New gaming Rig

Budget:
$2500


Usage:
Gaming, mostly MMO's but some shooters as well

Special Needs:
I chose a stage 2 cooling due to poor airflow and high temperatures where the rig will be set up

Saved Ticket #: 455216

I hope to order in the next few weeks but I am unsure as to whether I should wait on the new high end gpu's or not. I won't be able to afford another rig for at least three years so longevity is important.

Thanks in advance


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 950 3.06GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Sabertooth X58 (Intel X58 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM)
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 ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-D14 Extreme Performance (Does NOT fit on the regular EVGA X58 3X SLI)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Blue) (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Green)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
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
Benchmarking: - 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

Edited by Benson729 - 08 Nov 2010 at 6:47pm

i7 920 vs i7 950 are not the same spec wise, and overclocks vary chip to chip.

This is what I would recommend:
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=455737

Ask for a push + pull fan setup (if you decide on the Corsair H70 as your cooler) when you order to help with the temperature of the CPU.

2x6870's do cost more than a single 5870, but the performance increase is well worth the cost versus a single gtx580, gtx480, or 5870.
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/19934/14
http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/19934/15

What are the pros/cons of single card vs crossfire and how many PCI slots do dual 6870's use or block. Also when will the 6970 be released? I am leaning towards an AMD card because of lower temperature and noise.

Might want to check out the testing reviews on the 6800 cards....they are sounding a bit disappointing.  Most are pointing to the upcoming Caymen Island cards from AMD.  The new 580 is supposedly somewhat cooler and quieter than the 480 too.

Latest word I have is that the Caymen Island cards will not be released this month afterall.

Honestly "power consumption" and even "heat" are not really issues with the Nvidia cards.  If your PS is sufficient to supply the load in the first place and the Nvidia cards generate more heat per card but they are cooled just fine by their fans.  Unless you have the PC in a small room and are worried about raising the ambient temps theres no reason not to go with Nvidia on heat or power consumption grounds.  Since you are building a new rig you will still have to select a good sized power supply for dual cards weather its AMD or Nvidia based.

The 580's are less power hungry than the 480's and they are cooled with a different technology which appears to help them stay cooler at lower fan speeds.  But again even the 480's could cool themselves just fine unless you had ambient heat issues wich would be a problem even for AMD cards.


Edited by MagiK - 11 Nov 2010 at 12:19pm

the amount of power difference between an AMD video card and an Nvidia card will not be noticeable on your monthly power bill.  It will be lost in the background of all the plugged in transformers, tvs power strips and what have you.  We have 2 systems running full bore 24/7 in the house, we took one down for a couple of months and never even saw a dip in the bill.  (My wife is addicted to folding)

The small room on the other hand is going to be an issue.


Edited by MagiK - 11 Nov 2010 at 1:12pm

Personally I dont think there will be much difference in the room temp between one card and the other, but the Nvidia is documented as producing more exhaust heat.

In the Nvidia 580 cards there is less of a difference between the AMD and Nvidia heat produced.  Also again, note some of the reviews on the 6870's.  They are mid range boards in their performance.  The Caymen Island  cards that will be released eventually will be the direct comparisons to the 480 and 580 cards.

I know Im not helping much but .... it is what it is.

Originally posted by Benson729 I plan on getting an ASUS motherboard and the only difference, besides price, that I can see between the P6X58D and the Sabretooth is that the P6X58D has more overclocking tools. I don't plan to overclock myself but I am getting a stage 1 overclock. Will my choice of motherboard effect how far DS can overclock my processor safely?

Motherboard can have an effect, more so when pushing for higher overclocks. However in this case, you definitely want to go with the Sabertooth over the P6X58D.

Everything you need, for a lower price.

Better question is what the P6X58D would offer you that the Sabertooth does not?

One thing the Sabertooth brings that the P6 doesnt is the TUF factor, Sabertooth is constructed with higher quality parts,  It also does away with some Legacy connecotrs that the P6 still has.  The P6 has some nifty OC tools and bells and whistles, the Sabertooth doesnt have those, its a budget board from that stand point but has a newer layout getting rid of stuff you wont need like PATA connectors and PS2 connectors(oops looks like the P6x board doesnt have PATA either, sill it has an extra PS2 connector which I really dont like.

All in all the Sabertooth is a newer more efficent design in layout and in heat dissipation.


Edited by MagiK - 12 Nov 2010 at 11:09pm

Why do you want an ASUS one? There are no non-reference 580s yet, they are all the same.

I think of ASUS when it comes to durability because my ASUS laptop recently survived a severe drop unscathed.

Are gpu overclocks bad for the gpu or are they as safe as a good processor overclock?

Ok thanks for the heads up I probably won't do that because my rig will be in a small room.

I don't see room for gpu liquid cooling with a $2500 dollar budget. If you have any ideas I would be interested of course.

I modified my build with a slightly larger budget. New ticket number is 459444. My main question is whether or not the power supply will be enough?

remove the chassis fans

Edited by !ender_ - 21 Nov 2010 at 9:21am

What they said.  Also you have 2 x DVD/CD drives?