New rig ordered: Important Question about HDD..

[clearsky1]

Case: Antec 900
Processor: Q6600
Motherboard: Abit IP35 Pro
Graphics: eVGA 8800GTS 640MB
PSU: Corsair 520
Memory: OCZ 2GB Reaper HPC; Crucial Ballistix 2GB
Heatsink: Zalman CNPS9700

Now my major concern is..

well, i have an IDE cable Seagate 320GB hard drive.
As far as i know the only IDE port on the mobo will be taken already, so i'll need a raid card correct?

If i do need a raid card.. what is suggested? And will i need a 2nd SATA HDD (I'll need a way to install windows to install the raid to get my IDE HDD running.. right)?

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[A True Folder]

What is "taking" your ide port? rom drive? You can run two devices on an ide port.

more info please

 

[clearsky1]

I apologize, I was only told this by a friend and i'm trying to be careful not to waste money since my rig is costing me ~$1300 already.

And suddenly I just realized, i'll be needing to buy a CD-ROM drive too.

But you say that the IDE port can hold 2 devices? Well then maybe i dont need to get a raid, i'll just be getting 1 CD-Rom drive i think. Those are IDE-required ports right?

 

[BrynF_UK]

well unless its a S-ATA CD-Rom drive, but normally most IDE cables have two connectors to attach to devices.

edit: ive taken a look at the motherboard you were buying, and it does have S-ATA 300 connectors - so if you buy a CD and even a DVD drive that works off S-ATA 300 youd be ok.

 

[A True Folder]

Yep, that's correct. You'd put your IDE hdd as primary master and the rom drive as primary slave on your ide channel, there's no real need for raid.

EDIT: I have a question about the ram in your first post, why two brands? and why 4GB? are you planning to run a 64bit os?

 

[clearsky1]

Wow, that's awesome. That'll save me some money.

Thanks guys :]

 

[A True Folder]

Also another question to go with this one from last post

(I have a question about the ram in your first post, why two brands? and why 4GB? are you planning to run a 64bit os?)

You have two different speed ram modules the Reaper is 8500 and the ballistix is 6400, the 8500 will run at 6400 speed so that would be a waste as well.

EDIT: Also get the Zalman 9700NT too btw, has m/board fan control.

 

[BrynF_UK]

You have two different speed ram modules the Reaper is 8500 and the ballistix is 6400, the 8500 will run at 6400 speed so that would be a waste as well

hey well spotted - could have been a bit of a costly mistake

 

[clearsky1]

Ack, The reaper is actually at 6400 also. It's a cheaper version of it i guess.. i got it for $60 after Mail In at newegg...

The reason i got 2 different ones is... well i was going to get the Crucial Ballistix 4GB worth, (running on a 32bit, i understand that the max is 3.25 on 32bit) but the rebate allowed for 1 address only. Didn't want to deal with going to a friend's house to pick up something so I got 2 different brands.

as for the heatsink, it's already bought unfortunately, wish I had known earlier. Thats kind of frustrating, the CNPS does not have m/board fan control?

 

[A True Folder]

hey well spotted - could have been a bit of a costly mistake

Unless he's (?) planning on running 64bit windows then 4GB would be a tad of a waste as well. Also unless overclocking there is no need for the 8500.

EDIT: if it is the vanilla 9700 it comes with the Zalman "Fanmate" which allows you to manually adjust the rpm, the NT has a 4 pin connector that allows the m/board to control rpm, either way it will be fine, just means you need to find a place to mount the fanmate for easy access, last time I had a fanmate controlled cooler I just left it at max rpm as I didn't want the fanmate stuck to the outside of my case.

As to the ram, I understand now, (I didn't see the 6400 Reaper), do they have the same timings?