Need final config help ASAP please!!Post Date: 2008-12-28 |
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PTGeek 
Newbie 
Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
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 Topic: Need final config help ASAP please!!Posted: 28 Dec 2008 at 3:05pm |
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Okay, I think I am finally ready to pull trigger on a new system, and likely want to do so in next 1-2 days to take advantage of current special ($200 off if $3,000 or more). I have been combing the forum for a long time to learn as much as possible, and spoke once with a DS rep, but I still have several questions (some probably pretty dumb) and decisions before purchase. Any and all help/advice would be MUCH appreciated!
I plan on purchasing a 24 in. monitor (seperately) and gaming at 1920x1200. Plan on playing Bioshock, SupCom, Half-Life2, Starcraft2, CoD, and Crysis (among others). Want to be able to play at high or highest graphics/settings (including Crysis), but also have a bit of room for future upgrade (GPU,CPU) if need.
I would like to be as little over the $3,000 mark as possible, but yet am willing to go a bit above that only if makes a noticeable difference.
Ticket Number: 221226
Specifications:
Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Dual SLI or CrossFire) System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1333MHz Corsair Dominator DHX (High-Performance) Power Supply: 1000W PC Power & Cooling (Turbo-Cool Edition) (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Card Reader: 1.44MB Floppy (Black Edition) Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x) Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition) Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: High-Performance Liquid Chilled FrostBite System For CPU Liquid Color:UV Green: Glowing Non-conductive High-Performance Fluid (Requires H20: Stage 3 & UV Lighting) Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (UV) (Creates Glowing Effect For H20: Stage 3 UV Fluid) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - 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: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory 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) Virus 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 Exclusive T-Shirt: - No Thanks Priority Build: - No Thanks Warranty: 5 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended) Here are my questions (sorry so many!):
1.) Heard there is a good integrated sound card on the Rampage II Extreme mobo. Is there also a good one on the P6T I selected? If not, would it be better to upgrade to the Rampage mobo or add a soundcard?
2.) Was gonna go with 1600 MHz Ram until I saw that DST4ME said the 920 can't support above 1333Mhz, so changed to 1333. If this is true, I assume I shouldn't bother with the "OC the RAM" option?
3.) Any noticeable performance difference between the Corsair XMS3 and the Corsair Dominator DHX? Don't wanna spend the extra $30 unless worth it.
4.) Any difference between the PC Power & Cooling vs. Corsair HX versions of the 1000W PSU?
5.) Dumb question about optical drives: I want 2 so I can copy CD's for work if needed, and want the Lightscribe writer for one of them. Should I go with the 16x/40x reader as the 2nd one or do another 20x/48x writer without the Lightscribe? (will the 2nd writer do better at reading due to higher speed? I know, pretty dumb....... PTGeek
 6.) Still debating the LC vs. air-cool options. Any advice? I want to achieve 3.8 minimum and have it stable. I know better chance with stage 3 LC, but saw 1 or 2 people got 3.8 on air. What do you think? I assume if I go air I should go stage 2 Coolermaster V8, but the dude that got 3.8 on air had something called "Premium High Performance Heat sink with 12 Heat Pipes". Any difference? If I go LC, will it be a huge chore to upgrade the CPU in the future?
7.) Eric at DS recommended if I go with LC I should add something called a "triple RAD radiator" with this HAF case for an extra $95. Is this worth it?
8.) Finally, the eternal GPU debate. Seems choosing fastest current single card best option, which allows me to add 2nd card if/when needed, so I went with 4870x2 and will ask DS to make sure they have the newest drivers loaded on it. However the 260+ is a good deal, and/or could just go right away with 2 in SLI, but that might limit my future upgrade options. I know there are strong opinions on either side of this choice. Advice? Concerns about ATI driver problems/support unwarranted or legit, and if legit are they bad enough to scare me off the 4870x2?
I profusely apologize for the length and detail of all my questions, but I have been blown away by the amount of help this forum and it's members have provided to others in the past, and I have been DYING to do this for months but am a very detail-oriented (okay, anal) person when it comes to researching an expensive (for me anyway) purchase such as this. So please be gentle
 , and thanks a ton ahead of time! |
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DST4ME
DS ELITE 
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 28 Dec 2008 at 3:26pm |
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1. I don't' know much about rampage's sound card, but thats the only mobo that comes with one. upgrading mobo for a sound card does not make much sense so I guess adding a sound card is a better choice.
2. go with 1333 you won't notice the difference anyways, and yes skip the ram OC also. put your money toward something that has more noticeable performance gains. 3. don't know much about the difference but I would save my money here also, both are great rams. 4. I know one is 20 + 4 pin and the other is 24pin but don't know much more then that. 5. you want both drives to be RW, so one light scribe and one not is fine. 6. if you want the best chance at 3.8 go with LC, but the v8 seems too be doing good also, I say LC. 7. triple radiator to provide better cooling for your LC system vs a single rad, dual would be good to IMO. upgrading CPU is not a big deal. 8. GPU is really up to you, some will point out how ATI is not friendly with some games but right now its is the strongest card, however before the end of the month the 295 GTX from Nvidia will change that. these x58 mobos can run both cards so you can switch back and forth from ATI to Nvidia all you want. here you go Ticket# --- Price: $ (To see this build click here) Copy of Specifications: you know what, I went to config your system and I had no changes to make to the config you already have.  
well I have one, change the below to a RW drive Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x) it should be this RW: Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Edited by DST4ME - 28 Dec 2008 at 3:27pm |
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PTGeek
Newbie
Joined: 08 Dec 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 13 |
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Posted: 30 Dec 2008 at 10:16pm |
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DST4ME: Thank you so much for your response to this post (especially since you were the only one to take the time to do so!), and thanks for all your help to everyone on this forum. I hope you know it is much appreciated!
Wow, only one change to my config? Guess I did learn at least a few things from reading so many of the postings here. However, they changed the details of the special this week, so to get the full $200 off you now had to be over $3500 instead of 3,000. This ended up being no big deal, since that original config was around 3,400 anyway, so I just added a sound card (which I was on the fence about originally anyway), upgraded the RAM quality, changed the optical drive 1 from reader to writer, and saved a bit on the Corsair PSU. Here is my final config and order.
Order Contents:
- Digital Storm Desktop 90414 Quantity: 1 $3,524.00 - -- PROMOTIONAL LIMITED TIME BONUS DISCOUNT: $200 Quantity: 1 ($200.00) System Configuration: Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P6T Deluxe (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Dual SLI or CrossFire) System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1333MHz Corsair Dominator DHX (High-Performance) Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Card Reader: 1.44MB Floppy (Black Edition) Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed) Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition) Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card(s): 1x ATI Radeon HD 4870X2 2GB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: CLEARANCE HOT SELLER: Razer Barracuda AC-1 (Recommended) Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: High-Performance Liquid Chilled FrostBite System For CPU Liquid Color: UV Green: Glowing Non-conductive High-Performance Fluid (Requires H20: Stage 3 & UV Lighting) Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (UV) (Creates Glowing Effect For H20: Stage 3 UV Fluid) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks CPU Boost: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability Graphics Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s) Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory Windows Boost: - 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) Virus Protection: - No Thanks Office: - No Thanks Benchmarking: - No Thanks Pre-Install Game: - No Thanks LCD 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 Warranty: 5 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended) Sub-Total: $3,324.00 Tax: $0.00 S&H: Ground $0.00 Grand Total: $3,324.00 Also did special request for that triple RAD radiator per recommendation of Eric at DS. Again, thanks for your help, and I'll let you know how she turns out when I get it in a few weeks! (Although I'm sure I'll be back with other questions in the future!)
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DST4ME
DS ELITE
Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 31 Dec 2008 at 12:14am |
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5 year warranty
nice
thats a great config boss enjoy, BTW most people let me respond here cause its my thing here, so don't think everybody was ignoring your post or anything, I'm just on more often then others and also they let me do most of the configs since its my thing here I can assure you in other sections about other topics you will get many responds
great move on the rad, I think I will be tripling myself Edited by DST4ME - 31 Dec 2008 at 12:15am |
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