First Build, $1K, Need Advice

[Paki0921]

Hello,

This is my first post, so sorry if it is long; I've tried to find a way to get it all out simply, but maybe I'm just too new at this. I've got a budget of $1000 total, including my recent purchase of Win7 Pro. Despite the fact that I'm nervous about it, I'm taking the plunge and building my next (first) machine. I could really use some advice on choosing components, as well as whether or not I can/should try to reuse some of the parts from my last computer. While most of the parts were original to the machine, the HDD was a replacement drive and was still working just fine. Here are the specs on my previous machine, a Gateway GT5228 (October '06):

OS: Windows XP Media Center
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Processor, 2.2 Ghz 2x512KB L2 Cache 2000MhHz System Bus
Motherboard: FIC K2BC51 Motherboard with NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Chipset (BTX)
HDD: 640GB WD Caviar Black 7200rpm drive (installed Dec. '09)
PSU: Bestec 300W
Memory: (2) 1GB DDR2
Optical Drive: DVD +/-RW Multi-format Double Layer
Card Reader: 9-in-1 Card Reader
Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 192N (19” LCD)
Speakers: Klipsch w/subwoofer
Case: Gateway supplied

This was our only computer for a long time and it served many purposes. It was a service plan replacement for an HP customized to order (CTO) gaming machine from Best Buy that lost a motherboard numerous times. Recently, the Gateway lost its motherboard, too, and knowing that the PSU was probably part of the problem in both machines, the two things I am most concerned about with my build are a great and reliable MOBO and PSU. In fact, that's my motivation for building – I want control over those two things out of the gate. I don't want to spend a fortune on them, but I do want something decent and will sacrifice a little somewhere else if necessary so those two pieces can function properly. I've checked out the recent system builds and have been checking other builds, and frankly, I'm going a little insane with it all. Here's what I've got:

Approximate Purchase Date: April-May (as soon as the husband finishes work in my office)

Budget Range: $1000 Before Rebates is preferable, After is acceptable provided total isn't over $1000, including OS purchased last week ($120)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Office programs, surfing the internet (incl. watching shows online), photo editing, music listening, potentially HD video editing (got a new Canon Vixia for Christmas for home movies), potential gaming (husband has some older games and might be inclined toward newer ones if the computer was capable), occasional use of Solidworks, potentially CAD software in the future (not a necessity, yet).

Parts Not Required: OS, Monitor (but it needs a VGA connection), Possibly HDD, possibly DVD +/- RW, possibly 9-1 card reader, possibly GPU.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, maybe Amazon (I have Prime)

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: No mini-towers, full or mid (as long as a decent MOBO will fit); MOBO with onboard graphics might be helpful; Intel Sandy Bridge i3/i5/i7

Overclocking: No (don't know how)

SLI or Crossfire: No (can't imagine I'll need it)

Monitor Resolution: Can't remember what I was running on the desktop

Additional Comments: Bling isn't required. Quiet would be nice but silent isn't a necessity. The biggest road block is that I'm not sure if I can get by with an i3-2100 or if I should spend the extra and get an i5-2500K or maybe even an i7-2600K.

This is what I'm thinking:

OS: Windows 7 Pro (already purchased on sale at Newegg, $120)

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K
Motherboard: ?? Possible options:
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
or
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

HDD: REUSE 640GB WD Caviar Black 7200rpm drive
or
SSD for OS and reuse the WD for storage (never really used two drives, though, so a little wary)

PSU: ?? Adequate and reliable are the only requirements

Memory: min 8GB (the Gskill in the Newegg build looked pretty good)

GPU: ?? Will I need one? I've got this one that may or may not work; hard to say if it actually failed or if the problem was with the MOBO. If I can live without for now and add one in later, that might be best.

Optical Drive: REUSE DVD +/-RW Multi-format Double Layer (maybe add a BluRay writer later)

Card Reader: REUSE 9-in-1 Card Reader (for now, but I'd like to get an SDHC reader later)

Monitor: REUSE Samsung SyncMaster 192N (in great shape, despite purchase in '03)

Speakers: Klipsch w/subwoofer (if they still work; if not, I'll just get something inexpensive)

Case: ?? Balance between big enough to fit everything (and maybe some upgrades) and not huge

Phew, that was a lengthy post. I've spent a week trying to make this concise, but where I'm at, it's just difficult. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[ddan49]

For your purposes, $1000 isn't necessary! If you're not gaming, then the build's going to cost a whole lot less. First of all... are you sure you don't want to overclock? It's simple, safe (if you don't go extreme), and gets you a lot of value for your money. If you still don't want to, then the build I've compiled below will be sufficient. If you DO want to overclock, post back and I'll change some stuff.

CPU: Anything ending in a "K" is for overclocking. Since you're not, I'd recommend the i5-2400
Motherboard: ASRock Pro3 Gen3 is good enough
GPU: MSI Twin Frozr 6870 is fine for modern games on medium settings, and will play any older games easy
Case: Fractal R3. You said you wanted quiet, get this case. Also, get an additional fan (Cougars are nice and quiet, make sure it's 120mm or 140mm) and put it in behind the front door so that you have two intakes (one included, the other optional on top of it) and an exhaust (included). Fractal R3 has good airflow, is quiet, and also has USB 3.0
SSD: Crucial M4 64GB - $80. Use this as a boot drive and put any applications you want to run fast on it.
RAM: 2x4GB DDR3-1600 CAS9 1.5v RAM... the Newegg G.Skill Vengeance with like 1,000 reviews is good.
PSU: Antec 550W... it's one of the top rated on newegg. It'll suffice for your needs.

Reuse your HDD. Total, this will cost about $800 maximum, and is a great build for your purposes... it will probably be closer to $700. It's plenty good enough...ask your husband what modern games he would like to play, and we might upgrade the GPU.

 

[Guest]

a suggested build . .

PC Power and Cooling Silencer MK III 400W Modular 80PLUS Bronze $69.99
$49.99 after mail-in rebate card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703034
Intel Core i5-2400 $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115074
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 $139.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157293
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233196
SAMSUNG 830 Series MZ-7PC128N/AM 2.5" 128GB $159.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147137
Antec Eleven Hundred Black Super Mid Tower Computer Case $104.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129178

$719.94

if low end games/video:
EVGA 01G-P3-1526-KR GeForce GT 520 $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130680

$774.93

more modern games:
EVGA SuperClocked 01G-P3-1461-KR GeForce GTX 560 $189.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130661
(yeah i am a evga fan )

$909.93

oh yeah . .
SAMSUNG Black 12X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA $64.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151222
either $839.92 or $973.93

 

[ddan49]

Eh... my build is quieter, and also... why the ASRock Z77 Extreme4 board? It's specifically for IB overclocking.. neither of which she is doing. I can understand the Z77 (although she's not going to ever be using PCI 3.0 since she's not gaming) somewhat, but the Extreme4 is for overclocking. At least a Pro3, although a Pro3 Gen3 is plenty good enough for her needs. I think my GPU is more well-rounded, but it's preference... knowing what games to play on which resolutions would help.

 

[Guest]

i wouldn't know about a board "specifically for IB overclocking" since no one has been benchmarking overclocked IB processors until after the official release due to the Non Disclosure Act. (any site posting such results are very suspect atm) actually it is very limited in the bios for overclocking; it is the Fatal1ty series that are the overclockers.

if given a choice between the two boards the OP posted, i picked the E4 because it has USB3 headers whereas the G3 doesn't. like i posted though, it is a suggested build to show what you can get for how much cash. IMHO a h67 board would be more than suitable.

lets not get into a "your build isn't as good as mine because . . ." it does no one any good.

 

[ddan49]

USB3 headers aren't all that important imo, but you've got a point about the benchmarks. Z68 has been good enough for i5-2500k overclockers, and I don't think Z77 really brings all that much to the table.

I think you misunderstood the "your build, my build" thing. I was just comparing the two, and pointing out the differences. For example, the fact that I have a quieter case needs to be known to him. I also wanted to point out the motherboard. Everything else is interchangeable. I'm not trying to say your build is worse, I'm just saying two of my components are more suited to his needs than your two (on one of which is up for debate).

 

[Guest]

i'm with you on the lack of excitement about the Z77 mobo. though ATM there isn't a lot of usb3 devices, who knows what is around the corner and it maybe a nice feature to have on the front ports. but any H67 Z68 motherboard will have those.

i'll take your word about the case; i never cared what i have, usually some POS i found on the curb. i just seen quite a few folks pick the antecs for whatever.

(btw, may i make the suggestion to you that when you post a build to link to the product so the OP can "see" what you have in mind)

cheers.

 

[ddan49]

Oh, that... haha :/

I would, but... well... I don't have an excuse. I usually go the pcpartpicker route, so I'll probably do that more often.

 

[geogolem]

I'm still reading/catching up on this thread but I would definitely reuse your existing hard drive and try and purchase an SSD.. 128GB is the ideal size though even just a 60GB will give you some benefits.

The latest mobos have an interesting technology that allows you to specify an SSD as a cache for an HDD which means as far as your system is concerned you only have the one large storage HDD device; however the performance and boot time is greatly improved. If money is tight you can even postpone the purchase of the SSD until a future date. This caching techology is called "Intel Smart Response Technology"

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4329/intel-z68-chipset-smart-response-technology-ssd-caching-review/2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U83ED4FOWiw

 

[geogolem]

OK so I basically read over the suggestions above. Instead of suggesting another whole build I'll just add to the discussion.

I like Corsair PSU's. 550W is probably sufficient but a 650W is preferred. Modular is great. Check out this page: http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx
Make sure you get a tier 1 or tier 2 PSU. I like the Corsair TX series. Antec is also up there.. Choose a tier 1 or 2 PSU model and then choose 550 or 650 W. Choose a higher tier over higher wattage. As long as you stick to those rules the amperage on the 12V rail should be decent (as this is usually more relavant than wattage). Brand is > wattage when it comes to PSUs.

Modular PSU's are nice for better cooling and convenience. The TX series has both modular and semi-modular models. For example the TX650 and the TX650M.

intel i5-2400 is fine.

Dont know much about cases...

usb 3.0 headers are useful but I think you will benefit by a board with the Intel SRT technology (which both boards you specified should have.. although its not clearly listed on the z77.. i think it should be ). I've only ever owned an Asus mobo... ASrock is probably just as good if not better.

If you plan to use Intel SRT than a 60 - 80 GB SSD is all you need.

I am an EVGA fan. I would recommend the GTX 560TI.
Take note with EVGA cards that the models that differ only in the last two letters are the same physical cards except:

AR = lifetime warranty
KR = 3 year warranty

Usually there is a 30 - 50$ price difference between the two but often the difference is only $5 which makes it worth it.

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR $204.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7191450&CatId=3669

EVGA 01G-P3-1561-KR $199.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2148471&CatId=3669

Personally between the two I would go for the AR one since 5$ for the lifetime warranty is pretty good. If you can find the KR card alot cheaper than the AR and dont care about the warranty extension.. go for that.

The graphics cards come with one DVI - VGA adapter...

the only other thing I might change with the above builds is that I would shop around for RAM... I would get faster ram if possible... I wouldn't sacrifice quality for speed though, but often the faster RAM is only slightly more expensive and if your mobo supports it... Why not?
Its interesting that much older ram like DDR2 etc. is sometimes more expensive then newer faster ram because of lack of supply.

 

[ddan49]

^Yay, the PSU I suggested (PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750W) is Tier 1 as a PSU!
ASUS is better as a mobo manufacturer, but ASRock is good too. The differences will not be seen... ASRock isn't bad (in fact, it's excellent), but ASUS is slightly better. I'd go with ASRock... it doesn't have any problems and has all of the features.

EVGA: Yeah, many are. They have great warranties, reliability, etc.... but they're basically providing the reference card. MSI Twin Frozr II OC actually provides benefits like better cooling, silence, and pre-overclocked (with room for more!) ability. However, it's also more expensive. MSI have a slightly higher rate of RMAs (although not high enough to warrant the newegg reviews it gets... most only comment when something goes wrong). I'd get a 3 year warranty because for most people, after three years you're upgrading it. However, it depends on your circumstances.

Also, the RAM I suggested (DDR3-1600 CAS9) is the sweet spot for an i5-2500k. I don't think there's all that much benefit in going higher, and if you have an SSD (Crucial 64GB M4 for $80, anyone?) then there really isn't much point. It's all about loading times... actual fps won't increase.

I've just offered my opinion on what geogolem said... however, everything he's said has been true and if you go with what he said, you won't have a failure or anything. Stuff I've suggested has been more geared towards performance, he's been geared towards reliability. However, his suggestions perform great, and my suggestions are reliable enough (if they don't fail in the first few months, you're pretty much safe for the next seven years if you don't upgrade).

 

[Paki0921]

Ok, I did a little more research based on what you guys have suggested. Also, I thought more about my usage, and since you all said I could use the i5-2400, knowing that I wanted to edit home quality HD videos, I realized that the performance level of this machine is more about gaming quality, since my previous system did fine with everything except the husband's games. He actually stopped playing them when we lost the HP because he thought there was such a decrease in quality. The Gateway did just fine running AutoCAD Land Development Desktop and my structural calc software as well as SolidWorks, and aside from the video editing (which I've yet to do), it also handled everything else just fine with only the onboard NVIDIA GeForce GPU.

So, here are my changes. I decided to stick with the i5-2500K, which was my first choice, anyway, and it gives me the option of overclocking if I want to try it when I am more comfortable with my build. I wanted to use the GSkill RAM, but I didn't like that they didn't show compatibility with either ASRock motherboard I considered (Z77 orZ68 Extreme3 Gen3), so I went with the Corsair instead. I used their memory finder to figure out which set worked best for overclocking and their PSU finder to size that. Upon reflection of what my husband plays for games, I'm thinking he would like BF3, since he's always played first-person shooter, flight simulator and racing types of games and he owns BF1942 and BF Vietnam. Let me know if you think this build will work for my reassessed needs:


OS: Windows 7 Pro $120

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K $220

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $122

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply $116

System Drive: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $85

Storage Drive: REUSE 640GB WD Caviar Black 7200rpm drive $0


Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 $65

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $230 with a MIR of $25

Optical Drive: REUSE DVD +/-RW Multi-format Double Layer and get the BluRay burner later in the year

Card Reader: REUSE 9-in-1 Card Reader and get a SDHC reader later in the year (my Eee has one for now when needed)

Monitor: REUSE Samsung SyncMaster 192N

Speakers: Klipsch w/subwoofer :crossfingers: they still work

Case: I'd like tower without a clear panel – 3-5yo's are too curious as it is. I'm thinking one of these, all about $60:

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I made some real effort to choose parts that got 4-5 eggs on Newegg with ratings that were 70% or better when possible. I tried to also keep costs AND quality in mind - I'm using a spreadsheet to play around with the numbers. I should hit right around $1000, maybe just under or over depending on what I can get for rebates and discounts. I hope I've balanced quality, reliability and performance. I'm a little nervous about the 2-drive setup and attaching the CPU to the motherboard, but I think the rest should be easy enough.

 

[geogolem]

Yup, I pretty much agree with everything ddan49 said. Looking forward to hear other opinions and/or the OP's decisions/thoughts. [EDIT] I guess I posted slightly late... reading the OP's response above

 

[Guest]

if you can budget it, i really really really would like to suggest a 120+ gig SSD. that will give you plenty of room for the OS and ALL your applications. you might end up micromanaging with a 64 gig drive.

 

[geogolem]

Everything looks pretty good. I think going with the i5-2500k is a good choice if you don't mind paying the slight difference (dont know what it is). i5-2500k is actually the best and most popular cpu for gaming value on the market. Even if you don't overclock you may have slightly better temperatures and/or performance and you can always cool/overclock in the future.

Since you stated you might be a little concerned with the dual storage device setup I thought I would just clarify the options available to you:

Option 1: Use SSD at a boot drive and HDD as data storage. In this case I would recommend an SSD of 120GB or more since 60GB won't be enough for the OS+games+apps. This will offer the best performance but will be slightly more expensive since you need a bigger SSD and slightly more complicated since you your system will actually appear to have 2 distinct storage devices - the SSD and the HDD.

Option 2: Use the SSD as a cache for your HDD in an Intel SRT setup. In this case a 64GB SSD is all you need since SRT can only use a maximum of 64GB. Once you set it up as far as your concerned (from an outside perspective) your computer will only have the one storage device - the HDD; however the performance will be improved behind the scenes through the use of the Intel SRT caching technology. The performance will improve over time and will be virtually the same as option 1 for frequently used files/applications/games etc. This solution is convenient and simple.

I reccomend Option 2 but make sure you watch the youtube video I posted a few posts back to understand and properly choose the device what you want. You also need to make sure your mobo supports SRT. I would try to strike a balance between performance and reliability.

Also keep in mind that even if you buy a 120GB SSD and want to use option 2 you can. 64GB will be used for a cache and the remaining area on the SSD will be available to be partitioned and used as another storage drive. Having made that clear as the post above this one reccomended I would grab an SSD no less than 120GB. As this gives you the flexibility to use option 1 or 2 and as a matter of fact SSD's with higher capacity typically have higher bandwidth and thus perform slightly better than their smaller capacity counterparts. In other words the 120GB is a win-win while the 64GB may restrict you and offer slightly less performance.

Anyway, other than that everything looks great and decently balanced except for one more thing I noticed/realized.

You may want to seriously consider investing in a newer monitor. I noticed the maximum resolution of that monitor you have is only 1280x1024. Gaming at lower resolutions actually introduces more CPU bottleneck and limits the capability of the graphics card. 1920x1080 is recommended. Of course, you could always wait and buy a new monitor eventually and not necessarily right now. You wouldn't have to necessarily even discard your old monitor as you could have a dual monitor setup. Trust me, dual monitors is awesome for productivity!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Just some insight into potential changes - if you wanted to put more money into the system and better "future-proof" the system (although no system is ever really future proof). I'm mostly just explaining this so that you may understand the expandability/limitations/upgradability of the system you have specified. I'm not necessarily recommending the following changes. Just providing info so you can make a more informed decision.

The only area where you might notice significant improvements would be in the graphics card although the price/performance ratio shoots up after the GTX 560 TI making anything better not quite worth it unless you are a hardcore gamer. If you wanted to make the system slightly more future proof I would either (a) get a more powerful graphics card like the 570, 580 or even the new 680 or get a more powerful PSU so that in the future you could potentially add another GTX 560TI in SLI if you wanted. i.e. you could spend some more cash now to get a more powerful PSU and then down the road when GTX 560TI's drop in price further or you see a sale you could grab another one and put it in your existing system under SLI and get a large performance improvement.

These changes aren't necessary I'm just trying to convey some insight into how you may evolve with this system in the future if you wanted. The TX650W PSU is great for any single graphics card setup but not for dual cards. 2 GTX 560TI in SLI are comparable in performance to the 580's. So basically if you leave thing as are, in the future you would need to either get a new GPU entirely or a new PSU along with another 560TI. In order to maximize the use of your existing components it may be beneficial to simply invest in a better GPU or PSU up front, now, in the beginning but obviously not necessary.

To make matters more interesting, EVGA has an awesome "step up upgrade" program for their cards. This program allows you to register your graphics card and initiate a step-up to a newer or better graphics card within 90 days of purchase. EVGA simply makes you pay the difference between what you paid for your current graphics card and the one you want to step up to and you ship them the old card while they ship you the new one.

Now having said all of that (I hope I dont appear to be rambling) nvidia may be releasing new GPU's in the 6xx series in the next month or two and intel may be releasing new Ivy Bridge processors very soon. the Ivy Bridge processors will not be a significant improvement over the Sandy Bridge (i5-2500k) you are planning to get but may be more power efficient and have other benefits. I don't know - they're not out yet.

Intel has a CPU release schedule described by the following site: http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/silicon-innovations/intel-tick-tock-model-general.html

Ivy Bridge is the tick after the Sandy Bridge which involves a change in the manufacturing process but not the micro architecture.

It may be beneficial to wait a month or 2 and build a very similar system to the one we have discussed except with the new nvidia 6xx series GPU and the Intel Ivy Bridge CPU or perhaps get the current system specs at a slightly better price. I don't know what the future holds and its up to you Of course you could end up always waiting for new technology to come out as things are changing all the time; however I am quite certain both nvidia and intel will be releasing these changes soon... maybe within weeks to a month or 2.

most of this info I have provided below the ---- is not reccomendation etc. but I am just trying to provide you with information that may help you maximize the value you get from your purchase over time

Now that I have given arguments for waiting and/or spending a little more to get more bang for your dollar, I will counteract that with some useful insight. In my experience it is usually better to not overspend on a top of the line system now to last you longer than it is to spend less now and simply buy a new system sooner.

There is a certain optimum price/performance point where spending more now is not worth it since you might as well spend less and simply put that extra cash you would have spent towards a newer system sooner. To give an arbitrary example: Spending $5000 on a computer to last you 10 years now is not as good as it would be to spend $2500 now and $2500 5 years from now; however it could be the case that spending $1500 (or $1100?) now is better than spending $1000 now. These values are just arbitrary but you get the idea. There are a ton of variables involved and the future is unpredictable but the more info you have the better decisions you can make
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Conclusions:
I would definitely get a 120GB SSD over a 64GB SSD.

If I decided to stick with the GTX 560TI I might buy a more powerful PSU that wold allow me to add a second GTX 560TI in SLI in the future.

Here is an interesting video about the TX series PSU's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-mexVbkjiw

Note that if I were to get a TX series PSU I might get the M version (depending on the cost). The M version of the 850W is $10 cheaper than the non M version of the 850W on tigerdirect. This does not appear to be the case for the 650W. The M versions are semimodular which makes cable management much more efficient.

Just for interest/comparison:
TX850M: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=581010
TX850: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7195039&CatId=2534

Here is an interesting video about PSU modularity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm_2RG61hhk&feature=fvwrel

If I could I would wait to see what happens with nvidia 6xx and Intels Ivy Bridge CPUs but if I needed a PC right now or don't really care that much I would completely forget above Intel's Ivy Bridge CPU grab the 560TI and *maybe* participate in EVGA's step up program if a new 670 TI or something comes out in the next 90 days (depending on its price point - it is possible that within 90 days of purchase you could get a virtually free or cheap upgrade if the new ones take over the price point of the old ones and the old ones drop in price - you basically have 90 days of protection with EVGA which I like).. Because of the possibility of using EVGA's step up program I would probbaly get the z77 mobo now (which supports PCI-express 3.0) since the new 6xx series GPU's also support PCI-Express 3.0..

Looking forward to hearing what you decide or any other discussion/questions you may have. I hope I didn't ramble too much. Just trying to convey my thought process.

 

[Paki0921]

Thanks, geogolem. You guys have all helped quite a bit already and as you can tell by my first post, I'm certainly no one to criticize for rambling. I usually appreciate a lengthy explanation when I can get something out of it, too (it's why I sometimes give them). Here are my thoughts...they might ramble a little, too...

Ok, first, when we bought that HP in 2003, we overspent. At the time, the husband was in a place in his life where he just wanted the best he could afford and since we had no kids and no mortgage and shared expenses, well, it was a lot, to the tune of $2k for the computer setup and $750 for the monitor. So, the goal here is to get something that kicks the booty of our last system and, at the same time, serves all our purposes without breaking the bank. It's probably a pretty standard thought process, but I'm coming from a place where I've learned a few lessons the hard way and I want to avoid doing that again and to illustrate that I've truly learned from those lessons (to myself if to no one else).

Lesson 1: don't keep pushing the budget until you find yourself saying, "What was I thinking?" in a year.
Lesson 2: if you don't have a great motherboard, your system is junk.
Lesson 3: out of the box systems often use lower-end motherboards.
Lesson 4: it is often the case that when a motherboard fails, the power supply is to blame.
Lesson 5: out of the box systems often use low-end, low wattage PSUs.
Lesson 6: it really, really sucks to lose all your data and backup is paramount, because recovery is $$.
Lesson 7: the only real way to have control over your motherboard and PSU is if you build it yourself.
Lesson 8: external HDD make good backup but not good write drives.

A special shout out to Gilware for their reasonably priced recovery of my priceless data. Those guys rock.

So, that said, I don't want to push my budget too hard, but I can probably swing a few extra bucks over the husband's firm $1k budget by using some cash that was for gifts for me from my parents. Certainly, I can afford the extra $35 to buy the Mushkin Enhanced Chronos 120GB SSD, (which was my first choice if I went that route) if I can't make wiggle room elsewhere in the budget.

I don't think I'll wait for IB - from what I've read, it should mostly be an efficiency improvement, which would be important if I were intending to buy a laptop. Since this is a desktop home/gaming build and not a 24/7 server or workstation, I'll skip IB and worry about the minor improvements down the line when I build my next computer. (I figure it'll only really hurt the first time, right? Hehe.) Now, if I'm not going with IB, is it worth moving up to the Z77? There isn't much of a cost difference from the Z68, but the little there is could go toward the SSD instead. That brings me to my next question...

...which is about the GPU. Now, I know my husband, and he'll likely be interested in new games if the computer can handle them. And by new, I mean that if the computer can handle a current title, he's probably more inclined to buy older versions, maybe buying the current 'new' titles when they're no longer new. While I'm all good with OC in the near future, I don't have any immediate plans to use SLI nor do I anticipate that his gaming requirements will exceed the ability of the computer before I am ready to build a new one. Honestly, if the Gateway had been better set up for gaming vs multimedia, it would have been fine in his book, but with the lack of discrete sound and, especially, GPU, it just couldn't perform. He isn't as into gaming as he was 10 years ago, but that doesn't mean I don't want him to be able to play his old stuff or maybe a few newer titles. We've got a ~3yo son and a ~5yo daughter, a house with a huge yard and plenty of woods where he can ride his 4-wheeler or play lumberjack with his chain saw...yeah, he might play games instead of surfing Craigslist, but it won't be anything hardcore or extensive. And so in that case, will I really need more than what the 560Ti can do now? Heck, with his aversion to MMORPG, he's highly unlikely to invest time or money into the games that emphasize the non-single-player aspect, and those seem to be the really intensive ones. Is there even a GPU that might do the job just fine for me and save some $ in the process without sacrificing quality (obviously, it would be a sacrifice in performance, but it will still be miles ahead of the Gateway)?

So, let's say I'm not going to use SLI, bump up to the Z77 or get a more powerful GPU than the 560Ti, do I actually need a PSU greater than 650W? I'm assuming no, based on what you said. But, would it be better, then, if I used CORSAIR Professional Series HX650 (CMPSU-650HX) 650W ATX12V v2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply? That one gets great reviews and is modular and it costs about the same as the last one I spec'd, since the shipping is free vs $6 for the 650TX version. I'm not overly concerned about cable management per se, but I can see the advantages of leaving out the ones you're not using. And, again, this is not a server and is not intended to be on 24/7, so any minor voltage drops at the connectors are not a concern, nor is the heat at this point (which, from what I gather, both are a little bit old wives tale blended with facts), so I'm ok with going modular. Heck, it might make my life easier for my first build.

Back to the SSD...I'll fork over the extra $35 of my personal cash and get the 120GB. What I meant before was that I've never actually set up two drives. I installed and formatted the drive currently in the Gateway, but that was it. I want to install two drives; heck, I've got a 250GB SATA II that was the original drive in the Gateway and the reason it failed was because it lost a kernel in the OS portion of the drive. I always wondered if I could set it up so that I could just access the drive like it was storage, still 'see' everything on it as long as I'm not using it as my boot drive, without actually overwriting it. If so, that would be sweeter than I can possibly tell you...if not, well, no biggie, that ship sailed and I can live without it returning to port, but I'd love it if it did. Either way, I guess I wanted to buy the SSD from the beginning so that I could install the OS on it and have a little more stability as well as performance gains. Now, do I have to set it up in RAID? This is where I'm a little concerned; I've read stuff that makes me think it would not only be cool to use RAID but would also help with data storage and backup, so that I could have an internal drive for backup #1 with irreplaceable stuff duplicated on our 500GB WD external and backed up to disc. Note my above comment re: losing data. Yeah, that was a HARD lesson to learn, so if I can go a step beyond with this build and improve that aspect of my computer use, it would be fantastic. But again, it's one of the parts of a first build that I want to do and not screw it up, you know? If what I'm doing, though, is installing my OS on the WD 640GB and using the SSD as cache, then can I set that up at a later date? In other words, can I push off buying the SSD even by just a few months? Or do I need to have it up front (it sounded like no for Gigabyte but what about ASRock)? Because if I can avoid installing the OS twice and all the hassle that goes with it, that would be worth $120! And if setting it up in RAID with the OS on the new SSD means I can just plug and play with the drive (or drives, even) that I already have, well cool beans. Of course, if I added a drive, that might affect my PSU...

See, this is why I came here...I like to get feedback about stuff, even if I'm just talking to myself in an email, but with a lot of this technical aspect of computing, I'm such a newbie that I really have to get input from people who know more than me!

Anyway, I would love to get another monitor, if only to be able to keep using this one as the docking station for my ASUS Eee. But I'm not set up to run two on the same machine right now, even if I can concoct scenarios where I'd use it (*sigh* they involve spending more time on the computer than I should as a SAHM). It's also not in the current budget. And while better resolution would probably be great for the games, I've found that at finer resolutions it becomes harder to read small text. The husband is a simple computer user in many respects, mostly in that he likes to get something the way he wants it and then not have to keep changing back and forth (he grumbles about using gmail at home and outlook at work). I suspect he'd not change resolutions between games and everything else, so he'd probably keep things where they are comfortable, and IIRC, we didn't even have it maxed before. I'll be interested to see what a discrete GPU will do for it.

UGH, and crap, I forgot that I need a printer. Not that it's a big deal except that it costs $. *sigh* How essential is it that I buy a $200 GPU right now? Will the Intel GPU on the i5 be enough if I postpone gaming and say, HD video edits? It's never simple, these things...

Ok, time to hit the hay. I look forward to your response!

 

[geogolem]

lol, great response. I agree with all 8 of your "lessons". I too have learned those from past experience.

I agree with your thoughts on not necessarily caring about IB. I doubt the improvements will really affect you much. If you were buying a laptop I would be more inclined to push to wait because power consumption/efficiency of the CPU is a big deal when it comes to battery life/mobility on laptops but I doubt you will notice much of a relavant difference in a desktop.

I'm not too familiar regarding which brands of SSD offer the best reliability/performance so I might do a little more research if I were you but 120GB is probably the "sweet spot" regarding capacity/cost and your expected usage possibilities.

Even if you were to get a more powerful "single" graphics card, the Corsair 650W PSU will be more than good enough. The only time you will require more than this would be if you ever had a multiple graphics card (SLI) setup. The Corsair HX line of PSU's is supposed to be on par with the TX series, while the AX series is slightly better than both. The HX is fully modular which kind of makes it slightly better than the TXM in my eyes. It appears the only fundamental difference between the AX and HX (other than the price) is the fact it is 80+ GOLD certified. This could potentially save you money on your energy bill.

Here is an great video that details the differences and potential energy savings with different grade (i.e. 80+ Bronze vs 80+ GOLD) PSU's: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vnXNyh9vIg

Whether that is worth the price difference etc. I dont know but I figured I'd mention it just because it's useful to know.

Just to summarize the differences between the various models:
TX650: non modular 80+Bronze
TX650M: sem-modular 80+Bronze
HX650: fully modular 80+Bronze
AX650: full modular 80+GOLD

Regarding the SSD's and HDD's:
Regardless of what you do, when you install Windows make sure you have the BIOS set to AHCI mode. SSD's require this mode (and so does eSATA i believe) and if you flip this setting without reinstalling Windows you will get BSOD's of death on boot. My current Windows installation was installed without AHCI mode being enabled and my eSATA port won't work properly because of this. When I turned AHCI mode on Windows BSOD's on start up. If I switch AHCI back off I can boot into Windows fine. Supposedly there are some "hacky" workarounds for switching AHCI on without reinstalling Windows but I haven't been able to get it to work. I learned my lesson and the next time I install Windows I will make sure AHCI is on.

I currently don't own an SSD but have been investigating purchasing one myself soon. The performance improvements are drastic and my mechanical HDD is the weakest link in my current setup. Based on my research and referring to options 1 and 2 as described in my previous post I believe the ability to easily migrate from an HDD to an SSD setup depends on the SSD itself (for option 1, using it as a boot drive) or the mobo (for option 2 using it as a cache).

When doing option 1 some SSD's come with software that allows you to easily migrate your Windows installation from your HDD, test your new SSD and then wipe your HDD clean upon successful test with the new SSD. Here is a video of some intel data migration software: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jebII-FTOmk
though I personally don't know about its reliability or compatibility with various SSD (i.e. does it just work with intel??? I dont know).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxNyDBSBNxg
http://hothardware.com/News/Acronis-Data-Migration-Software-Now-Free-To-Intel-SSD-Users/
Seems its only available? and free to intel users.... need to google around to find if a similar solution exists for other brand SSDs.
Adata has something similar: http://www.adata-group.com/index.php?action=ss_main&page=ss_software_5
Seems the software is available for purchase: http://www.acronis.com/oem/products/trueimage-hd/
Its just free with certain SSD's it seems..

When doing option 2 (using Intel SRT technology) it seems to depend on the mobo but as far as I can tell it should be very simple to add an SSD as a cache to an existing HDD Windows installation. Basically its just like installing the SSD and enabling it as a cache for your existing HDD.

RAID is another story. There are many different types of RAID. The two main ones are:
1) two identical drives functioning as 1 drive to improve performance - this wont be useful if you have an SSD as the performance of the SSD is far superior to two mechanical drives in this RAID configuration. Also, interesting to note setting up two SSD in this type of RAID will not perform as well as a single SSD with a total capacity equal to the sum of the two smaller ones because larger SSD's typically have higher bandwidth and thus perform better than their smaller counterparts. These types of RAID setups are risky because if one drive goes the data is not recoverable.
2)one drive operating as the backup of another (mirroring). I don't have much experience with this though it could be useful for you. Instead I would recommend some kind of network attached storage (NAS) solution with Windows backup backing up to the NAS. You can buy routers that have built in HDD or usb ports for external HDD and/or printers. I dont have much experience with RAID but I use a NAS for backup purposes.

Having said all that I could see an extremely useful and convenient setup being like the following. SSD cache of HDD1, and HDD2 mirroring HDD1 as a backup. I might do some more googling to investigate this as I'm curious myself.

If I have some time I might actually look into optimal RAID setups for systems with SSD drives etc and post back what I find here. Im curious as well.

Regarding that old 250GB HDD you said failed on you because of missing kernel data. If the physical drive was undamaged and the data was just corrupt (for some reason) than the drive could still be used. Just need to hook it up to the mobo through a SATA cable and Windows should autodetect it and you should be able to access the data if its not corrupt. Though because you had issues with that drive before I would not depend on it too much even if it does appear to work.

The integrated GPU will be sufficient for most day-to-day tasks that don't involve gaming or video edits so if you don't immediately require the GPU you can hold off on it which may be beneficial for the potential new cards and/or price drops forthcoming.

Regarding the Arock z77 vs. the z68 if you don't care about IB i think the z68 is the better choice. It appears (I didn't confirm but newegg z77 lacks the specification of it)that the z77 doesnt have SRT support which I think could come in handy and is supported via the z68. Both the z68 and the z77 have PCI-Express 3.0 which would have been a reason to choose z77 over z68 if z68 didnt... but it does... It appears the only other difference is that the z68 lacks usb 3.0 headers for connecting front panel usb 3.0 leads from the front of your case. It does in fact have usb 3.0 ports on the rear of the mobo though, so theoretically you could hook up the front usb 3.0 ports (if your case has them) by connecting the lead to an extension (which comes with the case often) to a usb 3.0 port at the back. I don't think this is a big deal and considering the z77 lacks SRT and you dont care about IB I would rather have the z68 with SRT and no usb 3.0 front panel leads then z77 without SRT with usb 3.0 panel leads.

Regarding a printer. I only go with HP and I have been using the Printer/Scanner/Copier type HP printers for years. You can get a good printer/scanner/copier model even with WiFi capability for really cheap, cheaper if you don't care about wifi. When you choose a printer take note of the cost of the ink it requires. Some of the printers require more expensive ink than others. I use HP Deskjet 4400 and HP Deskjet 4500 series in my house. They are identical except the 4500 series has built-in wifi while the 4400 series doesn't. I have the 4400 series connected via usb to my router and so its still available on the network which is convenient if you have laptops or other devices throughout your house. If you use iOS (iphone/ipad) you may want a printer that supports the "Airprint" protocol but honestly you can probably get a decent all-in-one for 59.99 or 99.99 if you want a built-in fax too. I wouldn't spend more than $100 on a printer. There was a time in my life that I didn't bother buying new ink but rather just bought a new all-in-one each time I ran out of ink because they were so cheap... The new one would use cheaper ink (they come with ink too) and be a more reliable better performing model. The 4500 series I have now I have actually stuck with for about ~year or 2 and have refilled the black ink twice and the colour once. It seems that the technology stabalized these days, but like I said I remember buying new printers often instead of ink refills. ( I know its bad for the environment etc. but it was cheaper and I would end up with a better printer that required cheaper ink for refills in the future)

Finally regarding the monitor. If you can, I would somewhat hold off on buying the monitor. Check out this article: http://techreport.com/discussions.x/22784

though you can probably get a really nice good size monitor for less than $200. The best way to buy a monitor is to go to somewhere like bestbuy and compare the pictures and specs and then find the lowest price and price match at Bestbuy or another retailer like that (I prefer Futureshop, here in Canada --- which is owned by Bestbuy anyway). They have a good return policy and its hard to decide on a monitor without looking at the picture it produces.

Now I thought of something else entirely that I should mention. I noticed you already purchased a copy of Windows 7 for $120 ... that should be fine.

I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the fact that Windows 8 will be released probably around the October time frame. If I were buying a laptop I would definitely wait until sometime after Windows 8 comes out. For desktops it won't be as big of a deal though you might buy a Windows 8 upgrade at some point. I have actually tried the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and at first I didn't like it but the more I used it the more I liked it. Obviously its targetted at merging and improving the tablet/notebook space but there are also several improvements to the standard desktop portion of the OS as well.

Hope this helps. Talk to you later.

 

[ddan49]

Ok, I did a little more research based on what you guys have suggested. Also, I thought more about my usage, and since you all said I could use the i5-2400, knowing that I wanted to edit home quality HD videos, I realized that the performance level of this machine is more about gaming quality, since my previous system did fine with everything except the husband's games. He actually stopped playing them when we lost the HP because he thought there was such a decrease in quality. The Gateway did just fine running AutoCAD Land Development Desktop and my structural calc software as well as SolidWorks, and aside from the video editing (which I've yet to do), it also handled everything else just fine with only the onboard NVIDIA GeForce GPU.

So, here are my changes. I decided to stick with the i5-2500K, which was my first choice, anyway, and it gives me the option of overclocking if I want to try it when I am more comfortable with my build. I wanted to use the GSkill RAM, but I didn't like that they didn't show compatibility with either ASRock motherboard I considered (Z77 orZ68 Extreme3 Gen3), so I went with the Corsair instead. I used their memory finder to figure out which set worked best for overclocking and their PSU finder to size that. Upon reflection of what my husband plays for games, I'm thinking he would like BF3, since he's always played first-person shooter, flight simulator and racing types of games and he owns BF1942 and BF Vietnam. Let me know if you think this build will work for my reassessed needs:


OS: Windows 7 Pro $120

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K $220

Motherboard: ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 $122

PSU: CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply $116

System Drive: Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD2 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) $85

Storage Drive: REUSE 640GB WD Caviar Black 7200rpm drive $0


Memory: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C8 $65

GPU: EVGA 01G-P3-1561-AR GeForce GTX 560 Ti FPB (Fermi) 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card $230 with a MIR of $25

Optical Drive: REUSE DVD +/-RW Multi-format Double Layer and get the BluRay burner later in the year

Card Reader: REUSE 9-in-1 Card Reader and get a SDHC reader later in the year (my Eee has one for now when needed)

Monitor: REUSE Samsung SyncMaster 192N

Speakers: Klipsch w/subwoofer :crossfingers: they still work

Case: I'd like tower without a clear panel – 3-5yo's are too curious as it is. I'm thinking one of these, all about $60:

Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

I made some real effort to choose parts that got 4-5 eggs on Newegg with ratings that were 70% or better when possible. I tried to also keep costs AND quality in mind - I'm using a spreadsheet to play around with the numbers. I should hit right around $1000, maybe just under or over depending on what I can get for rebates and discounts. I hope I've balanced quality, reliability and performance. I'm a little nervous about the 2-drive setup and attaching the CPU to the motherboard, but I think the rest should be easy enough.

You've made good choices. So many people have commented with essays, and they're all right, so I'll kind of address things briefly and concisely, while going down the list.

So. A 128GB (or 120, around there) SSD is probably best, for lots of applications and games. However, it doesn't seem like you use a lot of different applications. Putting Google Chrome (which you should use, by the way ) on an SSD won't really make your internet faster. Do you really use any large, consuming programs? 64GB is enough for an operating system, BF3, and OpenOffice (or LibreOffice) with a bunch of room left. I mean, the average person will have:

-OS
- BF3
- Word or LibreOffice
- Another game? GTA?
- Video editing

Total, that won't be more than 40GB... MAYBE 50GB. Don't put documents on an SSD... it's unnecessary. Crucial M4 if you're on a budget.

For playing around with prices, use pcpartpicker.com . It's a great site that finds the lowest price (among newegg, NCIX, etc... not ebay) with graphs showing price change over time.

GPU: Well... a GTX 560 Ti is better than you think. A lot better. It'll play any (and I mean ANY) game out there on medium, most on high (BF3 is demanding, along with Crisis), and any older games on max. MMORPGs will not be a problem. Don't go any higher... it's unnecessary. I'd suggest an MSI Twin Frozr II OC edition of the 560 Ti, but it's up to you. MSI has better cooling and it's overclocked for better performance (still leaving room for you to overclock more. It just ships faster than reference).

Case: Antec Illusion Three Hundred is the best in a side-by-side... it's got a three-speed fan controller for each fan. Also, it's got room, and is well-reviewed. I'd suggest that. If you can spring more, a Corsair 400R would be nice, but that's optional. If you want silence/quietness, a Fractal R3 would be great. Although at the moment it is $115 (it shot up $10...).

Other than that, it seems everything is good. A Z77 motherboard really isn't necessary, since you're on SB and it won't really do anything. If you ever decide to overclock, remember to get a CPU fan... Intel stock isn't very good (although good enough for stock speeds).

 

[geogolem]

pretty much also agree with ddman above. One interesting thing I learned that probably isn't relavant to your decision making but is interesting to know. SSD's typically come in capacities of 60, 120, 240GB etc. which is unusual since you would expect 64, 128 or 256GB. Apparently the 60, 120, 240 GB SSD's actualy have flash chips that are 64, 128 or 256GB in total capacity; however the small portion of the capacity missing are disabled and left as redundancies so that a small portion of the SSD can burn out over time and the SSD can compensate by using that extra capacity set aside.

There are some SSD's on the market which do not set this extra space aside (the 64GB, 128GB or 256GB). These are able to have the full, higher capaciity for one of 2 reasons. Their lifespan is rated lower meaning they won't last as long and/or they use higher quality memory which compensates for the lack of redundancy.... I don't know which is better or more reliable or cost effective. I would stick to reviews etc and I wouldnt worry if a drive was 120 or 128... 120 is good enough.... I'd be most concerned with reliability, compatibility and performance.

It may be useful to compare the available or reccomended cases via youtube videos. The following is a video about the Antec 300 (I'm not sure if this is the same as the Antec Illusion 300 reccomended by ddman but you could probably find videos for several cases)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8xJmzzR1_I&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL9798BD6F45F0301F

 

[geogolem]

by the way... IB should be out April 23 but I don't know what that means in terms of availability or price or how it will affect the price of current SB cpus.

 

[ddan49]

I think that SB won't go down (may even go up) because MANY people are deciding on SB INSTEAD of IB! I know... it's weird, but leaked IB chips (although not retail) run hot, and aren't satisfactory. I know there will be a large amount of people buying them anyway. The price will be inflated in the first week for sure because of supply vs demand, but may drop off after that. Although Intel isn't supposed to inflate prices... retailers might. Newegg should be fair, though.

I didn't know that about SSDs , geogolem. I guess that makes sense. Basically, at the rate SSDs are going, I think having a shorter lifespan in favor of better performance is worth it because SSD prices are falling, and when you buy your next one, I am sure it will be better than the one you could be using.

Basically, my point is that I would rather use an SSD until it dies (say... ten years) rather than replace my SSD in ten years, and run on slightly lower performance. It's up to you, though... I don't know how your situation is.

 

[geogolem]

@ddan - I also heard the similar reports about the leaked IB CPU's. It will be interesting to see how they turn out. Ya I just learned that about SSD's as well from the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGS2l4aftiM
I don't know whats better. I would have to compare all the specs and reviews but I would want to maximize performance, reliability, and capacity in that order with performance/reliability being more important then capacity (when comparing a 120 vs 128 GB or a 60 vs. 64GB or a 240 vs 256GB). I don't mind dropping a few gigs if it means the drive will perform better or be more reliable... but if the larger capacity drives perform better or are just as reliable then why not go for the extra capacity (well, depending on the cost of course - the extra few gigs offered wouldnt justify much of an increase in cost in my opinion - i would probably go with the cheaper slightly lower capacity drive unless the high one performed better or was more reliable). Anyway I was just pointing this out so that when one sees a 120GB SSD and compares it to a 128GB SSD they might realize the underlying reason for the difference in capacity and factor in other metrics like performance and reliability as opposed to just comparing cost/capacity.

 

[ddan49]

^Yeah, I know.

By the way, most SSDs are going to perform about the same. An SSD difference of like 10mb/s won't make a difference. Just get whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

[geogolem]

Just noticed an article here on "Tom's" today about the high res displays expected to enter the market and how standard monitor resolutions may change in the next several years. Perhaps this will give you an idea of a good time to eventually purchase a new monitor - though I'm guessing a 1920x1080 will still be the most economical and common for the next 3 years.
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Intel-Higher-Resolution-Displays-Coming,15329.html

 

[ddan49]

Yeah... I think those "retina" monitors won't be available for most consumers (meaning at prices that won't cost as much as a house) until about 3-5 years... also... y'know... 1080p doesn't look that bad. I mean, I know the famous Gates quote of "402K [or some other 400ish number] should be enough for anyone", meaning 400ish (can't remember) kilobytes of memory. But still... I don't think you'll miss out on much. Retina displays will probably only be affordable in about 5 years, considering the tech to make them is still developing.