suggestions on a 2500 usd build

i chose the hafx x case for these reasons:
Better cooling
Great for upgrades
HAS air filters

keep in mind you still need to clean regularly at least every 3 months. if you don't clean the filters you can clog your pc and suffocate it. if you don't wnat the filters then the haf 932 is the other casse you want. these are the 2 best air cooled cases they offer.

drives with density higher then 1tb have issues with the density of the wafers. therefore they have higher drive failure rates. it is better to get 2x 1tb then 1 2x tb

Price: 2425
ticket number: 446326

Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master 942 HAF X
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 950 3.06GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 SLI 3 Edition (Intel X58 Chipset) (Features USB 3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s) (Model: 131-GT-E767)
System Memory: 6GB 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 (40GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Model: X-25V Edition) (Extreme Performance)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: 1x (1TB Hitachi/Seagate (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache)
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x NVIDIA GeForce GTX 480 1.5GB (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Champion (Includes Front I/O) (PCI-Express Slot Based)
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua NH-U12P SE Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (i7 Processors Only)
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: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: FREE: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
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: Starcraft II (Tryout Edition) 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 (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 Raif - 07 Oct 2010 at 8:56pm

id do that a little differently

Edited by !ender_ - 07 Oct 2010 at 9:15pm

thanks for the input !ender.
my main concern with the case isnt noise. its the dust. i went the rv02 way because of how easy it is to clean the filters. i dont know if the haf offers the same ease of cleaning. if it does im all for it.
also, i see you went a very different way. would you mind explaining your choices so i can learn a bit? i am very lost with the cpu mobo bundle you chose because i simply dont know them and, id like to know how much more performance i would be getting with the sli 470 vs the single 480.
thanks for the help!.

you will be seeing higher avg and max fps but lower min fps. this is due to the latency from the gpu to gpu communication via the sli bridge.

the p55 platform is very good, similar to the x58 the main diff in performance is with sli. he chose a cheaper platform and cheaper cpu to be able to get the 3x 370 is sli in your budget.

he also changed the ssd from 80 gb to 40 gb. i don't recommend the 40 b/c it is enough for the os and apps but nothing else. with the 80 you can also put a few games on there too. the games you would put on it are constantly changing maps or constantly loading games. otehrwise there is no need to put them on a ssd and the hdd would be just fine for them

i do not know about the cleaning of the haf x filters, sorry


Edited by Raif - 07 Oct 2010 at 9:40pm

it doesnt, but even with filters, you need to clean out the inside. youll just have to clean more often with the haf case

the haf cases are open air cases, therefore the noise dampening really wont help in terms of stage 2. stage one they put resistors int he fans to make them operate at a lower rate, thus reducing noise at the cost of cooling.

we haven't had any noise complaints with the haf cases. 90% of your noise will comes from your gpu fans.

bonuses of ssd:
faster boot
faster install
faster removal
faster load
no moving parts
less power consumed
no defrag required (using this will hurt the ssd as well)
faster scans

even putting multi raptors in raid 0 wont even touch a ssd in performance. also the intel ssd line can reach 98% full with little to no performance degradation. with a trad hdd you will start to notice it 50%, 75% you lose major speed and forget about filling it.

oh there is another down side to the sli that i forgot to mention. games like gta4 and metro 2033 need 1.5gb of vram to put it at its highest settings. game like this will happen more and more/ with a 470 you have 1.2 of vram so you can put it on high at least. you also can't combine 2x 470 and think you have 2.4 gb of vram only the first gpu counts towards vram.

your best bet is always to get the fastest and best single card solution available. yes it isn't as powerful but replacing 2x 470 in the future will cost more then replacing 1 480. in the next few years you may want to change your gpu. would you rather replace 2 cards or 1? your cpu will be current for longer then your gpu. a gamer is more dependent on gpu power over cpu power.


Edited by Raif - 07 Oct 2010 at 10:25pm

both methods have their pros in cons  sli vs no sli you just need to weigh your options

each will have power in different areas and weakness in diff areas

i know ssd has no gaming performance unless your loading maps, ect that point is mute


Edited by Raif - 07 Oct 2010 at 10:30pm

that great guys ive really learnt a lot. i got the knowledge i needed and you both helped me to arrive what i consider the best choice for me.
good news to know about the expected price drops on ssd's.
ive never had one and honestly i have never had an issue with loading times. ive always been strict about keeping windows nice and tidy and i guess it has its rewards.

il go without the ssd for now but if i find a good opportunity in the future ill try one for sure.
thanks a lot. it really a pleasure building a rig in these conditions.

as soon as i hit the buy button il make sure to post my final choice. ( i haven't finished getting the 2500 usd but it shouldn't take more than a month.)
 

stacking vram is insignificant next to butter smooth fps at very high res, the only thing ive ever known maxed out vram to impact render distance, both a 480 and 2x470s are very good choices, hard to go wrong either way

i see where your head is but win home prem is all you need unless you are running business programs with xp virtualization

not really you can get pretty good fps off on 1 480 at that resolution with the setting on very high on most games. the exceptions would be crysis, gta 4, metro 2033

tbh in single card resolutions

1920 x 1080/1200 480
1680 x 1080 470

expect to run 40's on avg in fps with sli ( same card as posted in my post) kick it up 20-27

Just my opinion but you can do without that sound card...and use the onboard Sound....it is very good.

And if you dont like it they are easy to install and can be obtained easily.


Edited by MagiK - 09 Oct 2010 at 6:40pm

Consumer Reports and John Stossel once did some research into the big Audio $$$
from their findings it turned out that almost none of the people who participated in the tests could tell the difference in Super high end audio equipment costing tens of thousands of dollars and the midrange consumer products....The real differences they found were in people's inability to properly configure the equipment they had due to lack of technical knowledge.    

But that being said, Im hearing impaired from too much gunfire with no hearing protection, so these days  its all the same to me.


Edited by MagiK - 09 Oct 2010 at 11:10pm

In your opinion, in mine onboard audio is just fine, when was the last time you actually attempted to wring all that you could from onboard audio?  Im running it now on my current rig, Movies and Music sound great, with good speakers or head phones, the only thing I don't get is EAX but thats sound effects not sound quality.

Again audio quality is highly subjective and for people with serious budgetary issues a sound card is one of the easiest things to eliminate from the mix since you have what most people would call as acceptable built in.  If it doesnt suit you you can VERY easily get one at local stores and put it in, it takes less than a half hour...unless you have some kind of jamm packed case that makes it hard.

Not totally disagreeing with you Ender, just that if someone has to make some budget choices I think the sound card is a good option to leave out until you can save up and add it in later.


Edited by MagiK - 10 Oct 2010 at 12:18am

Originally posted by MagiK In your opinion, in mine onboard audio is just fine, when was the last time you actually attempted to wring all that you could from onboard audio?

the roccat kave headphones are made to shake like that.

Well I dont know all the details but one them is the $$$  

Just kidding,   The Creative site doesn't list a Xfi Fatal1ty Professional product, the Champion is listed as a professional grade product


Edited by MagiK - 10 Oct 2010 at 12:59pm