Approximate Purchase Date: < 2 weeks (will complete purchases around Black Friday)
Budget Range: 700 (or best) After Rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Software Development, Photo and HD video editing, Virtual Machines, Multimedia-HD Video and Music.
Parts Not Required: I already have these: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS. I also plan on reusing the following parts but I’m willing to swap out for better part or if the part is not compatible with the build.
• Antec EarthWatts 750W (EA-750)
• Kingston HyperX 6GB DDR3 1600 CL9 (KHX1600C9D3K3/6GX)
• Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST320005N4A1AS-RK Hard Drive
• Asus 24x DVD Burner
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: No preference, whichever site has best price
Country: US
Parts Preferences: I prefer the build to last me about 4 years to come. Intel CPU and chipsets sounds the like way to go but I’ll still consider a comparable AMD build that provides a better value.
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe
Monitor Resolution: multi-monitor: 2x (1920x1080) OR 2x (1280x1024) and 1x (1920x1080)
Additional Comments:
I haven’t built a PC in a really long time now (> 5 years), so for all practical purposes I’m a n00b at this. I’m a software developer and I’m looking for an all-rounder PC. The following is what I would be primarily using this PC for:
Software development: I would like the PC to not only be fast but also handle the following tasks (some simultaneously) without any problem/hesitation: debugging, building/assembling software, running Visual Studio 2010, source control software, web server, SQL server, running multiple web browsers for research and test, automated testing.
Photo and video editing: I plan on doing occasional Photo editing (>12 MP) and HD (1080p) video editing using Adobe Photoshop, Premiere and After effects. I’m not looking to do professional grade video production or photo editing; just bunch of family photos and videos and really looking to satisfy a hobby. Therefore, although speed and power are important keeping it affordable is equally important--I’m not looking to spend thousands as one would on such production workstations.
Virtualization: I plan on running 2 – 3 virtual machines at a time for various testing, network simulation and software development tasks.
Multimedia, internet and word processing: although I feel this category needs no mention, I’m including it for completeness sake. I plan on doing heavy internet browsing and multitasking. I would like to watch HD movies (H.264 encoded), listen to music and run typical business applications such as Microsoft Office.
Games: I don’t play any computer games (sorry ), nor plan on using this machine for that purpose.
I will be running Win7 Pro x64 on this PC.
My current machine sounds like a portable vacuum cleaner; hence, I would prefer the new PC to be quieter but doesn’t have to whisper quiet—just quiet enough where I don’t hear the fans blasting from 2 – 3 feet away. I prefer my case to have clean, simple and minimalist yet functional design. A nice size window is ok; don’t care for too much flash.
I know $700 might be a bit tight but I’m hoping that the parts I already have on hand would help make up for some and the savings can help towards good CPU, motherboard, GPU and more RAM.
If you need more info or have questions please ask.
Thanks for your comments and advice.
Budget Range: 700 (or best) After Rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Software Development, Photo and HD video editing, Virtual Machines, Multimedia-HD Video and Music.
Parts Not Required: I already have these: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS. I also plan on reusing the following parts but I’m willing to swap out for better part or if the part is not compatible with the build.
• Antec EarthWatts 750W (EA-750)
• Kingston HyperX 6GB DDR3 1600 CL9 (KHX1600C9D3K3/6GX)
• Seagate Barracuda 2TB ST320005N4A1AS-RK Hard Drive
• Asus 24x DVD Burner
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: No preference, whichever site has best price
Country: US
Parts Preferences: I prefer the build to last me about 4 years to come. Intel CPU and chipsets sounds the like way to go but I’ll still consider a comparable AMD build that provides a better value.
Overclocking: Maybe
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe
Monitor Resolution: multi-monitor: 2x (1920x1080) OR 2x (1280x1024) and 1x (1920x1080)
Additional Comments:
I haven’t built a PC in a really long time now (> 5 years), so for all practical purposes I’m a n00b at this. I’m a software developer and I’m looking for an all-rounder PC. The following is what I would be primarily using this PC for:
Software development: I would like the PC to not only be fast but also handle the following tasks (some simultaneously) without any problem/hesitation: debugging, building/assembling software, running Visual Studio 2010, source control software, web server, SQL server, running multiple web browsers for research and test, automated testing.
Photo and video editing: I plan on doing occasional Photo editing (>12 MP) and HD (1080p) video editing using Adobe Photoshop, Premiere and After effects. I’m not looking to do professional grade video production or photo editing; just bunch of family photos and videos and really looking to satisfy a hobby. Therefore, although speed and power are important keeping it affordable is equally important--I’m not looking to spend thousands as one would on such production workstations.
Virtualization: I plan on running 2 – 3 virtual machines at a time for various testing, network simulation and software development tasks.
Multimedia, internet and word processing: although I feel this category needs no mention, I’m including it for completeness sake. I plan on doing heavy internet browsing and multitasking. I would like to watch HD movies (H.264 encoded), listen to music and run typical business applications such as Microsoft Office.
Games: I don’t play any computer games (sorry ), nor plan on using this machine for that purpose.
I will be running Win7 Pro x64 on this PC.
My current machine sounds like a portable vacuum cleaner; hence, I would prefer the new PC to be quieter but doesn’t have to whisper quiet—just quiet enough where I don’t hear the fans blasting from 2 – 3 feet away. I prefer my case to have clean, simple and minimalist yet functional design. A nice size window is ok; don’t care for too much flash.
I know $700 might be a bit tight but I’m hoping that the parts I already have on hand would help make up for some and the savings can help towards good CPU, motherboard, GPU and more RAM.
If you need more info or have questions please ask.
Thanks for your comments and advice.