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[TheExodu5]

$200 max is what it would go for in these parts. Probably more like $150.

Yeah $150 sounds about right.

You basically have to compete with $250-300 budget systems (with ultra cheap components) from big name retailers, which puts you in a bad spot.

I mean, if you can find someone that understands the value in this sytem, and wants to overclock it and throw in a better video card, you might get a bit more. But more than likely, someone interested in something like this will get no more out of it than a budget big-brand system.

You mean to tell me that my super new awesome SSD that has absolutely nothing to do with the other components on the BIOS level won't have any affect on the speed? Blasphemy.

Heh well I don't want to mislead people. I just don't want people thinking that the PC will be on and usable within 10 seconds of pushing the power button.

 

[black_vegeta]

What is this TRUE that has been mentioned lately?

 

[Aruarian Reflection]

For Windows startup times, an HDD might take 40 seconds to load, a mid-level SSD like the Corsair Nova might take 12 seconds to load, and a high performance SSD like the Vertex 3 might take 9 seconds to load. It's faster for sure, but the jump is not nearly as large.

----

FYI - when I say Windows loading time, I mean from the time the OS starts loading (black Windows startup screen), to the moment the desktop appears. The BIOS loading won't be any faster, and that can take anywhere from 5-30 seconds, depending on your motherboard and how many components you have hooked up.

I know nothing about SSDs and don't follow the tech, but I'm using the Vertex 1. It's apparently a mediocre SSD but I'm still blown away by the speeds. I load up Win 7 in 10 seconds. Amazing stuff.

 

[TheExodu5]

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme

 

[black_vegeta]

Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme

Ahhhh, thanks.

 

[Akia]

Same here. The speed difference was just too large for me to ignore.

I think if reliability is a concern, the Intel 320 is a better buy than the 510. Sequential performance isn't quite as good, but random performance is better, and at least it uses an Intel controller, whereas the Intel 510 uses a Marvel controller.

An Intel 320 is out of the question because I want an SSD that will take full advantage of Sandy Bridge and my MOBO by using SATA III (6.0 Gbs).

 

[C.Dark.DN]

Do I understand this correctly:
At the same price...
4Gb+AM3+HD 6950 > 4Gb+Sandy Bridge+460.
And I'm choosing between better gaming performance now and better performance in the future?

And There's not a noticeable gaming difference between 8gb and 4Gb besides a few fps?
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2008/07/08/is-more-memory-better/5
Looks like there's not a hughe difference between 2gb and 4gb for that matter?

 

[verbum]

just shipped to OEMs yesterday:

There is no chance that Llano's CPU core will outperform that of Sandy Bridge, given that the former is a straight-up derivative of AMD's existing Phenom II core. But Llano's GPU is another matter entirely. AMD has used their considerable experience in building best-in-class integrated graphics processors (IGPs) to pack a ton of GPU performance onto each Llano die. Llano will be a great gaming portable, and Llano desktops should offer extremely good price/performance ratios for gamers.

If Intel can get the performance of Sandy Bridge's trailing-edge GPU design up to the point where it can outperform low-end discrete graphics cards, then Llano should do even better. Llano's DirectX11-class GPU will beat Sandy Bridge's GPU by a comfortable margin, and should compete with mid-range discrete solutions. Intel won't have anything comparable until its Ivy Bridge launch early next year.

So from now until Ivy Bridge comes up, AMD will have the budget performance notebook and desktop segment pretty much to itself with Llano. Llano will also make a monster of a home theater PC chip, because you'll be able to build a relatively cheap HTPC with some serious gaming chops.

AMD has said that the first Llano parts will show up in laptops, with desktop parts likely to follow later in the summer. The company isn't giving out any details on which specific products are shipping, though—we'll probably get this info as part of an official launch, soon.

http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2011/04/amds-ships-llano-the-ultimate-htpc-processor.ars

 

[bojingles]

Is this a good ssd to buy?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0227590&cm_re=Vertex_3-_-20-227-590-_-Product

I am clueless on these things and I am having a pc built for me, the faster boot times is something I want since I cant stand waiting for my computer to boot up and then run so slow after a long time of use.

 

[scogoth]

Do I understand this correctly:
At the same price...
4Gb+AM3+HD 6950 > 4Gb+Sandy Bridge+460.
And I'm choosing between better gaming performance now and better performance in the future?

And There's not a noticeable gaming difference between 8gb and 4Gb besides a few fps?
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2008/07/08/is-more-memory-better/5
Looks like there's not a hughe difference between 2gb and 4gb for that matter?

2GB to 4GB there is a huge difference. 4GB to 8GB will mean more in 1 or 2 years time as games start taking up more memory. That article is from 2008 and games now take a lot more memory then 2008.

And Intel sandy bridge blow amd out of the water right now. Similarly a 6950 is a lot better then a 460 but they're different price points. Just depends on how much you want to spend and where.

 

[scogoth]

Is this a good ssd to buy?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0227590&cm_re=Vertex_3-_-20-227-590-_-Product

I am clueless on these things and I am having a pc built for me, the faster boot times is something I want since I cant stand waiting for my computer to boot up and then run so slow after a long time of use.

Get the Intel 320, its the latest generation of SATA 2 drives. If you can spring for a SATA 3 ssd but they will be more expensive.

EDIT: looked at the price and thats not bad. I have a vertex 2 right now and can't complain.

 

[Sarcasm]

Do I understand this correctly:
At the same price...
4Gb+AM3+HD 6950 > 4Gb+Sandy Bridge+460.
And I'm choosing between better gaming performance now and better performance in the future?

And There's not a noticeable gaming difference between 8gb and 4Gb besides a few fps?
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/memory/2008/07/08/is-more-memory-better/5
Looks like there's not a hughe difference between 2gb and 4gb for that matter?

Get the 4Gb+Sandy Bridge+6950 if your debating =p

 

[TheExodu5]

Get the Intel 310, its the latest generation of SATA 2 drives. If you can spring for a SATA 3 ssd but they will be more expensive.

Intel 320

 

[scogoth]

Intel 320

Yeah caught that and edited it. I dunno maybe some people like realllly small drives =P

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Just run Prime95 with CoreTemp open and actively watch your temperatures. Run at least 10 minutes to get an idea of where the thermal max would probably settle at under the current load. You can also use something like IntelBurnTest instead of Prime95.

Ok....Been running Prime 95 while looking at Core Temp.

My lows are 25 C 25 C 25 C and 26 C

and with 100% load....

My Highs are 56 C 54 C 59 C and 58 C respectively.

When I just leave the coretemp thing up with nothing running...the cores seems to jump around between 28-38 but usually just sits at 36 most of the time...

Is that good? bad? Should I try reseating my heatsink on my CPU?



Last question. I have the ASUS p8p67 pro motherboard.

When I set up my comp, with windows 7 i had me ssd and my other hard drive on the sata 6.0 but not the Marvel ones.

So I was wondering would it be faster to plug my sata drives to the 6.0 marvel sata connectors? I tried it and windows wouldnt boot so I moved it back.

Only reason I was wondering is cause....while the SSD is fast...it isn't as fast as I thought it would be.


Il post a picture soon, the corsair 600T is TIGHT! Makes the inside look soooo Clean....(but the otherside is such a mess).

 

[scogoth]

Ok....Been running Prime 95 while looking at Core Temp.

My lows are 25 C 25 C 25 C and 26 C

and with 100% load....

My Highs are 56 C 54 C 59 C and 58 C respectively.

When I just leave the coretemp thing up with nothing running...the cores seems to jump around between 28-38 but usually just sits at 36 most of the time...

Is that good? bad? Should I try reseating my heatsink on my CPU?



Last question. I have the ASUS p8p67 pro motherboard.

When I set up my comp, with windows 7 i had me ssd and my other hard drive on the sata 6.0 but not the Marvel ones.

So I was wondering would it be faster to plug my sata drives to the 6.0 marvel sata connectors? I tried it and windows wouldnt boot so I moved it back.

Only reason I was wondering is cause....while the SSD is fast...it isn't as fast as I thought it would be.


Il post a picture soon, the corsair 600T is TIGHT! Makes the inside look soooo Clean....(but the otherside is such a mess).

Temps are fine.

Use the Intel SATA3 controller not Marvell(intel slightly faster).

And what is not "as fast I thought" mean. Any subjective remarks or anecdotes to give us what doesn't feel fast enough?

 

[C.Dark.DN]

And Intel sandy bridge blow amd out of the water right now. Similarly a 6950 is a lot better then a 460 but they're different price points. Just depends on how much you want to spend and where.

They're reporting FPS right? http://guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/20
I don't hve experience with high FPS, but 94 vs 134 FPS in Far Cry 2 doesn't seem noticble to me and there's only a 2 FPS gain in Battle Field Company 2 (Both in the 70's). Athlon X4 640 seems like it'd be in the 70's in Far Cry 2 and high 60's in BFC2.

 

[Corky]

Anybody know which biosversion the B3 Asus p67 deluxe motherboards are shipped with?

 

[TheExodu5]

They're reporting FPS right? http://guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/20
I don't hve experience with high FPS, but 94 vs 134 FPS in Far Cry 2 doesn't seem noticble to me and there's only a 2 FPS gain in Battle Field Company 2 (Both in the 70's). Athlon X4 640 seems like it'd be in the 70's in Far Cry 2 and high 60's in BFC2.

That's because BFBC2 is being bottlenecked by the GPU in that case (and Far Cry 2 is not).

Are you planning on doing any emulation? (PCSX2 + Dolphin) If so, go Sandy Bridge without a doubt. Emulation is one application which is extremely CPU dependent.

 

[scogoth]

They're reporting FPS right? http://guru3d.com/article/core-i5-2500k-and-core-i7-2600k-review/20
I don't hve experience with high FPS, but 94 vs 134 FPS in Far Cry 2 doesn't seem noticble to me and there's only a 2 FPS gain in Battle Field Company 2 (Both in the 70's). Athlon X4 640 seems like it'd be in the 70's in Far Cry 2 and high 60's in BFC2.

For far cry, the difference is huge. 20FPS is a lot, I understand they are all over 60 but Far Cry 2 is an older game. Newer games, especially rts games, will take advantage of the extra ommph.

As stated, for real-world gaming experiences the GPU just matters more, BF2 is GPU limited, even the overclock to 4.3 GHz can hardly change that fact.

For BC2 the GPU is limiting the performance so the review is kind of irrelevant for CPU comparisons.

And the synthetics for a noticable improvement from the AMD to Sandy Bridge processors.

Wait for the Llano processors from AMD if you want to go that route.

EDIT: Exodu5 always beating me to the punch -_-;;;

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

Temps are fine.

Use the Intel SATA3 controller not Marvell(intel slightly faster).

And what is not "as fast I thought" mean. Any subjective remarks or anecdotes to give us what doesn't feel fast enough?

I'm using the Intel sata6 controllers....i should use the sata3 still?

 

[scogoth]

I'm using the Intel sata6 controllers....i should use the sata3 still?

Sata 6gbps is actally SATA3.0, SATA2.0 is 3gbps. Confusing I know. Use the Intel SATA3.0 (6Gbps)

 

[black_vegeta]

Il post a picture soon, the corsair 600T is TIGHT! Makes the inside look soooo Clean....(but the otherside is such a mess).

*awaits for pics*

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

*awaits for pics*

As I said...the Corsair 600T helps make it look so super clean....the otherside is a damn mess tho...lol



Scogoth, what I meant by not as fast as I thought it would be...I meant, I had a feeling everything would be like instant and there wouldn't be any pauses anywhere....but there are times when I pull up a webpage and i start typing and theres a pause where what I'm doing isn't registering then it catches back up after about a few seconds....or when i open a file on the ssd drive it takes a quick second to actually load...

I don't know, I just kinda had this idea that it would be super duper instant speed by the way people talk about SSDs.

 

[JB1981]

Are there any companies out there that will actually build a PC FOR YOU if you go out and buy all the parts?

 

[TheExodu5]

Scogoth, what I meant by not as fast as I thought it would be...I meant, I had a feeling everything would be like instant and there wouldn't be any pauses anywhere....but there are times when I pull up a webpage and i start typing and theres a pause where what I'm doing isn't registering then it catches back up after about a few seconds....or when i open a file on the ssd drive it takes a quick second to actually load...

I don't know, I just kinda had this idea that it would be super duper instant speed by the way people talk about SSDs.

That doesn't really sound normal.

Do you have the C300 by some chance? I've heard of issues with it pausing for some people.

 

[Fixed2BeBroken]

That doesn't really sound normal.

Do you have the C300 by some chance? I've heard of issues with it pausing for some people.

yea, i have a crucial c300 256

 

[Sarcasm]

Are there any companies out there that will actually build a PC FOR YOU if you go out and buy all the parts?

If I lived near you I'd help out.

 

[TheExodu5]

Could be a firmware bug then? I believe they just release new firmware. Might want to try that.

You might want to check this page out as well:

http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-S...ows-7-solved-for-me/td-p/38766/highlight/true

The pauses as you are describing are definitely not normal, and everything should be nearly instantaneous with the SSD, especially the C300 256.

 

[scogoth]

As I said...the Corsair 600T helps make it look so super clean....the otherside is a damn mess tho...lol

Scogoth, what I meant by not as fast as I thought it would be...I meant, I had a feeling everything would be like instant and there wouldn't be any pauses anywhere....but there are times when I pull up a webpage and i start typing and theres a pause where what I'm doing isn't registering then it catches back up after about a few seconds....or when i open a file on the ssd drive it takes a quick second to actually load...

I don't know, I just kinda had this idea that it would be super duper instant speed by the way people talk about SSDs.

Well its not magic pixie dust, not yet anyway. The webpage is more to do with your web browser and CPU rendering the page and your internet speed. SSD isn't going to fix that. But the files should load almost instantly. When using a HDD you usually have to wait for it to spin up if it was asleep creating a delay, SSDs don't do that. Try rebooting then selecting every shortcut on your desktop and open them up, see if thats faster.

EDIT: Once again exudu5 is fast on the keyboard....

 

[ExMachina]

All this SSD talk has definitely convinced me to go through with upgrading to one as my boot drive, thinking of upping my budget and getting a 120gb one though. Also curious about those reviews of the Vertex 3 Anandtech is going to post, and maybe going to Intel instead for the reliability. Don't mind paying a premium for that...

Are there any companies out there that will actually build a PC FOR YOU if you go out and buy all the parts?

Microcenter will do just that, if you happen to live near one.

http://www.microcenter.com/

NCIX.com for those in Canada:

http://ncix.com/

 

[scogoth]

Are there any companies out there that will actually build a PC FOR YOU if you go out and buy all the parts?

Yes. NCIX will build it for you for a price. Newegg might too not sure.

Check boutique builds too like http://www.anandtech.com/show/4255/puget-systems-deluge-mini

 

[black_vegeta]

http://oi51.tinypic.com/35auhhu.jpg

http://oi55.tinypic.com/ou645e.jpg

As I said...the Corsair 600T helps make it look so super clean....the otherside is a damn mess tho...lol.

Nice. The outside is kind of ugly, but the innards are godlike.

 

[TheExodu5]

All this SSD talk has definitely convinced me to go through with upgrading to one as my boot drive, thinking of upping my budget and getting a 120gb one though. Also curious about those reviews of the Vertex 3 Anandtech is going to post, and maybe going to Intel instead for the reliability. Don't mind paying a premium for that...

If you're going for reliability, get the Intel 320 120GB, which is $240. Not as fast as the Vertex 3, but it's also $60 cheaper.

I'm just greedy, so I'm going with the Vertex 3 240GB. It's definitely not as safe of a choice as Intel, but the performance is just too tempting.

 

[Corky]

wow the 600T looks bitching, the 212+ looks tiny in the case

 

[Hawk269]

wohooooooo my stuff is on their way ...I've been away from pcgaming for like 3weeks but it has felt like an eternity ( especially while having to endure crysis 2 on the 360 :{ )

Cool Corky- I been following and reading your plight for a while now, so I am glad to see you finally have all your parts coming. I just finshed building my own rig for the first time last week and it was alot of fun putting it together and testing it. Your set up looks pretty sweet as well, so I am sure you will have good time with gaming on it.

 

[JB1981]

If I lived near you I'd help out.

i'm in jersey where you at

 

[Outdoor Miner]

As I said...the Corsair 600T helps make it look so super clean....the otherside is a damn mess tho...lol



Scogoth, what I meant by not as fast as I thought it would be...I meant, I had a feeling everything would be like instant and there wouldn't be any pauses anywhere....but there are times when I pull up a webpage and i start typing and theres a pause where what I'm doing isn't registering then it catches back up after about a few seconds....or when i open a file on the ssd drive it takes a quick second to actually load...

I don't know, I just kinda had this idea that it would be super duper instant speed by the way people talk about SSDs.

Nice pics. I see you have a Maschine as well.

 

[Hawk269]

Hi All-

I just finished building my rig last week. I have the Antec 1200 case. It comes with 3 120 fans in the front for intake, 2 120m exhaust and one big ass fan on top for exhaust. It also had a built in mount for a side fan (120) that also blows air into the case. In addition, the HDD cage came with a bracket to hold another 120m fan to blow air onto the GPU/GPU or wherever I wanted to place it.

My question is about proper air flow and proper speed and the balance of in/out. Right now, I have the 3 front intake at medium speed, the side fan at medium and the internal one at medium. So physically, I have 4 exterior fans blowing air into the case and a 5th fan inside the case blowing air on the GPU's. The 2 rear fans are set to medium as well and the top big boy is set to low. And obviously the PSU is pulling air out as well.

Is this fine? Or should I turn up the top fan to medium as well? Or increase the rears to high?

 

[TheExodu5]

Hi All-

I just finished building my rig last week. I have the Antec 1200 case. It comes with 3 120 fans in the front for intake, 2 120m exhaust and one big ass fan on top for exhaust. It also had a built in mount for a side fan (120) that also blows air into the case. In addition, the HDD cage came with a bracket to hold another 120m fan to blow air onto the GPU/GPU or wherever I wanted to place it.

My question is about proper air flow and proper speed and the balance of in/out. Right now, I have the 3 front intake at medium speed, the side fan at medium and the internal one at medium. So physically, I have 4 exterior fans blowing air into the case and a 5th fan inside the case blowing air on the GPU's. The 2 rear fans are set to medium as well and the top big boy is set to low. And obviously the PSU is pulling air out as well.

Is this fine? Or should I turn up the top fan to medium as well? Or increase the rears to high?

You probably don't need nearly as much speed as you think. Just make sure your CPU and GPU temps are staying within spec under load.

 

[Stantron]

I'm just greedy, so I'm going with the Vertex 3 240GB. It's definitely not as safe of a choice as Intel, but the performance is just too tempting.

I'm looking into this drive as well. Is reliability for Vertex 3 (240GB) an issue because it's unproven new tech, or because there have been reliability issues with past OCZ SSDs?

 

[black_vegeta]

wow the 600T looks bitching, the 212+ looks tiny in the case

I saw one at Fry's in person. The case is pretty huge. Pictures do it no justice.

 

[Corky]

I saw one at Fry's in person. The case is pretty huge. Pictures do it no justice.

Oh nice .

Also god what I wouldn't give for SSF4/AE on PC

 

[TheExodu5]

I'm looking into this drive as well. Is reliability for Vertex 3 (240GB) an issue because it's unproven new tech, or because there have been reliability issues with past OCZ SSDs?

Both.

Reliability wasn't too bad with the Vertex 2, but their firmware had some hitches. They are still among the best non Intel SSD manufacturers out there, though. Also, OCZ at one point started releasing worse 25nm drives instead of 34nm drives, and didn't tell anyone about it. The Vertex 2 drives equipped with 25nm memory had their speeds reduced in half. This lost OCZ a lot of credibility.

Intel X25-M firmware had issues 2 and a half years ago, but it matured into something extremely stable after a few releases.

Still, the Vertex 3 pre-release review from Anandtech was quite positive. Anand is usually good about finding issues that might arise with SSDs, and the Vertex 3 looked extremely promising. Its performance didn't even decrease after stress testing it (where some drives like the Crucial m4 had their write speeds reduced by 80%). Pretty impressive stuff.

 

[ExMachina]

If you're going for reliability, get the Intel 320 120GB, which is $240. Not as fast as the Vertex 3, but it's also $60 cheaper.

Shopped around and now it's sitting in my Amazon cart. $233 with free 2-day shipping... will probably pull the trigger later tonight... =]

 

[Sarcasm]

i'm in jersey where you at

Washington State! I don't mind helping you via internet. Putting a PC together is pretty simple.

 

[JB1981]

Washington State! I don't mind helping you via internet. Putting a PC together is pretty simple.

wow couldn't be further away! i am thinking of getting rid of my iMac and buildling a PC .. i will look into this.. in meantime now that mac is steam-compatible do you think my imac will be able to play some games ?

 

[Sarcasm]

Shopped around and now it's sitting in my Amazon cart. $233 with free 2-day shipping... will probably pull the trigger later tonight... =]

Bought the exact one..push it!

 

[Sarcasm]

wow couldn't be further away! i am thinking of getting rid of my iMac and buildling a PC .. i will look into this.. in meantime now that mac is steam-compatible do you think my imac will be able to play some games ?

What year mac? And most likely some. Probably not TF2 or anything but simple stuff. If you want when ready I can help you with deciding on parts and whatnot.

 

[Baller. PhD]

Where the hell is the Anandtech Vertex 3 review? I thought they were supposed to publish it last night.

I'm just starved for info on this drive.