Upgrading CPU + maybe HD's

aaf

2 quick questions:
I'm thinking of upgrading my CPU to an AMD X2. I have a DFI LANPARTY UT nF4 ULTRA-D. The DFI should have no problems taking the X2, right?

I was kinda thinking of getting a SATA2 hard drive. Do I need a SATA2 enabled motherboard or will a SATA2 drive run on my DFI LanParty at SATA2 speeds?

WizZard

1. Yes, no problems once you have the latest official BIOS (6/23 IIRC)

2. Yes, you need a SATA2 enabled motherboard to run at SATA2 speeds. The SATA2 drive will run at normal SATA speeds on your current motherboard (unless you perform this mod to enable SATA2 on it! )

unklerosco

Check out this months pc format, they've a roundup of a few hds. An IDE one came out top, think it was faster than all but 1 of the sata's

aaf

Would a Western Digital Raptor 74GB SATA 8MB 10000RPM offer a significant performance increase over the Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB SATA 8MB 7200RPM NCQ, which I already have? I've also got 2 x Samsung SP 160GB SATA's in there aswell.

WizZard

aaf wrote:

Would a Western Digital Raptor 74GB SATA 8MB 10000RPM offer a significant performance increase over the Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB SATA 8MB 7200RPM NCQ, which I already have? I've also got 2 x Samsung SP 160GB SATA's in there aswell.

Yes, if it's your boot drive and installation drive.
You'll find the computer booting faster and programs loading faster. However, there are new Samsung drives that are supposed to be faster than the Raptors, eve though their RPM is only 7200.

aaf

WizZard wrote:

Yes, if it's your boot drive and installation drive.
You'll find the computer booting faster and programs loading faster. However, there are new Samsung drives that are supposed to be faster than the Raptors, eve though their RPM is only 7200.

And where are these beasts to be found? Tried komplett, overclockers and JES.

WizZard

The raptors? They're like hens teeth these days!
Let me check...

<edit>Here</edit>

You, might be better off getting 2 Samsungs for the price of the Raptor and RAIDing them.

aaf

WizZard wrote:

The raptors? They're like hens teeth these days!
Let me check...

<edit>Here</edit>

You, might be better off getting 2 Samsungs for the price of the Raptor and RAIDing them.

No, I meant where can the new Samsungs you talked about be sourced? Those raptors can be got anywhere

gline

is there any 2 hdds that would be faster than 2 x 36gig raptor raid0'd that costs less than €200 for the 2?

WizZard

aaf wrote:

No, I meant where can the new Samsungs you talked about be sourced? Those raptors can be got anywhere

Ah right, I'll get my coat...

WizZard

gline wrote:

is there any 2 hdds that would be faster than 2 x 36gig raptor raid0'd that costs less than €200 for the 2?

No, not using SATA (one) anyway.

gline

WizZard wrote:

No, not using SATA (one) anyway.

what about sata 2?? A lot of sites say different things.

unklerosco

overclockers.co.uk have the samsung drives i thinks... I've a 76gb raptor n to be honest i don't see much of a difference between it n my old 250gb maxtor IDE's.. few secs here n there, as i always say.. whats the rush. Have a cuppa while u wait ;-)

Alkers

I've found the 16Mb cache drives such as in my sig to be very fast indeed.

aaf

Simona1986 wrote:

I've found the 16Mb cache drives such as in my sig to be very fast indeed.

Yeah but that's a SATA2 drive. Don't want to have to change my motherboard aswell.

Alkers

You won't have to - it will still run at SATA speeds. You probably wouldn't be getting 150Mb/s out of them anyway...

po0k

Disinformation.

www.dfi-street.com - check your board's revision against what they have.
Nvidia threw a hissy fit at manufacturers a while back and newer NF4 Ultra-D chipsets can't be SATA300 modded afaik, though I've a sneaking suspicion that the board you have supports Sata300 on the chip (NF4, not SIL3112/4)

SATA2 doesn't exist. Please use SATA300 instead. It's more accurate :v:

unkel

WizZard wrote:

there are new Samsung drives that are supposed to be faster than the Raptors, eve though their RPM is only 7200.

Anybody any link to a review? What part number are those Samsungs?

Alkers

It will still work.
You can enable the jumpers so that the drive acts only as a SATA drive.
You can just about make it out in picture for example.
http://www.hardware-review.net/html/images/se16/large/IMG_8142.jpg

Col_Loki

The advantage of SATA300 v SATA is not much of an issue from what ive heard, since existing hard drives cant fill the SATA150 speeds in the first place.

I changed from a Samsung 160gb 8mb, to a 74gb Raptor and its one of the best by's ive made. I really like the added zip it gives windows both for boot up and general usage. I dont think id go back ........

WizZard

Col_Loki wrote:

I changed from a Samsung 160gb 8mb, to a 74gb Raptor and its one of the best by's ive made. I really like the added zip it gives windows both for boot up and general usage. I dont think id go back ........

You should try them in RAID 0
The little windows bootup animation (progress bar) doesn't even get to go from one end to the other once!

Col_Loki

The little windows bootup animation (progress bar) doesn't even get to go from one end to the other once!

Very nice indeed. The raptors are expensive per/mb thats for sure , but if your looking for performance the main area will be OS/Games etc and they can all fit nicely on the 74gb . I know Raid is another option with alot more HD space but i HATE the security risk, one disk dies you loose double the information, and also if you upgrade alot and need to change your Motherboard...... thats my logic behind getting the raptor and i must say it works like a charm.

[edit] PS have a look at www.storagereview.com for the best site ive seen on hard disk reviews.

aaf

Hmm, everything's pointing towards a raptor. Not a big fan of raid 0 either. Too much too lose.

unkel

Ah I found the review of the Samsung on custom pc. What a load of horse crap their conclusion that the Samsung was quicker loading that game than the Raptor :mad:

aaf

unkel wrote:

Ah I found the review of the Samsung on custom pc. What a load of horse crap their conclusion that the Samsung was quicker loading that game than the Raptor :mad:

€121 for that Samsung SpinPoint P120S 250GB SATA2 8MB 7200RPM NCQ from komplett. Pity it's SATA2. Great price.

Alkers

It will still function at the same speed though...

DemonOfTheFall

Yeah you won't lose out on much at all by plugging it into a SATA 1 board.