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Anyone got any good deals for a SSD? I don't imagine I'll need much space for my 2-3 games. Should I put my OS on it as well?
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Jan 12, 2011 22:04
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adomorn posted:Anyone got any good deals for a SSD? I don't imagine I'll need much space for my 2-3 games. And yes.
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Jan 12, 2011 22:19
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I'm gonna go ahead and be the SSD naysayer and say that an SSD isn't a good upgrade for most people yet. If you have a reasonably modern SATA HDD with NCQ support that's been defragged then there's very few apps that will take long enough to load for you to notice. I mean obviously load times will be way faster, but the only apps most people load that are big enough to notice are games, and you probably can't fit your game collection onto an SSD without spending a thousand bucks. Protips: If Firefox doesn't open instantly for you, then run CCleaner, go to the Applications tab, and make sure that "Compact Databases" is checked under Firefox. Change any other options you want and run the cleaner. If you have a magnetic drive, defrag it with MyDefrag. This makes a HUGE difference. The "System Disk Daily" script runs relatively quickly and does a pretty good job. The "System Disk Weekly" script is even more thorough, but takes longer to run. I don't see the point of the Monthly script. adomorn: What motherboard do you have, and what version of Windows are you running? If you're not running Windows 7 64-bit, that needs to be fixed before anything else. Keep in mind that you can get a new quad-core CPU, motherboard, and RAM for $200.
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Jan 12, 2011 22:52
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Alereon posted:I'm gonna go ahead and be the SSD naysayer and say that an SSD isn't a good upgrade for most people yet. If you have a reasonably modern SATA HDD with NCQ support that's been defragged then there's very few apps that will take long enough to load for you to notice. I mean obviously load times will be way faster, but the only apps most people load that are big enough to notice are games, and you probably can't fit your game collection onto an SSD without spending a thousand bucks. M2N68-LA (Narra5) motherboard. A while back I bought an a6230n. I've since upgraded the RAM to 6GB and the video card. adomorn fucked around with this message at 22:57 on Jan 12, 2011 |
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Jan 12, 2011 22:55
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adomorn posted:M2N68-LA (Narra5) motherboard. A while back I bought an a6230n. I've since upgraded the RAM to 6GB and the video card. ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $64.99 AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor $144.99 or a slightly cheaper CPU that fits your price range. That should use your current RAM and gives you a big boost that will extend the life of your system. Alternatively, you can go for an AM3 motherboard, Athlon II X4 CPU, and a good deal on 4GB of DDR3-1333.
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Jan 12, 2011 23:15
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If I buy a new motherboard, do I need to buy a new case? Or do they all pretty much fit most cases?
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Jan 12, 2011 23:19
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ATX motherboards fit in ATX cases, micro-ATX motherboards fit in micro-ATX cases and ATX cases. So probably not.
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Jan 12, 2011 23:22
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If it's a standard ATX/Micro ATX case it should fit just fine, if you're not sure you may want to check dimensions and screw hole locations. The new motherboard will include a backplate with its port layout to replace the one in the case. I should also note that I'm a bit concerned about using a 300W power supply in that system, it may not have the appropriate connectors for the new motherboard and/or may not power an upgraded CPU. That said, it may work anyway, and the fact that it's working now with a 4850 is a good sign.
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Jan 12, 2011 23:23
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adomorn posted:If I buy a new motherboard, do I need to buy a new case? Or do they all pretty much fit most cases? Cases are very standardized (ATX standard), but they also vary a lot from one manufacturer/model to another. Things to worry about with cases is if you need to install a very large power supply or video card. In the case of a: large power supply - sometimes because they're long and they've got cables sticking out the back, depending on your case design it may get in the way of the rear-end of your dvd/cd rom drives. If you're not changing power supplies, this isn't a problem. large video card - some cards are so long that they may get in the way of hard drive placement (again, depending on your case). If you already have a long card and it fits, then you probably don't have this problem.
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Jan 12, 2011 23:28
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This is a micro ATX mobo and I have what it says to be a "mid sized ATX case," so just to clarify, I do not need a new case, I think. (The way you responded that "probably not" might seem to go either way). Also, that new CPU would need 125W, the old one requires 90W. The additional wattage will require a new PSU, right? 300 watt power is hardly enough to run the 4850... especially now that I'm looking at specs that say it requires 270W under load? Holy gently caress I should have upgraded that already...
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Jan 12, 2011 23:28
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adomorn posted:This is a micro ATX mobo and I have what it says to be a "mid sized ATX case," so just to clarify, I do not need a new case, I think. (The way you responded that "probably not" might seem to go either way). Yeah, you shouldn't push a power supply that hard. When it has to run a near capacity it is very inefficient and prone to failure. I think a new PSU is in your future; who knows maybe you'll find your system to run better when it's not starving for power 
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Jan 12, 2011 23:33
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adomorn posted:This is a micro ATX mobo and I have what it says to be a "mid sized ATX case," so just to clarify, I do not need a new case, I think. (The way you responded that "probably not" might seem to go either way).
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Jan 12, 2011 23:35
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I got my new awesome 2600k rig with brand spanking new gpu, ram, ssd hd and everything. It runs like a champ (well, for the last couple of hours anyway- hope it lasts  ), but there is a slight hitch I was wondering about. The both the ram I bought as well as the mobo was labeled as 1600 (both in the buyorder and on the box), but in the BIOS (yay, efi-bios btw) it autodetects it to 1333. Now, I'm terrified at changing anything in the bios, but at the same time I want it at the speeds it's supposed to.. How does one go about that? Just change the timings or some such? I think there is an option in there to manually set it to 1600. How badly could a hurt my new baby, if it goes terribly wrong? The ram is corsair dominator 4gb DDR3 1600mgz (cmp4gx3m2a1600c9). Mobo is Asus p9p67 EVO, cpu is i7-2600k, if that helps.
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Jan 12, 2011 23:56
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Factory Factory posted:I have a hard disk I think is failing, a Samsung Spinpoint F2 1TB HD103SI, a replacement for a drive damaged in shipping that I can't get a warranty repair for any longer. Nerts, the other drive of that vintage is starting to do the same judder, same long spin-up, but nothing else yet. I think I'm just going to decommission it. Note for future self: Green drives don't last long running practically 24/7.
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Jan 13, 2011 00:07
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Factory Factory posted:Nerts, the other drive of that vintage is starting to do the same judder, same long spin-up, but nothing else yet.
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Jan 13, 2011 00:09
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Green drives in general are not intended for raid use. If you want a high quality drive for raid use, get the RE drives. They'll be more expensive but they are specifically built for raid, server, and 24/7 use.
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Jan 13, 2011 00:29
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Yeah, the two drives I have left are both WD RE3. If I need more space down the road I'll either get a third and migrate to RAID 5 again or just buy some all-new drives. Two drives the same age developing motor problems probably a month or two apart in progression may just be random clustering, but it just happens that in my experience, green drives don't last me very long. Not a single one. Yet drives that aren't marketed as being aggressively power-saving have a much more "new or ~5 years" borking pattern, even if they're also 5400 RPM drives. I guess the better way to say it is "Don't expect drives manufacturers warrant for 3 years at 8 hours a day to last that long if you drive them 24 hours a day." EDIT: Okay... okay okay okay. What the poo poo? I just had one of the RE3s drop out of RAID 1. It reconnects if I ask the Intel Storage Manager to refresh connected devices, but what the poo poo? I'm going to Factory Factory fucked around with this message at 00:56 on Jan 13, 2011 |
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Jan 13, 2011 00:31
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BorderPatrol posted:Green drives in general are not intended for raid use. The difference between RE and consumer drives is just firmware. Consumer drives will spend up to a few minutes trying to recover from an unreadable block before erroring out. That can make RAID controllers think the whole drive's unresponsive, and the array's degraded. RE drives just report a read failure after a couple of seconds, and let the RAID controller handle the problem. It used to be possible to turn on time-limited error recovery with WD's utilities, but they stopped that when they realized they could charge more money for the same drive by locking the feature.
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Jan 13, 2011 01:00
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That's one thing, yes, but for the extra cost and the extra warranty, I bet you the build quality is different, too. Not along the lines of "RE is better than Black" but along the lines of "Cut some corners for Green."
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Jan 13, 2011 01:02
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Space Gopher posted:The difference between RE and consumer drives is just firmware. Factory Factory posted:That's one thing, yes, but for the extra cost and the extra warranty, I bet you the build quality is different, too. Consumers don't simply get RE drives with TLER turned off. While you can enable TLER on some of them, they aren't the same drives.
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Jan 13, 2011 01:06
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How are the drives different other than the firmware?
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Jan 13, 2011 01:13
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Alereon posted:How are the drives different other than the firmware? I think the only drive that's mostly the same hardware between its enterprise and consumer counterpart is the 2TB RE4/Caviar Black. Star War Sex Parrot fucked around with this message at 04:08 on Jan 14, 2011 |
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Jan 13, 2011 02:51
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So, I'm having a weird RAM issue with my new build. The system won't POST with all 4 DIMMs (2gb each) installed, but will clear with 1-3. Currently I have 3 in the system, but the bios only reports 4gb. Weirdly, though, both Windows and CPU-Z show all 6gb. I have the DIMMs installed in B1, B2 and A1. It seems like the motherboard doesn't like having A2 filled, as that's when it fails POST. Doesn't seem to matter how I switch the DIMMs around otherwise. Here are the relevant specs - Windows 7 64-bit Intel i5 2500k Asus p8p67 Pro Gskill Ripjaw DDR3 1333 2GB Dimms, 1.5v Any thoughts as to what the problem might be? I would understand a faulty connection in the A2 DIMM slot, but that doesn't explain why the bios is under-reporting. Seems like there may be something more going on. Could it just be a quirk in the Asus board that will be addressed in the next BIOS update? I mean, as far as problems go, it's not the worst, but I'd like to be able to use all my RAM. Edit: I just tried switching the ram out of A1 and into A2, and it still powered on fine, but with the same inconsistencies in reporting listed above. Seems the board just doesn't like having more than 3 DIMMs, for whatever reason. Edit 2: Nevermind, turns out I was confused and it was just a bad DIMM. Also the bios is mysteriously reporting the correct RAM amount finally! I can live without the extra 2gb. Zippy MacPhearson fucked around with this message at 20:18 on Jan 13, 2011 |
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Jan 13, 2011 17:16
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Sorry, I asked a bit ago, didn't see any replies. I have an inspiron 1525 with a cracked WXGA screen. Does anybody see a reason why I couldn't buy the WUXGA screen listed as a valid replacement option on jrandomlaptopscreendude.com? It's only worth it to me if I can get the 1920 LCD poppin off.
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Jan 13, 2011 21:59
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Jonny 290 posted:Sorry, I asked a bit ago, didn't see any replies. That should work actually.
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Jan 13, 2011 22:21
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Can anyone with SSD tell me if it's really worth it? I'm looking to buy a new laptop soon and the main difference between two models is one has an 64GB SSD. While it would be nice for the OS to boot instantly and other core programs (music, browser, etc) I wonder if it would really be worth the extra money vs. just getting another 500GB drive. Also, more trivially: 6GB DDR3 1066MHz memory vs. 8GB DDR3 1333MHz memory and Intel Core™ i7-740QM processor vs. Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor??
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Jan 13, 2011 22:36
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dorkasaurus_rex posted:Also, more trivially: 6GB DDR3 1066MHz memory vs. 8GB DDR3 1333MHz memory and Intel Core™ i7-740QM processor vs. Intel® Core™ i7-2630QM processor?? Regarding the SSD, it depends on what drive it is. Note that buying an SSD as part of a laptop usually means you'll pay at least twice retail, and probably get a pretty crappy drive. At least we're finally past the point where a cheap SSD is worse than a harddrive, but they're still not very impressive. Also keep in mind how little space 64GB actually is, especially after you count the page and hibernation files. You might just want to get the HDD and decide whether to buy a good SSD later. Over the next few months several new generations of SSD will be coming out as well.
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Jan 13, 2011 22:56
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Alereon posted:This is actually the least trivial part, making sure you have an Intel Sandy Bridge processor in a new laptop you're considering is absolutely critical. They are so much better than the previous generation in terms of both performance and power efficiency that it's a huge waste not to get one. If you're planning to use the processor's Intel HD Graphics (which you probably are), then you should get the faster RAM if possible (preferably even DDR3-1600). Realistically 4GB is enough for nearly any application today, so more is just gravy. (Keep in mind DDR3 costs less than <$10/GB, so don't pay much when you can always buy more dirt cheap). Specifically, it's between these two: http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/qosmio/X500/X505-Q898 http://us.toshiba.com/computers/laptops/qosmio/X500/X500-Q930S One is newer and has better parts across the board, save for the SSD, and is also $100 cheaper as such, but an SSD model will be along shortly, I'm sure. Can you elaborate on the Sandy Bridge processors and concretely how they will impact my usage? I play a lot of games, do a LOT of multitasking, and some fairly hefty image/video processing from time to time, but I'm not rendering Pixar movies or anything. Also, as an aside some people might find it silly that i'm buying a quote un-quote "GAMING LAPTOP" but I've had an earlier version of this same laptop (Qosmio G45) and it is by far the best laptop I have ever owned, and I've had it for ~4 years. As a desktop replacement it is also amazingly awesome, because it has beefy-built in speakers and an HDMI output right in back. Being able to go to a friend's house when they've just moved in and have nothing but a TV and no cable or internet and output whatever movies/TV I have on the hard drive right through HDMI is pretty swell. Although to give you an idea of how old my current laptop is, I bought it during the HD-DVD/Bluray wars and since it was a Toshiba laptop, it has a HD-DVD Drive but no Bluray (lol)
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Jan 13, 2011 23:13
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I currently have DDR3 RAM in my Core2Duo setup that I was going to transfer over to a Sandy Bridge setup. However, I've caught wind through some places online that I should be using RAM that is meant to run at 1.5v, while my current RAM runs at 1.65v. Should I be rushing out to buy another set? My current RAM is 4GB x 2 of Corsair XMS3, PC3-12800.
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Jan 13, 2011 23:26
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I'd try dropping the voltage, maybe loosening the timings, and running MemTest86+ on it to see if you can keep it at 1.5V or below remaining stable. Since running RAM at the maximum rated speed doesn't really impact performance anyway, it's reasonable to assume that 1600mhz memory might run perfectly fine at lower voltage at 1333mhz or below.
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Jan 13, 2011 23:45
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dorkasaurus_rex posted:Specifically, it's between these two: The Sandy Bridge processors just came out 4 days ago, so while they're a huge revolution in mobile computing it's going to take a bit for models containing them to roll out.
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Jan 14, 2011 00:20
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Alereon posted:Here's the Anandtech review article on the mobile Sandy Bridge processors. Check out the Application benchmarks, then the battery life benchmarks to have your mind blown (note that the Gaming benchmarks were done using the processor graphics, not a dedicated GPU). Granted the tested CPU is faster than the one in the laptop you're considering, but the commanding performance and battery life lead will remain the same. Another advantage of Sandy Bridge is that the processor includes its own graphics processor. In systems with nVidia Optimus enabled GPUs, this means the Geforce only runs when gaming, using no power otherwise. This gives you the gaming performance of a dedicated GPU with the general usage battery life of an integrated GPU. The Geforce GTX 460M is probably the best GPU for this, since it's about the most efficient of the nVidia laptop lineup. Welp, you've convinced me. The battery life especially is a HUGE asset, as my current laptop only gets about 2 hours at the absolute best, making it not very mobile at all. Thanks for the tips!
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Jan 14, 2011 02:12
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dorkasaurus_rex posted:Specifically, it's between these two: I'm a BIG fan of SSDs, but I hesitate to recommend the 898. It was said before, but the 64GB drive is really drat small. It has a formatted capacity of about 60GB. Then take off about 15GB for the hidden recovery partition used to make your recovery disks and/or reimage straight from the drive. Then factor in all the preinstalled stuff and you end up with about 15GB free. You'll have room to install a few programs but you'll almost immediately want more. The 500GB drive will still be there (and empty) but it's alway a bummer to have to load stuff all slow like the common folk. If you do want the 898, make your recovery disks and immediately format and reimage without the partition. Removing the preinstalled whatever will buy a bit of room too. Also be aware the the 930S comes with Win 7 Pro instead of Premium. Whether that's worth anything to you or not is your call. If it were me, I'd buy the 930S and put the extra $100 towards a larger SSD somewhere down the road.
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Jan 14, 2011 03:35
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WTFBEES posted:Also be aware the the 930S comes with Win 7 Pro instead of Premium. Whether that's worth anything to you or not is your call. If it were me, I'd buy the 930S and put the extra $100 towards a larger SSD somewhere down the road. What's the difference? Can I upgrade relatively cheaply? And as a self-described "BIG fan of SSDs", can you write about your experience with them and whether or not the technology, right now, is worth it, and what compatible hard drives you'd recommend for the 930s or just general brand names/your experience with it. You just have your OS and commonly used/beefier programs on it, right?? edit: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148349 Even though they're still pretty pricy, this 256GB drive has 90+ positive reviews on NewEgg and is in the area of $500. Seems like a pretty good choice. dorkasaurus_rex fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Jan 14, 2011 |
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Jan 14, 2011 03:57
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dorkasaurus_rex posted:What's the difference? Can I upgrade relatively cheaply? And as a self-described "BIG fan of SSDs", can you write about your experience with them and whether or not the technology, right now, is worth it, and what compatible hard drives you'd recommend for the 930s or just general brand names/your experience with it. You just have your OS and commonly used/beefier programs on it, right?? We're probably venturing into territory that's best served by the SSD thread, but SSDs rule. Just ignore the OP since it's out of date and skip to the recent stuff. If you hold off for a good deal, you can get a 120GB Sandforce drive for about $200. That Crucial drive commands a bit of a premium since it's a SATA 6.0 drive. The chipset in that Qosmio should support 6.0, but I'm not 100% sure it actually will. I'll have to look into that. Either way, even a good SATA 3.0 drive is fast as balls. And yes, put your OS and the programs you use all the time on the SSD and save the platter drive for media and other stuff. The swap itself takes a screwdriver, 5 minutes and zero technical knowledge. Then throw the first recovery disk in, walk away and check in every 30 minutes or so to change the disk. It couldn't be easier.
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Jan 14, 2011 05:06
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I was thinking of buying some access points for my parents since they complain about the networking in their house constantly. It's a rather large place with thick walls so the wireless conveniently located in a far corner of the house only reaches maybe 1/4th the way though the house. I was considering: A) switching them to an N router and B) daisy chaining a couple access points to get wireless throughout the house. Does anyone have any personal experience with any access points that are reasonably priced? A small footprint is essential (moreso than functionality). Also does anyone know if the range increase on the N router would be worth the price if they have absolutely no reason to use anything above 54g?
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Jan 14, 2011 18:28
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Hey guys! I'm building my own rig for use with video editing/photoshop/after effects work that I do. I'm pretty new to building my own rig(my first time actually), so I'm not 100% sure if I'm doing this correctly. Hence, why I'm here, asking you fine folks! I've been reading a lot of info on the Sandybridge i7's, and I am really beginning to like what I see. I did some surfing on Newegg and came up with this semi-build of what I think will be a pretty good machine. I didn't include a GPU since I have been seeing that the i7's integrated graphics are pretty darn good. I do plan to get a good GPU down the road, but I figured the integrated graphics would suit me for my temporary needs. I have a couple questions though. The motherboard I have listed. Will this be able to use a graphics card down the line? I've been having trouble with picking a decent motherboard for this config, and was wondering if I had chosen a mobo that cannot support a dedicated gpu. Does anybody have any recommendations for a mobo that will allow a dedicated gfx if this one does not? Also, aside from downgrading significantly, is there any way to get almost-equal performance at a lesser cost? Just wondering if there are any good alternatives to the hardware I chose. Trying to pinch pennies here! I was also thinking about Hackintoshing this machine. Would my current setup work? I'm guessing that it is too early to tell with the new i7's. I know it's a lot of questions, but I'm pretty new to this and want to make sure I'm doing it right before I jump the gun. Thank you very much!  Click here for the full 968x854 image.
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Jan 14, 2011 19:46
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Bizzaro Quik posted:Hey guys! I'm building my own rig for use with video editing/photoshop/after effects work that I do. I'm pretty new to building my own rig(my first time actually), so I'm not 100% sure if I'm doing this correctly. Hence, why I'm here, asking you fine folks! Before you go any further go read the STICKIED thread at the top of the this forum thats called Parts Megathread. Read the OP. All of it. Then post in the thread your budget and what you need it to do. Specifically what programs you use, the size/type of files you're going to be editing (hidef video? huge RAWs?), the nature of the work (professional for employment, skilled amateur, dabbler). Just taking a look at what you posted, switch the HDD to a Spinpoint F3, switch the PSU to a Seasonic M12II 520W (the 750 is way way way overkill), and get rid of the OCZ memory. The Parts Megathread OP has links to appropriate memory brands, OCZ has terrible rebates and a statistically significant higher failure rate. The H67 board can't overclock yet you listed a 2600k (a chip designed to OC with an unlocked multiplier) instead of a vanilla 2600.
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Jan 14, 2011 19:53
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I just bought an HP DL380 G4 server off a guy, and it's everything I need out of a server, but the fans are SO goddamn loud. I'm curious if there's anything I can do to reduce the fan noise aside from playing with fan speed. I don't really have a place I can put it that is ventilated and relatively sound proof, so keeping it out of earshot isn't really an option. That being said, it doesn't need to be absolutely silent, but it needs to be quiet enough that I won't hear it when I'm in a different room behind a closed door. I've read that 2 or 3 of the fans are mainly redundant, and I'm considering taking them out, though I'm not really sure how good of an idea this is. I'm not using the server as anything more than a toy/learning tool, so it's not going to be under high load. Since the sound is all fan noise, I'm not sure how effective trying to muffle the sound will be without seriously impacting air flow. If anybody has any ideas, it'd be greatly appreciated. I'm thinking about throwing the hardware into a different case with bigger, quieter fans, but I'd like to keep it in its 2U case if possible.
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Jan 15, 2011 02:34
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Replace the fans with low-noise fans?
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Jan 15, 2011 02:43
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