Vanquish SLI/PSU questions

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   Budget:

1200-1400 initially, willing to upgrade as needed.

Expectations:

I plan to use it like a "Steam box," hooked up to my TV and run in 1920x1080. There may come a day when I hook it up to a monitor, but for now I'm looking just for a living room usage.

Usage:

Graphically intense games with the occasional MMO or Starcraft game. Absolutely no other use (video editing, etc).

Special Needs:

None really, but I do like the idea of a liquid cooled CPU, which I've never had. Hence my interest in the Vanquish line.

Now, I'm looking at the level 4 Vanquish, but that's also dependant on what happens with the price. For the record, I voted for the lower CPU, but would love to see that $100 drop go back into the GPU (pipe dream, maybe).

I was reading up on benchmarks for 660 TI SLI and it sounds like you can get some really stellar performance in 1920x1080, which would be ideal for my situation.

My worry is that if I purchase the level 4, and then eventually purchase another 660 TI, the PSU that comes with the 4 won't be able to support the two cards. That would result in upgrading the PSU, which sort of feels like money down the drain (in regards to the PSU that comes with the 4).

The other thought is that I can sell the 660 TI that comes with the 4 and use the money to purchase a 680. That should not require a new PSU, but I've seen benchmarks that shows the 660 TI SLI can outperform a 680 in many cases.

So, as someone who's only built one computer (five years ago), I'd like to get some thoughts on this from people who are much more in the know than I. Thank you in advance for any good advice or suggestions.

Edited by Vertebreaker - 28 Apr 2013 at 6:27pm

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Vertebreaker Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Quote Reply Topic: Vanquish SLI/PSU questions Posted: 28 Apr 2013 at 6:12pm
	Budget: 1200-1400 initially, willing to upgrade as needed. Expectations: I plan to use it like a "Steam box," hooked up to my TV and run in 1920x1080. There may come a day when I hook it up to a monitor, but for now I'm looking just for a living room usage. Usage: Graphically intense games with the occasional MMO or Starcraft game. Absolutely no other use (video editing, etc). Special Needs: None really, but I do like the idea of a liquid cooled CPU, which I've never had. Hence my interest in the Vanquish line. Now, I'm looking at the level 4 Vanquish, but that's also dependant on what happens with the price. For the record, I voted for the lower CPU, but would love to see that $100 drop go back into the GPU (pipe dream, maybe). I was reading up on benchmarks for 660 TI SLI and it sounds like you can get some really stellar performance in 1920x1080, which would be ideal for my situation. My worry is that if I purchase the level 4, and then eventually purchase another 660 TI, the PSU that comes with the 4 won't be able to support the two cards. That would result in upgrading the PSU, which sort of feels like money down the drain (in regards to the PSU that comes with the 4). The other thought is that I can sell the 660 TI that comes with the 4 and use the money to purchase a 680. That should not require a new PSU, but I've seen benchmarks that shows the 660 TI SLI can outperform a 680 in many cases. So, as someone who's only built one computer (five years ago), I'd like to get some thoughts on this from people who are much more in the know than I. Thank you in advance for any good advice or suggestions. Edited by Vertebreaker - 28 Apr 2013 at 6:27pm

Vertebreaker Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Quote Reply Posted: 28 Apr 2013 at 9:00pm
	Alright, so I just came to the realization that, unless my eyes are deceiving me, the P8Z77-V LX in the Vanquish 4 is not SLI capable. So, my SLI dream appears to be dying (at least in regards to its usage in a Vanquish model). Is it even worth it for me to continue pursuing the Vanquish line, given I want to change out at least one part no matter what I order, or should I start looking at a different model? Thanks all.

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 3:11am
	Hi Vertebreaker.. Welcome to the forums. None of the prebuilt, limited custom systems allow sli except the ODE lvl 4. For a system with sli motherboard a fully custom rig is necessary. Here's a build a little over budget but does have the Sabertooth mobo and the HafX case, the best for air cooled systems. Also has a 800w psu for sli gtx660, gtx 670 etc. I can't cut/paste at the moment so just plug config# in up top. Config # 820602 Cost $ 1633 Within this you can swap around parts to get a different drive, video card, etc. The Hafx is the best but the 500r for $73 less is also a very good case for cooling. Hope this helps and good luck. Edited by bprat22 - 29 Apr 2013 at 3:13am

ArkansasWoman777 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 19 Aug 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4314	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 3:13am
	heres bprats build that he made for you 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) 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: 800W Corsair GS (Dual 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 660 Ti 2GB (Includes PhysX) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (High Performance Cooler) 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 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz 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 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) 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 you're welcome bprat Edited by ArkansasWoman777 - 29 Apr 2013 at 3:13am
	"Captain Sirius Black" Storm Trooper i5 3570k Ordered: 11-27-12 Stage 1: 11-29-12 Stage 2: 12-2-12 Stage 3: 12-2-12 Stage 4: 12-4-12 Stage 5: 12-4-12 Stage 6: 12-10-12 Stage 7: 12-12-12

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 3:18am
	Thanks a bunch Arkansas.

Vertebreaker Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 4:59am
	Hey all, appreciate the warm welcome and the build idea. It's definitely a bit out of the initial price range. I'm slowly getting the idea that I'd be better off, price-wise, doing a DIY Sabretooth (that seems to be the prevailing mobo) build if I'm going to pursue SLI. What are the general thoughts on the 660 TI? I'm worried that I'm going to pour a bunch of money into something that's going to be just okay. That's the driving thought behind wanting to go SLI or upgrade to the 680. The other option is buy the level 4, see how it does, and then swap out the 660 TI for the 680 if I'm not completely satisfied. That seems a little more costly, and I'm not sure what it would do to my warranty, but the comfort of having a professional build the thing is a little more relaxing to my anxious mind. It appears I have to do some thinking...

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 7:41am
	If money is tight, and I can definitely relate, forget the gtx 680. The gtx 670 for alot less is within 5-10% of the 680. Here's a link that compares the two cards. Within the link you can also put in the 660ti and see what fits you. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=555 Alot of us have done builds at home and enjoyed it but I like having DS do the awesome job they do and have my back if something goes wrong. You might save a couple hundred, maybe, but lots more hassle. Just my thoughts. A single 670 will play real nice on the 1920x1080 monitor, only the heavy shooters and heavily populated MMOs needing the settings turned to high or aa turned down. The 660 will also play real nice, but as time goes on the card will struggle quicker. In a few months newer gtx 7xxx cards might be out. You get the 660Ti now and if needed, upgrade to the newer. That way you can stay in your budget and get a non-sli build. Tons of ways to go. Edited by bprat22 - 29 Apr 2013 at 7:47am

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 7:57am
	You're gonna think I'm in sales, but NO. but, here's another way to go. Config # 820651 Cost $ 1469 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Carbide 500R (Black Finish) Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i5 3570K 3.40 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P8Z77-M PRO (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Precise Digital Power Design) System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual 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 660 Ti 2GB (Includes PhysX) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (High Performance Cooler) 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 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz 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 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) 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 I went with the 500r case and changed the mobo to the M-Pro. This M-pro is a micro mobo, meaning 2-3" shorter but can also do sli. Because it is a micro mobo, it has fewer Pcie slots, meanig if you sli, all the slots are covered and no sound card, etc. If you don't care about a sound card, and most don't, then it's another way to go. Good luck. Edited by bprat22 - 29 Apr 2013 at 7:59am

Vertebreaker Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 5:04pm
	I really appreciate the time and build options, bprat. After looking it over and talking to fellow gaming folk at work today, I think I've made a call on what I want to do. I'd like to see what happens with a potential price reduction on the Level 4. If that happens, I'm going to pick it up and enjoy the 660 TI for a couple months. Once NVIDIA drops the 780, I can upgrade to that and find a new home for my 660 TI. Best of both worlds in terms of getting the seemingly great quality of a DS build while still being able to upgrade to a more powerful vid card. I feel good about this plan.

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 5:38pm
	Sounds like a good plan. Good luck and stay in touch.

Alex Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Digital Storm Supervisor Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16314	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 5:52pm



Tidgxor Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE The Kokopelli kid Joined: 17 Sep 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13000	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 6:35pm

	My Two Digital Storm Rigs: Mr. Bojangles (HAF-X, 2010) & Mrs. Bojingles (Bolt I, 2013).

Onkel_Ken Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS Veteran Joined: 17 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2961	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Apr 2013 at 6:36pm
	Looking good!
	Velox X/AMD 5900X/MSI X570 Pro Carbon MB/32GB DDDR 3600 DSPS/850W PS/500GB Samsung 980 Pro/1TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus/500 GB HDD/Sound Blaster AE-7/EVGA FTW3 Ultra RTX 3080 10GB/Liquid CPU cooler AIO/

Vertebreaker Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Quote Reply Posted: 30 Apr 2013 at 5:24pm
	Because I know you've all been patiently waiting to see what I would do I ended up ordering the Level 3 today after debating the price difference with the Level 4 vs. what I would lose out on part-wise. Given my needs, I decided the Level 3 would be a much better choice, and I'm very pleased to see it's already at Stage 7. Really hoping it somehow gets shipped out today and arrives Friday, just in time for a weekend full of gaming! Thanks again to everyone who provided good insight. The friendly community was a part of my decision to support DS. Edited by Vertebreaker - 30 Apr 2013 at 5:25pm

Alex Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Digital Storm Supervisor Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 16314	Quote Reply Posted: 30 Apr 2013 at 5:25pm
	Thank you for choosing Digital Storm!


Tidgxor Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE The Kokopelli kid Joined: 17 Sep 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13000	Quote Reply Posted: 30 Apr 2013 at 6:21pm

	My Two Digital Storm Rigs: Mr. Bojangles (HAF-X, 2010) & Mrs. Bojingles (Bolt I, 2013).

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391	Quote Reply Posted: 01 May 2013 at 3:33am
	Nice choice. Congrats.

Vertebreaker Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Quote Reply Posted: 06 May 2013 at 4:58am
	I'm one day away from delivery and I'm contemplating my entertainment center setup. A friend suggested that I lay the PC on its side, as it might fit on one of the shelves. Is that a horrible idea, given the parts and heat generated, or could that work? The entertainment center has no back or sides, just big glass shelves. Otherwise, I'm thinking some small stand off to the side. Not as aesthetically pleasing, but perhaps safer for the PC...

bprat22 Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391	Quote Reply Posted: 06 May 2013 at 8:23am
	I can't think of any reason the Vanquish 3 can't run on its side, the right hand side with no vents.

Vertebreaker Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 28 Apr 2013 Online Status: Offline Posts: 26	Quote Reply Posted: 06 May 2013 at 4:19pm
	Ah, good to know. Perhaps I will give it a try!

Vanquish SLI/PSU questions

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