Recommendations on upgrade

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   Hello all, I have been using my old rig coming up on 4 years now and it is really showing its age now so I was looking to DS to get a new rig. 
I use it as mainly a gaming rig with at least 4 hours of usage daily for FPS and ARMA3 CoD BF3 ect. My budget is up to 4000 but saving money is always nice.
Here is the one I came up with but I have a few questions about it, mainly, would having the dual loop LC for cpu and SLI cards be more beneficial (stability and overclocks) than saving the money and using stock cooling on the next step up in GPU? A;;ways wanted a nice LC system though...
I use dual monitors no 3D and run games at 1920x1080 
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS HailStorm Edition
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (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: 1200W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)  
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F120GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps) 
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) 
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(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) 
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: Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive) 
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Red) (Up to 6 Fans) 
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (UV) (Creates Glowing Effect for H20 Tubes) 
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard)
Graphics Boost: FREE: 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 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
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

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Petard06 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 07 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1	Quote Reply Topic: Recommendations on upgrade Posted: 12 Jul 2012 at 7:40pm
	Hello all, I have been using my old rig coming up on 4 years now and it is really showing its age now so I was looking to DS to get a new rig. I use it as mainly a gaming rig with at least 4 hours of usage daily for FPS and ARMA3 CoD BF3 ect. My budget is up to 4000 but saving money is always nice. Here is the one I came up with but I have a few questions about it, mainly, would having the dual loop LC for cpu and SLI cards be more beneficial (stability and overclocks) than saving the money and using stock cooling on the next step up in GPU? A;;ways wanted a nice LC system though... I use dual monitors no 3D and run games at 1920x1080 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS HailStorm Edition Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core) Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (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: 1200W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F120GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) 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(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) 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: Red Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive) Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Red) (Up to 6 Fans) Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (UV) (Creates Glowing Effect for H20 Tubes) CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard) Graphics Boost: FREE: 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 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) 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: Online Posts: 5395	Quote Reply Posted: 13 Jul 2012 at 7:24am
	Hi Petard06..... Welcome to the forums. For a water cooled system , your build is pretty much right on. The Hailstorm case is made for water cooling. You could save $300 by going to the 4 core 3820 chip, all that gaming will use, but drop oc'ing to stage 1. DS doesn't oc that chip as high as the 3930k. To answer your question, for gaming several hours a day water cooling is more a luxury than a neccessity. It is nice if budget is there, but air cooling will do it just as good, with longevity and stability and alot easier to change parts if needed. Here' a air cooled system to check out that will give you the same gaming, but is $1000 cheaper. Config # 707542 Cost $ 2897 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: 8GB 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: 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 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 Home Premium (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 The HafX case is the best for air cooling. 8GB ram is all gaming needs. If you game on both monitors then the sli, 2x gtx670 will play BF3 on high settings real smooth, but struggle a bit on Ultra with everything turned up. For a single monitor the sli will max out gaming and stay 60fps or better. If by chance you want the option to tri-sli, 3x gpu in the future, then the X79 Sabertooth and 3820 chip from your first build would be needed. Then you would start with Dreadnought level 3 and tweek the config and still save alot of $$$ with air. Water cooling is great, and if its something you always wanted then your config is great.. This config saves money but is air cooling. Hope this helps and best of luck. Edited by bprat22 - 13 Jul 2012 at 9:27am

ablahblah Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 12 Jun 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2313	Quote Reply Posted: 13 Jul 2012 at 9:34am
	I'm agreeing with bprat on this, two 670s on air will handle two 1920x1080 monitors just fine as long as you're not going into BF3 Ultra. You can spend the money on the LC and overclocking and then you might be able to hit a high enough clock so that Ultra is doable, but on the other hand, you can also try ditching the LC for dual 680s instead. LC loops always look nice though Fan wise, I took a small hiatus from the forums, does DS use any LC specific fans now? I remember back then people were often recommended to request Scythe Gentle Typhoons for LC loops because of their static pressure.
	R4D4RPR00F Core i7 920 @ 3.9Ghz Asus Sabertooth X58 EVGA GTX 570 Mushkin 6GB 1414Mhz