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[Wallach]

Cool, do you know where I can find if it has dual bios switch? I'm searching but i can't find anything.. ppl seem to be saying random/contradicting things..

With that particular model it appears that Rev1 is flashable and Rev2 is dead to rights locked. I have no idea how you tell which revision is it without having it on hand. I don't even know if Rev1 has the dang dual BIOS switch to be honest, the whole 6950 launch was a clusterfuck because of the whole flashing thing so they tried to bury all that info real fast. On the other hand, even if it isn't flashable a 6950 is a fuckin' nice card so it's not like you'd be getting screwed value wise if it wasn't.

 

[MedIC86]

The best wireless mouse is the Razer Mamba...but it's quite pricey.

I replaced mine after 5/6 months, nothing but trouble and way less performance then i payed for...a lot of people had the same stories

 

[nilbog21]

the difference between the hd6950 and hd6970 seems pretty small anyways.. ive got my eye on the GTX 480 for 229$ again..

 

[Johnny2Bags]

I replaced mine after 5/6 months, nothing but trouble and way less performance then i payed for...a lot of people had the same stories

Put me down as another person absolutely satisfied with my Cyborg R.A.T. mouse...

 

[Wallach]

the difference between the hd6950 and hd6970 seems pretty small anyways.. ive got my eye on the GTX 480 for 229$ again..

Remember that the $229 price is after mail-in rebate, so your at-purchase price is like $279. Still a good deal, just something to keep in mind as MIR can take a while to actually get your money back.

 

[Roquentin]

I've decided to change my build (I'm just unable to pull the trigger on it at the current price):

CPU: Intel Core i5 2500K
MB: ASUS P8P67 PRO
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 1600 CL9 2x4GB
GPU: GTX560Ti 1GB MSI Twin Frozr II OC
PSU: Corsair HX750 750W
Cooler: Cooler Master 212+
HDD: Samsung 1TB 32MB HD103SJ F3
SDD: Intel 320 120GB
Case: Fractal Design Define R3 Titanium Grey
Case fans: 2 x Scythe Gentle Typhoon 1450
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Keyboard: Logitech Media 600
Mouse: Logitech M500

I think I'm gonna drop SSD for now, change MB to standard (not PRO) version and PSU to Corsair TX750 V2. Are these changes a good idea (I don't plan on using SLI, but I want to OC the CPU)?

 

[Sanjay]

Wow just found my next SSD upgrade, http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/Corsair-Force-Series-SSD-sandforce,news-35614.html

The pricing looks ballsy. The 120GB being such a bargain.

 

[The Teachinator]

I replaced mine after 5/6 months, nothing but trouble and way less performance then i payed for...a lot of people had the same stories

The mouse looks very nice and I don't mind the price but I've been hesitant because the reviews are awful.

 

[Coldsnap]

What's the best program to check the write and read spead of a Caviar Black? I just want to double check if it's working up to specs. since it was very loud.

 

[Erebus]

Any reason why someone should go for a Z68 board over a P67 apart from the SSD caching advantage? Do they generally overclock better?

 

[CorkyFromLifeGoesOn]

Thinking about making a pc with a i5 2500K, Asus p8p67 pro, and a 560ti ($250 range). Would stepping up to a i7 2600k make a huge difference with that gpu?

 

[Corky]

Thinking about making a pc with a i5 2500K, Asus p8p67 pro, and a 560ti ($250 range). Would stepping up to a i7 2600k make a huge difference with that gpu?

Good man.

It won't make a difference for gaming.

 

[scy]

Hm, the Shinobi case looks nice, but it seems to only include one fan. How many fans are you using in that case?

I have the Windowed version which comes with two fans and I have one extra 120mm in it. I'm eventually grabbing more fans since ... well, I have the spots for them. Still, it's running cool enough as is so it's more of a mental thing.

Thinking about making a pc with a i5 2500K, Asus p8p67 pro, and a 560ti ($250 range). Would stepping up to a i7 2600k make a huge difference with that gpu?

Honestly, if you're willing to throw down more for the 2600k, I'd rather put that on the GPU and get a 570 or 6970 over the 560.

 

[dgenx]

Ok so I got an i5 760 at 2.8 , I wanted to oc it read a lot of tutorials just to find out that my motherboard dhc55t or soethig just let me increase the clock , so I did it to 3.5 , now when I play witcher 2 I get temps of 77 tops,and 40in windows , my questionis should I go up to 3.8 or so given that I cant control the voltage it might bw risky, or just stay in 3.5,

Silly motherboard

Quote cause I dont want to fry the freakmy thing

 

[Velion]

Thinking about making a pc with a i5 2500K, Asus p8p67 pro, and a 560ti ($250 range). Would stepping up to a i7 2600k make a huge difference with that gpu?

Take that extra $100 or however much and put it towards a GTX 570 for a better build. I had a i7 2600k but due to a freak accident I had to buy a i5 2500k, no difference I can really tell.

 

[Aurarian]

OK. Installed the cooler last night and it dropped my temps by 10-15 degrees. Now what? I'm not sure what I should do to overclock the processor? I can only get to 2.87ghz without it fretting as I said earlier. It's an X4 630 and this is the memory on the machine. If anyone can help me out that'd be greatly appreciated.

 

[mkenyon]

Thinking about making a pc with a i5 2500K, Asus p8p67 pro, and a 560ti ($250 range). Would stepping up to a i7 2600k make a huge difference with that gpu?

Nope, not for gaming. Maybe in Civ V though.

I've decided to change my build (I'm just unable to pull the trigger on it at the current price):

I think I'm gonna drop SSD for now, change MB to standard (not PRO) version and PSU to Corsair TX750 V2. Are these changes a good idea (I don't plan on using SLI, but I want to OC the CPU)?

You'd be better off with a 600w PSU. You don't need extra wattage for overclocking.

OK. Installed the cooler last night and it dropped my temps by 10-15 degrees. Now what? I'm not sure what I should do to overclock the processor? I can only get to 2.87ghz without it fretting as I said earlier. It's an X4 630 and this is the memory on the machine. If anyone can help me out that'd be greatly appreciated.

Look up some overclocking guides. The crappy part about the 630 is that the only way to really do it is to mess with bus, which affects your memory. I can't see what memory you have linked, but it'd help if it was higher voltage memory, like 1.65.

 

[The Stealth Fox]

Should a stock fan for an AMD Phenom II 955 Black edition be running at 4000 rpm idle? This thing sounds like a jet engine.

My idle temps are normal, around 39-44 C.

I have an ASUS M4A88T-M motherboard.

 

[chaosblade]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227558

That's the RAM, he messed up the link.

I just lowered my RAM multiplier/speed to keep it around stock after raising the bus to OC my CPU. Didn't really care to bother OCing the RAM since it makes such a negligible difference in performance.

 

[dgenx]

I think I should lower the overclock... my cpu gets to 77oC tops while playing Witcher 2, but now its only to 69oC

an i5 from 2.8 to 3.5 makes a big difference on perfomance? I know i5 can be OC to 4 but my Intel DH55TC has only one overclocking option: the adjustment of the CPU base clock from 133 MHz to 240 MHz in 1 MHz steps

 

[Aurarian]

Look up some overclocking guides. The crappy part about the 630 is that the only way to really do it is to mess with bus, which affects your memory. I can't see what memory you have linked, but it'd help if it was higher voltage memory, like 1.65.

It isn't at stock voltage at the moment(the memory itself). I think my BIOS automatically set it at 1.5v, the problem is that I can't get to 1.65 with my bios. It go overs 1.65 to I think 1.66 or so? Is that ok?

 

[mkenyon]

Should a stock fan for an AMD Phenom II 955 Black edition be running at 4000 rpm idle? This thing sounds like a jet engine.

My idle temps are normal, around 39-44 C.

I have an ASUS M4A88T-M motherboard.

I don't know about RPM, but they are certainly loud. Pretty terrible stock heatsinks. Idle temps don't really matter, it's all about load. Grab a CM Hyper 212+, it's totally worth it.

It isn't at stock voltage at the moment(the memory itself). I think my BIOS automatically set it at 1.5v, the problem is that I can't get to 1.65 with my bios. It go overs 1.65 to I think 1.66 or so? Is that ok?

That is some strange RAM. If setting it at 1.66 makes it stable, go for it. You'll reduce the life on it, but RAM is cheap.

 

[TheExodu5]

I think I should lower the overclock... my cpu gets to 77oC tops while playing Witcher 2, but now its only to 69oC

an i5 from 2.8 to 3.5 makes a big difference on perfomance? I know i5 can be OC to 4 but my Intel DH55TC has only one overclocking option: the adjustment of the CPU base clock from 133 MHz to 240 MHz in 1 MHz steps

What cooler are you using? That seems a little hot for such a mild overclock. And yeah, I think having the i5 at around 3.6GHZ-4GHz makes a good difference, especially in games like Starcraft 2. There are a few single/dual core games that really benefit from that added clock speed. Oh, and emulation will benefit a lot as well.

 

[BloodySinner]

Should a stock fan for an AMD Phenom II 955 Black edition be running at 4000 rpm idle? This thing sounds like a jet engine.

Yes. I know this because I used to own one. AMD stock coolers are rubbish. My 1050T was even worse. So I invested in a Corsair H50. Makes a hell of a difference.

 

[dgenx]

What cooler are you using? That seems a little hot for such a mild overclock. And yeah, I think having the i5 at around 3.6GHZ-4GHz makes a good difference, especially in games like Starcraft 2. There are a few single/dual core games that really benefit from that added clock speed. Oh, and emulation will benefit a lot as well.

Just stock cooler, u think I can pump it up to 3.6 without tweaking anything else like voltage,?
My bios just let me tweak the clock

 

[The Stealth Fox]

I don't know about RPM, but they are certainly loud. Pretty terrible stock heatsinks. Idle temps don't really matter, it's all about load. Grab a CM Hyper 212+, it's totally worth it.


That is some strange RAM. If setting it at 1.66 makes it stable, go for it. You'll reduce the life on it, but RAM is cheap.

The max I've seen this thing hit under load is 60.

 

[TheExodu5]

Just stock cooler, u think I can pump it up to 3.6 without tweaking anything else like voltage,?
My bios just let me tweak the clock

Well if the voltage is set to auto, the voltage is going up on its own. 77C is manageable, but still quite hot. You don't really want to be passing 80C with the i5s. The hottest OCs (usually closer to 4.0-4.5GHz) can get up to ~80-85C, but that's really pushing the limits.

You might consider getting a cheap aftermarket heatsink. Normally I'd recommend the Hyper 212+ for $30, but that would require you to take out the motherboard completely to install. If you want to avoid that hassle, you could get a 92mm heatsink like the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro.

Should a stock fan for an AMD Phenom II 955 Black edition be running at 4000 rpm idle? This thing sounds like a jet engine.

My idle temps are normal, around 39-44 C.

I have an ASUS M4A88T-M motherboard.

See if you can set a "quiet" fan profile in the motherboard BIOS. But still...stock heatsinks are loud and whiny. I never use them. It's well worth $30 to get a proper heatsink like the Hyper 212+.

 

[Aurarian]

That is some strange RAM. If setting it at 1.66 makes it stable, go for it. You'll reduce the life on it, but RAM is cheap.

OK. I was able to manage to get it to 1.654v through MSI's control center app. I find it hilarious that the BIOS won't let me set it to that voltage but their overclocking program does. Either way, what next?

EDIT: Nevermind what I just said. The program OC'ed the ram to 1.66v and it's definitely not stable. It caused me to hang before the bios/post screen showed up and then I had to clear the CMOS. Should I just get as close as possible to 1.65v and leave it at that?

 

[dgenx]

Well if the voltage is set to auto, the voltage is going up on its own. 77C is manageable, but still quite hot. You don't really want to be passing 80C with the i5s. The hottest OCs (usually closer to 4.0-4.5GHz) can get up to ~80-85C, but that's really pushing the limits.

You might consider getting a cheap aftermarket heatsink. Normally I'd recommend the Hyper 212+ for $30, but that would require you to take out the motherboard completely to install. If you want to avoid that hassle, you could get a 92mm heatsink like the Arctic Freezer 7 Pro.


.

ok I will OC it to 3.7 and in a few days get the new heatsink,now speedfan is telling me the hights temp i get while playing is 65C :/ , the software who told me about 77 was Realtemp , thats weird

 

[Cory_t_]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227558

That's the RAM, he messed up the link.

I just lowered my RAM multiplier/speed to keep it around stock after raising the bus to OC my CPU. Didn't really care to bother OCing the RAM since it makes such a negligible difference in performance.

How can i do this? I just OC'd my 965BE and the multiplier wasn't getting me anywhere. I ended up stable at 17.5 x 220 but my ram is now running at 880MHz which makes me uneasy.

 

[Edgeward]

So I want to upgrade my i5 -650 dual core to a quad core i5 2.5k. Is there anything I need to be aware of or take consideration before buying it (do i need to be mindful of what other parts like power supply or motherboard etc), or it a simple matter of switching them out?

I've never really done upgrading or tinkering with a pc before so any helpful guides of how to install a new processor would be cool as well.

 

[Roquentin]

You'd be better off with a 600w PSU. You don't need extra wattage for overclocking.

Will 650W be enough for a better GPU? Think GTX 580 or rather 680/780.

 

[squicken]

What's GAF's opinion on the long term viability of the Phenom II X4 955? When will that start being a bottleneck?

 

[mkenyon]

What's GAF's opinion on the long term viability of the Phenom II X4 955? When will that start being a bottleneck?

Hard to say, my 970 is currently my system bottleneck, but I have two 5870s in crossfire. It really just depends on the specific game. It's most definitely worth the wait for bulldozer to see if there's anything in the similar price range that'll last you a bit longer.

 

[nilbog21]

Ok, I think my computer is finally complete....all the parts have been purchased..

CASE:
NZXT Phantom Full Tower

118$ Shipped AR

PSU:

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W Modular High Performance Power Supply
39.99$ AR
ehh..

RAM:

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900) Desktop Memory
79.99$

Monitor:

HP 2311x Black 23" 5ms Full HD LED BackLight LCD Monitor
159.99$ shipped
i fucking hate hp, but the reviews are pretty good..sigh

GPU:

MSI R6950-2PM2D2GD5 Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
250$ AR. this is reference card so it is unlockable to 6970

CPU
2500k

+ Gigabyte P67A mobo

got the cpu + mobo bundle for 240$ at microcenter

and i already have a samsung spinpoint F1 1TB 7200rpm hdd i bought for 49.99$ a while ago... so around 700$ for the whole rig (w/o monitor), should be pretty nice system

thx for all the gaffers who helped me, most notably wallash who gave me constant feedback throughout

 

[TheExodu5]

What's GAF's opinion on the long term viability of the Phenom II X4 955? When will that start being a bottleneck?

It will actually start becoming a more viable processor as more and more games use quad cores. With a minor overclock, it shouldn't really be holding you back in any quad core enabled games. The only games where it might give you trouble are the single/dual threaded games, such as Starcraft 2 (which needs a slightly overclocked i5 750 or i7 920 to maintain 60fps on Ultra).

 

[Forsete]

I got a PC network related question.

I have a WRT54GL which is running Tomato 1.27, I am very happy with the router. The best I have ever used.

But one thing is bothering me, the slow WLAN. Is it possible to connect a Access Point "in front" of the WRT54GL and perhaps upgrade to 802.11n?

Can anyone recommend a device like that?

This what I had in mind.

It doesnt bother me if it creates two wireless networks.

Any objections to this? D-Link DAP-1360 .. I have heard bad things about D-Link, but that was a few years ago.
http://www.dlink.com/DAP-1360

 

[Ether_Snake]

Here's my list so far:

MB: ASUS P8P67 PRO

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Sound card: ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1

PSU:OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W

GPU: Not sure yet. I find the GTX 570 to be very expensive. I will need a good one, but I won't be playing games a lot. I have a GTX 260 at work and we make console games and it works quite fine. I'm thinking of getting something above it, but GTX 570 is too much for me.

SSD: I'm thinking using the Intel 320 40GB. It's supposedly partitioned 30/10, will this be fine? I'm guessing I can install Windows 7 on the 10GB? I'll use my 1TB HDD for external storage. I have an internal 80GB HDD also, which I guess I could do something with?

800$ so far, not counting the GPU. Need to add casing and two monitors.

 

[CorkyFromLifeGoesOn]

Thanks for the advice guys! I'll invest in a better gpu and go for a 570 instead of the 560ti.

 

[Omiee]

i want to do a clean install of windows so i can upgrade my ssd firmware and solve some stability issues.

i need to know 2 things.

where i can find my firefox bookmarks.
and how do i format, or can i just put in the disk and let the install of windows 7 format my ssd?

 

[Mr Nightman]

Just a quick question, does anyone have experience overclocking with the msi board in the op? I have a Phenom 2 x4 945 running at 3ghz, and just wondering how high I may be able to safely push it. I am using a hyper 212 as well, any help appreciated

 

[Aurarian]

So I found a guide I suppose for overclocking the X4 630 on my MSI 870A-G54. I've got it at 3.4ghz @ 1.44v or 1.45v. Running Prime 95 to check for errors. I can't go any further than 3.4ghz though since it I pushed the voltage up to 1.5v(for 3.5ghz) and it was still getting errors from Prime 95, not to mention it would freeze as well. Anyways, at full load on Prime right now I'm hitting 50c. Does anyone think I can lower the voltage a bit more to get better temps and still keep the speed?

One other question. Does anyone know if my particular board will be AM3+ compatible? I'm looking to upgrade to a Bulldozer(and possibly a new mobo/memory) when they release it eventually.

 

[nitric0]

So I found a guide I suppose for overclocking the X4 630 on my MSI 870A-G54. I've got it at 3.4ghz @ 1.44v or 1.45v. Running Prime 95 to check for errors. I can't go any further than 3.4ghz though since it I pushed the voltage up to 1.5v(for 3.5ghz) and it was still getting errors from Prime 95, not to mention it would freeze as well. Anyways, at full load on Prime right now I'm hitting 50c. Does anyone think I can lower the voltage a bit more to get better temps and still keep the speed?

One other question. Does anyone know if my particular board will be AM3+ compatible? I'm looking to upgrade to a Bulldozer(and possibly a new mobo/memory) when they release it eventually.

Link to the guide? I have a X5 635 and I'm using the AsRock's EZ OC'ing tool which basically OC's for you.

 

[CaLe]

Ok, I think my computer is finally complete....all my parts have been purchased..

CASE:
NZXT Phantom Full Tower

118$ Shipped AR

Got that case, it's very slick. Good choice.

 

[clav]

I got a PC network related question.

I have a WRT54GL which is running Tomato 1.27, I am very happy with the router. The best I have ever used.

But one thing is bothering me, the slow WLAN. Is it possible to connect a Access Point "in front" of the WRT54GL and perhaps upgrade to 802.11n?

Can anyone recommend a device like that?

This what I had in mind.
http://i.imgur.com/2TlJU.jpg

It doesnt bother me if it creates two wireless networks.

Any objections to this? D-Link DAP-1360 .. I have heard bad things about D-Link, but that was a few years ago.
http://www.dlink.com/DAP-1360

That should technically work. BTW, Tomato is at version 1.28 now. You most likely will have to turn off DHCP on the Tomato router and let the new router handle all the IPs. Also, you'll have to set a static IP for the WRT54GL to the new router.

Also the SSIDs for the wireless points will have to be different names. Otherwise, they're going to cause interference.

As for the D-Link, I only buy routers that support Tomato. DD-WRT is a bit buggy and has some freezes/problems as it always felt beta-ish.

Perhaps it would be better to buy two new routers of the same type with WDS and runs Tomato. It's a bit of a pain to setup, but once you have it going, you can seemlessly hop from one wireless access point to the other although the relay router will only have half the speed of the router (signal origin). For your case, since you do have the main wires connected via ethernet, technically the slowdown should not exist.

Here's my list so far:

MB: ASUS P8P67 PRO

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Sound card: ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1

PSU:OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W

GPU: Not sure yet. I find the GTX 570 to be very expensive. I will need a good one, but I won't be playing games a lot. I have a GTX 260 at work and we make console games and it works quite fine. I'm thinking of getting something above it, but GTX 570 is too much for me.

SSD: I'm thinking using the Intel 320 40GB. It's supposedly partitioned 30/10, will this be fine? I'm guessing I can install Windows 7 on the 10GB? I'll use my 1TB HDD for external storage. I have an internal 80GB HDD also, which I guess I could do something with?

800$ so far, not counting the GPU. Need to add casing and two monitors.

You could look into the GTX 560 Ti (or AMD cards if you're going to stay in Windows).

As for the SSD, eh, I wouldn't do that. I would rather use all 40 GB for the OS.

 

[chaosblade]

So I found a guide I suppose for overclocking the X4 630 on my MSI 870A-G54. I've got it at 3.4ghz @ 1.44v or 1.45v. Running Prime 95 to check for errors. I can't go any further than 3.4ghz though since it I pushed the voltage up to 1.5v(for 3.5ghz) and it was still getting errors from Prime 95, not to mention it would freeze as well. Anyways, at full load on Prime right now I'm hitting 50c. Does anyone think I can lower the voltage a bit more to get better temps and still keep the speed?

One other question. Does anyone know if my particular board will be AM3+ compatible? I'm looking to upgrade to a Bulldozer(and possibly a new mobo/memory) when they release it eventually.

That's a pretty nice OC for an Athlon II. Lower voltage probably won't do much for your temps unless you can take a significant chunk out of it. Something like 0.02 wouldn't make much difference, but it would still be better for your CPU, so it's worth trying to get it as low as you can while remaining stable.

Here's my list so far:

MB: ASUS P8P67 PRO

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)

Sound card: ASUS XONAR_DG 5.1

PSU:OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W

GPU: Not sure yet. I find the GTX 570 to be very expensive. I will need a good one, but I won't be playing games a lot. I have a GTX 260 at work and we make console games and it works quite fine. I'm thinking of getting something above it, but GTX 570 is too much for me.

SSD: I'm thinking using the Intel 320 40GB. It's supposedly partitioned 30/10, will this be fine? I'm guessing I can install Windows 7 on the 10GB? I'll use my 1TB HDD for external storage. I have an internal 80GB HDD also, which I guess I could do something with?

800$ so far, not counting the GPU. Need to add casing and two monitors.

If a 260 is fine for your work, a 570 is major overkill. An OC'd 460 1GB or 6870 would cost a lot less ($150-$190, depending on which card you get) and still be a pretty nice step above your 260.

And I wouldn't bother with a 40GB SSD. Maybe for a work PC if that's all you're using it for, but don't partition it. Windows 7 will want more than 10GB. In fact it will probably want most of that drive (doesn't Win7 recommend 30GB+ for the primary HDD? Edit: It's 20GB minimum, and you'll want more than that to run it efficiently.)

 

[RS4-]

Settled on the p8z68-v pro since I'm getting a discount from ncix buddy. I think I'd have picked it anyway since there was only a $15 difference with the p67 pro with the 2500k bundle.

Now I've got to find some "cheap" 8GB ram that works well and most likely an f3 (?) 2TB drive

 

[Aurarian]

Link to the guide? I have a X5 635 and I'm using the AsRock's EZ OC'ing tool which basically OC's for you.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/263985-29-risks-overclocking-approach

It's pretty simple. Just read the lower part.

That's a pretty nice OC for an Athlon II. Lower voltage probably won't do much for your temps unless you can take a significant chunk out of it. Something like 0.02 wouldn't make much difference, but it would still be better for your CPU, so it's worth trying to get it as low as you can while remaining stable.

Yeah, I think I will try to see how far down I can get it.

 

[nitric0]

I'm guessing ASRock's EZ OC tool doesn't change the voltage?

 

[squicken]

SSD: I'm thinking using the Intel 320 40GB. It's supposedly partitioned 30/10, will this be fine? I'm guessing I can install Windows 7 on the 10GB? I'll use my 1TB HDD for external storage. I have an internal 80GB HDD also, which I guess I could do something with?

800$ so far, not counting the GPU. Need to add casing and two monitors.

I think getting an SSD at this point, unless you're going to go at least 160 GB, isn't a great idea. You're going to want to install your applications and games on it. One of the biggest "oh shit" moments is when horrible/awful iTunes loads up almost instantly instead of taking 10 seconds.

Or when dealing with pdf files or docs or Excel. And just like regular HDDs, the closer to capacity a SSD gets, the worse it performs. You don't want to go higher than 80% for many of them. You'll see recommendations around to leave 20%-30% unallocated to let garbage collection work to peak performance.

I also wouldn't go SATA 3.0GB/s at this point, unless reliability is the number one concern. Even then, Intel makes the 510 series. Though it doesn't stack up in performance with the new Sandforce drives.