New Case, No Experience, HELP!!!

LearningNoob · 14-12-2006, 10:28 PM

I just purchased a new gaming case and was wondering now that I got it, what do I need to look for in order to get up to 6 HDD connected (If even possible). I have a 450 watt power supply with a SATA connector with it, an XFX Nvidia 7600 AGP video card, DVD +-RW, Samsung CDRW, 5 Western Digital 80GB HDD and 1 120GB HDD (not sure of make), all of which are IDE.
My motherboard (again not sure of make) only has 2 IDE headers on it.
I love to game, download huge amounts of movies, music videos, and music, and run a lot of active content on my desktop.
What should I be looking for now that I have a case that should be able to incorporate everything I need in order to fill my requirements.
The case was purchased in Germany and something called a card clip system in it. Anyone that could tell me what this is, I would greatly appreciate it. Bought it because it looked cool in the picture, but have absolutely no idea what it is for. It looks like something for attaching multiple HDD's, but I am not sure.

NeloForster · 15-12-2006, 12:45 AM

I'd have thought card clip is that new case feature where instead of using screws to secure your hardware, you use low-hassle clips?

No matter how much space you've got in your case for hard drives, it all boils down to how many hard drives your motherboard will allow to be connected. Your everyday IDE cable will accommodate two IDE devices If you want to utilise both of your optical drives you'll need to use one IDE slot on your motherboard for those two. For your second IDE port you can attach 2 hard drives. If the rest of your hard drives are IDE then you might have a hard time finding a way to utilise them. If I wanted more HDD space I'd personally buy a couple of external USB 7200rpm hard drives.

I don't know too much about SATA cause I don't use it, but if your hard drives don't support SATA then there's your problem.

Hope this is of some use to you,

Mike

Big B · 15-12-2006, 06:54 PM

Even if your motherboard doesn't have the capabilities to support 6 hard drives plus your optical drive(s), you can purchase a PATA or SATA card to accommodate additional hard drives. The remaining factor would be your case. If need be, you can use hard drives in your 5.25" bays with 3.5" to 5.25" bay adapters. If you have a drive rail system for the 5.25" drives that screw onto the drive, you can use the aforementioned adapters. If not, then you're going to be limited to the number of 3.5" bays the case has unless you get creative.

LearningNoob · 15-12-2006, 07:47 PM

Thanks for all the advice. I'll try some of things you recommended. And about the card clip system, here are the other pictures of the case. The green strip in the back of the machine is the card clip system. Any ideas???

Big B · 15-12-2006, 08:24 PM

What do you want to know? I'm not clear on what the question is regarding those.

LearningNoob · 15-12-2006, 10:03 PM

Do you recognize the card clip system thing? Also, you mentioned a sata/pata card. I don't know what that is.

LearningNoob · 15-12-2006, 10:21 PM

Nevermind about the SATA/PATA card. I looked it up. Thank you so much for that info. It was exactly what I needed to know. Now I know I need the PATA PCI card as all of my HDD's are IDE. I still don't know about that card clip system though. LOL!!!! I'll figure it out eventually.

NeloForster · 15-12-2006, 11:26 PM

Yeah I recognise the green clips.. They are there so you don't have to mess around with screws and instead it simply clips your PCI/AGP/PCI-E card where you'd usually screw it, holding it in place... It's a good idea, providing the clips don't break off at any point...

Quote:

Even if your motherboard doesn't have the capabilities to support 6 hard drives plus your optical drive(s), you can purchase a PATA or SATA card to accommodate additional hard drives

Thanks Big B, I wasn't aware of such cards, but now I'll be sure to buy myself one!

Mike

LearningNoob · 17-12-2006, 02:18 PM

Thanks a lot for all the help guys!!!
You answered all of my questions.
I will be in the market for a better motherboard, particulary for gaming. What kind would you recommend. Also, what is the best video card out there as far as best bang for the buck.
I saw these graphics acceleration PCI cards that you are supposed to be able to use to boost the graphics even farther than just the normal graphics card is capable of. Do these make a difference or is it all just hype.

NeloForster · 17-12-2006, 02:55 PM

Quote:

I saw these graphics acceleration PCI cards that you are supposed to be able to use to boost the graphics even farther than just the normal graphics card is capable of. Do these make a difference or is it all just hype.

The cards you speak of are physics accellerators. I went on a website once to check out what they can do, and from what I gather, it's used in a game where some bint flies around throwing debris and rocks.

But seriously, I wouldn't reccommend buying one for the following reasons -

1) Games developers will probably not opt to program games to be compatible with this device since the high end graphics cards can handle such in-game physics already
2) Too much money for such a little feature
3) Waste of a PCI slot

Quote:

I will be in the market for a better motherboard, particulary for gaming. What kind would you recommend. Also, what is the best video card out there as far as best bang for the buck.

DFI motherboards are perfect for gaming and jam packed full of overclocking features if you're into that. The s939 DFI NF4 Infinity board is great if you have a low budget, otherwise get a DFI Lanparty board.

My 7900GTX graphics card does the trick... It can handle any game out there to the present day, but it's expensive. Its ATi equivalent (or rather superior) is the X1900XTX. The X1900XTX gave me great framerates on Oblivion and amazing visuals, while my 7900GTX doesn't quite pack the brute force that my ATi card did. Be sure to get a good power supply for gaming, namely Antec and Coolermaster. They've always fared well for me.

Graphics cards with good money value...
Nvidia - 7600 range and lower-end 7800 range
ATi - X850XT is a little beast of a card. X1800GTO is also good if you want SM 3.0

EDIT: This 7900GS is well worth the money!

Any more questions, please ask...

Mike

Big B · 20-12-2006, 10:44 AM

Exactly. For the price those PPU's cost, you could put toward a better and/or newer video card. Plus, right now, only a select group of games support it. It's for the people that have a top-end system, and still have money burning a hole in their pocket. The problem with the PhysX is the chicken or the egg corundum. People really won't go for one if it's not supported, and support won't come if there's not enough people with one to make it worth their while.

Is this to say that Physics acceleration won't happen? No. However, nVidia and ATi/AMD seem to have a keen interest in adding it into their graphics chips. Ageia is a start up company, and I'm not sure if they'll be able to weather the storm before they get a foothold.

14-12-2006, 10:28 PM	#1 (permalink) Top
LearningNoob Geek Trainee Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	New Case, No Experience, HELP!!! I just purchased a new gaming case and was wondering now that I got it, what do I need to look for in order to get up to 6 HDD connected (If even possible). I have a 450 watt power supply with a SATA connector with it, an XFX Nvidia 7600 AGP video card, DVD +-RW, Samsung CDRW, 5 Western Digital 80GB HDD and 1 120GB HDD (not sure of make), all of which are IDE. My motherboard (again not sure of make) only has 2 IDE headers on it. I love to game, download huge amounts of movies, music videos, and music, and run a lot of active content on my desktop. What should I be looking for now that I have a case that should be able to incorporate everything I need in order to fill my requirements. The case was purchased in Germany and something called a card clip system in it. Anyone that could tell me what this is, I would greatly appreciate it. Bought it because it looked cool in the picture, but have absolutely no idea what it is for. It looks like something for attaching multiple HDD's, but I am not sure. Attached Thumbnails

15-12-2006, 12:45 AM	#2 (permalink) Top
NeloForster Source of Exyphetadolamin Join Date: Dec 2006 Gender: Male Posts: 145 Times Helpful: 11 My Mood: Relaxed Status: Offline My Computer	I'd have thought card clip is that new case feature where instead of using screws to secure your hardware, you use low-hassle clips? No matter how much space you've got in your case for hard drives, it all boils down to how many hard drives your motherboard will allow to be connected. Your everyday IDE cable will accommodate two IDE devices If you want to utilise both of your optical drives you'll need to use one IDE slot on your motherboard for those two. For your second IDE port you can attach 2 hard drives. If the rest of your hard drives are IDE then you might have a hard time finding a way to utilise them. If I wanted more HDD space I'd personally buy a couple of external USB 7200rpm hard drives. I don't know too much about SATA cause I don't use it, but if your hard drives don't support SATA then there's your problem. Hope this is of some use to you, Mike __________________ "Windows cannot open readme.txt because there is a possibility of it being a file"

15-12-2006, 06:54 PM	#3 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Offline My Computer	Even if your motherboard doesn't have the capabilities to support 6 hard drives plus your optical drive(s), you can purchase a PATA or SATA card to accommodate additional hard drives. The remaining factor would be your case. If need be, you can use hard drives in your 5.25" bays with 3.5" to 5.25" bay adapters. If you have a drive rail system for the 5.25" drives that screw onto the drive, you can use the aforementioned adapters. If not, then you're going to be limited to the number of 3.5" bays the case has unless you get creative. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

15-12-2006, 07:47 PM	#4 (permalink) Top
LearningNoob Geek Trainee Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	Thanks for all the advice. I'll try some of things you recommended. And about the card clip system, here are the other pictures of the case. The green strip in the back of the machine is the card clip system. Any ideas??? Attached Thumbnails Last edited by LearningNoob; 15-12-2006 at 07:49 PM. Reason: Also, what is a sata/pata card??? Is it a pci card or something???

15-12-2006, 08:24 PM	#5 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Offline My Computer	What do you want to know? I'm not clear on what the question is regarding those. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

15-12-2006, 10:03 PM	#6 (permalink) Top
LearningNoob Geek Trainee Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	Do you recognize the card clip system thing? Also, you mentioned a sata/pata card. I don't know what that is.

15-12-2006, 10:21 PM	#7 (permalink) Top
LearningNoob Geek Trainee Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	Nevermind about the SATA/PATA card. I looked it up. Thank you so much for that info. It was exactly what I needed to know. Now I know I need the PATA PCI card as all of my HDD's are IDE. I still don't know about that card clip system though. LOL!!!! I'll figure it out eventually.

17-12-2006, 02:18 PM	#9 (permalink) Top
LearningNoob Geek Trainee Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 5 Status: Offline	Thanks a lot for all the help guys!!! You answered all of my questions. I will be in the market for a better motherboard, particulary for gaming. What kind would you recommend. Also, what is the best video card out there as far as best bang for the buck. I saw these graphics acceleration PCI cards that you are supposed to be able to use to boost the graphics even farther than just the normal graphics card is capable of. Do these make a difference or is it all just hype.

20-12-2006, 10:44 AM	#11 (permalink) Top
Big B HWF Godfather Join Date: Dec 2001 Age: 28 Male Posts: 9,636 Times Helpful: 585 My Mood: Devilish Status: Offline My Computer	Exactly. For the price those PPU's cost, you could put toward a better and/or newer video card. Plus, right now, only a select group of games support it. It's for the people that have a top-end system, and still have money burning a hole in their pocket. The problem with the PhysX is the chicken or the egg corundum. People really won't go for one if it's not supported, and support won't come if there's not enough people with one to make it worth their while. Is this to say that Physics acceleration won't happen? No. However, nVidia and ATi/AMD seem to have a keen interest in adding it into their graphics chips. Ageia is a start up company, and I'm not sure if they'll be able to weather the storm before they get a foothold. __________________ Hardware Forums\|HWF Rules\|My DVD's\|PSU FAQ\|HWF Folding Team\|2CPU

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