Is a floppy drive necessary?

tech_no · 03-29-2009, 11:58 AM

I am about to build my first computer and I have chosen my case: Silverstone FT01S-W. I would welcome anyone's views on this case before I buy.
This case has no 3.5 inch external drive bay and it seems like you have to buy the adaptor seperately to adapt a 5.25 inch bay into a 3.5 inch.
My question is: do you need a floppy drive now for anything? In the past I have upgraded my BIOS with a floppy. Can this be done some other way now? I have also used memtest by a floppy. Hopefully I won't need this drive or maybe use an external floppy instead if I do.
My new system will be:
ASUS P6T Dekuxe motherboard
Intel Core i7 920 processor
Noctua SE 1366 NH-U12P Cooler
6Gb Corsair Dominator 1600 Mhz memory
Corsair 850W PSU
ATI Radeon 4870 GPU
Western Digital 500 Gb SATA 2 Hard drive
64 bit Vista Home Premium
My other choice of case was the Hiper Osiris Silver with a side window, but the mesh window has put me off, although it seems a very good case.
The "positive pressure", inside the Silverstone case, mentioned above, is very unusual, as the top 180mm fan intakes air instead of exhausting it. I wonder if anyone has this case and if so does it work?
Thank you.
tech_no

**grimx133** · 03-29-2009, 12:12 PM

Asus uses EZflash2 for bios update, uses a usb stick and works very nicely indeed. Things like memtest also offer .iso files to create bootable cd's. There really isn't a big need for a floppy drive in this day and age, almost everything can be done with cd's and usb. You can also have a floppy drive, but instead of installing it in the case, just dig it out and connect it as needed. The drive doesn't have to be mounted to run it, can't recall the last time I needed one, but if I ever do for this machine, I'll just borrow one from another for a few minutes and then put it back after.

Nice looking case, btw, SilverStone makes nice cases.

tech_no · 03-29-2009, 12:43 PM

Thank you for your reply grimx133. I read about the EZflash2 on the bios website some time ago, but its all new to me, being a newbie builder. I think you have made my mind up not to bother with a floppy at all, and like you say I have my old one to connect up to my motherboard if needed.
I have spent ages looking for cases, getting all the criteria right.
What do you think of the slow spinning, 700 rpm, 180mm fans, as opposed to the faster 120mm ones in some cases? I have read in one review that Silverstone are the only ones who make that size fan.
Thank you again for that info, it is appreciated.
Regards tech_no

**grimx133** · 03-29-2009, 03:31 PM

A larger fan spinning slower and quieter will produce the same airflow as a smaller fan spinning faster and louder. Bigger fans are better, imo, just for the noise reduction. Of course, depending on the fan, the speed may be able to be increased for higher airflow. 180mm is an odd size, if any of them die could be that the only source for replacement is Silverstone, but don't know about that as it's possible that others have them. Not really a big deal, replacement could be a tad pricier and a bit more of a pain to get done.

Phædrus2401 · 03-29-2009, 05:09 PM

I usually just move over my old floppy drive to my new computer if it doesn't have one. My current floppy drive is about five years old. I've only used it once on this computer, to install Yserbius (great old game, by the way).

tech_no · 03-30-2009, 01:15 PM

Silverstone did have quietness in mind with this case; the 180mm fans spin at a maximum speed of 700rpm and they do intake more air at slower speeds as you say. The 120mm fan is a much faster one. The case also has acoustic deadening material on its side panels. It works on the positive pressure principal too; a video of it is on their website.
I was concerned at the odd size 180mm fans and have written to Silverstone parts dept. asking for a price.
I must say that Silverstone customer servises are very quick at answering your e-mail and they have the facts. I have found out the model no. for a floppy drive convertor if I require one and I have found out the maximum height of a CPU cooler and it takes most of them at 170mm.
I will let you know how much these fans cost as soon as I find out.
Thank you for your reply grimx133

tech_no · 03-30-2009, 01:21 PM

Thank you for your reply Phaedrus2401.
My old floppy drive is a 2001 model, but hardly ever use it. I can only fit it in this new case if I buy the 5.25 inch to 3.5 inch converter for the drive bay and the best price for that one is £8.99.
I think I might leave the floppy drive out for now. Thank you for the tip about the game too.

tech_no · 03-31-2009, 08:06 AM

Silverstone parts dept. got back to me today and they are very helpful too. The 180mm fans for this case are £13.97 each from them. They are in Germany, but there are firms in the U.K. that should be be able to order the fans for me. The warranty on case and fans is 2 years.
I think everything is covered on this one now. I have just given this info. in case anyone is thiking of buying this model.
Thank you again.
Regards tech_no

**grimx133** · 03-31-2009, 06:17 PM

You're welcome. Nice price on the fans, not that you should have any problems with them, Silverstone being the quality manufacturer they are.

skyflyer · 03-31-2009, 06:33 PM

I found I have to have a floppy when installing RAID - I had to load RAID drivers when booting from the XP disk before I could do anything else. I do not know if I could have loaded drivers from a USB stick.

tech_no · 04-01-2009, 01:49 AM

That is interesting Skyflyer. Thank you letting us know that. I would be considering RAID with my new system, as it is an option on this motherboard.

**wrench97** · 04-04-2009, 11:35 AM

You can also slipstream them onto the XP cd or use a XP SP3 CD which will have Sata/Raid drivers on it.

tech_no · 04-05-2009, 10:24 AM

Thank you wrench97 for that info. I have read about slipstreaming before, but I haven't got around to trying it yet. I am a novice into that sort of thing.
I will be using Vista 64 bit with my new system, so I guess it has the RAID drivers on it?
What are your views on the 64 bit version being compatable with most software?
Thank you.

**wrench97** · 04-05-2009, 10:38 AM

Vista has the drivers on the disk, I have only run into a couple of old programs that won't run in compatibility mode and I think they were ported to 32bit from 16bit, the biggest problems are with older printers, scanners, usb dongles, that there is not driver support for so check with the manufacturers of any devices you need to use for 64bit drivers.

tech_no · 04-05-2009, 10:54 AM

Thank you wrench97. We have a relatively new HP Printer/Scanner, so hopefully that will be ok. I didn't know if avast anti virus or spybot S & D would be a problem or Adaware 2009 or Deepburner to name but a few?
I have been trying to find a good CPU cooler for this build, please see my other thread in this section, called: Will this cooler fit?
Its driving me nuts, I have been reading every review but need someone who has tried these coolers on the ASUS P6T Deluxe v.2 motherboard first hand.
Thanks again.

**wrench97** · 04-05-2009, 12:10 PM

I've only done 1 i7 build with a Intel board (customer spec) and a Zalman 9700 and the 1366 clip kit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118019
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118045

tech_no · 04-06-2009, 11:51 AM

Thank you for your last reply wrench97. I was thinking of using a Zalman cooler, but I have set my mind on a Thermalright or a Noctua or the Coolermaster V8 now, if it will fit.
I contacted Thermalright technical support yesterday and the member of staff who replied has an i7 motherboard and the same cooler with the same case as me, but a different motherboard, a Gigabyte one. He seems to think the cooler will fit.
This is a link to show how tight things get with these coolers:

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...-review-6.html

Thanks again wrench97

**wrench97** · 04-06-2009, 12:10 PM

It's tight, personally I want the fan blowing towards the back as I set all cases up to ventilate front to back unless it'a a Cosmos then I go top to bottom only because Power supplies exhaust instead pull in.

tech_no · 04-06-2009, 02:31 PM

My case has the 180mm intake fan at the top over the CPU, a 120mm exhaust on the back at the top (CPU at the bottom). I guess the CPU fan in my case would have to push or pull air towards the back of the case (it has vented PCI card covers), correct me if I am wrong wrench97. The other air intake is the front 180mm fan.

**wrench97** · 04-06-2009, 02:47 PM

Yes it should have front to back air flow with the 120 Exhaust and 180 front, the 180 top seems to just disturb flow...unless it lines up exactly with the CPU cooler then I would probably set the cpu cooler so that the fresh air goes through the cooler from the top and the hot air enters the flow below to exit the case.

03-29-2009, 11:58 AM	#1 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Is a floppy drive necessary? I am about to build my first computer and I have chosen my case: Silverstone FT01S-W. I would welcome anyone's views on this case before I buy. This case has no 3.5 inch external drive bay and it seems like you have to buy the adaptor seperately to adapt a 5.25 inch bay into a 3.5 inch. My question is: do you need a floppy drive now for anything? In the past I have upgraded my BIOS with a floppy. Can this be done some other way now? I have also used memtest by a floppy. Hopefully I won't need this drive or maybe use an external floppy instead if I do. My new system will be: ASUS P6T Dekuxe motherboard Intel Core i7 920 processor Noctua SE 1366 NH-U12P Cooler 6Gb Corsair Dominator 1600 Mhz memory Corsair 850W PSU ATI Radeon 4870 GPU Western Digital 500 Gb SATA 2 Hard drive 64 bit Vista Home Premium My other choice of case was the Hiper Osiris Silver with a side window, but the mesh window has put me off, although it seems a very good case. The "positive pressure", inside the Silverstone case, mentioned above, is very unusual, as the top 180mm fan intakes air instead of exhausting it. I wonder if anyone has this case and if so does it work? Thank you. tech_no

03-29-2009, 12:12 PM	#2 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,144 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Asus uses EZflash2 for bios update, uses a usb stick and works very nicely indeed. Things like memtest also offer .iso files to create bootable cd's. There really isn't a big need for a floppy drive in this day and age, almost everything can be done with cd's and usb. You can also have a floppy drive, but instead of installing it in the case, just dig it out and connect it as needed. The drive doesn't have to be mounted to run it, can't recall the last time I needed one, but if I ever do for this machine, I'll just borrow one from another for a few minutes and then put it back after. Nice looking case, btw, SilverStone makes nice cases. __________________

03-29-2009, 12:43 PM	#3 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Thank you for your reply grimx133. I read about the EZflash2 on the bios website some time ago, but its all new to me, being a newbie builder. I think you have made my mind up not to bother with a floppy at all, and like you say I have my old one to connect up to my motherboard if needed. I have spent ages looking for cases, getting all the criteria right. What do you think of the slow spinning, 700 rpm, 180mm fans, as opposed to the faster 120mm ones in some cases? I have read in one review that Silverstone are the only ones who make that size fan. Thank you again for that info, it is appreciated. Regards tech_no Last edited by tech_no; 03-29-2009 at 12:46 PM.

03-29-2009, 03:31 PM	#4 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,144 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? A larger fan spinning slower and quieter will produce the same airflow as a smaller fan spinning faster and louder. Bigger fans are better, imo, just for the noise reduction. Of course, depending on the fan, the speed may be able to be increased for higher airflow. 180mm is an odd size, if any of them die could be that the only source for replacement is Silverstone, but don't know about that as it's possible that others have them. Not really a big deal, replacement could be a tad pricier and a bit more of a pain to get done. __________________

03-29-2009, 05:09 PM	#5 (permalink)
Phædrus2401 Hardware Tech Team Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Orleans Posts: 3,810 OS: Vista Ultimate x64 SP1 + Ubuntu 9.04 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? I usually just move over my old floppy drive to my new computer if it doesn't have one. My current floppy drive is about five years old. I've only used it once on this computer, to install Yserbius (great old game, by the way).

03-30-2009, 01:15 PM	#6 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Silverstone did have quietness in mind with this case; the 180mm fans spin at a maximum speed of 700rpm and they do intake more air at slower speeds as you say. The 120mm fan is a much faster one. The case also has acoustic deadening material on its side panels. It works on the positive pressure principal too; a video of it is on their website. I was concerned at the odd size 180mm fans and have written to Silverstone parts dept. asking for a price. I must say that Silverstone customer servises are very quick at answering your e-mail and they have the facts. I have found out the model no. for a floppy drive convertor if I require one and I have found out the maximum height of a CPU cooler and it takes most of them at 170mm. I will let you know how much these fans cost as soon as I find out. Thank you for your reply grimx133

03-30-2009, 01:21 PM	#7 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Thank you for your reply Phaedrus2401. My old floppy drive is a 2001 model, but hardly ever use it. I can only fit it in this new case if I buy the 5.25 inch to 3.5 inch converter for the drive bay and the best price for that one is £8.99. I think I might leave the floppy drive out for now. Thank you for the tip about the game too.

03-31-2009, 08:06 AM	#8 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Silverstone parts dept. got back to me today and they are very helpful too. The 180mm fans for this case are £13.97 each from them. They are in Germany, but there are firms in the U.K. that should be be able to order the fans for me. The warranty on case and fans is 2 years. I think everything is covered on this one now. I have just given this info. in case anyone is thiking of buying this model. Thank you again. Regards tech_no

03-31-2009, 06:17 PM	#9 (permalink)
grimx133 Mentor Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Canada eh Posts: 3,144 OS: xp mce sp2, xp pro sp2, windows 7 beta My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? You're welcome. Nice price on the fans, not that you should have any problems with them, Silverstone being the quality manufacturer they are. __________________

03-31-2009, 06:33 PM	#10 (permalink)
skyflyer Registered User Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Canberra ACT, Australia Posts: 46 OS: Win XP pro & Vista Home Prem MCE	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? I found I have to have a floppy when installing RAID - I had to load RAID drivers when booting from the XP disk before I could do anything else. I do not know if I could have loaded drivers from a USB stick.

04-01-2009, 01:49 AM	#11 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? That is interesting Skyflyer. Thank you letting us know that. I would be considering RAID with my new system, as it is an option on this motherboard.

04-04-2009, 11:35 AM	#12 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,591 OS: Win7	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? You can also slipstream them onto the XP cd or use a XP SP3 CD which will have Sata/Raid drivers on it. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

04-05-2009, 10:24 AM	#13 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Thank you wrench97 for that info. I have read about slipstreaming before, but I haven't got around to trying it yet. I am a novice into that sort of thing. I will be using Vista 64 bit with my new system, so I guess it has the RAID drivers on it? What are your views on the 64 bit version being compatable with most software? Thank you.

04-05-2009, 10:38 AM	#14 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,591 OS: Win7	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Vista has the drivers on the disk, I have only run into a couple of old programs that won't run in compatibility mode and I think they were ported to 32bit from 16bit, the biggest problems are with older printers, scanners, usb dongles, that there is not driver support for so check with the manufacturers of any devices you need to use for 64bit drivers. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

04-05-2009, 10:54 AM	#15 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Thank you wrench97. We have a relatively new HP Printer/Scanner, so hopefully that will be ok. I didn't know if avast anti virus or spybot S & D would be a problem or Adaware 2009 or Deepburner to name but a few? I have been trying to find a good CPU cooler for this build, please see my other thread in this section, called: Will this cooler fit? Its driving me nuts, I have been reading every review but need someone who has tried these coolers on the ASUS P6T Deluxe v.2 motherboard first hand. Thanks again.

04-05-2009, 12:10 PM	#16 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,591 OS: Win7	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? I've only done 1 i7 build with a Intel board (customer spec) and a Zalman 9700 and the 1366 clip kit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118019 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118045 __________________ Power Supply and Selection

04-06-2009, 11:51 AM	#17 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Thank you for your last reply wrench97. I was thinking of using a Zalman cooler, but I have set my mind on a Thermalright or a Noctua or the Coolermaster V8 now, if it will fit. I contacted Thermalright technical support yesterday and the member of staff who replied has an i7 motherboard and the same cooler with the same case as me, but a different motherboard, a Gigabyte one. He seems to think the cooler will fit. This is a link to show how tight things get with these coolers: http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...-review-6.html Thanks again wrench97

04-06-2009, 12:10 PM	#18 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,591 OS: Win7	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? It's tight, personally I want the fan blowing towards the back as I set all cases up to ventilate front to back unless it'a a Cosmos then I go top to bottom only because Power supplies exhaust instead pull in. __________________ Power Supply and Selection

04-06-2009, 02:31 PM	#19 (permalink)
tech_no Registered User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Plymouth in Devon Posts: 173 OS: Windows XP Home with SP3 My System	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? My case has the 180mm intake fan at the top over the CPU, a 120mm exhaust on the back at the top (CPU at the bottom). I guess the CPU fan in my case would have to push or pull air towards the back of the case (it has vented PCI card covers), correct me if I am wrong wrench97. The other air intake is the front 180mm fan. Last edited by tech_no; 04-06-2009 at 02:33 PM.

04-06-2009, 02:47 PM	#20 (permalink)
wrench97 Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2008 Location: S.E. Pennsylvania Posts: 18,591 OS: Win7	Re: Is a floppy drive necessary? Yes it should have front to back air flow with the 120 Exhaust and 180 front, the 180 top seems to just disturb flow...unless it lines up exactly with the CPU cooler then I would probably set the cpu cooler so that the fresh air goes through the cooler from the top and the hot air enters the flow below to exit the case. __________________ Power Supply and Selection