blTb's ROG Machine

[blTb]

That's my new lil project.
Few month ago i moved from my parents house to my own little place and i left my main rig to younger brother.
Needed to build something good and practical.

My PC has to be:
- Quiet
- Small(MiniITX/MicroATX)
- Black(matches all electronics in the house)
- POWERFUL!!!!

Project budget: $1500-$2000

[ PC CASE ]

Usually i'm trying to find good MoBo and CPU first, then RAM and VGA. After i have all above, it's a good time to buy matching PSU , case and spend the rest of money on HDD(s)+ODD.
But this time i've decided to start my project completely backwards, cause i have really small computer desk(Mid or Full Tower won't fit, or i have to take off one shelve, which is not really good) + my girlfriend has two cats(need dust filters).

In this case the perfect choice is Antec Mini P180. It has everything i need + very good reputation.

Price: $120

[ VGA ]

I wanted to go with GTX280 or HD4870, but after lil research (thx google!) i was shocked!
GTX275 was able to kick GTX280's %ss or show the same performance in most of the benchmarks(and it's cheaper).
So, i bought one first day it appeared @newegg.

Some reviews:
OC Club
Guru3D
Legion Hardware

Price: $250

[ CPU | MOBO | RAM ]

It was really hard to choose the right platform for my rig.
Both AM3 and i7 already have very good reputation, good reviews and it's very easy
to find good mATX motherboard for Phenom II or Core i7.

YouGamers PPD(Performance per Dollar) statistics became very handy ATP.

Everything is clear now. I'm buying Core i7 920 CPU and the perfect mATX MoBo for this CPU is ASUS Rampage II GENE.
Add some OCZ Platinum and we're almost done

Price: $95(RAM) , $250(MoBo), $280(CPU)

[ PSU ]

My perfect PSU:
- Not expensive
- Modular
- 80+ Certified
- Stable
- Cool and quiet
- 4++ 12V Rails

Should have at least:
- 2x6+2pin connectors
- 1x4pin molex line
- 2xSATA power lines
- 8pin CPU PWR connector

My new system needs ~550-600W, but my goal was to build expandable system and reduce my future expenses on upgrades.

I bought this one:

Coolmax CU-950B

Price: $140

[ HDD ]

500GB WDC Black
Got two of those babes.

Price: 2x$70

[ Monitor | KB | Mouse | Other stuff ]

Acer X233Hbid

Specs:
Screen Size: 23"
Widescreen: Yes
Resolution: 1920 x 1080
Viewing Angle: 160°(H) / 160°(V)
Pixel Pitch: 0.265mm
Display Colors: 16.7 Million
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio: 40000:1 (ACM)
Response Time: 5ms
Horizontal Refresh Rate: 54.2-83.8KHz
Vertical Refresh Rate: 49-75Hz
Connectors: D-Sub, DVI, HDMI

Price: $190

----------------------------

Thanks to DanishDevil i spend only $50 on KB/Mouse combo.

Keyboard: Logitech G15
Mouse: Logitech G9

[ Total cost ]

I spent $1515
I have ~$485 left in my valet


I still need to buy:
- BD-Writer
- Good CPU Cooler
- Maybe 2nd GTX275
- Speakers



P.S. More pics coming tonight

P.S.2 Sorry for my broken english. I'm still learning

 

[blTb]

// Reserved for whole system pics and benchmark results

 

[Duxx]

Sexy setup. Wish i could afford a i7 Grab some speakers with your left over money and you got one hell of a system!

Edit: Nice cats!

 

[DreamSeller]

nice case and that board looks awesome

 

[afw]

Wow ... nice choices ... cant wait to c da whole thing in action ... good luck with da build ..
im just concerned abt da case ... will the 275 fit in it ??

 

[sneekypeet]

glad I reread the OP, I was wondering how you were going to get all that hardware inside the cats!