[elky] Re: Building a PC
- From: Chris Lindh <chrislindh@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: elky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 18 Dec 2009 20:36:13 -0500
...and DONE! Typing from the new machine. Starting it after assembly
(the blinding flast test) I expected issues but was pleasantly
surprised when it booted up and did everything it was supposed to
(especially when I hooked up a mouse & keyboard ;)
The specs:
Antec P183 ATX case
Asus P6X58D Deluxe motherboard
I7-920 CPU 2.67 GHz
6GB Corsair Dominator RAM
XFX 4890 video card
Samsung 750GB drive (pulled from old PC)
Corsair HX650 modular power supply
Samsung CD/DVD Sata drive
Windows 7 64 bit
Widows Office Ultimate
I had to buy an OEM CD/DVD drive since my spare was IDE & the
motherboard doesn't have an IDE port. The motherboard has a pair each
of SATA 6.0 and USB 3.0 ports, so I paid more for future proofing.
Installing the CPU was scary - I was worried about bent pins but it's
a very simple procedure.
What makes the power supply "modular" is you plug in the cables you
need versus them being prewired. The cables all have multiple
connectors, which made them a pain to flatten down in the cable
management compartment behind the motherboard. A few zip ties helped
there. I used Easus partition manager to make a copy of my data from
the 750GB drive to a 160GB drive I put into my old PC. I was
immediately reminded how slow older drives are... the 160GB is SATA,
but it's slow.
I shopped aggressively... used 20% Bing cashback, rebates, any
discounts I could find, I even bought the RAM used on eBay - it works
great but if I ever have a problem I know Corsair has a great warranty
(that's why I bought a Corsair power supply as well).
Building my first PC was nerve racking when I thought about the $
involved... but I have a great sense of accomplishment now that it's
working.
--
Chris Lindh
http://www.PartsForSpeed.com
On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 6:51 PM, Chris Lindh <chrislindh@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Operating System you say? Slickdeals to the rescue! I was ready to
> fork over $130 for Window 7 Pro OEM version... but through Slickdeals
> I discovered students can get a full version (not upgrade) Windows 7
> Pro DVD for $30 AND Windows Office 2007 Ultimate for $60. My sister
> in law is a student... so it's on like Donkey Kong.
>
> The details:
> http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1562761
> http://www.microsoft.com/student/discounts/theultimatesteal-us/default.aspx
> --
> Chris Lindh
> http://www.PartsForSpeed.com
>
>
>
> On Thu, Dec 3, 2009 at 5:49 PM, Robert Adams <ladams21@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>>> The i7 P55 (860, 750) only have 2 channels for ram, the X58 (920, 975,
>>> etc) use 3. The interesting part is using current benchmarks the two
>>> are very close so I'm not sure which I want... it'll probably come
>>> down to the best deal.
>>
>>
>> Yeah. Go with the cheaper for what you want. IMO For me I
>> need the most processing I can get but can skimp some on the video card
>> because of the software.
>>
>> I remember building a dual processor 486. Nice board
>> with the sockets just barely far enough apart to put heatsinks on them.
>>
>>
>>> It's crazy how much competition there is in the computing world...
>>> just when Intel gets ahead AMD slashes prices to compete on price...
>>> a lot has changed since I considered building a system last ('05)...
>>> but some parts never change: new CPU designs force you to decide
>>> whether you want a good price today or an upgrade path in the future.
>>
>>
>>
>> AMD has always been a good bit cheaper than Intel. Intel was fines
>> billions for anti competitive practices in the EU a while back. Prob is we
>> don't have a similar protection for consumers here....
>>
>>
>> My thoughts are to buy a fairly fast processor and mobo but make
>> sure you get a good deal on it. That will suffice for most people. Now later
>> on you can just swap mobo and processor. Same for heavy users but you need
>> to get a better processor. Don't count on ever replacing the processor on a
>> mobo.
>>
>>
>> The other issue is the version of windows you get. I usually get
>> the system builder version which is $100. It's only good on that
>> mobo/processor basically. No support from MS but who cares... The retail
>> versions allow you a certain number of installs. Dunnow how many though. The
>> retail versions usually run $250 and up though. I figure by the time this
>> computer gets replaced a new OS will be out and so far that has held true
>> since windows 3.1. I have a couple copies and a copy of dos 6 too....
>>
>>
>>
>> Robert Adams
>>
>>
>> Rules: Please play nicely with others.
>>
>> -List members page (text & pic links):
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>>
>>
>
Rules: Please play nicely with others.
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