New computer!

I just got done building a new computer for myself and I LOVE IT! Being able to pick out exactly what parts I want and then assembling them like a Lego set is incredibly satisfying. But enough jibber-jabber, here are the specs.

Intel Core i7 2600K (Sandy Bridge)

What a beast! 4 cores + hyperthreading = 8 threads running at 3.4 GHz (3.8 GHz with Turbo Boost). At the moment I have my Turbo Boost overclocked to 4.1 GHz on stock cooling but my temps are a little high, so I am considering an after market heatsink/fan.

8 GB DDR3 1600

RAM is dirt cheap and 8 GB should be plenty for at least the next 5 years. The exact model number of my RAM wasn’t on my motherboard’s compatibility list, so I was a little bit worried when the memory error light turned on the first time I booted. Luckily, reseating the RAM modules solved the problem, so I must not have pushed one of the sticks in all the way the first time.

Asus P8P67-M PRO

Everything I need in a nice mATX package. Supports SLI/Crossfire, USB 3.0, SATA 3, EFI BIOS (cool!), and easy overclocking. The fact that it doesn’t have any legacy PCI slots or other cruft also makes me happy.

MSI Radeon 6970

The graphics card in my old computer was a NVIDIA GeForce 6800GT, but I decided to give ATI AMD the nod this time around. I initially planned on getting the slightly more cost efficient 6950 2GB (the 1GB didn’t exist yet when I ordered), but when it came to checkout time I figured I might as well spend the extra $50 (at the time) to get a top-of-the-line GPU. I have the option to do Crossfire in the future, but I perceive dual GPU setups to be slightly more quirky than single GPU setups, so I prefer to avoid them.

Western Digital Caviar Black 2TB

I actually bought this a few months ago because the hard drive on my old computer was getting full. I never imagine needing 2 TB, but at the time it was one of the fastest mechanical hard drives available. If I had purchased a harddrive at the same time as I purchased everything else, I might have upgraded myself to a SSD, but for now it is nice to have one drive that is both fast and large.

Seasonic X750

Power supplies aren’t usually noteworthy but this one came in a suede bag–sexy! More importantly the cables are modular so there is no wasted space in my mATX case, and the fan doesn’t turn on unless it PSU actually needs it. It should also give me enough wattage if I decide to buy a second GPU in the future.

ViewSonic VG2236 LED

I don’t actually have this monitor yet because I just ordered it from Amazon. I had originally ordered a similar Samsung monitor from Newegg, but when it arrived the screen position was different than what was depicted and the stand was not adjustable, so I RMA’d it. Newegg customer service was great (after I called): they did not charge me a restocking fee and gave me a credit for the return shipping which expires after 90 days but is better than nothing. I filed the RMA online, but if I would have called them to begin with they would have sent me a prepaid shipping label. Lesson? Always call for customer service; don’t fill out forms online.

In any case, the ViewSonic monitor that I ordered is a 21.5 inch 1080p LED screen with an adjustable stand. 21.5 inches is the smallest LED screen you can get with a resolution of 1080p and coincidentally the screen height of a 21.5 widescreen is about the same as my current 17 inch SXGA (1280 x 1024) LCD ViewSonic, so they should look nice next to each other. The LED backlight makes it thin, lightweight, and energy efficient.

Lian Li PC-A04

A case that is as practical as it is beautiful. The HDD bays are configurable so you can support up to 7 hard drives or 2 extra long GPUs and 3 hard drives. There is also a dedicated slot to put a 2.5 inch SSD drive if you have one. Two 140mm intake fans, and one 120mm on top (all with airfilters) provide clean and quiet cooling for the whole case. The power supply is mounted on the bottom of the case, so it gets its own intake fan and it can easily be removed without disturbing the rest of your components by sliding it out the back in case it ever needs to be replaced. The front ports which include USB 3.0, eSATA, and audio are conveniently located on top next to the power and reset buttons. Oddly enough, Newegg currently lists the black one as deactivated even th0ugh the case was released less than a month ago, but you can still get the silver version.

Misc

My optical drive is a basic DVD burner; I saw no need to get a Blu-ray drive since the future is all about streaming. My current router is only 802.11g, but I got a dual band 802.11N wireless USB dongle in case I ever get a dual band router in the future.

Cost

There you have it; my personal dream machine for roughly $1750, not including the state tax that Newegg had to charge me because California is one of three states they operate in. I still spent less this time around than the first time a built a computer, and I can certainly afford more now than I could then. I could have trimmed costs down with a smaller hard drive, slightly slower processor, and/or lower end graphics card, but this is something I only get to do every 5 years, so go big or go home!