Im about to order this system unless the astute knowledge of the toms forum crowd warns me of an impending problem.
The 2 questions i do have if anyone can help me out are
1. Is it even worth buying the Auzentech as the backbone sound wise of a gaming system? I plan on using Vista, i continue to hear problems about gaming, audio , and vista.. but need to find a solution that will work for me. Will my onboard sound solution on my mobo be suitable for gaming and a set of z5500s?
2. Cooling. The case comes with 2 1200mm fans.. i ordered 4 more... should i order special fans to set as intake /outake? Or a fan controller for all these fans? This is first time ive had this number of fans air cooling.. im not even sure where i should correctly place them or how many i really need for this case. Im also told that the stock cooling is enough untill i want to OC, even tho this system will be a gaming rig.. True or False?
Their shipping is a bit higher than ncix, but you'll save money in the end.
What you're told about stock cooling being sufficient for a stock pc is true. If that's false, the OEM pcs at Best Buy, Future Shop, etc. will have burned out by now.
Another good fan to consider is Scythe Kaze. Regardless of how many fans you get, balance the intake & exhaust. i.e. 2 intake fans & 2 exhaust fans. Don't forget the psu fan counts as one. That Evo case has mounting for bottom & top fans. I highly recommend 1 bottom in, 1 side in, & 1/2 top out. Especially if you're going to overclock.
I would get the Auzentech, considering that you've already got expensive (and good) speakers. I'm using Z5500 speakers myself, with an X-Fi, and they're great. The Auzentech is better than the X-Fi, at least for Vista.
750W is overkill for a system with a single video card and no SLI/Crossfire options in the future. Still, it's a good PSU, and you can reuse in the future, so why not.
Maybe change from 9800GTX to 8800GTS 512MB. It would save you some money. You're not going to benefit from Triple SLI with that mobo, which means you lose the main advantage of the 9800GTX over the 8800GTS anyway.
If you want RAID or more than 4 devices (HDD+burners) in the future you should get the DS3R instead of the DS3L.
"Now if the 4870x2 was actually notably faster than the 280 for about the same price, then I might even take a chance on it. However, that won't be the case."-robx46
