Need some harddrive advice.

[schild]

Oh, if only current hard drives were as reliable as those were.

It's a shame the only option I have for real data protection is to burn something to a disk and put it in a climate controlled security deposit box. And that's far too annoying. Especially when the backups need updating. Once 50GB Blu-Ray discs become affordable, I'll back up everything to 10-15 of them and start over completely. I love a clean computer filled with nothing but 0s.

[Salamok]

Oh, if only current hard drives were as reliable as those were.

It's a shame the only option I have for real data protection is to burn something to a disk and put it in a climate controlled security deposit box. And that's far too annoying. Especially when the backups need updating. Once 50GB Blu-Ray discs become affordable, I'll back up everything to 10-15 of them and start over completely. I love a clean computer filled with nothing but 0s.

I think I bought my raptor in early 04 and it isn't showing any signs of it's age (of course it probably wont until d-day).  I bet it lasts another 5 years but I probably won't give a crap about a 75gig raptor as SSD will probably be mainstream and blazing fast. 

[TripleDES]

Oh, if only current hard drives were as reliable as those were.

That's why I'm running mirrors in my system. Had too much drives fail on me the last few years.

[Hoax]

Need some build thoughts...

CPU
Do I go w/ the Q9450 and hope it can last me 4-6 years or do I just save $140 and get the E8500 now understanding that I might have to upgrade in 2-3 years to run the latest and greatest games?

I'm willing to put in the time/effort/money in other components to be able to OC the quad if that'll get me some extra life out of the system.  What are people's thoughts on the cpu versus gpu bottleneck with current hardware/games?

My thoughts:  I'd love to not have to replace the cpu, since that is a total bitch, if I could feel confortable with the idea of the quad giving me an extra 2 years of useability its totally worth the extra cash to me.  Replacing anything else is such a breeze.  OTOH, I'm trying to buy a ton of stuff right now, so every penny saved goes towards ps3+games+some sound stuff I desperately need.  So if the Quad wont really give me added lifespan, fuck it.

CPU Cooler
Anyone have strong thoughts about any of the following?
-Thermalright Ultra 120 eX or Ultimo 90
-Tuniq Tower 120
--Zalman 9500
-Xigamatek HDT-1283

GPU
Sapphire's HD 4850 or BFG's 8800 GTS?

I'm leaning towards the ATI since I've been using ATI for awhile without too much issue.  I hear the card runs hot as hell but outperforms the NV stuff.  I haven't used stock gpu cooling for some time so that's not much worry to me.

GPU Cooling
On that front, anyone got good stories or even better horror stories with aftermarket gpu cooling solutions/brands?  Its become a more crowded marketplace then it once was so I'm not leaning any direction atm.

Monitor
I've currently decided upon this but I'd listen if anyone was against that purchase.  The egg's got it for $250.

The Ram is going to Corsair, the case I'm not quite sure about.  Leaning towards Zalman's GS1000 even though its expensive, it looks dead sexy.

For now I'm leaving my current slug HD's in since there isn't anything I like to replace them, some combo i/o drive made by LG & its looking like either Zalman or Seasonic's ~$150 price bracket PSU's (I mentioned them here in stormwaltz's thread).  The mobo I'm still lost on, it seems pretty clear that the x48 chipset is the wtg if I'm going to spend this much money on everything else.  But I can't decide if I'm ready to trust ASUS again after a bad experience awhile back.  I'll have to read some reviews, blahblah, I usually pick my mobo last though so its all good.  How seriously should I take the mobo-to-ram compatability stuff?

-Thx in advance to anyone who responds.   

[Trippy]

It is a pain upgrading CPUs so I'd rather spend extra on the CPU up front, even skimping on the video card if I have to and then get a new video card a year or two later.

For my next computer I'm going the OC'd quad core route. I do enough multi-threaded CPU stuff that it's worth it for me to get the extra cores even though games don't really take advantage of them.

If you aren't going to OC it's a tougher choice. It's still the case that a faster clocked dual core CPU will give you better performance in all but a handful of games compared to a slower clocked quad core. It's hard to say at what point in the future that'll flip (i.e. most of the newest games run better on slower quad cores compared to faster dual cores).

[Goreschach]

First off, there's simply no reason to go with the 8800 gts over the 4850. And if you're going with a 4850, there's no reason for you to pick up the q9450(I'm assuming games are your primary motivation, otherwise this may not apply). Do not attempt to 'future-proof'. It's a fool's game.

The Xigmatek would be the wisest choice out of those coolers. It's one of the best performing coolers available. This, however, is largely irrelevant as actual cooling performance has a very small effect on maximum fully stable overclock.  The important thing is that the cooling be powerful enough to allow you to increase the core voltage without making the processor 'splode. And since the E8500 isn't an incredibly hot processor, any of those coolers would be fine. I'd estimate the total spread in top overclock using those coolers would probably be around 25 mhz. Unless you're going for mindless e-peen shit, not a whole lot. So just go with the Xigmatek, which is around 15 bucks cheaper than all the rest.

In fact, it's good enough that I'd recommend you pick up one of these as you could probably run that processor overclocked at a reasonable temp, even with the fan undervolted. Pick up a couple fan wire splitters and you can run all your fans that way.

The stock cooler on the 4850 is shit, and I'd recommend replacing it even if you don't plan on dicking around with your gpu settings. It runs hot and loud. Be warned, however, that replacing gpu coolers can be a real pain in the ass. It's not like plugging a cpu cooler on. If you don't trust your abilities, you might want to consider picking up one of the 4850 models on newegg that have better stock coolers on them. The price isn't much higher, and you'd probably save over having to buy your own cooler. this one looks good, but I've had no firsthand experience with MSI. It has a nice rebate, but to be honest, I usually ignore the rebates when figuring prices, as apparently the mailman has an uncanny ability to selectively lose those envelopes.

Unless necessary, I'd rather not start ranting again about computer PSU's, but I'll just say that the entire business is one giant snake oil distillery. You in no way need a $150 power supply for a computer like this.

[Ironwood]

Question :  Currently have my two Raptors setup in a striped Raid.

When I move them to the new motherboard, if I just set the Raid options the same, it should all be fine, right ?

No ?

Arg.

[Hoax]

stuff

The only problem with the Xigamatek option is, who the fuck is Xigamatek?  I've never heard of them.  [H]ard rated that cooler highly but the TT and Thermalright were higher and the Zalman wasn't tested for who knows why.  You are right about the price though.

The reason to not go with ATI would be, if it runs hot as ballz and I know I'm going to replace it ~2yrs anyways (I dont like xfire/sli setups)...  it could conceivably be better to buy a more stable/simple/cooler NVidia option, thinking of the legacy of family computers I donate parts to when I'm done with them.  Also drivers.  However, I do like ATI alot, I have had a x700 with an aftermarket cooler last forfuckingever.  I haven't had much in the way of driver issues.  Clearly though I need an aftermarket cooler or I need to buy this.  Which if a $50 price jump, not worth it if I'm paying more then $10 for cooling install labor since I'm capable and confident I can handle that easily.  Sadly this item, which looks even better, doesn't seem to actually exist yet.  So I guess I'll take a look around and see what people like in terms of aftermarket gpu cooling -any advice?- and check the costs before I make that call.

The big choice is still in the cpu department, just noticed that the next bump is only $10 more but there is supposedly a price shift in the works, that has supposedly been in the works since late July.  Since this is the biggest component purchase, and getting the quad to avoid having to upgrade cpu (fucking HATE changing cpu's!!!) for 4-6 years would be worth the money...

Trippy, anyone else, personal thoughts on x48 mobos?

[Engels]

Question :  Currently have my two Raptors setup in a striped Raid.

When I move them to the new motherboard, if I just set the Raid options the same, it should all be fine, right ?

No ?

Arg.

No, unfortunately raid configs are a 'per motherboard' dealio. You -might- get around it by taking an image of your original raid config with something like Acronis TrueImage or Ghost (be sure that the software can see raid drives, both in the original machine and the target OS), and then imaging the new raid config on your new box.

Even then, you will have to do a Repair installation of XP, and then install your drivers (of course). You will also have to re-register Windows Updates ( full article here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/943144) since a repair install often confuses the living heck out of WUA.

Even then, system stability isn't guaranteed, since we're essentially talking about a 'soul' transplant from one body to another. If you've seen 'All of Me', you know how well that works.

Edit: the above post is probably entirely pointless, since iirc, your mobo is toast and you can't access your drives :/

[Engels]

The only problem with the Xigamatek option is, who the fuck is Xigamatek?  I've never heard of them.  [H]ard rated that cooler highly but the TT and Thermalright were higher and the Zalman wasn't tested for who knows why.  You are right about the price though.

You have to realise that at some level, these things are not about name brand, but about construction. I have the Xigmatek cooler, and its pretty damned close to the top of the line one in terms of how its built. In the end, its about a flat contact, pipes, fins and a fan.

Trippy, anyone else, personal thoughts on x48 mobos?

x48 requires DDR3 memory, which as has been discussed in recent postings, is far more expensive than DDR2 and really doesn't give much of an edge. X38 seems the way to go.

[Ironwood]

I am in an extreme state of annoyance.  While I knew that what you posted was likely, Engels, what I didn't expect was for the Asus chap to fail to post simply due to the presence of older RAID configuration on the drives.

I had taken a complete backup with Acronis, however, and I'm back in working order with one annoying exception :  I've had to re-register xp twice now and on the second phone call, the boy in India said 'Systems down, call back in 3 hours.'  Probably followed, after I hung up in screaming anger with 'thank you, call again.'

Dammit.

Frustrating shit.

[Reg]

Why did you have to make a phone call to do that? I've got a years old upgrade copy of XP that I must have used on 4 different computers and never had to actually call anyone.

[Ironwood]

Aye, if you don't have a corporate key or an OEM, you're in shit.

Like me.  In shit.

All sorted now though.  Except IT'S FUCKING HOT IN THIS OFFICE NOW !

 

[Engels]

So you got your old image up and running on your new system on a newly redone raid config? That's awsome bro. That's fairly advanced fiddling.

[Ironwood]

Well, I am supposed to be an IT Director.

 

Of course, like many lazy people, I usually just ask Trippy.

[Engels]

I thought you were just a overpayed shirt that bossed people around and then rubbed your palms together while rolling in pound notes? Your image man, think about your image!

[Ironwood]

No, seriously, I'm not kidding about the heat.

Jesus Christ.

[Trippy]

Trippy, anyone else, personal thoughts on x48 mobos?

I haven't really looked at X48 boards in particular but the same people making X38 boards have X48 versions as well. However, since you asked and I looked it turns out X48 supports DDR2 as well, even though Intel's site in various places says it doesn't (but says it does in others ). So I'm really not sure why they have two almost totally identical chipsets. The X48 has a faster max FSB than the X38 (1600 vs 1333) but that's about it as far as I can tell.