New Aventum II Build

Hi,

I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on the below system. Before I do, I'm wondering if anyone has any suggestions or tweaks to further dial in the design. Feedback from the engineering team would be helpful as well.

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Aventum II
Exterior Finish: Onyx Black Matte Finish with Red Stand
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 5930K 3.5GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99 RAMPAGE V (Intel X99 Chipset)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 1500W Corsair AX1500i (Digitally Controlled Power)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (512GB Samsung 850 PRO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 3x SLI Triple (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux Copper: Digital Storm Copper Pipe Custom Cooling System (Video Cards + CPU + Chipset)
H20 Tube Color:Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection)
Boost Graphics Card(s): Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
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 8.1 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 15-20 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

My questions are as follows:

1. Can the lead time be expedited and is the 10-15 business days relatively accurate?
2. What adjustments could be made to the selected components? I'm about where I want to be from a cost perspective, which is $8665.
3. Because I chose the ROG motherboard, I feel the stock red tubing and black/red chassis complement it perfectly, but part of me wants to go off the reservation a bit. Any suggestions? I assume DS will install the OC panel as well?
4. What kind of maintenance will be required on the water cooling system?
5. I'm very concerned about freight. I can only assume these are packed well but it seems to me using FedEx might be a mistake. I assume we can have a trucking company pick this up on a small pallet to ensure there are no surprises?

Regarding my use case, I'll primarily be gaming on it while I'm not working. I recently purchased and already have in my possession 3 x Asus 27" ROG Swift 144Hz 1440p monitors with the goal of gaming with nVidia Surround.



Edited by Krudd - 29 Nov 2014 at 7:01am

Thanks for the information. I made a couple of modifications and placed my order today! I am extremely pumped and cannot wait.

System Configuration:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Aventum II
Exterior Finish: Onyx Black Matte Finish with Red Stand
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 5930K 3.5GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99 RAMPAGE V (Intel X99 Chipset)
System Memory: 32GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 1500W Corsair AX1500i (Digitally Controlled Power)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (512GB Samsung 850 PRO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (2TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 4x SLI Quad (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux Copper: Digital Storm Copper Pipe Custom Cooling System (Video Cards + CPU + Chipset)
H20 Tube Color: Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection)
Graphics Boost: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
NVIDIA SHIELD: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 15-20 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

I'm planning to write a detailed unboxing review along with video once received and will be sure to share.


Edited by Krudd - 29 Nov 2014 at 7:01am

Nice build.. My green eyed monster is stirring. Would love to have such a machine, but for me it is way overkill for what I do.


Grats.. I should be placing my order as soon as the money hits my bank account :

Originally posted by Krudd Nice. What kind of build are you going to get?

This is what I am toying with.. trying to stay within a price range of 3500$ to 4500$   However I still have to replace my monitors. and there is the decision on Full Watercooling... and could I reuse my older 1200 watt modular PSU

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Digital Storm Velox
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 5820K 3.3GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99 RAMPAGE V (Intel X99 Chipset)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 1000W SliverStone Strider
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (500GB Samsung 840 EVO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Seagate)
Storage Set 3: - No Thanks
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H110 280mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme-Performance Edition)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Airflow Control: - 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 Graphics Card(s): - 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 8.1 (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 4 Year Limited Warranty (4 Year Labor & 2 Year Part Replacement)

But this looks close to what I will order

Originally posted by Krudd That's a very nice build. It should tear through just about anything for the foreseeable future. We're moving right along with my order. The build is already at stage 3!

Good luck Want pics when you get it.. it is always nice to have a new toy.

Hi Krudd,

Great system. If you don't take advantage of the DS Black Friday + Cyber Monday sale with the 5 year warranty, I would increase your warranty. The standard 3 year warranty only has one year on parts. You have a complicated system and I would get as much warranty as I could afford.

Frank

It's hard for us to offer the Black Friday sale to previous customers, as it would be unfair to customers that decided to wait for it.

Finally, just hit stage 4. Come on DS, let's go!

I actually work for a large technology solutions provider and was able to use my contacts at Asus to get them to me. I still had to wait a week or two, but they are heavily allocated at the moment.

Hi Krudd,

I have an Aventum ll configuration similar to yours  and Stage 5 was on Oct. 16, Stage 7 on Oct. 21 and shipping (freight) the next day. I live in S. Florida and it arrived on Oct. 30. Very big and quiet machine. Mine came with a loose memory stick and another stick with an unlocked tab (there's 8). I have seen various unboxings and they all have different packing inside, from liquid foam to foam squares (mine had two). Good luck. Enjoy it.

I wonder why the packing wouldn't be consistent across the Aventum II line? Interesting. You'd think there would be one optimal way to pack these things to ensure the internals don't get jostled during freight.

Yes, I'm aware of the diminishing returns. 2 x 980s really aren't sufficient for my setup if I want framerates that leverage these 144hz 1440p panels though, based on my research. I expect performance to get better over time as the drivers are refined.

But as you can probably surmise, I didn't build this system with "bang for the buck" in mind.

Hi Krudd,
The various packing methods could be because of the many different configurations on this baby. It is big. I am sorry I didn't order more HDs. There is plenty of room. With those monitors it will be awesome. Good luck.

Stage 6! Whee!

Originally posted by FrankW Hi Krudd, Please keep us posted on how your PG278Q ROG Swift monitors work with the GTX980s.

Well, Friday is the day. Delivery is scheduled, and I've got a full week to do nothing but mess around with my new PC!

One more day. 

I've still got some cleaning up to do with cable management and such, but the PC is here and installed! Here are a couple of pics.