- Aug 26, 2009
- 1
- 0
- 18,510
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: As soon as possible, within a day or two if possible
BUDGET RANGE: ~$1500-2000
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Programming, Games, internet, general purpose
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Processor, friend grabbing a D0 stepping i7 from Microcenter for me
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, any other site considered reputable
PARTS PREFERENCES: Nvidia
OVERCLOCKING: Most likely yes, but not immediately
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080?
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Basically I am a programmer by trade and my latest project is requiring work done from home. My home laptop isn't cutting it on the current project, so I figured this would be a good time to build a high performance machine for both work and play. Due to timing issues with the project, I need to order the system ASAP, but I haven't built a system since the days when the Pentium III was the new, cool thing. Usually I would prefer to spend weeks researching everything myself, but my time constraints make that impossible now, so I would like some general advice. I'm basically overwhelmed by all the choices at the moment.
I am used to using a dual monitor set-up at work, so I'm also looking to get 2 decent/good monitors w/o totally breaking the bank (I'd also like the 1920x1080 or so resolution if possible). I'm not necessarily super picky and most of my work will be looking directly at the monitors, so I don't think the TN panel stuff I've been reading about will be a problem. I've been looking at 2x Dell S2409W (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Monitors/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-7345) because they seem to have good reviews for a good price. Any other suggestions would be welcome though. I wouldn't include the monitors in the budget though.
I'm especially confused about disk drive choice. I see the WD Caviar Blacks recommended quite a bit, are they the default go-to option? Should I consider 2 of them for RAID 0 performance?
Other sticky parts for me are things like recommended case (I'd like one that doesn't need additional fans installed by me, etc.) and motherboard. I'd like the mobo to have at least 6 memory slots. I'd hate to order parts and run into an issue of them not fitting in the case or missing a minor part I need but overlooked because of my lack of mass research time.
For the GPU, again, a bit of confusion. Is a GTX275 sufficient? Is it worth trying to get 2 for SLI?
As for overclocking, back in the day that seemed to be the realm of the pros exclusively, but it seems like it's easier now, so I'd like to eventually try my hand at it after the project I'm working on is over. That said, I'd like to purchase parts that don't prevent me from OCing in the future.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
BUDGET RANGE: ~$1500-2000
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Programming, Games, internet, general purpose
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Processor, friend grabbing a D0 stepping i7 from Microcenter for me
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, any other site considered reputable
PARTS PREFERENCES: Nvidia
OVERCLOCKING: Most likely yes, but not immediately
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Maybe
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1920x1080?
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Basically I am a programmer by trade and my latest project is requiring work done from home. My home laptop isn't cutting it on the current project, so I figured this would be a good time to build a high performance machine for both work and play. Due to timing issues with the project, I need to order the system ASAP, but I haven't built a system since the days when the Pentium III was the new, cool thing. Usually I would prefer to spend weeks researching everything myself, but my time constraints make that impossible now, so I would like some general advice. I'm basically overwhelmed by all the choices at the moment.
I am used to using a dual monitor set-up at work, so I'm also looking to get 2 decent/good monitors w/o totally breaking the bank (I'd also like the 1920x1080 or so resolution if possible). I'm not necessarily super picky and most of my work will be looking directly at the monitors, so I don't think the TN panel stuff I've been reading about will be a problem. I've been looking at 2x Dell S2409W (http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Monitors/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-7345) because they seem to have good reviews for a good price. Any other suggestions would be welcome though. I wouldn't include the monitors in the budget though.
I'm especially confused about disk drive choice. I see the WD Caviar Blacks recommended quite a bit, are they the default go-to option? Should I consider 2 of them for RAID 0 performance?
Other sticky parts for me are things like recommended case (I'd like one that doesn't need additional fans installed by me, etc.) and motherboard. I'd like the mobo to have at least 6 memory slots. I'd hate to order parts and run into an issue of them not fitting in the case or missing a minor part I need but overlooked because of my lack of mass research time.
For the GPU, again, a bit of confusion. Is a GTX275 sufficient? Is it worth trying to get 2 for SLI?
As for overclocking, back in the day that seemed to be the realm of the pros exclusively, but it seems like it's easier now, so I'd like to eventually try my hand at it after the project I'm working on is over. That said, I'd like to purchase parts that don't prevent me from OCing in the future.
Thanks for any help you can provide!
) 
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