Gaming PC drive configuration....

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  • PersianKitty
    Meow Media Inc.
    • Jul 2001
    • 7785

    #1

    Gaming PC drive configuration....

    My son is going to buy a new PC for gaming, etc. (his money, not mine so it's his choice).

    He's decided he wants an Alienware (I told him he should get a custom built box local) ...

    anyway... what he's figuring on so far..

    AlienWare Area 51 X58 box


    Intel® Core? i7-975 Extreme 3.33 GHz 8MB Cache
    Alienware® Approved CPU Liquid Cooling
    Alienware® 1200 Watt Multi-GPU Approved Power Supply
    Either single or dual 1.8GB NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 260
    12GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz - 6 x 2048MB
    Windows Vista® Home Premium (64-bit Edition) with Service Pack 1 plus Free Windows 7 Upgrade (Bleck (I'm an XP person)


    Now... here's the rub... I'm clueless as to advice on what hard drive config he should go with.... I don't use alot of HD space on my computers.. he never has either...

    these are the options..

    Single Drive Configuration
    500GB SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 16MB Cache
    750GB SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 16MB Cache [+$50]
    300GB Velociraptor SATA 3.0Gb/s 10,000RPM 16MB Cache [+$250]
    1TB SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 32MB Cache [+$150]
    256GB Solid State Drive [+$600]

    Extreme Performance (RAID 0) [+$100]
    1TB (2 x 500GB) SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 2 x 16MB Cache
    600GB (2 x 300GB) Velociraptor SATA 3.0Gb/s 10,000RPM 2 x 16MB Cache [+$400]
    1.5TB (2 x 750GB) SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 2 x 16MB Cache [+$100]
    2TB (2 x 1TB) SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 2 x 32MB Cache [+$200]
    512GB (2 x 256GB) Solid State Drive [+$1,100]

    High Performance with Data Security (RAID 1)
    750GB (2 x 750GB) SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 2 x 16MB Cache

    I've never messed with more than one drive.. don't really think he needs one..nor does he.. nor have I dealt with a RAID configuration on a home PC.

    Suggestions (other than.. don't buy Alienware... cause he's set on it)
  • Elite Porn Reviews
    Confirmed User
    • Jul 2007
    • 129

    #2
    Convince him he can get twice the machine for half the price.

    Alien is way over priced to get a cool lookin PC

    Request a paysite review at ELITE PORN REVIEWS!!


    E-mail - web {@} elitepornreviews dotcom

    Comment

    • sandman!
      Icq: 14420613
      • Mar 2001
      • 15427

      #3
      raid 0 is fun as long as your not worried about data loss.

      im building a new workstation and going raid 0 again.
      Need WebHosting ? Email me for some great deals [email protected]

      Comment

      • munki
        Do Fun Shit.
        • Dec 2004
        • 13393

        #4
        If he's gaming Raid 0 for the win.

        2TB (2 x 1TB) SATA 3Gb/s 7,200RPM 2 x 32MB Cache [+$200]
        512GB (2 x 256GB) Solid State Drive [+$1,100]

        I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best.” -Oscar Wilde

        Comment

        • who
          So Fucking Banned
          • Aug 2003
          • 19593

          #5
          Single drive configuration every single time.

          Comment

          • yys
            Confirmed User
            • Aug 2001
            • 1922

            #6
            Tell him to run his games from an SSD; he'll think he fell asleep and woke up in a new century.

            Comment

            • ProG
              Confirmed User
              • Apr 2009
              • 1319

              #7
              Swap GTX260 with GTX295 (You are already balls deep in an Alienware)

              Either single SSD or 2 x Velociraptor in RAID 0
              History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.

              Comment

              • beta-tester
                Rock 'n Roll Baby!
                • Sep 2004
                • 22562

                #8
                man, this is monster machine I'd go with SSD drives though.

                Sig for sale. Affordable prices. Contact me and get a great deal ;)

                My contact:
                ICQ: 944-320-46
                e-mail: manca {AT} HotFreeSex4All.com

                Comment

                • qxm
                  Confirmed User
                  • Jul 2006
                  • 5970

                  #9
                  Solid state drives for max performance... at least in the short run.... thats a monster computer btw.... with a monster of a price too as I do seem to recall the price tags on Alienware stuff....

                  ICQ: 266990876

                  Comment

                  • area51 - BANNED FOR LIFE
                    So Fucking Banned
                    • Aug 2009
                    • 3163

                    #10
                    Please hit me up on icq, we can talk about it.

                    Comment

                    • dready
                      Confirmed User
                      • Oct 2002
                      • 5247

                      #11
                      For crazy speed, dual Velociraptors in RAID0 can't be beat, but you'll want a nice fat drive (1TB+) to back it up to.

                      I think you're crazy to buy Alienware. Get a Core i7 920 and overclock it to 3.2

                      I'd consider the following:

                      Thermaltake SwordM w/ Water CS $500
                      Seasonic M12D-850W $200
                      Asus P6T Deluxe V2 $300
                      Intel Core i7 920 $320
                      OCZ (OCZ3X1333LV6GK) 6x2GB $300
                      Asus ENGTX260 $200
                      WD Velociraptor 150GB x 2 $400
                      WD 1.5TB HDD $130
                      MS Vista Ultimate 64bit $240

                      Total (CAD$) $2590

                      You could easily add $1000 (better cpu) or take away $500 (No RAID, cheaper case) and have pretty much the same system.
                      Last edited by dready; 09-17-2009, 02:51 PM.
                      ICQ: 91139591

                      Comment

                      • wargames
                        Kliris
                        • May 2003
                        • 10423

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Elite Porn Reviews
                        Convince him he can get twice the machine for half the price.

                        Alien is way over priced to get a cool lookin PC
                        Right on the money
                        ICQ 212-115-582
                        Email Steve at Vas Media Group .com

                        Comment

                        • ToplistBlog_Com
                          So Fucking Banned
                          • Jul 2006
                          • 2065

                          #13
                          Originally posted by Elite Porn Reviews
                          Convince him he can get twice the machine for half the price.

                          Alien is way over priced to get a cool lookin PC

                          Comment

                          • PersianKitty
                            Meow Media Inc.
                            • Jul 2001
                            • 7785

                            #14
                            Well.. I got him off the Alienware by finding him a 'kewl' box with blue lights.. LoL

                            here's where we're at now...

                            AZZA Solano 1000 Full-Tower Advance Cooling Case w/ Dual 230mm Fan + Extra 3 Fans
                            Intel® CoreT i7-975 Extreme Edition 3.33 GHz 8M L3 Cache LGA1366
                            Thermaltake W0133RU ToughPower 1,200 Watts Power Supply - Quad SLI Ready
                            EVGA X58 SLI Classfied Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX DDR3 Mainboard /GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio
                            12GB (2GBx6) DDR3/1800MHz Triple Channel Memory
                            NVIDIA GeForce GTX295 2GB 16X PCIe Video Card
                            Gaming Western Digital VelociRaptor 10,000RPM SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 16MB Cache X 2 in Raid0
                            Pioneer 8X BDR-203BKS Blu-Ray Disc Rewriter
                            Creative Labs X-FI XtremeGamer 24-BIT PCI Sound Card
                            Killer Xeno Pro Gigabit High Speed Online Gaming PCI Network Interface Card
                            Windows VistaTa Home Premium w/ Service Pack 1 with Windows 7 Home Premium Upgrade


                            Gee.. maybe once Win7 comes out I should buy a new PC..mine is over 3.5 years old..
                            Dell XPS-600 Win XP Pro, Pent 4 3.8Ghz, 2Gig Ram.... yeah.. dinosaur... but it's not as old as my laptop.

                            I hate setting up new computers to work on (can you tell?).

                            Comment

                            • Serge Litehead
                              Confirmed User
                              • Dec 2002
                              • 5190

                              #15
                              10,000 rpm is sexy

                              Comment

                              • cess
                                Confirmed User
                                • Sep 2006
                                • 2921

                                #16
                                Any hard drive won't get near the performance of a good solid state disk. Although I wouldn't buy any SSD without knowing which one it really is. Here's the problem with that $600 SSD drive Alienware lists...

                                http://www.anandtech.com/storage/sho...px?i=3631&p=19


                                "The largest SSD maker in the world is Samsung. Samsung makes the drives offered by Apple in its entire MacBook/MacBook Pro lineup. Samsung makes the drives you get if you order a Lenovo X300. In fact, if you're buying any major OEM system with an SSD in it, Samsung makes that drive.

                                It's just too bad that those drives aren?t very good."

                                That's putting it lightly, they just suck.

                                Comment

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