I've spent the last few weeks reading heaps of reviews, product specs, wiki entries, forum threads and all manner of interweb bric-a-brac to take my knowledge of computer hardware from negligible to novice.
Thought I'd take a shot at building a system to be used for:
- multitasking
- statistics (SPSS)
- 2D AutoCAD
- media library
- gaming
Finally letting go of my WinXP comfort blanket and moving up to Win7. Existing software isn't an issue as most of it will be new.
Not an OC'er yet, but I'm hoping to get pieces that will be able to; I think I've got some pretty easy-to-OC selections.
Not much of a gamer, but there are a couple new and upcoming Blizzard titles that I must be able to play!
I've researched the hell out of fans and case cooling the last few days and I know I will want to spend a few bucks on some decent air cooling, but in the interest of not breaking the bank I'm going to try to get away with stock for now. Exception: components selected require additional cooling - please leave your thoughts!
I'm not in this for a pretty PC; LED lights are more con than pro. I will try to make this a very clean build, so any tips you have for wire management would be appreciated.
Whenever possible I'd prefer a more efficient selection; lower power req'ts without sacrificing quality.
I've taken a crack at putting together an AMD system for under $2k:
Case - don't want a full tower case, but want decent cooling ability. Looking for quality build and good engineering. Preferably with a couple fans included.
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
Motherboard - Something I can work with that is easy to use. USB 3.0 would be nice.
ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX ATX Motherboard
Processor - don't want to spend a fortune and I'd like to stick with AMD
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz
GPU - I'd like to keep the heat/power consumption down. Won't be playing many FPS or watching movies. Need at least 2 monitor connections.
XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit
PSU - Modular; clean & consistent; good warranty
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V
Memory - versatile and cool running
G.SKILL Flare 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) CL7D
Boot Disk - speedy, consistent and reliable for Windows and most used Apps
OCZ Agility 2 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC SSD
Storage - speedy, consistent and reliable for media storage/playback and less used Apps. Additional storage will be added later on.
WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.5"
Optical - quiet, reliable, long lasting, problem free
ASUS Black 24X 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner
Monitor - HD, fast response, ~20", sturdy, energy efficient
ASUS VH222H-P Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD
Let me know what you guys think; I'll welcome any thoughts and opinions.
Thought I'd take a shot at building a system to be used for:
- multitasking
- statistics (SPSS)
- 2D AutoCAD
- media library
- gaming
Finally letting go of my WinXP comfort blanket and moving up to Win7. Existing software isn't an issue as most of it will be new.
Not an OC'er yet, but I'm hoping to get pieces that will be able to; I think I've got some pretty easy-to-OC selections.
Not much of a gamer, but there are a couple new and upcoming Blizzard titles that I must be able to play!
I've researched the hell out of fans and case cooling the last few days and I know I will want to spend a few bucks on some decent air cooling, but in the interest of not breaking the bank I'm going to try to get away with stock for now. Exception: components selected require additional cooling - please leave your thoughts!
I'm not in this for a pretty PC; LED lights are more con than pro. I will try to make this a very clean build, so any tips you have for wire management would be appreciated.
Whenever possible I'd prefer a more efficient selection; lower power req'ts without sacrificing quality.
I've taken a crack at putting together an AMD system for under $2k:
Case - don't want a full tower case, but want decent cooling ability. Looking for quality build and good engineering. Preferably with a couple fans included.
COOLER MASTER RC-692-KKN2 CM690 II Advanced Black Steel ATX Mid Tower
Motherboard - Something I can work with that is easy to use. USB 3.0 would be nice.
ASUS Crosshair IV Formula AM3 AMD 890FX ATX Motherboard
Processor - don't want to spend a fortune and I'd like to stick with AMD
AMD Phenom II X6 1090T Black Edition Thuban 3.2GHz
GPU - I'd like to keep the heat/power consumption down. Won't be playing many FPS or watching movies. Need at least 2 monitor connections.
XFX HD-585X-ZAFC Radeon HD 5850 1GB 256-bit
PSU - Modular; clean & consistent; good warranty
CORSAIR HX Series CMPSU-750HX 750W ATX12V
Memory - versatile and cool running
G.SKILL Flare 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2000 (PC3 16000) CL7D
Boot Disk - speedy, consistent and reliable for Windows and most used Apps
OCZ Agility 2 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC SSD
Storage - speedy, consistent and reliable for media storage/playback and less used Apps. Additional storage will be added later on.
WD Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.5"
Optical - quiet, reliable, long lasting, problem free
ASUS Black 24X 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner
Monitor - HD, fast response, ~20", sturdy, energy efficient
ASUS VH222H-P Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD
Let me know what you guys think; I'll welcome any thoughts and opinions.