New Config - Category 3 - 850Si

1. The 750S is a Silverstone TJ04 ATX case.

2. Silverstones PSUs are definitely on my top 5 list.

3. You can call them and custom order it.

4. Depends on your living conditions.

DSO uses mostly EVGA. If you want to be dead certain your build will make use of only EVGA, request that and let them know you would prefer to wait for restock of EVGA components rather than recieve an equivalent from another NVidia partner.

I am going to say if you go with the 750i, you want very much to get stage 3 cooling. I have a 750 case, and bought it before stage 3 cooling as it exists in the configurator now was an option. I ended up modifying my case and in effect creating my own "stage 3 cooling". Having lived with the case for the last 6 months I will say this- the case is great *if* cooling is addressed, but it's less than ideal if cooling is *not* addressed. Buying the fans is cheaper than upgrading to an 850 or 950 and well worth it.

When it comes to Vista, I would just do it. You won't want Windows 7 until the first service pack is out. That's at least 3 years from now. 3+ years is *forever* in the computer industry. With a sufficiently powerful machine running NVidia based GPU's, IMO there is no reason not to get Vista at this point.

How much the CPU can be overclocked is dependent on cooling used, motherboard and RAM.

Obviously, the best cooling option if you want a maximum overclock is liquid, but this does get expensive. If you want maximum overclocking potential on air, request a more robust aftermarket cooler than the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro DSO uses by default in their stage 2 and  3 cooling options. The AC Freezer 7 Pro is a solid cooler, it's just that it's not going to get you to the kinds of overclocking numbers the better coolers on the market will.

If you decide to make a special request on the CPU HSF, the Thermalright Ultra Extreme 120 is a very nice cooler (although it requires a seperate purchase of a fan), as is the Zalman CNPS9700(be aware the speed of this unit cannot be controlled by the motherboard), or the Thermaltake CL-P0114. I went with a Xigmatek HDT S1283 and have not regretted that selection once so far, so that is another less well known, but very good cooler (both good and cheap-  ).

IMO, the best economical choice of motherboards for overclocking is the 780i. It offers enhancements to northbridge cooling over the previous generation of motherboards, like mine. Keeping the northbridge cool is another key to successful overclocking. If you can afford it, the ideal would be the 790i, but if you're looking at the 750 case, I am guessing that board, while nice, may be out of the budget you had in mind.

Faster RAM also helps when it comes to increasing the chance for a higher stable overclock speed. IMO, your best "bang for the buck" as an overclocker right now is DDR2 @ 1066MHz. You'll be able to get tighter timings more often than not than with DDR2 @ 800MHz. 1066 memory is nothing more than 800MHz RAM that has been "speed binned" or certified to run at a higher speed. That's a good thing, and right now the price difference is not significant.


DSO does a good job overclocking, although they do tend to be more aggressive with voltages than I would be. If you are new to overclocking, I would say yes, it's worth getting the overclock. I did, and in seeing how DSO made their settings to achieve the speed they shipped my system at, I was better able to understand guides around the 'net on overclocking, and make my own decisions about stability and operating temperatures versus performance. I would also point out that DSO guarantees their overclocked systems for 3 years. This is not the sort of promise you make if you expect trouble due to overclocking .




Edited by Tyler Lowe - 11 Apr 2008 at 4:03am

One advantage I can immediately see with the Cosmos, is the bottom mounted PSU, which makes the alignment of any aftermarket CPU/HSF less important. What I mean by this, is given the fact the case has top and rear mounted fans, you can direct a CPU cooler's exhaust either way without sacrificing performance. This can become important if a particular cooler will not clear motherboard components when aligned in one direction but will fit when turned 90*. Note that the standard AC Freezer 7 Pro DSO uses has no such issues, as it is a relatively small heatsink when compared to the higher end coolers on the market.

If that case were given the stage 3 cooling treatment, the increase in air flow would be dramatic over the TJ04.

When it comes to TJ04 w/stage 3 vs Cosmos S w/stock cooling, I really don't know. That would a good question for the techs that build and test these systems.

Yes, they ship for free, via UPS standard ground within the continental US.

If I am not very much mistaken, the "up to $500 in instant savings" is built into the configurator pricing structure. Take a look at the top of the page in the 950i option, and you'll see what I mean. I don't know where they arrive at that figure, but there was a similar claim on the configuration page when I bought my system. I figured it's something their marketing people cooked up. I shopped the heck out of my system's price and found that the savings were well over $1000 when compared to outfits that offer a similar build quality, so it's nothing I concerned myself over.

I have another question.

The performance differences between an X48 and a 780i are not all that significant. IMO it does not make much of a difference at this point. The X48 has better PCI-e 2.0 support than the 780i, but will not support SLi. You get very good overclocking from either board. I am very much a fan of EVGA. If they put out X48 based boards, I would consider it. As it stands, I would go for the 780i and not think twice on it.

The card in your first PCI-e x16 is the controlling card, and the one to which you attach your monitor. Any additional cards are basically slaved to the first one.

I'm almost certain not Mysty. Alex posted a while ago on that subject and indicated that was a very limited time promotional deal, and the time for that had come and gone. I can't say I'd be surprised to see some variation on it again, but that particular discount offer is over.

not sure what you mean, Q9450 is a 2.66GHz

the top of the line is QX9775 at 3.2 GHz

you can get to a higher point from 3.2 then you can if you were to start from 2.6

3.2 is a much faster pc then the 2.6 just on speed.

Q9450 is a 1333 FSB
QX9775 is a 1666 FSB

also new processors tend to be faster then the one they replaced.

is that what you mean?

Perfect, thanks for info...