Ok, I'm starting this post with a goal of having each component + pros/cons laid out with total prices. We'll see how it goes. For the prices, MC = MicroCenter and NE = NewEgg.
CASES (concerns: size of the case, quiteness, expansion room):
-Antec Three Hundred Mid-Tower (MC $45, NE $60): I like the small dimensions. My existing VAIO is 14x14, so I don't feel like I'll be overwhelmed with this one. Only 3 drive external 5.25" drive bays, so a DVD reader + DVD writer + ummmm a card reader maybe? 6 internal 3.5" bays - I probably wouldn't want to go lower. It doesn't have an external 3.5" drive bay, but I'm not sure what I would use that for anyway. 7 expansion slots which seems to be common. Appears to have 2 USB and 2 audio connections on the Front/Top panel. Reviews indicate that it is quiet (good), but easily cramped (bad).
-Cooler Master RC 690 Mid-Tower (MC $70, NE $80): A couple inches bigger each direction than the Antec 300. What would I do with 5 external 5.25" drive bays? It only has 5 internal 3.5" bays, but 1 external, so I guess we'll call it even with 6 to the Antec 300. Again, 7 expansion slots, which seems to be common. Front/Top panel has 2 USB, 1 FireWire, 2 Audio, and a eSATA port (not that I know what that is). Reviews indicate there may be a noise issue (bad).
-Cooler Master RC 690 Mid-Tower WITH 550W Real Power Pro SLI Ready Power Supply (MC $136): Micro Center sells this case with the power supply included. Will need to see if this saves me any money and also if the power supply is appropriate.
-Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 Full-Tower (MC $176, NE $200): This case is 5+" wider and taller than the Antec 300. So what am I getting in all that extra space? It has 5 external 5.25 drive bays like the CM690 (2 more than the Antec 300), 1 external (like the CM690), 6 internal 3.5 bays (similar to both), and 7 expansion slots as is common. The Front/Top panel is the same as the CM690, but with 2 additional USB. Reviews all seem to agree that this is a great case that is quiet and spatious. A couple reviews mention this needing to be on a solid/hard surface, but mine will be on carpet unless I lay it on its side on the bottom of shelving.
-NZKT Hush Black Mid-Tower (NE $100): About the same size as the Antec 300 (good). Has 4 external 5.25" bays, 5 internal 3.5" bays + 2 external. 2 USB+2 Audio+1 Firewire are on the side, which would be a little awkward for my setup (right now my VAIO lays on its side on the bottom shelf of shelving, but with the new big cases, I'll probably have to sandwich it between my desk and said shelving. Would any of these cases be ok on their side?). Reviews say it is, uh, quiet (good). Front door closing seems iffy. MicroCenter does not sell this case.
-Sileo 500 Mid-Tower (NE $70): MicroCenter doesn't sell this. Size is good, and it is half as heavy as most of the other cases, though weight isn't really an important issue. 5 external 5.25" bays (too many?), 4 internal+1 external 3.5" bays (not enough?), and the usual 7 expansion slots. Front panel has 2 USB, 2 Audio, and an eSATA port. Only 2 reviews, but it seems to be quiet and no mention of it being cramped like the Antec 300.
-Antec P182 Mid-Tower (MC $120, NE $130): Dimensions seem large for a "mid-tower". 4 external 5.25" bays, 6 internal + 1 external 3.5" bays, and the usual 7 expansion slots. Front ports are 2 USB, 2 Audio, 1 Firewire. Reviews say it is large, and some say it is quiet, others say it isn't.
INTEL PROCESSOR
-Intel Core i7 920 Nehalem 2.66GHz 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor (MC $230, NE $289): Quad-Core is good. I multi-task a lot. Visual Studio + a few apps from Adobe's CreativeSuite to do photo and/or video work, while listening to music or playing a video. My understanding is that because of this, I should go quad-core. Basically, it's extremely fast, but also pricey, though MC's $60 off is helpful. It seems to be slower than the AMD route, but overclocking is a gigantic ? for me. I don't know what that involves, how reliable it is, what speeds that could get me up to, how easily I could accomplish it, etc.
INTEL MOBO
-ASUS P6T Deluxe LGA 1366 Intel X58 ATX Intel Motherboard (NE $300): I'm trying to see how this compares to the non-deluxe, and it seems to just have more USB connections? This isn't the V2 that I've heard rumored. I don't see a V2 on NewEgg. MicroCenter does not sell the Deluxe model.
-ASUS P6T X58 1366 ATX Motherboard (MC $250, NE $250): It's not the Deluxe, though I'm not totally sure what that means.
Basically it seems I should do the ASUS P6T, but there seems to be 3 different models, only 1 of which MicroCenter sells, and only 2 of which NewEgg sells. Should I not consider the non-deluxe? Should I go track down the Deluxe V2?
INTEL VIDEO CARD (thread suggestions, note, I don't know what SLI and Crossfire are >_>)
Each model has different companies, so I'm just gonna list price ranges. Help choosing a company based on the model would be fabulous.
-HD4650 (MC 3 different ranging $88-$108, NE 21 different ones ranging $50-$100)
-HD4830 (MC $135, NE 8 different ones ranging $95-$135): MicroCenter only sells the Radeon HD 4830 512MB GDDR3 PCIe 2.0 Graphics Card (at $135).
-HD4850 (MC 2 different ones ranging $168-$192, NE 25 different ones ranging $135-$235)
-eVGA 9500GT (MC $88, NE $80): I'm assuming the DDR3 one here...and I don't know what Crysis is haha.
AMD PROCESSOR
Not a clue.
Ummmm, NE has them from $120 to $230, and MC only has the MD® Boxed Phenom II X4 Quad-Core Processor 940 for $230. Really, all I know about AMD is that Socket 3 just came out. I'd have to research these a heck of a lot more, but my inclination is that since I can get the i7 920 for $230 just like I could get the top of the AMD processors, I should stick with the Intel route?
AMD MOBO
Not a clue.
-ASUS M3A78-T AM2+/AM2 AMD 790GX HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard (MC $152, NE $139): Wow, NewEgg finally beat a MicroCenter price.
As with the AMD processors, I really don't know where to begin, or what else to look for as an alternative to this.
AMD VIDEO CARD
Not a clue
POWER SUPPLIES (thread suggestions)
-PC Power & Cooling Silencer PPCS500 500W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply (MC $72, NE $75)
-PC Power & Cooling S75CF 750W EPS12V SLI NVIDIA SLI Certified (Dual 8800 GTX and below) CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply (MC $120, NE $110)
-COOLER MASTER UCP RS700-AAAAA3 700W (MC $168, NE $175): Lower wattage, more money. Doesn't seem like a good value? PC P&C a better choice?
HARD DRIVES
I currently have a WD160gb, a WD120gb, and a Maxtor120gb that are between 5 and 7 years old. Besides them having data on them now, I'm thinking these are too old to use and I should use them as small backup drives? I can't decide on the hard drive setup I should go for. 2 small drives + 2 big drives in RAID 0 pairs? 2 small drives + 1 big drive? 1 small drive + 2 big drives? 1 big drive? All I know is I'm not sure spending money on the Velociraptors makes sense for me. Help!
This may be something I have to do last and see how the budget works out, though I'd love opinions.
-WD Caviar Black WD1001FALS (NE $130) and
-WD Caviar Black WD10000LSRTL (MC $140): Not sure what the difference between these 2 are. They're both the 1TB 7200RPM 32mb SATA300 Caviar Black.
-Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s (NE $130) and
-Seagate Barracuda 1.5TB 7,200RPM Serial ATA-300 Hard Drive ST315005N1A1ASR (MC $109): Again, not sure the difference. I know someone who picked up this drive from MicroCenter a few weeks ago and is considering getting another one given the price, but I also know people strongly recommend against the 1.5TB drive.
MEMORY (mostly just thread suggestions)
-mushkin 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 998679 (NE $200): MicroCenter doesn't sell mushkin ddr3
-G.SKILL 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model (NE 4 different ranging $131-$220): MicroCenter doesn't sell G.Skill
-Corsair Memory XMS3 6GB DDR3-1600 (PC-12800) CL9 DIMM Memory Kit (MC $164, NE $165)
-CORSAIR XMS3 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory (MC $150, NE $144)
COOLER (just what has been suggested in the thread)
-COOLER MASTER V8 RR-UV8-XBU1-GP 120mm Rifle CPU Cooler (NE $70): MicroCenter doesn't sell this model, but has others from CM.
-Zalman 8700 (NE $53): MicroCenter doesn't sell this model, but has others from Zalman.
THERMAL COMPOUND (not sure what this is for, but it was suggested)
-ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound (NE $7): MicroCenter has other brands.
DVD WRITER
Does it matter? Are there any real differences? I bought a dvd writer probably 6 years ago when you had to make sure you bought the right kind of dvds to go with the drive, and even then, they didn't always work. I'm assuming this isn't the case anymore? I think for now I'll go with a single dvd reader/writer, and might add just a dvd reader later on for copying.
TV TUNER (just what has been suggested along with a couple random ones, for use with Windows Vista Media Center as a pvr...that's the only option I'm aware of...being able to watch something while recording something else is a bonus, will probably purchase later)
-ASUS My Cinema-PHC3-100/NAQ/FM/AV/RC TV Tuner Card PCI Interface (NE $80): Mentions that you can watch analog and digital simultaneously. With the conversion to digital tv, is there another tv tuner that might be better now? MicroCenter doesn't sell it.
-WinTV-HVR-1800 MC-Kit (MC $104, NE $99): Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but does it say only over-the-air-HD?
-DIAMOND ATI TV Wonder HD 650 TVW650PCI PCI Interface (NE $100)
Ok, it seems like most of these do analog or over-the-air hd. Maybe I'm confused about the whole analog/digital switch and my tv service (Charter or AT&T Uverse), and how I can use my pc too.
KEYBOARD/MOUSE
Not real worried about this, as long as it has media controls and programmable keys. Quiet keys. Mouse needs a scroll wheel. Both being wireless would be great.
MONITOR (just what has been suggested in the thread)
-Acer X203Wbd Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2500:1 ACM (MC $160, NE $150)
-Samsung T240HD (NE $400): Wow...that's a lot for a monitor. This particular built-in tv tuner can't record.
PRINTER/SCANNER
Uh, needs to print - b/w and color. And scan. If it had a loading area so I can scan multiple pages/photos at once, that'd be totally sweet. Printing cd/dvd labels, mailing labels, notecards would be great.
OPERATING SYSTEM + SOFTWARE
-Windows Vista Ultimate: This will be at educational pricing (The upgrade is $100 @ educational compared to $220 @ retail, but I'm not sure exactly how much the full version is). Should I go with 64-bit or stick with 32-bit?
-Office 2007 Pro: $80 educational pricing
SOUND CARD
-Stupid question, but I do need one, right? It looks like the mobos have sound...so?
...5 hours later...and that's my research. I'm kind of afraid to ask if I forgot anything. I'm hoping this gets a good discussion going.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram