Rate my setup

[2fast4thetown_down]

I built this with my dad, I am under 16 and I think this is a pretty cool system I kind of wanted to show off but I also need a new graphics card and I need reccomendations for an ssd so I am open to sudgestions on that here is my setup.

Proccessor: Intel Core i5 2500k
Motherboard: GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3
RAM: Kingston Hyperx blu(8gb)
Hard drives: Hitachi Deskstar 500gb x2
Monitor: 2ms response time 50,000,000 contrast ratio and full hd led

 

[CaedenV]

not a bad little system

2ms responce and 50000000 contrast is just numbers and does not tell you anything useful other than that it is a TN screen (not a good or bad thing in general, just a run-of-the-mill screen), but LED lighting is much 'whiter' than CCFL tubes which is nice. Even better if it supports localized dimming... but most do not.

are the 2 HDDs in RAID1? I would highly suggest not doing RAID0 as it can just cause problems long term if you store any important data on it. Sadly switching over means reformating the drive, which can be a pain.

decent Ram, I assume in a 2x4GB configuration? should be plenty for a good long time

solid mobo, and good CPU

As far as SSD drives go there are a few different options depending on what you want to do:
If just for programs, then just get a nice cheap Agility 3, or Chronos drive, and keep all important files on the 500GB RAID1. They are not the fasest drives on the market, but the are plenty stable, still very fast, and should last long enough to where SSDs will be 1/2 the price and near double the size and speed before it needs to be replaced.
If you demand long term stability, or plan on using the drive for rendering large projects, then go with a Crucial M4, or an Intel drive. They are not the fasest drives on the market, but they are better quality flash, and should last a bit longer.
If you want an excellent balance of performance and reliability then go with Samsung 800 series.

For game graphics you really cannot go wrong with any of the new cards from either AMD or nVidia.
Currently the best bang for your buck is the GTX670, but this may be overkill for 1080p gaming, and they can be hard to find.
If you intend to do surround gaming (3, 5, or 7 monitors) then you will want an AMD card as they scale better than nVidia at extreme resolutions like that.
If you are doing any productivity work (video editing, or 3D modeling) then consider and older GTX570 or 580, or the high end AMD 7000 cards (GTX600 series sucks at this type of workload)
If you want a lower budget (less than $400) card then you will have to go with AMD right now because nVidia has not released their mainstream 600 series cards yet (but they will be coming out slowly over the next few months). Always get the best single card you can afford, and then if it is not enough then do SLi or xFire when you can afford annother card. This avoids a great many potential issues down the line, and leaves you some room to grow as games get more demanding (and with new consoles coming out in 1.5 years you can bet games will finally get more demanding!).

EVGA for nVidia. Sapphire for AMD.

Whatever you decide on, make sure that your power supply is 1) large enough, and 2) quality enough to power these new cards. They do not suck down as much power as the previous gen cards (especially the nVidia cards! Amazed at their improvement over 1 generation!), but they do require accurate power flow to be most effective, so quality is key.

Best of luck, and I hope you enjoy!

 

[2fast4thetown_down]

not a bad little system

2ms responce and 50000000 contrast is just numbers and does not tell you anything useful other than that it is a TN screen (not a good or bad thing in general, just a run-of-the-mill screen), but LED lighting is much 'whiter' than CCFL tubes which is nice. Even better if it supports localized dimming... but most do not.

are the 2 HDDs in RAID1? I would highly suggest not doing RAID0 as it can just cause problems long term if you store any important data on it. Sadly switching over means reformating the drive, which can be a pain.

decent Ram, I assume in a 2x4GB configuration? should be plenty for a good long time

solid mobo, and good CPU

As far as SSD drives go there are a few different options depending on what you want to do:
If just for programs, then just get a nice cheap Agility 3, or Chronos drive, and keep all important files on the 500GB RAID1. They are not the fasest drives on the market, but the are plenty stable, still very fast, and should last long enough to where SSDs will be 1/2 the price and near double the size and speed before it needs to be replaced.
If you demand long term stability, or plan on using the drive for rendering large projects, then go with a Crucial M4, or an Intel drive. They are not the fasest drives on the market, but they are better quality flash, and should last a bit longer.
If you want an excellent balance of performance and reliability then go with Samsung 800 series.

For game graphics you really cannot go wrong with any of the new cards from either AMD or nVidia.
Currently the best bang for your buck is the GTX670, but this may be overkill for 1080p gaming, and they can be hard to find.
If you intend to do surround gaming (3, 5, or 7 monitors) then you will want an AMD card as they scale better than nVidia at extreme resolutions like that.
If you are doing any productivity work (video editing, or 3D modeling) then consider and older GTX570 or 580, or the high end AMD 7000 cards (GTX600 series sucks at this type of workload)
If you want a lower budget (less than $400) card then you will have to go with AMD right now because nVidia has not released their mainstream 600 series cards yet (but they will be coming out slowly over the next few months). Always get the best single card you can afford, and then if it is not enough then do SLi or xFire when you can afford annother card. This avoids a great many potential issues down the line, and leaves you some room to grow as games get more demanding (and with new consoles coming out in 1.5 years you can bet games will finally get more demanding!).

EVGA for nVidia. Sapphire for AMD.

Whatever you decide on, make sure that your power supply is 1) large enough, and 2) quality enough to power these new cards. They do not suck down as much power as the previous gen cards (especially the nVidia cards! Amazed at their improvement over 1 generation!), but they do require accurate power flow to be most effective, so quality is key.

Best of luck, and I hope you enjoy!

Thank you for the great avice I have a older graphics card that sucks power so I know I have enough power and it is the highest rated it is a Cooler master 460 watt elite. The guy at micro center said it should be able to handle most graphics cards coming out. thoughts?

As the ssds go I will not be buying one this summer after the prices go down, because of the floods in taiwan. They will hopefully be semi affordable this summer.

If prices go down what is the sigle best ssd and graphics card you reccommend if my graphics card budget is like $170.

 

[2fast4thetown_down]

Best answer selected by 2fast4thetown_down.