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The Official PC building thread - 4th Edition
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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20. January 2011 @ 18:48 |
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Drives will idle by default unless you turn that option off. [power options -> turn off hard disk after]. I use it because the drives are used nowhere near 24 hours a day, sometimes not once in a day. /Misc is used most as it contains music, as well as all the .torrent files that fetch new downloads, anything I download off youtube and a lot of software I use.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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20. January 2011 @ 18:49 |
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I'm aware of how to shut that option off. Clearly, I have some weird issue going on. Perhaps it is time to reformat and start over. This time paying close attention to important details :S
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
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21. January 2011 @ 01:22 |
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intresting article on sandybridge mobos:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4130/the-battle-of-the-p67-boards-asus-vs-gigabyte-at-190
Quote:
Final Words
Both the ASUS P8P67 Pro and Gigabyte P67A-UD4 motherboards offer a lot to consumers. For $190, we want a product that hits all the basic functionality of Sandy Bridge, and squeezes out as features and as much performance as possible at this price point.
For the ASUS board, we have a nice looking product with significant strengths in the implementation of their UEFI, and the auto overclockable functions available. The UEFI EZ mode/basic starting screen is something many manufacturers will copy over the upcoming months and UEFI visions. The auto-tuner section of Ai Suite will see use in all markets, aiding various retailers in offering ready-overclocked Sandy Bridge bundles with the P8P67 Pro. Intel gigabit Ethernet is nothing to be sniffed at, and the fan controls can only help improve the user experience. Also, bundle in that three-year warranty. On the downside, the BT GO! and Turbo Remote overclocking features via Bluetooth did not work for me.
The Gigabyte board performs on par with the ASUS board in terms of benchmarking ? in most situations, there is almost nothing in it (except USB, where Gigabyte have the advantage there). The board is UEFI GUI absent (for now, supposedly), but thanks to BIOS updates, now supports 2.2TB+ hard drives. Overclocking via the BIOS is straightforward if you have ever overclocked before, and the myriad of software available in the OS will keep you hunting for options, trying to remember which setting is in which piece of software. The warranty, like the ASUS, is also three years. However, the BIOS updating issues I had are certainly worthy of note.
After playing with both boards, I can only come to one conclusion ? if it were my money, I would take the ASUS P8P67 Pro over the Gigabyte P67A-UD4. With the ASUS board, you are getting a detailed UEFI, an awesome auto-overclocking tool, better energy saving features, a USB 3.0 bracket , more SATA 6 Gb/s ports, Intel gigabit Ethernet, and in my case, scope for a better overclock. The Gigabyte board is essentially expensive for what is on offer, in terms of usability, features, and extras.
However, the second question is: ?what about the comparison to the ASRock P67 Extreme4?? The ASRock board has power/reset buttons on the board, a Debug LED, that USB 3.0 bracket which will hold an SSD (worth in my option about $15), and is almost $40 cheaper. The ASUS board is the slightly better performing, overclocking is easier on the ASUS, the ASUS has a longer warranty, the UEFI is slightly better on the ASUS, the ASUS uses Intel Ethernet rather than Realtek, but the ASRock will take socket 775 coolers. It is up to you to judge, but in my opinion, I would take the Extreme4, pocket the $40 difference, and invest it in something else for a PC build.
This then leads into the following question ? ?if I?d rather take a $150 board rather than a $190 board, why are there $300 boards available?? That question is to be tackled over the coming months!
MGR (Micro Gaming Rig) .|. Intel Q6600 @ 3.45GHz .|. Asus P35 P5K-E/WiFi .|. 4GB 1066MHz Geil Black Dragon RAM .|. Samsung F60 SSD .|. Corsair H50-1 Cooler .|. Sapphire 4870 512MB .|. Lian Li PC-A70B .|. Be Queit P7 Dark Power Pro 850W PSU .|. 24" 1920x1200 DGM (MVA Panel) .|. 24" 1920x1080 Dell (TN Panel) .|. |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 08:52 |
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The garish colour scheme and Asus' general badness notwithstanding, the P67A-UD4 is as reasonably well specified board (because it's an exact copycat of gigabyte boards past)
Have you seen the ROG EFI interface though? It's terrifyingly hideous. I don't know if the lower-end boards in the series have somethng less horrible, but I certainly hope so. The only thing we really need EFI for right now is 3TB HDD support. Since Gigabyte have got that, no problem.
Both the boards have the same PCIe/PCI usage allowance, with one PCI and two PCIe 1x slots usable if both the 16x slots are filled.
The Gigabyte board has two additional USB2 ports on the rear, while the Asus has two additional SATA3 ports through use of a Marvell controller.
Both the board have the same single USB3 header plus three USB2 headers, I don't know what Anand are talking about that gives the Asus an advantage for that.
Quote:
On the downside, the BT GO! and Turbo Remote overclocking features via Bluetooth did not work for me.
What does that tell you?
Auto overclocking tools, are shiny, but a gimmick at best, and the realtek vs intel ethernet debate is meaningless. If you wanted hardcore networking you'd by a proper gigabit card, or more to the point, a fibrechannel card.
At the same price, the P67A-UD4 and P8P67 Pro are specification equals. Which means, it's a grand slam for the gigabyte on quality grounds.
One advantage you do get with P67 over P55 that I didn't realise earlier was that you get PCI Express 2.0 1x slots. On P55, they're only PCI Express 1.0, so 250MB/s per slot instead of 500. Is interesting that Intel marketed them as '8 500MB/s slots' when none can exceed 250MB/s.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. January 2011 @ 08:56
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 13:20 |
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Yeah, my new WD20EARS drive appears to be in fully working order. I copied over 775Gb of data from my oldest WD1001FALS drive. Took about 4hrs. I thought about running the transfer via USB, good thing I didn't LOL! It would have taken over 3 times as long. Now all I have to do, is decide what I'm storing on my benched drive, and be content for a little while. As well as get the 2 green drives on the same page(Redundancy).
The only weird thing to report is, I'm using close to half the space of the new drive, and Auslogics isn't showing me the used space. It says zero fragmentation, which doesn't surprise me really, but it doesn't graph the used space. I'm really scratching my head on this one. It should be noted, that other programs have trouble with drives that are connected via Sata III ports as well. Usually it's just SMART statistics I have trouble with though.
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
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21. January 2011 @ 13:48 |
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meh sam, i was intrested about their asrock hoice really. We all know everyone else stance on asus gb, that's been over played. But asrock, for a good 25-30 quid cheaper, offering thw same/better features seems like a winnder to me.
MGR (Micro Gaming Rig) .|. Intel Q6600 @ 3.45GHz .|. Asus P35 P5K-E/WiFi .|. 4GB 1066MHz Geil Black Dragon RAM .|. Samsung F60 SSD .|. Corsair H50-1 Cooler .|. Sapphire 4870 512MB .|. Lian Li PC-A70B .|. Be Queit P7 Dark Power Pro 850W PSU .|. 24" 1920x1200 DGM (MVA Panel) .|. 24" 1920x1080 Dell (TN Panel) .|.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 13:49 |
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I make that 54MB/s. Not bad, but a little on the slow side unless there's lots of small files in those 775 gigs. On the whole USB would be about half that speed, not less than a third. Still tiresome though I'll admit :P
Shaff: The ASRock board is interesting, especially for the price. Honestly though I don't trust ASRock any more than I do Asus, and these are high grade boards. I don't include these in a build unless it's a high-end crossfire game system, and for that, corners I do not cut.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. January 2011 @ 13:50
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 14:03 |
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When I passed out last night, I saw 71MB/s. I suppose I knew it wouldn't average that though. But my USB transfers average 20MB/s. That's where I pulled the figure. Yes, there are 10's of thousands of files on the drive. 55,000 files. A lot of imagery and adobe PS files. Not to mention mp3's and text files. It's my main archive drive. It houses a variety of files. You name it, it's got it. One of my other drives has thousands of fonts. I imagine that would effect speed too ;)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 14:06 |
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I get 28-31 with USB2, 31MB/s is the maximum. All the small files explain why your speed is lower than the maximum with both interfaces. I can pull 104MB/s off my WD20EARS drives with large (1100MB minimum) files.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 14:07 |
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LOL, yah. I see those speeds regularly with video files, iso files etc. Large files go highly rapidly. Transferring avi/mkv files is a big one ;)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 14:27 |
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I suppose I forgot to mention that the transfer from my WD1001FALS is on a PCI SATA I card. But I doubt that would have an effect on the transfer speeds ;) I'm gonna connect the new WD20EARS to that port and run some tests. Stay tuned ;)
Here's a comparison of my first drive to brand new drive. I don't buy into these results so much. Transfer speeds on the Sata I card show to be good. I transferred an avi and it showed an average of 100+ MB/s. 700Mb file finished in under 7 seconds :p
All seems to be well. Both drives are NOT connected to Sata III ports, so I can fetch SMART stats, and accurate temperatures.
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. January 2011 @ 15:23
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 15:24 |
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I edited sam. Perhaps the new drive simply needs some break in time ;)
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 16:24 |
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Actually it can do. Not by much, but it will affect your speeds.
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 16:40 |
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But that doesn't make any sense. The drive doesn't even saturate 1.5Gb speed. Perhaps I don't fully understand then :S Oh well. If it is indeed a performance hit, by being on a lesser revision, it isn't much like you say. I can live with those speeds for now. I however will kick myself for not buying a better card. Live and learn ;)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 16:56 |
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PCI isn't 1.5Gbps speed, it's 1.06Gbps speed. That, divided by however many drives you have on it!
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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21. January 2011 @ 16:59 |
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I only have a 2Tb drive and BD-Rom on that card :p But I see your point.
Basically, PCI bandwidth falls just short of Sata I protocols...
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 21. January 2011 @ 17:00
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22. January 2011 @ 05:27 |
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Came across a weird-ity relating to Win 7 using dual boot. It seems the software that M$ recommends to add the Win 7 partition, gives you a real problem if you remove Win 7. For months now I've had all these niggly little problems, like BSODs for no reason I can find, or Video freeze-ups that correct themselves and odd file problems.
After I took out Win 7 the last time, I ran Killdisk on the partition and I usually don't run it all the way through, just enough to wipe the MBR. It finally hung on me at the post screen this morning, and would not continue, so I wiped the first partition, and when it got to 99%, there was an error to do with the drive geometry. It said that it was physical damage? I retried it several times and it still wouldn't get past 99%, so I said WTH and ran Killdisk on the whole drive. No errors at all! I ran SMART on it, and it looked real good. In the last few days I've had issues with FireFox crashing, and a few other problems like .avi files crashing Explorer if you so much as clicked on them. All the little problems are gone, and the Computer is running much faster now. Before, boot-up seemed like an eternity, and it wouldn't let me load my new AVG 2011 from the CD. Today, it works just fine!
I've noticed a number of people who have had problems after removing Win 7, so I'm recommending that if you remove it, wipe the entire drive, and then do a full format instead of a Quick Format on all partitions! Runs beautiful now!
Best Regards,
Russ
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AfterDawn Addict
15 product reviews
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22. January 2011 @ 09:30 |
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Windows 7 has always been troublesome when it comes to a reformat and reinstall. I almost always run Killdisk unless I'm just doing a repair install. For the record the GRUB boot loader for Linux is also very stubborn and takes a full Killdisk to remove.
As far as formatting goes I always do a full format on a brand new hard drive. But after that, even if I do a Killdisk, a quick format works fine. It has never caused me issues in performance or function, and believe me if it were going to happen it would have years ago.
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Currently thinking of retiring my main OS drive for something better. Would leave both of my 500s for game/software installs and the like vs one being both OS and games together.
What's the recommendation on decent performance 1TB drives in a reasonable price range? Currently debating between an entry level SSD and a fast 1TB. Strongly considering just getting a WD EALS Blue and waiting to buy an OCZ Vertex 2 which seems to be the only SSD truly worth buying ATM.
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T 4GHz(20 x 200) 1.5v 3000NB 2000HT, Corsair Hydro H110 w/ 4 x 140mm 1500RPM fans Push/Pull, Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5, 8GB(2 x 4GB) G.Skill RipJaws DDR3-1600 @ 1600MHz CL9 1.55v, Gigabyte GTX760 OC 4GB(1170/1700), Corsair 750HX
Detailed PC Specs: http://my.afterdawn.com/estuansis/blog_entry.cfm/11388This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22. January 2011 @ 09:49
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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22. January 2011 @ 15:16 |
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To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22. January 2011 @ 15:17
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AfterDawn Addict
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22. January 2011 @ 15:21 |
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Originally posted by Estuansis:
Windows 7 has always been troublesome when it comes to a reformat and reinstall. I almost always run Killdisk unless I'm just doing a repair install. For the record the GRUB boot loader for Linux is also very stubborn and takes a full Killdisk to remove.
As far as formatting goes I always do a full format on a brand new hard drive. But after that, even if I do a Killdisk, a quick format works fine. It has never caused me issues in performance or function, and believe me if it were going to happen it would have years ago.
Currently thinking of retiring my main OS drive for something better. Would leave both of my 500s for game/software installs and the like vs one being both OS and games together.
What's the recommendation on decent performance 1TB drives in a reasonable price range? Currently debating between an entry level SSD and a fast 1TB. Strongly considering just getting a WD EALS Blue and waiting to buy an OCZ Vertex 2 which seems to be the only SSD truly worth buying ATM.
Estuansis,
I would lean more towards a Samsung 1TB drive!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
The failure rate on the WD Blue is 19%, out of 342 reviews, while the Samsung I linked above is only 11% out of 1,084 reviews. It's reported to be fast, quiet, and runs cool! For the same price and warranty as the Blue, it would be my choice!
Best Regards,
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
 This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22. January 2011 @ 15:28
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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22. January 2011 @ 15:37 |
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Samsungs BD player left a bad taste in my mouth LOL! Bad reviews all over the web too. That's what I get for shopping on Christmas eve without a wifi laptop ;) I bought it 12/24/2009. It works, but it requires lots of air flow!
Never tried one of their hard drives though. I really shouldn't criticize them too bad. We all make mistakes. Dell made a whopper of a mistake knowingly shipping defective parts.
I don't know why Western digital reviews on newegg have been so poor. *tap on wood* I haven't had a drive of theirs go belly up that wasn't old. My 9 yr old drive seen a lot of use. 9rs is goes wayy beyond the warranty. If the green drives of mine last half that, I'll be happy. I'm sure in 1yr or two, I'll have drives 2 times that size, that I can backup that data to :D
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
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22. January 2011 @ 16:17 |
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Originally posted by omegaman7:
Samsungs BD player left a bad taste in my mouth LOL! Bad reviews all over the web too. That's what I get for shopping on Christmas eve without a wifi laptop ;) I bought it 12/24/2009. It works, but it requires lots of air flow!
Never tried one of their hard drives though. I really shouldn't criticize them too bad. We all make mistakes. Dell made a whopper of a mistake knowingly shipping defective parts.
I don't know why Western digital reviews on newegg have been so poor. *tap on wood* I haven't had a drive of theirs go belly up that wasn't old. My 9 yr old drive seen a lot of use. 9rs is goes wayy beyond the warranty. If the green drives of mine last half that, I'll be happy. I'm sure in 1yr or two, I'll have drives 2 times that size, that I can backup that data to :D
Oman7,
I remember reading an article, back in the day when Samsung introduced their very first IDE hard drive. Statistically it wasn't impressive, but it wound up in second place in the 15 drive review because of it's overall performance. I bought one and couldn't have been happier with it!
The Samsung I linked you is the second best selling 1TB drive, by a very wide margin, and the highest selling Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5", has an even higher failure rate than the WD Blue (23%). I think the sales numbers are because of some of the "Fire Sales" Seagate has had since that Model's inception! Most people would jump at the $45-50 price in some of those sales! LOL!! The Samsung is the better drive by far!
Russ
GigaByte 990FXA-UD5 - AMD FX-8320 @4.0GHz @1.312v - Corsair H-60 liquid CPU Cooler - 4x4 GB GSkill RipJaws DDR3/1866 Cas8, 8-9-9-24 - Corsair 400-R Case - OCZ FATAL1TY 550 watt Modular PSU - Intel 330 120GB SATA III SSD - WD Black 500GB SATA III - WD black 1 TB Sata III - WD Black 500GB SATA II - 2 Asus DRW-24B1ST DVD-Burner - Sony 420W 5.1 PL-II Suround Sound - GigaByte GTX550/1GB 970 Mhz Video - Asus VE247H 23.6" HDMI 1080p Monitor
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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22. January 2011 @ 17:04 |
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Yah...I'll probably buy one or two, so I can put this bad taste to rest. I'm sure they're fine. I just want storage drives. The speed could be half has fast, I wouldn't care. Longevity is what I'm after ;)
Though 1Tb size is becoming smaller quicker LOL!
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 22. January 2011 @ 17:05
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Moderator
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22. January 2011 @ 17:21 |
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Originally posted by omegaman7:
Hey creaky, check it out!
Durable PP Storage Case for 3.5" Hard Disk Drive(HDD), Protect Your Hard Disk Drive(HDD), Smoke Color
Ships from china, but for that price, I ain't complaining! I bought 3! LOL!
The one i ordered turned up the other day so I have 6 now, enough for the backups of the 6 internals. Cracked one of the work cases the other day, can always order another 1 if need be but we can probabl araldite the cracked one. Very hard to find these cases, though the UK seller now has a few more, sods law is that i don't need or want any more now. Can always ebay-order any more from China in future i guess
Main PC ~ Intel C2Q Q6600 (G0 Stepping)/Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3/2GB Crucial Ballistix PC2-8500/Zalman CNPS9700/Antec 900/Corsair HX 620W
Network ~ DD-WRT ~ 2node WDS-WPA2/AES ~ Buffalo WHR-G54S. 3node WPA2/AES ~ WRT54GS v6 (inc. WEP BSSID), WRT54G v2, WRT54G2 v1. *** Forum Rules *** |
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AfterDawn Addict
7 product reviews
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22. January 2011 @ 17:24 |
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LOL! It was more a thank you for showing me that the things exist. That is a good deal though. Clearly you have your stuff figured out though ;)
To delete, or not to delete. THAT is the question! |
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