We'll have to compare notes as we go along... I've been tempted by
some deals today but I think the only item I'm actually going to buy
today is a Corsair power supply. 10% Bing cashback today.
Motherboard, operating system, etc., I'm going to try to find "combo
deals" at Newegg, and I don't mind rebates. I think you can find the
SSDs less than $350, the Intel X-25M that has decent reviews is ~$250.
I like the Lego cases, and the alien looking one...
I'm wondering about mid tower versus full tower ATX... will I really
need the extra space...
--
Chris Lindh
http://www.PartsForSpeed.com
On Mon, Nov 30, 2009 at 9:12 PM, Ray Buck <rbuck@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> I've been considering the same thing: building a new desktop. The one I'm
> using now is ok, but it's starting to get disk-bound. I've got
4TB internal
> and 2 TB external Firewire drives. I'm running XP Pro on a 3 ghz 2 core
> Intel chip with 2 gb memory...the max I can run on XP.
>
> I bought this one pre-assembled with the XP install and 1 TB of
disk and the
> 2GB of RAM. It's pretty good, but the 360 watt power supply is probably
> maxed out. The existing cooling fans are woefully inadequate, so I have a
> 24" boxer fan blowing into the open side. I've been running a program
> called Active SMART to monitor the temperatures of the disk drives. If I
> don't use that big old ventilation fan, the temps hit 50C pretty quick and
> alarms start to go off. I've been looking into "case modding" on the web
> and I think I found the cooling fan solution. It's in the attached photo.
> http://bored-bored.com/cool/pc-case-mod-made-with-coolers/
>
> I figgered that if I was gonna build one, I'd do it up big. A full tower
> enclosure rather than a mid-tower like I have now and I'd add a lotta stuff
> like those shown on this site:
> http://www.neatorama.com/case-mod/
>
> I'd wanna add the light show stuff and transparent case panels sorta like
> this one:
> http://www.bit-tech.net/modding/2004/06/09/orac3_part5/1
>
> I'm not sure what motherboard I'd go with, but I'd want something
that could
> take a buncha RAM and run Windoze 7 on it to allow the use of maybe 6gb.
> I'd also like to use a solid-state disk for memory cache, or maybe install
> the OS to SSD (ok, Frank you can go nutz about the acronyms...they're code
> words that will eventually reveal the secrets of the universe, life and
> everything.) so that booting up wouldn't require any physical
disk access to
> load up. I'd think that an 80 gb SSD would work pretty well for the OS,
> swap file space, temporary files, etc. Those run about
$350. I'd also want
> a 4-core processor like Robert mentioned overclocked to 4ghz and that would
> probably require a water-cooling system (I'm not kidding.)
>
> The 3ghz AMD Phenom II X4 940 quad core chip seems to be priced
around $150,
> which, when compared to what I paid for a Pentium I at 90mhz 15
years ago is
> just about the same.
>
> I haven't done any pricing yet, but $1000 seems like a reasonable
> guesstimate. Ohh...I'd also need a real big power supply...maybe 1kw.
>
> I guess I could kill some time and do up a spreadsheet of items and costs.
>
> If ya got some suggestions, I'd love to hear 'em.
>
> Ray
>
>
> At 03:52 PM 11/30/2009, you wrote:
>>
>> I decided I needed a laptop, to be able to work around the house -
>> keep an eye on the boys, etc. As I shopped I came to realize there
>> are two classes of laptops: $300 Walmart specials or $1000+ fully
>> featured laptops. Since a computer is a vital part of my business I
>> need a workhorse, so as I shopped looking for power and light weight I
>> found myself deep in the $1000 to $2000 range. The Sony Vaio Z series
>> and Lenovo T400s were at the top of my list.
>>
>> As we've discussed before a laptop is a compromise, out of necessity
>> to fit in such a small form factor. So I'm now thinking I'd rather
>> build a powerful PC and buy a cheap, small laptop. Not a netbook, but
>> a little larger - around 3lbs.
>>
>> I also like the ability to troubleshoot a PC... I can swap parts out
>> if I have a hardware issue (which is rare in my experience with a PC).
>>
>> Build versus buy: there is no doubt I can buy a prebuilt PC that will
>> do all I need, but these typically use the cheapest components. My
>> Shuttle PC was a barebones built with quality components (I bought it
>> built and upgraded parts along the way). My Shuttle has been very
>> reliable - it's been on for almost the entire 4 years I've owned it.
>> I will be building a full size PC, or possibly a mini ATX, but I doubt
>> I'll do small form factor again - I just don't need the portability.
>>
>> I was impressed with my RMA experience with Corsair so I'm looking at
>> Corsair ram and a little reading indicates Corsair is also one of the
>> best manufacturers of power supplies. I'm thinking about the new i7
>> processors and Windows 7 Pro.
>>
>> I use a PC for spreadsheets, Adobe InDesign, Photoshop, etc and the
>> backend for my website, among other tasks... I usually have several
>> programs going at once. I don't game but I'm going to get a decent
>> graphics card.
>>
>> I'd be interested to know your opinions about other components... my
>> focus is reliability first. Thanks!
>>
>> --
>> Chris Lindh
>> http://www.PartsForSpeed.com
>>
>>
>> Rules: Please play nicely with others.
>>
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>
Rules: Please play nicely with others.
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