Better build?

Obviously the second one hands down has the better parts selection in almost every regard. But both have a lot of bad choices.

The SSD selection in the second one is a piece of crap. Select either the 80GB or 160GB Intel SSD instead, they are vastly faster and much more maintenance free.

I can't see the logic in 3x SLI 470s, while 2x SLI 480s would probably be better in most any way. What resolution are you even running anyway? Unless you are running 2560x1600 then you only need one single 480 and it would be a waste of money to get anything more. On that same note, LCing the GPUs is a massive waste of money.

You have upgraded case fans selected. While they are a perfectly viable option for looks and increased air flow, know that they are much louder than stock fans. So make sure you are okay with loud fans if you pick that option.

If you are concerned about the Special Deal section's limited warranty compared to the full Black|OPS Platinum warrant, then I'd highly suggest the 4 year limited warranty option in the Special Deal section for a good compromise. The 4 year limited warranty is 4 years on labor and 2 years on parts, an increase from default of 3 years labor and 1 year parts. A good deal for $99.

3x 480 is pointless unless u got the monitors to support it. You want it to run good for a while, then 480 in sli would be just fine. And that also depends on your res, if ur res is just a 1900x1200 then u should just stick to 1 480 and not waste the extra cash. Sli 480 will take almost anything u give it basically so no need for 3x 480 unless like i said u got the monitors/res for it. The zalman fans won't just be for looks cause they'll anoy the hell outa u sooner or later. Just go with stock fans or custum order some other ones that's quieter with a high cfm

Edited by Mr. - 04 Jun 2010 at 4:33pm

To play crysis on max setting depends on your res. Im pretty sure a single 480 would handle crysis at max settings on a 1900x1200, correct me if im wrong. Im not too familiar with fan types so u should wait for d4st or justin to answer that question. But the case fan for the haf X is very good already so you wouldnt rly need to worry about them anyways as most people dont. 

Nope 6G at 1600 would run just fine. i found out u need 2 480's to max crysis so sli is good


Edited by Mr. - 04 Jun 2010 at 6:19pm

I can..

Originally posted by justin.kerr I can..

not all the way thru, if I remember correctly your minimum was around 30 fps, and you said it fluctuated a lot, but you have done something I had not seen before, I'll give you that for sure

Originally posted by DST4ME Originally posted by justin.kerr I can.. not all the way thru, if I remember correctly your minimum was around 30 fps, and you said it fluctuated a lot, but you have done something I had not seen before, I'll give you that for sure

Minimum is actually very close to 40.. 38-39FPS, and that is for a split second, Unmodded, I am only using 70%-72% of GPU power, so if I mod Crysis to use 100% of my GPU power, then things change quite a bit. but I don't think it is fair to post modded .exe  files on a benchmark without telling peolple. lol

why on earth would you want the Kazes?? even with headphones on you still would hear them..

LOL ok justin you didn't tell us all that info about crysis on the other thread, so if that is what you got going on that I guess you are maxing it but it is moded tho but who cares, IMO its better to mod then

Bullseye you have to match your fans for the rad with the rad, in other words, first you need to find out what rad you are getting, second find out if that rad works best with high cfm or low cfm fans, then once you find out which you need then you can go look for that kind of fan, for low cfm fans gentle typhoon is a good fan for rads that work best with that kind of fans.

Um I am getting NH-D14 with single 480 so I can upgrade it in the future. I think I will need case fans right? I mean when you guys say Rads you mean the ones for LC?? Well I amn't getting LC...

not everyone has the same opinions about noise. the fans on my pc are "loud" to other people, but it doesnt bother me at all, i get amazing temps, and i definitely cant hear them or anything else through my headphones

true but my slipstream is rated at 37dba, pretty sure the kaze is about 45, not that different

yes you would be able to swap in a card, but its not something i've done, so as far as how hard and involved it would be... and on what fan you should use with your LC, id talk to dso/justin/dst

Bullseye, you're getting all caught up in issues that you should really not be overly concerned about. Think back... how many post have you seen to the effect that LC is a luxury type item or for very serious overclockers who know from their own knowledge and experience what they are doing? How many times have you heard knowledgable people say that stock cooling on the high airflow cases and even the hot-ruuning gpu's is adequate to do the job? The only consistent cooling upgrade that is agreed upon is to the cpu, and primarily because it is the part that virtually everyone here overclocks.

This is what I am looking at now as well as my custom ordered fans which I still am looking for...

Ticket ID:412482

Can DS place the fans specially so that they don't mess with the airflow?? Those are gonna be all the cooling I'm gonna get because I am getting CPU cooling stage 4 not the NH-D14. So the only cooling my GPU is gonna get is from those fans which is why I need that upgrade. I also am gonna have it on 9 hours a day so... yeah I am probably gonna need those cooling upgrades.