Question on system build

[lawschooljunkie]

Hi all,

I plan on building a new system, and so far I'm pretty set in what I'm using for parts, but I have a couple questions on specifics. I've been out of the building scene for a little while, and if I can get a couple of things cleared up I would appreciate it. Just a brief explanation on the system, Quad core Q6600, 4Gb RAM, X1900XTX graphics, ABit P35 mobo.

First, RAID, is it worth the expense/headache? If so, how hard is it to set up? Are there any good walk-throughs? Also, how many drives should I use? I was originally thinking 2 WD caviar 320Gb, (16mb buffer)? Would I really see any noticeable performance or stability increases?

Second, OS, I have XP, I like XP, and am not too keen on going to Vista. Will XP utilize the quad core? I really don't want to upgrade, but are there any really compelling arguments for going to Vista?

Finally, cooling, I know the originally series of LGA775 chips had heating problems, how about the new quad cores? I plan on using the machine primarily for general multi tasking and homework procrastination, photo editing, some video editing, and a reasonable amount of gaming. I do NOT plan on overclocking. I was thinking about adding a Zalmann heatsink and fan, but if the intel cooling is sufficient I would stick with that.

Thanks in advance.

D

 

[ch33zw1z]

Originally posted by: lawschooljunkie
First, RAID, is it worth the expense/headache? If so, how hard is it to set up? Are there any good walk-throughs? Also, how many drives should I use? I was originally thinking 2 WD caviar 320Gb, (16mb buffer)? Would I really see any noticeable performance or stability increases?

Second, OS, I have XP, I like XP, and am not too keen on going to Vista. Will XP utilize the quad core? I really don't want to upgrade, but are there any really compelling arguments for going to Vista?

Finally, cooling, I know the originally series of LGA775 chips had heating problems, how about the new quad cores? I plan on using the machine primarily for general multi tasking and homework procrastination, photo editing, some video editing, and a reasonable amount of gaming. I do NOT plan on overclocking. I was thinking about adding a Zalmann heatsink and fan, but if the intel cooling is sufficient I would stick with that.

Thanks in advance.

D

1. Depending on what your computer will be used for, RAID may or may not be for you. What RAID setup are you looking into?

2. AFAIK, XP home and pro will support dual/quad core cpus as long as it's the same cpu, ie, all cores on a single cpu.

3. The 775 chips with heat issues are the P4's and P4 Dual cores, Conroe's run (in my exp) about 10C lower off the bat.

 

[lawschooljunkie]

I plan on primarily using the computer for general multi tasking, some gaming, and photo and video editing. As far as RAID goes I'm not really familiar with it at all. I would be using 2 hard drives (so is that RAID 0/1???). Is it worth while to set up a larger 3 or 5 disk array?

 

[ch33zw1z]

Originally posted by: lawschooljunkie
I plan on primarily using the computer for general multi tasking, some gaming, and photo and video editing. As far as RAID goes I'm not really familiar with it at all. I would be using 2 hard drives (so is that RAID 0/1???). Is it worth while to set up a larger 3 or 5 disk array?

Link to Wiki RAID page

For your needs, RAID 0 may give you some extra throughput for photo/video editing...but you get no redundancy, lose a disk..lose the array. You can always keep an image of the array on a spare hard drive if you want.

What's your budget for the RAID setup? Are you interested in 3+ disk arrays?

 

[lawschooljunkie]

So I did a little research as well as ordered the new parts fro my rig from newegg, which I'm pretty pumped to get in:
Abit IP35 - Pro mobo,
Intel Q6600 quad core,
4 gb G.Skill DDR2 800,
a new optical drive,
and 2 WD 320gb 16Mb buffer 3.0Gb/s Caviar HDs,

I'm also stealing out of my old rig the:
PSU (Antec TruePowerII 550W),
Sapphire X1900XTX 512mb GPU,
and Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS gamer.

As for the Array I'm still undecided whether to use RAID 0 or 1. I did a little more research and I think I understand the technology better now. I was on a bit of a budget and decided to stick with a 2 disk array, rather then going with the redundancy of running a RAID 0 on 3+ disks. Plus as this is my first time working with RAID I wanted to keep it rather simple.

So here's my revised issue: Would I see any performance benefits while using for general use (i.e. surfing, music, movie on second screen, while photoshop'ing) by going with a RAID 0 set up? I'm not too concerned with the video editing as I primarily use externals for video storage, and with the limited amount that I do I'm not too concerned with the speed of transfers. If the RAID 0 set up isn't going to give much more gaming or multi tasking performance boosts does going with a RAID 1 array make sense? Is it better than just keeping an image on a second independent disk? That's the direction I'm thinking about going now so I don't lose data due to drive failures (had it happen, I think I had about 4 or 5 Maxtors fail on me in a row sometime in the mid to late 90s). And with RAID 1 it seems like I can prevent the heartache of losing everything and running the ever fun format and start from scratch...it just seems like this solution is too simple...

On another note, the mobo I bought has both Intel and J.Micron controllers, is there a benefit to using one or the other?

Thanks again for you patience and advise

D

 

[ch33zw1z]

Your situation sounds much like my own. I went with a single drive for OS's, and a 2x250GB RAID1 for storage. I backup all critical data (pictures and mov's of the kid and wife) to external media (couple spare drives and monthly dvd backups). This setup ensures that my data is separate from my OS, which makes me more comfortable. ALWAYS REMEMBER, RAID is NOT a backup solution...it's a solution to keep data available in the midst of hard disk malfunctions.

Mobo controllers: Each controller will have it's own capabilities. My exp with JMicron wasn't good, but that was a few years back. Intel is probably a safe bet. Just read the manual and decide which will be better for you. Setting up the RAID is not difficult, and will be fun and good exp :thumbsup:

 

[MegaVovaN]

RAID has seen lots of debate here.
General consensus is that you try it yourself...you can always go back to single drives.

in my opinion,
RAID = technically slower than single disk for general usage, AND you won't notice real life benefits with raid.
-RAID 0 = faster of the 2
-RAID 1 = slower of the 2