Will SSD work with this motherboard?

[TheNiceGuy]

Hello all
I'm doing a cheap upgrade mainly to be able to play BF3. I have the PC in my sig and am going to buy the following hardware:
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000426288/?lid=ksearch_kakakuitem_image
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000369003/?lid=ksearch_kakakuitem_image
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000320521/
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000215608/

IIUC, my current drives are too old to make play reasonable. And SSD drives are reccommended. So I'm thinking one of these drives:
http://s.kakaku.com/pc/ssd/
Will the drive work on the MB linked ( SATA 6Gbp/s connectors problem?)? If not, what will?

Thank you

 

[Ken g6]

An SSD will work with any mobo that has SATA support. An SSD will work better with any mobo that has AHCI support and SATA3 (6GB/s) support. As you're getting a new mobo, consider a Gigabyte H61-U3S3, or any B75 mobo. But the mobo you've selected will work decently - I think it has AHCI but not SATA3.

Also, to clear up your understanding, an SSD won't affect play speed; it only affects loading times. Finally, you could probably save money using DDR3-1333 with an i3 processor.

 

[Termie]

Hey General Hardware gurus - I directed the OP to this sub-forum from the BF3 Gaming thread for help on his build. Just to make things easy, here's what he has linked to already:

SAPPHIRE HD 7850 2GB
GA-H61M-DS2 [Rev.2.0]
2x4GB DDR3-1600
Core i3 2100
Samsung 840 256GB SSD (he'd debating replacing his ~10 year old Seagates with this SSD for level loading purposes)

As is evident from his links, he's buying in Japan (so no MicroCenter!), and he's building this primarily for BF3 and BF4.

By the way, OP, you may want to fill in these details, although I've given you a good start already: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

In particular, you should decide on your budget range - that will really help others direct you to the best components for this system.

Ok, I'll take my leave now - I'm sure you'll get some great advice here.

 

[Pedroc1999]

First, that cpu is last generation so consider a 3240 for better performance, second you may consider a 3570k instead of a i3

 

[mfenn]

An SSD will work with any mobo that has SATA support. An SSD will work better with any mobo that has AHCI support and SATA3 (6GB/s) support. As you're getting a new mobo, consider a Gigabyte H61-U3S3, or any B75 mobo. But the mobo you've selected will work decently - I think it has AHCI but not SATA3.

Also, to clear up your understanding, an SSD won't affect play speed; it only affects loading times. Finally, you could probably save money using DDR3-1333 with an i3 processor.

Agree on the motherboard. OP, everything you have will work fine together, but you wouldn't be using the SSD to its fullest potential without a SATA 6Gb/s port. I would pay the extra 1000 yen for a B75 board like the MSI B75MA-E33.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Cheers fellas.
Thanks again Termie and thanks for the specific reccommendation with price mfenn.
Are all these components reliable, as in been on the market long enough that all the bugs are worked out?
Regarding ssd drives, I read the FAQ post, and they sound similar to flashdrives. Do they wear out faster than hdds under normal use? To be honest, the speed is not important to me. But it sounds like they may ruin gameplay, and 10 year old drives should be replaced?

 

[Termie]

Cheers fellas.
Thanks again Termie and thanks for the specific reccommendation with price mfenn.
Are all these components reliable, as in been on the market long enough that all the bugs are worked out?
Regarding ssd drives, I read the FAQ post, and they sound similar to flashdrives. Do they wear out faster than hdds under normal use? To be honest, the speed is not important to me. But it sounds like they may ruin gameplay, and 10 year old drives should be replaced?

Actually, in normal use, SSDs should last longer than hard drives. And like others have said, SSDs will decrease level-load times, I'd say by at least half, if not more, compared to your current drives. They'll also make the computer respond much, much faster in general use. If you just want to test the waters, I'd recommend a 64GB drive for the OS and BF3 - you can of course continue to use your Seagate hard drives for everything else, replacing them with SSDs later if you wish.

Actually, if this Samsung 830 128GB is still available for sale at 7500 yen, grab it: http://s.kakaku.com/item/K0000330533/

It's an amazing deal, but I can't quite tell if it's in stock, since the website is Japanese. That SSD is proven both very fast and very reliable. It will be money well spent.

 

[mfenn]

10 year old drives should be replaced?

10 year old drives should be replaced, no matter if they are SSD or HDD. Based on an average consumer workload, most SSDs will last 7-10 years before their flash wears out. That's not worth worrying about IMHO.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

OK thanks guys. Ill get that MSI MB you linked Fenn. Termie, that SDD link is bum link, probably a finished promo or something. That store now sells them at double price.
How about the #3 on this link? 250gb should be big enough not to get full. Or is it good to keep is small at 120gb, such as #1, as itll be faster with less clutter on the drive?
http://s.kakaku.com/pc/ssd/ranking_0537/
EDIT: Thought I should double check - my OCZ PSU should be OK for all the components as far as power level, connectors, etc.?

 

[Termie]

OK thanks guys. Ill get that MSI MB you linked Fenn. Termie, that SDD link is bum link, probably a finished promo or something. That store now sells them at double price.
How about the #3 on this link? 250gb should be big enough not to get full. Or is it good to keep is small at 120gb, such as #1, as itll be faster with less clutter on the drive?
http://s.kakaku.com/pc/ssd/ranking_0537/
EDIT: Thought I should double check - my OCZ PSU should be OK for all the components as far as power level, connectors, etc.?

Sorry that the 830 promo was dead, but yes, the Samsung 840 250GB SSD for 13,700 Yen is an excellent deal. I would not say buying the 120GB model for 8,200 Yen is as good a deal, and as a matter of fact, larger SSDs perform much better than smaller SSDs, in part because you are less likely to fill them up (they slow down as they approach capacity), and in part because they have a faster architecture (more data lanes, essentially). If your budget is tight, the 120GB model will definitely work, but don't get it because you think it will be faster - it will not be under any circumstances.

By the way, what you're probably referring to is the old enthusiast tweak of "short stroking" a hard drive, which you can do with SSDs, in a way, by increasing spare area. But the reason it increases speeds is a bit different than just having a smaller partition with less physical area on the disk being used (therefore reducing read head movement). SSDs work in a fundamentally different way than hard drives, and it is in fact the area NOT being used that speeds things up - the drive uses it to manage data. Anyway, Samsung includes a utility to increase spare area, so you can play around with that to see how it works. The 250GB model will of course have more space on it to set aside, if that's something you're interested in.

Finally, your OCZ power supply, while an older model, should be more than sufficient to power this system. It has 4 SATA power cables and 2 PCIe power cables. That's more than you'll need for both hard drive/SSDs and the GPU.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Ok thanks Termie, I'll get that 250 one then.

 

[mfenn]

Sorry that the 830 promo was dead, but yes, the Samsung 840 250GB SSD for 13,700 Yen is an excellent deal. I would not say buying the 120GB model for 8,200 Yen is as good a deal, and as a matter of fact, larger SSDs perform much better than smaller SSDs, in part because you are less likely to fill them up (they slow down as they approach capacity), and in part because they have a faster architecture (more data lanes, essentially). If your budget is tight, the 120GB model will definitely work, but don't get it because you think it will be faster - it will not be under any circumstances.

By the way, what you're probably referring to is the old enthusiast tweak of "short stroking" a hard drive, which you can do with SSDs, in a way, by increasing spare area. But the reason it increases speeds is a bit different than just having a smaller partition with less physical area on the disk being used (therefore reducing read head movement). SSDs work in a fundamentally different way than hard drives, and it is in fact the area NOT being used that speeds things up - the drive uses it to manage data. Anyway, Samsung includes a utility to increase spare area, so you can play around with that to see how it works. The 250GB model will of course have more space on it to set aside, if that's something you're interested in.

:thumbsup: Great explanation!

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Just about to pull the trigger on this, so to speak, and thought I should ask if that MB is stable and had all bugs worked out of it.
Also, for BF3 gameplay, is the initial load screen the only place you will notice a slow HD, or will it also lag at spots mid-game?

Anybody know? Thanks again

 

[Termie]

Just about to pull the trigger on this, so to speak, and thought I should ask if that MB is stable and had all bugs worked out of it.
Also, for BF3 gameplay, is the initial load screen the only place you will notice a slow HD, or will it also lag at spots mid-game?

Anybody know? Thanks again

Nope, no effect on frame rates, but huge effect on level loading:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/battlefield-rift-ssd,3062-12.html.

Also, the motherboard looks to have typical reviews - I assume it's ok:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130654

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Ok thanks Termie!

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Would it be worth upgrading the processor for performance and future proofing BF4? i5 are only about 3000 yen more.
I may hold off on the SDD drive for now until I need it.

 

[mfenn]

Would it be worth upgrading the processor for performance and future proofing BF4? i5 are only about 3000 yen more.
I may hold off on the SDD drive for now until I need it.

There is no such thing as future-proofing, especially for unreleased games with no benchmarks.

Personally, I would absolutely under no circumstances trade an SSD for an i5. The SSD completely changes the way you interact with your machine. After being used to one, an going back to an HDD machine is actually painful.

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Thanks mfenn. I'm just trying to bring the price down for now and remember my original goal. IIUC, I can just add an SSD to this system at anytime if I see the need. I'll stick with the i3. Speaking of which, I'll order through Amazon.jp, and I noticed the i3 2105 is the same price as the 2100. manage well get the 2105?

http://kakaku.com/item/K0000254493/

 

[mfenn]

Thanks mfenn. I'm just trying to bring the price down for now and remember my original goal. IIUC, I can just add an SSD to this system at anytime if I see the need. I'll stick with the i3. Speaking of which, I'll order through Amazon.jp, and I noticed the i3 2105 is the same price as the 2100. manage well get the 2105?

http://kakaku.com/item/K0000254493/

Adding an SSD later on is not trivial, because you're going to at least have to clone your system (several hours + any time it takes to trim down your install) and perhaps even do a full wipe and reinstall. Upgrading the CPU is a ~20 minute task with no software changes required.

The i3 2100 and 2105 are identical except for the IGP, with the 2105 having a slightly faster one. Since you're using a discrete GPU, the difference is pretty much moot. You can get either one, but don't pay a single yen more for the 2105.

 

[Termie]

Adding an SSD later on is not trivial, because you're going to at least have to clone your system (several hours + any time it takes to trim down your install) and perhaps even do a full wipe and reinstall. Upgrading the CPU is a ~20 minute task with no software changes required.

The i3 2100 and 2105 are identical except for the IGP, with the 2105 having a slightly faster one. Since you're using a discrete GPU, the difference is pretty much moot. You can get either one, but don't pay a single yen more for the 2105.

Agreed. The SSD is the hardest thing by far to put in after the fact, as a simple cloning isn't actually advisable from hard drive to SSD.

If the budget is tight, go for the 120GB SSD, plus the best CPU you can afford, and whatever GPU the remaining funds cover. With BF3, you can run it on low and enjoy it graphically, but if the CPU is insufficient, you simply won't be able to play the game. My brother ran it on a Sandy Bridge quad-core notebook with the equivalent of an HD5670. It ran fine (other than overheating!).

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Hi again guys. I had to take a break from all this. Ready to order now.
I assume all this gear is still applicable as best bang for buck BF3 upgrade?
Likely to be playable at least for BF4? Not looking for cutting edge, just don't want to have to go through all this again next year.
Thanks

 

[Termie]

Hi again guys. I had to take a break from all this. Ready to order now.
I assume all this gear is still applicable as best bang for buck BF3 upgrade?
Likely to be playable at least for BF4? Not looking for cutting edge, just don't want to have to go through all this again next year.
Thanks

Can you post the parts you've selected and the current prices? It would be easier for people to review than going through all the links.

Generally speaking, I'd no longer recommend the i3-2100. While it performs relatively well in BF3, its performance in other new games has been quite lacking, and it's possible that BF4 will demand more CPU power than a dual-core can comfortably deliver.

This i5-3470 is 50% more money, but it's probably a good long-term investment: http://kakaku.com/item/K0000387671/?lid=shop_itemview_recommend_1

You'll need a newer motherboard version, however, so I recommend this B75 board:
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000360494/?lid=shop_itemview_recommend_2

Again, 50% more, but it offers significantly more features, including supporting the i5-3470.

Your video card and RAM choices are still fine.

 

[jackstar7]

Also, do you have a budget cap?

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Hi Termie

How about this:
http://s.kakaku.com/item/K0000431725/
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000387671/?lid=shop_itemview_recommend_1
http://kakaku.com/item/K0000360494/?lid=shop_itemview_recommend_2
http://s.kakaku.com/item/K0000320521/
http://s.kakaku.com/item/K0000426288/?lid=ksearch_kakakuitem_image

That should bring me up just over 6man yen.
Edit: that's about 650$us

 

[TheNiceGuy]

Also, do you have a budget cap?

Don't really want to spend anymore than this. I'd feel like a knob spending anymore on my hobbies that could be spent on my kids.