1st build questionsPost Date: 2012-07-17 |
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RClive 
Newbie 
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
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 Topic: 1st build questionsPosted: 17 Jul 2012 at 11:50am |
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Hi Guys,
I’m putting together my first custom PC and could use some advice. My main uses: - Statistical modelling - Some basic photoshop/video editing - Streaming music and video - Some gaming (maybe more than I think) Other considerations - Budget $2600 - I leave the computer on for long periods of time. At least on in the morning and off at end of day - I often have lots of windows open - New monitor in future, say Dell U2312 (1920x108) or even Dell U2711 (2560x1440) - Quiet is important. - It will be on the floor so dust may be an issue - I plan on upgrading in the future, perhaps 2nd GPU, audio card, more hard drives, sound card, Blue-ray. 1) Case: I have thought about HAFX, Corsair 550D and 650D and am leaning to HAFX. I’m a little worried about the dust. 2) CPU: trying to decide between i7 3770K or i7-3930K or i7-3820 I’m currently leaning towards i7 3770K so I can fit an SSD+HD into the budget and I like the idea of a low power consumption build. Otherwise I could get the i7-3930K and wait on the SSD+HD. Doesn’t seem that the i7-3820 is enough of a boost in processing power. 3) Otherwise wondering if any upgrades are worthwhile: Motherboard, PSU, Cooling? Heres the current config: Ticket Number: 709162 Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,538.00 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 i7 3770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) (Requires Z77 Motherboard) Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Features Thermal Armor and Thermal Radar) System Memory: 16GB 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 (180GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) 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 (PhysX) (FTW Overclocked EVGA) <b></b> Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 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 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 Professional (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: - No Thanks 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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Kyu
Groupie 
Joined: 29 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 421 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 17 Jul 2012 at 12:16pm |
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I'll figure out a config for you in a sec.
Dust will always be an issue, weither you go Loops or Air or Closed wc setups it'll still cause dust. You have to manually dust clean with a blower your self time to time. But then there is this one option I went with for one of my pc's, I completely submerged it, Dust gone ! anyways I'm going to recommend the x79's over the z77 Platforms. For your heavey cpu usage it's a better route. adding Multiple GPU and higher Memory , heavey usage the x79 Will be a better direction. z77 isn't meant for true sli/xfire and they aren't meant for heavey memory storage. |
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Kyu
Groupie
Joined: 29 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 421 |
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Posted: 17 Jul 2012 at 12:19pm |
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Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS HailStorm Edition
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s) System Memory: 32GB 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 (180GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series) 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(s): 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 4GB (Includes PhysX) 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 CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro/Deluxe/Sabertooth Motherboard) Graphics Boost: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (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: - No Thanks 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 Again I chose the X79 Platform over the z77/z87 And also picked Hailstorm (Corsair 800D) more room, Keeps the case semi off the ground with really good cooling vent while having silent fans. While the GTX 670 is plenty fast, Assuming you're going IPS 27" shortly, the resolution does make a difference on the cards Performance when it's 1080 vs 1600 Might be the drivers but from 2GB vs 4GB I noticed a difference in maxed game play on my 2560x1600 Leaves you room to upgrade in the future but plenty for now and within your 3k Budget also I was assuming you had your own HDD for storage so I left that part out. I personally use Drobo for Storage and share it linked with the rest of my PC's 16TB being shared with backup incase 1 drive fails. At the end all the chose is yours Edited by Kyu - 17 Jul 2012 at 12:25pm |
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
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Posted: 17 Jul 2012 at 3:10pm |
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Hi Kyu,
Thanks for the quick reply. A lot of things to think about. On the case, I thought about the 800D, but it seemed a bit too large for my purposes (Its deeper than the others) So would have to check if it would fit in the designated spot. On the CPU/Platform, you may be right. The guys that write my statistical package suggested that processor speed, and the size of the L3 cache would have an impact, number of cores only comes into to play with very large data sets. For the graphics card, I didnt realize that there was such a jump in requirement for the Dell U2711 (2560x1440), so need to digest that a bit. Wouldnt 2 x GTX 670 be sufficient? |
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FrankW
DS Veteran 
Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
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Posted: 18 Jul 2012 at 8:32am |
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Hi RClive,
I have some different thoughts that Kyu. Doesn't mean my opinion is better than his but I would make some changes. 1. The 800D is a poor choice for air cooling. It is built for LC systems. It doesn't make sense to use a case with bottom intake and then set it on the floor. For air cooling you can't beat the HAF-X case. 2. Lets talk about setting your computer on the floor. That is the least desirable place to set your computer. Especially if you have carpet. There must be some way to get it up off of the floor. Even if it is just six inches. 3. If L3 cache is important to you then you should consider the 3930. The 3930 has 12Mb and the 3820 has 10Mb. The 3960 has 15Mb but it is out of your budget. In fact the 3930 is probably out of your budget. The 3770 has 8Mb of L3 cache. Since you don't use multiple cores for your work you best choice may be the 3820. Remember that the 3770, 3930 and 3820 would be operating at about the same frequency. That would be 4.5 to 4.7Ghz. The 3820 will be 4.4/4.5. 4. You need to decide about your monitor before you buy your system. If you move up to a 2560 resolution your build needs to be different. If you go with the Dell U2312 then one 670 2Gb FTW would do it as long as you don't go big time into gaming. SLI 670 2Gb FTW would be a good choice. You would need SLI 4Gb for the 2560 resolution. Frank Edited by FrankW - 18 Jul 2012 at 8:32am |
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Asangard
DS Veteran
Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2209 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 at 9:26am |
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Hi RClive, Just to add a couple of things. If you go with the X79 platform either the 3820 or 3930 DS will require liquid cooling. You could go with the Vortex 240, it is a sealed unit so no maintenance required. You could still go air cooling for the rest of the components and the HAF X case is best for air cooling as Frank said. Also the 3820 is not a K chip so DS will only OC it to stage 1. I hope this helps and keep us posted.
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Not from Without, Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path, Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy. |
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 at 11:12am |
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Hi Guys,
Thanks a lot for the input! So X79 it is, Lets see if I can swing the 3920, otherwise I’ll go with the 3820 and then for cooling seems like the vortex 240mm. On the case, there are severe space limitations. Currently my PC is underneath the desk. The space is 25” deep (with a panel that comes down 14” at the back) and about 27” of clearance height wise. This means that the top outtake fan at the back of the computer will have clearance issues, and not much room to raise the computer off the ground, 2-3”. HAFX = 21.7" (H) x 9.1" (W) x 23.2" (D) Any thoughts on the Corsair 500R or suggestions for other cases that are a bit smaller? But I will go home tonight and see if there are other options. On the monitor, have to admit that these were speculations, as it’s a future purchase. But searching the forums a bit it looks like there are a lot of good reviews for the Dell U2312. So I’ll stick with that. Thanks again for all your help. Clive |
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bprat22
DS ELITE 
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!)
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 at 11:24am |
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Hi RClive......The 500R is a good case. Smaller to help your situation and has a side panel 200mm fan to blow fresh air on the graphic card and mobo area.
The 650D is also very good. It has a 200mm fan in front and another 200mm fan on top for some pretty good air flow. Good Luck
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FrankW
DS Veteran
Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 18 Jul 2012 at 12:49pm |
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Hi RClive,
If you put your computer under a desk that traps the exhaust air you will have a problem of the side fans taking in hot air. With the Vortex 240 the hot exhaust will be trapped under the desk also. Most people put a stool or short table next to the desk and set the computer on that. You really need to think about this. You are buying a high performance computer and you can't treat it like a run of the mill computer. At the very least you should think about venting the desk and maybe a fan or two to move the air under the desk. A good mid-tower is the Corsair 600T. Get it with the vented side and add a fan there. It has a 200mm front intake, a 200mm top fan and a 120/140 rear exhaust. Frank Edited by FrankW - 18 Jul 2012 at 12:50pm |
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
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Posted: 18 Jul 2012 at 1:35pm |
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Hi Guys,
These are all good suggestions, I'll explore tonight. There is a possibility of putting it next to the desk. So lets see. |
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
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Posted: 20 Jul 2012 at 1:55pm |
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After some checking on different possible placements, a position next to the desk is possible, but only after some major moving around, so for now it will go under the desk but definitely not directly on the carpet. I’ll find something to put it on and add a fan to keep the air moving under the desk.
Regardless it seems that a smaller case will work better for me. So I’ve looked into the 500R and 600t as well as the 650D. They all seem nice with different features. I’m leaning to the 500R as it’s the most compact, but I saw the Ode Level 4 Review in the review section, which I guess is close to the spec that FrankW suggested, and it seems very nice as well. The 650D seems like it’s a higher quality case, but has no side fan. Not sure if this is crucial. Clive One question for all these cases: the Vortex 240, seems to be attached to the top panel with the fans as intake. Am I correct that for all 3 cases the only exhaust fan is on the back panel near the top? If so is that enough? |
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FrankW
DS Veteran
Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
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Posted: 20 Jul 2012 at 2:38pm |
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Hi RClive,
I think you will find that the Vortex 240 is mounted at the top but it is blowing out, not in. Frank |
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 7:39am |
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Hi Guys,
I've made a few minor changes and will be talking to DS this afternoon to finalize order. Heres the config and thanks for your help!! Clive Specifications: Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,554.00 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Carbide 500R (White Finish) <b></b> Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s) System Memory: 16GB 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 (180GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 520 Series) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) 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 (PhysX) (FTW Overclocked EVGA) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme-Performance Edition) 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 <b></b> 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 Professional (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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bprat22
DS ELITE
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!)
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
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Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 7:45am |
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That build looks good to me. I'd go for it.
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FrankW
DS Veteran
Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 7:55am |
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RClive, yes that is a great build.
Frank |
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Asangard
DS Veteran
Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2209 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 11:23am |
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Really nice build and you even got the free T-Shirt.
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Not from Without, Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path, Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy. |
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 2:07pm |
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Thanks everybody!
So the order is made and I really enjoyed dealing with DS (Bryan) over the phone. The only change he suggested was to upgrade the CPU to I7-3930K, which I resisted. And of course I'm now agonizing over this. And BTW its been great on the forum. It really made the whole process a lot more fun. RClive PS Never one to turn down a free T-Shirt |
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tju76
Senior Member 
Joined: 06 Mar 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 804 |
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Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 2:36pm |
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You should be fine with the 3820 and the quad channel ram
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bprat22
DS ELITE
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!)
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
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Posted: 24 Jul 2012 at 2:41pm |
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Yes, I agree. There is a balancing act between budget and build and you'll be very happy with your rigs performance.
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
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Posted: 25 Jul 2012 at 1:15pm |
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Initial jitters gone, the choices were the right ones (thanks to your help) and am now watching the process unfold.
We're at Stage 5! Meanwhile I'm thinking about how to optimize its new home and also how to not have a mess of cables behind it. RClive |
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 11:11am |
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Hi Guys,
The new computer came in the mail yesterday, and after carefully putting it up on a table so I could get a good look, I am completely floored. The quality of the work is beyond what I ever imagined. Plugged it in and it booted up without a hiccup. Will post a review with photos in a few days. Need to stop staring at it first. Thanks again for all your help!! RClive |
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Asangard
DS Veteran
Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2209 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 11:27am |
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Hi RClive,
Congrats on your new rig.
Looking forward to the pics and reveiw. We love to see pics of new rigs. |
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Not from Without, Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path, Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy. |
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bprat22
DS ELITE
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!)
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 11:38am |
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Gotta see a pic of that 500R White case loaded with goodies.
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RClive
Newbie
Joined: 17 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 1:43pm |
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Sorry to disappoint slightly, but at the last minute the White case morphed into the Black case. This after discussions with the significant other - cant understand why she didnt like the white.
But its still very nice looking. RClive |
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bprat22
DS ELITE
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!)
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
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Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 1:46pm |
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Awesome either way.
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Asangard
DS Veteran
Joined: 21 Aug 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2209 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 03 Aug 2012 at 5:30pm |
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I here wife points count a lot but hay I am not married so what do I know
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Not from Without, Therefore, the 1st step on the Holy Warrior path, Is to recognize thyself as thy 1st enemy. |
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