Please help me build a Bolt 3Post Date: 2015-04-19 |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
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Topic: Please help me build a Bolt 3 Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 9:16pm |
Hi forum members...So I've somehow come up with 25 configurations of various PCs from 4 different sites. Haha. Somehow, I keep coming back to Digital Storm and the Bolt 3. There are cheaper configs and boxes out there but it's all about that case, bout that case. Isn't that a song? Can you help an indecisive guy out so he can pull the trigger?
Some thoughts: - Man do i like that cooling unit with the red tubes. I like the way it looks but do I need it with my build? I specced it with a 980 with NO overclocking. - Worth it if I did overclock everything and add the upgraded cooling unit? - Replace the 980 with a Titan X for future proofing? - Does Digital Storm have better Memorial Day sales? haha Budget: $2500 for computer only. Could stretch more if needed. Expectations: Must be a small form factor for living room since it will be hooked to a 65" TV at 1080p but soon to be replaced with 4K TV this year. Must play games at high/ultra settings at 1080p 60fps or higher and 4k in the foreseeable future. Needs to last for 4 to 5 years before upgrading. Usage: Only to be used for gaming to supplement my consoles. It will become the default platform for any AAA games as well as games I can't get on consoles. Mostly games from Steam and god forbid, Origin and Uplay. :-/ Special Needs: Fairly quiet would be nice. Need to know best way to minimize dust going into it as well. Must make my PS4 and Xbone quake in fear. Saved Ticket #: 1183005 Specifications: [Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Pre-built Digital Storm Bolt 3 Exterior Finish: Black Brushed Aluminum Hairline Finish Trim Accents: - No Thanks Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0 GHz (Codename Devils Canyon) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS Z97I-PLUS (Intel Z97 Chipset) (Mini-ITX) System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 600W SilverStone SX600-G (Gold Plus Rated) (Supports up to GTX TITAN X) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 8x / CD-Writer 8x) Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (250GB Samsung 850 EVO) Storage Set 2: - No Thanks 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): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 980 4GB (Includes PhysX) Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio HPC Processor: - No Thanks Extreme Cooling: High Performance Cooler with Five Heatpipes H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Fans: Standard Black 120mm Fans Internal Lighting: Remote Controlled Internal + Front Panel RGB LED Lighting 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) |
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DS Veteran Joined: 28 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1674 |
Quote Reply Posted: 19 Apr 2015 at 11:34pm |
I'd opt for the CPU water cooling and the 850 Pro SSD over the 850 EVO.
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FrankW
DS Veteran Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 5:25am |
Hi bxstrb,
Your system will do find with 1920 x 1080 but it isn't going to give you smooth viewing with 4K. Even a Titan is going to be marginal. In any event if you want 4K I don't think a single 980 is going to do it for you. Frank Edited by FrankW - 20 Apr 2015 at 5:26am |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 5:39am |
Thanks Frank. As far as I know I can't really do dual cards in the Bolt 3 case right? Maybe I should just go with 980 and hopefully 3 years from now there'll be a new Titan that can handle 4k easily with just one card. I could swap then and just use the built in upscaler on the 4k tv for now. Not sure how good or bad that will look though. What do you think? Thanks.
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 5:59am |
Hi bxstrb.... The Bolt can't do a sli setup like you said. The mobo only has the single Pcie x16 slot.
Here's a link that shows the gtx 980 at various resolutions...... http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1351 The Titan X is roughly 20% better in fps. Here's another link to check out..... http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/201346-nvidia-geforce-gtx-titan-x-reviewed-crushing-the-single-gpu-market/2 Hope this helps. EDIT... for 4K, you can play pretty much anything, but game settings and fps will drop. 4K is about a 1920x1080 times 4. Needs a lot more horsepower. Edited by bprat22 - 20 Apr 2015 at 6:01am |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 6:13am |
Very helpful. Those numbers are in line with what I've seen. Looks like the 980 can still handle some games at 4k resolution alright. Maybe that will be good enough for now until I can upgrade the card in a few years. Will have to rethink this build or even this case. Thanks!
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 6:28am |
Yeah, for max flexibility, a case change would help. Here's a couple of comparisons just for fun
Length............Width........Height Bolt 3............ 15" 5.8"(edited) 18.3" Coridium(Corsair 450D).... 19.4 8 19.5 Air 540 18.3 13 16.4 The Coridium is 4" longer but the other specs are close. Assuming my specs are right, not as much difference as some might think, imho. Bolt 3 does have the feet for laying it flat. Just something to think about. Edited by bprat22 - 20 Apr 2015 at 7:09am |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 7:41am |
Hmmm. The Air 540 case actually looks like a build I configured from another site. The Coridium Case looks so big. I need something that doesn't look like a gaming tower and fits in more with my home theater components. I'm a UI/UX designer so looks matter alot to me. The Bolt 3 case is nice because it's subtle but the clear glass brings it up a notch.
I wish Digital Storm had a picture with all the computers side by side so you could see relative sizes between them. I find it really hard to find case dimensions in their descriptions. |
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FrankW
DS Veteran Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 7:45am |
Hi bxstrb,
bprat22 has given you some good information. I think you might be smart to rethink your Bolt case. Having only one PCIe x16 slot is very limiting for 4K. A Titan would help you with 4K but two 980s would be better for 4K. That is better for games that are optimized for SLI. I don't know how a 4K TV works for gaming. The cases that bprat22 suggested are two very good cases and would look good in a living room. I think that the Air 540 with its boxy design would look less computer like. The Corsair 450D is a neat case that is not too big. Frank The Coridium Case: The Air 540 Case: |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 8:15am |
I definitely like that Air 540 case. Wish DS had a config using that case. Out of all the other builders I feel like I could trust them the most.
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 8:20am |
DS does use that Air 540 in their configs. Not pre-configured but there to select. Go to the Apollo section for example, and select Change under the Chassis Model. Then from there, just plug in the case you want, the gtx 980, the drives you want, etc.
If sli is the goal, just make sure to select a sli capable mobo, like the Gigabyte Z97X, Asus Sabertooth, etc. Edited by bprat22 - 20 Apr 2015 at 8:23am |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 9:44am |
bprat22, thanks I didn't even see that option before! Now I can add a 27th configuration to my list. :-) At this rate, I'm afraid I may never buy a computer. Paralysis by analysis and so forth. lol..
Edited by bxstrb - 20 Apr 2015 at 9:44am |
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Pacesetter
Groupie Joined: 19 Jan 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 379 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 10:21am |
https://www.digitalstormonline.com/configurator.asp?id=1183357 |
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Vanquish II Ultimate.
I was laying in bed looking up at the stars and wondered "where is my ceiling?" |
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Gunner GzR
Newbie Joined: 17 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 58 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 10:48am |
i was right there with you. I configured reconfigured , asked questions of my friends. Bugged poor Brian on the chat several times and finally placed my order Saturday. . I did not get everything i wanted due to budget (got gtx 970's instead of 980 cards) but it will be a awesome system
You are in the right place for a great system |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 12:28pm |
Congrats Gunner GzR on your new computer. Heck I'm excited for you. So you got dual 970s in your rig? I'm still deciding on dual cards now OR a single card now and replace it in 2 years when technology has improved to the point that one card can do 4k easily.
I guess I'm really hoping for the 1 card solution so I can have my Bolt 3 case, fits in my budget right now, and less hassle if a game doesn't have SLI support at launch. I need to read up more on the benefits/drawbacks of 2 cards versus 1 card. Edited by bxstrb - 20 Apr 2015 at 12:32pm |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 1:28pm |
Pacesetter, thanks for the config. Here is mine:
https://www.digitalstormonline.com/configurator.asp?id=1183478 It's interesting how our prices are similar but you opted for dual 970s and I opted for single 980. I don't know much about dual card setups. If a new game comes out and doesn't have SLI support, would the wait be long for it to be implemented? I buy games I want to play on day one so I could see myself getting frustrated. Or do I just somehow turn off a card so I can play in single card mode? I'm more about simplicity and less hassle. Thoughts? Edited by bxstrb - 20 Apr 2015 at 1:31pm |
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bprat22
DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 1:44pm |
Sli can be turned off and on in Nvidia Control Panel.
You are better off with a single card if possible, but for 4k, right now, no single gpu can handle it at higher settings and frames. Who knows down the road. |
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DS Veteran Joined: 28 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1674 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 2:29pm |
You can do dual GPUs in the Bolt 3, but it won't be cheap. You'd need to use something like a Supermicro RSC-R2UT-2E8R to split the x16 PCI-e lanes into two x8 lanes. But, since there is no spacing between the two PCI-e slots on the riser, you'll have to have a GPU that is only a single slot wide, at least for the rear card. The only high-performance consumer graphics card on the market that is capable of a single slot is the EVGA GTX 980 Classified K|ngp|n. You'd want to set it up so the rear card is water cooled (hooked into the water cooling loop the CPU uses) and keep the front card air-cooled, as the single GPU and CPU will be pushing the cooling through the radiator. You'd need to split up the PCI-e power connectors to go to all of the connectors on the cards and the risers, but they are all coming from the same 12V rail on the PSU. Some people have had dual GTX 980 with an i7-5930K processor running on the same power supply, so power should be fine and capable (don't expect much overhead for overclocking, however).
So...doable, but expensive and probably worth looking at other options. |
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bxstrb
Newbie Joined: 19 Apr 2015 Online Status: Offline Posts: 10 |
Quote Reply Posted: 20 Apr 2015 at 7:16pm |
Thanks..yeah that sounds like its beyond my skill level. I'll either go with the single card and a bolt or the air 540 case with dual cards. Thank you all for your help.
Edited by bxstrb - 20 Apr 2015 at 7:16pm |
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DS Veteran Joined: 28 Oct 2014 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1674 |
Quote Reply Posted: 21 Apr 2015 at 11:02am |
Part of the reason why you go to a place like Digital Storm is so they can do the complicated stuff for you. If you really like the Bolt 3 chassis, as you've mentioned above, if you're willing to spend a little more, you can do it. I'd expect for a system like this to run a little more than $4K.
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