Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
VideoandSoundAdapters
Integrated Intel HD Graphics and Intel High-Definition Audio
Intel integrated video has always provided excellent 2D image quality, but its
3D graphics performance has always, to put it politely, been rather anemic.
Of course, no serious gamer would even consider using integrated video
of any type, but integrated ATI or NVIDIA video was at least fast enough to
play undemanding 3D games with minimum settings at reasonable frame
rates. Under similar circumstances, Intel integrated video often provided only
single-digit frame rates and was totally unsuited to playing any but the least
demanding 3D games.
Intel addressed the performance problems when it introduced the Core i5 pro-
cessors, which integrated video on the processor rather than using a separate
video chipset on the motherboard. The 2D display quality remained top-notch,
but Intel integrated 3D graphics performance went from also-ran to leading
the pack. You still won't find any serious gamers using integrated graphics, but
the new Intel HD graphics provide at least playable performance for many cur-
rent 3D games, assuming reasonable resolution and other settings.
The 7200.11 Firmware Issue
Although Seagate drives through
the years have been remarkably
reliable, Seagate did run into a major
problem with its 7200.11 series. That
problem, caused by a firmware bug,
was initially reported as affecting
only the 1.5 TB 7200.11 model but
ultimately was found to affect all
7200.11 models. Seagate responded
quickly with a firmware update, but
unfortunately the fix came too late
for some people, who ended up with
bricked drives.
The resulting mess caused a fire-
storm. As the saying goes, “Make a
customer happy and he'll tell a friend;
make a customer unhappy and he'll
tell the whole Internet.” And that's ex-
actly what happened. Although only
a small percentage of 7200.11 users
actually experienced the problem,
the 7200.11 drives—particularly the
1.5 TB models—ended up with a bad
reputation, far worse than they actu-
ally deserved. Unfortunately, some
of that mud stuck to other, perfectly
innocent, Seagate models, including
the 7200.12.
Because the integrated graphics are now on-processor (although not on-die),
the actual 3D graphics performance varies from model to model. One of the
major reasons we chose the Intel Core i5-661 processor rather than one of the
other Core i5-6xx models is that the -661 integrated graphics, running at 900
MHz, are the fastest available in the Core i5 lineup. In conjunction with the In-
tel DH55TC motherboard, the Core i5-661 processor provides resolution up to
1600
×
1200 and support for analog, DVI-D, and HDMI displays, including dual
displays. That's an excellent fit for our mainstream system, providing all the
capabilities we might need.
The DH55TC motherboard also includes the Intel High Definition Audio sub-
system, with support for eight-channel sound (5.1 plus two independent multi-
streaming audio channels). Barbara will use either her current M-AUDIO 2.0
speaker set or a Logitech 2.1 speaker set on this system, for either of which the
integrated audio is more than sufficient.
HardDiskDrive
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS (1TB)
(
http://www.seagate.com
)
A mainstream system needs a mainstream hard drive, and you can't get much
more mainstream than a Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 SATA drive. Although the
7200.12 is available in capacities as low as 160 GB, with the 1 TB model selling
for $70 you can't save much money by choosing a smaller model. All of the
7200.12 models are reliable, fast, cool-running, and quiet.
For what it's worth, Robert runs four
1.5 TB Barracuda 7200.11 drives
in his current main system—and
has done so since before those
drives were officially available
for purchase—with no problems
whatsoever.
The Samsung Spinpoint F3 and the Hitachi Deskstar are other good choices
in this price and capacity range. The Western Digital Caviar Black is also an
excellent drive. The only reasons we don't recommend it are that it sells for
about a 25% premium over the other three drives, and is also louder and
hotter-running.
