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My i7 Setup

Post Date: 2008-11-18
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bhashem View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote bhashem Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: My i7 Setup
    Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 4:50am
Hi there,

I was here a few months ago and had configured a system and then after reading about the i7 decided to wait until it was released...hurray, hurrah, it's now hear and I'm ready to go. Would love to get folks' feedback about this system. Thanks in advance.

My criteria is: noise abatement/quietness, high-def video editing and gaming. So, my questions are:
1. The HAF 932 seems awesome but for quietness, it appears that the 950si has a solid side panel - any ideas about which one in reality would be quieter?
2. Is a 750W PSU enough?
3. For liquid cooling, does the Radeon HD 4870X2 need just one or two connections?
4. I backup to a 2TB NAS, so I'd like the superfast RAID setup and based on what I've read, SSD are still not worth/too expensive it esp. due to write performance.

Thank you, can't wait to get started.Heart

-Basil
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=207220
Chassis: Digital Storm 950Si
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 3.2GHz (Quad Core) (Extreme Performance)
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II Extreme (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair DHX (High-Performance)
Card Reader: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive 1: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive 2: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed)
Raid Option: Setup hard drive 1 and hard drive 2 in a Raid 0 Stripe Configuration (Expert)
Hard Drive 3: 1TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
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: 1x ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite Dual Loop System for CPU & Single Video Card Only
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Modifications: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: Yes, Overclock memory timings (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed)
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: 4 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)
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DST4ME View Drop Down
DS ELITE
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 5:06am
The haf fans can be adjusted to run low, so they are quiet yet they will be helping your system to say cool.

I think this is money better spent:

here you go Ticket# 207226 --- Price: $5551 (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 TX (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 3.2GHz (Quad Core) (Extreme Performance)
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage II Extreme (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1800MHz OCZ (Extreme-Performance)
Card Reader: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive 1: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive 2: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Raid Option: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 3: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
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: 1x ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite Dual Loop System for CPU & Single Video Card Only
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Modifications: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: Yes, Overclock memory timings (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed)
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: 4 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)

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dec View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		  Quote dec Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 6:22pm
I am configuring an i7 system, but not for gaming. I see a lot of memory overclocking, and recommendations for it. What are your thoughts about Intel's "unofficial" warning about memory voltages and the i7? Based on Corsair's web page, some of the "stock" memory is already at the Intel maximum voltage.
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XpubuX View Drop Down
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Posts: 726 		  Quote XpubuX Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 6:49pm
You probably just want to get the better memory since you cant raise voltages on some models.
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DS ELITE
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 6:53pm
DS stays well withing the requirement.

think about it, say you own DS, how long would you be in business if the systems you sold, OCed with warranty, all burned out? or most burned out?

its very simple, the recommendations are nothing but that, and DS stays well within the limits and on top of that you are under warranty.

My thoughts are pretty represented in my build, I say spend a little on OC and get hell lot more from OC speeds.

right now stock that PC no matter how much the cost is a 3.2GHz PC, that is how fast that PC is stock.

a q9550 oced, will be faster then that i7 stock, right now we have people with q9550 at 3.8GHz.

for a $100 more you can OC your system to over 4.0GHz or more, my thoughts are hell ya with the ram you get better timings and the fan for the ram also, and its all under warranty.

lol hope that clarifies things

Edited by DST4ME - 18 Nov 2008 at 6:54pm

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dec View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		  Quote dec Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 8:21pm
I'm not arguing, just interested in other thoughts. Anand Tech and others have posted articles about the memory issues. Have been reading a lot, and it appears that there is a lot of unknowns about the i7 and memory. http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10320&Itemid=35

I agree with you re: overclocking. 15 years ago, I overclocked AMDs with the help of an engineer who shorted pins to unlock the multiplier. I imagine that was out of spec. But, those old 286 systems were noticeably snappier. I think a couple burned up, but, you got to pay to play.
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DS ELITE
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 9:09pm
Please ask as many questions as you like.

the article you are refering to, I have read myself when it came out, if you read the end of the article, it says that they are not sure if this is the case, and since there has been no follow up.

in the same article it also says:

although in all fairness, so far this seems to have a fairly small overall impact on the overall system performance.


what ever the case, again your system is under warranty and DS would not do anything that would cost them more money and give you a bad experience.

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dec View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		  Quote dec Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 9:25pm
I thought the quote you refer to was pretty vague. What was the small overall impact? The overclocking, or the limitation on overclocking?

Also, I'm not knocking DS or questioning their judgment, etc. Again, its curiosity more than anything else. I'm getting the i7 mainly because of the huge improvement in video rendering and encoding. I don't play any games on my computer. If I buy, as opposed to build myself, it will be from Digital Storm, based on friends who have bought their systems, as well as their configurations.
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 9:32pm
they were refering to the limitation of overclocking

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skyR View Drop Down
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 9:36pm
1.65v is only a recommendation by Intel. No one listens to them anyways. The ASUS P6T and Rampage II Extreme has options up to 2.5v.

It's true that there is no point in going over 1333MHz DDR3 with a reference board but the P6T and Rampage II Extreme aren't reference boards. These two boards from ASUS can support DDR3 speeds up to 2200MHz =\
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star.
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dec View Drop Down
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Posts: 4 		  Quote dec Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 9:45pm
skyR:

Which OCZ and Corsair memory does DS use, and, what are the overclocking specs?
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Posts: 2220 		  Quote skyR Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 18 Nov 2008 at 9:56pm
I'm only a forum mod but most of the triple channel kit specs are listed here.
The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star.
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bhashem View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote bhashem Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Nov 2008 at 2:27am
Thanks everybody for your feedback...I put in my order today and super excited - can't wait to get my hands on the real deal. Evil%20Smile
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DS ELITE
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Nov 2008 at 4:25am
its been a pleasure, what was your final order?

don't forget to post pics and specs when you get it

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bradesco View Drop Down
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Posts: 191 		  Quote bradesco Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Nov 2008 at 8:52am
Well if it is anything like your original setup its going to be a beast! GL and cant wait to see pics. ^.^
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Posts: 292 		  Quote Rad!caL Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Nov 2008 at 11:31am
The HAF is a great case, has perhaps the best airflow/temps out of any case available.

Amazing because it's pretty quiet, the 3 230mm fans run at 900rpm and make only 19dbA of noise.
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bhashem View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote bhashem Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Nov 2008 at 11:40am
I considered carefully the perspectives but went with my original setup outlined in my first post. The HAF seems great but since noise was a concern - I went the enclosed side of the 950 rather than the HAF. (I'm upgrading from a completely silent Voodoo Rage F-50 (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,1622792,00.asp) which used copper heat pipes & looks like a radiator so there were no fans, no cooling noise or airflow whatsoever.

I'll post pics as soon as it arrives.

Thanks again everyone.
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DS ELITE
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Nov 2008 at 2:21pm
Congrats, don't forget the pics

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Posts: 285 		  Quote scaner Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 20 Nov 2008 at 8:16pm
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