Looking for a ~$2,500 machine, All inclusive

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   I need to replace my 2006 Dell 17 inch screen XPS laptop. 
By all inclusive, I mean that I will need a Keyboard, mouse, and monitor to go along with the box and inside of this budget.
One of the biggest problems I had with having a laptop period was the lack of upgradeability. With this desktop, I want to make sure I will be able to update video cards to ensure the machine remains viable for 4-5 years, ie, compatible with the next video card iteration. I do mostly gaming(SC2, Diablo3, would consider BF3 but don’t need bleeding edge graphics on the FPSs) and web surfing on this machine with minimal business use (all of my heavy computing is done on work machines).
The resolution I’m looking for would depend on the monitor recommendation as I understand it, but I can’t see myself needing/wanting anything greater than the common 1900 ish dimensioned pixels.
Noise level is not much of a concern, and from DST4ME’s posts I see no real reason to include any form of Liquid Cooling since I only plan to OC the processor. Also, it would seem that 2x 570s in SLI are his most common recommendation, I would appreciate it if someone would comment on the upgradeability of this setup. I have read that it does not make sense to order a single 580 and wait to get another, as the current motherboards do not have enough ‘bandwith’ or ‘lanes’ to truly support 2x 580s.
Can someone show me a properly built configuration using these guidelines? I’d appreciate it very much. I want to see an up to date version of this machine as some of the older configs similar to this one on this message board still recommend the Intel 970.
I work in a quantitative field, I know a lot about using computers and shockingly little about how they work. This message board and particularly DST4MEs posts have been incredibly helpful in getting up to date with current hardware. 

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LaneHayes Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 17 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 90	Quote Reply Topic: Looking for a ~$2,500 machine, All inclusive Posted: 17 Oct 2011 at 1:56pm
	I need to replace my 2006 Dell 17 inch screen XPS laptop. By all inclusive, I mean that I will need a Keyboard, mouse, and monitor to go along with the box and inside of this budget. One of the biggest problems I had with having a laptop period was the lack of upgradeability. With this desktop, I want to make sure I will be able to update video cards to ensure the machine remains viable for 4-5 years, ie, compatible with the next video card iteration. I do mostly gaming(SC2, Diablo3, would consider BF3 but don’t need bleeding edge graphics on the FPSs) and web surfing on this machine with minimal business use (all of my heavy computing is done on work machines). The resolution I’m looking for would depend on the monitor recommendation as I understand it, but I can’t see myself needing/wanting anything greater than the common 1900 ish dimensioned pixels. Noise level is not much of a concern, and from DST4ME’s posts I see no real reason to include any form of Liquid Cooling since I only plan to OC the processor. Also, it would seem that 2x 570s in SLI are his most common recommendation, I would appreciate it if someone would comment on the upgradeability of this setup. I have read that it does not make sense to order a single 580 and wait to get another, as the current motherboards do not have enough ‘bandwith’ or ‘lanes’ to truly support 2x 580s. Can someone show me a properly built configuration using these guidelines? I’d appreciate it very much. I want to see an up to date version of this machine as some of the older configs similar to this one on this message board still recommend the Intel 970. I work in a quantitative field, I know a lot about using computers and shockingly little about how they work. This message board and particularly DST4MEs posts have been incredibly helpful in getting up to date with current hardware.

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 17 Oct 2011 at 7:15pm
	Welcome aboard. I'm a little confused, did you have a build you wanted us to look at? you have gotten some bad info somewhere or misunderstood something, current mobos can easily support dual sli anything, the p67 can't do tri sli 570/580 correctly due to lack of pci lanes. however at res of 1900 x 1200, sli 570 will give you more power then you need to getting sli 580 which is just a tad bit better does not make much of sense. what do you think about this: Here you go Ticket# 606576 --- $2,512 (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: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology) (EVGA Edition) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance (Does NOT fit on the regular EVGA X58 3X SLI) 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 Professional (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 now we can take the ssd out, you add that later yourself, but that opens up $200 or so for a good ips monitor.
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

LaneHayes Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 17 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 90	Quote Reply Posted: 17 Oct 2011 at 10:37pm
	If they don't pay you, they should. This looks great. I didn't have my own config because these work laptops have antiquated browsers that won't function properly (loading screen wont go away on customization pages). Plus its a little intimidating to post a config you know is wrong! I do have 2 questions: 1 Why the single GPU? I read in one of your earlier posts that you build the machine around the graphical capabilities. I have no idea the true benefits or rationale behind two GPUs, so its more of a curiousity question. Also, I could always add a second 570 later correct? 2 Where would you cut costs on this config if needed, after the SSD? May want to bring it down a little bit; the budget isn't hard set but who doesn't like to weigh their options? I'd like to get a mouse keyboard monitor and speakers with this too as mine have seen better days, but I suppose I could cope and buy them piecemeal. I plan on ordering this tomorrow evening so I appreciate any additional feedback. I already have your monitor recommendations from other threads, I think Costco has some of the models at pretty good prices. You've already helped so much though, thank you!

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 18 Oct 2011 at 12:59am
	Well first let me say that we know you guys are new and we expect your builds to be wrong, so never worry about looking bad or anything like that. 1. sli 570 would be out of your budget but you wanted a system you can upgrade, so I gave you one that can, in the future if you want to upgrade the sli to future cards and they have needs of a 580 sli the 1050w can do it. Longs story short gave a single 570 to stay in budget and have everything else, as you said you can add the second yourself later if you need it, for games like metro and bf3 you probably gonna want it. 2. to be honest I try to build "no nonsense configs" if you will, in otherwords everything is pretty much were it needs to be, other removing ssd, there is nothing to change that A. would save a good amount. B. would not mess with the current performance. having said that, the case can go to 932 but your airflow will be less, for $65. the mobo can be z68 v-pro for $28 as you see not much to save and to be honest for a case you want to have for a long time, I would not make those changes for that little of savings. you are much better off buying things one by one and adding it like a puzzle, but once the puzzle completes, you got yourself a mighty beast, and all you will need is gpu upgrade every 2 or 3 years to make the pc feel new in gaming. My pleasure and You're welcome Edited by DST4ME - 18 Oct 2011 at 1:00am
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

LaneHayes Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 17 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 90	Quote Reply Posted: 19 Oct 2011 at 7:28pm
	In Stage 1 now (note the new verified customer placard!!) Thank you so much!!

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 19 Oct 2011 at 8:13pm
	Congrats Let the torture begin My pleasure and good luck
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

Looking for a ~$2,500 machine, All inclusive

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