New Build Suggestions Please!!!Post Date: 2012-09-19 |
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kmcgrey 
Newbie 
Joined: 17 Sep 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2 |
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 Topic: New Build Suggestions Please!!!Posted: 19 Sep 2012 at 8:32am |
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Hello all, I’m looking to put together a nice air cooled system for gaming, video editing, and CS Suite work. Pretty much decided to go with a Digital Storm, just need to finalize the build. I’m hoping to keep the budget around $3k. Case I really like the Cosmos II case, but it’s just too damn big! Seems like the HAF X is well suited for air cooling – Any other case suggestions would be appreciated. Raids & Backup I have gigs of legacy data I need to keep alive and accessible. Thinking about setting up the two 1TB drives in a mirrored raid for hard drive failure protection, and then backing that up to external drive. Can DS config the data drives in a mirrored raid for me? LED Fans & Fan Controllers I’d like to add some additional cooling to the case. Does the HAF X still have the LED on/off switch at the top? Are there any LED fans compatible with the case that can be connected to the switch? I’d like to be able to turn the LEDs off when needed. Do I need a fan controller to accomplish this?
Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish Processor: Intel Core i7 3820 3.6GHz (Turbo Mode up to 3.8GHz) (Quad Core) Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (Intel X79 Chipset)(Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s) System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair Dominator DHX (High-Performance) Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (240GB Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) Model: Black Edition) Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) Model: Black Edition) Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 680 2GB (Includes PhysX) Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO (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: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Green) Enhancements: - No Thanks Chassis Mods: - No Thanks Noise Reduction: - No Thanks LaserMark: - No Thanks Boost Processor: Standard Intel Turbo Boost 2.0 Automatic Overclocking 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 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: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Extra Large) <b></b> Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Limited Warranty Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks guys...
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bprat22
DS ELITE 
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!) 
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2012 at 8:58am |
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Hi kmcgrey.... Welcome to the forums.
That build is pretty much right on. Not much I would change. The HafX case is the best air cooled case they have and doesn't need any fan upgrades. Its front 230mm and top and side 200mm fans will give you all the airflow you need. There is room on the top for another 200mm fan, for a total of 2, that you can ask DS to install for about $30 I believe. The front LED fan does have a switch on front panel. Adding small LED fans in place of the standard larger, slow moving fans would just add noise and mess with a great case. If its for looks than that's up to you. You didn't pick any cpu overclocking and Stage 1 would work fine with that chip. The Noctua D14 cooler is better than the Hyper 212 but for no oc'ing will work good. I don't know RAID but I'm sure DS can accomodate you. You could change the gtx 680 to the gtx 670 and save $150. The two cards are very close in performance. This rig allows sli in the future and the saved money could go to another 670 if you ever needed it. Not sure what monitor size and resolution you're using. The 680 is a great card so either way is nice. Here's a link comparing the two. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/598?vs=555 You picked green internal lighting and the front fan is red. Looks good to me but just wanted to make sure. Real nice rig. Good Luck.  Edited by bprat22 - 19 Sep 2012 at 9:04am |
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kmcgrey
Newbie
Joined: 17 Sep 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 19 Sep 2012 at 10:17am |
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I thought about going with the 670 - Just might do that. I'm still on the fence about oc'ing. I didn't know you could oc the 3820. I thought you had to have a 3930k or 3960k? I understand that the D14 is better, it's just butt-ugly. This is where I get in trouble - as soon as I start thinking about oc'ing I feel the need for at least a stage 4...
Regarding the LED fans, yeah pretty much just want to have some fun with it. I see that CoolerMaster and Bit Fenix (and others I'm sure) offer fans with switchable LEDs. Was hoping to swap the front red one out for a 230mm in blue and still have the switch work. And do the same for the side and top 200mm fans.
Thanks taking the time to reply!
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bprat22
DS ELITE
DigitalStorm East -- (Unofficially!)
Joined: 08 Jun 2011 Online Status: Offline Posts: 20391 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 19 Sep 2012 at 11:41am |
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You might know the answer to this, but some fans like the Bit Fenix with switchable led have two cables, one for the power to the fan and the other for LED. If the LED gets power through the same cable as the fan, and the LED cable is a make/break only, then the HaFX front switch should work. The front HafX switch is a simple switch I believe with no switching power. If the LED cable depends on a powered controller to switch power then the front Hafx wouldn't work. I THINK.
You could make an awesomw looking rig with your setup, if the fans are as quiet as some say.
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FrankW
DS Veteran 
Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2254 |
Quote Reply
Posted: 19 Sep 2012 at 2:42pm |
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Hi kmcgrey,
On the configuration page there is an option ofr RAID-0 or RAID-1. You need to specify RAID-1 for the mirrored HDD. Good idea on the external backup drive. The 3820 can be OC to 4.5 with no problem even though it is not a K model. I don't think you can buy a blue 230mm led fan. You can order blue 200mm fans but I don't know if you can control the leds. That depends on how the fans and leds are wired. DS will know or you can search around and see what is available. It would be a shame to trade out that red 230mm fan with a smaller one. If you get the 240 Vortex cooler the rads will mount at the top of the case and you can't add another fan up there. The D14 is a better choice than the 212 but it is big. The stage 4 LC is the best way to go but is $260 more than the Vortex. Frank |
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marccody
Newbie
Joined: 11 Aug 2012 Online Status: Offline Posts: 47 |
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Posted: 19 Sep 2012 at 4:44pm |
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Id def go with a 670 over a gtx 680. Save a ton of money for similar performance
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Proud owner of Ode level 1
Gtx 670 2gb i5 3570 @ 4.2 |
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