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Need help choosing RAM and SSD for my HTPC build

post #1 of 150
12/15/11 at 5:26am
Thread Starter 
My desktop PC just died so I'm going to rebuild it with HTPC performance in mind. It will be my everyday PC not just HTPC and I will be doing video editing, ripping, Photoshop editing, word processing, etc. I plan to run a 50 foot HDMI cable from the PC to the HDTV set. IOW, this PC will be dual purpose. I don't play games.

I'm planning to use an ATX motherboard and although I'll be buying SATA hard drives, I already have some IDE data drives that I need to get data off of. An ATX motherboard that I found that has an IDE header on it is the ASUS P8H67-V. I'll be running video from the i5 but may buy an ATI Radeon 6450 card later if the i5's 24p repeat frames bother me.

So my build so far is:

- Motherboard: Asus P8H67-V (rev 3.0)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131783

- Processor: Intel core i5-2500K
- Power supply: Antec Green EA380D, 380 watts continuous power.
- RAM: DDR3 1333, 8GB - which brand and model?
- Solid state drive: Any suggestions for a 64GB SSD?

RAM:
What about ECC? How do I know if my motherboard needs it or not? I don't see ECC listed in the details for the P8H67-V mobo. ----- Would this G.SKILL Value Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBNT be a good choice?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231424

SSD:
Any suggestions for one about 64 GB in size?

Thanks for any help,
Sky
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post #2 of 150
12/15/11 at 9:47am
If the board does not need ECC RAM, then you don't need it. In fact, ECC RAM may not work on a board that does not support it.

I thought ECC was more for servers, and not for PC's.

As to SDD, I would stick with Corsair, Kingston, and Intel. I am not sure if OCZ fixed their issues, but I stick to "fool me once, you ain't gonna fool me again"
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post #3 of 150
12/15/11 at 10:50am
I don't think many, if any, consumer motherboards or chipsets even support ECC these days. Totally unnecessary.

Samsung are excellent SSDs. They make their own controllers.

Plextor are as well.

Sandforce controllers are fine on the SATA II models, but there have been some issues (maybe resolved with firmware updates, maybe not - the jury seems to be out) on SATA III Sandforce controllers and the SSDs that use them. Personally, I'd avoid them.

Why not just buy one of these things for $17, transfer your data over to some SATA drives, and forget about even trying to use IDE. You won't limit yourself on motherboards, and you'll be much better off in the long run.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812232002
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post #4 of 150
12/15/11 at 12:24pm
For a reliable SSD take a look at the Crucial M4 series. I got one a few months back and it transformed my HTPC from a slug to Speedster. I've had no problems with installation or operation at all. I did update the firmware and it just got faster. MCE now is, dare I say it, almost "snappy". Before it took several seconds to make command changes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148441
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post #5 of 150
12/15/11 at 12:28pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by blueiedgod View Post

As to SDD, I would stick with Corsair, Kingston, and Intel. I am not sure if OCZ fixed their issues, but I stick to "fool me once, you ain't gonna fool me again"

Hi blueiedgod,

That's the kind of info I need to choose a SSD.

Thanks much,
Sky
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post #6 of 150
12/15/11 at 12:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zon2020 View Post

I don't think many, if any, consumer motherboards or chipsets even support ECC these days. Totally unnecessary.

Just the kind of info I needed on ECC. I'll buy RAM without ECC.

Quote:


Samsung are excellent SSDs. They make their own controllers.
Plextor are as well.

Sandforce controllers are fine on the SATA II models, but there have been some issues (maybe resolved with firmware updates, maybe not - the jury seems to be out) on SATA III Sandforce controllers and the SSDs that use them. Personally, I'd avoid them.

Never heard of Sandforce controllers so I had to google it. Wasn't sure whether that controller was on the motherboard or on the SSD. Research shows it's on the SSD so I guess my mobo choice is safe.

Quote:


Why not just buy one of these things for $17, transfer your data over to some SATA drives, and forget about even trying to use IDE. You won't limit yourself on motherboards, and you'll be much better off in the long run.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16812232002

That's a nice gadget. Like the video presentation on it too.

Regarding buying the ASUS mobo with the built-in IDE port, I figured I could use the IDE port to:
1. Transfer data from my IDE drives to SATA drives.
2. Use it for my two IDE optical drives (CD/DVD reader and CD/DVD burner) after the hard drive data transfers are complete.

I don't plan on playing, ripping or burning Blu ray discs so hoped I could get by with my current two IDE optical drives. If I change my mind later, I could buy a SATA Blu ray player/burner then. I'm going to buy a Blu-ray set-top player to play Blu ray discs that we rent from Blockbuster.

Are there better motherboards for the uses I listed in my original post? I want to be able to stream "any" HD video from the web, play 1080p, 24fps video from a Canon camera, edit the videos from that camera and do fast SD DVD rips. Will the ASUS mobo I selected be able to do all of that well or are there better mobos without a built-in IDE port?

Thanks much for your help,
Sky
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post #7 of 150
12/15/11 at 1:04pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GuyLR View Post

For a reliable SSD take a look at the Crucial M4 series. I got one a few months back and it transformed my HTPC from a slug to Speedster. I've had no problems with installation or operation at all. I did update the firmware and it just got faster. MCE now is, dare I say it, almost "snappy". Before it took several seconds to make command changes.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820148441

That's the SSD that I have in my NewEgg shopping cart right now. Lots of good user reviews. I'll be taking a look at the Samsung SSD too per Zon2020's recommendation.

EDIT: BTW, does the Crucial M4 use a sandforce controller?

Thanks much,
Sky
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post #8 of 150
12/15/11 at 2:10pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylark View Post

Never heard of Sandforce controllers so I had to google it. Wasn't sure whether that controller was on the motherboard or on the SSD. Research shows it's on the SSD so I guess my mobo choice is safe.

Yes, there is a memory controller built into each SSD. Among the Sata III models, some have Marvell Controllers (Plextor, Crucial M4, Intel 510 series), a lot have Sandforce controllers, and Samsung makes its own controllers.

You can tell the Sandforce because they are listed as 60gb, 120gb, etc., while the Samsung and Marvell controller ones are listed as 64gb, 128gb, etc.

Many people here use the OCZ and others with the Sandforce controllers, but you should know that there have been issues with them. The Plextor, Crucial M4 and Samsung aren't any more expensive. I'd choose one of those. (I am using a Plextor M2 64gb and 128gb, and a Samsung 470 64gb and am very happy. The new Samsung 830 series has had excellent reviews.

Note that the Sandforce issue relates only to the SATA III models, not SATA II. But if your motherboard supports SATA III, I'd get a SATA III SSD. There is some performance benefit with SATA III and SSDs. They're really no more expensive these days. (In contrast, there is no real performance benefit with SATA III hard drives over SATA II.)
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post #9 of 150
12/15/11 at 2:12pm
I've already done the research for you.

Crucial M4, Samsung 830 series or Intel SSD.

Done.
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post #10 of 150
12/15/11 at 2:16pm
I have a 64gb Crucial M4, very fast and no problems. And I haven't even updated the firmware yet.
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post #11 of 150
12/15/11 at 2:17pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I've already done the research for you.

Crucial M4, Samsung 830 series or Intel SSD.

Done.

You should add the Plextor PX-M2 series to your list. I have two (a 64 and a 128), they work flawlessly, and they use the same Marvell controller as the Intel 510 series.

And they come with Acronis True Image software.
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post #12 of 150
12/16/11 at 1:38am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zon2020 View Post

Yes, there is a memory controller built into each SSD. Among the Sata III models, some have Marvell Controllers (Plextor, Crucial M4, Intel 510 series), a lot have Sandforce controllers, and Samsung makes its own controllers.

You can tell the Sandforce because they are listed as 60gb, 120gb, etc., while the Samsung and Marvell controller ones are listed as 64gb, 128gb, etc.

Many people here use the OCZ and others with the Sandforce controllers, but you should know that there have been issues with them. The Plextor, Crucial M4 and Samsung aren't any more expensive. I'd choose one of those. (I am using a Plextor M2 64gb and 128gb, and a Samsung 470 64gb and am very happy. The new Samsung 830 series has had excellent reviews.

Note that the Sandforce issue relates only to the SATA III models, not SATA II. But if your motherboard supports SATA III, I'd get a SATA III SSD. There is some performance benefit with SATA III and SSDs. They're really no more expensive these days. (In contrast, there is no real performance benefit with SATA III hard drives over SATA II.)

Thanks for the additional info on SSDs. Being able to ID SSDs with Sandforce controllers by the GB size is really useful to know.

Sky
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post #13 of 150
12/16/11 at 1:42am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

I've already done the research for you.

Crucial M4, Samsung 830 series or Intel SSD.

Done.

Thanks for all of your hard work and sharing your knowledge with all of us. Your simple HTPC thread is what led me to the ix series of GPUs.

Keep up the excellent work,
Sky
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post #14 of 150
12/16/11 at 1:44am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shoolie View Post

I have a 64gb Crucial M4, very fast and no problems. And I haven't even updated the firmware yet.

Does a 6GB per second sata cable come with the 64gb Crucial M4?

Thanks,
Sky
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post #15 of 150
12/16/11 at 9:36am
If you want to go larger on the SSD, Newegg has a great deal today on the Plextor PX-M3S 128GB drive.
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post #16 of 150
12/16/11 at 9:45am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylark View Post

Does a 6GB per second sata cable come with the 64gb Crucial M4?

Thanks,
Sky

All SATA cables are the same. There is no '6gbps' cable.
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post #17 of 150
12/16/11 at 11:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by lespurgeon View Post

If you want to go larger on the SSD, Newegg has a great deal today on the Plextor PX-M3S 128GB drive.

Wow. Thanks. Just ordered one. I've been looking around for a good 128GB SSD to replace the hard drive in my Sony Z series laptop. This will be perfect.

I'm using two Plextor PX-M2 series SSDs (a 64 and a 128). They've been perfect. According to StorageReview.com, the difference from the M2 to M3 is this:

"Like their recent M2P SSD, the Plextor PX-M3S uses a Marvell 9174 processor, however where the M2P used Toshiba's 32nm Toggle NAND, the M3S is using 24nm Toshiba Toggle NAND. This translates into a modest boost in the spec sheet speeds over the M2P - the M3S can drive read speeds of up to 525MB/s and writes of 445MB/s, along with 70,000 IOPS. Plextor is shipping the M3S with their True Speed technology, which provides for better drive performance over time, along with custom firmware. To polish off the offering, Plextor is including a five year warranty, the longest available in the SSD space."

If you don't need the 128gb, Amazon is selling the 64GB Plextor PX-M2 (PX-64M2S-02) for $94.42, which is still a SATA III, uses the same Marvel controller, and is also a great buy.
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post #18 of 150
12/16/11 at 12:19pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zon2020 View Post

You should add the Plextor PX-M2 series to your list. I have two (a 64 and a 128), they work flawlessly, and they use the same Marvell controller as the Intel 510 series.

And they come with Acronis True Image software.

I added the 64GB Plextor today to my guide.
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post #19 of 150
12/16/11 at 1:53pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by lespurgeon View Post

If you want to go larger on the SSD, Newegg has a great deal today on the Plextor PX-M3S 128GB drive.

Thanks for that tip. I read an article on cnet where the author said he's running a 60GB SSD and currently has 25GB free. Since I'll only load Win7 and applications on the SSD, I think 64GB will be enough.

Thanks,
Sky
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post #20 of 150
12/16/11 at 1:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by almostinsane View Post

All SATA cables are the same. There is no '6gbps' cable.

I see 6 GB/s sata cables listed on Newegg. I'll buy them just to be safe.

Thanks,
Sky
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post #21 of 150
12/16/11 at 1:59pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zon2020 View Post

If you don't need the 128gb, Amazon is selling the 64GB Plextor PX-M2 (PX-64M2S-02) for $94.42, which is still a SATA III, uses the same Marvel controller, and is also a great buy.

I deleted the Crucial M4 and added the Plextor 64GB SSD to my list. Saves about $15 with equal quality.

Thanks for that tip!
Sky
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post #22 of 150
12/16/11 at 2:06pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylark View Post

I see 6 GB/s sata cables listed on Newegg. I'll buy them just to be safe.

Thanks,
Sky

It's just marketing hype. There's no difference.

Also, I found that a 64gb SSD is fine for my HTPC. On my SSD I have Windows 7, Norton Internet Security, multiple video playback programs, editing suites, and other utilities (including JRiver MC, WinDVD Pro, Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum, Nero Multimedia Suite Platinum HD) and still have over 20GB free.

Although I chose a 128GB one for a general purpose desktop build.
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post #23 of 150
12/16/11 at 2:08pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zon2020 View Post

It's just marketing hype. There's no difference.

Also, I found that a 64gb SSD is fine for my HTPC. On my SSD I have Windows 7, Norton Internet Security, multiple video playback programs, editing suites, and other utilities (including JRiver MC, WinDVD Pro, Sony Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum, Nero Multimedia Suite Platinum HD) and still have over 20GB free.

Although I chose a 128GB one for a general purpose desktop build.

Agree about the SATAIII data cable. All marketing. Same as SATAIII mechanical hard drives.

Why do you use Norton? I think Microsoft Security Essentials is excellent. And free.
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post #24 of 150
12/16/11 at 2:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by assassin View Post

Why do you use Norton? I think Microsoft Security Essentials is excellent. And free.

I think that's probably true, but I've just always used Norton, from before MSE was available, and it's always worked, so it's a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" thing. And now it's fast and doesn't slow anything down.


I buy them when they're on sale anytime during the year. A 3 license 1 year box usually comes around at various times online or at Costco for about $19.99. They're good foreever and you can always upgrade to the current version (so, for example, if you use a Internet Security 2009, you can immediately upgrade it for free to 2012). So whenever they expire, I break out a new three pack and add another year.

And I've been able to get ones with free Norton Utilities, which is nice.

So I run Norton Internet Security and Windows Defender, and together they seem to work well.

As a side note, it's one of the amazing things about using an SSD is how fast both the Norton updates and the Norton and Defender scans run. Windows update as well.
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post #25 of 150
12/16/11 at 2:54pm
Thread Starter 
Here’s my proposed Home Theater / Muliti-Use PC build. As previously mentioned, I don’t play games. This PC will also be for everyday use as described in post #6 of this thread. I will run a 50' HDMI cable from this PC to our Samsung HDTV set.

I've read that 4GB of RAM is plenty for a HTPC but I chose 8GB since I will be doing photo editing with Photoshop and video editing of 1080p videos from our Canon camera. Also, I think 8GB will lessen Win7's page file use since I plan to designate the page file to be on the hard drive. This should avoid page file read/writes to the SSD.

===============================

Would appreciate any critique of the items listed.

- MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P8H67-V LGA 1155 H67 SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 ATX Intel H67 ATX DDR2 1333 - $94.99 amazon

- CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K - $219.99 Newegg

- RAM: Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB) 1333 MHz PC3-10666 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 - $44.99 amazon

- SSD: Plextor 64GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive PX-64M2S-02 - $94.72 amazon

- POWER SUPPLY: Antec 430 watt Power Supply EA-430D - $49.99 amazon

- HARD DRIVE: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $149.99 Newegg ($109.99 with $40 rebate)

- THERMAL COMPOUND: Arctic Silver AA-1.75G - $5.98 Newegg

- 10" SATA CABLE FOR SSD: OKGEAR 10" SATA 6 Gbps Cable, Straight to Straight W/ Metal Latch, UV Blue, Backward Compatible 3 Gbps and 1.5 Gbps - $4.49 Newegg

TOTAL COST: $665.14 ($625.14 after $40 Samsung HDD rebate.)

===============================

I'll connect my current DVD reader and DVD burner drives to the IDE port on the motherboard. I already have SATA II cables for the Samsung hard drive.

Did I miss anything for a complete working system?
Thanks for any critique on my build,
Sky
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post #26 of 150
12/16/11 at 3:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylark View Post

Here’s my proposed Home Theater / Muliti-Use PC build. As previously mentioned, I don’t play games. This PC will also be for everyday use as described in post #6 of this thread. I will run a 50' HDMI cable from this PC to our Samsung HDTV set.

I've read that 4GB of RAM is plenty for a HTPC but I chose 8GB since I will be doing photo editing with Photoshop and video editing of 1080p videos from our Canon camera. Also, I think 8GB will lessen Win7's page file use since I plan to designate the page file to be on the hard drive. This should avoid page file read/writes to the SSD.

===============================

Would appreciate any critique of the items listed.

- MOTHERBOARD: ASUS P8H67-V LGA 1155 H67 SATA 6 Gb/s and USB 3.0 ATX Intel H67 ATX DDR2 1333 - $94.99 amazon

- CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K - $219.99 Newegg

- RAM: Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2 x 4GB) 1333 MHz PC3-10666 240-Pin DDR3 Memory Kit CMX8GX3M2A1333C9 - $44.99 amazon

- SSD: Plextor 64GB SATA 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive PX-64M2S-02 - $94.72 amazon

- POWER SUPPLY: Antec 430 watt Power Supply EA-430D - $49.99 amazon

- HARD DRIVE: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $149.99 Newegg ($109.99 with $40 rebate)

- THERMAL COMPOUND: Arctic Silver AA-1.75G - $5.98 Newegg

- 10" SATA CABLE FOR SSD: OKGEAR 10" SATA 6 Gbps Cable, Straight to Straight W/ Metal Latch, UV Blue, Backward Compatible 3 Gbps and 1.5 Gbps - $4.49 Newegg

TOTAL COST: $665.14 ($625.14 after $40 Samsung HDD rebate.)

===============================

I'll connect my current DVD reader and DVD burner drives to the IDE port on the motherboard. I already have SATA II cables for the Samsung hard drive.

Did I miss anything for a complete working system?
Thanks for any critique on my build,
Sky

That's perfectly fine memory, but it's kind of expensive. You can get 2x4gb of PNY at Newegg for 31.99 with free shipping, or just watch to see what's on sale there nearly every day. I bought 8gb of Mushkin Silverline at Newegg for $25 a couple of weeks ago on one of their daily deals. G Skill Value is only $35. These days, sdram is pretty tightly spec'd. Basically any 1.5v SDRAM should work ok.

Also, the stock cooler comes with thermal coupound already in place. You don't really need to buy any.

As an aside, I usually want to have at least a couple of 90 degree angled SATA cables as well as a couple of straight ones handy before I start a build. Straight ones just don't work sometimes. You really should have a couple of each or you'll end up having to stop building to go get one.
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post #27 of 150
12/16/11 at 3:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylark View Post

Did I miss anything for a complete working system?

A case? I'm assuming you're reusing a case you have, but I just want to make sure. Depending on the noise from the stock i5 cooler, you might want to think about a different CPU cooler.

I also assume you're using 64bit Win7. If not, anything more than 4gigs won't even be recognized by the operating system (actually, I think it's three gigs).
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post #28 of 150
12/16/11 at 3:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by pkscout View Post

Depending on the noise from the stock i5 cooler, you might want to think about a different CPU cooler.

The stock Sandy Bridge cooler is pretty quiet.

If you're not overclocking, I think it's adequate.
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post #29 of 150
12/16/11 at 4:19pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zon2020 View Post

That's perfectly fine memory, but it's kind of expensive. You can get 2x4gb of PNY at Newegg for 31.99 with free shipping, or just watch to see what's on sale there nearly every day. I bought 8gb of Mushkin Silverline at Newegg for $25 a couple of weeks ago on one of their daily deals. G Skill Value is only $35. These days, sdram is pretty tightly spec'd. Basically any 1.5v SDRAM should work ok.

Deleted the Crucial RAM from my shopping cart and added the PNY RAM. Thanks for the savings tip.

Quote:


Also, the stock cooler comes with thermal coupound already in place. You don't really need to buy any.

Good to know and your info will help others too.

Quote:


As an aside, I usually want to have at least a couple of 90 degree angled SATA cables as well as a couple of straight ones handy before I start a build. Straight ones just don't work sometimes. You really should have a couple of each or you'll end up having to stop building to go get one.

Looked in my current case and see that right angle SATA cables for the lowest most drives in the two cages would work better. Added one 10" and one 18" straight to right angle SATA cables to my shopping cart.

Thanks,
Sky
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post #30 of 150
12/16/11 at 4:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Skylark View Post

Deleted the Crucial RAM from my shopping cart and added the PNY RAM. Thanks for the savings tip.


Good to know and your info will help others too.


Looked in my current case and see that right angle SATA cables for the lowest most drives in the two cages would work better. Ordered one 10" and one 18" straight to right angle SATA cables.

Thanks,
Sky

Fyi most of this is in my sticky guide and my faq. Lots of other great stuff there too.
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