Returning DS Cust. Upgrade time

Hello, I am a returning customer looking for a new rig (GF wants current DS rig, loves the pretty lights inside).

I am a hardcore gamer, mainly MMO titles such as WoW and especially upcoming SWtor. I usually keep rigs for several years. My current rig was a OC 920 i7 with geforce 295 GTX 6gb ram. I am looking for a rig with primary drive as a SSD. 80GB would be too small for OS, apps, and games.

Question 1: from a 295 GTX should I get 580 gtx board or save almost 200 and settle with 570 gtx?

Question 2: For CPU should I settle with a OC 2600 or get i7 950?

I have no plans going SLI as this does not fit my needs as most games I am involved with are MMO titles or strategy such as Total War series. I do play FPS such as upcoming DNF and BC2. For other needs I do office work that is simple but nothing involving major power such as cad or animation work. Basic word, powerpoint, etc.

Look forward to everyones advise.

Budget:
within 2500 to 3k if possible



Saved Ticket #: 482069

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 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 Deluxe (Intel P67 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 8GB 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: 1x (160GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1002FAEX)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (Lite-On iHBS112)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 580 1.5GB (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: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Blue) (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 4.0GHz to 4.7GHz (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: 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 (Xtra 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. your 295 was is pointless for your mmo games, as its in dual sli, you have been using pretty much one of the cores for wow and other mmos, a 570 even is too much for mmos, so forget the 580., what res you gaming at?

2. 2600k, tho for mmos, a 2500k is all you need.


that build does not offer best performance for your money, also I put the oc down since you won't notice the difference in your games from higher oc then 3.9GHz.

Here you go Ticket# 482236 --- $2522 (To see this build click here)

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 (Intel P67 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 8GB 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 (160GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1002FAEX)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Writer/Reader (Burn and Play Blu-Ray Discs)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
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: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Overclock the processor between 3.6GHz to 3.9GHz
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: - No Thanks
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

this system is $800 less and will offer you the same performance in your mmo games as your build and possibly better case temps.

don't go with asetek its not a real LC system and its performance is the same as good air coolers, the upgraded fans are loud, instead get the big 200mm led fans for the haf, its fron is red led, the top is not led, and the side can fit one also, so just tell DS specifically to get replacet the top fan with your choice of led fan (red or blue) and the same thing with the side.

the fans can be found here, make sure you specifically ask for these and not the DS upgraded led fans.

here are the fans you would want to change/add you want the 200 x 30.

Thanks for the reply. I have a 24 inch at 1920 x 1080 resolution in HDMI as I use the system for Blue Ray as well.

I hear there is a better monitor other then LCD available. I understand this is IPS that includes a sharper picture.

Thanks for the advise. I appreciate it. After reviewing the games I plan on playing (MMO, FPS, Stradegy, etc). I find that having a primary drive SSD with games, OS, apps i run will not be big enough. So I modified your suggested build with the one below to have just a 80GB SSD for OS and apps, second SSD drive 120GB for games, and third HDD drive for storage. I do need a Blueray player with write ability.

Also even if 70% of the game time is on MMO tiles, would a GTX 580 be a better investment for FPS titles such as DNF, Crysis 2, BF3 ect for max settings down the road on those titles, or just stick with the 570 as the 580 will give no further gains for my needs? This is of course running on 1920 x 1080 resolution of course. No plans to use a monitor with higher resolution then that.

Ticket 482639

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 2600K 3.40GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Quad Core)
Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 (Intel P67 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s)
System Memory: 8GB 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 (80GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (160GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition) (Extreme Performance)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: 1x (1TB Western Digital Caviar (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (Model: Black Edition WD1002FAEX)
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R) (Lite-On iHBS112)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 570 1.2GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler
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: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Red)
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Overclock the processor between 3.6GHz to 3.9GHz
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: 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 (Xtra 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

Edited by blackcatfoe - 29 Jan 2011 at 11:07pm

Thanks for the reply. However calculating my current drive space and needs I am finding 160GB SSD will still be too little. I found a SSD 240GB Corsair versus Intel. Would getting this instead of an Intel a mistake? I am seeing across multiple forums that it is Intel or nothing.

OS + APPS + Games = exceeds 160GB currently. WoW alone takes up almost 30GB on my current rigs drive.

Would this be a better approach or get SSD for HHD1 for OS and APPS at 80GB and have HDD2 for SSD 160GB intel with HDD3 1TB for storage?

Edited by blackcatfoe - 03 Feb 2011 at 1:26am