- Aug 31, 2009
- 44
- 0
- 18,530
APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: ASAP but not opposed to waiting for any imminent technological developments if they are going to give more bang for the buck
BUDGET RANGE: as low as possible, but let's say up to US$800. Would actually like to hear suggestions for various price points, like "low-end", "medium", "high-end", and even "tempt me to exceed my budget", but any "top of the line" components with associated inflated premium price will probably not make the cut, esp. CPUs and GPUs.
SYSTEM USAGE:■media production: ProTools, Acid, Sound Forge, Vegas, Blender, Bryce, MilkDrop, GIMP, various encoding, etc.
■games: list of stuff I'm playing in this thread + new fun stuff like Diablo III, STALKER, id Tech 5 (would be nice if EA involvement doesn't corrupt it too badly), new Mechwarrior. I'm also into recording demos of my games as much as possible, either via in-game mechanism, or FRAPS-type thing, so whatever can be done to lessen the adverse effects of doing so would be great. FWIW, I value high framerate, high resolution, and high model detail over texture detail, but I would like to keep textures at least of "medium" quality.
■general business and software dev: Office, Visual Studio/SQL Server/IIS, Eclipse/Java, Python, Apache HTTP, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Flash, etc. This business stuff is plenty important, but I put it last because I doubt it will be the cause of much stress on the machine. Generally speaking, the server apps are just for spot development and not going to be running 24/7 on this machine.
■Movie playback in the home theater sense is not going to be a primary use, but I want it to be able to play common formats without a hitch when needed.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
■keyboard, mouse
■monitor
■drives: I intend to use 3 or 4 SATA HDs, probably non-raid (2 WD WG740GD's, at least one of which will probably be replaced by 80GB Intel X25-M, 2 Seagate ST31500341AS's (one of which may become optional after I build new storage server), and at least 1 IDE DVD-RAM ("$25 Special"))
■case (maybe but would prefer new)
■PSU (maybe -- Antec BP500U)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: prefer newegg just cuz they seem to TCB there, but not opposed to any proven no-BS alternatives.
PARTS PREFERENCES: best bang for the buck, but no suspect brands; stuff that's not going to break; stuff that's not going to leave me with a dead-end upgrade path
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, but I am not looking to "experiment" at all; if I was going to modify/OC, I would want a pretty well-established "kit" and great instructions to work from.
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not opposed to it but probably not required at this time. Depends on cost-effectiveness.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: desktop 1800x1440 (1600x1200 minimum); games let's say bare minimum 1024x768 but the higher the better; I will be using my NEC FE2111SB for a while, but anticipate one or more LCDs someday. For now, dual display is a big "nice to have" but if/when I move to LCD, it will be essential.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:■Quiet is good, but not worth paying extravagantly for.
■I have some PCI "Classic" audio hardware I want to keep using, as well as an old PCI SCSI controller I might need to install from time to time.
■In the future I could definitely see having multiple virtualized installs/images of Windows (XP or 7) and Linux (something mainstream and well-supported like Ubuntu). Not that I would be multi-tasking them hardcore most of the time, but more to maintain system integrity for my various "workspaces" i.e. Gaming/Media Production/Software Development.
■Will most likely add a Blu-Ray burner when they come down a bit.
■Would really like a recommendation on an economical, spacious, decently quiet case with good, decently quiet cooling potential, as well as decent sensor/monitoring capabilities (not sure if this is the responsibility of mobo/components/case or all of the above). Visual appeal is of almost zero importance. As case lighting/window does have some practical benefit, I would not be opposed to it, but I am not looking to spend extra for it.
■As I do a lot of media interchange, inbuilt Firewire and even bluetooth would be bonuses.
■I'm fine with basic on-board sound for gaming, as long as it works right & doesn't bog the system down. I usually play and stereo headphones and will most likely not use surround for gaming, though it might be handy for prototyping work in the media realm.
NEW PARTS I HAVE PICKED OUT ALREADY: none, except the aformentioned Intel X25-M.
I know my requirements are pretty wide-ranging, but I would appreciate any advice! I really don't follow the hardware scene at all, esp. when it comes to CPUs and mobos so even pointing me towards some basic "best of breed" starting points is going to help a lot.
I think that's it for now. I will stop back periodically to check responses, answer any questions, and submit updated concepts based on what people recommend. Thanks for reading!
BUDGET RANGE: as low as possible, but let's say up to US$800. Would actually like to hear suggestions for various price points, like "low-end", "medium", "high-end", and even "tempt me to exceed my budget", but any "top of the line" components with associated inflated premium price will probably not make the cut, esp. CPUs and GPUs.
SYSTEM USAGE:■media production: ProTools, Acid, Sound Forge, Vegas, Blender, Bryce, MilkDrop, GIMP, various encoding, etc.
■games: list of stuff I'm playing in this thread + new fun stuff like Diablo III, STALKER, id Tech 5 (would be nice if EA involvement doesn't corrupt it too badly), new Mechwarrior. I'm also into recording demos of my games as much as possible, either via in-game mechanism, or FRAPS-type thing, so whatever can be done to lessen the adverse effects of doing so would be great. FWIW, I value high framerate, high resolution, and high model detail over texture detail, but I would like to keep textures at least of "medium" quality.
■general business and software dev: Office, Visual Studio/SQL Server/IIS, Eclipse/Java, Python, Apache HTTP, PostgreSQL, MySQL, Flash, etc. This business stuff is plenty important, but I put it last because I doubt it will be the cause of much stress on the machine. Generally speaking, the server apps are just for spot development and not going to be running 24/7 on this machine.
■Movie playback in the home theater sense is not going to be a primary use, but I want it to be able to play common formats without a hitch when needed.
PARTS NOT REQUIRED:
■keyboard, mouse
■monitor
■drives: I intend to use 3 or 4 SATA HDs, probably non-raid (2 WD WG740GD's, at least one of which will probably be replaced by 80GB Intel X25-M, 2 Seagate ST31500341AS's (one of which may become optional after I build new storage server), and at least 1 IDE DVD-RAM ("$25 Special"))
■case (maybe but would prefer new)
■PSU (maybe -- Antec BP500U)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: prefer newegg just cuz they seem to TCB there, but not opposed to any proven no-BS alternatives.
PARTS PREFERENCES: best bang for the buck, but no suspect brands; stuff that's not going to break; stuff that's not going to leave me with a dead-end upgrade path
OVERCLOCKING: Maybe, but I am not looking to "experiment" at all; if I was going to modify/OC, I would want a pretty well-established "kit" and great instructions to work from.
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: Not opposed to it but probably not required at this time. Depends on cost-effectiveness.
MONITOR RESOLUTION: desktop 1800x1440 (1600x1200 minimum); games let's say bare minimum 1024x768 but the higher the better; I will be using my NEC FE2111SB for a while, but anticipate one or more LCDs someday. For now, dual display is a big "nice to have" but if/when I move to LCD, it will be essential.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:■Quiet is good, but not worth paying extravagantly for.
■I have some PCI "Classic" audio hardware I want to keep using, as well as an old PCI SCSI controller I might need to install from time to time.
■In the future I could definitely see having multiple virtualized installs/images of Windows (XP or 7) and Linux (something mainstream and well-supported like Ubuntu). Not that I would be multi-tasking them hardcore most of the time, but more to maintain system integrity for my various "workspaces" i.e. Gaming/Media Production/Software Development.
■Will most likely add a Blu-Ray burner when they come down a bit.
■Would really like a recommendation on an economical, spacious, decently quiet case with good, decently quiet cooling potential, as well as decent sensor/monitoring capabilities (not sure if this is the responsibility of mobo/components/case or all of the above). Visual appeal is of almost zero importance. As case lighting/window does have some practical benefit, I would not be opposed to it, but I am not looking to spend extra for it.
■As I do a lot of media interchange, inbuilt Firewire and even bluetooth would be bonuses.
■I'm fine with basic on-board sound for gaming, as long as it works right & doesn't bog the system down. I usually play and stereo headphones and will most likely not use surround for gaming, though it might be handy for prototyping work in the media realm.
NEW PARTS I HAVE PICKED OUT ALREADY: none, except the aformentioned Intel X25-M.
I know my requirements are pretty wide-ranging, but I would appreciate any advice! I really don't follow the hardware scene at all, esp. when it comes to CPUs and mobos so even pointing me towards some basic "best of breed" starting points is going to help a lot.
I think that's it for now. I will stop back periodically to check responses, answer any questions, and submit updated concepts based on what people recommend. Thanks for reading!
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