Slade LV4 Config

Hoping to join the DS family in the coming weeks!

I do however have a few questions:

1) Do we know which GTX780Ti DS uses? Are more exotic versions offered as an special request?
2) Will my power supply choice be a good solid performer for future SLI configs?
3) Are the "Corsair Airflow Performance Edition" fans a worth while upgrade to keep things cool (and improve long term reliability)?



Budget:
$3k (Can stretch to 4k)

Expectations:
Reasonability high end (but not bleeding edge) that has room for future growth.

Usage:
Online FPS and RPGs

Special Needs:
Quieter build with a premium on long term durability. Going to add an Asus PG278Q in the near future and would like to drive it properly.

Saved Ticket #: 1045657

Specifications:


Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Obsidian 550D

Processor: Intel Core i7 5930K 3.5GHz (Six-Core) (Unlocked CPU)
Motherboard: ASUS X99 RAMPAGE V (Intel X99 Chipset)
System Memory: 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Corsair Vengeance LPX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 850W EVGA SuperNOVA
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (500GB Samsung 840 EVO)
Graphics Card(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti 3GB (Includes PhysX)
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme-Performance Edition)
Chassis Fans: Upgrade All Fans to Corsair Airflow Performance Edition (Up to 6 Fans)
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 1 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds Only)
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64-Bit Edition)


Edited by GloryUprising - 07 Sep 2014 at 11:33am

Thanks for the advice.

Any thoughts between the Silverstone Strider vs HX1050.

I like the Silverstone for the increased efficiency and better ripple protection. I like the HX1050 for the 50C rating.

I'm leaning more toward the HX1050 because I'll be connected to a UPS and my power is relatively stable at home. With a closed case, heat may also be an issue so the better rating there will also be a plus.

For the GPU, I was hoping for something like a ASUS GTX 780 Ti DirectCU II and since we're going with the bigger PSU, I was thinking of even OC it... Thoughts?

As a side note, the Corsair 1050hx also has more than double the warranty. Manufacturer shows more confidence in its product and gives the customer longer piece of mind.   Ripple is very important in component life , degrading of caps, etc but they both do a very good job and plenty of headroom.

Single 780ti will play real nice on that monitor. But, you won't get max , ultra settings with all games.   High for sure which looks great but only an sli will max things out and keep frames up. Depends what makes you happy.

Overclocking the 780ti gives real good results with about a 10% or better result. The 780 family respond well to oc'ing.

So I see that the GTX 780ti is discontinued due to the GTX980 release last night.

How do we feel about the 980's raw performance?

While the power and heat output ratings are STELLER esp in the 550D case, I'm still a gamer at the core. I was underwhelmed based on DS's own benchmarks: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/unlocked/nvidia-geforce-gtx-980-review-benchmarks-at-4k-idnum325/

Other sites have better benchmark scores for the 980s.

I still think I'm going to have the 980 OC'ed, do we expect a good performance boost vs an OC'ed 780ti when driving a PG278Q?

Nav, any thoughts?

TIA

As far as the 980, it also has a number of features lacking in the 780 Ti that will allow future games to render faster, including support for Direct3D 11.3. Also it will deal much better with 4k displays.

Thanks, guys (or gals if you're one)!

I look forward to your impressions, Nav.

Just a fyi... The Slade is a popular pick for a quiet build, but with the 240mm rad , the top acoustic panel needs to be removed because that's where it mounts, under the top panel.    It has come up in the past, and just wanted to make sure you know. It is still a quieter build, but not as quiet as a 120mm rad mounted to the rear fan area with top panel kept in place.   

I think the top off with 240mm rad gives it added airflow, so it's good in my book.

Looks great.

I replied to your other post.    You can still build a great DS rig, but the gtx 980 has replaced the 780ti.   It's about the same performance, maybe 10% better, has more vram and runs at about 25% less wattage under load which means less heat and quieter from testing I've seen early on.

Things do change every several months.   Just the nature of the beast.

Originally posted by bprat22 Just a fyi... The Slade is a popular pick for a quiet build, but with the 240mm rad , the top acoustic panel needs to be removed because that's where it mounts, under the top panel.    It has come up in the past, and just wanted to make sure you know. It is still a quieter build, but not as quiet as a 120mm rad mounted to the rear fan area with top panel kept in place.    I think the top off with 240mm rad gives it added airflow, so it's good in my book. Looks great.

I was thinking about that the other day. Can I still run the computer WITH the panel in or do I have to take it off?

Is that top rad fan speed adjustable to keep at lower speed to keep the noise down....

... is the noise that bad?

Another option would be a single 120mm radiator on the rear fan port. Or going with an air cooler, with 980's being only stock coolers currently, they won't be putting much heat into the case.

As bprat22 says the motherboard BIOS and software suite can adjust the fans. It should also be noted that they can also tune them to ramp up based on CPU temperature.

Honestly, the GTX 980 is a significantly better card than the GTX 780 Ti. If it wasn't Nvidia wouldn't be discontinuing them. The new features, once exploited by new games, will offer even better overall gaming experience.

Also, I just noticed that DS is offering the Samsung 850 Pros (up to the 512GB model). These are hands down the top performing SATA SSDs currently available.

The biggest difference, in general, betwen the two, is the Rampage can hold 4x sli gtx 980 and the Deluxe 3x sli.  

With ASUS boards, when you have fans in the headers on the motherboard, you can control the fans through the UEFI interface and with the AI Suite software. For voltage regulated fans, the UEFI setup will operate them between 60-100% voltage and can completely stop the fans; AI Suite will run a quick test on the fans to find the minimum operating voltage and can considerably lower the fan speed. PWM fans can operate in their full range, but I believe only the CPU header on the motherboard is a true PWM header...the other four-pin headers are not actually PWM.

It appears to me that the Airflow Controller only has 3-pin non-PWM headers and will only allow for spped control via voltage regulation.

I chose not to. I think the only benefit is that you can control the LED lighting (If you get it; I didn't) from software, instead of having a separate remote. Fan control, I think, is just as good, if not better, on the motherboard, unless you have a ton of fans like in an Aventum or Hailstorm.

Edited by  - 28 Nov 2014 at 3:00pm

Got to stage 5 yesterday around noon!!! The suspense is killing meeeeee.

How long does DS typically test the rigs for at this stage?