Configuration advice needed!Post Date: 2012-08-29 |
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Pirate Penguin 
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Joined: 18 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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 Topic: Configuration advice needed!Posted: 29 Aug 2012 at 2:50pm |
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I've been playing with some system configurations for a few weeks now and I think I've closed in on a configuration I would like to order soon. This system will primarily be a gaming system, in particular I would like to play games like Skyrim, Borderlands 2, and Guild Wars 2 on max settings with a 1920x1080 monitor.
This PC will go underneath my desk and it will actually be beneficial for it not to have any extra LEDs or lights. I'm still not sure about the blu-ray player, but once I added it I ended up with a system cost of exactly $2499 which is near the top end of my budget. My biggest questions are: 1) Is the 800W power supply large enough to add another 670 card down the road? 2) I don't know much about motherboards, which do you all recommend? There are a few upgrade options from the sabertooth I have listed but I haven't been able to pinpoint the differences yet. Any other input would be appreciated! Ticket number is 723268 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Obsidian 550D Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad 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: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (240GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F240GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital/Seagate/Hitachi/Samsung (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (PhysX) (FTW Overclocked EVGA) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 240mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (Extreme-Performance Edition) 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/Deluxe/Sabertooth 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 (Extra Large) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty |
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Pirate Penguin
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Joined: 18 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 29 Aug 2012 at 5:57pm |
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I'd also be interested on hearing some thoughts of this system vs the preconfigured ODE lvl 4 system, since they are the same price. Originally I was thinking ODE all the way, but I kind of wanted a bigger SSD and more memory.
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bprat22
DS ELITE 
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) 
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 5:31am |
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Hi Pirate Penquin. That is a nice build you put together. The sabertooth mobo is the way to go unless there is something on the Deluxe for example that you need. Plus, the sabertooth has a 5 year warranty as opposes to 3 years for most others.
I would up the psu to the 1050HX. A 800W will work with a sli setup, but doesn't leave much room to grow. Plus, with the X79 chipsets higher energy needs and the 670 overclocked cards, if you went to another, even DS has suggested at least a 1000W psu. The ODE 4 is a great rig for the price, and tough to beat. Your rig will be $500 more for a sli, 2x gtx 670 setup, the 1050HX, but you'd have the 670FTW oc's cards, a better psu and your larger SSD. Only you can decide if the added $$ is worth it. If budget is tight then the ODE 4 is the way to go for the best gaming for the money. Other than the bigger SSD, the ODE 4 is all you need, with oc'd cards not showing more than a few fps better gaming and the 800W will work and is covered for 5 years. Here's another build to check out. It has the HafX case, the best for air cooled and the one I always recommend first  and the D14 air cooler for tops in reliability. Config # 723621 Cost $ 2475 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 3770K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU) (Quad Core) (Requires Z77 Motherboard) Motherboard: ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77 (Intel Z77 Chipset) (Features Thermal Armor and Thermal Radar) System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (240GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F240GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps) 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 & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 2GB (Includes PhysX) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 SE2011 Extreme Performance 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/Deluxe/Sabertooth 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 (Extra Large) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty This build can get away with the 800W because of the Z77 chipset and non-oc's cards but the 1050HX is still better. I understand not everyone wants the HafX case but it is great and the front red LED fan can be turned off with a built in switch. The 550D is also very nice but not the same airflow and won't be as quiet as is advertised because the top panel is removed for the Vortex 240mm rad to mount there. The ODE 4 is still the best bang for the buck with included sli 670, but this has a better case, larger SSD and the D14 cooler. Hope this helps and doesn't just make the decision tougher. It does come down to how much you want to spend.Good Luck. Edited by bprat22 - 30 Aug 2012 at 5:47am |
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Pirate Penguin
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Joined: 18 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 6:56am |
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Thanks bprat22. Any thoughts on the merits of the 3820 instead of the 3770 processor on the ODE? I'm still not sure of the difference.
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Pirate Penguin
Newbie
Joined: 18 Nov 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 6:58am |
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Oh and I just saw your new build. How does the air cooling compare with the water cooling on the config I posted? I picked the case due to the 'noise reduction' characteristic (it's not super important that my computer is quiet, but it's a nice bonus).
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bprat22
DS ELITE
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!)
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 9:12am |
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I would say the 3820 and 3770 are about the same for gaming. The X79 mobo to go with the 3820 is a quad channel ram mobo for ram intense apps like Lightroom, Photoshop, 3d modeling, etc and not really needed for gaming. The Z77 is dual channel and really all you need for games. Nothing wrong with X79 though and if you needed a 6 core cpu like the 3930k for Photoshop, etc then it is the way to go. But, another $300 for something you might not need.
The X79 with 3820 or Z77 with 3770 are both great choices. The D14 air cooler is great and more reliable than the Vortex because its a big block of cooling fins with no pump, hoses, etc to go wrong. But, the Vortex 240mm also is very good and a good reputation and is smaller. Your call of course . I just go for relaibility when possible. Just me. If you go with the 550D case, then the D14 doesn't fit, so it would be the Vortex like you had or the Hyper 212 air cooler. The Vortex 240mm rad would require the top 550D noise reduction panel to be removed and the Hyper 212 wouldn't, but would be limited to stage 1 oc which really isn't a big deal.. I've never heard a HafX owner complain of the noise because they are large, slow moving fans but I can't say from personnal experience. The 550D with the top panel on would be quieter I believe but the quiet means less air flow. Edited by bprat22 - 30 Aug 2012 at 9:16am |
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SpicierMire
Groupie 
Joined: 30 Jul 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 105 |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 9:36am |
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A HAF X user complaining of noise is like a Hummer owner complaining of drag
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bprat22
DS ELITE
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!)
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
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Posted: 30 Aug 2012 at 9:41am |
 Good point.
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