BTW....'real-world' results.... in FSX at YMML {Melbourne Airport - high detail addon] on the old machine I'd get a framerate around 9 to 12fps.

On this one its lowest is around 20 and typically 30+..... thanks mostly to the 5960 ...

Yes, so by the time I'm ready to build there may be better options available.  However, the XP941 is quite respectable and I would be happy using a 512gb in the new rig if the cost of the newer tech is substantially more as is often the case 'til demand lowers pricing.

Well I did order the 256 gig XP941 and the adapter... though when I'd gotten through the purchase process the total due was 40 bucks less than advertised.  Goody!  I'm not complaining.  Point is, I'm not likely to see the transfer speeds you're getting as yet, not with my i7 4770K and X87Z chip mobo.  Though there will be a marked improvement over the SATA connected SSD in this rig, the ultimate goal is to build a 99x based machine with a XP941 installed directly on the mobo for that optimum performance.

I didn't have those issues when I imaged over using 'Dissimilar Hardware'... and I also went from a Legacy BIOS over to a UEFI, so I'm unsure if that may be an issue or not.  I recall reading somewhere [perhaps in the Acronis forums] that non-functioning system files were a problem for some and not others when cloning over to dissimilar hardware, that some users put it down to changing from a Legacy to a UEFI BIOS.   I dunno, 'tis as clear as mud to me.

My current machine is also very quiet.. even with 6 case fans running [mind you, they are damned good fans... most quiet even at the hottest of times].  Yeah, I believe liquid cooling plays a large part in the cool and quiet running of this beasty, with the CPU usually running around 35c - 36c and the radiator fan hardly making a murmur.  Even my AMD based rig is quiet compared to past machines, but much of that could be down to the better manufacturing of case fans these days and the use of rubber mounting grommets to absorb vibrational noise. 

The other factor... the solid, sturdy build of Thermaltake cases... both of mine are Thermaltakes.  I know that MadDeez [John] isn't too impressed with Thermaltake products, but all 3 of my Thermaltake cases thus far have been solid, yet quiet performers.  It's going to seem strange going to a CoolerMaster case after so long... unless I can get that black Level 10 I desire so much, without too much hassle, and at a desirable price.

Yes, I went from legacy to UEFI ... can't say if that was the issue.... but there must be some sys files that are wrong/missing/corrupted.

Everything I can poke at it seems OK...but WEI, sfc and safeboot all don't work/finish.... and in the case of those 'errors' the Internet is full of utter morons without a clue.   If their brains were dynamite they couldn't blow their hats off.

I'll do an image sometime....then see what a 'repair' via OS CD can do ....

Yes, having read the new specs [knowing the old] I knew that.  Some people say they don't like UEFI, but I actually prefer it to Legacy, in that it opens up a raft of new Settings and performance options that simply were never available before... and when you run a UEFI version of Win 8.1. it's positively exhilerating... not that we'll get into that debate again here.

in a cyclone.... re: the hats.

Anyway, while some morons may not have a clue, there were a couple of 'Super [I guess more experienced] Users' who stated/inferred that some system files, like safe boot, were BIOS dependent and may not work when switched from one BIOS type to another in some instances.  The technical jargon was above me so I didn't really get a handle on it, and being my clone to dissimilar hardware went without a hitch I didn't research it any further... though I'm sure the answer is out there if one looked in the right places. 

Your quickest and easiest recourse, however, may be to simply insert your Windows disc and do a repair install, as suggested.  I had issues with various system files a while back, and when sfc/ scannow failed to restore them, yrag PMed the instructions to restore them via the Windows disc AND an elevated CMD  if a simple repair from disc didn't work.  Some of your file repairs may be the same as my past ones, some may not, so here's a list of CMD commands to assist in your endeavours. There's also this tutorial I've had bookmarked for yonks, which may also help.

So Paul, you may have been very, very fortunate to get you Thermaltake Level 10 Titanium Edition... very, very fortunate indeed.

This from PC Case Gear......

"The distinctive and expertly engineered Level 10 returns for an encore. With its timeless and iconic design – the Limited Edition Thermaltake Level 10 Titanium is crafted for collectors. Thermaltake have manufactured an exclusive limited run of the Titanium version of the Level 10 chassis with only five-hundred being made available worldwide, of which only forty are available here Australia and New Zealand."

Yeah, they're a scarcity alright!  And even if online sellers or retailers say they have them in stock, the chances are that they haven't... not any more.

So out of sheer boredom cos there's not alot to do around here after 1.30am, I decided to run another [unsuccessful] check for a black Level 10,  and came across PC Case Gear with the above article regarding quantity of the Titanium Edition...  AND that they have 'some' in stock.  So, out of curiosity AND boredom [at this time of night] I decided to attempt to purchase one.  As expected, it was a no go, "This Item No Longer Available". 

The same was/is true at Scorptec, ComputerAlliance and about another half dozen sellers I tried.  Same with the black version... nobody's got 'em.  Hmmm, I have to wonder if sellers keep these unavailable items listed - as opposed to taking them down - simply to garner the attention otherwise uninterested parties, with the intent to primarily sell them something else they may otherwise have not considered?  I pose this question because many is the time I've gotten: "No, we don't have any of 'those' anymore [and it was too instant that they'd only just run out] but we do have 'so-and-so' in stock that may interest you."

Given your Titanium Edition is but one of only 500 worldwide, me thinks it will be worth a few quid more than you outlaid in the not too distant future.

Anyway, I've decided on what I shall purchase for my new build... come upgrade, being I have some components already:

* Case: Coolermaster Cosmos II

* Mobo: ASUS Rampage Extreme x99 Socket 2011-V3

* CPU: Intel i7 5960X @ 3.5hz

* RAM: Crucial 4x8gb DDR4-2133

* SSD: Samsung XP941 M2 512gb SSD

* GPU: Asus [STRIX-GTX970-DC2OC-4GD5] / OC version, PCI-E3.0, 4GB 256

* PSU: Silverstone 1200W 80PLUS Gold [ST1200-G-EVO], 100% Modular [already have]

* ROM: LG BH16NS40 BLK BluRay Burner,16xBD-R Read/Write [already have]

* CPU Cooler: Corsair Hydro Series H110 Liquid CPU Cooler

* HDDS: [already have]

* Case Fans: 22cm down to 12cm [already have]

Anyway, that's pretty much it, anything else I either already have or can get inexpensively... which it will need to be if current prices dont fall prior to my readiness to purchase.  At current prices the above purchases are in the vicinity of $3500.00 AUD, though many commenters believe prices will fall considerably by then because consumer demand will push down pricing on much of this newer tech.

Ah...your specs look mighty close to mine.....must mean we're both doing something wrong...

Remember...when you use the M.2 you won't be able to populate all the PCIe slots as the case pics show.  Shares bandwidth with slot 5....

Yes, when I started looking into the Level 10 I'd seen reference to it being strictly limited...and CPL and PCCG both listed it as 'in stock' but when my first-choice locale [CPL - it's closer] said it was out of stock I didn't ask for it to be ordered in...instead chased up PCCG who did have it.  Then when it seemed to be taking 'too long' to turn up I was paranoid someone else had it 'double booked'....

Not something wrong, just trying to get the best tech for the money... and after reading the specs on the 5960X I thought: "I just gotta get me one of these."

Of course, I will be going with your 1st choice of mobo... it has the slightly better specs and has the ROG colour scheme, black and red, which appeals to my inner demon... not to mention it will look ultra-sexy in the Cosmos II.

I am coming down a notch with the graphics card, though.  Apart from trying to remain within a predetermined budget, I wouldn't be running FSX or ultra-high-end games, so a GTX 970 will be quite sufficient.  However, if the new-tech prices come down as expected, and there's a 980 - 990 going for a song, well maybe I could end up with something a little higher.

There aren't too many choices going for DDR4 RAM at the moment, but I do expect that companies other than Crucial will have various offerings, with kits of 4 or maybe even 8 sticks available for the x99 boards, so my choice of RAM isn't set in concrete just yet.

I was aware of that and counted it into my configuration ideas. Fortunately it will not have an effect.  I will not be running two graphics cards in SLI for a start, meaning I will have three slots remaining, of which, only one needs to be kept free for my sound card.  I do have a TV tuner and other expansion cards for additional SATA and USB 3 ports, etc, but I shall decide on the most important on build day.

Fortunately it wasn't 'double booked'... but I know what you mean about getting paranoid when things seem to be taking too long to arrive... especially when it's a new supplier you've not done business with before... and even worse when paranoia turns into frustrated, panicky paranoia because every delivery van in your street is stopping at everybody elses place but yours... and when a delivery driver eventually knocks on your door just prior to knocking-off time, all he wants to know: "Is that your cat I've just run over?"

By then you're just about ready to strangle him... and it wasn't even your cat.  You're also ready to strangle the neighbours who got their parcels on time, but instead you go into the bathroom, look into the mirror and start counting to see how many hairs you pulled out during the course of one of the longest days in your life.  To be honest, I have considered a toupee to limit the physical damage, and cos it don't hurt as much, but at the end of the day, the toupee is put on hold as my insatiable lust for PC parts wins out yet again.

Hehe!

Seriousy, waiting is usually the hardest part... the next is turning it on, placing a finger in each ear and waiting for a bang... and then it's looking at your bank balance and crying over the large chunk that's missing.  But then you look at your handiwork, the fact it is running as expected [hoped for] and think the who shebang was worth it.... and you, you lucky bugger. has a collectors item case that'll be worth a mint in years to come.  Yup, 'worth it' is an understatement in your case [pun intended]

Had a hard look at my OS/system ...and decided to do a virgin install of 7 Ult straight into the M2.

Only real issue now is it never likes to 'reboot'... but 'have you tried turning it off and turning it on again' [good old IT Crowd] works....

Plan is to dual-boot between the 2 'versions' until the new matches the old in functionality...but without the dross of half a decade of junk....

Forgot to add ...I'm typing here on the new OS ... and [horror] so far the only 'skinnable' installed is Sysmetrix.

All things being equal everything to be installed can activate on both drives...as they are ultimately 'identical'...

Sometimes that is the better option, especially if you have "the dross of a half decade of junk".  And on a brand spanking new machine with all the bells, whistles and power to burn, why bottleneck it with an encumbered and cluttered old install of Windows!  Nah, fresh is best in a case like that.  

Thing is, I've thus far been able to clone my OS over to a new machine without too much clutter going with because I perform weekly maintenance on my machine to remove junk files and redundant registry entries, etc... and once a month I do a thorough clean-up, getting rid of multiple 'temp' files, redundant 'Program Data files and 'App Data files, etc.  Even though I use IOBit Uninstaller to remove unwanted proggies, and it does a deep clean to remove most leftovers, I have occasionally found 'past' program folders and registry entries that need removing manually.  Yup, Ccleaner and IOBit's Advanced System Care Pro are a blessing when one needs to clean their machine.  I've also used WiseCare 360 and System Mechanic with good results.

Anway, I will likely just clone this install of Win 8.1 over to the new M2 drive when it arrives, but I'm undecided as to what I'll do 'OS-wise' when I've completed the new build.  I do have an unused copy of Win 8.1, and a copy of Win 7 Pro, for that matter, but it could well be that Win 10 has been released by then and is the better option.

I did read in a couple of reviews that some M2 drives in some systems have minor boot issues.  At the time of reading there was no apparent cure, just that firmware updates to relevant motherboards should address the issue.  Hopefully that is sooner rather than later.... I'd rather not experience boot issues, although I recall mobo direct M2s more often presented issues than PCIe mounted ones.

It's a horror orright!  In fact, there should be a statute somewhere declaring it [no Stardock products] a crime.  It's the first TLC thing I do for an OS after posting the bodyguards [AV, Antispyware, etc]... that's to give it new boots and panties [hehe, an Ian Dury reference there].  MS may have got one or two things right over the decades, but an aesthetically pleasing GUI was never one of them.  Ooooh, whenever I think of the visual abomination that was XP, I pretty near have to take a spew in [Fisher Price] technicolour.  Just as well I don't think of it too often.  I mean, there's no point to breakfast if'n it's not down there long enough to digest.

Things are looking up....I'm about halfway through the config of a new OS install....even got FSX to run without installing it first [and then adding 200gig of aircraft, etc].  I think all I really need to do now is get into the old OS...update my mail dls and then get back into the new one and import the psd.

Catching up to 5 years of 'tweaks' is a bit of a pain though....

Jafo

reply 221

Things are looking up....I'm about halfway through the config of a new OS install....even got FSX to run without installing it first [and then adding 200gig of aircraft, etc].  I think all I really need to do now is get into the old OS...update my mail dls and then get back into the new one and import the psd.

Catching up to 5 years of 'tweaks' is a bit of a pain though....

Good to hear things are going well/better... and hopefully that boot issue isn't being a PITA.  When reading further into M2 drives last night I saw that some models do not boot an OS at all, which seems somewhat odd to me.  I mean, why would you invest so much in a non-bootable drive?  I thought the idea was to harness the additional speed to enable faster OS operations, etc.

I know what you mean about setting everything up to the way you like, not that I've ever had 5 years of tweaks to contend with.  However, I have had to redo clean installs with all the tweaks and programs, and sometimes that is the most time consuming part of a new build.  I recall doing a new build in my first Thermaltake case that took just over an hour, and setting up the OS and proggies taking the next couple of days  That's why I invested in the higher version of True Image, so save myself the time and frustration of getting it just right.

Anyway, my M2 drive and adapter order has been processed and will ship today.  It will be arriving by regular Parcel Post so I should see it either on Wednesday or Thursday.... then the fun begins.

starkers

reply 222

Quoting Jafo,

reply 221

Things are looking up....I'm about halfway through the config of a new OS install....even got FSX to run without installing it first [and then adding 200gig of aircraft, etc].  I think all I really need to do now is get into the old OS...update my mail dls and then get back into the new one and import the psd.

Catching up to 5 years of 'tweaks' is a bit of a pain though....

Good to hear things are going well/better... and hopefully that boot issue isn't being a PITA.  When reading further into M2 drives last night I saw that some models do not boot an OS at all, which seems somewhat odd to me.  I mean, why would you invest so much in a non-bootable drive?  I thought the idea was to harness the additional speed to enable faster OS operations, etc.

I know what you mean about setting everything up to the way you like, not that I've ever had 5 years of tweaks to contend with.  However, I have had to redo clean installs with all the tweaks and programs, and sometimes that is the most time consuming part of a new build.  I recall doing a new build in my first Thermaltake case that took just over an hour, and setting up the OS and proggies taking the next couple of days  That's why I invested in the higher version of True Image, so save myself the time and frustration of getting it just right.

Anyway, my M2 drive and adapter order has been processed and will ship today.  It will be arriving by regular Parcel Post so I should see it either on Wednesday or Thursday.... then the fun begins.

Ram City is quick....as quick as the ram....

I got a call from them on the Monday morning...to check I was a real person [I was] and the M.2 arrived the next morning [Tuesday] ...all the way from the sunny Deep North...

Reason for the reinstall [after already doing the dissimilar True Image ver] is that I wasn't confident I hadn't imported a whole bunch of issues re drive type... BIOS type [as well as hardware itself].  This is more than just a generational change from one OS to another...where the BIOS is same... IDE/SATA is the same...etc.

Doing it 'cold' means everything can be done as intended.

At the moment I have a few ASUS error popups re GPU [not the bug-free installers you'd expect] and 2 desktop icons refuse to be what they are supposed to be...in spite of a cache delete/rebuild...so more to look into there...

I'm particularly looking forward to the moment I can delete all the precautionary backups prior to the install....there are probably around 500gig of them...

I had the New Year 'interruption' so my order was processed just today, so yeah, that's quick for their first day back.  My package ships this afternoon... but I received no phone call checking into my biological status.... and I might not be.

It may be as I said: the different BIOS types, and whether some system files can operate under a different version.  Given the circumstances, I believe you did the best thing when opting for a clean install.  A repair may have fixed those broken files, but you would have had a half decade's worth of junk gunking things up, and on a new machine that's not exactly desirable.

Not sure what the ASUS popups are about - my current GPU being a Gigabyte - but I had a similar desktop icon issue a while back... though I can explain what happened, not why.  In my case the desktop icon [a shortcut] kept reverting to an image that was not defined by the parent in the program folder.  While the shortcut was set by Adobe Photoshop Elements during the installation, the desktop icon was nothing like the one provided by Adobe.  Nothing I did would fix it, so in the end I deleted in, imported the one from the program folder to the desktop and rename it 'Elements'.  That solved my dilemma but I'm none the wiser as to what its cause was.

I can see the case is a Thermaltake.  Which model?  And I may have missed it but how much did the system cost to build, if I may ask.  I am alos upgrading my system in 2015 and am going with more modest specs, 16 gb RAM, Athlon 4 ghz CPU and keeping all my existing drives and video card, case and PSU.  Even at that with a motherboard I am looking at nearly $400.