Slade system question

Hey guys!

Budget:
Up to about $4k.

Expectations:
Now: Maxed out gaming (e.g., BF4) at up to 2560x1440.
Later: Add extra HDDs and a second GTX 780 Ti EVGA SC.

Usage:
Primarily gaming, but I may also engage all cores to 100% with computations for extended periods of time (say, up to several days straight). I will also run virtual machines and do some photo editing hence 32GB or RAM.

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Obsidian 550D
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 4770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) <br><strong></strong>
Motherboard: ASUS Z87-DELUXE/QUAD (Intel Z87 Chipset) (Features Intel Thunderbolt 2 Technology) <br><strong></strong>
System Memory: 32GB DDR3 1866MHz Corsair Vengeance Pro (High-Performance) <br><strong></strong>
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) <br><strong></strong>
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (1TB Samsung 840 EVO) <br><strong></strong>
Storage Set 2: - No Thanks <br><strong></strong>
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 780 Ti 3GB (EVGA Superclocked ACX Cooler Edition) <br><strong></strong>
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster Zx (Includes Audio Control Module) <br><strong></strong>
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 120mm Radiator 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 Fans: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Airflow Control: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 2 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds with Noise Dampening Material) <br><strong></strong>
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection) <br><strong></strong>
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)


The reason I want to go with the Corsair Obsidian 550D case are its dimensions -- the other cases (e.g., the Hailstorm II) are just a bit too bulky. Like I said though, in the future I'd like to extend this system with some hard drives and another identical GPU. I do have concerns about the space and thermals. That is, I suspect with the cooling that I've selected the system with two GPUs may run too hot or too loud. What do you guys think about that? Would you recommend I went with a larger case or another cooling method or am I just being paranoid here :-)?

Thanks!

I agree with bp22 on everything... Even going single ACX in the Slade 550D case may require some additional fans/removal of sound reducing panel(s). With the 550D, you're getting essentially a single input and a single output fan. Your output will be slightly blocked by the use of the sealed loop liquid cooler and the ACX will dump a ton of extra hot air into the case (none the less what 2 of them would add. With such an extreme build, the ODE case might be a better option especially when it comes to cooling...

Thanks a lot, guys! This has been really eye-opening. I imagine installing external fans would make the 550D ugly so I guess I just need a larger and better-ventilated case. Ode doesn't look too bad but I'd prefer something black. The configurator is giving me some other case options, but the only two I like are:

1. Corsair Carbide Series Air 540
2. Hailstorm II

Air 540 is better than HailStorm space-wise and it looks like it's really well-ventilated too. It may be a bit louder thought due to it's openness. Have you guys had any experiences with that case? Do fans go quieter automatically when the system is not under load?

Because Air 540 has so many holes with no filters I suspect a lot of dust gets inside of it too. Does HailStorm II end up with a lot of dust inside or is that aspect controlled with filters?

I haven't seen anyone on the forums give feedback on the 540, but testing shows excellent airflow and relatively quiet.   It is a nice case.    

The video card fans, usually the noisiest part of a rig, do adjust rpm with load/temp.   They can also be adjusted using 3rd party like Precision X for example.

The case fans don't adjust automatically but can be adjusted with presets in Bios or 3rd party software if they're plugged into the mobo.

Dust.... all the good gaming cases will get dust in them, filters or not. Best bet is just to keep it off the floor where the dust accumulates and swirls around.



Edited by bprat22 - 06 Apr 2014 at 12:34pm

Yeah the SC ACX are nice and everyone wants them but there is a work around in a lot of cases, especially in sli. Reference would be my pick.

On a table is perfect. I have 3 hairy, shedding cats and forced hot air heat and I clean my case that sits on an old file cabinet only every year or two. Even then, not much dust at all.

Nzxt has some nice cases, if you want big you could get the Nzxt Phantom 820

Edited by ArkansasWoman777 - 06 Apr 2014 at 2:56pm

Originally posted by snaken Hey guys! Budget: Up to about $4k. Expectations: Now: Maxed out gaming (e.g., BF4) at up to 2560x1440. Later: Add extra HDDs and a second GTX 780 Ti EVGA SC. Usage: Primarily gaming, but I may also engage all cores to 100% with computations for extended periods of time (say, up to several days straight). I will also run virtual machines and do some photo editing hence 32GB or RAM.

When you mention running virtual machines, are you thinking of something that runs on the host operating system such as Virtual Box or are you thinking about  a hardware hypervisor like KVM or Xen that boots first and manages all of your machine resources?

Why?

DigitalStorm machines are superb Windows boxes in whatever flavor of Windows that you prefer and should have no difficulties with any software that expects Windows to be the host OS.

If you plan on running one of the "Unix Like" OSs such as the many distributions of Linux then you may wish to review the original hardware manufactures current support policies for the OS that you intend to use.

Originally posted by snaken I actually plan to wipe Windows 8 and install 7 Pro instead. They really dropped the ball on the UI of 8. Are you aware of any benefits of 8 over 7 Pro?

Unfortunately, one of the areas where Windows 8 has a clear advantage over Windows 7 is gaming, as 8 supports DirectX 11.1 and 11.2 features, which can make a significant performance difference on more recent titles. For Battlefield 4, you're looking at roughly a 6% increase in frame rates:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2013/11/24/battlefield_4_windows_7_vs_81_performance_review/5#.U0K63fldXjI

I agree with you that Windows 8 is a giant step back for desktop usability. I believe Microsoft is delivering a patch to Windows 8.1 soon that will bring back a lot of common-sense stuff for desktop users - start menus, better mouse control of full-screen windows, etc - which may help, but we'll see. You can also get cheap third party apps like Start8 and ModernMix that improve the experience somewhat.

There are some advantages in using Windows 8 for gaming, along with disadvantages for "regular" computing. Some of these disadvantages can be ameliorated, but others can't. I'm running Windows 8.1 myself, but it's a tough call.

Originally posted by snaken I plan on using Windows as the host for VMs. That set up will allow me to squeezing in a quick (or not so quick) gaming session while working on something. With that amount of RAM I may not even have to pause the VM (or multiple VMs). Inside of the VM I will run a BSD or Linux OS. I actually plan to wipe Windows 8 and install 7 Pro instead. They really dropped the ball on the UI of 8. Are you aware of any benefits of 8 over 7 Pro?

That looks like a solid plan.

I recently ordered a Slade with the objective of running it as a multi-boot system with CentOS 6.5 as the default OS, Windows 7 Ultimate as the entertainment platform, and Steam OS as the beta test (how can I break this thing) platform. After asking for opinions in these forums and researching the original hardware vendors' support for Linux, I ordered an ASRock X79 Extreme9 motherboard for the Slade since ASRock seems to have a solid commitment to support Linux as well as Windows OS.

As for the question of Windows 7 versus Windows 8, I follow the news articles from time to time and lean toward the conservative view of staying with Window 7 until Window 9 goes live. I'll probably migrate to Windows 9 when its Service Pack 1 rolls out for general distribution. Please keep in mind that many of my games are quite old, going back to stand alone DOS so having gotten them to run on Windows 7, I am in no hurry to wrestle with getting them to run on Windows 8.x. 

Originally posted by snaken How does that MOBO support Linux better than others? You mean stuff like power management?

My concern was OEM Technical Support. Some companies insist that they support Windows only and will not consider issues with other Operating Systems. Other companies will not turn down Tech Support issues for Linux but will only work on it on an 'as available' basis. When I checked the ASRock Support pages, I found detailed Linux support for a fairly recent 2013 ticket. Since it was the best Linux support that I could find, I selected their motherboard - hoping I will never need help, but confident that I won't be dismissed out of hand because I'm using Linux.

That's some good info, thanks! I will most definitely get rid of Metro.