How should I configure my hard drive on boot?

iluvpcsss2025

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Jan 15, 2014
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I know many variables are associated with this question, but my main focus is that I know that there is a list of choices to configure my hdd like raid and such, but which should i choose?

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/34VfC

Those are all my parts, plz reply quickly, and is it better to put my os on a ssd and is it really that beneficial?
 
Solution
Usually you will have three main options for the SATA Mode: IDE Emulation, AHCI (that's the real device type for SATA drives), or RAID. You should NOT set it to RAID unless you know you will use drives that way, and clearly you do not plan to. The "IDE Emulation" mode is only for use with Windows XP, which does not have its own "built-in" driver for AHCI devices. Assuming you are going to install Win 7 or 8, set this option to AHCI.
This system is much better than you want to purchase and i also added 120GB SSD which will run you OS 2x times faster than HDD!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($219.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial M500 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($57.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($249.99 @ Micro Center)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($105.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: XFX TS 550W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Asus VS239H-P 23.0" Monitor ($165.93 @ SuperBiiz)
Keyboard: Logitech K750 Wireless Slim Keyboard ($49.99 @ Best Buy)
Mouse: SHARKOON FireGlider Wired Laser Mouse ($32.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1291.80
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-03-17 13:38 EDT-0400)

Just install your OS and apps. to SSD and media files to HDD
 
Well you can't set up RAID anyway with just a single hard drive (according to your parts list), that much I do know, but RAID configuration is not my area of expertise anyway so you'll need to seek advise from another member regarding that.

As for using an SSD to install Windows on, that's what most people use an SSD for, since the system will boot in to Windows in a fraction of the time it takes when it's installed on a traditional hard drive. Any applications or games that are installed on the SSD will open faster too, though you'll need to take care not to install too much on an SSD as it's capacity is most likely going to be much lower than the average hard drive on account of the relatively high cost per gigabyte.
 

kittle

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Dec 8, 2005
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The trend lately seems to be putting windows on a small "ish" SSD, and then using a larger drive to store most everything else.

Unless you have multiple and Identical drives, raid is useless.
 

iluvpcsss2025

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Jan 15, 2014
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like what option do i pick when i first boot up the build, because i saw in a vid like, their options that tell u how u wanna set up yur hdd or ssd, or is it automatic? and does anyone know where i can get some TRUSTED RESPONSIBLE to put it together
 

Paperdoc

Polypheme
Ambassador
Usually you will have three main options for the SATA Mode: IDE Emulation, AHCI (that's the real device type for SATA drives), or RAID. You should NOT set it to RAID unless you know you will use drives that way, and clearly you do not plan to. The "IDE Emulation" mode is only for use with Windows XP, which does not have its own "built-in" driver for AHCI devices. Assuming you are going to install Win 7 or 8, set this option to AHCI.
 
Solution