I've been a mac laptop user for the last 5-ish years. Although I love the reliability and build quality of my macbook, my need's are changing and I believe that a new PC is the right choice going forward.
Just over two months ago I left my job to become self-employed and in that time I've equipped my desk with a nice 24" monitor, but feel my laptop isn't delivering the performance I need.
I've made the choice to go with a new PC over an iMac or Macbook because IMHO I'll a) get more bang-for-my-pound and b) have a system with a low up-from cost and clear upgrade path and c) get to grips with some of the latest games.
The ocuk forums have been a great resource as I've weighed-up my options and relearned the art of choosing components.
I thought there would be some value in relating my choices back to you and getting a final sanity check from the community before I place my order tomorrow morning.
Before I get to my basket I think it's important to mention the kind of workloads the system needs to support:
a) Games. I'm not looking for all out gaming performance but I do want to enjoy the best of the releases from the last 12 months at 1920x1200 and decent settings - i.e. COD:MW2, Crysis, GTA4, L4D2, Dirt 2, etc.
b) Web development. It's unlikely that this workload would tax any modern system. Generally I'll be running a text editor, a couple of browsers, virtualising an ubuntu linux server w/ 512MB RAM and maybe running photoshop.
c) Design, diagramming and layout. Some my work involves producing diagrams in Visio, exporting them as PDFs then including them in InDesign documents of 20-100 pages. I'll also be handling and reviewing these documents exported as PDFs with embedded 300dpi images.
And again, I need low up-front cost and a good upgrade path.
Here's a look at my current basket:
And this is my reasoning:
CPU / Mobo. The value proposition of the Phenom II range is hard to ignore and it's my opinion that the x3 720 occupies the price/performance sweet spot.
I've chosen a SB750 mobo to attempt unlocking the 4th core on the chip yet without it there's still an opportunity for more performance through an easy overclock to 3.2Ghz.
As far as upgrades go I think there is decent life in AM3 and can see myself making the jump to a quad or hex core phenom ii in Q2 2010. Additionally the board supports crossfire so I can also upgrade to a second 5770 in a couple of months to support newer games.
RAM. Depending on how flush I feel tomorrow I may spring for 4x2GB components, but at the moment 4GB feels like a good starting point with the opportunity to move upto 8GB down the line.
GPU. The 5770 seems like a great choice at the pricepoint. Offering good performance and a great power profile. Ideally I'll look to add a second card in 2-3 months to help out with newer games.
Case/PSU. My case will sit out of sight behind my desk. I'm my view all it's for is a place to keep all the components.
What is important to me is noise. I'd like the system to be as near to silent as possible. The Silio case, with acoustic dampening on panels and drive bays, seems like a good choice.
Getting a case with a PSU included seems like a nice way get a decent case and a decent PSU at a good price. Even if the included PSU isn't quite upto the 500W it claims to should still be able to handle the x3 720 / 5770 and a single HD - and perhaps even that second 5770 down the line.
So there we are.
It would be great to hear any thoughts on this spec as a sanity check before the main event. If there is one area I'm unsure in it's the CPU cooler. At the moment I'm thinking the stock cooler will be fine, but considering that noise is an issue for me should I be thinking of a aftermarket solution, and which would you recommend?
Just over two months ago I left my job to become self-employed and in that time I've equipped my desk with a nice 24" monitor, but feel my laptop isn't delivering the performance I need.
I've made the choice to go with a new PC over an iMac or Macbook because IMHO I'll a) get more bang-for-my-pound and b) have a system with a low up-from cost and clear upgrade path and c) get to grips with some of the latest games.
The ocuk forums have been a great resource as I've weighed-up my options and relearned the art of choosing components.
I thought there would be some value in relating my choices back to you and getting a final sanity check from the community before I place my order tomorrow morning.
Before I get to my basket I think it's important to mention the kind of workloads the system needs to support:
a) Games. I'm not looking for all out gaming performance but I do want to enjoy the best of the releases from the last 12 months at 1920x1200 and decent settings - i.e. COD:MW2, Crysis, GTA4, L4D2, Dirt 2, etc.
b) Web development. It's unlikely that this workload would tax any modern system. Generally I'll be running a text editor, a couple of browsers, virtualising an ubuntu linux server w/ 512MB RAM and maybe running photoshop.
c) Design, diagramming and layout. Some my work involves producing diagrams in Visio, exporting them as PDFs then including them in InDesign documents of 20-100 pages. I'll also be handling and reviewing these documents exported as PDFs with embedded 300dpi images.
And again, I need low up-front cost and a good upgrade path.
Here's a look at my current basket:
And this is my reasoning:
CPU / Mobo. The value proposition of the Phenom II range is hard to ignore and it's my opinion that the x3 720 occupies the price/performance sweet spot.
I've chosen a SB750 mobo to attempt unlocking the 4th core on the chip yet without it there's still an opportunity for more performance through an easy overclock to 3.2Ghz.
As far as upgrades go I think there is decent life in AM3 and can see myself making the jump to a quad or hex core phenom ii in Q2 2010. Additionally the board supports crossfire so I can also upgrade to a second 5770 in a couple of months to support newer games.
RAM. Depending on how flush I feel tomorrow I may spring for 4x2GB components, but at the moment 4GB feels like a good starting point with the opportunity to move upto 8GB down the line.
GPU. The 5770 seems like a great choice at the pricepoint. Offering good performance and a great power profile. Ideally I'll look to add a second card in 2-3 months to help out with newer games.
Case/PSU. My case will sit out of sight behind my desk. I'm my view all it's for is a place to keep all the components.
What is important to me is noise. I'd like the system to be as near to silent as possible. The Silio case, with acoustic dampening on panels and drive bays, seems like a good choice.
Getting a case with a PSU included seems like a nice way get a decent case and a decent PSU at a good price. Even if the included PSU isn't quite upto the 500W it claims to should still be able to handle the x3 720 / 5770 and a single HD - and perhaps even that second 5770 down the line.
So there we are.
It would be great to hear any thoughts on this spec as a sanity check before the main event. If there is one area I'm unsure in it's the CPU cooler. At the moment I'm thinking the stock cooler will be fine, but considering that noise is an issue for me should I be thinking of a aftermarket solution, and which would you recommend?
Last edited:
