New PC build - please advise

[DarrellS]

The SSDs work fine with Vista and W7, not so well with XP or older OSs as they don't have native support and I'm not sure they support TRIM. I had to use a aftermarket program to perform that function using XP.

I don't see myself using Windows 7 anytime soon so I guess that drive is a no go for me. The 2.5 74GB Raptor is still an option though.

[budz]

I don't see myself using Windows 7 anytime soon so I guess that drive is a no go for me. The 2.5 74GB Raptor is still an option though.

I'm tempted to buy that WD 74GB Raptor 2.5 hard drive since I have a $10.00 off coupon code to use from Newegg.
Just another reason to spend money on more hardware!

[DarrellS]

I can't spend any money right now. I just spent $200 on my truck (my side mirror fell off and my shocks are shot) and $100 on a scanner (my two year old HP took a crap). I guess it would've been cheaper to have just gone to Kinko's.

[Poppa_Meth]

That's my next issue. A scanner. I did a little preliminary research and while my printer, which is newer, will work with Win7 x64, my scanner will not work correctly with any version of Win7. I guess it's time to try trimming my build cost down to make up for some of the extra stuff I hadn't planned on.

[budz]

^^^Look into AMD if you wanna save some money!

[usually_quiet]

Your parts list includes Windows 7 Ultimate full version. If thats what you need, then get it, but buying the OEM version could save you as much as $110, depending on where you buy. It is hard to say at this point whether or not investing the extra money in the full version will be worth it. Windows 7 probably won't enjoy the kind of longevity that Windows XP had, so you may be upgrading both your motherboard and your OS in a few years.

[redwudz]

W7 Ultimate has 'Bitlocker' data encryption and support for more languages in addition to Pro features. W7 Pro has XP compatibility mode, more backup options, and more networking options. Ultimate is about $20US more than Pro and Home Premium is about $120US. The XP compatibility mode is about the only feature worth it for me.

I'm not that impressed with the W7 networking myself as I find it more complex than Vista. I don't run any programs in XP mode anyway. If you need encryption, True Crypt is free and fairly secure. I'm not that enthused with W7 64 bit versions as I have had compatibility problems with 64bit OSs and my preferred programs and devices.

[Poppa_Meth]

I've been using W7 Pro x64 at work for a while. No major compatibility issues there. I do get a BSOD related to win32k.sys from time to time which I haven't tracked down a cause for. I think this is due to upgrading from Vista instead of a clean install though.

I would rather have at least the Pro version of Win7, and since the price difference to Ultimate isn't that much at all, I figured I go for the additional language support for some of the Japanese games I may like to play on it. I may have to consider the OEM version though. I've always heard the retail version is better but I can understand the logic with Win7 not lasting like XP. I know 8 and 9 are already in development.

[Poppa_Meth]

I've attached my latest build list. I did look at the AMD product and chose a few components that would get me at about the same performance and Mobo features. It turned out to be less than $50 difference to the Intel so I'm sticking with the i7 for now. I am wondering about the Velociraptor though. The more I look the more I'm seeing people talk about there being little speed difference between a Velociraptor and a modern 7200 RPM drive with a 32MB Cache like the Samsung Spinpoint F3. There certainly is a huge price difference though. Any input on this?

Thanks.

[redwudz]

I have several WD black drives that have the 32 bit cache and the Raptor is definitely faster for boot. Haven't tried a Samsung F3, though. The Raptor has about half the seek time and a 5 year warranty compared to the F3. Most of the speed is due to the 10K RPM rotational speed. 4.2ms seek speed, 4.7ms write, 3.0ms latency compared to a 8.9ms seek and a 4.14ms latency and a 3 year warranty for the Samsung F3.

[budz]

You can always order the ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound from Svc.com or from Petrastechshop. The MX-2 is easier to work with than the MX-3. Your case will easily be able to make use of a 2nd 120mm fan on the CM Hyper 212 Plus cpu cooler.

[usually_quiet]

If you don't mind me asking, are you certain you need a PSU with that much capacity? I know you said you game, but that one looks like something thats only necessary for someone who is doing some substantial over-clocking and running multiple high-end video cards. I don't see much evidence that you are building one like that. If you haven't already used a PSU calculator, see what that says. I think they tend to over-estimate wattage needed, if anything.

If you don't need that much PSU, you could save some money more in that area with something like. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006

[budz]

This Corsair 650HW is modular which is good for cable management. Although the CM HAF case has excellent cable management anyway. I don't game so I don't need a high capacity power supply. 650 watts - 750 watts should be good enough.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139012

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139010

[Poppa_Meth]

Thanks for the input.

As far as the PSU, I was sort of future proofing in case of any upgrades I may want to do but I agree that 850 may well be overkill. I think I'll at least switch out to the 750. I'm waiting until I really finalize things and then I'll run a wattage calc to see if I really even need that much.

[Poppa_Meth]

I ran a Wattage calculator based on what I currently have. I added a few extra things to be safe and came up with right at 650W recommended if I'm not doing any overclocking. I think the 750 is as low as I should go just in case, but it still saves a few dollars.