Questions about PCs/parts - Consulting

[QwarkDreams]

Since I didn't want to misuse the rig-thread I decided to make a new one for technical questions about PCs/parts where everyone can ask questions and everyone can answer.

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The reason why I even consider a NAS drive is that my ext. LaCie HDD was in use for the last 2 1/2 years nearly everyday for 2-12 hours with constant video/music playback. Since NAS drives are built to endure this kind of usage I thought those would fit my needs.

I don't really care if I buy a WD or Seagate. My last main drive where I had the OS and ALL my programs, documents,... on was a Seagate and I never had any problems (well, the ones in the living room-PC died, had to replace them with my ext. Seagate via eSATA; types are ES.2(int) and Barracuda 7200.11(ext)).

I wouldn't mind buying a normal HDD (WD Blue, Seagate Barracuda) if it can handle the workload but as I calculated it should at least!!! be able to handle about 100TB/y. Like I said, the HDD will be in use for media playback (like in a NAS).

But credit where credit is due: since my ext. LaCie (have to look up what HDD is actually in the case) isn't a NAS drive it handled the workload pretty good for 2 1/2 years and it still works (copying the most important data to my int. WD Blue). Only downside is that when I run Speccy or it is idle for a longer time, it suddenly doesn't get recognized by the PC anymore (altough when I disconnect the USB cable or turn the LaCie off I get the "disconnect sound" from Windows). It also makes a "crunchy grinding" noise when writing (don't know what it means but I already backed up all files on it).

So, the question still remains: what HDD for media playback? Is a NAS drive worth it or does a WD Blue/Seagate Barracuda the job equally good?
I want to get a new one as soon as possible since the free space on my other drives is getting scarce :-/

 

[Laura Knotek]

That's good you've done a backup. Crunchy grinding sounds during writing seems like a symptom of impending HDD failure.

 

[Keith Wallace]

You keep saying "like a NAS." Are you using this drive as NAS, or a personal external HDD? There's a difference there, of course, so I'm just checking. If you're doing NAS, get a WD Red (I don't have any experience with NAS, but those are the NAS drives from WD), but if you're just wanting a replacement external HDD, you could crack the Lacie drive bay open and put any drive you wanted inside.

 

[QwarkDreams]

You keep saying "like a NAS." Are you using this drive as NAS, or a personal external HDD? There's a difference there, of course, so I'm just checking. If you're doing NAS, get a WD Red (I don't have any experience with NAS, but those are the NAS drives from WD), but if you're just wanting a replacement external HDD, you could crack the Lacie drive bay open and put any drive you wanted inside.

I keep saying "like a NAS" because NAS drives are built for 24/7 usage. I haven't been using my ext. LaCie up to this extreme but quite close. So a NAS drive would make sense to me.
The LaCie is currently being formated (let's see how it works after that). But it's going to be replaced by an int. HDD anyway. I wanted an int. HDD for media long before the LaCie acted up. It just wasn't really urgent/necessary until now. I might get a 2.5" ext. HDD so I have a portable HDD in case I neet to take it to a friend or use it away from home with my Netbook (not urgent, maybe some time during this year).

To clear the "NAS-thing" up a little more: I don't have a NAS system and I don't have anything connected to my desktop PC other than my mouse/keyboard, ext. ODD, 2x ext. HDDs, 2.1 speaker and the monitor. I'm not streaming to my TV and I don't intend on building a NAS system.
Since I have lots of videos and music I use nearly 1/2 of the day (on weekends even more) I want a very, very durable HDD that can handle working constantly (not just sitting in my PC storing the files and not using them).
So a NAS drive sounded like the ideal HDD for my estimated workload per year.

My question was if a NAS drive is the most reliable one for me or if a "regular" (Blue/Barracuda) will do the job just as fine with about the same durability? (not only because the WD Red and Seagate NAS are more expensive, but failure ratio is going up with more storage)

I hope this has made my point of view more understandable

 

[Keith Wallace]

Well, the issue with wearing out a drive would probably be more related to writes than reads (it's definitely the concern with SSDs), I mean, I've been using my WD Caviar Black as my only drive for 4.5 years, and it's not even beginning to give me problems. I'm someone who is has his PC on 99% of the time, and I have some sort of TV show running probably 30-50% of the time (I leave Futurama running overnight and fall asleep to it a lot). So if you're meaning that you are replacing the Lacie drive with a mass storage internal drive, a Blue will serve that purpose just fine.

The NAS drives aren't just about being on 27/4, it's the constant exchange of information, while also having that Intellipower stuff to put it in a pseudo-sleep mode when not in use, I think. If you're wanting something to just consume media from on a personal level, you don't need a Red.

 

[QwarkDreams]

Ah, Futurama :-D

What about Seagate? I know it's a question like "Pepsi or Coke" but the store where I'm going to buy the new HDD has a Seagate Barracuda 7200 (have to ask before the purchase if it's the newest - 7200.14) for about 53€ and a WD Caviar Blue for about 57€ (both 1TB; not quite fond of HDDs with more storage since the failure rate will increase, but on the other hand you can get a 500GB HDD that can fail after 3 months, so....yeah, not a good point). It's more costly buying 2x 1TB than 1x 2TB but I'll sleep better knowing that if one fails I still have a second one (not going to purchase both at the same time, one step after another, I just got my basic configuration ).

 

[Keith Wallace]

I mean, I'd personally spend an extra $4 on a WD drive over a Seagate, but that's me. If you have had no issues with Seagate to make you question their quality, it's mostly your call. However, make sure that you're getting an identical Seagate to the WD. Though both might be 7200 RPM, one could Black and the other Blue, or one could have 64 MB of cache, while the other might only have 32 MB.

 

[QwarkDreams]

I ended up with second WD Blue since the Seagate was sold out (at least the 1TB version). I alredy installed it and I'm now transferring the files to it. I already got some "routine" with it, so it only took me like 10min to mount it in the HDD cage, hook it up to the MoBo and PSU, configure it as a volume and have it work :-D

After some thinking on the way to the store I think I wouldn't have been too happy with different brands and modells, so even if the Seagate weren't sold out I'd still have bought the WD. And as it has already copied 90% of 370GB in about 45-50min it approved my decision

 

[QwarkDreams]

My new PC is running well, so I want to get to know the parts better that I used in it.

My MoBo has not only ext. USB ports but also int. USB headers. The 3.0 are already in use with the ports in the front of the case but what about the unused int. USB 2.0 headers? How can I use them and what do I need? I've already found a bunch of header-to-port adapters which I could use to place a Bluetooth dongle inside the case (e.g. for connecting it with my Lumia/iPod). But what else? Are there slot blends with USB 2.0 ports that I can connect with the headers? I haven't found any until now :-/ (only ones for USB 3.0)

 

[Keith Wallace]

No idea, never even knew that they made converters to use the headers for other things.

 

[QwarkDreams]

What would you use them for if not for additional USB ports? For int. use there are these little things:


Something like this (picture below) would be nice for extra ext. USB 2.0 ports.



Are there other ways to use those headers? I know that one int. USB 2.0 header gives you 2 USB ports.

 

[Keith Wallace]

I really don't know. As I said, it's nothing I every worried about. I have 6 ports (4 x 2.0, 2 x 3.0) on the front of my case, and an uncounted number on the motherboard. I think that my board has an unused 2.0 header and an unused single-port 3.0 header, but I don't need a dozen USB ports, so I don't bother to look.

 

[QwarkDreams]

Well, those internal adapters would be nice for Bluetooth dongles so it doesn't occupy a USB port.

 

[QwarkDreams]

Regarding the ext. HDD (LaCie):

I managed to remove the drive from the case (which wasn't easy without breaking it and no screws) and put it in my PC. Now it works fine, even when I run Speccy which usually led to the HDD not being detected anymore.

 

[QwarkDreams]

I knew that I was going to replace my mouse and keyboard. The sheer range of gaming mice is overwhelming.

My goal was to find a mouse for my needs and grip style (due to the size of the Kone [+] it's currently a mix of fingertip+palm, but usually I'm a fingertip grip user; I also only use my wirst to move my hand, not my elbow). and at most 50€ (~70$ with taxes).
LEDs for some color would be nice and I really like the color stripes on the Kone [+] but a Kone XTD would be much more expensive. The Kone Pure/Optical would have an ideal size but no LED stripes on top and no weight system (and I like my mice heavy).

I've looked into some other mice (not only for fingertip grip, since I'm mixing grip styles at the moment) from Razer over Saitek/Mad Catz to Steelseries and the not so mainstream ones. But I couldn't find a proper successor to my Kone [+].

Another important thing is that the Sensor of the Kone [+] doesn't work as good on my cloth mouse pad (Razer Goliathus) on the green design-part. On my alu-plastic eXact mat from Razer it works fine, even on the green logo (but I don't like to use it because the metal edge cuts into my wirst). So I need to get a new one as well (assuming that a new mouse will have difficulties with the pad as well).

Has anyone any suggestions for a good mouse + pad combo? Should I spend a little bit more and get the XTD regarding that I was very satisfied with the [+] for years now? Or even wait for the Kone XTD Optical (which will be released later this year)?

 

[gedzum]

I have a Razer Deathadder and I love it. My hand rests nicely on it but I tend to use palm grip most of the time, particularly playing strategy games like Civ V. Works well with something like Torchlight 2 as well. Occassionally use finger tip grip in FPS and works fine for me in those types of games. Muessig recommended the Corsair M65 to me. It looks good too. With regards to mouse mats, I use some generic pad with gel wrist rest. It works wonders for me and is comfortable

 

[QwarkDreams]

I have a Razer Deathadder and I love it. My hand rests nicely on it but I tend to use palm grip most of the time, particularly playing strategy games like Civ V. Works well with something like Torchlight 2 as well. Occassionally use finger tip grip in FPS and works fine for me in those types of games. Muessig recommended the Corsair M65 to me. It looks good too. With regards to mouse mats, I use some generic pad with gel wrist rest. It works wonders for me and is comfortable

Have to say I'm not a fan of Razer products. They seem quite overprized and rarely for fingertip grip (at least the ones above 50?). The Deathadder I tried when I bought the Kone [+] ad a nice surface and I liked the buttons but overall it was a bit too big and offered less features than the Kone.

I never had the chance to try a Corsair in a store (they don't get offered by the big stores here). But if I were to get one I think I'd take a M40/45 since they are a bit cheaper and I don't really need this Sniper-button.

 

[QwarkDreams]

Just saw a short video on YouTube about the new Logitech G502 and I think this one's going to be my new mouse (fairly pricy but about the same as the Roccat Kone XTD).

But thanks for all the suggestions!

A new concern for me is that my CPU got quite hot during BluRay ripping (about 60?C). I never cared about temperatures in my old PC but now it concerns me a bit that the temperatures get this high.
I know that GPUs usually get hotter than GPUs during gaming (mine get's as high as about 57?C) but I've never seen such temperatures with CPUs.
Do you guys think I should get an inexpensive aftermarket CPU cooler (like the Cooler Master Evo 212) or just take it easy on ripping? (the files it results in are too big anyway for my linkings - about 40GB for LA Confidential) I want to upgrade my CPU in about a year to an i5 anyways but I'm concerned that a cooler like this won't be sufficient for the new CPU.

 

[gedzum]

Just saw a short video on YouTube about the new Logitech G502 and I think this one's going to be my new mouse (fairly pricy but about the same as the Roccat Kone XTD).

But thanks for all the suggestions!

A new concern for me is that my CPU got quite hot during BluRay ripping (about 60?C). I never cared about temperatures in my old PC but now it concerns me a bit that the temperatures get this high.
I know that GPUs usually get hotter than GPUs during gaming (mine get's as high as about 57?C) but I've never seen such temperatures with CPUs.
Do you guys think I should get an inexpensive aftermarket CPU cooler (like the Cooler Master Evo 212) or just take it easy on ripping? (the files it results in are too big anyway for my linkings - about 40GB for LA Confidential) I want to upgrade my CPU in about a year to an i5 anyways but I'm concerned that a cooler like this won't be sufficient for the new CPU.

Mouse looks good..like something out of Tron Hope it serves you well. If you don't plan on doing serious overclocking, a moderately cheap CPU cooler should suffice. From what I've seen that Evo 212 is highly regarded in terms of price/performance.

 

[Keith Wallace]

Just saw a short video on YouTube about the new Logitech G502 and I think this one's going to be my new mouse (fairly pricy but about the same as the Roccat Kone XTD).

But thanks for all the suggestions!

A new concern for me is that my CPU got quite hot during BluRay ripping (about 60?C). I never cared about temperatures in my old PC but now it concerns me a bit that the temperatures get this high.
I know that GPUs usually get hotter than GPUs during gaming (mine get's as high as about 57?C) but I've never seen such temperatures with CPUs.
Do you guys think I should get an inexpensive aftermarket CPU cooler (like the Cooler Master Evo 212) or just take it easy on ripping? (the files it results in are too big anyway for my linkings - about 40GB for LA Confidential) I want to upgrade my CPU in about a year to an i5 anyways but I'm concerned that a cooler like this won't be sufficient for the new CPU.

1. I just got the G502 as a warranty replacement yesterday for my G500S (which was a warranty replacement for my G500, which was a warranty replacement for a previous G500...yeah, I've had 3 warranty replacements in 1.5 years). It's a nice-looking mouse, but it's got this iffy mesh-wrapped cable that has gone to hell on the 3 mice I had before, so I'm not sure I trust it long-term (all of its predecessors broke after 5-6 months).

Here's a picture:




2. I wouldn't worry too much about the CPU temp. They're safe up to about 80-90 degrees, so 60 won't kill it. However, if you're concerned, it might be about the case as much as the CPU cooler (depending on the number of fans and airflow of it). But if you want to throw about $30-40 at it, the Hyper 212 EVO from Cooler Master is basically the go-to cooler for people at that price range.