I finally ordered all of the parts for my new desktop computer. With this build, I wanted to build up a machine that was significantly faster than my current computer. I almost "broke the bank" on this machine, but I usually only build a computer once every 5-6 years for my own personal use.
Here is the showcase of all of the parts ordered:
Parts list:
- Processor - Intel Core 2 Quad Extreme (QX6700)
- Cooler - Tuniq Tower 120
- Motherboard - Universal Abit AB9 QuadGT
- Memory - Corsair Dominator 2GB Kit (TWIN2X2048-8500C5DF)
- Case - Thermaltake Armor (VA8000BWS)
- Power Supply - Thermaltake Toughpower 750W (W0117RU)
- Optical - Plextor DVD/CD Burner (PX-760A)
- Hard Drives -
- 2 x 150GB Western Digital RaptorX 10K RPM SATA (WD15000AHFD)
- 1 x 500GB Western Digital Raptor 7200RPM SATA 3.0GB/s (WD500YS)
- Video - BFG Tech Geforce 8800GTX OC2E
- OS - Vista Ultimate (NewEgg had a badass sale)
- Miscellaneous - Abit's uGuru Panel, sound dampeners, cable sleeving kit, extra iCage drive cage/fan, and lighting
After building:
Thanks to the ginormous case, the build went very smooth. The Tuniq Tower filled up the case with about an inch to spare. Thermaltake's "tool-less" designed worked alright. I had to really work at getting the bigass power supply in it's spot -- I applied a noise dampener gasket to it before I started, so it was more challenging.
The motherboard is well known for it's buggy BIOS. I immediately flashed it to the latest version as soon as I powered it up. I also learned that if you have the BIOS set to control a USB keyboard and mouse, memtest86 (and all other variations) immediately reboot.
After the BIOS was situated, the two 10K RPM hard drives were configured into a RAID-1 mirror, and I installed Vista. I partitioned the 500GB drive in half and installed Gentoo Linux.
