Man, it has been a long time since I built a PC for myself. Since my recent attempt to go skiing in S.Korea kinda flopped and the fact that I’ll have a place for a PC in the near future, all the signs are pointing to …  a new PC for me!! I love to put together PCs, but I think the last 3 or 4 I put together were for other people ;__; The last one I actually built for myself was back in 2003. Since then the box has become obsolete and I’m on my second laptop (actually I still use my first laptop since it’s still running XP and I can login to work from there).

So over the last few hours I’ve been working out some prelim specs (this is already my second revision, I originally had a Intel Core i7 with 6GB triple channel DDR3 in there and a much larder solid state primary drive – I had to remove them due to budget constraints):

Processor : Intel Core i5-750 || $200
Motherboard : MSI P55-GD65 LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX || $160
Memory : A-DATA 4GB DDR3 1600 MHZ or 2 x A-DATA 4GB DDR3 1600 MHZ || $100 or $200

Primary drive : Intel X25-M 80GB || $300
Secondary drive(s) :
1TB WD Caviar Black 7200 RPM 32MB | make use of ghosting program || $100 OR
2x 500GB WD RE3 7200 RPM 16MB | in RAID 1 for 500GB of storage || $180 OR
4x WD 250GB RE3 7200 RPM 16MB | in RAID 5 for 750GB of storage || $260

Video card :
HIS Radeon HD 5750 1GB || $150 OR
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 5850 1GB || $300

Optical and media:
LG CH08LS10 Blu-ray/DVD combo drive || $90
All in one USB reader (any brand) || $13

PSU & case || $180

The two biggest question marks right now are the secondary drive and video card. I’m pretty much set on the 4GB RAM (I really don’t need 8GB yet). While the 1TB does provide the most storage per dollar, the RAID set-up is better for preventing data loss. Originally I was trying to choose between a 1TB and 500GB RAID 1 …

8c: I’d still set up an automated periodic back-up program instead – raid 1 wears down the drives equally.
me: Uhh actually I just wanted to set up a RAID for fun… there really isn’t much logic behind it :<
8c: Aha. Well, that’s a legitimate reason for anything. Carry on.

Later on, Kevin suggested I go RAID 5 instead. Seems like he isn’t a huge fan of the RAID 1 either. But maybe he’s on the right track, because on a cost per GB of storage basis:

1TB, no RAID (or RAID 0), cost per GB = 0.10*
500GB, RAID 1, cost/GB = 0.360
250GB, RAID 5, cost/GB = 0.347
*note that it is a little higher than 0.1 since room will be required on the 1TB drive for ghosting

Yes, on a cost per GB, the RAID 5 actually beats out the RAID 1! Combined with lower probability of data loss and higher useable size ratio RAID5 is looking pretty good. Problem is that RAID 5 takes up 4 SATA drives, meaning higher power consumption and more 3.5” bays the case. I already have a primary SSD, and will require two external 3.5” bays (one for optical drive and one for universal card reader). If I go raid 5, I’ll need a total of seven 3.5” bays. That’s huge (and considering the fact that I may not have much real-estate to work with, this actually is a pretty big factor).

As for the video-card, I haven’t had too much time to look into that yet. The problem is that I currently don’t game alot on my PC, so as long as it has HD output I’m happy. Of course in the future, I plan to at least pick up Diablo III. I could go for the cheaper 5750 no, and upgrade at a later date, or just go for the 5850 now.  I haven’t even looked at benchmark tests yet for these two cards so I’ll look into that this weekend.

Overall, it looks like my PC will be somewhere around the $1500 +/- $200 depending on what I end up getting. Of course, these prices are from Newegg, and doesn’t really reflect the retail prices here in HK, but I think they are comparable, especially since I can probably cut a deal if I buy parts from the same store.

One last thing is the OS.

My problem is this: I have Windows 7 RC installed on my laptop. I had ordered the retail version off MSDNAA and its on its way. Originally, this was meant for the laptop. I am curious, can I install using the same windows key on both my laptop and PC? Or will I have to purchase a separate license? Depending on the answer (and I’m pretty sure I know what the answer is), I may just install the Win7 on my PC and get Ubuntu for the laptop (at least until Chrome OS is out!! hehe). Xau and Shance have suggested a few ideas, I’ll probably look into it a little more this weekend.

Oh I’m also looking for a 26”+’ monitor. It really depends on how much I have left over but the requirements are (in order of priority):

screen size : 26″+
response time : 2 – 4 ms
can swivel and tilt
2x HDMI connectors

Honestly, there aren’t a lot of monitors that can fit all the above. The swivel is important since I’ll be putting this in my room, and watching TV/movies on the screen from my bed and form my desk (this would of been great for my The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother marathon, but I digress). On newegg, the only swivel I can find that matches all of the above is this HP 2709m (27″ 3ms HDMI, 1080P, 16:9). While it says in the product specs that it has 2 HDMI inputs, there have been complaints in the comments that there is actually only 1 HDMI input. So, not sure about this one. That and at $400, the monitor is a little more than what I want to pay for a 27″, but it can swivel!!!

Any suggestions are welcome (either via the comments section below, twitter, or Facebook comments).