Setup of the Month question

[llcjay1]

I am going to be building a new PC soon and would like a few suggestions.

I will likely be somewhere between Dolphin and Narwhal in regards to price. Basically, I want the Dolphin setup with an SSD and Blu-ray player. Adding those 2 are the most important to me.

Also, I would like a little beefier RAM and graphics, but this is optional. The ability to upgrade is likely where I would like go here.

The intended use of the new PC is primarily for gaming but I will be using it as the main control interface for my TV and media (stereo). We are going to be cancelling cable and using Netflix and Hulu instead. Any suggestions for a receiver that would make this setup possible would also be appreciated. I'll make this easier, as I am confusing myself here. I want the PC to be able to:

Hook up to my TV and stereo for movies, TV (Hulu and Netflix), and gaming.
Play DVD and Blu-ray media
Be the entertainment control center

Thanks in advance for your advice!

[Deleted]

I am going to be building a new PC soon and would like a few suggestions.

I will likely be somewhere between Dolphin and Narwhal in regards to price. Basically, I want the Dolphin setup with an SSD and Blu-ray player. Adding those 2 are the most important to me.

Also, I would like a little beefier RAM and graphics, but this is optional. The ability to upgrade is likely where I would like go here.

The intended use of the new PC is primarily for gaming but I will be using it as the main control interface for my TV and media (stereo). We are going to be cancelling cable and using Netflix and Hulu instead. Any suggestions for a receiver that would make this setup possible would also be appreciated. I'll make this easier, as I am confusing myself here. I want the PC to be able to:

Hook up to my TV and stereo for movies, TV (Hulu and Netflix), and gaming.
Play DVD and Blu-ray media
Be the entertainment control center

Thanks in advance for your advice!

An exact budget would be a lot more useful but I'll just say this. An SSD drive only reduces system loading times for the average user, I'd strongly suggest investing instead in large capacity drives for storage if it's to be used as an entertainment hub.

[llcjay1]

An exact budget would be a lot more useful but I'll just say this. An SSD drive only reduces system loading times for the average user, I'd strongly suggest investing instead in large capacity drives for storage if it's to be used as an entertainment hub.

Thanks for the response!

The reason I want the SSD drive is for gaming alone. I will only be running WoW and any other future PC game that grabs my attention. I would also possibly use it for media applications such as Adobe or something. I was planning on getting a good 1TB HD for everything else.

[llDemonll]

Still no budget...

[llcjay1]

Still no budget...

The budget I am going off is the one for the Dolphin setup from this month's post on "Setup of the Month" - $697-725 (http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/...eport-Artworks), plus the additional cost of an SSD and Blu-ray player (whatever that is). I did not specify this but, that is another thing I could use some advice on--the options for SSDs and Blu-rays players.

Much appreciated!

[Team Frosty]

Wouldn't something like a Roku box be better for you than having a big honking computer with fan noise sitting there?

Or a Blu-Ray player w/ internet?

[llcjay1]

Wouldn't something like a Roku box be better for you than having a big honking computer with fan noise sitting there?

Or a Blu-Ray player w/ internet?

My living room has a pretty nice layout and the computer will be kept in a coat closet that is positioned directly behind the TV. There is ample room in there to allow for ventilation, in addition to an actual vent.

[llDemonll]

The budget I am going off is the one for the Dolphin setup from this month's post on "Setup of the Month" - $697-725 (http://www.mmo-champion.com/content/...eport-Artworks), plus the additional cost of an SSD and Blu-ray player (whatever that is). I did not specify this but, that is another thing I could use some advice on--the options for SSDs and Blu-rays players.

Much appreciated!

It'd be much more beneficial to put that extra $200 or so from an SSD into the computer itself, than to buy an SSD with it; just my 2 cents

[llcjay1]

So does an SSD playing something like WoW actually have a noticeable increase in performance? Also, I'm assuming you would put the $200 into the vid card or processor? Thanks again!

[llDemonll]

Absolutely none. All the SSD does is make loading things faster. It will make the computer start up from a cold-boot faster, it will load games and programs faster, and that's about it. It won't increase the actual performance of the computer in any way, shape, or form.

It's like being able to remember things faster, but remember things faster won't make you do things faster, won't make you more athletic or stronger, etc., etc.

[Deleted]

So does an SSD playing something like WoW actually have a noticeable increase in performance? Also, I'm assuming you would put the $200 into the vid card or processor? Thanks again!

SSDs influences loading times. Things like moving into and out of an instance will be faster, character textures and models should generally load much faster (as long as the server isn't bogged down), and overworld performance when fast-flying at very large view distances could result in fewer stutters caused by having to load environment objects.

The machine will perform much smoother, since in most programs a lot of time is spent waiting on the HDD; but it won't be faster. Actual gain such as in a bossfight or instance will be effectively zero.

[llcjay1]

Absolutely none. All the SSD does is make loading things faster. It will make the computer start up from a cold-boot faster, it will load games and programs faster, and that's about it. It won't increase the actual performance of the computer in any way, shape, or form.

It's like being able to remember things faster, but remember things faster won't make you do things faster, won't make you more athletic or stronger, etc., etc.

Ah, that makes sense.

[Deleted]

SSDs influences loading times. Things like moving into and out of an instance will be faster, character textures and models should generally load much faster (as long as the server isn't bogged down), and overworld performance when fast-flying at very large view distances could result in fewer stutters caused by having to load environment objects.

The machine will perform much smoother, since in most programs a lot of time is spent waiting on the HDD; but it won't be faster. Actual gain such as in a bossfight or instance will be effectively zero.

This but divide by about 2. I've played on HDD and SSD and in game view distance was exactly the same, no "overworld performance" change of any kind. Loading is a bit faster, but completely depends on the make and model.

Just make sure you've got a sata3 board and sata 3 HDD, yeah an SSD still performs better but not for the price you've to pay.

[vesseblah]

Just make sure you've got a sata3 board and sata 3 HDD, yeah an SSD still performs better but not for the price you've to pay.

Errm... No, no and no.

Fastest mechanical 7200rpm discs can sustain a transfer read speed of about 140mbps which is still below orginal SATA150. You'll get exactly same transfer speed from SATA3 HDD in SATA150, SATA2 or SATA3 ports. Write speed will be about half of that.

SSD discs with Sandforce controller on the other hand will do around 250mbps read and write speed, which goes easily over SATA150 but is still below SATA2's maximum speed. Sustained transfer rate while reading is about double of good mechanical disc, and write speed quadruple, but that's not the big thing. Seek times and random access of small files can be easily 100x faster in any SSD, that's the real strength of those compared to HDD's.

[Deleted]

Errm... No, no and no.

Fastest mechanical 7200rpm discs can sustain a transfer read speed of about 140mbps which is still below orginal SATA150. You'll get exactly same transfer speed from SATA3 HDD in SATA150, SATA2 or SATA3 ports. Write speed will be about half of that.

SSD discs with Sandforce controller on the other hand will do around 250mbps read and write speed, which goes easily over SATA150 but is still below SATA2's maximum speed. Sustained transfer rate while reading is about double of good mechanical disc, and write speed quadruple, but that's not the big thing. Seek times and random access of small files can be easily 100x faster in any SSD, that's the real strength of those compared to HDD's.

Mind telling me at what point I say SSDs don't outperform a HDD? Timings vary greatly from different manufacturers, and yeah an SSD just for gaming isn't worth it if you're building a budget rig. As a boot drive fair enough, but putting something like WoW on it, in a budget rig, makes no sense.

[llDemonll]

An SSD isn't worth it for anything if you're building a budget rig, gaming or no gaming.

[lordcanyon]

hers my setup i recently ordered

using my own case
Diablotek PHD Series - 2nd Generation PHD650 650W $50
Intel Core i5-2400 $190
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 3x4 12GB $135
GIGABYTE GA-H67A-UD3H-B3 $130
ZOTAC ZT-40408-10P GeForce GTX 460 $157
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s $60

$722

even if its not the best today its still way better than the 450w, 2ghz, 1.5gig, radeon 9200 that i use today

[Drunkenvalley]

Is that a single RAM card?

EDIT: Obviously not I see now.

[vesseblah]

hers my setup i recently ordered

And this is why it's good to ask first and make orders later. Plenty of room to improve on this set. Most obvious flaw being the amount of RAM.

[Deleted]

hers my setup i recently ordered

using my own case
Diablotek PHD Series - 2nd Generation PHD650 650W $50
Intel Core i5-2400 $190
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 3x4 12GB $135
GIGABYTE GA-H67A-UD3H-B3 $130
ZOTAC ZT-40408-10P GeForce GTX 460 $157
Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s $60

$722

even if its not the best today its still way better than the 450w, 2ghz, 1.5gig, radeon 9200 that i use today

Overkill on the RAM, could have used 6GB easy and gotten a 2500k and taken a p67 mobo.