Your thoughts on these specs for new game rig...Post Date: 2010-02-22 |
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ImpressedByDS
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Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Topic: Your thoughts on these specs for new game rig...Posted: 22 Feb 2010 at 10:06pm |
Edited by ImpressedByDS - 23 Feb 2010 at 12:19am |
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 22 Feb 2010 at 10:18pm |
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1. what's your planned resolution? i just noticed it's not a widescreen monitor. are you planning to upgrade any time soon? .. i have a feeling you will be recommended with the ati 5850, if not the 5870.
2. the 6 gb ram DS certified will save you money.
3. switch to the 750w corsair psu. are you planning to crossfire/sli any time soon? if not down the road, then the 750w will do.
4. drop the gpu boost/os boost.
5. drop the windows 7, ultimate and select professional instead.
6. the haf 922 is a great case, so is the haf 932. the only difference between the two is that the haf 932 is a full-tower, but the dimensions of both aren't huge.
DST4ME should be here and set up a configuration for you. Edited by philiporphillip - 22 Feb 2010 at 10:30pm |
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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Exsidium
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Joined: 13 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 166 |
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Posted: 22 Feb 2010 at 11:07pm |
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The main reason everyone recommends professional is for the XP mode, which ultimate also has..so either way works on that (however ultimate is $30 more). Several people here will vouch for the V8 cooler but most will tell you to go with the noctua u12 (listed as the dual 120). Edited by Exsidium - 22 Feb 2010 at 11:15pm |
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 22 Feb 2010 at 11:16pm |
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yes, professional and ultimate both supports xp, but selecting professional is less expensive than ultimate.
Exsidium is right about most prefering the noctua over the v8. i think it goes something like this ..
v8 < noctua u12 < noctua d14 .. in the air cooling section, of course.
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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ImpressedByDS
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Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:08am |
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Thanks for this feedback. I had some follow-up questions for the following suggestions you made:
2. the 6 gb ram DS certified will save you money.
True, but would there be any dropoff in performance from the Corsair Dominator DHX option I chose? 3. switch to the 750w corsair psu. are you planning to
crossfire/sli any time soon? if not down the road, then the 750w will
do.
The one I selected (DS certified) was also 750w and listed as "Dual SLI compatible". I was wondering why you recommend the corsair? The dropdown selection for the one I chose also said 'silent edition recommended', and I'm not sure what that means. Is the DS one noisy? I'm really not sure when I'll add another card. I could see adding a second ATI HD 5850 when the price on that one drops a lot, and before it gets discontinued/unavailable. 4. drop the gpu boost/os boost. Which is the 'gpu boost'? I selected yes for the boost of CPU, Video Card and OS. Why do you recommend dropping these? As for the OS boost, I thought it would be great to have your team help tweak the OS to save on unnecessary background processing while I'm gaming. This stuff can be difficult to decide based on scanning the net for what is really required. So many different opinions out there. |
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:08am |
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your build looks great for your resolution, tho you should change the psu to a 750w corsair if you don't want headaches down the road.
drop gpu oc, you will see no gain from it, the same for the os tweak. change win7 ultimate to win7 pro, you have no use for what ultimate has to offer, it will be a waste of your money. the Noctua NH-U12P cools a little better then the v8 and its a little more quiet, if you can go with it, otherwise the v8 is a great cooler also. Here you go Ticket# 387353 --- Price: $2063 (To see this build click here) Price after current promotion $2063 Copy of Specifications: Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - HAF 922 Exterior Finish: - Not Available Trim Accents: - Not Available 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 Performance Series (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested) Power Supply: 750W Corsair TX (Dual SLI Compatible) Expansion Bay: - Not Available Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (1TB Seagate/Hitachi/Western Digital (7200 RPM) (32MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed) Set 1 Raid Options: - Not Available Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks Optical Drive 1: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 22x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections) Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5850 1GB Add-on Card: - No Thanks Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors) H20 Tube Color:- Not Available Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Blue) Enhancements: - Not Available Chassis Mods: - Not Available Noise Reduction: - Not Available Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Requires Air Cooling Upgrade) Boost Video Card: - Not Available Boost Memory: - Not Available Boost OS: - Not Available Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition) Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based) Virus Protection: - Not Available Office: - Not Available Benchmarking: - Not Available Install/Test Game: FREE: Please include a free copy of a hot-selling game Display: - No Thanks Surge Shield: - No Thanks Speakers: - No Thanks Keyboard: Microsoft Multimedia Desktop 3.0 (Multimedia Keyboard + Optical Wheel Mouse) Mouse: - No Thanks External Storage: - No Thanks Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Large) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-10 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed Warranty: 3 Year Platinum Care Extended Parts & Labor Warranty Edited by DST4ME - 23 Feb 2010 at 12:11am |
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Exsidium
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:12am |
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gpu = video card
no performance difference in the ram
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:15am |
2. no you will not notice the difference. 3. 750w corsair can do cf 5850. Corsair psu has better quality both in delivering power and longevity. 4. look at my config, windows (os) tweak and grahpic card (gpu) boost is dropped. none of us work for DS, we are customers like you. these pcs are beasts, they can run 4 or more instances of win7 and not even flinch, so disabling some services will make no difference what so ever to your gaming,that is fact and not an opinion. you might notice a tiny difference in the os itself but as far as games and apps there will be zero difference. Edited by DST4ME - 23 Feb 2010 at 12:16am |
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:28am |
DST4ME beat me to it, but like he mentioned, 1 - 4, he is right. sorry for the lack of explanation in the beginning.
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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ImpressedByDS
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Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:30am |
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Great Stuff! thanks so much to all three of you who have looked at my config.
Some other questions i've been pondering 1. what antivirus software would one add to this beast? and why do you recommend that software? 2. i threw in the MS keyboard and mouse (only selection available) but am rethinking this. Can you recommend a keyboard and/or mouse for gaming - nothing too extreme or costly? |
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:31am |
i should back up DST4ME's 'opinion' with this fact ..
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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ImpressedByDS
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Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:36am |
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and another one -
Does anyone recommend a special surge shield / power strip? I have a good power strip but I don't want to find out too late that it is not sufficient protection. |
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:37am |
1. eset security b/c it uses less system resources and it's a great anti-virus. they have a trial period you can try out.
2. i have the logitech g15 keyboard, but i don't know your budget, but the price has gone down in Amazon to $85 i think. for the mouse, i use logitech non-gaming. i'm not really into the keyboard/mice field, but i do prefer logitech .. it's the de facto for me.
you're welcome. Edited by philiporphillip - 23 Feb 2010 at 12:39am |
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:43am |
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ImpressedByDS
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Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:44am |
Thanks for the tip - I have also had good experiences with logitech products. |
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DST4ME
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:48am |
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this is an opinion:
IMO if you had a sound card, the quality might not be up to par for you, but the mobo does have good sound, but sound card always offers better quality. but here is the thing, adding a sound card takes 2 seconds and I can show your 12 year old cousin to do it. so go with onboard, if you see its not good get a a sound card adn drop it in. |
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ImpressedByDS
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Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 12:54am |
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Thanks both - for all of your thoughts and advice!
I have a good feeling about this new pc - if the DS dedicated forum has members such as yourselves, I have even more confidence than before. I think I'll pull the trigger very soon - while I have the wife's tacit agreement, and the yearly refund is not completely spent ![]() This one's gonna have to last me a while, and I think it will do so very nicely. |
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DST4ME
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 1:35am |
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Our pleasure
well when you think about the fact that in a couple of years you can upgrade teh cpu to a 6 core for 2 or 4 hundred bucks, not only will last a while but it can be upgraded to more powerful, like a new pc but for $400 buck or even less
I stayed around as customer cause I like how these guys take care of their customers. good luck ![]() Edited by DST4ME - 23 Feb 2010 at 1:36am |
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 1:38am |
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i have the same evga x58 le motherboard and have never used it's integrated sound, so i'm clueless if it's good or not, but i'm sure it is, regardless. if you're into music and anything audio-related and want the best, a dedicated sound card is a good investment. don't select the barracuda ac-1 .. it has no xp support and i'm stuck unless i change the sound card to a creative or something else.
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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DST4ME
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Joined: 14 Apr 2008 Online Status: Offline Posts: 36758 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 1:48am |
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when he says it has no xp support, he means no win7 support
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ImpressedByDS
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Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 9:34am |
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Here's another question I thought of - if I go with a 1 TB hard drive (single drive).. what is the current strategy for optimizing this setup for gaming etc? Is partitioning the drive still the way to go or does it really pay to have a secondary drive?
I will have a lot of media content on this pc as well- both photos and movies. |
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DST4ME
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 2:02pm |
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this is always the best setup:
HDD1 = fast drive: os/apps/games HDD2 = regular large drive: media/personal/work file storage Don't fill up your HDD1 more then 50%, if think you will need more room for it then pick a bigger one. partitioning the same drive does nothing for you, if the HDD goes bad or something happens, you lose all data, with the data split, its easy to backup the os drive, so if something happens to it you can restore easily and not lose any settings or data from os/games/apps. if you want to go with just one drive right now then the best option is to just use that 1TB HDD with no partitions, then in a few month or so, get an ssd and push the 1TB HDD to HDD2 for storage and use ssd for HDD1. |
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 3:33pm |
thanks for the edit .. it was a late night.
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 3:54pm |
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the faster the rpm, the faster access to your data. but faster hard drives generally means lower storage capacity and larger hard drives will offer low performance speed, but a significantly larger storage capacity.
hdd 1 should be set to the fastest rpm .. your os, games, applications you frequently use. this will minimize load times greatly.
hdd 2 should be set to a large storage capacity .. personal data, music and movies.
Edited by philiporphillip - 23 Feb 2010 at 3:57pm |
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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ImpressedByDS
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Joined: 22 Feb 2010 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8 |
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 4:22pm |
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Ok, now the tough part - waiting for the new system..... yep, i just ordered it. Let the countdown begin. I can't wait!
So you guys are customers too? And needless to say you have sweet systems of your own, I'm sure. How is it that you have time to check these forums so much instead of cruising the post-apocalyptic frag environments, to take out the bad guys? I guess you can switch back and forth. Am I right that you both are serious gamers? Which are your current favorites? |
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Exsidium
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 4:31pm |
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Grats man, be sure and post some pics when it gets there. We're all customers here.. except for the people with blue stars under their name. I'm currently waiting on my rig to get here myself, so all i have to piddle around on is my work laptop, which is some kind of worthless.
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philiporphillip
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Posted: 23 Feb 2010 at 4:51pm |
yes, i'm a customer. i stumbled upon DS at the last minute prior to stamping the seal with another gaming company. i usually either play games on my pc or stay here in the forum when i'm not gaming. i actually enjoy the forum a bit more than gaming b/c it helps me to help others and it's increasing my knowledge about computers more. prior, i had an archaic pc which took the fun of pc learning out of me.
the games i currently have ..
1. crysis .. yet to finish.
2. dragon age: origins .. ytf.
3. quake 4
4. fallout 3 .. ytf.
5. mass effect .. i purchased this the same day with aion. ytf.
6. aion .. playing this more now as i'm new.
7. modern warfare and modern warfare 2
enjoy your DS system !! Edited by philiporphillip - 23 Feb 2010 at 4:52pm |
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Digital Storm
haf 922 i7-920 oc'd @ 3.6 ghz (1.28v) evga x58 le edition sli cooler master v8 6 gb ddr3 1600 mhz mushkin evga nvidia geforce gtx 295 co-op edition 1000w corsair hx |
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