New PC build (gaming)

What is the deal with SSDs? Are they simply for holding the OS? I know they're faster but the smmall memory space kind of turned me off them.
 
SSD's (solid state drives) are non-mechnical hard drives. They're like giant USB thumb drives. You can use them as you would any hard drive, but the read/write times are considerably faster than a mechanical drive, even one with 10,000 rpm speed.

I have a 128GB drive which allows me to put my OS on it plus a couple of commonly used programs. The speed difference is VERY noticeable, especially boot and shut-down times. Again, for an OS only, you could get a 60GB drive. Plus they make zero noise because they're non-mechanical. Yes, they're more expensive, but in my opinion worth it. And I've seen some really good sales this past weekend and imagine that will continue. I've seen 60GB drives in the $100 range. 2-3 years ago those sized SSD drives were nearly $500.

For new fans, I always swap out my case and CPU cooler fans with Noctura fans. They are unbelievably quiet and push a ton of air. Here's the link to Noctura:

http://www.noctua.at/main.php?show=productview&products_id=25&lng=en
 
An SSD would be fantastic if you could squeeze it into your budget. They are worth the massive performance benefit.

As for fans, I prefer Scythe's S-Flex SFF21F and their Kaze Jyuni range of fans, as well as the Yate Loon\Nexus D12SL-12. Noctua's NF-S12-1200 is also a pretty good fan to consider as well.
 
Should I look into getting an SSD couple with a smaller HDD for general storage instead of a big HDD?

I have 2 250gb HDDs and I'm probably only using about 200-250gb shared between the two.
 
Absolutely. In fact, I would recommend that you get the cheapest 1TB HDD you can find from Samsung, WD or Seagate, and grab an SSD to go with it.
 
Alrighty. But just make sure you buy a 7200RPM drive; there are a couple of 5400RPM drives out there too, IIRC.
 
That build looks good and the RAM too, however I still personally prefer the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 over the Biostar motherboard. I'm sensing that you're still looking at SLI down the road hence that board. With the Hawk GTX 460 (btw amazing deal for $160 if you can get it) at your resolution you should be set with a lot of room to spare once you move on to another monitor not to mention that the Hawk has a lot of overclock headroom.

Regarding SSD's as already pointed out it would be a great investment. Like Rage said if you can get yourself an SSD + a large HDD for just storage you'd be set.

ramonsterns said:
I also want to buy 1 or 2 extra 120mm fans to make sure it stays well ventilated, do you guys have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

As an owner of the Storm Scout I say wait and see how well the air flow works with your build first before looking at any additional fans. It will already be coming with 3 fans and should do rather well depending on your room temperature. I personally only added one 120mm intake fan on the side to help out a bit.
 
madboyv1 said:
The Samsung Spinpoint F4 2TB drive is a 5400RPM drive. It's also as fast or faster than the F3 1TB, at least in my experience.
Click to expand...
LOL I recommended only 1TB drives, although yeah the F4's performance is surprising for its low spindle speed and areal density.
 
Relic said:
That build looks good and the RAM too, however I still personally prefer the GIGABYTE GA-P55A-UD3 over the Biostar motherboard. I'm sensing that you're still looking at SLI down the road hence that board. With the Hawk GTX 460 (btw amazing deal for $160 if you can get it) at your resolution you should be set with a lot of room to spare once you move on to another monitor not to mention that the Hawk has a lot of overclock headroom.
Click to expand...

But that board only has one PCIe 2.0 slot, doesn't it?

Also, as I said, my monitor doesn't need to be replaced. It's an HP w2207h I bought a couple of years back for ~$150.

As for SSD's, what should I look for? I found this. Is this a good example of what I should look for?
 
ramonsterns said:
But that board only has one PCIe 2.0 slot, doesn't it?

Also, as I said, my monitor doesn't need to be replaced. It's an HP w2207h I bought a couple of years back for ~$150.
Click to expand...

Checking up on that monitor its native resolution is 1680x1050 which is definitely perfect for a GTX 460 even OC'd. The point I'm trying to make and sorry if I wasn't clear is that IF you want to SLI down the road to take full advantage of it you will need a larger resolution which means a new monitor. I'm not trying to imply that you need one now as what you have it perfectly fine with your card.
 
ramonsterns said:
As for SSD's, what should I look for? I found this. Is this a good example of what I should look for?
Click to expand...

I'd say if you are investing in an SSD try and get something bigger so you can run the OS + several key applications without much hassle. This 60GB Corsair Force is something I'd say is pretty good, but I'm sure others have better suggestions.
 
Relic said:
Checking up on that monitor its native resolution is 1680x1050 which is definitely perfect for a GTX 460 even OC'd. The point I'm trying to make and sorry if I wasn't clear is that IF you want to SLI down the road to take full advantage of it you will need a larger resolution which means a new monitor. I'm not trying to imply that you need one now as what you have it perfectly fine with your card.
Click to expand...

Oh I wasn't trying to be harsh, I realized I was too vague, so I posted what screen it was.

But I'm still wondering about that MOBO you suggested, did I miss something?

Relic said:
I'd say if you are investing in an SSD try and get something bigger so you can run the OS + several key applications without much hassle. This 60GB Corsair Force is something I'd say is pretty good, but I'm sure others have better suggestions.
Click to expand...

How big is an OS, usually?

Also, I guess I could just dump an HDD together and leave my brother with only 250GB and keep the other 250GB for me.

Although, I just noticed the MOBO I picked out doesn't have a SATAII connection, which means I probably can't use an SSD with it.


EDIT: I figure I'm gonna need somewhere between 90GB/120GB

So I found these. Seems like the G.SKILL one would be my best choice for GB per $.

I could also wait for the 90GB Mushkin to restock.
 
Windows 7 with all the file-swapping, temp files, etc., will eat up around 30GB of hard drive space. And there are some programs that simply won't allow you to direct save files to anything but the C: drive. For example, I have all my games installed on my mechanical drive, but for many of the games, the save files end up on the C: drive which eats up space. Right now, I have my SSD stripped of everything but the OS and whatever residual files I have no control over (like the save game files), and it's taking up 40GB of my 120GB hard drive. That's why I recommended the 60GB minimum drive.

If you want to go larger, by all means. It really speeds up applications, that's for sure.
 
I'm thinking I will change my case/power supply to something slightly cheaper to make up for the price of the SSD.
 
Right now, I have my SSD stripped of everything but the OS and whatever residual files I have no control over (like the save game files), and it's taking up 40GB of my 120GB hard drive. That's why I recommended the 60GB minimum drive.
Click to expand...
Well, I have a normal hdd, partitioned in two, and my windows drive only takes 30GB, including some programs and files.

Change your my documents path to your mechanical drive, and most save game files should be placed there instead. Also, just don't store stuff on your desktop.
 
Does anyone have any experience with 10000-15000 RPM HDDs?

I'm starting to think SSD might be a little out of my league for now, maybe next time I build a computer.
 
High-RPM HDDs are not recommended, since they're noisy and they get hot very fast. Also, 15K RPM drives are only available for the SCSI interface, so you'd need an (usually) expensive add-on card to be able to connect them; not worth the ridiculous price.
 
Rage_3K_Moiz said:
High-RPM HDDs are not recommended, since they're noisy and they get hot very fast. Also, 15K RPM drives are only available for the SCSI interface, so you'd need an (usually) expensive add-on card to be able to connect them; not worth the ridiculous price.
Click to expand...

I see. Well, the increased speed time would be nice, but a sizable SSD is just barely out of my reach. I *did* find a cheaper case without sacrificing much, I don't think. Seems like it has good reviews all around and is well made so I added a 120mm fan from Scythe to fit on the front, to aid air flow. (At least, I think there's a space on the front. It says it has 3 additional slots for fans, and I only see 2 extra mounts (top), so my guess is the third one is in the front)

Also, since I won't be needing much memory, I guess I'll go with the SpinPoint F4 320 GB (7200RPM), which is another $20~ off the price tag.

EDIT: Another question, and this is purely theoretical; if I bought a Hyper 212, could I mount a more powerful fan like this one on it? Then obviously use the fan the cooler came with on another part of the case. If yes, is it a good, a meh, or a bad idea?
 
This case is a much more inexpensive, decent-quality choice.

Also, get this cooler instead of the Hyper 212 Plus. It's a push & pull style cooler, and it comes with two fans, as well as a backplate, and it's basically a newer version of the fantastic HDT-S1283.

And yes, you can mount your choice of fans on the HSF. I would, however, recommend one or two units of this fan; it pushes slightly less air than the Ultra Kaze, but it's signficantly quieter and a little cheaper as well. How many you buy depends on what configuration you want; obviously, two fans will yield better performance than one.
 
Rage_3K_Moiz said:
This case is a much more inexpensive, decent-quality choice.

Also, get this cooler instead of the Hyper 212 Plus. It's a push & pull style cooler, and it comes with two fans, as well as a backplate, and it's basically a newer version of the fantastic HDT-S1283.

And yes, you can mount your choice of fans on the HSF. I would, however, recommend one or two units of this fan; it pushes slightly less air than the Ultra Kaze, but it's signficantly quieter and a little cheaper as well. How many you buy depends on what configuration you want; obviously, two fans will yield better performance than one.
Click to expand...

Well, for $10 more, the one I picked out has an extra fan and all the doodads on the front, as well as the acrylic window. I'm really looking for the best bang for buck I can get, but who knows, if they put that one on discount during Christmas I'd take it.

Hmmm, as far as I can tell they both look alike and seem to serve the same function and have the same price. What made you choose it over the 212? (Again, not doubting you, just trying to educate myself.)

Yeah, I had actually picked that one for my extra 120mm fan, but since the Kaze moves more air, I thought it'd be a better choice for a CPU cooler fan. And two fans would probably be overkill.

What I'd do if I bought either cooler would be, install the Scythe on the CPU cooler, move the CPU cooler fan to the side slot, then move the side slot fan with the LED to the front. For added bling.
 
The Gaia delivers better cooling performance compared to the Hyper 212+, despite having 3 heatpipes instead of the Cooler Master's 4 heatpipes, while costing exactly the same. It's simply the better buy.

EDIT: Also, the Kaze doesn't much THAT much more air, and it's louder at almost 46dBA compared to the 37dBA of the Slipstream. (roughly about twice as loud, in audio terms)

Still, if sound isn't a concern, then the Kaze is also a great choice.
 
hellokitty[hk] said:
Well, I have a normal hdd, partitioned in two, and my windows drive only takes 30GB, including some programs and files.

Change your my documents path to your mechanical drive, and most save game files should be placed there instead. Also, just don't store stuff on your desktop.
Click to expand...

Thats fine, as long as you re-route the default folder from within home to your selected place - From Vista onwards I believe.

For example:

My home (lee) is on C:/users/Lee like normal.
My documents and pictures follow the usual links
My Desktop is set to D:/Desktop
My music is set to D:/Music
my downloads are set to G:/Downloads
my videos are set to G:/Videos

And well you get the idea. :haha: Every single media folder inside users/your-username can have its target changed to a directory of your choice anywhere on the computer.

I just thought I would mention just in case you didn't realise and it might be of use to you or someone else. :)
 
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