Computer upgrade
Posted February 15, 2010 by Nick Vogt in Computer Hardware
It's been a year and a half since my last computer upgrade. I have been using a first-gen Phenom X3 overclocked to 3.0ghz, 2 x 1GB of DDR1066, and a good yet not great overclocking Gigabyte motherboard. I also have two hard drives and will be adding another to the mix along with a new case, since my old one is chopped up and modified to pieces.
There were some excellent deals going, including free shipping on the case. Here's the list of components:
Cooler Master Elite Case
Seagate Barracude 7200.12 500GB Hard Drive
ASRock M3A785GXH/128M Motherboard
A-DATA 2 x 2GB DDR3 Memory Kit
AMD Phenom II X2 555 Processor
A few interesting tidbits that may be of use to those upgrading their system with similar components:
You may be wondering for the hard drive why I didn't go with a larger one that had a better dollar/GB ratio. The reason I chose that drive in particular is because it is one of the few 500GB-per-platter drives on the market right, and I was trying to keep the total bill under $400 (which I did). Hard drive platter density is not often discussed at the consumer level, but you'll hear about it plenty if you read hard drive reviews. Generally, larger platter densities result in better performance, while fewer total platters result in lower heat and noise.
As for the processor. The reason I went with an X2 as opposed to an X4 is because the new Phenom X2 555 (C3 revision) has the potential to be unlocked to an X4, making it nearly identical to the Phenom X4 955 for $60 less. For more information, read this AnandTech review.
There were some excellent deals going, including free shipping on the case. Here's the list of components:
Cooler Master Elite Case
Seagate Barracude 7200.12 500GB Hard Drive
ASRock M3A785GXH/128M Motherboard
A-DATA 2 x 2GB DDR3 Memory Kit
AMD Phenom II X2 555 Processor
A few interesting tidbits that may be of use to those upgrading their system with similar components:
You may be wondering for the hard drive why I didn't go with a larger one that had a better dollar/GB ratio. The reason I chose that drive in particular is because it is one of the few 500GB-per-platter drives on the market right, and I was trying to keep the total bill under $400 (which I did). Hard drive platter density is not often discussed at the consumer level, but you'll hear about it plenty if you read hard drive reviews. Generally, larger platter densities result in better performance, while fewer total platters result in lower heat and noise.
As for the processor. The reason I went with an X2 as opposed to an X4 is because the new Phenom X2 555 (C3 revision) has the potential to be unlocked to an X4, making it nearly identical to the Phenom X4 955 for $60 less. For more information, read this AnandTech review.
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