Slade build input

Hi all. Been lurking for a long time but it might soon be time to replace my aging 7 year old "name brand" PC

Budget:
around $2,500

Expectations:
Single monitor 1080P.  Looking to upgrade my monitor separately as well.  Leaning towards the ASUS VG248QE

Usage:
Mostly gaming/entertainment.  Games are mostly WoW but looking to be able to play latest FPS games like Battlefield, GTA and upcoming Star Wars Battlefront.   Also do work from home including AutoCAD, 3D modeling with SketchUp and Photoshop Graphics.  Its not high end work so although a true workstation would be more appropriate, I can do most of the work on my current PC so this setup would be a large upgrade.

Special Needs:
Dust and somewhat confined area lead me to the Slade.  Noise reduction is not critical but a nice bonus.
I'm not that familiar with cooling setups so I left the default options.

Biggest question I had was with hard drive slots.  The configuration page offers three drive slots so would start with the standard SSD for OS and main programs and the 1TB mechanical for everything else.  Would probably bring over a hard drive with data from old PC or use external drive.  Question is, best I can tell the case and motherboard offer up to 6 slots.  Will all 6 be available for later expansion or do you lose three for space for something like the cooling equipment .  Would like to have a space reserved for a future second SSD if need be and while I'm still deciding how to set up my file management, I might want to have a small separate drive for my work files.  The 2TB drive or a second 1 TB drive are about the same price.


Configuration Code: 1214685
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,596.00

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Obsidian 550D
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0 GHz (Codename Devils Canyon) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK2 USB 3.1 (Intel Z97 Chipset) (Military-Grade TUF Components)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W EVGA SuperNOVA
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (256GB Samsung 850 PRO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
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 980 4GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
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 custom HydroLux liquid 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 1 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds Only)
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
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)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: FREE: McAfee AntiVirus Plus (1 Year Service Activation Card) (Not Pre-installed) ($35 Value)
Office: - No Thanks
Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Branded Gear: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty (3 Year Labor & 1 Year Part Replacement)

Thank you bprat.  I hadn't counted the optical drive.  Will probably never need all slots but nice to know they are there.  I originally liked the Bolt but liked the flexibility and expandability of the Slade for the similar price more.  No other critiques so guess I picked good options .  Just have to get a few things in order and will let you guys know when I go for it. 

I noticed that the 980 Ti is now offered in the configuration options. I know they just came on the market (and may be hard to get a hold of at the moment) but was wondering if anyone knows if any other components need to be upgraded (like the power supply) compared to the requirments of the 980.  Just checking my conifg again and the Ti only increases the price by like $83 over my original setup (unless I missed something)

Thanks

I'm hoping to maybe finally order this week after getting an unexpected refund.  So posting what is hopefully final config and get any last opinions.

Just had a question.  Under the config options, the Sabertooth Mobo is identified as the USB 3.1 model but under the specs only the USB 3.0/2.0 ports are listed.  The ASUS website does show the same board as either a 3.1 or a 3.0 version but otherwise identical.  It probably doesn't make a difference to me either way and wouldn't change my order.  Only reason I ask is if the 3.1 board is more expensive, just wouldn't want to pay for the 3.1 board and actually only get a 3.0 version.  So just looking for clarification on whether the model name is correct or the specs are correct.

But otherwise, the final config is:

Configuration Code: 1228440
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,679.00

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Obsidian 550D
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 4790K 4.0 GHz (Codename Devils Canyon) (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z97 MARK2 USB 3.1 (Intel Z97 Chipset) (Military-Grade TUF Components)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W EVGA SuperNOVA
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (256GB Samsung 850 PRO)
Storage Set 2: 1x Storage (1TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
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 980 Ti 6GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
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 custom HydroLux liquid 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 1 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds Only)
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
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)

Originally posted by bprat22 I believe the USB 3.1 means it's compatable with 3.1 with an add-on card that plugs into a Pcie slot. The mobo itself has 2.0 and 3.0. Not sure any mobo has 3.1 built in. EDIT... motherboards are showing with USB 3.1 built-in, so I guess a call or email to DS is needed to see what they're shipping. The ports are a lighter blue/teal color.

ASUS has launched boards that support USB 3.1. We currently offer a couple options on Z97 based systems and can special order the X99 options.

ASUS USB 3.1 PRODUCT PAGE

Edited by Steven - 22 Jun 2015 at 3:29pm

Order has been placed and Stage 1    Went with the config posted though for the $28 bumped up to the 850 power supply for extra headroom if needed down the road (and threw in a T-shirt because why not lol). 

And DS did clarify that the Sabertooth MB is the USB 3.1 built in and will update the specs in the config options (my little contribution to the world I guess).   Thanks for the help!

Up to stage 4    Hopefully have it in a couple weeks or less.  

Order shipped!  Now a long week of waiting and tracking. 

Enjoy it.
It would be nice to have some sort of accelerometer in the case to see how they are handled during shipping.