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I'm Going to Build a PC. Suggestions?

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TaoPhoenix:
Sadly I don't recall the precise specs I put into my comp, but as general advice, plan on making it last 8 years. That means spending a little more on misc components. The Power Supply post above is in that ballpark. So is a little extra ram. So is slightly better casing and fan. I (think) I put in a special digital converter chip because I make so many hobby copies of music ripped speed and pitch down. Better quality low level parts. etc. I have 1.74 terabytes of HD.

In return my then-high-end box from 2006 for some $1800 is still mid grade today, and I'm waiting out the whole Win8 fiasco. By the time it settles down into either Win7-or-bust or Win9 my design goal will be complete.

Tinman57:
  I inherited my present computer from my dad when he passed away back in 03.  He had bought this top of the line puter about 6 months prior, a HP Pavilion 9880 with a 1.5 ghz Intel cpu.  Soon after I got it I proceeded to upgrading it.  ;)
  First thing I did was to blow away Winblows ME and installed XP SP3, then I added another half gig of RAM.  Then I pulled out the 1.5 ghz cpu and installed a 2.8 ghz P4, replaced the CD to a DVD +-RW dual layer drive and a 52X CD RW, doubled the hard drive space, added an external 1 tb hard drive, replaced the graphics card with an nVidia 7600GS GPU with 512 mb on-board RAM, Audigy ZS surround sound card, bigger badder cooling fan + an extra cooling fan, bigger badder power supply and a host of other "little" things.  Needless to say, even today this computer is faster than greased snot.  ;)
  I haven't been happy with Windows since they bombed us with Vista (even though ME was a tragedy), and now they're going to bomb us with Win 8 Metrocrap.  Either they'll get their stuff together or I'll install Linux and use this computer for another 10 years.   :-\  I just hate to have to abandon all of my Windows software, like ScreenShotCaptor.  :'(

4wd:
.... plan on making it last 8 years..-TaoPhoenix (April 10, 2012, 07:25 PM)
--- End quote ---

I have a different philosophy these days regarding computers:

Buy one generation behind the current - it will do the job for years ahead, it will cost heaps less and you'll be able to upgrade more often.

The old components get recycled into another whole computer for someone else or used for upgrading relatives computers, (my mum's still using my old Athlon XP 2500 machine - she doesn't want it upgraded because it just works).

MilesOhToole:
GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68 Motherboard - ATX, Socket H2 (LGA 1155), Intel Z68 Chipset, 2133MHz DDR3, SATA 6.0 Gb/s, RAID, 7.1-CH Audio, Gigabit LAN, SuperSpeed USB 3.0, CrossFireX/SLI Ready

Pretty much the same specs for $149.99, (less with rebate) - has onboard gfx which won't be used, only two USB3 ports, (but eight USB2 ports), no PCIe x4/x8 slots but unless you're going to plug in a RAID, USB3 or SATA6 card, (which can also fit in the extra PCIe x16 slot), it's unlikely you'll need them.
-4wd (April 10, 2012, 04:54 AM)
--- End quote ---

Thanks!  I've put the order in, along with a 1.5 TB HDD that I'll end up using for secondary storage after I RMA my failed 500 GB Seagate drive.  I'm now wondering if that 5900 RPM will simply annoy me at the end of the day, though.

Also, a few years ago (maybe 3) I had my heatsink separate from the CPU and bought some Arctic Silver 5 to fix it.  Is is still good to use or should I buy more thermal paste?

4wd:
As long as the tube it came in was sealed, then there should be no problem.

I still use stuff that's years old without a problem.

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