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[dLMN8R]

aznpxdd, that case looks to be a bit too small for me, but Hazaro, that looks like just what I'm looking for! Thanks much for the suggestion, it's at the top of my list.

[edit] looks like they don't have it anymore :'-(



Anyway, right now my system is:

Opteron 165
2GB PC3200
8800GT

I'm going to go with:

Core 2 Quad Q9550
4GB DDR2
Gigabyte P35 or P45 mobo
keep the 8800gt for now

 

[gray_fox224]

I need some assistance guys and gals.

My PC crashes from time to time during bootup. Can't find the reasons.

Running vista 64

 

[lachesis]

Alright guys, I need some case recommendations. The Antec P182 looks sexy, but heavy as hell. I want something that's light, but built pretty well. It doesn't need to be huge or fancy, just have a good layout, without sharp edges, and without a cheap build.

Any ideas?

I have P182, and it's indeed a very well made case. My inner case is like super clean due to the wire routing option this case applies. However, Having detachable power cables for your PSU is quite helpful for proper wire-management.

I'll see if I can upload some pics of my inner case tonight....

I also have Centurion5, which I bought for less than 50 dollars. Absolutely love the case, although it's my one 2nd build. It was so straight-forward to build compared to my first build Antec 182 - I finished the job in less than half the time. (of course, having built one computer already made it more of efficient builder myself.)

 

[lachesis]

I need some assistance guys and gals.

My PC crashes from time to time during bootup. Can't find the reasons.

Running vista 64

Could be bunch of reasons - but maybe updating your MB bios might help... or perhaps some faulty RAM module might cause that too.

 

[brain_stew]

I need some assistance guys and gals.

My PC crashes from time to time during bootup. Can't find the reasons.

Running vista 64

Hmm try running memtest, see if it can pass 8 hours of Orthos on blend mode, perhaps try loosenig your memory timings or give the memory or CPU a tiny bit more voltage.

 

[Brad]

Hello everyone!


I'm a newb at building pc's and am currently in the process of ordering parts. I've picked out everything I think I need (not including OS, monitor, mouse etc) and I just want to know if all my parts are compatible and that I'm not missing anything or being totally stupid.

They're all listed here: (prices are Canadian)

Case - Ultra Aluminus ATX Black Mid-Tower Case - $85.98
Mobo - ECS X48T-A Motherboard - Intel X48, - $268.99
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor 3.0 GHz - $219.99
GPU - Palit Radeon HD 4850 Video Card - 512MB, 207.99
RAM - Patriot Extreme 4096MB Dual Channel - $100.99
PSU - Corsair / VX450W / 450-Watt / ATX / 120mm 97.99
Hard drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - 109.99

Total $1091.92

Any help is greatly appreciated, it's my first time. -_-

 

[Epix]

8800GTS 512MB or 4850 512MB?

 

[otake]

okay, I'm building a file server/ PVR. The case must be able to hold at least 4 hdd's, 5 would be great. I will buy a hauppage (?) card pair it up with ubuntu linux and run mythv. I will also run opensolaris on a vm that will manage a raidz zpool to store all my files and media. the zpool will be exported to the host OS via CIFS.

Can you suggests some cases, this is what I'm looking at so far.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163055

I'm building this guy in october. I've yet do decide on the motherboard. I'll probably go with intel. need a lot of sata ports though.

 

[Chiggs]

8800GTS 512MB or 4850 512MB?

4850.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

Hello everyone!
HELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLO

GPU - XFX Geforce 9800 GT 512 MB - $164.99


Any help is greatly appreciated, it's my first time. -_-

That's what she said?

Okay, swap out that GPU with this one:
ASUS EN9800GT ULTIMATE/HTDP/512M GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Basically a re-branded 9800GTX and cheaper than the 9800GT.

I'd go for that one.

 

[sonicspear64]

Hello everyone!


I'm a newb at building pc's and am currently in the process of ordering parts. I've picked out everything I think I need (not including OS, monitor, mouse etc) and I just want to know if all my parts are compatible and that I'm not missing anything or being totally stupid.

They're all listed here: (prices are Canadian)

Case - Ultra Aluminus ATX Black Mid-Tower Case - $85.98
Mobo - EVGA nforce 780i SLI Motherboard - $292.99
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Processor 2.66 GHz - $182.99
GPU - XFX Geforce 9800 GT 512 MB - $164.99
RAM - Patriot Extreme 4096MB Dual Channel - $100.99
Sound Card - Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE - $36.99
PSU - OCZ / GameXStream / 700-Watt / ATX / - $158.99
Hard drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - 109.99

Total $1,133.91

Any help is greatly appreciated, it's my first time. -_-

You can get an E8400 (3.0GHz) or a Q6600 (2.40GHz) for about the same price (even less in some places). The E8400 is probably better though.

 

[brain_stew]

Hello everyone!


I'm a newb at building pc's and am currently in the process of ordering parts. I've picked out everything I think I need (not including OS, monitor, mouse etc) and I just want to know if all my parts are compatible and that I'm not missing anything or being totally stupid.

They're all listed here: (prices are Canadian)

Case - Ultra Aluminus ATX Black Mid-Tower Case - $85.98
Mobo - EVGA nforce 780i SLI Motherboard - $292.99
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Processor 2.66 GHz - $182.99
GPU - XFX Geforce 9800 GT 512 MB - $164.99
RAM - Patriot Extreme 4096MB Dual Channel - $100.99
Sound Card - Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE - $36.99
PSU - OCZ / GameXStream / 700-Watt / ATX / - $158.99
Hard drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - 109.99

Total $1,133.91

Any help is greatly appreciated, it's my first time. -_-

Ditch the Nvidia motherboard, way, way overpriced and a piece of crap to boot. Pick up a nice P45 or X38/X48 (if you want crossfire) board instead if you don't want headaches, low OCs and stability problems.

Switch that 9800GT for a 4850, It can be had for $150 after rebate now and it'll comfortably outperform a 9800GT. Not too fond of cheapy sound cards either, probably no better than the HD sound that'll come with your motherboard, and I heard Creative Labs' Vista driver support sucks.

PSU is huge overkill pick up the 450w Corsair (way more than you'd need for that rig) or the 520w version if you want to really, really futureproof the system. Anything more is just pissing money against the wall.

I'd pick up a CPU cooler as well, something like the Arctic Freezer Pro or AKasa AK965, with it your CPU will reach some insane OCs. Still good practice even if you're leaving it at stock, means you can buy the cheaper OEM version of the CPU as well.

You'll save a lot of cash with my changes and get a better PC to boot. Can't be bad.

Edit: Yeah, that CPU is overpriced switch it for a E8400 or Q6600 for very similar outlay.

 

[Chiggs]

The E8400 is probably better though.

Not in the long run.

 

[lachesis]

okay, I'm building a file server/ PVR. The case must be able to hold at least 4 hdd's, 5 would be great. I will buy a hauppage (?) card pair it up with ubuntu linux and run mythv. I will also run opensolaris on a vm that will manage a raidz zpool to store all my files and media. the zpool will be exported to the host OS via CIFS.

Can you suggests some cases, this is what I'm looking at so far.


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129025
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811163055

I'm building this guy in october. I've yet do decide on the motherboard. I'll probably go with intel. need a lot of sata ports though.

Well it seems that you know ALOT more than I'd ever know (no pun intended) - but I'm sure P182 might be your best option - although it's got plenty of HDD slots - 3 or 4 on top, and 3 or 4 on bottom, IIRC - but with today's super long video cards, your mid-section might not be usable for HD mounting. I have p182, and I'm using the whole mid-section it as my air-tunnel, added a 120mm fan in the front. If you do install all 4 bottom HDDs, it would be a major air blockage for bottom mount PSU, and fan's in there too, which you can remove the fan if you'd wish. Right now I just have 2 HDDs on the bottom, so it's not much of trouble for me...

If you just want

 

[Brad]

Thanks for all the help. I updated my build in my original post. Tell me what you think!

 

[bee]

Hello everyone!


I'm a newb at building pc's and am currently in the process of ordering parts. I've picked out everything I think I need (not including OS, monitor, mouse etc) and I just want to know if all my parts are compatible and that I'm not missing anything or being totally stupid.

They're all listed here: (prices are Canadian)

Case - Ultra Aluminus ATX Black Mid-Tower Case - $85.98
Mobo - EVGA nforce 780i SLI Motherboard - $292.99
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 Processor 2.66 GHz - $182.99
GPU - XFX Geforce 9800 GT 512 MB - $164.99
RAM - Patriot Extreme 4096MB Dual Channel - $100.99
Sound Card - Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy SE - $36.99
PSU - OCZ / GameXStream / 700-Watt / ATX / - $158.99
Hard drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - 109.99

Total $1,133.91

Any help is greatly appreciated, it's my first time. -_-

swap the psu for this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...03009&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-17-703-009-_-Homepage

swap the soundcard for a non shit one like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829132007&Tpk=asus xonar d1

swap the vastly overpriced nvidia mobo for practically any intel based mobo from gigabyte or asus, p45 or x38 imo

can't stand mid towers personally i'd go with a full tower but thats personal preference

 

[otake]

Well it seems that you know ALOT more than I'd ever know (no pun intended) - but I'm sure P182 might be your best option - although it's got plenty of HDD slots - 3 or 4 on top, and 3 or 4 on bottom, IIRC - but with today's super long video cards, your mid-section might not be usable for HD mounting. I have p182, and I'm using the whole mid-section it as my air-tunnel, added a 120mm fan in the front. If you do install all 4 bottom HDDs, it would be a major air blockage for bottom mount PSU, and fan's in there too, which you can remove the fan if you'd wish. Right now I just have 2 HDDs on the bottom, so it's not much of trouble for me...

If you just want

not going to have a big videocard. box not meant for games. an nvidia 7200 will be installed but will hardly ever be used. thx for the suggestion.

 

[lachesis]

Thanks for all the help. I updated my build in my original post. Tell me what you think!

I forgot the term, but I have corsair 520w... and it's got detachable power cables, which I can pick and choose which power line I'm willing to use. I'm not sure your 450w does it - but it's a added benefit - and perhaps leave you some room for Crossfire as well. You might want to consider 520w psu, if you see yourself might want to do so.

Also perhaps getting a smaller but faster HDD for your OS, perhaps? I think 80g might be good enough. Having a entirely separate HDD for your data and OS gives me much comfort in mind - that I can always format the OS HDD without worrying about the Data.

You might want to add a CPU Cooler (I think newegg sells Arctic Freezer 7.0 around 20some dollars) - but if you are getting a Quad, then AF7.0 might be not that great. It comes with thermal paste, but if you do want perhaps add a Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste.

And finally, don't forget to get some fans. I checked your case at tigerdirect, and it seems no fans are included - and I'm sure you already have that in mind...

 

[Brad]

I forgot the term, but I have corsair 520w... and it's got detachable power cables, which I can pick and choose which power line I'm willing to use. I'm not sure your 450w does it - but it's a added benefit - and perhaps leave you some room for Crossfire as well. You might want to consider 520w psu, if you see yourself might want to do so.

Also perhaps getting a smaller but faster HDD for your OS, perhaps? I think 80g might be good enough. Having a entirely separate HDD for your data and OS gives me much comfort in mind - that I can always format the OS HDD without worrying about the Data.

You might want to add a CPU Cooler (I think newegg sells Arctic Freezer 7.0 around 20some dollars) - but if you are getting a Quad, then AF7.0 might be not that great. It comes with thermal paste, but if you do want perhaps add a Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste.

And finally, don't forget to get some fans. I checked your case at tigerdirect, and it seems no fans are included - and I'm sure you already have that in mind...

I sure didn't.

What kind and how many fans do I need?

edit:Would something like this do?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2135206&Sku=ULT33131

 

[lachesis]

I sure didn't.

What kind and how many fans do I need?

edit:Would something like this do?

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2135206&Sku=ULT33131

The one above is a CPU cooler... I meant Case ventilation fans.

You'd need two 120mm fans, as I see your case will have 2 slots for them. 1 for rear, and another... probably front.

If you are geting a clear side, then perhaps get ones with LED too. Antec Tricool 120mm fan's got pretty nice blue tone to it, with clear blades.

 

[AstroLad]

what think ye?

Power Supply: 1200W Silverstone DA1200 Power Supply
Motherboard: Asus P5E3 Premium WIFI X48 Chipset
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9650 (3.0GHz x 4) 45nm 12MB L2 Cache
Hard Drive One: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache - SATA II
Video Card: ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5

 

[lachesis]

what think ye?

Power Supply: 1200W Silverstone DA1200 Power Supply
Motherboard: Asus P5E3 Premium WIFI X48 Chipset
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9650 (3.0GHz x 4) 45nm 12MB L2 Cache
Hard Drive One: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache - SATA II
Video Card: ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5

umm... I'm not worthy? Those are some kick-ass stuff. (envious)
As per your HDD drive - you could go with even smaller one, unless you are trying to do some Multi OS booting - but it seems you have near no-limit budget for your build, so I can't really see why not. 1200W PSU... whoa.

 

[AstroLad]

yeah i actually scaled back a bit thanks to the great advice here and i'm also getting away from my laptop mindset where it's almost impossible to upgrade.

 

[zoku88]

WTF do you need 1200W for?

 

[Brad]

The one above is a CPU cooler... I meant Case ventilation fans.

You'd need two 120mm fans, as I see your case will have 2 slots for them. 1 for rear, and another... probably front.

If you are geting a clear side, then perhaps get ones with LED too. Antec Tricool 120mm fan's got pretty nice blue tone to it, with clear blades.

Thanks, how about this one? http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3976142&sku=D15-1155

 

[AstroLad]

WTF do you need 1200W for?

comes with it *shrug*

 

[careful]

New GTX 260 with 216 SP reviews are up (at least the BFG MAXCORE OC one is..)
I'm too lazy to fetch the links I saw on various forums, but it seems like it's a small improvement over the existing 260, but still significant enough to get the edge over a 4870 in most games and even come close to a GTX 280 in a few games.

This will hopefully push down prices of the old 260's even lower.


======

Also, small question: What do you guys think of getting a P43 board? (If you were not planning to overclock). They are cheaper than the P45 boards, while still having a PCI-E 2.0 slot.

 

[lachesis]

yeah i actually scaled back a bit thanks to the great advice here and i'm also getting away from my laptop mindset where it's almost impossible to upgrade.

IIRC, aren't you going with Vista64....? Then why not going with RAID setup then? It would dramatically shorten your boot-up time. It needs 2 or more (depending on your RAID setting) same HDDs to make it run faster. Unless you get SSD, I believe it's the fastest way to load up your OS and other benefits.

(Basically, it's mirroring its image onto another twin HDD, and reads the data in parallel - which I think that's the basic idea).

One of my co-worker bought bunch of same sized small HDDs, much slower speed than raptors, raid them together and got much faster boot-up result.

There's always a danger of one of your drive might fail someday - and perhaps maybe when you upgrade your system down the roads - you can used the extra HDDs for your external HDD too.

 

[brain_stew]

what think ye?

Power Supply: 1200W Silverstone DA1200 Power Supply
Motherboard: Asus P5E3 Premium WIFI X48 Chipset
Processor: Intel® Core™ 2 Quad Q9650 (3.0GHz x 4) 45nm 12MB L2 Cache
Hard Drive One: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache - SATA II
Video Card: ATI Radeon™ HD 4870 X2 2GB GDDR5

1200w PSU?? You planning to power the rest of your city on the side??

Rest is looking nice though, I'd still plump for an extra drive for storage, game installs are becoming very large, so that 300GB will be swallowed up super quick, leaving no space for any media or data.

With regards to RAID setups, I'm totally clueless tbh, will have to get advice off someone else on that one but, yes, when they work, they will give you a good boost in loading and boot times.

 

[AstroLad]

IIRC, aren't you going with Vista64....? Then why not going with RAID setup then? It would dramatically shorten your boot-up time. It needs 2 or more (depending on your RAID setting) same HDDs to make it run faster. Unless you get SSD, I believe it's the fastest way to load up your OS and other benefits.

(Basically, it's mirroring its image onto another twin HDD, and reads the data in parallel - which I think that's the basic idea).

One of my co-worker bought bunch of same sized small HDDs, much slower speed than raptors, raid them together and got much faster boot-up result.

There's always a danger of one of your drive might fail someday - and perhaps maybe when you upgrade your system down the roads - you can used the extra HDDs for your external HDD too.

ok i think b_s suggested that earlier. i've just never done it before so bit hesitant. yes i am going with 64 though (which is also what i had on my laptop). what, you just install all programs on one and all data files on another?

 

[lachesis]

Thanks, how about this one? http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3976142&sku=D15-1155

looks good to me! If you want to really compare, you should see the ones you'd like to buy and compare their noise level. You know having more fans in your computer really does add up too. One thing I like about Antec Tri-cool fans are there are manual switchers you can control the fan speed - but you can also select fan speed from motherboard, if you connect the fans to MB.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Okay, I'm a n00blet of the highest order when it comes to building a computer, but I'd like to contruct some kind of gaming rig. Can you direct me to some basic reference material to get started. It's gotta be better to know that before I start ordering parts :lol

No it doens't have to be a free resource, if they have an up to date book on the topic, that might work too.

 

[brain_stew]

Okay, I'm a n00blet of the highest order when it comes to building a computer, but I'd like to contruct some kind of gaming rig. Can you direct me to some basic reference material to get started. It's gotta be better to know that before I start ordering parts :lol

No it doens't have to be a free resource, if they have an up to date book on the topic, that might work too.

Well the first (and probably most difficult part, surprisingly) is choosing your parts. Just read through few pages of this thread to get a handle on what are the bang for buck and performance parts at the moment would be my advice to start with.

Edit: This is a really nice guide on putting together a modern rig, you'll have to sign up to see the pictures but it should only take a minute.

 

[lachesis]

ok i think b_s suggested that earlier. i've just never done it before so bit hesitant. yes i am going with 64 though (which is also what i had on my laptop). what, you just install all programs on one and all data files on another?

It's a little different matter. RAID is basically setting multiple HDDs to do the same thing. Think of double pumping the data into your system, while 1 HDD would do just single pumping. Faster reading, and boot-ups, I believe.

Let's say if you get 2 of 150gb Raptors for Raid set-up - then you will recognize them as one single drive, 150gb in your windows. Two HDD working as one, helping each other loading faster. I think some people just use the RAID for OS only and save all their programs on another separate drive - depending on how much program you are going to install in your computer, I guess.

Having another HDD for data is a different matter, but I highly recommend it too. You could get slower, larger HDD(s) for storing all your data. Having a entirely, and physically separate HDD is quite nice when you re-install your OS and all.

So basically I'm saying..

Get 2 Raptors for RAID setup - for your OS or OS and Programs purpose.
Get 1 larger, 7200rpm HDD with big cache for your DATA (and/or Program Drive)

Hope I made myself clear...

 

[AstroLad]

aaahhhhh okay i'll have to look into that. i wonder how complex the setup is.

 

[lachesis]

Okay, I'm a n00blet of the highest order when it comes to building a computer, but I'd like to contruct some kind of gaming rig. Can you direct me to some basic reference material to get started. It's gotta be better to know that before I start ordering parts :lol

No it doens't have to be a free resource, if they have an up to date book on the topic, that might work too.

You don't have to follow exactly what he did, and some of his stuff is getting old - but this site did help me out when I built my first computer in January.

www.mysuperpc.com
(don't laugh! )

It's got step-by-step pictured guide which you can see.

However most I learned about building a PC was from... actual maual from the case and motherboard.

 

[brain_stew]

You don't have to follow exactly what he did, and some of his stuff is getting old - but this site did help me out when I built my first computer in January.

www.mysuperpc.com
(don't laugh! )

It's got step-by-step pictured guide which you can see.

However most I learned about building a PC was from... actual maual from the case and motherboard.

This can't be stressed enough, motherboards are very well labelled, colour coded, and come with very good manuals nowadays. My first build was only ~4 months ago but it was a lot easier than I imagined. Its like Lego for geeks really.

 

[lachesis]

aaahhhhh okay i'll have to look into that. i wonder how complex the setup is.

It shouldn't be too hard, I think. (coming from near computer illiterate till January. :lol :lol )

When you install your Vista 64 - it should give you an option for it too. Still an XP user, so I am not too sure - but I really can't see it that hard. Just be sure that there are different types of RAID - and ones using 2 HDD are the most basic one. Some people connect multiple HDDs. (Gotta have many SATA ports, I guess. )

Having said that, you are basically using 2 drives for 1, and when 1 fails, the other (I think) won't work either. And that's why I think a lot of people use it just for OS only, keep the program on another separate HDD.

 

[brain_stew]

It shouldn't be too hard, I think. (coming from near computer illiterate till January. :lol :lol )

When you install your Vista 64 - it should give you an option for it too. Still an XP user, so I am not too sure - but I really can't see it that hard. Just be sure that there are different types of RAID - and ones using 2 HDD are the most basic one. Some people connect multiple HDDs. (Gotta have many SATA ports, I guess. )

Having said that, you are basically using 2 drives for 1, and when 1 fails, the other (I think) won't work either. And that's why I think a lot of people use it just for OS only, keep the program on another separate HDD.

With the RAID setup you're describing when one fails, the other won't die but you will lose all your data. Ofcourse with two drives, your chance of a failure and losing your data doubles. There are other types of RAID setups that avoid this but you may have to ask your questions elsewhere unless GAF has a resident RAID expert??

 

[Brad]

Thanks to everyone here I think I've got my final specs.

Case -Thermaltake VI1000BWS M9 ATX Mid-Tower Case - 97.99
Mobo - ECS X48T-A Motherboard - Intel X48, - $268.99
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor 3.0 GHz - $219.99
GPU - Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 Video Card - 512MB GDDR5 - 353.99
RAM - Patriot Extreme 4096MB Dual Channel - $100.99
PSU - Corsair CMPSU-520HX 520-Watt Power Supply - 158.99
Hard drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - 109.99

Total 1562.24

I upgraded my GPU from what I had earlier, will my PSU still handle it? (sorry I'm a noob)

 

[brain_stew]

Thanks to everyone here I think I've got my final specs.

Case -Thermaltake VI1000BWS M9 ATX Mid-Tower Case - 97.99
Mobo - ECS X48T-A Motherboard - Intel X48, - $268.99
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Processor 3.0 GHz - $219.99
GPU - Sapphire Radeon HD 4870 Video Card - 512MB GDDR5 - 353.99
RAM - Patriot Extreme 4096MB Dual Channel - $100.99
PSU - Corsair CMPSU-520HX 520-Watt Power Supply - 158.99
Hard drive - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 750GB - 109.99

Total 1562.24

I upgraded my GPU from what I had earlier, will my PSU still handle it? (sorry I'm a noob)

Quite effortlessly it'd likely manage two of them. You've got the makings of a very nice rig there. Do you plan to possibly use Crossfire in the future? As if you don't might as well pick up a P45 motherboard (saving around $150) which will actually give you basically the same user experience anyway.

 

[Angry Grimace]

So what's the gaming benefit of a Quad-Core over a Dual core? It's getting harder and harder for someone as out of the loop as I to know what's good and what's not.

 

[Brad]

Quite effortlessly it'd likely manage two of them. You've got the makings of a very nice rig there. Do you plan to possibly use Crossfire in the future? As if you don't might as well pick up a P45 motherboard (saving around $150) which will actually give you basically the same user experience anyway.

I'm not too sure, would it be a huge improvement if in 5-6 months I bought another 4870 or is not worth the extra cash?

 

[brain_stew]

So what's the gaming benefit of a Quad-Core over a Dual core? It's getting harder and harder for someone as out of the loop as I to know what's good and what's not.

At the moment? Nothing really but any 45nm Core 2 will clock to 3ghz+ at which point the bottleneck is put strictly on the GPU for nigh on every game out there. So considering that, I'd base my decision on future performance (as the here and now is essentially the same, even if the Duo clocks higher) in which case the quad clearly wins out. There's plenty of benefits outside of gaming as well. That's my thinking on the subject anyway, and it has you more than covered for now and for a good few years to come.

I'm not too sure, would it be a huge improvement if in 5-6 months I bought another 4870 or is not worth the extra cash?

Honestly the 4870 is quite a beast and by the time you come round to needing to upgrading, a brand new card is likely a better solution than crossfiring your 4870. Its a nice feature to have, no doubt, but I think it struggles to warrant a $100+ premium. Its not my cash tho and for some it makes sense, I don't know how much "value" $100 has to you tho so I can't really say.

 

[AstroLad]

With the RAID setup you're describing when one fails, the other won't die but you will lose all your data. Ofcourse with two drives, your chance of a failure and losing your data doubles. There are other types of RAID setups that avoid this but you may have to ask your questions elsewhere unless GAF has a resident RAID expert??

yep raid 0 improves hd performance and raid 1 backs up your data. you can also do raid 1+0 and have both (4 hdds). also raid 5. interesting, may like into a raid 0 setup.

 

[VictimOfGrief]

yep raid 0 improves hd performance and raid 1 backs up your data. you can also do raid 1+0 and have both (4 hdds). also raid 5. interesting, may like into a raid 0 setup.

Or just save the money, buy a VelociRaptor drive as your primary and have a 1TB secondary and a 500GB external for data backup. Cheaper.

 

[bee]

Case -Thermaltake VI1000BWS M9 ATX Mid-Tower Case - 97.99
Mobo - ECS X48T-A Motherboard - Intel X48, - $268.99
PSU - Corsair CMPSU-520HX 520-Watt Power Supply - 158.99

I upgraded my GPU from what I had earlier, will my PSU still handle it? (sorry I'm a noob)

thermaltake cases are cheap plastic tat imo
$270 on a ecs mobo, insanity
the psu i linked to is much better and cheaper than the corsair, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703009

 

[otake]

It's a little different matter. RAID is basically setting multiple HDDs to do the same thing. Think of double pumping the data into your system, while 1 HDD would do just single pumping. Faster reading, and boot-ups, I believe.

Let's say if you get 2 of 150gb Raptors for Raid set-up - then you will recognize them as one single drive, 150gb in your windows. Two HDD working as one, helping each other loading faster. I think some people just use the RAID for OS only and save all their programs on another separate drive - depending on how much program you are going to install in your computer, I guess.

Having another HDD for data is a different matter, but I highly recommend it too. You could get slower, larger HDD(s) for storing all your data. Having a entirely, and physically separate HDD is quite nice when you re-install your OS and all.

So basically I'm saying..

Get 2 Raptors for RAID setup - for your OS or OS and Programs purpose.
Get 1 larger, 7200rpm HDD with big cache for your DATA (and/or Program Drive)

Hope I made myself clear...

ummmm sort of. see there are different raid levels that serve different purposes. most gamers implement raid0 ( a stripe set). what this basically means is that both drives show up as one to the OS and their size is aggregated. ie:

two 500 gb drives in raid0 = 1 TB.

some people implement this for their entire system, meaning they put their OS and all the programs on the stripe set. This ends up increasing reads and writes but increases the probability of failure since if any of the two drives fail the entire set is broken and you've lost your data.

Other people put their OS on a drive and do raid0 on 2 other drives, store all their games there.


there's also raid1, raid5 and my favorite, raidz. I can explain all of them if you guys are curious.

 

[Angry Grimace]

The wiki on RAID actually explained it to me perfectly, although maybe not in implementation.

 

[otake]

yep raid 0 improves hd performance and raid 1 backs up your data. you can also do raid 1+0 and have both (4 hdds). also raid 5. interesting, may like into a raid 0 setup.

not really. raid1 is a mirror not a backup. meaning in keeps your system running while a drive fails. I guess in a normal person mindset that may seem like a backup but it really isn't since the likelihood of losing that drive is pretty big since it's been doing all the same work the other raid member was doing. it can function as a backup but it really isn't. it's just a way to buy some time.

raid5 is the way to go. 3 drives. 2 for storage, 1 for parity and you can lose 1. that said, good luck finding a controller for cheap that will do raid5.

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I do this crap for a living. I'm actually exited to be talking about it right now. isn't that depressing?