need pc under $1000 already have monitor

[Rocco Penny]

One small mistake on my site. If you want 8GB of RAM use a i5 System. (not really slower than a i7 system, just different specs) or with a i7 system use 6Gb of RAM or 12 Gb of RAM. (The i7 has a tripple channel interface and so needs RAM in pairs of three. ( 3 x 2GB, 6 x 1GB , 6 x 2 GB , 3 x 4GB or 6 x 4GB)

This has me perplexed.
Do all channels have to be the SAME size, AND all the channels have to be filled?
OR, do all the channels have to be the same size, and can I use only two channels?
The reason I ask is, there are some common manufacturers that seem to be using 8gb ram with the I7 and offer a free upgrade to 9gb.
On its surface seems like a good deal to get an extra gb.
But, will I have to get all new ram to upgrade f I use 3x3gb?
So how do they set up ram?
Is it 2 x 4 gb on 2 channels of an I7 that has 8gb total ram as spec?
Therefore wouldn't it be prudent to get 8gb to make an upgrade to 12gb later more painless?
Am I just off base or worse ignorant as all get out?
OK I'm looking for long term upgradability as an option.
Thanks for any help,
Rocco Penny

[mmurph]

Despite the name, there are some older computers that install DDR3 ram in pairs.

Newer machines should have 6 sockets or more in multiples of 3's. The ram should come installed as 3 chips, 6 chips, etc.

Try to get 3x 2Gb chips for 6 GB if you can. One one my machines came with 6x 1gb chips for the 6 slots. So if I buy 3x2 GB to upgrade, I have to pull 3GB a d only go from 6 to 9 (instead of 6 to 12. )

Of course if it is cheap enough it doesn't matter. ;>}

Anyway, unless you get a great deal, buy a machine with 6, 9, or 12 ram slots, not 4 or 8.

[Phil Indeblanc]

Here the write speed is more like this:
SSDs min. 10-20, 70-110 ave and peak stays the same.
HDs min 5-10, 30-50 ave. and peak stays the same.

See Some computer tests sites like tomshardware or similiar for details.

I am using a 128gb for OS, and 2 64 for scratch. I have not installed the second 64GB as Raid0 scratch yet, so it is sitting aside.

These are the Patriot Torqx drives, and even without the raid0, I use 400p brush size to blurr smudge and there really is no lag on a file that is 700mb with layers.
They claim 220 read, and 135 write per sec.  They are silent.  and cant even hear my system with fanless vid card, quiet fan.
I have the i7 stable at 3.6 to 3.8ghz with no special modifications.

I am finally enjoying this system
Christopher if you are using a program to keep backing up for all your settings, can you suggest any?  I am using Acronis 2010, but it is not preset to back settings like desktop stuff, plugins, etc.
Come to think of it, I think it might be easier to just back up the OS drive with everything every time you add or teak it enough (?)

[Christopher]

I am using a 128gb for OS, and 2 64 for scratch. I have not installed the second 64GB as Raid0 scratch yet, so it is sitting aside.

These are the Patriot Torqx drives, and even without the raid0, I use 400p brush size to blurr smudge and there really is no lag on a file that is 700mb with layers.
They claim 220 read, and 135 write per sec.  They are silent.  and cant even hear my system with fanless vid card, quiet fan.
I have the i7 stable at 3.6 to 3.8ghz with no special modifications.

I am finally enjoying this system
Christopher if you are using a program to keep backing up for all your settings, can you suggest any?  I am using Acronis 2010, but it is not preset to back settings like desktop stuff, plugins, etc.
Come to think of it, I think it might be easier to just back up the OS drive with everything every time you add or teak it enough (?)

Well I have not changed a lot on my OS or program setting in the last 12 months. (PS, LR, C1, and all other programs) I saved them once manually by selecting all folders and copying them to safty. I also created a small pds file which showed me where each folder was or would need to go on new OS. In addition I have one small folder containing all latest exe files. (Programs and stuff) All in all it really speeds things up when setting up  a new system. I personally don't like having a back up of my OS, I had some bad experiences a few years ago. (Certainly lot better now) To solve all these problems when restoring a damaged OS took often longer than setting up a new one, so from there on I stuck with the latter approach.