A Few Noob Questions/System Comments

[ChappyEight]

Disclaimer: For the record, I'm going to copy this post to a couple different message boards so forgive me if I'm stealing minutes of your life away due to multiple forum postings.

I apologize in advance because this post might be lengthy. Hopefully, those smarter than I can give me some advice as I'm about to purchase and build my first system. Some of my questions will be extreme noob questions as I was unable to get answers after lots of searching. Most questions I had I was able to find suitable answers to through this forum and others.

I have posted on here before with potential system setups, but I've refined it a bit more here.

First things first, the system I'm looking at (I'm guessing it to be a mid-level system). I should note, I've already purchased a mid-size case and this fan controller:

• - PSU --> Corsair HX 620W
  - MoBo --> Abit IP35-Pro
  - CPU --> Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
  - HDD 1 (OS Drive) --> WD Caviar SE 160GB
  - HDD 2&3 (RAID 0) --> WD Caviar SE16 500GB
  - RAM --> Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (1GBx2)
  - Optical --> Lite-On 20X DVD+/-R w/LightScribe (SATA)
  - Video Card --> EVGA GeForce 8800GTS 312MB
  - Monitor/Keyboard/Mouse are being recycled for now.

First off, I am pretty sure all these parts are compatible, but I'd like some reassurance on that. Secondly, I am open to any and all suggestions. If you see holes in the system or you think other parts would work better, then fire away, I'm all ears.

On to the newbie questions.

• 1. Do I need a floppy drive? I know that the manual I downloaded for my preferred MoBo mentions a floppy for flashing the BIOS and I've seen others mention it on these boards. Since I've never really seen a straight answer, what's the verdict? Is a floppy needed or can the BIOS be flashed through something like a USB thumb drive?
  
  2. I noticed that a lot of people get 2 optical drives. Is there any particular reason for this? It seems that most DVD burners are combo drives so I'm not sure if I'm missing something.
  
  3. I installed my new Sunbeam fan controller and I was just verifying that the fans (2x120mm, 1x80mm) would hook up correctly. The fans have 3-pin connectors so they plug right into the controller w/out any sort of adapter. The problem is that the cable on my 120mm fan in the back won't reach all the way up to the fan controller to plug in. Is there a 3-pin female to 3-pin male extension available? If not, what the crap do I do?
  
  4. This the most noob question of them all. I know it's been hotly debated over the years, but what is the general consensus in regards to whether or not to leave your computer on all the time.
  
  4a. Secondly, on a home-built machine, it seems that most PSU have an on/off switch of their own. Does this stay on all the time even after you shut down like normal (through Windows)?

I truly appreciate your willingness to trudge through this long of a post. Thank you all in advance for any advice/comments/suggestions/insults you provide.

Chappy

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by ChappyEight RAM --> Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2GB (1GBx2)

Don't get that RAM, look for 1.8v CAS 5 RAM. 2.2v CAS 4 RAM will cause system instabilities on Intel based setups. You might want to look at Corsair XMS instead.

Originally Posted by ChappyEight - HDD 2&3 (RAID 0) --> WD Caviar SE16 500GB

I also wouldn't bother with RAID0. The meager performance increase isn't worth the effort, hassles and risks involved.

Originally Posted by ChappyEight 1. Do I need a floppy drive?

It's not necessary.

Originally Posted by ChappyEight I know that the manual I downloaded for my preferred MoBo mentions a floppy for flashing the BIOS and I've seen others mention it on these boards. Since I've never really seen a straight answer, what's the verdict? Is a floppy needed or can the BIOS be flashed through something like a USB thumb drive?

I've heard of others flashing with a USB flash drive but I've never tried it. If I have to flash a BIOS I always use a bootable floppy disk. If you do decide to get a floppy drive you don't have to install it, just keep it handy. None of my computers have a floppy drive installed in them. All my floppy drives (along with a number of CD drives and burners) are in a big plastic storage bin.

Originally Posted by ChappyEight 2. I noticed that a lot of people get 2 optical drives. Is there any particular reason for this? It seems that most DVD burners are combo drives so I'm not sure if I'm missing something.

You only need two optical drives if you do a lot of disc to disc copying. I stopped installing two optical drives a few years ago and just install one DVD burner in the computers I build for others. No one has complained yet.

Originally Posted by ChappyEight 3. I installed my new Sunbeam fan controller and I was just verifying that the fans (2x120mm, 1x80mm) would hook up correctly. The fans have 3-pin connectors so they plug right into the controller w/out any sort of adapter. The problem is that the cable on my 120mm fan in the back won't reach all the way up to the fan controller to plug in. Is there a 3-pin female to 3-pin male extension available? If not, what the crap do I do?

Extension cables are available.

Originally Posted by ChappyEight 4. This the most noob question of them all. I know it's been hotly debated over the years, but what is the general consensus in regards to whether or not to leave your computer on all the time.

I don't leave my computers running 24/7...I just turn them on and off as I need them.

Originally Posted by ChappyEight 4a. Secondly, on a home-built machine, it seems that most PSU have an on/off switch of their own. Does this stay on all the time even after you shut down like normal (through Windows)?[/list]

Yes, you leave it on. It's a convenience...you can flip the power supply rocker switch to OFF if you have to do quick work inside the computer and don't want to unplug the power cord. But most of the time you just leave it on.

Cricket

[ChappyEight]

Thank you, Cricket. The RAID setup was something I was curious about. I had no idea about the memory voltage so thanks for the heads up there too.

[shadowpr]

Well cricket hit most of the points.

One thing I did notice though was the video card you picked is the older 8800gts. Either get the 8800gt, or the 8800gts 512 instead.

And I leave my computer on 24/7, except for cleaning.

[Doom]

Welcome to the fold of building your own. I finished my first build two weeks ago and love it. Be prepared to become addicted. Based on your processor and if you get a slightly more powerful graphics card (see below), you're looking at being more than just a mid level system. I define mid level stuff as having a 2.4GHz CPU and a 256MB GPU card... you'll be running some sweet graphics. Some additional thoughts.


-- The 320MB 8800GTS is a good card, but you can do much better with a 512MB card at just about the same money. I have a 9600GT 512MB card and love it / recommend it.
-- If you don't do RAID or a second optical drive, the 620w PSU may be overkill. A 500w should do just fine if you can get it cheaper.
-- I'm a fan of getting 2x2GB RAM so you can get as much as possible out of a 32bit system. The price I found locally was barely $10 more than 2x1GB, so I felt it was worth it.

Good luck.

[Katreat]

Looks like most stuff is covered but will add my support for better vid card. I used the 8800 320 in my current build but the market moves fast and the 9600 GT, 8800 GT, and the new 8800 GTS (512) will all out perform it for similar $.

Personally I would stick with the 620w corsair. 500w+ will handle your system but if it is being built for gaming I always figure a possible vid card upgrade in the life of the box and that next step might push a 500w.

Kat

[alex530]

I am of the opinion that if you burn a lot of DVD's, then a second drive is worth it. The reason is that you won't need to write an image of the disk to your HDD, but rather simply burn it to the blank disk. Another reason is less wear and tear on the burner if you watch a lot of DVD's. Also, it gives you a free drive if for some reason you are playing a game that requires the disk to be in while it is playing. This is just a opinion, and its mainly for convienience, but not necessary.

[perkster]

i usually install a combo memory card reader/floppy drive with another external USB port too etc. they are cheap and give you flexibility although no-one really uses floppies anymore. one bit of advice if you go that route though is to set up your system and install windows on HD before installing the memory card reader into the system, otherwise you will get bad drive lettering.

get one dvd drive and can always add a blueray drive in as a second one when they come down in price

[Katreat]

Originally Posted by alex530 I am of the opinion that if you burn a lot of DVD's, then a second drive is worth it. The reason is that you won't need to write an image of the disk to your HDD, but rather simply burn it to the blank disk. Another reason is less wear and tear on the burner if you watch a lot of DVD's. Also, it gives you a free drive if for some reason you are playing a game that requires the disk to be in while it is playing. This is just a opinion, and its mainly for convienience, but not necessary.

Your points are all valid but just to add a few counter points:

1. Writing an image of the disk to your HDD with most software is an important step to check for errors. Burning disk to disk you are prone to creating bad disks.

2. Wear and tear on the burner is a small concern when they cost less than $30 to begin with and generally will outlast the computer. Not to mention from my experience the burner that just sits there and is only used occationally is the one that fails on my systems.

3. If you play that game enough I suppose this makes sense, you are basically creating a little mini server to save you the hassle of putting the disk in before you play. You are also adding $30 to the cost of the game for a little bit of convenence.

With that being said it is really a personal choice, we are talking about less than $30 in a $1000 build. Nothing wrong with having a second DVD, but its not required.

Kat