Home PC Toast time to rebuild (looking for suggestions)

[Thorin]

I know that in the past, it was understood that installing Windows on your SSD would shorten the lifespan of the SSD due to all the reads and writes, but this article suggests with Windows 7 that's no longer a problem:

http://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-solid-state-drives-ssd,7717.html

Mostly due to them discarding the hard-drive-maintaining tasks, as well as fixing how erases are done.

Thought that might be nice to know, since you're looking for an SSD to put your OS on.

[Mr. Analog]

Using it as a cache seems like a better idea to me, as I found with my SSD it's really easy to fill up when you load enough games n' @%&# on it through the likes of Steam which (to my knowledge) only let you have one repository.

[Lazybones]

Using it as a cache seems like a better idea to me, as I found with my SSD it's really easy to fill up when you load enough games n' @%&# on it through the likes of Steam which (to my knowledge) only let you have one repository.

My old system only had a 200 in it, and as I recall I had more than 50% free still... I don't really have much installed at once anymore... Mostly just the games I am actively playing and Office...

You want your game files on an SSD so your Maps load faster... It is one of the most notable SSD benefits.

As per Melbosa's comment before Hybrid drives are good as well, for load times on frequently used data, however your writes are possibly slower and the drive is more complex (seems people still have random issues). I have one in my work laptop and it is great, but not as fast as a pure SSD.

[Thorin]

Here's a good writeup about the Smart Response Technology (SRT) in Intel's Rapid Storage Technology (RST): http://pcper.com/reviews/Storage/Intel-Smart-Response-Technology-SSD-Caching-Z68-Tested/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technolog with screenshots!  And test output: http://pcper.com/reviews/Storage/Intel-Smart-Response-Technology-SSD-Caching-Z68-Tested/SSD-Caching-performance

This is an interesting idea, basically the same as buying one of those hybrid drives (which are essentially big HDDs with a tiny SSD for local cache), except the two pieces are separate so you can replace/upgrade them separately.

Very cool.

[Mr. Analog]

Oh yes, my first build had the SSD as a primary and I used to just keep games installed that I regularly played but I had some power issues and swapped it out for a 1 TB HDD, since I sorted out the power issues I've yet to reinstall the SSD but now the trouble is I think I would be over capacity on stuff I play.

So I'm quite interested in using the SSD as cache.

[Tom]

Oh yes, my first build had the SSD as a primary and I used to just keep games installed that I regularly played but I had some power issues and swapped it out for a 1 TB HDD, since I sorted out the power issues I've yet to reinstall the SSD but now the trouble is I think I would be over capacity on stuff I play.

So I'm quite interested in using the SSD as cache.

If your board doesn't do RST, MS's ReadyBoost stuff might help. Not entirely sure mind you. The first couple iterations of it really sucked.

[Mr. Analog]

Oh yes, my first build had the SSD as a primary and I used to just keep games installed that I regularly played but I had some power issues and swapped it out for a 1 TB HDD, since I sorted out the power issues I've yet to reinstall the SSD but now the trouble is I think I would be over capacity on stuff I play.

So I'm quite interested in using the SSD as cache.

If your board doesn't do RST, MS's ReadyBoost stuff might help. Not entirely sure mind you. The first couple iterations of it really sucked.

Looking up the specs for the DX48BT2 indicates that it supports Intel? Matrix Storage Manager which according to the support page is now called Intel Rapid Storage Technology

So I guess I know what I'm up to tonight :B

[Tom]

Oh yes, my first build had the SSD as a primary and I used to just keep games installed that I regularly played but I had some power issues and swapped it out for a 1 TB HDD, since I sorted out the power issues I've yet to reinstall the SSD but now the trouble is I think I would be over capacity on stuff I play.

So I'm quite interested in using the SSD as cache.

If your board doesn't do RST, MS's ReadyBoost stuff might help. Not entirely sure mind you. The first couple iterations of it really sucked.

Looking up the specs for the DX48BT2 indicates that it supports Intel? Matrix Storage Manager which according to the support page is now called Intel Rapid Storage Technology

So I guess I know what I'm up to tonight :B

I think though you need to check if it supports SRT aka Smart Response Technology.

[Mr. Analog]

I think though you need to check if it supports SRT aka Smart Response Technology.

Isn't SRT a feature of Rapid Storage Technology? If not I can't find anything on Intel's website that shows compatibility.

[Tom]

I think though you need to check if it supports SRT aka Smart Response Technology.

Isn't SRT a feature of Rapid Storage Technology? If not I can't find anything on Intel's website that shows compatibility.

I think its new as of the Z68 chipset.

[Thorin]

From what I saw when researching it today, SRT is an optional component of the optional RST:



From what I've read, RST is in several chipsets, but SRT is so far only offered as part of the Z68 chipset.

[Lazybones]

Nuts, always seems like $$$ takes all the fun out of building a system... here is my compromise build at the moment (haven't purchased yet).

Fractal Design Core 3000 Black ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer Case 2X5.25 6X3.5INT No *IR-$5*
- wanted something in stock, price and design seem good
Antec Neo Eco 450C Power Supply ATX 12V Active PFC 80PLUS 120MM Fan
- Name brand, on special, has good reviews, not using very power intense parts
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro Z68 LGA1155 ATX 3PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 2 PCI B3 Motherboard
- Key component, I wanted the Z68 chip-set as it appears to be the top one right now   
Intel Core i5 2310 Quad Core Processor LGA1155 2.9GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
- I probably don't even need quadcore so droping the clock a little saved a lot of money on probably the most expensive part
G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR Sniper SE 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 1.5V Memory Kit
- This ram has good customer reviews
Seagate Momentus XT 500GB Solid State Hybrid SATA Drive 2.5IN
- Wanted an SSD but that would break the bank, The Momentus is the only hybrid NCIX stocks
LG GH22NS70 Super Multi 22X SATA DVD Writer Black OEM
- Wanted a matching optical drive

$720.52 CAD

Note some choices where purely based on parts being in-stock at my local location, as I was thinking of purchasing right away. Sticking with on-board video right now, easy to add a video card later.

[Thorin]

Nice build.  You can't re-use any parts from your old home machine?  (case or hdd or dvd writer)  I don't know how old your old machine is, so...

[Mr. Analog]

Still, way better than buying a package computer...

[Lazybones]

The case maybe, everything else may be an issue.

Old parts I think some are all over 5 years old
Case
- probably could salvage but I would have to gut it, it is the second least expensive part.
Optical
- IDE not SATA
HD
- IDE not SATA
PSU
- may be faulty

CPU/RAM/MB
- legacy. It was a AMD X2 939 socket system.
- MB may be faulty