Motherboard and general computer questions

[gars]

Originally Posted by Boobiemaster

b) Like I said, for an average user, its simply up to you to determine whether or not you want to pay an extra 200 dollars just to be able to cut your loading times in half for a game. Personally, I really don't mind waiting an extra 10 seconds to load something if it saves me 200 dollars lol. Thats just up to you to determine.

This is quite subjective - it's not just running a game - overall usage of the computer is much quicker. Opening up Photoshop - for me - is the biggest thing. But for those who don't use photoshop/lightroom/video editing software, you'll definitely appreciate booting up windows in a much shorter time - or even just opening up MS Word/Excel, etc.

And you can find 80GB SSD's for $100, you don't HAVE to shell out $200. Even those will be much, much quicker than a regular HDD.


ANYWAYS, to the OP:

Overclocking - yes, if done incorrectly, can result in BSOD, or a locked computer - but with modern MB's and chips, it doesn't take much to overclock. I personally have an i5, and with a couple quick tweaks, i bumped it from a 2.8GHz, to a 4.0GHz. I had an issue where it froze once and gave me a blue screen, but then all it did was reboot with the default settings - never lost any data or anything.

[John]

I watched Linus' SSD video and kept my eye on the video timer. The HD took 12 seconds longer to close and start Windows 7. A 27% improvement with any computer component is just barely worthwhile upgrading. Considering the extra cost and loss in storage capacity, I can see why it is not too popular at the moment. I think I will wait longer until the prices fall a lot more.

[wasabisashimi]

Killer deal on that i7.

[gars]

Originally Posted by John

I watched Linus' SSD video and kept my eye on the video timer. The HD took 12 seconds longer to close and start Windows 7. A 27% improvement with any computer component is just barely worthwhile upgrading. Considering the extra cost and loss in storage capacity, I can see why it is not too popular at the moment. I think I will wait longer until the prices fall a lot more.

i'm not sure if that's sarcasm or not. a 27% improvement in computer terms is a massive improvement. Find me another piece of hardware that would net you a 27% improvement in anything, from boot up time, to frame rate in a game....

the loss in storage capacity in a desktop is a moot point with desktops, because large capacity storage is so readily available and cheap. for example, a 1TB Western Digital Cavier Black is only $80 right now - for a high performance HDD. But if you are using it purely for storage, a 2TB Cavier Green is even cheaper at $75.

[ddr]

i bet a ssd in OP's system now might even be faster than his new computer with a traditional hard drive at everything but CPU/GPU intensive tasks.

[SkinnyPupp]

Exactly. You almost can't quantify it just by looking at how fast it starts Office or Photoshop. It just makes everything faster. A lot faster. Yes it's expensive, so that's something to consider. But really, I would consider putting an extra $100 into the hard drive instead of the cpu if I were to build a system now.

In a few weeks I'll be reviewing a bunch of SSDs in the $200-250 price range. I'll post it here when it's published.
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[.Renn.Sport]

those who think SSD isnt a worthwhile upgrade has never owned or used a SSD before

[Cman333]

I think I might end up skipping on SSD for now. I wasn't even planning on upgrading. Just couldnt pass up the deal. So now stuck with upgrading mobo along w ram. I'm not even upgrading the GPU for awhile I think. Just gonna stick it out with the 9800GTX until closer to the time BF3 comes out. By then the GPU's will be even cheaper. I don't game a whole lot nowadays, plus summer coming up will be busy with work and partying lol.

Thanks for everyones input. Helped alot. Learned alot.

SSD looks very tempting. I'll probably wait until the next intel deal to grab an SSD.

[akalic]

so if you were to OC your 2600k processor and GPU (potentially), which board is best recommended? If that's all you're worrying about, nothing about SSDs/RAID. Something cheap

[SkinnyPupp]

Probably an ASROCK X68 would be best bank for buck for OCing

[Sandman]

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...6&pagenumber=2

Since this is the general computer parts questions thread I suppose, has anyone had any experiences with this psu?

I'll be pairing it with the antec lanboy air, and was wondering if the short cables would be a big problem in my case. From the countless reviews out there, the general census seems to be that the cables are too short. Apart from that, I've read a lot of mixed reviews on OCZ psu's. Some people say they are really good, while others don't seem to think very highly of OCZ psu's. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Cheers.

[ddr]

i own a ocz and have 0 problems. this is just my experience. actually, most ppl will say ocz psu's are not the greatest.

[noTirl]

ive owned 2 ocz psu in the past with no problems. i even got another ocz psu for my next build in a LANBOY AIR as well!!!

[Datsun]

I've used a OCZ ModXStream 600W and had no probs (except case compatibility when you have the fan grill on). Function wise it should be alright.

Here's a 'tiered' list of power supply brands and models to help you choose yours if you have second thoughts about OCZ:

http://www.eggxpert.com/forums/thread/323050.aspx



BTW, avoid Antec at all costs. They made some of the worst cases I've ever worked with.

Why? Shit build qualitty, tons of design flaws, no wire management possiblities, expensive, looks like dick, and the list goes on.

[ddr]

Originally Posted by Donut

BTW, avoid Antec at all costs. They made some of the worst cases I've ever worked with.

Why? Shit build quality, tons of design flaws, no wire management possibilities, expensive, looks like dick, and the list goes on.

i've actually built more than 10 machines using Antec cases. I think build quality's great (but this can be subjective). I don't see any design flaws, i do see wire management in the more expensive ones, i think they look great (this is again subjective), and on the list of available cases i think they are priced very reasonably.

i use a p180 myself, and usually asked to build with the sonata's since it's a decent deal with the included psu; and they're all super quiet.

[Cman333]

Hey guys,

Whats the diff between DDR3-1333 and DDR3-1600? Faster? Would it make much diff?

[SkinnyPupp]

1600 is faster, but not by a noticeable amount. see my article on Sandy Bridge memory for testing results.

Overall, high latency 1600 (CL9) is about the same as low latency 1333 (CL7) in most normal applications. Games do benefit more from 1600, even with the higher latency.

[Cman333]

Originally Posted by SkinnyPupp

1600 is faster, but not by a noticeable amount. see my article on Sandy Bridge memory for testing results.

Overall, high latency 1600 (CL9) is about the same as low latency 1333 (CL7) in most normal applications. Games do benefit more from 1600, even with the higher latency.

I'm pretty unclear on the differences. CAS 8 vs. CAS 10. Lower the number the better?

I think I'm aiming for Gigabyte Z68X-UD4-B3 Mobo if that makes any diff.

[SkinnyPupp]

Yes, lower is better. But if there is a significant price difference, then don't bother

[wasabisashimi]

asrock p67 extreme 4 or asus p67 pro? asus being 25-30$ more and has a bluetooth built-in, Asus also has more power phase 12+2, Asrock 8.


I am planning to buy an i7 2600k and overclock mildly on Air with only multiplier and not touching the voltage (Going for about 4.0ghz-4.4ghz)

Should I be looking at Asus p67 LE or cheaper gigabyte or MSI?


Does paying more for deluxe model give me more easier time and safer for overclocking? I am a Noob as you can see. I would rather save money for a good PSU

[roastpuff]

Why not Z68? With the K-series, overclocking is very easy and for mild OC's an extremely good board is not needed.

I'm looking at this: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61002&...cture=Gigabyte or http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61065&...cture=Gigabyte

[wasabisashimi]

Originally Posted by roastpuff

Why not Z68? With the K-series, overclocking is very easy and for mild OC's an extremely good board is not needed.

I'm looking at this: http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61002&...cture=Gigabyte or http://ncix.com/products/?sku=61065&...cture=Gigabyte

Are you then paying extra for onboard graphic which may not be necessary if you have a separate GPU card.

Is Z68 overall cheaper and better than regular P67?

[roastpuff]

Originally Posted by wasabisashimi

Are you then paying extra for onboard graphic which may not be necessary if you have a separate GPU card.

Is Z68 overall cheaper and better than regular P67?

Z68 is better than P67 in the sense that it gives you the ability to use Intel's Quick Sync feature to encode/decode videos much faster than just using the CPU, and enables SSD caching which improves read times on the OS drive by using a small (<60GB) SSD as a cache for the mechanical HDD.

Pricing-wise I find the market is fairly similar between a P67 and a Z68. Thus, my choice goes to a Z68 board.

A few articles:

http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...67-vs-z68.html
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2157881

[wasabisashimi]

Originally Posted by roastpuff

Z68 is better than P67 in the sense that it gives you the ability to use Intel's Quick Sync feature to encode/decode videos much faster than just using the CPU, and enables SSD caching which improves read times on the OS drive by using a small (<60GB) SSD as a cache for the mechanical HDD.

Pricing-wise I find the market is fairly similar between a P67 and a Z68. Thus, my choice goes to a Z68 board.

A few articles:

http://www.overclock.net/intel-mothe...67-vs-z68.html
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2157881

Regarding the SSD cacheing, do I have to be a comeputer guru to use it or is this just automatica setting/ plug and play type of thing? cuz I dont even know how to set up Raid for HDD

[roastpuff]

It's a fairly easy setup from what I've read - just enable it in BIOS and in Windows.