Once summer starts and I can afford to put some money aside, I’m planning to build the following machine:
I’m gutting my current system and reusing my Antec 900 case. Also, I probably won’t get the processor from NewEgg since I can grab it at Microcenter for $90 cheaper, which will bring the total down to $1630. Money-permitting, I’m also looking to get the Dell 2209WA monitor to replace my 19" widescreen LCD.
All told, I’m facing a $1,900 bill. What do you guys think?
Why’re you buying an 80 GB Solid State drive when you’re also buying a 640 GB HD, and spending about three times as much?
That’s the only thing wrong with that that I can think of.
EDIT: Well, now I can probably see why. Disregard what I said.
Looks pretty solid to me.
A few things.
Spending 42 dollars on a non-gaming keyboard is ridiculous in my opinion. If you’re into that sort of thing then i guess there’s a point, but I would be satisfied with a normal old keyboard <$10.
I’d get a 1KW PSU simply because it would be the one part I know I wouldn’t need to upgrade in a while. 850W may be more than enough for now, but the 1kw PSU would also most likely offer more voltage on the 12V rails for other demanding GFX cards to be released in the future.
If I were you I would hold back on buyin a large SSD until the future. If you really want the fast transfer speeds, buy a 20gb or something just for your OS and some demanding programs, then when they drop in price tremendously (which they will), buy a much larger one then.
Appreciate the input, guys.
I’ve used the Microsoft Natural keyboard for as long as I’ve had a Windows computer (before that was a Commodore 64 with a DIN5 standard keyboard) and I’m really a fan of the “natural” layout. Even then, I may not get that keyboard - I have an old PS/2 Natural that still works, so it really depends what kind of money I feel like spending. Also, I’ve never really seen the point for a gaming keyboard - I can’t think of anything a “normal” keyboard can’t do, short of things like macros, I suppose. What would you recommend in that regard?
As for the power supply, you raise a good point, and the extra 150W won’t cost me that much.
Regarding the hard drive, I just added that to the wishlist today (it replaced a 150GB Velociraptor). I want to have a fast OS drive, but I think 20GB is cutting it a bit close. Right now (XP SP3) I have an 80GB OS drive with a 2-4GB page file and I have about 30GB free. Considering Windows 7 Pro (what I’ll be installing) has a much larger footprint than XP, plus larger System Restore files and updates, I figured ~60GB is probably the lowest I should go on my OS drive. Considering the X25’s reputation, it seems like a good choice, but I’m still torn on what to do.
Plus, I’ll still have the old drives in this machine (80GB and 250GB SATA 1.5s), so while I’d like to go “all new” I keep thinking about recycling one or both of these drives. They won’t really help as external drives (because I usually take incremental images via Symantec Save and Restore) so my backup drive has to be about as big as the drives in my system. I could JBOD them in a server (which I don’t have) but the idea of a server is redundancy… gah…
Ideas?
that and JBOD is bad mojo. No performance increase (it’s a slight decrease but it’s negligible) and 2x the probability for failure.
How much is that monitor? If you’re going 22" and you have a beast of a computer, do yourself a favor and get a monitor with a minimum of 1080p. I realize that the one you’re looking at is a professional grade monitor, but your machine is kind of overkill if you’re not pushing the extra pixels.
buy a 1920x1200 screen, I have a 1680x1050 and it doesn’t use my GPU to it’s fullest potential.
I have a 24" monitor with a 1920x1200 native resolution.
You won’t regret getting one. :awesome:
You will when you realise you don’t have a 30"
:awesome:
Indeed. But what else can you do with a bunch of disks? I have (or will have, after this build) two 250GB SATAs, one 80GB SATA, one 200GB IDE (external), one 750GB SATA (external, current backup drive), and one or two other drives for which I can’t remember capacities. I don’t want to just recycle them, but I don’t know how to effectively use them either.
That monitor is about $265 shipped on eBay. I’ve done a fair amount of research on monitors and at this moment in time, I think the 2209WA has great bang-for-buck for my situation: it’s an eIPS panel (way better than TN or VA) and less than $300. I’m not saying I’m against your opinions, which is why I’m here after all 
but please take note of a few things.
First, 1680x1050 maintains a 16:10 aspect ratio, which allows native presentation of 16:10 media and the ability to present 16:9 files (either via letterboxing or stretching to fill). Some movies still go with a superwide 2.35:1 format, but there’s not much you can do about that on a computer monitor.
On the other hand, going with 1920x1080 means a 16:9 ratio, a loss of 120 pixels in Windows/applications, and squished video. Plus, the panel probably wasn’t made with a computer in mind - rather, these 1920x1080 panels usually start their “lives” with TVs in mind and are adapted to computer use.
You may not use it to its fullest potential now, but I’m trying to plan for a bit of longevity - in 2-4 years, newer games will come out that this videocard will have a harder time rendering. Thus, in 2-4 years I should still be able to crank up the eye-candy, which I might not be able to do if I’m trying to push 1920x1200 on a 24" or larger.
Does it have an IPS panel with good refresh rates and a good price? I wouldn’t mind having a 24" monitor with a 16:10 ratio, but is it possible to get those extra 2 inches without doubling the price?
As for getting a 30", that reminds me of other details - I probably can’t get a monitor larger than 23" because of the space available on my desk (and at the moment, a new desk is out of the question) - I would have to doublecheck the width of a 24" monitor and see if it would fit.
The 2209WA also has a number of features I’m looking for in a monitor (and it lacks features I don’t want ):
I appreciate all the feedback, please keep it coming - I love discussing this stuff 
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