$1000 MicroATX Developer PC

Hi All. I am building a new workstation to handle my day-to-day development/school work. Since Black Friday is a couple of days away and I saved enough money, it seems to be the right time to get my new machine.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: November 25-27 (Black Friday)
BUDGET: ~$1000 +/- $150

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Development (non-web), Running Simulations (like Folding@Home), Internet Surfing, Watching Movies, Simple Home Movie Editing, Gaming

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, speakers, monitor, OS (will be using Linux)

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: NewEgg.com, Fry's Electronics (in store pick-up), MicroCenter (in store pick-up)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA

PARTS PREFERENCES: microATX Case, Intel Core i7-860, NVidia Video Card

OVERCLOCKING: No
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050 (although may upgrade in a year to a 24" )

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

• My machine will be be running 24/7.
• It is a requirement to have a mATX case.
• I prefer NVidia cards over ATI because the have much better Linux support.

Suggested System Components:

• CPU: Intel Core i7-860
• MoBo: GIGABYTE GA-P55M-UD4
• RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600
• HDD: 2x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA - (RAID-0 configuration)
• PSU: OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W ATX12V V2.2 - (80+ certified & modular)
• Video: EVGA GeForce GT 220 SSC Edition 1GB DDR3 01G-P3-1227-LR - (no power connector needed, excellent HD playback)
• Optical: Sony Optiarc DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA
• Case: LIAN LI PC-V351B Black Aluminum MicroATX Desktop Case
• Thermal Compound: ARCTIC COOLING MX-2 Thermal Compound

Discussion Points

• Is the stock Intel cooler good enough, or I need to purchase one? If yes, which HSF/CPU-cooler would you suggest (given it fits in the case)
• I have no idea which optical drive to pick. Would you suggest another one?
• Many readers may object to the NVidia GT220. I chose it for its performance/power-consumption ratio and the fact that I will hardly ever play 3D games on this machine. Would you suggest a replacement?
• Although there is a voltage difference, many people (in the forum and NewEgg reviews) are pairing Gigabyte P55M motherboards (1.5v) with the Ripjaws 1600 (1.6v). I just want to double check that it works.

Price: This order from NewEgg will come to $902.00 before taxes and after incorporating the site-wide 10% discount during Black Friday. I will save $60 on the i7-860 if I pick it up from the local MicroCenter.

So, what do you think?

If you don't overclock you don't need an aftermarket cooler. Wait for reviews on that socket.
A nice burner:

PLEXTOR Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD/CD Writer LightScribe Support - OEM

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827249054

@evongugg:

• Thanks for the suggesting the Plextor. It seems like a very good drive, but given that I only use my optical drive once to twice a month it may not be worth paying that much on a non-blue ray drive.

• Although I an advocate for open-source, I admit/advise to use closed-source products when they do the job right/better than their open source alternatives. Drivers definitely fall within that category. GT220 it is.

• Any comment on the Thermal Compound and RAM <-> Mobo compatibility?

Your help is highly appreciated.

Thanks for the tips @Sonic-Boom.

Are the MX-2 & Arctic Silver 5 the same? I recall reading that the MX-2 is a higher-end thermal and gives better results. Correct me if I am wrong.

I agree the 600w is overkill, but I want to keep my future options open. Since I am planning to use this machine for the next 5 years (may retire it after 3 years to be an HTPC) Here are some future additions and I do not want to change the PSU:

• Blue-Ray Drive
• SSD
• TV Tuner Card
• More RAM