■Approximate Purchase Date: Within a week
■Budget Range: ~$1,000 before rebates
■System Usage from Most to Least Important: internet, MS Office, Photoshop, light gaming (mostly flash)
■Parts Not Required: I already have a monitor (24" Dell), keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS (Win7 x64), all other sw.
■Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com
■Country of Origin: USA
■Parts Preferences: i5-2500K, mini tower
■Overclocking: Maybe in a few years as things slow down
■SLI or Crossfire: No
■Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200
■Additional Comments: Library quiet or better (doesn't have to be silent)
Hi everyone,
First of all, thank you for a great site and community! What a resource!
This is my 4th build (yeah, old geezer). I try to make my kits last 6 to 8 years with minimal upgrades, save for some RAM or new technology (USB, optical, etc. in the past).
It's been a while since I've done this, and how things have changed! My thoughts:
■I'm most concerned about my choice of PSU. Is it enough? Is it good?
■I'm going with a mATX because I don't need a big tower. I'm not thrilled with the case, but it seems to be the best value.
■I plan on SSD for the OS and HDD RAID 1 (mirror) for storage.
■Budget is not a concern, but I think I can build something really good for around a grand that will last me through my next divorce.
Here's what I've been able to piece together:
■CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
■MB - ASUS P8P67-M PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
■GPU - ASUS ENGT430/DI/1GD3(LP) GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
■RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
■SDD - Corsair Performance 3 Series CSSD-P364GB2-BRKT 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
■HDD - (2) Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■OPT - HP Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA 24X Multiformat DVD Writer
■Case - HEC 6K28BB8F Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case
■PSU - APEX AL-D500EXP 500W ATX12V Power Supply
Total cost right now is around $950.
Looking forward to your thoughts, and thank you!
Pete
■Budget Range: ~$1,000 before rebates
■System Usage from Most to Least Important: internet, MS Office, Photoshop, light gaming (mostly flash)
■Parts Not Required: I already have a monitor (24" Dell), keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS (Win7 x64), all other sw.
■Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com
■Country of Origin: USA
■Parts Preferences: i5-2500K, mini tower
■Overclocking: Maybe in a few years as things slow down
■SLI or Crossfire: No
■Monitor Resolution: 1920x1200
■Additional Comments: Library quiet or better (doesn't have to be silent)
Hi everyone,
First of all, thank you for a great site and community! What a resource!
This is my 4th build (yeah, old geezer). I try to make my kits last 6 to 8 years with minimal upgrades, save for some RAM or new technology (USB, optical, etc. in the past).
It's been a while since I've done this, and how things have changed! My thoughts:
■I'm most concerned about my choice of PSU. Is it enough? Is it good?
■I'm going with a mATX because I don't need a big tower. I'm not thrilled with the case, but it seems to be the best value.
■I plan on SSD for the OS and HDD RAID 1 (mirror) for storage.
■Budget is not a concern, but I think I can build something really good for around a grand that will last me through my next divorce.
Here's what I've been able to piece together:
■CPU - Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) 4 x 256KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I52500K
■MB - ASUS P8P67-M PRO LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
■GPU - ASUS ENGT430/DI/1GD3(LP) GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
■RAM - G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL
■SDD - Corsair Performance 3 Series CSSD-P364GB2-BRKT 2.5" 64GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)
■HDD - (2) Western Digital Caviar Black WD5002AALX 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
■OPT - HP Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM SATA 24X Multiformat DVD Writer
■Case - HEC 6K28BB8F Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case
■PSU - APEX AL-D500EXP 500W ATX12V Power Supply
Total cost right now is around $950.
Looking forward to your thoughts, and thank you!
Pete