Gaming Rig

[Canlocu]

I am building a rig to play SW:TOR and Elder Scroll. Here is what I came up with based off of this article.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/diy-gaming-pc,2970.html

I added items that are in my range and was thinking of the long haul.

* Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core

* MSI P67A-G43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

* SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX == Plan on getting a 2nd one later to crossfire ==

* G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

* Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit

* RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WB Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case

Now when I asked my friend what hard drive to get for my OS main, he stated I should grab:

* Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

After looking around I found one that is a 500gb.

* Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5

or

* Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5"

Now my question is which is better to get the 250 or the 500gb for my main. Is the smaller drive faster to load due to its size? Or is the 500 a better choice.

This is the first time I am building a PC that should let me run high settings in a game, I do not want it to bog down during a raid or mass pvp this time around. 😉

So any thoughts on my build or commits is most welcome.

Thx ahead of time.

Forgot to add I have a
* Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500 7H500F0 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"

this is why my friend suggested I get a 6.0Gb/s so this can be my slave drive.

 

[Pyree]

The sata 3 interface will not improve performance of mechanical HDD. Also drive with higher platter density will perform better. I suggest the 500G drive over the 250G drive.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been moved from the section Video Games to section Systems by Mousemonkey

 

[jerreddredd]

Nice build

The 500Gb WD Black will be much faster.

 

[Canlocu]

The sata 3 interface will not improve performance of mechanical HDD.

You mean the Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500 7H500F0 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb I have or that in general sata 3? Is this still a good data / slave drive to install or it will bog my sata 6 and get something else?

 

[jerreddredd]

You mean the Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500 7H500F0 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb I have or that in general sata 3? Is this still a good data / slave drive to install or it will bog my sata 6 and get something else?

have this one be your primary OS/APPS:
Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5

use your Maxtor MaXLine Pro 500 7H500F0 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5
for secondary storage

there is no Master/Slave configurations anymore that was IDE. a slow drive won't bog the fasted down in SATA.

 

[Canlocu]

Here is what I ended up with:


* MSI P67A-G43 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard

* Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core

* G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

* Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

* Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

* Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC

* 2X SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity ATM only got one have to wait till next paycheck to get second.

* RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WB Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case

Now the question is what are some good programs to install. I will mostly be gaming and 3D rendering. I am new to Winsdow 7. With XP I use Gamebooster (Not sure this is wise, guildmate suggested it), Smart Defrag, Ad-Aware, etc.

What are some good programs to install after first boot up?

 

[jerreddredd]

Rosewill Green Series RG630-S12 630W Continuous @40°C,80 PLUS Certified, Single 12V Rail, Active PFC

not a good PSU.

it will probably die if you put another 6850 on it. though you might get lucky.

you install a good AntiVirus and Firewall, beyond that its up to you.

 

[Canlocu]

Well it was on sell from $89 to $49, hmm. So what one would you recommend? I already ordered the Rosewill one. =(

 

[jerreddredd]

Well it was on sell from $89 to $49, hmm. So what one would you recommend? I already ordered the Rosewill one. =(

for running 6850's in SLI

this might work as long as you don't OC the CPU and GPU's too much
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817703026
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256072

to be sure:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139021
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256059
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371026
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207016