My laptop officially shit the bed recently and I've been looking for a desktop replacement ever since. I've got the ideal build and components after a good amount of research - a semi-budget gaming build... AMD Phenom II X6 1075t, Radeon HD 5770. Doesn't list power supply info which worries me a bit, but it's from Dell

I don't really need HD space - I don't have many pictures/movies/media and plan to use the computer for gaming. I have two options:


- 1 TB SATA 3.0GB/s, 7200RPM, 16MB cache (included)

- 1.5 TB SATA-II 3.0GB/s, 7200 RPM, 32MB cache ($50 more)


500 GB alone would be more than enough HDD space. Will the SATA-II drive make that much of a difference? I've found websites saying it won't because HDDs aren't capable of exploiting it yet, but those were on 3+ year old websites.





Why I don't build it myself? I know very little about computers and I don't feel comfortable building my own, despite changing my own RAM and opening the case on my desktop my friend built... I don't know, just rather have a warranty in case something goes wrong and paying it off in installments without interest is just nice.

 

Based on the specs the throughput is the same, you'd just get a larger buffer, besides disk space is so cheap right now that I'd just say go with the cheaper option and then upgrade if/when you need to. A quick google search says you can basically buy a 1.5 TB SATA II drive for $60, so I don't really think you're saving any money by upgrading with Dell.

In general I say get base RAM and HD and then upgrade on your own, you will almost always save money this way, plus then you have the extra parts...

edit: ok I was wrong, they are more like $90, but I still stick with my overall statement, skip it and upgrade when you need it and save the money now.

 

I'm a bit puzzled by their wording as original SATA is only 1.5 GB/s. SATA II is 3.0GB/s.

 

here is the website for configuring it. If you look at the bottom of the config area, there's an icon for 'hard drive' where they list the options.

Oh, and there was a 3rd option, I'm just cheap and blocked it out of my mind

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...tudio-xps-7100

 

Guess I'll just call them before ordering and get the 1 TB either way.... but there's still a slim chance that I'll ever upgrade the HDD.

 

After looking online, it appears there's a lot of times descriptions that say SATA 3.0GB/s. I'm pretty sure they are the exact same speed but the larger drive has the larger cache obviously. Meh, go cheap and wait until SSD's get cheaper then upgrade

 

duuuuuuuuude......you're getting a dell!

 

yeah i dont think they make 1tb drives with only a SATA 1 connection

 

Just built myself a gaming rig. When I did my research I was too looking at the differences between SATA I and SATA II hard drives. Most of my research ended up stating that the hard drives themselves will not be able to max out at the advertised 3.0 or 6.0 GB/s speeds. So basically the technology is new but the hardware doesn't support it yet.

My rig:
AMD 1090T
8GB RAM
550W Power Supply
AMD Radeon HD6850
1TB Sata I hard drive

Paid approx $1100 for it (about 2 months ago, the price has stayed the same since) There is some other stuff I have in my computer but dont feel getting technical with it. Wanted a fast, ultra quiet computer and I got what I wanted. The perks of building it yourself.

big name computer companies cheap out on power supplies to save cost.. just letting you know
if you have any questions i dont mind helping you out...

 

I am pretty sure that any machine made in the last 4 years is sata 2. any currently available MB (not counting obviously obosolete stock) should be at least Sata II if not III now...... all hdd can fall back to a slower protocol if needed (this is why you can use your shiney new 750GB sata III drive in your PS3's sata I controller)

Sata I = 1.6Gbps
Sata II = 3.0Gbps
Sata III = 6.0Gps

OP both drives listed are Sata II drives they are just worded differently

SATA (3.0Gbps)
SATA II

are both the same thing

 

Check here

http://www.ibuypower.com/

I hear great things about this site and their fully customizable builds. You can customize every single internal part including the power supply. They build it to your specs.

 

every time I see the word SATA it makes me thing of my SATA minijet HVLP automotive spray gun. lol

 

Bulldozer is coming out in June so unless you badly new a new system now it would make sense to wait to see if Bulldozer is any good, and even if it's not it will still drive down the prices of the older CPUs.