RENAMED: Validate my i5 2500/z68 build

[mfenn]

What I ordered:
CPU: i5 2500K
BOOT Drive: Samsung SpinPoint 1TB
Back-up Drive: Samsung SpinPoint 1TB
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline (2x4GB)
OS: Win7 Home Premium 64bit
CASE: Antec 900 - complete indulgence on my part, I've grown tired of my nearly decade old case and lack of tool-less features.
DVD R/RW Burner: Asus SATA OEM

:thumbsup: Looks good to me!

What's left to decide:
Still debating between the ASUS P8P67 Pro and the ASRock Z68 Extreme 4. The guys at Micro Center talked me out of a Z68, and I almost went with a P67 bundle...until I remembered, even with the bundle, the P67 and Z68 is a wash on price. Of course, the ASRock Z68 is out of stock currently at newegg, which gives me a few more days to debate. I like what I've read about both the ASUS and ASRock.

I'd get Z68 for sure. The ASRock Z68 Pro3 and Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H are both good.

SSD- Ok, I am debating between the Intel 320 80GB and OCZ Solid 3 60GB. The Solid comes in at a cheaper price, is SATA6 and sufficiently large for a boot drive...I've just heard mixed reviews on the quality of OCZ products. mfenn, you and others have recommended the Solid on a few occasions. Is price driving that recommendation, or is it truly the best performance/reliability/bang for your buck option out there now?

Well, Intel is certainly the safe choice, and the 320 is by no means a bad drive.

The OCZ Solid 3 is basically the same thing as a Vertex 3, just with slower, less expensive flash. The SF-2000 architecture that the OCZ 3 series architecture SSDs are based on is worlds more advanced than the 320 (which is basically the same silicon that Intel introduced in 2008). Since the Solid 3 is the least expensive way to get into a SF-2000 right now, I think that it's a good deal.

 

[Starbuck1975]

mfenn,

I'll go with the OCZ Solid 3. Thanks for clarifying on the architecture. The Intel 5-series SSDs are way more expensive to get SATA6 performance.

Ok I am sold on the Z68. I would honestly pull the trigger on the ASRock Z68 Pro3 today, but I have one rather odd requirement that this Mobo doesn't fulfill. I have a few legacy firewire devices I would like to continue using. I purposely bought a case with a firewire front port that I can run to the MOBO. It doesn't look like this Mobo has a firewire connector either on the board itself or on the rear panel. Not a show stopper. Not sure I can justify spending almost $100 more for a Mobo with this connector, but disappointed my options jump from the ASRock Z68 Pro3, which is at a great price, to $190 for the Extreme 4 or $220 for the Abit P6Z68 Pro, both of which have onboard firewire.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

Wouldn't an adapter like this work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Firewire-IEEE-1...608?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa55a45a0

 

[mfenn]

Wouldn't an adapter like this work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/Firewire-IEEE-1...608?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4aa55a45a0

:thumbsup: That or a PCIe card would be my thinking.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Thanks guys. I didn't even know such adapters exist. I found a cheap $2 adapter online that converts a male USB 2.0 into a female firewire connection, which is exactly what I need.

I am leaning towards the ASRock Pro3 and OCZ Sold 3 60GB at this point.

mfenn, between those recommendations, and your SpinPoint recommendation, I managed to knock $200 off my build. Enough to keep in reserve should the PSU not work out, OR, consider a GPU upgrade.

So...

I am a bit out of the know on the latest and greatest in the GPU space. What would be a good price/performance upgrade for an 8800GT in say the $200 price range?

 

[Skott]

A good 1GB GTX460 or a ATI 6850 can be easily had for under $200. Thats a definite improvement over a 8800GT. I replaced my 8800GT OC with a Gigabyte GTX460 in my SG03 rig and its a huge improvement. I heard NE was having a sale on them but I'm not sure if its still going on. I hear the ATI 6850 is a also a good card. I have a 6950 in my newest rig and its sweet but thats way over $200. Just make sure the card you choose blows air out the back of it. Some of these newer cards dont do that.

 

[Starbuck1975]

I found a few GTX460s that come in under $150 with mail in rebates currently available. I looked at the specs, and all of them have the following system requirement:
450-watt power supply with a minimum of 24 amps on the +12 volt rail.

I just found the specs on my PSU, and it states:
+3.3V@28A, +5V@30A, +12V1@22A, +12V2@22A, -12V@0.6A, +5VSB@3A

So I am guessing a GPU upgrade will necessitate a PSU upgrade as well.

 

[Patrick Wolf]

I think it has 32A for the 12V rails. Which could even take you to a 570 from the green camp, though amperage may be a problem, more so if that unit has some years on it. A 560 ti is probably about as high as you could "safely" go. Don't know about the red camp, too tired to go look.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Placed the order. Final build:

CPU: i5 2500K
MOBO: ASRock Z68 PRO3
BOOT DRIVE: OCZ Solid 3 60GB
MAIN DRIVE: Samsung SpinPoint 1TB
Back-up Drive: Samsung SpinPoint 1TB
RAM: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline (2x4GB)
OS: Win7 Home Premium 64bit
CASE: Antec 902 V3
DVD R/RW Burner: Asus SATA OEM
PSU: ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT
GPU: eVGA GEFORCE 8800GT

I have this GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130571

and this PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139012

sitting in queue reserve. Need to do the math when I get home to determine if I can swing it. Otherwise, may save for a future upgrade.

 

[mfenn]

I found a few GTX460s that come in under $150 with mail in rebates currently available. I looked at the specs, and all of them have the following system requirement:
450-watt power supply with a minimum of 24 amps on the +12 volt rail.

I just found the specs on my PSU, and it states:
+3.3V@28A, +5V@30A, +12V1@22A, +12V2@22A, -12V@0.6A, +5VSB@3A

So I am guessing a GPU upgrade will necessitate a PSU upgrade as well.

You've got a totoal of 44 amps on your 12V rails so you are good there.

A GTX 460 1GB is a good deal, though if you want to spend closer to $200 (and get commensurately better performance), check out the 6870. A fully stacked system with a 6870 only draws something like 300W in practice.

 

[betasub]

^ Careful about adding those two 12V rails, mfenn! They may be able to deliver 22A each, but only a total of 32A at the same time (384W).

Nevertheless, the PSU should be fine for OP's latest upgrade list, even with the GTX460.

 

[mfenn]

^ Careful about adding those two 12V rails, mfenn! They may be able to deliver 22A each, but only a total of 32A at the same time (384W).

Nevertheless, the PSU should be fine for OP's latest upgrade list, even with the GTX460.

You are absolutely correct! I should have paid more attention to the picture of the label instead of the text of the post.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Ok the system is built, I am just waiting on the SSD to install the OS. So far so good.

I have one question on SATA headers. The ASRock Z68 Pro 3 has four SATA3 headers and two SATA6 headers.

I am running four hard drives...the two new 1TB Spinpoints I purchased for this build, and I am going to install my two legacy drives for the time being just to transfer data. That will take up the four SATA3 headers.

My SSD obviously takes one of the two SATA6 headers.

Can I also attach my DVD-RW Asus drive using a SATA6 cable and attach it to the SATA6 port? I realize I wont get SATA6 transfer speeds, just curious as to whether or not its backwards compatible? I purchased the ASUS 24B1ST. The website simply states under the specifications that the interface is SATA:

http://usa.asus.com/Optical_Storage/Internal_DVD_Drive/DRW24B1ST/#overview

 

[mvbighead]

Shouldn't hurt anything... though sometimes the better disk controllers are often different chipsets than just the southbridge. Though, this day and age I don't see that being a problem.

Personally, I'd transfer the data, and plug it into a 3GB header to leave the 6 open in case you decide to add a new 6GB capable drive. Hell, you could likely clone your legacy drives to your new drives without ever installing your OS by using imaging software such as CloneZilla or other. Do that as you await your SSD, and you'll have one less thing to do when you start loading your OS.

 

[mfenn]

Can I also attach my DVD-RW Asus drive using a SATA6 cable and attach it to the SATA6 port? I realize I wont get SATA6 transfer speeds, just curious as to whether or not its backwards compatible? I purchased the ASUS 24B1ST. The website simply states under the specifications that the interface is SATA:

http://usa.asus.com/Optical_Storage/Internal_DVD_Drive/DRW24B1ST/#overview

It is backwards compatible. Though if two of your HDDs will only be plugged in temporarily, you're probably better off plugging one of them into the SATA 6Gb/s port and plugging the DVD into a SATA 3Gb/s port. It won't make any difference in terms of functionality or performance, but it will be one less cable to shuffle around after you pull your other drives!

Hmm, I just realized that it probably took me longer to type that than the amount of time that you would save by not having to swap cables twice. Oh well.

 

[Starbuck1975]

Shouldn't hurt anything... though sometimes the better disk controllers are often different chipsets than just the southbridge. Though, this day and age I don't see that being a problem.

Personally, I'd transfer the data, and plug it into a 3GB header to leave the 6 open in case you decide to add a new 6GB capable drive. Hell, you could likely clone your legacy drives to your new drives without ever installing your OS by using imaging software such as CloneZilla or other. Do that as you await your SSD, and you'll have one less thing to do when you start loading your OS.

I am actually making an OS switch from XP to WIN7, so don't have an opportunity to do so this time.

BUT

Since I have an OS dedicated drive now, I am very much interested in the notion of cloning or imaging my clean install of the OS. That way, I can perform an OS refresh without having to do a lot of manual work.

What is the convential wisdom on doing so? Should I simply install only the OS on the SSD, and then install things like iTunes, Steam, Quicken, etc. on my primary mechanical drive? That way I can install the OS, image it, and then perform a "swap" to get a clean install?

 

[mfenn]

I am actually making an OS switch from XP to WIN7, so don't have an opportunity to do so this time.

BUT

Since I have an OS dedicated drive now, I am very much interested in the notion of cloning or imaging my clean install of the OS. That way, I can perform an OS refresh without having to do a lot of manual work.

What is the convential wisdom on doing so? Should I simply install only the OS on the SSD, and then install things like iTunes, Steam, Quicken, etc. on my primary mechanical drive? That way I can install the OS, image it, and then perform a "swap" to get a clean install?

You'll want to install your main apps to the SSD in order for them to benefits of the fast storage. Of course, Steam will not fit if you have lots of games.

Cloning an HDD to an SSD will work, but is not recommended due to sector alignment issues. Basically, you want the first partition offset such that the partition begins on a flash block boundary. Otherwise any write will have to touch two blocks instead of one, reducing your performance. The Windows 7 installer handles this cleanly, but disk cloning tools do not.

 

[aphelion02]

For Steam games, use steam mover. It uses symlinks to let you move only the games you are playing to the SSD, without the hassling of uninstalling anything or moving saved games.

 

[mfenn]

For Steam games, use steam mover. It uses symlinks to let you move only the games you are playing to the SSD, without the hassling of uninstalling anything or moving saved games.

You sir, are a genius. (Linky for the lazy).

 

[Starbuck1975]

Thank you all for the component recommendations and advice. I am now up and running. I can't believe how fast the OS boots off the SSD, and great recommendation on the ASRock z68 P3. I am so glad you guys talked me out of getting a fancier MOBO, as this one has everything I need...easy to get dazzled by the fancy heatsinks and hardware on the more expensive boards. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.

The OC utility is very intuitive, and WIN7, while an adjustment, is so much easier to work with than XP.

Thanks again all.

 

[Davidh373]

She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.

Exactly!

The OC utility is very intuitive, and WIN7, while an adjustment, is so much easier to work with than XP.

I like how it installs a generic network driver so you can actually GET TO THE INTERNET to download all the other drivers! That is so annoying when you need to deal with XP!

 

[Starbuck1975]

Ok I need one piece of troubleshooting advice. When I initially built my system, I did so without installing any of my mechanical drives. I completed the full WIN7 OS install, got the OS up and running, and then went back in to connect my mechanical drives.

When I go into my BIOS, it detects all four drives as being connected.
When I go into WIN7 My Computer, it is only showing the SSD and two of the four mechanical drives.

The BIOS sees them, so I assume the drives are working. How do I get WIN7 to detect them?

 

[mfenn]

Thank you all for the component recommendations and advice. I am now up and running. I can't believe how fast the OS boots off the SSD, and great recommendation on the ASRock z68 P3. I am so glad you guys talked me out of getting a fancier MOBO, as this one has everything I need...easy to get dazzled by the fancy heatsinks and hardware on the more expensive boards. She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid.

The OC utility is very intuitive, and WIN7, while an adjustment, is so much easier to work with than XP.

Thanks again all.

:thumbsup::thumbsup: Glad to help!

Ok I need one piece of troubleshooting advice. When I initially built my system, I did so without installing any of my mechanical drives. I completed the full WIN7 OS install, got the OS up and running, and then went back in to connect my mechanical drives.

When I go into my BIOS, it detects all four drives as being connected.
When I go into WIN7 My Computer, it is only showing the SSD and two of the four mechanical drives.

The BIOS sees them, so I assume the drives are working. How do I get WIN7 to detect them?

The two new drives probably just need to be initialized and formatted. Start->type "computer management"->disk management->Right click on disks without volumes and do new basic volume (or something close to that).

 

[Starbuck1975]

Yes, I am officially an idiot. I stumbled upon the Disk Management utility and simply needed to declare and name the new volumes.

 

[Kukag]

Yes, I am officially an idiot. I stumbled upon the Disk Management utility and simply needed to declare and name the new volumes.

Happens to the best of us. =)