darrenj1982 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 Hi again guys. Wanted to query something and get some answers from people maybe more knowledgeable on the subject of this. I currently run my games on my pc with everything residing on the hard drive. I have around 220gb left but dont like pushing my hard drive to low so was thinking of purchasing either a SHDC Card or USB Flash Drive. I have card reader built into PC. Would either be fine for running emulators off directly. My preference would be the SHDC card as there price is cheap around here for massive sizes. Would like someone with knowledge of memory to guide me on this one. Thanks. Darren Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 The best speeds will be USB3. Class 10 SDHC (or SDXC for a lot of storage) can work, but SD card's don't like to be queried like that for bigger files consistently. Class 10's can handle the massive reading and writing (depends on the size of the game) but they're still not long term solutions. An internal Hard Drive over SATA3 or a USB3.0 or 3.1 drive will be preferable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenj1982 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 SentaiBrad said The best speeds will be USB3. Class 10 SDHC (or SDXC for a lot of storage) can work, but SD card's don't like to be queried like that for bigger files consistently. Class 10's can handle the massive reading and writing (depends on the size of the game) but they're still not long term solutions. An internal Hard Drive over SATA3 or a USB3.0 or 3.1 drive will be preferable. Thanks Brad much appreciated. I believe my pc has only USB 2 ports. It is 6 years old though , due to build a new one by June. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 If you're gonna build a new one then just get USB3 external drives for now, future proof. They're completely backwards compatible with 2.0 ports. (My pc is 7 years old too. My motherboard and cpu are the only original parts left). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenj1982 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 SentaiBrad said If you're gonna build a new one then just get USB3 external drives for now, future proof. They're completely backwards compatible with 2.0 ports. (My pc is 7 years old too. My motherboard and cpu are the only original parts left). Oh right thanks Brad i'll go look into them on Amazon right now and purchase. Cheers dude. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 No problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 You can always get a USB 3 add on card for not that much money some times drivers can be a pain if you are using Windows 7 or lower but they are easy enough to find. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenj1982 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 DOS76 said You can always get a USB 3 add on card for not that much money some times drivers can be a pain if you are using Windows 7 or lower but they are easy enough to find. Thanks Dos , Unfortunately my PC is a small form factor pc , no room to put anything it's all so tightly packed (Terribly manufactured tbh ). I actually use windows 10. I am amazed the PC has lasted this long tbh , 6 years of constant use AMD II X2 545 Processor. Only thing I ever upgraded was the graphics Card because that was simple. I popped a radeon 7750 1gb in and it gave it a new lease of life. Only a 220w PSU too lol the manufacturer said no way I could run it on a 220w PSU. I said your wrong and i'll prove your wrong. 3 years later and still running as smooth as butter on 220w ;). Definitely going to upgrade this year though it's time. I have the case already bought. Just have to save up the funds to buy my other parts so im predicting around June time. Then I have to build it eeek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Building them is great fun (mixed with some headache) I have a few small form factor machines too and the limitations can be frustrating at time. The new 6th gen i5's are great they run at incredible low temps and I grabbed both of mine for around $200 each Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenj1982 Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 DOS76 said Building them is great fun (mixed with some headache) I have a few small form factor machines too and the limitations can be frustrating at time. The new 6th gen i5's are great they run at incredible low temps and I grabbed both of mine for around $200 each Yeah I can imagine. It's only the wiring I wouldnt know about , im sure with a little advice i'll be fine. The build I have planned is actually on part picker here - Feel free to have a look and tell me if you think anything is too much or wrong. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CADScott Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I currently run my Launchbox setup off a 2TB 2.5" USB 3.0 drive and it runs great, this enables me to run it on multiple machines with ease. As for your PC specs, the only comments I have are that you should probably get a 2 x 8 GB RAM kit rather that 4 x 4GB, as this will allow for easier expansion later if needed. Also you REALLY should spec in an SSD drive for you operating system, at least a 120GB, and preferably 250GB or more. This will make a massive difference to the speed of your system. You will need a separate video card also if you want to play any reasonable games! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I haven't looked at it yet but I definitely agree with @CADScott about both the RAM and the SSD unless you want to max out the RAM I would just buy for the two slots allowing for greater upgradability in the future. Not that you will need 32GB of RAM unless you want to start running multiple Virtual Machines but you never know what the future will bring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 I do video editing with 12GB of ram on board and I power through it, I almost never hit my ram limit now and 16GB will be a little more than that. Personally, I prefer i7's but i5's are good too. i7's can and do perform better in area's though so that could be worth looking at as well. I love anything Cooler Master. I personally have a 612 Evo v2 cooler and it is a beast. I had to take out my top case fan to fit it in (it didn't work anyways). That's a pretty good motherboard actually, but it doesn't have support for multiple Geforce GPU's (not that you are doing this). For a little more oomph there is a few steps up from that Gigabyte mobo you chose: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128835 It has better audio drivers, USB 3.1 and fully supports all GPU's. You didn't mention a GPU though, and honestly you should probably get one as well. My EVGA Geforce 970 4GB is a really good GPU, I love it. As with the other two here, I do also suggest you grab a 2 x 8GB kit as well. The board you chose and the board I linked to are both Dual Channel DIMM boards meaning You need at least 2 RAM Sticks for full speed. Multiples of two works as well but there is only 4 DIMM Slots. If you did need to up it from 16GB you could always purchase the same kit twice and fill the other two DIMM's. Mine is triple channel with 6 DIMM's so I have to have at least 3 sticks for full speeds. Remember too, they're color coded the DIMM's. When you put two in they need to go either in one color or the other. They're usually linked and your mobo manual will tell you which to use. I also agree about the SSD for your OS drive. Your OS drive is constantly being read and written to by the OS, so I never keep any games on that drive for performance reasons too. So there is no reason not to have an SSD as your OS and programs drive and the other drive just hold everything else. If you do pick the slightly more upgraded parts and grab a GPU, it might also be worth it to calculate the Watts you need with plenty of room for upgrade. USB devices also require power and if you add more HDD's or GPU's later. A Silver or Gold rated around 600-750w can also be sufficient. The more modular the better too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CADScott Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 I second the recommendation for the EVGA GTX970 4GB, I have one and it is rock solid and overclocks fantastically if you need any more speed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenj1982 Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thanks for the input guys. Really helpful to me. I only left out a SSD Drive because of funds tbh. I want have the money saved by June so didn't want too put it back any more than that but SSD Drive will be popped in later on. In terms of the graphics card I was going to use my 7750 for the time being until later in the year I could afford maybe a better one if I needed one. I'll be honest and say a lot of the latest games I have no interest in as I am more about the retro scene. I have Xbox One and every console under the sun , But I literally dont touch the Xbox One or any of my games on steam any more which is 220 deep. I have just totally went off modern gaming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Which is totally fine, if it doesn't suit your needs then it doesn't suit your needs. SSD's are more expensive per GB technically speaking, and I don't know the situation on their prices where you are, but a 250-500GB SSD is about the 3-5TB range. It all fluctuates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenj1982 Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 SentaiBrad said Which is totally fine, if it doesn't suit your needs then it doesn't suit your needs. SSD's are more expensive per GB technically speaking, and I don't know the situation on their prices where you are, but a 250-500GB SSD is about the 3-5TB range. It all fluctuates. I just looked on amazon.co.uk now you mentioned it Brad the Samsung 2.5 inch 250 GB 850 EVO ssd is £65.99 which is actually not to bad. If I am purely focusing on mainly emulation and the odd recent game would a standard 1tb or 2tb hard drive suffice do you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SentaiBrad Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Yea, 7200RPM drives work just fine, but for your OS drive it would help speed things up immensely. I always keep my OS separate from the drive that I write video to, that my video is on and that my games are on. It just lets the OS have the full speed of your drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrenj1982 Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 SentaiBrad said Yea, 7200RPM drives work just fine, but for your OS drive it would help speed things up immensely. I always keep my OS separate from the drive that I write video to, that my video is on and that my games are on. It just lets the OS have the full speed of your drive. Understood brad so run OS on ssd and install everything to standard hard drive if i got that correct. I might consider that It sounds like a good idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DOS76 Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 SSD is a must have upgrade (In my opinion) for every computer. If you don't install a lot of programs you could probably get away with 120GB which would be even cheaper (not maybe cheap enough to justify the loss of space though). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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