Build Help?

Hello All,
I'm getting ready to order/build me a new system (below) & have a couple of questions.
I'm going to be re-using a couple of the parts from my current system (case, power supply & Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB) & just wanted to know what SATA ports I should use?

When hooking up the optical drive (ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD Burner) & HDD (WD Velociraptor WD300GLFS-01F8U) I use the SATA II 3Gb/s ports correct?

It's been several years since I've built my last system & some things have changed.. I just want to make sure I do it right!
Thank's, Phil B.

New System Specs:
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K.
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45.
SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 256GB= Winows 7 64-bit.
HDD: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB= Storage.
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile.
Graphics: EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 660 2GB.
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD Burner.
Power Supply: CORSAIR TX650W.
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922.

Current System:
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922.
OS: Windows 7 HP 64-bit
Motherboard: EVGA 680i SLI A2 122-CK-NF68
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz.
Graphics Card: EVGA 8800GTS 640MB.
Hard Drive(s): System: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB
Memory: OCZ 2x512 & 2x1GB Gold GX XTC PC2-6400.
Power Supply: CORSAIR TX650W

I would plug the optical drive into on of the 3Gb/s ports and then the SSD and the VelociRaptor into the 6Gb/s ports.

Even if the drive is only 3Gb/s drive, it won't hurt anything to have it plugged into a 6Gb/s port.

That is correct Phil... just make sure that SSD is hooked up to the SATA3 (6GB/s) ports for best performance. The raptor, it doesnt really matter as it wont come close to saturating a SATA2 port.

Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45.

Click to expand...

Why the MicroAtx board? I'd get a better board, for that nice pc you're going to be building. Msi has had issues with VRM failures on their motherboards.

Msi has had issues with VRM failures on their motherboards.

Click to expand...

They do? Got any links? Its the first I heard of it!

Anyway, a better board, if you are overclocking to say 4.5Ghz, is the Asrock Z77 Extreme 4 or Extreme 6(6 if you want to push past that 24/7). If you are not overclocking, then I wouldnt worry about the board at all its got plenty under the hood.

Hey, welcome to OCF!

When trying to recommend a build to you, there's some information that's extremely helpful for us to know. If you could answer these few short questions, we'd be happy to help!

• What are you planning to do with this compuer? Please be as specfic as possible.

• What is your budget?
  
  1. Does this include a copy of Windows?
  2. Does this include peripheals (a keyboard, monitor, mouse, speakers, etc.)?
• Are you from the United States or a different country? Are you ordering from your own country or from across borders?
  
  1. Wherever you may be from, does the store that you are planning to order from have a website? It's okay if it isn't in English, we can manage.
  2. If you are from the United States, do you live nearby a Microcenter?

• Do you have any specific requests with the build?
  
  1. Do you plan on overclocking? If yes, do you have a specific goal in mind?
  2. Would you prefer the build to be particularly small?
  3. Would you prefer the build to be particularly quiet?
  4. In general, do you prefer this to be a computer that you can spend money on now and let it rest, or a box built for continuous upgrading?
  5. Do you ever plan on utilizing NVIDIA's SLI or AMD's CrossfireX technologies? These features, with a compatible motherboard, allow a user to link multiple identical graphic cards together for added performance. In real world terms, this lets you buy a second identical graphics card down the line as a relatively cheap and easy way to gain a fairly large boost in performance. However, this requires buying a SLI/CFX compatible motherboard and PSU now, which may result in slightly higher initial cost.

Once again, thank you in advance for taking the time to answer these, and I hope you enjoy your stay at OCF!

They do? Got any links? Its the first I heard of it!

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I can add two MSI boards to that list.
http://www.overclock.net/a/database-of-motherboard-vrm-failure-incidents

Those are all AMD boards... and some likekly caused by knuckle heads putting a 125W CPU into a 95W board. They are also on older chipsets. I dont think I see a 9 series chipset in there, do you?

Thanks for the link, but in looking at the evidence, I still wouldnt worry about it personally...

Those are all AMD boards... and some likely caused by knuckle heads putting a 125W CPU into a 95W board. They are also on older chipsets. I don't think I see a 9 series chipset in there, do you?

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I do see a couple of 970's on there and you are correct that 90% of the list is AMD. My 2 boards were both AMD also, with that said when I posted here about my MSI board failure, most of the responses I received from respected members here said that MSI was having problems lately with their Motherboard VRM's. Maybe I jumped the gun too quickly pointing out that they have had VRM failures because of the problems I had. Maybe it was or is more of an AMD specific motherboard problem for them. I can say that having two boards one 970 and 0ne 990fx go on me left a bad taste in my mouth.

I can imagine...

I havent heard of any on the Intel side, so this is peculiar. I loved the Mpower, and in past P67/Z68/X79 I liked those as well... at least they didnt bork on me in the reviews. LOL!

Hello All,

Just wanted to thank everyone for there help & let you know I ordered my new system on Thursday & it's on the way & will be here Monday, I'm so excited!

I'll upload some pics when it gets here & take some as I re-build the system.

Later, Phil B.







New System Specs:
Processor: Intel Core i5-3570K. NEW.
Motherboard: MSI Z77MA-G45. NEW.
SSD: OS Drive= OCZ Vertex 4 256GB: Windows 7 64-bit. "NEW"= Black Friday Deal.
HDD: Storage= Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB. Re-Used.
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Low Profile. NEW.
Graphics: EVGA SuperClocked GeForce GTX 660 2GB. NEW.
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium. Re-Used.
Optical Drive: ASUS DRW-24B1ST DVD Burner. NEW.
Power Supply: CORSAIR TX650W. Re-Used.
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922. Re-Used.

Current System:
Case: Cooler Master HAF 922.
OS: Windows 7 HP 64-bit
Motherboard: EVGA 680i SLI A2 122-CK-NF68
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.40GHz.
Graphics Card: EVGA 8800GTS 640MB.
Hard Drive(s): System: Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB
Memory: OCZ 2x512 & 2x1GB Gold GX XTC PC2-6400.
Power Supply: CORSAIR TX650W