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imachavel
I loved and lost but I loved-ftw
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ok should i install raid or buy a ssd?
#14555699 - 06/03/11 01:37 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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I need to make my hard drive run more efficiently, and I don't really need the extra storage space, but I need at least 100 gb hard drive, which I have.
my spending limit is under $200, and I'm going to scrap the idea of buying the hd 4670 for now.
here are my motherboard specs:
ASUS P4P800 Motherboard 2 reviews Leveraging the Intel 865PE chipset to support 3.2 GHz+ P4 CPU on 800MHz FSB, Dual DDR 400 memory, Intel Hyper-Threading Technology, and a full-range of advanced features, P4P800 really delivers a full-value, high-performance solution for today's most demanding tasks.
can I find a 100 gb solid state drive, for under $200? cam my front side bus handle it? or should i just buy another hard disk drive and raid controller and install raid 0. raid 0 will give me performance regardless of extra disk space right? don't really need extra storage. i currently have a sata controller. can I work with any of this for under $200? thanks a bunch
I'm logged in to amazon, so if I can work all this out, I'll go buy what I need right now, then worry about installation later. I still need to wait for my back up seagate drive to arrive to back everything. if i install raid instead of an ssd, I won't need to reinstall windows right? just change the master and slave section from the boot menu correct?
how will that work, it will start writing all new information to both drives? it won't have to rewrite old information will it? or will that defeat the purpose and completely slow down the computer? being that the bulk of the files will be on one hard disk. anyway, right now i'm just going to order the parts and install it all later, i need to back everything up on external 250 gb seagate first.
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
Edited by imachavel (06/03/11 01:40 PM)
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imachavel
I loved and lost but I loved-ftw
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: imachavel]
#14556487 - 06/03/11 04:47 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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scratch that. I'm pretty sure with my highest ram clock rate being 200 mhz, my 800 mhz front side bus rate won't be able to utilize my ram speed to run raid or a solid state with any type of efficiency.
if i'm wrong, please inform me. I might not be, but I hear you need at least half the total front side bus rate being utilized to run a raid array or make good use of a faster mbps hard drive.
like i said, if i'm wrong, correct me. i was just under that impression. thanks
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,704
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: imachavel]
#14558814 - 06/04/11 03:46 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Your FSB has nothing to do with any possibilities regarding RAID or solid state drives, since CPU and memory (and AGP in your case) are connected directly to the north bridge, while IO such as PCI (including PCI devices such as integrated HDD controllers and add-on RAID cards) are connected to the slower south bridge. Apart from that, assuming you actually have a CPU that runs at 800'MHz' FSB, you're still ok, since that 800'MHz' is in reality 800MTs (mega-trasfers per second), while the FSB is actually clocked at 200MHz (with e.g. a 14x multiplier for a P4 2.8GHz). This means that your assumed 800MTs FSB CPU (I take it you have a hyperthreading P4, nearly all of those have an 800MTs FSB) actually only requires 200MHz memory, so you're ok. To add to the confusion, this type of memory is marketed as 'PC3200' since it allows data rates of 3200MB/s, but it actually runs at 200MHz. Actually, memory that runs on a clock of 800MHz is DDR3, and that won't physically fit in your mainboard and is not compatible with the 865PE chipset. Thanks to the computer engineers for making this unnecessarily complicated.
TL;DR: you might still get a performance improvement by switching to RAID or SSD. However, this depends on what sort of primary storage you're using now, what you're actually doing with it, and if you're currently using it wisely.
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Dimi
The Mindful One
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: koraks]
#14558914 - 06/04/11 05:07 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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I'd like to know why you want higher disk performance. Could you please explain?
Quote:
what you're actually doing with it, and if you're currently using it wisely
^what he said, too
From a gaming perspective, the video card will certainly be a bigger improvement.
RAID 0 will be cheaper than a SSD, and you'll get more storage for the money.
If you get a SSD...Make sure you get a SSD with TRIM support! TRIM increases the life of a SSD considerably. TRIM is integrated into Windows 7 and NOT SUPPORTED with older operating systems.
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Seuss
Error: divide byzero
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: Dimi]
#14559689 - 06/04/11 11:30 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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> RAID 0 will be cheaper than a SSD, and you'll get more storage for the money.
RAID 0 also doubles (or more, depending upon the number of disks in the RAID) your chances of catastrophic data loss.
-------------------- Just another spore in the wind.
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Dimi
The Mindful One
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: Seuss]
#14560310 - 06/04/11 02:27 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Running an OS other than Win 7 with TRIM makes SSD's a setup for failure as well.
With brand new drives in a RAID 0 setup, you've got a manufacturer's warranty firstly, and second you should be making a backup of your data anyways
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moeshroom
golden student
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: Dimi]
#14561256 - 06/04/11 06:30 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Dimi said: Running an OS other than Win 7 with TRIM makes SSD's a setup for failure as well.
Linux has had trim support since 2009
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commitdiff;h=18f0f97850059303ed73b1f02084f55ca330a80c
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imachavel
I loved and lost but I loved-ftw
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: koraks]
#14562368 - 06/04/11 10:36 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
koraks said: Your FSB has nothing to do with any possibilities regarding RAID or solid state drives, since CPU and memory (and AGP in your case) are connected directly to the north bridge, while IO such as PCI (including PCI devices such as integrated HDD controllers and add-on RAID cards) are connected to the slower south bridge. Apart from that, assuming you actually have a CPU that runs at 800'MHz' FSB, you're still ok, since that 800'MHz' is in reality 800MTs (mega-trasfers per second), while the FSB is actually clocked at 200MHz (with e.g. a 14x multiplier for a P4 2.8GHz). This means that your assumed 800MTs FSB CPU (I take it you have a hyperthreading P4, nearly all of those have an 800MTs FSB) actually only requires 200MHz memory, so you're ok. To add to the confusion, this type of memory is marketed as 'PC3200' since it allows data rates of 3200MB/s, but it actually runs at 200MHz. Actually, memory that runs on a clock of 800MHz is DDR3, and that won't physically fit in your mainboard and is not compatible with the 865PE chipset. Thanks to the computer engineers for making this unnecessarily complicated.
TL;DR: you might still get a performance improvement by switching to RAID or SSD. However, this depends on what sort of primary storage you're using now, what you're actually doing with it, and if you're currently using it wisely.
yes my ram is ddr1 pc3200, I don't know how you knew that, since I'm assuming not all ram is 200 mhz clock speed, but maybe I stated it earlier. I haven't seen this thread in a few days.
I'm not interested in extra storage, I have only 40 gigs of 100 taken up. What I'm interested in is speed, My spending limit is under $200, and for the amount I can spend, I want to make sure I get the fastest writing speed possible.
my motherboard is an asus p4p800, should I buy a raid controller and an extra hard disk? a solid state? what would help me the most? is this budget manageable for under $200? I'm logged in to amazon, if you know what parts I should buy, I will order them. Assuming you won't lead me to buy the wrong parts. I appreciate all your help.
thanks
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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LayinUp
Crush yo rating like yo butthole
Registered: 04/14/11
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: imachavel]
#14562378 - 06/04/11 10:39 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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i use a 72gb SSD and the shit rocks
fuck raid, that shit has been around since jesus was a tadpole
SSD is the future
i load my world of warcraft client in like 2 seconds O_O no bullshit!
-------------------- Escape the box.
Edited by LayinUp (06/04/11 10:39 PM)
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imachavel
I loved and lost but I loved-ftw
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: Dimi]
#14562388 - 06/04/11 10:42 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Dimi said: I'd like to know why you want higher disk performance. Could you please explain?
Quote:
what you're actually doing with it, and if you're currently using it wisely
^what he said, too
From a gaming perspective, the video card will certainly be a bigger improvement.
RAID 0 will be cheaper than a SSD, and you'll get more storage for the money.
If you get a SSD...Make sure you get a SSD with TRIM support! TRIM increases the life of a SSD considerably. TRIM is integrated into Windows 7 and NOT SUPPORTED with older operating systems.
I have windows 7. so trim should be no problem. I'm not trying to do gaming, otherwise I would have bought the hd 4670 as it's fairly cheap like $50 or something, and not a bad card. what I want is speed, not extra storage, although storage is a good idea, but I have a 250 gigabyte western digital. Now I know that with 100 gigs in each pc the 250 gigabytes will be limited by what each pc can fit into it. But if one pc fills up with memory, I can start downloading more shit on the other pc, so storage is no problem with my western digital.
what I want is speed. if I can make my hard drive faster by installing raid, or buying an ssd with trimming, and I'm under the $200 limit, I'll go ahead and throw in the hd 4670 if the limit is still under $200.
otherwise, any advice for making my hard drive speed performance faster with the specs I just mentioned? thanks
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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imachavel
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: Seuss]
#14562414 - 06/04/11 10:47 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Seuss said: > RAID 0 will be cheaper than a SSD, and you'll get more storage for the money.
RAID 0 also doubles (or more, depending upon the number of disks in the RAID) your chances of catastrophic data loss.
you said it doubles the chance of data loss? as in i have more chance of data loss with it then without it? then why go with that then go with a solid state?
if it is worth it in such a special way, then how would I go about installing it, or if I can figure that out later, no big deal, I'm not sure if I'll need a faster pc for months yet. But still I'd like to buy the parts to install now.
my mainboard is an asus p4p 800 socket type 478. I know I've said it, just restating to confirm that everyone else knows this. THANKS
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,704
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: imachavel]
#14563162 - 06/05/11 03:25 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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At this point, it seems like a good idea to get some thing straight. Here goes: - Comparing SSD and RAID is like comparing fruit and trees. SSD is a storage technology; it is a piece of hardware that actually stores the 1s and 0s that form your data. If you want to compare SSD with anything, then it should be with other means of storage, such as HDD's. RAID on the other hand is a storage principle; it's not about actually storing the 1s and 0s; it's a collection of clever schemes to distribute data over a set of storage media in order to achieve some goal (speed, reliability or both). - At this moment, a modern/up-to-date SSD is usually superior in terms of speed to a HDD for most desktop environments, because those tend to put a high emphasis on random seeks and retrieving relatively small bits of data. This is where SSD excels. However, if you're into working with large, sequential blocks of data (e.g. video), then a top-range HDD is usually superior, both in terms of speed and cost per gigabyte. In your case, SSD would probably be the best choice when compared to a single HDD. - As I said above, RAID is not one single concept; it's a collection of schemes for storing data. These schemes are indicated by numbers; you can read about all the 'levels' here. If you're optimizing for speed and budget is an issue, then you're more or less drawn to RAID0, and can forget about the other RAID levels. RAID0 simply alternates the storage of data between two drives (or two sets of drives, but forget about that for the a moment). This means that if a file is written, a bit is being written to drive one, then a bit to drive two, then another bit to drive one, etc. This means that each individual drive has twice as much time to process the data, or, in other words, the array of two discs is (theoretically) twice as fast as a single disk of the same time. However, RAID0 also means that your data are dispersed over two disks, without any form of redundancy: if one drive fails, you're left with only half your data, and they are so fragmented that you can safely forget about reconstructing your data ever. Because your data integrity depends on two drives instead of one, and the risk of one of two drives breaking down is larger than that of a single drive breaking down, RAID0 carries a substantial risk of data loss. That's why nobody in their right mind should use RAID0 for any data that are deemed even remotely important. - Note that because of the above, RAID and SSD are complementary concepts: they're on different levels of abstraction. You can build a RAID array using HDD's, but also using SSD's, or you can use either SSD's or HDD's without configuring them as RAID. That's why comparing 'RAID' to 'SSD' is nonsensical, unless you specify what sort of RAID array you're talking about, using what sort of disks (HDD, SSD?)
But since you want to compare RAID to SSD, let's make the comparison a tad more specific: you're inquiring after RAID0 using HDD's vs. a single SSD. Then the actual performance depends on the drive types used in both configurations, but in general, the RAID array will be much (MUCH) less safe in terms of data integrity and it will be much (MUCH) more energy intensive (generate a lot more heat). In the best case, the RAID0 array will outperform the single SSD, but it won't be an order of magnitude faster. It is debatable if the difference will be noticeable in real life. On the other hand, SSD is expensive, especially if you want a modern, fast and big drive. So it's choosing from two evils. Personally, if you don't need the storage capacity and the SSD fits in your budget, I'd settle for an up-to-date SSD.
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imachavel
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: koraks]
#14563395 - 06/05/11 06:46 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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ok so you are saying raid should never be used to maximize performance, because raid will fragment all your data, and without a backup it's useless for speed. it's only good for speed in like a much larger raid array, and with a good set of backups. Maybe even 2, if you are paranoid like I am.
an ssd is s good choice, if you have trimming, for speed. forget the raid, go with ssd, unless storage is what I'm looking for? In that case, raid is really dumb to use for storage also then? if you can't reconstruct your data, then it's completely pointless, what other purpose would you use it for if not speed? data that you don't plant to keep but just need to store in large capacity for a short time?
amazing. By the way, you write really beautifully, almost as if you are giving a lecture. I really thank you.
If my choice was to go with an ssd, can I get a sata compatible one for an asus p4p800? with at least 100 gigs for under $200? I'll have to reinstall windows and all my data. Not an impossible task, but a pain in the ass I hate going through, so I want to be really careful before deciding to buy. I appreciate the advice a lot.
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,704
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: imachavel]
#14563526 - 06/05/11 07:48 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
imachavel said: ok so you are saying raid should never be used to maximize performance, because raid will fragment all your data, and without a backup it's useless for speed.
Well, RAID is usually no used because of its speed. THE usual purpose is reliability and availability. Raid0 is à bit of an exception, but I've never seen it used in à professional environment. Only by tweakers trying to get their Windows to boot faster.
Quote:
ssd is s good choice, if you have trimming, for speed. forget the raid, go with ssd, unless storage is what I'm looking for? In that case, raid is really dumb to use for storage also then? if you can't reconstruct your data, then it's completely pointless, what other purpose would you use it for if not speed? data that you don't plant to keep but just need to store in large capacity for a short time?
that is mostly true for raid0. Raid 1 and raid 5 do have reliability advantages due to the inherent redundancy. Raid0 is mostly used for non-critical data that require speed. An appropriate example is the scratch disk used by Photoshop, or a Linux swap drive; those would benefit from raid0, while the drawbacks are less relevant there. If you only have one storage location in your machine, I would not recommend going for Raid0.
Quote:
. By the way, you write really beautifully, almost as if you are giving a lecture. I really thank you.
thanks!
Quote:
If my choice was to go with an ssd, can I get a sata compatible one for an asus p4p800? with at least 100 gigs for under $200? I'll have to reinstall windows and all my data. Not an impossible task, but a pain in the ass I hate going through, so I want to be really careful before deciding to buy. I appreciate the advice a lot.
i'm not really up to date on the ssd front when it comes to specific products. I would advise looking at some feview sites, such as Tom's Hardware. Keep an eye on the Interfaces your motherboard has, and make sure the ssd you choose is compatible with those.
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imachavel
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: koraks]
#14563628 - 06/05/11 08:31 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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so if I have a sata interface, I should be able to buy an ssd no problem as long as it's sata compatible? meaning, like any other hard drive, the only m b specs I need to look at is connector type right?
is this thing going to have a jumper that needs to be on c s like any other hard drive? I know these are basic redundant questions, I just want to make absolute sure before I just go grab one, which I'll probably do from amazon, that I have everything I need pre install.
how much speed will I get? how many kbps increase over basic hdd's do I get? Is there a greater risk to like eletric charge damage with ssd's over hdd's? is it just as easy to fry one? not that I've ever had this problem, but I've heard of people screwing in their hdd's too tight and it almost grounds them and they've been fried like that. very very very very very very very rare. but just a story I've heard. At the least, I know when removing a hard drive, if you barely bump it onto something, you can damage it to where it won't turn on. maybe not too commonly, but they are sensitive.
are these ssd's more sensitive? If I barely bump it will it completely not even turn on next time I use it? Thanks a lot, just making sure, because I might just buy one later today, not sure yet. if it's cheap enough I can also get the hd 4670.
i was looking at an intel ssd, $250 for just 120 gig ssd. too much money. I don't know, maybe my computer is just fast enough. I feel as though I could improve it, but buying the hd 4670 graphics card will make little difference in performance speed, understand I'm not trying to play better video games, just have a good performance machine, with memory, and speed. I have 60 gigs fre space on my hdd, no reason to really replace with an ssd if it's going to cost that much. I hear the extra performance is some what limited with ssd's, and installing raid with ssd's is even more prone to failure then installing raid with hdd's.
oh well. I guess 3.5 gigs memory 2.4 ghz processor ought to be enough for what I'm trying to do. as long as I don't turn this computer into a gaming machine or a full time server, there should really be no problems with performance right? I don't I'll see any limits, if I do I'll make another thread about it.
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
Edited by imachavel (06/05/11 06:30 PM)
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,704
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: imachavel]
#14572802 - 06/07/11 03:27 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
how much speed will I get? how many kbps increase over basic hdd's do I get?
Depends on the specific drive. You can look up the benchmarks of just about any type of SSD in the market; there's loads of websites that publish benchmarks. Tom's Hardware Guide is one of them that has been popular for more than a decade. See here for SSD benchmarks.
Quote:
Is there a greater risk to like eletric charge damage with ssd's over hdd's?
Yes, although not to an extent that you should be overly worried about that. When working with computer hardware (of any kind), be sure that you're not wearing nylon (e.g. fleece) or woolen clothing to prevent your body from building a static charge. Also, it's a good idea to keep the computer you're working on connected to ground, as well as your body. There are fancy wristbands with a ground lead in the market, but I assume you don't have one. If lacking one, I personally keep the computer I'm working on connected to a grounded wall outlet (make sure the power supply is switched off using the hardware switch that is usually located near the power plug), and before I touch any electronics, I first touch the bare metal of the case to allow any charge my body is holding to flow to earth.
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I've heard of people screwing in their hdd's too tight and it almost grounds them and they've been fried like that. very very very very very very very rare. but just a story I've heard.
It's a true story. Usually it meant that the wrong screws were used. There are screws if different lengths in the market, and some hdd's would produce a short circuit on the control PCB when too long screws were used. Later hdd types usually had larger cutouts in their PCB's to prevent this from happening. Indeed, quite rare, but certainly not unheard of.
Quote:
At the least, I know when removing a hard drive, if you barely bump it onto something, you can damage it to where it won't turn on. maybe not too commonly, but they are sensitive.
When it's not powered up, a hdd can resist moderate shocks. The force is specified in the drive's datasheet, and sometimes also on the label on the drive itself. When powered up, the maximum allowable force is much lower, and a physical shock can result in a head crash and/or damage to the head arm servo or the drive bearings. When turned on, hdd's should not be moved. SSD's are practically immune to physical shocks due to their fundamentally different construction. They can take as much abuse as your portable MP3 player, and then some.
Quote:
as long as I don't turn this computer into a gaming machine or a full time server, there should really be no problems with performance right?
I have the feeling you're trying to solve a problem that isn't there. You decide if your machine is fast enough. If it isn't, then find out the cause and reconfigure or upgrade accordingly. But if you're not permanently annoyed by sluggish performance, then there is no real problem. Anything can be upgraded, and you can spend your month's wages on computer hardware every month and still barely keep up with technological developments. Personally, I would (and do) direct my resources in different ways.
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imachavel
I loved and lost but I loved-ftw
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: koraks]
#14573624 - 06/07/11 10:11 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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yeah man, I really appreciate it. I actually decided, since I need good performance because I want to install a few trial versions of microsoft server 2008 r2 os, on some vmware. I haven't downloaded the vmware yet, but I have yet to install windows server operating system on any of them, or even yet install the vm's, they are both turn key lamp lucid x86 vm's, one is zipped, the other is iso. Anyway I wanted to install them because i bought this microsoft book how to install active directory and domain forest trunks or something like that. I wanted to play around with these things a bit, create dns learn default gateways compared to cidrs etc.
the main problem is, with 3.5 gigs ram I've heard you can only run 1 or 2 vms as you need to assign 1 gig each? well that's at least 3 then. so I said fuck it, I have 2 pc's that I use simultaneously with synergy. one is asus p4p800 socket 478 with 3.5 gigs ram, the other is dell dimension 4700 with 512 mb ram.
i figured why not just compensate one pc if I want to run another vm or so. So for my asus p4p800 motherboard custom built pc, I ordered an hd 4670 graphics card, yes graphics aren't needed for vm's, but if I wanted to host some media intensive shit, for god knows what reason, then at least I know that pc is capable. w/e no harm no foul, at least I'll be able to play crysis low level settings or w/e
ok for my dell dimension 4700 I ordered 2 gigs pc2 5300 ddr2 ram, so I'll have total 2.5 gigs once upgraded, also I ordered a western digital 500 gb hdd so if I have memory issues with my dell dimension 4700, I can swap out the hdd, I think I might have ordered a sata drive, but I'm pretty sure my dell dimension 4700 has interchangable motherboard controllers, swapping out the ide controller for a sata controller should only run me like $25 right?
anyway, with 2 pc's on with 3.5 gigs ram the other 2.5 gigs ram, I'm guessing I could run at least 5 vm's if I wanted to. the way I see it, I don't have to install any of these components now if I don't want to, but I'll have them on my shelf, along with my 250 gb western digital external passport.
this way, if I don't need to do business with any of these pc's, then they are fine, should be no problem the way they are. when and if I do, I can swap out some ram, a hard drive for storage, the graphics card I guess just for fun
sounds workable right? plus I can copy files back and forth from pc to pc as a data backup measure, then if there is still not enough memory storage, I have the external passport. anything else I should greatly consider? probly not at the moment right?
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: imachavel]
#14573657 - 06/07/11 10:18 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
I'm pretty sure my dell dimension 4700 has interchangable motherboard controllers, swapping out the ide controller for a sata controller should only run me like $25 right?
It's extremely unlikely that your Dell 4700 has a modular IDE interface. They have been integrated in the mainboard for about 15 years now. nevertheless, you can still add a PCI SATA controller for less than $25, so it's not really a problem anyway.
You actually don't need huge heaps of memory to run Windows Server in a basic configuration as long as you don't attach dozens of clients which are using intensive server-side processes, so you'll be fine.
Lots of luck with the MS server stuff. I have installed some MS servers back in my day, and all I can say is that it's a relatively expensive, cumbersome and often poor-performing (at least out of the box) option for small to medium-sized networks. But there's lots of MS servers out there, so knowledge of them is still valuable, even though the value is limited in a professional setting as long as you don't have any official certificates to prove your knowledge.
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5HTSynaptrip
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: koraks]
#14574054 - 06/07/11 11:49 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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You need to spend some time looking at what brand SSD you are getting so you can ensure older motherboards have BIOS updates that will support them. There have been some problems with certain controllers, and while a lot of mfg.'s have fixed these problems, some still remain.
OCZ does a really good job with support and their forums are incredible. If you want performance for a small amount of data then an SSD is the way to go, but for what you'd pay for a large SSD you could easily buy a lot more hardware. SSD's also rely on a decent system in some aspects if you want to tweak Win 7 for less wear and better performance (disabling the pagefile). Putting two SSD's doesn't allow for TRIM passthrough, and typical usage of the system will drastically lower performance over the months. I just recently ran an ATA erase on all my drives and finally got my SSD back to the "out of the box" performance. You'll need a decent HDD for anything you don't specifically need on the SSD since you're only going to have 120 GiB of storage unless you spend a ton of money.
Honestly, with how outdated your system is, I would just use that $200 as a good starting point for saving up and just upgrading your system. There's no point in having an SSD when you're running the bare minimum req.'s for most stuff now.
-------------------- Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. - My hero, who will be forever remembered, Carl Sagan.
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imachavel
I loved and lost but I loved-ftw
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: 5HTSynaptrip]
#14577613 - 06/07/11 11:57 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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yeah pc's suck, you buy the top of the line model, 5 years later it's obsolete. it's complete marketing bullshit, and i hate it.
anyway, i just went ahead and made the $200 purchase, w/e, my dell dimension 4700 for some reason has an ide interface, i know for sure I looked. fucking weird, computers can be huh?
yeah it's not much of an upgrade, I should have saved the $200. yeah knowing active directory doesn't help much if you don't have certs to prove it. knowing it might help you take a test. none the less, none of the crap you do education wise certs matters if you don't know what you are doing. the tech world is about showing an employer you can do anything off the back of your hand, even if they tell you that's not the case. most people who want you to c+ program or engineer a network or whatever want certs and years and years of experience. they just want you to do a job that normally couldn't be done, and will pay if you can accomplish this job.
it's kind of redundant, but anyway, so is the entire field of jobs in the corporate world. the truth is if you are a total geek genius, you can probably make money all year doing just about nothing, if you can keep up with every updated piece of hard ware, including the routers, understand administering dns, with windows and linux operating systems, and throw in some programming. i mean really you could make more selling houses. but then in the current market selling houses is probly the worst idea.
plus then you'd fit into middle class society, who wants that
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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koraks
Registered: 06/02/03
Posts: 26,704
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: imachavel]
#14578153 - 06/08/11 03:13 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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I'm not sure if I completely agree with your views on the tech. job market, but if it works for you, then that's great! In any case, knowledge = power, so it can't be wrong to accumulate some knowledge along the way, with our without certifications.
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5HTSynaptrip
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: koraks]
#14578826 - 06/08/11 09:22 AM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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Well you can easily return the SSD if you don't open it. One thing to be wary of is the fact that you have IDE. Aside from the fact that SATA has been the standard (2008 99% of drives were SATA), you will not be able to initiate a secure erase command for your SSD when it comes time to do housecleaning on it after a good amount of use. The winsxs folder grows and grows with use, and we all know how shitty Win computers perform after a long time.
The best way to get an SSD back up to brand new standards is to initiate the secure ata erase, which is a function inherent to SATA drives. The problem is that most BIOS', especially Dell from what I've read trying to figure out what I had to do, freeze the drive from allowing that command to run as a sort of protective measure against malicious sources. In order to bypass this you have to unplug the power cable to the drive. The best way to do that is to have AHCI enabled, but it can be done in IDE mode. The one thing that can't be done in IDE mode is a hotplug. It can be very dangerous and it can brick the drive.
Just wanted to let you know because the SSD will not be that great on an IDE controller anyways compared to SATA II (or SATA III since most are that now). If you run benchmarks at the start (be careful which to run and look around for Win 7 tweaks to prolong the read/write life of your SSD) you'll see the SSD can quickly lose some performance in a short period of time.
-------------------- Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge. - My hero, who will be forever remembered, Carl Sagan.
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imachavel
I loved and lost but I loved-ftw
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Re: ok should i install raid or buy a ssd? [Re: 5HTSynaptrip]
#14579498 - 06/08/11 12:16 PM (12 years, 10 months ago) |
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no I know. thanks for the great advice 5ht synaptrip( awesome name by the way, makes me want to drop a hit right now)
but I never bought an ssd, I bought an ide hdd for my dell dimension 4700. the pc currently has an ide hard drive, so there is an ide controller in there right now. i'd be more worried if I accidentally bought an sata drive, because with an ide hard drive, and an ide cd rom I'd currently have no way of installing a sata hdd. but anyway a controller swap I believe is $25. thanks a lot though for taking the time to give me great advice. I give you a rating yet 5ht synaptrip? your name makes me want to trip balls btw
in response to koraks, yes a degree or certification will definitely help you get a good job in the tech field. I was just saying that with a cert or not, if you get hired for a job and can't perform the tasks they want you to, often times you won't keep the job. It depends how much they are paying you, how many domains you are working with, how many i.p. adresses on the subnet you have to look over, etc. I think having a cert is a great way to get a good job, but I also think the more you know, the easier those tests are, i've heard to an expert, someone taking a ccna, or ccvp, or mcse, or however you spell that, will have relatively no problem passing those tests, but to someone who has no idea what all that stuff means, that it's virtually impossible.
like for example buring an disk partitioner to a cd, if you've done it before, no problem. for me I never got those iso cd burners to work, or maybe I downloaded the wrong partitioner. I know once you get it to burn, you just restart the computer with the bios set to read the startup device as 'cd rom' or 'dvd rom'
weird example, but basically completing technical issues can simply be a matter of experience. the most difficult things can be really easy if you have done it a thousand times, or the simplest thing greek if you just don't know what to do.
thanks for the great advice.
-------------------- I did not say to edit my signature soulidarity! Now forever I will never remember what I said about understanding the secrets of the universe by paying attention to subtleties! I'm never giving you the password again. Jerk
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