Elec engineering major going in with a computer intended for use with a variety of independent and assignment based engineering/programming applications, most of them heavy. Some light gaming on the side, e.g. minecraft or tf2 with some amigos.
Main Build
CPU - 190$ - Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooling - 15$ - Corsair Hydro (CPU), thermal paste and thermal paste remover. (if temps = bad, then cooler master hyper 212 plus)
GPU - 0$ - PNY VCG98GTXPXPB GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
PSU - 70$ - Silencer Mk II 750 Watt ATX Power Supply
MOBO - 70$ - ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM - 105$ - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Case - 40$ - COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
HDD - 0$ - Western Digital Caviar GP WD7500AACS 750GB 5400 to 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
OS - 0$ - Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
Optical - 0$ - loldunno
Monitor - 0$ - hp 2159m
Total Cost: ~475$
Explanation
CPU - Went with a quad core for engineering applications. Intel is sound for longevity; plan to OC in the future. Nice price on a store near me.
GPU - I am very impressed by my current card and will run/OC it to death and possibly grab another used (20$; cheap!) for SLI and see if it runs CAD roughly (or at all) for my uses. If my CAD applications run slow I'll probably upgrade to either a good gaming GPU (e.g. GTX 560Ti, perhaps better) or workstation GPU. From my research, I'll prob go with gaming GPUs because ironically enough they offer better comparable performance at lower prices.
PSU - overkill, but I've got a great deal (10$/100W + 80 PLUS Silver) + 7 years warranty + potential SLI in the future. Only real con is that it's not modular.
MOBO - I wanted the Asrock Z77 Extreme4 really bad. Like really, really bad. But it's double the cost of the present MOBO and I wouldn't use any more features than the H77M (I have no idea if performance would even be affected either). IME Good MOBOs only last 5 years max anyway, so I'll run this one to death and then upgrade to something like the extreme4 + 16gb more ram and possibly more HDDs/SSDs.
-On another note, to increase cheap MOBO lifetime, I intend to replace the thermal paste on the heatsink with the better stuff listed above.
RAM - seems overkill, but engineering programs are RAM intensive. 2x8gb for now, 4x8gb in the far future (same sticks). G.Skill because they're awesome and have lifetime warranty, as I will definitely be using these sticks for a very long time.
Case - I don't care for a case over 50$ so long as I've got good air flow, dust filters, size for upgrades etc., which I believe I do.
Monitor - it's what I've got sitting around atm. In about a year I plan on scrounging one or two extras for a dual/triple monitor setup.
The other stuff I just scrounged from some existing cases I've got lying around.
Tell me what you think! Everything seem to check out nicely? If so, I think I'll buy soon; that store only has 1 PSU in stock!
Main Build
CPU - 190$ - Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor
Cooling - 15$ - Corsair Hydro (CPU), thermal paste and thermal paste remover. (if temps = bad, then cooler master hyper 212 plus)
GPU - 0$ - PNY VCG98GTXPXPB GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
PSU - 70$ - Silencer Mk II 750 Watt ATX Power Supply
MOBO - 70$ - ASRock H77M LGA 1155 Intel H77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
RAM - 105$ - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
Case - 40$ - COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case
HDD - 0$ - Western Digital Caviar GP WD7500AACS 750GB 5400 to 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
OS - 0$ - Windows 7 64-bit Home Premium
Optical - 0$ - loldunno
Monitor - 0$ - hp 2159m
Total Cost: ~475$
Explanation
CPU - Went with a quad core for engineering applications. Intel is sound for longevity; plan to OC in the future. Nice price on a store near me.
GPU - I am very impressed by my current card and will run/OC it to death and possibly grab another used (20$; cheap!) for SLI and see if it runs CAD roughly (or at all) for my uses. If my CAD applications run slow I'll probably upgrade to either a good gaming GPU (e.g. GTX 560Ti, perhaps better) or workstation GPU. From my research, I'll prob go with gaming GPUs because ironically enough they offer better comparable performance at lower prices.
PSU - overkill, but I've got a great deal (10$/100W + 80 PLUS Silver) + 7 years warranty + potential SLI in the future. Only real con is that it's not modular.
MOBO - I wanted the Asrock Z77 Extreme4 really bad. Like really, really bad. But it's double the cost of the present MOBO and I wouldn't use any more features than the H77M (I have no idea if performance would even be affected either). IME Good MOBOs only last 5 years max anyway, so I'll run this one to death and then upgrade to something like the extreme4 + 16gb more ram and possibly more HDDs/SSDs.
-On another note, to increase cheap MOBO lifetime, I intend to replace the thermal paste on the heatsink with the better stuff listed above.
RAM - seems overkill, but engineering programs are RAM intensive. 2x8gb for now, 4x8gb in the far future (same sticks). G.Skill because they're awesome and have lifetime warranty, as I will definitely be using these sticks for a very long time.
Case - I don't care for a case over 50$ so long as I've got good air flow, dust filters, size for upgrades etc., which I believe I do.
Monitor - it's what I've got sitting around atm. In about a year I plan on scrounging one or two extras for a dual/triple monitor setup.
The other stuff I just scrounged from some existing cases I've got lying around.
Tell me what you think! Everything seem to check out nicely? If so, I think I'll buy soon; that store only has 1 PSU in stock!