Good build? Bad build? Please check...

looks like theres a lot of advice to go for a different psu, therefore im going to seriously look into getting a seasonic once i learn about the differences (which i cant seem to find anywhere!)

in regard to wizardOZ's post...

1) i saw the armor jr and it does indeed look like a very nice case. but water cooling isnt something im even considering for this build. im not confident enough to add WC to my system. maybe for my next build yes, but definitely not this one. and ive chosen an ATX motherboard for this, by the time i need to change motherboard again im probably going to end up buying a new case for all the new components anyway

I didn't say you had to watercool. I did say: "Since you say you will be OCing, water cooling compatability and space are issues to consider carefully." I would still recommend the Thermaltake case over the Antec: ignoring all other issues, the price is about 20 Pounds cheaper and it is more flexible and future-proof.

2) ah well ill be gaming more than ill be doing 3d. i currently have an actual quadro in my machine, and the gaming side of things took a really big performance hit and i can barely play games like GRAW with anything more than 5fps!

Well there it is - question answered!

3) now theres an interesting idea! never thought about getting raptors. yes the external drive is for backup of all my work, downloads, anything else i might want to throw on there incase my HD fails.

about the raptors...they are quite pricey and i dont think i could even afford 1 150gb drive, let alone 1 for boot and 1 for applications. is there a cheaper alternative to this? i really like the sound of speeding things up with a raptor, I just cant think of a cost efficient way of doing it as I have a budget to stick to

Why are you assuming more than one Raptor drive? Haven't you heard of partitions? What you want to do is get one (1) 150 GB Raptor, install it as the boot drive and partition as follows (see comments about back-ups and external drive below):

1) C: drive 40 GB. Install OS and all utilities like antivirus, firewall etc. here. Size is enough to leave space for application files that must be installed on root drive, fonts etc. Also enough space for temp directory and printer spool files, etc.. You should also create a fixed size swap / page file to prevent disc fragmentation. If you allow Windows to set the size of the swap file it will vary in size dynamically, leading to serious disc fragmentation. Recomended size of swap file is usually 2 to 3 times amount of physical RAM present in system, up to 1GB RAM, then equal to physical RAM. You may want to consider creating a seperate partition for the swap / page file and setting the location and size of the swap file to that of the special partition. Makes optimizing the file with Norton Utilities easier and faster.

2) Games - size is 90 to 100 GB. Should be enough space for all your games and any temporary and save files they generate.

3) Applications 10 to 20 GB. Install things like your Office Suites, A/V editing/creation and 3D Modelling software here.

Size of Games and Apps partitions depends on amount of software you have in each class, and future purchases.

With this setup, you are protecting your OS from problems due to disc fragmentation etc., from games, giving your apps and games some security and reducing problems if you do have OS crashes that require reboots - your games and apps files won't be corrupted.

If you are planning to use Windows XP, it includes disk partitioning software but it remains destructive. You really should get a copy of Partition Magic to do the job. Among other things, it can re-size partitions on the fly without data loss, convert between file systems, etc.. I have used this software since DOS days Version 2, and have never had any problems. Absolutely brilliant software.

Your 320GB data drive should also be partitioned into at least 2 logical drives. Use one for your serious data and the other for the rest.

Some will say that it is too complex to adminster multiple partitions and unnecessary. The issue of a small loss of storage space due to file system overhead will also be raised. These are bogus concerns. Seperate partitions for your data make backing up much easier and efficientr. And you might want to consider the trivial point that the majority of security gurus recommend one to have sepreate partitions for data and apps and OS. In my experience it is a very bad idea to ignore the experts.

As a simple analogy, most back-packs are one big bag. Yet when you pack them for a trip, you don't just throw everything you are taking loosely into the bag. Your tent, clothes, sleeping bag, cooking gear, food, etc. are all in their own individual bags. Despite the fact that the individual bags of gear take up some space in the pack. Why is that? Your hard drive is like the bag of your back-pack. Same principles apply.

Backup: the external drive is easiest approch, and has maximum capacity, but is also most expensive. In any case, why do you need to backup anything other than your data and download files?

You do have your original OS, Utilitity, Apps and Game discs on hand, don't you? So you don't need to back these files up. Patch files and updates are another issue - see below.

You can use your DVD burner to backup your data as you go. If you get a dual layer burner and media, along with relatively inexpensive back-up software, you can use the burner for backing up your data automatically. You should also ensure that patch files and assorted downloads of drivers, utilities and music are backed up on DVD.

External hard drive not really needed, therefore.

RAID is something to consider for later. Here is an excellent intro to principles of RAID:

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/raid/

The rest of that site is also extremely useful.


4) looking into seasonic psu right now. if anyone can explain to me the difference between their models then greatly appreciated

There is a member of these forums with the user name verndewd. His signature includes a link to a series of PS reviews. You really should check it out.


5) the reason i went with lightscribe isnt because im going to be using it more often, but because those drives are the same price as any other dvd writer so my thinking was, why not?
yeah im probably gunna throw a dvd reader in there at some point, but not right now because i hardly ever record from 1 disc to another, its usually putting things from my HD onto a CD

No worries, but you should still get a y-connector sound card cable for future reference.

6) rally2...dual channel memory? thats crazy! crazy enough that i might want to buy it

What's crazy about it. Works very well.

the old computer....im selling it on so i wont be keeping it. monitor and all peripherals will be kept though

OK - so you won't need the KVM switch.

youre probably right about the external hard drive. i originally wanetd to buy it because its an easier way to back things up than recording onto DVDs and stuff. it was only there for convenience so i dont really need to buy it right now. same with the usb flash drive, its not something that i desperately need (yeah im trying hard to find a way to fit the raptor into my budget!)

The external hard drive has the following advantages wrt backups:

1) capacity is much greater, so you don't have to do it as often and incremental backups don't require new media like the DVD does.

2) its much faster, and less fussy.

But, what is the purpose of a backup? And what is the technical definition of a backup?

The purpose of a backup is to have a secure, defined copy of the files in question. So that if anything happens to the original data, you can restore it quickly and easily.

Technically speaking, the backup is supposed to be on a medium - be it tape, CD-R/RW, DVD, Hard Drive that is stored off-site to enable system restore in case of a catastrophic disaster on-site, including the building burning down. This actually means that you have to have multiple copies of the backed up data. An external hard drive connected to the system that is not moved off-site does not qualify as a backup system. And multiple external hard drives get really expensive fast. More critically, what do you think would be the impact on your "back-up" external hard drive if your system was compromised by a hack or other malfeascent software attack? On what basis do you assume that a live extermnal hard drive wouldn't be compromised at the same time? A DVD burner controlled by independent back-up software is much less likely to be compromised. Note that a compromise can happen, just much less likely. If you do your back-ups properly, it won't matter, because you will have clean backups of your datas etc..

the thing i dont understand is why you would partition the drives that way

i thought about it today and figured id do it like this:
take the raptor, divide it into 2 75gb paritions; one for windows and all applications, and the other for my games
then take the seagate drive, partition into 2 for my files (documents, downloads), and for my media (videos, music etc)

that slightly differs from the way you mentioned as i partition the raptor differently

what i dont understand is why you have a partition for windows and utilities, and then a seperate one for applications? why not put them on the same drive?
and ontop of that, i dont get why you have things like firewall, antivirus on the windows partition and not the applications one :?

could you explain please? im sure it is a more effective method, if i understood it

Ok Here we go.

The basic reason you want your major apps on a seperate partition from your Windows OS is that regardless of which version of Windows you are running, it becomes necessary to reinstall Windows at least once a year to every 3 months, depending on the version. The older the version, the more frequent the re-install - it is the nature of the beast. At least once a year, wipe and reinstall everything from scratch. Where I work, the desktop systems are leased and are running Windows XP. The IT bunch have yet to install SP2, let alone some of the other security patches. I have observed wierd behaviour and performance problems from time to time on my system. I have no doubt that compromises of my system have occurred, especially since anybody can log into my machine and download and install whatever they want. At least once a year or every 6 months, it is a very good idea to wipe and re-install the OS, particularly if you have reason to belive it has been compromised.

Arguably, if the apps and utilities are installed on the same drive as the OS, reinstalling and re-patching the OS will make no difference to the function and stability of these apps. And if the OS drive is wiped then everything has to be re-installed from scratch anyway. On many levels this is fundamentally true and correct. There is a big however coming here.

If you have your Apps installed on a seperate partition, then the likelihood of those files becoming corrupt in the normal re-install cycle of Windows is slim. Reinstalling Windows does NOT require reinstalling utilities and apps, because the links etc already exist and are not being overwritten. So you save a lot of time and effort by having a seperate partition for your apps. You don't need to re-install and re-patch your apps when you do this for the OS. Same point applies to utilities, but see below.

Utilities must be installed on the OS drive because they won't function if the OS drive is compromised in any way. I speak from hard experience. I had a situation where I installed my Norton Utilities on an "applications" partition. The OS sort of booted, and I could see and access the boot / root drive, but none of the other drives. I knew what the problem was, but the OS did not have the tools to deal with the issue. Any "solutions" available from the OS would have resulted in total loss of ALL data files. Unacceptable. My Norton Utilities could have easily dealt with the situatuion, without any data loss, but were inaccessable. Only option was wipe and reinstall. Fortunately, my data was on a seperate partition. Welcome to the wacky world of Windows - "repair" tools lead to data loss, wipe of C drive doesn't.

Installing apps on a seperate partiton has the following benefits:

1) it minimizes the amount of space used on the C drive, maximizing available space for temporary and spool files.

2) it eliminates the possibility of file corruption due to problems with Windows.

3) it minimizes the time required for a system restore when it is only necessary to reinstall and repatch Windows as opposed to wipe and reinstall.

oh ok i get it

but...

1) how do you know what programs fall under the category of "utilities"?

Utilities include, but are not limited to: Antivirus, firewall, Norton Utilities, Acrobat reader, your MP3 players, video players, Quicktime. Generally speaking, a utility is a programme that does something specific like disc optimization, reading specific file formats, etc.

2) what exactly is the point of a reformat? sounds like youre saying you can keep all applications, all files and documents in place, and just wipe the OS and reinstall that. when i always thought a reformat was taking absolutely everything off the drive, then reinstall the OS and apps for a cleaner and more efficient hard drive?

From time to time, Windows becomes corrupted enough that a simple re-install of the files is not enough to fix the problems. This happens because, improvements in stability in XP notwithstanding, there is a common thing called the "Blue Screen of Death" in Windows. Sometimes even a Black Screen. Additionally, Windows - even XP - locks up or otherwise fails without a BSOD. When Windows crashes like this, the system has to be shut down "improperly", usually by turning the computer off with the power switch. This means that open files and active processes are not closed correctly. The ultimate consequence is corrupted OS files: either cross-linked, truncated or otherwise damaged. Up to a point, the OS will continue working approximately correctly even with damaged files. But it will be less stable, slower and strange things will happen periodically. These "little" anomalies can often be corrected by re-installing Windows, without having to reformat the root drive. But eventually it is necessary to reformat the root drive and re-install everything from scratch. And, if your system is compromised by a Trojan, Worm or other Malware, then it is necessary to reformat the root drive and re-install everything. This leads us into your next question.


3) is there anything really wrong with installing utilities and apps on the same drive as the OS? i know it maybe be inconvenient to have to reinstall programs when you do a reformat, but is there anything wrong with that method? will it slow down the system at all?

There is nothing "wrong" with installing your apps on the root drive along with the OS and your utilities. OS and Utilities must be installed on the root drive, everything else is optional. The advantage, from your perspective, of installing your major apps on a seperate partition is that it insulates the files that make up your apps from the corruption problems that occurr on the root drive every time Windows Blue-Screens or just locks up. No, your system won't be slowed down if you install your apps on a seperate partition. Even if it was, the difference would be far too small for you to notice. More critically, what is more important to you - a marginal slowdown in overall performance or the major apps you depend on failing due to file corruption? Remember, if you don't actually format the root drive where the OS is installed and just re-install the OS, none of the registry and other links to your apps are lost. This means that you don't have to re-install your apps or utilities when you only re-install the OS.