Soon to purchase a DS System!

A little bit of a back-story to things: The reason behind my getting of this computer is a form of self-reward. I spent the last two years taking care of my terminal grandmother and doing my best to keep her happy and situated while family worked and this home that I am living in currently, is sold. Before her becoming terminal from having worked in a place for 15 years that had all forms of mold that ruined her lungs - I had taken care of my grandfather for five years until he had passed from heart-failure. So, this computer and the ventures I take with it are a reward to myself and I also figured instead of buying all the parts and assembling a computer - I would rather buy one from DS(For awhile I considered others, but kept coming back here) and have their warranty, service, and community.

Budget: Desktop budget: $13,000.00

Expectations: A high end gaming, video-editing, and rendering PC with long lastability(I made a word!) and the ability to break high levels of FPS with lots of AA.

Usage: Gaming at 2560x1440p, video recording, video-editing, and rendering.

Special Needs: Not exactly special needs, but more so wants for the system and that is as listed under the expectations and usage. If this thing succeeds where I hope it will - then happy days!

Random inquiry: I've only one consideration to change in this build and that is the 8.1 pro. My random inquiry is if 8.1 runs similar to 7 in the sense of start menu functionality to access computer, disk, programs associated in said disk and etc. Or if there's a 'difficult' or drawn-out learning curve to 8.1? Thank you!

Specifications:

Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 4930K 3.4GHz (Unlocked CPU for Extreme Overclocking) (Six-Core)
Motherboard: ASUS Rampage IV Black Edition X79 (Intel X79 Chipset)
System Memory: 32GB DDR3 2400MHz Corsair Dominator Platinum DHX (Extreme-Performance)
Power Supply: 1200W Corsair Pro Platinum Series with Corsair Link (CP-9020008-NA) (Quad SLI Compatible)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Optical Drive: Blu-Ray & DVD Writer/Reader (Burn + Play Blu-Ray & DVDs) (12x BD-R)
Storage Set 1: 1x SSD (256GB Samsung 840 Pro)
Storage Set 2: 1x SSD (1TB Samsung 840 EVO)
Storage Set 3: 1x Storage (4TB Western Digital - Black Edition)
RAID Config: - No Thanks
RAID Card: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Graphics Card(s): 3x SLI Triple (NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN Black 6GB (Includes PhysX)
Sound Card: Creative Sound Blaster ZxR (Ultimate in Audio Playback and Creation)
HPC Processor: - No Thanks
Extreme Cooling: H20: HydroLux Level 4: Digital Storm Exotic Custom Cooling System (3x Video Cards + CPU + Chipset)
H20 Tube Color: Blue Tubing with High-Performance Fluid (UV Lighting Reactive)
Chassis Fans: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Blue) (Up to 6 Fans)
Internal Lighting: Digital Storm RGB LED Lighting System (Requires Thermal Management Control Board & Software)
Airflow Control: Digital Storm Thermal Management Control Board & Software
Chassis Mods: Hailstorm II: Bottom Baseplate Mod (Cleaner Wiring Look & DS Logo Branding)
Noise Reduction: Noise Suppression Package Stage 2 (Optimized Airflow & Fan Speeds with Noise Dampening Material)
LaserMark: - No Thanks
CPU Boost: Stage 2: Overclock CPU 4.5GHz to 4.8GHz (Requires High-End Motherboard Selection)
Graphics Boost: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Memory Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
OS Boost: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 8.1 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Recovery Tools: Windows Recovery Toolkit (Bundled with Windows CD)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: Microsoft Office 2013 Home and Student (PC Attach Key PKC Only, No Pre-install)
Game: - No Thanks
Display: Asus 24 inch VG248QE Series (144Hz Refresh Rate) (Black) (1ms Response Time) (LED Backlight)
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
Portable Gaming: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: Digital Storm Premium T-Shirt - Black (Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 10-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Care with 6 Year Limited Warranty (6 Year Labor & 4 Year Part Replacement)

Hi, me again! Only reason that display is there is to hold things over until the ROG Swift comes out - may actually wait until that or the Titan Z are out before purchasing this machine. Tell me your thoughts!

I think the second EVO SSD is kind of overkill, unless you intend to keep lots of games installed at the same time. I also don't think you need an external audio solution, the motherboard audio section is isolated and sports a high performance DAC (120 dB SNR, -107 dB THD+N (Max. 192 kHz/ 24 -bit)).

I would also suggest waiting for the Asus ROG Swift monitor, before upgrading your monitor. It should be out soonish ;-).

Also, is this an Aventum or a Hailstorm build? The base plate is only for the Hailstorm, I believe.

It doesn't look like it is currently available yet, but Corsair does list on their website the AX-1500i power supply. That might be something you want to consider.

Edited by danjw1 - 26 Apr 2014 at 2:31pm

Hello, y'all! Sorry I've not replied to this thread in a bit. My current computer experienced a total windows error, software and driver loss, so I spent days screwing around with it. Finally is working and only with 75% performance decrease!

Originally posted by danjw1 I think the second EVO SSD is kind of overkill, unless you intend to keep lots of games installed at the same time.

It got me thinking though...I should buy a second SSD when a 500GB+ goes on sale so I can stock up on games. lol

Originally posted by UffDa Originally posted by danjw1 I think the second EVO SSD is kind of overkill, unless you intend to keep lots of games installed at the same time. It got me thinking though...I should buy a second SSD when a 500GB+ goes on sale so I can stock up on games. lol

Honestly if you can afford an SSD for game storage or video file storage - you can't go wrong. The lifespans on SSD's now-a-days are tremendously long as compared to a decade ago.

Originally posted by SurvivorNVL I do have a question to you, Sir Alex! And the question is that - SLI splits the processes across multiple GPU's, right? So, even though VRAM does not stack - if you are using over 3 gigs of VRAM and you have 3 graphics cards that have 3gb of vram - each one will only have a load of 1gb per? I am asking as I have considered lowering my GPU from 3x Titan Black to 3x 780ti.

That's not how it works. Basically if you have three cards that have a 3GB buffer, the memory buffer for each card is 3GB, it does not get split into 1GB per card.

However, it's not like with three 3GB cards you now have 9GB of video memory directly available, it's all done with NVIDIA's SLI scaling technology.

Eh. I think I understand it - the point of SLI is primarily performance gain and increase. So, if you're going to use over 3gb of VRAM - 3 cards aren't really doing any difference other than smooth performance. So, sticking with 6gb cards unless 780ti has a 6gb version from EVGA in the future.

Not all games support SLI. For games that do not the additional cards will only be used for secondary processing (i.e. anti-aliasing). SLI will only use the memory of one of the cards.

Edited by danjw1 - 30 Apr 2014 at 9:21am

Originally posted by SurvivorNVL Looking at the soon to be out Haswell-e and Asus showing their new mobo's - how quickly would D-Storm implement all these new things once they are out? In terms of the configurations. More than likely to 100% wait until the Haswell-e is out and the ROG Swift.

These are the Z97 and H97 boards that are starting to come out are Haswell/Broadwell motherboards socket 1050. So, not the Socket 2011(v2?), that will be Haswell-E. To the best of my knowledge Haswell-E is slated for the second half of this year, so at least another month, and likely longer. Hopefully we will hear more about availability around Computex (June 3rd).

Edited by danjw1 - 03 May 2014 at 4:01pm

One more thing, some newer Haswell CPUs will be coming soonish, from what I have read. They will sport a better thermal interface within the chip's package, which should allow the them to run cooler (read overclock better). These will be Socket 1050(desktop) not 2011(extreme).

Edited by danjw1 - 04 May 2014 at 7:58am

Originally posted by Dax Doomslayer From what they are saying, the Intel Haswell refresh will have a May 11th ship date and the Devil's Canyon unlocked CPU's will be June 2nd.  http://www.cpu-world.com/news_2014/2014042101_Intel_Devil_s_Canyon_unlocked_CPUs_to_launch_on_June_2.html

Yeah. More than likely going to hold out to see how the performance, thermal output and the sort is with the Devil's Canyon CPU's. Will probably only need to wait a few weeks after that for the ROG Swift to be out(If it does come out in June). Going to be sweet

Originally posted by SurvivorNVL Just a random thing to throw out and around, but the thought of Sandisk releasing a 4tb SSD this year and then higher models by 2015--the thought of it is marvelous. Maybe by 2016 or 2017 SSD's will be $100 for 1tb or $300 for a 4tb :P.

That 4TB SSD is intended targeted at the enterprise market. As such it is going to be very pricey.

Originally posted by Nav Originally posted by SurvivorNVL Looking at the soon to be out Haswell-e and Asus showing their new mobo's - how quickly would D-Storm implement all these new things once they are out? In terms of the configurations. More than likely to 100% wait until the Haswell-e is out and the ROG Swift. As soon as they are officially available, we will offer them.

As a question; how common is it for people to special order their comp with configurations that're not listed on the DS Config? Like wanting for 3 R9 290x's in crossfire and the sort or even wanting to attempt the 'hybrid' crossfire solution as shown in a recent test DS had conducted?

Thank you, ahead of time.

Originally posted by SurvivorNVL Been doing some web-searching and customizing on the website and pretty decided on the Aventum II and more than likely with a white coating. I have some difficulty making out how the Pure White Matte Finish would look on the Aventum II, and there are very little pictures across the web. Guess the question in mind is if it looks similar to the -gorgeousness- of the Black Sheep that was done for xii on the original Aventum? Thank you in advance ^_^

The reason you'll not find many pictures like that is because this is a family site and that's just pure pornography. Really, most of us would get nothing done all day if those pictures were all over the web. Wow... Just thinking about the pure awesomesauce called the "Aventum II" just makes me want to sell the house, the cars, the kids, the wife and run off to be in Aventum-heaven...

Originally posted by SurvivorNVL Originally posted by Snaike Originally posted by SurvivorNVL Been doing some web-searching and customizing on the website and pretty decided on the Aventum II and more than likely with a white coating. I have some difficulty making out how the Pure White Matte Finish would look on the Aventum II, and there are very little pictures across the web. Guess the question in mind is if it looks similar to the -gorgeousness- of the Black Sheep that was done for xii on the original Aventum? Thank you in advance ^_^ The reason you'll not find many pictures like that is because this is a family site and that's just pure pornography. Really, most of us would get nothing done all day if those pictures were all over the web. Wow... Just thinking about the pure awesomesauce called the "Aventum II" just makes me want to sell the house, the cars, the kids, the wife and run off to be in Aventum-heaven... There's no joke to that. I found and looked at all the pictures of the old Aventum Black Sheep build for Xii and good god it is gorgeous and just looks like sheer bliss. Definitely getting an Aventum II soon after a few more things release to the market after Computex. Overall though - very interested to see what the Pure White Matte looks like on an Aventum or if I should just custom paint job. x3

I ordered mine in white,(not custom paint just the other option to the black one)
and it hopefully will arrive this week.
I'll do my best to post pics(friday would be the earliest though)

Originally posted by Kinesis Originally posted by SurvivorNVL Originally posted by Snaike Originally posted by SurvivorNVL Been doing some web-searching and customizing on the website and pretty decided on the Aventum II and more than likely with a white coating. I have some difficulty making out how the Pure White Matte Finish would look on the Aventum II, and there are very little pictures across the web. Guess the question in mind is if it looks similar to the -gorgeousness- of the Black Sheep that was done for xii on the original Aventum? Thank you in advance ^_^ The reason you'll not find many pictures like that is because this is a family site and that's just pure pornography. Really, most of us would get nothing done all day if those pictures were all over the web. Wow... Just thinking about the pure awesomesauce called the "Aventum II" just makes me want to sell the house, the cars, the kids, the wife and run off to be in Aventum-heaven... There's no joke to that. I found and looked at all the pictures of the old Aventum Black Sheep build for Xii and good god it is gorgeous and just looks like sheer bliss. Definitely getting an Aventum II soon after a few more things release to the market after Computex. Overall though - very interested to see what the Pure White Matte looks like on an Aventum or if I should just custom paint job. x3 I ordered mine in white,(not custom paint just the other option to the black one) and it hopefully will arrive this week. I'll do my best to post pics(friday would be the earliest though)

That is sweet I am going away on friday, but when I get back on monday or maybe even sunday - I will check it out. If the normal white you can get instead of the black is gorgeous - think that's what I will go with. Put as many pics out there, Kinesis

Yes it can! As long as the motherboard has enough PCI-E slots.

Sure thing bud! I found this on our forums: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/forums/featured-systems-tidf14269-pnf10/