Looking at the ODE1 but Undecided

Hello, Digital Storm Config Forum!

   I am in the market for a gaming PC, as it will be my first my budget is fairly average ~$1500 (could be pushed to $2,400 and I'll explain why in a moment).

Expectations:
   Run most games on relatively high settings (ideally max) at (I believe) an average resolution of 1900x1080, at frame rates above 40 or so (not a super high hertz TV, a 32" Vizio). No chugging, turning down graphics settings is acceptable but not desirable.

Usage:
   Heavy Gaming, (Starcraft 2, TF2, Crysis 2, Minecraft and hopefully BF3 on relatively high ;) settings), CADD modeling, Basic web surfing and Multimedia.

Special needs:
   NO lag on highest settings in SC2. That's kind of my benchmark, should I shoot higher, or is that even reasonable with the specs I have below? :P

Screen: Ideally I want to use my 32" Vizio, and run close to 1900x1080 but I am unsure how good that will look on a screen that size... Suggestions?

I am looking at the ODE Level 1.. But the SLI 570s in the Level 3 have me drooling :P

I cannot decide which I should purchase, because I want a PC that will last me 3-4 years with minor upgrades, if possible. I hear the A70 fans are better than an H60 or H70, so I guess the ODE1 has an advantage there... If I purchased an ODE level 1, the Motherboard does not support SLI, which I think wouldn't bother me, except for the fact I might like to upgrade it down the road, maybe put in a new mobo? (I'm a newbie, and instead of building I wanted to have a working machine for my first rig to gain experience) If changing Mobo is not a feasability then what would you guys suggest? Should I go with the ODE3? I would have to save a little extra but it's possible. I would prefer to only lay down 1500 and then maybe upgrade down the road, but I am concerned about the difficulty about changing the Motherboard and the like.

Hopefully you guys can help!
Thanks,
SpyKe




Here are the specs for the ODE Level 1:
Ticket Number: 576217
Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,489.00

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Pre-built Digital Storm ODE Level 1
Exterior Finish: White Exterior Paint Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 LE (Intel P67 Chipset) (New B3 Revision) (Does Not Support SLI)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair XMS3 Series (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 600W Corsair CX600 V2
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
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)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
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: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - 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
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 (Medium) <b></b>
Priority Build: Ship Within 72-Hours After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty

Lets clear something up.

A70 is a air cooler and the H60 or H70 are self contained liquid coolers, they are not fans, nor is the fan the reason why A70 is the best performer.

LC systems are suppose to out perform air coolers, as long as the LC has good parts, problem is that these self contained LC units like the H60 or H70 or Asetek have low grade rads and blocks and because of that their performance endup less then a good air cooler like the a70 or noctua.

for your res we recommend going sli 570 or going with one 570 and the option to add the next one yourself.

ode one can't do sli, and to change parts price will endup the same or higher then a custom config.

for your needs you gonna want sli 570 so save up and go with ode 3, but keep in mind ode 3's psu is limited to sli 570, in other words if in 3 years you want to upgrade gpus and they have a need of 580 sli, ode 3 is not gonna be able to do it without a psu upgrade.

so take all of that into account, and I think for your budget ode 3 is the way to go.

we highly Don't recommend ode 4 because of the 590, its a bad idea.

Craig .. in that particular case disabling sli so they can play the games with sli issues is pretty much like running a single gpu or is there more benefit that im not thinking of

With ode you need to change psu and mobo to do sli.

to me changing mobo and psu is easy, but if you have never done it, it can be a little hard the first time.

keep in mind that a single 570 will do ok now with many games but I can't say the same in a year or two, specially if they are gonna go the same way bf3 is.

IMHO stop sacrificing performance, instead sacrifice time, take your time save more money and get a system that will keep you happy now and at least for the next two years.


If you want lc, real lc systems start from stage 3.


Edited by DST4ME - 15 Jul 2011 at 4:35pm