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TheMexicanBread
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This Crucial MX100 512GB SSD gives you the same storage, and saves you $50  :)

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/part/crucial-internal-hard-drive-ct512mx100ssd1

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We are done! Thanks to everyone who helped me fix up my planned build into something that otherwise might have gone horribly wrong! I'm looking forward to seeing the parts come in the mail soon after I order them to see my first PC build come to life  :D Here are the finished results of the build plan.

 

 
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($209.99 @ Micro Center) 
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($449.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($259.99 @ NCIX US) 
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: EVGA TORQ X10 Wired Laser Mouse  ($71.98 @ Newegg) 
Headphones: Rosewill RHTS-8206 5.1 Channel Headset  ($49.96 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2310.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-06 17:41 EDT-0400
 
Thanks again to everyone that pitched in on their opinions. Couldn't have done it without you!
 
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Hi guys, this is the first time I've posted on a forum of any kind so I apologize beforehand if I mess anything up in this post.

 

So, after years of gaming on a pretty low end laptop and suffering horrible lag and low fps trying to play the magnificent games available to PC gamers, I've come to a startling realization.

 

I need a freakin' gaming desktop.

 

I've been saving up for awhile now and after doing a bit of research (a good part of it from the awesome reviews from the guys at LinusTechTips), I've more or less decided on the overall build of my new PC. However, being that I'm not as knowledgeable in PC building as I'd like to be, I'm turning to you guys and gals at the forums to help me out.

 

Here's some more info to let you know where I'm at.

 

 

1. Budget & Location

 

I live in California, so I'd imagine pricing and shipping costs aren't going to be to bad. All in all I probably don't want to spend more that ~$2500 although if there's good enough reason behind it I won't mind raising that limit a bit. I'm really trying to make a More-Bang-For-Your-Buck kind of system, where I don't want it to be overkill, but I don't want to cut too much on the price if it means losing features.

 

 

2. Aim

 

Although I am going to be using this PC mostly for gaming, I do also want a computer that can handle Adobe Photoshop and 3D Studio Max as I use Photoshop quite a bit, and I'm going to start learning how to use 3DS Max at school soon and would also like to be able to experiment and play around with the software in the comfort of my home.

 

As for the intensity of the games I want to play, I want to be able to run games like Bioshock: Infinite, Watchdogs, Skyrim, and other such games without having to worry if I'm setting the graphics too high.

 

I'm also going for a black & red theme for my build. Although I acknowledge that the looks of the machine are not as important as the overall quality of the parts put into it, I'd still like to go for parts that more closely match this kind of theme.

 

So, without further ado, I present to you my current thought out build, as well as the monitor and other peripherals I wish to purchase and my thoughts into picking out each of these parts.

 

 

3. The Build So Far

 

Main PC Build

CPU: AMD FX-8350 4.0 GHz 8-Core Processor ($174.98 @ OutletPC)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V8 GTS 82.0 CFM CPU Cooler ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Asus Crosshair V Formula-Z ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($219.99 @ Amazon)

Memory: G.Skill Trident X 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($169.99 @ Newegg)

Storage: Seagate 4TB 3.5" 7200RPM Hybrid Internal Hard Drive ($174.99 @ Newegg)

Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 290X 4GB DirectCU II Video Card ($542.98 @ SuperBiiz)

Case: Cooler Master Storm Trooper ATX Full Tower Case ($129.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA P2 1200W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($235.99 @ Amazon)

 

Displays and Peripherals

Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor ($259.99 @ NCIX US)

Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard ($114.99 @ Amazon)

Mouse: Mad Catz R.A.T. 9 Wireless Laser Mouse ($146.38 @ Newegg)

Headphones: Rosewill RHTS-8206 5.1 Channel Headset ($49.96 @ Amazon)

 

Grand Total: $2290.22

Full Parts List

 

 

4. So Why These Parts?

 

CPU

The battle between AMD and Intel is a tough one, and the choice to make between picking one or the other is just as difficult. But ultimately, I've decided to go with the FX-8350. After looking up multiple reviews comparing AMD and Intel chips, it became obvious that while the Intel chip's strength is not easily toppled, AMD chips do offer more for what you pay and in a lot of situations play on par with Intel. I'm also excited to see what having multiple cores means for future gaming, so that's another 1-up for AMD.

 

CPU Cooler

Although I know it's not going to be the best performing cooler running at it's price, it more than makes up for it (for me at least) with it's sexy looks and fits in perfectly with the black/red theme build I'm going for.

 

Motherboard

I'm a big fan of Asus' stuff, and as far as I know, their motherboards are as good as it gets. I admittedly picked out this piece over others because of its looks, but also recognize that it's a good quality mobo. However, if anyone has any suggestions for any other motherboards, perhaps less expensive ones, that still retain that black or red & black look I'm going for I'd be glad to hear them.

 

Memory

I'm not all that knowledgeable about system memory, but from what I could gather, these pair of cards are as good as any. Also, they go with that color scheme I keep mentioning  :P

 

Storage

Being that Seagate is the only manufacturer I've ever purchased HDDs from, I really don't know who else to buy them from. I own a 1TB 2.5" version of this very SSHD for my laptop and the boost in boot times it gives you has been awesome. But again, I don't know too much about other HDDs so if you think I'm missing out on something better please let me know.

 

Video Card

This card is a BOSS from what I've heard, and the sexy Asus version of this card gives me even more reason to buy it. Hoping to get this card runnin on CrossFire with another 290x sometime in the future.

 

Case

It's big. It's black. It's sexy. It's got a nice sturdy handle on it. 'Nuff said.

 

Power Supply

Now, I realize that this behemoth of a power supply might be a little too much for this build, but considering that the 290x loves to eat up electricity and that I do plan on upgrading my system to have dual 290x's I went ahead and added this baby into the build. If you think 1200w is still too much even then, or maybe even that it's not enough, please let me know, as picking out a proper power supply was definitely the most confusing part of this build for me.

 

Monitor

The amount of positive reviews for this thing would make me think I'm crazy if I didn't go for it. I do want to upgrade to a triple monitor setup with three of these bad boys in the future, and they seem like the best monitors for the job. Granted, I didn't dig too deep when looking for a good monitor, so if I'm missing out on something here please let me know.

 

Keyboard

This is another area that I didn't dig too deep into. Despite that, I found a lot of positive reviews on this keyboard and the looks and features on it are absolutely spectacular. The only thing that kinda turned me off about this keyboard is that the letters on the keys are almost smack dab in the middle. This bothers me because I was planning on getting some stickers to add a Traditional Chinese layout to the keys, but I don't know how difficult it's going to be to put on these stickers without making the board look absolutely ridiculous.

 

Mouse

This one I'm a little iffy about. I've read really good reviews about this mouse, and I've also read some really bad ones. The overall features and looks of this mouse make me really want to buy one, but some of the reviews make me feel like I might end up regretting it. Still, I feel like I need to try it out and find out just how well, or how poorly, it handles myself.

 

Headphones

Last but not least, my first headset. I was looking for a headset at around the $50-$60 price range when I stumbled across this one and it left an impression on me. Don't know anything about headsets, so if you think I'm making a mistake in getting this, tell me so.

 

 

5. Final Thoughts

 

That just about wraps everything up, with the exempt of just a couple questions I have for you guys.

 

Win 7 or Win 8?

I know that Windows 8 is a bit better optimized for some of the newer games on PC, but I've also heard of how much of a pain it is just to get some games started on that OS. Is Win 8 worth it? Or should I just stick to Win 7?

 

Optical Drives

Like, do I really need one? Am I going to cry profusely when I realize that I don't have something to stick all my CDs into or is it just going to be one of those things I install and never really use again? Interested in hearing your opinions.

 

And that just about does it! Sorry if this post was too long, tried to get as much information for you guys on there as possible without boring you to death with too many lengthy explanations.

 

Any comments or advice on this build are appreciated and I will get back to any questions you may have as soon as I can.

 

Thanks for the help!

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I would ditch the ASUS cooling solution, from memory they just pulled it off an existing Nvidia GPU so some parts aren't being cooled same with the Gigabyte cooler. Try someone like sapphire since their coolers are very good on the AMD side.

 

Edit: Wait sapphire only make AMD cards

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Go for a R9 290 instead and just OC that, also go for MSI/Gigabyte/Sapphire etc. for cooling, Asus on the amd side are not the best

Computer Specifications:

AMD Ryzen 5 3600  | Gigabyte B550M Aorus Elite | ADATA XPG SPECTRIX D50 32 GB 3600 MHz | Asus RTX 3060 KO Edition | CoolerMaster Silencio S400 | Klevv Cras C700 M.2 SSD 256GB | 

1TB Crucial MX500 | 1 TB SanDisk SSD | Corsair RM650W

Camera Equipment:

Camera Bodies: 

Olympus Pen-F | Panasonic GH3 (Retired)

Lenses:

Sigma 30mm F1.4 | Sigma 16mm F1.4 | Sigma 19mm F2.8 | Laowa 17mm F1.8 | Olympus 45mm F1.8

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Go for a R9 290 instead and just OC that, also go for MSI/Gigabyte/Sapphire etc. for cooling, Asus on the amd side are not the best

 

When you say Asus isn't so strong on the AMD side, are you referring to their motherboards? Should I look into other manufacturers?

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Here's an intel build if you are interested http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HB6MMp (100$ more expensive but definitely worth it over AMD imo)

 

If you vouch for AMD, here's some advice

1. Go for 8320 and overclock it instead of 8350

2. While I know you are Asus's fan, it's important to know that their ROG mobos are quite expensive so do you really need it over something like this for 100$ cheaper, or this if you want Asus's 

3. I prefer sapphire's 290X, Asus doesn't have quite a reputation on AMD

4. That's a pretty expensive mouse, I'd recommend something like Corsair's M95 for 65$ 

My current rig for entertainment/gaming: i5 4570 3,2GHz; MSI B85M-E45; ZOTAC GTX760 AMP!; 8GB (2x4GB) by Kingston; Seagate Barracuda 1TB 7200rpm; Corsair 200R, Corsair VS650; Dell U2312HM, Samsung DVD R/W optical drive; CM Devastator; Corsair MM400 gaming pad

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Hello there,

 

Since you are building a serious gaming machine, I would consider having 2 separate drives - one SSD for the OS and one HDD for storage, which would give you the option to choose where to install your OS and where to store all your data and programs. Cost-wise should be give or take the same.

You might want to check out Western Digital's Black series or the 10,000 rpm WD Velociraptor which are designed specially for gaming.

Here are some links to check them out:



 

Hope this helped,

 

Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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This build is an intel and nvidia build that comes to be about 100$ over you 2500 dollar budget but, its full black and red, and will give you awesome performance without overclocking. It should also be pretty quiet. I downgraded some of the peripherals to keep the price in check. not to mention its a water cooled graphics card! the water cooled gpu isnt completely necessary, but it looks pretty good and you can overclock like a champ. you could remove that and run with a stock cooler gpu cooler if you want to keep the price down.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/mcs1234/saved/VhM48d

Currently spending money on parts

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An AMD cpu doesn't belong in this sort of budget. I would suggest an i7 build instead.

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CPU Cooler: Corsair H105 73.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 

Memory: Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($152.99 @ Amazon) 

Storage: Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($209.99 @ Micro Center) 


Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 290 4GB PCS+ Video Card  ($392.98 @ Newegg) 

Case: Corsair 760T Black ATX Full Tower Case  ($129.99 @ Micro Center) 


Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit)  ($89.98 @ OutletPC) 

Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($259.99 @ NCIX US) 

Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 

Mouse: Mad Catz R.A.T. 9 Wireless Laser Mouse  ($146.38 @ Newegg) 

Headphones: Rosewill RHTS-8206 5.1 Channel Headset  ($49.96 @ Amazon) 

Total: $2401.19

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-06 13:29 EDT-0400

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Here's an intel build if you are interested http://pcpartpicker.com/p/HB6MMp (100$ more expensive but definitely worth it over AMD imo)

 

If you vouch for AMD, here's some advice

1. Go for 8320 and overclock it instead of 8350

2. While I know you are Asus's fan, it's important to know that their ROG mobos are quite expensive so do you really need it over something like this for 100$ cheaper, or this if you want Asus's 

3. I prefer sapphire's 290X, Asus doesn't have quite a reputation on AMD

4. That's a pretty expensive mouse, I'd recommend something like Corsair's M95 for 65$ 

 

Thanks for the awesome suggestions KP, I think I am going to go for an Intel build seeing as that's what everybody seems to be pointing at rather than AMD. Got rid of that ridiculously expensive mouse too.

 

 

Hello there,
 
Since you are building a serious gaming machine, I would consider having 2 separate drives - one SSD for the OS and one HDD for storage, which would give you the option to choose where to install your OS and where to store all your data and programs. Cost-wise should be give or take the same.
You might want to check out Western Digital's Black series or the 10,000 rpm WD Velociraptor which are designed specially for gaming.
Here are some links to check them out:
 
Hope this helped,
 
Captain_WD.

 

 

Thank you Captain! I was looking for a HDD more like this  :D Replaced the Seagate with one of the WD Black Series.

 

This build is an intel and nvidia build that comes to be about 100$ over you 2500 dollar budget but, its full black and red, and will give you awesome performance without overclocking. It should also be pretty quiet. I downgraded some of the peripherals to keep the price in check. not to mention its a water cooled graphics card! the water cooled gpu isnt completely necessary, but it looks pretty good and you can overclock like a champ. you could remove that and run with a stock cooler gpu cooler if you want to keep the price down.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/mcs1234/saved/VhM48d

 

That's a pretty slick build right there. Do you know if there'd be enough space in a case this size to accommodate for liquid cooling for two GPU in case I ever go for SLI or CrossFire?

 

An AMD cpu doesn't belong in this sort of budget. I would suggest an i7 build instead.

 

Nobody seems to like AMD  :( But that's alright, I figure if everyone's telling me to go with Intel it'd probably be a good idea to listen. 

 

ALRIGHTY THEN. Taking everyone's recommendations so far, it's come to this:

 

 
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 6GB Superclocked ACX Video Card  ($549.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($259.99 @ NCIX US) 
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: EVGA TORQ X10 Wired Laser Mouse  ($71.98 @ Newegg) 
Headphones: Rosewill RHTS-8206 5.1 Channel Headset  ($49.96 @ Amazon) 
Other: Kraken G10 Water Cooling GPU Mount ($29.99)
Total: $2315.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-06 13:53 EDT-0400

 

Any other suggestions so far?

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Thanks for the awesome suggestions KP, I think I am going to go for an Intel build seeing as that's what everybody seems to be pointing at rather than AMD. Got rid of that ridiculously expensive mouse too.

 

 

Thank you Captain! I was looking for a HDD more like this  :D Replaced the Seagate with one of the WD Black Series.

 

 

That's a pretty slick build right there. Do you know if there'd be enough space in a case this size to accommodate for liquid cooling for two GPU in case I ever go for SLI or CrossFire?

 

 

Nobody seems to like AMD  :( But that's alright, I figure if everyone's telling me to go with Intel it'd probably be a good idea to listen. 

 

ALRIGHTY THEN. Taking everyone's recommendations so far, it's come to this:

 

 
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 780 6GB Superclocked ACX Video Card  ($549.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT H440 (Black/Red) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($259.99 @ NCIX US) 
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: EVGA TORQ X10 Wired Laser Mouse  ($71.98 @ Newegg) 
Headphones: Rosewill RHTS-8206 5.1 Channel Headset  ($49.96 @ Amazon) 
Other: Kraken G10 Water Cooling GPU Mount ($29.99)
Total: $2315.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-06 13:53 EDT-0400

 

Any other suggestions so far?

You won't need a 1000W psu for 780(sli). The 850W version of the EVGA would be a solid choice. Also the 850W has the hybrid fan mode, which the 1000W version lacks (unless you go for the Platinum 1000W).

 

 

The 6GB 780 is a bit of a waste @ 1080P imo. When you go with 3 screens, then 780 sli will still be ok with 3GB Vram. I would stick with a regular 780, or you could swap it for a 780ti if the budget allows.

If you are not bothered about the '3D Vision' feature then I would suggest a R9 290 gpu instead. The Powercolor one in my spec is very good, and it fits in with the red/black theme.

 

 

The H440 doesn't have the greatest airflow due to the front panel design. You will probably need to 'beef up' the fans to get some good airflow going.

 

 

I would also say that the WD Black drive is a bit of a waste. You don't need a fast HDD, as that is what the SSD is for. You could drop down to a WD Blue drive, and maybe up the SSD to a 500GB version. Something like the Crucial MX100 or Samsung Evo would be a good choice. I am not familiar with A-Data so i don't know how good/bad they are.

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You can fit a 240 mm radiator, something like the kraken x61, on the top, and a 360 mm radiator in front, or 3 x 120 mm radiators. That might get a little tight however, but everything should fit. So you could water cool a three way SLI if you ever wanted too.

Here is a direct quote from the website.

"Supporting both 140mm and 120mm fans, the steel top and front panels come Kraken Ready- fitting radiators up to 360mm in size"

If you go the route of liquid cooling the gpu, make sure to get a compatible cooler woth the kraken g10. All of the nzxt coolers are compatible, so i would suggest you go for the x41 or the x40. But you could even go for the x61, but you wouldnt be able to have two gpus running with x61s unless you switch the cpu to air cooling, and thats just due to case restrictions.

Currently spending money on parts

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Not sure you are going to see any benefit out of a 6GB gpu. Besides, R9 290X outperforms GTX 780 and will cost less, Gigabyte GV-R929XOC-4GD.

 

At most you need a 1000W psu for AMD gpu, 850W it you go with Nvidia. For AMD gpu look at EVGA 220-P2-1000-XR, SeaSonic X-1050, and XFX P1-1050-BEFX. For Nvidia gpu consider EVGA 220-G2-0850-XR, SeaSonic X-850, or XFX P1-850B-BEFX.

80+ ratings certify electrical efficiency. Not quality.

 

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Okay! Taking everything else into consideration, this is what I got so far.

 

 
CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken X61 106.1 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($136.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-G1.SNIPER Z97 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon R9 290X 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card  ($449.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VG248QE 144Hz 24.0" Monitor  ($259.99 @ NCIX US) 
Keyboard: Corsair Vengeance K70 Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: EVGA TORQ X10 Wired Laser Mouse  ($71.98 @ Newegg) 
Headphones: Rosewill RHTS-8206 5.1 Channel Headset  ($49.96 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2360.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-06 16:29 EDT-0400
 
Just to put it out there, the reason I went for two SSDs is to run them on RAID 0 to increase performance (good idea? bad idea?) and the reason for the larger PSU is to prepare myself for a very possible upgrade to SLI or CrossFire (of course depending on which graphics card I DO end up choosing). Hopefully this should address most of the points you guys pointed out for me  ^_^
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You should consider getting some noctua fans, or atleast some pressure optimized ones for the radiator.

Currently spending money on parts

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You should consider getting some noctua fans, or atleast some pressure optimized ones for the radiator.

 

Definitely will. For all that Linus says about them they definitely seem worthwhile.

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Dancing_Girl_in_white_pants.gif

LOL  :D

 

The rest of the spec looks good to me.

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Hey,

 

as lee32uk said, if you are using your HDD only for storage and you are not installing any games or programs on it, WD Blue would be a great choice. In case you decide to stream or load a game from the HDD, you would like to have something a bit faster (WD Black for example). It is up to you to decide which storage you'll be using for your games and programs.

 

As for the SSD in RAID 0, you would probably see a significant boost in speed with 2x256GB SSD compared to a single 512GB SSD. Have in mind that RAID 0 offers no redundancy and if either SSD goes bad, you would lose all your data in the RAID. If you decide to go with the RAID option, I would recommend having a backup to secure your data.  

 

Hope this helps you,

 

Captain_WD.

If this helped you, like and choose it as best answer - you might help someone else with the same issue. ^_^
WDC Representative, http://www.wdc.com/ 

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Hey,
 
as lee32uk said, if you are using your HDD only for storage and you are not installing any games or programs on it, WD Blue would be a great choice. In case you decide to stream or load a game from the HDD, you would like to have something a bit faster (WD Black for example). It is up to you to decide which storage you'll be using for your games and programs.
 
As for the SSD in RAID 0, you would probably see a significant boost in speed with 2x256GB SSD compared to a single 512GB SSD. Have in mind that RAID 0 offers no redundancy and if either SSD goes bad, you would lose all your data in the RAID. If you decide to go with the RAID option, I would recommend having a backup to secure your data.  
 
Hope this helps you,
 
Captain_WD.

 

 

In gaming and general use environemnts, any speed improvement of RAID 0 ssd is rarely apparent and in some common tasks the array can actually prove marginally slower than a single drive.

80+ ratings certify electrical efficiency. Not quality.

 

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Thanks for the info guys.

 

After doing a bit of my own research as well, I've decided to go with a single larger SSD. The whole "one-drive-fails, everything-goes-to-hell" thing doesn't really seem worth the small performance boost in my opinion, even if I am going to be backing up my data. Being able to monitor a single SSD's health with software gives me a little more peace of mind.  ^_^

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