New Home Desktop Build - advice/opinions please

[speedemn]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
This PC is a home desktop PC that will mainly be used for Office apps, email, browsing, multimedia (watching movies, shows), downloading multimedia, iTunes, multi multi tasking, multiple users logged on at the same time
Okay one more thing to add here... I have been taking a lot of pics with my DSLR camera and have not done any post processing... one reason being that my current 5-year old PC is not really up to the task - sort of forgot about that task until now. I also have a digital 1080p camcorder that we have been using lots to take little videos of our newborn and I will likely want to do some video splitting/joining and manipulation of that sort... likely this all would be the most intense part of what I would do while multi tasking at the same time with a video playing, browsing, docs open, data downloads - does this change the system HP requirements below any?

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$2000 - $2500 CDN

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
Canada

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
No specific brand loyalty

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
22-inch Dell E228WFPc widescreen LCD (using DVI) - might upgrade this too but not a requirement initially

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
Lots! My head hurts... 🙂

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Default likely but would consider overclocking if it can be done safely

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz if I keep my existing monitor; otherwise I will look to go 1920 x 1080 or 1920 x 1200

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Now

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
Give me your best shot. 🙂



So here is what I am thinking:

Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Thank you for the advice here... I have scaled back to P8Z68-V... I do not need the PCI-E 3.0 capability of GEN3 nor do I need the extra USB ports and Marvell SATA6 ports that the PRO offers.

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K
Having a bit of a problem here stepping "down" to the i5-2500. I think I might use the OC ability of the 2700K (but would my needs above require this much more performance?) Benchmarking the i7-2700K vs i7-2600 (as a compromize) vs i5-2500 can someone give me comparisons here?

Memory: Need some advice here... what is the best RAM to pair to the motherboard above? Would extra money spent on 2400MHz RAM be performance that is realized here or would I have to stick to something slower based on the motherboard capability (e.g. 2133MHz)? Suggestions welcome here. I was thinking G.Skill... ? 16GB or 32GB?
Will come back to this requirement once CPU decision is finalized

HDD: 4 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB SATA3 6Gb/s in RAID 10 config (planning on using the on board controller from the motherboard as opposed to a standalone RAID controller card)
Lots of pics off my DSLR and videos off my camcorder (and I am a packrat when it comes to recorded media) 🙂 But with the money you guys are helping me save on scaling back my design to fit my requirements I will get a SSD (or 2 in RAID0 config) to run OS and programs.

Audio: On-board
Video: On-board
On board audio and video is fine since I am not going to be gaming on the PC...

Optical drive: LG BH12LS38 Black 12x Blu-ray Writer 16x DVD+/-R/RW Write Drive LightScribe SATA

Case: Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower OR Cooler Master HAF 922 Mid Tower (not really sure - do I really benefit from spending the extra on the HAF X over the HAF 922?) - I will max. out the fans either way
Thank you for the recommendations here... will stick with HAF 922

Cooling: Do I need to purchase any additional cooling outside of the fans indicated above?
Jury still out on whether I need additional cooling if I am going to max out the fans in the case

Power supply: I was considering a Cooler Master 80-Plus power supply... I am open to recommendations on how much power I would need (850W sufficient? Cooler Master Silent Pro M850 Modular 850W 80PLUS Bronze Certified?)
I am actually able to get this for $100 vs $60 for a "regular" 550W so I might stick to the extra few bucks here... but that PSU not being on sale I would consider the cheaper alternative


Any and all input and feedback is welcome.

Thank you.

 

[Puppies04]

Save yourself some money and buy an I5, it doesn't seem like you will be doing very much that will stretch an I7's legs. The 2500K will still allow you to overclock and 99% of the time will perform exactly the same as the I7 you are looking at.

No need to go for uber ram some basic 1600mhz dimms will be indistinguishable from the 2400mhz stuff you are looking at in anything other than benchmarks and even the benchmarks won't show a great improvement. Buy 8gb, I can pretty much guarantee you that you won't max it out. If you ever did (unlikely) you could always buy 8gb more cheaply.

Do you really need 12TB of storage? Do not buy 6gb/s HDD's they cannot saturate 3gb/s channels and are a gimmick.

HAF-X is a nice case but it is huge (i have one) I really don't see why you would need one, get the HAF 922 which still provides way more cooling/space than this rig will ever need

If you are going for even a mild (4.2 ish) overclock I weould still reccomend an aftermarket cooler. hyper 212+ gets a lot of good reviews areond here.

850W is so much overkill for this rig, I cannot stress this enough. A decent 500W would still leave you will tons of headroom.

You seem to be spending a LOT of money unnecessarily here, you could cut your budget almost in half without touching your performance. Hell you could almost build 2 seperate rigs. My advice above + installing a 120gb SSD for windows/applications will leave you with money in your pocket and a faster/snappier rig than the one you propose.

TL: DR

You are spending money on upgrades you will never see the benefit of.

 

[Puppies04]

P.s

That GEN 3 on the end of the motherboard refers to the PCIE slots. As you are not going to be using a GPU or anything else that would benfit from this (GEN 3 cards don't even exist yet) I would strongly suggest you drop down to the P8Z68-V. You will save money and lose nothing that you aren't using.

 

[Charlie98]

I would tend to agree about the HAF X... it's a monster case. I went to the HAF922 and it still has plenty of room inside, and comes with 3 fans already installed, with room for 2 more 200mm fans as well.

 

[Venom20]

Wow, I read all your answers to the questions then I read your specs and thought overkill, overkill, overkill.

Unless you left out some things you are planning on doing with your PC, I would modify things.

1) The i7-2700 is considerably too costly for your mentioned tasks. I'd recommend an i5-2500k.
2) While I don't believe you will use all the features of that motherboard, I've come to learn that mobos give people peace of mind. Therefore, I'll just say that if you fell this one suits you, then go for it.
3) Don't need that high of a frequency for you RAM. 1600 would be as high as I'd suggest for your build. Also, I'd recommend just picking up 8GB to start (2x4). Depending on your OS, it will probably be sufficient. If you find in the future you need more, then pick up 2 more 4GB modules to get 16 (4x4). 16 should be more than sufficient.
4) I don't really know my RIAD all that well, but I"m assuming a 4x3GB RAID 10 will give you a total of 6GB of usable space? Seems like alot of space. Since your budget is higher that you need, you may want to consider using some money to build a file server.
5) HAF 922 should be sufficient, especially if you intend on maxing fans.
6) get a SSD for your OS and applications.

 

[ScottAD]

That's a big budget you got there. Way more than necessary.

Motherboard: Biostar TZ68A+ $119.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16813138319

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K $229.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16819115072

You could probably even go i3 with the usage you are talking about but there is no overclock there.

Memory: Patriot Signature 8GB PSD38G1600KH $31.49
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820220570
RAM is RAM almost anymore. If you want something more aesthetic then I suggest

Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 8GB Model 996995 $45.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820226191

HD/Storage: Do you really need all that storage and SSD for boot? Crucial m4 $204.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16820148525

Mechanical - Whatever you'd like!

Audio: On-board
Video: On-board - What games will you be playing?

Optical drive: LG WH12LS39 $84.99 - If you really want a Bluray player/writer.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16827136241

Case: I think the HAF X is overkill. The 922 is a good choice. Have you looked at Corsairs' Carbide 400R $99.99

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16811139008

Cooling: CM 12 Evo is great at $36.99
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16835103099

Power supply: CM eXtreme Power RS-550 $69.99 - You can certainly go lower since you have no discrete GPU. I prefer a bit more cushion and it leaves headway for a GPU if your gaming needs require a discrete card.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16817171038

Total: $793.43 or $807.93 (RAM Choice dependent and no extra storage added.)

 

[Puppies04]

Sorry missed the raid 10 part. Do you need 6tb of storage? Either way I would still reccomend a SSD for your OS/programs and storage on HDD's.

 

[mfenn]

Ummm, what? This build is beyond ridiculous for the intended purposes. What Saffleur posted is fine, though I would probably a higher quality PSU like the XFX ProSeries 450W.

Really though, if you need massive storage shared among multiple users, you would probably be better off getting several $500 Dells and a NAS.

 

[lehtv]

Yeah, $2000-2500 CAD would afford you separate PC's for 3-4 people that would be powerful enough for the intended purposes. Or two high performing PC's (e.g. Saffleur's build with a better PSU) shared by half the people as originally intended. I'd build in silent case though (Define R3 / Define Mini, or just a standard case with low-RPM fans), HAF series is meant for gamers who actually use powerful discrete graphics cards. What you're describing is an office PC.

 

[ScottAD]

Ummm, what? This build is beyond ridiculous for the intended purposes. What Saffleur posted is fine, though I would probably a higher quality PSU like the XFX ProSeries 450W.

Really though, if you need massive storage shared among multiple users, you would probably be better off getting several $500 Dells and a NAS.

Oddly enough I use xfx myself. Purchased a XXX version awhile ago when I saw the 650w for stupid cheap

Sent from my PB99400 using Tapatalk

 

[speedemn]

Wow thank you all for the detailed and very educational feedback. I have updated the original post with my responses based on your recommendations... pasting the respondes in italics here too:


1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
This PC is a home desktop PC that will mainly be used for Office apps, email, browsing, multimedia (watching movies, shows), downloading multimedia, iTunes, multi multi tasking, multiple users logged on at the same time
Okay one more thing to add here... I have been taking a lot of pics with my DSLR camera and have not done any post processing... one reason being that my current 5-year old PC is not really up to the task - sort of forgot about that task until now. I also have a digital 1080p camcorder that we have been using lots to take little videos of our newborn and I will likely want to do some video splitting/joining and manipulation of that sort... likely this all would be the most intense part of what I would do while multi tasking at the same time with a video playing, browsing, docs open, data downloads - does this change the system HP requirements below any?



So here is what I am thinking:

Motherboard: Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Thank you for the advice here... I have scaled back to P8Z68-V... I do not need the PCI-E 3.0 capability of GEN3 nor do I need the extra USB ports and Marvell SATA6 ports that the PRO offers.

CPU: Intel Core i7-2700K
Having a bit of a problem here stepping "down" to the i5-2500. I think I might use the OC ability of the 2700K (but would my needs above require this much more performance?) Benchmarking the i7-2700K vs i7-2600 (as a compromize) vs i5-2500 can someone give me comparisons here?

Memory: Need some advice here... what is the best RAM to pair to the motherboard above? Would extra money spent on 2400MHz RAM be performance that is realized here or would I have to stick to something slower based on the motherboard capability (e.g. 2133MHz)? Suggestions welcome here. I was thinking G.Skill... ? 16GB or 32GB?
Will come back to this requirement once CPU decision is finalized

HDD: 4 x Seagate Barracuda 3TB SATA3 6Gb/s in RAID 10 config (planning on using the on board controller from the motherboard as opposed to a standalone RAID controller card)
Lots of pics off my DSLR and videos off my camcorder (and I am a packrat when it comes to recorded media) 🙂 But with the money you guys are helping me save on scaling back my design to fit my requirements I will get a SSD (or 2 in RAID0 config) to run OS and programs.

Audio: On-board
Video: On-board
On board audio and video is fine since I am not going to be gaming on the PC...

Optical drive: LG BH12LS38 Black 12x Blu-ray Writer 16x DVD+/-R/RW Write Drive LightScribe SATA

Case: Cooler Master HAF X Full Tower OR Cooler Master HAF 922 Mid Tower (not really sure - do I really benefit from spending the extra on the HAF X over the HAF 922?) - I will max. out the fans either way
Thank you for the recommendations here... will stick with HAF 922

Cooling: Do I need to purchase any additional cooling outside of the fans indicated above?
Jury still out on whether I need additional cooling if I am going to max out the fans in the case

Power supply: I was considering a Cooler Master 80-Plus power supply... I am open to recommendations on how much power I would need (850W sufficient? Cooler Master Silent Pro M850 Modular 850W 80PLUS Bronze Certified?)
I am actually able to get this for $100 vs $60 for a "regular" 550W so I might stick to the extra few bucks here... but that PSU not being on sale I would consider the cheaper alternative

 

[ScottAD]

CPU: 2700k - If you're doing processing on large resolution images then keep the 2700k. The HT factor is going to help I think.

Memory: I don't think you're really going to see any difference between 2133 and 2400. Probably an increse between 1600 and 2133. (I'm sure mfreen or lehtv will have better knowledge.)

HD - You'd probably be fine with an M4 126 GB Crucial SSD for OS and programs. Then have the echanicals in RAID.

Cooling: A 212 Evo or Hyper Plus would be good for better cooling versus stock. You may not need it but this is just personal preference.

PSU: 850w is way overkill for your unit. 450-550w is more than enough for your set up. The one mfenn suggested or something from that series is excellent.

 

[speedemn]

CPU: 2700k - If you're doing processing on large resolution images then keep the 2700k. The HT factor is going to help I think.

Gotcha... would have been nice to save the $170 difference but not at the cost of performance (afterall it is a significant investment overall... don't want to skimp out on a detail that is noticeable).

Memory: I don't think you're really going to see any difference between 2133 and 2400. Probably an increse between 1600 and 2133. (I'm sure mfreen or lehtv will have better knowledge.)

2 questions here:

1. Would the 2133 not run at 2000 (I remember reading sometihng on this to do with the P8Z68-V board... can't find it now. The board itself says the following:
"DDR3 2200(O.C.)*/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 MHz"
What exactly does this mean? What does the "Overclock" abbreviation in brackets behind the higher frequencies mean? Does it mean that the 1600/133/1066 would run at 2200/2133/1866 respectively when OC'd? Or am I reading that wrong?

2. What brand is good for RAM to pair to the above board? G.Skillz OK? Or stick to a Corsair or Kingston? Or other?

HD - You'd probably be fine with an M4 126 GB Crucial SSD for OS and programs. Then have the echanicals in RAID.

Gotcha... will do a bit of research on this and then post if I have questions... any advantage to striping for performance here? Get 2 x SSDs and also get the extra capacity?

Cooling: A 212 Evo or Hyper Plus would be good for better cooling versus stock. You may not need it but this is just personal preference.

Might consider this for the relatively lower cost.

PSU: 850w is way overkill for your unit. 450-550w is more than enough for your set up. The one mfenn suggested or something from that series is excellent.

For a $30 difference I might stick with the "overkill" factor here... 🙂 A bit of peace of mind I guess... 🙂 But I might change my mind as this $30 could go towards the cooling factor above.

 

[mfenn]

Gotcha... would have been nice to save the $170 difference but not at the cost of performance (afterall it is a significant investment overall... don't want to skimp out on a detail that is noticeable).

An i7 2700K costs nearly twice as much as the i5 2500K, but the performance difference only exists at stock. If you are overclocking, the difference is negligible. Since it sounds like you will just be encoding in the background while doing other stuff, you might as well stick with the i5 IMHO.

2 questions here:

1. Would the 2133 not run at 2000 (I remember reading sometihng on this to do with the P8Z68-V board... can't find it now. The board itself says the following:
"DDR3 2200(O.C.)*/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 MHz"
What exactly does this mean? What does the "Overclock" abbreviation in brackets behind the higher frequencies mean? Does it mean that the 1600/133/1066 would run at 2200/2133/1866 respectively when OC'd? Or am I reading that wrong?

Sandy Bridge is not an Athlon 64 or a C2D, RAM speed does not matter when it comes to performance, especially not relative to the cost. For the uses you have listed, you will be completely fine with 8GB of DDR3 1333/1600.

2. What brand is good for RAM to pair to the above board? G.Skillz OK? Or stick to a Corsair or Kingston? Or other?

Any of the above are fine, get whichever costs the least.

Gotcha... will do a bit of research on this and then post if I have questions... any advantage to striping for performance here? Get 2 x SSDs and also get the extra capacity?

Is there a theoretical advantage to having RAID0 SSDs? Sure. Will your system ever push the queue depths necessary to take advantage of all those IOPS? Not unless you plan to start running your bank's OLTP database from this thing.

For a $30 difference I might stick with the "overkill" factor here... 🙂 A bit of peace of mind I guess... 🙂 But I might change my mind as this $30 could go towards the cooling factor above.

An 850W power supply is literally 5 or 6 times more capacity than your computer will ever consume. (I mean literally literally, not figuratively literally). A 450W is already 3 times more than you will ever need.

 

[speedemn]

An i7 2700K costs nearly twice as much as the i5 2500K, but the performance difference only exists at stock. If you are overclocking, the difference is negligible. Since it sounds like you will just be encoding in the background while doing other stuff, you might as well stick with the i5 IMHO.

This is what I am seeing for pricing:
i5-2500: $220
i5-2500K: $250
i7-2600: $330
i7-2600K: $350
i7-2700K: $390

So you are right... almost double but I could consider a step in between ... but for the HT and 4 physical and 4 virtual core processing I am really drawn to the i7 and when in the i7 ranks the differential is 20% to go from 2600 to 2700K which is what is kind of drawing me there. The multi tasking with HD video and/or picture editing is what is driving this behaviour of mine. 🙂

Sandy Bridge is not an Athlon 64 or a C2D, RAM speed does not matter when it comes to performance, especially not relative to the cost. For the uses you have listed, you will be completely fine with 8GB of DDR3 1333/1600.

I found this for about $30 more than 8GB of a 1600MHz RAM... any issues with this specific brand/model?:
G.SKILL Sniper Series DDR3 2133MHz (PC3-17000) 16GB (4x4GB) Quad Channel Kit (F3-17000CL11Q-16GBSR)

Incidentally the following part has just 1 number different from the above in the model designation but costs like 70% more... what's the difference?:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series DDR3 2133MHz (PC3-17000) 16GB (4x4GB) Quad Channel Kit (F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH)

Is there a theoretical advantage to having RAID0 SSDs? Sure. Will your system ever push the queue depths necessary to take advantage of all those IOPS? Not unless you plan to start running your bank's OLTP database from this thing.

Just started looking at SSDs and I am seeing SATA3 6Gb/s SSDs as well as PCI-E SSDs. Some advertise speeds of about 550MB/s read; 500MB/s write (both SATA3 and PCI-E) and some go as high as 1000MB/s read; 900MB/s write (PCI-E only but some as low as 730 read; 690 write).

So how to choose? First of all... would the P8Z68-V support the PCI-E effectively with the PCI-E ports that it has? Secondly would PCI-E be better than SATA3? Lastly, there is also a "hybrid" - I read up about it and it seems to offer the best of both worlds and it is cheaper than the straight up PCI-E but has better performance than SATA3 SSD but not quite as quick as the quickest PCI-E SSDs. But capacities as as high as 1TB for cheaper than a 240GB PCI-E SSD. I am looking mostly in the OCZ line in comparing all of the above.

Any feedback and suggestions here? I would like min. 240GB for my SSD and might stick to a single drive to save some money and forget about RAID here.

 

[ScottAD]

I found this for about $30 more than 8GB of a 1600MHz RAM... any issues with this specific brand/model?:
G.SKILL Sniper Series DDR3 2133MHz (PC3-17000) 16GB (4x4GB) Quad Channel Kit (F3-17000CL11Q-16GBSR)

Incidentally the following part has just 1 number different from the above in the model designation but costs like 70% more... what's the difference?:
G.SKILL Ripjaws Z Series DDR3 2133MHz (PC3-17000) 16GB (4x4GB) Quad Channel Kit (F3-17000CL9Q-16GBZH)

RAM is RAM pretty much anymore. Doesn't matter who makes it as long as you are getting RAM that your board supports (That's usually on the MBsite as a QVL).

G.Skill likes to use the new platforms as a way to make RAM especially formulated for the platform. X for SandyBridge Z for SB-E. More a marketing gimmick IMHO.

I don't understand your insistence to get RAM that you won't notice a difference in performance vs price and probably will never use the full amount. In the end, it's your money though not mine! 😉

Just started looking at SSDs and I am seeing SATA3 6Gb/s SSDs as well as PCI-E SSDs. Some advertise speeds of about 550MB/s read; 500MB/s write (both SATA3 and PCI-E) and some go as high as 1000MB/s read; 900MB/s write (PCI-E only but some as low as 730 read; 690 write).

So how to choose? First of all... would the P8Z68-V support the PCI-E effectively with the PCI-E ports that it has? Secondly would PCI-E be better than SATA3? Lastly, there is also a "hybrid" - I read up about it and it seems to offer the best of both worlds and it is cheaper than the straight up PCI-E but has better performance than SATA3 SSD but not quite as quick as the quickest PCI-E SSDs. But capacities as as high as 1TB for cheaper than a 240GB PCI-E SSD. I am looking mostly in the OCZ line in comparing all of the above.

Any feedback and suggestions here? I would like min. 240GB for my SSD and might stick to a single drive to save some money and forget about RAID here.

Save the cash/complication and get a M4 256GB SSD if you want that much space.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148530

 

[speedemn]

RAM is RAM pretty much anymore. Doesn't matter who makes it as long as you are getting RAM that your board supports (That's usually on the MBsite as a QVL).

G.Skill likes to use the new platforms as a way to make RAM especially formulated for the platform. X for SandyBridge Z for SB-E. More a marketing gimmick IMHO.

I don't understand your insistence to get RAM that you won't notice a difference in performance vs price and probably will never use the full amount. In the end, it's your money though not mine! 😉

I am just looking at economics in terms of rate/GB. For a tiny increment if I can double the RAM why not... 🙂 I might just scale back and save the $30 but for $30 (I blow that on fast food some days) nothing to lose by doubling from 8GB to 16GB. That was kind of where my thought process was.

As for the QVL, I consulted the QVL for the P8Z68-V and it does list the G.Skill brand but not the specific model that I am considering. Will this be a problem?

Incidentally the P8Z68-V says that it supports 2200(O.C.)*/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 MHz however the QVL lists 2400MHz memory (I found that odd... why would it list a higher freq than it supports on the board?)

Save the cash/complication and get a M4 256GB SSD if you want that much space.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148530

That is a 256GB drive for $365.
I was looking at the Corsair Force Series 3 180GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Disk Drive (SSD), Read: 550MB/s Write:490MB/s, includes 2.5" to 3.5" bracket (CSSD-F180GB3-BK)

I can get that 180GB for $210... and even if I went RAID0 to double up for space and take advantage of a bit of RAID0 (whether or not I see the performance difference I at least get 360GB of space for just a bit more than the 256GB drive from M4). Or just stick with the single drive of 180GB for $210... better deal than the M4? Corsair I assume is a reliable unit? I have read some negative reviews of the OCZ.

So don't buy in to the hype of the PCI-E SSDs? They seem to boast up to double (and in some cases triple) the performance of the SATA3 SSDs.


Thoughts on all of the above please? 🙂

Thanks for the continued support and advise.

 

[ScottAD]

Sandforce has seen better days. Up until October or so they had huge BSOD issues.

Samsung and M4 have been the most reliable SSDs since then. Even Intel had issues because of the controller.

The thing I guess I've been trying to and failing to put across to you is that SSD's are good for loading things faster like the OS and your programs. That is why they are mostly used as boot drives not full time storage. A SSD has a shorter life span (at this time) for read and writes compared to mechanical.

With that said it makes more sense to use the SSD as a performance drive and keep your files on mechnicals that the SSD can access. You won't notice slow down.

I feel you would be better served with getting the 128 GB SSD for $179.99 and then round out with some mechanical drives for your true storage.

You could go with 3x HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D which is 3 TB of data for $119.99 a piece. That's $359.97 and a crap load more storage than two Corsair Force 3's and you still get the performance of the SSD.

Aside from that I don't see why you'd want to spend so much on storage. I know you have the DSLR pics and the camcorder but 3 TB is a lot of space...

Save money on the RAM and dedicate it to the storage is what I would suggest ultimately.

 

[speedemn]

Sandforce has seen better days. Up until October or so they had huge BSOD issues.

Samsung and M4 have been the most reliable SSDs since then. Even Intel had issues because of the controller.

So have the issues with the Corsair SSDs been resolved since Oct? Or is it still a good idea to stay away from them? What about OCZ then? I cannot seem to find Samsung SSDs at my local computer dealers.

The thing I guess I've been trying to and failing to put across to you is that SSD's are good for loading things faster like the OS and your programs. That is why they are mostly used as boot drives not full time storage. A SSD has a shorter life span (at this time) for read and writes compared to mechanical.

With that said it makes more sense to use the SSD as a performance drive and keep your files on mechnicals that the SSD can access. You won't notice slow down.

That is the plan... OS and apps on the SSD but I thought that if I put some frequently accessed avi, mkv, mpg files on the SSD that it would improve their performance vs running them off the spindle drives. My 2-year old son has a few favourite shows that he watches everyday. 🙂 Any benefit to running those media files off the SSD? Or is that not recommended or is there no performance benefit to running them off SSD?

I feel you would be better served with getting the 128 GB SSD for $179.99 and then round out with some mechanical drives for your true storage.

You could go with 3x HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D which is 3 TB of data for $119.99 a piece. That's $359.97 and a crap load more storage than two Corsair Force 3's and you still get the performance of the SSD.

Aside from that I don't see why you'd want to spend so much on storage. I know you have the DSLR pics and the camcorder but 3 TB is a lot of space...

Save money on the RAM and dedicate it to the storage is what I would suggest ultimately.

Ok thanks for the input there... I will stick to just 1 SSD instead of 2 and store all data on my planned 4 x 3TB Seagata Barracuda drives that I want to RAID10 (yes lots and lots of storage) 🙂

 

[ScottAD]

That bug affected all SSDs on the Sandforce controller. OCZ, Corsair, Kingwin, OWC, Memoright, Patriot.

OCZ has gotten beat up pretty badly lately with it's failure rates. All SSDs have them but they are excelling in it.

You won't notice a difference storing those files on mechanical vs SSD.

Enjoy the sweet speed of SSD on 6GB/s though! It is something else I tell ya.

 

[speedemn]

That bug affected all SSDs on the Sandforce controller. OCZ, Corsair, Kingwin, OWC, Memoright, Patriot.

Ok so what are the only viable options now? Or are the Sandforce SSDs back in business now?

Enjoy the sweet speed of SSD on 6GB/s though! It is something else I tell ya.

Nothing to gain by going PCI-E SSD?

 

[ScottAD]

Your viable options are what you want to invest. That particular bug no longer affects that controller. OCZ still has higher failure rates compared to other drives, which is odd considering OCZ has a deal where they get new firmware first. I've given you my opinions on your storage needs and what is known for it's reliability. I value reliability and performance over storage space. I think your wants are far past what you need from what you've stated is the purpose of your build. I understand that may come off as abrasive but I can't state it any more plainly.

Why would you use PCI-E right now? It's the same issue that mfenn was talking about. You are never and I really do mean never going to use the IOPS that a PCIE-SSD will provide you, which is like 1 Million IOPS.

PCIE-SSDs space right now is mostly something I would expect to see in a server side application.

Nothing you buy is going to be future proof for long. My advice is stop trying to be on the bleeding edge of things when your needs do not require it.

Anand did a review of the Revodrive and he said it best;

This product falls into that category of if you have to ask why, it’s not for you.

I mean no offense by any of that but why ask for opinions when you are going to do whatever you want anyway?

 

[speedemn]

No offence taken and maybe I should explain my approach... I do over analyze everything... need to have all the information before I make a decision. 🙂 Its my achilles heel!

However the responses in this thread have been extremely helpful. I have scaled back considerably and with the money I have saved as a result am even considering SSD (again, based on recommendations in this thread from guys like you).

I value all opinions and thank you for your time. One last question from above that I don't think I got any feedback on...

RAM is RAM pretty much anymore. Doesn't matter who makes it as long as you are getting RAM that your board supports (That's usually on the MBsite as a QVL).

G.Skill likes to use the new platforms as a way to make RAM especially formulated for the platform. X for SandyBridge Z for SB-E. More a marketing gimmick IMHO.

I don't understand your insistence to get RAM that you won't notice a difference in performance vs price and probably will never use the full amount. In the end, it's your money though not mine! 😉

I am just looking at economics in terms of rate/GB. For a tiny increment if I can double the RAM why not... 🙂 I might just scale back and save the $30 but for $30 (I blow that on fast food some days) nothing to lose by doubling from 8GB to 16GB. That was kind of where my thought process was.

As for the QVL, I consulted the QVL for the P8Z68-V and it does list the G.Skill brand but not the specific model that I am considering. Will this be a problem?

Incidentally the P8Z68-V says that it supports 2200(O.C.)*/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 MHz however the QVL lists 2400MHz memory (I found that odd... why would it list a higher freq than it supports on the board?)


I think my decisions are pretty much made... just a question of a little bit of price and inventory hunting. I will re-post if I have any further questions.

Thanks again! 🙂

 

[mfenn]

I agree with Saffleur WRT to the SSD. You are overthinking it, just get an M4 and be done with it. 128GB is plenty, 256GB if you really feel that you must. No, you will not be able to notice any difference in playing movie files.

I am just looking at economics in terms of rate/GB. For a tiny increment if I can double the RAM why not... 🙂 I might just scale back and save the $30 but for $30 (I blow that on fast food some days) nothing to lose by doubling from 8GB to 16GB. That was kind of where my thought process was.

I've bolded the critical error in your thought process. You should be looking at application performance per dollar, not any sort of technical spec. per dollar. If 16GB of DDR3 2133 nets zero performance increase, then it is not worth spending any money on it.

Also, you provide links to the specific items that you are looking to purchase? I find it a little hard to believe that F3-17000CL11Q-16GBSR (normally $140) is only $30 more than 8GB of DDR3 1600 (normally $30).

As for the QVL, I consulted the QVL for the P8Z68-V and it does list the G.Skill brand but not the specific model that I am considering. Will this be a problem?

Incidentally the P8Z68-V says that it supports 2200(O.C.)*/2133(O.C.)/1866(O.C.)/1600/1333/1066 MHz however the QVL lists 2400MHz memory (I found that odd... why would it list a higher freq than it supports on the board?)

The QVL is a list of kits that ASUS has tested with that board nothing more, nothing less. It does not guarantee that other kits won't work and does not guarantee support for the tested kits. The "safest" thing to do from a compatibility point of view is to buy the exact model that they tested, but sometimes that is nearly impossible due to supply factors. So in short, you should be fine with any standard DDR3 from a reputable manufacturer.