After digging around a bit, it appears Intel Rapid Start Technology and Win8 Hybrid Shutdown/Fast Startup have similar benefits in terms of startup times (e.g. see Intel Rapid Start Technology vs Win8 Hybrid Shutdown/Fast Startup). Since I am looking to install Win8.1, should I decide to need faster boot than can be achieved with an SSD alone, I can go with Win8 Hybrid Shutdown/Fast Startup and don't require IRST. Further, both write out the PC's memory to the SSD which I'm assuming, if used regularly, would reduce the life of the SSD. So the only question left to resolve is whether it is worth the additional ~£20 to: Swap two USB 2 ports for two more USB 3 ports on the back panel Gain an additional two years on the warranty together with apparent improvement in build quality Acquire the additional niff-naff and trivia provided by the Vanguard over the B85M-G (e.g. additional chassis fan connectors, DisplayPort on the back panel) My gut feel is "no"!
On the other hand ... ... I tend to keep PCs until their performance makes them frustrating to work with or until their components fail. This new PC is intended to be high spec so I can persevere with it for longer than I have in the past. That being the case, there is something to be said for a mobo with a 5 year warranty and military-grade components on the voltage regulator. The conclusions from a number of reviews seem to indicate it might be an appropriate mobo for my target PC: The longer warranty, above-average BIOS, and good fan control makes us think this could well be a microATX board suited to powering a no-frills workhorse PC. hexus.net ... if you are looking for a simple and robust motherboard, and you will not use more than one video card and four hard disk drives (or SSDs), and have no interest on overclocking, the ASUS VANGUARD B85 is an interesting option. Hardware Secrets Compared to cheaper B85 motherboards, the Vanguard B85 screams with build quality; Almost tank like which is one of the main selling points of this product... [T]he additional price promises outstanding build quality, solid performance, and full 5 year manufacturer warranty. Regardless of price, ASUS is making sure that every TUF motherboards out there will introduce peace of mind to the consumers. Something that we’d like to see from other manufacturers as well. Total Cost of Ownership will eventually have a huge impact too as time goes by if you decided to choose this motherboard. Tech Porn This board also comes with extremely high end components which pass every reliability test Asus could throw at it, which is fantastic to see in a board of this price. We think it’s great to see manufacturers go the extra mile to give their lower end products the same high end components that they put on their top of the range boards. This adds extra peace of mind for the target market of users who just want to build the system, and have done with it, without the worry of something inside going wrong. Overclock 3D Though hardware.info prefer the Gigabyte G1.Sniper B5, that mobo is not the right form factor for the build I am considering.
for static discharging: do not wear synthetic jumpers or sweat pants when building PCs and touch a radiator or plug in you PSU and hold it in you hands the case is grounded. I always take off any jumper I might be wearing and then do the PSU discharge method. I have not experienced and issues with static this way. (dont rub your feet on a carpetted floor either
So, with my latest considerations and looking at actual prices, my proposal currently stands at: Case: SilverStone Fortress SST-FT03B (from Scan at £106.84) Motherboard: Asus Vanguard B85 (from Amazon at £64.86) CPU: Intel® Core™ i5-4670 Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.80 GHz) (from Amazon at £159.00) SSD: Samsung 840 Series Pro 256GB 2.5 inch SATA Solid State Drive (from Amazon at £156.00) HDD: Seagate ST31000528AS Barracuda 7200.12 SATA 3Gb/s 1TB Hard Drive (already own) HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2000JS (200GB) (already own) Optical Drive: LiteOn DL-8ATSH optical drive (from CCL at £17.29) SATA Power and Data Cable: AKASA AK-CB050 SATA Cable for Slimline Optical Drives (SATA+Molex to Mini SATA Power & Data) (from Scan at £2.87) PSU: Corsair RM Series™ RM550 — 550 Watt 80 PLUS® Gold Certified Fully Modular PSU (from Amazon at £77.98) RAM: Corsair Vengeance® Low Profile — 16GB Dual Channel DDR3 Memory Kit (CML16GX3M2A1600C10) (from more computers at £120.30) OS: Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit (from CCL at £103.30) Antistatic Wrist Strap (no longer required - found my old one!) Total price: £808.44 plus £10.98 P&P (Scan) = £819.42 I think that compares rather favourably with the spec of my customised Lenovo ThinkCentre M83 Tower Desktop in the first post which came in at £800.79.
Was almost beyond the point of no return ... ... the order for the antistatic wrist strap (£1.02!) was bounced by the bank and then I found my old one so that order has been cancelled.
