Hello Everyone,
My home office computer finally died a few months ago (old Compaq bought at Best Buy in 2005), and I'm tired of using my work laptop all the time at home. I've been looking at possible builds for a while, and with the tax free weekend in GA this weekend (I have easy access to Microcenter and Fry's), I figured I'd take the plunge.
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
- General use (word processing, web surfing)
- Streaming videos to PS3/Xbox 360
- Gaming - The games I'm most interested in are Bioshock: Infinite, Skyrim, and Fallout 3/New Vegas. There are others, but those probably are the most demanding games I'd want to play. I'm not especially interested in multiplayer FPS's, and playing games at their absolute highest settings is not that important.
- I have a 6 month old daughter, so we have an excessive number of photos and videos. There might be a little photo/video editing, but not a lot.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$700-800, though I'd rather keep it closer to $700 unless the increased price gives a great improvement in performance.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
U.S.
4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.
N/A
5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
No brand preferences.
6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
- 1 TB Hard Drive - I might want to add another data drive later, but this is good enough for now
- Asus 23" 1080p monitor
- Corsair 200R case/Lite-On DVD-R drive - I was originally planning on building this computer back in May, but I decided to wait for Haswell to come out in order to see what kind of price/performance improvements there were. Before deciding to wait, I purchased a Corsair 200R case and Lite-On DVDR drive (combo deal). I am including them in the budget of the build.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I've never overclocked before, and I might look into it eventually, but I'm not planning on doing it for now.
8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
1920x1080
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.
I will be looking to buy the parts this weekend, and build it within the next week.
X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
I have a Windows 7 and Office 2007 license, so I do not need any software for now.
Here's the build I was thinking of, mostly based off mfenn's Midrange build (prices are all from Microcenter):
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/adtwiddy/saved/28f7
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core - $199.99
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 - $54.99 (after rebates and Microcenter $40 bundle savings)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB - $64.99 (after Microcenter bundle savings)
Storage: Samsung 840 120GB 2.5" SSD - $89.99 (after Microcenter bundle savings)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB - $179.99
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower - $49.99 (already purchased)
Power Supply: Corsair 600W ATX12V - $57.99
Optical Drive: Lite-On 24x DVD/CD Writer - $0.00 (already purchased)
Total: $697.93
Any suggestions are welcome.
My home office computer finally died a few months ago (old Compaq bought at Best Buy in 2005), and I'm tired of using my work laptop all the time at home. I've been looking at possible builds for a while, and with the tax free weekend in GA this weekend (I have easy access to Microcenter and Fry's), I figured I'd take the plunge.
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
- General use (word processing, web surfing)
- Streaming videos to PS3/Xbox 360
- Gaming - The games I'm most interested in are Bioshock: Infinite, Skyrim, and Fallout 3/New Vegas. There are others, but those probably are the most demanding games I'd want to play. I'm not especially interested in multiplayer FPS's, and playing games at their absolute highest settings is not that important.
- I have a 6 month old daughter, so we have an excessive number of photos and videos. There might be a little photo/video editing, but not a lot.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$700-800, though I'd rather keep it closer to $700 unless the increased price gives a great improvement in performance.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
U.S.
4. IF you're buying parts OUTSIDE the US, please post a link to the vendor you'll be buying from.
We can't be expected to scour the internet on your behalf, chasing down deals in your specific country... Again, help us, help YOU.
N/A
5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
No brand preferences.
6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
- 1 TB Hard Drive - I might want to add another data drive later, but this is good enough for now
- Asus 23" 1080p monitor
- Corsair 200R case/Lite-On DVD-R drive - I was originally planning on building this computer back in May, but I decided to wait for Haswell to come out in order to see what kind of price/performance improvements there were. Before deciding to wait, I purchased a Corsair 200R case and Lite-On DVDR drive (combo deal). I am including them in the budget of the build.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
I've never overclocked before, and I might look into it eventually, but I'm not planning on doing it for now.
8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
1920x1080
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.
I will be looking to buy the parts this weekend, and build it within the next week.
X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
I have a Windows 7 and Office 2007 license, so I do not need any software for now.
Here's the build I was thinking of, mostly based off mfenn's Midrange build (prices are all from Microcenter):
http://pcpartpicker.com/user/adtwiddy/saved/28f7
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K 3.4GHz Quad-Core - $199.99
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Pro3 ATX LGA1150 - $54.99 (after rebates and Microcenter $40 bundle savings)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB - $64.99 (after Microcenter bundle savings)
Storage: Samsung 840 120GB 2.5" SSD - $89.99 (after Microcenter bundle savings)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon HD 7850 2GB - $179.99
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower - $49.99 (already purchased)
Power Supply: Corsair 600W ATX12V - $57.99
Optical Drive: Lite-On 24x DVD/CD Writer - $0.00 (already purchased)
Total: $697.93
Any suggestions are welcome.