new pc question

So I've been browsing many sites for about 7 months and DS has me hooked mostly due to Alex and DST4ME amongst others.
 for around $3000.00 I have till February for my order, waiting for my tax return.
 
my question. what should work best for my needs.

1. I will be gaming on a 28 in monitor at 1920 x 1200.

2.use mostly gaming, movies, i-tunes, and web browsing.

3. I mostly play RPG, STRGY, and some Action.

any Ideas would be great. oh and I already have a keyboard and mouse. I also use a gaming head set I am thinking of some good speakers strictly for music but everything else I use head set.

thanks.
Charles

Hi dathionk,

Well that is a pretty good build. Nothing really wrong with it but here are some things to think about.

1. Unless you have a specific requirement for the 300Gb SSD you can save $322 by getting the 160GB. That 300Gb is a bunch of money. Did you consider the 250Gb?

2. For your resolution and the games you play I don't think you need the 570 2.5. The 1.2 would do the job. The 2.5 does give you better performance if you go with a higher resolution in the future.

3. You don't need Win-7 Ultimate unless you use foreign languages. Win-7 Pro is what you want.

Frank

at frank w

first thanks for the reply.

window ultimate is needed for the other languages. both my kids use it to help with their classes in Mandarin. I usually have everything translated for me 

as for the gpu I thought to max my games out I would need 2.5.

the 300 GB  was because it fit in my budget. but might go with two smaller ones.

Alex thanks for the post.

For your res to max games you needs sli 570 and not the 2.5GB version.

I would drop the 320 to 120GB and go with sli 570, unless you know the games you use don't utilize sli correctly.

I like kane860's build also but right now for gaming you don't need the six core, or the 16GB of ram or the 2.5GB of 570.

Its up to you, the 2.5GB is only $50 if you want go with them.

Keep in mind we buy our pcs from DS so that we can upgrade gpus once every 2 years and keep pc powerful in games.

Its not taht simple, if your games don't utilize sli then sli is pointless, if they have no use for the extra vram then thats pointless.

at your res for games like bf3 that use sli we recommend sli, but for games like wow or there is no need.

Almost forgot Merry Christmas to everyone. 

Yea DST is right, you dont need 6 core for gaming but I just wanted to throw that option out there as well since x79 is the newer platform and the price with the newer chip was not too much more expensive then the build you put together initially.  Also as I always say, the GTX570 2.5gb is only $50 more than the 1.2gb version.. for me, thats not a bad upgrade and gives me the option of using a higher resolution monitor later on.  If you are doing SLI 570's then I guess this comment of mine can be disregarded since I am only referring to one single GPU. 

oops I meant chip

thanks Kane I was curious and I believe shipping is $65 0r so so I'll just add an extra $100 to my build to make sure I stay in my budget. 

The x79 is the new highend platform but the p67/68 are from the same family but midend.

just to clarify the price difference between the two is huge:

x79 build:

Here you go Ticket# 636475 --- $3,375 (To see this build click here)

Copy of 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 3930K 3.2GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 DELUXE (Intel X79 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series)
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.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (Lite-On iHBS112)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 2.5GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA 025-P3-1579-BR)
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: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard)
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 Professional (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: - 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

and now look at the price difference from the p67 build:

Here you go Ticket# 636476 --- $2,736 (To see this build click here)

Copy of 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 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue)
System Memory: 16GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (Lite-On iHBS112)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 2.5GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA 025-P3-1579-BR)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Corsair A70 Dual 120mm Fans 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: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard)
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 Professional (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: - 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

So as you can see the price difference is over $600.

Now I know you gonna say that his config's price is what you were going with, however here at DS we are more about showing the customer what they need and basically most bang for the buck, for his use he is not going to notice the difference between the two, so in reality he has not reason to spend $600 more on the x79.

Just like you I like showing people the highend stuff/option also but try to show them the best bang for the buck and then let them know that you can also show them a 6core config but it will cost more and they wont' really have no use for it for their use.

Hope that makes sense/helps.

Now I put both 16GB of ram in the configs and the win7 pro, but I don't understand why they are there, he has no use for 16GB any year soon, the win7 I can understand.

@dathionk, they price can be even lower if you don't want/have no need for sli.

I did this build http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=636526


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 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (New & Improved B3 Revision Without SATA 3G Issue)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) <b></b>
Power Supply: 1050W Corsair Pro Silver 1050HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 320 Series) <b></b>
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (Model: Black Edition) <b></b>
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (Lite-On iHBS112)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 2.5GB (Includes PhysX) (EVGA 025-P3-1579-BR)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Corsair A70 Dual 120mm Fans 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 (Red) <b></b>
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
LaserMark: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires Pro or Deluxe Series Motherboard)
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 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition) <b></b>
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: - No Thanks
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 5 Year Limited Warranty <b></b>

Hi dathionk...Go with the 5year plan in my opinion. The 3 year gives you only 1 year of parts warranty, the 5 year gives ya 3 years parts warranty. For another $100 DS for 3 years will ship you, you pay shipping, any part gone bad, instead of going through any manufacturere's exchange program. It's just alot less hassle dealing with one source and one you trust. Most parts do have at least a 3 yr warranty from manuf. so your call.

I know the feeling.

Edited by bprat22 - 27 Dec 2011 at 11:20am

Its not a great idea to use one ssd for os/apps and then a different ssd for games, put both on one, and then if you need more room add the second ssd when you need it, few reasons:

1. K.I.S.S, keep it simple stupid, as we like to say lol, less parts whenever possible, less parts = less things that can go wrong.

2. by the time you need another ssd, there will be better ones (faster/more reliable) ones for the same price.

Gotcha on the win7 ultimate, for languages you do need that.

I like your build, just drop the second ssd and IMHO drop the 1TB BC also and add it when the hdd prices come back to normal.

warranty is up to you, I never notice or change that most times, just keep in mind that after the first 30 days you pay for shipping back and forth, but having said that I do recommend longer warranty if budget allows.

Not the best idea, by the time you make those changes the price will be the same or higher then the custom config with only one ssd and no hdd.

each change cost $50 plus the cost of the new part, so you are looking at $150 extra for 3 changes then you have to add the cost of the parts on top of that, and after all of that you endup with lesser case, mobo, cpu cooler.

You are mistaken tell me which of my build you are looking at and I will show you the mistake.

My build has 16GB of ram for whatever reason I can't recall, ode does not, so we drop the ram to 8GB on my config price before promo = $2,608, price after promo = $2483

ode price = 2339 + 230 = $2569 about $100 more then mine, with mine you get better case,airflow,mobo,psu,cpu,ssd,hdd,cpu cooler.

yes you get 2 gpus but you get inferior parts, for example we recommend gpu upgrade every 2 years, but then in the future if you want to upgrade the sli to future cards and they have needs of a 580 sli the 800w can't do it.

Also my config has a 570 2.5GB version the ode comes with 1.2GB version, so again we drop the gpu in my config to 1.2GB version price after promo = $2433