Perhaps you could help me a bit, though. I'm trying to conserve as much money as I can naturally, so I'm considering using my current case instead of getting a new one. This means the new motherboard would have to be a micro ATX instead of a standard sized one. Is this OK or should I just go for a new case and the standard ATX MOBO?
I think the MOBO is probably the most important piece to select wisely as far as future upgradeability goes, but at the moment, there seems like a lot of advanced tech that is really not useful but costs a lot. Like the 6.0 Gb/s SATA interface instead of the standard 3.0. I don't think current HDs have even maxed out the 3.0 tech yet, so I'm not sure if I should spend the extra money for 6.0, even if it's more future-oriented.
But yeah, other than the mobo ($185), here are my proposed specs:
i7 Bloomfield 930 3.06 GHz ($300)
4 GB Corsair SDRAM (1600 MHz) (will upgrade to 8 GB when I have more monies lolz) ($100)
Radeon 5670 1 GB GDDR5 ($75) - not the best but works for me.
Corsair 630 W PSU ($75)
64 GB Samsung SSD for OS and a few programs ($115)
1 TB Western Digital Black for storage ($90)
I'm probably just going to keep my DVD and DVD-RW drives and transfer them over to the new computer. I might get Blu-Ray later, but no rush. Obviously reusing my monitor as well. And my TV Tuner.
If I've calculated correctly, that's under 1000 USD out of pocket for me (possibly less, I only looked at prices on newegg), which is about what my budget would be. Maybe I will get 8 GB RAM now, not sure. OH, I will also try to part out my old stuff, like the classic P4 3.6 GHz that its current running, as well as the old graphics card, mobo, etc. Might get me back $100-150, I don't really know. Better that it's reused than thrown out, though.
I will use the computer MOSTLY for work-related stuff, browsing the web, etc., but I want to turn it into a HTPC and hook up an HDTV to it (sometime) and I do some occasional gaming as well. So the specs might be overkill, but whatevs. Hopefully you can give me some suggestions, then.
I think the MOBO is probably the most important piece to select wisely as far as future upgradeability goes, but at the moment, there seems like a lot of advanced tech that is really not useful but costs a lot. Like the 6.0 Gb/s SATA interface instead of the standard 3.0. I don't think current HDs have even maxed out the 3.0 tech yet, so I'm not sure if I should spend the extra money for 6.0, even if it's more future-oriented.
But yeah, other than the mobo ($185), here are my proposed specs:
i7 Bloomfield 930 3.06 GHz ($300)
4 GB Corsair SDRAM (1600 MHz) (will upgrade to 8 GB when I have more monies lolz) ($100)
Radeon 5670 1 GB GDDR5 ($75) - not the best but works for me.
Corsair 630 W PSU ($75)
64 GB Samsung SSD for OS and a few programs ($115)
1 TB Western Digital Black for storage ($90)
I'm probably just going to keep my DVD and DVD-RW drives and transfer them over to the new computer. I might get Blu-Ray later, but no rush. Obviously reusing my monitor as well. And my TV Tuner.
If I've calculated correctly, that's under 1000 USD out of pocket for me (possibly less, I only looked at prices on newegg), which is about what my budget would be. Maybe I will get 8 GB RAM now, not sure. OH, I will also try to part out my old stuff, like the classic P4 3.6 GHz that its current running, as well as the old graphics card, mobo, etc. Might get me back $100-150, I don't really know. Better that it's reused than thrown out, though.
I will use the computer MOSTLY for work-related stuff, browsing the web, etc., but I want to turn it into a HTPC and hook up an HDTV to it (sometime) and I do some occasional gaming as well. So the specs might be overkill, but whatevs. Hopefully you can give me some suggestions, then.
My question is what you could be doing that needs such a heavy duty processor and not a better video card. Just reading the reviews, it seems like it gets the job done but isn't very high performance. The i7 seems like overkill when you can go 100 bucks cheaper and get an i5-760 lynnfield (quad core-2.8 GHz).
Also, is the SSD that important? Sure it's AWESOME. But still. That's another area you can save if you just want to stick with the 1TB.
My 2 cents is to ask yourself: is this really necessary? Then, read the reviews to make sure what you get is quality.
Oh and I would buy a new case and get a new Motherboard. Just build from the ground up, ya know? I know of a pretty decent site with some good cases. It's where I bought my last one.
Go Hokies!
CS/CpE. Yay engineering!
CS/CpE. Yay engineering!
My computer died last night
- 22/10/2010 04:04:46 AM
725 Views
My sympathies. 6 years is a good life though. You should be proud! *NM*
- 22/10/2010 06:16:13 AM
273 Views
6 years old? Don't just replace the HD - build a new one, if you have the cash.
- 22/10/2010 01:35:08 PM
569 Views
Re: 6 years old? Don't just replace the HD - build a new one, if you have the cash.
- 22/10/2010 05:30:03 PM
662 Views
OK, you guys are probably right
- 22/10/2010 05:51:23 PM
560 Views
Re: OK, you guys are probably right
- 22/10/2010 06:38:49 PM
717 Views
Re: OK, you guys are probably right
- 22/10/2010 06:53:56 PM
555 Views
If you're trying to conserve money, don't bother with the SSD.
- 22/10/2010 06:40:14 PM
576 Views
Re: If you're trying to conserve money, don't bother with the SSD.
- 22/10/2010 06:56:58 PM
547 Views
If you're impatient, you'll notice the impact of the extra ram a lot more than the ssd. *NM*
- 22/10/2010 06:58:56 PM
272 Views
Bullshit, the SSD will make more of a difference than the extra memory
- 23/10/2010 04:38:44 AM
636 Views
...not until you hit the reported astronomically high failure rate for SSDs, at least.
- 23/10/2010 05:01:40 AM
547 Views
SSDs have a high failure rate when they are new or you try out new firmware
- 23/10/2010 05:24:41 AM
617 Views
A power surge is likely to corrupt your RAM as well, and possibly motherboard components. *NM*
- 22/10/2010 06:39:06 PM
276 Views