PC Tech Thread

http://www.scan.co.uk/shop/computer-hardware/all/hard-drives-ssd/ssd-25-sata-iii-%28240gb-1tb%29

How do OCZ compare with Corsair and Sandisk? Some have 50k IOPS some 85k.. some differ in speed but I'll be down-spec. to SATA2 anyway so top-end doesn't matter.

hippy

You can install SATA3 SSD's on SATA2 systems and you will get exactly the same performance. SATA3 has a maximum capacity of 6gb/s whereas SATA2 has a maximum of 3gb/s but that doesnt matter a jot because none of the current generation SSD get anywhere near 3gb/s in read or write speeds. SATA3 is just a theoretical maximum.

spenceey

Custom PC did a good article "build a skyrim gaming pc for £350" in April 12 edition. Here is the component list (prices correct at time of publishing):

Case: Asus Vento TA-8G1, £17.98
PSU: Cooler Master GX450W Bronze, £26.87
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H61M-B2-S3, £41.53
Memory: 4GB Corsair PC 10666, £22.08
CPU: Pentium G620, £47.54
HSF: Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2, £16.44
Graphics: MSI 6850 PM2D1GD5, £116.02
Storage: 250GB Western Digital, £44.70
Optical: Samsung DVD writer, £13.55
Cable ties: Akasa AK-TK-01, £3.54
Total Cost, £350.25

All components were sourced from scan.co.uk so you can add £16.78 for postage. They were really looking for the absolute budget beating PC with optimal performance to be able to play Skyrim on maxed out settings. This rig achieves that aim. Ofcourse if you had more cash to spend you could spend it on more storage for example.

Can I build a better gaming PC than this for the money?

Not for me It's for a friend - I have no knowledge of AMD systems as mines an I5.

very similar to my current computer, except I have a SSD and more RAM.

My Vaio laptop is running Ubuntu but is slow, so I wondered about popping in some more ram. Sony says that it can cope with max 1.5gb, but it only has 1 slot currently with 1gb in. Can you get 1.5gb cards, or do i just bung 2gb in and see what happens?

is there some other way i can speed it up?

Max 1.5GB? That sounds very strange. I can't think why it's limited or what limits it.

RAM is cheap... try a 2GB stick and see if it works.

no lies

Memory Size (MB)1024 Memory Speed (Mhz)400 Memory TypeDDR2 - PC2-3200 (SO-DIMM) Max. Supported Memory (MB)1536

Shall i just whack a 2gb module in anyway?

Isn't that max supported per slot? Then 2 slots so you've got max 3gb?

My Vaio laptop is running Ubuntu but is slow, so I wondered about popping in some more ram. Sony says that it can cope with max 1.5gb, but it only has 1 slot currently with 1gb in. Can you get 1.5gb cards, or do i just bung 2gb in and see what happens?

is there some other way i can speed it up?

You could try Lubuntu. its the light weight version of ubuntu. looks bit different but does the job.

Maybe not the best place for this but it'll do.
My sudden lust for SSDs' has moved onto modding an iPod. I had left my ipod out in the rain so the HD was playing me the song of its people i.e the click of death So I decided to have a go at repairing it before I bought a new one.

I got a 32gb transcend CF card for £30 on 7dayshop:

and a CF to ZIF adaptor card from ebay for £7:

So I could use it with my iPod Video (5th gen):

CF card was on back order so i tested it with a 4gb card i had spare, no problems at all. But then I was doing some reading and I found out that the 1st gen iPod Minis' actually used a micro drive which uses the same connection as a compact flash. The idea appealed to me more than using my 5th gen becuase:

• As per their name, mini's are smaller
  
• They've got a once piece Alu case so they're much tougher
  
• the screen is monochrome and smaller so it'll use less power, and i don't really need to see album artwork etc anyway.
  
  

so thanks to a generous donation by regal I now have this:

The modding its self was very easy. Follow YouTube instructions as to how to open up your mini, make sure there is no partitions/formatting on the CF card, pop it in and use iTunes to restore the firmware. Hey presto you've got a super tough SSD iPod with excellent battery life.

That sounds brilliant.

My only gripe would be that my current ipod has 80gb storage. So I don't think I can get a CF card like that.

Also how easy is it to replace iPod battery myself?

I've got a 40gb gen 4(maybe) sat in a cupboard since I moved here and extracted all the tunes from it to my laptop. That's a cool little trick.

Max 1.5GB? That sounds very strange. I can't think why it's limited or what limits it.

RAM is cheap... try a 2GB stick and see if it works.

no lies

Memory Size (MB)1024 Memory Speed (Mhz)400 Memory TypeDDR2 - PC2-3200 (SO-DIMM) Max. Supported Memory (MB)1536

Shall i just whack a 2gb module in anyway?

Isn't that max supported per slot? Then 2 slots so you've got max 3gb?

You could try Lubuntu. its the light weight version of ubuntu. looks bit different but does the job.

In answer to all this, i popped the back cover off and found a single 1/2gb ram module, so it must have 512mb built in. ordered a 1gb for the single slot , hey presto, maximum 1.5gb RAM acheived.

I've also downloaded Lubuntu previously, but i'll see if the RAM makes much difference before i swap over.

Cheers all!

Also how easy is it to replace iPod battery myself?

piss easy if you're careful about it

piss easy if you're careful about it

Awesome - Do I need any specialist tools?

I used a scalpel and a small screw driver for the mini, and followed this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz65bf3-nGo&

I bought a new battery for my Video and it came with a handy tool to open the case but you can get away without it.

Ah right - mines not holding a charge (less than 2 hours) but still works perfectly apart from that. Was the battery just an ebay job?

yup i bought one from a uk seller just in case it went tits up

Awesome - I'll watch that video and order tonight - are all the batteries the same or can you buy higher capacity ones?

Very tempted to do this.

Intel are doing cashbacks on their SSDs. Given their reputation for testing/reliability I think I'm going to throw some cash their way to try 'em out..

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/240gb-intel-520-series-25-ssd-sata-iii-6gb-s-mlc-flash-write-520mb-s-60k-iops-oem

I have three of these offering 5TB total space.

2 x 2 TB
1 x 1 TB

What's the best solution to get some sort of RAID setup going? It would be for editing video directly from the drive - working ideally through USB3 or Firewire.

As for 0 or 1 type RAID, I'd want it secure as fuck as it would be my main storage solution (For now) for all digitised footage. And lately, as I'm working with cards rather than tapes, once it comes off the card - that's it - no safety lurking on a shelf somewhere.

However I thought it had to be identical drive sizes for mirrored RAID - i.e. 1 x 2TB original and 1 x 2TB for the backup? so the 1 x 1TB would be extraneous here?

Drobo with RAID 5

Got my SSD going. Everything went to plan. Not as fast as I'd hoped but definitely noticeably faster which is more than can be said for most upgrades that need benchmarks to make them apparent.

Need to get a drive mount and another SATA cable (it's just sitting on the old, disabled boot drive at the moment).

^^ thank ye lad. I shall investigate further.