Any Geeks with Crystal Ballz

Seyeklopz · 06-29-2003, 10:05 PM

About next July / August I'm dropping $2000 usd on a mobo, cpu, ram, hdd(raid3 - 3 drives maybe), cdrw(maybe dvdrw), vid card, snd card, power supply.

Any predictions/suggestions of hardware I'll end up with?

I'm sticking it in a pc80 black lian-li case with a senfu II rad, pump, reservoir. Hoping to get some overclock from it. If anyone has a suggestion for a better case, I'm all ears.

iroc409 · 06-30-2003, 02:34 AM

pc-6070. $250 of lian-li bliss. basically a pc-60 with a really sweet looking front door and sound deadening material. they tout it as the silent pc case.

eventually i'll get one, but i'm quite happy with my pc60. lian-li is the only case to get, the quality is unmatched. not only that but the things like the mb quick-disconnect rock my world. the new pc60's have the fan speed controller on the outside of the case, as well.

Seyeklopz · 06-30-2003, 10:25 AM

Not really into cases with big doors, but thanks for the suggestion. The case and watercooling i mentioned are not coming out of the $2000 btw. And I'm buying this stuff next year so I'm looking for any hardware predictions for next july's hardware lineup.

Will I still be buying athlon / p4 or will it be a hammer / ???

airspirit · 06-30-2003, 04:34 PM

You'll be getting a SMP Athlon 64 board with dual A64 4000+ 90nm chips, around 400GB in SATA 7200RPM, R400 on PCI-Express, 1GB DDR-II, DVD-R/RW, and an Antec TruePower 650W PSU (trust me, they will come). Your LAN will be a giganic, your sound will be onboard, and your current watercooling kit will be woefully inadequate.

Well, maybe if you wait until September '04 you will have the above.

bigben2k · 06-30-2003, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by airspirit
You'll be getting a SMP Athlon 64 board with dual A64 4000+ 90nm chips, around 400GB in SATA 7200RPM, R400 on PCI-Express, 1GB DDR-II, DVD-R/RW, and an Antec TruePower 650W PSU (trust me, they will come). Your LAN will be a giganic, your sound will be onboard, and your current watercooling kit will be woefully inadequate.

Well, maybe if you wait until September '04 you will have the above.

Pretty close, except for the HDD: I don't see it getting that big just yet, maybe...

Actually, it looks like watercooling could be easier, but I think that Cathar's Cascade is going to be a requirement, if not still the best performance block around.

airspirit · 06-30-2003, 05:45 PM

He said he wanted two or three. 2x200GB SATA = 400GB. 3x120GB = 360GB. ???

Do not doubt in the power of my Ballz.

bigben2k · 06-30-2003, 06:12 PM

LOL!

Sata 2 might be out next year too

Seyeklopz · 06-30-2003, 06:16 PM

Well, in RAID3, 3 160GB drives would equal 320MB because it saves data striped on two drives and parity data on another drive. It's mirroring and striping with 3 drives instead of 4 basically. Or is it..

bigben2k · 06-30-2003, 06:18 PM

That's RAID5 no?

Seyeklopz · 06-30-2003, 06:21 PM

RAID5 saves the parity data spread over all the drives.

iggiebee · 06-30-2003, 10:52 PM

RAID 5 offers same data redundancy protection as RAID 0+1, the only difference being that for RAID 5 you need 3 hard disks, and for RAID 0+1 you need 4 hard disks.

By data redundancy protection I mean that if one disk fails in the array, you should be able to replace it without losing any data. Beware of other types of RAID arrays that do not offer data redunancy protection.

Then there is ARRAY 1, simple mirroring hard disks which I personally find to be the most useful and economical, and you only need 2 hard disks.

RAID 0+1 controller cards also seem to be a lot cheaper. You should be able to find the popular Silicon Image ATA 133 RAID cards for around US$ 15.00

Seyeklopz · 06-30-2003, 11:14 PM

Awesome RAID Levels explanation.

Upon reviewing RAID3 I realize it's not good for a desktop pc. It says its only good for large data blocks on supercomputers.. RAID10 or RAID5 it is then.. :P

The whole reason I want a RAID is to have enough room for 300GB of mp3 files a friend of mine has! I want easy random access to the mp3s and redundant data protection.

iggiebee · 06-30-2003, 11:50 PM

One last piece of advise. Make sure whatever controller you are going to use that is capable of handling the large disk sizes you want to use. A lot of them have a limit max 134 GB per disks.

iroc409 · 06-30-2003, 11:56 PM

can the sx4000 handle bigger drives?

iggiebee · 07-01-2003, 12:13 AM

According to the specs here it can handle up to 137 GB disks, but should be enough cause this particular controller has 4 channels and is capable of handling up to 8 disks. It's an external controller though.

iroc409 · 07-01-2003, 12:19 AM

ok, i don't have acrobat installed. however, it appears i am mistaken. they've actually changed the part numbers on the promise devices (!). the sx4000 used to be a 4-channel version of the sx6000. so, check out the sx6000.. i guess that would be the on i'm interested in now. imma gonna go read their site, see if it says anything.

airspirit · 07-01-2003, 09:48 AM

Or you could do what I do and run multiple PCs with automated scripts to back up the important stuff over the network and keep two copies of an FTP directory containing all the software and drivers you need to do a fresh install. I look forward to catastrophic crashes because it gives me a chance to clean house.

Writing an automated ap that runs every morning at 0200 isn't a hard thing to do, and you'll have more overall HDD space for things that matter like pr0n and mp3s.

Seyeklopz · 07-01-2003, 10:30 AM

I just don't want to lose the mp3 files... 300GB to an ftp is a scary thought

airspirit · 07-01-2003, 04:20 PM

Yug, I didn't mean it that way. I just label a directory "FTP" signifying to me that it is nothing but a data dump and should stay hella organized. I guess I should have made that more clear.

06-29-2003, 10:05 PM	#1
Seyeklopz Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 94	Any Geeks with Crystal Ballz About next July / August I'm dropping $2000 usd on a mobo, cpu, ram, hdd(raid3 - 3 drives maybe), cdrw(maybe dvdrw), vid card, snd card, power supply. Any predictions/suggestions of hardware I'll end up with? I'm sticking it in a pc80 black lian-li case with a senfu II rad, pump, reservoir. Hoping to get some overclock from it. If anyone has a suggestion for a better case, I'm all ears.

06-30-2003, 02:34 AM	#2
iroc409 Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 596	pc-6070. $250 of lian-li bliss. basically a pc-60 with a really sweet looking front door and sound deadening material. they tout it as the silent pc case. eventually i'll get one, but i'm quite happy with my pc60. lian-li is the only case to get, the quality is unmatched. not only that but the things like the mb quick-disconnect rock my world. the new pc60's have the fan speed controller on the outside of the case, as well. __________________ :shrug:

06-30-2003, 04:34 PM	#4
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	You'll be getting a SMP Athlon 64 board with dual A64 4000+ 90nm chips, around 400GB in SATA 7200RPM, R400 on PCI-Express, 1GB DDR-II, DVD-R/RW, and an Antec TruePower 650W PSU (trust me, they will come). Your LAN will be a giganic, your sound will be onboard, and your current watercooling kit will be woefully inadequate. Well, maybe if you wait until September '04 you will have the above. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

06-30-2003, 05:45 PM	#6
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	He said he wanted two or three. 2x200GB SATA = 400GB. 3x120GB = 360GB. ??? Do not doubt in the power of my Ballz. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

06-30-2003, 06:12 PM	#7
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	LOL! Sata 2 might be out next year too __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

06-30-2003, 10:25 AM	#3
Seyeklopz Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 94	Not really into cases with big doors, but thanks for the suggestion. The case and watercooling i mentioned are not coming out of the $2000 btw. And I'm buying this stuff next year so I'm looking for any hardware predictions for next july's hardware lineup. Will I still be buying athlon / p4 or will it be a hammer / ???

06-30-2003, 06:16 PM	#8
Seyeklopz Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 94	Well, in RAID3, 3 160GB drives would equal 320MB because it saves data striped on two drives and parity data on another drive. It's mirroring and striping with 3 drives instead of 4 basically. Or is it..

06-30-2003, 06:18 PM	#9
bigben2k Responsible for 2% of all the posts here. Join Date: May 2002 Location: Texas, U.S.A. Posts: 8,302	That's RAID5 no? __________________ WBTA (Water Block Testing Alliance) Nordic Hardware WC 101

06-30-2003, 06:21 PM	#10
Seyeklopz Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 94	RAID5 saves the parity data spread over all the drives.

06-30-2003, 10:52 PM	#11
iggiebee Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Miami, Florida US Posts: 117	RAID 5 offers same data redundancy protection as RAID 0+1, the only difference being that for RAID 5 you need 3 hard disks, and for RAID 0+1 you need 4 hard disks. By data redundancy protection I mean that if one disk fails in the array, you should be able to replace it without losing any data. Beware of other types of RAID arrays that do not offer data redunancy protection. Then there is ARRAY 1, simple mirroring hard disks which I personally find to be the most useful and economical, and you only need 2 hard disks. RAID 0+1 controller cards also seem to be a lot cheaper. You should be able to find the popular Silicon Image ATA 133 RAID cards for around US$ 15.00 __________________ I stop for 1 C. "Those that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin (1773) Last edited by iggiebee; 06-30-2003 at 11:03 PM.

06-30-2003, 11:14 PM	#12
Seyeklopz Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 94	Awesome RAID Levels explanation. Upon reviewing RAID3 I realize it's not good for a desktop pc. It says its only good for large data blocks on supercomputers.. RAID10 or RAID5 it is then.. :P The whole reason I want a RAID is to have enough room for 300GB of mp3 files a friend of mine has! I want easy random access to the mp3s and redundant data protection. Last edited by Seyeklopz; 06-30-2003 at 11:29 PM.

06-30-2003, 11:50 PM	#13
iggiebee Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Miami, Florida US Posts: 117	One last piece of advise. Make sure whatever controller you are going to use that is capable of handling the large disk sizes you want to use. A lot of them have a limit max 134 GB per disks. __________________ I stop for 1 C. "Those that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin (1773)

06-30-2003, 11:56 PM	#14
iroc409 Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 596	can the sx4000 handle bigger drives? __________________ :shrug:

07-01-2003, 12:13 AM	#15
iggiebee Cooling Savant Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Miami, Florida US Posts: 117	According to the specs here it can handle up to 137 GB disks, but should be enough cause this particular controller has 4 channels and is capable of handling up to 8 disks. It's an external controller though. __________________ I stop for 1 C. "Those that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." -- Benjamin Franklin (1773)

07-01-2003, 12:19 AM	#16
iroc409 Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: midwest side, yo Posts: 596	ok, i don't have acrobat installed. however, it appears i am mistaken. they've actually changed the part numbers on the promise devices (!). the sx4000 used to be a 4-channel version of the sx6000. so, check out the sx6000.. i guess that would be the on i'm interested in now. imma gonna go read their site, see if it says anything. __________________ :shrug:

07-01-2003, 09:48 AM	#17
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	Or you could do what I do and run multiple PCs with automated scripts to back up the important stuff over the network and keep two copies of an FTP directory containing all the software and drivers you need to do a fresh install. I look forward to catastrophic crashes because it gives me a chance to clean house. Writing an automated ap that runs every morning at 0200 isn't a hard thing to do, and you'll have more overall HDD space for things that matter like pr0n and mp3s. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

07-01-2003, 10:30 AM	#18
Seyeklopz Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 94	I just don't want to lose the mp3 files... 300GB to an ftp is a scary thought

07-01-2003, 04:20 PM	#19
airspirit Been /.'d... have you? Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Moscow, ID Posts: 1,986	Yug, I didn't mean it that way. I just label a directory "FTP" signifying to me that it is nothing but a data dump and should stay hella organized. I guess I should have made that more clear. __________________ #!/bin/sh {who;} {last;} {pause;} {grep;} {touch;} {unzip;} mount /dev/girl -t {wet;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} {fsck;} echo yes yes yes {yes;} umount {/dev/girl;zip;} rm -rf {wet.spot;} {sleep;} finger: permission denied

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