help with hard drive set up

[noobster]

i know it's frowned upon when it comes to people barging into a forum for quick answers instead of researching on their own...but im a bit short on time because i want to buy and build a computer for my girlfriend as her birthday present...i apologize

my girlfriend uses her computer mainly for downloading/watching movies...watching live feed media...use photoshop...download/listen to mp3's...plays games

with that in mind...my question is...will it be compatible to have a 10k rpm hard drive as master and have a 7.2k rpm hard drive as slave(storage)?..if it is compatible...will it make a big difference in performance? (will programs run faster with this setup?)...im planning to get a 34 gb 10k rpm hard drive..and using that as the master drive...and get 80-120 gb 7.2k rpm (since it is cheaper than 10k rpm hard drives) and use it as slave (storage)...
or is the difference (if there is any) so minute that getting a single 120 gb 7.2k rpm hard drive be better...

(im also under the impression that 10k hard drives will run faster than 7.2k rpm hard drives)

so far...im planning to get the following parts for my girlfriend's computer:
(suggest what brand i should get too)

processor: 2.4-2.8 ghz pentium 4 (don't flame me for not choosing AMD please...i just have this impression that AMD is reserved for computer gurus...and intel for the general mass..silly impression i know...but i grew up only using pentiums)

memory: 512mb-1gb...what type of RAM..i have no clue...all i know is to get DDR...

video card: GeForce something...i can answer this on my own with a bit of research...but suggestions are still welcomed

hard drive: i sense from reading in this forum that majority favors western digital over maxtor...(again..dont flame please )

i guess that's it for now...my price range is between 450-700 dollars..

thanks in advance...and sorry if i became off-topic

p.s...what's SATA...is it important factor in hard drives?...and what's dual channels...is that important in memory?...

 

[Praetor]

but im a bit short on time because I want to buy and build a computer for my girlfriend as her birthday present...i apologize

Been there done that.

my girlfriend uses her computer mainly for downloading/watching movies...watching live feed media...use photoshop...download/listen to mp3's...plays games

Wow. Lucky bastard you are

will it be compatible to have a 10k rpm hard drive as master and have a 7.2k rpm hard drive as slave(storage)?..if it is compatible...will it make a big difference in performance? (will programs run faster with this setup?)...im planning to get a 34 gb 10k rpm hard drive..and using that as the master drive...and get 80-120 gb 7.2k rpm (since it is cheaper than 10k rpm hard drives) and use it as slave (storage)...or is the difference (if there is any) so minute that getting a single 120 gb 7.2k rpm hard drive be better...

1. If you've got the money for it get her the WD Raptor 74GB drive as primary and a massive PATA (or SATA) drive for storage.

2. Odds are 90% of people will not notice a day-to-day difference between a SATA drive (even with the WD74 Raptors) and a decent 8MB 7200rpm PATA drive.

3. 10K drives do run faster than 7200rpm drives but all things considering either drive wont be a problem.

4. If you're on a tighter budget, get a pair of 160GB (or 120GB) WD 7200rpm 8MB PATA drives. Like I said before, unless she's more interested in paper specs and pissing contests then she wont really notice a difference (for the record, the difference is most pronounced for extended continuous transfers ... and between a 7.2K PATA and a 10K SATA drive, copying a DVDISO around will result in an entire 30second speed advantage.... whoopee ). The faster SATA drive will give you a faster load/boot time but typically not more than a 5 second advantage.

processor: 2.4-2.8 ghz pentium 4 (don't flame me for not choosing AMD please...i just have this impression that AMD is reserved for computer gurus...and intel for the general mass..silly impression I know...but I grew up only using pentiums)

No flaming here, that's a very respectable processor

memory: 512mb-1gb...what type of RAM..i have no clue...all I know is to get DDR...

Have a look at 1GB Corsair memory. If you're tight on money, get their Value Select line (see http://www.corsairmicro.com/corsair/valueselect.html ). You'll want the the PC3200 stuff. If you want to get the 1GB, grab the VS1GBKIT400 so that u can make use of dual channel on your mobo and if you're getting 512MB ...your call whether you want one stick or two (one stick allows for more future upgradability with least "waste", two sticks allows for dual channel)

video card: GeForce something...i can answer this on my own with a bit of research...but suggestions are still welcomed

Lower Budget: GFX5700 (try to stay away from the LE version but its not a bad card per se)
Medium Budget: Radeon9800Pro
High Budget: 6800GT

hard drive: I sense from reading in this forum that majority favors western digital over maxtor...(again..dont flame please)

Both companies make solid drives and both companies will have their repitoire of "disaster stories" from the "other side" heehee. I personally use Maxtor PATA drives although WD make very good PATA drives as well. If you want to get a SATA drive, go WD.

p.s...what's SATA...is it important factor in hard drives?...and what's dual channels...is that important in memory?...

SATA, a newer harddrive spec (and requires mobo-support/controller-card, fancy booting stuffos or native support) has a higher performance bracket than the older PATA drives (which require no fancy setups). Personally I'd reccomend tried-and-true PATA drives ... 20seconds here, 30seconds there isnt gonna matter for 99% of people and the additional hassle of getting SATA to work sometimes is a serious pain in the arse

 

[Grimulus]

What do you do all day Praetor? j/k man...

Yeah man, you are like the luckiest dude alive to have a girl like that. My girlfriend hasn't figured out what windows is yet.

I totally agree with everything Praetor just said. I would probably go with an ATI Radeon video card though. But that's just me. Seems like the older(what's older in the technology world) ATIs do a better job. But if you want to get her a real present the new Nvidias rock. But i would probably get a 9600 or 9800 Radeon and spend the spare money on beer or a whole other computer. j/k

Good job Praetor

 

[Grimulus]

I would also get 1gb of ram if she does editing and that sort of thing.

 

[noobster]

thank you praetor and grimulus...you have shed light on my problems all-together...yea i am pretty lucky to have such a girl

no...it's not really a pissing contest...it's just kinda sad that she still uses her 4 year old dell computer...don't know the specs on that computer...but damn is it slow compared to decent computers sold today...and seeing her struggle with a shitty video card and 20gb of hard drive space just pains me...i mean...everytime she tires to watch a movie...she has to set the resolution down quite a bit just so she could watch without being all choppy...and i think this present will make her happy...

thanks again guys...you have no idea how profoundly grateful i am to have people like you to aid my situation instead of ridiculing me like most forums tend to do..thanks!

 

[Praetor]

What do you do all day Praetor?

Fix computers, tutor, code, answer questions and in my spare time, check forums

Yeah man, you are like the luckiest dude alive to have a girl like that. My girlfriend hasn't figured out what windows is yet

:jealous:

But I would probably get a 9600 or 9800 Radeon and spend the spare money on beer or a whole other computer

Not to start a pissing contest but I would think the 5700s would outperform the 9600s which is why I reccomended them for the low-budget category The 9800 -- thats a different story

thanks again guys...you have no idea how profoundly grateful I am to have people like you to aid my situation instead of ridiculing me like most forums tend to do..thanks!

Well consider yourself welcome here

 

[Grimulus]

yes, the 9800 does rule it's enemy.