Sandy E or Ivy?

Budget:
<$3000

Expectations:
Tend to keep my pcs for 4-5 years with midlife upgrades (i.e. CPU swap, GPU upgrades etc).

Usage:
MMOs, maybe a few fps games, nothing major.

Special Needs:
Handling of large RAW files for photoediting, CS5, Elements. Looking at running Adobe Premier for HD video editing
- Trying to see if I can squeeze a 2 monitor setup here.

Saved Ticket #: 683937 = Ivy, 683942= Sandy E

Questions:
1) I've posted before on the forum. Been going back and forth on going with Ivy or Sandy E (3930). What are the opinions of the folks here since Ivy is finally out and the reviews are coming in?
Note that I'm also looking the longevity of the MB platform.

2) I initially went with Intel SSDs but am looking at the Corsair SSDs to reduce cost a little. However, I was aware that the Corsair controllers had issues (Sandforce). Have they been resolved or should the buyer still beware?

3) Another question is that when I select 2x 1 TB Drives for Hard Drive set 2, I'm assuming that I get 2 1 TB drives in a non raid configuration. Am I correct in this assumption?

Opinions are most welcome.

Thanks!

Oookayyyy.... time for bedtime, Stevie.

Here are the 2 configurations I'm looking at:

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: 850W Corsair TX850 V2 (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (180GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F180GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 2x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 2.5GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA 025-P3-1579-BR)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex Liquid CPU Cooler (High-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
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard)
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
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 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: - No Thanks
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

OR:

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 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: 850W Corsair TX850 V2 (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (180GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F180GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 2x (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(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 2.5GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA 025-P3-1579-BR)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooler (240mm Radiator) (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
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard)
Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
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 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: - No Thanks
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

Edited by dogwalker - 04 May 2012 at 9:38am

bprat,

Thanks for the advice. I've posted before and you helped me out then. But I decided to see what the Ivys brought to the table.

Do you have any opinion on this?
2) I initially went with Intel SSDs but am looking at the Corsair SSDs to reduce cost a little. However, I was aware that the Corsair controllers had issues (Sandforce). Have they been resolved or should the buyer still beware?

Thanks for the tip on the video card. I will probably go with your recommendation.

Sandforce still an issue? That's sad. Oh well, off to Intel I go.

I have a little different take on the Sandforce controller than Avelict. As far as I know there is no problem with the controller today. Some companies have problems with their firmware but OCZ (recently) and Intel do their own firmware while others have to use what comes from Sandforce. The best alternative to the Sandforce is the Samsung 830. In the case of Samsung they are providing their own controller and firmware that seems to be a winner.

Also, as far as I know Corsair uses Sandforce's firmware and if their is a problem they have to get a fix from Sandforce. DS has sold a bunch of Corsair SSDs and I have not seen anyone complain about their performance on this forum. If budget was a consideration I would not be afraid to buy a Corsair SSD. I just think the Intel has better backing and expertise especially with firmware. Right now I think that the Samsung 830 is the one to beat.

Frank