Rate my (soon to be) system

sociable-nomad

Hi all I know you must get a billion of these posts a day, but to those of us who are a little "computationally dis-advantaged" your sage advice is greatly appreciated.

Im slowly collecting the parts for my new (and first) system and wanted to know others thought's / suggestions:

CURRENTLY HAVE:

* Sunbeamtech uv reactive perspex case.
* Antec 550 watt power supply
* assorted flashy light type fans
* UV cathode for aformentioned perspex case

TO BUY NEXT PAY:

* Samsung 250GB Serial ATA hard drive
* Western Digital Raptor 36GB 10000rpm SATA hard drive
* Tt Beetle HSF (fits with the overly lighted theme)
* some form of mouse and keyboard combo (suggestions?)

TO BUY FOLLOWING PAY DAY:

* Intel E6600 CPU
* Asustek P5N32-SLI Deluxe nForce4 SLI Motherboard
* and my graphics card which leads me to my next question:
am I better to get the (higher in its range) GeForce 7900 GT or the similarly priced (but lower in its range) Geforce 8800 GTS?

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions - S.N -

Leonardo

I might be wrong, but I believe the system would function so much better with some physical memory. I assume DRAM is on your list?

sociable-nomad

Ahhh oops...I knew I forgot something, Wrote the list in a hurry...:banghead: Im lookin to get ram with next weeks pay as well... (post mid feb)

Suggestions for some middle of the road ram, lookin for 2 gigs but no idea where to start manufacturer/type wize...

Leonardo

Geil, G.Skill, and Gigaram all make very good 'mid-range' DRAM. Their products are usually very good values. Patriot's mid-range RAM is excellent.

Winga

You'll be far better off with the Geforce 8800. Even if it is the GTS. If you into gaming you'll want hardware that can run future games in DX10.

Winfrey

So far I like your cpu and mobo. One thing I would question is the raptor drive. I just don't think its worth the extra money. I would rather have another hard drive and then put it in raid 0 to improve performance. But its your decision in the end .

As far as video cards go I would probably go with the newer technology, but I would also buy the video card last so as to get the most bang for your buck.

Riptide

I agree with FreeC8675 in regards to the Raptor. I have two of them, and am happy with them But I'm running them in RAID. If I hadn't planed on runing them in RAID I wouldn't have spent the extra money to get two small HDs. If you do plan on picking up a second one down the road then that's different (although cost issues aside, I personally would get them both at the same time). Also, I could be wrong, but I belive that you would have to reload your system to enable the RAID if you were to pick up a second Raptor down the road.

Winfrey

Yah you would have to reload your system in order to RAID the drives (which happens to be a dilemma for me since I want to run 4 250 gigs in RAID 0 and have nothing to backup with )

However IMHO you should pick another samsung 250 gig drive instead of the raptor. I'm just not a believer in the amazingness of the Raptor drives. I'd rather have a boost in storage than a marginal increase in performance. But, Nomad, if you want all the fastest parts then the Raptor is definitely the top dog.

sociable-nomad

Im thikn Ill go for the extra storage to be honest, you all just confirmed my thoughts on the matter. only reason for gettin the raptor was a friend of mine has one in his running his most used applications and continually rants on about how good it is and that I should get one.

Winfrey

Good decision mate!

Pterocarpous

FreeC8675 wrote:

...you would have to reload your system in order to RAID the drives...

Actually you wouldn't have to do that if you didn't want to. You can preserve you current build and migrate into a RAID configuration.

• B4 installing the 2nd drive and setting up RAID, install the RAID drivers into the current build (OS).
• Image the HDD to external media (e.g. USB/Firewire ext HDD, network, or DVDs...) (I recommend Acronis True Image Workstation - fantastic imaging utility)
• Set up the RAID allowing it to format both drives.
• Then restore the image from external media.

Winfrey

How big will the hard drive image be if the RAID volume is currently 450 gigs? Also will this still work if the system partition is on the RAID volume? If it does then you may have solved one of my problems.

Pterocarpous

FreeC8675 wrote:

...How big will the hard drive image be if the RAID volume is currently 450 gigs?...

The compression ratio will depend on the imaging utility & what types of files are being compressed. In Acronis True Image (ATI) you can choose No Compression up to High Compression. I'm not sure what the approximate ratio is for each option. You'd have to check w/ ATI's documentation for that. When you do select a compression level option, ATI does tell you the approximate size the image will be and the aproximate amount of time it will take to create the image. You'll need to have sufficient free space somewhere other than the volume you are imaging to send the image to as it is being created.

FreeC8675 wrote:

...Also will this still work if the system partition is on the RAID volume?...

Which partition are you referring to? Are you referring to the partition that you will send the image to while it is being created? If so, you can do that to get the image created more quickly (e.g. image your primary partition to a logical volume on the same physical HDD) but you will need to get the image off of any HDD you intend to include in the RAID array b4 proceeding. IOW, it (the image) will need to be located on a seperate physical HDD that will not be included in the RAID array. This can be an internal or external HDD.

Winfrey

Thx for your answers . By system partition I meant the one with the OS installed on it, but you answered that question anyway by stating I have to have some drive that won't be included in the RAID volume.

So for when I buy a new hard drive to add, I'll either do an old fashioned backup with DVD's or use a friends external hard drive. If I wasn't RAIDing all of my drives I would definitely use your idea. Is that software by any chance freeware?

Pterocarpous

FreeC8675 wrote:

...If I wasn't RAIDing all of my drives I would definitely use your idea...

I'd recommend you have at least one HDD that will not be included in the RAID array. Following are just a few reasons why that's important:

• You can move the paging file there. (Much more efficient than leaving it on the RAID.) There's another THREAD going right now re: that very issue.
• You can stash files there you need to save b4 futzing w/ your RAID array.
• It will provide the space needed to send image files to when imaging your RAID build (for system build backup purposes).
• It will provide space for your backup software to send your data backups to.
• It will provide you w/ a HDD to work w/ outside the RAID when trying to repair your RAID build.
• If you include all your HDDs in the RAID, you are putting all your eggs in one basket. You're giving yourself no safety net.
• Odviously I'm not talking about RAIDS in the terrabytes. Solutions for that capacity require different hardware devices, systems and management techniques all together.

My suggestion was to provide you w/ an alternative to having to rebuild your HDD from scratch (re-install OS, programs, etc.). You don't have to do that when migrating to a RAID array from a non-RAID configuration. You can simply image the HDD you intend to include in the RAID (including your OS (primary) partition) then restore the image after the RAID controller is configured w/ the new RAID array.

FreeC8675 wrote:

...Is that software by any chance freeware?...

No. Nor is any quality imaging software that I know of. It's $49.99US. It's an invaluable tool to have. I recommend it to any person responsible for maintaining their own or others' computers. If you can shell out the bucks for the hardware, I highly recommend you do the same for the software tools you'll need as well (e.g. a good imaging utility and a good backup utility). Hardware and software - It's all part of the package. :smiles:

Winfrey

Thats cool, I know exactly where you are coming from. But,

1) I plan on reformatting anyway

2) once all my data is backed up on DVD I won't be all that worried

3) I plan on getting a backup IDE drive sometime or external HD, soon after I get another SATA2 drive for RAID.

4) Thans for all your suggestions, it was pretty cool of you.

If my situation was different then I would probably do it your way .

Pterocarpous

FreeC8675 wrote:

Thats cool, I know exactly where you are coming from. But,
1) I plan on reformatting anyway
2) once all my data is backed up on DVD I won't be all that worried
3) I plan on getting a backup IDE drive sometime or external HD, soon after I get another SATA2 drive for RAID.
4) Thans for all your suggestions, it was pretty cool of you.
If my situation was different then I would probably do it your way .

You are more than welcome, FreeC8675. It's definetly true; the care and feeding of our computers can get quite expensive. The good news is with many of the types of utilities I mentioned, they last a really long time. You can use them for years until compatibility issues w/ different OSs and/or file systems present themselves. (e.g. 32 vs 64 bit & good ol' Vista just 'round the corner :rolleyes2)

Please, be sure to post back here and let us know how it goes or if you have questions along the way.

(Perhaps you could put those utilities I mentioned on your Santa wish list. )

sociable-nomad

Ok, thought it was time for a bit of an update;

I now have:

* Sunbeamtech Case
* Antec 550w "True Power" PSU
* Asus P5n32-sli (680i) Mobo
* Intel E6600 Cpu
* Corsair XMS2 'DOMINATOR' (PC8500) 2Gb Matched Pair
* Logitech G7 Mouse
* Asus DVD-RW (with Light Scribe)
* Western Digital 320 GbSATA 2 HDD
* Vista Ultimate (32 Bit)
* Brand X Keyboard (with blue LED's behind the keys)

To Buy:
* 8800 GTX
* 22' Widescreen Moniter

Let me know your comments...

Cheerz - SN -

edcentric

Nomad,
Looks tight. You went all out on memory I see.
As for the monitor, watch out. Resolution and response time are both important. You might look here for some tips. http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/07/03/wide_format_lcd_monitors/

mas0n

I have a Samsung 225BW and love it. It is the perfect balance of price/performance.

backlight bleed issues that people talk about were not an issue for me after I dropped the brightness to 50% and it's still plenty bright. Too bright at night actually.

This review here is what brought me to Short-Media in the first place.

RMF

I'd recommend against getting a Raptor aswell. I bought the 150GB version and have regretted it ever since. While there's no denying that it's a fast drive, it is just far too noisy when it's seeking. It is unbelievable loud. So loud infact that my GF is now trying to get me to move my PC out of our living room. To be honest, it irritates the hell out of me aswell. To make matters worse, I've just installed Vista, which seems to access the drive constantly for no apparent reason so most of the time now I switch the PC off when I'm not using it. This is something which was unheard of in the past :P

mas0n

I have an Antec P180 and can't hear my two Raptors at all even tho they are 3 feet away.

I don't understand all the Raptor bashing. The Raptors are a superior drive plain and simple. Faster seek times and higher bandwidth than any other SATA drive. You may or may not use your computer in a way that you will notice a significant difference.

Now, whether or not they are worth the price is a fool's argument, so I won't go there. I was lucky enough to pick up two 74GB (740ADFD) for $119 each at BBY a while back and couldn't be happier (except maybe for the fact that I gave BBY my money)

EDIT:

RMF wrote:

I've just installed Vista, which seems to access the drive constantly for no apparent reason

Vista has a drive indexing service (similar to google desktop) that will use your hard disk while the PC is idle in order to offer nearly instantaneous search results later. I know that feature can be turned off, but I don't have a Vista machine handy at the moment.

RMF

I thought it must be something like that. To be honest though, it didn't sound like it was just accessing the drive. It's much louder than it is when I'm using XP. It actually sounds more like it's stress testing the thing.

It doesn't really matter now anyway. I've had nothing but headaches with Vista and have gone back to XP again. I'll wait until they iron out a lot of the problems before I bother reinstalling it again.