My Rig

As part of my job, over the past 10 years I have worked on just about every type of mainstream computer hardware (server, workstation, laptop) from almost every manufacturer that sells in America. You cannot blame me for being disillusioned that most consumer models of computer hardware are junk. (Servers are a little better.) I used to be a fan of Dell, until they entered into the volume/price war with HP/Compaq and Gateway. Now their computers are junk, too.

In June of 2005, I retired my 7-yr-old workhorse, and decided to build my new rig. That way I would get the exact components I wanted, with no extra software, and save about $1000 in comparison to the over-priced and under-powered Dell model. From the beginning, I wanted to use an AMD dual-core processor, with PCI-E video, all in 64-bit. With those parameters here's what I put together.

AMD 64 X2 4200+ Processor (w/ heatsink) - This was the sweet-spot in terms of pricing and performance. One step below cutting edge, and a significantly lower price.

evga GeForce 6800 GT Video Card - It has 256 MB of memory and is overclocked out-of-the-box.

DFI LanParty UT SLI-DR Motherboard - This is an enthusiast-oriented board. It has a gazillion configuration options so that the user can get the last 1% of performance. Unfortunately, unless the last 1% is tuned right, the first 99% isn't really stable. If I bought again, I'd buy a board that was a little more forgiving. I tweaked for a month before I was happy.

Corsair TwinX1024-3200C2 RAM pair - One Gig. of RAM. I would have bought a two Gig matched pair if prices then were as good as they are today.

2x Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB Hard Drives - Two fast Serial ATA hard drives in Mirrored RAID.

ENERMAX Whisper II ATX12V 535W - You can't have too much power.

NEC ND-3520A DVD/CD Burner - CD & DVD burner (all formats) for $45. Unbelievable cheap, and great performance, too.

SAMSUNG SYNC 940BE - 19 inch flatscreen monitor using DVI input. Beautiful.

Antec Sonata II - Great looking case, but made for quiet computing, not airflow. I'll buy something more performance-oriented next time.

MS Windows XP Pro x64 - Some folks are wary of 64-bit. But, since I built my system with all 64-bit compatible components, I've had zero problems. It's by far the most stable operating system I have ever used.

Motorola WE800G Wireless Ethernet Bridge - Don't ever purchase a wireless USB card. Buy a bridge. They're so versatile, you can use them for all hardware (PS2, X-Box, Mac, etc.), not just computers.

Belkin 900 VA UPS - Way too much time and $$$ invested to not use good power.

HP Officejet 5510 All-In-One printer - Scanner, Copier, Printer. 64-Bit Drivers. Love it.

Since I built it, I have added a couple more fans to increase the airflow. The temperatures for the processor and chipset are generally in the 40's (Celsius) except under load where they reach the low 50's. That's well within tolerance, but a little higher that what I'd like. Given the case, the processor, and the video card, getting the temperatures much lower would require more modifications and effort than I am willing to perform.

The machine is a rocketship built for overclocking. But, I have overclocked nothing as of yet. Why would I? It plays all games with ease, and runs my work applications in its sleep. Maybe in a couple years when it starts to slow down, I'll have some more fun with it.