Need Config Help

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   EDIT: Thanks to TomD and harleyman for their help!
EDIT: Have just ordered the new computer!
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=180439

On Thursday, I sent a message to Digital Storm asking for configuration advice, since I was unable to get hold of live chat staff. Unfortunately, I still have not recieved a reply. Yes, I am aware that Monday was a holiday and that Saturday and Sunday are weekends, but I have also been completely unable to use live chat. Since I don't really want to call Digital Storm, I wound up creating an account to post my letter on these forums. 

Digital Storm,
I am planning to purchase a computer from your site and have a few questions about my specifications.
With this computer, I will mainly play games like Spore, The Sims 2, as well as RTS games such as Supreme Commander and Rise of Legends, but I will sometimes play shooter games such as Portal and Half-Life 2. In addition, with my previous system I experienced unplayable frame rates when playing Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 in the game's night mode, presumably because of the heavy use of lighting in that game.
I will also sometimes use the system for tasks such as photo, video, and audio editing.
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=178800
Motherboard:
1. Apparently, the Asus Rampage Formula motherboard I have selected in this build comes with an add-in sound card, but I think that the Razer Barracuda I have also selected would be better quality than the soundcard bundled with the Rampage board.
2. The reason I decided on the Rampage in the first place is the 1066MHz RAM I have chosen. From the information I have seen, the NVIDIA 780i does not natively support 1066MHz RAM, and has suffered problems as a result. Now, I don't really want to go down to 800MHz RAM, as I do want the higher-speed RAM and it only costs $64 more for 4GB on your configurator at the moment.
Power Supply:
1. I have listed the 860W PC Power & Cooling as the PSU in this build because of good reviews found online, but I am not sure about how much power I will need for this build.
2. I am also concerned about your having listed a 750W Corsair HX power supply, when no such thing apparently exists. There is a 750W TX, but that supply is not modular like the HX series.
Modifications:
1. I have listed the temperature display/fan controller because I am very concerned about overheating, as my last system died of overheating. Please tell me if this is neccesary.
Please contact me via e-mail at any time.
Thanks in advance,
-(censored)

Since sending this message, I have thought about this a bit more, and think that 860W of power is overkill for my more mid-end config. I have also done some more googling, and found that the SupremeFX II included with the Asus motherboard is in fact little more than an onboard audio 'riser card'.
Looking at these forums, I am also unsure of the value of the Stage 3 cooling on an Antec 900 case. I don't want to get the 850i case, as it has a front door which proves very annoying when you eject disks via software!

I would appreciate a quick response, as I have already pre-ordered SPORE, and it wouldn't be terribly fun to have a copy of the game lying around without a computer to play it on!

Thank you for taking the time to read this rather long post, and hopefuly respond.

Edited by JazzTap - 04 Sep 2008 at 8:42pm

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JazzTap Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Sep 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Topic: Need Config Help Posted: 02 Sep 2008 at 5:44pm
	EDIT: Thanks to TomD and harleyman for their help! EDIT: Have just ordered the new computer! http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=180439 On Thursday, I sent a message to Digital Storm asking for configuration advice, since I was unable to get hold of live chat staff. Unfortunately, I still have not recieved a reply. Yes, I am aware that Monday was a holiday and that Saturday and Sunday are weekends, but I have also been completely unable to use live chat. Since I don't really want to call Digital Storm, I wound up creating an account to post my letter on these forums. Digital Storm, I am planning to purchase a computer from your site and have a few questions about my specifications. With this computer, I will mainly play games like Spore, The Sims 2, as well as RTS games such as Supreme Commander and Rise of Legends, but I will sometimes play shooter games such as Portal and Half-Life 2. In addition, with my previous system I experienced unplayable frame rates when playing Roller Coaster Tycoon 3 in the game's night mode, presumably because of the heavy use of lighting in that game. I will also sometimes use the system for tasks such as photo, video, and audio editing. http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=178800 Motherboard: 1. Apparently, the Asus Rampage Formula motherboard I have selected in this build comes with an add-in sound card, but I think that the Razer Barracuda I have also selected would be better quality than the soundcard bundled with the Rampage board. 2. The reason I decided on the Rampage in the first place is the 1066MHz RAM I have chosen. From the information I have seen, the NVIDIA 780i does not natively support 1066MHz RAM, and has suffered problems as a result. Now, I don't really want to go down to 800MHz RAM, as I do want the higher-speed RAM and it only costs $64 more for 4GB on your configurator at the moment. Power Supply: 1. I have listed the 860W PC Power & Cooling as the PSU in this build because of good reviews found online, but I am not sure about how much power I will need for this build. 2. I am also concerned about your having listed a 750W Corsair HX power supply, when no such thing apparently exists. There is a 750W TX, but that supply is not modular like the HX series. Modifications: 1. I have listed the temperature display/fan controller because I am very concerned about overheating, as my last system died of overheating. Please tell me if this is neccesary. Please contact me via e-mail at any time. Thanks in advance, -(censored) Since sending this message, I have thought about this a bit more, and think that 860W of power is overkill for my more mid-end config. I have also done some more googling, and found that the SupremeFX II included with the Asus motherboard is in fact little more than an onboard audio 'riser card'. Looking at these forums, I am also unsure of the value of the Stage 3 cooling on an Antec 900 case. I don't want to get the 850i case, as it has a front door which proves very annoying when you eject disks via software! I would appreciate a quick response, as I have already pre-ordered SPORE, and it wouldn't be terribly fun to have a copy of the game lying around without a computer to play it on! Thank you for taking the time to read this rather long post, and hopefuly respond. Edited by JazzTap - 04 Sep 2008 at 8:42pm
	Antec 900 - 750W Corsair HX - Q9450 - EVGA 750i - XFX GTX 260 - Barracuda AC-1 4GB DDR2 1066MHz Dominator - 300GB VelociRaptor + 320GB 7200 RPM

JazzTap Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Sep 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Posted: 02 Sep 2008 at 11:01pm
	I gather then, that Stage 3 Cooling is only for the 850i case, right? Then I guess Stage 2 would be OK. After googling, it does seem that a BIOS update fixed any 780i problems with the 1066MHz RAM. Then I guess a 780i sounds good (cheaper), but what about a 750i? I googled about that and found that you can manually set the RAM to 1066MHz settings and it would work fine, so DS would do that without being told to overclock the RAM, correct? harleyman, I don't really want to have to juggle two HDs, but I'm guessing your logic has to do with file fragmentation? I'm also not sure why you want to place the games and apps on seperate hard drives. Are you saying that I should get a HD for the OS and documents, while the second drive should be devoted to programs? I'm now also somewhat concerned about wiring messes due to non-modular power supplies in the Antec 900 case, after viewing this thread: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=3431&PN=2 Since I would prefer to avoid the 850i and 950i cases due to their high price, I'm wondering if it would be possible to safely downgrade the power supply to the modular Corsair 650W HX. I'm sorry if I seem overly impatient! Quick Edit: I'm also wondering if the Windows disk is included with the system, as some companies such as HP do not provide the original OS disk. Edited by JazzTap - 02 Sep 2008 at 11:06pm
	Antec 900 - 750W Corsair HX - Q9450 - EVGA 750i - XFX GTX 260 - Barracuda AC-1 4GB DDR2 1066MHz Dominator - 300GB VelociRaptor + 320GB 7200 RPM

TomD Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 289	Quote Reply Posted: 02 Sep 2008 at 11:11pm
	Welcome Jazz, Below is my opinion on your config in red 1. Apparently, the Asus Rampage Formula motherboard I have selected in this build comes with an add-in sound card, but I think that the Razer Barracuda I have also selected would be better quality than the soundcard bundled with the Rampage board. The Razer will give better quality sound. The add-in card would be fine if you are not concerned about super accurate sound reproduction. If you are close to your budget you could drop the sound card. You can always add one later, its not a difficult upgrade. 2. The reason I decided on the Rampage in the first place is the 1066MHz RAM I have chosen. From the information I have seen, the NVIDIA 780i does not natively support 1066MHz RAM, and has suffered problems as a result. Now, I don't really want to go down to 800MHz RAM, as I do want the higher-speed RAM and it only costs $64 more for 4GB on your configurator at the moment. I am not aware of the issues with the 780i board, people run 1066 RAM in them all the time without problems. The Asus is a great board, so its a good choice at any rate. 1. I have listed the 860W PC Power & Cooling as the PSU in this build because of good reviews found online, but I am not sure about how much power I will need for this build. 860W will be plenty, enough to add a 2nd card later which is nice. You could drop it to a smaller supply if you are sure you won't want a 2nd videocard. 2. I am also concerned about your having listed a 750W Corsair HX power supply, when no such thing apparently exists. There is a 750W TX, but that supply is not modular like the HX series. You are correct. That typo has been there forever and needs to be fixed. The TX is still a good choice and would easily run your config with no issues but may be a little stretched if you add a 2nd videocard later. 1. I have listed the temperature display/fan controller because I am very concerned about overheating, as my last system died of overheating. Please tell me if this is neccesary. You won't have any overheating issues with the Antec 900 and Stage 2 cooling. There are also many free utilities to monitor temperatures and control fanspeed when needed. You could drop it no problem. It does look cool though! Additional comments: 1) If you go with the ASUS board I would recommend an ATI 4870 or 4850 videocard depending on your budget. You could add a 2nd card in crossfire later. With the 260GTX you are stuck with only one card since the ASUS does not support SLI. 2) You may want to consider overclocking your processor. It is inexpensvie and gives a significant performance boost you will notice. DSO fully covers everything under warranty, so there really isn't anything to lose. 3) Another option on the case is the 950i. It costs the same as the 850i but has no door on the front. It is larger than the Antec and has a bit more room to work with and a removable motherboard tray. The Antec is a great case though, and will work perfectly well. Looks like a solid config. Good luck! Tom

TomD Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 289	Quote Reply Posted: 02 Sep 2008 at 11:25pm
	You snuck in a post while I was writing my reply: 1. The 780i would work fine and yes it would save some $$. 2. The 650w power supply would work fine, but I would recommend the 860w or 750w as the price really isn't that much difference and it does give you some more options down the road with the added headroom. I wouldn't worry too much about the non-modular design, DSO will make sure airflow is good and unused cables are in tied out of the way. The cable routing will look a little messy in the Antec either way, but it won't cause any problems. 3. Yes, DSO will include the Windows install disk and all other disks from the various components with your system documentation notebook. They also make a custom image disk for disaster recovery. You will also get a box of all the "leftovers" - cables, hardware, etc. that ships with your components but isn't needed for your build. 4. Having two drives is a convenience, but not absolutely necessary. If you are trying to hit a certain budget a single drive will be perfectly fine. You can always add storage later if needed. I would focus on the CPU, Videocard, RAM first and worry about the hard drive as a secondary consideration. 5. If you go with the 780i, sticking with the NVidia videocard would be a good choice. If you can stretch to a 280gtx by sacrificing the fan controller and soundcard I would do that. You may want to post what monitor size/resolution you plan to run as that will have impact on the choice for best videocard. I think I hit all your points.

JazzTap Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Newbie Joined: 02 Sep 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 3	Quote Reply Posted: 02 Sep 2008 at 11:55pm
	I'm planning to hook this system up to a 22" widescreen TV at 1680 x 1050 resolution. Does that mean I should consider shelling out for the 280? The thing does cost an awful lot more than a 260. I guess the RAM's OK then. I don't really want to mess around with the system (frying hazard) (coughDRMcough), so I'm don't think the 950i case would really be worth it. I DO NOT want to overclock anything, due to concerns about system longevity (the system I'm currently using may be horribly outdated, but it's still working!). 1. So what about the 750i? I'm not quite sure of the difference between that and the 780i. 2. Again, I'm not really planning to upgrade the system, but I guess the 750W PSU would be reasonably priced for the added security. 3. Oh, great! 4. Well, spending a little extra on the hard drive(s) should be OK if it would improve performance or something. What kind of benefits could I expect to get? 5. I'm kinda attached to the soundcard, and having a more reliable temperature monitoring system than putting my hand on the rig that I can see without alt-tabbing would be nice.
	Antec 900 - 750W Corsair HX - Q9450 - EVGA 750i - XFX GTX 260 - Barracuda AC-1 4GB DDR2 1066MHz Dominator - 300GB VelociRaptor + 320GB 7200 RPM

TomD Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 289	Quote Reply Posted: 03 Sep 2008 at 1:03am
	I'm planning to hook this system up to a 22" widescreen TV at 1680 x 1050 resolution. Does that mean I should consider shelling out for the 280? The thing does cost an awful lot more than a 260. At that resolution you will see some nice performance gains from the 280 and it will give you a little more longevity, but its $280 more. "Worth it" is up to your budget. The 260 will run anything out there and anything on the way in the near future just fine at that resolution. If you had a 24" or 30" I would say a definate yes to the 280 or an SLI config. 1. So what about the 750i? I'm not quite sure of the difference between that and the 780i. Not really sure on this one, hopefully another can give you a more concrete answer. 2. Again, I'm not really planning to upgrade the system, but I guess the 750W PSU would be reasonably priced for the added security. Agreed. It never hurts to have additional headroom and the cost difference is small. 3. Oh, great! Its very nice I agree. I hate getting a system without all the "extras" and a Windows disk is a must. DSO makes a nicely organized binder with your specs and disks in one neat place. A very nice touch. 4. Well, spending a little extra on the hard drive(s) should be OK if it would improve performance or something. What kind of benefits could I expect to get? I honestly don't think the performance difference is significant if anything at all. I have never seen a benchmark showing improved performance from running multiple drives (without RAID). If someone has something I would love to see it. Some people love to defrag their disks often (I am not one of them) and it saves time to just defrag the storage volume since the OS volume doesn't change much. I like it just for the organization and less clutter OS on C:, Games on E, Data on F: etc. You can also redo the operating system install without worrying about your data which is convenient, although rare for most people. 5. I'm kinda attached to the soundcard, and having a more reliable temperature monitoring system than putting my hand on the rig that I can see without alt-tabbing would be nice. I can't argue with that at all. A different approach than I might take (I would do the 280GTX instead), but there is good value in those options and your reasons are good. Plus it looks cool! You are getting down to a great system here, anything you decide within the options you are looking at is going to work fantastically well for you. Look forward to seeing your review! Take care. Tom

TomD Members Profile Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Groupie Joined: 22 Jun 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 289	Quote Reply Posted: 03 Sep 2008 at 2:03am
	Jazz, I found this link with some benchmarks comparing the 260 with the 280 to give you an idea of the differences. http://www.hardware-infos.com/bild.php?bild_datei=img/startseite/gtx280_sli_performance_results.gif&bild_name=Nvidia+Geforce+GTX+SLI-Performance-Ergebnisse This is another good article comparing both NVidia and ATI cards. http://www.techspot.com/review/109-geforce-gtx-260-280-versus-radeon-4850-4870/page2.html

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