I think I've got everything lined up for my first post in over 2 years.
Case:
Antec 900 89.99 Microcenter
Power Supply:
Corsair 750W 109.99 Microcenter (10 MIR)
CPU:
i7 920 199.99 Microcenter
Memory:
Corsair XMS 3x2gb 1333 7-20 129.99 Newegg
Video Card:
MSI ATI 1gb Radeon 4850 119.99 Newegg (15 MIR)
DVD Burner:
Samsung 22x 29.99 Microcenter
Hard Drives:
2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 79.99*2= 159.98 Newegg
Motherboard
ASRock X58 Extreme 169.99 Newegg (10 MIR)
Operating System
Windows 7 64b 99.99 OEM or 29.99 Student
Total: 1109.90+Tax&Shipping (and 35 in MIR)
1. Used for/tasks
Heavy internet usage (lots of tabs open for extended periods)
Couple of large sql dbs (5-10gb)
Not much gaming at all
Uptime measured in weeks/months (stability)
Media center/server
2. Budget - 1500 max, expecting to spend between 1200-1500
3. Buying in the US, have a local Microcenter
4. Brand preferences
HDs, all else being equal I'd go with WD.
Video cards, all else being equal, I'd go with nVidia
5. Not planning on using anything from my current build (all IDE and 4yo parts)
6. I have a fairly good grasp after spending 2 weeks catching up on 4 years of ignoring computer hardware.
7. I'll overclock slightly but not planning on pushing it. 2.66 to prolly like 3.33, or wherever a midpoint that hits a good DDR3 number is.
8. If I game now, it would be at 1600x1200. Planning on upgrading from 2 20s to 2 30s (separate budget), so would like the capability to game at 2560x1600, but I'm not a huge gamer, thus just the single 4850.
9. Now/By October 22 (Win 7 release date)
10. Questions I have regarding additional parts:
Do I need a separate cpu cooler or is the default Intel one fine?
Video card(s) needs to be capable of driving a 30 and 1 or 2 20s, or dual 30s
Hard drives, I'm getting 2 1tb drives for storage. Is the velociraptor worth it for OS+Programs (and the sql dbs) or should I just create a 100gb partition on one of the tb drives for everything?
What about misc accessories, sata cables, arctic silver, et cetera
In terms of future proofing, I don't expect to be rummaging around for new parts every six months. Current build has lasted 5 years, and i"m just looking to build it and forget about it for another 3-4 years.
Have only looked at Newegg for prices, but saw that Microcenter was competitive for the i7, the case, the optical drive, and the power supply, so I'm just gonna give them that extra business instead of just getting the processor there. If other online vendors can beat Newegg's prices, feel free to link them.
Case:
Antec 900 89.99 Microcenter
Power Supply:
Corsair 750W 109.99 Microcenter (10 MIR)
CPU:
i7 920 199.99 Microcenter
Memory:
Corsair XMS 3x2gb 1333 7-20 129.99 Newegg
Video Card:
MSI ATI 1gb Radeon 4850 119.99 Newegg (15 MIR)
DVD Burner:
Samsung 22x 29.99 Microcenter
Hard Drives:
2x Samsung Spinpoint F3 79.99*2= 159.98 Newegg
Motherboard
ASRock X58 Extreme 169.99 Newegg (10 MIR)
Operating System
Windows 7 64b 99.99 OEM or 29.99 Student
Total: 1109.90+Tax&Shipping (and 35 in MIR)
1. Used for/tasks
Heavy internet usage (lots of tabs open for extended periods)
Couple of large sql dbs (5-10gb)
Not much gaming at all
Uptime measured in weeks/months (stability)
Media center/server
2. Budget - 1500 max, expecting to spend between 1200-1500
3. Buying in the US, have a local Microcenter
4. Brand preferences
HDs, all else being equal I'd go with WD.
Video cards, all else being equal, I'd go with nVidia
5. Not planning on using anything from my current build (all IDE and 4yo parts)
6. I have a fairly good grasp after spending 2 weeks catching up on 4 years of ignoring computer hardware.
7. I'll overclock slightly but not planning on pushing it. 2.66 to prolly like 3.33, or wherever a midpoint that hits a good DDR3 number is.
8. If I game now, it would be at 1600x1200. Planning on upgrading from 2 20s to 2 30s (separate budget), so would like the capability to game at 2560x1600, but I'm not a huge gamer, thus just the single 4850.
9. Now/By October 22 (Win 7 release date)
10. Questions I have regarding additional parts:
Do I need a separate cpu cooler or is the default Intel one fine?
Video card(s) needs to be capable of driving a 30 and 1 or 2 20s, or dual 30s
Hard drives, I'm getting 2 1tb drives for storage. Is the velociraptor worth it for OS+Programs (and the sql dbs) or should I just create a 100gb partition on one of the tb drives for everything?
What about misc accessories, sata cables, arctic silver, et cetera
In terms of future proofing, I don't expect to be rummaging around for new parts every six months. Current build has lasted 5 years, and i"m just looking to build it and forget about it for another 3-4 years.
Have only looked at Newegg for prices, but saw that Microcenter was competitive for the i7, the case, the optical drive, and the power supply, so I'm just gonna give them that extra business instead of just getting the processor there. If other online vendors can beat Newegg's prices, feel free to link them.