Could use some help deciding the path to take.

Hmm.. well if you are looking at upgrading that, it looks like it would pretty much need a complete rebuild. You could upgrade the video card and power supply and game better, but the performance outside of gaming would still be the same. It would still take forever to boot up and load and whatnot. In order to resolve that, you would end up replacing pretty much every component.

Might as well get a new system. 1800 will get you a pretty killer DS rig.

Try this build. $1758 http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=427228

Edit: copy of specs

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
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 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
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 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
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
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 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
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 (Xtra 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 Ch3ssplay3r - 31 Jul 2010 at 8:25pm

For my rig i actually ended up going with the 922. Not for budget reasons, but i measured it out, and I couldn't fit the full tower cases anywhere in my room! lol.

The HAF X is almost as good as the 932 in terms of airflow. The 932 is better, but the X is still great. You can see the more detailed specs here. The assassin isn't that great in terms of airflow.

X       932       922

Im not sure if the 922 can fit all that, you'll have to see what others say, or check the specs on that link. I wasn't planning on that, so i don't have to worry.

Yep, just gotta find the peripherals you like.

Originally posted by Ch3ssplay3r The HAF X is almost as good as the 932 in terms of airflow. The 932 is better, but the X is still great. You can see the more detailed specs here. The assassin isn't that great in terms of airflow.

Edited by teaiewold - 01 Aug 2010 at 11:54am

Originally posted by WardTheSteak Pick you up a decent keyboard maybe a razer or logitech but don't splurge there, splurge on the razer naga mouse, the extra buttons make it so useful in a lot of games

Ive been looking at that one since Ill be playing star wars and dcuo. But I love the rat. 7 so Im still leaning heavily that way. Keyboard wise Im probably just gonna go grab the G110. Then still hunting a solid headset. Kinda favoring the roccat kave and the logitech g35s. I have time to shop at least.

I know the assassin case is silent and good for airflow just cost wise compared to the haf932 it cant compete dollar wise. I can get more in my case with a 932 and equal the price of the assassin.

Dont make me buy both lol. I play both MMOS and FPS. Imma go play with the naga today and see if I like it more than the rat. Maybe Ill get the rat and then as for the naga for my bday. 

Hahaha, I have the naga, and everything I read about the rat makes me want to buy it just so I can play with it on my FPS's.  Why the hell do they do this stuff, I started off with the g9x logitech mouse and it was great, but then I saw the naga come out, and I was like zomg buy!  And, now the rat!

well i have not seen a resolution post anywhere... this is very important so we don't give you over or underkill in terms of gpu. also with a resolution it will be much easier to help you choose a monitor.

guys when your going to help someone out make sure they answer a few questions. this way it is easier to help them. the questions are:

What is your budget? (this customer known)
what will your resolution be? (this customer unknown)
what size monitor do you want if you are looking for a new one?
what are the uses of this computer?
If gaming what games do you play/ intend to play? (games vary in terms of requirements)

optional
do you want to run mild aa/af or max?
if there any hardware you must have?
will you upgrade in the future or just buy a new one?
how long do you want this computer to last?

once someone has answered these questions it is extremely easy to build them a configuration because you have all the data with out shooting in the dark.

think of giving a config with out information like this...

your blind folded at the batter's plate and a buzzer goes off telling you to swing when the ball comes at you. you have no way of telling where the ball exactly is and you still have a large margin to miss. same thing for this with out proper information you can either waste someones money with overkill or not give them the power they need by not spending enough which would be underkill.

so if you see a new post make sure you ask them these questions before you give out your config. in the mean time most customers have other questions that can be answered while waiting for the information.

Ok well to help raif out more I can throw out some more details.
1.Budget Id like to stay at 1800-1900 If at all possible.
2.The monitor resolution Im getting is 1920X1080 Im looking at a 24in monitor.
3. Mostley gaming, gonna do some video capturing from the ps3, 360 and using fraps. Some desktop publishing and school work as well.
4. Gaming will be Crysis 2, DC universe online, Rage, Starcraft 2, Medal of Honor, and Star wars the old republic

Optional:
1. mmm actually thats a good question. Honestly Id like to do max but with my budget I dont mind mild AA/AF
2. Must have hardware 1tb Hard drive for all the media.
3.Honestly I plan on upgrading this one so I need it to be upgradable. Im Interested in USB 3.0 Because I have a new WD external coming to me as well.
4. 3 years is the minimum Id love for it to last.

We did get kinda off track thanks for bring it back in. But yeah I do want it to be able to handle at least crysis looking damn good. Thanks for the help

Thanks Alot !ender. Hmm I could just tell them not to get the external and get a new internal instead and it should be solid. Question though about the case? does it actually come in that blue led color or is that just the display I honestly would prefer red If I had the chance to choose.

Im tempted by the red trim for it. But I think thats the build IM going to go with. Just started a new job so Im going be able to up my budget so on a monitor to make it all look good. Thanks again for the suggestion. The only thing Im waiting on now is my pay check. 

Also...does anyone have suggestions for a solid gaming/work keyboard. Im leaning towards the g510 since Im already getting the G700 mouse and the g930 headset. Kinda hearing mixed reviews about the new keyboard so Im hesitating on it for now. A

Originally posted by Lasthill Now the last few questions I have are. should I go for a ssd and drop the 1tb drive to 500 gb? Would 40 gb be enough for my OS, Microsoft Office, and Adobe Or should I attempt to spring a bit more for the 80gb? Would that even be worth it?

Everything you listed will easily fit onto a 40GB. Whether or not you would consider it worth it probably falls down to how often you use your PC. If you only very occasionally hop on it to web surf or game, then you can definitely live without it, but if you do spend a good amount of time on it, especially doing actual work, then by all means a small cheap SSD is a great buy.

Originally posted by Ch3ssplay3r Originally posted by teaiewold what do you mean the assassin isn't that great in term of airflow? the case is specifically designed for airflow. in several different posts from the people that work for DS have said it cools a little bit better than the HAF. it's just the HAF 932 is sooo much cheaper. so you get a better cost/performance ratio with the HAF 932.   I know, i was just trying to dissuade him from going with the assassin, because of the cost/performance ratio.

the assassin is a revamped raven 2 with a new outside look, and a hot-swap hdd cage, with a DS brand on it. the raven 2's still good, without the price,..

why 80GB? you know, for budget systems, I think the 40GB corsair force is a nice budget option. gets you damn around the performance of the 80GB intel, though not with the rock solid rep the intels have. anyways, the only concern is firmware upgrades, but hey, if you only keep your OS on that thing, then you really don't need to backup your data. just pop the data drive out to be safe, and simply reinstall windows and ur programs.

for keyboard, well the logitech G110 is always a great option. the G510 is basically just a merge of the G15 and the G110, as in, G110 with a G15 screen slapped on it. just look at the G510 and the G110, you'll see the resemblance.

as for mouse, the g700 looks niiiice. I'm planning on getting one for home/mobile usage. for home usage, well, eh, you could go with a wired mouse, just saying. the r.a.t. 7 from cyborg has me intrigued, otherwise, like ward said, more buttons is always more fun, lol.

also...for your current comp...if you're not constantly maxing out that 2GB of ram, you can turn virtual memory off to speed it up. additionally, run a good, full CCleaner sweep, and a defragmenter. i dunno, i use MS Contig right now. that batch of tuneup alone managed to speed up this dell hunk of junk a LOT. when I resume from hibernate, it literally takes around 40 secs to bootup. from a cold boot, I'd say it'll take 2 min to finish starting up. this is a 2 yr comp running a C2D T2300, 2GB of RAM, and a NVS 120m. lol.

finally for monitor, well, this HP ZR22W always looked like a nice budget monitor IMO. 22" IPS panel, 1920x1080 res, for $250.


Edited by ablahblah - 26 Aug 2010 at 11:32pm