgable posters, some last minute thoughts...
This is the biggest technology purchase I will have made, probably ever, at one time. My first computer I made the poor choice of spending $1500 on a dell non-gaming computer then adding $1200 or more of new upgrades to it, only to have it operate substandard from the collective build. I'd like to avoid that.
Would such a build as I have put together now last 3, maybe 4 or more years and be easily upgraded?
What sorts of situations do dual graphics cards of the most powerful kind available out afford the end-consumer? [ I have noticed that I could do 3d gaming in the near future, although some of the games I play do not benefit them. For instance, I could see getting 3 monitors down the road for DIABLO 3, as prices on such things may drop when D3 is finally out.]
I also didn't want to change a system that wasn't powerful enough to meet some of the games I might want to play in a year. I think it incredibly short-sighted and foolish to skimp a few hundred bucks to say "well I only play this now, so that's all I need," when computers can do so much more and games aren't really designed for 1 system as they are for consoles. I'm not just a WOW gamer, nor an SC2, or CIV 5 and I like my system as a Media system and could foresee doing more watching of tv, shows or movies on it.
I've also looked into the 27.5" hannspree monitor. I would like to acquire one around XMAS, after I put the order into DSO for this computer. Thanks for those suggestions!
So...I'm sold on the SSD @ 80gb, is that good, or is 40 fine? Primary use is boot drive/WINDOWS.
I scaled back to the 500gb drive, as I am only at about 150gb on my 250 hdd right now AND I have a 1tb EXTERNAL drive as well. Make sense to just go with the 500 gb?
Dual Cards and the QUAD Intel i7, with the 6b of 1600 ghz RAM seem to be the primary pushers of real power. Yes? And making sure I have sufficient power.
Is the cooling system ok for all these pieces? That would be my last concern.
I'm not going with the soundcard or if I am, Ill add the one I have in when the system arrives [I am nervous about this part though]. Ill forgo the KILLER NIC, as I'm probably not seeing tremendous differences. I live in a major city with a reliable connection and generally get low pings, although maybe that's because of the NIC?]
I just don't want to short a system for a few hundred bucks, when for that money I could be solid for years to come and save myself time and aggrivation. If I'm already dropping 3k, a few hundred isn't a big deal to be complete and done?
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maxyme
DS Veteran
Joined: 14 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1514 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 20 Oct 2010 at 5:13pm |
unfortunately the sockets are changing for intel cpu's next year i think so you will have to get a new mobo to upgrade the cpu and getting a new mobo is a pain. for the gpu shouldn't be hard to upgrade in the future. yes it will last a good 3-4 years. 40gb ssd wouldn't leave too much space for programs and games on the ssd 80 would be ideal if you want to store games on it. the 500gb makes sense for you. I have a 250gb hdd and i filled it in half a year but thats me i have lots of videos ect. plus you can always add a new drive in the future or upgrade it very easily. the dual gpus quad i7 and 6gb ram seems to be the sweet spot in my opinion for those who can afford dual gpus. the killer card is not worth the money in anyones opinion but can't you hook up the eithernet to the mobo and test the difference? the noctua u12p is a great cooler will work great. everything in your build looks good but i don't know how the evga LE edition sli is. why did you go with it instead of the sli 3? oh and free game :D and free shirt if you want it. |
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Steam:pcmaster160
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Reciprocity
Newbie
Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 27 Oct 2010 at 12:55pm |
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FINAL BUILD before PURCHASE:
--------------------------------------------------
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 950 3.06GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: EVGA X58 Classified 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Requires EATX Chassis) (Model: 141-BL-E760-A1) System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 1200W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (80GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) 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: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (i7 Processors Only) 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 Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) 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 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test 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: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty ----------------------------------
last minute suggestions and questions:
1. Looking at 27-28" monitors, how are the Hanns G series that's over 27? NewEgg has about 72% of the reviews as good, but I know issues come into play at that sidz, like dead pixels, or ghosting, or what have you, that aremn't present @ 24 and under, so before I drop 300, I just wanted to clear that up.
2 For dual monitors, is 1200 W of power for the PW the target? I notice a 27" monotr would draw 100w, not including the DUAL gpu's here.
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 27 Oct 2010 at 1:05pm |
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did you mean to pick the evga sli 3 or the 3x sli?
what resolution are you looking for at that size?
monitor power draw comes from the wall/splitter, not related to your computers power supply
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Reciprocity
Newbie
Joined: 07 Oct 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 23 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 27 Oct 2010 at 2:46pm |
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Ha, thanks for the !ender, pardon the nub comments!
Resolution, I think of most games is around 1600 x 1200. The Hanns Monitor seems to run @ 1900 x 1200.
Oh good, find on the MOBO! Last time I posted, I misposted then, too.
So yes, that's what I wanted, the EVGA X58 FTW3 Edition 3X SLI, which according to my build is $+80.
Is is true they are on back order?
Any other tweaks? I have ratcheted the budget up to 3k. I figure that's a good place for me. I would only tweak it downward by dropping off 1 480, but if there's no reason, why bother? I don't want to get out 1 year from, be gaming, and wished I had it. I don't console game and don't foresee doing that. I could foresee adding a new optical drive, like a Blu-Ray down the road, and wanting to really utilize my comptuer more fully, so i feel I'd be paying upfront to have alot more power to cover me 3-4 years and viability for upgrades and to handle all the media and gaming I can throw at it.
Sound logic or...loony ramblings? Thanks for ALL your help.
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