OK, so I’m planning on a new desktop PC. Comments and suggestions welcomed for the questions at the end. Most issues and components seem fairly no-brainers. CASE: Want a Corsair mITX 250D box because the form factor fits where I want to put the PC…under the left side of my faux-Victorian desk. My current X-Qpack2 with an AMD Athlon 635 running Windows 7 is being replaced, and that replaced a previous X-QPack with Windows 95/XP (about 4 years ago). Thus the size and mITX form factor. (I could go for a Corsair Carbide Air 240 or Xigmatek Gigas mATX cube, both of which are cool and would just ‘fit’, but it’s a basic PC and I really don’t think I need additional slots, so the mITX seems reasonable, and I am disposed to make this a relatively low power desktop. MOTHERBOARD: ASUS Z97I-Plus (for the mITX) and M.2 option discussed below. POWER SUPPLY: Corsair RM450 seems OK for the load, a little pricey but modular, and it seems well-reviewed. CPU: i7 is overkill for my needs, so it will just be an Intel i5-4570S, or i5-4590S, or maybe an i5-4690S. (An i5-4440S is probably adequate, but the reason for the “S” is to just go with a 65W CPU. No OC is planned. And the pennies ($$s) difference here is no big factor to me.) MEMORY: Crucial Ballistix Sports 16GB PC3-12800 1600MHz (2 X 8GB). (Maybe a bit overkill, but I don’t ever plan on upgrading.) GPU: EVGA GTX 750 Ti. Low power, adequate for occasional graphics needs. OPTICAL DRIVE: (Sorry, I still use these occasionally – thus the box with an external drive slot.) LG WH14NS40 or BH16NS40. OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 8.1 64 bit. DRIVES: I have already a new unopened Western Digital Black 2TB that I am planning on using for data. For my OS drive, I am looking for advice. With the MB above, I have the option (I think) to install an M.2 drive, such as a Crucial 512GB 550 SSD (2280), on the motherboard, on which to install the OS. Cost would be about $300 but I could also just install a Crucial 512GB 550 2.5 inch SATA drive for about $100 less. Questions follow:
Is there any good benefit – besides what I think is the ‘cool factor’ – to putting the OS on an M.2 drive that is mounted on the MB? Any faster having the same general SSD in the M.2 position as opposed to installing just a regular SATA drive? Or should I perhaps be also considering mSATA for my OS SSD? (Here I’d need to change MB or go to an mATX build.)
Does the cooling for the M.2 SSD mounted on the MB present ANY potential issues?
Any other recommendations for the SSD in place of the Crucial 550 model? Plextor M6e? Others? (Samsung is not (yet) putting an EVO or Pro in M.2 format, and the XP941 is obviously too expensive (1$/MB), not supported as a consumer product…and just too far over the top. No interest in being that ‘cool’!)
This looks to be a $1500 +/- PC and since spending more is (excess and) unneeded, and scrimping components on the low side seems more effort than I need or want to make, I figure this is a pretty balanced and efficient build for the next few years. No issues stand out with PC-Parts Picker as far as incompatibilities.
Thanks for being kind and any attention to these questions. If I am trying to push the envelope, am I being too premature? (That is, should I wait a few months and see what is done with the M.2 FF and what additional products become available (and at what price)? I don’t really ‘need’ a new PC at this point, but in the past I stayed with WIN95 far too long, and WinXP ran out on me!
SUGGESTIONS FOR TOM'S ARTICLES: Perhaps the issue of using an M.2 SSD as boot could be evaluated by Tom’s for those of us out here who might care? Perhaps the M.2 factor could be addressed in Best SSDs (unless maybe they’re not ‘best’), and maybe mITX MBs could be addressed in Best Motherboards?
Happy Holidays to everyone. Enjoy reading and learning from Tom’s Articles, news and forums. Keep up the fine work.
Is there any good benefit – besides what I think is the ‘cool factor’ – to putting the OS on an M.2 drive that is mounted on the MB? Any faster having the same general SSD in the M.2 position as opposed to installing just a regular SATA drive? Or should I perhaps be also considering mSATA for my OS SSD? (Here I’d need to change MB or go to an mATX build.)
Does the cooling for the M.2 SSD mounted on the MB present ANY potential issues?
Any other recommendations for the SSD in place of the Crucial 550 model? Plextor M6e? Others? (Samsung is not (yet) putting an EVO or Pro in M.2 format, and the XP941 is obviously too expensive (1$/MB), not supported as a consumer product…and just too far over the top. No interest in being that ‘cool’!)
This looks to be a $1500 +/- PC and since spending more is (excess and) unneeded, and scrimping components on the low side seems more effort than I need or want to make, I figure this is a pretty balanced and efficient build for the next few years. No issues stand out with PC-Parts Picker as far as incompatibilities.
Thanks for being kind and any attention to these questions. If I am trying to push the envelope, am I being too premature? (That is, should I wait a few months and see what is done with the M.2 FF and what additional products become available (and at what price)? I don’t really ‘need’ a new PC at this point, but in the past I stayed with WIN95 far too long, and WinXP ran out on me!
SUGGESTIONS FOR TOM'S ARTICLES: Perhaps the issue of using an M.2 SSD as boot could be evaluated by Tom’s for those of us out here who might care? Perhaps the M.2 factor could be addressed in Best SSDs (unless maybe they’re not ‘best’), and maybe mITX MBs could be addressed in Best Motherboards?
Happy Holidays to everyone. Enjoy reading and learning from Tom’s Articles, news and forums. Keep up the fine work.
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