PC Discussion Thread II - All PC related discussion goes here.

[xeno426 10]

One thing to keep in mind; unless you get Windows 7 Ultimate or Professional, you *don't* have Windows XP mode, which might be of concern to you if you still use a lot of Windows XP applications.

I've also seen Windows 7 Ultimate OEM for sale at the $100 USD price range, which is about 78€. Given that Ultimate can switch between some 37 languages without issue, I don't think it really matters which language version you get, so long as you know enough English to install.

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Hello Folks!

A little over a year ago, I built my very first computer, and it didn't blow up and is still working fine (*knock on wood - hard*). I'm still very much a newbie when it comes to these things, and I'm hoping to have my confidence boosted in regards to what I should do next to best update my system. I'm seeking to take advantage of the upcoming Christmas sales and rebates, and I'd like to be ready to jump on some deals, but I want to ensure that they're The Best deals for my system, so I'm here for some sound advice.

What's the most economical means to get better performance? Is it by purchasing more RAM? By adding an additional graphics card of the same design using Crossfire, or...?

Right now, I'm mostly leaning towards buying a couple of more sticks of RAM. Here's what I already have in my tower:

A-DATA XPG Gaming Series v2.0 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-DG2

If I purchse more RAM, am I correct that it MUST HAVE the following specifications: 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ?

If the above is true, I can still purchase RAM that's been designed by a company other than A-DATA, right? Would I be better off purchasing RAM made by the same company, or...?

And that new RAM can be a higher rating than 2 x 2GB, correct? If I wanted to buy 2 sticks of 4 GB RAM (8GB total), that should work well with my current setup, correct? Altogether then, if I made such a purchase, I'd have my 4GB of old RAM + 8GB of new RAM = a grand total of 12GB.

I seem to recall reading somewhere that the AMD Phenom II X4 840 Edition Deneb 3.2 GHz 4x512 KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor has a RAM "choke point" of 12 GB ~ am I correct on this, or is the choke point different? Needless to say, I don't want to purchase more RAM than my system can efficiently handle.

The other way that I could go is to purchase another HIS Radeon graphics card to combine with my old card with the Catalyst system. MUST the graphics cards be identical, or can I buy a newer/better AMD card that's Catalyst ready, and use that combination of older/newer designs instead? The card that I'm currently using is a HIS Radeon HD 6850 1 GB (256bit) GDDR5 Eyefinity Display Port HDMI 2x DVI (HDCP) Retail (RoHS) PCI Express X16 2.1 Video Card.

If there's anything else that you think might be useful for me to consider, please feel free to recommend it.

[xeno426 10]

What's the most economical means to get better performance? Is it by purchasing more RAM? By adding an additional graphics card of the same design using Crossfire, or...?

XFire and SLi are very expensive options that you only really see benefit from when you are looking at top FPS for max settings. Quite often you're better off just spending an extra $100 on a decent graphics card.

Right now, I'm mostly leaning towards buying a couple of more sticks of RAM. Here's what I already have in my tower:

A-DATA XPG Gaming Series v2.0 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model AX3U1600GB2G9-DG2

If I purchse more RAM, am I correct that it MUST HAVE the following specifications: 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 ?

RAM is pretty much interchangeable. What matters is the type (DDR3), clock speed (PC1600) and whether or not it has ECC. Your motherboard manufacturer should have a Qualified Vendors List (QVL) for all RAM types that have been tested to work with the motherboard you have. Just try to make sure that all your sticks are the same size.

If you get more RAM, it must be 240-pin DDR3 (all SDRAM DDR3 is 240-pin anyway), but can be other speeds (PC2000, for instance), but you really don't need more than PC1600. The term "SDRAM" isn't really necessary when you're talking PC, since it's all SDRAM. Other RAM types come into the mix when you get into laptops, but since we're shying away from dirty laptops you can ignore those. :D

And that new RAM can be a higher rating than 2 x 2GB, correct? If I wanted to buy 2 sticks of 4 GB RAM (8GB total), that should work well with my current setup, correct? Altogether then, if I made such a purchase, I'd have my 4GB of old RAM + 8GB of new RAM = a grand total of 12GB.

You can get 4x2GB or 2x4GB, or whatever up to the max your motherboard and operating system allow. As stated above, you want to try and make sure all your sticks are the same size. You also won't really need more than 8GB, unless you do lots of graphic editing, like JeffersPang.

Keep in mind that if you have a 32-bit OS, you only get the benefit of 4GB max. Ever. And if you have Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, you have a max memory size of 16GB and only 8GB on Home Basic. Anything above Windows 7 Home Premium supports 192GB or RAM.

The other way that I could go is to purchase another HIS Radeon graphics card to combine with my old card with the Catalyst system. MUST the graphics cards be identical, or can I buy a newer/better AMD card that's Catalyst ready, and use that combination of older/newer designs instead? The card that I'm currently using is a HIS Radeon HD 6850 1 GB (256bit) GDDR5 Eyefinity Display Port HDMI 2x DVI (HDCP) Retail (RoHS) PCI Express X16 2.1 Video Card.

Yes, all cards must be the same. I'd suggest getting a newer, better card and replacing your current one. Although the 6850 is still a good card, so you will probably be fine until the next generation of consoles come out so long as you don't mind the fact you won't be able to maximize the settings all your games.

If you are going to upgrade, check to see what version of PCIe your motherboard uses. If it's PCIe 3.0, get one of those graphics cards. If it's PCIe 2.0/2.1, then you're not going to see the full performance of a PCIe 3.0 graphics card, though it will still work in your system.

If there's anything else that you think might be useful for me to consider, please feel free to recommend it.

ArmA is extremely CPU-intensive, more so than other shooters which tend to hog more of the GPU (graphics card). Since you probably don't want to upgrade your mobo and CPU for an Intel (which provide better ArmA performance), look into upgrading your CPU if you can. You might also look at getting a better CPU fan or a new case with better air flow so that you can overclock your system--AMD processors overclock pretty well. Another BIG help with ArmA and many other large games that need to do a lot of loading would be to get an SSD, probably larger than 200GB since you'll want to put your OS on it as well. If you have ArmA through Steam, there's some handy tools that can be used to move your game to your SSD without forcing you to place all your Steam games on that drive.

FYI, you can get a Samsung 830 Series 256GB on Amazon for about $225 USD, which is a pretty good deal at the moment. There are other options out there, but this one came to mind 'cause I purchased one recently. Booting is so much faster now as well. :D

Edited November 19, 2012 by Xeno426

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Xeno - thank you for your detailed help. A few more questions, if you don't mind.

I just looked into my power demand on my system if I added an additional HIS Radeon HD 6850 graphics card using the Crossfire system. I used the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite website ( http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine ), and I came up with a figure of 502 W. I was gifted a 600 W Cool Master 600W Green Power Prod. No.: RS-600-ASAA. I don't have a clue as to its age, so there's no way for me to even get a rough idea of the impact of the capacitor's aging. I know that the previous owner is a devoted fanatic to supplying a lot of cooling, and low energy consumption, so that's probably in the favor of the performance of this already-used PSU.

But let's pretend that I have a miracle PSU, and it's still fully providing 600 W ~ if my system is demanding 502 W, isn't that running the system hard, and should be avoided, or...? Is there a "safety buffer" of just how much power's drawn versus what's provided?

Also, a little bit more clarity in regards to the RAM. You state that they must all be the same size, 240-pin DDR3, up to the limits of my processor and operating system. I purchased/installed Windows 7 Professional Upgrade 64-bit, so I'm assuming that my maximum limit of RAM is an astounding 192GB! Oh, if I only had the $.

Earlier tonight, I had a conversation with a neighbor who said that buying more RAM won't do much more for me other than speed up loading times, and that its impact on framerates in the game are minimal. Is this true? I would think that going from 4GB of RAM to 12GB would do "more" than boost loading times, yes? RAM was always explained to me as being a mechanism to help speed up your system's performance, but honestly, when I think about that statement, it is rather vague. If I'm mistaken on this, or if you have some words that would add greater clarity and accuracy to how I think about what RAM can and can't do.

My neighbor said that I would be much better off either adding another HIS Radeon HD 6850 graphics card, or, better yet, getting a newer and better graphics card (of course, this is if my power supply can handle it).

I guess that my bottom-line concern right now with this upgrade is to achieve silky smooth framerates in ArmA 2 at maximum settings (I'm already fairly close to that now - framerates get a bit choppy if I have 50+ AI units using a sophisticated urban combat script on Lingor, for example), and I'd like this upgrade to set me up to be in a pleasant (not perfect) position for when ArmA 3's released.

Again, any detailed advice will be most warmly accepted. :)

[xeno426 10]

I just looked into my power demand on my system if I added an additional HIS Radeon HD 6850 graphics card using the Crossfire system. I used the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator Lite website ( http://extreme.outervision.com/PSUEngine ), and I came up with a figure of 502 W. I was gifted a 600 W Cool Master 600W Green Power Prod. No.: RS-600-ASAA. I don't have a clue as to its age, so there's no way for me to even get a rough idea of the impact of the capacitor's aging. I know that the previous owner is a devoted fanatic to supplying a lot of cooling, and low energy consumption, so that's probably in the favor of the performance of this already-used PSU.

But let's pretend that I have a miracle PSU, and it's still fully providing 600 W ~ if my system is demanding 502 W, isn't that running the system hard, and should be avoided, or...? Is there a "safety buffer" of just how much power's drawn versus what's provided?

600W, as long as that's true power (and not peak) should be fine. If you plan to get a bunch of HDD's you may need more, and newer graphics cards tend to require more juice (though likely not more than two of your current cards). My only concern is that "Green Power" stamp; most "green" computer products have crappy performance—particularly hard drives—and should be avoided by gamers with one caveat; green hard drives are fine for general media storage, though don't expect to transfer files to/from them very quickly.

Having extra power in your PSU is, as far as I know, only a waste on your wallet. Someone more knowledgeable about them might know if they draw more power from your house—I'm not sure if they do or not—but it's not going to damage your computer system. The PSU is designed to not give more power to your computer than it requires.

Also, a little bit more clarity in regards to the RAM. You state that they must all be the same size, 240-pin DDR3, up to the limits of my processor and operating system. I purchased/installed Windows 7 Professional Upgrade 64-bit, so I'm assuming that my maximum limit of RAM is an astounding 192GB! Oh, if I only had the $.

Only the RAM pairs (if your motherboard is dual-channel) have to be the exact same gigabyte size. It is recommended that all your RAM sticks be the same size, though. I'd also point out there's no way in hell you're going to find a motherboard that supports 192GB of RAM. The only thing that will come close are server boxes, and you don't need that.

Earlier tonight, I had a conversation with a neighbor who said that buying more RAM won't do much more for me other than speed up loading times, and that its impact on framerates in the game are minimal. Is this true? I would think that going from 4GB of RAM to 12GB would do "more" than boost loading times, yes? RAM was always explained to me as being a mechanism to help speed up your system's performance, but honestly, when I think about that statement, it is rather vague. If I'm mistaken on this, or if you have some words that would add greater clarity and accuracy to how I think about what RAM can and can't do.

RAM is where all the data your computer is actively working with is stored, kinda like the work bench. More RAM is like having a larger workspace on the computer's bench. When there's not enough room in RAM to do everything the computer wants, it begins using a pagefile, also known as a swapfile, which is stored on one of the hard drives. This is kinda like putting stuff from the work bench into a nearby toolbox; it clears up space on the bench (the RAM), but puts it away in the slowest component of your computer—the hard drive. Getting more RAM can improve FPS because more of the data the game needs to work with will already be in RAM and not in the pagefile. That said, buying another pair of 2x2GB PC1600 sticks should be good enough. Keep in mind that Windows 7 needs between 1-2GB of RAM to operate optimally, which leaves you 2GB on your current system for everything else—this includes all your background programs.

My neighbor said that I would be much better off either adding another HIS Radeon HD 6850 graphics card, or, better yet, getting a newer and better graphics card (of course, this is if my power supply can handle it).

Hmm, don't know about that. I ran with an SLi setup for quite a while, and you really don't see any improvement unless you have a CPU that can really handle it. Again, you only see improvement from Xfire/SLi in the upper-range settings. Unless you're already able to somewhat acceptably run all your games—and games that will soon come out—at max settings, I don't think you'll see much improvement. If you want to future-proof your system for ArmA3, you'd be better off waiting until more information on the requirements come out and getting a completely new graphics card to match it.

I guess that my bottom-line concern right now with this upgrade is to achieve silky smooth framerates in ArmA 2 at maximum settings (I'm already fairly close to that now - framerates get a bit choppy if I have 50+ AI units using a sophisticated urban combat script on Lingor, for example), and I'd like this upgrade to set me up to be in a pleasant (not perfect) position for when ArmA 3's released.

The ArmA series of games (ArmA, ArmA2, probably ArmA3) rely more on your CPU than GPU. AI and scripts are completely CPU-dependent, so if you want better performance in those areas you've got to get a better processor or start overclocking. Intel chips perform better than AMD processors on ArmA2 almost across the board, but that kind of upgrade would require you to get a new motherboard on top of your new processor. You'll also see a MAJOR improvement in ArmA2 if you put that sucker on a solid-state drive. In fact, for pure ArmA2 performance, an SSD (plus 4GB more RAM) would be your most cost-effective measure.

Again, I'll stress that with the ArmA engine, your CPU carries a much larger and far more important burden than your GPU compared to other modern shooters.

[spooky lynx 73]

no, it was "shoping cart" in webshop, so it was saved position in virtual cart, i was waiting for premiere of 8 with natural hope that after it i will buy whole PC cheaper cause price of 7 should go down, instead of this i see this +170 PLN surprise, so is it the same in other countries ?

after premiere of Vista prices of XP went down, after premiere of 7 prices of Vista went down, but here ???

Well, I suppose it was either error of website admin (wrong pricetag, got +30% instead of -30%) or mental disease of that company's managers.

[vilas 473]

nope sir :]

it is in whole PL shops:

http://www.skapiec.pl/site/cat/3006/comp/684684

it was for 530-540 PLN before premiere of Windows 8, seems that people so hate Windows 8 that Windows 7 is now top-sale,

probably lack of "start menu" made it so, cause Win 8 looks like tablet-dedicated system,

for me ... personally i love XP for "search" menu, which is not like this in 7, my mother has laptop with 7, i don't like searching files under 7, in XP it was much much better

Edited November 19, 2012 by vilas

[spooky lynx 73]

Oh... I don't see any logical expaination of it. Especially if the sales and support of Win7 aren't aborted with starting the sales of Win8, no matter of how many people hate the latter:) You can just stay on your Win7 instead of buying new OS. Seems like mass mental disease stroke all Polish shop sales managers...

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Xeno436 wrote:

Again, you only see improvement from Xfire/SLi in the upper-range settings. Unless you're already able to somewhat acceptably run all your games—and games that will soon come out—at max settings, I don't think you'll see much improvement. If you want to future-proof your system for ArmA3, you'd be better off waiting until more information on the requirements come out and getting a completely new graphics card to match it.

Sounds like I should skip the graphics card for now, and that my best investment is in simply more RAM.

You made it sound like it would be ideal for ALL of the RAM to be of the same quantity - is there a reason for that?

What are the downsides if I purchase 8GB in RAM (x2 sticks of 4GB) and add that to the x2 sticks of 2GB RAM (for a total of 12GB) versus adding x2 more sticks of 2GB (for a total of 8GB)?

Do my x2 sticks of 2GB reduce the effectiveness of the x2 sticks of 4GB, or...?

Thanks again for your patience and advice! :)

[xeno426 10]

Sounds like I should skip the graphics card for now, and that my best investment is in simply more RAM.

That and and SSD. Seriously, I can't stress this enough. ArmA2 rocks so much better on an SSD.

You made it sound like it would be ideal for ALL of the RAM to be of the same quantity - is there a reason for that?

It ensures all RAM chips have the same timing (latency). It will probably still run, but they will all operate at the slowest speed and you may have some other issues.

What are the downsides if I purchase 8GB in RAM (x2 sticks of 4GB) and add that to the x2 sticks of 2GB RAM (for a total of 12GB) versus adding x2 more sticks of 2GB (for a total of 8GB)?

Do my x2 sticks of 2GB reduce the effectiveness of the x2 sticks of 4GB, or...?

You'll be running at the slowest RAM speed you have if you mix. Check this thread for a better explanation.

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

First, let me state again how EXTREMELY grateful I am for all of the generous help I'm receiving here.

I'm pretty sure that I'm near the "ultimate decision point" in regards to what I'm going to purchase in regards to upgrading my system.

Just in case it's needed, here are the specs to the motherboard I have installed: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157198

Money's tight for my family right now, so I can't treat myself with as big an annual reward as I used to. That said, here's what I'm looking at...

OCZ Vertex 4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227791 I'm a bit nervous at the number of the negative reviews found at Newegg, but Amazon.com has fewer negatives listed (that said, Amazon's been known "fluff" products to be more positive than they really are, so...). I compared the OCZ Vertex 4 to this comparable Samsung one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147188 which tends to have a better rating in terms of not failing, BUT there are also far fewer ratings given to it than those written for the OCZ. Right now, especially with its 5 year warranty, I'm leaning quite heavily on purchasing the OCZ Vertex 4.

If I do go this route, is there a (hopefully free) data migration program that you would advise using? I've looked into some of them, but honestly, it's a bit bewildering which one would be better than another.

And in regards to RAM, I'm looking at getting the very nicely priced G.SKILL Ares Series http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231560&cm_mmc=BlkFri2012-_-147-_-N82E16820231560-_-na&nm_mc=BlkFri2012 . It's gotten near-flawless reviews. What I like about it, is that if I purchase the set of x2 8GB sticks, that'll leave my other slots open for further expansion. I intend on removing my old RAM altogether, and just using the new RAM. My only concern in regards to it are some of its details, which don't seem to exactly match my motherboard's specifications. For example, the Memory Standards for my ASRock 870 are:

DDR3 1800(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066/800

but the G.SKILL RAM is stated to be DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)

I've already got my motherboard set to OC the RAM I do have to 1600, and the manufacturer's documentation states that it can handle up to 1800, so what's likely to happen if the G.SKILL RAM is beyond that, at 1866? Is it a serious issue if in my BIOS settings I set it to 1600, or 1800?

Also, what's the significance of the (PC3 14900) figure? Is this compatible with my motherboard, or...?

If there's anything else that you think would be useful for me to know, please don't hesitate to inform me. Again, thank you for your generous patience in educating me! :)

[segaprophet 1]

Hey, I'm a lifelong Mac user (since 1993), and I'm trying my hand at building my first gaming PC, principally for playing ARMA 2/3. I love my Mac but it's really frustrating at times to not easily be able to play awesome games like ARMA (my 2011 iMac couldn't keep up even in Boot Camp because Apple won't put a halfway decent GPU in anything :( ). So now I'll have the best of both worlds.

I just put in my order at Newegg and I wanted to get everyone's feedback on the parts I went with, specifically if they'll be adequate for high settings with ARMA 2 and ARMA 3 once it arrives. Keep in mind I was trying to keep the total build under $1000. Tell me what you think -

CPU - Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8Ghz Turbo) - $219.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504

GPU - MSI R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5/OC Radeon HD 7950 3GB PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support - $319.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127667

RAM - SAMSUNG 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 SDRAM Model MV-3V4G3D/US - $34.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096

MOBO - Intel DZ77BH55K LGA 1155 Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard - $169.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=13-121-606

PSU - SeaSonic X750 Gold 750W ATX12V V2.3/EPS 12V V2.91 80 PLUS GOLD Certified Full Modular Power Supply - $99.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151087

CPU HEATSINK - COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" 120mm CPU Cooler - $29.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065

HDD - A used Western Digital 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM SATA2 HDD I pulled out of one of my Mac projects

ODD - Sony Optiarc 24X DVD Burner, Bulk Package 24X DVD+/-R Black SATA Model AD-7280S-0B - OEM - $18.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827118067

CASE - Corsair Carbide Series 300R - $74.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811139011

OS - Windows 7 Ultimate SP1, which I already own

----------

Total cost after shipping - $986.55

Edited November 22, 2012 by segaprophet

[vilas 473]

i am sorry for offtopic, Segaprophet, i took your parts and your prices, compared in in cheapest web-store in my country :

CPU - Intel Core i5-3570K Ivy Bridge 3.4GHz (3.8Ghz Turbo) - $219.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116504

GPU - MSI R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5/OC Radeon HD 7950 3GB PCI Express 3.0 x16 CrossFireX Support - $319.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127667

MOBO - Intel DZ77BH55K LGA 1155 Intel Z77 ATX Motherboard - $169.99

thats 710 USD you need,

i need:

Procesor Intel Core i5-3570K, 3.4GHz, 6MB, LGA1155, 22mm, 77W, BOX (BX80637I53570K) 899,00 899,00 Usuń

2 454746 Karta graficzna MSI R7950 Twin Frozr 3GD5/OC 1254,01 1254,01 Usuń

3 473831 Płyta główna Intel LGA 1155 Z77 (VGA DZ LAN) ATX BOXDZ77BH55K 669,01 669,01 Usuń

Suma 2822,02

2822 PLN / 3.21 (USD exchange rate) = 880 USD

nice

880 USD in cheapest shop in my country (in other classic not web-shops it could be 1000 USD) vs 710 USD, 23% difference in price probably VAT tax in EU, "nice"FPDR

sorry for offtopic

Edited November 22, 2012 by vilas

[Leon86 13]

I'd get an asus or gigabyte motherboard instead of an intel one segaprophet. They've got more power circuits on the boards of that price catagory allowing for safe overclocking.

rest of the build looks good. Amazing deal on that psu by the way.

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

My wife just informed me that we're quickly running out of time on our Norton subscriptions. Buying new anti-virus and anti-malware programs is going to take a sizable bite out of my potential pool to upgrade my computer's hardware.

I've heard of some free anti-virus/anti-malware programs, but to say that I'm more than a little nervous about using these is an understatement.

Do any of you have experience with these, and if so, are there programs out there that you would swear by, and, of course swear against?

I'd like a list of both suggestions, "You MUST use this...!" and "NEVER use that...!"

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Derbysieger 11]

yeah 100 bucks for that psu is incredibly good. I would argue that you don't need 750W for that build but at that price it really doesn't matter^^

[xeno426 10]

OCZ Vertex 4 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227791 I'm a bit nervous at the number of the negative reviews found at Newegg, but Amazon.com has fewer negatives listed (that said, Amazon's been known "fluff" products to be more positive than they really are, so...). I compared the OCZ Vertex 4 to this comparable Samsung one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147188 which tends to have a better rating in terms of not failing, BUT there are also far fewer ratings given to it than those written for the OCZ. Right now, especially with its 5 year warranty, I'm leaning quite heavily on purchasing the OCZ Vertex 4.

With a warranty that long, I'd consider putting down money for it. Just be sure to have backups of your stuff on a different media, like burning them to DVD's.

If I do go this route, is there a (hopefully free) data migration program that you would advise using? I've looked into some of them, but honestly, it's a bit bewildering which one would be better than another.

To be honest, I've always done my data migration manually. That is, back everything I want saved up on a different drive, install my new stuff, and start plopping all the saved stuff back in place and adjusting the settings in my (fresh) install of Windows. It's more time consuming and requires you to know where lots of various files are saved, but I've never lost anything important—though I have forgotten to back up a few "nice to have but not necessary" things like custom Windows themes.

And in regards to RAM, I'm looking at getting the very nicely priced G.SKILL Ares Series http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231560&cm_mmc=BlkFri2012-_-147-_-N82E16820231560-_-na&nm_mc=BlkFri2012 . It's gotten near-flawless reviews. What I like about it, is that if I purchase the set of x2 8GB sticks, that'll leave my other slots open for further expansion. I intend on removing my old RAM altogether, and just using the new RAM. My only concern in regards to it are some of its details, which don't seem to exactly match my motherboard's specifications. For example, the Memory Standards for my ASRock 870 are:

DDR3 1800(OC)/1600(OC)/1333/1066/800

but the G.SKILL RAM is stated to be DDR3 1866 (PC3 14900)

I've already got my motherboard set to OC the RAM I do have to 1600, and the manufacturer's documentation states that it can handle up to 1800, so what's likely to happen if the G.SKILL RAM is beyond that, at 1866? Is it a serious issue if in my BIOS settings I set it to 1600, or 1800?

Also, what's the significance of the (PC3 14900) figure? Is this compatible with my motherboard, or...?

Check the QVL (Qualified Vendors List) for your motherboard (most up-to-date one is here). If that one isn't on there, I'd consider finding a different RAM set. My instincts tell me that it won't work because the clock speed on the RAM you are looking at is higher than what your motherboard allows. At best, it will run at the slower clock speed. Worst, it won't run at all. Really bad, it will damage the system. A glance through that QVL list does not show your RAM choice, so I would highly suggest looking for something else.

DDR3 1600 is generally cheaper anyway, and it's not likely you'll see any difference between that and DDR3 1866 RAM (assuming you could run RAM of that speed).

I'm not entirely sure what the PC numbers mean, though I've asked a friend who is more knowledgeable on this than I and will update when I get a response.

I've heard of some free anti-virus/anti-malware programs, but to say that I'm more than a little nervous about using these is an understatement.

I'd like a list of both suggestions, "You MUST use this...!" and "NEVER use that...!"

I've used Avast! for years without issue. AVG has some annoying browser plugins that are essentially malware, given how incredibly difficult they are to remove (as discussed here). The issue may be resolved now, but it still leaves me a bit wary of them. Those are the only two freeware anti-virus programs I'm really familiar with.

As for other malware, Ad-Aware and Spybot S&D are both very good (the latter I tend to use more). I haven't used Ad-Aware in a few years, so my feelings about them may be out of date, especially since a quick glance at their website shows they've moved into anti-virus protection as well. Spybot is still focused on general spyware and similar malware, and I still use it.

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

so I would highly suggest looking for something else.

Doing so now. Boy, am I happy that I posted here to get your reply BEFORE I purchased the RAM. Whew!

What are the advantages of going with x4 4GB in RAM, versus having x2 8GB in RAM? Does the RAM run cooler with 4 sticks versus 2? Which would be more energy efficient? Less stressful on the CPU? Etc., ect. ...?

---------- Post added at 15:45 ---------- Previous post was at 15:22 ----------

Looking through the 8GB RAM. Most are out of my price range. I found this x2 16GB one though http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231489&Tpk=16GB%20%282%20x%208GB%29%20240-Pin%20DDR3%20SDRAM%20DDR3%201600%20%28PC3%201 , with a lifetime guarantee, but it's not on ASRock's official compatibility list.

And I found this x2 4GB (I'd buy two sets of these for 16GB total) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231314, but it too is not on ASRock's compatibility list.

Does that mean that they "for sure" won't work at all, or that they WILL have issues, or...?

I've checked into almost 3 dozens' worth of the "officially checked" RAM that ASRock lists on their site, and most of the time people are still having issues with that RAM (and usually at a higher cost to the RAM that I'm finding when I'm just doing a RAM search using the specs), so how religiously should one follow that list's recommendations?

This

is

so

frustrating...

[vilas 473]

you asked for antivir, i use German Freeware Avira (red umbrella), it is freeware, it is CPU light, Norton and McAfee are CPU eating,

and i am visiting not safe pages too, so this is effective

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Hey vilas! It's been a while since I last saw one of your posts. Thanks for your input.

I'm a little confused by this portion of what you wrote me:

and i am visiting not safe pages too

I've had my old XP system badly infected twice. The first time, I don't know how it happened. The second time was from my wife browsing a site featuring/selling Disney products (I kid you not). That was the first time that I learned that virus/worms can inbed themselves into links that people click on.

Are there certain sites that are "high traffic" for virus placement, and if so, what types of sites are they?

[Kyle_K_ski 1]

Alright, my choice has been made...

16GB' worth of G.SKILL Ripsaw RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429

I triple-checked on ASRock's listings. My eyes have been crossing like crazy with checking this stuff out. If a person's off by even 1 character, one's going to be getting a different product (and one most likely not listed as being "verified").

I'm going to wait on getting a SSD. From the articles that I read, the 4th generation is just around the corner. They'll be cheaper, and even more importantly, have a longer lifespan (this worries me a bit in regards to what's currently available).

[Cards525 10]

Allo all. I've recently taken up the project of building myself a new computer. Before I go into some rant about how I want everything to be perfect, I want outside opinion. Is this a good build and does anyone have any suggestions to add onto?

-Be advised, the card will be a 8000 series. AMD is supposedly releasing the series in Quarter 1 of 2013. The 7970's just a placeholder.

I plan on doing high-grade video recording and editing, as well as ARMA of course you sillys :) Price has to be below 2500 or near it, I work hard but not that hard. I want to try to keep the Case and the Keyboard/Mouse, but if theres a clear, better winner I'll take it

http://www.mediafire.com/view/?fe9yypunzd2su7b

[xeno426 10]

Alright, my choice has been made...

16GB' worth of G.SKILL Ripsaw RAM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231429

Keep in mind your motherboard can hold a MAX of 16GB or RAM, so that's probably a good choice. 2x8GB sticks would prevent you from ever using the other two RAM slots, and 2x16GB sticks probably wouldn't even work.

Keep in mind the QVL is a list of RAM that will work in your system, not what will only work.

-Be advised, the card will be a 8000 series. AMD is supposedly releasing the series in Quarter 1 of 2013. The 7970's just a placeholder.

I have been thoroughly unimpressed with AMD's GPU driver support in the last few years, and unless that changes I'd suggest moving to nVidia.

[vilas 473]

I'm a little confused by this portion of what you wrote me:

it is because as non-native speaker sometimes i still use Polish grammar to English words, you know... Globish ;)

in English grammar it should sound : and i am also visiting not-safe pages as well as safe pages, so Avira is effective

just like in proper English "too" would suggest you are visiting "you too", right ? for me (you know English is not my native) "too" means "as well" "also" etc.

it is another false-friend word (most dangerous false-friend is "pathetic" cause it has oposite meaning in Slavic languages and once upon a time i used it about one RHS thing, but i meant "monumental job" )

now i will try to remember not to use "too" in terms of "as well, also" ;)

from time to time Avira stops some virus from such page so i think it is good, in other PC in my office i have McAfee, it kills CPU and once upon a time i ... catched virus and i cleaned it ... instaling Avira ;)

McAfee (payware) was not as effective and not able to clean file, but freeware Avira done it,

when i scanned my office PC with Avira it found few trojans, which McAfee was not reacting at all

Edited November 23, 2012 by vilas

[spooky lynx 73]

Does anybody know any freeware firewall? Or does Avira or avast have it built-in?