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Squilliam on 02 April 2010
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mrstickball said:
  1. No. I really have no preference on a computer case. I'd prefer to save money on one, because AFAIK, its the one thing that doesn't radically change the performance of the computer (except for ensuring you have good CPU fans in the case)
  2. External drives like USB flash and the like. I won't have a ton of memory requirements for backups, so I should be able to handle it that way
  3. Probably 1, 20" to start.
  4. Spreadsheets are at 20-30MB and growing. The biggest issue is that I am doing a ton of match/indexes on tens of thousands of rows, dozens of times. My current laptop takes 1-2 minutes to process each iteration of the spreadsheet, which takes a long time.
  5. I really don't have a ton of complaints. I need a new computer because the computer I have now is a company laptop, and I want something else, in case they ever need this one back.
  6. I would be okay with another laptop. However, I need a home PC, so my thought was that I could get a better-specced desktop for the same price.

Ok heres my first draft:

Total W/O shipping/MIR/Tax = $1053 (-MIR $30)

Now the explanation.

The Phenom X4 and that motherboard have some of the best features/performance you can get for the price. It comes with USB3.0 and fast SATA ports as well and because you don't need an integrated GPU you don't pay for it in this model.

The HD 5770 is as requested and it represents the best value in that range.

The G-Skill memory is quality memory but you're not paying a premium for it here.

The Antec Sonata is a moderately quiet case which has been made to a high standard and comes with a pretty good, reliable PSU and as far as I can see is some of the best value.

The OCZ Vertex SSD is fast unlike mechanical drives and makes the system much more responsive especially when you're multitasking, also its extremely reliable and makes the system a good performer in all areas.

The Western Digital HDD is good price/quality/volume. I cannot recommend Seagate as I've had 3 drives fail on me in the past 6 months out of 5 Seagate drives I had.

Windows 7 Professional comes with better backup utilities as the main draw card. However you can save $40 if you're happy with Home edition.

 



Tease.