Photo/video editing, compiling, gaming rig: X48, DDR3?

[ichi]

Originally posted by: Urtho
Everyone steers you towards a good solid and much cheaper P35 board as well as avoiding any RAID issues and you ignore them? Hmm... well it's your system, enjoy it I guess.

No, I did not ignore them. Those comments made me do some more research, and I went from $380 board to a $300 board (shipped from *****.com). Check out this thread if you doubt that the Rampage is a good board. The fact that people report that they pop the components in an set the voltage to what their modules are rated for, and get great overclocking results in "auto" mode, is attractive. Also, $100-$200 is not that much more to pay, IMO.

I also went from OCZ RAM to G.Skill.

Not sure what RAID issues with the Rampage you are referring to (the recommended Gigabyte mb also use the ICH9R), but if is "onboard RAID-0 isn't worth the trouble", then please check out the links I posted regarding that. There's too mu FUD regarding onboard RAID.

Cheers
- ichi

 

[Urtho]

Originally posted by: ichi
Also, $100-$200 is not that much more to pay, IMO.

If you're going to hang out on that site and make overclocking your hobby, hey knock yourself out with that board. I don't like spending more money than is needed for the very solid performance that is available with the "cheap" P35 boards talked about here.

As for RAID, any minor performance gains are far outweighed by the increased risk of data loss as well as the added noise and heat issues with running 2 x 10K rpm Raptors as opposed to some of the other disk options available these days. And speaking of links concerning RAID issues, try this one on for size. Here's a clip from it:

If you haven't gotten the hint by now, we'll spell it out for you: there is no place, and no need for a RAID-0 array on a desktop computer. The real world performance increases are negligible at best and the reduction in reliability, thanks to a halving of the mean time between failure, makes RAID-0 far from worth it on the desktop.

Like I said, it's your money so enjoy it. Wasn't even close to what I would have picked but I suppose that's all part of the fun.

 

[ichi]

Originally posted by: Urtho

Originally posted by: ichi
Also, $100-$200 is not that much more to pay, IMO.

If you're going to hang out on that site and make overclocking your hobby, hey knock yourself out with that board. I don't like spending more money than is needed for the very solid performance that is available with the "cheap" P35 boards talked about here.

Well, I was hoping I could still hang around here. ;-)
I don't like wasting money either, but for $150 more in a $3k system, I went with the latest tech, and more features.

Originally posted by: Urtho

As for RAID, any minor performance gains are far outweighed by the increased risk of data loss as well as the added noise and heat issues with running 2 x 10K rpm Raptors as opposed to some of the other disk options available these days. And speaking of links concerning RAID issues, try this one on for size. Here's a clip from it:

If you haven't gotten the hint by now, we'll spell it out for you: there is no place, and no need for a RAID-0 array on a desktop computer. The real world performance increases are negligible at best and the reduction in reliability, thanks to a halving of the mean time between failure, makes RAID-0 far from worth it on the desktop.

Like I said, it's your money so enjoy it. Wasn't even close to what I would have picked but I suppose that's all part of the fun.

You wouldn't go RAID-0 to use office apps, no. I will try to do a comparison of how long it takes to compile our code on a stand alone disk vs. the RAID-0 array.
The newer Raptors are much more quiet than the older ones. We use both at work and the difference is huge.

Cheers
- ichi

 

[Blain]

Why do you require validation for our comments in the form of links provided to you?
Our opinions haven't been formed by a single web page or article. They have been formed by reading many threads, articles and actual experience.
1. You asked our opinion on YOUR build.
2. If you refuse to take our advise, why bother posting a thread here in the AT forums... Post in the XtremeSystems forums.

Doing your own leg-work, searching and reading would do you a world of good.
It would also give you more confidence on configuring any PC

>> "Give a man a fish and he eats for a day, Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime" <<

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: Urtho

Originally posted by: ichi
Also, $100-$200 is not that much more to pay, IMO.

If you're going to hang out on that site and make overclocking your hobby, hey knock yourself out with that board. I don't like spending more money than is needed for the very solid performance that is available with the "cheap" P35 boards talked about here.

As for RAID, any minor performance gains are far outweighed by the increased risk of data loss as well as the added noise and heat issues with running 2 x 10K rpm Raptors as opposed to some of the other disk options available these days. And speaking of links concerning RAID issues, try this one on for size. Here's a clip from it:

If you haven't gotten the hint by now, we'll spell it out for you: there is no place, and no need for a RAID-0 array on a desktop computer. The real world performance increases are negligible at best and the reduction in reliability, thanks to a halving of the mean time between failure, makes RAID-0 far from worth it on the desktop.

Like I said, it's your money so enjoy it. Wasn't even close to what I would have picked but I suppose that's all part of the fun.

hey, awesome, I can add that to RAID0.txt, thanks!

 

[gsellis]

Originally posted by: Urtho
As for RAID, any minor performance gains are far outweighed by the increased risk of data loss as well as the added noise and heat issues with running 2 x 10K rpm Raptors as opposed to some of the other disk options available these days. And speaking of links concerning RAID issues, try this one on for size. Here's a clip from it:

If you haven't gotten the hint by now, we'll spell it out for you: there is no place, and no need for a RAID-0 array on a desktop computer. The real world performance increases are negligible at best and the reduction in reliability, thanks to a halving of the mean time between failure, makes RAID-0 far from worth it on the desktop.

Like I said, it's your money so enjoy it. Wasn't even close to what I would have picked but I suppose that's all part of the fun.

Also add this though.

There are some exceptions, especially if you are running a particular application that itself benefits considerably from a striped array, and obviously, our comments do not apply to server-class IO of any sort. But for the vast majority of desktop users and gamers alike, save your money and stay away from RAID-0.

The exception is video editing and I will refine it to HD and UHD editing (High Def, Ultra High Def link 2k, 4k).

There is a flaw too, RAID0 does not 'half' the MTBF. MTBF is more complex than that. The real numbers involve Linear Programming, standard deviations, and the whole system. The simple formula is that 2 devices of the same MTBF make it twice as likely to fail, so half. But really it is more of combined MTBFs (which is almost always 'made up' by drive mfgrs) and standard deviations. The system MTBF would include the controller too. In theory, RAID0 could increase observed MTBF with fewer drive writes and reads, better controller balancing and load spreading, etc.
/sorry, rant on a pet peeve about MTBF
//I have had a R0 fail, with a 36GB Raptor.

 

[ichi]

Originally posted by: Blain
Why do you require validation for our comments in the form of links provided to you?
Our opinions haven't been formed by a single web page or article. They have been formed by reading many threads, articles and actual experience.
1. You asked our opinion on YOUR build.
2. If you refuse to take our advise, why bother posting a thread here in the AT forums... Post in the XtremeSystems forums.

But I did take your advice. No I didn't choose the motherboard that was suggested, but I did go from DDR3 to DDR2 and that is a big change (certainly in terms of money: $420 vs $90). I also changed the brand of RAM. As I wrote in my first post, my main concern was choosing the right RAM.

As for why I require "validation", well that is how you actually learn something. By reading more about the topic. I already know a lot about computers (having programmed many different ones from a Commodore VIC 20 to a Cray T3E over 25 years), but I still wanted to learn more about current components before building a new computer.

Some more background: I built my old rig almost 6 years ago (it has been rock solid and on 24/7). I have been wanting to build a new one for quite some time, but have kept delaying it. That is one reason I want to have some fun with this new build, and that is also part of why I chose the Rampage board (which I believe is what upset you, or maybe it was the RAID issue?).

I do appreciate all comments and I evaluated all of them carefully before making my purchasing decisions.

Originally posted by: Blain
Doing your own leg-work, searching and reading would do you a world of good.
It would also give you more confidence on configuring any PC

Naturally, you are correct. But your assumption that I am not searching and reading, is wrong.

Cheers
- ichi