Computer Q

[kandrathe]

... And to be honest, that would be the cheapest road, however maybe this is part of my excuse to get a rig capable of running upcoming software? Didn't really give that much thought. Subconscious making its influence perhaps ?

Interesting. I bought two used machines from the college where I work for $100 each. They resell them after 3 years to employees, with OS (was XP). They are adequate for the boys, although they need some RAM.

I've been thinking about a new build... I'm working on pricing out the components. There is a local Microcenter near me that is beating out the internet stores, even with having to pay State sales tax.

Intel Core i7-950 3.06GHz LGA 1366 130W Quad-Core Processor - $295

Thermaltake Frio Overclocking-Ready Intel Core i7 (six-core ready) & i5 Compatible Five 8mm Heatpipes Dual 120mm Fans Intel & AMD Universal CPU Cooler - ~$59

CORSAIR DOMINATOR 6GB (3 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Triple Channel Kit Desktop Memory - ~$150

ZALMAN ZM1000-HP 1000W Continuous @ 45°C (Maximum Continuous Peak: 1250W) Modular Heatpipe-Cooled SLI Power Supply - ~$240

ASUS P6X58D-E ATX Intel Motherboard - ~$240

OCZ Agility Series OCZSSD2-1AGT60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - ~ $125

2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - ~$160

Antec Nine Hundred Black Computer Case (With Side Panel Window) - ~$100

2x XFX Core Edition GS250XYSL4 GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card - ~$220

Of course, it's more than $500, but maybe $1600 and I figure I'd be set for another 5 years, or so. I'll probably throw in DVD-RW such as the ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS for $38 and a cheaper DVD-R.

I've remodeled my other home grown PC a few times (built in 2003 iirc), with 3 GPU upgrades, a new larger power supply and additional HD's once the price was cheaper. Sometime soon, I'll need to upgrade mobo, CPU and memory on that one too (it's an AGP model - ASUS A7N8X-X).

The last proprietary machine I bought (1999) was a refurbished Dell Dimension XPS (which I finally shut down this year). It worked fine for my wife's use as a machine for internet browsing and office apps, but it wasn't beefy enough to upgrade past Windows 2000. They stopped supporting virus scanners for it, so it became too much of a liability to risk infections. I might try a light weight Linux build on it still though, but she needs a Windows box.