Getting ready for FFXIV

Greetings everyone,

I have been lurking here for a while now, getting ready for the big jump.  I have been browsing a lot around the web and I must say how impressed I am with the community on DS.  I really hope I can benefit from your expertise!

I'm a MMO player and I'm planning on playing the new Final Fantasy in September. I would really like to get a computer able to play the game at max settings, or close to. There is some confusion on what exactly are the recommended specs for the game, but this seems to be the consensus :

CPU: Intel Core 2 DUO @ 2.0 GHz / AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
RAM: 1.5 Gb
Video RAM: 256 Mb
Graphic Card: nVidia GeForce 8600 / ATI Radeon HD 3600
Sound: DirectX Compatible
DirectX: 9.0c
OS: Windows XP/Vista/7

Beside that game, I also play other RPGs, such as Dragon Age, Oblivion or Neverwinter Nights 2.  I'll also use the computer for movie watching, a bit of video and music editing, and for running web development software, like Photoshop, Flash and Dreamweaver.

For all this, I wanted a top GPU, and as much RAM as possible.  I'm not planning on thinkering a lot with this machine in the next few years, maybe just upgrading the video card eventually, so I thought the 750W PSU and stage 1 cooling would be enough.

I am also and avid music lover, and I long for a machine that won't slow down to a crawl when opening iTunes, like my ancient Dell currently does.

After reading the forums here, it seems you guys recommend getting the monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers elsewhere for better deals. Since I use my computer to listen to a lot of music, I'd like to get decent speakers, and found those http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5327595&CatId=4959  that got great reviews (M-Audio Studiophile AV 40 $171.99 at tigerdirect).

I'd really like to get a 24'' monitor and play in dual monitors with the old 17'' Dell I currently have.  Is the DS Promo Bundle (Acer 24'' + keyboard + mouse + logitech speakers for 279$) worth it? Otherwise I would probably order a monitor at Tigerdirect, although I find the prices similar (Canadian dollars here).

I have a lot of data to store and wanted a big extra hard drive, so I picked the 2TB Hitachi.  But I read around here that HD over 1TB sometimes had crash issues, so I'm wondering if I should be getting 2x1TB instead.

I wanted to stay under 2500$, but I got carried away with the main SSD, thinking of all the speed I could use with my applications. It is also why I went up to 12GB RAM. Do you guys think this is overkill?

Finally, I'm quite lost regarding the cooling, aeration, dust or case problems.  I know I've seen the HAF922 recommended by many, but I don't really like the design. I would much prefer something more sober, along the lines of the Cooler Master Elite or CM 690 (you know, plain black, and no lights!) but I'm not sure what to look for.

That's all I can think of now... I hope you'll have enough info to help me a bit!

So here it is :

Ticket Number: 426322
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,941.00
 
Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=426322
 
Specifications: 
Chassis Moh: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA
de58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset)
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) 
Power Supply: 750W Dig
l: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Exterior Finis Xital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended) 
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (160GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance) 
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (2TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) 
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Player (Play Blu-Ray and Play DVDs) 
Optical Drive 2: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition) 
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-Express Slot Based) 
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: - 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 (Small) 
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

howd you end up with a 2k9k build like that lmao, taeiewold got the idea of what kinda build it should be so im not going to waste time on puting pretty much the same build up for you. As with the ssd, all you really need for your type of comp use is an 80g ssd, the 160 is really just a huge luxury that you should get if you can afford and if not the 80 or 40 is going to pump your performance. For the case since you dont like the haf designs im going to recommend you to the FT02(assassin) case and also the 2 Raven's. These cases have pretty much the same cooling power as the haf cases so you wouldnt loose any cooling power from them but the FT02 is a tad bit more expensive but you will love them, im sure of it=] also they should keep a lot more dust out than the haf's. and yea like you mentioned, go with 2x1tb instead of 1x2tb because of failure rates being higher for 1tb+. umm i think i answered all your questions, and oh yea welcome to the forums 

Yup thats the kind of build you want although one i would def change is the psu to corsair.

If you dont really need your blu ray player you should get rid of it and use the cash on changing the mobo to the LE so you can add another gpu in the future or have a sli set up in the future because right now with the micro you cant have another gpu or anything else since your installing a sound card. And another change but not too important is from the noctua 120mm to the D14 but not too much of a difference, only a few degrees i believe. yea the psu is the main thing i would change. The mobo i would if u plan on sli and the cooler if u got the extra cash.

Stupid me, forgot to add the new config lol

Here it is :

Ticket Number: 426864
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,413.00
 
Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=426864
 
Specifications: 
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922
Exterior Finish: !PROMOTION: FREE Exterior High-Gloss Paint Finish (TJ09 Chassis Only, Select Color After Purchase) 
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series  (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended) 
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks 
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (80GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Extreme Performance) (Model: SSDSA2MH080G2R5)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
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 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-Express Slot Based)
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: - Not Available
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 1 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds Only) 
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - Not Available
Boost Memory: - Not Available
Boost OS: - Not Available
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)

yep, looks pretty good.

Edited by Ch3ssplay3r - 30 Jul 2010 at 6:46pm

The hard drive issue is quite odd. Are you sure you're selecting the same brand? i believe western digital is more expensive.   


Edited by Ch3ssplay3r - 30 Jul 2010 at 7:09pm

he gpu making all the noise is not the reason why you shouldnt get the noise suppresion package, even if the gpu is the one making noise, the package still makes your machine quieter. The reason you dont want it is because when you suppress the noise, you also keep heat in thus making your machine hotter so its not worth the bux to make your machine hotter and quieter.

Oh yea the promo for the gloss finish is only for the TJ09

For the HDD question, they probably charge u a raid fee for 2x1tb in hdd set 2 and yes you can add in ram like Ch3ssplay3r said. and yes its pointless unless you do a lot of photoshopping or like 3d rendering. The 750 psu is good for 1gpu but i dont suggest doing a sli "upgrade" in like a year or so because by then the gtx500 series is going to be out, i would suggest staying with the flagship 1 gpu set up's because by then you dont know hwo well the 400 series is going to be running toward the games then. and plus it makes u feel better having the new stuff lol


Edited by Mr. - 31 Jul 2010 at 9:40am

@dragoonseal

The links he provided are the same, the hdd problem he ment is when hdd set 1 is 2x 1tb and when another is hdd set 1 is 1x 1tb and hdd set2 is another 1x 1tb. I don't remember if I did it right or not but I did get the price difference. I think DS charges for raid in hdd sets 2 and 3 and give it out free only on hdd set 1. Idk I feel like I did it right but I was in a rush, should double check for me

Thank you guys for taking the time to look into this.  I didn't think about the RAID thing as an explanation for the price difference, but it's obvious now.  Since I don't need this at all, I will just order the 1x1TB + 1xTB setup.

As for the PSU, I will stay with the 750W since it will still allow me to upgrade to another GPU in the future.

Gonna order my system now, I'm very excited.

Thanks again for the great advice!