What should I upgrade?

Yeah, I just have one more question—is it normal for an SSD to be my only drive, with nothing at all stored on the old HDD, yet I still hear this clicking sound whenever I boot up the computer?

A little while ago, I heard a click coming from the drive right when I started the PC, and then again when I went to open my files—it sounded just like the drive was spinning up.

I’m guessing maybe this is just how it works since there's nothing actually on the SSD? When I used to have macOS installed on the HDD, I never noticed anything like this happening... so, is this just standard behavior?

So, someone recommended I install Intel Rapid Storage Technology. Now, instead of having that "Safely Remove Hardware" icon sitting in my system tray, I've just got this little program taking its place. What’s the actual deal with this thing? I can see a list of all my drives in there, but honestly, I haven't the slightest clue what it's actually supposed to be doing.

Could you maybe open up a little help here? 😁

I mean, I could—but why go starting a whole new thread? Just trying to save some space here on the forum 😬

Benjamin King2, man, I need your help one more time 😁 I didn't want to start a whole new thread if I didn't have to 🙂

So, since I'm running an SSD on an ASRock H55M motherboard that only has a SATA II interface, is there actually a noticeable difference in data access speeds between a SATA II and a SATA III controller? I've been reading some stuff on other forums—which honestly has me a bit worried, hence why I'm back here—claiming that you'll only see a difference in a synthetic benchmark, like using a program like Samsung SSD, but actual data access remains basically the same regardless of whether it's a SATA II or SATA III controller. Do you think there's any truth to that? And if not, would it be worth grabbing a SATA III adapter to plug into the board to squeeze out more speed? It feels a little silly having an SSD that isn't hitting its intended speeds. I don't really have the budget right now to swap out my entire motherboard just for SATA III support, so an adapter seems cheaper, but I wanted to get your take first. Have you ever tested an SSD on a SATA II board versus a SATA III one? Is the access speed truly the same, or is there a real-world difference? Thanks in advance! SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SSD, Motherboard: ASRock H55M motherboard

You aren’t going to notice any real difference on your boot drive—mostly because the drive isn't under constant load and we're talking about tiny little files here. If you were actually using an SSD as a scratch disk where you're constantly dumping massive amounts of data, then yeah, you might feel it. But otherwise? Not really.

So, is data access for the OS and various programs basically the same deal as it was with the SAT III? Do you happen to have a test or maybe a link I could check out just to be sure..

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/...ps,3110-7.html

Phew, what a relief. Thanks so much...

Benjamin King2 and the other mods, I hope you guys aren't annoyed, but I’m bumping my old thread because it feels silly to start a brand new one when I basically have the same question—I'm trying to save some space on the forums here. 😬

Anyway, getting straight to the point, here is my current setup:

I've been mulling it over for a few days now—maybe I should sell my current 7870 and add about $50$200 to pick up an NVIDIA GTX 760? But looking at benchmarks on AnandTech, they seem pretty much equal in performance, so that probably wouldn't be the smartest move, right? On the other hand, I've had my eye on a 7970 on eBay. I know it's an older card by now, but I don't think I can pull the trigger because my power supply is pretty weak. I looked it up online and saw it only puts out 408W on the 12V rail. If the GPU pulls 250W, plus my CPU at 84W, and maybe another 50-60W for everything else... that brings us to roughly 395W. That would be cutting it way too close. I don't have the cash to grab a new R9 280x along with a new PSU, either—that's just not in the budget since I spent most of what I had on my CPU and motherboard. Right now, I've got about $65$233 to work with. So, what do you think I should get? Buying a new CPU cooler isn't really on the table right now, since I'm not interested in overclocking yet—would be a waste of money, wouldn't it? And one last thing: ever since I saw the Corsair Carbide Series 200R, I've been in love with it. It's seriously 👍. But my current case is actually fine; it has good airflow and the PC is super quiet. Basically, if you were in my shoes, what would you do? Do you think going for the NVIDIA GTX 760 would just be a total bust?

Larry Ortiz5 said:Benjamin King2 and the other mods, hope you aren't mad, but I'm bumping my own thread. Opening a new one feels stupid since I have basically the same question and don't want to clutter the forum up with extra space.😬

Anyway, getting straight to it—here’s my current setup:

I've been thinking for a few days about selling my current 7870, adding $50$200 and grabbing an NVIDIA GTX 760. But looking at benchmarks on AnandTech, they seem roughly equal in power. Not a smart move, right? Second thing: I've got my eye on a 7970 on Craigslist. I know it's an old card, but even if I wanted it, I couldn't pull the trigger because my power supply is weak. I looked it up online and it puts out 408W on the 12V rail. With the GPU pulling 250W, my CPU taking 84W, and everything else maybe 50-60W, we're looking at roughly 395W total. That's cutting it way too close. I can't afford a new R9 280X plus a new PSU either; that's just not happening financially after dropping $300 on my CPU and motherboard. Right now, I've got $650$233 to work with. So, what's the play? Buying a new CPU cooler isn't an option right now because I'm not interested in overclocking yet—would just be throwing money away. Third and last thing: ever since I saw the Corsair Carbide Series 200R, I've been obsessed. It's seriously 👍. But my current case is fine; airflow is decent and the PC is quiet. Basically, if you were me, what would you do? Is jumping to the NVIDIA GTX 760 just a waste of cash?

Save that cash. You have no reason to spend it. What you've got is more than enough for gaming...
Put the money in your pocket and save it for another day.🙂

Thanks 😉 , I think I'll hold off and wait for a few more pieces of advice—just to see if anyone else shares your take.

Larry Ortiz5 said:a few tips

😬

I guess you should just wait for the next generation. Honestly, it doesn't seem worth it right now—you're mostly just spending money on a sidegrade rather than a real upgrade. Might be better to just hold onto your cash until those 20nm graphics cards 😉
hit the market.

crimsonstag84, I had no idea you were an American English professor! 😬

Anyway, what’s your take on that Corsair Carbide Series 200R case? Since we're all agreeing there's really no need to upgrade the graphics card just yet...

Looks like you've got a T-Mobile case there. It's actually not a bad chassis; you could probably just toss in one or two decent fans, maybe a dust filter? I guess I wouldn't bother swapping it out just yet. 😛

Smartic, I actually appreciate it when you make things a little more challenging instead of just telling me not to mess with my 😍

Larry Ortiz5 said:fosna and the rest of the mod team, I hope you don't mind me reviving this thread. I'd rather not clutter things up by starting a brand new one since my question is basically the same and I'm trying to be mindful of forum space. 😬

Anyway, to get straight to the point, here is my current setup:

I've been weighing the idea for a few days now: selling my current 7870, adding about $50, $200 and picking up a GTX 760. However, looking at benchmarks on AnandTech, they seem to perform pretty much identically. If you were in my shoes, what would you do? Would upgrading to a GTX 760 just be a total waste of money?

They aren't exactly identical; the GTX 760 can actually keep up with an HD 7950, but that's beside the point. In your specific situation, any kind of upgrade wouldn't really be worth it—not even moving up to a GTX 770 or an R9 280x. On paper, the numbers look different, but you wouldn't actually feel the difference in real-world use. And usually, when you finally *do* need that extra power, that’s exactly when the performance gap feels the smallest.

I’m not entirely sure—there’s maybe a 10 to 15 fps difference, at most.

Honestly, you aren't even going to notice the difference between 40 and 60 fps unless you're dealing with constant frame drops. The real issue arises when your current card is struggling at 15 fps in a specific game, only for the upgrade to peak at maybe 20 or 25. At that point, you're still right on the edge of what's playable, which isn't exactly a smooth experience either.

Upgraditis syndrome 😉is a real thing, folks.