I forgot about the GUI enabled BIOS, I would like that too. I’m going to get 8 GB for now ( 2x 4GB bars). It would be nice if it supported 32, 16 would probably be fine. I’ll check out those videos soon, thanks for the info.
8? You said you wanted a lot. d:
What seems like a lot today will not be a lot in the future.
Been away from the thread for a little while, but researching away. I think I got all of the components selected, I am waiting for newegg to get the Mobo I want back in stock, and I want to double check a few things. Anywhere, here is the total list so far:
Case: Antec Sonata Elite Black ATX Mid Tower Case
Mobo: MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0
GPU: MSI N460GTX CYCLONE 1GD5/OC GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card
CPU: Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
Hard Drive #1: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD10EALX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"
Hard Drive #2: Western Digital Caviar Green WD5000AADS 500GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"
Total comes out to just under $1000.
Already purchased: SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W Power Supply
Any feedback would be appreciated!
2600 or 2600K?
What’s the thinking behind the 500gb green drive? Most ppl go small, fast boot drive, then big, slow storage drive.
Good RAM.
How did you settle on MSI instead of EVGA?
Thanks for the quick response!
2600 or 2600K?
Well, 2600 is about $30 cheaper, and I don’t plan to over clock. You think its worth the $30 to keep my options open? Probably.
What’s the thinking behind the 500gb green drive? Most ppl go small, fast boot drive, then big, slow storage drive.
My idea was one big and powerful drive for OS and all program files. (Blue 1 TB drive) Secondary smaller drive for all documents, music, video, stuff like that. (Green 500 GB drive)
When doing backups, you would really only need to do the secondary drive which would be a quicker backup and easier to store since its smaller. The Green drive is fairly inexpensive and is supposed to be very quiet.
I could break it into three drives, one small and powerfull for the OS, one large and powerfull for all other programs, and one for all documents. Maybe go Solid State for OS? Probably not worth is $ wise.
How did you settle on MSI instead of EVGA?
Lower noise, very similar performance.
I don’t over clock either, but I didn’t like the idea of having a nerfed cpu even if I never planned on using all of the features.
I keep my OS on my SSD, apps and anime on one mechanical drive, and music, docs, and the swap file on a second mechanical drive. Since my OS drive is an SSD, I only keep Windows, browsers and a couple of games on that drive. I also moved the temp and download folders on the mechanical drives. My advice however is to keep little on the OS drive because that gets the most use and is more likely to fail first (assuming apples to apples drives comparisons) I also advise splitting your partitions so the OS and swap files are at the fastest (outer/beginning) sectors of the drives.
I love my SSD though. Fast boots and I spawn first in a new instances in MMOs.
I was thinking about RAIDing my mechanical drives, but didn’t do that route.
Ok on the video card.
Btw, you’re not getting a DVD or Blu-ray burner?
I don’t over clock either, but I didn’t like the idea of having a nerfed cpu even if I never planned on using all of the features.
I will discuss this with my alternate technology advisory teams. 
As for the hard drive, Windows 7 says it takes 20 GB. That means at least a 32 GB SSD, with not much room to spare. It just doesn’t seem worth it. Yes, the OS drive is most likely to fail since it it used most, but if you plan it out correctly it shouldn’t matter even if it does. You just have to re-install windows and programs, but you wouldn’t loose anything important, except time and maybe some settings.
I also advise splitting your partitions so the OS and swap files are at the fastest (outer/beginning) sectors of the drives.
How would one go about doing this?
EDIT: To be clear, I know how to do a partition so that the computer sees one physical drive as multiple, but how do you know which sectors are the “outer” sections? Also, if Windows is the first thing installed on the drive when setting up the single partition, isn’t that really the same thing?
Btw, you’re not getting a DVD or Blu-ray burner?
I might soon but I have a good CD RW / DVD ROM that I will use for now. No real advantage to get an optical drive at the same time as the rest of the system (Same goes for sound card, and monitor as far as I am concerned, and it makes the cost easier to swallow).
I have a 64GB SSD and it’s barely enough. I couldn’t imagine using a 32GB SSD. 50GB, yes.
In windows, the UI goes left to right for beginning/first to end/last. I created a 12gb partition (out of 1 gig drive) for a 8gb swap file at the front. Would have done (and have done on another PC) the same (except 50 gb) for Windows if not for my SSD.
It’s preferable than just keeping everything in one partition because drives fragment over time. A 50gb partition for the OS still fragments, but defragmenting is very fast because it’s a smaller space to do it over. Keeps the system running a bit better longer (though it’s arguable whether you or I would ever really notice).
I believe the process is called short stroking (be very careful if you Google that).
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/short-stroking-hdd,2157.html
OK on DVD drive.
I believe the process is called short stroking (be very careful if you Google that).
Sounds hard.
Not at all. Just a few clicks in Windows OS installation (on a fresh drive) and typing 51,200 (501024) for the OS or 12,288 (121024) for the swap partition.
(Joke)
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short stroking. Hard. Heh.
I didn’t actually read it yet, I’ll read it in a bit.
Bah! I was too busy being a geek to catch that. d:
Nicely done.
So, I’m checking the motherboard sheet where they list all the compatable RAM. This is what I come accross:
http://www.msi.com/file/test_report/TR10_2313.pdf
It is saying for the RAM I picked out:
2 DIMMs = check
4 DIMMs = no check
R.T.S. = check
The RAM is G.SKILL F3-10666CL7D-8GBRH
So, a quick google tells me that DIMMs mean the actual strips of RAM. So is this thing saying that for this RAM I can only run 2 strips of it? I should probably pick a different one if that is the case even though I was only planning on getting 2 for now.
Also, R. S. T. I’m guessing is RAM stress test? That means it passed?
Here is the full page if that helps: http://www.msi.com/product/mb/P67A-GD65--B3-.html#/?div=TestReport
Most ram is ok to run in quad. I highly suggest picking memory with XMP. Mine aren’t and I regret it.
They do make ram kits in 4 packs, but they are stupid expensive when compared to their pair counterparts.
I may have another problem. The cases I am looking at, while good cases (and quiet) might not work for SLI. I don’t plan on doing SLI yet, but I would like to leave that option for the future.
Here are the cases:
Antec Sonata Elite - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129057
Antec Solo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129018
They both look so good and are not that expensive I am wondering if I should just go with them anyway…
They should be fine for SLI. Though I prefer tool-less cases. Those screws can be annoying and hard to find/replace if necessary. Not having to need a screwdriver is a plus too.
Here is my case.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119196
I’m having issues with the front USB ports, but my motherboard has more ports than I’ll ever need.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106326
$49.99
Oppose to:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106348
$129.99
They should be fine for SLI. Though I prefer tool-less cases. Those screws can be annoying and hard to find/replace if necessary. Not having to need a screwdriver is a plus too.
Well, my fear is that the temperatures would get too hot with 2 cards in there. But maybe not. And, the fans are adjustable. Hmm.
Not too worried about tools/tool-less. I have found sometimes screws are easier then those snap fit things, at least in some of those Dell cases I worked with.
Thanks for the Blu-Ray player links, I’ll add it to the wish list. I’m probably going to wait though because I am getting pretty impatient about getting this thing ordered and I don’t want to have to do even more research.
Big name brands have specific cases for cooling, but I dunno about noise. I don’t think the ones you link would suffice (unless you get the uncommon single slot video cards) because they seem run-in-the-mill, low end-ish. They should be fine for single cards.
I wouldn’t base all cases on Dell cases. (:
Those aren’t Blu-ray drives I’d pick. I was just linking the cheapest ones. I got:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106348 $130
On sale for $110, and bought Nero suite for $80.
Edit: Lol. I did happen to link the drive I bought earlier. d:
Big name brands have specific cases for cooling, but I dunno about noise. I don’t think the ones you link would suffice (unless you get the uncommon single slot video cards) because they seem run-in-the-mill, low end-ish. They should be fine for single cards.
You mean as far as heat or as far as space?
EDIT: The cases I picked were because of price yes, but they also come highly recomended as far as noise and overall performance, other than having less airflow. I might want to broaden out the search a bit, as originally I was trying to keep to only a few fans.