New
#1
About to build a new PC after 11 years!
Well, I have respect for my 2001 Dell Dimension 8200 P4 2GbRDRAM XP PC, it never failed me and I still use it and plan on keeping it as a lab computer (backup, etc). However I thought it was time for an upgrade. Here are the main components I bought:
- ASUS P8Z77-V Deluxe
- Intel Core i7 3770K CPU
- G.SKILL Ares Series 32GB (4 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)
- 3 Samsung 256GB 830 Series SSD
- MSI GTX 660 Ti PE Videocard
- Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit DVD
- Corsair Obsidian 650DW-1 Midtower
- 1 Western Digital Caviar Black 2 TB SATA III 7200 RPM 64 MB Cache
- 850W Thermaltake PSU
- Noctua NH-D14 cooler
I plan on using this PC mostly for Image/video editing, simulation software, and a little bit of gaming. I'd appreciate some tips as this will be my first computer build, specifically:
1) I plan on installing Windows 7 in the SSD and use the WD 2Tb HD as a second drive for documents to minimize SSD usage. Given that I can use more than 1 SSD, will I get any worthwhile performance boost by setting 2 SSD's in RAID 0 for the OS instead of a single SSD? If so, in order to setup RAID 0, is this done from the BIOS?
2) The RAM is 1866, in order to utilize it to max speed I read about XMP or something like that, is this again set from the BIOS?
3) If I'm not going to overclock the CPU, can I use the stock Intel cooler? Is it worth it to install the Noctua cooler?
4) Any additional suggestions regarding the OS/BIOS config for optimal performance/stability?
Thanks