"My new PC " PART 3 - Raptor Benchmarks

Here are some benchmarks for three different hard drives I use. The test system is:

Athlon XP-M 2500+ @ 2200 MHz
EPOX 8RDA6+ motherboard
3x256 MB ram

All tests were done by HD Tune 2.53. Disks used in the test:

- WD Raptor 74 GB SATA, 10000 rpm, WD740ADFD-00NLR1
- WD 320 GB ATA 100, 7200 rpm, WD3200JB-00KFA0
- Maxtor 120 GB ATA 133, 7200 rpm, 6Y120P0

1.) From the first graph you can see the performance of all three HDDs. It's clearly that Raptor is the leader. It's about 30% faster in overall transfer rate.
2.) Burst rate.
3.) The real thing is access time. Raptor has 100% better access time than other two disks.
4.) Surprisingly, CPU usage is largest with RAPTOR. I think it's because overall system configuration. I'll test it with DUO 2 CORE when it's ready.

That's all for now.

"My new PC " PART 2 - CPU cooling changes...

I have found a better cooling solution for my new CPU and because I didn't buy CPU cooler yet, I've decided to buy something else. What, do you ask? Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme. You can read the review here. This cooler is smaller and looks like it's more efficient and quieter too.

"My new PC " PART 1

Yes, it's a plan. A plan to build a new rig, a new monster...

My current PC is about 3 years old, and it's doing it's job pretty OK. But a few weeks ago I've decided to search for new, price friendly computer parts to build a new one. I've searched the web and found some interesting info about which component is good and why. The existence of Core 2 Duo and DDR2 on the market are not new, but I have not really put much effort to learn more about it. Enough is enough!

Here is a list of components I have to buy:

- CPU, Motherboard, Memory, Graphic Card, Hard disk, CPU cooler.

CPU and CPU cooler:

After some reviews I found that most suitable CPU for my new PC is Intel Core 2 Duo E6600. It has 4MB L2 Cache and it's great over clocker. The price is also reasonable. Because I'll over clock the system, I need a suitable cooling too. For a start I'll cool my CPU on air and best choice is Scythe Infinity. In all reviews I read about CPU air cooling, Scythe Infinity showed best performance and low CPU temperatures at higher CPU frequencies.

CPU and it's cooler are checked. Now let's take a look to other components.

Motherboard

I like nvidia based chipset motherboards. Now I have nForce2 Ultra 400 chipset and I have nothing but good opinion about it. I also owned motherboard with VIA chipset and I have nothing but problems... Ok, I have to search for nForce chipset motherboards and one that supports Intel Duo 2 Core CPUs. The task was easy. I choose Asus, and already bought motherboard on the eBay, It's Asus P5N32-SLI Premium WiFi-AP. I will tell you more about it when I get it here. It was 150$ with postage, that is like half of the price here. So I am happy for now, I just hope it all goes well.
Memory

Sure, 2x1GB kit is an option here... But which one? After some reading i found that 800 Mhz is the best choice. And now I am hunting for the 2GB kit with Micron D9 chips. Modules are a bit expensive, but what the hell, I want to over clock the monster.. :)

Hard Drive

This is the only part I already have. I bought WD Raptor 74 GB SATA (WD1500ADFD). It's fastest drive around for a reasonable price. I must tell you that it's about 40% faster than my previous drive. I am also thinking to buy another one to make a RAID. But that's a long shot.
Graphic Card

This is the most unexplored part of my new PC. I sure will buy new Nvidia Geforce 8000 series, but which one I don't know right now. 8800 GTS sounds OK for me.


Finally I would like to invite you to comment this post and maybe you can give me some advice, or where to get lowest prices. I am using eBay at daily basis and there are some things to find. I will post some more things later, when I get more parts and hopefully one day the whole thing! i will also post a list of prices soon, my budget and how much I spent on the new PC.

later...