- May 20, 2010
- 22
- 0
- 18,510
I primarily use my desktop for internet activity (so not much overhead there) and heavy document use, with a tendency to multitask to excess-- 10 or 20 browser windows/tabs, 15 pdfs, a half dozen other programs, etc... I also play the occassional game on the computer (none of the first person shooters that really demand a power build, and more in line with games like Spore, Warcraft, Civilization, and other RPGs) though that is less frequent since I do most of my gaming on consoles. I also watch video on the PC frequently and I would actually like to set it up to better support this going forward, so I'm not using my 24" monitor to watch anime or movies when I want to do it in bed rather than in my home theatre. Hoping to keep my expenses down to around $1200 dollars or so at most (with the exception of the TV, I don't expect to get a 40"-50" TV for under $700-$1000).
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APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (I'm ready to buy this week, but I'm able to wait a few weeks if it will get me a deal.)
BUDGET RANGE: ($800-$1200, After Rebates) [Spent: $945]
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (surfing the internet, watching movies/anime, gaming, document editing, some image/video editing, web development)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
■Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
■Mouse: Logitech Wireless Performance MX (just purchased) - 50 dollars
■Monitor: Westell 24" + Gateway 19" - considering replacing the Westell with a 27" if it's within my budget range, since this one doesn't have a DVI input (so the autoshut off doesn't work) and I would like to replace my mother's monitor
■Speakers: Gateway USB speakers
■OS: Windows 7 (64-bit)
■Storage Hard Drives: 3 - 500 GB, 1 TB, 1.5 TB; all SATA 7200 RPM I believe
■DVD Drive: Optiarc DVD RW
■Video Card: GeForce 9800 GT - will consider replacing, but I don't know that it's necessary and I'm close to my budget with the parts I have already. The only problem I have with my current video card is the lack of HDMI output. The other area where it might not be sufficient is video encoding, but I don't do that very often.
■Microphone/Camera: Logitech IM/Connect
■Case: HAF 922 (just purchased) - 90 dollars
■Power Supply: Antec TP-750 (just purchased) - 85 dollars
■Solid State Drive: OCZ Agility 60 GB (just purchased) - 120 dollars
■Processor: Core i7 930 - 215 dollars
■Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D-E - 230 dollars
■RAM: 6GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-1333 GHz - 155 dollars
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: (none) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: (United States)
PARTS PREFERENCES: (No preference on brand, so long as it provides quality. I would like to go with a full tower or large mid-tower to make putting the PC together easier and give room for future expansion-- particularly hard drives, I have three now and am looking to add a solid state drive for the operating system. I am expecting to need another couple terabytes within the year.)
OVERCLOCKING: (No) SLI OR CROSSFIRE: (Maybe)
MONITOR RESOLUTION: (1920x1200)
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: (I keep the PC in my bedroom, so I would like it as quiet as possible and preferably with little in the way of LED lighting. In fact, I would prefer to have no light at all when the PC is in stand by, though preferably still displaying when the PC is on. I also prefer solid panels rather than the acrylic side views, but it's not a major issue so long as there isn't active lighting in the case while in standby. If there is lighting, I tend to prefer blue rather than red, though I'm not sure if that is configurable or not.)
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I've been having some issues with random crashes and blue screens that I believe may be due to hardware failure, which, combined with my current power supply being extremely noisy (it was a laying around the house replacement after the original died) prompted me to actually go forward with replacing the PC. I don't have any hard preferences on what I replace, though the power supply, case, and RAM are definitely going and I'm inclined to replace the motherboard in case some of my problems have been with the L1/L2 cache on that (since memtest86+ didn't reveal any RAM problems). If I'm replacing the motherboard, I figured I might as well upgrade the processor at the same time.
Key
■Columns - (Current / New) ~cost
■Total - (Gateway GT5628 / Custom ) ~$1,005.00 total
Primary
■Motherboard - (Intel G33 Express / Asus P6X58D-E) ~$230.00 [purchased]
■Processor - (Intel Core2 Quad CPU - Q6600 / Core i7 930) ~$215.00 [purchased]
■Video Card - (GeForce 9800 GT (replacement) / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■RAM - (DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM 3GB / Mushkin 6GB DDR3-1333) ~$155.00 [purchased]
Support
■Case - (16" x 16" x 7" Gateway / Cooler Master HAF 922) ~$90.00 [purchased]
■Power Supply - (Orion HP585D (replacement after old died) / Antec TP-650 or 750) ~$100.00 [purchased, TP-750]
■Network Card - (Integrated / replaced with motherboard) ~$0.00
■TV Tuner - (none / Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1250 Video Capture Board) ~$60.00
Storage
■Hard Drive 1 - (500 GB Serial ATA-300 7200 RPM / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■Hard Drive 2 - (1 TB / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■Hard Drive 3 - (1.5 TB / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■Hard Drive 4 - (none / Solid State Drive 60 GB) ~$120.00 [purchased, OCZ Agility 60 GB]
■DVD - (Optiarc DVD RW / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■Card Reader - (15 in 1 card reader / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
I'm looking for any recommendations on alternative part selections (most of these came from the part buying guides) to reduce the overall cost of the system or areas where I would be better off going with a different selection to meet my usage patterns. I'm going to be shopping around a bit for the parts and if there are any suggestions on good sites for that, I would also appreciate them.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: (I'm ready to buy this week, but I'm able to wait a few weeks if it will get me a deal.)
BUDGET RANGE: ($800-$1200, After Rebates) [Spent: $945]
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: (surfing the internet, watching movies/anime, gaming, document editing, some image/video editing, web development)
PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
■Keyboard: Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
■Mouse: Logitech Wireless Performance MX (just purchased) - 50 dollars
■Monitor: Westell 24" + Gateway 19" - considering replacing the Westell with a 27" if it's within my budget range, since this one doesn't have a DVI input (so the autoshut off doesn't work) and I would like to replace my mother's monitor
■Speakers: Gateway USB speakers
■OS: Windows 7 (64-bit)
■Storage Hard Drives: 3 - 500 GB, 1 TB, 1.5 TB; all SATA 7200 RPM I believe
■DVD Drive: Optiarc DVD RW
■Video Card: GeForce 9800 GT - will consider replacing, but I don't know that it's necessary and I'm close to my budget with the parts I have already. The only problem I have with my current video card is the lack of HDMI output. The other area where it might not be sufficient is video encoding, but I don't do that very often.
■Microphone/Camera: Logitech IM/Connect
■Case: HAF 922 (just purchased) - 90 dollars
■Power Supply: Antec TP-750 (just purchased) - 85 dollars
■Solid State Drive: OCZ Agility 60 GB (just purchased) - 120 dollars
■Processor: Core i7 930 - 215 dollars
■Motherboard: ASUS P6X58D-E - 230 dollars
■RAM: 6GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3-1333 GHz - 155 dollars
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: (none) COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: (United States)
PARTS PREFERENCES: (No preference on brand, so long as it provides quality. I would like to go with a full tower or large mid-tower to make putting the PC together easier and give room for future expansion-- particularly hard drives, I have three now and am looking to add a solid state drive for the operating system. I am expecting to need another couple terabytes within the year.)
OVERCLOCKING: (No) SLI OR CROSSFIRE: (Maybe)
MONITOR RESOLUTION: (1920x1200)
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: (I keep the PC in my bedroom, so I would like it as quiet as possible and preferably with little in the way of LED lighting. In fact, I would prefer to have no light at all when the PC is in stand by, though preferably still displaying when the PC is on. I also prefer solid panels rather than the acrylic side views, but it's not a major issue so long as there isn't active lighting in the case while in standby. If there is lighting, I tend to prefer blue rather than red, though I'm not sure if that is configurable or not.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've been having some issues with random crashes and blue screens that I believe may be due to hardware failure, which, combined with my current power supply being extremely noisy (it was a laying around the house replacement after the original died) prompted me to actually go forward with replacing the PC. I don't have any hard preferences on what I replace, though the power supply, case, and RAM are definitely going and I'm inclined to replace the motherboard in case some of my problems have been with the L1/L2 cache on that (since memtest86+ didn't reveal any RAM problems). If I'm replacing the motherboard, I figured I might as well upgrade the processor at the same time.
Key
■Columns - (Current / New) ~cost
■Total - (Gateway GT5628 / Custom ) ~$1,005.00 total
Primary
■Motherboard - (Intel G33 Express / Asus P6X58D-E) ~$230.00 [purchased]
■Processor - (Intel Core2 Quad CPU - Q6600 / Core i7 930) ~$215.00 [purchased]
■Video Card - (GeForce 9800 GT (replacement) / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■RAM - (DDR2 667 MHz SDRAM 3GB / Mushkin 6GB DDR3-1333) ~$155.00 [purchased]
Support
■Case - (16" x 16" x 7" Gateway / Cooler Master HAF 922) ~$90.00 [purchased]
■Power Supply - (Orion HP585D (replacement after old died) / Antec TP-650 or 750) ~$100.00 [purchased, TP-750]
■Network Card - (Integrated / replaced with motherboard) ~$0.00
■TV Tuner - (none / Hauppauge WinTV-HVR1250 Video Capture Board) ~$60.00
Storage
■Hard Drive 1 - (500 GB Serial ATA-300 7200 RPM / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■Hard Drive 2 - (1 TB / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■Hard Drive 3 - (1.5 TB / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■Hard Drive 4 - (none / Solid State Drive 60 GB) ~$120.00 [purchased, OCZ Agility 60 GB]
■DVD - (Optiarc DVD RW / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
■Card Reader - (15 in 1 card reader / [[keep]]) ~$0.00
I'm looking for any recommendations on alternative part selections (most of these came from the part buying guides) to reduce the overall cost of the system or areas where I would be better off going with a different selection to meet my usage patterns. I'm going to be shopping around a bit for the parts and if there are any suggestions on good sites for that, I would also appreciate them.
).
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