Student's Outlet

After 4 years of using only my laptop to my everyday life and academic use, and now that my laptop is already vulnerable and susceptible to failure (*Thanks to Ubuntu, they diagnosed that my HDD has too many bad sectors already–I think this is because of 24/7 use– and it’s life is already limited*), I’ve decided to buy a new Desktop Computer. Specifically, the purpose of buying of this new computer is to aid higher demands, especially for my brother who needs a fast-rendering/exporting or a high-powered PC for his thesis, of course for future use like animation and not for gaming :D

And now, meet Desky.

It’s a new set of PC, and here are the specs:

• Intel Core i7 920
• MSI X58 Pro-E
• Kingston 2GB PC3-10600 DDR3 1333
• Sparkle GTS250 1024MB DDR3 256bit
• Seagate 1TB SATA 7200rpm
• Gigabyte Superb 720w
• Logitech Cordless Desktop KB\Opt Mouse EX100
• Antec Three Hundred (Cool & Quiet Case)
• APC ES500VA
• 23″ Hannspree HF237HPB HDMI
• Samsung DVD-RW
• Altec Lansing VS4121

*click photos to enlarge*

Well, I want to thank first my very good friend, Mr. Gerry Roxas, who has helped me a lot especially in optimizing the specs I needed and suggesting which are better brands, who answered all my question patiently, and who is a hardware master! :D Thank you!

At first, I’m no good at assessing technical specification of hardwares (which is good or bad, which is better brand, or what is the optimal board, video card, etc), so I only rely on forums (people who have already used this product and their reviews versus other products). When i thought of buying a new PC, I said, i want it with an Intel Core i7 Processor. Why? Because, as of today, it is the fastest processor on the planet. For more info, read this.

Next question I have in mind is that, what motherboard would best utilize core i7? *Take-note, i’m on a budget here*, so I Google-d it, and guess what? This is the first result I get, so far, it is an entry-level of MSI motherboards which supports core i7 and hyper threading (which makes the OS thinks that it has twice the number of cores your processor has). It is also available at PC Gilmore that is with the budget. So, I chose this.

Next would be, a high-end video card. Gerry suggested this, GTS 250, and has the specs. For me, it is already enough as long as it is SLI/Crossfire capable and has an HDMI port.

Next would be the monitor. I want something that is an anti-glare screen. Why? Matte screens tend to handle glare better, due to a polarized coating over the glass that diffuses ambient light. So, when I am looking what is the best on the market right now, I found Samsung T240 HDTV, which is an LCDTV too. I want this badly but it is really really expensive (considering that i’ll buy 2 monitors), and I don’t really need this type. It’s just so appealing and it comes with the brand, “Samsung” So I, settled with this 2 Hannspree Monitors which is half-the price of the Samsung I want. It has passed my minimum requirement 16:9 aspect-ratio, 1920 x 1080 Full HD resolution, and has an HDMI connector, so this monitor would suffice :). Read this for a better review.

Lastly would be the casing, Antec 300 is the best I saw which is also very appealing to me :D 3 fans would be great. The rest of the parts of the PC I bought are just based on reviews again which isn’t anymore that hard to criticize and choose over, and those are the best in the market right now :)

*I’ll post soon the errors I’ve encountered here soon! :D* I’m currently running Windows 7 Professional 64-bit.