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[Xplorer4x4]

I know there arent to many hardware gurus here but...

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWi...Number=11075705

Thoughts?

Also would it be better to go 2x80 GB SSDs in software RAID 0 vs 1x160 GB SSD?

EDIT:I am told a hardware RAID will be possible once Windows 7 supports TRIM so I suppose a hardware RAID would be the best option as oposed to a software RAID?

[Newfoundking]

A rule of thumb I go with, is if it's about the same price, go with a couple "smaller" harddrives instead of one bigger ones, because taht way you can't lose as much data if it crashes... Lost a TB of stuff when the TB HDD crashed... I was pissed. Boguht 2 500's then, haven't worried about it since

[Xplorer4x4]

Well thats what back ups are far I know what ya mean, data loss sucks but the life span of the SSDs is 15-20 years while HDDs have a life span of around 5 years, and WD generally has very good reliability.

[billyfromhill]

Well, if I was going to go i7 I would rather go X58 instead of P55 but it's up to you. Two 80 GB SSDs sounds good for your OS and programs. Consider getting two HDDs for RAID 1.

As for the other stuff. go with cooler master r4s instead of those apevias. 4 GB of RAM is a must also. There's better stuff out there than those Crucial tracers also. Lower latency is better than speed for DDR3. As for SATA cables Circuit Assembly has them for like $1.89 each unless you're dead set on those green ones.

What about a case and monitor?

[Xplorer4x4]

Well, if I was going to go i7 I would rather go X58 instead of P55 but it's up to you.

Check the benchmarks and you will see there not much different and while the 920 does out perform the 860, your also going to spend more money on the hardware. The mobos and are more expensive and of course a tripple channel kit is going to be more then a dual channel.

Two 80 GB SSDs sounds good for your OS and programs. Consider getting two HDDs for RAID 1.

I am just going to run the RAID 0 then use one of my current hard drives, or a small new HDD for back ups.

As for the other stuff. go with cooler master r4s instead of those apevias.

I am only getting one apevia and its simply going to be used for looks rather then airflow. Well it will be used for air flow but not going to make a difference with my case set up.

4 GB of RAM is a must also.

I have 4 GB in there, its just they dont make that set in green and they(crucial) confirmed I can run these sticks in dual channel just fine.

There's better stuff out there than those Crucial tracers also. Lower latency is better than speed for DDR3.

I realize that but the speeds should be sufficient.

As for SATA cables Circuit Assembly has them for like $1.89 each unless you're dead set on those green ones.

Yep, I want the green as I may add a black light in my case.

What about a case and monitor?

Like I said, this is an upgrade I have a 22 inch Dell 2208 WFP monitor and a Mozart TX case so Im just fine there. Also have a Saitek Cyborg Keyboard and Razer Copperhead mouse.

[Stan]

Using a different hdd for gaming as the one for windows is always good too

Well uhm MSI is not really known for quality anymore Huge RMA return's @ internship. The caviar black is a good choice, gets hot but really fast. Got 5 hdds in this one

What graphic card are you going to use?

[Xplorer4x4]

Using a HD 4890.

As for MSI, it was that or Gigabyte. I liked the looks more on that one, but more importantly, it was cheaper and I dont need much in the way of PCI slots as I have no desire to crossfire or anything like that.

What do you think of the RAID 0 SSD set up?

I use a 1 TB WD Caviar Black as we speak

[joachimnor]

i must disagree with you about msi stan.... theyre laptops are actually very good

[billyfromhill]

EVGA makes nice P55 boards. They're a little more expensive though.

As for the SSDs, Patriot (or is it Crucial? I don't remember) makes this nifty enclosure for two 2.5" SSDs that fits in a 3.5" bay. The best part about it is that it has onboard RAID so it only requires one SATA cable instead of two. You might want to look into it.

[Xplorer4x4]

I thought you were going to recommend the Patriot SSDs at first. I was going to ask if you have done the research on them, but in that case, never mind. Thanks for the part recommendation.

EVGA does seem to be making good boards here recentley but like I said earlier, i dont need alot from the mobo. Something that will maybe handle a small over clock, and has a PCI slot for my video card and thats all that I really need.

[billyfromhill]

Heres a link.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16816241001

[Stan]

i must disagree with you about msi stan.... theyre laptops are actually very good

I did not say they are bad, I said they are not known for their good quality. I had a 350RX from MSI too, it is 4 years old and still working but looking the amount of RMA trash compared totthe amount of sales I know I am right on what I said

[Stan]

Here, my rig with the future updates.

1 x AMD AM3 Phenom II 955 BOX 4 x 3,2Ghz 6144Kb Cache (CPU)

1 x Asus M4A79T Deluxe AM3 (Motherbord)

1 x DDR3 OCZ 3x2048MB Kit PC10667U 1333Mhz 7-7-7-20 Platinum (RAM)

2 x SATA 500GB 7200rpm 32MB Cache Maxtor STM3500320AS (HDD) Windows/Data

1 x SATA 1,0TB (1000GB) 7200RPM 32MB Cache Western Digital WD1001FALS (HDD) Games

1 x SATA 1,0TB (1000GB) 5400RPM 32MB Cache Samsung HD103SI EcoGreen (HDD) Downloads

1 x ATI HD4890 1024MB Asus EAH4890/HTDI 2 x DVI, TV (Graphic Card)

1 x PSU BeQuiet! StraightPower E6-700Watt ATX2.2(Power Supply)

1 x Blu-Ray Disc Writer LG GGW-H20L SATA black Retail with Software & DB-R Disc (Blu Ray Writer)

1 x DVD Writer Samsung SH-S223F 22x/22x black bulk (DVD Writer)

1 x CPU Cooler Coolermaster V8 (CPU Cooler)

1 x Front 3,5"CardReader 50 in 1 Black, Silver, White ( Card Reader)

Next update:

Remove 1 x SATA 500GB 7200rpm 32MB Cache Maxtor STM3500320AS (HDD) Data

Remove 1 x ATI HD4890 1024MB Asus EAH4890/HTDI 2 x DVI, TV (Graphic Card)

Remove 1 x PSU BeQuiet! StraightPower E6-700Watt ATX2.2(Power Supply) (Not sure yet)

Remove 1 x Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit

Addition 2 x SATA 500GB variable rpm 32MB Cache Western Digital WD5000AADS (HDD) Data

Addition 1 x Dawicontrol DC 154 RAID Card

Addition 1 x ATI HD5870 2048MB Sapphire 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort FullRetail

Addition 1 x Enermax MODU82+ 120mm fan, 625 Watt (Not sure yet)

Addition 1 x Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

B = already bought and took home

[randomperson139]

Stan, Your computer sounds quite good

[Guest mrpolice1996]

Yes great computer

wish i had one

[Stan]

Well yes it is My luck is the fact I work in a computer shop

[Xplorer4x4]

Here, my rig with the future updates.

1 x AMD AM3 Phenom II 955 BOX 4 x 3,2Ghz 6144Kb Cache (CPU)

1 x Asus M4A79T Deluxe AM3 (Motherbord)

1 x DDR3 OCZ 3x2048MB Kit PC10667U 1333Mhz 7-7-7-20 Platinum (RAM)

2 x SATA 500GB 7200rpm 32MB Cache Maxtor STM3500320AS (HDD) Windows/Data

1 x SATA 1,0TB (1000GB) 7200RPM 32MB Cache Western Digital WD1001FALS (HDD) Games

1 x SATA 1,0TB (1000GB) 5400RPM 32MB Cache Samsung HD103SI EcoGreen (HDD) Downloads

1 x ATI HD4890 1024MB Asus EAH4890/HTDI 2 x DVI, TV (Graphic Card)

1 x PSU BeQuiet! StraightPower E6-700Watt ATX2.2(Power Supply)

1 x Blu-Ray Disc Writer LG GGW-H20L SATA black Retail with Software & DB-R Disc (Blu Ray Writer)

1 x DVD Writer Samsung SH-S223F 22x/22x black bulk (DVD Writer)

1 x CPU Cooler Coolermaster V8 (CPU Cooler)

1 x Front 3,5"CardReader 50 in 1 Black, Silver, White ( Card Reader)

Next update:

Remove 1 x SATA 500GB 7200rpm 32MB Cache Maxtor STM3500320AS (HDD) Data

Remove 1 x ATI HD4890 1024MB Asus EAH4890/HTDI 2 x DVI, TV (Graphic Card)

Remove 1 x PSU BeQuiet! StraightPower E6-700Watt ATX2.2(Power Supply) (Not sure yet)

Remove 1 x Windows Vista Ultimate 64bit

Addition 2 x SATA 500GB variable rpm 32MB Cache Western Digital WD5000AADS (HDD) Data

Addition 1 x Dawicontrol DC 154 RAID Card

Addition 1 x ATI HD5870 2048MB Sapphire 2xDVI HDMI DisplayPort FullRetail

Addition 1 x Enermax MODU82+ 120mm fan, 625 Watt (Not sure yet)

Addition 1 x Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit

B = already bought and took home

How do the ASUS hold up? On one of the building forums I post at a few people consistently puts down ASUS saying they typically die a little after a year of use. I have an ASUS P5N-D, although not my first choice, it has lasted almost a year so far with no problems.

Why not get a corsair psu? Never even heard of this BeQuiet! brand.

[billyfromhill]

Stan and Xplorer, whats your 3dMark Vantage scores?

[Stan]

How do the ASUS hold up? On one of the building forums I post at a few people consistently puts down ASUS saying they typically die a little after a year of use. I have an ASUS P5N-D, although not my first choice, it has lasted almost a year so far with no problems.

Why not get a corsair psu? Never even heard of this BeQuiet! brand.

In all the years I build my own PC's I had one Asus mainboard die. The Asus M2N Sli Deluxe, this was due to a power short circuit through the usb port. For the rest I am happy with Asus beside the graphic cards.

Here are my fav's:

Mainboard: Asus / Gigabyte

Graphic: Sapphire

PSU: Enermax / Be Quiet!

HDD: Western Digital / Samsung / Maxtor / Seagate

RAM: Corsair / G-Skill / OCZ / (Ge!L / Kingston)

The reason I don't buy Corsair psu's is because I know the Enermax PSU's are very reliable and can always be over powered a bit . The reason I took this particular Be Quiet! this time is because the extreme good reviews and efficiency.

But the main reason is that Corsair ain't sold much here

[billyfromhill]

How do the ASUS hold up? On one of the building forums I post at a few people consistently puts down ASUS saying they typically die a little after a year of use. I have an ASUS P5N-D, although not my first choice, it has lasted almost a year so far with no problems.

Why not get a corsair psu? Never even heard of this BeQuiet! brand.

Definitly check out EVGA's line of P55 motherboards. They have about 3 or 4 different boards to pick from. If you register the board on their website within 90 days, they'll give you a lifetime warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....eTabStoreType=1

Corsair and PC Power & Cooling make good PSUs. I personally use a PC P&C PSU and I couldn't be happier.

[Xplorer4x4]

Stan and Xplorer, whats your 3dMark Vantage scores?

Ill get back to you on that. Keep in mind I only have a Q6600 right now.

In all the years I build my own PC's I had one Asus mainboard die. The Asus M2N Sli Deluxe, this was due to a power short circuit through the usb port. For the rest I am happy with Asus beside the graphic cards.

Here are my fav's:

Mainboard: Asus / Gigabyte

Graphic: Sapphire

PSU: Enermax / Be Quiet!

HDD: Western Digital / Samsung / Maxtor / Seagate

RAM: Corsair / G-Skill / OCZ / (Ge!L / Kingston)

The reason I don't buy Corsair psu's is because I know the Enermax PSU's are very reliable and can always be over powered a bit . The reason I took this particular Be Quiet! this time is because the extreme good reviews and efficiency.

But the main reason is that Corsair ain't sold much here

I havent heard much bad about ASUS. I mean every manufacturer has there shares of DOA boards and such.

Definitly check out EVGA's line of P55 motherboards. They have about 3 or 4 different boards to pick from. If you register the board on their website within 90 days, they'll give you a lifetime warranty.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList....eTabStoreType=1

Corsair and PC Power & Cooling make good PSUs. I personally use a PC P&C PSU and I couldn't be happier.

Yeah the EVGAs seem pretty good. I heard there older mobos werent that good but the i5 and i7 boards seem quite good.

[Stan]

And I've never heard of EVGA here lol about the DOA board, that is true but well some have more, some have less.

A brand that I would never buy for example in case of graphic cards is Point of view

[Stan]

3D Mark vanatge Trial Score:

10889 CPU Vista 64b Fore last drivers

10752 GPU Vista 64b Fore last drivers

10946 CPU Windows 7 New drivers

10927 GPU Windows 7 New drivers

[Xplorer4x4]

And I've never heard of EVGA here lol about the DOA board, that is true but well some have more, some have less.

A brand that I would never buy for example in case of graphic cards is Point of view

Never even heard of it lol.

EVGA has the highest selling NVIDIA Card on NewEgg last i checked. It a 9800 GTX+ 512 MB. Not a bad card but doesnt pack to much punch imo.