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[Eaten By A Grue]

Hey guys,

I'm looking in the neighborhood for some form of backup for my hard drives. I want to be able to backup my steam games, videos, pictures, ect. I'm looking for something around 1.5-2TB. I should only need to do an initial backup once, and then maybe update with newer stuff every year or so.

What is the commonly accepted backup method as of now, external drives? Does anyone have any decent recommendations?

Also, any suggestions for a reliable and cheap internal 500gb drive?

For things like Steam back-ups that do not require the HDD to be running 24/7 (there is not really a point), I have a HDD dock: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066. Every time I download a Steam game I just pop in a drive, back it up, then pop it back out.

Just wanted to say thanks again for all your help with making my new PC a reality! Here is the result:

I think your power supply is upside down. You are blowing hot air into the case when it should be blowing underneath the case. I have done that before and did not realize it till like two years later. :-/

 

[mkenyon]

So I need some help and if someone that knows their stuff can provide me some aid, I'll gladly gift you a steam game (cheaper sale one of course).

I got my stuff together (took me a bit -- not as knowledgable as I once was) and I'm ready to buy! But just need some help on certain parts of my build and am open to any alternatives and suggestions. (I want to order this boy already!)

This is going to be heavy for CG/rendering as well as hard core gaming, but I want to spend ~$1,000

So here's what I got so far:

(all Newegg -- Microcenter is cheaper, but I don't want to drive that far)
CPU: Core i7 3770 3.4GHz LGA 1155 Processor
$320 (http://tinyurl.com/cnldkjl)

MOBO: ASRock Z77 Pro3 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel
$95 (http://tinyurl.com/7m82rln)

GPU: MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr II GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP
$250 (http://tinyurl.com/bpe8afe)

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
$105 (http://tinyurl.com/7wpw2f3)

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80
$110 (http://tinyurl.com/3q462e7)

HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
$90 (http://tinyurl.com/nn5mzk)

Plus $20 Optical drive and I've already got a LARGE case (my Original comp goes to GF)

My Questions (very much appreciate the assistance!)
1. Is it all compatible together? And is that motherboard any good for its price?
2. Is the Nvidia 570 worth it? AND is MSI a good manufacture choice?
3. I'm looking for a good Westinghouse HDD that's equivalent to the samsung, any suggestions?
4. Any other suggestions?

Thank you very much for the help, also let me know your steam ID!

1. Yes.
2. Yes, and yes. Twin Frozr is, in my opinion, the best non-reference cooler. I think this 7870 is a better option for the price though.
3. Do you mean Western Digital? If so, Caviar Black.
4. Get a 3700K and the CM Hyper 212+ cooler. Also, swap the PSU for something else. Seasonic S12II is a good choice, as is the Seasonic X650, both of which are on sale on Newegg.

Hey guys,

I'm looking in the neighborhood for some form of backup for my hard drives. I want to be able to backup my steam games, videos, pictures, ect. I'm looking for something around 1.5-2TB. I should only need to do an initial backup once, and then maybe update with newer stuff every year or so.

What is the commonly accepted backup method as of now, external drives? Does anyone have any decent recommendations?

Also, any suggestions for a reliable and cheap internal 500gb drive?

NAS with Western Digital Caviar Reds.

 

[Stubo]

Another thing I should probably ask about here is keyboard and mouse. For the moment I'm using a generic keyboard and my old Logitech VX Nano from my laptop. I have pretty massive hands so I was looking at the Razer Deathadder and Logitech G500 as mouse options, does anyone have any opinions or recommendations on this?

For a keyboard I thought perhaps the Logitech Illuminated Keyboard, but I don't really know a huge amount about mechanical keyboards aside from the concurrent key presses thing. Sell me on them, Mechanical GAF

Further thoughts on this, would the G700 also be worth looking at? I know that the keyboard and mouse are in use constantly so it's worth paying for good ones, I just need to figure out what good options are in each area.

Opinions seem to be so conflicted on Razer mice, but I think I've ruled out a mechanical keyboard on noise grounds. Any thoughts, guys?

 

[Razek]

For things like Steam back-ups that do not require the HDD to be running 24/7 (there is not really a point), I have a HDD dock: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817153066. Every time I download a Steam game I just pop in a drive, back it up, then pop it back out.


I think your power supply is upside down. You are blowing hot air into the case when it should be blowing underneath the case. I have done that before and did not realize it till like two years later. :-/

This is interesting. With this, would I be safe buying the absolute cheapest hard drive since I would only ever have it powered on for a few hours a year?

{SNIP}

NAS with Western Digital Caviar Reds.

These look a little to expensive for my blood. (NAS in general)

 

[Eaten By A Grue]

This is interesting. With this, would I be safe buying the absolute cheapest hard drive since I would only ever have it powered on for a few hours a year?




These look a little to expensive for my blood. (NAS in general)

Well since you can redownload all your Steam games if something happens to this backup hard drive, I do not see why not.

 

[gutterboy44]

Further thoughts on this, would the G700 also be worth looking at? I know that the keyboard and mouse are in use constantly so it's worth paying for good ones, I just need to figure out what good options are in each area.

Opinions seem to be so conflicted on Razer mice, but I think I've ruled out a mechanical keyboard on noise grounds. Any thoughts, guys?

I had the diNovo Edge for about 5 years and loved the "prefect stroke" keys that they use on the keys. It is by far the best keyboard I have ever typed on, way better than mechanical keyboards imo. Anyway, that doesn't have a numpad which is annoying for gaming so I replaced it with the illuminated keyboard when it eventually died (Logitech actually replaced my dinovo edge for me for free despite being well out of warranty, I now use it at work). The Logitech Illuminated keyboard also uses the "perfect storke" key tech but it isn't quite as smooth as the dinovo edge but it is still better than a lot of keyboards out there. I like logitechs setup with FN keys and the illumination is very nice. If you like short throw keyboards, like on a lot of laptops and what not, I definitely recommend it. To this day I still type significantly faster on my dinovo edge than any keyboard. If they released a wired version with a numpad it would be the perfect keyboard.

 

[MrBig]

Further thoughts on this, would the G700 also be worth looking at? I know that the keyboard and mouse are in use constantly so it's worth paying for good ones, I just need to figure out what good options are in each area.

Opinions seem to be so conflicted on Razer mice, but I think I've ruled out a mechanical keyboard on noise grounds. Any thoughts, guys?

Cherry Reds,

Spoiler

the best mechanical switches

, have no inherent noise besides bottoming out and pressing the keys all the way down to the base. Definitely get one. For mice it's best to get one that fits in your hand the best, it's hard to give a general recommendation. Thumb rest is pretty much essential though. I use a G500 and its great. Same design as the G700.

 

[Infinite Justice]

What team should i go with in regards to Graphics card: Red team or Green Team.

Been with red team a few times, suffered minor driver issues but it was normally good

Don't remember going with the green team but i'm ultimately held back by low entry price and the best bang for buck requirments

 

[LightofRohan]

1. Yes.
2. Yes, and yes. Twin Frozr is, in my opinion, the best non-reference cooler. I think this 7870 is a better option for the price though.
3. Do you mean Western Digital? If so, Caviar Black.
4. Get a 3700K and the CM Hyper 212+ cooler. Also, swap the PSU for something else. Seasonic S12II is a good choice, as is the Seasonic X650, both of which are on sale on Newegg.

NAS with Western Digital Caviar Reds.

Thanks for the response!

Get a 3700K and the CM Hyper 212+ cooler.

Don't really know exactly what you mean here. It's a CPU cooler and rack? How do I know if it'll work w/ my CPU? And I couldnt find the "3700k"

Also, swap the PSU for something else. Seasonic S12II is a good choice, as is the Seasonic X650, both of which are on sale on Newegg.

Cool thanks! The 1st one you linked is 620W and the corsair I linked was 750W does that matter? Also is it really worth the extra 60 for modular?

Twin Frozr is, in my opinion, the best non-reference cooler. I think this 7870 is a better option for the price though.

Great! It's 2gb and 256 bit the one I linked is 1.25gb and 320 bit. Does the bit difference matter? Also, it only has one DVI slot -- would getting a HDMI to DVI cable work ok?

Thanks a lot for the help!

(i'll be back a little later. Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!)

 

[kharma45]

What team should i go with in regards to Graphics card: Red team or Green Team.

Been with red team a few times, suffered minor driver issues but it was normally good

Don't remember going with the green team but i'm ultimately held back by low entry price and the best bang for buck requirments

Depends on what you're going to spend, for midrange I'd go AMD with the 7850 and at high end I'd go nVidia with the 670.

 

[CoachKevin]

So I am running memory tester on my new pc. It is still running and has 77 errors returned already. So is the best course of action to just rma the ram and swap it with different sticks?

 

[cackhyena]

Okay, I'm about ready to take the plunge on the necessary parts I need to get now. Just wondering if there are any tweaks you guys would recommend. I have already received my optical drive, The Fractal R3 case is on it's way, I will be using my 4870 till I have more funds for a beefy new card, and SSD and PSU ( Corsair 750 ) are making the transition. Here's what I have lined up, ready to pull the trigger.

Intel Core i5 3570k 3.4 Ghz
Asus P8Z77 -V LK
Corsair Vengeance Blue 8GB 1600 mHz
Samsung F3 1TB
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO

That's all I can think of. Anything I might be missing?

Regarding RAM. Do you guys think I should be going for 16GBs?

 

[gokieks]

Don't really know exactly what you mean here. It's a CPU cooler and rack? How do I know if it'll work w/ my CPU? And I couldnt find the "3700k"

He meant the 3770K. And the Hyper 212+/EVO will fit your CPU/motherboard fine - it's one of the best heatsinks available in terms of performance for value.

Cool thanks! The 1st one you linked is 620W and the corsair I linked was 750W does that matter? Also is it really worth the extra 60 for modular?

It's very unlikely you'll ever need more power than Seasonic provides. And modular really helps to make the wiring a lot cleaner and tidier. Seasonic PSUs are excellent, and that is the PSU I'd recommend as well.

Great! It's 2gb and 256 bit the one I linked is 1.25gb and 320 bit. Does the bit difference matter? Also, it only has one DVI slot -- would getting a HDMI to DVI cable work ok?

nVidia and ATI architectures are different, so that doesn't directly compare between the two. The 7870 is faster than the 570 in most situations. And yes, you can use a HDMI-DVI cable to connect a second monitor to it.

 

[LightofRohan]

He meant the 3770K. And the Hyper 212+/EVO will fit your CPU/motherboard fine - it's one of the best heatsinks available in terms of performance for value.

Ah ok, I'll get that! Thanks!

It's very unlikely you'll ever need more power than Seasonic provides. And modular really helps to make the wiring a lot cleaner and tidier. Seasonic PSUs are excellent, and that is the PSU I'd recommend as well.

Alrighty, I gotta figure out if I want modular. I'll probably just get the cheaper one.

nVidia and ATI architectures are different, so that doesn't directly compare between the two. The 7870 is faster than the 570 in most situations. And yes, you can use a HDMI-DVI cable to connect a second monitor to it.

Crap.

So you prefer the 7870 over the 570gtx also?

Thanks a lot for the help!

 

[mkenyon]

I think your power supply is upside down. You are blowing hot air into the case when it should be blowing underneath the case. I have done that before and did not realize it till like two years later. :-/

The fan pulls air in. It exhausts out the back.

Further thoughts on this, would the G700 also be worth looking at? I know that the keyboard and mouse are in use constantly so it's worth paying for good ones, I just need to figure out what good options are in each area.

Opinions seem to be so conflicted on Razer mice, but I think I've ruled out a mechanical keyboard on noise grounds. Any thoughts, guys?

Check out the Sensei Raw. Sensei is already heads and tails above every other mouse out there, and this simply exchanges the pricey aluminum finish for a really high quality plastic. I had to stop using it as my hands are a bit smaller than average, and I could not palm grip it properly. Everyone else I know uses one.

Mechanical Reds aren't loud at all. Really light actuation means you don't need to hit your keyboard like its a typewriter. The Blues, in contrast, are deafening. If you type a lot or just enjoy consistent actuation, they are worth every penny.

*edit*
@Darknessbear

The more expensive Seasonic PSU is both modular and 'Gold' rated, which means its more efficient. It's just a better built piece of tech. That's not to say the less expensive one is not quality though.

Regarding RAM. Do you guys think I should be going for 16GBs?

8GB is already unnecessary. 16GB is silly unless you're doing multimedia work.

 

[cackhyena]

8GB is already unnecessary. 16GB is silly unless you're doing multimedia work.

Okay, just wondering. Thanks. Going through with this. First full build myself.

< nervous

 

[mkenyon]

Deep breath. The stuff is a lot more resilient than you'd imagine.

 

[Salsa]

LG make some nice thin monitors. LG E2351VR-BN LG E2360V

cant find any locally

 

[mkenyon]

S23A's are pretty slim too.

 

[kharma45]

Ah ok, I'll get that! Thanks!

Alrighty, I gotta figure out if I want modular. I'll probably just get the cheaper one.


Crap.

So you prefer the 7870 over the 570gtx also?

Thanks a lot for the help!

Unless you're getting a good deal on a 7870 the 7850 offers the better bang for buck, and with an overclock isn't too much slower than an overclocked 7870.

 

[LEGGZZZZ]

Ok Gaf, Feedback time:

I been putting together parts for my 1st build would greatly appreciate any feedback that could be given. I want to play games at the highest settings with nice framerates, but I also do graphic design, and figured a nice CPU would help with using media programs like photoshop, etc, etc. I also plan on buying a 27" monitor, maybe the Korean brand.


1
COOLER MASTER HAF X RC-942-KKN1 Black Steel/ Plastic ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Model #:RC-942-KKN1
Item #:N82E16811119225
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
Mail in Rebate
$199.99 $199.99
1
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Model #:HD103SJ
Item #:N82E16822152185
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$99.99 -$10.00 Instant $89.99
1
EVGA 04G-P4-3688-KR GeForce GTX 680 Classified 4GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
Model #:04G-P4-3688-KR
Item #:N82E16814130801
Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$659.99 $659.99
1
SeaSonic X Series X-850 (SS-850KM Active PFC F3) 850W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS 12V v2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS GOLD ...
Model #:X-850
Item #:N82E16817151102
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$209.99 -$10.00 Instant $199.99
1
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM
Model #:AS5-3.5G
Item #:N82E16835100007
Return Policy:Consumable Item Refund Only Return Policy
In Stock
$11.95 -$2.00 Instant $9.95
1
CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
Model #:CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B
Item #:N82E16820145347
Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$97.99 $97.99
1
ASUS P9X79 DELUXE LGA 2011 Intel X79 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Model #9X79 DELUXE
Item #:N82E16813131799
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$379.99 -$10.00 Instant $369.99
1
Intel Core i7-3930K Sandy Bridge-E 3.2GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) LGA 2011 130W Six-Core Desktop Processor BX80619i73930K
Model #:BX80619i73930K
Item #:N82E16819116492
Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$569.99 $569.99
1
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
Model #:GFC-02050
Item #:N82E16832116986
Return Policy:Software Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$99.99 $99.99
1
CORSAIR H80 (CWCH80) High Performance Liquid CPU Cooler
Model #:CWCH80
Item #:N82E16835181016
Return Policy:Standard Return Policy
In Stock
$109.99 -$18.00 Instant $91.99
1
SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC256B/WW 2.5" 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
Model #:MZ-7PC256B/WW
Item #:N82E16820147164
Return Policy:Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
In Stock
$274.99 -$25.00 Instant $249.99
Subtotal: $2,639.85

Any feedback or suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[CoachKevin]

So I am running memory tester on my new pc. It is still running and has 77 errors returned already. So is the best course of action to just rma the ram and swap it with different sticks?

Any ideas on this?

 

[mambadragon]

Any ideas on this?

If you're doing standard memtest, you should have 0 errors, so unfortunately it sounds like an RMA

 

[n0n44m]

Any ideas on this?

all memory timings set to default? testing with memtest86 ? then you should probably RMA yes

before you do that though you might want to play around with the sticks/memory slots by moving them around a couple of times, this way you can determine (1) which of the sticks is broken and more importantly (2) if your motherboard memory slots are working correctly.

so first remove one of the sticks until you have no errors anymore, then move the healthy stick to the slot of the broken one to confirm the issue is with the other stick and not with the motherboard

 

[mkenyon]

Huge list!

1) Any particular reason for the HAF X? It's really huge, and pretty much overkill for nearly all air cooling builds. I'd point you towards something like the Shinobi XL or Switch 810 if you want a full tower, or the Fractal Arc Midi and CM 690II Advanced for mid tower. There's a really large degree of subjectivity in case choices, so I won't say that the HAF X is bad, it's just a bit behind recent advancements.

2) MSI Lightning 680 > Classified. In addition to that, it's only worth it if you are a big time bencher/overclocker. If you are not comfortable with overclocking your videocard or the increased noise it will create, go with a 680 that has a great cooler like the Twin Frozr.

3) 750W PSU will do you fine with lots of headroom for overclocking. If you want to run two 680s, then by all means stick with the 850W. If aesthetics is important to you, you can buy unisleeved cables for the Corsair AX series as well, which is a rebranded Seasonic X. I wouldn't normally go out of my way to say this, but since you seem to want to spend a ton on it, thought you might care. My rig for reference:



4) Think about swapping out 120mm fans for the Corsair SP Quiet Edition fans on the H80. That'll cut down on noise big time. Otherwise, you could also take a gander at the NZXT Havik 140 or Coolermaster TPC 812, which offer similar/better performance for a bit less.

5) One of the best features about socket 2011 is that the processors have a really good memory controller on them. This means two things. The first is that you can actually overclock your memory and processor through an increased BCLK. The second is that you can actually push memory to decent speeds without instability. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096 That is literally the best RAM on the market at this moment. You can overclock it to 2133 without an issue. Having good memory that allows you to tweak your exact processor speed with BCLK is important.

 

[RukusProvider]

1) Any particular reason for the HAF X? It's really huge, and pretty much overkill for nearly all air cooling builds. I'd point you towards something like the Shinobi XL or Switch 810 if you want a full tower, or the Fractal Arc Midi and CM 690II Advanced for mid tower. There's a really large degree of subjectivity in case choices, so I won't say that the HAF X is bad, it's just a bit behind recent advancements.

2) MSI Lightning 680 > Classified. In addition to that, it's only worth it if you are a big time bencher/overclocker. If you are not comfortable with overclocking your videocard or the increased noise it will create, go with a 680 that has a great cooler like the Twin Frozr.

3) 750W PSU will do you fine with lots of headroom for overclocking. If you want to run two 680s, then by all means stick with the 850W. If aesthetics is important to you, you can buy unisleeved cables for the Corsair AX series as well, which is a rebranded Seasonic X. I wouldn't normally go out of my way to say this, but since you seem to want to spend a ton on it, thought you might care. My rig for reference:



4) Think about swapping out 120mm fans for the Corsair SP Quiet Edition fans on the H80. That'll cut down on noise big time. Otherwise, you could also take a gander at the NZXT Havik 140 or Coolermaster TPC 812, which offer similar/better performance for a bit less.

5) One of the best features about socket 2011 is that the processors have a really good memory controller on them. This means two things. The first is that you can actually overclock your memory and processor through an increased BCLK. The second is that you can actually push memory to decent speeds without instability. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096 That is literally the best RAM on the market at this moment. You can overclock it to 2133 without an issue. Having good memory that allows you to tweak your exact processor speed with BCLK is important.

I like my Haf X a lot. Lots of room. Does a good job staying quiet and has good build quality. Just wish it had removable dust filters.

 

[mkenyon]

It is a great case, but it does lack in some features that have become standard since it was released. There's also been a big move away from large fans in favor of 120s. You can't find very many good big fans, but options are out of this world for 120s.

When you go through 10+ cases yourself in a short period of time, and build in tons of other for other people, you tend to get picky. Maybe I'm being too picky

 

[Thraktor]

So you prefer the 7870 over the 570gtx also?

There's an important question here: what program(s) are you going to be using for rendering? Most multimedia tools are GPU-accelerated these days, and there can be big differences in performance depending on the GPU you're using.

If the software you're using has GPU acceleration based on the OpenCL API, then I'd definitely go with the 7870. In tests on the OpenCL-based ray-tracing benchmark LuxMark, the 7870 performs almost twice as well as the 570 (the second graph on this page). On the other hand, if it uses Nvidia's proprietary CUDA API for GPU acceleration, then you're stuck with a Nvidia card, and the 570 would be a good one to go for.

 

[LEGGZZZZ]

1) recommendations

Thanks mkenyon, your advice is appreciated. With the PSU, I was thinking maybe I can upgrade to SLI in the near future if need be, good to know that it will cover that.

 

[Infinite Justice]

Depends on what you're going to spend, for midrange I'd go AMD with the 7850 and at high end I'd go nVidia with the 670.

Thanks for the advice though $260 or so is really pushing it for me


The 256gb Crucial M4 is going for 179 on newegg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2112-_-EMC-072112-Index-_-SSD-_-20148443-L01C


Amazon with the same deal.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004W2JKZI/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[Chris R]

I'm so stupid.


So the reason why the HDMI wasn't working on my 670 was because my case was preventing the HDMI cable I was using from fully inserting.

Added an HDMI port saver and now it works fine with the HDMI alone. Good to know that I don't HAVE to use the DVI port on my GPU and then the on board HDMI.

But with Virtu does that even matter? HDMI from the motherboard would use the GPU to run my games right? Never bothered testing it after I got pissed off with the HDMI 'not working' on my GPU.

 

[Azzurri]

I asked this in the MAC threaad, but does anyone have 2 Apple LED monitors running on a PC?

 

[Cannon Goose]

But with Virtu does that even matter? HDMI from the motherboard would use the GPU to run my games right? Never bothered testing it after I got pissed off with the HDMI 'not working' on my GPU.

I'm curious about this as well.

 

[Whooter]

I would think that any video out ports physically located on the motherboard, would be using the onboard video, and not the discrete GPU.

 

[mkenyon]

I asked this in the MAC threaad, but does anyone have 2 Apple LED monitors running on a PC?

Which ones? Most likely you would need a GPU with two displayport outs.

 

[Shambles]

Fry's in Tukwila has tons of stuff, not as good as microcenter. Otherwise, maybe my hall and office closet. Not very many options here.

Thanks for the reply. I'm in the area for vacation but was hoping that something might pan out. Was also trying to grab a Nexus 7 for an aunt but so far that seems put me SoL as well. Damn you inaccurate online stock indicator Staples!

 

[Costcosaurus]

I got my SSD installed and did cable management in my case for at least a few hours.

Does anyone know how to format my hard drive? I tried in Windows but it told me that it can't be reformatted.

 

[Azzurri]

Which ones? Most likely you would need a GPU with two displayport outs.

27", I use a MiniDSP port to VGA adapter on my PC

 

[mkenyon]

27", I use a MiniDSP port to VGA adapter on my PC

Yeah, not gonna happen. You need to run it through displayport.

I got my SSD installed and did cable management in my case for at least a few hours.

Does anyone know how to format my hard drive? I tried in Windows but it told me that it can't be reformatted.

Your main drive? Or a secondary HDD? If the latter, you need to add it as a device in disk management.

 

[Costcosaurus]

Yeah, not gonna happen. You need to run it through displayport.


Your main drive? Or a secondary HDD? If the latter, you need to add it as a device in disk management.

It's my secondary HDD, aside from the SSD. How do I add it as a device?

 

[pje122]

I was out of town for work for a few weeks.
I come home and turn on my desktop. The fans get super super loud a few minutes after it boots up. I go from being able to move the mouse around normally to having it go out intermittently to not being able to move at all, use the keyboard, etc. I do a hard power-off because things just seem really bad at this point.
After 20 minutes I boot it back up again and a black screen comes up that says the following:

"Alert! Previous Fan Failure.
Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility"

Does this mean I should look into replacing the fans? Something else? It was working fine before I went on this work trip.

 

[Salsa]

you guys think a 60gb SSD is enough for just an OS + some general software drive?

 

[MrBig]

you guys think a 60gb SSD is enough for just an OS + some general software drive?

You'd have to be constantly deleting or moving games around. 128 gives much more flexibility.

It's my secondary HDD, aside from the SSD. How do I add it as a device?

As in it won't show up in explorer? Go into disk manager and delete whatever partition (if any) shows up for the drive and create a new one.

 

[burgerdog]

I ordered a 3570k a few days ago and should have it by Monday. Do I apply the hotfix that was released a few days ago once I have the rig up and running? Seems like a no shit question, but I am not sure if it's for certain mb+cpu combos or a general hotfix for all 3570k users.

 

[Salsa]

You'd have to be constantly deleting or moving games around. 128 gives much more flexibility.

I'd be doing pretty much everything on my 2tb drive. Im thinking just putting the OS and the occasional fundamental software (and maaaaaaaybe ONE game that im playing atm to speed up load times) to make the PC go faster purely as a desktop machine. Booting up faster, not chuggin with some loads, etc.

My OS drive is pretty busted and it just seems silly to get a low storage one for it when I can do one better and get an SSD, but I still wonder if 60's enough. Prices are nuts.

 

[Edgeward]

I'm using a 60gb SSD just for OS and general programs. Still plenty of space.

 

[blackprophesy]

you guys think a 60gb SSD is enough for just an OS + some general software drive?

Not really, particularly if you use Steam. While Steam Tool & Steam Mover work great, Steam still downloads games to your main drive first, then you manually move them to your secondary drive. So you need to have enough headroom on your SSD for the initial download. Think Max Payne 3 at 30GB.

 

[MrBig]

I'd be doing pretty much everything on my 2tb drive. Im thinking just putting the OS and the occasional fundamental software (and maaaaaaaybe ONE game that im playing atm to speed up load times) to make the PC go faster purely as a desktop machine. Booting up faster, not chuggin with some loads, etc.

My OS drive is pretty busted and it just seems silly to get a low storage one for it when I can do one better and get an SSD, but I still wonder if 60's enough. Prices are nuts.

Good 128gb SSDs are in sub $100 range all the time now, there's hardly a point to bothering with a 60 anymore. I've got W8, CS6 master collection, 3DS max, a host of other programs, and 3 games with 30gb remaining on my 128gb.

I ordered a 3570k a few days ago and should have it by Monday. Do I apply the hotfix that was released a few days ago once I have the rig up and running? Seems like a no shit question, but I am not sure if it's for certain mb+cpu combos or a general hotfix for all 3570k users.

What? I have no idea what you mean so I'd assume you mean a mobo bios update. You don't have to update unless there is a problem.

 

[Salsa]

Good 128gb SSDs are in sub $100 range all the time now.

maybe where you live, sonny

im looking at $110 for 60gb and between $200-$300 for 120

Not really, particularly if you use Steam. While Steam Tool & Steam Mover work great, Steam still downloads games to your main drive first, then you manually move them to your secondary drive. So you need to have enough headroom on your SSD for the initial download. Think Max Payne 3 at 30GB.

Why would I need to use Steam mover? I already have Steam and all my games installed on my secondary drive. Im doing a clean OS install when I get the SSD.

All you need to do is move the steam.exe and steamapps folder to where you want steam installed and it fixes everything at first launch. those Steam tools are for when you want to have games across multiple drives.

 

[blackprophesy]

Why would I need to use Steam mover? I already have Steam and all my games installed on my secondary drive. Im doing a clean OS install when I get the SSD.

All you need to do is move the steam.exe and steamapps folder to where you want steam installed and it fixes everything at first launch. those Steam tools are for when you want to have games across multiple drives.

Really? Wow never knew you could do that.