Does anyone know about this SSD? Was my decision correct on getting the Samsung 840 Pro?

 

Yes, it's a good unit. I prefer these myself: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227917 but I also prefer EFI based Asus motherboards as they aren't necessarily the fastest boards but they have been the most reliable and have recognized my SSDs and anything I toss at them.

 

Be careful of "uneducated" reviews you read at places like NewEgg ... like "DOA ... fill in the blank" ... these are almost ALWAYS "user error" (wrong bios settings, installed wrong, etc. etc.). Every single SSD that comes off the production line goes thru a testing processing prior to shipping ... if they don't pass, they don't leave the factory, no exceptions.

 

As far as CPU cooling ... since you're on a budget, I'd keep it simple (you can spend $1000 of various cooling options to gain maybe 3-4 fps in FSX) ... I've had good success with the Corsair H100, simple to install in a large tower and high quality block attachment to the CPU, with this setup you should be able to hit 4.6-5.0Ghz without much effort.

 

Yes, it's a good unit. I prefer these myself: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227917 but I also prefer EFI based Asus motherboards as they aren't necessarily the fastest boards but they have been the most reliable and have recognized my SSDs and anything I toss at them.

 

Be careful of "uneducated" reviews you read at places like NewEgg ... like "DOA ... fill in the blank" ... these are almost ALWAYS "user error" (wrong bios settings, installed wrong, etc. etc.). Every single SSD that comes off the production line goes thru a testing processing prior to shipping ... if they don't pass, they don't leave the factory, no exceptions.

 

As far as CPU cooling ... since you're on a budget, I'd keep it simple (you can spend $1000 of various cooling options to gain maybe 3-4 fps in FSX) ... I've had good success with the Corsair H100, simple to install in a large tower and high quality block attachment to the CPU, with this setup you should be able to hit 4.6-5.0Ghz without much effort.

 

Great to know that, thanks. However if going closed loop, I am tossing up between the H100i and the Kraken x60, any thoughts on that?

 

Overclock3D's and LinusTechTips' review shows x60 performs better, however I don't think its as reputable as the H100i, so not sure what to think about its reliability.

I was planning to put the money down for an OCZ Vector, but the shop I'm getting from says they are out of stock, and not sure when they'll get some more in. They suggested to go with Samsung 840 Pro. I did some digging around, it seems comparable to the Vector so I put the money down. Cost wise is just below vector, but pretty much similar (within 10 bux difference).

 

Does anyone know about this SSD? Was my decision correct on getting the Samsung 840 Pro? I heard good things and seen good reviews about the 830, and supposedly the 840 pro is even more superior.

I have a 128GB Samsung 830 for my OS and a 512GB 840 Pro for FSX's add-ons, P3D etc.

Using ATTO in Direct I/O "Neither" mode on the 840 Pro gave me 553 MB/s Read and 533 MB/s Write, average of 5 runs. Maybe I got lucky, but, that exceeds it's listed Sequential R/W specs.

For comparison, the Samsung 830 gave me 533 MB/s Read and 342 MB/s Write, so, the 840 Pro is a huge step up in the Write dept...Don

I am tossing up between the H100i and the Kraken x60, any thoughts on that?

 

I have no direct experience with either H100i or Kraken X60 ... I'm currently using H100 (not the "i" variant) without any issues @ 4.8 Ghz (on a 3960X).

 

I've ran Peltier setups before ... difficult to use and lots of motherboard prep and you need multiple power supplies and then there is power-on ramp up time -- have to get the peltier running for a 30-60 seconds before attempting to fire up a highly overclocked CPU, etc. etc. ... nothing wrong with extreme overclocking, its an adventure, but it's A LOT of work for moderate returns and generates A LOT room heat.

 

Sticking with off the shelf water cooling is a great option for most, simple and effective and quiet ... but in most cases of stability from overclocking, it's rarely a CPU heat issue, almost aways a motherboard/RAM issue (except in extreme cases).

I was planning to put the money down for an OCZ Vector, but the shop I'm getting from says they are out of stock, and not sure when they'll get some more in. They suggested to go with Samsung 840 Pro. I did some digging around, it seems comparable to the Vector so I put the money down. Cost wise is just below vector, but pretty much similar (within 10 bux difference).

 

Does anyone know about this SSD? Was my decision correct on getting the Samsung 840 Pro? I heard good things and seen good reviews about the 830, and supposedly the 840 pro is even more superior.

 

Samsung 840 Pro is better than OCZ Vector in many ways, one being stability. Apple uses Samsung as their solid state drives in all of their products, last I checked OCZ was well OCZ. That should tell you something. I also think the Pro comes with a lot longer warranty.

 

I was the 2nd person in north america to own the retail 512 GB version of 840 Pro, I have done weeks of research and had to pull so many strings to get it. I think I got it 2.5 months before it was available in Newegg and Amazon and when it became first available, for at least 2 weeks, it was sold for $400 more than what I paid for ($500 vs $900).

 

I also wouldn't touch those PCI-e SSDs, they are good on paper, but there is a 50% hit/miss chance with those, most systems have "some" issues with them.

Here are some results from my Intel 520 and OCZ Vector SSDs:

 

OCZ:

 

 

Intel:

 

 

In terms of the Sequential Read/Write bandwidth the OCZ performs better ... but look at the Random Access Time ... Intel has a wide variance 2us - 27.72ms) vs. OCZ (66us - 3.78ms), but Intel did produced the lowest/fastest access time at 2us.

 

SSD's have matured over the years ... some things to note is that Samsung's 840 comes in two flavors, TLC (triple-level cell) and the MLC ... TLC is supposed to be less "durable" than MLC but Samsung claim to have improved reliability. But in either case you get a 3-5 year warranty.

Thanks Robains, only saw this image for the first time blown up (usually I'm on my phone). It seems I have only very limited choice on my SSDs, and 840 pro is the best I can get for now. I'll probably just go with that and a SATA 3 black series WD.

 

And I assume you don't have a comparison between Samsung 840 Pro and the OCZ Vector?

And I assume you don't have a comparison between Samsung 840 Pro and the OCZ Vector?

 

Not a direct test on my system (Apples to Apples), no sorry.

Not a direct test on my system (Apples to Apples), no sorry.

 

I've read that the samsung performs better overall, but OCZ is more consistent (though with no visual comparative results). Samsung has a good track record for quality while the OCZ vertex 4 also has. So guess going by this if assuming true and accurate, the two makes no noticeable difference, so I'd go for the Samsung as its very slightly bit cheaper

OK, this is probably the last update. Some more decisions made and changed, red are updated.

• MB: Asus Rampage MAXIMUM Gene V/Z77: - AU$248 (AU$217.98 Purchased)
  
• CPU: i7 3770K, going to de-lid it, need the HT for photo/video editing: - AU$335 (AU$328.29 Purchased)
  
• GFX: NVidia GTX580 - AU$0
  
• RAM: G.Skill Trident X DDR3 2400MHz CL9D v1.65 8GB (2 x 4) - AU$120 (Purchased)
  
• HD: Samsung 840 Pro 256GB SSD x2 and 1x WD Black Series SATA3 (6Gb/s) 2TB HDD - AU$256.99(x2) + AU$128.87 (Purchased)
  
• Cooling: XSPC D5 EX360 Water Cooling Kit = AU$269 (Going for Push Pull config, except don't know whether or not to use the same type of fans on both sides)
  
• Rad Fans: Gentle Typhoon AP-15 x3 (or x6 TBD) = AU$19 (x3 or x6)
  
• Case Fans: Noctua NF-S12B-FLX 120mm x2 (more if must) = AU$51.95 (Purchased)
  
• Case: NZXT Switch 810 White Full Tower - AU$199
  
• PSU: Corsair HX-850 v2 - AU$235 (reason for change is I did more research, for an extra 10 bux, it's better to get more power than to be sorry. This figure is also suggested by the Avsim guide.)
  
• Fan Controller: NZXT Sentry 2 - For a bit of fun = AU$48.81 (Purchased)
  

I would like to ask, if both the corsair HX-850 and the seasonic x-750 are 50+ Gold Modular, can I expect that they are of the same quality? Has anyone had any experiences with the HX850?

The HX850 has had rave reviews, both the older version (that's the one I've got) and the new V2, both by CWT. Go for it if you want the extra headroom

The HX850 has had rave reviews, both the older version (that's the one I've got) and the new V2, both by CWT. Go for it if you want the extra headroom

 

Thanks for the reassurance, that's great! Not only did I want some headroom, but because the 750 is out of stock and they don't know when they will get more... So thought I just go for a bigger.

I just done some more searching for the power supply. Looks like 750 would be bit too less?

 

From the review sites, OC CPU takes about 220-250W, GPU running maxed out will take about 500W. If taking worse case scenario, that already maxes out 750W, even before we take into accounts the loop, ram, MB, HDD, SSD, optical drives, fans everything.

 

Am I right to say that?

No single GPU draws that much power Brendan. You must have come across some total system consumption figures

 

Also, CPU OC adds another 50 -100W, nowhere near 250W

 

Can you please post a link to those reviews?

No single GPU draws that much power Brendan. You must have come across some total system consumption figures

 

Also, CPU OC adds another 50 -100W, nowhere near 250W

 

Can you please post a link to those reviews?

 

Here it is:

• CPU: It indicated to be 220W at 4.7GHz, so if I take it up higher, so assume my CPU can do 5.0GHz or above, I've taken the wattage to 250W, pure guess work
  
• GPU (500W site | another site): Looks like I may have looked at the wrong card. I have a normal GTX580, not a killer one. I did some more digging around, it seems to say the GPU under load uses around 363W (take 370 to be safe).
  

P.S.

Cooling system committed and purchased, waiting for its arrival next week

 

Finally decided to go with:

• XSPC RayStorm D5 EX360 WC Kit
  
• Scythe Gentle Typhoon AP15 x6 rad fans for Push Pull setup
  
• Silver coil + Some additives
  
• Arctic Cooling MX-4 Thermal Paste