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i5 quad-core 3.0GHz
16GB RAM
GForce 660ti 3 GB RAM
2TB 7200RPM HDD
Blu Ray/DVD/CD combo burner

Those are the primary specs I've decided to go with. Not highest-end, but a good mix of power and value to keep the total price under $1000USD

Fel wrote:i5 quad-core 3.0GHz
16GB RAM
GForce 660ti 3 GB RAM
2TB 7200RPM HDD
Blu Ray/DVD/CD combo burner

Those are the primary specs I've decided to go with. Not highest-end, but a good mix of power and value to keep the total price under $1000USD

ok.
do you want an secondary dvd burner ?
what upgradable options do you looking for ?
(aka. so later on parts can be added and upgraded.)

here part list that i assembled :
SLI capable board (up to three graphic cards) :

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/gnume/saved/2WDt

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($17.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z87 Extreme4 ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($117.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB Video Card ($233.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: DIYPC Skyline-B ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $896.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 18:12 EST-0500)

not SLI capable board :

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/gnume/saved/2WDl

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Microcenter)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper TX3 54.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($17.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI Z87-G41 PC Mate ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Sniper Gaming Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($82.98 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 660 Ti 3GB Video Card ($233.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: DIYPC Skyline-B ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill Capstone 450W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH16NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($79.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $853.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-26 18:14 EST-0500)


the 3.2 GHz processor was chosen because currently its cheaper than the 3.0 GHz processor from the same line

opinions anyone ?

I personally would stay away from MSi and Azrock for you main board. Asus or Gigabyte would be much higher quality option.
Would also suggest a better powersupply. I am not familiar with the Rosewill line of Power Supplies, but 550w or more would probably be better.
If you are thinking SLI nothing less than 750watts
Cases, you get what you pay for, that case may be thin enough that you bend it trying to remove a slot cover for you video card. Also in that price range you will have a lot of sharp edges to worry about.
Also cheap cases also usually have poor cooling. If you end up running multiple video cards you may not have the cooling capacity or the space in the case.
Recommend you spend a little more on the case an power supply, you can always upgrade the rest rather then replace the whole system down the road. I am still using. 7 year old Antec case but I am on the third system board & cpu inside it.

Update, on the newegg site the case review indicate that the metal on the case bent when hanging a 450 watt power supply in it. Would stay away from that case.

personally i had good experience with msi motherboards. so i cannot say why to avoid them.
and about an psu. optimal loading on psu is around 80% so this psu was chosen for this configurations power requirements .
cases i cannot say as mid level cases differ buy area so that's personal experience.

You may want to consider adding a SSD as the primary OS drive and using a regular 2 TB hard drive as the secondary drive. This can allow the computer to boot quickly and has some other benefits. It will cost a bit more, but this is not an upgrade you can do later.

I found this article helpful when I did this a couple of years ago, not sure if i is still relevant.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/windows- ... -they/2902

Also, I would definitely look into some sort of backup schema using an external drive. For performance reasons, I would recommend making sure that whatever computer you get supports either USB 3 or ESATA, but ideally both.

Also the GForce 660ti 3 GB RAM seems a bit pricey for a mid range computer. Is there a need for the extra performance? If not, you should be able to easily go with a cheaper card like a GeForce GT 430 or GeForce GT 610 if you are not planning on a lot of graphics intensive gaming.

I have recently noticed that there are Blu-ray burners that can burn up to 100GB per disc. You have to pay over fifty dollars per disc right now, but maybe they will come down in the future. In the mean time you could still burn using the 25 and 50 GB discs with the same burner.

Just an F Y I.

bdrosen wrote:Also the GForce 660ti 3 GB RAM seems a bit pricey for a mid range computer. Is there a need for the extra performance? If not, you should be able to easily go with a cheaper card like a GeForce GT 430 or GeForce GT 610 if you are not planning on a lot of graphics intensive gaming.

Fel is a gamer. He didn't want a top end computer due to price but something mid range that will play his games well. That's why the 660 Ti

On the PC Side of things, may I just point out http://www.logicalincrements.com/

Best. Fricken. Site. Ever. Not sure what's Great? Just go down the list until your budget runs out.

On the Smartphone side of things... man, this is where the US Sucks... What carrier are you on? If it's Verizon you've got their CDMA bullshit to deal with, if it's AT&T or one of the other GSM based carriers you're mostly okay depending upon what set of frequencies they need in your area.

Guh.

Bit of background: I've been an Android user since pretty much day one - I had a Google Dev Phone 1 - the first proper Android handset that was commercially produced. I've been using Android phones since then.

My last three phones have been Samsung Galaxy S's -

Samsung Galaxy S (original): horribly slow, crap screen. Got it in June 2010 while I was in the UK.

Samsung Galaxy S2 *brilliant* device, fast. Fantastic screen, sleek, felt nice in the hand and 'grippy', and as solid as a battleship. Got mine when the GSM models first became available in 2011, and still sad that it died July this year. Honestly wouldn't have upgraded if not for it dying.

Samsung Galaxy S4. It's bigger, but no faster really. The contactless charging thing (if you buy the special case that does it) is very cool. Slippery cover makes me nervous every time I pull it out of my pocket on a balcony/bridge/train platform/etc. Weird run-away processes in the background eat battery absurdly quickly at random unpredictable times. I'll pull take it off charge when I get out of bed in the morning, and use it for listening to music until I get to work (1.5-2hrs from up to work). By the time I get there it's at 50-60% battery. Then there's Touchwiz bullshit. You'd think after all these years I'd be used to it - but no, it sucks, the replacement TouchWiz apps for Android/Google standard ones suck, and Samsung's getting more intrusive with them. (For the 10th time - *No* I don't want ChatOn. Stop fucking updating it.)

I'm seriously considering going for the Google Nexus 5, but it doesn't have removable storage or a removable battery (important for me when overseas).