Draft parts list for new PC - opinions welcome

[walker450]

Dave, do you play FSX? Whether yes or no, there is a good read here: http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=29041

 

I understand that at time likes this, it can be easy to overload your self with reading material. The link above is a must-read for sure.

 

And to further complicate issues, :) , SSDs are quite nice. I have FSX loaded on one and it loads insanely fast and I have no issues with stuttering that some people report with other drives.

 

I have everything else on a 150GB 10,000 Velociraptor and it's very fast.

 

So my opinion is get a good vrap, maybe an SSD, and then just whatever for storage (green, black, magenta...?)

 

Yet another option is pci SSD drives. Iofusion is one such company that makes them. OCD also has some that are bootable. But they are $700+.... :(

[EtherealN]

For general storage purposes I've had very good experience so far with my Wester Digital GreenPower 1TB drive. If you are hungry for space, I've also seen good stuff about their 2GB offering. It's relatively power efficient and comes in cheap per GB, and isn't near as slow as it's specs might make it look.

[SeaFoam]

The reason I am considering the full tower is, as mentioned above, wanting to ensure a good airflow and ease of access (also, it looks damn good :) )

 

I think the 5850 will do just fine and it has good reviews with the ability to run stuff at near enough max in most games. To be honest I do not think I would be able to detect a 10fps difference if it is already chugging along at 40-50fps already. The difference in price would probably be better put towards a faster processor.

 

On the agenda this evening is to read up on RAID 0 to better understand the benefits. (Gawd, I really know how to spend a quality evening at home :) )

 

Dave

 

Do you plan on going the eyefinity route in the future?

[Dave_s]

Do you plan on going the eyefinity route in the future?

 

Hi Seafoam,

 

No plans to.

In fact I have just had to google it to find out what it was :)

 

Cheers

Dave

[SeaFoam]

Hi Seafoam,

 

No plans to.

In fact I have just had to google it to find out what it was :)

 

Cheers

Dave

 

 

Oh man, you are missing out - I am telling you, with the system you are building you should really look into it. It makes a huge difference, add a trackir in and you have it made.

[Dave_s]

I think I have pushed the bank manager close to the edge already, an eyefinity would tip him over I think :)

[hitman]

do what im going to do....62" hdtv.

[SeaFoam]

do what im going to do....62" hdtv.

I have a 112" projector, it has NOTHING on triple monitor.

[hitman]

i perfer my hdtv over 3 monitors, my view isnt restricted any more than it already is. whats so great about 3 monitors? nothing my 62"hdtv doesnt solve.

[SeaFoam]

i perfer my hdtv over 3 monitors, my view isnt restricted any more than it already is. whats so great about 3 monitors? nothing my 62"hdtv doesnt solve.

 

Field of view, it is much higher AND a higher resolution than your hdtv. Have you ever used a triple monitor setup or are you talking out of your ass?

[sweinhart3]

On the agenda this evening is to read up on RAID 0 to better understand the benefits. (Gawd, I really know how to spend a quality evening at home :) )

 

Dave

Do your research when it comes to raid. I used to be gun ho about 10,000-15,000RPM drives in a raid 0 setup. Excluding the overhead required to manage raid which varies between controllers, the theoretical I/O bandwidth is doubled in a 2 drive setup. Unfortunately, as it turns out it is simply theoretical. In a single user desktop setup according to multiple tests at TomsHardware and Anandtech, Raid 0 provides almost 0 increased performance except in situations like ripping dvds. This is because the extra bandwith is only reflected when reading or writing single continuous files. In a single user environment, the reality is that most of your software is broken up into many smaller files. The extra bandwith is lost because your drive spends much more time with the latency of seeking the next file then reading a continuous one. Unfortunately, unless you are using it in a server environment, Raid 0 is a complete waiste of money. My bubble on that subject was popped and I was very disapointed. So if you want a fast IO system, invest in a higher capacity SSD. They will easily outclass a Raid 0 Velociraptor setup in a heart beat.

[hitman]

Field of view, it is much higher AND a higher resolution than your hdtv. Have you ever used a triple monitor setup or are you talking out of your ass?

 

my tv has 1920x1080 resolution and the fov is just like looking out of a heli. btw your talking to the only person here who HAS spent close to $10k on computers in the last 3 years. what do you think?did i mention my tv is bigger?

Edited March 6, 2010 by hitman

[SeaFoam]

my tv has 1920x1080 resolution and the fov is just like looking out of a heli. btw your talking to the only person here who HAS spent close to $10k on computers in the last 3 years. what do you think?did i mention my tv is bigger?

 

You're just not getting the concept of having a screen 3 times as wide as 1. You cannot get the same field of view, period. I don't care how much money you have spent on computers.

[hitman]

and what fov am i missing out on then? my tv is wide enough to use with tir4, i can see everything you can, and higher res isnt needed above 1600x1080 unless you have eagle eyes. so what if you have a monitor wrapped around your desk, big deal. your not going to miss anything either way. hey, if you want 3 monitors and you dont want to use a large tv then go nuts. just remember that my tv has a much larger viewing surface and works just as well. if i want to bust more balls, i can always go with another 62" hdtv, but im no douche bag.

Edited March 6, 2010 by hitman

[SeaFoam]

and what fov am i missing out on then? my tv is wide enough to use with tir4, i can see everything you can, and higher res isnt needed above 1600x1080 unless you have eagle eyes. so what if you have a monitor wrapped around your desk, big deal. your not going to miss anything either way. hey, if you want 3 monitors and you dont want to use a large tv then go nuts. just remember that my tv has a much larger viewing surface and works just as well. if i want to bust more balls, i can always go with another 62" hdtv, but im no douche bag.

 

Well if you got another 62" TV it still wouldn't be as big of a viewing surface as my projector, guess I still win.

 

Don't need to get butthurt.

[hitman]

who says im butt hurt? if i wanted 3 monitors i would have got them. if i want a projector ill get one. the thing is my tv is just as good, if not better than, 3 monitors. 3x 24"monitors= approx 840 sq in. my tv has almost twice that. butt hurt? nah! :)