PC had died - system recommendations please!!

[expat]

I am now resigned to the fact my system is kaput. Was getting more frequent BSOD's so moved the main o/s HD to another pc and transferred everything important I could think of onto an external HD. I moved the main HD back into to PC No 1 but could neither get it to do an XP o/s repair or an XP clean reformat, as it said in each case that my product key is invalid (it isn't, or wasn't before, but guess it is now).

My system was about 5 1/2 years old and now quite behind the latest technology so happy to spend some money on a new rig.

My old rig - I like to use build to order pc's - were:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0ghz 4Mb
Asus P5nE32 mobo
250gig SATA hd
Nvidia 275 GTX
2gb Corsair memory DDR2 2x1gb
Corsair 620w psu

I would like a strong but stable machine and to move to Windows 7 64 bit with solid state memory but keep it simple with no cooling or overclocking but a fast cpu. I don't know much about what memory, Nvidia cards, mobos or cpu's people are using these days.

Appreciate any suggestions, guides to best FSX installation etc.

expat

[big-mike]

http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=46211&title=the-fsx-computer-system-the-bible-by-nickn

Michael

[Gdavis101]

I just built my new system with an AMD FX 8350 8 core processor and its great! Runs FSX, X-Plane and Train Simulator quite well!

[Francois]

http://www.simforums.com/forums/forum_posts.asp?TID=46211&title=the-fsx-computer-system-the-bible-by-nickn

Michael

Nick's advice may be well worth reading indeed, but it would come over more credible if he'd had left out all the baloney talk about how dumb everybody else is ...... the document now reads as that of a rant from somebody with a huge chip on both of his shoulders.

[sidler]

http://kostasfsworld.wordpress.com/

Not so much reading!

Dick

[ncooper]

To the OP, his advice as to the best system
and most suited to FSX, available today, is spot on.
If you read nothing else read that.

As to the article, he sets his parameters out right at the start.
You can see where he's leading but you are not invited to follow
unless you decide to.

I like his style and whether you agree or not, it is well worth the read.

Regards,
Nick

[JIMJAM]

I hear ya.My pc is a old I7 2.6ghz I bought from Bestbuy along time ago as a emergency computer when my gaming system was hit by lightening. For the most part gutted it adding all my own good stuff but its still going and going and going.
I have always built my own systems but if mine hold out till Xmas I plan to treat myself.I have been looking at the systems Falcon Northwest has.If nothing else its fun to spec and build your system there like a kid in a candy store.Its easy though to burn up 3 grand quick.
Whatever I select I expect to spend most my money and attention on the cpu speed.

[trucker17]

I am running 4 different systems for my flight sim.
Each one is running windows 7/64. AMD FX 8350 8 core processor, 2 1T hard drives, and 16g of ram. Calibre X580 Graphics Cards, Creative sound blaster Z SBX PCIE Gaming sound cards....
Each system was tested individually and ran smoothly with full photo sceneries, and about every addon scenery and payware aircraft available.....

My laptop on the otherhand is not as good.....

[ryanbatc]

In case you're a little intimidated by that link (and you want the basics not nick whining about developers) basically you want a recent haswell system like this

4670K (k meaning unlocked multiplier - even if you don't want to OC now you may want to later)
or 4770K (hyper threading and 2MB larger L3 cache)

8 GB ram

Z87 motherboard (higher prices for more enthusiast features and OCing support)

nvidia 760/770/780 video card

haswell compatible power supply - if you go single video card and minimal hard drives and no special case lighting a 600W quality PSU will be more than enough.

For SSD consider a 256GB for FSX.

[flaminghotsauce]

I need to keep an eye out for new gear myself. Stuff kept happening this year eating all my cash. MAYBE next year, if my old AMD 2.5 holds out. I"m going to keep an eye on this thread.

[Francois]

*grin* NEXT YEAR this thread will be loooong gone....... so will the current day CPU's and such. Better ask again by then. ;)

[skyhawka4m]

I see everyone saying what system but what operating system works with FSX? I use windows 7....does windows 8 work? I am considering a new PC also but most only come with windows 8 now.

[Francois]

Windows 7 works just fine. Windows 8 is said to have some problems still...... I stuck with 7 so far ;)

[expat]

Thanks guys for the replies. Which version of Windows 7 do people use? Should I get a "retail" version (never clear on the "OEM" vs "retail" version and restrictions on whether you can only load them once and the same machine or others etc)?

[WarHorse47]

Windows 7 works just fine. Windows 8 is said to have some problems still...... I stuck with 7 so far ;)Au contraire....:pop4:

I've been running FSX and FS9 under Win8 since getting my new computer last February. If there are any problems they are the same as encountered with Win7 which is primarily the permissions control of the install folders. There were also a few FS9 utilities I had to give up, but that was little sacrifice for the speed and smoothness of Win8 on the new computer.

[IanHenry]

Thanks guys for the replies. Which version of Windows 7 do people use? Should I get a "retail" version (never clear on the "OEM" vs "retail" version and restrictions on whether you can only load them once and the same machine or others etc)?

Get the retail version, if you get the OEM, you'll get no support from Microsoft.

Ian.

[hschuit]

Thanks guys for the replies. Which version of Windows 7 do people use? Should I get a "retail" version (never clear on the "OEM" vs "retail" version and restrictions on whether you can only load them once and the same machine or others etc)?

I would go for the more expensive retail home premium version. The OEM version can only be used on the 1st PC you install & activate it on. If later on you get a new PC and install it there, it becomes invalid and cannot be activated. The retail version can be activated on more than 1 PC (one at a time) so you can use it again once you get a new PC.

BTW: I installed both 32bit and 64bit (dual boot). All office and other stuff runs on the 32bit OS, I keep the 64bit OS lean and clean using it only for FSX. On the Windows sevenforums there is a simple guide on how to install dual boot.

[expat]

I had a good experience with these made to measure custom pc builders for my R.I.P machine and considering using them again, but doing up a spec is MUCH more complicated (less fun) than it was 5 yrs ago and I have some anxiety about picking components that look to be balanced with others but learning my error later that it is not compatible or the best spec, etc.

http://www.cougar-extreme.co.uk/index.html

What is wrong with something like this?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/VIBOX-Sniper-Performance-Vengeance-Motherboard/dp/B007PBHSWA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1377693319&sr=8-7&keywords=4770k

[expat]

Or maybe even this? https://www.vibox.co.uk/gaming-pcs/bestsellers/vibox-viridian

[Bruce Thompson]

Try scan.co.uk they make some good gaming machines.


I bought all my components from them.

[expat]

Try scan.co.uk they make some good gaming machines.

Thanks - better yet.

[Chris Sykes]

Hi, i can vouch for scan, as a builder of PC's. I know scan do very good bundles which a friend at work has purchsed and is very happy with.

Also just to add, you need to know if your going to install more RAM in future as the table below shows what versions of 7 will determin what memory size you go for.

Real-world limits of each OS version:

Windows 7 Ultimate x64
192 GB
Windows 7 Enterprise x64
192 GB
Windows 7 Professional x64
192 GB
Windows 7 Home Premium x64
16 GB
Windows 7 Home Basic x64
8 GB
Windows 7 Starter
2 GB

[expat]

Thanks Chris. The "Nick" article says you should never need more than 8GB and I won't have any other need for more than that so Home Premium ought to give some further expansion room in this respect. What I think I still find hardest to follow are the RAM specs - ghz, timing, matching etc. Not sure what RAM (2x4 Gig let's say) rating(s) would best match to a Haswell 4700k (clocked to 4.4gig0 with a GTX780 card, and Asus Z87 mobo for instance.

[ryanbatc]

OEM Win7 Pro... Works great I've done a few activations without issues. You'll have to read through the lawyer speak and decide if you need retail or not.

[IanHenry]

It's worth giving Alpine Systems a look, I've had two flight sim computers off them, they are very good and both are still going strong after years of use ( I demote them to everyday computers when their flight sim days are over). Though not the cheapest, they do build good quality machines.

http://www.alpinesystems.co.uk/

Ian.

[fsafranek]

I'm still running a lame system that barely gets by with the latest FSX offerings but once in a while when I feel I can afford a new one (before the Jeep or house needs some repair and takes the money) I look at the signatures of folks here in the forum. I figure if they bother to list what they have it must be good or at least a good starting point.
:ernae:

[IanHenry]

I'm a little confused by this one: http://www.amazon.co.uk/VIBOX-Sniper-Performance-Vengeance-Motherboard/dp/B007PBHSWA/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1377693319&sr=8-7&keywords=4770k How can it have Bullguard Internet Security if there's no operating software?

Ian

[Lionheart]

What ever you do, go with SSD hard drives. They are 10X plus faster. 840 series by Samsung are highly rated, and one is available at 500 gigs, though the 250 gig 840 series is more 'affordable'. Get two, one for Windows, one for FS, and you are good to go.

Don't go cheap on SSD's. If you get Read/Write of 500/500, that is ultra fast. If you go with 500/100, you might as well get a disc version HD. You want 500/500.

[expat]

Don't go cheap on SSD's. If you get Read/Write of 500/500, that is ultra fast. If you go with 500/100, you might as well get a disc version HD. You want 500/500.

Bill, that is just the kind of detailed steer I need and probably would have missed - many thanks!

I have always had FSX and Windows - and everything else - all on the same disc. I now see the preferred route is to separate them - and once done, not a problem with installers finding the FSX folders on a different drive. I can't make up my mind whether to have just one 250 gig 840 Samsung SSD for FSX - and a big 1tb HDD for "everything else" or a second 250gig SSD for windows and everything else, (the down side being much less storage space available). I have an older WD my book 700gig USB external drive I can probably continue to use for my "hangar" of over 1000 a/c, music, photos etc, so maybe I should just order the 250gig SSD x 2?

Can anyone explain RAM for these types of rigs today, i.e., matching, timings and all that stuff? I know I am going to order two sticks of 4gb but not sure what other spec to go for.

Thanks!

[hschuit]

The latest FSX computer system bible by Nick Needham might help to decide a.o. on the memory sticks:

http://www.simforums.com/forums/the-fsx-computer-system-the-bible-by-nickn_topic46211.html

Nick recommends 2x4 (8GB) DDR3 2400 with a timing specification of 9-11-11-31 or lower for an i7 4770k Intel Haswell system.

[fxsttcb]

A single large SSD, 256GB+ is fine for Windows and FSX both. From my testing of various HD configs, that is better than Windows on a spinner and FSX on an SSD, or vice-versa.
Ideally you'll have 3 drives. A small(64-128GB) SSD for Windows, a larger one(180GB+) for FSX and a 1TB+ mechanical for other apps, storage, and backup.
Depending on the motherboard, you will usually have at least 2 SATA III(6GB/s) and 4 SATA II(3GB/s) ports. Be sure the Windows and FSX drives are connected to SATA III(6GB/s).

As others have noted, the Samsung 840 offerings are great. The 512GB Pro in my rig is the only SSD that has ever crossed my bench that meets/exceeds it's advertised R/W speed.

Use your selected motherboard's QVL(Qualified Vendor List) to help select your memory. The stuff on that list is known to work, but, are not the only sets that will. Some listings may be older and no longer available.
Grab the fastest, Lowest Latency, 8GB set you can afford...Don

[expat]

Very helpful guys, thanks!

[Chris Sykes]

I would like to offer some more pointers;



keep FSX to a single drive and make it as big as you can afford
Buy RAM that is on the QVL or at least research to find if the RAM and Mobo board work together, especially for Quad channel RAM (For instance buying an Asus look on the ROG forums as there is loads of help and advice)
always have a backup plan in place, esspecially with SSD's as at some point you will need it!
If you cannot afford SSD's look at the WD Velociraptors, quicker than normal HDD's but higher capacity than SSD's
When choosing your PC/parts always think future expansion/capabilities.
Budget well but be prepared to go over budget, and shop around as you might want to be ordering parts from different shops. (use cashback schemes like quidco to get a few % back)

[glh]

Good Grief !! Consider joining a cricket club and get the exercise !! :mixedsmi:

[expat]

Funny you mention it, I actually play in and help run a cricket club (something of a rarity for an American) ..

[Chris Sykes]

Hi Expat, what else do you plan on using a PC for? Such as other games if you have any or plan on getting?

[expat]

No other games planned but it will also be my main home pc for e.g., internet, Outook email, iTunes/Airplay and other MS Office docs (Word) for work occasionally.

[Chris Sykes]

Thats ok, just wondering if 8gb would be enough but for that you will be OK...

[PHo17]

8 GB will be enough for FSX for ever. As a 32-bit software it can't use more than 4 GB. The rest is for other programs but only if you have a 64-bit OS.

[Lionheart]

The reason I suggest 2 SSD HD's instead of one is that you have added performance with two HD's, one running Windows on, and one running FS on. Every bit helps in gaining a couple of frame rates. ;)

Also, and this is the crazy part, a full size SSD HD is about the size of a laptop computer HD, and so lite, you would think nothing is in them and that they were plastic instead of Aluminum. (They are Aluminum). But, you can actually fit two of these in the area of a regular fat version HD.

With my table top console Alienware, I took out the CD drive and put a third SSD HD in there. I then hook up a exterior CD drive (like you do with MacBook Air and some ultra thin Notebooks) if I should need a CD loadup.

3 SSD HD's... Loving it!

[Odie]

Here's the specs for my gaming rig (still in the box -- just arrived):

PowerSupply: 1200 Watt
Asus Rampage IV Extreme (MB)
Intel Core i7 3970x 3.5 ghz processor
Liquid cooling
1866 mhz 4x8GB (32 gig) memory
Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 3 gig
Creative Recon 3D Fatality Pro
Crucial M500 SSD 960 gig
WD 4 TB
WD 4 TB
Asus 12x Bluray Reader
Asus 12x Bluray Writer
Windows 7 Pro

[fxsttcb]

Here's the specs for my gaming rig (still in the box -- just arrived):

PowerSupply: 1200 Watt
Asus Rampage IV Extreme (MB)
Intel Core i7 3970x 3.5 ghz processor
Liquid cooling
1866 mhz 4x8GB (32 gig) memory
Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 3 gig
Creative Recon 3D Fatality Pro
Crucial M500 SSD 960 gig
WD 4 TB
WD 4 TB
Asus 12x Bluray Reader
Asus 12x Bluray Writer
Windows 7 ProOUCH! And I thought mine was nuts expensive. That Baby is gonna rock. :cool::cool: ...Don

[expat]

That's one monster of a system!

[expat]

About ready to hit the "buy" button on this custom build from Scan Systems and grateful for any comments on the spec:


Intel Core i7 4770K, 1150, Haswell, Quad Core, 3.5Hz, 3.9GHz Turbo, 1250MHz GPU, 35x Ration, 84W – (professionally overclocked/tuned to 4.4Hz)

Corsair H80i Hydro Series Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Asus Z87-K Motherboard

650W Corsair Enthusiast (single graphics card) PSU

3GB EVGA GTX780 PCIe 6008MHZ, GDDR5, GPU 863MHZ, Cores 2304 (professionally overclocked)

8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance Pro Series Silver, PC3-17066 (2133), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-11-11-31, XMP, 1.65v

2 x 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s

1 WD TB Caviar Green 3.5” HDD SATA III 64mb cache (storage drive)

LG x24 DVD+R

Windows 7 Professional 64bit

[Chris Sykes]

About ready to hit the "buy" button on this custom build from Scan Systems and grateful for any comments on the spec:

Intel Core i7 4770K, 1150, Haswell, Quad Core, 3.5Hz, 3.9GHz Turbo, 1250MHz GPU, 35x Ration, 84W – (professionally overclocked/tuned to 4.4Hz)

Corsair H80i Hydro Series Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

Asus Z87-K Motherboard

650W Corsair Enthusiast (single graphics card) PSU

3GB EVGA GTX780 PCIe 6008MHZ, GDDR5, GPU 863MHZ, Cores 2304 (professionally overclocked)

8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance Pro Series Silver, PC3-17066 (2133), Non-ECC Unbuffered, CAS 9-11-11-31, XMP, 1.65v

2 x 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD Read 540MB/s, Write 520MB/s

1 WD TB Caviar Green 3.5” HDD SATA III 64mb cache (storage drive)

LG x24 DVD+R

Windows 7 Professional 64bit


Thats a good compination, i personally would think about looking at a larger watt PSU than 650 (corsair PSU is a good brand anyway), i did a quick calculation on PSU Calc and without OC'ing the wattage came to 460. Im not sure what the OC wattage would come out at but a larger PSU will give you room on the watts and less likely to pack up on you in future...

Secondly, is the 1TB for FSX or you planning on using a SSD for FSX?

[expat]

I plan to use one SSD for FSX, the second SSD for Windows and other programs, and the 1TB mechanical storage drive for addon scenery, mesh, aircraft hangar (v big), music, photos and other non system storage.

I also think a 650w psu may be a bit light here but Scan's configurator doesn't let me select the 850 watter, which seem a better match. I plan to speak with their tech guys about a swap while they are building it.

[fxsttcb]

The Corsair "Enthusiast" 650 that is offered is the 650TXV2UK. It has 3.3V @ 25A, 5V @ 25A, 12V @ 53A, so, it will have plenty of capability for a steep overclock, tons of added cooling, and your GTX 780(42A @ 12v Req'd)...Don

[McFlingwinger]

Thought I'd throw in my 2 cents, as I've just built a Haswell fsx rig less than 2 months ago. My specs are an i5 4670k OCed to 4.3(highest I could safely hit and stabilize at). This is with a $30 hyper 212 evo air cooler. Temps are perfectly fine. 8gigs 1600mhz RAM. GTX 770, at 200 bucks cheaper than the 780, and I run orbx scenery, extremely dense autogen, Rex weather, locked at 30 fps. It is capable of going higher, but I prefer the vsync stuff to try to get consistent smoothness. I'm elated with my setup.

Im running windows 8 on a 1tb, fsx on the 250 gig 840 pro. With win 8 on the hdd, my system still boots in ~15 seconds. Fsx like lightning. I think a 780 is overkill for fsx personally, but you certainly won't be disappointed. Also the i7 is overkill for fsx, you'd only need hyper threading if you edit videos and other, non fsx CPU intensive stuff. I've got a 750 watt psu, and a z87 gigabyte mobo.

a great website to help you choose parts.... www.pcpartpicker.com (http://www.pcpartpicker.com) highly recommended to lose some time and money lol

ps. Check If there are any microcenter stores near you, they have killer deals on CPUs and mobo combos

[expat]

Thanks guys. Sounds to me like this is a runner (thanks Don for the steer on the PSU - I had no clue re the amperage match) and maybe slight over kill, which is a first for me - LOL. Probably will get bored of and quit simming and take up bingo after splurging on this. :icon_lol::icon_lol:

[Chris Sykes]

Im not sure you should go for a green drive for the 1TB as this will be a 5400 rpm drive...

Scan can be very occomodating so im sure you'd be able to purchase a seperate PSU (if you wanted to) and use this?

[expat]

Not sure what the green actually means. I want a big - 1tb should do it drive - internal mechanical drive that won't have any system or progamms installed on it for storage. They have WD 1tb "system" HDD's and WD 1tb "storage" drive and they are almost the same price. What rpm spec should I be looking for?

[fxsttcb]

Not sure what the green actually means. I want a big - 1tb should do it drive - internal mechanical drive that won't have any system or progamms installed on it for storage. They have WD 1tb "system" HDD's and WD 1tb "storage" drive and they are almost the same price. What rpm spec should I be looking for?
A WD "Green" is a drive that has IntelliPower(a low power mode) when not in constant use. Do not use one for anything but storage. Especially not for active FS files.
The Reds also have IntelliPower and are for networked storage.
Blue versions have a lesser warranty. 2yrs vs 5 for the Black.

My preference is 7200rpm, with 64MB cache. The WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB is tough to beat...Don

[TeaSea]

expat,

I'm currently getting together all the components for a build and you and I are tracking pretty closely....same RAM, same processor....same power supply (I'm going 750w though) same HDD, although I'm dumping Green and going Blue.

I keep going back and forth on the multiple SSD consideration. I plan at least one SSD and I have one in the current system (love it). Current SSD is the Samsung 840 series at 256 Gig. I just checked and I've got over 168 Gig available.

I intended only Windows 7 on it....but my wife keeps dumping stuff on the drive (I've tried to explain this Data Storage versus Program Execution over and over again and have just given up).

Incidentally the i7 is overkill for FSX....GPU matters more, but I'm doing video editing (well, my daughter is doing video editing) and the processor is key for that.

[glh]

My "state-of-the-art" system is a Dell GX260 desktop that I bought about 5-6 years ago from EBay.

It has a 3.0 GHz processor, a 60 GB HD, 3GB RAM, runs Win XP Pro and has an Nvidia GT6200 512 MB video card. FSX Acceleration runs well on it. Sometimes, the video has to catch up on complex views and aircraft but I can live with it. I only paid $150 for it back then and it is still running strong with no signs of deterioration -- yet.

You gets what you pay for.

[fxsttcb]

...Incidentally the i7 is overkill for FSX....GPU matters more...Sorry, but, that's backwards. FSX, being primarily a single threaded app, is more dependent on CPU speed. The faster the better.
An i7 4770K starts with a 100MHz head start over the i5-4570K.
The HyperThreading capability of the i7 chips is of little to no value, so, most of us turn it off. A higher, stable, overclock is usually accomplished with HT off rather than on.
With my rig running at only 4.9GHz, and using the affinity mask tweak, highly detailed scenery with the default 738(17-23FPS, Locked at 30), I can drive 3 of my 4 cores to near 100% load constantly.
In that situation GPUz reports my HD 7970 is running at 50-60% GPU Load...Don

92579

[mmann]

The i7-4770K costs 35% more than the i5-4670K for 3% higher performance in single-threaded programs (stock clock comparison).

[hschuit]

I fully agree with Don, it is CPU clockspeed that matters. I run my i7 3770K at 4.2GHz, HT off and with any CPU load, my NVidia GTX670 does never exceed 65% load. I did a test with my GPU overclocked but it did not make any difference for FSX so I am using the default clockspeed now.

[expat]

Wife and kids (college age) have ganged up on me and said I should buy instead a Mac (ugh). What are the best arguments against this (aside from optimally running FSX, which they suspect is my main objective!)?:icon_lol:

[fxsttcb]

...What are the best arguments against this...For FSX? Compared to the capability of the PC outlined here? Slow.
Overclock a Mac? The only Mac that has EVER been overclockable(without hacking) was the Old Core 2 Mac Pro.
Lack of, or, severly limited, hardware upgrades available.
Lack of drivers(very limited but, getting better). Some drivers are version specific and require OS changes.
Your sim will require a copy of Windows and BootCamp at additional expense.
Cost. A Mac Pro version(Still can't OC), that is upgradeable, rather than replace, is gonna be very expensive and then upgrades will be limited to what is available that works with the Mac OS X.
FSX
FSX
FSX
FSX
While the Macs are great for most other computing needs, stick with a PC for any kind of gaming/simming. :icon_lol: ...Don

[Odie]

Mac vs. PC? I'd have to say #1 is the cost. I have an iPhone, iPad, and iPod and like them all. Would like to have a Mac computer to learn, but the cost is just too high.

I'd go with Don, for gaming it's probably less troublesome with a PC for the reasons he listed.

As for the FSX gpu vs. cpu, my own experience was that my current gaming machine (not the new one) is an i7 2.9 and I was having trouble with Classic Hangars FW-190 and the stutters even at modest slider
settings. After working with CH support, we determined that the CPU was the culprit. It just couldn't carry the load. I did a simple O/C to run at 3.1 and that was all it took to clear the stutters. Just that little boost gave
FSX the horsepower it needed, as well as some other games that were bound to the CPU. Now the sliders are where I like for the eye-candy (I spend more time outside of the cockput than inside).

[TeaSea]

Sorry, but, that's backwards. FSX, being primarily a single threaded app, is more dependent on CPU speed. The faster the better.
An i7 4770K starts with a 100MHz head start over the i5-4570K.



I stand corrected then.....

[expat]

My preference is 7200rpm, with 64MB cache. The WD Black WD1002FAEX 1TB is tough to beat...Don

If instead of the Green 1tb "storage drive" if I go for this "system drive" will that be OK for mostly storage use? There is no price difference:

1TB Seagate Barracuda, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64Mb Cache

[fxsttcb]

If instead of the Green 1tb "storage drive" if I go for this "system drive" will that be OK for mostly storage use? There is no price difference:

1TB Seagate Barracuda, SATA 6Gb/s, 7200rpm, 64Mb Cache

For storage purposes only, speed won't matter as much, so, go with the one that has the better warranty. That is usually a good indicator of the mfg's expectation for longevity...Don