ok, I've got a hard drive of similar setup but 2x capacity, only 50$ more.

I need to know what "OEM" means, because theres a similar one thats not "OEM" that goes for more.
Western Digital Raptor WD1500ADFD 150GB 10,000 RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM

yes, otherwise I think I'll go mad

1200 USD I think, cant go much higher than that

nope, I'm using a computer store, they will put it together for me. directly shipped to them etc.

push the limits on this one, I want a god-computer.

well, god to me, not god to you guys.

I just look at your HDD and ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144417

It's a 250GB HDD, although its RPM is slower then then one you have but it's a SATA drive as oppose to the ATA. And it's only half price. It's the HDD I got with my last purchase.


As for your motherboard, I'm not sure what you will do with it in the future ... but either ways .... CHANGE THAT MOTHERBOARD ASAP!!! Uhm ... that motherboard you have there come with an onboard graphic card, first it can create compatibility issue with your VGA and also it counts toward your money. 100$ for a MO with onboard VGA == bad.

I intend to get a motherboard that has as much room for future upgrade as possible. I'm in hurry so I can't look at the site to see if there is a better deal so I give you what I got last time:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131142

Not only it's a dedicated board (no onboard VGA), it has room for future upgrade, either you want to go SLI or Quad, that thing can handle it. And damn, it's cheaper now comparing to 3 months ago



As for your drive concern. My advice is that unless you sorely need a burner right now, just get a high speed dedicated DVD reader for now. Later you can go to the shop (or if you want, do it right now) and get an external DVD burner. Trust me, you're much better of that way. Not only you will probably get a free software with your external burner (my come with Nero), it will last longer and has greater quality, quiet too. The combo drive, especially the cheap one won't last very long and they will blow your ears off.

a small local store, its a couple towns over, we do all our comp stuff there and they havent failed us yet.

whats SATA v ATA mean?
and how much slower is it? significantly? or is it minimal?
I'm a very impatient guy you know.

in short, what benefits will I get (beyond more space) for this HDD? I dont keep much on my computer, just a few games and internet, beyond that theres almost nothing. no pictures, no video software etc.

I need something that can run CDs as well, so if you have any listings for those...
like I said, I dont need the burner.

god I hope...

no idea what that means... but thanks?
seriously, if the term comes in an acronym, give me what it means.
understand that I'm not a tech-freak, I dont know what any of this means. whats important to me is that I want something that will support advanced features present in my other devices, and will run without heating my computer to a sludge. if this mobo can do it, thats fantastic, if it is going to have difficulty with that, give me something else.
additionally it has to have a functioning soundcard, I've had enough of playing games without music...
finally this thing seems to be built for doing some overclocking, I dont see me doing that in the forseeable future

in essence what I want from a mobo is something that is sturdy, cool, and carries all functionality from the other parts its connected to (dont forget the mem chips). beyond that I like price, beyond that I dont think I need anything else.

keep in mind, I'm not going to have much of an issue with price, I want this thing to run well, not run cheap. thats not to say I want some rediculously expensive jigamabob, but I dont want anything that will slow me down either


if any devs are looking, I sure as hell would like some advice. nothing says "god computer" like getting advice from game creators.

If you can offored the one you choose, id go with that one.
Its the fastest HD on the market.

The one satthukaraoke found:
Performance
Interface SATA 3.0Gb/s
Capacity 250GB
RPM 7200 RPM
Cache 8MB
Average Seek Time 8.9ms
Average Latency 4.2ms

The one you found:
Performance
Interface Serial ATA150
Capacity 150GB
RPM 10,000 RPM
Cache 16MB
Average Seek Time 4.6ms
Average Write Time 5.2ms
Average Latency 2.99ms

Cache - means how much it can store the predicted stuff that will be used next. Make it work less on the HD (higher is better)

RPM - means how fast the transfer can go, (higher is better)

Seek Time, Write Time, Latency gotta be as low as possible. It means how fast it can find the info it needs on the HD.

About the SATA VS ATA
ATA can run up 130Mbyte per second
SATA can run up to 300Mbyte per second

no need to go into more detail, unless you want to know. But ATA is about to go out soon. SATA is the new standard.

i know the 250GB one says SATA 3.0Gb/s, thats just a sale trick. No normal harddrive today can transfer that high.

get a BLACK DVD drive!!!!

ok, I'm quickly becoming tech savvy (by my own standards) seriously, I feel my mind expanding (its itchy...)

thanks guys, I'll keep coming back to you when I need clarification, my friend rented out to me two books, one is an A+ Hardware schoolbook, the other a "so you want to build yourself a comp, huh? looser? what you lookin at, freak." style book that will hopefully make things easier for me.

one thing, front bus capacity should be high, is there a corrosponding value on my processor I should be looking at to see if they are best compatable?

Yes there is, if your CPU runs at a 1066Mhz, so will the mobo also need to be. I can see from the mobo you found, it supports that, so now worries


I dunno if it has an actual value to it, but to my personal opinion, id get a 1333Mhz mobo, even if the CPU only needs a 1066Mhz.
So if lets say if the CPU runs at a 1070Mhz (not all hardware is 100% the same) and the mobo only runs at 1066Mhz, you will loss the 4Mhz. Dont take this as actual advise, as im unsure on this part myself heh.

problem I encountered, neither one of the bords says it has a AGP adapter, according to the book (which doesnt seem very game-oriented) an AGP adapter is where I plug in video cards, is that wrong or will I need a new mobo?

Schem, the 8800GTS is using PCI-E, and the mobo also supports it. (AGP is dead (old tech (yeah i know alot of ((lol)))))

sorry didnt see that, Schem you better find another mobo

so what if it has it? It can be disabled in the BIOS, and actually could be quite handy should he ever have a video card issue and need to send his video card out. He can still use the PC with onboard video. I wish all mobo's had default onboard video...

No, there is a chance it will have compatibility issue with the actual Video Card that he put on later. It's not supposed to happen but trust me, it can, Speaking as someone who had 2 Onboard VGA. One way or another it's a potential of complication later.


Plus, like I said it's useless money, that board cost around 100$, deduct that onboard VGA it's easy to question the quantity and quality of that board in term of other functionalities.