Out of the loop is this any good?

Budget:
~$1,600
Expectations:
Solid gaming at High on a single 22=24" monitor at 1600 or 1920 resolutions.

Usage:
Gaming, light multimedia editing

Special Needs:
Quieter would be ideal as its in my bedroom and i typically keep it on 24/7. Heat issues as its under a table and the rear towards a wall (current machine averages 80-101 degrees F from idle to max usage)
Saved Ticket #: 458599

Specifications:

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master CM 690 II Advanced
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: - No Thanks
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 NVIDIA GeForce GTX 470 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 2: Asetek Liquid CPU Cooler (120mm Radiator) (Great Value)
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
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: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Medium)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: FREE PROMO: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 4 Year Limited Warranty


Additional Notes:

Currently I run a Quad Core 6600 @ 2.4 Mhz, 6GB DDD2 (1066 Mhz I think) Memory, Asus Striker Extreme, 2x 150 GB Raptors (No RAID. Aging). 8800 GTX 768MB. Purchased August 07...

Now for the above I paid $2,800. I don't use my computer nearly as much and simply can't justify the same amount anymore...My gamings gone down as has most of my editing and development work (I do IT).


What I'm looking for is a solid machine that can last 3-4 years and is upgradeable. I.e. Video Card and processor. I run Starcraft, Fallout 3, Crysis etc right now relatively well (all I think are on high settings). I plan to upgrade my 22" monitor to a 24 inch which would mean higher resolution.

Would my above setup 1. Surpass my current set up and 2. Be decent enough to run Fallout Vegas, Crysis 2, Starcraft II, CoD BlackOps, Deus Ex (Slated 2011) etc on High settings?

I want a machine that will last and be hassle free. I've built my own systems and have typically utilized fans before. Never utilized Liquid Cooling not sure if I'd need it.

I'm certainly not an expert but after being around these boards for a bit I think most people would tell you to go with the Noctua U12P air cooler. I recommend reading ender's buying guide, it's incredibly helpful!!

Thanks for the input. I do intend to cannibalize the drives though do a fresh wipe of them. I'll probably get a fresh 300GB 10k RPM Raptor for my primary HD and utilize my old HDs for additional storage for now.

I'll look into the SLI'ing two 460s. my initial plan had to get a 470 now and eventually get a second to SLI with at a later point when one simply didn't cut it, I didn't think two 460's would out perform a 480 but I suppose I'll need to read up on that.


Thanks.

Originally posted by cogitoergosum Thanks for the input. I do intend to cannibalize the drives though do a fresh wipe of them. I'll probably get a fresh 300GB 10k RPM Raptor for my primary HD and utilize my old HDs for additional storage for now.

Please don't waste your money on one of those. The older 300GB VelociRaptors are actually slower than now standard 1TB 7200RPM HDDs. The only single VelociRaptor faster is the newer large 600GB model, but only by literately 10%, which in conventional HDD performance numbers is almost nothing, yet it costs over 5 times as much (GB per $). Plus I'm pretty sure they lose performance faster (smaller platter size), though I haven't seen any testing on it.

I'll look into the SLI'ing two 460s. my initial plan had to get a 470 now and eventually get a second to SLI with at a later point when one simply didn't cut it, I didn't think two 460's would out perform a 480 but I suppose I'll need to read up on that.

Echoing Bender on not doing that. FPS for dual 460s are all over the place, super low minimum frames, really high maximum frames, not fluid at all, even worse at higher resolutions and settings.

Originally posted by Aroberts0820 Sorry, I guess my info was incorrect. I was basing my info off of what I read at this link: http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/07/12/nvidia_geforce_gtx_460_sli_performance_followup/ Again, sorry if I sent you down the path of incorrect regarding the SLI'ed 460s.

Oddly, that very article pretty well sums up my thoughts on why not to go with SLI 460s, both in the conclusion and the aside on fluidity just before it.