My configuration + questionsPost Date: 2010-07-09 |
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godpoison 
Newbie 
Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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 Topic: My configuration + questionsPosted: 09 Jul 2010 at 4:35pm |
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Recently my old tower was fried during a power surge
 and Ive known about this amazing site for a loooong time. I used to come here and dream about getting an amazing PC while configuring the most expensive options to create the god PC. Well...In September I broke my back, neck and arm because a tree fell on me while I was riding my fourwheeler and it sustained minor damage. I am selling it now and using the money to buy a digitalstorm PC  (I have to stay under 2.1K.) :( As far as questions go, I want dual gfx cards, but I dont know what my best option is. I have to stay under 2.1k but I want to stay under 1.6k. I dont know whether or not dual crossfire or sli is better than one single and powerful video card. Thanks, Jonathan Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 860 2.80GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: EVGA P55M SLI (Intel P55 Chipset) System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1333MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) 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: 2x CrossFire Dual HOT SELLER (ATI Radeon HD 5750 1GB) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: Standard Factory Heat-sink and Fan 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 Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended) 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) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: APC SurgeArrest Personal PER7 (7 Outlet) 120V Surge Protector 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 1 Year Hassle-free Hardware Service |
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Dragoonseal
DS Veteran 
Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2247 |
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Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 4:53pm |
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Usually better to keep to a single more powerful video card when you can help it. What resolution can your monitor support up to? It direct impacts what video card select you'll need to make, which also directly impacts how much budget you'll have left over to distribute to the rest of the PC selections. Man, sorry to hear about the nasty fourwheeler accident. You're recovering well, I hope? |
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Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s 3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0 |
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godpoison
Newbie
Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 6:44pm |
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My old tower has an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 250 1GB and I use dual display. I dont know the maximum resolution of my monitors but I do know the type of monitors I use. I use an Acer x203H and a Dell E177FP. So yeah, What are the advantages of dual sli or crossfire over a single and powerful card?
It has been months since I had the incident and I am having thoracic spinal fusion surgery July 20th, thanks for the concern. Thanks, Jonathan Edited by godpoison - 09 Jul 2010 at 6:45pm |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE 
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 6:50pm |
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Once you are above a certain number of fps then more fps is not really that noticeable or not that big of a deal.
in higher resolutions, like 2560 x 1600, dual sli/cf will help one achieve highest settings and etc, where one gpu could not achieve that, but along with cf/sli come some buggs. Long story short one powerful card that gives you what you need is better then 2 cards in sli/cf that are overkill. your acer has the highest res of the two monitors (1600 x 900) and for that res a single 5850/470 will give you what you need. Edited by DST4ME - 09 Jul 2010 at 6:52pm |
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godpoison
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Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 10:10pm |
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Thank you so much. I will stick with a single and powerful graphics card.
Heres an update of the build: Specifications: Edited by godpoison - 09 Jul 2010 at 10:42pm |
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 09 Jul 2010 at 11:59pm |
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haf 932 is metal mesh, not a window, youll see the light but no detail, so dont get water for looks
and the v8 isnt a water cooler
 , so its a moot point, water isnt in your budget right now, at least not the 1600 budget.you didnt give a LOT of specifics. but consider this build:
at $1900 its comfortably below your max
IF you dont have a decent monitor, conider dropping to the 470gtx and useing the money to get yourself a nice one, better monitor = better overall computer experience
i dont know what this $15 crap surge protector is
i do know that i wouldnt wany my last line of defense between my computer and tons of electricity to be a $15 peice of plastic
im no electrician, but i have used http://www.amazon.com/APC-BE550R-Back-UPS-8-Outlet-Battery/dp/B000KBG51W for about 8 years with 0 issue, maybe talk to soemone who knows more about it before you spend the coin, but that just scares me, even more so with what already happened to you
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godpoison
Newbie
Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Posted: 10 Jul 2010 at 1:56pm |
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Thanks for the advice. My actual budget is 2100, I was just trying to keep it comfortably low so I could spend it on other things. I have changed my mind, I am going to use the whole 2100 dollars on this build so yeah. I know the V8 isnt a water cooler, I was just asking what the looks of the water cooling on the haf 932 were. I want a build that I wont have trouble with as far as lag and quality issues in adobe after effects and sony vegas 9, I also want to be able to record gameplay in HD without any sort of lag present. Since I have chosen to change my budget to 2100 I am going to overclock higher and consider water cooling. Maybe even go to Black OPS instead. Heres another config that I was thinking about. I have an Acer x203H so is that a good enough monitor for a gtx 470? Specifications: I figured a surge protector was a surge protector, so I just slapped one down. Ill consider getting the one you mentioned. Thanks again for the advice, Jonathan Edited by godpoison - 10 Jul 2010 at 2:28pm |
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 10 Jul 2010 at 3:07pm |
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if your rig will be for editing in vegas and after effects, go back to 6 gigs of ram and use the money for an 80 gig intel SSD, your read/write matters a lot in video editing, and 6gigs of ram is plenty, especially overclocked.
a 470 is great for the monitor you have, and it will still be good if you go up to 1920x1080
the asetek cooler isnt a real liquid set up, just good marketing. im not saying its bad, but the noctua will cool you down better than it can. and ... i guess i never thought about it before, but i dont think DSO adds clear tubes to the asetek, so you cant use colored tubes with it (i am NOT sure about this) but as i said, noctua is better, the u12p will suit your needs fine.
i also dont believe the asetek qualifies you for the 4ghz+ upgrade, at least it shouldnt, becuase like i said, its not actually a liquid cooled setup in the typical sense
but dont worry about that, we can likely get you over 4ghz if you really crave that, so just pick the free overclocking, and if you feel slow, which is unlikely, we will help you push it higher Edited by !ender_ - 10 Jul 2010 at 3:08pm |
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godpoison
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Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Posted: 10 Jul 2010 at 3:27pm |
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What advantages do SSDs have over normal HDDs? I have configured another, with an AMD processor so i can overclock it, use real Frostchill liquid cooling, and still stay under my budget. Are AMD CPUs good for overclocking? Are they even good in general? Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: AMD Phenom II X6 1055T Black Edition (2.8GHz) (6 Core) (6 MB Cache) AM3 Socket Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-890XA-UD3 (AMD 790X Chipset) (SATA3 and USB 3.0) (Socket AM3) System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) 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 470 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: FrostChill Cooling System: CPU Only H20 Tube Color:White Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive) Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (UV) (Creates Glowing Effect for H20 Tubes) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock the processor between 4.0GHz to 4.2GHz (Requires H20 Cooling Upgrade) 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) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card 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 (Small) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 1 Year Hassle-free Hardware Service Edited by godpoison - 10 Jul 2010 at 3:30pm |
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Cretae
DS Veteran
Joined: 22 Mar 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 7331 |
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Posted: 10 Jul 2010 at 4:58pm |
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They are 80-100 TIMES faster.
No.
So you favor looks over performance, then? Because the only way LC is in your budget is to gimp the heck out of it like that. And the only thing you need it for is the look.
Edited by Cretae - 10 Jul 2010 at 5:01pm |
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Coolermaster Storm Sniper
Intel Core i7 930 3.8GHz OC EVGA X58 LE 6GB DDR3 1600Mhz Ram 750W Corsair 1TB HDD 1x ATI RadeonHD 5870 1GB Noctua Dual 120mm I can make my mind think... anything.... |
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godpoison
Newbie
Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Posted: 10 Jul 2010 at 6:33pm |
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Its not that I favor looks over performance, Its just something about LC that I want so badly. I know that AMD CPUs are cheaper, and If I can purchase an AMD rig overclocked to 4.2ghz then I will have a need for liquid cooling, right? If I do decide to get and Intel I7 pc with the free overclocking with stage 2 air cooling, its the same price as the AMD with LC. Now, as far as I know a processor overclocked to 4.2 ghz is > than a processor overclocked to 3.9 ghz, right? The more I look and think deeper about it I lean towards a normal, air cooled i7 pc.
Alright so here is my (hopefully) final configuration based on everyones advice given to me etc.: Specifications: Edited by godpoison - 10 Jul 2010 at 6:43pm |
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Dragoonseal
DS Veteran
Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2247 |
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Posted: 10 Jul 2010 at 8:04pm |
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Sure, if they're of the same architecture and make. For example Intel Core i7 920, 930, 940, 950, and 960 processors all at the same GHz clock speed all perform identically (they're all the same chip). A 965 and 975 will also perform extremely similar to the above at the same clock speed, but do have a few tiny advantages such as higher memory bandwidth so they will outperform in some areas. But you can NOT compare the clock speed or performance of CPUs of different architecture and make. Take an AMD Phenom II x6 1055T for example, you might think with six cores it could smoke a similar clock speed four core Core i7, yet at stock speeds (both 2.8GHz) a 1055T will fail spectacularly against a 930 in every benchmark or game currently available save for 2-3 rendering applications, even losing by upwards of 40% at times. And if you start overclocking the two of them this gap only widens further. So no, a processor overclocked to 4.2GHz is not always better than a processor overclocked to 3.9GHz. And besides a Noctua air cooler will easily run a 930 at 4.2GHz. Which only begs the question:  Edited by Dragoonseal - 10 Jul 2010 at 8:06pm |
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Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s 3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0 |
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godpoison
Newbie
Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Posted: 10 Jul 2010 at 8:35pm |
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Whoa thanks A LOT for the advice. Intel it is, :P I lol'd at the picture, good explanation. One problem though, I guess I will have to overclock the processor to 4.2 myself because DS requires an H20 cooling upgrade to overclock it. I will have the Noctua aircooling (stage 2) in my build with an intel i7 930 so yeah. I have never OCed so I guess I will have to get you guys to guide me through that. Edited by godpoison - 10 Jul 2010 at 8:39pm |
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
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Posted: 10 Jul 2010 at 8:53pm |
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what makes you want 4.2 so bad?
noctua and overclocking to 3.8 is really the best you need, going over that is more about bragging rights than actual use in typical pc use
not to say that we couldnt get you there, just giving you some food for thought
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godpoison
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Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Posted: 11 Jul 2010 at 3:05am |
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No idea, I just want to have a real reason to use the Noctua air cooling. You know, get my moneys worth. Plus I want the Touch 2000 fan controller and temp display  |
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Dragoonseal
DS Veteran
Joined: 03 Apr 2009 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2247 |
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Posted: 11 Jul 2010 at 3:35am |
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Waste of money. Temperature display won't be accurate and the fan controller option is just not helpful at all. Besides, you have to get the chassis fan upgrade to get it, and you don't want that either. It isn't going to help the already great airflow of any of the HAF cases, and going from the amazing large 230mm and 200mm fans (high CFM, low RPM, low dBA) to numerous small 120mm fans (low CFM, high RPM, high dBA) just makes it noisy as all hell. The money is much better spent elsewhere on the PC. |
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Lilim
Intel Core i7 920 @4.2GHz HAF 932 - Dual SLI Nvidia GTX 480s 3x Intel X25-M G2 (80GB) SSD RAID0 |
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!ender_
DS Veteran
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 Online Status: Offline Posts: 4219 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 11 Jul 2010 at 9:45am |
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godpoison, 0 offense intended, but you're bouncing around a lot with the configs, lets leave it to the pros in this case...
for your budget of $2100 max, i present to you the build you want:
$2038 + $60 shipping
and i welcome anyone to challenge this for fitting more power into 2k.
if you wanted to back off the price a little, you could save almost $150 in two different ways:
drop the intel SSD or drop your video card to a gtx470
if you do more gaming than anything else, drop the ssd
if you do more "work" that isnt gaming, drop to a gtx470
plenty of power in this build, good headroom for overclocking, dso can likely get you to 3.8ish which as I said before, is more than you need practically, i'd even say over 3.6 is just about bragging unless you do a lot of complex math or rendering
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godpoison
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Joined: 09 Jul 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 9 |
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Posted: 11 Jul 2010 at 2:32pm |
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Hahaha no problem and no offense taken. Ill use that config. Thanks for the options. "lets leave it to the pros in this case...," made me laugh the most, but I totally agree. I love the build, ill order as soon as I sell my atv :D |
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