Falcon Northwest Tiki?

[Koshka]

I am planning to replace the computer that I had built from parts I bought at Newegg. Based upon my experience, I recognize that I don't really have the knowledge to troubleshoot problems and so would prefer to buy an already built system. My preference is one where I could have on-site service. Alas, I'm not that sold on most of the computers where I can get on-site service. At this point I have fairly much narrowed it down to the Falcon Northwest Tiki or Velocity Micro Raptor Z90.

Budget - I would prefer not to be buying a computer at all. That said, I am willing to spend up to $3000. That said, I don't want to overbuy or underbuy.

The only game I regularly play is WoW (played SWTOR for a time but not currently playing). It is fairly typical that I have WoW (sometimes 2 copies) open on a 27" monitor (1920X1080). On a 24" monitor (1920x1200) I usually have open multiple webpages, Excel, Word and may be streaming video. I want to be able to play WoW on ultra with no problem while having these other things open. I do some photo editing using Photoshop Elements.

The Tiki is extremely compelling to me because of the micro-towers. This is a huge positive to me. In fact it is positive enough to make me get past the fact I can't get on-site service.

http://www.falcon-nw.com/desktops/tiki

My current desk is not deep and space is at a premium so the small size is really appealing. I looked at the Alienware X51 and can't get past the fact that you can't get an SSD drive on it. I have a 256GB SSD drive (well, had) on my current desktop and liked it a lot.

I know I can't have dual video cards and that you can't add anything later and I'm fine with that. When I want to add something that badly I will replace it. I would hope to keep this 2 to 3 years.

I configured the Tiki with the following choices:

i7 3770k 3.5 GHz (not overclocking given the 450 Watt SFX power supply)
8 GB 1866MHz Ram (I had 8GB on my current desktop and that seemed fine but willing to get 16GB if necessary)
GeForce GTX670 (Really unsure what to do get here. On my current desktop I have GTX 590 which has been totally fine, but I suspect is way more than I need. However, whatever I get now with the Tiki and would be keeping for 2 to 3 years since it is not easy to access the video card)
2 TB Caviar Green
256GB m4SSD (I do need this size)

Things you can't change:
PSU - 450 Watt SFX
Motherboard - P8Z77-1 Deluxe

Cost - $2332.


I also did the Velocity Micro Raptor Z90

850 Watt Corsair Power Supply
ASUS P8Z77-V Intel Z77 based chipset
i7 3770k, quad 3.GHZ, hyperclocked
8GB DDR3-1600MHz Quad Channel Memory
Nvidia GTX 670
240GB Intel 520 SSD
2TB Hitachi HDD

Cost - $2943

So -- to me -- it looks like the Tiki compares well to the Raptor. I realize the Raptor is much more upgradeable and has a different motherboard and power supply. However, I'm not sure that will justifies an extra $600. Am I missing something?
Edit - Part of the difference is $299 to get the Raptor to a 3 year warranty



I am really inclined to get the Tiki. Are there any negatives I haven't thought of?

Should I downgrade the video card on the Tiki? To be clear, if I won't notice the difference then I'm OK to downgrade the video card. If I will notice the difference, then I don't want to. I want to be able to max WoW on ultra (2 copies on one monitor) and still have several webpages and a couple of programs open and stream video all at one time. Oh, I will probably be upgrading one monitor within the next year to a higher resolution monitor, probably 27" but maybe 30."

Interesting article regarding development of the Tiki:

http://www.tomshardware.com/pictures...-mini-itx.html

[Lolkrayd]

If you must get a small desktop than tiki is probably the best choice though, its a bit expensive but you pay for the size I guess.
Though I would choose i5 3570k if you are just gaming or even the the 3450

If you really want to pinch money the 660ti is your next option to downgrade but the 670 would definitely perform better on bigger resolution

Oh 2tb is the smallest hdd >.>

~~Changing the CPU to i5 3570k and the gpu to gtx 670 for the raptor brings it to slightly higher than the tiki
Though I believe the case is about the size of a mid tower? 19.2 x 8.5 x 17.5 inches

[Koshka]

Part of the difference is $299 to get the Raptor warranty to 3 years as on Tiki (of course Raptor is onsite warranty).

The Raptor is a lot larger. The Tiki is 4" wide and 13" high and I think 14" long. So really big difference that would be meaningful to me.

[Lolkrayd]

welps then get the tiki, I didn't see your photo editing so I guess your current setup is fine, it should be able to max out WoW but within reasons, i.e. its going to be harsh on any setup in a 25man with just one WoW open.

[glo]

Order a setup without a video card, or whatever they offer as the cheapest one (should be some $50 media card), then swap in your 590. There's very little reason to ditch your 590 in favor of a 670 if the 590 has been working well for you. You wont see any increase in performance from switching, just a decrease in power usage.

[ronmccord]

Flash you can now buy the Alienware x51 because it has the 256 ssd you want. I too was waiting for this and it has the new 660 card as well, with 3 years warranty maxed out it is around 1600 bucs and you will have the inhouse service you want. You can also upgrade the card to a 670 as other members have down the road. I own two alienware laptops and have thought about going with a desktop so have studied both these computers tirelessly. If I was going to have it standing up next to my monitor I would have to go with the Falcon northwest. Superior design, materials, support as far as telephone, and will run cooler and quieter. I kind of like Alienware lights and also I think the x51 looks cool if it is laying flat, I have a custom speaker that it would lay on like my laptop and I also like that the X51 would be easy to put in a backpack. If staying at a 1600 budget is not the most important spend the 2k plus and get the falcon. It will last you around 3 years, especially if you get the 680gtx. Then you can get another one. I have researched all small form factor gaming machines here is a couple of other options. The lian li q-11 is very small and will work perfect next to your monitor. You can configure it with a gtx 680 for around 1800to 2000 or so with avadirect.com so much cheaper then the Falcon. Another good move would be the bitfenix prodigy. The good thing about the q-11 or the prodigy would be you can access all the parts easier then the x51 or falcon. I also like you can do some cool things for looks like add a fancontroller in either one or some lights. Again I have researched this subject tirelessly and those are my best recommendations for your situation. If you have any more questions let me know. I think I am going to stick with my M18x Alienware for now since I travel, but if I was back in the states those 4 cases are my tops ( you can add handles to the q-11 and the prodigy already has them, looks cool)