Yet another c&#111;nfigurati&#111;n to review

DS ELITE

Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 36758

Quote

Posted: 09 Aug 2008 at 6:13pm

liquid cooling is best if you are going to OC but I hear stage 3 fan is OK also (but not as good as liquid cooling).

now, as far as cases go, they say 850si is best for air cooling and 950si is best for water cooling. For me, I would get the 850si with liquid cooling. I don't know much about Cosmso S.

as for memory, I would recommend 4GB but get a lower speed, and then your asking DS to OC the memory anyways, so get a 1333 ram and they will OC it to match the OC processor, I believe.

Please keep in mind that I'm a power user and not a gamer, so I tend to go more for power then graphics.

Edited by DST4ME - 09 Aug 2008 at 10:56pm

Nvidia Drivers----AMD Drivers

SunfighterLC View Drop Down

DS Veteran

Joined: 18 Feb 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 1527

Quote

Posted: 09 Aug 2008 at 10:42pm

Cosmos S is good for water cooling, good for air cooling, and wins in looks =P. Side panels are a complete pain the ass though...and there is no mobo tray, so changing out motherboards could be quite the pain..as well as CPU coolers.

E8500@ 4.03Ghz
XFX 790i Ultra
1000W Corsair HX
2 280 GTX EVGA FTW
4GB OCZ Reaper 1800Mhz
250-80-300GB VR HD
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers
Asus Xonar 7.1
Hanns-G HG 281D 28" HDMI Monitor

mcs07

Newbie

Joined: 25 Jul 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 27

Quote

Posted: 09 Aug 2008 at 11:00pm

forget the keyboard mouse and save yourself 30 bucks..go for a razer set up

widdlecat

DS Veteran

Joined: 11 Mar 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 840

Quote

Posted: 10 Aug 2008 at 2:40am

Since you're going to OC, the better the cooling, the better your results... within limits. Stage 2 will give limited OC capability, while liquid will give the best. Stage 3 will be in between, obviously. The zalman hsf and additional fans that stage 3 offers, is a significant step up in cooling over stage 2.

The 950 (silverstone TJ09) is roomier than the 850 coolermaster stacker, but the 850's side is pretty much wide open and with stage 3 cooling consists of 4 120mm fans. Yeah, a wall of fans hehe. The TJ09 has a more visually transparent window on the side and excellent graphics card cooling. I don't know what other fans are installed on the TJ09 with stage 3 cooling, however.

SPA Man

Senior Member

Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 113

Quote

Posted: 10 Aug 2008 at 11:04am

So far, I guess my changes would be:

Case - 850 to the 950
Memory - 2GB DDR3 Corsair at 1600MHz DHX (High-Performance) to 4 GB DDR3 Corsair 1033
Cooling - Stage 2 to Liquid Chilled Frostbite CPU only

and since I am going from air to water cooled, I guess I should get the NVIDIA ESA System?

So my "updated" config looks like this (changes in red):

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis: Digital Storm 950Si
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Power Supply: 860W PC Power & Cooling (ESA Edition) (Dual 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: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive 2: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Raid Option: - No Thanks
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)
Wireless Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite CPU Only
Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
Modifications: NVIDIA Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA) System (Install, Test, Optimize Computer)
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: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the 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: Microsoft Multimedia Desktop 2.0 (Multimedia Keyboard + Optical Wheel Mouse)
Mouse: - No Thanks my keyboard comes with a mouse
External Storage: - No Thanks
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

Man, you guys like to spend my money - LOL

TomD

Groupie

Joined: 22 Jun 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 289

Quote

Posted: 10 Aug 2008 at 11:51am

I have the Corsair 1333 DDR3 RAM and had zero luck improving the clock speed. Even 1400 gave me BSOD so I left it at stock. Maybe you will have better luck. At any rate I would definately chose 4GB 1333 over 2GB 1600. More RAM > Faster RAM.

On the 950i Case, although the 850i I am sure would be fine as well.

On the Liquid Cooling.

ESA I don't think is really necessary if you are looking to cut costs. It looks like a nice monitoring tool, but doesn't seem to add much you can't do with freeware utilities. Maybe I am missing something about it.

Not sure if DSO has updated pricing/configs yet for the new Intel Chips, but the 9550 dropped in price and the 9450 was discontinued. Depending on when you order you may need to re-evalute the CPU. The 9450 was replaced with a dumbed down version 9400 - same speed as 9450 but smaller cache. The 9550 is preferable if the 9450 is not available.

Lastly, I would consider the Velociraptor over the standard Raptor if you can fit it in the budget (By dropping ESA?). Its faster than the regular Raptor and 300GB vs. 150GB. You could put your more demanding games on it with the OS and use the 2nd drive for less HD intense games and general storage.

Looks like a great build! I am sure you will enjoy it.

And yes we do like to spend money - especially other people's money.

Tom

TomD

Groupie

Joined: 22 Jun 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 289

Quote

Posted: 10 Aug 2008 at 12:14pm

Widdlecate wrote:

I don't know what other fans are installed on the TJ09 with stage 3 cooling, however.

Stage 3 with the TJ09 includes:

1. The stock Silverstone front fan recessed in the case to more directly blow on the Videocard area. This will be the same regardless of Stage 1,2,3.

2. Two Zalman 120mm in the top blowing into the case at the CPU and RAM.

3. One Zalman 120mm for the exhaust.

The HSF is the stock OCZ fan. I think its the same regardless of Stage 2 vs. Stage 3, unless Stage 2 ships with an even cheaper HSF ($26.99 at Newegg for the OCZ Vanquisher).

So basically Stage 2 to Stage 3 just gets 3 upgraded fans on the TJ09 as far as I can tell.

SPA Man

Senior Member

Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 113

Quote

Posted: 11 Aug 2008 at 9:14am

Thanks for the comments.

I do have another question (probably not the last LOL

).

The power supply - If I eventually go with two graphic cards (sli), will the 860W I selected be OK or should I go with a bigger one?

If 1000W is your answer, which one?

Nickdapimp View Drop Down

Senior Member

Joined: 24 Jun 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 324

Quote

Posted: 11 Aug 2008 at 9:28am

1000W HX

SPA Man

Senior Member

Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 113

Quote

Posted: 11 Aug 2008 at 7:01pm

OK, This looks like "the" config for me":

Copy of Specifications:
Chassis: Digital Storm 850Si
Exterior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Interior Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Power Supply: 1000W Corsair HX (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: Internal Digital Media Card Reader (Black)
Hard Drive 1: 150GB Western Digital Raptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Hard Drive 2: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Raid Option: - No Thanks
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)
Wireless Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 280 1GB
TV Tuner: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: Liquid Chilled FrostBite CPU Only
Internal Lighting: Blizzard Internal Lighting (Blue Edition) (Cold Cathode Tubes)
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: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the 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: Microsoft Multimedia Desktop 2.0 (Multimedia Keyboard + Optical Wheel Mouse)
Mouse: - No Thanks my keyboard comes with a mouse
External Storage: - No Thanks
Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty

$3,517.00

SPA Man

Senior Member

Joined: 17 Jul 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 113

Quote

Posted: 11 Aug 2008 at 7:24pm

Yeah - Whats another $226.

Like I said earlier - you guys like to spend my money Ouch

DST4ME