The Components
Bear in mind that this system is an experimental build. So you’ll get to go along for the full ride, including all the gotchas and warts I encountered. Sometimes you learn more from the mistakes and glitches than if everything went smoothly.
First, cost was no object. That didn’t mean I had a bottomless budget, but it did mean I wasn’t going to skimp on components. The goals for the system were pretty simple:
- Low power usage at idle
- Good gaming performance
- Very quiet
- Relatively small. It would be something you could lug around to LAN parties.
Let’s check out the component list.
|
Component |
Brand / Model |
Cost |
|
CPU |
Intel Core i5 661 |
$205 |
|
Motherboard |
Asus P7H55D-M EVO |
$135 |
|
CPU Cooler |
Scyther Big Shuriken Low |
$ 35 |
|
Memory |
4GB Patriot Viper II Sector 5 DDR3-1600 |
$110 |
|
Graphics Card |
XFX Radeon HD 5850 |
$299 |
|
Hard Drive |
OCZ Colossus 250GB 3.5” SSD |
$849 |
|
Optical Drive |
Asus BC-08B1ST Blu-ray combo drive |
$110 |
|
PSU |
Cooler Master Silent Plus Pro 500W |
$100 |
|
Case |
Silverstone SG04B-FH |
$159 |
|
OS |
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM x64 |
$105 |
|
Total |
|
$2,107 |
That’s over $2,100 for a dual core gaming rig. Of course, for the $850 cost of the SSD, you could practically build a new system. But we’re in the pursuit of knowledge here, so damn the cost and full speed ahead.
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jada59 - Wednesday, January 12, 2011 - link
How can this disk withstand shock up to 1500G? Purchased a 1CLS120G disk 3 months ago. When pulling out the SATA cable, the plastic covering the connector pins broke. Tried to get a new disk on the warranty but did not succeed. Has lost a lot of money on this SSD.