[elky] Re: Building a PC
- From: Chris Lindh <chrislindh@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 1 Dec 2009 09:52:16 -0500
I need to go look at the cases at the local Microcenter. I was
tempted to order a case last night but there are horror stories with
cases getting beat up in shipping (or faulty wiring, etc).
Microcenter also has deals on processors... although you have to
factor in tax there is something to be said for being able to return
something to a retail store if necessary...
On Tue, Dec 1, 2009 at 9:46 AM, Jim <jdos@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> With the size of hard drives today, I really wonder if you will use more
> than 3 inside the case. Seems for me I want to optical reader burners, a
> face plate that has all the sd card slot configs from my cameras, etc, and
> enough memory to be-seem fast.
>
> Now, that can all go out the window if you are going to do a raid 5 .
>
> JD
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: elky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:elky-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf
> Of Chris Lindh
> Sent: Monday, November 30, 2009 8:26 PM
> To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [elky] Re: Building a PC
>
> 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.
>>>
>>> -List members page (text & pic links):
>>> http://www.myelcamino.net/eclist.htm
>>> -List members page (all pics):
>>> http://www.myelcamino.net/ec_list.htm
>>
>
>
> Rules: Please play nicely with others.
>
> -List members page (text & pic links):
> http://www.myelcamino.net/eclist.htm
> -List members page (all pics):
> http://www.myelcamino.net/ec_list.htm
>
>
>
> Rules: Please play nicely with others.
>
> -List members page (text & pic links):
> http://www.myelcamino.net/eclist.htm
> -List members page (all pics):
> http://www.myelcamino.net/ec_list.htm
>
>
--
Chris Lindh
http://www.PartsForSpeed.com
Rules: Please play nicely with others.
-List members page (text & pic links):
http://www.myelcamino.net/eclist.htm
-List members page (all pics):
http://www.myelcamino.net/ec_list.htm
Other related posts:
