[Drexer13]

The only build I have ever done was 10 years ago and quite a bit has changed. That PC finally died, so I guess its time for an upgrade.

I have a wide range of needs that this rig needs to be able to fill. To start off it will have at least two work stations and will need to be able perform well while they are both in use. I will be using it to play movies, burn DVD’s for my business, Stream Netflix, at some point use it with a wireless upc scanner to help me keep track of inventory. Some times it will be doing all of that at the same time.
I also do a bit of gaming and 3d rendering but nothing to serious.

I would really appreciate it if some one would go over my parts list and give me some feed back. I’m open to any suggestions of criticism that anyone might have. I really just need to know if these parts play nice together and, if I’m skimping or going overboard on anything.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Thanks



Mother Board- Gigabyte GA-990FXA
http://www.newegg.co...&Tpk=gigabyte%2 0ga-990fxa-ud3

Processor- AMD FX-8120 3.1 GHz
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819103961

Hard Drive- Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136769

RAM- G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 2 x 8
http://www.newegg.co...0666cl9d-16gbxl

Video Card- EVGA GeForce GTX 550
http://www.newegg.co...=01g-p3-1556-kr

Blue Ray-LG WH12LS39
http://www.newegg.co...Tpk=lg wh12ls39

Power Supply- Antec EA-650
http://www.newegg.co...ec Ea-650 Green

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Why would you get a bluray burner? If your just burning DVDs then a regular DVD burner will suffice. Also make sure the RAM and MOBO are compatible. The PSU looks decent, I mean its Antec so quality is going to be good for the most part. You could probably find a better deal on HDDs, I believe they have 1TB HDDs marked at $100. If you decide to switch the burner you can put the money into a 560 ti possibly.

[NKGuy]

Why would you get a bluray burner? If your just burning DVDs then a regular DVD burner will suffice. Also make sure the RAM and MOBO are compatible. The PSU looks decent, I mean its Antec so quality is going to be good for the most part. You could probably find a better deal on HDDs, I believe they have 1TB HDDs marked at $100. If you decide to switch the burner you can put the money into a 560 ti possibly.

[Troy]

Hi and welcome

NKGuy, well he does want it to play movies, I know if I was looking for that consideration I most likely would include Bluray as well for hi-def movie enjoyment.

Drexer13, when you say you want it to run 2 workstations, do you mean virtual machines?

Cheers

[Drexer13]

Thanks for the welcome and the replies.
Your right I don't really need a blue ray burner, But I would need a blue ray player. I guess if I could find a dvd burner with blue ray playing capability I would go for that. The other hitch is I really like the light scribe feature.
I checked to see if the mem was gigabytes approved list and I was disappointed to see that they have not tested any 8Mb chips on this motherboard. They did test the same brand chip in a 2 gig but that was all i could find. Also Im very open to suggestions about the Hdd. If you were planning this build what would you get? Are There any other parts that you change, and Why?

I'm going to use software called softXpand 2011 Duo to create two work stations. Here is a link if you want to check it out. http://www.miniframe...d-2011-duo.html I downloaded the free trial on my laptop A while ago and it worked pretty well, It was a little slower if both stations were using a lot of memory but overall I was pretty pleased.

The idea is to have one work station with dual monitors in my office and the other in my living room using my HD TV. Both will have its own mouse and a keyboard. That way my wife can watch movies or surf the www while I'm in the office Working or doing home work.

Thanks again for the Comments and suggestions they really help

[NKGuy]

Well if you absolutely need it then get it. Its what you want right. Now if you don't mind spending $15 more and getting free shipping than this 1TB Seagate should suite you nicely.

[Digerati]

Your right I don't really need a blue ray burner, But I would need a blue ray player. I guess if I could find a dvd burner with blue ray playing capability I would go for that.

No such thing as a DVD burner the plays BluRays that I am aware of. In any case, unless you get a full retail BluRay, you will need special licensed BluRay software to play BluRay disks. Most are not free.

I don't see an operating system listed. A common mistake is some users assume they can use their old Windows license on a new computer. Understand only a "boxed" full Retail license can be transferred to a new computer (or upgraded motherboard). It is illegal to use an OEM license that came with or was purchased for one computer on another computer. A disk “branded” with a computer maker’s brand name, or is labeled with “OEM/System Builder”, “Upgrade”, “Academic Edition”, or "For Distribution with a new PC only", is not transferable to a new PC (or upgraded motherboard) under any circumstances. These OEM licenses are inextricably tied to the "original equipment". So if that is the case, I recommend 64-bit Windows 7 or one of the many free Linux alternatives. Just ensure it is 64-bit since you have selected 16Gb of RAM.

I don't see a case. I like the Antec Three Hundred. It is reasonably priced, very well built, sturdy, "true" (exactly 90° bends), lots of large (120mm or larger) fan support, not flashy, plus it has removable, washable air filters. I will never buy a case again that does not have removable, washable air filters. And I like a case to sit quietly and discretely off to the side and not draw attention to itself. Therefore, I don't like fancy facades that go out of style, or flashy bright lights that do nothing for performance, consume some power, generate some heat, and do nothing for performance - worth repeating. After all, I tend to pay attention to what's on my monitors, and not what my case is doing.

My advice for the wife, get her her own computer.

[iammykyl]

Please read this, http://www.miniframe...eparations.html

Deployment is only shown as hard wired with just a little mention about other means.

How far apart would the workstation be?
Is streaming an option.
Are you using software for hardware for Netflix?

The selected HDD only has 16MB cache. I would use 2 HDDs.
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148840

Video card, http://www.newegg.co...N82E16814102959 Allows triple monitor output, or 2 monitors + large TV .

I would re evaluate the Mobo as I do not think you need 4 PCI Express 2.0 x16 slots.

I would also do a little more research on the CPU, compare the selected with the 6100 and 6200.

You have not listed a case.
Do you have an OS?

[iammykyl]

HI.

How are things going? Do you need any more help or have you got it sorted?
An update would be welcome.