Looking for opinions

this makes more sense and is better:

here you go Ticket# 190137 --- Price: $2555 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis: Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Power Supply: 750W Corsair HX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache)
Motherboard: nVidia 790i Ultra Core 2 Quad (nForce 790i Ultra SLI) (DDR3 Only)
System Memory: 4GB DDR3 1333MHz OCZ
Card Reader: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive 2: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Wireless Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 2 (Silent Artic Cooling Heat-sink Upgrade (Copper Heatpipes)
Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
Modifications: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my processor
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
LCD Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

forget raid its not worth the headache or the cost.

put the OS/game/app on the velociraptor.

if you are referring to the ram fan for $25 then ya its worth it.

you will love this for encoding.

as for your TV we recommend people to go with 2 cards for best results about 1680 x 1050. if your TV's resolution is less then that you got nothing to think about.

if I were you, I would take the money you are saying on my config and go with liquid cooling and oc the cpu and ram, that way games and encoding will go even faster which would make my build to be $2905 vs your $2949, and nothing will make your pc faster then a faster clock speed

Edited by DST4ME - 02 Oct 2008 at 8:38pm

OK few things


DDR2 caps at 1066MHz

DDR3 as far as I know is tops at 2000MHz right now but I'm sure if it has not changed it will.

right now with the current Intel chips, how fast your ram can be is caped at what ever your CPU's FSB is.

so the q9550 has a FSB of 1333 that means without OC your ram speed is caped at 1333 even if you pick a 1600MHz ram.

does that help?

Edited by DST4ME - 02 Oct 2008 at 8:53pm

yes at stage 2 its at stage 3 and its a better case for the money, to match the HAF you would have to go to stage 3, so more money for the case, more money on cooling, just to get what the HAF offers on stage 2 for that much less.

brand does not matter much, we have seen corsair crap out so we are going with OCZ. at the end its all under warranty.

just so you know the haf better:



click on the below image to see one of our customer's haf

Stasy, the very last pick in my post is a box with the same LC I advised you to get, as you see these cases have enough room for us to do lots.

There are cases with dual loop LC and 3 graphic cards and sound card, not to mention the HDDs.

sound card only if its important to you otherwise the 790i comes with 7.1 audio.

does that answer your questions? if you have more ask away


5.25" Drive Bay     6 (without the use of exposed 3.5 inch drive bay)

3.5" Drive Bay     5 Hidden 1 Exposed (converted from one 5.25 inch drive bay)


look at that last pic again you can see them there with a red fan cooling them from the front

Edited by DST4ME - 02 Oct 2008 at 9:49pm

OK Stacy, I'm sorry, I was not clear, I'm just a customer like you that knows whats what, I'm not affiliated with DS at all. But I know how most things run around here so I can answer some of those for you.

The raid I'm not sure about but I think its software, you might want to call them to be sure on that one.

no, adding anything like that to your system will not void any warranty with them.

the LC you want is only for the CPU Stacy, you don't need it for the GPU. so LC will not have anything to do with your GPU.

this would be the one you want:

Extreme Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite CPU Only

since you are going with the 280, if you want to double up in the future then you need a higher PSU:

very bottom: 860w

safe bet with power to spare: 1000w

this would be the PSU you would choose if you wanted the 1000w:

Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)

now if you got with the GTX 260 instead, you can get away with 860w and 2 x 260 GTX.

Edited by DST4ME - 02 Oct 2008 at 10:24pm

Yes stacy what might stop me is what my avatar is.

Nehalem, aka core i7.

will be comeing out next month and should kick some butt, in cache, memory control and OC. It should also cost less and drop the prices of current chips.

Edited by DST4ME - 02 Oct 2008 at 10:41pm