Purchase date is Aug 15th - Lets start discussing!

I will clicky those selections for you so people can get at your ideas a bit easier.

Still a while to go and a lot of price drops and the introduction of the 4870X2 will happen before your purchase date..

Definitely get a quad core but stay away from the Extreme chips...

I'd suggest 4GB of ram since a lot of newer games such as Age of Conan and Crysis are massive memory whores.

I'd also look into CrossfireX or SLI config for a 1900x1200 resolution. Some games such as Crysis will be quite demanding on a single card at that resolution.

Hey thanks,

Good point - How about this: This my dream machine ... I wouldn't really mind spending this much if its going to be amazing to game on for the future.


Total Price with Instant Savings: $4,312.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=164213

Specifications:
Chassis: Digital Storm 850Si
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Power Supply: 1000W Cooler Master (Real Power Edition) (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 2.66GHz (1333MHz FSB) (12MB Cache)
Motherboard: nVidia 790i Ultra Core 2 Quad (nForce 790i Ultra SLI) (DDR3 Only)
System Memory: 4GB DDR3 Corsair at 1333MHz
Card Reader: - No Thanks
Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive 2: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Raid Option: Setup hard drive 1 and hard drive 2 in a Raid 1 Mirror Configuration (Expert)
Hard Drive 3: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-ROM/CD-ROM (DVD Reader 16x / CD Reader 40x)
Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB)
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: Air Cooled Stage 3 WindTunnel (Copper Heatpipe Heatsink & Additional Case Fans)
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Modifications: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: Yes, Overclock memory timings (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed)
Tweak Windows: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) (For Enthusiasts)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
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 my keyboard comes with a mouse
External Storage: - No Thanks
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

If your logic for going RAID 1 is fear of a drive failure, remember that the raptors already are more reliable than the average HDD. If you want further reliability, go with the velociraptor. For the best reliability and performance, go with SSD. They're expensive now, but prices will drop, and the MTBF for an SDD is an order of magnitude longer than that of even the best HDD. Barring fire or other disaster, you can safely say that an SSD will last you a lifetime.

Soon, both SSD and graphics cards will go down in price and you may find a primo rig well within your price range.

4k shopping spree

Edited by !ender_ - 05 Jul 2008 at 11:08am

!ender - I liked your config. I made a minor tweak by dropping the second HD (I have plenty of external space), which brought the price in the 3.8K range.

Here's that config: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=164289

Bismark - I liked your config as well, except I'm not sold on the video cards - I've never had ATI and I don't follow them. I did like your idea about the SSD though.

As far as waiting, yeah, I will have to restart this thread when I goto order, but I'm basically getting familiar with where technology is right now, and that makes it easier to jump into configuring the machines in a month. I'll be closely watching DS's site, along with reading all my gaming and tech magazines.

So, I've decided that 4K is my limit. = ]

Thanks again,

- sk


Here's one for 4.1K
http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=164290

Sweet setup I think, but I know the price will come down in the next month and maybe be attainable for 4K.

My first graphic card was an ATI rage fury, it wasnt too bad really. Id say the best thing to do with a build that far into the future is just get the basics down, AKA what case you want, what powersupply, and what extras you want like overclocking.