Going to get a DSO build, 1800-2500$ budget

Hi, I've been thinking for a few months to get a new gaming PC, and found out about Digital Storm through a GameInformer magazine issue. I was otherwise going to get an Alienware (I wasn't very adamant on doing so, though, mainly because it costs too much and you don't get what you need or deserve for the price) or assemble my own PC. Turns out DSO is perfect for me.
I'm also shipping to a suburb near Montreal in Quebec, Canada, named Repentigny. My postal code is J5Y 1P6. I'm wondering, what do I do with the shipping? I'm assuming it will cost me in taxes, right? How much?

I'm also wondering if all my choices are compatible with each other or if I've picked pieces that will conflict with each other.

Budget: 1800-2500$

Expectations/Usage: I want to be able to run games at "graphical max" (No fancy 8xAA or anything else of the sort, just want the game to look at its graphical best and have good FPS), have a PC that will last for 4-5 years and can run games in 5 years still averagely well, even if they will not be maxed out. I want to have a motherboard that will last as long as possible so I can keep upgrading the PC and keep my current install of Windows.
I want to avoid noise and dust, but not with anything that might damage my PC, prevent fans from working properly, and what not. If liquid cooling or any form of cooling I have chosen is at the detriment of the computer, I will gladly let go of it and take a noisier PC. I want to prevent overheating of components, so again, if any noise-reduction choice I have picked goes against that, I will let go of it.
I don't want to pay for anything that is too fancy and unnecessary. I want to play games like Crysis 3 and Command & Conquer (The upcoming game that uses Frostbite 2 engine) on graphical maximum (AKA "high") with reasonable FPS and play StarCraft II on max with a smooth FPS rate.
I don't watch blu-ray films on my PC, do 3D modeling or use GPU or CPU intensive programs other than Photoshop (and I don't think we could classify what I do with it as "graphically intensive"). 
I don't want nor plan on ever using 3D (It's bad for the eyes, makes my head dizzy and it distracts me).
I want to browse the internet and not have issues with 1080p videos on the website. I'd like to be able to open several tabs on youtube with 1080p/720p (3-4 perhaps?) videos and photoshop at the same time and have it run smoothly.
If it's possible to go lower without sacrificing RAM or GPU or getting a cheaper motherboard, that would be nice.

Special Needs: I plan on taking an old 1TB HDD from this current PC and using it as my secondary drive, alongside another 1TB HDD that I would buy.
I'm not interested in achieving highest overclocks, or even to overclock anything for that matter (other than factory-overclocked GPUs). I want to lower noise and dust accumulation unless doing so is detrimental to the components of the computer and their durability.

So if I can save some money and get what I want, do tell me, I'd love that. :D

Ticket Number: 768059
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,174.00
 
Specifications: 
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Corsair Obsidian 550D
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X79 (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible) <b></b>
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition)
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) <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 670 2GB (PhysX) (FTW Overclocked EVGA) <b></b>
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Digital Storm Vortex 120mm Radiator Liquid CPU Cooler (High-Performance Edition)
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: Noise Suppression Package Stage 1 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds Only)
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking
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 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
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 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

Edited by Alex06 - 09 Jan 2013 at 8:03am

Welcome to the forums, as Bprat said that is a pretty good build.

Thanks everyone, I'm pretty excited to get my hands on my DSO PC! I'll check to see if bprat22's build is fine for my needs or if the additional 280$ is worth.

Anyone know about the shipping, though?


Edited by Alex06 - 09 Jan 2013 at 12:13pm

Duty and Tax Estimate  260.88 USD 
Freight/Transportation 204.28 USD 
Insurance    81.00 USD 
Brokerage    89.00 USD
Entry Fee    49.98 USD
Customs Value of Goods  2174.00 USD 
 
Landed Cost Estimate  2859.14 USD

It certainly isn't cheap. Any way to lower this? Duty and taxes are unavoidable, but what of the rest?

Digital Storm seems to be the best fit for what I'm looking for, so if there's any way I could lower the shipping price, I'd like to know. Otherwise, I will just wait, assemble my own PC or get a cheaper one from DSO. :/


Edited by Alex06 - 10 Jan 2013 at 8:41pm

Originally posted by bprat22 International shipping is $$$.

I agree. I don't think there is much you can do about that at all. I work for a winery and I ship alot of expensive, heavy, and sometimes not so heavy material over seas on a regular basis. I'm talkin Canada, Vietnam, Japan...etc and it can get quite expensive. If your really pressed for money I would deff look into what bprat22 suggested. Sorry I couldn't give a more rewarding answer. Good luck!

I believe its all up front, no COD.  But, DS will have to answer for sure.

So, I finally got around to buying it, switched to 8GB of RAM instead of 16, and took the non-OC'd GTX 670 2GB. All for a total of $2,045.00! I saved the 10% (233$) and they gave me an additional 50$ off, not to mention I saved 29$ by getting the standard 2 gig GTX 670 and another 50$ from getting 8GB of RAM instead of 16. 362$ saved off the original retail price and I have to say, I'm happy with my purchase. S&H was 134.71$, for a total of 2,179.71$. Not bad!


Edited by Alex06 - 31 Jan 2013 at 4:16pm

Nice man!!!  

Congrats.   Welcome to the DS family.  Post pics if you can as we all love to see pics of new rigs.

Hi again. I'm thinking about cancelling my order.

While they are charging me more (I was perfectly aware that was going to happen, I knew that paying taxes was normal), now they're asking me to sign a credit card authorization fee, have me scan a State ID (We have a different thing in Canada) and fax it all to them. Since my dad lent me his credit card for this because mine's limit is lower, this is too much trouble for me and both me and my dad aren't comfortable with all that extra work and the information we have to share, especially since we've found a better way to get the almost the exact same PC for less. (around 1700-1800$)

I was also confused as to why we needed to complete the authorization form and it couldn't have been charged exactly when Fedex delivered the package to my house or why it couldn't simply be charged up front when my order was completed (when I checked out from the website, basically. This was what I actually understood would happen! I guess I should've asked for details.), especially since I could select shipping to Canada. The extra 670$, having to scan and send in personal identity pieces which aren't even my own (since my dad paid with his credit card after I gave him the money), not to mention the delay in shipping this is causing and the fact I might be able to save 250-350 more bucks, I might just have to cancel the order. Additionally, seeing as how this estimate they sent me is just an estimate, I'm expecting that Fedex might just charge me some more when they deliver the package to my door. (Had a bad experience where we were asked 200$ for a simple SD card when they delivered it)

Unfortunately, I'm not going to buy another PC from DSO right now, seeing as how the price has gone back up (no more extra money off :/). Maybe in a few years, when I get my next PC or laptop, if the process of shipping to another country becomes far less complicated.

Though I suppose I can thank everyone because I know what parts to get to build my PC. I'm sorry, but this is just way too much of a hassle for me, it's not even partially efficient for me to get a PC from DSO at this point, even if it comes already assembled and with Windows installed, since the shipping will take more than 2 weeks, and by then I'm pretty confident I can buy all the pieces and assemble it.


Edited by Alex06 - 02 Feb 2013 at 6:25pm