My build I've been thinking about. Advice=good!

[Akumajin]

Thanks for anyone who takes their time to read and respond to this.

So I've been reading here and many other forums/articles all about the various things I need to know.

Well, here's what I am thinking.

*Case: Antec 900 Case
Processor: Intel Quad Core q6600
Motherboard: ???
Video Card: nVidia 8800GT 512MB
*RAM: 4GB (2x1GB Ballistix 2x1GB Patriot 4-4-4-12 DDR800)
Hard Drives: 2x74GB WD Raptor 10,000RPM 8MB Cache in RAID 0 striped
*PSU: Ultra XFinity 600watt 38 Amps on 12v rails
Optical Drive: Some 18x all in one

OS: On one of the hard drives, XP 32 Bit, on the other 64 bit Vista.

*=I already have it

Only real questions I have are about the motherboard, and if I should partition each OS on each HD, a partition for the OS, one for programs, and one for everything else? (I have an external for media). I really don't know what mobo to get; I never plan on doing SLI, but I would like one that supports faster RAM for future upgrades. Also, I'm going to OC the processor for sure, but will it help to OC the video card and RAM if I won't be doing any super powerful games for a few months?

 

[b1gapl]

Since you're thinking about RAID...
Abit IP35/Pro, Gigabyte P35-DS3R, ASUS P5K/Deluxe, or MSI P35 Platinum. Any choice you make, is a good one.

And why don't you RAID two 500GB hard drives instead? It's cheaper and more storage capacity. Those Raptors aren't super fast you know...

 

[Peter.Cort]

as far as mobo's go if your not gonna SLI then the P35 board is the recommended board here. I've also heard that the Striker Commander is a phenomenal board if you can put out the money for it. As far as ram upgrades go, 4 gb will hold you for a very long time unless your doing things like intensive video editing or anything like that, which it doesn't look like you'll be doing.

with partitions you could do it if you feel like it, i don't think there's any difference, but you could do it if you're slightly bored.

 

[aetherh4cker]

Thanks for anyone who takes their time to read and respond to this.

So I've been reading here and many other forums/articles all about the various things I need to know.

Well, here's what I am thinking.

*Case: Antec 900 Case
Processor: Intel Quad Core q6600
Motherboard: ???
Video Card: nVidia 8800GT 512MB
*RAM: 4GB (2x1GB Ballistix 2x1GB Patriot 4-4-4-12 DDR800)
Hard Drives: 2x74GB WD Raptor 10,000RPM 8MB Cache in RAID 0 striped
*PSU: Ultra XFinity 600watt 38 Amps on 12v rails
Optical Drive: Some 18x all in one

OS: On one of the hard drives, XP 32 Bit, on the other 64 bit Vista.

*=I already have it

Only real questions I have are about the motherboard, and if I should partition each OS on each HD, a partition for the OS, one for programs, and one for everything else? (I have an external for media). I really don't know what mobo to get; I never plan on doing SLI, but I would like one that supports faster RAM for future upgrades. Also, I'm going to OC the processor for sure, but will it help to OC the video card and RAM if I won't be doing any super powerful games for a few months?

If you RAID0 the drives, they'll be acting as one drive. You won't be able to put one OS on one drive, and one on the other... and you seem to be thinking.

For your motherboard, get the P35 chipset. No SLI, but great in every other department.

 

[Akumajin]

If you RAID0 the drives, they'll be acting as one drive. You won't be able to put one OS on one drive, and one on the other... and you seem to be thinking.

For your motherboard, get the P35 chipset. No SLI, but great in every other department.

Can I not partition the "one drive" that is made from the RAID?

 

[Akumajin]

Since you're thinking about RAID...
Abit IP35/Pro, Gigabyte P35-DS3R, ASUS P5K/Deluxe, or MSI P35 Platinum. Any choice you make, is a good one.

And why don't you RAID two 500GB hard drives instead? It's cheaper and more storage capacity. Those Raptors aren't super fast you know...

150GB is more than enough. I have externals, and I like using them better honestly, because I move data to different places every so often. I like boot speed and program speed, so the raptors are worth the extra money to me.

 

[aetherh4cker]

Can I not partition the "one drive" that is made from the RAID?

150GB is more than enough. I have externals, and I like using them better honestly, because I move data to different places every so often. I like boot speed and program speed, so the raptors are worth the extra money to me.

You can indeed partition your RAID0, just the way you phrased it made me think you were confused as to what a RAID was.

Could you give an example of 'moving data to different places so often'? Like others on here, I don't think most people would get too huge of a benefit from the Raptors. Especially since the new 7200.11 Seagate drives perform so close to them, and you get much more storage for your buck.

I also don't think programs would perform noticeably faster... unless they frequently write to the hard drive. Most programs use the RAM much more than the hard drive.

 

[Akumajin]

You can indeed partition your RAID0, just the way you phrased it made me think you were confused as to what a RAID was.

Could you give an example of 'moving data to different places so often'? Like others on here, I don't think most people would get too huge of a benefit from the Raptors. Especially since the new 7200.11 Seagate drives perform so close to them, and you get much more storage for your buck.

I also don't think programs would perform noticeably faster... unless they frequently write to the hard drive. Most programs use the RAM much more than the hard drive.

I've read reviews and heard people I know who have had Raptors talk about how fast windows and other programs boot. Not so much how they run, just how fast everything starts. By moving data, I mean physically going to my friend's house and grabbing some of his media and putting it on my external and vice-versa.

 

[Invisible]

get the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme
or tuniq tower so you can overclock
and get mx-2 thermal paste

 

[aetherh4cker]

I've read reviews and heard people I know who have had Raptors talk about how fast windows and other programs boot. Not so much how they run, just how fast everything starts. By moving data, I mean physically going to my friend's house and grabbing some of his media and putting it on my external and vice-versa.

Moving data to and from your external drive would likely be limited by the connection speed of the external interface and not the speed of your computer's drives.

True, Windows will boot faster... but that alone wouldn't be worth the price increase in my opinion.

If you really want Raptors, then get them. I'm just saying the latest 7200 RPM drives actually outperform raptors in many benchmarks. I don't think you would get as much of an increase as you seem to be hoping for.