I'm going to try and pick up one of the 3570Ks you linked above. I should be able to stop at a micro center when I drive home from my coop in 3 weeks. Currently I'm in Alabama, so there's none even remotely close but there's a few on my way home. I don't know if they will still have the deal in 3 weeks though. If not, I'll just pick up an i3 from the egg.

Oh and no offense taken on the laptop cpu upgrade. That's the kind of answer I was looking forward. Definitely something over my head at this point. The memory and SSD should be fine

If I go with DDR3 memory that is 1333, does it matter if the memory is 10600, 10660, or 10666 for the motherboard I put in the first post?

For all practical purposes, no. And the differences here are exceedingly trivial even by L33T G4M3R standards.

Memory, fortunately, has gotten to a point where pretty much anything is interchangeable with anything else. If it physically fits into the socket, then the RAM and the motherboard will automatically negotiate to operate at whatever speed / timing the two of them can mutually support.

I'm amazed at how much info/lingo I've picked up from this forum. I actually almost understood 96%-ish of this thread :)

Nice build OP. Looks like we have somewhat similar goals.

I completely agree viper. I've always been intrigued about building my own computer, but it was your thread that really made me feel like I may be able to actually do it.

In other news my buddy may be able to pick me up one of those 3570Ks from micro center :) we shall see what happens

Lol and it was your guys threads that helped me realize that my laptop sucks so I just ordered up a bunch of parts for a new build :party:

I'm leaning more and more towards an i3. Micro Center has the 3220 for $100 and the 3225 for $130. From what I can tell the only difference between the 20 vs. the 25 is the graphics. Is the HD Graphics 4000 worth $30? I would guess for my uses it would not be, but I don't know the difference between 2500 and 4000 graphics

The 2500 HD Graphics should be more than sufficient for the purposes you laid out in the beginning of the thread. I can run 1080p perfectly with the 2000 version on a i3.

For memory, I usually recommend DDR1600 because it usually has the best prices and choices.

Also, MicroCenter usually has decent mobo/CPU combo deals to save you more money.

The 3570K is the Ivy I'm running in the computer I'm currently using to browse mt.net

I have it in a mini-ITX mobo and a mini-ITX case and the heat isn't too much.

It's quite nice, but I bought it because I do a lot of processor intensive data analysis.

For normal web browsing, flash games, 1080p playback, the i3 is more than suitable.

The next generation of processors should be considerably better than the Ivy Bridge, though, but it doesn't sound like you want to wait.

Is it just me? The prices of brand built machines has dropped so much from makers like HP and Dell, it almost makes no sense to DIY an office task machine. The price difference is negligible at best. On the other hand, when buying a dell or hp you get a form factor you wont be able to build yourself and warranty/service that you never have to think about.

If gaming and serious productivity is the objective, self built still reigns supreme.

Define "office task machine".

And what do you mean by form factor you can't build yourself?

This is the case for my i5 3570k
https://www.miataturbo.net/attachmen...ine=1351104990

Dimensions
14.41" x 7.83" x 11.02"

Two hard drives, optical drive, and dedicated video card

It's tiny.

And I don't know if you've ever had to deal with warranty issues, but they aren't always helpful and extended warranties cost a lot.

Plus component upgrades to any Dell/Lenovo/HP computer are horribly overpriced

Seems like your talking about Haswell? Wikipedia says they should be out by June? I doubt I will need any of the new features, but I assume that the introduction of a new architecture will bring a reduction in price of the old architecture? If so that may be worth waiting for

Actually, price reduction usually doesn't happen to a great extent.

At MicroCenter, a Sandy Bridge i5 2500k is $160 while the Ivy Bridge i5 3570k is $190.

The new architecture follows a tick-tock-tick-tock pattern, where ticks are small changes and tocks are large changes

The new Ivy Bridge 22nm architecture is a tick whereas the next gen (Haswell) will be a tock (even though it will also be 22nm).

Many believe, and there are numerous articles supporting this, that the Sandy Bridge processors are still quite sufficient for the majority of applications. Especially if you get something like the i5 2500k as it is quad-core.

Haswell should be a nice performance increase as they get more comfortable with the 22nm lithography size and can fit more components on the chip.

But once again, honestly, with your intended uses, an Ivy Bridge i3 or a Sandy Bridge i5 would be quite sufficient and prevent you from spending money unnecessarily.

It's not just you. My primary office PC is a Lenovo, and all of my PCs in the lab are Dells.

In fact, I probably should have bought an off-the-shelf PC for my media server in the first place. That machine has just been constantly evolving over time. I originally threw it together using 90% spare parts that I already had lying around, and over the years as various parts of it failed due to old age (fried power supply, comatose motherboard, failed HD, etc), I replaced them one by one until I wound up with a totally new machine.

HP Pavilion Slimline s5-1400t Desktop PC | HP® Official Store

15.91 x 4.43 x 12.24 in

You don't need a dedicated video card in a machine that does nothing but email and office. Sure you can get a lo-profile card for a slim box, but then you are building a machine that is neither here nor there.

You can always swap the hard drive or add an additional. Anything above that you can get an external. Nothing else really needs an upgrade as it will not be a limiter to productivity tasks.

You need a dedicated video card if you have a 27" monitor with 2560x1440 resolution ;)

But agreed about the normal job that only requires e-mail and Office.

I just tend to prefer building my computers to my own specifications. I've been doing it since 2005 so I can usually provide my own tech support if needed.

Instead of that HP, why not get a laptop with a docking station? Then you have mobility if needed.

For the processing power of that HP, I think a laptop would be preferable.

Or just bought a NAS for the media server ;)

Ah, for the days when it was actually possible to purchase a monitor with a vertical resolution greater than 1080...


In the beginning, the media server was also the playout device. I had a little ATi-brand wireless remote for it and everything. This was ~2004.

I switched to a server-client model when I discovered that the Xbox 360 could stream video over the network, and since it supported component video (which I never got working right with the Radeon card I had) I immediately switched.

Nowadays, with the WD set-top box I have, I could get rid of the PC altogether if I really wanted to get off my ass and relocate my drives into external USB enclosures- just plug 'em directly into the WD box. But the PC itself still has some value, as I occasionally fire it up in NES emulation mode.

Incorrect. Intel HD 4000 supports up to 2560x1600.

I see where you are coming from. I have been building PC's since early 2000's for myself and customers. After a while I gave up because of how cheap branded PC's became. Instead of assembling them and trying to compete with HP/Dell, I just consulted and configured them. If someone wanted a performance machine, I built those for less than the competition. The trend continues, a branded office machine is cheaper than self assembled and comes with nifty form factors and cases.

Laptop with dock is an excellent suggestion as well, personally I don't even think a dock is necessary. However, laptops also have a problem. They aren't cheap, overall. Light laptops with performance normally don't come with docks unless you get an expensive IBM. Large desktop replacements have bad battery life and once again, expensive. Even the mid range laptops outpace the price of a slim line PC and will lack in features and expansion.

Are you sure? I just tried it and it wouldn't push my 2560x1440.

IIRC, Intel Graphics doesn't support dual-link, so 1920x1200 is the max for DVI and HDMI.

So you are correct if you get a monitor with a DisplayPort connection.