my next computer
i’ve decided that it would be best if this post was a moving target. things change quite a bit with technology and some items listed below will definitely change. last update: 16.sept.2006
with intel and amd coming out with dual core processors with the promise of faster processing, lower power consumption and low price, i cannot help but think of what my next computer will be. the main computer i use normally lasts me around 4 to 5 years before i replace or re-purpose it.
my current rig is an amd athlon xp 2400+ with 768 meg of memory, three hard disks of varying sizes, a cd-rw and a cd-rom drive. it still serves my needs, it still eats up whatever i throw at it and i’m still quite satisfied with its performance despite the fact that the athlon xp is two generations old. the only upgrades that i will probably throw in is a memory bump to 1 gigabyte and a dvd/rw drive. after that, its time to save up for a new machine.
being the computer guy in the family i am often asked what kind of computer i would recommend. well, below is a list of what i would like get for myself today along with the reasons why i chose them. i’ll probably purchase a unit within two years. [hey! gimme time to save and money is a little hard to come by 
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i don’t think the items i’ve chosen will be obsolete by the time i decide to buy. besides, i don’t really have plans of getting the latest and greatest — they’re usually too expensive anyway. i’ve also decided to get separate components and assemble the unit myself. this way i know what i’m getting.
i have just a few requirements:
- it has to be cheap which means it doesn’t have to be the super speedy, top of the line stuff with all the bells, whistles and horns.
- it has to have low power consumption. this is getting to be somewhat of an obsession for me. electricity in this country is getting expensive. the lower the power consumption, the better.
cpu
boxed amd athlon 64 x2 am2 3800+ processor in box (pib) — the 65 watt type but i prefer the 35 watter. pibs come with their own cpu cooler and reviews have said that its pretty good for a stock cooler. the equivalent intel core2 duo is still too expensive as of this writing.
motherboard
asus m2n-e or asus m2n-mx. i’m not really that big into gaming so i don’t really need sli. a single pci-e video card would suffice. i don’t really have plans of overclocking the system but getting a good board is important for me. i’ve read some bad and some good reviews of this board (m2n-e) and they all say to wait for the next motherboard revision. the m2n-mx is new on the asus site so i don’t have that much info on it yet.
memory
2 gig ddr2-800. i learned my lesson with my current rig. i started out at 512meg and it wasn’t really enough in the long run and now i’m trying to bump it up to 1 gig. so with this new rig i better start off with two 1 gig memory modules and upgrade later on. the board above has 4 memory slots so there’s still room for expansion.
monitor
17″ lcd. it has to be lcd. with dvi. the lesser power consumption alone compared to an equivalent sized crt monitor make this investment worth it. another plus is its less bulky. the downside is that lcd monitors are more expensive especially the ones with digital video inputs.
video card
it haven’t decided what to get yet. i really don’t need all the high end stuff that costs an arm, a leg and a ball. besides, those things drink amps like there’s no tomorrow.
drive storage
sata2 — 4 drives in a raid5 configuration if the budget is willing. the motherboard supports its so why not? pata is at the end of its life and manufacturers are moving to sata2 already. i’m sure i’ll be getting a sata2 drive. the question that remains is how many?
power supply
450w to 550w. maybe a 450 watter with a high efficiency rating. if i’m going to have four drives then i should have enough juice to feed them. i’ve had a previous experience where the psu was failing and i wasn’t even maxing it out.
pc casing
casetek ck-1022-6. this case is big and roomy. probably on the expensive side also but it has the features that i currently need in a case. unfortunately, its not available locally. yet. if it still isn’t available by the time i assemble everything then i’ll look for another.
cooling
i don’t think i’ll get an aftermarket cpu cooler since the one that comes with the processor has pipes and has pretty good performance already. the case above comes with 120mm fans front and back but i’ll probably get two more 120mm fans.
optical drives
dvd/rw and cdr/rw. lg gsa h22n for the dvd writer. i checked and its not available locally. although its already posted on their website. the h20n is available but its not as fast as the h22n. so i’ll likely wait until someone brings the thing in. no blue ray or hd-dvd thingies for me. my family had a huge betamax machine. if these manufacturers cannot decide or agree on one, single standard then i will not spend my money on whatever they’re selling now. let them lose their money because i’m not losing mine.
