About to do it.

This is what I'm looking at.

Edited by Doc - 21 Dec 2008 at 8:51pm

Originally posted by Doc This is what I'm looking at.   Any suggestions?   2 questions. What is the XMS3 memory? Its cheaper than the Dominator, but what's the difference?   Also a general, probably dumb question about the two hard drives. I've never installed anything when there is two drives. Do the programs detect and prompt you for which drive to install to? Also, do you have to run your antivirus on both drives?   http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=218612

The Dominator comes with snazzy heat dissipating fins.  I am not sure that there is any actual difference with the memory.  More importantly, I was told by DS that the DHX modules were not stable with the i7 chip.  I initially had chosen DHX memory but switched to the XMS3 on the advice of DS.  Not sure why it is still in the configurator- best ask DS directly.

As for the antivirus, you need one program to scan all drives.

Ok let me clearup a few things:

the gpu is not really a downgrade, once you get the 260+, come back here and we can help you oc it, once oced its very close to the 280 gtx, so close you won't much difference if any, if you ever go dual 260+ in the future, then you couldn't tell the difference between 2 x 260+ and 2 x 280.

So not really a gpu downgrade, more of a gpu price downgrade yet still get the performance.

sound card can be added later for a better price also

when working with 2 HDDs, and use them the way you said, if the HDD1 goes bad with our os on it, any games or apps on the HDD2 will not work anymore.

the only things that will servive if your HDD1 goes bad are personal/media files.

the games you should install on HDD1 anyways, because the raptor is much faster and you want the game on the drive that has the fastest seek time, and that would be the veloci raptor.

now if you don't think you need all that space, then drop the 500GB drive and instead of the 300GB veloci go with 150GB veloci.

so it would be this:

here you go Ticket# 219166 --- Price: $3390 (To see this build click here)

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 940 2.93GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Dual SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1333MHz Corsair Dominator DHX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Card Reader: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 150GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
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) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260+ 896MB (216 Streams) (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:UV Blue: Glowing Non-conductive High-Performance Fluid (Requires H20: Stage 3 & UV Lighting)
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts)
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
Warranty: 5 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)

price is with 5 year warranty, with 3 year warranty price is: $3141


on my system I have 8 drives, 4 internal and 4 external

no it won't be up again, when you install something, it adds registry keys to the registry which is a part of the OS on HDD1.

when HDD1 goes bad, all the info including all the regkeys are gone, when you reinstall fresh OS, the new registry is missing all the keys that the apps and games installed.

it is for this reason that you can always put your personal/media files on a different HDD and they can be fine if the OS goes bad, personal/media files don't need regkeys to run, apps and games do.

Edited by DST4ME - 22 Dec 2008 at 8:36pm

right like my last config, I just dropped the second drive for you and took you from 300GB veloci to 150GB

Which is a better choice performance wise, a liquid cooled 920 or an air cooled 940? Both overclocked.

Id have to agree with DST4ME, There is alot of posts about people getting that processor to 4.0 with air..

From my understanding liquid cooling is very low maintence, you might need to add more liquid 3-5 years from when you buy it.

OK, thanks.

I'm a noob - but I've read somewhere that it's good to have a second hard drive in order to verify a backup of your 1st hard drive.  Is this true?

Originally posted by DST4ME what you want to do is get a fast HDD like veloci raptor for your OS/apps/games. then you get a second HDD for storing personal/media files. This way if anything happens to your OS drive, your personal/media files will be just fine. now in order to save yourself headaches down the road, what you want to do is copy/clone your OS HDD to another HDD. I have an easy guide for it here using Acronis so at the end the best setup is looking at 3 HDDs HDD1 = fastest HDD you have - OS/apps/games HDD2 = regular 500GB drive - storage of personal/media files HDD3 = small drive - uses as a clone of OS drive. you have any questions just ask, post your ticket number and let us look at your config before you order so we can help you if there is anything that is not perfect.