Upgrade Dilemma

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Riddleman

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Dec 27, 2004
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Hi guys, I just got some extra cash and have decided to use some of it to upgrade my rig the rest I plan on saving. Two things I really want to upgrade are my hard drive and my memory. Below is my current rig, I mainly use it for schoolwork, but I am an avid gamer. None of the hardware below has been over clocked; I don't plan on over clocking anytime soon maybe in an year or so.

-AMD 64 3500+ 2.2 GHz
-MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum (nForce 3)
-Kingston PC2700 DDR 333 2 x 512
-Nvidia Geforce 6800 GT
-Maxtor Ultra Series 160 7200
-SB Audigy2 ZS Platinum

I've been thinking of getting:

-Western Digital Raptor WD740GD 74GB Hard Drive
-2x512MB Crucial Ballistix 2-2-2 1T

Please let me know if you think this a good idea or not, or perhaps if you think I should purchase some other product similar to those that might give me better performance. Also will these two upgrades make much of a difference in my computer or not, especially while playing computer games. Thanks for reading.:)
 
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jedimaster582

Member
Jan 26, 2005
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you already have enough ram...the faster ram would help though...but the hdd should make a larger difference, so far as load times go...the ram would probably give you a few fps though...just depends on what you want more, really
 
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Bar81

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Mar 25, 2004
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Neither of the upgrades is going to make a difference when actually playing the games although the Raptor will result in decreased install times and level loads once playing the game should be significantly reduced. Your RAM is fine, I've done my own testing and on the Athlon64 the difference between DDR333 to DDR400 is AT MOST 0-3% (notice the zero.) You'll never notice it. Frankly, you have a nice rig and outside of the Raptor (use the Maxtor as a storage drive) you should be quite content with the nice system you've built.
 
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Cheesetogo

Diamond Member
Jan 26, 2005
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I would'nt buy either of those things. THey'll make a slight diffence, but not really anthing noticable.
 
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Riddleman

Senior member
Dec 27, 2004
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Originally posted by: Bar81
Neither of the upgrades is going to make a difference when actually playing the games although the Raptor will result in decreased install times and level loads once playing the game should be significantly reduced. Your RAM is fine, I've done my own testing and on the Athlon64 the difference between DDR333 to DDR400 is AT MOST 0-3% (notice the zero.) You'll never notice it. Frankly, you have a nice rig and outside of the Raptor (use the Maxtor as a storage drive) you should be quite content with the nice system you've built.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I think I might go with the raptor than, after reading up on it alittle.
 
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Bar81

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Mar 25, 2004
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Originally posted by: ribbon13
Why not save for a 15krpm SCSI? That would be more significant.
Click to expand...


Actually, no it wouldn't. not only would it be ridiculously more expensive when you include the cost of a SCSI controller card but the Raptor's tuned firmware allows the Raptor to equal and surpass 15k SCSI drives in normal desktop performance.
 
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Riddleman

Senior member
Dec 27, 2004
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Originally posted by: Bar81
Originally posted by: ribbon13
Why not save for a 15krpm SCSI? That would be more significant.
Click to expand...


Actually, no it wouldn't. not only would it be ridiculously more expensive when you include the cost of a SCSI controller card but the Raptor's tuned firmware allows the Raptor to equal and surpass 15k SCSI drives in normal desktop performance.
Click to expand...

do you think the price of the raptor might drop any time soon?
 
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Bar81

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Mar 25, 2004
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Did you EVEN read the article? The Atlas 10k V doesn't even come close to "crushing" the Raptor, in fact it loses as much as it wins in single user scenarios and given the prohibitive cost premium against the Raptor it's a loser for a desktop system. Also, adding 5k of spindle speed to drives that are tuned aggressively for server applications and scenarios means that 15k SCSI drives also do not crush or even dominate the Raptor when it comes to desktop performance. Again, the difference in firmware tuning allows the Raptor to equal or surpass 10-15k SCSI drives in desktop scenarios. And even in the tests where the Raptor loses to the SCSI drives the results for the user would be about as far from "be more significant" as you could get.
 
mooncancook

mooncancook

Platinum Member
May 28, 2003
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It's not justified. You'll get negligible gain in performance. Don't waste money like that it's a sin. j/k but it's definately not worth it. maybe if you don't have a great monitor yet you can invest on a 20" LCD... maybe you should try RC cars... or a CAI for your car...
 
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Riddleman

Senior member
Dec 27, 2004
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Originally posted by: mooncancook
It's not justified. You'll get negligible gain in performance. Don't waste money like that it's a sin. j/k but it's definately not worth it. maybe if you don't have a great monitor yet you can invest on a 20" LCD... maybe you should try RC cars... or a CAI for your car...
Click to expand...
actually, I already have a Dell 2001 FP, but that's beside the point, I don't think upgrading the hard drive is a waste of moneybecause I need some extra storage space and it wouldn't hurt to get a fast hard drive. however, I think buying the memory might not be a good idea. Thanks for your input.
 
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ribbon13

Diamond Member
Feb 1, 2005
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Originally posted by: Bar81
Did you EVEN read the article? The Atlas 10k V doesn't even come close to "crushing" the Raptor, in fact it loses as much as it wins in single user scenarios and given the prohibitive cost premium against the Raptor it's a loser for a desktop system. Also, adding 5k of spindle speed to drives that are tuned aggressively for server applications and scenarios means that 15k SCSI drives also do not crush or even dominate the Raptor when it comes to desktop performance. Again, the difference in firmware tuning allows the Raptor to equal or surpass 10-15k SCSI drives in desktop scenarios. And even in the tests where the Raptor loses to the SCSI drives the results for the user would be about as far from "be more significant" as you could get.
Click to expand...

I was just quoting the article directly....

and what single user bench did the raptor win?
http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200411/200411028D300L0_3.html
 
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Bar81

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Mar 25, 2004
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Originally posted by: ribbon13
Originally posted by: Bar81
Did you EVEN read the article? The Atlas 10k V doesn't even come close to "crushing" the Raptor, in fact it loses as much as it wins in single user scenarios and given the prohibitive cost premium against the Raptor it's a loser for a desktop system. Also, adding 5k of spindle speed to drives that are tuned aggressively for server applications and scenarios means that 15k SCSI drives also do not crush or even dominate the Raptor when it comes to desktop performance. Again, the difference in firmware tuning allows the Raptor to equal or surpass 10-15k SCSI drives in desktop scenarios. And even in the tests where the Raptor loses to the SCSI drives the results for the user would be about as far from "be more significant" as you could get.
Click to expand...

I was just quoting the article directly....

and what single user bench did the raptor win?
http://www.storagereview.com/articles/200411/200411028D300L0_3.html
Click to expand...

It's very simple actually, you just go into the performance database and you pull out a comparison:

http://www.storagereview.com/php/benchm...ves=1&devID_0=264&devID_1=259&devCnt=2

And just because I know you're dying to show that 15k SCSI domination here's the best of the best against the Raptor:

http://www.storagereview.com/php/benchm...ves=1&devID_0=272&devID_1=259&devCnt=2

Crushing defeat, eh? I'm sure anyone can actually tell the difference.

 
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kini62

Senior member
Jan 31, 2005
254
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[
actually, I already have a Dell 2001 FP, but that's beside the point, I don't think upgrading the hard drive is a waste of moneybecause I need some extra storage space and it wouldn't hurt to get a fast hard drive. however, I think buying the memory might not be a good idea. Thanks for your input.[/quote]

For the same money as a Raptor you get get a Seagate or Maxtror 250-300GB drive if you need the extra storage and they would both be fast. I just don't see the need or purpose of the Raptor or Ultra SCSI drives for a home PC used mainly for gaming.

If you're like ribbon13 and you use your computer for a living and time is money then I can see the justification. But for home use and if you need more storage why over pay for a Raptor that will give you no noticeable benefit.
 
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Bar81

Banned
Mar 25, 2004
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Well, again everyone needs to make the call regarding the Raptor and if they want/need it; I actually provided the OP numbers comparing the Maxtor and the Raptor and let him make the call himself. Going from 10k SCSI drives (gave up due to noise,) anything but the Raptor was simply unacceptable to me. For others, the Raptor may not make much sense; all I can do is tell the facts and show the numbers - the final decision is in the hands of each user.
 
mooncancook

mooncancook

Platinum Member
May 28, 2003
2,874
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Originally posted by: Gl4di4tor
Originally posted by: mooncancook
It's not justified. You'll get negligible gain in performance. Don't waste money like that it's a sin. j/k but it's definately not worth it. maybe if you don't have a great monitor yet you can invest on a 20" LCD... maybe you should try RC cars... or a CAI for your car...
Click to expand...
actually, I already have a Dell 2001 FP, but that's beside the point, I don't think upgrading the hard drive is a waste of moneybecause I need some extra storage space and it wouldn't hurt to get a fast hard drive. however, I think buying the memory might not be a good idea. Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...


If you are looking for extra storage then yeah get another HDD. I would get a Raptor and use it as the boot drive and as storage for DVD ripping/shrinking coz it's fast, provided your mobo has sata connector. I wouldn't go scsi though, it's expensive, you have to get a scsi adaptor card, and you'll have messy cabling. I would leave scsi for server application only.
 
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Amaroque

Platinum Member
Jan 2, 2005
2,178
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Take a look at the environmental suite at the end. Text

I have the Ballistix. They are great (originally for an AXP machine), but a waste for the A64. Especially if you aren't OCing. The Raptor is an extremely fast drive, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one to anyone who can afford one (or two). ;)




 
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