Help with Window 7 install and CMOS setup

[Thrice]

I apologize for what may be considered very basic questions but I want to make sure what I'm doing is done right and I don't screw anything up.

This is my first PC build and I was able to hook up all my components and everything just fine but now I'm at the CMOS setup have a few questions. My motherboard is a Gigabyte GPA-890-UD3H.

1. There is a new BIOS version for my mobo. Should I upgrade to it first or load my Windows 7 OS first and then upgrade after? When updating the BIOS version does it revert back my settings in the CMOS to default settings or keep the profile I have them save under? Can I even upgrade my BIOS prior to OS installation if I don't have a 3.5 floppy drive or a FAT32 USB flash drive?

2. I'm running a OCZ Vertex 2 SSD as my boot drive and I've read that to optimize it I should be running on AHCI instead of IDE. Is this the preferred way and do I need change the OnChip SATA Type on my mobo to AHCI, the Onboad SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode, or both?

3. I also have a 1.5TB Caviar Green HDD.that I will be using for my data storage. Since this is a SATA drive I shouldn't have any problems with the AHCI setting should I?

4. I have 3 120mm fans (2 system/1 CPU) plugged in to my mobo, if I don't want them all running at max what and how should I be adjusting that. I have a Smart Fan Mode I can set to Auto, Voltage or PWM.

5. When I go to load Windows 7 and I select the SSD as my boot drive it only shows with 55.9gb vs the 60gb advertised capacity. Now I know HDD capacity isn't the total that it is advertised at but I didn't think this was the case for SSD. I thought, at least when the drive is completely brand new, I'd have 60gb. Do I need to format it first? Can I do that from the Windows 7 install?

6. Does Windows 7 distribute its files the same was as previous Microsoft OS? Meaning will I basically have a C: drive with all my windows files, program files, my documents, etc..

Again I apologize if this are simple questions but I'd rather look like a noob who questions everything he does, than be a noob who just thinks he knows it all and messes up his PC when there are resources like this forum available to him.

 

[Violator]

1. Totally up to you. You can upgrade the BIOS before or after, most mbs these days will let you flash the BIOS from a HDD (just don't do it in windows) if you don't have a 3.5 or usb drive.

2. If you're going to switch to AHCI, do it before you install the OS. It makes life easier.

3. Nope, should be fine.

4. Depends on the mobo. Can't comment on that one.

5. All drives are marketed as 1000x1000x1000 as a GB, whereas it should be 1024x1024x1024

6. Yes

 

[Demon10000]

1. BIOS update: I prefer to do it as soon as possible. If you have the ability to flash the BIOS before you install an OS, then do it. If not, no worries. You will most likely loose all of your settings, so doing it first. As mentioned above, many BIOS allow you to drop the file on the root of C: and flash it from there, so try doing that if you don't have a floppy or USB drive. Once the firmware file is on the drive you typically would access the flash utility from the BIOS Configuration screen.

2. AHCI: You will want to enable AHCI on whatever controller your SATA drive is pluged into. We had to worry about drivers on WinXP, so many people turned this off. On Win7, it's not as big of an issue, so there is really no reason not to use AHCI.

3. ACHI On the Data Drive: No problems at all.

4. Fan Speed: Every motherboard and controller are different. You really are going to have to just play around and find a cooling scheme that works for you.

5. Drive Size: You can format a drive from within windows, but as mentioned, it will not change anything. This is capacity of your drive.

6. Win7 Files: It is very similar to XP, and the same as Vista. You will have C:\Program Files (and possibly C:\program Files (x86) if you are installing x64). Your user profile, which contains "My Documents" will be in C:\Users\<username>. Windows will continue to live in C:\Windows. Of course, these are all things that can be tweaked, but the default install is as described above.

 

[Thrice]

Thanks to the both of you. I think, for the most part, I was pretty sure of what I needed to do, just wanted to get confirmation.

I think I understood my mobo options better now for selecting IDE or AHCI because basically I have 6 SATA3 connections and 2 SATA2 connections and the onchip/onboard options pertain to which SATA connections I am using.

Knowing that now though, can I use my optical drives as AHCI too, or should those be set to IDE and connected in different groupings than either my SSD or HDD?