My options for new PC

So I am in the market for a new computer... Background - I did computer programming at University, then joined the military so have not used that piece of paper for a long time. I have been tying to read through most posts here and this is what I have come up with... I will be playing games like MW2, Crysis, Saboteur through HP w2338h monitor at 1920x1080 (I am not a die hard gamer but like to get involved when I can); I also attach a LaCie 2Tb external HDD that houses all of my music and movies to watch on the big screen HDTV downstairs wirelessly through my laptop. So in essence I want a computer that can play all the games I want to now, have the ability to upgrade later and still function for the family wrt movies, music, photography (wifes business). I will be moving back to Australia in 2.5 years (on exchange working with the Navy at the moment) so the 4-5 year warranty really is not an option for me. I've been a Nvidia man for a long time but am flexible to go with ATI. So here is what I have come up with at the moment (with an expected budget of a max $2500 - no monitor, accessories needed):

Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932 (Black OPS Edition)
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
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 22x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
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: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
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 (Requires Air 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: Please include a free copy of a hot-selling game
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

So a few questions that I have for you awesome folk -

The cooling should be enough to keep everything nice and chilled (even with upgrades later - possibly a 2nd card)?

Should I wait for the new Nvidia cards with dx11 capability and possibly go for 2 cards right off the bat? Is that even an option with my budget right now?

I would imagine that OC of the video card and OS would not provide me with much more - visually... am I correct?

Thoughts, queries and comments are more than welcome. I am trying to get back into the swing of things with this stuff so any comments are welcome. Thanx in advance!

Here you go Ticket# 381787 --- Price: $2447 (To see this build click here) Price after current promotion $2447

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Not Available
Trim Accents: - Not Available
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: !SALE: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - Not Available
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - Not Available
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 22x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Available
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - Not Available
Chassis Mods: - Not Available
Noise Reduction: - Not Available
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - Not Available
Boost Memory: - Not Available
Boost OS: - Not Available
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - Not Available
Office: - Not Available
Benchmarking: - Not Available
Install/Test Game: FREE: Please include a free copy of a hot-selling game
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 (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

this system is better

the 5870 does great at 1900 x 1200 but for crysis and high settings plus 2x aa you gonna want 2 x 5870, the case is good to handle even 3 but your room temp will play a big part, but you don't need to go past 2 x 5870 unless you get a bigger monitor.

ya oc and gpu tweak do nothing visually that you would notice.

a second 5870 right now will take the price to $2900

One other question - As I am heading back to Australia where we use 220V can someone confirm that the power supply does have the switch to change between 110V and 220V... This could cause me some issues later on

Edited by AussieJT - 08 Feb 2010 at 8:14pm

Perfect...

Originally posted by AussieJT Thanx DST4ME... That makes a bit more sense with the change in mobo to allow for more future growth. If I needed to stay under 2500 for the time being then it would not be a problem getting the 2nd 5870 later and just plugging it in right?This looks like it will be the way to go.

no it would not be a problem, the whole reason we get those particular mobo/psu/case and etc, is so that upgrading/adding is easy.

Our pleasure

LC always provides better temps, that is what you gain. for ocing getting rid of heat is very important and for high ocing you are not gonna be able to do it air, you gonna need LC, that is not the case every single time, but it is most times, all depends on the person ocing/ the chip room temp, cooling system.

for gamers and such stage 2 oc is practically pointless, I would not recommend it for gaming.

LC on cpu/gpu above stage 4, just provide LC for gpu and chipset, for stage 1 oc chipset is not needed at all, the gpus will have good temps on LC tho.

what you do with gpu will not effect the temps of the cpu, you got the haf so the air moves out pretty good, if your room temp is at or below 75f you gonna be fine.

Edited by DST4ME - 11 Feb 2010 at 2:55pm

well if you take into account how much money this will save you, since you can upgrade the cpu, you don't need to buy a pc, thus spending less and making you happy, for its price you are getting a beast, you would pay more for a dell/alienware pc and still not have the same performance as this pc, not to mention the quality.

good luck and keep us informed, don't forget to let her know about a good foot message once a week for the first year of ownership.

ok lets see first HDD setup should always be like this:

HDD1 = fast drive: os/apps/games

HDD2 = regular large drive: media/personal/work file storage

Don't fill up your HDD1 more then 50%, if think you will need more room for it then pick a bigger one.

now an ocz vertex 120GB does not have the same speed as vertex 60GB. the smaller the ssd gets the slower it gets and also keep in mind all ssds are not the same.

so in short, either go with a 120GB or higher ssd for os/apps/games, or just go with a 1TB for HDD1 now and upgrade to ssd when the prices are better,again remember all ssds are not the same. stick with intel/ocz vertex/corsair.

you should not be worried about temps with your room temp and haf and Noctua D14.

ask as many questions as you like that is why we are here.

congtats on the good news so august you gonna be father

Edited by DST4ME - 20 Feb 2010 at 5:01pm

Congrats on the baby.

you want the truth, if money is np then go with ssd now, if you are trying to save money and not over pay, then go with 1TB HDD as HDD1.

just get one HDD, then when you upgrade to ssd, clone the drive, format the 1TB and install as HDD2, move personal/media/etc files to HDD2, leave HDD1 with only os/apps/games, from this point on, all personal/media/etc files go to HDD2, HDD1 is only for os/apps/games.