Need some opinions on this PC I'm looking to build

As a computer tech....I think you have made a lot of good choices...

However...couple thoughts...

Your Samsung SSD is perfect...I have used them for several years with NO issues...
You put your OS and all your programs on the SSD...then your data goes on the HD's...

I would get Seagate HD...and I would put a pair in RAID1...this gives you 2 HD's where one is an exact mirror of the other...
So If one DH fails...your other HD will maintain all your data until you can replace the failed HD...

I would consider the Seagate NAS HD...and I would consider 2TB...
And in my personal experience...on average... I have more problems with WD's failing than I do with Seagate's failing...
I'm sure other folks will chime in that they have had great luck with WD's...but mine has not been the case...

The Seagates are more expensive than the WD's...but I think it's worth it...

Win 7 Pro or Home...really not much difference for your usage...

And I did not notice....GET A BACK UP DRIVE...USB is fine...
I would purchase a HD case and another Seagate that way you can format NTFS...Some of the commercial backup drives
have a small Linux OS installed and those drives are formatted for Linux, not Windows...Buffalo for example...
And if that backup drive fails, recovering the data, if necessary, can be very difficult if your not conversant in Linux...

Just some random thoughts...
Good luck...!!!
 
That's why I recommend the Red drives. Blues do fail at a higher rate, but Reds are pretty solid (and cost about the same as Seagate). Six of one, half dozen of the other...
 
Not sure how anyone who publicly identifies themselves as a "computer tech" can suggest Seagate brand drives, notoriously the least reliable of the retail drives available. [example survey can be found here, plenty of other pro data on the subject if you google it] That's why these numbers are gathered and crunched, anecdotal evidence is not reliable.

However, a good backup is very important. On that note, Windows 7 (Home Premium/Pro) comes with built-in Windows Backup software. There are better third party backup options available (Acronis for example), but for ease this is a viable solution.

SteveM, in case you couldn't tell by the prior responses in this thread, you aint alone in being a "computer tech" on this forum. ;)
 
BroKen_H said:
That's why I recommend the Red drives. Blues do fail at a higher rate, but Reds are pretty solid (and cost about the same as Seagate). Six of one, half dozen of the other...
Click to expand...

WD blacks are also good solutions, high performance (7.2k, 64MB cache), and also generally lower fail rates. Longer warranties as well.
 
Not all Seagates are created equal. There are good and bad series. Not all WDs are created equal. There are good and bad series.
The warranty on red and black are both 5 year (well, there are 3 year reds, but I don't buy those anyway...) and there are pros and cons to both.
The black has higher sustained read/write speeds, but the red are constant on which gives advantage to burst speeds. The red have the best fail rate and are better (and faster) when used in RAID arrays (or NAS), but for a single drive you're better off with black. :D
 
BroKen_H said:
Not all Seagates are created equal. There are good and bad series. Not all WDs are created equal. There are good and bad series.
Click to expand...

Just want to reiterate that while your statement is true because of its simplicity and vagueness, there are solid tech world numbers that would indicate overall patterns in reliability (and those numbers have never looked good for Seagate). As a technician/engineer, I do tend to see many more failed Seagate drives than any other manufacturer, but this is again anecdotal since Seagate tends to undercut competitor pricing and end up in a lot of OEM boxes which I see a lot. My personal experience with Seagate doesn't exist, since Seagate's track record has never impressed me so I simply have always stayed away. I'm mostly a WD platter drive guy, and Samsung and Corsair SSD user. WD drives have been impressively reliable, considering the beating they have to take in my system.
 
No problem, Pinky. I use WD drives pretty exclusively, too, but did not want anyone to think that all Seagates are junk...I did go on to mention only WD in the rest of the post.
I've been using Kingston HyperX SSDs since they came out (well, since I saw them at least). Never had a fail in seven years...so I don't know about other SSD brands.
 
"I appreciate that you didn't go with some $40-60 cheapo MB."
Ah! I see my Asus M5A97LER20 is just above that group at $69. Seems very fast and ultra stable to me.
Could you explain to this PC numpty how, and by how much it is inferior to the OP's please?

Dave.
 
OK. First, Dave, that's a great mb. Hasn't slipped my radar. Wasn't knocking you personally with the comment, just pointing out that a lot of people want to build a great machine with the cheapest parts and MOST don't stack. There are a few differences (not to mention the Asus will not support his i7 chip, but that has nothing to do with price):
M5A97 - 2 USB 3.0 4 USB 2.0 (but expandable), SATA 3 6.0GB, standard caps, UEFI Bios (this is a great BIOS), blue color. :-)laughings:).
Z97X - 4 USB 3.0-2 USB 2.0 (and expandable), SATA Ex 10.0GB, solid caps, UEFI Dual Bios (same, only safer), has 1 extra x1 PCI slot, red color :-)laughings:).

To be honest, the computer I'm sitting at right NOW has the Asus M5A97 with an 8 core AMD. My recording computer is a quad i5 on a MSI mb (I can't remember the model of off the top of my head).
 
Also to be honest, there has been a lot of buzz lately about Gigabyte MBs having ridiculously high fail rates (over half), but you hear all sorts of silly things on the internet. So, without any personal experience or more reliable sources, I'd have to bypass that tidbit.
 
BroKen_H said:
OK. First, Dave, that's a great mb. Hasn't slipped my radar. Wasn't knocking you personally with the comment, just pointing out that a lot of people want to build a great machine with the cheapest parts and MOST don't stack. There are a few differences (not to mention the Asus will not support his i7 chip, but that has nothing to do with price):
M5A97 - 2 USB 3.0 4 USB 2.0 (but expandable), SATA 3 6.0GB, standard caps, UEFI Bios (this is a great BIOS), blue color. :-)laughings:).
Z97X - 4 USB 3.0-2 USB 2.0 (and expandable), SATA Ex 10.0GB, solid caps, UEFI Dual Bios (same, only safer), has 1 extra x1 PCI slot, red color :-)laughings:).

To be honest, the computer I'm sitting at right NOW has the Asus M5A97 with an 8 core AMD. My recording computer is a quad i5 on a MSI mb (I can't remember the model of off the top of my head).
Click to expand...

Yo Ken! It is SO hard to comment on forums without seeming judgemental or pissed! I was being neither! I just wanted to know where in the spectrum from cheap, unstable ***t to Deep Blue, my choice of MOBO sat! (I am running a 6 core AMD 3.5G in it BTW, seems ok to me). I knew I was not fishing in the i7 pond and TBH I do not need anything like that power. IF son were home now and wanted to get seriously into composition with massive sample libraries etc then I would have dropped a grand or so on a build for him.

I bought that MOBO/CPU combination because they were advertised together and I am such a PC numpty that I did not trust myself to choose a CPU for any given MB! I had 2G of ram from the machine (XP)that it replaced that I thought might fit and it did and then swopped over 4G from another machine to get 6G. Mixed ram. Yeah, not a good idea but it works for now and I shall bump it up to 8G once the card has recovered from the car bill (> £1200) .

One thing to watch out for with the M5A97...No graphics! Had to pop another 30 quid at Maplins for a passively cooled graph card.

UEFI??? Took me years to pluck up the courage to mess even a little bit in BIOS (change boot orders say) Now they have changed it, scared ***tless again!

Dave.
 
In computers, as in home recording...if it ain't broke, ya know :)
I'm going to start on a new build as stated earlier in this post. Always fun to start from scratch and tweak and update my way into a machine that is completely obsolete in six years...:laughings:
But seriously. I've wanted to build a fanless system since I got into HR and Now is as good a time as any to start...but it must be AMAZING. :eek:
 
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