Thoughts on my first build? (i5 2500k, z77)

[pascal]

If possible add some SSD for OS and applications: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236

Store data, music/movies and games in the HDD.

 

[Blazkowicz]

I would have fun with an SSD on a windows PC.
just because I can I'll store the OS on HDD, the SSD would be for the firefox profile and games

 

[RudeCurve]

How much of a speed difference is there between running the OS and programs on a SSD vs a standard HDD? Do programs load instantly? On my computer running standard HDD it takes about 10-15 seconds to reach the Windows logon screen from cold boot.

Also when browsing the internet should the cache folder be kept on the SSD or moved to a HDD given that the cache is constantly changing and rewritten? Would this help prolong the lifespan of the SSD?

What about page file? Should it be moved to the HDD? How about Windows temp file?

 

[Blazkowicz]

it's okay to put cache folder, temp files on SSD. it's gonna use it but here are benefits, presicely because it gets used. lifetime concerns are real but way overblown, controller chip and firmware take care of it, only pathologic swapping (and over a long time) would kill it.

you run the risk of wasting your SSD by being afraid of using it

for pagefile, it depends, you may swap rarely so you either like it better on hdd - you know it's swapping - or on ssd - you suffer less in case you're swapping. or you're swapping a lot and often, here you should rather add memory or do less things with your PC.

it's fine just installing windows on ssd and using it.
I'm a tinkerer and think that c:\program files and c:\windows are static directories, and that I could well wait a few seconds but get a few more available GB by putting them on HDD. but I would put c:\users and temp on SSD.

 

[Mize]

IMHO SSD makes the biggest difference for OS and frequent apps. I was surprised to find it didn't help as much as I'd hoped with games (I have my Steam directory on a 512 GB SSD) since so much of the level load times are set-up. I would say that booting W7 off an SSD is roughly a bazillion times faster than from an HDD though.

 

[Arwin]

Yeah, SSD for your C drive / OS and Program Files, and everything else for data is one of the best things you can do for your system. It was like this in the old days as well, two hdds on two separate controllers with the swap drive on the second made a world of difference. I also once had to buy an external controller because my on-board one broke and that surprised the shizzle out of me by improving my hdds performance almost 2x

 

[blip]

Can't you buy a used 9600/8800GT or something to last you? The HD graphics inside the 2500k really is complete pants!!

Even an older DX9 card would muller it!!

I'm going to get a card lol... i'm just going to be building and testing the system with onboard graphics.

I'm going to get a radeon 6850 or something... nothing too crazy, just good enough for D3 to play on high settings.

Which brings me to me next question:

WHy are even low-midrange graphics cards coming with a minimum of a gig of ram? Seems to me 512 or 256 of fast ram should be sufficient for these slow cards but what do I know.

Does a slower card like a Radeon 6750 really take advantage of a gig of video ram?

 

[RudeCurve]

More RAM to drive higher resolution displays without using system RAM.

 

[blip]

I'm just going to be using my 1280x1024 model right now so I suppose the extra RAM will probably be unneccesary on my display. Oh well, it doesn't really matter because there are no options less than 1gb.

 

[blip]

Hey guys - one thing im concerned about when i put all this stuff together -

I live in a small apartment with my fluffy cat, who has incredibly soft hair that floats around the apartment. Like, if you walk around my apartment with ur mouth open, ur gonna get a cat hair in it. Theres nothing I can do about it, she's all all-the-time shedder.

I'm worried a stray microscopic hair is going to get into a socket and break everything.

But then I look at my Pentium 4 which is a decade old, still running, wide open case with cat hair stuck in the cpu fan. Should I be worried about an invisible cat hair getting in my computer while building it? Obviously I am going to clean and vaccuum before I do this. But like I said, nothing I can do about the floaty cat hairs.

 

[Mize]

Just clean your intakes and blow out the case on a regular (2-3 month) basis. I have 2 huskies and a Maine Coon Cat...

 

[homerdog]

I left my case open for a couple of days and my dog pissed on the motherboard. Unawares, I turned it on and it exploded. Just saying don't leave the case open and on the floor with animals around.

 

[Bludd]

I left my case open for a couple of days and my dog pissed on the motherboard. Unawares, I turned it on and it exploded. Just saying don't leave the case open and on the floor with animals around.

Sorry for laughing but that's hilarious! And tragic, but mostly hilarious.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

I left my case open for a couple of days and my dog pissed on the motherboard. Unawares, I turned it on and it exploded. Just saying don't leave the case open and on the floor with animals around.

Did you give it some tasty treat for being such a good boy

 

[Mize]

Hmmm. Sounds like a bit of a training issue there...I take this was an "intact" male?