Thoughts on upgrades

I'm looking at upgrading over the summer.
At the moment I am 5-boxing, but I will be 10-boxing at some point and would like to do so on the one system.
My primary play is PvP (battlegrounds and opposing faction's cities).

I'll be using my existing tower/power supply, keyboard, mouse, monitors, OS.


Existing Components:
Case: Antec 900 Gamer
PSU: 1000 watt
SSD: 2x OCZ Vertex 3 120GB, Raid 0.
HD: 750GB and 3TB Seagate drives.
2x 27" widescreen Samsung SyncMaster SA350.
Original G15 keyboard & G (5 or 7) Logitech mouse.
Windows 7, Professional (64-bit)

New Components:
Processor: Core i7-3930, 3.2 GHz w/12mb Cache, Quad-Channel memory, 2011 Socket.
Cooler: Noctua NHD14 (SE2011)
Motherboard: Asus Sabertooth X79, 8x DIMM Slots (64GB max), 2x 6GB & 4x 3GB, Crossfire/SLI support.
Video: EVGA GTX670, 4GB Super Clocked, Dual DVI, HDMI, Display Port.
Memory: (2x) G.Skill RipjawsZ 16GB kit (4x 4GB), DDR3 2133MHz, Quad-Channel, 11-11-11-30-2N, XMP 1.3, 42mm Height.



Questions...

RAM
I can go with 4x 8GB ram (Corsair Vengeance), for about the same cost.
This would be 1866MHz (10-11-10-30 timings) instead of 2133MHz.
But would also allow for a future upgrade of the same ram, for 64GB total instead of 32GB.
Does 2133 make that much of a difference?
Which would be superior: 2133MHz at default timings or downclocking the speed, but tightening up the timing? Or is that even worthwhile?
Is there much of a benefit to 64GB over 32GB, for a 10-box gaming machine?
The Noctua NHD14 leaves me with 44mm clearance.

SSD
I already own the 2x Vertex 3's...
I see most people recommend Intel 510's or Crucial M4's.
I have a four year warranty on the OCZ's, instant product replacement (with brand new drives), and am a 15-min drive to my local store.
Is it worth going with 510's or M4's, over my Vertex 3's?

Would you recommend any other changes?
Different motherboard, etc?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ualaa

RAM
I can go with 4x 8GB ram (Corsair Vengeance), for about the same cost.
This would be 1866MHz (10-11-10-30 timings) instead of 2133MHz.
But would also allow for a future upgrade of the same ram, for 64GB total instead of 32GB.
Does 2133 make that much of a difference? Which would be superior: 2133MHz at default timings or downclocking the speed, but tightening up the timing? Or is that even worthwhile?

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Only in benchmarks. I might suggest going with some CL9 1600MHz 8GB modules from G.Skill but, if the price isn't right then the price isn't right. 1866MHz CL10 is probably just as fast as 1600MHz CL9 and it won't make a difference either way, but SB-E is only rated for DDR3-1066/1333/1600.

Also, don't buy anything besides 1.5V (or lower) rated RAM. Higher voltages are not recommended by Intel and they have the potential to harm the memory controller on the CPU.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ualaa

Is there much of a benefit to 64GB over 32GB, for a 10-box gaming machine?

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Only if you want to use part of that RAM as a RAM drive. They're nice and fast but, can also be tedious to setup; especially if you're constantly turning your machine on and off.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ualaa

The Noctua NHD14 leaves me with 44mm clearance.

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I don't know much about clearance numbers but I will say this, those Corsair modules with the crazy fins on them have been known to cause clearance issues on motherboards with larger aftermarket coolers. They did for me on an 1155 Gigabyte motherboard, and I was barely able to squeeze by with an 1155 Asus motherboard... so different motherboard manufacturers may place the DIMM slots a few centimeters closer or farther to the CPU socket than other manufacturers.

It's hard to know for 100% sure since I highly doubt those measurements are available to the public, and that's why you may want to start with only 32GB of RAM and check the clearance surrounding the CPU socket with your aftermarket cooler.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ualaa

SSD
I already own the 2x Vertex 3's...
I see most people recommend Intel 510's or Crucial M4's.
I have a four year warranty on the OCZ's, instant product replacement (with brand new drives), and am a 15-min drive to my local store.
Is it worth going with 510's or M4's, over my Vertex 3's?

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If you've got fully functioning SSDs, there isn't much need for a replacement seeing as they're still under warranty. If anything, I would say run a secure erase on them to bring them back to a the factory spec if they're feeling sluggish. OCZ should have a tool that does this or their forums should have a sticky with the necessary information.