Hi stettybet0, thanks for jumpin in. The more opinions I get the better I think.
I would like the budget to be in the neighborhood of $700. I am willing to spend as much as it takes to get what I want, but I don't want to get crazy with the money. I am saving up for a car this Summer as well.
Edit: $700 is just for the tower, doesn't include monitor, keyboard, mouse, or even the OS.
I like the board you recommended, and I think I have changed my mind...the blue heatsinks will probably look rather nice especially since the board itself is blue. With that said, please read this post from earlier in this topic.
And don't think I'm crazy here, but before someone goes and recommends a new board or something, color, power plug and sata locations matter and all that stuff laughing.gif
I'm not just in the process of a build, but more like a design I guess you could say. I really enjoy the design part of it, not just making sure the parts are compatible. See what I'm saying?
and
Edit: And remember, color and style matters. I just enjoy the design part of it also, but function can take precedence in the end.
This is solely for me, there isn't really anyone in my life that I will be "showing this off" to. I enjoy design, even home decor interior design. So changing one thing, may mean changing other things, if not everything. I don't expect anyone to go and do all that for me though, and I had thoughts of just posting the stuff right before I buy it just to make sure it's compatible, because again, I don't expect someone to go hunting and searching for a RAM that matches the video card and heatsink, ya know?
Anyway, I know I don't need the aftermarket heatsink and fan, it will be for the "style" and "design" part, so it just has to at a minimum function as good as the one that comes with the cpu.
The same goes for the graphics card too, I can get a real cheap one since I WON"T BE GAMING(decided that now) but I prefer it to be black and have the outer rectangle enclosure of the card(don't know what you call that). When I eventually buy a sound card, I will want it to have as similar look to the video card as I can find.
This is also why I picked the RAM it has silver heat pipes and is black which will match the video card and heatsink and fan. I have some other heatsinks and fans I'm looking at too.
Here they are.
TuniqASUSEdit:
Xigmatek I would really like to hear what someone has to say about this all in one cooling unit.
If you noticed, they all have the fan somewhat hidden, I don't want one that has the fan on top or even on the side, I like it in the middle. However, some of them come with fans that have blue LED's and I am almost decided that I want the lighting to be white, but subtle. So I may need to find out if I can replace the fan that comes with the heatsink with one that doesn't have lights, or if I want the heatsink to have that inner white glow, then a fan with white LED's that I can use on the heatsink.
So, I understand if you aren't willing to help, but I can't help but repeat myself. I enjoy the "design" part just as much as the actual "build" but I do want it to meet my needs also. If I have a few programs open with 15 tabs and there is hesitation when I go to search in the control panel or have to open another program up, then I might as well not even build because the computer i use now already hesitates LOL. Ya know?
Well, I'll stop there, let me know what you think. I will listen to anything anyone has to say and will consider all hardware recommendations, you can leave it up to me getting things to match it all.
Remember this is some of the things that will be added down the road...
I will be adding a 2 part sound card configuration where you have bay with sound control/remote control and all that with a mid grade sound system after the build is complete (eventually). I also would like to add a LCD digital Fan and Temp Bay, a second hard drive with a second operating system, a bay that you can access the a hard drive externally, more ram???, and probably more LOL.
Also, I will be wanting to constantly tinker with this computer. Add stuff, replace stuff, etc. It's not just going to sit there, I want it to be an ongoing project of sorts.
Thanks!
Edited by Ferrari, 22 March 2009 - 03:17 PM.