Review of my system (lots of pics as well)

First off I would like to thank all the forum members and DS employees who have answered questions and offered suggestions as I was determining my build. Shortly after I started looking at DS for my new system the original round of back to school specials came available and I decided I would either get the extreme 3 or build a custom system with that same budget.

Here is what I ultimately decided upon:

Specifications: 
Chassis Model: Cooler Master HAF 932
Processor: Intel Core i7 920 2.66GHz (Quad Core) 
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or 
CrossFire) 
System Memory: 6GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified by mushkin enhanced 
(Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent 
Edition) 
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB 
Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Player/DVD Writer (Play Blu-Ray and Burn DVDs) 
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / 
Network Connections)
Video Card: 2x SLI Dual (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 275 896MB (Includes PhysX 
Technology) 
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 2: Noctua NH-U12P High Performance Cooler 
(Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors) 
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Blue) (Up to 6 Fans) 
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Green) 
Enhancements: LCD NZXT Sentry LX Temperature Display & Fan Controller (Requires 
Chassis Airflow Upgrade) 
Boost Processor: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz 
(Requires Air Cooling Upgrade) 
Boost Memory: Memory Fan Kit Only (Does not include memory overclocking service) 
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium (64-Bit Edition) With Windows 7 
Upgrade Coupon
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty


Total cost $2753


Here is the stage 7 update with my testing results:

Stage 7: (QA Passed)
Your order has successfully passed our stringent quality assurance process. 
Everything from top to bottom on your purchase has been verified by an 
experienced Digital Storm technician.

-------------------------------------------
Testing Details By: Chris
-------------------------------------------

Processor Temperatures

Idle: 30C
Overnight Load: 74C
Important Notice: Overclocked systems will definitely run hotter than stock 
units. Your unit has been tested to be fully stable in our stress-test facility 
at these temperatures.

Overclocked Processor Settings

Processor Speed GHz: 3.75
CPU Multiplier: 20
Voltage CPU VCore: 1.365
VDroop Control: Yes
i7 - BCLK MHz: 179
i7 - Voltage QPI\DRAM: auto
i7 - Voltage QPI\PLL: auto
i7 - Voltage CPU VTT: 150
i7 - Voltage IOH Vcore: auto
i7 - Voltage ICH Vcore: auto
i7 - Voltage IOH/ICH I/O: auto
i7 - PWM Frequency: auto
780i/790i - Memory Clock Mode: 
780i/790i - CPU FSB MHz: 
780i/790i - Voltage FSB: 
780i/790i - Voltage SPP: 
780i/790i - Voltage MCP: 

Motherboard BIOS: S711
Video Card Driver: 190.62
Chipset Driver: CD
Sound Card Driver: CD

Very happy with the 3.75 overclock!

I placed the order on a Monday and it shipped out that same Friday. On Thursday I was refreshing the Fed Ex page from work every 30 minutes and they attempted delivery at 12:46pm. I called Fed Ex to ask if I could pick it up that night, but they said no dice I would have to get it the next day. I was of course crushed and I figured I would go up to the Fed Ex location and try to bribe them that night. Well lo and behold the doorbell rang at 4:30 and it was the Fed Ex truck! The driver just decided on his own to try a second delivery. I told the guy he made my day and ran inside with the box. I documented everything as I have seen the crowds with torches and pitchforks for those who do not post pics.

The package:


First opening:


Safe and secure:


Accessories:


Custom binder:


Almost there...:


Unpacked at last:


Expandable packing kept everything safe:


Side open view:


From the back:


NZXT close up:


Desk set up from above:
Monitor is brand new Hanns G 27.5" (freaking awesome!)
Keyboard is Saitek Cyborg
Mouse is Razer Death Adder


Side view:


From above:


From the front:


Numbers:


After a few hours of Crysis:


Crysis set at 1900x1200
All settings on high
8x AA
It looks gorgeous!:


Here is the link to my photobucket album if you want to view larger images there:
http://s160.photobucket.com/albums/t174/Photon55/Computer/










Edited by Phoolish - 05 Sep 2009 at 4:21pm

Congratz on your new pc.I like your tower.

Yeah they were supposed to replace the red fan with another blue one. It slipped through the quality control. I did write them to let them know and they offered to send me a blue fan to replace it.

Just lets you see they employ humans and not computer building cyborgs.

dont changeit!
the red mixed with bluish green loooook sooo goodddd
that front pic had me drooling

Great system man, enjoy your rig!

It is actually a glass top. My wife and I bought a pair of them a couple years ago. It has a pretty simple frame and then a glass top. Slide out keyboard tray and a computer tray that hangs down underneath. You can set those up on either side. I just switched desks with my wife so my side window would be facing the room. I had to take the computer holding tray off as the HAF 932 is too beastly to be contained hehe. I can take a couple more pics if you want to show the desk better. I believe we bought them at Fry's.

Very nice congrats

Congrats! Looks great 

>>I documented everything as I have seen the crowds with torches and pitchforks for those who do not post pics.<<

ive been thinking of doing a similar setup as well. id appreciate the video if you could :)

Very Nice RIG....

very nice setup and eye candy rig ^_^ ....

Awesome Rig ^^ Looking like what i builded on the website at first ^^

I believe it is 2 slots and I do like the digital read outs.

I found out on another forum, the readout takes up 2 slots and the sensors are metal encased in plastic. You have to put the sensors where you want them, they don't read off the motherboard at all.