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Noob's Configuration - Please Comment

Post Date: 2009-10-22
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B5GkarNarn View Drop Down
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Posts: 170 		  Quote B5GkarNarn Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Noob's Configuration - Please Comment
    Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 11:19am
I was finally able to put together this configuration with the help of DST4ME, justinkerr, Psimon, harleyman, and others.  I will be using this PC for gaming, basic video & digital image editing, word processing, web surfing, Skype, and Quickbooks.  My budget is $2,500 - $3,000.  Please review it & share your comments, tips, & advice.
 
I have absolutely no idea what resolution I'll be using for gaming.  I have decided to get the Samsung P2370 LCD display because it has a 2ms response time & I saw a functioning model at a local store & liked what I saw.  Here is a link for further details:  http://www.samsung.com/us/consumer/office/monitors/premium/LS23EFHKFV/ZA/index.idx?pagetype=prd_detail&tab=features
 
Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Card Reader: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (150GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / 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 285 1GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-U12P High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i5/i7 Processors)
Liquid Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a H20: Stage 3 Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
LCD 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 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 5 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)
 
1) Tweak Windows: I might add this option if someone could explain what it actually means & if I feel that it's worthwhile.
 
2) Chassis Airflow:  Should I upgrade to Zalmance performance fans since I'm getting a Stage 1 overclock on the CPU and I'm getting Stage 2 air cooling & cannot afford liquid cooling? 
3) Video Cards:  Can someone please explain why the GTX 285 comes in these several different versions & what it really means:
a) 1 GB
b) 2 GB
c) FTW 2 GB
 
Thank you!


Edited by B5GkarNarn - 22 Oct 2009 at 11:34am
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 1:46pm
click on your monitor link then choose the "Specifications" tab and you will see your res is 1920 x 1080.

a 285 will not give you highest settings at that res, what you need is either 2 x 275 or 1 x 5870.

1. tweak window is completely pointless.

2. no need for fan ugrade

3. different version will not make any difference in your game play, as they provide maybe a 1 or 2 fps difference from the 1GB version but more importantly the difference between 285 and 275 is like 4 fps to begin with so the 275 is the best choice between those 2.

other then those changes, the build looks good.

Edited by DST4ME - 22 Oct 2009 at 1:46pm

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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B5GkarNarn View Drop Down
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Posts: 170 		  Quote B5GkarNarn Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 2:24pm
Originally posted by DST4ME

click on your monitor link then choose the "Specifications" tab and you will see your res is 1920 x 1080.

a 285 will not give you highest settings at that res, what you need is either 2 x 275 or 1 x 5870.

1. tweak window is completely pointless.

2. no need for fan ugrade

3. different version will not make any difference in your game play, as they provide maybe a 1 or 2 fps difference from the 1GB version but more importantly the difference between 285 and 275 is like 4 fps to begin with so the 275 is the best choice between those 2.

other then those changes, the build looks good.
Thank you very much for looking over my configuration, DST4ME! 
Here is my revised configuration based upon your recommendations:
 
Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition)
Card Reader: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (150GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-U12P High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i5/i7 Processors)
Liquid Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a H20: Stage 3 Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Tweak Windows: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
LCD 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 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: 5 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty (Highly Recommended)
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 2:35pm
Ya that looks great, did you have a chance to checkout the 5780 or you an nvidia man

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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B5GkarNarn View Drop Down
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Posts: 170 		  Quote B5GkarNarn Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 6:07pm
Originally posted by DST4ME

Ya that looks great, did you have a chance to checkout the 5780 or you an nvidia man
I don't know which is better - AMD or NVidia?
 
The AnandTech website's review of the 5870 is dated 09/23/09.  They give this card a very good review but I'm concerned that this card was recently released & that problems may crop up that havent been found yet.  The NVIDIA 275 is an older card & any problems should have been worked out by now.  Also, I must take this quote from AnandTech into account which tilts the balance in favor of NVIDIA: "However, we have to factor in the fact that AMD driver support doesn't have the best track record as of late for new game titles. Add in the fact that NVIDIA's developer relations seem more effective than AMD's could mean more titles that run better on NVIDIA hardware in the future."  This quote comes from the 4th paragraph in this article:  http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3539&p=23
 What do you think about this quote?
 
Why do you think that a 2X SLI GTX 275 is better than a single GTX 285 for gaming at 1920 X 1080?  Would a single 295 be better?
 
Also, are there any good reasons for having 2 optical drives rather than only 1?


Edited by B5GkarNarn - 22 Oct 2009 at 6:12pm
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 6:13pm
It is true that ati does have a bad track record with drivers but I believe you are going to be fine, I'm using an older nvidia drivers myself cause the new one does not sit will with my system.

looks like you feel more comfortable with nvidia, in that case I like to recommend to you to go with one gpu and just grab new line nvidia cards that come out in jan. one of those cards should beat the 5870 and 2 x 275.

what are your thoughts?

2 optical drives = luxury

Edited by DST4ME - 22 Oct 2009 at 6:13pm

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orion6192 View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote orion6192 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 7:36pm
I was leaning towards a single 5870 from what I've read about the overall performance of the card.  Not sure now.

What do you mean 2 optical drives = luxury?

Side note:

Ticket 345277 = $2647 (value system, could not get a 150gb Raptor - went 1gb extreme speed)
Ticket 345291 = $2946 (your config)

Is the VelociRaptor really worth a $299 premium?


Edited by orion6192 - 22 Oct 2009 at 7:40pm
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 8:25pm
those 2 systems are not the same, for example the value system has the xfx mobo my build has an evga mobo which is much better.

raptor is a good drive, I would go raptor instead of 1TB HDD, you don't want a big HDD for your os drive anyways. between the mobo and HDD you have your price difference.

2 optical drives = luxury means that 2 optical drives are not needed, if you get 2 its only to make it a bit faster for copying from cd/dvd to cd/dvd.

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers
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orion6192 View Drop Down
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Posts: 5 		  Quote orion6192 Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 22 Oct 2009 at 8:35pm
Sorry my mistake on the motherboard.

Ticket #345348 $2728
Ticket #345291 $2946

$218.00 premium for the VelociRaptor.  I agree on the size - could save another $52.00 by dropping to the 500mb WD but the speed is low.

I'm not being a pain - just trying to understand what is the best bang for the $$$.  I really want a SSD drive but it seems like the extra $200+ saving on the value systems may out weight that.

Thoughts?
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Posts: 36758 		  Quote DST4ME Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Oct 2009 at 3:56am
the difference is not the raptor, change the first ticket's HDD to raptor and you will see it will be $2800.

why don't you just order this ticket number 345348 with a 1TB as HDD1 then order a raptor from newegg for $159, then clone the 1TB HDD to the raptor and then use the raptor as HDD1 and put the 1TB to HDD2.

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Posts: 879 		  Quote Sarah Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 26 Oct 2009 at 1:33pm
B5, I am sorry I missed your call, but I will be giving you a call Wednesday as per your request. If you decide you want a call any sooner, just shoot me an e-mail and I will be happy to take care of you.
Sarah
If you have sales questions, please contact [email protected]

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