Silicon Investor - Dream Machine ( Build your own PC )

[shadowman] I built the almost same set up back in January for a friend. A new case, MB, pro...

shadowman — 3/19/2012 8:36:16 PM

I built the almost same set up back in January for a friend. A new case, MB, processor, memory.

With the exception of the case and motherboard almost identical build to yours.

This is the motherboard I got him...

newegg.com

I had this case laying around still in the shipping box....a little flashy, but he likes flashy.

newegg.com

I'm about to build another one for me. Nothing that powerful...and a more subdued case.

I like picking quality components. Hard to save money over a pre-built these days, but to me the advantage is picking what you want inside the box. and if you wait for sales on various components that you like you can still do better than what the box assemblers offer.

Definitely can beat them (box manufacturers) with lower end not state of the art cutting edge motherboards and processors. They put some less than stellar components in the lower end desk tops....like power supplies and motherboards

Looks like hard drive prices are beginning to come down a bit....finally

[Greg from Edmonton] Maybe so, but with a brand new DVD burner for $20 I was not going to mess with a...

Greg from Edmonton — 3/16/2012 9:20:03 PM

Maybe so, but with a brand new DVD burner for $20 I was not going to mess with adaptor cables and old hardware.

[Id_Jit] Legacy optical drives were IDE, would likely need replacing due to new motherbo...

Id_Jit — 3/16/2012 7:49:46 PM

Legacy optical drives were IDE, would likely need replacing due to new motherboards dropping IDE in favor of SATA.

Startech makes interfaces that plug into the disk and cable connectors. They have both types (IDE to SATA and SATA to IDE). Memory Express carries them.

Id

[Greg from Edmonton] Does anyone build their own any more? My old system built in 2006 Asus A8N-E w....

Greg from Edmonton — 3/16/2012 2:30:46 PM

Does anyone build their own any more?

My old system built in 2006 Asus A8N-E w. AMD x2 3800+ (dual core CPU) and 2GB RAM.
System had a themal event, SATA drive controller would work for only a couple of minutes until the motherboard got too hot.
Full-size tower case (Acer HX08) was too large and cumbersome with poor air flow.
Gotta bite the bullet, likely time to upgrade.
Power supply only a few years old.
New hard drives very expensive since the flooding in Tailand during late 2011.

Decided to retain existing SATA hard drives, power supply, video card (Nvidia GeForce 8400 GS), and accessories.
New case, motherboard, CPU, and memory.
Legacy optical drives were IDE, would likely need replacing due to new motherboards dropping IDE in favor of SATA.
Dislike flashy case lighting, case windows etc.

Happened upon a fabulous limited-time deal:
NCIX Bundle Deal G.SKILL Ripjaws 8GB Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 Motherboard & Intel i5 2500K Unlocked CPU $299.99

1 x G.SKILL Ripjaws X F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 CL9-9-9-24 Memory
1 x Intel Core i5 2500K Quad Core Unlocked Processor LGA1155 3.3GHZ Sandy Bridge 6MB
1 x Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 Z68 DDR3 1PCI-E16 3PCI-E1 2PCI HDMI SLI SATA3 USB3.0 Motherboard

Shipping and Handling $10.00
Shipping Insurance with 30 Days Express RMA (3.00%): $9.00
SUBTOTAL: $318.99
No PST - Outside BC residents: $0.00
GST(5%): $15.95
YOUR TOTAL:
All quoted prices are in CANADIAN DOLLARS $334.94
Bundle is same as link except for different RAM:
memoryexpress.com

Also decided to buy a Corsair Carbide Series 400R case (about $100 on sale including shipping):
memoryexpress.com

Case and motherboard were a very good match, with USB3 and firewire headers connecting the motherboard to the front of the case.
Good case layout, excellent ventilation and not too flashy. A good build choice overall.

Optical drive upgrade, bought a SATA LG DVD burner for $20.