Gaming Rig

[LDLD]

And on a side-note: this is the setup I made at DigitalStorm. I like it, what do you think?


Processor: Intel Core i7 Extreme Edition 965 3.2GHz (Quad Core) (Extreme Performance)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 3X SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports Triple SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz Corsair Dominator DHX (High-Performance)
Power Supply: 1200W PC Power & Cooling (ESA Edition) (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible)
Card Reader: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 300GB Western Digital VelociRaptor (10K RPM) (16MB Cache) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: 500GB Western Digital (16MB Cache) (7200 RPM) (SATA)
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: Blu-Ray Writer/Reader (Burn Blu-Ray discs and play them)
Optical Drive 2: DVD±R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 20x / CD-Writer 48x)
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 3x SLI Triple (NVIDIA GeForce GTX 285 1GB) (Includes PhysX Technology)
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Asus Xonar D2X (PCI-Express Slot Based) (Recommended)
Extreme Cooling: H20: Stage 3: Specialized FrostBite Separate Dual Loop System for CPU & Three Video Cards
Liquid Color:UV Green: High Glowing Non-conductive Fluid (Requires H20: Stage 3 & UV Lighting)
Chassis Airflow: Upgrade Chassis With LED Performance Fans (Green)
Internal Lighting: Internal Chassis Lighting System (Green)
Enhancements: NVIDIA Enthusiast System Architecture (ESA) System (Install, Test, Optimize Computer)
Chassis Mods: 950Si Case Only: Processor & Video Card Area: Drill and Mount Two Side Window 120mm Fan Blow-Holes
Boost Processor: Yes, Overclock the processor as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Video Card: Yes, Overclock the video card(s) as much as possible with complete stability
Boost Memory: Yes, Overclock memory frequency (Includes Memory Fan Kit Installed)
Tweak Windows: Yes, Disable and tweak all of the non-crucial 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)
Virus Protection: McAfee Internet Security (Includes: AntiVirus, FireWall and AntiSpyware)
Office: Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student (Word Excel PowerPoint OneNote)

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

A very decent build, but too much splurging on the Raptors IMO. I'd go with a single 1TB Caviar Black drive, two Raptors in RAID, and one SSD for the OS and programs only.

Also, you can go with the i7 920 as suggested before to save money. In addition, you can get MUCH better headphones than those. Go for a pair of Sennheiser HD 600 (or the HD650 if you can afford them) headphones for superb sound quality and clarity. They also come with other nifty features, such as a cable connected via a stereo jack-like interface to the headphones, so if the cable becomes taut, all you have to do is reconnect it from the inside and you're back in business. No messy soldering et al. And did I mention they are DAMN GOOD?

 

[LDLD]

Nice hehe. What do you think of the DigitalStorm build?

I'm hesitant about the 1st build listed because I have no idea how to assemble all that stuff.

 

[LinkedKube]

You keep posting new specs and new specs, getting ideas from different forums. Anything you purchase in the x58 chipset has the potential to give you within 5% performance as the next part.

I think we've given all our ideas. I know I have at this point. As far as I know I'm one of few members here with a core i7. I'll say this again, there's NO POINT IN GETTING A 965. In 4 months when the 32 nm processors come out you've wasted 500 usd as then it will get bumped down to 500usd instead of the 1k it is now. The only reason to buy one is to reach 5Ghz or so, and to do that you need LN2(liquid nitrogen). It seems you're having some company build it for you, so its obvious that you dont know how to play with Liquid Nitrogen.

the 920-940-965 all oc to about 4.1ghz or a little higher with some patients, none of them go higher unless you're spending a lot of money on cooling.

All in all you can take all the suggestions here and where ever, and put something together. I trust Rage's thoughts of pc building, over a youtube video or something like that. He's probably helped hundreds of people here build systems, and no one has come back to complain.

I'm only speaking up in this case because I own something very similar to what you want. I just put in my gtx 295 last night and my vantage score is 33000ish now. World records is 42k, with all high end parts, and two 295s and everything overclocked. Anyway, my point is, there's a point where your system has no real world difference for what you do. I myself have hit that mark. You will too.

 

[LDLD]

Thanks again.^^ Sorry for spamming the thread heh. I'm trying to learn as much as I can, you guys have been a great help!

 

[hellokitty[hk]]

I would rethink that quadruple raptor raid and go with some SSD's and probably at MOST two raptors and some (1 - 2) high capacity drives.

Im really repeating myself some more but HT Omega willl NOT (as far as i know) support EAX sounds, no biggie, but its possible to get sound driver BSOD's if you have EAX turned on in some games.

I guess you should go with what Rage said about the headphones, i would personally go with a Razer Barracuda, though those are gamer headphones.


Repeating myself again, but 12gigs of RAM just makes you feel better.

Adding a second card for CrossFire operation improves average frame rates by 2%

http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=3506&p=4

Anyway, if you have decided to go with 2+ cards, the GTX295's would probably do better than 4870x2's.


Maybe a TAD overkill on the bottom half of your first post, it will take effort for all that.

 

[LinkedKube]

If you have an 8000 budget a 30" monitor should be in the budgets in the least imo.

 

[LDLD]

I'm really just torn on the HDD part. SSD or veloci? 4 HDD or 2 or 3? I was thinking 2 SSD and 2 regular.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The latter idea is what I recommend. SSDs are less likely to fail than HDDs, so I recommend using one for your OS and programs. Use one or two 7200RPM HDDs (preferably WD Caviar Black or Samsing SpinPoint F1 drives) for your games.

 

[LDLD]

Do you guys think 80gb is enough for OS/programs? There is a 160 gb model as well, (SSDs).

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Yep, 80GB should be plenty. It's really upto you though, and what you can afford. I recommend this SSD for the best balance of price and performance. Intel's 160GB SSD is almost three times the price and while the read speeds for it are stupid-fast (250MB/s vs 150MB/s for the G.SKILL SSD), the write speed is about 20MB/s slower than the cheaper disk. Still, it is the read speeds that matter more, so for the absolute best performance, the Intel SSD is better.

 

[LDLD]

Under DigitalStorm's setup, it reads:

Hard Drive Set 1:
Operating System
Set 1 Raid Options:
Hard Drive Set 2:
Multimedia\Data
Hard Drive Set 3:
Backup\Misc

If I were to leave instructions for them (they give the option to do so), to set the raptors in RAID and leave the SSD as the OS, is that possible? I mean, they only give the option for RAID for the first set which is defaulted as 'OS/Programs'.