I am sure you have all seen this 1000 times in the last month, but I think I have a couple of questions that have are not typically asked, so I decided to post.
I am not really concerned about the components except for the case and the PSU. Mainly concerned on how the two rigs compare (performance wise) and have some specific questions about Raid setup and Video performance. Both rigs are almost identical with only difference being in Video Cards, # HD, and Raid setup. (Of course if you see any serious FUBARS in the components or prices, OMG say something.)
I am building two rigs, I have a couple of questions about setting up a full raid system, I have setup a Raid 0 and 1, but never a Raid 5 or 10. (Mine is currently setup in Raid 0). I have looked at the Raid info page here, but it doesnÂ’t answer all my questions.
I will post a brief summary on the reason for each setup, the rig setup itself and then questions.
Rig #1 (DadÂ’s Rig) for business and some gaming (mainly business). He needs a raid setup for backup of accounting files (I will probably setup in Raid 1, but might do Raid 5 or 10 if performance is increased. Though I would have to change MB, probably to the A8N-SLI Premium). He will be playing some games, probably HL2, Quake and other first person shooters. He will be using an LCD, so will not be running at a high resolution as a monitor, so that is why I have the 6800GTX vid card in the Rig.
Rig #1(DadÂ’s Rig)--Component---------------------------Price-----------Site
CPU-------------------Opteron 170-------------------------$ 410--------Monarch
Memory ----OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 Platinum-----$ 221.41----------------------Newegg
MB----------------------------ASUS A8N-E-----------------$ 107.99----------------------Newegg
Video--------------eVGA Geforce 6800GT 512MB PCIe 16------$ 319--------------------------Newegg
HD Drives---------2 X WD SE16 WD2500KS 250GB ------------$ 230--------------------------Newegg
Sound---------------Creative Audigy 2 Value (7.1) PCI OEM------$ 49.99------------------------Newegg
CPU Fan-------------THERMALRIGHT XP-90 --------------------$ 51.99------------------------Newegg
DVD/CD------------Pioneer Black Model #: DVR-110DBK--------$ 43.99-----------------------Newegg
CRT-----------------SAMSUNG 915N-Black 19" 8ms LCD--------$ 349.99----------------------Newegg
PSU------------------Thermaltake W0057 ATX 500W----------------$ 199.00----------------------Newegg
Case----------------Antec Performance I P180 Silver Steel----------$ 129.99----------------------Newegg
Total Price: (Includes XP Pro, Floppy, Keyboard and Mouse)------$2,376.89 (No Shipping)
Questions on this system:
1) Would it be beneficial to go to a Raid 5 or Raid 10 setup for performance? (Please keep in mind the extra cost for the additional HDD and the Motherboard)
2) I am not familiar with this PSU or Case (Been a few bad reviews on Newegg on the PSU). I mainly need to know if there is a better (and cheaper) option for both of these items. I know you should buy a good PSU and Dad is having some serious issues with spending $$$ on a (quote: “Metal box that is just going to sit on the floor.”) I am going to have a hard time convincing him to spend that much on a case.
Rig #2 (Gaming / future House server)
For the time being this is going to be my gaming machine. Down the Road I might make it the Gaming/Server, but that will be after I build a Media center computer. This system will probably use my current monitor, which is a 19” CRT NEC Beast. I will not setup in a Raid 0 format as my current one is, although I do move some massive files when using the computer for analysis. (Most files average about 500meg, some getting as high as 4 – 5 Gig.)
Rig #2 (My Rig)--------------Component------------------- Price------------Site
CPU--------------------------Opteron 170 ---------------$ 410------------ Monarch
Memory-----------OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 Platinun-------$ 221.41---------Newegg
MB----------------------ASUS A8N-E---------------------$ 107.99----------Newegg
Video-----------ASUS EN7800GTX/2DHTV/256 PCIE x16-----$ 479.99---------Newegg
HD Drives------2 X WD SE16 WD2500KS 250GB----------------$ 230------------Newegg
Sound-------------Creative Audigy 2 Value (7.1) PCI OEM-------$ 49.99-----------Newegg
CPU Fan------------------------THERMALRIGHT XP-90---------$ 51.99------------Newegg
DVD/CD-------Pioneer Black Model #: DVR-110DBK-----------$ 43.99------------Newegg
CRT--------------------NEC Diamond Pro 930----------------------$ 000------------MyDeskTop
PSU-----------Thermaltake W0057 ATX 500W---------------------$ 199.00-----------Newegg
Case-----------Antec Performance I P180 Silver Steel--------------$ 129.99----------Newegg
Total Price: (Includes XP Pro, Floppy, Keyboard and Mouse) $2,187.94 (No Shipping)
Questions on this system:
1) I am going ot have to buy a LCD in the near future, should I save a little money on the Video Card (buying the one that is in my DadÂ’s system) and buy the LCD now? I have never used an LCD for games, so am curious if an LCD can handle the requirements. I usually run my desktop at 1280 X 1024, and run games as high as I can, which isnÂ’t real high with a ATI 9800 Pro.
2) Same questions on the PSU and Case, although I am not too concerned about spending $$$ on the case. I am more concerned about the noise. I want the case to be quite. My current case sounds like an F16 on the flight deck at take off. (My current system is an OC P4 2.8, which is air cooled.)
Any questions or comments would be appreciated. I know that the regulars see this type of thing everyday and I want to thank you for taking the time reading my post.
Take care,
Del D
I am not really concerned about the components except for the case and the PSU. Mainly concerned on how the two rigs compare (performance wise) and have some specific questions about Raid setup and Video performance. Both rigs are almost identical with only difference being in Video Cards, # HD, and Raid setup. (Of course if you see any serious FUBARS in the components or prices, OMG say something.)
I am building two rigs, I have a couple of questions about setting up a full raid system, I have setup a Raid 0 and 1, but never a Raid 5 or 10. (Mine is currently setup in Raid 0). I have looked at the Raid info page here, but it doesnÂ’t answer all my questions.
I will post a brief summary on the reason for each setup, the rig setup itself and then questions.
Rig #1 (DadÂ’s Rig) for business and some gaming (mainly business). He needs a raid setup for backup of accounting files (I will probably setup in Raid 1, but might do Raid 5 or 10 if performance is increased. Though I would have to change MB, probably to the A8N-SLI Premium). He will be playing some games, probably HL2, Quake and other first person shooters. He will be using an LCD, so will not be running at a high resolution as a monitor, so that is why I have the 6800GTX vid card in the Rig.
Rig #1(DadÂ’s Rig)--Component---------------------------Price-----------Site
CPU-------------------Opteron 170-------------------------$ 410--------Monarch
Memory ----OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 Platinum-----$ 221.41----------------------Newegg
MB----------------------------ASUS A8N-E-----------------$ 107.99----------------------Newegg
Video--------------eVGA Geforce 6800GT 512MB PCIe 16------$ 319--------------------------Newegg
HD Drives---------2 X WD SE16 WD2500KS 250GB ------------$ 230--------------------------Newegg
Sound---------------Creative Audigy 2 Value (7.1) PCI OEM------$ 49.99------------------------Newegg
CPU Fan-------------THERMALRIGHT XP-90 --------------------$ 51.99------------------------Newegg
DVD/CD------------Pioneer Black Model #: DVR-110DBK--------$ 43.99-----------------------Newegg
CRT-----------------SAMSUNG 915N-Black 19" 8ms LCD--------$ 349.99----------------------Newegg
PSU------------------Thermaltake W0057 ATX 500W----------------$ 199.00----------------------Newegg
Case----------------Antec Performance I P180 Silver Steel----------$ 129.99----------------------Newegg
Total Price: (Includes XP Pro, Floppy, Keyboard and Mouse)------$2,376.89 (No Shipping)
Questions on this system:
1) Would it be beneficial to go to a Raid 5 or Raid 10 setup for performance? (Please keep in mind the extra cost for the additional HDD and the Motherboard)
2) I am not familiar with this PSU or Case (Been a few bad reviews on Newegg on the PSU). I mainly need to know if there is a better (and cheaper) option for both of these items. I know you should buy a good PSU and Dad is having some serious issues with spending $$$ on a (quote: “Metal box that is just going to sit on the floor.”) I am going to have a hard time convincing him to spend that much on a case.
Rig #2 (Gaming / future House server)
For the time being this is going to be my gaming machine. Down the Road I might make it the Gaming/Server, but that will be after I build a Media center computer. This system will probably use my current monitor, which is a 19” CRT NEC Beast. I will not setup in a Raid 0 format as my current one is, although I do move some massive files when using the computer for analysis. (Most files average about 500meg, some getting as high as 4 – 5 Gig.)
Rig #2 (My Rig)--------------Component------------------- Price------------Site
CPU--------------------------Opteron 170 ---------------$ 410------------ Monarch
Memory-----------OCZ 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR 400 Platinun-------$ 221.41---------Newegg
MB----------------------ASUS A8N-E---------------------$ 107.99----------Newegg
Video-----------ASUS EN7800GTX/2DHTV/256 PCIE x16-----$ 479.99---------Newegg
HD Drives------2 X WD SE16 WD2500KS 250GB----------------$ 230------------Newegg
Sound-------------Creative Audigy 2 Value (7.1) PCI OEM-------$ 49.99-----------Newegg
CPU Fan------------------------THERMALRIGHT XP-90---------$ 51.99------------Newegg
DVD/CD-------Pioneer Black Model #: DVR-110DBK-----------$ 43.99------------Newegg
CRT--------------------NEC Diamond Pro 930----------------------$ 000------------MyDeskTop
PSU-----------Thermaltake W0057 ATX 500W---------------------$ 199.00-----------Newegg
Case-----------Antec Performance I P180 Silver Steel--------------$ 129.99----------Newegg
Total Price: (Includes XP Pro, Floppy, Keyboard and Mouse) $2,187.94 (No Shipping)
Questions on this system:
1) I am going ot have to buy a LCD in the near future, should I save a little money on the Video Card (buying the one that is in my DadÂ’s system) and buy the LCD now? I have never used an LCD for games, so am curious if an LCD can handle the requirements. I usually run my desktop at 1280 X 1024, and run games as high as I can, which isnÂ’t real high with a ATI 9800 Pro.
2) Same questions on the PSU and Case, although I am not too concerned about spending $$$ on the case. I am more concerned about the noise. I want the case to be quite. My current case sounds like an F16 on the flight deck at take off. (My current system is an OC P4 2.8, which is air cooled.)
Any questions or comments would be appreciated. I know that the regulars see this type of thing everyday and I want to thank you for taking the time reading my post.
Take care,
Del D
