Need Advice On Config < 2K

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   I'm researching various configs to get the best value for my dollar and was hoping someone could post a recommended configuration for a PC in the $1500 range. I'd be willing to go a bit more if there is a config that is can't miss below 2k. My absolute max would be 2K.

Ideally the PC would have room for at least 2 additional hard drives from my previous, now defunct, machine. I also have 2 sticks of 2048 ram from corsair if they can (or should) be salvaged, and a 850 watt tx corsair psu although I'm a little leary of relying on it since potential power issues might have lead to the state of my now garbage pc. I have a Dell S2209W monitor and keyboard and mouse so no help needed there.

I'd use this machine for mostly strategy and rpg gaming such as Total War, Skyrim and maybe Diablo when they come out. I'm not much fo a FPS player if it matters. Ideally I'd like a PC that would make use of the monitor, be quiet, and be stable. 

I'd like to be able have a SLI capable board if it's in my range.  I assume I'll only be able to afford 1 video card at the moment but would like to have the option of a second later. I also do alot of file management due to an extensive movie collection if it matters in terms of hard drive caching/speed/whatever.

My last concern is my desk. It is a PC desk and has an enclosure for a PC although I'm worried about the airflow as it is sealed off in the back, the left side and partially on the right. My old PC had about an inch of clearance on each side and 6 inches on the top. The right side does have a panel removed at the rear which probably helps but is not ideal. I would certainly consider leaving the PC out of the enclosure if it is deemed unsafe.

Thanks for your input!

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n0rea11y Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 05 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Topic: Need Advice On Config < 2K Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 4:39pm
	I'm researching various configs to get the best value for my dollar and was hoping someone could post a recommended configuration for a PC in the $1500 range. I'd be willing to go a bit more if there is a config that is can't miss below 2k. My absolute max would be 2K. Ideally the PC would have room for at least 2 additional hard drives from my previous, now defunct, machine. I also have 2 sticks of 2048 ram from corsair if they can (or should) be salvaged, and a 850 watt tx corsair psu although I'm a little leary of relying on it since potential power issues might have lead to the state of my now garbage pc. I have a Dell S2209W monitor and keyboard and mouse so no help needed there. I'd use this machine for mostly strategy and rpg gaming such as Total War, Skyrim and maybe Diablo when they come out. I'm not much fo a FPS player if it matters. Ideally I'd like a PC that would make use of the monitor, be quiet, and be stable. I'd like to be able have a SLI capable board if it's in my range. I assume I'll only be able to afford 1 video card at the moment but would like to have the option of a second later. I also do alot of file management due to an extensive movie collection if it matters in terms of hard drive caching/speed/whatever. My last concern is my desk. It is a PC desk and has an enclosure for a PC although I'm worried about the airflow as it is sealed off in the back, the left side and partially on the right. My old PC had about an inch of clearance on each side and 6 inches on the top. The right side does have a panel removed at the rear which probably helps but is not ideal. I would certainly consider leaving the PC out of the enclosure if it is deemed unsafe. Thanks for your input!

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 4:43pm
	1. leave the pc out, you don't want to box it in. 2. here: Here you go Ticket# 603032 --- $1,996 (To see this build click here) Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P8Z68-V PRO (Intel Z68 Chipset) (Features Intel Quick Sync Technology) System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) 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 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology) (EVGA Edition) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Corsair A70 Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler 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 LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard) 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) Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows 7 CD) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Install/Test Game: - No Thanks Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks 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 3 Year Limited Warranty for psu in corsair always go with hx or ax models, that 850w tx you have is not great at all, but the 850w hx is an awesome psu for example. Edited by DST4ME - 05 Oct 2011 at 4:52pm
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

n0rea11y Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 05 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 5:26pm
	Cool. Thanks for the input. Do you feel it would be worth a little bit of pain to bump HD 1 caching to 64 meg possibly at the expense of size? The 2 spare HDs I have already are 640 GB 32 meg Western Digitals by the way. I added my free Arkham to your build as well ;). I assume this build will give me the ablity to add another 570 at a later date? Would you think knocking the inner or back wall out of the desk be sufficient or would you just leave the PC outside of the desk? How's the sound on this type of setup?

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 5:43pm
	Actually I meant to pick the cheapest hdd, which is the 16mb cache 500gb wd hdd, since you have your other drives, what you really need for hdd1 is a ssd, like intel 320 120GB, setup should be like this: HDD1 = fast small drive: os/apps/games HDD2 = regular large drive: media/personal/work file storage so the plan is for you to add another 570 if you need it and add a ssd as hdd1. this system can do sli 580 if needed. the more the pc has room to breath the better its temps are gonna be. sound is ok, I'm no sound expert.
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

n0rea11y Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 05 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 5:47pm
	Cool. I'll play with the HDD1 config then and see if I can afford a smaller SSD drive as my OS drive. Maybe the 60 gig or 120 gig. I should have said noise instead of sound. Sorry for the confusion. Edit: I changed my config to use the 120 GB SSD which puts me around 2,186. I think I'd rather have my SSD/OS configured by Digital Storm than me screw it up later. My budget was more of a personal constraint than a monetary one. Edited by n0rea11y - 05 Oct 2011 at 6:04pm

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 5:52pm
	all ssds are not the same, and there is not anything I can remove from my config without hurting reliability or performance. in short there is no room for you to add a ssd with your budget what you need to do is save up around $300 and throw in a intel 320 120GB ssd, that is the only one that has the best track record and a 5 year warranty. 99% of your noise will come from gpu's fans when under load.
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

n0rea11y Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 05 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 6:06pm
	I added the Intel 120 GB 320 and went above budget. I edited my post above to say such but I think you replied sooner.

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 6:08pm
	ok so you changed the 1TB from my config to the intel 320 120GB correct? just fyi, you can just go with the hdd now and then later buy and add the ssd, what you do is just clone the hdd to the ssd and that moves everything in one shot, os/apps/games/etc. Edited by DST4ME - 05 Oct 2011 at 6:09pm
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

n0rea11y Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 05 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 6:09pm
	Correct. Have a peek. http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=603062 I see your point about the HDD but I actually have the money now my budget concerns are more of a personal limit. I've always tried to stay sub 2k with PCs. In this case I'd rather give Digital Storm the SSD drive so I don't muck anything up with a later HDD upgrade and OS install. Edited by n0rea11y - 05 Oct 2011 at 6:12pm

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 6:10pm
	that looks fine but read what I said in my previous post about adding it yourself. Edited by DST4ME - 05 Oct 2011 at 6:11pm
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

n0rea11y Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 05 Oct 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 6	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 6:27pm
	Ordered. Thanks for your help!

DST4ME Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List DS ELITE Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758	Quote Reply Posted: 05 Oct 2011 at 6:36pm
	My pleasure Congrats Let the torture begin
	Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

Need Advice On Config < 2K

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