Advice? storage, RAM, power supply, etc

I am ready to buy, and want to buy from DS -have loved reading the various posts and playing with the configurations. DS and the community here are tops!

About me and my needs:
Photo enthusiast - intending to do Photoshop image editing on largish file sizes. I will be editing video, creating slide shows, expecting high quality playback on a 1920x1200 screen (sharp 245bw). Fast, safe storage is important. Speed accessing images from a large library is important. I am not a gamer, but I crave speed and responsiveness - and am soooo tired of waiting for my current computer Pentium 4, 2.25ghz, 1.5 GB RAM) to retrieve and save images... (Plus - love the idea of making my college-age son's eyes bug out when I invite him to play a game... )

My questions:
1) I want to install a larger RAID 0+1 for storage later (can't really afford it now if I get the outfit below) - is that something the brave but inexperienced (me) will be able to configure?
2) Am I going to hurt my performance by choosing RAID 1 for my boot drive?
3)I figured a big power supply would help when I added extra hard drives and would give me headroom to add a second video card in a couple years. Does that make sense for me or is it overkill?
4) in the cooling selection - would I be wiser to add the extra bucks for the stage 2 noctua setup? I couldn't tell what the difference was between the stage 1 and stage 2- they both looked like dual fans...
5) I like the idea of a memory card reader installed, but I didn't like the sound of front USB ports being disabled. Why are two ports disabled by the internal card reader?
6) I thought the more RAM the better - but I have also seen posts indicating that 6GB was fine - should I buy less RAM and invest in hard drives for my storage RAID?

Any other cautions, corrections, or advice? THANK YOU!

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended
Power Supply: 1200W Digital Storm Certified (Dual/Triple/Quad SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Highly Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 2x (1TBWestern Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX (7200 RPM) (64MB Cache) (SATA) (Extreme Speed)
Set 1 Raid Options: Configure HDD Set 1 to a Raid 1 Config - Mirror Backup (Requires Two HDDs)
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Creative Labs X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional (PCI-Express Slot Based)
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system Windows
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Xtra Large) Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: FREE PROMO: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 3 Year Hassle-free Hardware Service



Edited by greenje57 - 06 Jul 2010 at 2:17pm

Originally posted by greenje57 1) I want to install a larger RAID 0+1 for storage later (can't really afford it now if I get the outfit below) - is that something the brave but inexperienced (me) will be able to configure?

Surprisingly simple and easy. Just make sure the BIOS is in RAID mode, plug in the drives, and then during start up you access the RAID configure screen (something like shift+F11 during boot for EVGA boards, just check the manual), create a new RAID array, and select what drives you want to use in it.

Remember that you'll be limited by 6 total SATA ports. If a board lists more than 6 SATA ports anything over the first 6 are all JMicron SATA ports which are not only ungodly horrible for compatibility and performance (KILL THEM WITH FIRE, DO NOT USE), but can't even be used for RAID arrays anyway. Some cases come with an extermal eSATA port which will connect internally to one of the SATA ports, but you can just disconnect that to hook up another internal HDD.

Originally posted by greenje57 2) Am I going to hurt my performance by choosing RAID 1 for my boot drive?

No. Read speed may actually even increase, though I'm not sure if the ICH10R (standard Intel motherboard SATA ports) has that functionality. But you don't want a RAID 1 array or HDDs for OS/apps anyway, more on that below.

Originally posted by greenje57 3)I figured a big power supply would help when I added extra hard drives and would give me headroom to add a second video card in a couple years. Does that make sense for me or is it overkill?

HDDs take very little power, no need to up a PSU for them, but you would need to for video card expandability. If wanted to have expandability for future dual Crossfire 5870s you'll want a 1000w PSU.

Originally posted by greenje57 4) in the cooling selection - would I be wiser to add the extra bucks for the stage 2 noctua setup? I couldn't tell what the difference was between the stage 1 and stage 2- they both looked like dual fans...

With stock both have dual fans, the smaller Noctua NH-U12P has 2x 120mm fans, the larger Noctua NH-D14 has 1x 140mm and 1x 120mm fans and a bigger heatsink. The Noctua NH-D14 also has the ability to mount a third fan (which you'll have to supply or have DS order).

The large Noctua NH-D14 has more potential, for either better cooling or the same cooling as the smaller Noctua but with less noise, but at stock there isn't too big of difference between them, often just a few degrees difference in CPU temperatures. The smaller Noctua is a better bang for the buck buy if you want to save money to put elsewhere in the rig.

Originally posted by greenje57 5) I like the idea of a memory card reader installed, but I didn't like the sound of front USB ports being disabled. Why are two ports disabled by the internal card reader?

They both use the same motherboard connection port. The HAF 932 has 4 front USB ports (and some ridiculous amount of them in the back) so two of them might still work even with the card reader installed, but ask DS for confirmation on that.

Originally posted by greenje57 6) I thought the more RAM the better - but I have also seen posts indicating that 6GB was fine - should I buy less RAM and invest in hard drives for my storage RAID?

For gaming and even heavy multitasking 6GB is great, but for heavy media editing you can never have enough, so you'll definitely want to get 12GB. Get the Digital Storm Certified (Mushkin, Kingston, or Super Talent, 9-9-9-24 timings), by far the best buy for the money.

Originally posted by greenje57 Any other cautions, corrections, or advice? THANK YOU!

I don't personally care for sound cards, so it would probably be the first thing I would ditch from your build to save some money for elsewhere, but if you're an audiophile and have a quality set of speakers or headphones to pair with one then go for it.

For a fast system you'll want OS/apps on an Intel SSD, these are ridiculously faster than conventional HDDs, almost no access time, literately 80-100 times faster small file read/write performance, and at least twice the large file read speed of any conventional HDD. This is premium price space though, so you're not going to be able to have enough SSD space for media editing with any kind of sane budget and will still need to put together a RAID array of conventional HDDs for faster speeds with a lot of space.

Keep in mind that RAID 1 and RAID 0+1 mirrors are no substitute for external backups, though they make nice extra line of defense with real time backups in case of mechanical failure. The problem is that a virus, power surge, or fire could easily take out every drive in an array at once. So you'll still need to make regular backups to an external that is kept disconnected to protect it from viruses and power surges, and if possible stored in another location to protect it from a fire taking out both the primary and backup.

I ended up seduced by the SSD. To help afford it I will install my own, smaller RAID and forego the sound card and large power supply. Thanks again for the help.

Here is what I believe I will order:

Ticket Number: 421180
Total Price with Instant Savings: $2,464.00

Direct Load URL: http://www.digitalstormonline.com/comploadsaved.asp?id=421180

Specifications:
Chassis Model: Special Deal Hot Seller - Cooler Master HAF 932 Exterior
Finish: - Standard Factory Finish
Trim Accents: - Standard Factory Finish
Processor: Intel Core i7 930 2.8GHz (Quad Core)
Motherboard: EVGA X58 LE Edition SLI (Intel X58 Chipset) (Supports SLI or CrossFire)
System Memory: 12GB DDR3 1600MHz Digital Storm Certified (Highly Recommended) (Hand Tested)
Power Supply: 750W Digital Storm Certified (Dual SLI Compatible) (Silent Edition Recommended)
Expansion Bay: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 1: Operating System: 1x (160GB Solid State (By: Intel) (Extreme Performance) (Model: X25-M MLC Edition)
Set 1 Raid Options: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 2: Multimedia\Data: - No Thanks
Hard Drive Set 3: Backup\Misc.: - No Thanks
Optical Drive 1: DVD-R/RW/CD-R/RW (DVD Writer 24x / CD-Writer 48x) (LightScribe Edition)
Optical Drive 2: - No Thanks
Internet Access: High Speed Network Port (Supports High-Speed Cable / DSL / Network Connections)
Video Card: 1x ATI Radeon HD 5870 1GB
Add-on Card: - No Thanks
Sound Card: Integrated Motherboard Audio
Extreme Cooling: AIR: Stage 1: Noctua Dual 120mm Fans High Performance Cooler (Compatible With ONLY i7 Processors)
H20 Tube Color:- Not Applicable, I do not have a FrostChill or Sub-Zero LCS Cooling System Selected
Chassis Airflow: Standard Factory Chassis Fans
Internal Lighting: - No Thanks
Enhancements: - No Thanks
Chassis Mods: - No Thanks
Noise Reduction: - No Thanks
Boost Processor: FREE: Stage 1: Overclock the processor between 3.3GHz to 3.9GHz (Cooling Upgrade Recommended)
Boost Video Card: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my video card(s)
Boost Memory: - No Thanks, Please do not overclock my memory
Boost OS: - No Thanks, Please do not tweak the services on the operating system
Windows OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional (64-Bit Edition)
Restore Kit: Digital Storm Specialized Recovery System (DVD Image Based)
Virus Protection: - No Thanks
Office: - No Thanks
Benchmarking: - No Thanks
Install/Test Game: - No Thanks
Display: - No Thanks
Surge Shield: - No Thanks
Speakers: - No Thanks
Keyboard: - No Thanks
Mouse: - No Thanks
External Storage: - No Thanks
Exclusive T-Shirt: FREE: Digital Storm T-Shirt - Black (Xtra Large)
Priority Build: - No Thanks, Ship Within 5-15 Business Days After Order Is Successfully Processed
Warranty: Life-time Expert Customer Care with 1 Year Hassle-free Hardware Service

Thanks for the comment about the capacity. You've got me thinking and maybe I'll do that and save some bucks. I must have gone back and forth 2 or 3 times now on that one...

Now more to think about!!! Thanks for the advice - I appreciate it - and will put some more thought into the options before i pull the trigger. I guess the RAM part is a great point - if I feel bogged down I can always buy another set of three and pop them in. How does 12GB RAM hurt the overclock?

I am a naive newbie. I didn't realize that adding RAM might require special procedure... It'll be an adventure to step out of the world of Dell and into the DS world! Lots to learn.I am still leaning toward the higher amount of RAM - I agree that having the DS team get it all stable is best for me. I'm fixed on the smaller SSD and will probably go for the sound card. One more night to stew over it all and then dig for the wallet and get started! I have a couple of drives on order to handle the storage. I'm going to try setting up the RAID 1 myself.

Don't forget your lifetime tech support when you get a DS computer. You can call tech support and they will be happy to walk you through that raid setup over the phone. That's DS.

I appreciate all the encouragement. Not to overgush - but this DS and DS community experience has been like a sunrise after a nightmare with another outfit... Can't wait to get that new machine!