Before I buy

I just wanted to confirm this configuration berfore I buy.  My old machine, an old Alienware, flamed out the other day and I've been looking for a good gaming rig since then.  DS seems to be a good company.  I didn't really like Alienware's support.  I play lots of RPG's going back to DOS days.  Played BG 1&2, NWN 1, Knights of the Old Rep. etc.  Need a machine to play Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age Origins plus be expandable.  The configuration I've put togther is as follows and any suggestions would be welcomed:

yes the ati cards would be better atm because of dx11 if you went with nvidia your vid card would is already pretty much obsolete and you would have to upgrade in a  year or so if you want to continue purchasing new games.

dell owns alienware and it has them on the chopping block. when you deal with their service you are dealing with dell people (booo and garbage)

there are a few things we need

whats your budget?

for us to accuratly give you the video card you need we need your resolution that you will be gaming at if not we are just shooting into the dark and you may be under powered or you may have complete overkill.

here are some prelimairy changes:

don't use the ds certified psu go with the corsair it is quieter better and more reliable.

do you really need the expansion bay?

you may want to consider the haf 932 it is cheaper and has absotutly great airflow

hdd1 set: you do not want that large of a os hdd it will take forever to scan maintain and back up. you can use either of these options

1. 500 gb 7200 rpm 16 mb cache (you can request a 32 if you want the extra cache)

2. 300 gb 10000 rpm 16 mb cache wd veliciraptor

3. 160 + gb ssd corsair (fastest hdd) you gain the real bonus of ssd with that size or greater. downside costly

hdd set 2: perfect if you really need that much space your avg game is 10gb (reference) so thast roughly 100 games

memory tweak: just get the fan upgrade only
with your audio do you use headphone or speakers and if so what is the set up. if you use headphone or a 2.1 system you do not need a soundcard and you will not notice the difference. 5.1 or 7.1 yes use a soundcard just to warn you the x fi cards are having driver issues

os: do you really need xp support? if so go pro ult is a waste of your $

cooling: if you go with the haf 932 it has oustanding airflow coupled with your noctua you wont need the upgraded fans

everything else so far looks good we just need your resolution so we can give you the appropriet video card

i know i am right about that lol 

Thanks everyone for their feedback and everyone have a nice healthy and safe holiday.  I've made the following changes based on your suggestions.  To answer the remaining questions.

Sorry the manufactures recommended resolution is 1600X1200@60Hz with max 85Hz.  Hope that helps.

the vid card you want is a single ATI 5870

. you know at the bottom of the screen when you are customising?

there is a box where you can put in special instructions put in the corsair 1000 watt hx in there you will have to wait 2-3 weeks for it but it is worth the wait. it is a much better powesupply. quieter, more reliable, better warranty and it is future proof

if you don't want to waste money then here you go:

Here you go Ticket# 367346 --- Price: $2096 (To see this build click here) Price after current promotion $2096

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Not Available
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - Not Available
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Set 1 Raid Options: - Not Available
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 22x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Available
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - Not Available
Chassis Mods: - Not Available
Noise Reduction: - Not Available
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - Not Available
Boost Memory: - Not Available
Boost OS: - Not Available
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - Not Available
Office: - Not Available
Benchmarking: - Not Available
Install/Test Game: - Not Available
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

for your res of 1600 x 1200 thats all you need to run games at max settings, if you should get a bigger monitor down the line just add a second 5850 at that time, otherwise you would not notice the difference.

Next year buy a ssd and use that for HDD1 for OS/Games/Apps, and push the 500GB to HDD2 and use it for storage.

wait for the corsair psu.

right now you have resolution of 1600 x 1200, as resolution goes higher you will need more gpu power to run games at highest settings.

once at 1900 x 1200 you will need 2 x 5850 or 1 x 5870, at 2560 x 1600 you will need 3 x 5850 or 2 x 5870, and so on and so forth.