Budget rig

Page 4 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard-disk_platter
Hard drives typically have several platters which are mounted on the same spindle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memory_storage_density
Density has a direct relationship to storage capacity of a given medium. Density also generally has a fairly direct effect on the performance within a particular medium, as well as price.
Since density is measured in areal density (due to how the magnetic head reads the platter), a single 1TB platter hard drive will have higher density than a dual 500GB platter hard drive, and thus will perform faster (less time needed for the magnetic head to move between bits).

I have no idea which one is quieter, sorry. Given the RPM I'd expect a similar noise level, but if a difference was found I'd put my money on the higher density drive.

There's also at least one Caviar Black 1TB (WD1001FALS) with triple 334GB platters. Definitely avoid that for performance reasons. What's the model of the Caviar Black on offer at the local shop?
 
Last edited:

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Seagate ST1000DM003 = single 1TB platter
WD1002FAEX = dual 500GB platters
So Seagate is higher density and a bit faster.
 

nickhil111

Member
Jul 9, 2012
68
0
0
You mean seagate. I wonder why the wd black is costlier then when it has two platters. Ok I'll go with the seagate model.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Yes I mean Seagate, that is what I said :)

WD Black is costlier because two platters are more expensive to manufacture than one, and the warranty is longer.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Just his experience. Maybe he got unlucky, maybe his drives were from a bad batch, maybe he shops more on newegg than elsewhere and has selective memory, maybe he's making stuff up, or maybe he's right that hard drives shipped by newegg have a higher failure rate due to whatever reason. Or maybe the answer is a combination of two or more of the above.
 

nickhil111

Member
Jul 9, 2012
68
0
0
The shopkeeper is telling me to buy Asus B75 V. His point is if in future I use a decent graphic card it would not fit into Asus B75 M cause its smaller in size than V. Also using the card heat would increase so a cooler would be needed and due to limited space in mobo it might be difficult or impossible to fit the cooler. I just think he's trying to sell me the expensive model. What should I do?
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
0
0
Well the shopkeep is wrong, microATX boards can fit powerful video cards just as well as full ATX boards as most microATX boards are just shorter but the same width. Only issue would be if the width was slightly affected and the SATA ports got in the way.

He's trying to sell you the more expensive model, which is his job I suppose. Get the M.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
nickhil111 said:
His point is if in future I use a decent graphic card it would not fit into Asus B75 M cause its smaller in size than V.

That's bollocks. The motherboard's size doesn't restrict the size of the graphics card! A microATX board is essentially an ATX board with a couple of the expansion slots chopped off at the bottom.

In addition to a full size dual slot graphics card, the boards will fit the following expansion cards:

p8b75-m
1 PCI
1 PCIe 2.0 x1/x4

p8b75-v
3 PCI
1 PCIe 2.0 x1/x4
1 PCIe 2.0 x1

Also using the card heat would increase so a cooler would be needed and due to limited space in mobo it might be difficult or impossible to fit the cooler.
It's true that in the full ATX board, the PCIe 3.0 slot where the graphics card is installed is one slot further away from the CPU socket. That makes no difference as very few air coolers are actually wide enough to block the first expansion slot.

If you don't see yourself ever using more than one additional PCI or PCIe device like a network controller or a sound card, theres no point in paying extra for the P8B75-V. What's the difference in price between the two?
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Neither is better. They're just different. I think it's a pretty easy decision... you're on a budget and few people use more than 1-2 PCI/PCIe devices in addition to the graphics card.
 

lehtv

Elite Member
Dec 8, 2010
11,897
74
91
Yeah, true, V doens't have HDMI. If you really need HDMI, M is obviously better for you.

What I mean by "neither is better" is that the boards are for different purposes. The form factor is a dead giveaway. The ATX board is bigger but that can be an upside or a downside - you have more expansion slots but you can't fit it in a microATX case. And the microATX board costs less so if you're not worried about the number of expansion slots, you might as well buy the microATX board even if you have a standard ATX case. It's all relative, said Einstein.
 

nickhil111

Member
Jul 9, 2012
68
0
0
Okay! Final specs and no changes at al -
i3 2120
Asus B75 M
g skill 4gbx2 1333 mhz
corsair 430
Samsung 20 led
coolermaster 311
Seagate 1 tb
 

nickhil111

Member
Jul 9, 2012
68
0
0
My rig is working all fine. Except I have bought coolermaster 310 instead of 311. The case is top mounted for psu. Is it okay? I mean which is better 311 or 310?
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
0
0
I prefer my PSU at the bottom of the case purely because it's not top heavy then, and it lets the PSU get a clean source of cold air intake. But PSU's typically don't have heating issues unless the fans in them die so either way is fine really.
 

nickhil111

Member
Jul 9, 2012
68
0
0
I have asked the shop and they said I could change my case if I'd like. So wat do u suggesr 311 or 310?
 

krnmastersgt

Platinum Member
Jan 10, 2008
2,873
0
0
Doesn't really matter all that much tbh, but for me I'd choose the bottom mounted PSU case, whichever that is.