New build. HD question

[randombill]

Hi, I'm building a new computer (I built 1 once previously. My current computer) and going to be using a Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM. Now on my previous build, I had to use an old school 3.5 floppy drive to install the HD on the new build. This time around.. I'm wondering if I can save myself a step and a little work by hooking up my new HD to my current computer (the old build) and using the WD diagnostic tools to test the HD and such. Is this a good idea?

Also, just as a secondary question.. as I mentioned in my previous build which was in 2004.. I needed the floppy to install drivers for I believe the optical drive(my memory is very poor) in oder to install windows.. is this still a necessary step or does new hardware come ready to go? (I'm using all SATA this time.. HD and optical)

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard

PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS750QBL 750W ATX12V / EPS12V

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 Yorkfield 2.83GHz LGA 775 95W

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

LG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS30

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders

[RickyTick]

Hi randombill. Welcome to the forums.

I like you build list a lot. Great set up. Instead of the WD Caviar SE16 640gb, take a look at the WD Caviar Black 640gb. It is a slight step up in performance and comes with a 5 yr warranty instead of a 3 yr., and its only a few dollars more. Well worth it.

You'll need the optical drive to install Windows, but you might want to download the most current drivers direct from the manufactures website. I also noticed that Nvidia came out with a new video card driver today, unless you have an ATI card, you didn't say.

[randombill]

hi ricky, thanks for the response. I'll take a look at that HD.

If you don't mind clarifying.. it appears as if you left out a word or two from your reply.. "You'll need to optical drive to install Windows".

My vid card is Nvidia.. I chose the ASUS EN9800GTX+ DK/HTDI/512M GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB. I like the after market cooler that comes pre installed.

[RickyTick]

oops. I edited my other post.

You would typically load Windows with your optical drive, but it can be done with a flash drive. Here's how http://www.hitechlegion.com/reviews/howto/227-xpnvistausb

[RickyTick]

I also wanted to comment on the video card.

The 9800GTX+ is a really good card at a decent price, but if you can fit it into your budget, take a look at the GTX260 core 216. You can easily find this for about $50 more than what you are going to spend on the 9800GTX+, and it's far superior. Plus that Asus 9800GTX+ is a dual slot card, but it doesn't exhaust the air out of the back of the case, which is the whole point in having the dual slot.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130434

[randombill]

thats very interesting with the flash drive, thanks for the link.

Yea, I know the GTX is better.. but since I'm not going with i7 I wasn't confident in going for the more expensive card. PLus I was hoping to keep my whole system under $1100 including shipping.. and on my wishlist on newegg its at 1050 now w/o shipping. The wasted slot doesn't really bother me since I won't be using any of the other slots anyway and my cooling should be plenty with 4 120mm case fans but I do appreciate your input.

[RickyTick]

Oh yeah, I certainly understand budget constraints. :)

If you're interested, looking around Newegg, I did see some 9800GTX+ cards for a few dollars less than the Asus, and had the cooler blowing the air out the back. It's really probably not a very big deal though.

Let us know how the build comes out.