First new computer, hell really appreciated!

My brothers old dual core processor computer from 2004 finally died on me. I had a gtx 240 plugged into it about a year ago which helped some, but it was limping along.

This is my first top of the line computer and I'd like to get something really nice that will make my money go pretty far. Ive been saving up for over a year to afford this rig, so I'm a little nervous.
Alright, I'll get to the point

Important Info-

I'm looking to spend anywhere from 2000-3000, hopefully closer to the 2500 range.

I'm going to use this computer for lots of online games, music, and word processing.

I'd like to game at resolutions of 2500x1600 or 1900x1200 with high settings on most games. I've been using 1280x1024 so either resolution will look godlike to me.

I'm thinking of getting a 3d monitor with nvidia vision. Probably grabbing that off of new egg.

I would like to drop the price of what I have configured already by several hundred dollars if possible. Maybe I can get away with a less expensive processor or videocard for what I'm using the rig for.

I would like to keep the solid state drive and soundcard though.

Huge thanks in advance for anyone willing to help. I really appreciate it!

Specs below:
Config number: 611442

Specs: (Wouldn't let me post a link)
Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS HailStorm Edition
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2700K 3.50 GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core) <b></b>
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue) <b></b>
System Memory: 8GB 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 (120GB Solid State (By: Corsair) (Model: Force GT Series CSSD-F120GBGT-BK) (SATA 6Gbps) <b></b>
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) <b></b>
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) <b></b>
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 590 3GB (Includes PhysX Technology) <b></b>
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional <b></b>
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance (Does NOT fit on the regular EVGA X58 3X SLI) <b></b>
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With Zalman Performance Fans (Up to 6 Fans) <b></b>
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (White) <b></b>
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz
Boost Video Card: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability <b></b>
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 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition) <b></b>
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Batman: Arkham City (Available only with NVIDIA GeForce GTX graphic cards) <b></b>
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: APC SurgeArrest Personal PER7 (7 Outlet) 120V Surge Protector <b></b>
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Medium) <b></b>
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

your config needs changes big time, but first we have to know you res, if you looking at 3D then best you can do is around 1900 x 1200 res, building a pc for that res and 2560 x 1600 res are 2 different things.

so which is it gonna be?

for 3D:

Here you go Ticket# 611520 --- $3,077 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
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 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition)
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: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB (PhysX) (Overclocked EVGA Edition)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Corsair A70 Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
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 or Deluxe Series 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 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Install/Test 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: - No Thanks
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

The haf x fits another 200mm fan on top, for some reason CM no longer offers the non led ones, so either grab a red led one and add it yourself or ask DS to put one on top for you, so that you endup with the best airflow case can do, here is the fan you want, you need to specifically ask for this fan to be added:

200mm red led fan

with that you endup with 4 x 200mm fans for great airflow.

Edited by DST4ME - 01 Nov 2011 at 12:46am

dual cards get beat by sli, they have more heat, they go bad more often and when one gpu goes bad the other goes bad also, in short there is nothing good about dual gpu cards.

if you want you can go sli 570, but for 3D fps gets cut in half so every little bit counts.

Edited by DST4ME - 01 Nov 2011 at 11:57pm

Good luck

After factoring in student office and a soundcard im sitting right at 3k with one 580, so ill probably stick to that for now.

Holidays are coming up fast, Im sure DS does some sort of neat sale. I know we're on 10% off right now, im curious how long thatll last.

Well I was thinking of sticking another 580 in a month or two down the road. But I might got with sli 570s

OK adding a 580 later is a good idea, do that, perhaps when the new gpus come out you can save some money on the second 580.

no matter if you go with lc or air cooling both use fans blowing room temps air on parts to help with heat exchange, if you room temp is 80f or higher, then fans are blowing 80f air on rad or heatsink to help with heat exchange, and 80f air is not gonna be much help there.

best option is to lower room temp.

also even if you lc the cpu and gpus for around $1400 extra, other parts like psu and etc are not lced, they will get hot.

that build looks great

Also pretty excited from fiddling around with the build. I have a fairly new 1tb hard drive in my old rig I can salvage, so if I drop that it knocks 120 bucks off the price.

I'm also really considering just getting 1 580 gtx, since the new cards are coming out so soon I'll be able to go SLI in a couple of months for about the same price I'd pay for sli 570s now.

I'm just holding out now for cyber monday. Im starting to feel all tingly as its getting closer

Haha the more I look into those 570s the more impressed I am with them

The little buggers really are powerful. I wish I could get some benchmarks of how they handle with 3d vision.

I see. Looking at some benchmarks 570s will probably give some respectable framerates for 3d, I just might have to lower a couple of options on more demanding games. 580s in sli really would be sweet though. Guess its going to come down to cyber monday

Now that they've been released I have to ask, do you think it would be worth looking into the x79 platform or 585 (not sure if its a dual card gpu or not) or should I just stick with what I have configured already?

Just looked into the 585, nevermind that. Is the x79 worth it though?

Heres the number with the final build now that the black friday sale has hit
620713

I opted to go with the sli 570s since getting top of the line GPUs is a waste of money in the long run. Also switched my soundcard to the ASUS xonar.

Ordering as soon as I get back from dinner with the family

Thanks for the heads up, I might even just try to get away using open office