Tax return soon, what to buy?

[westy87]

Ok, so I'm not sure if other countries have the same system of tax as we do, but because I went through periods of work where I earnt enough to put me in the next tax bracket, but in the end didnt earn enough overall to stay in that bracket, i get back all the extra tax I paid during those heavier workloads, which comes in at about $1000Au (800ish US) So now I have to decide what to buy. Im still looking at getting a soundcard (the HT Omega Striker 7.1 likely), an 8800 gtx/s or something, and another (or 2 for raid) larger hdd's.

My question is, which should I choose? Im running just one 160gb hdd right now plus the onboard sound which doesnt have very good optical output (optical will be main output method on soundcard to connect to home theatre system for games + music), as well as my 7900gt. I was thinking of getting another 7900gt, but I think I need to start looking ahead to dx10 (or dx10.1)

So yeh, which upgrade path do you think would be wisest? Ill take all ideas into consideration, and please, stay on topic, I've seen how topics like these stray into heated conversations lol

[sushrukh]

You want to upgrade your whole rig or just the sound card,HDD & Graphics card ? If that's what you are thinking of,then GTS 640/GTX if you can afford it.HT Omega or X-FI Xtreme Music for sound & two 320GB Seagate or Hitachi in raid.

[westy87]

Well, eventaully I will be adding all 3 things. I have no need to update the rest of my computer just yet, CPU and MOBO are going strong for now, but I'm lacking in the hdd and soundcard area, and gfx card is falling behind already. I think, an 8800 would be my favourite choice, but some more hdd's or a soundcard is more sensible for me right now. I think 2 500gb hdd's will be plenty enough for my os games apps and to hold the few movies ill record from my digital tv tuner. I pretty much have my mind set on the HT Omega Striker 7.1. It's really got all I need and for only $135Au including shipping.

Maybe, Ill buy 2 seagate 500gb's plus the Striker 7.1 for a total of 525Au, leaving me with 500 to save for when g92 arrives

[sushrukh]

Well, eventaully I will be adding all 3 things. I have no need to update the rest of my computer just yet, CPU and MOBO are going strong for now, but I'm lacking in the hdd and soundcard area, and gfx card is falling behind already. I think, an 8800 would be my favourite choice, but some more hdd's or a soundcard is more sensible for me right now. I think 2 500gb hdd's will be plenty enough for my os games apps and to hold the few movies ill record from my digital tv tuner. I pretty much have my mind set on the HT Omega Striker 7.1. It's really got all I need and for only $135Au including shipping.

Maybe, Ill buy 2 seagate 500gb's plus the Striker 7.1 for a total of 525Au, leaving me with 500 to save for when g92 arrives

That'll be great too.Looks like you have finalized what you need to buy.Keep us updated then when you get the stuffz.

[the_dope_chaud]

nice, I like how you chose other than the X-fi bandwagon. There are some solid soundcards being made now, and from an audiophile's point of view the X-fi is not the greatest for music.

other than that, good choices!

[Scott]

Wait on graphics card till next round of DX10 cards around November.

Harddrive wait for Seagate 7200.11's they rock.

Get new sound card and save rest for more parts latter this year.

Hope it helped!!

Scott

[westy87]

Ok, thanks. As soon as the $ comes through I'll order the soundcard. Then get the hdd's later, then the gfx card after that. I mean, I wouldn't want to get them all at the same time, cause I may not appreciate them each in turn :) hehe

How long till the .11 seagates come out? Are they going to be much more expensive?

[Bio-Hazard]

Haven't heard when they can be found in the wild yet, but shouldn't be that much longer, 3rd qtr of this year is the last I've read as to a release date.

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/32622/135/

http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/desktops/barracuda_hard_drives/barracuda_7200.11/

[westy87]

OK need to grab your attention before I go to sleep ;)

Considering how cheap the 320 gb's are here, do you think it would be better to go the 4 X 320's in 1+0 or 2 500's in raid 1?

[Bio-Hazard]

Scott or the Dope needs to answer that one, I don't run raid...........;)

[westy87]

I do this all the time. I ask a question, and then I answer it for myself soon after. I think the act of writing it down helps me clarify what I really need/want. I think I will go for 2 500's cause I can then get another 2 later down the track if need be. Ill just stick with raid 1. Is it possible to then add another 2 without starting from clean partitions?

[Scott]

Well you will get more speed out of the system with the RAID 0+1. You are getting the speed of RAID 0 plus the fault tolerance of RAID 1. Only problem 2 drives space is not being used.

But I like my setup.

[westy87]

You dont find yourself wanting more storage?

[the_dope_chaud]

honestly I dont know I dont have much experience with raid 0 so I cant tell you, but I used a raptor 75 gigs for while and its was DAMN fast...but noisy, so if you want speed, that might also be it.
But I probably go with the 320s, as they are really cheap these days.

[Schwarz]

I have 2 Raptors 150GB in Raid 0.
Never had a problem with them.
BUT you have to remember i'm not the kind to keep music or videos or files in my computer.
I reinstall windows every 2 3 months.
Fresh start so if RAID0 is safe... I guess its safe for 3 months in my case hehehe
What I was thinking is running my 2 Raptors in RAID0 and maybe later on buy a cheap 500GB and store my stuff on that one.

['Amp!']

I have 2 x 500 GB drives. Early this year I had a drive crash and lost a lot of data.

Even with 2 drives I prefer not to run them mirror. Don't get me wrong, Raid 1 is nice and all but given the type of data I have (Family photos, archived reviews, etc) but I prefer to use Acronis True image to take the data from disk one and save a compressed backup of it on disk 2.

This provides me with (1) More disk space and (2) easier setup then raid configurations and (3) quicker response times.

Just my $.02 cents USD

[slugbug]

I used Raid 0 a few years ago, lost one drive and all my data with it.
It's bad enough losing the contents of one drive, but when you lose everything on two drives it's twice as bad. Good math huh :smile: