Building A Box - Specs

I've done a lot of thinking about the specifications of the computer I am going to build. My two main priorities are speed and storage. I use my main PC for video editing, some Web development, and as a media server for the house. I figure that whatever I build will replace it as my main desktop, and then I can give my current machine (a two-year old Dell Studio XPS 8100) to my wife.

Motherboard

Since the motherboard was a gift, there wasn't really a choice. It is an ASUS P8Z77-M Pro, which is a decent Micro ATX board that supports 3rd gen Intel  processors. It is a little light on the internal expansion ports (three total), but has decent built-in sound and video as well as support for several USB ports (front and back) in both 2.0 and 3.0. It can handle up to 32 GB of memory.

Processor

Since I have the luxury of shopping around and buying parts over time, I am looking at getting the Core i7 3770k processor. It is currently the fastest Core i7 that will fit in this motherboard, and it is factory unlocked in case I want to experiment with overclocking.

Storage

Since I want this to be a fast machine, but will need a lot of storage for video files, I decided to use two drives - a 256 GB Solid State Drive for the Operating System (OS) and my most used applications, and a 2 TB HDD for file storage and installations of either very large software packages or stuff I don't use too often. Both drives will be SATA III with 6 Gb/s data transfer speeds.

Memory

I've decided to start with 16 GB of memory, but I will use 2 8 GB sticks so that I can add more memory at a future date. At first I thought of using the maximum 32 GB, but I realized that when using my 8GB machines (even with Windows) I typically have more than 50% of the memory free most of the time.

Video and Sound

In the beginning, I am going to use the motherboard's built-in video and audio hardware, but I have not ruled out getting an add-in card in the future. Video will be first if I go that route.
 

Operating System

Since I am going to be using this as my main PC, and I need to do office work as well as my video editing and coding, I will need to install Windows. As you've seen from my earlier posts, I am fine with Windows 8, even in a non-touch environment. I also like using Linux - my current PC dual-boots Ubuntu and Windows - so I am considering a dual-boot machine again. I will need to do some planning to figure out the best way to partition my drives to accomplish this.
 
That about covers the core specs for the machine.  If anyone has any thoughts and/or suggestions, feel free to leave me a comment.

Comments

  1. Jon WallaceDecember 16, 2012 at 10:38 PM

    Don't forget to spec your power supply and processor cooling assy to match both your current and possible future needs (esp. for video card and fast ram with overclocking).

    Spec your case to insure that it properly shields the internals, provides rigidity, and has high quality fans - and provides both front and back usb connection points (I know you know this but some readers might not).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SeanGDecember 17, 2012 at 4:56 AM

      Thanks for the reminders. I was actually thinking I should do a follow-up post regarding the case, power supply and optical drive - those are things that people take for granted, but, as you mentioned, can affect performance and/or limit future upgrades.

      I've looked at a few cases and am actually surprised at how many do not have front USB 3.0 ports - it really limits the selection for what I want.

      Delete

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