The Official PC building thread -3rd Edition

You don't have to format with every upgrade, usually only if you switch chipset brands.

 

I don't have lot's of permanent files. I burn my movies on DVDs and I backup all important documents and game saves on a memory card.

 

im pretty sure a mobo swap means a fresh installation (but then i only work with OEM OSes (vista and XP, i dont pirate them) so maybe its different for retail.

 

I think it's only if your new motherboard is changing chipsets.

Anyway I have all my important files on my Laptop. I will transfer them over to my desktop once I have it built.

 

Going from the basic mATX board in an Advent PC to a P31-DS3L worked fine, as did a LANParty RDX200 to an A8R-MVP, and A8N-SLI SE to P5N-E SLI, but not P5N-E SLI to P35C-DS3R. I think the clue is in keeping the same chipset manufacturer.

 

abuzar1..I can strongly recommend Lite-On DVD RW, SATA or IDE. I've personally bought 12 from NewEgg, this year, have yet to have one fail. Also 4 Friends who also own them, think they are great. I've got no use for
LightScribe,but definetly want Bitsetting. As far as Speed goes, I never burn over 8x,so 22x vs.20x not that important.Now from what I've read and understand Sonys do not bitset (not a quote) I could be wrong. But mine does not bitset(fact) I only buy DVD-R, but on occasion end up with DVD+R. As an addict you probably know more then
me in regards to all this. Best regards, Good luck.



21122112..Where do U get the firmware, to upgrade to Bitset

Don't all these game boxes need to be MODED

 

Rick, I'm going to have to get the samsung because that's one of the only drives that will work with Xbox 360 games. BTW, the game boxes do have to be modded to pay these backups. I have my Xbox 360 flashed and I have modchips in my PS1, PS2(unfortunately they dont make them for PS3 yet) and Xbox.

 

I got my Firmware for the Sony/Nec Optaric 7200S from Liggy & Dee. here is a link.

http://liggydee.cdfreaks.com/page/en/Optiarc-AD-7200A/

Find your drive and what you want(bitsetting) and Download it... You will need the Binflash program to do this.

For the AD7200S you will need Liggy's AD7200s bitsetting firmware 1.06

Here is the link to binflash
http://binflash.cdfreaks.com/

Mr.Abuzar1
I dont mean any disrespect, but why do you think that drive is the only one that can burn Xbox games? My close friend has an array of different drives and he backs up all his kids Xbox games with everyone of them??

 

I haven't purchased a DVDRW in almost two years. Largely because I have 9 drives in my desktops and 1 in my laptop. They are mostly still IDE drives but I've seen no serious performance differences that matter in my IDE drive when compared to my SATA drives.

I have a mixture of 9 DVDRRW drives and two playback drives

1. Plex 712A
2. Plex 716
3. 2 X Asus drives (can't remember models
4. 2 X NEC ND 3550A
5. 3 X Lite-On iHAS220-06
6. The one in my laptop is also a light scribe can't remember make, because I don't use it much over the summer except when traveling.

For HD DVD playback I'm using an Xbox HD DVD drive
For Blu-Ray playback BD DH401S.

I can't say that I have a complaint with any of them. They all do what I ask of them without fault.

 

With the highest DVD speed of 22x only reaching 30.5MB/s, the limitations of ATA probably won't be apparent. S-ATA is really just useful for the smaller cable...

 

The cable is the one irritation that I have with IDE drives, because I do prefer the smaller footprint of SATA cables, but in the performance department fir burning the difference isn't worth discussing. Now with a Blu-Ray drive playing back with a bitrate that often exceeds 30 Mbps I think and IDE might have a problem. I will eventually move all drives to SATA as they begin to fail but I see no reason to purchase a new drive just to have SATA when my IDE drives work just fine.

 

Do what I did, get round IDE Cables. A lot easier to tuck away, & work with. A definet PLUS

 

Nice as round cables are, the plugs at the end are still a pain, and the cable itself is still much bigger than that of S-ATA cables. If you're a neat and tidy person then S-ATA cables are also easier to route.

 

sammorris,
How did you get the report of the S.M.A.R.T. information for your HDD? I just enabled my S.M.A.R.T. in the setup, but have no idea how to generate a report like you did.

Best Regards,
Russ

 

Speedfan does it.

 

@Sophocles

Is that Plextor 716 you got for sale..lol been looking for 1 of
them Old schools...

@abuzar1

if want sammy burner that bad..i got old sh-w162 ide sitting over here i don't even use No more it's just sitting and old case $20 buck lol..

 

21122112 and Creaky, I am talking about COPYING XBOX 360 GAMES. lol It's not for burning and it's not for the regular Xbox. The Samsung is one of the few drives that can be flashed with Kreon firmware so it can READ 360 games.

Lol Being an addict means I just post a lot. I have basically NO IDEA when it comes to DVD drives. That Samsung seems to work well for people and it's one of the four drives that are capable of reading Xbox 360 games so that's why I'm getting it.

Bigwill, unfortunately your drive wont work for my purposes. And it's IDE... I can't stand IDE anymore lol.

 

and some of you lot complain when we talk about gfx

 

Alright SCREW THAT. I STILL need a DVD BURNER!!! The stupid drive is DVD-ROM.

Damn I'm so pissed off now I'll probably just get a damn Lite-On DVD Burner and be done with it.