PRE"s next Build

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PRETENDICA
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PRE"s next Build

Post by PRETENDICA »

I'm going AMD. I'll wait until Bullldozer comes out, which is in a month or two. But for now, I plan on going crossfire with my one 6970 I already own. Do you have to have the exact same card? I've never done any crossfire or sli, I have no clue. I already bought this MB

I'd like your guys advice on which ssd I should use. Should I get a small, 6 Gbps for my operating system, say 60gigs... then some hdd's in raid(which I have also never done). Or something else. Like a revo drive? Let's say $400-500 limit.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by Molimo »

Although it used to be that way and If you didn't buy both cards at once the chances were you couldn't crossfire. But now with the new HD Models you do not need the exact same cards. In fact you can even crossfire with other models. (i.i. 6970 with a 6950)

Here is a compatibility chart.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by madmattd »

Also, even if you need the exact same card, it doesn't have to be the same brand, etc. Just the same GPU and ideally the same clock speeds. When running 2 non-identical clocks, typically the faster card will down clock to the slower.

I.e. I ran a Gigabyte and a PNY 9800GT in SLI for a while.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by PRETENDICA »

Thanks, guys. That's already a big help.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by hulkvsspawn »

He won't ask me these questions because I just point and laugh at him.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by IM A COMPUTAH »

Do not get the RevoDrive. It looks like it's only for computers limited to SATA2. Just about every mid-high range motherboard that has been released recently has SATA3. It looks extremely overpriced.

As for which SSD you should pick out heres a site that may help make that decision: http://www.harddrivebenchmark.net/high_end_drives.html

I remember hearing the OCZ drives have been having a lot of problems so do some research on those before you show any interest. I am running a Crucial C300 128GB with no problems and I absolutely love it.

I recommend two WD Caviar Black drives in a Raid mirroring setup. Extremely easy to setup in BIOS.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by Stephen »

revo drives dont use sata connection, its pci-e

the only problem with them is that they dont have garbage collection, because there esentially ssd's in raid

ive got ocz vertex 3 max iops edition 120gb havent had one problem, also have a intel x25 80gb sata 2 drive also no problems.

oh look at that my drive on top lol.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by PRETENDICA »

Yeah, the revo drives are way outa my price range. Forget I asked. I'm looking at SATA III ssd. Right now I have a 60gb ocz vertex turbo 2. I like the idea of raiding the 2 wd cavair black drives. Have you found that having 120gb instead of 60 to be excessive? I don't keep my games on my ssd, although I did just find a way to put one game on you ssd HERE. You guys prolly knew that though. Anyway, I haven't run into any issues with having a 60, I even had room to put TF2 on mine, using that technique. We're talking $150 vs $200.


I can't find my XFX 6970 anywhere. Except Tiger Direct. pfthh. I can't decide what I'm going to get next. Wait for the new Bulldozer, which should be within a month, the ssd, or the second GPU. I don't use my computer for much else other than gaming.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by Molimo »

I had 4 friends order the OCZ Vertex 2 120Gb SSD's, after 5 months, 2 of them crapped within 2 weeks of each other. Bios completely stopped detecting them. Then once we heard this, the 3rd guy checked and updated to their new firmware, Crashed within a month, same issue. 4th is still going strong after 9 months. I think they have over 20% failure, it's sad. I'm normally a Fan of OCZ.

I know their Speeds were Ridiculous. I also heard and read that the Intel SSDs are much better but also more expensive. Personally, I would Raid 2 Caviar Blacks before SSD(for now), even though the performance is less, With all the commotion for the SSDs, I would feel safer.

P.S. Newegg has the XFX 6970

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... XFX%206970
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by Stephen »

newmans had his 240gb vertex 2 for about a year now i think no problems.

i perfer speed vs storage

and i lived with 80 for a year wasnt to bad 120 much nicer but will be raiding for 240 sometime in the fall
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by PRETENDICA »

Lol, Moli, that must be in Canada only? It still says auto notify for me. I have a vertex TURBO 2, idk if that make it a lil better. I musta got one of the good drives, cause I've uddated the firmware twice, and never had an issue with it. I'm down with ocz, yeah you know me(Naughty by Shaun).
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by Molimo »

Stephen wrote:i perfer speed vs storage
Yeah so do I, I really dont use much on my Main drive, I just dont trust SSDs right now, and still find them too expensive for me. I know alot of people have had success with them, but I also know alot haven't.

And yeah Pre it says Auto Notify, I didn't notice it since it's the same color as the "Add to Cart" Button.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by Mullet »

I wish I could talk you into an intel chipset. Run this and post your time.

http://www.planetsoft.org/utils/BootTimer.exe
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by IM A COMPUTAH »

Stephen wrote:revo drives dont use sata connection, its pci-e
I know that, I meant to say that the only person who would see an advantage to this is someone who had a computer limited to SATA 2.

Pre, what are the specs of your current computer? I recently upgraded from a Q6600 that was just over 2.5 years old to the i5-2500k. Honestly I see very little difference in performance except when using 3D applications. Upgrading my video card & hard drive made all the difference I needed instead.
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Re: PRE"s next Build

Post by madmattd »

I WILL NOT recommend OCZ SSDs right now. I know Stephen swears by his Vertex 3, but there are so many failures with these drives. As was mentioned earlier, the Vertex 2 had a tendency to die 2-3 months in. Vertex 3 also does this at times, but it has had countless other issues. Honestly, a lot of the blame lands on Sandforce, they barely tested their controllers before mass-manufacturing them. The end-user has essentially ended up being a beta-tester for Sandforce drives.

I am a member of another forum that does a lot of SSD stuff, and they've performed several studies that have found OCZ's failure rate to exceed 20%. That's INSANE. Other Sandforce-based drives are in a similar range, while Intel, Crucial, and Samsung are in the low single digits. This has been borne out through several different methods, and other places have done examinations too that more or less agree with the results.

I have a Vertex 2 from last fall, miracurously it still works, but I had massive issues getting it to work initially. OCZ basically told me I had to buy a new computer because mine was too outdated for an SSD (which of course was crap). Their "Customer Support" is forum-based for starters, and is excuse-driven. They prefer to blame the consumer than see if in fact there is an issue. They've been ignoring some major issues that tons of people are reporting with the Vertex 3, whereas other Sandforce-using companies at least released firmware fixes that somewhat solve the problems. Flat out, OCZ doesn't care. It is really pretty sad, I bought plenty of their components in the past, but now I will not buy a single thing from their company again until they institute some MAJOR reforms within the company.


Bottom line, Intel, Samsung, and Crucial are all considered good performing SSDs with the best reliability. Want a drive that just works? Look at those 3 companies. I have a Crucial M4 that runs great, not a single issue with it. Samsung also has their SATA 3 SSD coming out in October. The Intel 510 is a great drive, but it tends to be very highly priced. Since it uses the same controller and same brand NAND as the Crucial M4, it's hard to opt for the 510 over the M4.

Sorry for the wall 'o text, but I've seen way too much to even consider OCZ products right now. Personal experience has supported all I read.
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