The PC is dead, long live the PC

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   Hiya folks!

My old PC gave up the ghost and trying to play Diablo 3 on a 13" laptop screen isn't doing my eyes any favors.  Time for shiny newness.

Been lurking on the forums and the configurator for over a month now.  Decisions decisions.  I'm flip flopping between something like the config below and an ODE 1/Marauder.  The thought process is with a custom build I could get a good foundation so I could upgrade it over time vs a lower end prebuilt which I would use for the current gen of games, then eventually scrap it and buy a new middle/low end system down the road.  In terms of tech savvy I've upgraded components before but never messed around with the processor, mobo or power supply.  I currently game on a a single 24" monitor at 1900x1200 resolution.  Am not considering a multiple monitor setup at the time.

Thoughts and suggestions on both the build and whether to go with the more expensive custom or less expensive prebuilt are appreciated, thanks!

Budget:

~$2000 custom, ~$1000-$1200 prebuilt

Expectations:

Gaming longevity for 4 to 5 years

Usage:

Primarily gaming.  Currently Lord of the Rings Online and Diablo 3, but also games such as Skyrim, Fallout, and in the future Guild Wars 2.  Dont intend to play any intense FPS games.

Special Needs:

Room can get warm in the summer.  No central a/c, have a window unit but temps can still peak up to 90 though not often.

Ticket Number: 688793

Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,080.00

Specifications:

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X

Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish

Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish

Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40 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 (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) 

Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks

Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks

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: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA 02G-P4-2672-BR)

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) <b></b>

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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Serious Putty Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 May 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Quote Reply Topic: The PC is dead, long live the PC Posted: 16 May 2012 at 12:20am
	Hiya folks! My old PC gave up the ghost and trying to play Diablo 3 on a 13" laptop screen isn't doing my eyes any favors. Time for shiny newness. Been lurking on the forums and the configurator for over a month now. Decisions decisions. I'm flip flopping between something like the config below and an ODE 1/Marauder. The thought process is with a custom build I could get a good foundation so I could upgrade it over time vs a lower end prebuilt which I would use for the current gen of games, then eventually scrap it and buy a new middle/low end system down the road. In terms of tech savvy I've upgraded components before but never messed around with the processor, mobo or power supply. I currently game on a a single 24" monitor at 1900x1200 resolution. Am not considering a multiple monitor setup at the time. Thoughts and suggestions on both the build and whether to go with the more expensive custom or less expensive prebuilt are appreciated, thanks! Budget: ~$2000 custom, ~$1000-$1200 prebuilt Expectations: Gaming longevity for 4 to 5 years Usage: Primarily gaming. Currently Lord of the Rings Online and Diablo 3, but also games such as Skyrim, Fallout, and in the future Guild Wars 2. Dont intend to play any intense FPS games. Special Needs: Room can get warm in the summer. No central a/c, have a window unit but temps can still peak up to 90 though not often. Ticket Number: 688793 Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,080.00 Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40 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 (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks 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: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA 02G-P4-2672-BR) 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) <b></b> 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

FrankW Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1308	Quote Reply Posted: 16 May 2012 at 4:54am
	Hi Serious Putty, That is a good build and you are set up to add a second 670 down the road if you need it for future games. You could save a few bucks by dropping back to the 850w PS. It is not as good as the 1050 PS. You do have a real problem with a stage 2 OC and 90 degree room temps. There may be days you can't game do to the room temp. You are playing games that don't stress the GPU very much but the CPU won't like those high temps for sure. You will need to monitor your CPU temps and be prepared to shut down when the system gets too hot. Changing coolers is not a solution either. Frank
	HAF 922 EVGA X58 LE 6GB DS Certified Corsair 750TX HDD-1TB Optical Drv ATI Radeon 5870

tybalt Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 10 May 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 43	Quote Reply Posted: 16 May 2012 at 10:45am
	If you got 2k to spend I would really look at the ode v2 level 4. Its a really good value for the price!
	Intel Core i7 3770K 4.5 GHz ASUS P8Z77-V DELUXE 8GB DDR3 1600MHz (120GBSSD 1TB hard drive) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Overclocked EVGA)

Serious Putty Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 May 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Quote Reply Posted: 16 May 2012 at 6:55pm
	Thank you for the replies! @Frank I know there's different components contributing to the heat output but is there a way to estimate the temperature over ambient that config would generate at stock, OC1, and OC2? Trying to determine what level of OC would produce the optimum up time vs performance. At what temps does the system start to redline? Lower OCs would push me more towards a prebuilt lower cost config. @tybalt Ive looked at the ODE L4, and I agree its a great value but if I'm going to go to that cost level, there's certain things I'm looking for which the ODE doesn't have.

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 5401	Quote Reply Posted: 17 May 2012 at 6:51am
	Hi Serious Putty......The i7-3570k chip in your build has what they call a TJMax of about 105 degrees celsius or 221 F. That is the temp when the cpu will throttle down to save itself and shut off if needed. That is the chip temp, however. The D14 cooler you picked will do a great job of carting away the heat and sending it out the back of the case. The problem lies with room temp. If the ambient is 85-90 then the cooler is using hot air to start with. I don't know of any way to estimate what lvl oc'ing will produce what ambient temp. Just too many variable, like an open window, air blowing on the case, etc. If additional cooling isn't an option I would suggest keeping the oc at lvl 1. Luckily, the HafX case picked is about the best you can get. The other factor that helps is the gtx670. It throws most of the heat produced by the gpu out the back and out of the case. Between the two, the case and 670, at least the heat isn't building inside the case. The case and gpu I have aren't as good as your build in getting the heat out and I have gamed for hours in a 85 F room with no problem. The cpu temps do climb higher obviously, but never close to being a problem. Programs like HWMonitor and EVGAPrecision can be used to monitor it. Hope this helps. Edited by bprat22 - 17 May 2012 at 6:57am

FrankW Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1308	Quote Reply Posted: 17 May 2012 at 7:34am
	What bprat22 said. Frank
	HAF 922 EVGA X58 LE 6GB DS Certified Corsair 750TX HDD-1TB Optical Drv ATI Radeon 5870

Serious Putty Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 15 May 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4	Quote Reply Posted: 28 May 2012 at 12:08pm
	Hiya folks, Due to another recent large purchase I ended up going with the ODEV2 Level 1 previous version (http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadode.asp?id=676207) which seems like quite a good value, though I do keep poking my head into the forums with a future intent to buy a custom rig. For the ODE though, I was wondering what would be a good VA/W level to look for in a UPS? Besides the computer, I would also have speakers, an external HD, and a single monitor plugged into it. Also I was wondering if the Corsair GS600 DS puts in would require a pure sine wave UPS? When I plugged GS600 into a component site, the only model that came up indicated it had active power form correction.