[citation][nom]wasupmike[/nom]If you're a casual user who's biggest app is MS Word... then ya... who cares about 1/2 a secondBut, if let's say you're a hardcore Photoshop CS5 user (and yes, it opens with an SSD as fast as 'My Doc's', literally a blink of an eye), than it's quite the pleasure to have... video editing apps? game loading? forget about it... it's amazingand you can compare the "slickness" and speed of an SSD over a HHD.. much like you would compare how it's worth it to spend a little extra on the better video card... just for that little more frame-rates... and higher efx settingsand for a clean install (especially for all you people who install their OS often... (hopefully not too often ) -> Windows 7 64 will install in about ~10 minutes... like the days of Windows NT4 Workstation... ahh...[/citation]
This was the reason why my most recent $1k build/rebuilds for my and my & my wife's computers included a 30 GB mainstream SSD drive. The drive has Windows 7 64 bit, Google Chrome, Office 03 (mine) & OpenOffice (hers), and a few picture editing programs (hers only).
Games and larger "applications" are installed on 7.2k mechanical drives. (In my case, a Raid 1 array of 320 GB "reused from old build" Seagate 7200.10 drives.)
Both systems also have a single 1.5 TB Samsung "slow as Christmas" data drive that are manually mirrored between the systems. (Thus, in the event of a PSU failure that leads to an overall system failure on one system, the data is still protected. Further, this is helped by the fact that my pc is usually powered off and unplugged when I am not activately using it. (Meanwhile, her system is always powered on.)
If someone is going to spend $2k USD on a computer, they should (in my opinion):
1. Make sure to spend ~$100-$150 on a good UPS for that system. (Or, at least ~$30-$40 for a good surge protector.)
2. Make sure the system is built to not /require/ any upgrades, in regard to the CPU and MB, for at least 2-3 years. (The length of many new MB warranties.) Note: If you, however, have money to spare, upgrade the CPU in a year or two. But, the base platform should last.
3. If you play games, look at the specific benchmarks for the games you play. Does Nvidia or AMD usually win graphical value comparisons? If one usually wins, go with GFX card(s) from that company.
4. (Linked to 3) Does a SLI or CF configuration work for your chosen game(s)? If yes, and you have the money to go with an Intel MB that supports both configurations, consider SLI or CF. Why? Cost effectiveness:
---Buy single video card for $200. A year later, your single video card probably sells for $100 new. This means you can sell your used card for about $75 and buy the new $200 card... or pay $75-$100 (used - new) to SLI/CF yourself.---
a. Single card, sell, new single card: $200 - $75 + $200 = $325.
b. Single card, buy used, SLI/CF: $200 + $75 = $275.
c. Single card, buy new, SLI/CF: $200 + $100 = $300.
Or... d. CF/SLI configuration from start. = $400.
How many "new" single cards made +1 year after another card, beat out a CF/SLI configuration of 2 of the "original" cards? Very few. How long has it taken DX 10 to be popular? Never. DX 11? Just hitting new releases (and patches to popular games) over a year after release.
The problem, of course, is that this requires an Intel MB instead of AMD. (Since Nvidia and AMD aren't getting along well enough, for obvious reasons, to allow SLI on AMD MBs.) Therefore, in the "budget" realm, one should stick with AMD CPUs and GFXs. However, in the "mainstream"... there is a fight. And, at the high end, Intel + "the best for your cost" usually will win.
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With the annoucement by Intel mid 2010 that socket 1156 was going to be replaced by socket 1155, this killed Intel's position in the mainstream market using the above factors IF one wants to upgrade their CPU in 1-2 years. If you were ok with leaving your CPU as is for 3 years, then they were still in consideration. I will go with the former for the below. (Note, for this assumption, my gaming computer is still a socket 775 Core 2 Duo e6750 based system that I unfortunately had to replace the MB in due to a failing Nvidia 680i MB. So, don't read this as me being an AMD fanboy.)
Budget: AMD CPU/MB (2 or 3 cores), AMD GFX, up to ~$150 for a quality case (I use Antec 300 Illusions when on sale) & PSU (needs to last for the next build in the case), single mechanical HDD, 2 x 2GB of "budget" DDR3 ram, & 2 DVD burners. (Note: Warn user that, if their HDD dies, they lose all data unless they back it up to other media. They have been warned.)
Mainstream: AMD CPU/MB (3 or 4 cores) that has 8x/8x CF capability, AMD GFX, up to ~$200 for a quality case & PSU, tailor HDD for the end user (Do they need 320 GB or 2 TB? Data security, data speed, etc.?...), 2 x 2 GB of "mainstream" DDR3 ram (or, with recent prices, go ahead and pickup the 2 x 4 GB), single DVD burner, & either a 2nd DVD burner, BR reader, or a BR/DVDR combo drive.
High End: Intel socket 1366 MB/CPU (minimum of 4 physical cores), "best bang for the buck" GFX, up to $400 for a quality case & PSU, tailor HDD for the end user (as above), minimum of 3 x 2 GB of "mainstream/quality" DDR3 (with a consideration to upgrading to 12 GB now), BR/DVDR combo drive, & DVDR drive.
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The upcoming Intel and AMD releases in the CPU market will change the above. Hopefully, Intel will reenter the budget and mainstream markets while AMD will enter the high end market. Further, hopefully, GFX pricing changes will make AMD and Nvidia competitive with one another in the bottom to top hierarchy of price to performance.
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