Advice needed for high end, quiet, dual boot build

Time to build a new computer.  This will be my third custom build since 1994 and my first Digital Storm (not counting the Digital Storm build I made for my husband).

Budget is around $5000. 
I like my builds to last 6 to 8 years (i.e. through 2 releases of Bethesda Elder Scrolls series), so top end everything with lots of expansion\replacement room.  I will need this one to play Skyrim - while my current 6 year old rig plays it fine, I have a failing motherboard.  I run my monitor at 1920x1200.  Dragon Age, the Witcher, etc, are other games it should play well.

I must be able to dual boot Windows XP 32 bit with Windows 7 Pro 64 bit.  I am not sure how this will affect my hardware requirements but it means at least XP compatible and available drivers. ( The need for XP comes out of my love of playing all the old role playing games, from Might and Magic VI - IX, to Baldur's Gate to Neverwinter Nights (even DaggerFall in DosBox, as well as Zork and Pool of Radiance).  Hence I really need something that can power down and well as power up.

I like my rig to be as quiet as possible.  Is liquid cooling what I am after?  I live in a very dusty environment.

Case size can be as big as needed.  Right now I am running a HUGE Antec case, so there will be plenty of desk space.

I am not a fan of solid state drives.  I don't trust their life span, yet...

How does this build look:

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS HailStorm Edition
Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (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: 1200W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)
Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) (OS disk for Windows 7 64bit)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (500GB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) (OS disk for Windows XP 32 bit)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) (Shared data disk between the 2 OS'es)  Will XP have a problem seeing a TB drive?
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks (I have my own CD/DVD burner to install)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB (PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA Edition) - Can this be run out of SLI mode?
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O) (PCI-Express Slot Based) - are there enough slots for this?
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards & Chipset

Is it a good Idea to do such extreme liquid cooling?  How will this impact my ability to upgrade/expand later?

TIA

Originally posted by Raven100 I am not a fan of solid state drives.  I don't trust their life span, yet...

How dead set are you against SSDs? They are something I'd highly recommend giving a shot, especially with your budget. If you aren't willing to try them, then that's fine n' dandy, but I'm just curious if you are willing to compromise? If so we can look at some lifespan info for SSDs.

Originally posted by Tidgxor How dead set are you against SSDs?

I am not dead set against them.  I understand their performance benefits (4x faster).  I just don't know that the speed boost justifies the extra expense or the potential driver headache, and I am very concerned about life span.

Perhaps it would be beneficial to run Windows 7 on an SSD but I am not sure about running Windows XP on an SSD.

Hi Raven100,

Here are my thoughts on a system for you.

1. You need to think real hard about those old games. There comes a time that moving on to new games is a good solution. It is not just getting a system that runs the games but it is also the new GPUs. The new cards are moving on to bigger and better things and eventually those old games won't play on the new machines. You have to decide if getting in the complexity of running a dual boot system is worth the effort. To me it is not and I have abandoned some of my old favorites. They are just not worth the effort to me. You do have the option of running some of the old games in WIN-7 Pro in the X86 format. I find that some games work and some don't. Most of the games that don't work are those that the manufacture doesn't have updates for.   

2. The Intel 320 SSD has a proven history of reliability. You can buy one with a high level of confidence.

3. In order to get longevity you need good basic equipment but you know that based on your comments. You do need to consider that the 5xx series of GPUs are at the end of their life. Some time in the future if one of your GPUs fails you may not be able to buy a new replacement. That will require you to buy two GPUs to replace one. It is reasonable to expect to replace both of your GPUs in the life cycle of 6/7 years. Maybe even twice to keep up with technology. So you can go with 5xx GPUs and deal with the end of life problems. Wait for the new 6xx series of GPUs to come out. Or, but two 7970 GPUs now and get the newest available at this time. The 7970 gives you 580 3Gb plus performance but at a premium price.

4. Liquid Cooling is a good way to good but it won't necessarily be quiet. LC requires fans to blow through radiators. These fans can be noisy. You can improve that with special fans and rads but DS has chosen not to sell the really quite fans anymore. The standard stage 6 LC system is not quiet according to DST4ME. So I am not sure that stage 6 cooling is still a good solution. The real problem with LC is you have to educate your self on how to service the system. The stage 6 cooling gives a good setup and you can get quick disconnects that allow you to change a GPU or CPU if you have a failure. Other than topping off or changing fluid most people are reluctant to take on any series work on the system. You will have to decide how involved you want to get with your LC system.

I see in your comments that you say you set you resolution at 1920x1200. That confuses me a little. Do you have a higher resolution monitor that you are setting lower or is your native resolution really 1920x1200? You always want to play at the native resolution of your monitor.

Here is a system similar to the one by bprat22 with a couple of minor changes. I will post another build for the X79 platform if you feel it is a better fit. For straight gaming with dual SLI the 2600K is hard to beat. You can move up the the 3820 4 core on the X79 but the cost for performance doesn't justify it over the 2800K.

Frank

Configuration: 658035 Cost: $2867

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 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue)
System Memory: 8GB 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 (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 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: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs)
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 570 2.5GB (PhysX) (EVGA 025-P3-1579-BR)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Corsair A70 Dual 120mm Fans 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 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series 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: - Yes
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

Hey FrankW...Thanks for re-doing the configs.  This morning the config builder wouldn't list properly when i made HDD , SSD, or mobo changes. 

Hi Raven100,

LC of the GPUs can help with the noise according to what rads and fans are being used. Remember that noise is only a problem when playing intense games. Under normal load the noise from the GPU is not a problem.

There are real LC cooling and there is also a closed loop cooler that uses a rad, fan and reservoir that is integrated. If you want the best LC cooling on your CPU and GPU you need to go to stage 6 LC. One problem is the rad/fan that DS uses is not as quite as some others. You should ask DS to use xspc rx series rads with Scythe Gentle Typhoon fans for your stage 6 liquid cooling. I understand that DS is not supplying Gentle Typhon fans anymore but I would insist. In the past they have ordered special components and until they say they aren't doing that any more, I would ask for them.

Here is a system using stage 6 LC.

Configuration: 658337

The configurator is acting strange and I am not sure what the cost is. I had to edit the list to include the changes I suggested. You will need to pick a color for your LC tubing and the interior lighting.

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS HailStorm Edition
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 3930K 3.3GHz (Six-Core) (Extreme Performance)
Motherboard: ASUS Deluxe X79 (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: 1200w Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State Intel 320 series SSD.
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: WD 1TB Black lable. (16MB Cache)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x AMD 7970 3Gb Cross Fire.
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 6: Sub-Zero LCS Dual Loop: CPU & Dual SLI/CrossFire Video Cards
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 or Deluxe Series 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: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
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

Edited by FrankW - 22 Feb 2012 at 6:28am

Thanks for all of the advice!!!

How is this for an all AIR build:

Your Price:
$ 3797.00

    Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
    Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
    Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s) [+$40]
    System Memory: 16GB 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) [+$213]
    Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black) [+$15]
    Hard Drive Set 1: 1x (500GB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) [-$72]
    Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
    Hard Drive Set 2: 1x (500GB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) [+$24]
    Hard Drive Set 3: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) [+$191]
    Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) [+$54]
    Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
    Video Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB (PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA 015-P3-1582-BR) [+$540]
    Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O) (PCI-Express Slot Based) [+$204]
    Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Extreme Performance [+$30]
    H20 Tube Color: - Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
    Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With Zalman Performance Fans (Up to 6 Fans) [+$56]
    CPU Boost: Stage 1: Overclock CPU 4.0GHz to 4.4GHz
    Video Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
    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 Professional (64-Bit Edition) [+$32]
    Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
    » Accessories / Goodies
    Audio: Corsair Vengeance 1300 Gaming Headset (Model CA-9011111-WW) [+$69]
    T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large) [+$0]


Everyone seems to recommend the AIR: Stage 2: Corsair A70 Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler, but that is not an available option.  Is it something that I can request?

I think I have finally nailed down the build.  But I need advice on the Chassis Airflow fans.  Are the standard chassis fans good enough in the HAF or do I need to look at the LED performance fans or even the Zalman?  With the H100 cooling the CPU and the special HAF design cooling the SLI GPU, do I need more than the standard chassis fans?

    Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
    Processor: Intel Core i7 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
    Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s) [+$40]
    System Memory: 16GB 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) [+$213]
    Expansion Bay: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black) [+$15]
    Hard Drive Set 1: 1x (500GB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) [-$72]
    Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
    Hard Drive Set 2: 1x (500GB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) [+$24]
    Hard Drive Set 3: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) [+$191]
    Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) [+$54]
    Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
    Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
    Video Card(s): 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB (PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA 015-P3-1582-BR) [+$540]
    Add-on Card: - No Thanks
    Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O) (PCI-Express Slot Based) [+$204]
    Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Corsair H100 Liquid CPU Cooler (240mm Radiator) (Extreme-Performance Edition) [+$30]
    Chassis Airflow: Standard, LED Performance, Zalman - Help Advice needed!!!! 
    CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard) [+$20]
    Video Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
    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 Professional (64-Bit Edition) [+$32]
    Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
    Audio: Corsair Vengeance 1300 Gaming Headset (Model CA-9011111-WW) [+$69]

Originally posted by Raven100 Can someone answer my questions about Chassis fans?  Are the standard chassis fans good enough in the HAF or do I need to look at the LED performance fans?  I have been warned off of the Zalman fans.  So which is better, standard chassis fans or LED performance fans?

I'm no expert, but I believe that the case fans are better performance, but the LED ones look much better.

With this level of funding for a new rig and hoping for 6+ years of going forward. I would wait until June (if you're patient), go with an Ivy Bridge build, and at that time, determine whether you want a Kepler card or one of AMD's 7xxx card (I imagine the 7990 will be out by then). But as many have already said, the x79 platform is overkill for one sub30" monitor. for the games you're playing, you could more than get by with an i7-2600k OC'd and a pair of 570's and have money left over for a ton of new games.