Welcome Critics on My first build

[The Quicken]

I'm putting together my first custom build (desktop pc) I've had some seemingly solid advice on what I need and I'm just looking for some more input.

This build is NOT for gaming (that's what the xbox is for), what is for is Web surfing, practical applications (networking/research), Torrenting & Video/Music media. I have dual monitors and I tend to have all the above mentioned applications on the go at the same time.....speed is a priority.

Arctic Cooler 120mm 3 Pin Fan with Molex to 3 Pin Adapter 12PWM
Airlink101 150N Draft 802.11N 2.0 PCI Wireless Adapter
ASUS EN210 SILENT/DI/GD2(LP)NVIDIA GF 210, PCI-E 2.0 128BIT1GB-DDR2-I, NATIVE HDMI

Intel Core i5-2500 3.30Ghz Socket1155 6MB Cache With SATA 15pin Female to Molex 4pin Male Power Adapter
LG BH10LS30 BLACK 10X BLU-RAY Burner 16X DVD
Kingston ValueRAM 4GB DDR3 SDRAM Memory Modual
ASUS P8H67-M LX Desktop Motherboard (total RAM is 8 GB, but expandable up to 16 GB)

Cooler Master Elite RC-370-KKR400 System Cabinet
Westerm Digital WD BLACK 1TB 3.5 7200 64MBDUAL HDD

My Budget is around $1000 to $1200-- this quote is sitting at $1100

So....thoughts? Suggestions? I'm a little over my head here lol.

[ilya]

No offense, but if that build is sitting at $1100, your prices suck. I would suggest ordering from NCIX since you're in BC, use some shopbots and pricematch the lowest prices you can find. Copy and paste model numbers to search.

You don't need that GT210 to run dual monitors, in fact it will perform on par/worse than the integrated graphics on the 2500/2500K accordingly. Yes the integrated graphics supports dual monitors. Save yourself the cost of the video card and go integrated, these new processors have insanely good built in graphics compared to previous offerings. You can even run quite a few non intensive games off of it.

Depending on what kind of video/music/media you're doing I doubt you'll need such a fast processor, dump some cash into a decent SSD instead. You'll probably notice more of a difference.

[The Quicken]

Originally Posted by ilya

No offense, but if that build is sitting at $1100, your prices suck. I would suggest ordering from NCIX since you're in BC, use some shopbots and pricematch the lowest prices you can find. Copy and paste model numbers to search.

You don't need that GT210 to run dual monitors, in fact it will perform on par/worse than the integrated graphics on the 2500/2500K accordingly. Yes the integrated graphics supports dual monitors. Save yourself the cost of the video card and go integrated, these new processors have insanely good built in graphics compared to previous offerings. You can even run quite a few non intensive games off of it.

Depending on what kind of video/music/media you're doing I doubt you'll need such a fast processor, dump some cash into a decent SSD instead. You'll probably notice more of a difference.

No offense taken, educated opinion is why I'm here lol.

I believe the 210 was suggested because along with the dual monitors I also want an HDMI input so If I feel so inclined I can connect my laptop via HDMI and/or connect my Plasma...the 210 allows my to run all 3 at the same time whereas other options/cards would not run both at once....

My mistake, I didn't bother mentioning the quote included the OS (windows 7)--so for the tower complete, (built for me = $50 with warranty) keyboard & mouse, cables etc etc comes to $1100.

Does this make my build make more sense? And the price I'm quoted? I did get a quote from NCIX for the same price but not with the same caliber of hardware.

[The Quicken]

Reading up on SSD drives...the price is.....interesting....

[sswilson]

If you're not going to be loading a lot of games onto your drive, a SSD will without a doubt blow your socks off for the type of use you're describing.

[The Quicken]

Originally Posted by sswilson

If you're not going to be loading a lot of games onto your drive, a SSD will without a doubt blow your socks off for the type of use you're describing.

I'm looking at the $$ vs Data storage on NCIX site (linky to SSD Price Page list below)

NCIX.com - Canada's Premier Computer Store - Great Technology, Service and Selection.

I don't doubt I'd be blown away...but its too much $$ for the storage you get. I DL 93GB of Music last month alone lol. And with Movies I tend to stick to BLU-RAY which are 2.5 to 4.5 GB each on average.

But thank you for the suggestion, something I'll be keeping my eye on.

[Exlibris]

You haven't mentioned if you took the earlier advice and run some checks at shopbot or pricematch. Order from NCIX, but pricematch everything and you'll probably come out far enough ahead to actually get that SSD, and based on your stated needs, its worth the cost.

You can always have a HD for music storage, but run the OS and your heavy applications from the SSD.

[The Quicken]

Originally Posted by Exlibris

You haven't mentioned if you took the earlier advice and run some checks at shopbot or pricematch. Order from NCIX, but pricematch everything and you'll probably come out far enough ahead to actually get that SSD, and based on your stated needs, its worth the cost.

You can always have a HD for music storage, but run the OS and your heavy applications from the SSD.

Huh, I just finished using Shopbot (nice site!) and I looked up my entire quote via product stock code and my lowest price came to $1013....so for an extra $90 I get them (shop that supplied quote) to put it together with a warranty...I'm feeling good about the price now.

[grifter11]

Get a 60GB SSD for the OS and your Apps and get a pair of WD 1TB Black HDD's and download your Music/Videos etc to them.

[proxy]

Um, that seems a bit high still with pricematches. Also what Power Supply do you plan on using?