http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=11075705 Thoughts? Also would it be better to go 2x80 GB SSDs in software RAID 0 vs 1x160 GB SSD? EDIT:I am told a hardware RAID will be possible once Windows 7 supports TRIM so I suppose a hardware RAID would be the best option as oposed to a software RAID?
Hardware RAID already is possible with SSDs, I know because my friend already has two 80GB Gen2s in RAID0 on an Areca RAID card. Overall review: USB drive: 10/10 RAM: 2/10 - out of stock, poor quality, poor cooling, poor performance. You can do better than that. SSDs: 10/10 PSU: 8/10 (reason: overkill) Mobo: 9/10 case fans: 3/10 (reason: poor quality, poor performance for high noise) HDD: 9/10 (only reason for the docked point is it's overpricesd) CPU: 9/10 (i5 750 is better value but 860 is still a great chip) Can't really say how good the S-ATA cables are, but I presume you're aware most motherboards already come with 4 S-ATA cables? Where's your graphics card and case?
Any chance of getting pics of his SSD RAID? On the case fan, I am only grabbing one of these and I am only looking to use it for show. Do you have a better recommendation for a green LED fan? Some one recommended the black and green coolmasters but for the application it wouldnt be bright enough. Why do you say the PSU is over kill? As I calculated it I would be looking at about 500 watts usage. I have an HX520 right now, which technically good get the job done as long as its not pushed to the max, but Id rather not take that chance. I would rather know there will constantly be enough power running to the build no matter what the conditions are. I have the same SATA cables in my PC as we speak and they perform much better then the stock cable that Thermaltake provided. Plus, with my case, Mozart TX, I am always in need of extra long cables. I have a Sapphire HD 4890.
Either track down an Antec (which are still mediocre at best) or just use good black fans and green cold cathode lighting. Without the graphics card I can't estimate your PC's power consumption, but with two Radeon HD5870s in crossfire (quite a high end setup) your estimated power usage with that system is around 400W. Assuming you'll be using less graphics power than that it'll obviously be much less. A Corsair HX520W can run the power draw of this system (including overclocked to 4Ghz) and two 5870s perfectly. At stock, with a 4890 in the PC you're probably looking at about 270W total power usage.
Sadly green cathodes or LEDS alone wont achieve what I am trying to do. http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp According to that I am looking at about 500 watts usage but I think at the time I was still debating on which i7 to go with and used the 920 since as a CPU base as it drew more power. Plus I need some head room should I switch things up down the line, and on top of the build I will be putting a cold cathode or led module or two in there and have 2 USB hard drives right now but might get scrapped as I want to consolidate my HDDs.
PSU calculators are useless, they massively overstate the required power. I'm running a "500 Watt" system off a 380W PSU and barely drawing half its maximum output.
Would you be so kind to break down a pure estimate of the power consumption of each part to compare what I was told else where as I have had many people tell me a 520 will just cut it.
It varies a lot from part to part but typically a 'base' system with a dual core processor (65W TDP), normal motherboard, one hard drive and a standard single 6-pin graphics card like an HD4850 will draw about 180W. Add an extra 10W or so for a high-end board (like X38 or X48). For a 95W CPU add about 40W, for a 120W CPU add another 30. For a two 6-pin card like a 4870 or 4890 add another 50W or so. For an extra HDD add an extra 8-10W.
Well I think im going to drop the PSU for now, and see how things go. I dont usually have my CPU maxed out, but some times it runs pretty hard for a few hours if I run DVD Rebuilder with CCE. Does this fan seem better? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835214008
Better perhaps, but you're paying $25 per fan to get green light - Enermax fans aren't that amazing for airflow or reliability, and due to the design, LED fans are always louder than normal fans, and resonate more. On top of it all this fan is going to be horrendously loud at high speed, and horrendously inefficient at low speed due to the blade design.
Well with the location of the fan, its not actually going to be cooling anything. The only thing remotely close is the PSU which has a side vent less then an inch from it. and of course the psu exhaust is blowing air straight out the back of the case. I have my main exhaust fan for my CPU on a controller(one of those cheap metal bracket controllers that fit in the PCI bay) and even on full blast with the thing roaring like a tornado, it doesnt provide but an extra degree or two drop on the CPU cores so I will be swapping it out for one of the stock fans and putting this green fan on my controller on the lowest setting. Like I said it purely a cosmetic thing but I dont want something thats going to be make alot of noise either, and I only need one green fan anyways. Im not going to deck my case out in 8 green LED fans lol.
Well I will check into the coolmasters, only thing is im not sure there going to emit enough light based on the pic on newegg but Ill browe around at google and dig up some more pics. I decided to review the benchamrks on the 1 TB Caviar Black vs the 2 TB Caviar Black again. After a second look I wonder if its really worth $200 more. No doubt theres a nice performance gain but $200 worth? Doesnt seem like it. With the speeds of the Intel SSDs, is a RAID 0 really going to offer a real world performance boost compared to a 160 GB? On checking the size of just my program files folders and windows folder, I am just under 80 GB as it is. So If drop to a single drive its got to be the 180 GB.
I am actually considering an 80 GB SSD instead of 2. My initial calculations were off on the amount of space I will need for my OS,apps, and games. Like I said thought will the RAID0 give me a real world performance boost? I am also wondering weather the 2 TB Caviar Black, while offering better performance then the 1 TB Caviar Black, is really worth the extra money? With the money saved by dropping the 2 TB Black and an Intel SSD I suppose I could probably work an i7-950 in to the build instead of the 860 and gain a nice performance boost in the CPU department.
