10-10-2017, 01:46 PM
Hi Agamotto,
Thank you for posting your questions, and I must apologize for taking so long to reply. I am sure you know from watching the show, but it has been a ridiculous few weeks for me schedule-wise, and it's been in the back of my mind to respond to you as soon as I could take a moment to breathe.
1. Why 32Gb of RAM? What is it being used for that would actually require it? I would think this could be a good way to lower the bill a bit.
The motherboard has 4 DIMM slots and can apparently take up to 64 GB RAM. If we opted for 2x 8GB DIMMs, they'd have more than enough RAM to get by for a while for sure - but should they ever want to upgrade they'd be limited either to 1) adding another 2x 8 GB RAM modules bringing the total to 32 GB, or 2) have to replace the existing RAM modules entirely in order to maximize RAM.
My reasoning for going with 2x 16 GB DIMMs is that this is the highest theoretically the board should be able to handle, but still gives them 32 GB growing room. It's the most future-ready solution, and true, they probably will never have to upgrade.
2. The price on the M.2 drive seems quite reasonable, but why the need for a nearly C$500 data drive? I would think there are more affordable options, even if it would involve spinning rust...
The M.2 is for the OS. The SSD is for data storage. Think of it this way: this is not only to be Sasha and Dave's "gaming rig" - but is also to be their family computer. They need a fair amount of space for the regular day-to-day, game data, game executables, and so-on, but they will also need space for videos, pictures, music, and the usual use stuff. Again, I'm thinking future-ready here. I know it'll take them several years to fill it -- but that's the idea: they should be able to get a good 5 years out of this rig before they even have to think about any upgrades. Similarly I opted for SSD for this same reason. Presumably, as it has no moving parts, we should see longer life out of the drive, especially if they leave the PC on when not in use.
There are about a dozen approaches to every choice we/I made here, and I appreciate your thoughts. I hope mine too make sense, even though yes, they are in some ways overkill for sure. That's a bit of the idea though... build a dreamy rig that is great today, good next year, and still pretty darn good 5 years from now.
Cheers!
Thank you for posting your questions, and I must apologize for taking so long to reply. I am sure you know from watching the show, but it has been a ridiculous few weeks for me schedule-wise, and it's been in the back of my mind to respond to you as soon as I could take a moment to breathe.
1. Why 32Gb of RAM? What is it being used for that would actually require it? I would think this could be a good way to lower the bill a bit.
The motherboard has 4 DIMM slots and can apparently take up to 64 GB RAM. If we opted for 2x 8GB DIMMs, they'd have more than enough RAM to get by for a while for sure - but should they ever want to upgrade they'd be limited either to 1) adding another 2x 8 GB RAM modules bringing the total to 32 GB, or 2) have to replace the existing RAM modules entirely in order to maximize RAM.
My reasoning for going with 2x 16 GB DIMMs is that this is the highest theoretically the board should be able to handle, but still gives them 32 GB growing room. It's the most future-ready solution, and true, they probably will never have to upgrade.
2. The price on the M.2 drive seems quite reasonable, but why the need for a nearly C$500 data drive? I would think there are more affordable options, even if it would involve spinning rust...
The M.2 is for the OS. The SSD is for data storage. Think of it this way: this is not only to be Sasha and Dave's "gaming rig" - but is also to be their family computer. They need a fair amount of space for the regular day-to-day, game data, game executables, and so-on, but they will also need space for videos, pictures, music, and the usual use stuff. Again, I'm thinking future-ready here. I know it'll take them several years to fill it -- but that's the idea: they should be able to get a good 5 years out of this rig before they even have to think about any upgrades. Similarly I opted for SSD for this same reason. Presumably, as it has no moving parts, we should see longer life out of the drive, especially if they leave the PC on when not in use.
There are about a dozen approaches to every choice we/I made here, and I appreciate your thoughts. I hope mine too make sense, even though yes, they are in some ways overkill for sure. That's a bit of the idea though... build a dreamy rig that is great today, good next year, and still pretty darn good 5 years from now.
Cheers!
Robbie Ferguson // The Bald Nerd
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