Been a long time

[Spriggan_one]

Had my PC built in 2005, looking to upgrade, BF3 can't play on my current rig, so its an excuse to upgrade :P

Guess I'm going to stick with my Aspire ATX case I think my current PC is using IDE DVD/CD drive and the mobo I'm looking at I think only uses SATA? anyway, here's the new stuff:

Mobo $200: Newegg.com - ASUS SABERTOOTH P67 (REV 3.0) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

CPU $220: Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

RAM $118: Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ16GX3M4A1600C9B

Windows 7 Home Prem 64bit $100: Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

HD $90 (45x2): Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

I would like to run RAID 0 on a new PC, I have a 600GB Fat32 WD External (USB 2.0 HD) (I had Raid 1 on my current PC but after the PSU died (replaced under warranty) there was no more raid.

My current PC uses 550w PSU, and as I mentioned I think the CD drive is currently IDE (incompatible with new mobo?)

So my questions are Could I use my current optical drive, Do I need a new PSU, should I get a surge protector (w/ or w/o battery), is it safe to run RAID 0 w/ the new drives? (my current ones never had a problem standalone 2x160gb)

and I'd like to be able to use my current case/tower due to expenses, but should I look into other necessities? Thermal paste, cooling (I have 2 case fans in current clunker)

current damages: $736.19 on newegg (w/ shipping?)

Oh and video card, I would like to get a 2gb gddr5 card, saw the 560 ti and the 6000 series radeons Whats best for performance? This is pretty expensive =/

Better Options:?
found win 7 for 65 +free shipping (-35 from 100 on newegg)
found CPU for 209 +free shipping (-10 from 220 on newegg)
found Sabertooth P67 for 193.69 (-6.31 from 200 on newegg or -26 w/o newegg offer)
found 16gb RAM (same) for 94.99 (-23 from 118 on newegg or -33 w/o newegg offer)
2x 250gb 7200rpm HD's for 81.72 (-9 from 500gb's on newegg)

644.40 = 91.79 saved so far shopping around.

Do Windows 7 upgrade packages install windows 7 on a NEW pc? they're cheaper than the copy of winxp 32bit sp2 installation CD cost me.

[glc]

Could I use my current optical drive,

I wouldn't bother when you can buy a new SATA DVD burner for 20 bucks.

Do I need a new PSU,

What brand and model is yours?

should I get a surge protector (w/ or w/o battery),

I would HIGHLY recommend a UPS.

is it safe to run RAID 0 w/ the new drives?

Not in my opinion!

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

Now, here is MY opinion what you should get, assuming your PSU is still good to go:

Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K

Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9B

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Newegg.com - Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3K5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Newegg.com - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners

Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems

The SSD will work as a "cache" with your hard drive, speeding things up more than 2 drives in RAID 0. This is a feature of the Z68 chipset, it's called Intel Smart Response Technology.

I don't see where you would need 16gb ram, but if you insist, get 2 sets.

Why do you need a 2gb video card? What resolution do you play at?

Read this article:

Best Graphics Cards For The Money: September 2011 : Best Graphics Cards For The Money, September Update

Unless you are going to be overclocking, the i5-2500 is cheaper, and for gaming, you could even get by just fine with an i5-2300.

[Spriggan_one]

Originally Posted by glc Could I use my current optical drive, I wouldn't bother when you can buy a new SATA DVD burner for 20 bucks. Do I need a new PSU, What brand and model is yours? should I get a surge protector (w/ or w/o battery), I would HIGHLY recommend a UPS. is it safe to run RAID 0 w/ the new drives? Not in my opinion! ------------------------------------------------------ Now, here is MY opinion what you should get, assuming your PSU is still good to go: Newegg.com - ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS Newegg.com - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K Newegg.com - CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML8GX3M2A1600C9B Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive Newegg.com - Intel 320 Series SSDSA2CT040G3K5 2.5" 40GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) Newegg.com - ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - CD / DVD Burners Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems The SSD will work as a "cache" with your hard drive, speeding things up more than 2 drives in RAID 0. This is a feature of the Z68 chipset, it's called Intel Smart Response Technology. I don't see where you would need 16gb ram, but if you insist, get 2 sets. Why do you need a 2gb video card? What resolution do you play at? Read this article: Best Graphics Cards For The Money: September 2011 : Best Graphics Cards For The Money, September Update Unless you are going to be overclocking, the i5-2500 is cheaper, and for gaming, you could even get by just fine with an i5-2300.

Current PSU is Antec Tru-Power Trio 550w

Does the SSDD thing work with the Sabertooth? How does it work as a cache? is it in the Bios or UEFI or XMP? (never used anything but basic bios) I keep reading that older boards rated 1600mhz for ram underclock to 1333 and need XMP or voltage/OC changes to be used at the ram's default 1600 clock. Also read that older boards Bios would Spam the mouse across the screen randomly clicking/changing stuff!!!!

I thought Raid 0 on 7200rpm HD, More RAM, OC CPU, would produce best speed on the PC for games (My current PC would hit high framerate but stutter as though I had 5-13FPS) CPU or RAM bottlenecks - which I would never like to see again.

I could get just 1 7200 rpm HD with under 200gb cause I never went past my 160 on just one of my HD's (everything went on external)

I've been following a guy on youtube who runs a i5-2500k on its default fan OC'd to 4.2-4.5 with decent temps (i don't remember offhand)

What is wrong with More ram and 2gb video card? I run 1440x900 preferably on highest possible settings But that didn't work well. CoD4 stuttered on my PC, Deus Ex: Human Revolution was like watching a movie buffer every few seconds (example; my movies don't do that thankfully), Crysis 2 played better on my PC than DX:HR even with Crysis 2 on ultra settings. But on MP in Crysis 2 whenever someone would come near me in a firefight, my game would lock/lag up like it couldn't handle what was happening.

Edit: I would rather my computer use ram and not have to ever pagefile.

For SSD wouldn't you want higher read/write for better performance? I figure I'd install the OS either on regular HD and use SSD as cache, or install OS on SSD? whats better?

Wouldn't this be better: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...^20-226-247-TS

I like the Mushkin one, or the 94$ one, the 94 has NAND and the Mushkin one reads/writes super fast.

I read this guide on GPU ram http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...0,2428-10.html, and it in the end stated RAM lets u run more AA/Detail/Resolution, but it ended stating that a newer card with Less RAM may perform better than an older card with more Ram. Why is that? I'm currently using my friends Sapphire HD 5770 1gb gddr5, and I need to RMA my XFX 9800GTX Black edition 512mb (its last driver killed it! I wasn't alone on that fubar...)

[glc]

PSU is good to go as long as it has a 8 pin CPU connector unless you get a high end video card that requires more than 550 watts.

No, SSD caching requires a Z68 chipset, and you don't need a lightning fast one, go for reliability (Intel is more reliable than ANY other brand). It does use the RAID function. If you don't need 1 TB, get the 750 GB version of that drive, it's only 55 bucks:

Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Black WD7502AAEX 750GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

UEFI is simply the latest graphical bios. XMP is the extended memory profile, and the Vengeance ram is XMP-compatible.

You won't have ANY issues with a modern video card - and 1gb video ram is more than you will ever need at 1440x900. If you are thinking about Crossfire or SLI, you will need a new power supply and an upgrade to the P8Z68-V or P8Z68-V Pro. The P8Z68-V LE can only run the second slot at x4.

Even with "only" 8gb system ram, you will NEVER use it all up unless you game with 12 other applications open.

If you are going to be heavily overclocking a "K", you will need an aftermarket CPU cooler.

[Spriggan_one]

I was thinking about that z68 and ssd caching, how fast does it go? Do you need to put the SSD into RAID 0 ?

Thank you for your replies glc.

I found this board z68, $100 Newegg.com - ASRock Z68 PRO3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

With this (which is what i'd like to achieve):
Review:
Pros: Excellent budget board!
-High quality components
-Stable OC to 4.5GHz on Intel i5 2500K with Hyper 212+
nice, simple design.
-Lucid Virtu technology allows me to use my integrated graphics for regular use and my discreet graphics card for gaming.
-Intel SRT gives me the option to use a small SSD later on to speed up my mechanical drive. I DO plan to do this soon.
-Best value Z68 board around.
-Easy to use UEFI

Anything I should consider (poor upgradability on the board for future use? Ram or Ram Clock limitations? I dunno about NEW boards. I'm using an Asus P5ND2-sli non deluxe right now)

And this review:
Other Thoughts: MB: ASROCk z68 pro 3
CPU: i5-2500k oc@4.5ghz
GPU: GTX 465 oc@ 800mhz, 1600sdr, 1700mem
Case: Coolermaster Cosmos 1000
Ram: GSkill Ripjaw 4G 1600 x 4

These are the boards i'm looking at: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...E13-131-781-TS

What am I looking at?

[glc]

Asrock does NOT have a reputation for reliability. The Asus I recommended has Lucid and SRT too.

I don't know if caching (SRT) is RAID 0, but I do know it DOES use the RAID function somehow.

[Spriggan_one]

well both of the asus boards in the comparison are the same, one is LE one is SE? whats the difference? You mentioned something about needing PRO to do something? (Oh, crossfire/sli) What PSU would I need to run a system with 2x Sapphire radeon HD 5770 1gb's?

Which is better out of these?:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...srchInDesc=z68

LE/LX/PRO, or just P8Z68-V, whats the difference?

What is Lucid, Virtu and UEFI? I read the UEFI is a graphical bios, but I haven't used anything I just mentioned!

[glc]

You answered your own question:

-Lucid Virtu technology allows me to use my integrated graphics for regular use and my discreet graphics card for gaming.

Of all those boards, there is no "better" per se - you need to compare the features to see the differences. Newegg makes comparisons easy, just check the boxes and hit Compare. If you want to go Crossfire or SLI, you will ideally need the P8Z68-V or better. Reason being is in the LX and LE, the second slot only runs at x4 speeds. With the -V and better, both slots run at x8 when occupied.

I don't think I'd crossfire a pair of low end cards such as the 5770 right off the bat. Get a single higher end card, then later on when you may need an upgrade, you can get another one (possibly used/cheap) and an appropriate PSU.