Looking to Upgrade my PC

If you know your way around symlinks, 64GB is more than enough. If not, just use Smart Response and otherwise ignore the SSD
 
I am running a 64gb system drive and a 1.5tb "storage" drive. I try to keep just windows on the ssd and install all my other apps on the other drive. I still have more than 30gb free on the ssd after windows and some apps that can not be installed on the 2nd drive.

To give you a idea on how fast this thing boots, from a cold start, windows will load before the win7 4 color logo comes together in the middle. I would guess less than 30 seconds between hitting the power button and being able to fire up the browser.

Russ
 
Darkimmortal said:
It's the second generation of Intel 'Core' processors, recognisable by 4 numbers e.g. i5-2600 vs. i7-930. They also use a new socket 1155, which obsoletes the older 1156 and 1366 sockets.

Also again, what is your budget? :)
Click to expand...

1366 does not get replaced by 1155. 1366s are triple channel. 1155 and 1156 are dual channel.
 
ManagerJosh said:
So why say socket 1155 obsoletes 1366? :p
Click to expand...

Because the i7-2600k is better than all the 1366 range except the insanely overpriced hexacores and triple channel doesn't add much

Also just fyi, Bulldozer is out in less than a week so OP you may wish to wait and see what that brings.
 
I put a 120GB SSD in my gaming machine and it's blazing fast - boots up in seconds and loads everything like greased lightning; you might want to consider SSD if your budget allows for it. (I also put a 1TB 7,200rpm HDD in it too for some of my archived data, but it otherwise runs everything from the SSD).

Ironically, shutdown is a little slower than it needs to be because Windows has to wake-up the HDD in order to shut down (the HDD is put to sleep for power saving because it's not used under normal circumstances).

The other alternative to consider for your HDD is a Seagate hybrid drive. I have one in my laptop and it makes a difference for the apps I commonly use.

Cheers,
Shaun :D
 
I know for a fact and agree with the following parts being possible parts in a screaming machine.

Darkimmortal said:
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Cheap, good brand, Z68 chipset to let you use Intel Smart Response on the SSD (speeds up everything without you having to specifically install stuff on it)

CPU: Intel Core i7-2600K Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600K
Absolutely amazing CPU, built a dedi recently with one and it blows everything else out of the water; about 9x faster than your current
Click to expand...

Also now having built a bunch of rigs for myself and others at this point....I can honestly say I never had any rma drama with a Gigabyte mobo which is generally what I use for all my builds...actually for that matter I never really got any bad part from newegg minus a raptor hdd and they took it back and let me grab a different drive with no hassle so thumbs up to them.

GeeksChat said:
The other alternative to consider for your HDD is a Seagate hybrid drive. I have one in my laptop and it makes a difference for the apps I commonly use.
Click to expand...

How long have you had that drive there? It is just that I have heard many horrible things about that drive and I am pretty sure I stayed away from that type because of said horrible things I had heard.

I love my seagate hard drives and I have a lot of them....none of them paperweights... so it wouldn't surprise me if the horrible stories I have heard just came from a few people who we're pissed off about something or other and found something to bash.
 
Darkimmortal said:
8gb 1333
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Ok, looks like I am ready to buy.. How does this look? Am I missing anything? Now should I wait and see what Bulldozer has to offer?

PROCESSOR
Intel® Core™ i7-2600K (8MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost to 4.1GHz

OPERATING SYSTEM
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

CHASSIS COLOR
875W Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply

MEMORY
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz

VIDEO CARD
4GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6990

HARD DRIVE
1TB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache

ADDITIONAL HARD DRIVE
1TB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache

MEDIA READER
19-in-1 Media Card Reader

SOUND CARD
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium

WIRELESS & BLUETOOTH
802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 EDR USB Combo Adapter

OPTICAL DRIVE
Single Drive: Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
 
wickedstangs said:
Ok, looks like I am ready to buy.. How does this look? Am I missing anything? Now should I wait and see what Bulldozer has to offer?

PROCESSOR
Intel® Core™ i7-2600K (8MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost to 4.1GHz

OPERATING SYSTEM
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

CHASSIS COLOR
875W Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply

MEMORY
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz

VIDEO CARD
4GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6990

HARD DRIVE
1TB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache

ADDITIONAL HARD DRIVE
1TB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache

MEDIA READER
19-in-1 Media Card Reader

SOUND CARD
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium

WIRELESS & BLUETOOTH
802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 EDR USB Combo Adapter

OPTICAL DRIVE
Single Drive: Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Click to expand...

One very important item. Your chassis/case :p
 
wickedstangs said:
Ok, looks like I am ready to buy.. How does this look? Am I missing anything? Now should I wait and see what Bulldozer has to offer?

PROCESSOR
Intel® Core™ i7-2600K (8MB Cache) Overclocked Turbo Boost to 4.1GHz

OPERATING SYSTEM
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64Bit, English

CHASSIS COLOR
875W Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply

MEMORY
12GB Dual Channel DDR3 at 1333MHz

VIDEO CARD
4GB GDDR5 AMD Radeon™ HD 6990

HARD DRIVE
1TB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache

ADDITIONAL HARD DRIVE
1TB SATA 3Gb/s (7,200RPM) 32MB Cache

MEDIA READER
19-in-1 Media Card Reader

SOUND CARD
Creative Sound Blaster® X-Fi™ Titanium

WIRELESS & BLUETOOTH
802.11n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.1 EDR USB Combo Adapter

OPTICAL DRIVE
Single Drive: Dual Layer Blu-ray Reader (BD-ROM, DVD±RW, CD-RW)
Click to expand...

Sounds like a prebuilt - the majority of prebuilts include huge labour costs for building it and parts which sound good but are unreliable or just poor in reality

EQnoble said:
Also now having built a bunch of rigs for myself and others at this point....I can honestly say I never had any rma drama with a Gigabyte mobo which is generally what I use for all my builds...
Click to expand...

This, Gigabyte was pretty much the only brand that used half decent parts etc. before Sandy Bridge came out and they continue to be one of the only brands where compromising in cost doesn't compromise reliability, only features.

The fact that I've been able to pull ~142W (1055T + 38% overclock) for a year and counting from only a 4+1 phase VRM setup on my Gigabyte AM3 board says it all really.

EQnoble said:
I love my seagate hard drives and I have a lot of them....none of them paperweights... so it wouldn't surprise me if the horrible stories I have heard just came from a few people who we're pissed off about something or other and found something to bash.
Click to expand...

I would be very hesitant to buy a desktop Seagate disk after the 7200.11 1.5TB fiasco - pretty much 100% failure rate over a few months, though they did eventually release a firmware fix.
 
I just took the plunge, giving my Abit IP35Pro with Q9550 Quad Core, ATI 4830, 8GB RAM system to my parents (a pretty good "old" system.)

Here's what I got for $650 from NewEgg (Free shipping, $20 rebate, $20 instant rebate free shipping on that 2600. :) ) No offense to my friends who use Apple equipment, but I don't believe any of you could get a massive upgrade like this for $650 or even close.

GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD4-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Now only $160 shipped! Best Mobo I could find with everything, including a pin for e-SATA

Intel Core i7-2600 Sandy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I72600
$279 - shipped! :)

COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" Long Life Sleeve 120mm CPU Cooler Compatible Intel ...
Oneo f the top rated Coolers for the i7-2600

XFX HD-645X-ZQH2 Radeon HD 6450 1GB 64-bit sDDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 Low Profile Ready Video Card
($35 for this card... shipped!)

CORSAIR Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML16GX3M4A1600C9B
$104 shipped - optimized for my board, low rise.

Biostar CABLEUSB3.0 USB 3.0 Cable Bracket
$12 - provides my awesome Gigabyte Aurora 3D case with the front facing USB3

Rosewill RFX-120BL 120mm 2 Ball Bearing Blue LED Case Fan with Fan Controller Set
New high performance fans to keep my big blue black steel box cool blue

------------

Upgrading with these components (I think I already have a 650W PSU), no need to buy a whole new machine:

GIGABYTE 3D Aurora 570 GZ-FA1CA-ASB Black 1.0 mm Aluminum body ATX Full Tower Computer Case

Antec True Power Trio TP3-650 650W ATX12V SLI Certified CrossFire Ready Active PFC Power Supply with Three 12V Rails
LG Black 6X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 6X BD-ROM 4MB Cache SATA Super Multi Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive GGW-H20L LightScribe Support

LITE-ON 12X BD-R 2X BD-RE 16X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM 8X BD-ROM 8MB Cache SATA Blu-ray Burner with 3D Playback iHBS212-08 LightScribe Support

Hauppauge WinTV-HVR-1600 ATSC/ClearQAM/NTSC TV Tuner MC-Kit 1183 PCI Interface

SUPER TALENT MasterDrive OX FTM32GL25H 2.5" 32GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (remove floppy replace with this? get cache disk)
2 X Barracuda 7200.10 SATA 3.0Gb/s 500-GB Hard Drive
2 X Western Digital RE2 500GB SATA/300 7200RPM 16MB Hard Drive
but may insert these hard drives instead:

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

------------------

Open question: Whether to put the boot drive on the 500GB 7200RPM or get another that will speed things up significantly. SSD is still too expensive to consider, IMHO, as 64GB is even very small for Windows7 and don't want to mess around.

PS - Many thanks to wickedstangs who inspired me with this greatness. I just changed the mobo to optimize my desires for $40 and changed the RAM to optimize for the board and which as $20 off. THIS is why I love my PC. :D
 
I've never gone above 35GB on my OS disk, and that's with several local installations of XenForo, phpBB and vB (including attachments).

As long as your data is on a separate drive (as mine is), you will struggle to fill 64GB IMO.
 
Brogan said:
I've never gone above 35GB on my OS disk, and that's with several local installations of XenForo, phpBB and vB (including attachments).
As long as your data is on a separate drive (as mine is), you will struggle to fill 64GB IMO.
Click to expand...

My Programs Files x86 is almost 14GB, Programs Files is 1.5GB, Windows folder is 25GB. That's almost 41GB without counting anything else that may lurk on the startup including the Users and appdata folder which could easily extend that another 5-10GB no? Plus pagefile?

Brogan... you're really ticking me off because you're making me respond to this calling out my name. ;)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...227738&cm_sp=Cat_SSD-_-Spotlight-_-20-227-738

1$ per GB of SSD.... Jeeez man... how could you do this to me? (60GB)
 
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