Please review my Config

Hi,

In the past, I have purchased desktops from Best Buy and Dell. I have been doing research the past month to learn a bit about custom build PC's, and have pretty much set my sights on getting one from DS. I have been reading the forums for advice given to other builders and have come up one that I think will fit my needs. BTW, this is to replace a 6 year old Dell Dimension 4600. Any advice/comments would greatly be appreciated.

My goal: Budget Around $2000. I want to run dual 23-24" monitors @ 1900x1200 for each when running browsers, MS Office software, Visual Studio, and vidoes & music (1900x1200 single monitor for Starcraft 2 at highest visual settings). Starcraft 2 and future expansions sets will be the most advanced gaming I will do. Plan to purchase within a month or so. Also, reliability is very important.

Questions:
1) Is my graphics card (5870) sufficient? If I want to save a little money, can I go down a step (5770)? What about a single 5870 versus 2x5770? Figuring out the ideal graphics card was the most challenging.
2) Is it worth the $15 to go for 64MB Cashe hard drive?
3) I'm pretty much set on Noctua Dual, but if the NH-D14 is significantly better, I will reconsider. There appear to be many differing opinions in the DS community about this.
4) With the free overclocking for the processor and graphics card, what lifespan can I expect? I would feel better that the PC life will be 10+ years even though I'll probably get a new one before then.

Ticket Number: 424821
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,055.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=424821

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Assassin Edition
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D Premium SLI (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 Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1002FAEX)
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 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
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: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
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: - No Thanks, Please test my memory, I will be responsible for software based support
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: FREE: Hot-selling game with a NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 or above graphics card
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 (Large)
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

1. Yes, but if you're using the rig to game, you should be building it around graphic power rather than taking what's sufficient. The 480 is the best single card on the market right now, I would go for that. More on saving money later.

2. Not in the slightest. You won't notice any difference.

3. The Noctua Dual has the best price/performance ratio and will easily get you to the maximum free overclock DS does.

4. Ten years is a long time. The lifespan depends on the temperatures that the hardware experience, so if you aren't comfortable with shortening the life of your hardware, we can always help you turn the overclock down (thereby reducing temperatures).

To save money, build out of the budget section.

Unless you're dead set on the Assassin case, go for a HAF 932. It's the best stock air cooled one DS has.

You can also drop your processor down to a 920, as all 900-series quad cores are the same hardware with different factory settings.

Not sure what you're looking for in terms of motherboards, but I put in the standard one.

Here's a config for you to go by. $1928

-It probably is overkill for Starcraft 2 @ 1200p [http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=958&type=expert] but who knows maybe you'll find other games to play.


-Yeah reduce to the 920, I doubt it'll make any diffrence
-Those who like the Assassin case's smooth clean aesthetics will find it hard to accept the HAF's styling. Isn't the Assassin case also very airflow optimized, and thermodymicaly friendly; the 3 180mm fans coupled with the horizontal mobo draws gpu heat up out the case, much more effective than doing it the traditional way.
-forum goers here have been brainwashed by DST4ME and justin.kerr to automatically support EVGA, both companies produce great boards, both have produced lemons. However with this current gen they're all very similar. Flip a coin to decide, or if you want to save a couple of dollars go with EVGA



Edited by sirsiddius - 24 Jul 2010 at 2:39pm

Some of actually have EVGA motherboards and can vouch for their amazing quality for the price.

But even besides that, just pay attention to details and do some damn research, it isn't hard. I'm not seeing any advantages to having an ASUS board jump out and bite me.

I know I only have used a few ASUS boards, maybe 15 or so, but IMHO they made great boards for the Intel 775 platform.. very very good... 10x better than EVGA.

Thanks everyone. I've decided to go with the EVGA LE motherboard to save some money. DS says that they are currently using Sapphire Radeon HD's. I've read some negative reviews on Sapphire from some other threads. Should I go with one the brands available?

Also, I'd appreciate any other feedback from some others on my build. Thanks.

Here's my new build:

Ticket Number: 425207
Total Price with Instant Savings: $1,926.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=425207

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Black OPS Assassin Edition
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: !PROMOTION: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset)
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1001FALS)
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 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
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: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory

change the 920 to a 930... and change ur FREE! YES OVERLOCK THE VIDEO CARD to "no dont overclock video card."... uncessary heat!

I'll think about the case. I'm convinced the HAF 932 is a much better value, but I don't like the appearance. I like the Assassin case for it's sleekness and simply appearance...but you're right about the hefty price. Are any of the other cases a close second to the HAF's?

Also, any suggestions my inquiry on the gpu?:

Originally posted by krappei DS says that they are currently using Sapphire Radeon HD 5850/5870. I've read some negative reviews on Sapphire from some other threads. Should I go with one the brands available?

Saphire has created their own PCB, it is crap compared to ATI's reference design, on the 5870 1Gb cards. The 2Gb are still the ATI reference design.