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Yet another request for buying help

Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907
in The Commons
So the creeping problems with my HD have finally made the machine go anatomical content up. I normally buy Alienware because I have some ability to customize but I'm not confused by a billion options, most of which don't work together. It's also nice having a single vendor I can return stuff to. Unfortunately funds are tight until September, so I'm debating getting some tower I can put the GTX 970 and maybe spare RAM into. Anyone suggest specific machines and/or reliable vendor sites?
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Comments

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907
    Oh, I have an Alienware x51 R1. So ideally something at least as good as that, and no more expensive.
  • 3anson3anson Posts: 313

    why not just buy a new HD and fit it?  if the rest of the computer is fine, daft to go out and buy another rig just because a drive has failed.....

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907
    Because I am a stupid monkey and have no clue how to do that. I've already spent about $200-300 trying that and utterly failed, so before I throw even more money down the drain, better off just getting a new machine.
  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 13,515
    edited July 2016

    Hard drives are just plug and play. All it takes is plugging in the sata cable, power and screwing it into your spare bay.

    Post edited by frank0314 on
  • 3anson3anson Posts: 313

    yup, as Frank says, installing a new HD is a very simple operation. just a matter of fitting the drive into a bay, fixing it with the appropriate screws, then just plugging in the data cable and power cable. job done!  i am sure there are pictorial step by step tutorials on the web. smiley

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907
    Tried that, wouldn't boot. Couldn't get OS to recognize new drive. Couldn't boot from drive moved to a shell. Wasted $300 and a week abd almost ruined my ailing computer. Now, is anyone interested in my actual query?
  • mtl1mtl1 Posts: 1,501
    Dell and HP are good bets for a reasonable tower. The only thing most people need to watch out for is the PSUs in those towers. The 970 isn't that power hungry so you may be able to get away with it...
  • FishtalesFishtales Posts: 6,059

    Looking at the specs there is only one hard drive so if that goes there is no OS, or did you go for the twin 2.5 inch drive configuration rather than the one 3.5 inch drive?

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,351
    edited July 2016

    Novica bougth a Dell Alienware Area-51 computer and has been happy with it. http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/comment/975557/#Comment_975557

    Edit: Oh, and remember that the price of GTX 970 and 980 graphics cards is dropping quickly. Check what they want to charge you for those, if you configure it that way.

    Post edited by barbult on
  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 13,515

    Get a custom PC and you can put whatever you want in it and have a lot of room for upgrading it. This is where we've bought our last 5 computers and they are big and depending on what motherboard you choose it can be upgraded. http://www.computerlx.com/

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907
    Fishtales: it has one hard drive. the last time I attempted to fix the problem it took me hours to convince my one tech friend that I couldn't put two HDs in there. :) Yeah, I have my eye on Area-51, I just don't know if I have the cash for it now. I was really hoping not to have to get a new machine until wife's bonus in September... I might be able to get an Area-51 for around $2200 or so and get a Titan later, assuming Titans don't just vanish. mmph
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,351
    edited July 2016
    timmins.william said:
    Fishtales: it has one hard drive. the last time I attempted to fix the problem it took me hours to convince my one tech friend that I couldn't put two HDs in there. :) Yeah, I have my eye on Area-51, I just don't know if I have the cash for it now. I was really hoping not to have to get a new machine until wife's bonus in September... I might be able to get an Area-51 for around $2200 or so and get a Titan later, assuming Titans don't just vanish. mmph

    Is the issue with not being able to add a hard drive because of no more SATA connectors or not enough power connectors, or somethinge else?

     

    Post edited by barbult on
  • frank0314frank0314 Posts: 13,515
    edited July 2016

    I forgot to mention if you do try that site I linked you need to select a base first then you can customize everything that goes into it and it is very reasonable priced and a lot of time cheaper than an off the shelf computer. Don't pay attention to the base price. It can go up or down depending on what you pick to go in it.

    Post edited by frank0314 on
  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,351
    barbult said:
    timmins.william said:
    Fishtales: it has one hard drive. the last time I attempted to fix the problem it took me hours to convince my one tech friend that I couldn't put two HDs in there. :) Yeah, I have my eye on Area-51, I just don't know if I have the cash for it now. I was really hoping not to have to get a new machine until wife's bonus in September... I might be able to get an Area-51 for around $2200 or so and get a Titan later, assuming Titans don't just vanish. mmph

    Is the issue with not being able to add a hard drive because of no more SATA connectors or not enough power connectors, or somethinge else?

     

    Oh, I just saw a picture of the inside of that model. There is no space.

  • MattymanxMattymanx Posts: 6,881

    Open up your case and take a few nice big clear pictures and we might be able to help you more

  • FishtalesFishtales Posts: 6,059
    barbult said:
    barbult said:
    timmins.william said:
    Fishtales: it has one hard drive. the last time I attempted to fix the problem it took me hours to convince my one tech friend that I couldn't put two HDs in there. :) Yeah, I have my eye on Area-51, I just don't know if I have the cash for it now. I was really hoping not to have to get a new machine until wife's bonus in September... I might be able to get an Area-51 for around $2200 or so and get a Titan later, assuming Titans don't just vanish. mmph

    Is the issue with not being able to add a hard drive because of no more SATA connectors or not enough power connectors, or somethinge else?

     

    Oh, I just saw a picture of the inside of that model. There is no space.

    http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN296867

    It has 2x SATA II 3Gb/s Ports but space for only

    • 1x 3.5" SATA I/II Hard Drive
    • 2x 2.5" SATA I/II Solid State or Regular Drives
    • Single and Dual drive configuration using 2.5" drives requires a special cradle and cable that is not included with the system.
  • fastbike1fastbike1 Posts: 4,075

    I have bought 6 or 7 PCs from www.cyberpowerpc.com over the last 9 years. Very customizable, all price ranges. reliable.

    Note: Don't forget the pc in the URL cyberpower is/was a porn site.

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907
    For Iray, do two cards have to be exactly the same? Like, same manufacturer, or just same specs (in this case, any two GTX 970s)?
  • MattymanxMattymanx Posts: 6,881
    edited July 2016

    No they do not on both accounts

    You can have a MSI 970 and a Zotac 980TI and they will work.  Handy if you are looking to have a lower end card to run your display and a really high end card for rendering

    Post edited by Mattymanx on
  • Charlie JudgeCharlie Judge Posts: 12,422
    fastbike1 said:

    I have bought 6 or 7 PCs from www.cyberpowerpc.com over the last 9 years. Very customizable, all price ranges. reliable.

    Note: Don't forget the pc in the URL cyberpower is/was a porn site.

    I bought my last PC from them. I've had it about 2 months now and so far I'm happy with it. A couple of caveats. They usually have a generic power supply (which is more prone to failure) as the default; so be sure sure to select  a major brand such as Corsair or EVGA. Also be sure to get adequate cooling. A good idea is to post your proposed configuration in the forums there and get opinions before purchasing it.

  • srieschsriesch Posts: 4,241

    A number of places offer bare bones packages that are a motherboard, processor and memory combo so you don't have to worry about matching those items.

    NewEgg.com is a great place for shopping for parts (can't remember if they have the above-mentioned packages or not.).  You can quickly narrow down your search results within a category (motherboards, for example) by selecting various common options on the left side.

  • icprncssicprncss Posts: 3,694

    Alienware provides the OS installation disk along with the mobo utilites disk.  Put the installation disk into the CD/DVD/BluRay (whatever you have).  You will need to partition the drive and format the partitions. 

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907

    WOO.

    Computer finally got here. Thankfully it defaulted with OS on the SSD so didn't have to do anything special there. Now set up Dropbox to the data drive and... ... will be waiting an awfully long time. Then hoping I can get Studio to point to the directory there without any confusion.

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,351

    Congrats on the new computer, Will. I hope the transition goes smoothly.

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907

    So far so good. Estimate on Dropbox is about 3-4 hours, everything else was easy peasy... biggest concern is how easily Daz Studio can be pointed and integrate Dropbox folder for content. I'm pretty sure all my custom metadata is gone, but I'm fine so long as the actual STUFF is there, and as long as Daz Studio or DIM doesn't decide it has to start erasing it.

     

  • barbultbarbult Posts: 23,351

    Dropbox is really just another folder on your disk, so I don't think there should be a problem. Remember to set up your contrent directories in DS and your download and application directories in DIM before you do too much.

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907

    Here are my kids next to the monster box. It is, in every sense, the biggest computer I've ever owned...

     

    2016-07-25 12.10.27.jpg
    5312 x 2988 - 3M
  • nonesuch00nonesuch00 Posts: 17,956

    They've got that look like, yeah, you have us pose with it like it's our toy but we you it's you that will be playing with it. laugh Looks like a regular size tower but that's enough to keep the room it's in warm, or I guess hot, in the summer.

  • AlienRendersAlienRenders Posts: 791

    How could your OS not recognize the drive if it was booted from the drive... yet it didn't boot??? Perhaps there was no OS on it and you tried to access it by booting from another device? Maybe it wasn't the OS that didn't recognize the drive, but likely the BIOS that didn't recognize a boot partition or it wasn't partitioned or formatted. You needed to install Windows (or whatever OS you want to use) on it. That can go either smoothly or very painfully since you need another device to have the install on it. When you buy a new system, even a custom one, the supplier will usually put the OS on it for you and can come for free in some instances. Replacement drives almost never have an OS on it. Oh and you have to format the drive too. The OS installer will do it for you. Secondary drives are a cinch to install though. You just create a partition (specify max size), format and go.

     

     

     

     

  • Oso3DOso3D Posts: 14,907

    How can I get DIM to recognize all the files from the backup without redownloading it all?

     

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