it's tomorrow! :D
As I read the install booklet that came with the disc....I came upon this.

*Click upgrade if you are running Windows Vista to keep your files, programs, and settings and install windows 7


??.............AWESOME!!!

I still seem to be able to function even though my 'windows activation' has twenty days remaining yet (u tube trick)...
I hope this works.

Me, too. Keep us posted!

Nick

about four hours from start to finish.
I am shocked...and really, really happy!!

click, click, click.....and all programs and settings still be here. (whew)

Incredibly dumb proof.
love it.
Special thanks to Bill the Cat for holding my hand through it all, lol.

When doing a fresh install - format and then a clean install of W7, I've had a computer ready to go in under an hour....

If you haven't used W7 much, I think you will like it better than Vista... it seems so much snappier than Vista, imo.

three hours later and liking it more and more...yup!
I think it took so long because of a slow start, first of all.
problems from board. (long story...blah blah blah, fixed and moved on).
A lot of the time installing was spent 'searching for previous programs and settings'. That was a biggie in more ways than one.
Then there were some 109 windows updates included in that time as well.

I did not have to reload one single program yet...i believe it even updated a few i been ignoring.
Windows 7....what took them so long? This is really nice.

I'm glad it went so well!!

Nick

has been running flawlessly....but is something wrong I wasn't aware of until recently.

Tri channel architecture!!

That PatVip Xtreme RAM is just wrong.

Although it IS compatible...it is not on the QVL (Qualified Vendors List) that accommodates the board. (Doh)

I7 has tri channel architecture that many boards do not possess...Sabertooth x58 does. HOWEVER...1066 is the default setting for single and dual channel ram...I7 cannot achieve higher unless triple channel architecture is used. THEN can be overclocked.
I not looking to OC...but I want to be able to use the stuff I have to the best of it's ability. Triple channel is therefore necessary.

four years ago...this RAM cost 1200.00/set (12G).

today it's 72 bucks!
I bought two.

**does anyone have a need (or use) for the PatVip Xtreme mentioned? (liquid fast and difficult to OC apparently...speeds are so fast though that overclock won't be necessary.)
I'm sure it will fit in the mail.

:thumbs:

that's more like it :D

I'm built!

now I would like to set up a RAID.

not sure...read a lot...still a bit confused.

velociraptor is the main drive....but have FOUR other 1T Seagate barracuda.

ONE of them is 6G transfer speed...the rest are 3. All SATA.

Can I do this? or do they all have to be equal across the board?...anyone?

NOPE.

Don't figure I can set up a RAID anymore. Says I lose all data. (short of copying everything to external...ugh...new ssd main and reload OS and rest of crap programs i can't seem to do without)


main drive too small as well, I think.
Everything I've read indicates the RAID recognizes the smallest drive as being the size for whatever # drives.

...still like the idea....If a drive fails, you install new one and others rebuild the info.

undecided

PSU cashed on Feb. 15, 2013

Five years and a day exactly from time of purchase. Five year warranty.:mad:
This the new one:
$106.96

ain't that just the way with warranties?
I once bought a big stereo amp...3 year warranty. It blew out 2 years 10 months later.....know what they told me? '3 years from manufacture date which was 2 1/2 months before date of purchase'

yup...they got it down!

Newest piece be the VGA card. got it last night because other one winked out...er...puked...while I was looking at it. The nerve.

This... XFX GeForce 8800GT XXX 512MB 670MHZ 1.95GHZ DDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out DIRECTX10 Video Card 1 $279.99 $279.99 ...WAS a high end card...five years ago (16 Feb 2008)

this...Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 OC 1100MHZ 1GB 5.0GHZ GDDR5 2xDVI HDMI VGA PCI-E Video Card...is the new one.
131 bucks and twice the card.

I believe I have only a couple items left from original build.
sound engine and drives are due to fail.

note**...counting all fans total eleven. Changed VGA card and noise level is ridiculous quieter. ONE FAN on the VGA card made all the excessive noise. I am surprised at the difference....happy, too!

beast.....give me your opinion on the following:

Processor & Memory:
3rd Generation Intel® Core™ i7-3770 Processor 3.4 GHz Intel® Turbo Boost Technology 2.0 up to 3.90 GHz
8 MB Cache
16 GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1600 MHz

Drives:
2 TB (7200RPM) 6 Gb/s SATA Hard Drive
16X Serial ATA DVD+/-RW Drive

Operating System:
Microsoft® Windows 8 (64-bit)
Windows 8 is Beautiful, fast, and fluid.
Personalized: Make your Start Screen your personalized home for the things you care about. Organize and customize it the way you want.
Connected: Now everything is in one place to share. Integrate your online favorites – Facebook, Flickr, Hotmail, etc. – with content from your PC., such as photos and contacts.

Graphics & Video:
1 GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 620 Graphics

Communications:
10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
Dell Wireless 1703 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth v4.0 +LE

Audio:
Internal High-Definition 7.1 Performance Audio with WAVES MAXX Audio
Dell AX210 USB Stereo Speaker System

Keyboard & Mouse:
Dell™ Multimedia Keyboard and Mouse

Expandability (Total Slots):
Total Memory Slots: 4 DIMMs
3x PCIe x1
1x PCIe x16
2x Sata 3
2x Sata 2
1x Mini-PCIe
6x Internal USB 2.0

Top I/O Ports & Slots:
2x USB 2.0 (One Powershare)
Microphone/Headphone Port

Front I/O Ports & Slots:
2x USB 3.0 Ports
1x 19-in-1 Media Card Reader

Rear I/O Ports & Slots:
4x USB 2.0
2x USB 3.0
Audio Jacks
RJ-45
VGA
HDMI

Productivity Software: Office Home & Student 2010 - Full Version
Microsoft® Word
Microsoft® Excel
Microsoft® PowerPoint
Microsoft® OneNote

Additional Information:
Color: Black
Power Supply: 460 W
Dimensions: 7.30" W x 15.99" D x 17.49" H
Approximate Weight: 30.42 lbs.

$929.00 with shipping

it sounds amazing!!

dell??

I have a couple of curiosity questions...

What is the make and model of the mother board?

Windows 8: did it come installed?...do you have the disc? ...retail or OEM?
did you have windows 7 before?

Microsoft Office (student)....did it come installed?...do you have the disc?...and again, OEM or retail?

retail - you can install on any number of pcs but only one at a time and you can upgrade it and it wont ask you to renter the cd key
oem - you can only install on one pc and it stays with that pc and if you do a big upgrade it will invalidate it and you have to call up india
you are allowed one rebuild, i believe.

That 6G transfer rate is nice, huh?
I only had two slots on my board for 6G (as do you it appears)...but there is a noticable difference.


:thumbs:

I'd have a little concern over this video card and your 450W power supply.

Video card is a very low-end card and even watching HD videos, it has a less than 30 frame rate.

If you were to upgrade the video card and/or possibly any other components, the 450w power supply may not be enough either.