To Dell or not to Dell...

[regeisle]

Planning a Win7 upgrade in the next couple months. PC is used for graphics and web work, not gaming. I have a wishlist saved out at newegg, that combined with some existing parts from current rig, would get me the following setup:

- Core i7 860
- GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R - Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
- Crucial 2.5" 64GB SSD for app/os - Newegg.com - Crucial CT64M225 2.5" 64GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid state disk (SSD) - Solid State Disks (btw - thoughts on this SSD for os/apps?)
- 2 x 640gb WD drives in RAID 0
- 4 x 2gb G.SKILL 240-Pin DDR3 1333 - Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNQ - Desktop Memory
- Sapphire HD 256MB 2600 Pro Radeon
- Windows 7 Pro

** TOTAL $765 **

---------------------------------------------------

OR I could sell my Sonata 2 w/ psu, C2D e6400, Asus P5B-E Mobo, 4 gb Corsair XMS Ram and 2x 640gb WD drives and get the following rig from Dell.

With Dell 20% coupon, it would be the following:
- Studio XPS 9000
- Core i7 920
- Whatever mobo they through in it
- 2 x 640gb WD drives in RAID 0 for everything (no ssd)
- 6GB Tri-Channel DDR3 SDRAM at 1066MHz - 6 DIMMs
- ATI Radeon HD 4350 512MB
- Windows 7 free upgrade when it comes out

** TOTAL $1130 after 20% coupon **

---------------------------------------------------

Both systems would have the new Dell U2410 IPS 24" panel attached. Yes, I'd rather build my own, but I don't have the "f**k dell" attitude some do, so if that is by far a better option, that's what I'll do. What do you guys think? I see benchmarks showing the 920 as a better option for most Adobe apps, but then I'm locked down from OC'ing on the Dell vs OC'ing the 860 of my own.

Choices choices... I look forward to some input. Thansk!

 

[Yami]

I've never owned a Dell, so I can't truly comment on that, but I can wholeheartedly say, build it yourself.

 

[Hefemeister]

I would build yourself to avoid some of the not so good components you can find in a Dell along with the ease of future upgrades when the need occurs.

Why are you running raid0 for what would appear to be a data drive?
Is the speed necessary enough for what you do to offset the chance of data loss?

 

[regeisle]

re: raid0, I don't know. I have 2 640gb drives right now, one as an internal backup drive, but figured I could get 2x the space and faster speed with raid0, and then just grab a 1tb external drive for nightly backups in case any failure. Never used raid0 (or others for that matter) before so may not be worth the risk/hassle i suppose but assumed it'd be a nice boost to compliment the ssd in slot 1.

 

[Druid]

I've had a dell. They gave me a windows xp recovery disc in dvd form instead of cd form, and the computer's master drive was set as the cd drive. When I wanted to reformat, I had to open the computer up and switch the little jumper things around. That was really stupid of them because your average computer user probably couldn't have figured that out and they just wouldn't have been able to format. It was kind of a pain. Although most companies are the same way, all their tech support is from India as well. I can say from experience Dell is no good.

 

[oldskool]

re: raid0, I don't know. I have 2 640gb drives right now, one as an internal backup drive, but figured I could get 2x the space and faster speed with raid0, and then just grab a 1tb external drive for nightly backups in case any failure. Never used raid0 (or others for that matter) before so may not be worth the risk/hassle i suppose but assumed it'd be a nice boost to compliment the ssd in slot 1.

I wouldn't use RAID 0 because there is absolutely no fault tolerance, meaning, if a drive goes, all data is lost. RAID 1 isn't as fast as RAID 0 (RAID 1 is called "mirroring"); however, RAID 1 does provide fault tolerance. If one drive goes down, you still have all data on the other one. RAID 5 you need at least three hard drives for. A little FYI for ya.

Re: Dell, I have a reliable Dell Inspiron laptop (my wife's actually), but Dell tech support isn't, well, my favorite. Yes, definitely build your own. Hefe made a very good point.

 

[regeisle]

Thanks guys - will raid 1 give a performance boost at all, or is it strictly for a safety measure by keeping 2 copies of everything?

 

[oldskool]

RAID configurations can improve performance, but they are more widely used for backing up data.

RAID tutorial - the benefits of using RAID

 

[Hefemeister]

raid1 will actually run slower than a single drive but does give fault tolerance. Do not think of it as a backup solution though. Even though you have 2 copies of your data if a file is corrupted or a virus incurs it is on both drives.


Even with raid1 you need to run backups of important data.

 

[veg1992]

I'd say go with RAID0 and maintain a consistent daily/weekly/monthly/bi-monthly (your choice) backup.

That or go with RAID5 and still backup.

Remember, if a specific type of RAID has fault tolerance, IT IS NOT A SUBSTITUTION FOR A BACKUP!