[MikeS71]

Last build was for BF2, figure it's time for a new one for BF3!! Anyhow, here is what I'm looking at, any tips/advice would be appreciated- anything I could change for better bang for the buck, anything I forgot, or if there is anything that won't work together (especially RAM and MB) Thanks in advance!!

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz $220 Link

MB: MSI P67A-GD65 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $175 My link

RAM: CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) $80 My link

Graphics: EVGA SuperClocked 012-P3-1572-AR GeForce GTX 570 (Fermi) 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP $325 My link

HD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s $90 My link

PS: CORSAIR Professional Series HX750 (CMPSU-750HX) 750W ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS SILVER $145 My link

Case: Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower $100 My link

Windows 7 Home Pemium, Blu-Ray burner, new HD monitor

Thanks again!!

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You might consider a small SSD for your boot drive. Also, make sure your Windows is 64-bit.

[Digerati]

You might consider a small SSD for your boot drive. Also, make sure your Windows is 64-bit.

[MikeS71]

Is that just an aditional HD just for the Windows install?

[a.jenery]

That's the general idea. I didn't have one in my last build, but will probably get one for my new build. It would mean faster boot times and free-up your main HD for just progs and data. Also you wouldn't have to worry about partitions and small capacity SSDs are not that expensive anymore

[Digerati]

Is that just an aditional HD just for the Windows install?

I would have the SSD as my C (boot) drive and it would contain the Windows installation and all my hardware drivers. Then I would use a conventional (or maybe a hybrid) drive for all my applications and data files.

[MikeS71]

So I am looking at the SSd drives now, I have never used one before but understand the benefits... my question is how much do I need? I see price ranges from $50 to $300 depending on size. If I am going to use it for just Windows and drivers and then save the main HD for everything else, how many GB do I need?

[Digerati]

Well, I have 64-bit Windows 7 Professional, and all my hardware drivers installed on my c drive and they consume 27Gb. I have moved My Documents and temp files off C. I think a 64Gb SSD should be plenty.

Do understand that installing everything else on something other than the boot drive requires a lifelong change in your computing habits. This because by default, everything you install from then on will attempt to install somewhere under C:\Program Files. So you will have to perform a custom install every time, and carefully ensure it goes where you want it.

That said, because so many programs (especially free ones) try to slough or foist extra toolbars, add-ons, and other bloat onto our systems, I always recommend the custom install option anyway so you can opt out of those extra "features".

Note there is another alternative. Hybrid drives are becoming more and more popular. They are a traditional drive, but with an integrated SSD buffer.