Possible Computer Specs.

I have come up with what I think is a pretty good computer that I plan to use for a wide range of applications.  I currently use my computer to record/watch tv, play video games, business documents, research, and graphic design software (prioritized in that order) The config I have is 414273 here on Digital Storm.  I feel that what I have is pretty good but was looking to get some outside input.  My biggest concern is the motherboard, I know very little about motherboards because that is one of the only items I have not purchased seperately from a computer in the past.  Any help anyone can provide would be greatly appreciated.

1024x768, I have been trying to keep it under $3000, I willing to spend a little more if it means that the computer will be able to keep up with upgrades though.  My current computer is a dell xps which is still fast but the graphics card can't be expanded beyond what I have already done.

Ok just saw your post and was wondering if you were willing to get a new monitor or not. It is not necessary but there is a 28 inch 1900X1200 Hanns-G for 320 dollars.

Edited by Bullseye - 13 Jun 2010 at 10:16am

That air cooler is incredibly quiet and one of the most recommended on the market, it's a top of the line cooler. It will also do better cooling than a bad LC setup. Here is a section of an article from Noctua:


Excellent component cooling
Hanging out at the bottom of the fin-stacks, the NF-P14 fan doesn’t only contribute to the NH-D14’s superb CPU cooling capabilities but also provides massive airflow over surrounding motherboard components and heatsinks, thus ensuring excellent component cooling performance.

From the pics on Coolermaster it looks like 4

When do you plan on ordering it?

Ok James Bond! Just make sure to put up a review

not yet, I have to wait till my exams finish and my grades get back because my dad doesn't want me to get hooked and mess up my finals

EVGA's usually the way to go with mobo's IF you're overclocking, otherwise, meh, who cares lol.

OH, and one thing. If you're gaming AND your doing graphics design, you're gonna have to make a choice. nVidia GeForce cards makes insane cards for playing games, however, they suck at rendering. nVidia FX series cards, found in the Workstation section of DS, are super freaking powerful at rendering, but aren't as good for gaming. So your gonna have to make a choice. Having a GTX480 won't match anywhere near what a FX series card does. A GTX480 has a ton of "stream" processors, which render game graphics, shaders, etc. with each other. A FX card has a lot of CUDA processors, acting similarly to how your computer works. They work in parallel, so it's essentially a "super computer", and it excels in rendering. Rendering game graphics, eh, not top of the line. Which one's more important to you, gaming, or rendering? And are you playing a low impact game, or a high end game?

For COOLING, heh, the fan noise all depends on the fan! I have a venomous X cooler, it's huge, runs a solo fan. Cooled my CPU down 20C from stock, and i can barely hear it. If the fan's too loud, there's actually a really simple fan mod you can to do bump it down from 12v to 7v, or 5v, which slows the fan down, but reduces noise.

HAF X supports 7 hard drives, 5 internal racks, two hot swap. Alternatively, you can remove the two hot swap racks, and gain two 5 1/4" bays. Honestly, screw the HAF X, go with the HAF 932 if you really want airflow. The HAF X should really only be considered if your putting in a 4x SLI. Alternatively, the Raven 1 or the Assassin are also pretty good cases, with quiet and effective airflow.

Two 1TB hard drives? Why not just go with one 2TB hard drive and stuff in a nice SSD for boot? o.o it'll cost a little more, but it'll perform a helluva lot better.

Swap out the TV Tuner for a PCI-E variant, internal cards are usually more reliable and they look better than a USB stick jutting out anyways

NO MORE FINALS FOR ME! WOOOOO
ahh, crap, wait, I still have those regents tests -_- I have geometry exploding out of my head now, lol

Still under $3k
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=414274


Edited by ablahblah - 13 Jun 2010 at 12:11pm

OOOOh so lucky! I have math 2moro and History the day after!!!

cool thanks any particular ssd manufacturer you would recommend?

Ok thanks everyone for your assistance.  Here is what I think will be my final build, I think going with the SSD will just push me a little over budget so that may be an upgrade down the road.  Any further input?

Here you go Click here to see build (Price is 2916)

You can always over clock a CPU. It would be way better to get a SSD

Some people in the forums have OC'd their 920's to 4.4!

ok that looks awesome, one final question (I hope) is the Noctua NH-D14 compatible with the Motherboard (EVGA w/3 SLI)? it says something about it not being compatible but I'm not sure

ok yeah i am willing to spend a little more for the extra slot, thanks

putting in a 2TB 64MB cache hard drive with the ATI system would bring it $50 over $3k

i dont really think a bit more cache matters though, lol, after 32MB, no one really cares