Please review my build - first timer here!

Hello DSO community!

Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
"Corsair" or "DS Certified" PSU - struggling a bit with that one... As for selecting a 1000W PSU, I'm trying to keep upgrades as simple as possible and am also not ruling out the possibility of going SLI/Crossfire if it seems a better fit for me in the future. Is a 1000W  PSU even enough for such "protection" (if, say, I wanted to eventually go GTX 570 or GTX 580 SLI)?

Optical Drive 2: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Player (Play Blu-Ray and Play DVDs)

Anyone know the read speeds of this player offhand?

 

Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
This has been the hardest part of the decision-making process for me by far. I feel quite torn between the GTX 580, the GTX 570, or even getting a comparable ATI - agh! Though I have the 580 selected, it seems the 570 is the better bang for the buck right now. Then again, I'm trying keep upgrades minimal, so perhaps get the 580 now and SLI the 580 in the future if need be? Just not sure what to do here...

 

Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-Express Slot Based)

I've read that while having a PCI-E interface is nice for a soundcard, it can also physically interfere with large videocard coolers or multiple card setups. Has anyone had any negative issues with this?

 

Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler

This seems to be the most recommended cooling, though I've also seen some recommendations for the Noctua NH-D14. When would it be more beneficial to go with the Noctua NH-D14 over the NH-U12P?

 

 

Whew, well, that's it... I think!  Thank you in advance for your time and any feedback you can provide.

 

Lisa

Well to be honest with you, we can load you up so that just incase you do play on both monitors you have enough or you can tell us for sure if you will do both monitor or not.

the gpu power needed to run 2 monitor for some of the currrent games is gonna be different then what you need with one.

also are you comfortable taking 2 minutes upgrading gpu down teh road or do not want to mess with that, differences are:

you get sli now to cover yourself and pay more, if you don't know how to add a gpu (which btw takes 2 seconds and is very simple) then this can be advantage for you, but you will lose on all the advantages of upgrading, which I will go over below.

or

you get one card now and then down the road if you see you need it you can add a second card then or just upgrade to the newer card then. Kinda like if somebody had sli 275 last year, this year 1 x 580/570 can match or beat the performance of a sli in one card. This is important, cause rule number one in gpu selection is "always go with a single card solution when possible", the reason is that sli has bugs and in some games you can run into trouble with sli, where as a single card won't have that problem. Another good thing about upgrading card later is that, in the future never version of dx11 and such will come out, and this way you can take advantage of geting a second card then, which will support newer technology like lets say dx12, again somebody that got sli 275 last year, can't take advantage of dx11, cause 275 does not support dx11.

so those are the advantages of upgrading later.

so let me know what you like to do, you want the sli now or you want to just upgrade later if the need is there.

of course keep in mind if you want to game on both monitor then you will need sli now and its not a matter of choice anymore cause you would actually have use for sli.

also are you looking to spend the budget if you don't need to or are you looking to spend it no matter what?

if you answer those questions for me, I will be able to better build a custom system for you.

I didn't answer any of our questions, cause once we know which direction you like to go, then we can discuss the parts we gonna choose, I'm gonna show you both ati and nvidia options, and then you can choose, I like the add or upgrade gpu in the future route, cause it give you the most options,and better performance in the long run.





Edited by DST4ME - 21 Dec 2010 at 11:36pm

LOL ya I think the biggest deal about DS is that you can upgrade parts instead of spending lots on stuff you don't need now, or buying a new pc later, one of many reason I love DS

Originally posted by lsc2010 Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Assassin Edition I know it's not the typically recommended HAF, but what can I say, I like this case the best out of the offerings. Unless someone out there can tell me that this is a "bad" case (poor cooling, nightmare to upgrade parts like GPU, etc.), then I don't mind spending some extra money here.

Well the HAF 932 offers better cooling, more room (Assassin is cramped), and is $205 (!) cheaper. However if that isn't enough to persuade you and you like the aesthetics of the Assassin that badly go for it.

I understand that although it takes two NVidia video cards to power two monitors, it only takes one ATI card with eyefinity to power two monitors. Please correct me if I got that wrong.

yea what he said, nvid can do 2, but you can still only game on one.

all the new ATI cards can do up to 6 monitors correct?

I think six.

Edited by justin.kerr - 22 Dec 2010 at 10:34am

Originally posted by Smarmy I understand that although it takes two NVidia video cards to power two monitors, it only takes one ATI card with eyefinity to power two monitors. Please correct me if I got that wrong.

if you are running a game on 2 monitors on high settings will need more then one ati/nvidia card.

Edited by DST4ME - 22 Dec 2010 at 11:43am

running multi monitor and gaming on multi monitor are 2 different things, no single card can run 2 monitors (say 1080p) and give you smooth gaming, on most games.

Edited by DST4ME - 22 Dec 2010 at 12:22pm

No argument there, multi monitor setup of high res = need for sli/cf.

Hey different strokes for different folks

yes you can turn cathodes on and off.
the problem with building to last is it would be more effective to just upgrade a single gpu every few years when you need it.

I like dst's build with the haf. plus if you want you can add a sound card since its in you budget but make sure you have good enough speakers.

I just realized dst that your sig and avatar is the first animated gif i have seen in a long time. haha gifs are such a stupid image format, the only good thing is they can be animated.

yea i agree. its lack of color support is just terrible. at one point there was some png animation protocal trying to get big but it never got much support and just died.

haha good idea

Merry Christmas!