RChickenMan
November 2nd, 2009, 08:46 PM
Hey everyone,
As I am assuming is common with other forum members, my real-life friends are way too non-nerdy to care about my plans for a sweet desktop. So greetings, fellow Linux dorks!
Of course I should start by laying down the intent of the system. I would love to be able to flat-out say it's a Gaming PC, however the truth is I haven't played a video game in years, and even when I did play them a few years ago, it was never anything newer than Super Nintendo. I still often call my goal a "Gaming PC," as this is the type of performance I am looking for.
The truth is I just want a sweet computer to do my development work, casual web-browsing, occasional media viewing, etc. Think of it this way: I am on my bike for ninety minutes a day, minimum. I never have nor never do intend to race competitively on my bicycle. However, the point is, it's something I use a lot, so I want it to be a positive experience. Same thing with a computer. If the bicycle is my vehicle for the physical, urban world, then the computer is my vehicle for the virtual world. Either way, I want a sweet vehicle.
The nice video card won't go to complete waste, though. As a technology enthusiast, I must admit that I am somewhat curious to see what I can do with robust hardware, to see what video games are like these days, what kind of video editing and 3d rendering software there is out there for me to play with, etc. I have really only owned modest-performance laptops all of my adult life.
Anyway, here are the components I came up with, along with the rational for each component (each product sold on NewEgg, may swap out commodity parts when I actually order):
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE 3.2GHz ($180)
Almost-top-of-the-line, but better value than Core i5/i7.
Motherboard - Asus M4A79XTD EVO ($85 Open Box)
I wanted a brand name, mainstream motherboard so that I can get advice when it comes to BIOS configuration and stuff for when I get down and dirty. Also, I did NOT want integrated graphics. Maybe I'm OCD, but it seemed redundant, given that I plan on having a real graphics card (plus a lot of AMD boards have ATI integrated GPUs, and as we all know, ATI has a warehouse on their campus where they torture and kill Linux users). I also wanted something medium-high end for expandability purposes.
Memory: WINTEC AMPX 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 ($125)
Fast, cheap, big... Whatever...
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA ($120)
Again, Fast, cheap, big. I have been told that a firmware issue from earlier this year is a source of a lot of bad rap for Seagate drives, but this has since been corrected...
GPU - SPARKLE SXX2601792D3S-VP GeForce GTX 260 1792MB ($220)
I am under the impression that most main-stream nVidia chips are well-supported in Linux. The GTX260 seemed to be the best bang-for-buck for a medium-high end card.
PSU - Linkworld LPG2-43-P4-IO 630W ($26)
I may have some dissenters here. The thing is rated at 26A on the 12V rail, so although it seems too good to be true (and I know to not give to much heed to the "marketing" power rating, i.e. the 630W), it does seem that this PSU would do the trick for my system.
Case - LIAN LI PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower ($80)
I wanted something with minimal plastic parts, and very non-descript (Sorry, no fancy gaming case with silly flashing lights and windows!). I like the idea of aluminum, but when it's time to actually order this stuff I may scale back a bit and go for something more economical in steel.
Alright y'all, there it is... My dream-but-realistically-specked PC, all at a very reasonable $836! So discuss! I'm sure there's tons of people on this forum who have much more experience (compared to my no experience) putting together performance PCs!
Be critical! Make fun of my decisions! This is, after all, a technology-related internet forum!
As I am assuming is common with other forum members, my real-life friends are way too non-nerdy to care about my plans for a sweet desktop. So greetings, fellow Linux dorks!
Of course I should start by laying down the intent of the system. I would love to be able to flat-out say it's a Gaming PC, however the truth is I haven't played a video game in years, and even when I did play them a few years ago, it was never anything newer than Super Nintendo. I still often call my goal a "Gaming PC," as this is the type of performance I am looking for.
The truth is I just want a sweet computer to do my development work, casual web-browsing, occasional media viewing, etc. Think of it this way: I am on my bike for ninety minutes a day, minimum. I never have nor never do intend to race competitively on my bicycle. However, the point is, it's something I use a lot, so I want it to be a positive experience. Same thing with a computer. If the bicycle is my vehicle for the physical, urban world, then the computer is my vehicle for the virtual world. Either way, I want a sweet vehicle.
The nice video card won't go to complete waste, though. As a technology enthusiast, I must admit that I am somewhat curious to see what I can do with robust hardware, to see what video games are like these days, what kind of video editing and 3d rendering software there is out there for me to play with, etc. I have really only owned modest-performance laptops all of my adult life.
Anyway, here are the components I came up with, along with the rational for each component (each product sold on NewEgg, may swap out commodity parts when I actually order):
CPU - AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE 3.2GHz ($180)
Almost-top-of-the-line, but better value than Core i5/i7.
Motherboard - Asus M4A79XTD EVO ($85 Open Box)
I wanted a brand name, mainstream motherboard so that I can get advice when it comes to BIOS configuration and stuff for when I get down and dirty. Also, I did NOT want integrated graphics. Maybe I'm OCD, but it seemed redundant, given that I plan on having a real graphics card (plus a lot of AMD boards have ATI integrated GPUs, and as we all know, ATI has a warehouse on their campus where they torture and kill Linux users). I also wanted something medium-high end for expandability purposes.
Memory: WINTEC AMPX 3 x 2GB DDR3 1600 ($125)
Fast, cheap, big... Whatever...
HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST31500341AS 1.5TB 7200 RPM SATA ($120)
Again, Fast, cheap, big. I have been told that a firmware issue from earlier this year is a source of a lot of bad rap for Seagate drives, but this has since been corrected...
GPU - SPARKLE SXX2601792D3S-VP GeForce GTX 260 1792MB ($220)
I am under the impression that most main-stream nVidia chips are well-supported in Linux. The GTX260 seemed to be the best bang-for-buck for a medium-high end card.
PSU - Linkworld LPG2-43-P4-IO 630W ($26)
I may have some dissenters here. The thing is rated at 26A on the 12V rail, so although it seems too good to be true (and I know to not give to much heed to the "marketing" power rating, i.e. the 630W), it does seem that this PSU would do the trick for my system.
Case - LIAN LI PC-61 USB Black Aluminum ATX Mid Tower ($80)
I wanted something with minimal plastic parts, and very non-descript (Sorry, no fancy gaming case with silly flashing lights and windows!). I like the idea of aluminum, but when it's time to actually order this stuff I may scale back a bit and go for something more economical in steel.
Alright y'all, there it is... My dream-but-realistically-specked PC, all at a very reasonable $836! So discuss! I'm sure there's tons of people on this forum who have much more experience (compared to my no experience) putting together performance PCs!
Be critical! Make fun of my decisions! This is, after all, a technology-related internet forum!