Hardware Revolution

For other computer systems, see: Computer Systems

Recently, one of my readers, that I’ll call Mark, contacted me:

“Hi,
I love your articles. I am currently, in the market for a computer. I built
one when I was out of HighSchool but really have gotten lost. I like the best
gaming machine for under 1k, but I don’t really game, only program. I was
wondering, what would you recommend for someone looking for 2 24inch monitors,
and just programming all day with maybe some gaming with the new Diablo III?
Budget as low as possible and still get good value, but a cap at 1k.”

Click here to visit the official Diablo 3 website.

So I went on to find out Diablo 3’s system requirements.

“But chances are, if you can run WoW, then you can run D3. They’ve stated that they’re catering to lower-end users with D3, so no, you absolutely will not need a “beast” to run it.”

According to people on the blizzard forums, the system requirements should be similar to WoW (800mhz processor, 512Mb RAM, 256MB Video Card with Shader 3.0 support, etc) which are really low, as any recent computer with a decent video card can meet that. Blizzard also confirmed that Diablo 3 would not require DirectX 10.

So, as I explained to Mark, running Diablo 3 shouldn’t be too much of a problem, however if you want to run it with high quality and with a 1920×1200 resolution, on a 24″ screen, you will need a good cpu and a good video card to avoid bottlenecks.

His other requirements were:

• Firewire connections
• Bluetooth connection
• USB 2 connections
• Be able to watch HD movies
• Be able to use two Hard drives, a DVD Burner and a CD-Rom, that he already have, all with IDE connections.

So, let’s start with my recommendations for what hardware should be used to answer Mark’s needs. These are the parts that I believe that will answer his needs, for a programming system, with a gaming sidekick, with outstanding performance of course. For each part of the system, I will tell you my choice, the reason for it and a link to buy the item. Of course, I’m open to suggestions, comments, questions so please post them.

Cpu: Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600: At 2.40Ghz, quad-core, 1066Mhz fsb and 8MB of cache, the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 will be perfect for Mark’s programming needs, especially for Mathematica and Matlab, as both are multi-threaded program, in their recent versions, which will take advantage of the 4 cores. This cpu will also offer plently enough power to play video games, especially with multi-threaded games which take advantage of multiple cores. With the 4 cores, its speed of 2.4Ghz and the huge 8MB of cache, this cpu will definately answer your needs now and be future-proof for quite a few years. This Intel cpu is also a great bang for the buck in my opinion, at only 194.99$
Click here to buy the Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor at 194.99$

Video card: Radeon HD 4850: I’ve stopped my choice on a Radeon HD 4850, which I believe offers incredible performance for a single gpu video card at this price! For only 194.99$, this card offers better performance than a 9800GTX, for much less. It support HD content and offers 2 DVI output to support the 2 24″ screens. It will handle Diablo 3 and pretty much any games you’ll throw at it. It will help with video decoding, with the majority of formats. I also believe that ATI offers better image quality, especially in movies.
Click here to buy the ASUS Radeon HD 4850 EAH4850/HTDI/512M Video Card for only 194.99$

Motherboard: This motherboard is exactly what you need, as it offers 4 RAM channels, with Dual channel support, PCI-Express, 4 SATA connections with RAID support, a firewire connection and 2 IDE connections with 2 channels each, for the two hard drives, the dvd burner and the cd-rom. WIth the 2 extra ram channels and the two extra SATA channels, it leaves room for future upgrade! Reliable, unexpensive and supports nearly everything we want!
Click here to buy the ASRock Penryn1600SLI-110dB ATX Intel Motherboard for only 99.99$

Ram(Memory): Two sticks of 2GB of DDR2 800, running in dual channel, for a total of 4GB of RAM and all the bandwidth you need in your games. Enough memory for all your programming and multi-tasking needs and just what you need to play video games as well.
Click here to buy the CORSAIR 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory for only 86.50$

Hard Drive: Two Western Digital Hard Drive, with 500GB of space each for a total of 1000GB, in a RAID 0 setup. SATA connections, 7200 rpm and a low price tag. Reliable, fast and silent. Simple and effective.
Click here to buy two Western Digital Caviar SE16 500GB 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive for only 149.98$

Bluetooth Adapter
Mark requested bluetooth support, so there it is. I chose the adapter with the best satisfaction rating on NewEgg, with 83% five stars ratings. Excellent price too!
Click here to buy the AZiO BTD603-132 Bluetooth Adapter (Class 1 v. 2.0) for only 16.99$

Dvd Burner: Mark is planning on using a DVD-Burner and a CD-Rom that he already owns, so we’ll skip this part =)

Case: A nice mid-tower computer case from Cooler Master, with 2 120mm fans and a side air duct included for additional cooling , which is what you need to keep your computer cool and reliable. Comes with 2 USB 2.0 connection and a firewire connection in the front. It has 5 external bays for Dvd-Burner, CD-Rom and hard drives and 4 hard drive bays in the inside. I like the design of it as well.
Click here to buy the COOLER MASTER Centurion 534 RC-534-KKN2-GP Black Computer Case for only 52.99$

Power Supply: In order to power up your computer in a safe and reliable way, you need a quality power supply. This is what this Corsair CMPSU - 750 Watts will do for you, with it’s 750W of power and it’s single 60A 12V line. With a Quad-core processor, 2 optical drives, 4 hard drives, 4GB of RAM, a very powerful video card, this is perfect. It also have some overhead, so Mark won’t have to worry if he adds more RAM, more hard drives or anything else in his system. This is perfect to power up this powerful computer.
Click here to buy the CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W Power Supply for only 129.99$

Sound Card: Integrated Sound Card with support for 8-channel audio.

Cooling:
Heatsink: With a quad-core processor, we need adequate cooling, to increase its lifespan and also to save your ears from the loud and inefficient Intel stock cooler.
Click here to buy the ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler for only 31.99$

Thermal Compound: Who hasn’t heard of Arctic Silver 5? This high quality thermal paste is essentiel to ensure good thermal transfer between the cpu and the heatsink.
Click here to buy the Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound for 5.99$

Case fan: The case comes with two 120 mm fans, one on the back and one on the side. This extra case fan will be for the front.

Click here to buy the COOLER MASTER R4-S2S-12AK-GP Case Fan for only 7.99$

Screen: Mark is looking for two 24″ screens for programming, some gaming and to watch HD movies eventually. I recommend two screens, the first one, the 245BW is an older screen but it’s an excellent screen, with great colors once it’s adjusted, with height adjustment and an excellent price tag. 5ms reaction time, 400 cd/m2  brightness and 1000:1 contrast ratio. Not the best 24″ screen around, but certainly the best at this price!
Now, the T240HD is part of Samsung new screens just newly released. Excellent with programming, gaming and simply outstanding for movies.  5ms reaction time, 300cd/m2 brightness and an amazing 10000:1 contrast ratio! Very nice, but the best is that it comes with a DTV Tuner, which will dramatically enhance the picture quality, especially when you watch TV or movies, both in analog and HD format. Considering that you will watch movies on your computer, I recommend this screen, but I understand that an extra 80$ per screen is quite a lot of money, so I’ll leave the final choice to you

Click here to buy the SAMSUNG 245BW Black 24″ 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustment for only 429.99$


Click here to buy the SAMSUNG ToC T240HD Rose-Black 24″ 5ms Widescreen HDTV Monitor Built in Speakers for only 509.99$

Kebyoard and Mouse: That is entirely up to you, as each professional have his own preferences.

Operating system: For the Operating system, I still do recommend Windows XP Pro, as it is way more mature than Vista and has way less compatibilities issues than it. It also uses less ressources. This system is Vista certified however.

Total price, for the computer only: $972.39, taxs not included, as they vary depending on where you live.

Ratings -On a scale of 10- :
Gaming : 8.5/10 You will be able to play on nearly every game with high or max quality and with max AA and AF in most games. You will be able to play on medium to high resolutions without any problem. This system was designed with gaming in mind, as you plan on playing Diablo 3 on it after all
Office : 9.5/10 This system is based on a quad core processor; it will run any applications quickly, it will run several cpu intensive programs (Image/Video editing, media burning, programming, calculations) at once without latency(lag). Very quick on multi-threaded optimized applications, great at multi-tasking. The speed and the 4 cores will help you a lot.
Overclocking : 6/10 This system was not specificly designed to overclock, but considering the cooling used, you can go ahead and give it a try on the cpu and ram. I don’t recommend overclocking the video card, as the stock cooler won’t be able to handle the extra heat.
Power consumption : 3/10 With a quad-core processor, four hard drives and a powerful video card, this system will consume a large ammount of electricity. The video card will be the part which will consume the most energy.
Value for the money: 9/10 This system will offer you outstanding performance for a great price tag. A quad-core system, with 4GB of Ram, 1000GB of storage in RAID 0 and a great video card, with the possibility of programming, playing video games and watching movies, including HD content, offers a lot of choices and options for a reasonable price tag.

Well Mark, what do you think of this system? I think that you’ll be able to do all you wish on it, with a hugh improvement in speed compared to your actual system! I also think that you’re future proof and know that you can upgrade your cpu, ram, hard drives and video card in the future if you want to. Everyone else, what’s your opinion on this programming computer, with a gaming sidekick?