Finally Ordered stuff for UPGRADE

[DRPSignsNGrafix]

Ok i finally did it. Ordered a new mother board and a processor. Also ordered a 1tb Sata HD (prolly gonna be used for storage of files) Gonna take old storage HD which is also SATA and make that OS HD. It's a 500Gig one. Also ordered 16GB of Ram. Now the big question is. Load Windows XP on and run it for the few months left before windows 8 comes out, or go ahead and get windows 7 now. If I wait I can upgrade to windows 8 form xp for $40.00 if i get windows 7 now i have to pay the $120. Come on Computer guys what should I do

 

[WildWestDesigns]

If you go now with Win 7 you can use those 16 gigs. Go XP and it cuts you off at best around 4 gigs. I will say this though, I am a confirmed XP hater. If you can run Linux on it that would have the same limitations as XP, but I like that OS a whole lot better. But going Linux would depend on what programs you are going to install, that may not be an option.

I would say go with Win 7, miles ahead of XP and you'll be able to use all of your resources.

 

[Rob_maxgrafix]

What motherboard did you get?

I spent the extra money when I upgraded and bought a motherboard that could handle up to 64 gigs of ram. Im currently running 32. its overkill right now but the computer is 2 years old and still has the "snap" performance of a new pc.

when it comes to windows, make sure your running the 64-bit system so you can utilize all the ram you just bought. 32-bit can only utilize 4 gigs.

 

[DRPSignsNGrafix]

I bought the following combo. I know I won't be able to use all the memorey if i stay with XP. The big question wait for windows 8 or do windows 7 now and then do windows 8 after it's been out a few months.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2580692&csid=_22

 

[WildWestDesigns]

My vote is still Win 7 and hold off on Win 8. Everything that I have been reading makes me think that all the good stuff on 8 is utilized better on the tablet market. It might be leaner on the resouces compared to 7, but I haven't read much an new/better stuff for desktop users.

 

[DRPSignsNGrafix]

Thanks Wild West. On another note i need to send you a file to digitize so i can have a logo embroidered on my Bike seat. LMAO It was digitized by old partners when in NY and we split and the dummies actually deleted the file. WHY would someone do that?

 

[Rob_maxgrafix]

Not a bad combo, as for windows, its been better to wait in my experience. when I upgraded from xp to windows 7 on my home pc, there was actually a test that the software performed and told me that I could not upgrade from xp to 7. I had to manually back everything up, format the hard drive that the OS was running on and do a clean install. didnt have that issue when upgrading from vista to 7.

 

[DRPSignsNGrafix]

OK so sounds like I should just go ahead and buy a Windows 7 disk. I'm starting over with a fresh install. Not gonna do an upgrade. I'm gonna WIPE a hard drive and start fresh. So i'll be installing all software over again.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Thanks Wild West. On another note i need to send you a file to digitize so i can have a logo embroidered on my Bike seat. LMAO It was digitized by old partners when in NY and we split and the dummies actually deleted the file. WHY would someone do that?

No problem, glad I could help.

They probably weren't thinking. I save all my files. I might charge a retrieval fee depending on how far back, but unless the storage media has crapped out, I have a backup of it.

Just let me know and I will be glad to get you set up.

 

[choucove]

My vote would be to install Windows 7 and just stick with it. I'm really not very pleased with Windows 8 as it's been completely re-designed for touch input and mobile device interaction which means most desktop users are going to be quite frustrated re-learning the entire computer experience.

FYI, you can still go with Windows 7 right now and get the Windows 8 upgrade later for the $40, that upgrade cost is valid for Windows 7 Professional to Windows 8 Professional like the rest.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

I am with Choucove. I would just go with 7 and only upgrade if needed. It is going to be a cheap upgrade. It will also be an easy on from 7 to 8.

XP to 7 was a clean install, no upgrade available. XP to 8 should be the same. That means two complete installs if you go the XP route. Only one install (of 7) and an upgrade (to 8) if you go with 7.

It used to be a pain and a crapshoot with OS upgrades, but with Vista to 7, it wasn't that big of a deal. It doesn't look to be a big deal from 7 to 8 either.

7 is solid, supported, and an all around great OS. 8 has yet to be proven and it might be a while before it is.

 

[mopar691]

My vote would be to install Windows 7 and just stick with it. I'm really not very pleased with Windows 8 as it's been completely re-designed for touch input and mobile device interaction which means most desktop users are going to be quite frustrated re-learning the entire computer experience.

Not at all true. You have the choice of using the metro UI or a standard desktop, and can switch between them.

The desktop is as rock solid as 7 and even more improvements are being implemented. The new multiple monitor interface and capabilities are awesome.

 

[Scott Reynolds]

Also ordered a 1tb Sata HD (prolly gonna be used for storage of files) Gonna take old storage HD which is also SATA and make that OS HD. It's a 500Gig one.

Take a look at an SSD for the OS to run on. SUPER fast. Use the sata's for storage/backup.

 

[HulkSmash]

Get windows 7, the upgrade to windows 8 is only 40 bucks....

 

[DRPSignsNGrafix]

OK i'm gonna grab windows 7 on my way home today. I thought about a SSD for the OS but there pricey for such small amount of space. What size would I need?

 

[choucove]

Not at all true. You have the choice of using the metro UI or a standard desktop, and can switch between them.

The desktop is as rock solid as 7 and even more improvements are being implemented. The new multiple monitor interface and capabilities are awesome.

Have you had a chance to work with Windows 8 before? I've got it running currently on one of our production computers both with a non-touch and a multitouch monitor. There is no getting away from the Metro UI. Yes, there is a standard desktop environment that is very similar to Windows 7 in many ways, but the Start menu is no more. Going to the "Start" area now brings up the Metro UI. Pretty much any way you look at it a standard desktop user, in the course of running their computer, is still going to have to access to the Metro UI occasionally. And it's not necessarily that every user will have to learn how to cope with touchscreen interfaces, but it's quite clear that Windows 8 has been redesigned and focused on touch input which means it will take some getting used to for anyone.

I'm not the only one out there with this stance on it either, nearly all the reviews of Windows 8 by millions of technicians and consumers alike so far all state the same thing. Windows 8 will introduce quite a learning curve for a lot of computer users switching to it, especially if they are switching from Windows XP or Windows Vista. Even I am having a difficult time still navigating through Windows 8 in comparison to Windows 7.

For an OS SSD I would recommend at least a 120 GB drive. I've seen people go with smaller, but those drives fill up FAST when you put all your programs, fonts, and all the extra settings and temp files that goes along with the OS. Ideally, you want to keep at least 25-30% of your drive free for it to perform at it's best and not wear out the drive too quickly. Often now the 256 GB drives are the ideal capacity and best rated speed of the drives lately, so if it is feasible this may be the ideal solution. I would recommend an Intel 520 Series SSD or the OCZ Vertex 4 256 GB drive but NOT the Vertex 4 128 GB. These 128GB drives currently have some crazy issues going on once they get to about 50% full and their performance greatly diminishes.

 

[WildWestDesigns]

Ideally, you want to keep at least 25-30% of your drive free for it to perform at it's best and not wear out the drive too quickly.

That really mainly applies to your mechanical drives moreso then the SSDs. While I personally don't like seeing red anyway, so I try not to do that at all, the SSDs don't have that particular issue like the mechanical drives do.

Bad thing with SSDs (and a reason why I wouldn't use them for file storage at this time) is that when they go bad, there is no hope of being able to recover your files, while at least with mechanical drives there is a decent chance, but it depends on the failure.

 

[Rob_maxgrafix]

OK i'm gonna grab windows 7 on my way home today. I thought about a SSD for the OS but there pricey for such small amount of space. What size would I need?

Get the biggest one you can afford. I went this route with my pc, and got a 40 gig. Too small. The os took up about 20 gigs and then the cache ended up using up the rest. You'll get all sorts of errors and programs wont run properly if your OS hard drive is full.

Now I just have PS, Illy, and Versaworks on the SSD and they run smooth and quick.

 

[choucove]

OCZ, Crucial, and several other manufacturers specifically list in their information and FAQ pages that you should not have your operating system solid state drive greater than 80% full capacity. This is because the drive needs extra space to place files in this open space while it goes through and temporarily erases flash memory blocks to rewrite data. This reorganization of data is a part of TRIM, supported on nearly all SSDs today, and is a major necessity to keep the drive performing at its full speed after years of usage and to help improve longevity. Additionally, MLC based SSDs normally will have a section of NAND memory set aside for failing memory cells as they age or become defective which is normal wear for a long-running SSD. Sometimes the manufacturer will automatically provision this space out of the drive so it cannot be formatted, but this is not always the case. If no over provisioning is done, and the entire drive capacity is formatted, and then becomes completely full, then you run the very likely chance of losing critical data and destroying your SSD as the controller will have no space to reallocated data for the read/erase/write tasks, and more importantly will have no place to reallocate memory to as other sections wear out from usage meaning loss of data.

There are numerous ways in which different SSD manufacturers have come to address these issues throughout the years of course. Some SSDs include onboard cache for the controller to make writes to as its having to perform TRIM cleanup commands and writing back blocks of data, while others again have intentionally provisioned a part of the NAND to never be formatted for usage.

 

[DRPSignsNGrafix]

Well looking at prices of SSD drives. I'm not doing that now. This is my Personel design computer I use at home. It was my design computer when I had my shop in NY. But now i use to design a bunch of stuff for myself and freinds and do some work at home. I'll use one of my 500 gig SATA drives for OS. That should be plenty. The price on the SSD drives for a size that I would need is just to much. Thanks for all the input. I am gonna run windows 7 64 bit now though. And wait and see about upgrading to 8 later.