To be fair, I'm on the waiting list for an HD 5870 (see series of neurotic posts elsewhere).

They've said since November 3rd that the ETA here is 11/25/09. I'm wondering what the odds of that are....

Yes, I've emailed them. To their credit, they always get back to me within 24 hours and I'm sure I'm a bit of a pain in the hindquarters.

d.

Good luck to you, dude. I ordered my new one today. Considered Cyberpower but decided to go with Digital Storm. Like you I can't wait to get my hands on it.

My cyberpower system has shipped and will be here Friday. It has the 5870 that you are waiting for.

Did you use the cyberpower coupon site ? It saved me an additional $83 on the system I had customized.

thanks guys - heard Digital Storm is a great outfit!

OldGrognard wish I'd known about the coupon site. Oh well...

I was curious, since you said there was a slight delay on your computer shipping due to the wait for an HD5870 ----7 days--- I'm jeolous! Anyway, wondered if they gave you a date.

I'm on the wait list with an ETA of 11/25/09, although I'm told it may come in sooner. Hope so!

d.

My original shipping date was Nov 6 but it was slipped to the 16th. It has been shipped and the UPS shipping track shows delivery Friday the 20th.

I got a pretty good system . I started with the Fang series Viper.

Coolmaster Storm Sniper mid tower (appropriate since I did some time as a sniper in the US Army)
800 watt power supply
i7-920 with minimum 10% overcocking
Asetek LCLC 240 Liquid Cooling system w/ 240MM Radiator and Dual Fans (Extreme Overclocking Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio (3-Way SLI Support)(Venom Boost Extreme OC Certified)
6 GB Corsair Dominator RAM(All Venom OC Levels Certified)
ATI Radeon HD 5870 PCI-E 16X 1GB DDR5 Video Card
128 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk (Nearly Instant Data Access Technology)
Two 22X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drives
NZXT Sentry-2 Fan Touch Screen Fan Control & Temperature Display
All-in-One External USB 2.0 Card Reader
Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
Not worth listing all the USB, Firewire, Lan,mouse, keyboard, etc stuff


Total $1,829 incl ship (that is with the $83.90 coupon discount)

Editted to clean up things, I am a slow and inaccurate typist since I am two fingers and thumbs.

Nice system, OldGrognard! I considered the Sniper case but preferred the cool handle on the Scout instead of that knob atop the Sniper. I don't know why but that knob bothered the hell out of me.

dashavingo, how did you configure your system ?

I am interested to see the difference in the SSD drive rather than the mechaical hard drive. RSC colonel gave some very interesting info on his experiences with his SSD. I have high hopes.

I am also curious to see how mine overclocked. They guarantee a minimum of 10% and mine should be higher with the 240 mm liquid cooling. I went with all the Overclocking components in my configuration.

Hope this makes sense guys---- before I cut and paste (hope it's clear--- it's the email summary from CyberpowerPC). Anyway, I didn't go with the SSD as I figure they're likely to get better/cheaper over the next few months--- they seem to be with on that track. So I plan to add one down the road on my own dime/installation.

Anyway, here's the specs gents (yes, I know):

ID-INFO 206031 BLKPEARLZ 1
MODEL1 C SERIES 1
ULTRA-PACKAGING ULTRA ENHANCED PACKAGING SOLUTION 1
BT-101-101 USB BLUETOOTH ADAPTER 1
SW-141-132 HALO 2 FOR WINDOWS VISTA LICENSE 1
SW-141-133 HALO 2 FOR WINDOWS VISTA MEDIA 1
KB-151-101 RAZER LYCOSA BLACK USB GAMING KB 1
MO-110-106 RAZER SALMOSA BLACK MOUSE 1
CU-OVERCLOCK-2 EXTREME OVERCLOCK (20% MORE) 1
ULTRA-COMPOUND COOLERMASTER THERMAL FUSION 400 CPU COMPOUND 1
CU-197-105 OEM INTEL i7-960 3.2GHZ 8M LGA 1366 1
HD-204-201 WESTERN DIGITAL VELOCI RAPTOR 300GB 10K RPM HD 2
HD-403-108 1TB SATA II 3.0 GB 7200RPM HD 1
RM-317-702 CORSAIR 2GB 1800 MHZ DDR3 DMNT 6
FA-117-101 BLACK LOGISYS 5.25' FULL COLOR THERMAL FAN CONTROL 1
FA-104-201 ENERMAX UC-12EB 120MM BLACK CASE FAN 2
FA-108-201 INTEL BRAND LGA 1366 CPU FAN 1
CABLE-PROWIRE PROFESSIONAL CABLE WIRING 1
CD-135-106 LITEON IHOS 104 4X BLU-RAY PLAYER 1
CD-128-101 BLACK LITE-ON 24X DVDRW 1
CS-180-115 SILVERSTONE RV01B-W FULL TOWER W/WINDOW BLACK NO POWER 1
FD-ASS-107 BLACK 3.5 MOUNTING KIT 1
NL-102-102 BLUE COLD CATHOD LIGHT 12 1
MR-104-101 12-IN-ONE INTERNAL CARD READER 1
RAID-0 RAID-0 STRIPING 1
VC-191-101 ATI HD 5870 PCI-E 16X 1 GB DDR5 1 11/25/2009 81
VC-191-101 ATI HD 5870 PCI-E 16X 1 GB DDR5 1 11/25/2009 81
PS-118-102 THERMALTAKE TOUGH POWER 1200WATT 1
RUSH RUSH ORDER FEE (5 BUS. DAYS) 1
MISC ONBOARD 7.1 SOUND 1
SERVICE-202 POWER SUPPLY GASKET 1
SERVICE-104 ANTI-VIBRATION FAN MOUNTS 1
MB-340-105 ASUS P6T X58 SLI/CROSSFIRE TRIPLE CHANNEL DDR3 1
SW-170-105 WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL LICENSE 1
SW-170-106 WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL COA 1
SW-170-107 WINDOWS 7 PROFESSIONAL 64-BIT 1
BOX1 SYSTEM BOX AND FOAM 1
SHIP UPS 2 Day 1
FA-WATER-101 ASETEK 120MM WATERCOOLER 1
FA-104-116 CASE FAN 120 MMM 1


NOTE ============================================================


11/03/09: RUSH ORDER
11/04/09: CHANGE FA-WATER-101 & FA-104-116 <$66> & ADD RM-317-702 (3) FOR $361
11/04/09: CHECK STATUS / BACK ORDER VC-191-101 ETA 11/25/09
11/04/09: CUSTOMER WANTED WAIT FOR VC-191-101 ETA 11/25/09

Again - it's a jumble! Yes, I know SLI (two HD 5870) is probably more trouble than it's worth, but this is my dream system (finally can afford one) and always thought I'd get SLI/Crossfire on the same.

Hey OLDGROGNARD, did you get physical copies of the motherboard and other assorted manuals? Or did they direct you to PDF's (now that's an annoying recent trend!).

d.

I see you went with the extreme overclocking option. But I don't see where you went with other overclocking components like motherboard and RAM.

I will let you know about manuals and such when it gets in Friday.

Well, this is a freak system. You must be a freak then

Seriously, as per the recent Anandtech review of the single-board Dual-GPU 5970 (which is basically similar to your 5870SLI) - this power is COMPLETELY wasted on a single monitor even at resolutions of 2560x1600.

Unless you plan on running multiple 1920x1200 screens with Eyefinity, you are paying for power you can NOT possible realize in any game of the next two years. Because any single LCD screen will cap you at 60hz refresh rate, thus at a max of 60FPS, which you can easily get with a single 5870 in all current games.

AND you will generate twice the heat, twice the noise, AND have to deal with Crossfire conflicts for new games. Not to mention you are paying a lot of money extra.

You could easily throw out the Velociraptor (good choice for a mechanical HD, but damn hot and noisy) which in itself is not cheap, use that money and the money from the second HD5870 to buy a 256GB SSD (Corsair or Patriot). As a System and Game Drive, that would ROCK your world.

Or you could get a monitor upgrade for that amount of cash, unless you are already on something bigger than 24".

Seriously, I'm not telling you to get an SSD because I'm an SSD fanatic. I'm telling you to get an SSD because otherwise you have a VERY unbalanced build.

With a given budget X, care should always be taken to spend equal on GFX, CPU and if possible storage. With the i7 Triple Channel RAM and super fast PCI-Express speeds, your only and serious bottleneck will be the mechanical HD, even if it's a Raptor, unless you run it Raid 0 (which I don't see since you only have one Raptor).

Personally, I wanted a balanced system with no clear component bottleneck AND low noise/heat. You are oversizing the GFX component at the cost of heat, noise, storage and setup simplicity (Crossfire).


Sorry, I know I'm rambling a bit. I also know that sometimes we buy stuff because it's cool to have even if we're not really ever going to fully realize it's potential. I have a 400EUR Cougar Force Sensor upgrade even though I never every even programmed the Cougar with more than normal in-game commands. So I completely understand the "It's what I always wanted to have" point of view, but if you are looking at best-all around performance and enjoyment for a given budget, you are on the wrong track with that dual HD5870 setup.

BTW, just reading the Anandtech 5970 review again - Crossfire and Eyefinity are currently not working togehter on anything but the dual GPU single board 5970. Until ATI enables CF+EF for a HD5870 pair, you can not put this performance into real world frame rates. And while Anandtech says the 5970 is an OVERKILL for a single screen, your dual 5870s are even faster, so much more overkill.

What display do you use or plan to use, actually?

I mean, this freak monster of yours will run Stalker Call of Prypjat in DX11 at max FPS max quality 1920x1200 at 60FPS AND have some power to spare, maybe even if you go 2560x1600. There's just no way you can put this GFX performance into practical use right now.

RSColonel, how do you evaluate my system ?

Coolmaster Storm Sniper mid tower (appropriate since I did some time as a sniper in the US Army)
800 watt power supply
i7-920 with minimum 10% overcocking
Asetek LCLC 240 Liquid Cooling system w/ 240MM Radiator and Dual Fans (Extreme Overclocking Performance + Extreme Silent at 20dBA)
Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio (3-Way SLI Support)(Venom Boost Extreme OC Certified)
6 GB Corsair Dominator RAM(All Venom OC Levels Certified)
ATI Radeon HD 5870 PCI-E 16X 1GB DDR5 Video Card
128 GB Kingston 2.5 inch SATA Gaming MLC Solid State Disk (Nearly Instant Data Access Technology)
Two 22X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW Dual Layer Drives
NZXT Sentry-2 Fan Touch Screen Fan Control & Temperature Display
All-in-One External USB 2.0 Card Reader
Microsoft® Windows® 7 Home Premium (64-bit Edition)
Not worth listing all the USB, Firewire, Lan,mouse, keyboard, etc stuff

OG, you do NOT want that SSD.

I hope you read this before it's too late.

I looked at the Cyperpower website which isn't telling much, I looked at Kingston's website which isn't giving much detail either, especially since we have no definite Kingston product number.

But one thing seems very likely: This is a 1st Gen SSD with a JMICRON controller with NO write buffer, because that's what Kingston seems to sell these days.

When buying an SSD, you MUST make sure it uses either an Intel Controller (X25, damn expensive but the best), a Samsung Controller (Corsair uses these) or an Indilinx controller (which is in my Patriot Torqx).

The Samsung Controller has 128MB Write Cache, the Indilinx has 64MB Write Cache. The 1st Gen drives without these suffer terrible when writing small files, since Flash Storage is not good at doing that. The difference being that first Gen SSDs reach 40MB/s write speed or lower (which is on par with a cheap mechanical HD) but Second Gen SSDs get 200MB/s or at least 180MB/s.



So it seems to me Cyperpower is - like any other large retailer - riding marketing rather than function. The only recognized SSD brand they are offering is the X25-M, Ridata and Kingston are questionable. You need to contact them and find out the precise type number and model of that Kingston SSD, preferable ask them if they can tell you what controller it uses.

Other than that, your balance of GPU, CPU and Storage is planned nicely, I'm not sure you need the water cooling (unless the overclocked i7 gets really hot).

Oh my; too late. It has shipped and arrives tomorrow.

The water cooling was a "free" item with the basic system. I'm hoping it allows them to get a better over-clocking. I went with a better MOBO that is certified for the overclocking; same with the RAM.

Well, when the system comes in I will update you on the Kingston SSD. I will give you the specifics. I'm hoping I didn't make a mistake there.

Sorry, I might have seen it earlier if I had checked your postings, but that is also why I always say to reduce the component list to a bare minimum when Copy and Pasted.

Kingston seems to have a V+ Series that has decent write performance, indicating the use of a write cache. Lets hope this will be it.

Without cache, you will still get very nice loading times, it's just that there is better tech out there.

That's why I dislike these large chains - they never give absolute prices on the website, they don't give product details, it's really pretty hard to find exactly what you want with them.

I called and was told that the Kingston is the V+ and uses the Samsung controller.

Here is something I found on information searching for it.

http://www.futurelooks.com/kingston-technology-64gb-ssdnow-v-sata-solid-state-drive-review/

So I feel better.

Aye, then happy for you and sorry for the somewhat false alarm. The initial first searches only gave me the old Kingston, and Cyperpower didn't reduce suspicions by not putting any more info on the product online.

The review is nice in that it includes my Torqx as a reference point. You clearly see the difference between the JMicron, Samsung and Indilinx controller, though I'm surprised: The current "THE Samsung" controller as in the Corsair P128 should be faster than my Torqx, not sure why this one here comes out slightly lower. But it does say that the 64GB version has less write speed than the 128GB version, which might then become equal to my Torqx.

Nice machine OG

What are you gonna use for a Monitor, Or did I miss that?

Not necessarily relevant to the current discussion, but as a general point I've got to say that a mid-range system driving triple monitors (whether through EyeFinity or a TripleHead2Go) provides way more immersion and enjoyment than a wiz-bang latest, greatest, and fastest system. And it should cost about the same money when you buy two more monitors with the money saved on a fastest graphics card and SSD drive.

All good there:

Muthaboard:

Asus P6T Intel X58 Chipset SLI/CrossFireX Mainboard Triple-Channel DDR3/1600 SATA RAID w/ eSATA,GbLAN,USB2.0,IEEE1394a,&7.1Audio (Venom Boost Extreme OC Certified) (Venom Boost Extreme OC Certified)

RAM was listed in way totally confusing, but let me translate:

CORSAIR 2GB 1800 MHZ DDR3 DMNT 60 Corsair 2GBx6 = 12 (yes, probably way more than I need but...

Nice thing about Cyberpower is they make it boob-proof, although here (for once) I have some basic knowledge.

Anyway, Oldgrognard, will appreciate you reporting back on manuals! And that quote from George Orwell (...rough men stand ready to do violence) is one of my favorites. I'm a huge fan of his work and this is one of his best quotes.

d.

OK, it arrived at 8:30 PM by UPS. Late night delivery. I unpacked it, opened it and checked all the connections and made sure the moving parts moved and didn't have any wiring etc obstructing them. Checked the water cooling for any leaks. Everything looked good.





Look at that water cooling. HUge radiator. I'm glad I didn't pay extra for the "premium wiring " routing and cabling. I don't see what difference it would have made. Clean set-up.





The tower is huge. Much bigger than I expected. The open mesh metal on the side should help prevent the guts from heating. But it will mean more frequent cleaning.

They not only give the original manuals and disks, you get the original packaging. They even give all the extra/replaced parts. Like the large fan which was replaced by the water cooling. All the SLI and Crossfire connections, etc.



Too late tonight to set-up and start. I'll do that first thing in the morning and give a report.

Computer is running good.

Some small items. There were no instructions on the temperture/fan panel I had added. I can't figure out how to change the time. I think I have got the rest of it. CPU running at 32C. Everything else under 30.

I am happy with the speed of the boot up. Much faster than XP in my other system.

Things are going well with the exception of running EAW. 7217 error. Mr Jelly at EAW forum is trying to help me through it.

Runs Microsoft Flight Sim X smoothly with all things set to max.

Thanks for the report and EXCELLENT photos--- and thanks ESPECIALLY for answering my question.

These guys do it right!

Congrats on your righteous new speed machine.

d.

Anybody have some good, free benchmark programs that I can run ? That way I can report on performance. Also, how do I find what overclock was achieved. The system reports the original hardware specs.

Dash, you are most welcome. It runs very stable. No blips or crashes yet. I will keep you informed as it burns in more and as I add programs.

Thanks Oldgrognard--- good to get the dispatches from the front!

RSColonel, I'm waiting until the 25th for the HD5870 cards, so I have plenty of time to evaluate your (very convincing) statement on the current build and make some changes (I'll post them here before I do so). Thanks, your analysis was much appreciated and I very much know you know what you're talking about.

d.

You basic 3d Benchmark is 3d Mark. Hunt for the best free version on this page.

Get CpuZ for your overclock info. Nice rig man...except for the plumbing. Just kidding, but fluid and electricity scare me.

PS> RSCOLONEL:

Actually, I did get two Velicoraptors (SP?) running a RAID ) setup. Not that that changes the validity of your basic argument! I cut and pasted the email that CYBERPOWERPC sent me, and it's confusing enough that I actually called to make sure I had the RAID setup in place.

As for the SSD (I think they are way cool with potential to get way cooler real soon!--- plan to buy one in late spring with hopes they're a bit more sophisticated then (and that my wallet has recovered from the system by then!).

Thanks!

d.

PS> RSCOLONEL:

Actually, I did get two Velicoraptors (SP?) running a RAID ) setup. Not that that changes the validity of your basic argument! I cut and pasted the email that CYBERPOWERPC sent me, and it's confusing enough that I actually called to make sure I had the RAID setup in place.

As for the SSD (I think they are way cool also, with potential to get way cooler real soon!--- plan to buy one in late spring with hopes they're a bit more sophisticated then (and that my wallet has recovered from the system by then!).

Thanks!

d.

RSColonel, I have run into something with Win7 thjat I'm struggling with. If at the Start button and I right click to open Windows Explorer then I go to the sub folders and open/expand one of them; I can't then go and open/expand a second one to do drag and drop. Opening/expanding a second one closes the first. That is different than XP. Also when I try to move some files it steps in with the Needs System Admin to auth. Sometimes it will not allow me to authorize even though I'm the only user.

The system is running all my old programs so far; even some XP didn't. Beest for me is that it will run European Air War. That makes me happy. Even on a 28" monitor at 1920 x 1200 with max settings it still keeps about 52-55 framerate for EAW. It took some assistance from Mr Jelly at EAW to get through a glitch, but now it's fine.

No bad news yet except that they didn't include instructions on the additional panel for heat and fan readout/control that I added. I guess this will give me a chance to try their tech support.

Thanks Nixer, I downloaded a couple things and will run them tomorrow.

By the way I'm running a Hanns-G 28 inch monitor. It was recommended by someone I know. 1920 x 1200 3 ms refresh. He recommended I get it through a reputable source since quality can be an issue and you want easy replacement/return. Mine has been perfect. No dead pixels, no bands or stripes, no different clor bands or anything. I got it so I can use it and the new computer to run FlightSimX and practice the instrument and cross-country procedures before I fly them. I think I can save some expensive flight time if I work the simulator first.

Some in this forum have had less than stellar things to say about the Hanns-G, but I'm happy with it. It was only $329 shipping incl, so I figured I'd give it a try with the flight sim. Needed something that gave a closer to normal view than the 20 inch 4x3 I had.

I've had that 28in Hanns-G for quite awhile now. Love it.

Yeah the benchmarks are cool, but it's really how well it runs what you like to play that matters.

You don't happen to have Crysis do you? Anyway have fun.

Speaking of monitors (and RSCOLONEL's valid analysis --- I'm making changes!)

I remember I had to be talked into buying an LCD monitor (CRT's have all but disappeared anyway). The motion blur bothered me, but as I was told, I got used to it and don't even notice it now.

Now, being that I'm not a computer genius to begin with, and I'm getting spottier and spottier as I get older, I didn't make the obvious connection that 60 hz = maximum frame rate.

But now my question/frustration: why the @#%#@ do they make almost NOTHING but 60 hz LCD monitors? I just saw a couple of new models on CNET (one is a samsung; reasonably well reviewed) that rate 120 hz refresh rate--- mostly to be used with the NVIDIA Stereoscopic glasses.

I was planning on upgrading to a bigger monitor next May/early summer (and I hope an SSD card also), but I'm ticked off that this obvious liability of LCD monitors isn't talked about.

Finally, they seem to market these things as your monitor AND your HDTV. I have an HDTV. I like it my family room. I don't want to sit and watch movies on my computer monitor, I want to play games on it and it would be nice if the monitor could keep up with the max frame rate.

Yes, I know the human eye has it's limits--- not trying to brag, but I have weirdly good eyesight-- or at least I notice a lot of things other people simply don't see (not little green men guys: nothing weird about dashavingo). The fact it took me almost 9 months to stop seeing the motion blur on my current LCD is one example.

Anyway, recommendations on a nice, largish gaming monitor with a 120 refresh rate? Either available now or coming down the pipeline?

And do you ever notice how rarely these get reviewed on say Sharky's Extreme or Tweak Town or any of the other sites for people like us who spend way too much money on sweet-ass systems?

Your thoughts appreciated!

d.

Motion Blur is a result of response time, which in any current LCD should be fast enough to not be an issue.

Refresh rate is usually not a problem since LCDs don't "flicker" as CRTs did, that's why 60hz are considered fine by most people. I'm not quite sure why you want 120hz, unless it's really to play stereoscopic games.

You are correct now that 60hz is your maximum frame rate. I seriously doubt - but it's your money to spend - you would see a difference between 60 and 120 FPS.

As for the two Raptors in Raid - well, it's a lot of space and lots of speed. Downside is lots of heat, twice the chance of mechanical failre and all the complications of a Raid system. Arguable you can't match the 600GB fast storage in RAID0 with SSD prices, so if you need the space, you are indeed better off with the Raptors. For me, "keep it simple" is top priority, so I don't do Raid, same as I don't do SLI, Crossfire or Overclocking since these things all add potential trouble to an otherwise clean build.

OG, the folder/menus in Win7 take some getting used to. I use CTRL+C or CTRL+X to copy or cut, for Drag&Drop I open two separate explorer windows (windows key + E).

You may want to turn down User Account Control to bare minimum if it's bothering you when moving files.

Hey RSCOLONEL:

Ixnayed the crossfire after giving it much thought (based on your comments).

You are probably right that it's unlikely I'd see much difference abov 60FPS, but honestly, I do tend to see things others don't--- this is based on vision testing for work. My hearing is normal to slightly below normal (too many Ramones concerts no doubt), but when it comes to FPS/flutter/peripheral motion detection, et cetera, I score consistently way-high. If it were my hearing, I'd be one of those guys with the $200 apartment and the $2000 stereo. Thank you Ramones! You saved me $2000 dollars!

As for the RAID 0, I ran it on my last rig and loved it. Of course, I'm sure my love would have faded purty quick if the one of the two SEAGATES I had running had died, but I was careful to run frequent backups on an external maxtor. Remember also I ordered a 1 TB Western Digital single HD, to which I plan to save data files. Would love to get a DROBO as I need a new NAS anyway. Damn thing does lots of things really well-- so the reviews say--- but it's way over-priced.

And believe, I'm looking forward to snaking an SSD when my finances recover a bit in the late spring.

Again - thank for your fist rate, truly expert advice.

Well then gents, today's the day Mr. Cyberpower is supposed to get a shipment of HD5870's in. I'm crossing my fingers here. The forums seem to indicate some rigs with this card are shipping; so I can hope. Course I wonder why with an 11/3/09 order date, I remain on the wait list while (slightly) later orders are moving out the door-- maybe because mine's a custom?

Cheers all.

d.

Good decision.

Three primary problems I dislike about Raid (not to force you to reconsider, more for general education of anyone reading):

1) Doing complete drive/image backups is a lot more complicated and risky. My prefered method of backup is the full drive to image, image back to new drive. Doesn't work in Raid.

2) Pulling a single drive and connecting it with an external adapter or in a different system to recover data doesn't work.

3) Updating Firmware or Bios I've seen rare instances where the Raid becomes invalid and can't be read any more, same if the Mobo goes TU (even if you can replace it with same model, might be different raid firmware).


But yeah, you are getting 600GB plenty fast storage for what would be 400EUR here, whereas a single 256GB Drive would cost you closer to 600EUR. So it's still about four times the price per GB, and I can see why this is a No-Go for many people. I suppose if I wasn't such a "neat and tidy" file deleter and more of a digital pack rat, I would have discarded the SSD idea too.

You make good points. I had to do updgrading on the Firmware and it hosed my RAID (PANIC!) until I found a work around (googling on my laptop). Thank god that was recoverable.

I'm curious about your 1st point, so I ASSumed that the external drive/backup software would just read the RAID 0 array as a single drive (with 3 partitions in my case. Sounds like not so much.... Interested. Also, what backup software you you recommend? (I am so done with Norton Ghost).

Thanks!

d.

You make good points. I had to do updgrading on the Firmware and it hosed my RAID (PANIC!) until I found a work around (googling on my laptop). Thank god that was recoverable.

I'm curious about your 1st point, so I ASSumed that the external drive/backup software would just read the RAID 0 array as a single drive (with 3 partitions in my case. Sounds like not so much.... Interested. Also, what backup software you you recommend? (I am so done with Norton Ghost).

Thanks!

d.

It may be possible that newer versions of Acronis or other tools (I used Acronis 8 OEM and now onto Win6 Built-In Backup) can deal with Raid fine, I see some Google results saying as much.

I don't know what would happen if for example you tried to restore a Raid to a single drive, single drive to Raid is definitely problematic.

Also, as people found with many SSDs, updating Drive Firmware trough a Raid Controller is not supported.

If you are generally comfortable with Raid0 and already have some experience, you'll be fine. It's just an additional layer of possible complications that I personally avoid, but for your GB/USD/Speed requirements it's indeed the best fit.

dash, can you still make changes to your system ? If so, you might want to save some money on the additional charge for better wiring/cabling. I look at my system which is standard and don't see how it could have been significantly better.

Hey OLDGROGNARD!

Actually, after seeing your posts and your comment on the wiring, I went ahead and canceled that. Thanks for the tip!!!!!! Hope that sweet system is treating you right.

Also, here's an interesting one:

Get an email in the AM from Danny at Cyberpower announcing my backordered 5870 is now due on 12/2/09 (it was supposed to be in yesterday).

Then, at about noon, epower (basically the admin guy on the C-power forums), writes an apology and assurances that the December date is firm.

THEN:

He writes an update at about 2:30 PM yesterday saying that the shipment due today came in. But... I my "order status" remains 12/2/09.


And of course I'm not likely to get a response on my request for clarification until tomorrow.

MAN THIS IS FRUSTRATING!

I've been really pleased with CP so far (and the shortage is after all not their fault), but I'm going to be right ticked off if one of those cards isn't heading my way. Remember, my order date was 11/3/09, they billed my card for the full amount, and orders for customized rigs with later order dates (11/6 and 11/9) went out the week prior--- if the boards are to be believed.

Oh well, happy turkey day fellahs. I'm giving thanks for all your help and support---- true dat.

d.

I'm soooo glad I skipped the 5870.

Me too. But best of luck to dashavingo.

Just did a check for three Austrian Retailers - GTX285, GTX275 and HD5870, HD5850 - all out of stock.

Meanwhile, Danny Bauman of AMD keeps the soothing statements coming... According to him, by Dec 1 we'll be up to our ears in HD5890's 50's 70's--- you name it!

Believe it when I see it!

d.

PS> Appreciate y'all wishing me luck--- looking like I'll need it!

My system is still running smooth. No issues yet. The 5870 seems to run everything. It hasn't balked on anything yet. Great frame rates. Runs FSX at highest settings. Between good CPU and GPU, I'm loving it.

editted for my poor typing.

Cool beans - OldGrognard, if you're going to pay for quality, you expect your rig to run everything.

Now if they could could just get my system on it's way to the nice men in Brown.

Say, do you mind my asking what your original order date was?

Thanks - d.

I was worried that between the newest ATI card (5870) and new operating system (Win7) some of my older favorite games might not run. I am happy since it will even run EAW. EAW was an old favorite of mine; it was the game that brought me to SimHQ. It wouldn't run on my previous system, so almost 6 years without it. Those guys over at EAW have done some wonderful modifications to the old game. Quite a talented group.

I'm hoping that the 15-pin to USB adaptor I've ordered will let me use my old CH rudder pedals. No game port plug on the new system.

I'll let you know about dates when I get home and check my papers. I think the original ship date was Nov 6 and it was shipped on the 13th because of 5870 card delay. During that delay I changed to SSD drive since RSColonel was happy with his and I agree that the hard drive is now the weaksister in new systems.

No worries-- I agree that EAW is a legend and am glad that I'll be able to run it on my new rig.

Thanks mon,

d.

EAW runs better than it ever did on my Win 7 32bit system.

Got a 12/4 shipdate (FRIDAY of course!).

The HD card is still listed as back-ordered until tomorrow. Supposedly, I'll be getting one of these.

Fingers crossed, and good luck to everybody else waiting on a card, etc.!

d.

Coincidence! I have a 12/4 DELIVERY date on my Digital Storm build. I ordered the week before Thanksgiving, only about two weeks ago. Good luck to you, Dash. I hope you don't suffer any more delays.