Final Configuration..finally please commentPost Date: 2008-06-30 |
Post Reply 
|
| Author | |
Bismark 
Senior Member 
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 120 |
 Quote Reply
 Topic: Final Configuration..finally please commentPosted: 30 Jun 2008 at 8:55pm |
|
Here it is, what I've finally decided on tell me if you see anything wrong please, and thank you all for all the help in my decision making process. Final Configuration
Specifications: Chassis: Digital Storm 850Si Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals) Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache) Motherboard: NVIDIA 780i Core 2 Quad (Chipset: nForce 780i SLI) System Memory: 4GB DDR2 Corsair at 1066MHz Dominator DHX (Extreme-Performance) Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive 1: 160GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) 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) (LightScribe Edition) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB TV Tuner: Pinnacle PCTV HD Card (HDTV, Video Recording, Video Capture, FM Audio) Sound Card: Razer Barracuda AC-1 (Recommended) Extreme Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 3 WindTunnel (Copper Heatpipe Heatsink & Zalman Case Fans) Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Green Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes) Modifications: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability Boost Video Card: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability Boost Memory: Yes, Overclock memory timings (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed) 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 Install/Test 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) External Storage: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty |
|
 |
|
|
DST4ME
DS ELITE 
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 9:14pm |
|
IMO change your first HDD to a Raptor
|
|
|
|
|
!ender_
DS Veteran 
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 10:11pm |
|
imo, drop the sound card and
either get a 500gb drive
or a 150raptor and 320gb standard
i might acually go down to a 9450 myself, but i'll assume youve done your homework and compared the 2!!
|
|
|
|
|
SunfighterLC
DS Veteran
Joined: 18 Feb 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1527 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 10:17pm |
|
Ya the sound card is an optional, I have a 790i and it uses the same integrated audio as the 780i, Honestly i dont see any problems with it, the sound is crisp and clear. I only bought a Xonar sound card because im running out of extras to buy for my machine. I think next week ill be upgrading the top fans to something with a little more beef. After that, ill continue negotiations on getting a one month used QX9770 for half of what it cost |
|
|
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra 1000W Corsair HX 2 280 GTX EVGA FTW 4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz 250-80-300GB VR HD Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers Asus Xonar 7.1 Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor |
|
|
|
|
Bismark
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 120 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 10:49pm |
|
Hmm, that sound card was actually reccomended on here by Widdlecat, but I'll consider dropping it, Just been running on Board sound so long with alot of crackling that I thought it would be nice to have one.
I thought you were anti Raptor !ender? I went with the 2 160's because in 4 years I havnt filled up one 140 and I will still have this computer running and the one before that for storage. No idea how to partition a hard drive either for a 500 gig. I'll take a look at those two things, I went with the Q9550 in hopes of more overclock potential with the higher modifyer but I've no clue what that all means just seemed like for a lil more money I got more potential. Thanks folks I'll give those things another gander, let me know if everything else looks copestetic. And give me an honets opinion on the motherboard Im down to the 780i or the Asus rampage, just dunno if I'm gimping myself for the future by not allowing myself to go SLI but on the other hand with step it up i could trade in for a better single card in a year or 2. Edited by Bismark - 30 Jun 2008 at 11:02pm |
|
|
|
|
!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:03pm |
|
dont misunderstand, the sound card is a quality piece, its just that the small selection of DSO motherboards each come with excellent sound cards themselves, its not even onboard anymore, its just an included sound card. if DSO wasnt as quality, it would make a lot more sense to get... plus widdle is an audio engineer, shes biased!
i am against it, but i was just saying if you must have one at least get a back up with some real space on it
DSO can partition the 500gb drive for you into as many sections as you want
ill look over some 9450 v 9550 material later tonight and get back to this
|
|
|
|
|
Bismark
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 120 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:10pm |
|
!ender thank you so much for all the help you given me in this build process your help is invaluable, I'm going through this for me and a buddy who are going to be ordering virtually identical systems. Dunno if you caught that updated comment on the motherboard before you responded but here it is again (and I know your responded in my post on it in hardware but that is my true sticking point)
"And give me an honets opinion on the motherboard Im down to the 780i or the Asus rampage, just dunno if I'm gimping myself for the future by not allowing myself to go SLI but on the other hand with step it up i could trade in for a better single card in a year or 2." Thanks again everyone and DS should thank you all too these forums sold me on a DS system, how could I go wrong with a company with so many loyal customers they are willing to comment on everyones rig...makes me feel very safe in my purchase. |
|
|
|
|
SunfighterLC
DS Veteran
Joined: 18 Feb 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1527 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:14pm |
|
Widdy is a girl and therefore can be ignored in all reguards. lol just kidding, really i think it comes down to if you need a sound card or not is If you have super high quality speakers (aka bose) and/or are extremely sensitive when it comes to noise.
I personally am not an audiophile so id have a hard time telling the difference between mobo sound and a sound card. The sound on motherboards has improved quiet a lot since the early days.
What I did with my hard drives was i had them install the OS on the 80GB and use the 250 for my games. The only real annoyance is all my games want to default install onto that 80GB drive, but thats a minor problem. I really like having everything super organized, I have an operating system drive + Utilities and a pure games drive, its really nice. The old raptor drives should make a very good operating drive, and Id say if you really want that youd probably be able to make due with a 74GB one if you just use the OS and utilities on it. The second drive can be a pure gaming drive of any amount you think is resonable.
I dont know quad cores but id assume the Q9550 probably has a .5 higher multiplyer which will have a slight effect on overclocking as 400x 8.5 is gonna be slightly better then 400x8. It doesnt make a very huge differences, but if you have the money to burn, its reasonable to spend.
|
|
|
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra 1000W Corsair HX 2 280 GTX EVGA FTW 4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz 250-80-300GB VR HD Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers Asus Xonar 7.1 Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor |
|
|
|
|
Tyler Lowe
Newbie 
Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:22pm |
|
If Widdlecat says a sound card is good, listen up. She was a professional audio reviewer and left the field primarily, as I understand it, due to an integrity problem... she has integrity and was in a career where it wasn't in demand.(basically, she can't stop telling it exactly like she sees it).
If you enjoy sound in the same way others enjoy good video, you will instantly detect the difference between onboard sound a a good 3rd party card.
|
|
|
|
|
Bismark
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 120 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:23pm |
|
Lol I'm using the speakers that came with my monitor. My issue with the sound card is simply that I have all kinda grief running vent on my current system with on board sound, but if you folks say that integrated sound is cool now I'll go with your analysis... no sound card... where to spend 130 bucks now?
|
|
|
|
|
SunfighterLC
DS Veteran
Joined: 18 Feb 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 1527 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:27pm |
|
eh worth a shot IMHO, if it still causes problems with vent, then you can just buy a sound card off newegg or something, installing one isnt very hard. Thats the worst case of course, best case is you save some money or use that money to get even better hardware. Ive used vent on my 790i before and havent had any trouble. Id assume itd be the same on the 780 considering they use the same onboard sound.
|
|
|
E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra 1000W Corsair HX 2 280 GTX EVGA FTW 4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz 250-80-300GB VR HD Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers Asus Xonar 7.1 Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor |
|
|
|
|
Tyler Lowe
Newbie
Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:30pm |
|
If this is simply for better performance in Vent, onboard sound, in combination with a quad, is going to work just fine.
|
|
|
|
|
Bismark
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 120 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:36pm |
|
Well vent has been a nightmare for me on this rig so I figured a soundcard would help in my new system and I'm definitly not an audiophile (hear me sing somthing sometime) so it sounds like on board will do me just fine.
No comments on the Rampage vs the 780! though and that truly is my hold up at this point. Every day I hear more good stuff about intel boards, just worried over screwing myself on a future SLI upgrade.... |
|
|
|
|
Tyler Lowe
Newbie
Joined: 14 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 0 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 30 Jun 2008 at 11:49pm |
|
The only reason to go with a 780i over an X38 or X48 chipset is SLI. If you want SLI, you have to go with the 780i. It's a good board, and it will get you a solid overclock, just not to the same level as an Intel based board on average. If SLI is something you really want the option of later, I see no reason at all not to buy a 780i. The extra couple hundred MHz on your CPU an Intel board would get you will in no way equal the performance gain SLI will for gaming. |
|
|
|
|
Bismark
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 120 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 01 Jul 2008 at 12:00am |
|
Thank you Tyler for an excellent response to that question.
My debate is that the gtx 280 should be a great GPU for the forseeable future, so with DS's EVGA "step it up partnership" I could go from the gtx 280 to a higher end EVGA card when the GTX 280 just doesnt cut the mustard anymore. So SLI or total replacement with a "better" up front motherboard increasing my overclock for the life of the system... (its stuff like this thats the reason it takes me so damn long to make decisions) Thank you all again btw, its so nice to have some input from folks who actually know what the hell is going on. |
|
|
|
|
!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 01 Jul 2008 at 12:07am |
|
i've said it before and ill say it again, forget SLI and pocket the cash for a better card down the line, one more reason to pick the ASUS board for your config, it will run your single strong card all they way until you sell it / trash it for a newer, bigger, better card in several months(6-9)
|
|
|
|
|
Bismark
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 120 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 01 Jul 2008 at 7:46am |
|
Ok after reading up on the Rampage I'm confused on one thing, this runs ddr2 and ddr3 ram or you choose one or the other when you buy the board? I could probably reasearch this out myself but I have to head out to work. I'll be ordering tonight so keep those comments coming.
And thanks again everyone |
|
|
|
|
skyR
Newbie
Digital Storm Apprentice 
Joined: 08 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2220 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 01 Jul 2008 at 1:00pm |
|
The Asus Rampage only supports DDR2.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Bismark
Senior Member
Joined: 21 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 120 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 02 Jul 2008 at 7:15am |
|
Well here it is, ordered last night, im siked.
System Configuration: Chassis: Digital Storm 850Si Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: Personalized Platinum Digital Storm Binder (Includes Paperwork/Benchmarks/CDs/Manuals) Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache) Motherboard: Asus Rampage Formula (Chipset: Intel X48) (Supports CrossFire) System Memory: 4GB DDR2 Corsair at 1066MHz Dominator DHX (Extreme-Performance) Card Reader: - No Thanks Hard Drive 1: 160GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) 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) (LightScribe Edition) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card(s): NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB TV Tuner: Pinnacle PCTV HD Card (HDTV, Video Recording, Video Capture, FM Audio) Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 3 WindTunnel (Copper Heatpipe Heatsink & Zalman Case Fans) Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Green Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes) Modifications: - No Thanks CPU Boost: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability Graphics Boost: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability Memory Boost: Yes, Overclock memory timings (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed) Windows Boost: 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: Razer Tarantula Gaming Keyboard Mouse: Razer Lachesis Gaming Mouse (High-Speed Gaming Grade) External Storage: Lifetime Toll-Free Platinum Care Technical Support Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty |
|
|
|
|
widdlecat
DS Veteran
Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 840 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 02 Jul 2008 at 3:23pm |
|
Hahah, thanks sunfighter et al for the grief regarding audio...
 Thanks for your support Tyler!  Yeah, I would say for ventrillo support, it's fine as is. Getting a discrete sound card for that is iffy. Some offer good support, while others don't. I don't use it myself since I have dialup.  Basically, I don't keep up on the VoiP features because of that. Lack of broadband makes me  |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kliebor2
Senior Member
Joined: 22 May 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 659 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 02 Jul 2008 at 4:20pm |
|
Gratz on a great looking system Biz...
You will have a blast when it arrives, it is like christmas, your birtday and new years all rolled into one :) |
|
|
Digital Storm 950Si - Q9450 Quad Core @ 3 Ghz
Dual PNY OC2 GTX 560Ti 8 Gigabytes DDR2/800 2 Western Digital 500 GB SATAII 7200 RPM HD |
|
|
|
|
Post Reply
|
| Forum Jump | Forum Permissions You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot create polls in this forum You can vote in polls in this forum |
About Digital Storm
Contact Information
Facility Tour
Financing
Buy Now, Pay Later
Downloads
GSA Schedule
Terms & Conditions
Privacy Policy
Request Help
Call: 1-866-817-8676
(Hours 9AM-5PM PST)
Topic Options