With your help, the system I'm going with is ... *drumroll please*
- ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM (we all agreed I didn't care about Blu-ray)
- Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (downgraded a bit from 2TB)
- PNY XLR8 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MD4096KD3-1600-X8 (saved money here; I don't game so don't need heavy duty RAM as yet)
- GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (this was a tricky item S. put a lot of research into: I stream video from my computer to my TV via an HDMI cable)
- Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52500 (went with the i5; everyone agreed that i7 is pricey now and overkill)
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (it's on sale at www.newegg.com! S. was astonished)
- COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply (something that tends to die on Dells, and it was a combo deal)
- COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (I wasn't pleased with the color, but it's going under the table anyhow, and is a different color worth an extra 60 bucks? I should say not!)
Your suggestions were very helpful, thank you. I particularly appreciate![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
telepresence, who clicked through newegg and emailed a shopping cart. That was invaluable and set the foundation for what I was looking for. I missed some sales on Friday, but other things have gone on sale for Cyber Monday, so it's evened out.
The motherboard was the hardest piece for S. to figure out. I didn't need a gamer-level video card, but I did plan to stream video (Hulu and icenetwork.com) to my TV via an HDMI cable. This is rare enough for it to be listed as a feature on the motherboard I'm getting.
He also needed to future-proof my system since he knows I'll be resistant to change, pushing upgrades to the last possible millisecond. OTH, he's seen what I use here and says I don't need twice the RAM he has for his gaming, and 1TB hard drive space should be plenty.
And now for dithering and worry....
I could spend less buying a complete system from somewhere like Dell (though he's managed to get this below $800), but he complains that Dell cases are not very upgradable. He describes having to use a chopstick to reach something and that there's just no room inside. And I like the idea of being able to keep components like DVD burners, cases, and power supplies and just ditch what's not needed anymore.
Oh dear. It's 7:30am. Have I been up all night?
- ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM (we all agreed I didn't care about Blu-ray)
- Seagate Barracuda ST31000524AS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (downgraded a bit from 2TB)
- PNY XLR8 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model MD4096KD3-1600-X8 (saved money here; I don't game so don't need heavy duty RAM as yet)
- GIGABYTE GA-Z68XP-UD3P LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard (this was a tricky item S. put a lot of research into: I stream video from my computer to my TV via an HDMI cable)
- Intel Core i5-2500 Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2000 BX80623I52500 (went with the i5; everyone agreed that i7 is pricey now and overkill)
- Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit (it's on sale at www.newegg.com! S. was astonished)
- COOLER MASTER GX Series RS650-ACAAE3-US 650W ATX12V v2.31 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply (something that tends to die on Dells, and it was a combo deal)
- COOLER MASTER Storm Scout SGC-2000-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case (I wasn't pleased with the color, but it's going under the table anyhow, and is a different color worth an extra 60 bucks? I should say not!)
Your suggestions were very helpful, thank you. I particularly appreciate
telepresence, who clicked through newegg and emailed a shopping cart. That was invaluable and set the foundation for what I was looking for. I missed some sales on Friday, but other things have gone on sale for Cyber Monday, so it's evened out.The motherboard was the hardest piece for S. to figure out. I didn't need a gamer-level video card, but I did plan to stream video (Hulu and icenetwork.com) to my TV via an HDMI cable. This is rare enough for it to be listed as a feature on the motherboard I'm getting.
He also needed to future-proof my system since he knows I'll be resistant to change, pushing upgrades to the last possible millisecond. OTH, he's seen what I use here and says I don't need twice the RAM he has for his gaming, and 1TB hard drive space should be plenty.
And now for dithering and worry....
I could spend less buying a complete system from somewhere like Dell (though he's managed to get this below $800), but he complains that Dell cases are not very upgradable. He describes having to use a chopstick to reach something and that there's just no room inside. And I like the idea of being able to keep components like DVD burners, cases, and power supplies and just ditch what's not needed anymore.
Oh dear. It's 7:30am. Have I been up all night?
