~ $3000 - 3500 Build Help!Post Date: 2010-08-06 |
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Jameshimself 
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Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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 Topic: ~ $3000 - 3500 Build Help!Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 9:47pm |
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Hey everyone. It has been over three years since I ordered my first gaming PC and I feel it is time for an upgrade. This old 8800 ultra did its job for a very long time! My budget is around $3000 to $3500 max. The minimum number is obviously really flexable while $3500 is a pretty hard max. I think my biggest issue with my last build was lack of focus on the CPU and RAM. My goal here is to build a PC that will run any current game at 1920x1080 resolution with all settings maxed besides AA/AF. I don't really care for those. Please tell me if I'm going overboard and if I can save money in certain areas. I will order this PC in 1-2 weeks so I have plenty of time to look over all your feedback. Thank you for those who help and I look forward to hearing what you all have to say.
Ticket Number: 429748 Total Price with Instant Savings: $3,418.00 Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline. Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Assassin Edition Exterior Finish: !PROMOTION: FREE Exterior High-Gloss Paint Finish (TJ09 Chassis Only, Select Color After Purchase) Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 960 3.2GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) System Memory: 6GB DDR3 2000MHz GTX-8 Digital Storm Certified Extreme Performance (Highly Recommended) Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (150GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) 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: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-Express Slot Based) Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors) H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Blue) (Up to 6 Fans) Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) Boost Video Card: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability 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) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card 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 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty |
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A setback is simply a setup for your next comeback
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TrakDay
Groupie 
Joined: 08 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 136 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 9:51pm |
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2 GTX 480s will require around 1250watts from what I understand. I built my DS rig around adding a second card!
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TrakDay
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Joined: 08 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 136 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 9:56pm |
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Ticket Number... 429755
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 1200W Corsair Pro Gold Series (CMPSU-1200AX) (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (80GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1002FAEX) 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: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (PhysX Tech.) (EVGA SuperClocked+ 015-P3-1485-AR) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-Express Slot Based) Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance (Does NOT fit on the regular EVGA X58 3X SLI) 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: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) Boost Video Card: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability 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) 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 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 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty $3449 You can obviously add the misc custom stuff to that. Edited by TrakDay - 06 Aug 2010 at 9:58pm |
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JJJJ_Shabadoo
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Joined: 22 May 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 320 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 10:02pm |
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Yeah, if you want two 480's you're going to have to upgrade the power supply. At least to 1200w.
Lose the 960. A 930 will overclock the same and it is MUCH cheaper. In this day of SSD's and fairly fast standard HDD's, the velociraptors are a pretty bad value. Take the money you saved on the CPU and get an 80gb Intel SSD (for Win 7 and your applications) and a large second drive (for games and storage). Be aware that the upgrade fans are reported by some users of these forums to be very loud. Cases are very much personal preference, but I find it hard to justify the price of the Assassin. A HAF (in the special deals section) is much cheaper and the entire HAF line has great air cooling. Try: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=429759 Don't forget your free T-Shirt option! Edited by JJJJ_Shabadoo - 06 Aug 2010 at 10:07pm |
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!ender_
DS Veteran 
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 10:29pm |
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these guys gave you everything i could say, with a haf case you will have no need for upgraded fans
id take the noctua u12p over the 14 personally. same cooling, lower price
definitely no raptor drives, they were never a good idea before, now they are just a plain waste of money
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Jameshimself
Newbie
Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 10:55pm |
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Wow. Thanks for the quick replies everyone. I would have been screwed with the power supply and the raptor. And no, I don't HAVE to have 2 480's. I have never ran SLI so I figured now would be a good time to try it. Do you guys have suggestions regarding this? Will one perform at the resolution I originally stated? Should I try 2 460s? Thoughts?
Also, whats the difference between the HAF and HAF X? Edited by Jameshimself - 06 Aug 2010 at 10:59pm |
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A setback is simply a setup for your next comeback
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 11:24pm |
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absoutely not 2 460s, its 1 480 or 2
there are a few other threads on here addressing this which you can read, but youre ok to trust me, i just dont have time to type it all out bc SC2 is calling hardcore
dont be afraid of going SLI, you just have to weight it personally based on your budget, a single 480 will work great for a 1920x res
haf 932 v hafx
price, looks, thats about it.. there are a few more gimmicks to the hafx, but the cooling is effectively the same
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JJJJ_Shabadoo
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Joined: 22 May 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 320 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 11:26pm |
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With a single 480, you will not be able to run max settings in all games, even at a lower resolution (1680x1050) than what you are running.
If you don't mind toning a few of the settings down a bit on some of the newer highly demanding games (eg Metro 2033), then a single card should be fine. |
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Jameshimself
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Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 11:29pm |
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Alright thanks Ender. I'll stick with the 2 480's just to give it some more life. I think I'll go with the HAFX just cause I enjoy the look of it a bit more for $30 bucks. My last question addresses the ram. Is it worth the $139 to upgrade to 2000MHz? JJJJ_Shabadoo's link is amazing for the price. Just debating on the ram. Thanks man!
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A setback is simply a setup for your next comeback
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JJJJ_Shabadoo
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Joined: 22 May 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 320 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 11:36pm |
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No, 2000 MHz RAM upgrade is NOT worth it, you won't notice the difference vs 1600 MHz.
Read this post for more info: https://www.digitalstormonline.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=11680&PID=133534#133534 Edited by JJJJ_Shabadoo - 06 Aug 2010 at 11:38pm |
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 06 Aug 2010 at 11:36pm |
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thats a hard question to answer... actually waiting right now in another thread for some more spec information on the ram choices. id say if you dont plan on overclocking on your own, it is unlikely youd notice a difference, i tried looking up the ram and i cant find it, so i have no idea if its worth the money
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Jameshimself
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Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 12:04am |
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No I don't plan on doing any overclocking. Just going to go ahead and go with what is sent to me. =]. Guess I will save the money and go with Shabadoo's build. Also, this is my first time doing with an actual sound card. I have been using USB for years so I'm excited to see the difference. I went with the fatality just cause I know he is a gamer. Any of you have experience with this sound card or any of the other choices available?
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A setback is simply a setup for your next comeback
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JJJJ_Shabadoo
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Joined: 22 May 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 320 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 12:08am |
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I had the Fatal1ty Professional in my old system and I have the Fatal1ty Champion in my current system. I've been very happy with the sound quality.
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Jameshimself
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Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 12:11am |
Thanks a lot for the help. I also noticed you have Dominator ram? Suggestions for me on that? |
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A setback is simply a setup for your next comeback
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JJJJ_Shabadoo
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Joined: 22 May 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 320 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 12:24am |
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Unnecessary. It's a hangup of mine that I like to use name brand RAM. As Ender said earlier, we're hoping to hear some more details on the DSO certified stuff but it should be just fine for anyone that isn't neurotic like me ;-)
If you want to spend your money on something name brand, you're better off dropping the money into the PSU and getting a Corsair (the Corsair 1200 AX Gold is pretty drool-worthy). I've seen too many hardware problems caused by wonky power supplies that I only go with high quality name-brand PSU's on my builds - another hang up of mine. That said, many folks on the forums here think the DSO certified PSU's are just fine. |
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Jameshimself
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Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 12:29am |
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haha alright. I know how that is. I have had my current PC for three years now and the only thing I have had to replace was the PSU. Maybe I'll invest in the good one instead of the name brand ram. Thanks again. I think that covers everything. If there are any other suggestions let me know. If not, I will be buying soon.
Also wanted to ask about liquid cooling? Do I need it? How will my temps be with this build? Edited by Jameshimself - 07 Aug 2010 at 1:40am |
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A setback is simply a setup for your next comeback
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 2:40am |
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no liquid needed, a noctua u12p will cure all your heat related ills
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Jameshimself
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Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 3:12am |
Alright thanks. And the Noctua u12p is the stage one air dual 120mm fans? |
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A setback is simply a setup for your next comeback
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Dragoonseal
DS Veteran
Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2247 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 6:50am |
The smaller Stage 1 Noctua, yes. |
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Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s 3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0 |
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Jameshimself
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Joined: 06 Aug 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 07 Aug 2010 at 9:42pm |
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Edit: Stupid question lol
Edited by Jameshimself - 07 Aug 2010 at 9:44pm |
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A setback is simply a setup for your next comeback
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