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"I need a New PC!" 2011 Edition of SSD's for everyone! |OT|

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B

BloodySinner

Banned
The most beautiful part about using an SSD is that your PC stays very fast and responsive even after months of bloatware filling up your PC. Before, I would have to do some serious MS Config cleanup, or even a reformat to get my PC running as fast as it did on day 1. Now? Who cares. Let the bloatware pile up...I don't even notice.
Click to expand...

I never had that problem when I finally decided to just install Windows on one hard drive and run my Steam games and other multimedia on the other. Some of you are just willing to pay the price of admission for new tech and nothing more.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
BloodySinner said:
I never had that problem when I finally decided to just install Windows on one hard drive and run my Steam games and other multimedia on the other. Some of you are just willing to pay the price of admission for new tech and nothing more.
Click to expand...

Sure thing.

100x random speeds over HDDs is just for e-peens. You've heard it here first, guys!
 
C

Coldsnap

Member
Anyone try to do a full install from their windows 7 upgrade Iso?

I did the student $60 windows 7 upgrade but i build a new computer with a new hard drive, I'm wondering if i can take that iso burn it to a disk and boot from it to install on my new caviar black.
 
A

Akia

Member
Have the quality issues with the OCZ Vertex 3 been fixed? Because the NewEgg reviews for the Vertex 2 are pretty bad. Also my first gen OCZ SSD had to be RMA'd within a week.
 
A

Ajemsuhgao

Member
Microcenter has a sale on 2TB sata drives for $69.99 after a $10 MIR, so I figured I'd get one to replace my 1TB drive.

Got home, plugged it in, went to format it, Windows gives me something about MBR or GPT, so I quickly read what it says about them, and somehow misread the MBR section. So, I read it thinking that MBR would mean that I'd have to split the drive into 2 partitions, so I went "I..don't want to do that." and went with GPT. It wasn't until AFTER I transferred the ~700GB of stuff from my 1TB drive to the new drive and restarted my computer that I learned that GPT won't be picked up by my motherboard.

So now I have 700 gigs of stuff that I can't get to without the use of a SATA-to-USB cable, the 1TB drive I HAD, I gave to my girlfriend, and I only have a 300GB drive that's nearly full, and about 120GB of extra space on my main drive.

So I have to somehow figure out a way to back up 700 gigs of crap, reformat the drive, and put everything back onto it. FML.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Akia said:
Have the quality issues with the OCZ Vertex 3 been fixed? Because the NewEgg reviews for the Vertex 2 are pretty bad. Also my first gen OCZ SSD had to be RMA'd within a week.
Click to expand...

We won't know for a while whether the Vertex 3 has quality issues or not. The Vertex 2 quality issues were fine...return rated was reported at being less than 3%. The main reason the Vertex 2 got flak is because they introduced a 25nm variety of the drive halfway through its life without telling anyone, and those drives offered half of the advertised performance.
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
Coldsnap said:
pretty confused at what that article means, I already have the Iso downloaded from when I get the email after upgrading.
Click to expand...

Basically going to have to install it twice. First let it install without your CD key. Than once installed with the OS running do the "upgrade" where it installs again.

(Dunno if this still works)
 
C

Coldsnap

Member
Sarcasm said:
Basically going to have to install it twice. First let it install without your CD key. Than once installed with the OS running do the "upgrade" where it installs again.

(Dunno if this still works)
Click to expand...

Ah okay, I think a friend was telling me this. Rip the Iso, boot from cd, install but dont enter cd key, then enter cd key in windows once installed.
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
Coldsnap said:
Ah okay, I think a friend was telling me this. Rip the Iso, boot from cd, install but dont enter cd key, then enter cd key in windows once installed.
Click to expand...

Kinda you got it right til end. You going to have to start the windows installer once in windows and start an upgrade. Which it does something and reboots and than you enter your key.
 
C

Coldsnap

Member
Sarcasm said:
Kinda you got it right til end. You going to have to start the windows installer once in windows and start an upgrade. Which it does something and reboots and than you enter your key.
Click to expand...

Ah weird, how come it needs to install again? So i just boot the exe from a disc once windows is installed?
 
S

Stabby McSter

Member
Any recommendations on headsets? The one I have is pretty shitty. I'm also not looking to spend that much, so I'm not sure if I can get a decent one or not. :p
 
S

Sarcasm

Member
Coldsnap said:
Ah weird, how come it needs to install again? So i just boot the exe from a disc once windows is installed?
Click to expand...

Its cause they block your CD key to be used as a full fresh install. Your basically using the upgrade as intended when you do it the second round.


Stabby McSter said:
Any recommendations on headsets? The one I have is pretty shitty. I'm also not looking to spend that much, so I'm not sure if I can get a decent one or not. :p
Click to expand...

I have a G35 and a G930 (basically wireless of the G35). I got them on sale. I love them. Logitech. USB plug though might irk some people.
 
C

Coldsnap

Member
Sarcasm said:
Its cause they block your CD key to be used as a full fresh install. Your basically using the upgrade as intended when you do it the second round.
Click to expand...

Ah, right on. You think they would just not let you install from the ISO, just upgrade; but im glad they dont :) Thanks for the info
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Stabby McSter said:
Any recommendations on headsets? The one I have is pretty shitty. I'm also not looking to spend that much, so I'm not sure if I can get a decent one or not. :p
Click to expand...

I've always been a fan of Plantronics when it came to decent sounding cheap headsets.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
About the OCZ 120 vs 240, here's a screenshot from Brahmzy on HardForum:

Brahmzy said:
Single 120

Single 240
as_ssd.jpg
Click to expand...

Bottom one was the month old sample though...no idea if the retail unit will perform the same.

Disappointing, for sure, but I doubt the differences would be very noticeable in real world usage. The sequential reads are just as high, which means games will load just as fast, and random speeds are not that far off.

Also, for a little bit more than the price of a 240GB drive, 2x 120GB RAID 0 win in performance.
 
M

mkenyon

Banned
Stabby McSter said:
Any recommendations on headsets? The one I have is pretty shitty. I'm also not looking to spend that much, so I'm not sure if I can get a decent one or not. :p
Click to expand...
Have two sets of the Razer Carcharias. Love em. The mic is really important to me since 90% of my PC Gaming is with buddies on muble, and it's a great 'un.

A buddy of mine swears by his cheap Plantronics set, and I must say, he sounds like he's in the room with me over his mic. It was his replacement for that fancy-schmanzy Logitech USB set.

Smokey said:
Used to think Fry's was the shit.

Until I met Microcenter.
Click to expand...
On one hand, I wish there was a microcenter near me. On the other hand, my budget is really glad there isn't a microcenter near me. Hell, I spend enough at my local computer shop. Can't imagine what it'd be like when the prices were 25% lower.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
The wired 360 controller is so much nicer than wireless + wireless adapter. Plays perfectly nice with everything. Triggers are seen as buttons proper by Assassin's Creed and PCSX2. Very happy with my purchase.
 
L

Lion Heart

Banned
Absolute balls.

So I get home from work, turn on my PC and notice I have no picture. The case lights/fans and cpu fans turn on but I dont think the HDD did and my videocard had a red light (not powered I guess).

There was no beeping sounds either like when Ram isnt compatible for example. I figured it could be the hdd so I went and bought a new one. I install it, press power and now there is no power whatsoever. Is this a mobo or powersupply issue? To be fair, I slighty yanked on the hdd power cable to get it to reach and other wires got abused putting the hdd in as my case has no room inside. Nothing "seems" unplugged though.

I'm hoping its the power supply if anything, I dont want to have to replace Ram, cpu as well...

In retrospect, it couldnt have been the hdd cause you would still get video without one right? At least, the gpu would have power...?
 
C

Cheech

Member
Sarcasm said:
Its cause they block your CD key to be used as a full fresh install. Your basically using the upgrade as intended when you do it the second round.
Click to expand...

Not if you unplug your network cable. You can do a fresh install, just don't plug the network cable in until you're ready to activate. If you want to play it safe, don't plug the network cable in, and just do a phone activation. THEN, only after it's activated, do you want to plug the network cable in. It's a pain in the ass, but way faster than installing Windows twice.
 
Timan

Timan

Developer
Ah not sure what to do.

I already have a ssd OCZ-Vertex (1) 64gb model. My brother is wanting to get a ssd for is pc box. I saw intel's drives just came out, so should i get one of those 320~ 120gb ones for 240$ or find an older ssd and get more bang for my buck?

I'm seeing some weird things about the new ocz vertex2 drives that worry me.
 
C

Coldsnap

Member
Cheech said:
Not if you unplug your network cable. You can do a fresh install, just don't plug the network cable in until you're ready to activate. If you want to play it safe, don't plug the network cable in, and just do a phone activation. THEN, only after it's activated, do you want to plug the network cable in. It's a pain in the ass, but way faster than installing Windows twice.
Click to expand...

Ah, I'll do that. How do you activate over phone? So i'll just have to install once with no network, dont use key during installing, but call them up and give product key?
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Timan said:
Ah not sure what to do.

I already have a ssd OCZ-Vertex (1) 64gb model. My brother is wanting to get a ssd for is pc box. I saw intel's drives just came out, so should i get one of those 320~ 120gb ones for 240$ or find an older ssd and get more bang for my buck?

I'm seeing some weird things about the new ocz vertex2 drives that worry me.
Click to expand...

Even old SSDs won't be that much cheaper than the Intel 320. It's a pretty solid bet.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Wait for Anand's review tomorrow for better confirmation.

Really though, Sequential reads + random speeds are the most important. Lower sequential writes is not that big of a deal.
 
C

C.Dark.DN

Banned
Is there any Cavair Black vs Spinpoint F3 benchmarks?

Also, what's the biggest bang for the buck SSD and benchmarks compared to those above?
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Biggest and bang for buck are very subjective terms. What are you considering spending? The low end starts at $100-120 for 40-60GB drives, $200-300 for 120GB drives, and $450-650 for 240GB drives.

I won't bother finding specific benchmarks, so I'll just post my numbers from before:

To give you an idea of performance, here would a rough performance approximation in between a high performance HDD (WD 1TB Black) and an SSD like the Vertex 3.

HDD Random Read: 0.955MB/s
SSD Random Read: 20-100MB/s (depending on how many accesses are queued)

HDD Random Write: 2MB/s
SSD Random Write: 110MB/s

HDD Sequential Read: 95MB/s average
SSD Sequential Read: 500MB/s average

HDD Sequential Write: 88MB/s average
SSD Sequential Write: 350MB/s average
Click to expand...
 
S

Smokey

Member
Wondering if I should go for the slow (lol) Intel 300 series since they are the most reliable out of the SSD manufacturers, or say fuck it and stay the course on the Vertex 3...
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Smokey said:
Wondering if I should go for the slow (lol) Intel 300 series since they are the most reliable out of the SSD manufacturers, or say fuck it and stay the course on the Vertex 3...
Click to expand...

That's the question...

I'm willing to risk it because of those damned mouthwatering sequential speeds.

Whether that will come back to bite me in the ass or not is another question.
 
C

C.Dark.DN

Banned
TheExodu5 said:
Biggest and bang for buck are very subjective terms. What are you considering spending? The low end starts at $100-120 for 40-60GB drives, $200-300 for 120GB drives, and $450-650 for 240GB drives.

I won't bother finding specific benchmarks, so I'll just post my numbers from before:
Click to expand...
Great SSD info, enough for me to go on.

Back to the Cavair Black vs Spinpoint F3. I see WD has a longer warranty and costs more.
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
comrade said:
TheExodu5; what do you think about the Intel G2 SSD? Mainly two 80gb in Raid 0?
Click to expand...

I'm running one and it's been great, but if performance is your goal, I think there are better options than raiding two 2 year old drives. Also, the Intel drives are pretty dependent on TRIM to keep up their performance, and Raid 0 makes it impossible to TRIM, so it's probably not the best option.

I'm guessing you already have one and are thinking of adding another?
 
C

comrade

Member
TheExodu5 said:
I'm running one and it's been great, but if performance is your goal, I think there are better options than raiding two 2 year old drives. Also, the Intel drives are pretty dependent on TRIM to keep up their performance, and Raid 0 makes it impossible to TRIM, so it's probably not the best option.

I'm guessing you already have one and are thinking of adding another?
Click to expand...
Nah I just saw two with only 21Hr of use for $250 and was wondering if it was worth it. I've got an original OCZ Vertex 120GB and it's not that great.
 
C

C.Dark.DN

Banned
TheExodu5 said:
The F3 is a little bit faster and quieter. It's generally the recommended drive here.
Click to expand...
Got any benchmarks showing it? Someone I knew keeps saying caviar black is better.

What kind of performance increase do you see with your OS on a SSD and games on a fast HD?
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
DeathNote said:
Got any benchmarks showing it? Someone I knew keeps saying caviar black is better.

What kind of performance increase do you see with your OS on a SSD and games on a fast HD?
Click to expand...

OS is night and day. It feels like a fresh Windows install every day.

Games...a little better loading speeds on my Intel G2, but nothing drastic. I really like having streaming games on there though, since it helps eliminate those little loading pauses and gets rid of the annoying HDD access noises. The new drive I'm getting should show a big difference in games loading, but that's about it.
 
C

C.Dark.DN

Banned
TheExodu5 said:
OS is night and day. It feels like a fresh Windows install every day.

Games...a little better loading speeds on my Intel G2, but nothing drastic. The new drive I'm getting should show a big difference in games loading.
Click to expand...
Well in my scenario the games would be installed on the HD.

But you don't notice that big of a difference with games on a SSD?
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
DeathNote said:
But you don't notice that big of a difference with games on a SSD?
Click to expand...

Nothing major, no. I edited my post above with some of the pros.

Mostly though, it's for the extremely fast OS response that I enjoy having an SSD.

Sarcasm said:
I plan on getting the 120gb Intel 320..good??
Click to expand...

*thumbs up!
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Actually, this shows some nice SSD benefits for games:

17330.png


Mind you, this is with the 2 year old Intel X25-M with ~200MB/s sequential reads. The fastest drive now, the Vertex 3, has sequential reads of ~500MB/s, so games loading should be significantly faster.

17331.png


17332.png


Crysis is a game that has a good amount of data streaming, so having an SSD helps remove those streaming hitches.

Don't pay any attention to those other SSDs in the shots above. That was from a time when Intel was lightyears ahead of the SSD crowd (with the OCZ Vertex being the only competent alternative).
 
T

TheExodu5

Banned
Intel 320 40GB at $105.

You can probably get 60GB drive at a similar price if you wait for a deal, but there might be a price to pay in terms of reliability.

If you want to fit a decent amount of games on there, you could wait to buy a 120GB drive at $200-240. The Intel G2 120GB drive was on sale for $170 not long ago, I believe.
 
L

Lion Heart

Banned
If a power supply works but a mobo doesnt, how could I tell (and vice versa).

Could a PC power on without a HDD installed(video out).

Thanks
 
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