New Gaming PC Config, Advice Requested.

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   Budget:

2500-3500   preferably less then $3300 including tax

Expectations:

Gaming PC.  Will be using it to drive a 30" 2560 x 1600 display.  Would like to run a lot of the new games at high graphic settings with good FPS.

Saved Ticket #: 713761

Looking to get some opinions from you guys on my configuration.  Should I make any changes to the CPU?  RAM?  Will having an SSD and a SATA HD together really help with speed?  Should I go with the 680 video card vs the 670?  Cooling concerns, should I pick a different case or add any additional cooling?  Ram, do I want the 1600 or 2133 Mhz, brand Corsair or DS Ram?

Thank you in advance for any advice you guys can provide.  Have a great day.

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jtpro Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Quote Reply Topic: New Gaming PC Config, Advice Requested. Posted: 31 Jul 2012 at 9:52am
	Budget: 2500-3500 preferably less then $3300 including tax Expectations: Gaming PC. Will be using it to drive a 30" 2560 x 1600 display. Would like to run a lot of the new games at high graphic settings with good FPS. Saved Ticket #: 713761 Looking to get some opinions from you guys on my configuration. Should I make any changes to the CPU? RAM? Will having an SSD and a SATA HD together really help with speed? Should I go with the 680 video card vs the 670? Cooling concerns, should I pick a different case or add any additional cooling? Ram, do I want the 1600 or 2133 Mhz, brand Corsair or DS Ram? Thank you in advance for any advice you guys can provide. Have a great day.

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5120	Quote Reply Posted: 31 Jul 2012 at 10:52am
	Hi jtpro....Welcome to the forums. For strictly gaming you really don't need the X79 platform, unless you wanted the option to go tri-sli, 3x video cards. It's a great mobo, but the quad channel memory of it compared to dual channel memory of the Z77 is for ram intense apps like video editing, rendering, etc. The X79 with the 4 core 3820 isn't much more, but you are restricted to stage 1 overclocking by DS. Not a big deal, so either way is good. Ram speed of 1600Mhz is all you need. The difference you'll never see plus the higher 2133 Mhz speed can cause overclocking problems. For your 30" monitor a sli, 2x gtx 670 will give you much better gaming and higher fps with higher in game settings. Here's alink that compares a gtx 670 to a 680. You'll see the 670 and 680 are very close, within 5-10%. In the link you can change the comparison to 680 vs sli 680 to see a what a sli 670 would do within a few fps. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=555 Here's a config to check out. It's about the same price as yours, but much better gaming. Config # 714000 Cost $ 3062 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 SABERTOOTH Z77 (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Features Thermal Armor and Thermal Radar) 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: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (180GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) 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 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 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 (Large) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty I almost always show the HafX case for air cooled systems because it is tops in cooling. Other cases will work also, just that the HafX is the best. The Hailstorm case is a great case, but primarily designed for full water cooled systems. It will work, esp, with the Vortex 240mm cooler mounted under the top and we do have forums members that love it, just the HafX has better air flow. For the HafX case I put in the Noctua D14 cpu air cooler. It has great cooling, is quiet and very reliable. The Vortex 240 you picked is also very good, just more to go wrong. Your call as always. The 1050HX psu is to handle the sli 670's with room to spare. For gaming you only need 8GB ram but I put in 16GB because it is pretty cheap. You could save $50 and go 8GB. See what you think and best of luck. Edited by bprat22 - 31 Jul 2012 at 10:59am

jtpro Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Quote Reply Posted: 01 Aug 2012 at 9:32am
	bprat22: Thank you so much for your feedback. I went ahead and reconfigured a system using some of your recommendations. I do plan to use this system for photo and video editing as well so I would like to try and get a system with the Z79 MB and CPU. I do really like the idea of swapping out the single 680 for dual SLI 670s. You are right the improvements are incredible when doing some comparisons using anandtech. Below is the new configuration, what do you guys think? Is the air cooled Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 better then the "closed system" water cooled Vortex 240mm? which one would be quieter? Do you think the hard drive configuration that I have is good? (1) 180Gig SSD + (1) 1 TB 7200RPM traditional drive. I stuck with the 1600 ram that you recommended. Thank you again for any advice that you can provide. Ticket number: 714298 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 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (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: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (180GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) 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 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm 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 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) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5120	Quote Reply Posted: 01 Aug 2012 at 10:34am
	That build is right on. The X79's quad channel memory will give you a boost in editing and the sli 670 are a big increase in gaming over the single 680. As far as D14 vs the Vortex 240, they will both cool about the same. Not sure of the noise of the Vortex but the D14 is pretty quiet. What the D14 does give you is dependability. Chances are nothing will go wrong with the sealed Vortex unit but there is more plumbing and a mini pump that can go wrong. The HDD and SSD are right on . That rig with the D14 or the Vortex is very nice. Go for it.

Asangard Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Digital Storm Live Chat Rep. Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1116	Quote Reply Posted: 01 Aug 2012 at 2:18pm
	Just on a side note DS has been requiring Liquid Cooling on the X79 platforms so at a minimum you would need the Vortex 240. If you put the D14 in and DS wants the 240 they will e-mail or call you. Really nice build otherwise.
	All evil comes from within, Not from Without, Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path, Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy.

jtpro Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 12:08pm
	Thank you all for your help. I decided to go ahead and place the order. I am in stage 1! They did email me to let me know with the non-K CPU I would only be able to have stage 1 overclocking which is just fine. Here is the final build: 715742 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 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s) System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair Dominator DHX (High-Performance) Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (180GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) 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 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm 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 Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: - No Thanks Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: - No Thanks Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5120	Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 12:16pm
	Congrats on a real nice rig.

jtpro Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 5:43pm
	Does anyone know who makes the video card that they use here? Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) Doesn't seem like it provides a part number. Thanks in advance?

tju76 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 06 Mar 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 773	Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 6:33pm
	Its a reference card so it comes from nvidia


Asangard Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Digital Storm Live Chat Rep. Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1116	Quote Reply Posted: 06 Aug 2012 at 8:12pm
	I believe NVIDIA has control over how reference cards are made but don't actually make them themselves. Their partners such as EVGA, ASUS and others make the cards. Alex would have to chime in on who is actually making the cards and it could be there are multiple vendors DS is buying them from. Edited by Asangard - 07 Aug 2012 at 11:30am
	All evil comes from within, Not from Without, Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path, Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy.

jtpro Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Aug 2012 at 2:15pm
	WOOOHOOO!! Almost :-D Stage 7: (QA Passed) Your order has successfully passed our stringent quality assurance process. Everything from top to bottom on your purchase has been verified by an experienced Digital Storm technician. Estimated Shipment Date: 0-1 business days (Mon-Fri) from 8/10/2012

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5120	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Aug 2012 at 2:20pm
	Won't be long now. Hopefully next week.

jtpro Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Aug 2012 at 2:29pm
	Well I am in SoCal so I am hoping it ships today so I can have it on Monday... I know.. wishful thinking :)

jtpro Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Aug 2012 at 3:27pm
	It has shipped!!! WOW such great news. The whole process of building, test, and shipping took less then a week. Awesome service so far!! Edited by jtpro - 10 Aug 2012 at 3:27pm

Orange7 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 24 Apr 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 757	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Aug 2012 at 6:00pm
	Congrats! Can't wait to hear your review.
	DS xm15 Stage 4 i7-3820 (2.7GHz/3.7GHz) 16GB 1600MHz DDR3 GT 630, 1GB 240GB Intel 520

xii Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Senior Member Joined: 25 Feb 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 921	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Aug 2012 at 6:18pm
	That is going to be one nice computer. Make sure you post pics and a review - they are appreciated!

Doc Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 186	Quote Reply Posted: 10 Aug 2012 at 7:07pm
	Shipping day! My last one was 3 years ago already. What a great day.


jtpro Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Quote Reply Posted: 14 Aug 2012 at 9:42am
	It has been delivered!! Gosh I am excited. Stuck at work til 4:30pm.. going to be a long day of waiting. So excited though. Will share with pics and such when I unbox it tonight.

infoleather Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 22 Aug 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Quote Reply Posted: 23 Aug 2012 at 12:34am
	So that they do not actually own their partners such as EVGA, Asus and other cards. When women buy Chain strap shoulder bag, they buy women bags at cwmalls.com no matter how many they maybe just as long as it can feed their fancy. Edited by infoleather - 31 Aug 2012 at 6:47pm
	There are two types of people in this world: those who like Neil Diamond, and those who don't.