Non-SLI ~$2,500

Budget:
Around $2500
Have all the peripherals already.

Expectations:
Support gaming for the next 3-4 years with minor upgrades along the way

Usage:
Mostly gaming
Currently two 1440X900 screens

Special Needs:
Not interested in SLI, don't plan to in the future either.

Saved Ticket #: 619162

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 Maximus IV Extreme-Z (Intel Z68 Chipset) (Features Intel Quick Sync Technology)
System Memory: 8GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair Dominator DHX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 800W Corsair GS (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (120GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: 510 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: 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 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology) (EVGA Edition)
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: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Red) (Up to 6 Fans) <b></b>
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: FREE: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz
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

Hi all, looking for any feedback on the build listed above. My current rig is ready for retirement, but it's lasted a good 4 years with minor upgrades. I am looking for something that can do the same.

I didn't turn up the overclocking because I figured it was something I might be able to do myself. Anyone know if this would void the Digital Storm warranty?

I've got my fingers crossed Digital Storm has something up their sleeves for Black Friday/Cyber Monday, because I am a little over budget already...

Any comments and suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks.

I'm just curious why you don't want SLi. Did you have a bad experience with it before? I did, back when the 6600gt was out.

Well I had issues when SLi first came out, and because it was new, I had nobody to help me. That's why I'm still skittish about SLi.


Edited by pwcorgi - 23 Nov 2011 at 7:00pm

I had that gut feeling that you had SLi issues in the past too, based upon your post.

Edited by pwcorgi - 23 Nov 2011 at 8:48pm

Originally posted by DST4ME My config is way more then you need for 1440X900, a 560 would run that res pretty well also, sli would be pure waste of money in your case as you will never need the power of the second card at that res ever.

Yeah, two 1440X900s is obviously not the resolution I want to stay at forever, but replacing both displays isn't in the budget at the moment. Honestly, maybe it really needs to be. Especially since Black Friday/Cyber Monday is around the corner. I imagine I could pick up some decent displays on the cheap. Any advice on those?

I really appreciate your advice on the build and saving me some money. Especially on the Motherboard choice, it's always the most intimidating part of any build for me and as you can see I overcompensated a bit. haha Also, the bit about the fans is great info.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Originally posted by DST4ME If you want to upgrade the monitor, then we need to upgrade the psu to 1050hx so that you can do dual sli anything. Most important thing about a monitor is its panel, right now there are 2 major ones, TN and IPS, IPS has superior picture quality/clarity. 1. response time is a bs number, its there to fool you and does not represent the true response time of the monitor, there is no real way of truly finding what response time is, the closest to it is white to white but you don't see that, you see grey to grey or black to black cause they give small numbers to fool users but they don't mean anything, there are different methods to get these numbers also, and each will give a different number as results, therefore you can even compare one to the other, cause we don't know what method was used for which, and even if we did, still GTG or BTB don't mean anything. 2. contrast ratio is also bs number. for monitors we recommend this one: Dell UltraSharp u2312 but if you use this code 9RKP5R7?4W7P1K you can get it for $229 if it still works

So, if upgrading to two 23-inch 1920x1080 panels with the same intentions (gaming on only one) do you think the single GTX 570 will still cut it for now?

Or did you mean that I should upgrade the PSU and go SLI right now? Or just upgrade the PSU to future proof for a required SLI upgrade down the road?

Sorry I didn't notice your response earlier, I don't think I got the email notification when you posted. Thanks for all the monitor tips, that Dell looks killer.