Multitask Gaming...

Apologies for the wall of text but I like to be thorough.

Ok, I've been looking into building a new PC for a few months now.  My budget is around 1800 give or take I will be using a 24" Samsung once I get my new PC (1920 x 1200 Resolution).  I've been playing nothing but WoW for the past 4 years which is why I'm still slugging by on a 2GHz single core AMD w/ a gig of ram and a 6600gt.  With this monster setup I am somehow able to dual box wow clients and run 2 accounts I want to be able to do this on my new PC.  But I don't want to drop the settings to nothing to do it. 

I have been told you can't expect long term upgrades in this day in age, but my best-buy store bought lasted me 5 years I'd like to pull at least 3 out of my new PC with minor upgrades.  I don't play extremely intense games, AoC was about the highest running game I've played.

Basically cut short I'm a hardcore raider in WoW I haven't been able to run max settings while raiding with a 40 fps in 3 years and I wanna change that.

This is what I have in mind:

Specifications:
Chassis: Digital Storm 950Si
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 750i SLI Core 2 Quad (Chipset nForce 750i SLI)
System Memory: 4GB DDR2 800MHz OCZ
Card Reader: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Hard Drive 2: - No Thanks
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Wireless Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260 896MB (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: - No Thanks
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)
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

$1,806.00


I was also wondering how much overclocking I could expect with a 2.8 quad core to be done by Digital Storm on air cooling alone.  Also whats the main opinion on amd vs intel for cpu gaming use?  I know intel is a crazy beast for OCing and AMD is terrible at it, but they are both stable, and AMD is cheaper.  I chose the gtx 260 as my gpu though my friends tell me nvidia are price gouging mofos and a 4870 is way better bang for the buck.  But I've always had Nvidia and I heard ATI drivers suck with WoW.

AMD vs Intel, ATI vs Nvidia probably an endless discussion but I play MMOs primarily, enjoy lagless raids, and play in a window/mutitask lots.

Another thing I can lookup specs on the antec 900 and the other cases but dso doesn't really have any specifics for their cases other then full tower and 2 mid tower.  Doesn't say how many fans it supports what sizes they are etc etc.  I chose the 950si because it's full tower and looks to have decent air flow, but to be completely honest I have no idea.  May end up going with the antec, even though it's a midtower it's probably without a doubt the most used case for custom building.

Thanks.


Edited by Swinder6kz - 27 Sep 2008 at 7:37am

The motherboard selected will not support a Q9550.

The 950Si which I have is actually a Silverstone TJ-09 a top tier enthusiast case.

(http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/p_contents.php?pno=tj09&area=)

It comes with a fan in front of the case, toward the bottom and a rear fan, both 120 MM and a pair of fan ports in the top and one between the HD cages ready to accept 120MM fans.

With Stage II cooling, which I have, you just get the default 2 fans, but the CPU cooler you will get has a heat sink and active fan of its own as well.

My temps were pretty low, I added one more fan in one of the top bays (the one right over the CPU heat sink) and my temps dropped over 5 degrees for the cpu and the ambient in the case went down 3 degrees.

I am very happy with the 950Si case, the Antec 900 is not nearly as good.

If you want an alternate case that is a few less dollars but is still great, the new HAF case they have started carrying is very slick looking and is a great air cooler

Dave


Edited by Kliebor2 - 27 Sep 2008 at 8:15am

HAF is a better case the the 950 IMO, at stage 2 its actually stage 3.

the build TL has for your is a great one and will easily last you 3 years.

you can check out this special deal also http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsavedsd.asp?id=184743

well why not get a 280 if the price is the same, you can call DS and ask them for that deal but see if they will lower price and give you a 260gtx

4GB of ram will do everything you want, unless you are into heavy 3d grphic designing.

OCZ has been a solid ram here, where corsair has been crapping out.

667, 800 all of these are speed of your ram, best thing to do is to match the speed of your cpu's fsb to your ram speed.

Extreme Performance, High Performance, are ram sticks made for those who want to OC the heck our of their ram and want it to be able to handle better temps and have higher speeds.