Just looking before I leap...new PC final thoughts.

Dave76 said:

With a very fast system like you are planning, I would definately consider getting a SSD. Possibly the single best performance upgrade/choice available today.
It will make that system zing and put a smile on your face

Good luck and let us know your final decisions.

Agreeded, but which one? It seems they have advanced read/write speeds over the last few years & there are more brands in the mix which confuses things, or me at least.

I could invest another $100-200 towards SSD if the transition isn't too difficult as I have an retail upgrade Windows 7 disc. I'm not concerned over my installed software but the potential upgrade issue with Microsoft as it would be a clean install. I know this seems exaggerated to those who have lots of experience but this has been a large concern to me. My guess it will wind up being a call to MS to re-register.

So, any SSD recommendations in the $100-200 range? My current C: is 75Gb. That size big enough for a new C: ? The other HDDs are both 300Gb.

Default good brands would be Intel, OCZ, and Crucial. Maybe another 1 or 2?

How much of that 75 gb you mention is occupied?? I'd think an 80 GB SSD would be enough for most people, with the understanding it won't have anything on it but Windows and programs. All data on the spinning drives.

Not sure why you are concerned with reinstalling Windows with your retail upgrade disk. It's a retail disk and not tied to any particular motherboard or hard drive. MS acknowledges people upgrade from time to time and at most you would have to re-activate. I've rebuilt a half dozen times in the last 10 years, changing major components each time, and never had to call MS.

Re SSDs: they are all noticeably faster than any HDD. I wouldn't get caught up in write speeds/read speeds. I'd decide if I wanted an SSD at all. If the answer is yes, then stick with a known good brand in your appropriate size range that has reasonably good reviews. Some will do better on writes, some will do better on reads, etc. Don't let that overwhelm you. The better question is do you want to spend the circa 150 at all for the sake of faster booting and faster app loading (the primary benefits).

Does it matter to you that you could be reading a Word doc in 1 second from an SSD rather than in 1.5 seconds from an HDD? Does it matter that you can boot in 40 seconds from an SSD rather than 65 from an HDD, etc. Faster virus scans. No more defragging. To the extent that money matters little, it's no contest, but only you can judge your budget priorities. Maybe you'd get more pleasure ultimately from a monitor upgrade? Only you know.

[QUOTE=ignatzatsonic;1329835]
How much of that 75 gb you mention is occupied?? I'd think an 80 GB SSD would be enough for most people, with the understanding it won't have anything on it but Windows and programs. All data on the spinning drives.
[QUOTE]

Thanks. 55-60Gb. I've mentioned before that I work with video. 1 hr of DV, HDV or AVCHD = 13Gb of data. AVCHD is highly compressed & takes a long time to render. I'm hoping SSD will improve on that.

I've listed 2 SSDs that are 120Gb which would allow some rendering room without sending to an older HDD. Even so, there would be times data from the older HDDs would be used in the rendering process. I like the OCZ. Any special connections needed or is it much the same as SATA?

Newegg.com - OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE120G 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Newegg.com - Corsair Force CSSD-F120GB2-BRKT 2.5" 120GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

BTW - I have had to call MS before when installing XP with bootcamp an iMac. I had to reassure MS that the old PC was no longer in use. It wasn't a big deal but it did happen. I'm sure everything will be OK.:)

Ok. With 60 occupied, 120 is probably the smallest you would want to get.

I don't own an SSD and am not a guru, although I am trying to get knowledgeable as I will be buying one myself within a year or so.

I know the choice of controller is important. Both of those you list use a Sandforce controller and should have similar performance. That controller had a good rep the last I heard.

Read the New Egg reviews. Don't take them too seriously, but they should provide some insight.

I have heard some discussion on 34 nand versus (I think the newer) 25 nand and which is preferable. I think some say that 34 nand has some advantages?

Prices of SSDs were sort of stalled for a while, but lately I've seen more examples of them selling for less than $2 per gig, which is a good sign. Maybe you could wait 6 months and save $50, but who knows?

If SSD is your last stumbling block, you might start a new thread to attract more comments, but if you are buying today you may not get a lot of input in time.

I'm sure Dave 76 can provide more insight.

All I can say is WOW! If this were one of those Mac Pro's my son is always shouting about the price would be 3x more!

I've attached a screen capture of my proposed PC from Newegg. (Ignatzatsonic, note I didn't forget your suggested CPU fan this time.) I thik I've covered all the bases, thanks to everyone here at 7 Forums! The SSD kicks the price up but I decided to go for it. I'm not all that keen on extended warranties but willing to hear if anyone thinks differently. I intend to order today so let the comments begin!

Newegg.com - Rosewill RTK-015 15 Piece Standard Computer Tool Kit

The above tool kit is only 10 rather than 20 for the one you chose; might save you a bit.

No thermal paste? The Shuriken includes a batch and I think the CPU does too, so you don't really need to order any, at least at this time.

Re Big Shuriken: I just got mine yesterday but have not installed it. Will be getting my new motherboard within a few days and hope to have it installed by the weekend.

The only caveat on it is this: it is targeted at those who want silence as opposed to max cooling effect. It cools better than the stock cooler, but does so MUCH more quietly.

If you will be a high level overclocker, it MAY not cool well enough for you. In which case you should get another more traditional heatsink that makes no pretense about being quiet. The standard cheap choice for such a heatsink would be the Cooler Master Hyper 212. A good sink that can accommodate higher overclocks than the Shuriken, but it is not as quiet. So, its a tradeoff.

On second thought: the Shuriken fan can be replaced by ANY 120mm fan in about 1 minute. So, if it doesn't cool well enough, you can simply replace the low speed fan with a higher speed fan.

So I doubt if you would be forced to a Hyper 212 in any case.

Other than that, looks like you are good to go.

Last consideration might be a couple of case fans. I assume the Solo has 2 and they may be fine. If they are too noisy, you can always order replacements later.

No thumbscrews for the case or does the Solo already have them?

Pray the quality control gods smile on you and you have no DOA issues.

Take your time on assembly.

Re extended warranties: statistically, they are a bad deal. But if your number comes up, they are a good deal. I'd just roll the dice and turn them down, particularly considering New Egg's good RMA policy.

Did you say no to the anti-static wrist strap?

GARoss said:

Dave76 said:

With a very fast system like you are planning, I would definately consider getting a SSD. Possibly the single best performance upgrade/choice available today.
It will make that system zing and put a smile on your face

Good luck and let us know your final decisions.

Agreeded, but which one? It seems they have advanced read/write speeds over the last few years & there are more brands in the mix which confuses things, or me at least.

I could invest another $100-200 towards SSD if the transition isn't too difficult as I have an retail upgrade Windows 7 disc. I'm not concerned over my installed software but the potential upgrade issue with Microsoft as it would be a clean install. I know this seems exaggerated to those who have lots of experience but this has been a large concern to me. My guess it will wind up being a call to MS to re-register.

So, any SSD recommendations in the $100-200 range? My current C: is 75Gb. That size big enough for a new C: ? The other HDDs are both 300Gb.

I am looking to buy an Intel 510 sometime in the future. Great reads and write speeds and proven 34nm technology. They are a bit pricey however - around $300 for a 120 GB drive.

Be aware of the OCZ agility 2 when looking at published benchmarks. They changed form 34nm to 25nm without changing the model number and the write performance dropped and the actual capacity a little too. Probably most of the non-OCZ benchmarks online were made with the the 34nm versions.