Update on my rebuild project, added photo

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I thought I would post an update on my rebuild, started back in early September, so far back I can’t post a reply in the original thread as an update—the thread is too old. There was this, and this, and this, which all combined to string out this rebuild completion quite a while.

I think I’ve reached the final configuration.:rolleyes:

Thermaltake Urban S31 case
Thermaltake TR2 500W PSU
Intel DH87MC ATX Motherboard
Intel Core i5 4670 CPU
32GB Corsair Vengeance® Pro Series 1600MHz DRAM
StarTech MSAT2SAT3 mSATA to SATA adapter
Seagate ST1000DX001 1TB SSHD SATA III X 2
Seagate ST2000DM001 2TB HDD SATA III
Seagate ST31000528AS 1TB HDD SATA II X 2
LG HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GH22LS50 CD/DVD Optical Drive
Logitech z623 200W RMS THX Certified Speaker System
LG E2360 23″ HD LCD Monitor

The mSATA to SATA adapter is to plug in my optical drive, which is SATA interface. The optical drive and monitor are holdovers, as are the two SATA II 1TB drives. The 2TB SATA III drive is a warranty replacement from Seagate. I have two E2360 monitors (bought a couple of years ago on sale), but I haven’t plugged in the second one; I bought it originally as a spare since the price was so good. I don’t really have a use for a two-monitor setup.

My laptop, Dell Latitude E5420, has a SSD that I’ve been using for a few months now, and the performance characteristics between the laptop with SSD and the desktop with SSHD are very similar. Program load times are very quick and the system is very responsive.

Last night I tried a load test of my system. I booted into Windows 7, opened Image for Windows, setup and launched a full drive image of my Windows 8.1 SSHD. Creating and validating the full drive image takes over 3 hours. I could have scheduled this to run in the wee hours, but I was “testing”. Next I visited my Amazon Prime account, selected a movie, and watched it streaming in full HD while the drive image was running in the background. I got a popup from Image for Windows telling me my cache was too small, so I went into Settings and increased the cache size from 8MB to 20MB, and restarted. The image and validation completed successfully, and I enjoyed the movie.

One of those Black Friday deals that I couldn’t pass up was a Kingston SSDNOW V300 240GB SSD for $78. I wasn’t sure what I would do with it at the time. But since I’ve upgrade to 32GB RAM on my rebuild, I have 16GB I can put back in my Dell Inspiron 580, a spare 1TB SATA II HDD (the 580 doesn’t support SATA III, anyway), and the Kingston SSD. I’ve got the original Dell optical drive (somewhere) from the 580, so resurrecting it is just a matter of installing parts. I’ve ordered a 2.5″ to 3.5″ drive tray, and a couple of SATA cables, and that’s all I need.

38861-Rebuild

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

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Intel DH87MC ATX Motherboard

Man I could have sworn that Intel was going out of the desktop mb business.

thought I would post an update on my rebuild, started back in early September,

I am glad to hear someone else takes this long to get things goig on a new build. I still have not installed my graphics card or raid drives…

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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[bbearren]

Man I could have sworn that Intel was going out of the desktop mb business.

I am glad to hear someone else takes this long to get things goig on a new build. I still have not installed my graphics card or raid drives…

The board was launched Q2 ’13 (CPU too), but I stay a bit behind the curve on hardware; a bit cheaper that way. Intel is still producing chipsets for other motherboard builders, they’ve just shuttered their production of complete motherboards.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by bbearren.

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I think they’re exiting the enthusiast motherboard market at least.
(Too much competition from other’s that are more than capable).
But they are still making non enthusiast boards.

I’m looking at an upgrade soon too, on the X99 chipset, sadly Intel won’t be part of it,
at least at the motherboard level anyway.

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When I design a custom computer, my first priority is reliability. My current computer, which I designed myself, is seven years old and runs like it was brand new. So, how do I predict reliability? I use amazon.com and newegg.com to see what kind of experience other people had with a component. If the weighted average score combined from those two websites is less than 4.0, with a sample size preferably of at least 50 people, then I usually avoid that component. This simple method has worked well for me. I am a little concerned about the Thermaltake TR2 power supply because it has a score below 4.0.

The Intel DH87MC motherboard is, basically, discontinued. The almost complete lack of supply has pushed the price to an absurd level. I could only find one source and that was a third party seller at amazon.com with a price of $320.00.

The LG GH22LS50 also appears to be discontinued, since there doesn’t seem to be any supply left anywhere.

For designing a custom computer, I would suggest working with AVADirect (http://www.avadirect.com) or Puget (http://www.pugetsystems.com). They have great reputations (see http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AVA_Direct and http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Puget_Custom_Computers). Their configurators will use currently available components that they have found to be reliable. They may offer components that don’t meet my weighted average score rule above, but that’s because they have found those components to be reliable for their particular customers.

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[bbearren]

When I design a custom computer, my first priority is reliability. My current computer, which I designed myself, is seven years old and runs like it was brand new. So, how do I predict reliability? I use amazon.com and newegg.com to see what kind of experience other people had with a component. If the weighted average score combined from those two websites is less than 4.0, with a sample size preferably of at least 50 people, then I usually avoid that component. This simple method has worked well for me. I am a little concerned about the Thermaltake TR2 power supply because it has a score below 4.0.[/quote]
On the other hand, I don’t find such reviews very useful. By and large, they are written by folks in much the same category as the folks who come here for advice and support; good folks and well-meaning, but less experienced with computers and software than many of us older members. I’ve read very negative reviews by some folks who were rather ignorant about the equipment they were low-rating, and their own misuse or lack of understanding comes through in the writing of the review, which makes their rating rather meaningless.

I select parts based on about 20 or so years of building/repairing computers. Those manufacturers’ parts I have used with good success and longevity are my choices. I don’t really know how many Thermaltake PSU’s I have bought over the years, but none of them have failed. I particularly like the large intelligent fan; these babies run very quietly. Whenever I replace a PSU for a client, it’s always a Thermaltake.

The Intel DH87MC motherboard is, basically, discontinued. The almost complete lack of supply has pushed the price to an absurd level. I could only find one source and that was a third party seller at amazon.com with a price of $320.00.

I’ve been using Intel motherboards since the mid-90’s. Again, I’ve never had a failure of an Intel board. Intel is one of the few board manufacturers who consistently incorporate the full specs in their implementation of various sub-assemblies on their boards. For example, the USB 3.0 spec is fully implemented in the DH87MC. I was aware of Intel’s decision to leave the enthusiast motherboard market, and I’ll miss that. But every Intel board I’ve ever bought has been an end-of-life model. None of them have failed, and I don’t expect this one to fail, either. I bought it through an Amazon reseller for $125.

The LG GH22LS50 also appears to be discontinued, since there doesn’t seem to be any supply left anywhere.

Indeed. It’s at least 6 or 7 years old, and still working quite well. I had no reason to replace it. This will be the third box in which I’ve installed it. The LG monitor is also about 5 or 6 years old, but no dead pixels, still performing great. I got it at such a good sale price, I bought 2. The spare is sitting on a shelf.

For designing a custom computer, I would suggest working with AVADirect (http://www.avadirect.com) or Puget (http://www.pugetsystems.com). They have great reputations (see http://www.resellerratings.com/store/AVA_Direct and http://www.resellerratings.com/store/Puget_Custom_Computers). Their configurators will use currently available components that they have found to be reliable. They may offer components that don’t meet my weighted average score rule above, but that’s because they have found those components to be reliable for their particular customers.

I “design” a build using components with which I have had personal experience, and my main criteria is reliability. I spec everything out for compatibility before I order the first part. I buy a lot from TigerDirect. Their prices are competitive, with frequent sales that are hard to beat, and their shipping and handling is very reliable. I’ve never received a damaged part, even with some obvious mishandling by UPS/FedEx evident on the outer container from time to time. Their boxes are quite oversized, with plenty of packing material.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by bbearren.

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[bbearren]

Well I will admit to another bit of ignorance: I never knew that Intel was ever in the ‘enthusiast’ m/b market. Desktop yes. But never an overclockers product, just rock solid reliability. Having said that I have replaced two Intel server boards, and about a pound of dust left with them:)

What BBearren said about reviews is true in an absolute sense, a lot of folk who are not experienced review items. However with out the experience that BBearren has I do look to reviews as a relative index of reliability. Given two HDDs of similar specs if one has 85% good reviews and another 25% very bad reviews (given enough reviews to be meaningful) I will likely go with the odds and buy the better reviewed HDD. I would temper choice that with vendor responsiveness, again personal experience is the best gage, but reviews that are answered by venders w/ an offer of help give me a bit of confidence in their product. As an example: I had a question about how to setup my new build re power connectors … at midnight. I called and received an answer from EVGA customer service in under 10 minutes. I am a fanboy now. :cheers:

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by bbearren.

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[bbearren]

After investigating my hardware choices/prices/capabilities, my original plan of upgrading the motherboard in my 580 slowly morphed into a new hardware build and transferring my dual boot of retail versions of Windows 7 Ultimate/Windows 8.1 Pro to the new box. Then, one failing drive and a great sale price led to opting for a pair of Seagate SSHD drives for my OS’s. The failing drive’s replacement from Seagate, a certified re-manufactured 1TB drive, proved to be faulty, which Seagate again replaced with a new 2TB Barracuda (all my drives have been Barracuda).

More Black Friday sales temptations finally left me with 16GB DDR3 1600MHz DRAM leftover, a Kingston V300 SSD, and a spare 1TB Barracuda. The new motherboard supports 32GB RAM, and I got a matched set from Corsair for a little more than I paid for the 16GB set of Corsair a couple of years ago. The 580 has its original motherboard and Intel Core i3 processor still in place, my new box is loaded up with 5 drives plus CD/DVD, and I’ve still got known-good parts lying around. I decided to resurrect it, and see what sort of noticable improvements the SSD might bring. The 580 motherboard only supports SATA II, but the SSD should still be impressive enough to notice, one would think.

I got all the leftovers installed in the 580 box, then did a clean install of Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 from an official ISO I downloaded. That went relatively well with no real hiccups. I had all the drivers saved to a folder that I copied to a thumb drive, and got them all installed, which got my NIC working.

I then went for the Windows Anytime Upgrade to Professional, $89.95, less than 10 minutes to install. My Product Key was emailed to me, and I opened System Properties, clicked on Change Product Key, and got Pro authenticated and activated. Next I installed IE 11 (up from IE 8).

Then Windows Updates. 165 yesterday, all in one fell swoop, no hang-ups. There were 25 more today, and they installed in a wad without incident, as well. I installed another copy of Malwarebytes Pro, got Revo Uninstaller on sale for $19.62.

I also installed the software for my network printer; my NAS shows up in the network. I installed Image for Windows, and made a drive image of the SSD. I have the 1TB Barracuda split into two partitions, one for data, and the other for local drive images. The SSD makes the Inspiron 580 noticeably quicker than its previous incarnation.

Always create a fresh drive image before making system changes/Windows updates; you may need to start over!

We all have our own reasons for doing the things that we do with our systems; we don't need anyone's approval, and we don't all have to do the same things.

We were all once "Average Users".

Computer Specs

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by bbearren.

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I never knew that Intel was ever in the ‘enthusiast’ m/b market. Desktop yes. But never an overclockers product, just rock solid reliability.

Intel has put out several “enthusiast” type motherboards over the years, but they weren’t well adapted by overclockers for obvious reasons.
And contrary to popular belief, these boards are over-clockable, it’s just that many other motherboard makers do it so much better and make it far more intuitive.
(not to mention that many other makers actually do support overclocking, which Intel doesn’t and never has)

Reviews:
Reviews by “personal users” should always be taken with a hefty grain of salt. (highly subjective in most instances)
If you take a look at personal reviews between Amazon and Newegg computer component products you’ll find a world of difference.
Especially when it comes to new tech, like performing new builds with the X99 chipset as an example.

This leads me to the conclusion that you have an awful lot of amateurs out there doing reviews that really shouldn’t be doing so. (especially on Newegg)

Stick to the professional reviews, but not only that, the professional reviewers should be purchasing their hardware incognito of the maker. (for a more objective review)

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[bbearren]

Stick to the professional reviews

Such as ??
What reviews I have read of a ‘professional’ nature seldom have any comments on reliability.

That grain of salt always comes in handy..
Twisting the subject way off base; I got something called “Himilayan Salt Pasta Rocks or something like that for xmas. 3 to a jar about the size as a small lemon. That would be the size grain of salt 😎
But I will stick w/ my pov about relative significance.
PS made tasty pasta

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by bbearren.

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