My 7 year old PC just pooped the bed, I need a new one...

[csj0952]

In that case, take a look at the Samsung 470 64GB @ $130 and the Corsair Force 60 at $136.

How come the OCZ is not recommended? OCZ Agility 2 or the Vertex 2? What's the difference between the two besides 5 bucks..

 

[fffblackmage]

How come the OCZ is not recommended? OCZ Agility 2 or the Vertex 2? What's the difference between the two besides 5 bucks..

OCZ transitioned from 34nm to 25nm flash, which has a lower rated number of write cycles and different performance characteristics. This affects newer Vertex 2 SSDs, though I'm not sure about Agility 2's.

More info about it here:
tomshardware.com - The OCZ Vertex 2 Conspiracy: Lost Space, Lost Speed?

The Vertex 2 and Agility 2 uses the same controller, but the Agility 2's firmware has an artificial limitation to the controller's max IOPS rate. For the average user, there should be no noticeable effect.

 

[csj0952]

I've narrowed my case selection down to

Antec 300
Antec 900
HAF 912
HAF 922

I have heard the Antecs are a bit more sturdy and less plasticy

 

[aphelion02]

You should consider the Antec 902 instead of the 900. Its the latest, updated version with dust filters and better cable management.

 

[csj0952]

Just placed my order for the whole build. I got the 902 V3 as you suggested. Went with the corsair SSD, dark knight heatsink, some artic silver paste, and the EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1563-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support...

Now I just need a copy of windows 7 home premium. I am assuming I would want 64 bit. Kinda confused as to why I would pay for the home premium which is $170 vs the OEM? I don't have a Vista license since my old pc was XP.

Thoughts?

 

[csj0952]

Also, what software should I pick up? Is there any special drivers for the video card, motherboard, CPU? After plugging everything in and getting the Operating system installed, what else is there to do?

 

[mfenn]

Just placed my order for the whole build. I got the 902 V3 as you suggested. Went with the corsair SSD, dark knight heatsink, some artic silver paste, and the EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1563-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support...

Looks good!

Now I just need a copy of windows 7 home premium. I am assuming I would want 64 bit. Kinda confused as to why I would pay for the home premium which is $170 vs the OEM? I don't have a Vista license since my old pc was XP.

Thoughts?

You should be fine with an OEM version at $100

Also, what software should I pick up? Is there any special drivers for the video card, motherboard, CPU? After plugging everything in and getting the Operating system installed, what else is there to do?

Once you install the OS, you'll want to install the newest GPU drivers direct from NVidia's website. You can also install the Intel INF Update and Rapid Storage Technology (RST) drivers from Intel's website, but they're not as critical.