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Post Date: 2008-03-02
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PL View Drop Down
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  Quote PL Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Computer build
    Posted: 02 Mar 2008 at 4:34pm
Hi all,
 
Im from canada and looking to buy system from DS because I heard great things from you guys. My budget would be 5000$, Anyone have suggestions? My system is for extreme gaming and some digital desiging.  Also Im not sure wich case I should go with. Can you guy order some customs cases like Lian Li PC-V1200 ? If not wich one do you guys suggest? Wich video card should I go with ..ATI or Nvidia? Should I wait for the new line of nvidia video card coming out soon? Should I got with air cooling or liquid cooling? Well any suggestiong would be good because im out of the loop with the new computer hardware:)
 
Cheers
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 02 Mar 2008 at 8:50pm
What rez do you usually play your games on?
 
Do you use more then one monitor?
 
Do you plan to overclock?
 
Xp or Vista?
 
Do you need a monitor for this build? Keyboard, mouse etc?
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PL View Drop Down
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  Quote PL Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 03 Mar 2008 at 5:22pm
well right now im playing at 1024 x 768, but want to play better rez
 
I just bough the LG 22 inch widescreen, I know some people don't like LG :)
 
Yes I would like to overclock
 
Im thinking to switch to Vista, not sure yet. Some people say dont switch some say go for it. Still un decided
 
No monitor in my build, but mouse and keyboad yes.
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Slicer View Drop Down
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Posts: 78 		  Quote Slicer Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 03 Mar 2008 at 5:33pm
 
If I had your budget I would look at something like this
 
 
 
 
 
Case: Digital Storm 950Si (Black Anodized Aluminum Finish)
Power Supply: 1000W SilverStone Strider (Dual SLI Compatible) (Model: ST1000) (Silent)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad QX9650 Extreme 3.00GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache)
Motherboard: nVidia 780i Core 2 Quad (By: eVGA) (nForce 780i SLI)
Memory: 4GB DDR2 Corsair at 800MHz Dominator (Dual Channel) (High-Performance)
Floppy / Card: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive 2: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Raid Option: Setup hard drive 1 and 2 in a Raid 0 Stripe (Read and Write Performance Boost)
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x)
Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Network Card: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (nVidia GeForce 8800GTS 512MB (By: eVGA) (PCI-Express)
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi FPS Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O Unit)
Physics Card: - No Thanks
Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite Dual Loop System for CPU & Dual Video Cards
Case Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
Round Cables: - No Thanks
User Manual: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals)
Overclock Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Overclock Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Overclock Memory: Yes, Overclock the memory timings (Includes Corsair Dominator Airflow Fan)
Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Dual Boot (Windows XP Home & Windows Vista Home Premium)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Pre-Install Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard
Mouse: Razer Lachesis Gaming Mouse (High-Speed Gaming Grade)
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty
Support: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support
Digital Storm uses genuine Microsoft® Windows®

Copyright © Digital Storm. All Rights Reserved
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PL View Drop Down
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  Quote PL Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 03 Mar 2008 at 5:43pm
That's my next question, what the difference between nvidia video card. GTS and GTX and ultra. I was checking different chart and ultra is always succeding with the best frame rates and so on but is it worth the money? So i should go for the GTS?
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 03 Mar 2008 at 11:43pm
The Ultra is an amazing card, but it's been discontinued, probably to make room for the new 9800x2. I could grab a listing from a review site of how many stream processors each card has, or what the clocks are, but the bottom line is, a GTS is roughly equal to a GTX in most instances, with the GTX being slightly more powerful in some cases.  The Ultra is an overclocked GTX, so it is faster than either of the other two cards. A KO edition Ultra is a GTX that is even further factory overclocked than a normal Ultra.

I don't believe they are as good a value as the 8800GTS, but then, at that price range, it's no longer about value, so much as all out performance. I think for most users the game play experience would not be much different, regardless of synthetic benchmarks. Either of the two cards will be absolutely amazing if you're used to gaming on an older system.

The system posted by Slicer above is pretty good.

Here's an alternate CrossFire X  Config.

The X38 chipset is better than NVidia's NForce boards, but of course, the NVidia 9800x2 should best the HD3870x2 (currently the fastest card on the market). There are definate pros and cons to any configuration, and this isn't a bad place to get started, but I would call DSO and discuss your options with one of their sales reps.

For example, liquid cooling yields the highest possible performance numbers, but if you need to replace a graphics card, it's a little more complex than unplugging the PCI-e rail and pulling it out of the expansion slot. RAID offers a nice performance boost, but at the expense of reliability. These are things to think about when looking over the choices.


Edited by Tyler Lowe - 03 Mar 2008 at 11:44pm
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PL View Drop Down
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  Quote PL Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Mar 2008 at 4:52pm
Thx for the tips slicer and Tyler. I can say you brough a smile to my face  Tyler when you put the ATI as option because I always love the ATI cards. Im just scared with some people saying the drivers for ATI is crap. But when im checking people using the ATI no one is really complaning. Im just trying to figure out wheres is the worried coming out from? Did you hear any thing? Also you love the 850si case better then the 950si why? Better air? Im sorry for all the questions :) Just want to make sure that ill be happy for the next 4 years or more with my system.
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Rai View Drop Down
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Posts: 83 		  Quote Rai Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Mar 2008 at 4:59pm
I'm going to jump in with this quick warning PL, as I just got my order (less then a week ago) and I'm alsoon the northern side of the border.
 
 Pay the extra money for the air shipping. OR, ask for someone other then UPS. UPS likes to tack a brokerage fee onto the price of the shipping that isn't included in the cost of the shipping, but their air shipping apparently charges no such fee. You'll get your computer 5-6 days quicker, and it will cost you only 9-15-$ more, depending on the brokerage fee.
 
  Also, expect whoppping Tax charge XD I was hit with a total bill of jsut under 500$ including brokerage fee for my 3100$ computer.
 
 I don't know which one is the ultra case anymore (thats what it was when I ordered) but the big black one with the grill on the front (or big silver one) is /amazing/. If you want to see what it looks like, check under the reviews for the one I gave, I linked a bunch of pictures to it.
 
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PoppaWedge View Drop Down
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Posts: 43 		  Quote PoppaWedge Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Mar 2008 at 7:37pm
The old Ultra is the new 850Si. Mine should be arriving next Tuesday!
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SunfighterLC View Drop Down
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Posts: 1527 		  Quote SunfighterLC Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 05 Mar 2008 at 7:58pm
Here is what i would do with my 5G's (if i ever had that! rar! i wish i had it, cause this system would rock. Pure power.) By the way, i find the extreme chips to be a total waste of money. An overclocked regular would be better, maybe not total performance wise over an extreme chip, but the bang for the buck is a lot better. The 900 bucks saved from that basically gets you a 3rd GPU, which is super overkill, but this system would last you till 2013 at least.
 
Youd almost need watercooling though for it, 3 overclocked GPUs are gonna put out the heat. I dont think air cooling would be enough, though water cooling basically makes your system a pain in the ass to upgrade later on, thats honestly why i dont want a super high end system right now......i like air cooling because i can update later with a lot more ease....but yea...
 
$4940
Case: Digital Storm 950Si (Black Anodized Aluminum Finish)
Power Supply: 1200W Thermaltake (Triple SLI Compatible) (Silent Toughpower Edition)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 3.00GHz (1333MHz Front Side Bus) (6MB Cache)
Motherboard: nVidia 780i Core 2 Quad (By: eVGA) (nForce 780i SLI)
Memory: 8GB DDR2 Corsair at 800MHz XMS2 (Dual Channel) (Extreme-Performance)
Floppy / Card: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Network Card: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 3x SLI Triple (nVidia GeForce 8800GTX 768MB (By: eVGA) (PCI-Express)
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi FPS Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O Unit)
Physics Card: - No Thanks
Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite Dual Loop System for CPU & Triple SLI
Case Lighting: - No Thanks
Round Cables: - No Thanks
User Manual: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals)
Overclock Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Overclock Video Card: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Overclock Memory: Yes, Overclock the memory timings (Includes Corsair Dominator Airflow Fan)
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)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Pre-Install Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks my keyboard comes with a mouse
 


Edited by SunfighterLC - 05 Mar 2008 at 8:00pm
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Tyler Lowe View Drop Down
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Posts: 0 		  Quote Tyler Lowe Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 06 Mar 2008 at 1:31am
Originally posted by PL

Thx for the tips slicer and Tyler. I can say you brought a smile to my face  Tyler when you put the ATI as option because I always love the ATI cards. I'm just scared with some people saying the drivers for ATI is crap. But when I'm checking people using the ATI no one is really complaining. I'm just trying to figure out wheres is the worried coming out from? Did you hear any thing? Also you love the 850si case better then the 950si why? Better air? I'm sorry for all the questions :) Just want to make sure that I'll be happy for the next 4 years or more with my system.


I've owned both Nvidia and ATI cards, and have enjoyed both, although it always seemed to me as though the motion was ever so slightly smoother on the ATI cards, and the textures seemed a little bit better. Being able to force AA is a pretty cool feature too, and NVidia makes some great products.

When it comes to the drivers, I find it amusing that the word is "ATI drivers are crap" when on just about any forum, you can find an instance of NVidia display drivers working very poorly (or not working at all) in Vista. Somehow, when that happens, it's Microsoft's fault, not NVidia's inability to code a decent driver. Maybe it's just my warped world view that makes this funny.

From what I have read, ATI drivers have also had some issues, including poor implimentation of Crossfire in selected titles. The main complaint I hear, is that for all of the raw muscle in ATI's cards, they struggle with things like anti aliasing. I think that's a valid observation. On the other hand, in terms of in game experience rather than benchmark numbers, people seem to rave about both brands.

The only word of caution I will toss out, is that when a game does not make use of crossfire, an HD3870x2 is just a run of the mill HD3870, only it uses more electricity and runs hotter. 2x HD3870x2's is no better than one in these situations. The good news, is that ATI sees multi GPU solutions as their future and claims to be 100% committed to making Crossfire work. Cross Fire X is due for official release soon, it's already been leaked, and confirmed to work (in fact, it may already be out). 

When it comes to the 850i, yes, I will admit to having a preference there for air cooled systems, particularly when it comes to SLI and overclocked Quad configurations. You hit it right on the head, it's all about the air flow in the case. When you load that case up with S-Flex fans, you will be moving some serious air, so yes, I find it hard not to like the case

Edit:
For your reading pleasure: a review of 2x HD3870x2's in Crossfire X on Hard OCP.


Edited by Tyler Lowe - 06 Mar 2008 at 1:46am
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skyR View Drop Down
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 06 Mar 2008 at 2:18am
CrossfireX was just released today. They are definitely going in the right direction with mix & match. Supporting multiple monitors is also a huge PLUS.

But it's true their drivers suck since most games favor Nvidia =(
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star.
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Rank393 View Drop Down
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Posts: 72 		  Quote Rank393 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 06 Mar 2008 at 3:48am
Hey PL for what it's worth this is what I went with:
 
Case: Digital Storm 850Si (Black Anodized Aluminum Finish)
Power Supply: 1000W SilverStone Strider (Dual SLI Compatible) (Model: ST1000) (Silent)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad QX9650 Extreme 3.00GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache)
Motherboard: nVidia 780i Core 2 Quad (By: eVGA) (nForce 780i SLI)
Memory: 2GB DDR2 Corsair at 1066MHz Dominator (Dual Channel) (Extreme-Performance)
Floppy / Card: Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive 2: 250GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Network Card: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: nVidia GeForce 8800GTS 512MB (By: eVGA) (PCI-Express)
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi FPS Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O Unit)
Physics Card: - No Thanks
Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 3 WindTunnel (Copper Heatpipe Heatsink & Scythe Case Fans)
Case Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
Round Cables: - No Thanks
User Manual: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals)
Overclock Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Overclock Video Card: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Overclock Memory: Yes, Overclock the memory timings (Includes Corsair Dominator Airflow Fan)
Tweak Windows: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial 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)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Pre-Install Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty
Support: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support
 
 
Now, I bought a zalman 9700 CPU fan and DS was more the happy to pop it in. Also at some point I plan on throwing another 2 gig of ram. Last but not least I opted for an 8800 GTS video card over the 8800 Ultra or Ultra KO. I'm holding out for a 9800gx2 or GTX video card  once they are out.  
 
This set up ran me $3600 so you still have room for extras if you would like.


Edited by Rank393 - 06 Mar 2008 at 3:49am
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