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For a long time I’ve wanted a computer that was decent at gaming as well as great for everyday use. I had gotten tired of my old desktop with its limited graphics card and being stuck in the same room. I loved the idea of buying a high-end laptop for all of my computing needs for the next couple of years. Problem with laptops is if you are using it as a gaming machine, they age pretty quickly and you can’t upgrade anything other than the ram or hard drive. Plus they are very expensive - you can get a screaming kick-ass gaming tower for the price of the low-end MacBook Pro. Of course laptops are always more expensive than their desktop counterparts (and I am comparing to a premium notebook), but the point I’m trying to make is that if you want something with heaps of horsepower that will last you at least several years, a PC desktop is the way to go. No matter what I looked at - even the new Dell Studio XPS were on the expensive side when compared to desktops with core i7 processors at a similar price point. I’ve also got a Dell Mini 9 which fits my web browsing and TV-watching quite well. So with this realisation at the forefront of my mind, I asked some of my co-workers what I should do. Several told me to do something I have never done before - build my own computer. I liked this idea a lot, and with their advice I’m in the process of ordering the following components: CPU: E8400 I was going to order a 620W Corsair power supply, as the reviews were quite favourable. I had to settle with the equally-priced 650W unit as everyone I regularly order from have it on back-order until mid-March. I was careful to select a good case and power supply as these were components that would live out the rest several times over. This system should last me at least 4 years with minimal upgrades. Anything beyond that will be a complete overhaul to whatever type of Intel Core i7 platform is out. |
