$2500 Budget but not sure which way to go....Post Date: 2009-07-29 |
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Victim026 
Newbie 
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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 Topic: $2500 Budget but not sure which way to go....Posted: 29 Jul 2009 at 12:34am |
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Well I've decided on getting my new computer that I will hopefully be ordering in 2 weeks from DS. My only problem now is that as much as I read about all the different components that you can choose from I still really can't seem to make an informed decision about what would be best for what I do. I've got approx. $2500 to spend although there may be some leeway without up to the $3000 mark but definitely not above that range.
After some reading around on here though i think I know what questions I need to answer for ya'll to give me some guidance. First off I'll be playing at a 1900x1200 resolution on a 23" Asus lcd I've got. There's also no need to budget in perihperals to go along with the comp, I've already got razer keyboards and mice laying around. I'll be using the computer for about 25% web browsing(and other minor things)/75% gaming, games wise I play all of the following: All Command and Conquers, COD 4 & 5 with MW2 on order, HL Counterstrike, HL DOD, HL TF2, World of Warcraft, Various racing simulators, various sports titles. I'm not big into Crysis or anything although that is mainly due to my lack of a good computer to play it on. Out of those games I do spend the majority of my time on the HL titles or COD titles. I'm just totally lost as to where to head with my build, Core 2 Duo, Core 2 Quad or i7. I'm fairly certain quad is a must because it's the future and I'd like to be ready for things to come so this computer lasts awhile, although I hear good things about a high clock count 2 duo rather then a lower clock quad. Same for graphics cards, single or sli, I'm partial to Nivida because I feel like they put out a higher quality product then ATI(although from some things I've seen that may even be wrong). Basically any insight at all would be helpful at this point. |
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Kryhavoc
Senior Member 
Joined: 26 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 362 |
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Posted: 29 Jul 2009 at 12:38am |
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Air cooled
Price after discount: $2,370.00
Ticket Number: 314479 Copy of Specifications: Edited by Kryhavoc - 29 Jul 2009 at 12:41am |
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Kryhavoc
Senior Member
Joined: 26 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 362 |
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Posted: 29 Jul 2009 at 12:40am |
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Liquid cooled
Price after Discount: Sub-Total: $2,546.00
Ticket Number: 314483
Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire) System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1333MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition) Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) 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 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB (216 Cores) (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: High-Performance Liquid Chilled FrostBite System For CPU Liquid Color:Blue: Non-conductive High-Performance Fluid (Requires H20: Stage 3 Cooling Package) Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service) Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks LCD 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 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty |
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Victim026
Newbie
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 29 Jul 2009 at 12:42am |
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Will I see that big of a difference between the air and liquid cooling to justify the upgrade?
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Kryhavoc
Senior Member
Joined: 26 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 362 |
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Posted: 29 Jul 2009 at 12:46am |
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Liquid cooling, as a rule, will get a higher overclock speed than air cooling.
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DST4ME
DS ELITE 
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 29 Jul 2009 at 12:46am |
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price difference between 260 and 275 is very low but 275 performs much better, best to go with 275:
air cooled: Here you go Ticket# 314486 --- Price: $2546 (To see this build click here) Price after current promotion $2296 Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire) System Memory: 3GB DDR3 1333MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition) Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) 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 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-U12P High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors) Liquid Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a H20: Stage 3 Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service) Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks LCD 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 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty --------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------- Liquid cooled: Here you go Ticket# 314487 --- Price: $2712 (To see this build click here) Price after current promotion $2462 Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire) System Memory: 3GB DDR3 1333MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition) Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) 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 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: High-Performance Liquid Chilled FrostBite System For CPU Liquid Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a H20: Stage 3 Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (UV) (Creates Glowing Effect For H20: Stage 3 UV Fluid) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade) Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service) Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) With Windows 7 Upgrade Coupon Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks LCD 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 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty liquid cooled gives better load temps, but its up to you. |
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Kryhavoc
Senior Member
Joined: 26 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 362 |
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Posted: 29 Jul 2009 at 12:48am |
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D'oh, I must have missed with the mouse click and didn't notice, I was trying for the 275, my bad.
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DST4ME
DS ELITE
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 29 Jul 2009 at 12:56am |
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lol don't worry if I had a dime for every time I clicked on the 275 1792MB version instead of the 896 version by accident, we would all be rich
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Victim026
Newbie
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 31 Jul 2009 at 12:22am |
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So a friend asked me today about the gateway fx 6801-01(not for me but for him). It's got good specs with a i7-950, 9gb ram, and a gtx285 for $1800, but it's still a prefab gateway at the end of the day. Any thoughts on this comp? And does anyone know why the prmo discount isn't applying anymore when I put a comp in the cart? Is the promo discount over now even though it's still advertised?
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BigKid
Groupie 
Joined: 31 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 41 |
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Posted: 31 Jul 2009 at 1:57am |
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I luv the specs on Ticket 314487, but how would I know if it is right for me? I would like to play WoW, edit video, and analyze stock market via live streaming ticker. I would need a display (or two), keyboard, and office software too. I don't me to hijack this thread, but the configuration and price of this computer seemed like a good starting point for me. I would appreciate any help I can get.
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<8) slunK parade
Senior Member
Joined: 20 Jan 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 798 |
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Posted: 31 Jul 2009 at 4:28am |
mesage alex or sarah about the discount the gateway is probably mediocre the 285 is overpriced you dont need 9gbs of ram and the 950 is more expensive than the 920 even though you can overclcok them very closely |
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Victim026
Newbie
Joined: 29 Jul 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 31 Jul 2009 at 7:57am |
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See the only upside t the gateway I can see is the price ratio, look at how much you would be spending to put those same specs into a DS system and your spending quite a bit more on the DS than on the gateway. Thanks for the suggestion with the discount, I'll give them a call when I get closer to my actual order date.
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DST4ME
DS ELITE
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 31 Jul 2009 at 9:00am |
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you can't upgrade the gateway like you can DS, the gateway system is gonna be slower then the DS system, since they don't OC the CPU.
you are also not getting the same brand name parts that you will get with so when your warranty runs out, you are left with a lower quality product, some of the parts in the DS system may have a lifetime warranty from the manufacturer itself, gateway does not give you that. what brand, ram, mobo, PSU and etc are you getting? this all very important. also 2 x 275 will kick a 1 x 285's ass, a single 285 is not gonna give you the performance that 2 x 275 will give you at 1900 x 1200. if you look at the big picture, you will see that in reality that gateways is more expensive then the DS system pound for pound. @BigKid, please open your own thread and tell me your resolution and we will config a system for you  
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Drakul
Newbie
Joined: 22 Jan 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 55 |
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Posted: 31 Jul 2009 at 10:18am |
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Take a look at the DS prebuilt systems, they would give you a much better price if the differences in the build are not a showstopper.
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DST4ME
DS ELITE
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 31 Jul 2009 at 11:31am |
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the ones we config are better then prebuilds, specially for people that are at 1900 x 1200
Edited by DST4ME - 31 Jul 2009 at 11:32am |
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