2 vs. 1 hard drive..

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Dr.MeTaL

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Nov 1, 2008
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so im finally getting ready to buy a new comp... this dell dimension 8250.. just doesnt cut it anymore.. i went to the uberclok website cause i figured i need a new comp.. and getting it from them would help eGO too.
well anyway.. heres my dilema..
i want a full Tb. hard drive... but i dont know if i should split the Tb. into two hard drives.. like 1 250Gb. and 1 750Gb.. or just one Tb. hard drive. or mabe two 500Gb. hard drives.
i like the idea of two hard drives.. but would it really be worth it in the long run?
second.. same kind of question.. would it be better to have two good video cards.. or just one kick ass video card.. i was thinking of two nividia Gforce 9800 GT video cards.. or maybe one really nice video card..
obviously im looking for as much proformance out of the comp as i can get.. which is why i dont know if 2 video cards would help or hurt the proformance..
HELP.. I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!
 
You should get two seagate barracudas and RAID 0 them, newegg.com, 2 x 500GB seagate barracuda for around 120 bucks and that's 1TB. And you should build your own computer and always buy Newegg!!! You'd save 20-30% by building it, then getting it from a computer company.
 
Well, typically one really good video card is better than 2 video cards. Also, some games don't even support SLI/Crossfire.

As for your HDD question, I would say if you use up a LOT of space, and need the complete 1TB for your main OS, then don't partition it. However, if you don't use 1TB of space, then go ahead and split it for backup purposes/different OSes.
 
I'm running raid 0 right now with two 320gb hard drives but when you use two hard drives in raid 0 that chance of failure becomes higher. Its only a gaming box so If I loose anything it all can be downloaded from steam again. If you plan on using it as your primary box then I would recommend just 1 larger hd because you have less of a chance of failure compared to raid 0.
 
You should get the best video card you can afford. Later on, if you wish, you can add a second one when the price drops. If you get 2 "ok/decent" cards and crossfire/sli them, then you upgrade options begin with "throw away both video cards."

Also, I have 2x500GB HD. I use one for backup. Either way, it's 1TB, but if you have one drive and it dies... bummer. If you have 2, you don't lose everything and you can still use your computer while you get a new drive.
 
1TB is ALOT of storage, but I use a 250 gig and I've only used half of my storage capacity. As far as a video card I would get the best you can afford now and then buy another when prices drop or when money becomes available.
 
SIX got it... thats the one im getting.. but instead of the GTX 280 im goin with the GTX 285..
but im having trouble picking a HD..so i ask all of you what do you think would be best..

2 500 GB 7200rpm 32mb cache
or
2 300 GB 10000rpm 16mb cache

would the speed make up for the smaller cache?
 
Dr.MeTaL said:
SIX got it... thats the one im getting.. but instead of the GTX 280 im goin with the GTX 285..
but im having trouble picking a HD..so i ask all of you what do you think would be best..

2 500 GB 7200rpm 32mb cache
or
2 300 GB 10000rpm 16mb cache

would the speed make up for the smaller cache?
Click to expand...
yes a higher RPM will make up,but beware of raid....
 
yea ive decided not to do the RAID.. id rather a slower HD then a dead one.. considering it wont only be used for gaming. i want it to be fast and last.. not just be a stoopidly fast comp.
 
Forget the raids. Just get a 10k RPM HDD for your apps and OS. Then just have a storage HDD for movies pics mp3s etc...
 
alright if you want stability in your hard drive then Western Digital is the way to go, not seagate, even though seagate is also good.

I recommend Caviar Black
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/products.asp?driveid=488

or the WD RE3
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=503

The Caviar black will be faster and maybe more expensive, but the RE3 is a server drive and will be extremely reliable.

plus i think there are 5 year warranties on both these drives.


In terms of video card all i can say is 4870 X2, its better than the GTX 280 and im not just sayin that, its faster. I would get a single card before you get SLI because you will get more performance for the buck. Even though the 4870X2 is crossfire, its on the card, not the motherboard, so theres much less performance loss.

-Blue
 
whats the difference between the ATI radeon HD 4870 and the 4870X2. is it like a duel video card or something?
 
Dr.MeTaL said:
whats the difference between the ATI radeon HD 4870 and the 4870X2. is it like a duel video card or something?
Click to expand...

It's essentially 2 cards in one. However, it's not 2 separate cards, just 2 in 1.
That's my understanding of it.
 
Existence. said:
It's essentially 2 cards in one. However, it's not 2 separate cards, just 2 in 1.
That's my understanding of it.
Click to expand...

correct, it is two GPU's on a single card running crossfire ON the card, so it it better than getting two actual 4870X2's and running the crossfire acrosss the motherboard.

-Blue
 
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