{"id":2881,"date":"2010-01-07T14:32:19","date_gmt":"2010-01-07T18:32:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/?p=2881"},"modified":"2010-01-07T20:50:07","modified_gmt":"2010-01-08T00:50:07","slug":"new-computer-time-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2010\/01\/07\/new-computer-time-again\/","title":{"rendered":"New Computer Time, Again"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once again, it\u2019s time for me to upgrade my computer. Which, thanks to the (unfortunately unique) design of my computer (see my post on \u201cCPU Upgrades \u2013 Not As Easy As They Used To Be<\/a>\u201d) basically means I have to go out and buy a whole new computer.<\/p>\n

This is because I need a new motherboard in order to support a newer CPU (i.e., Core 2). But I can\u2019t just<\/em> upgrade the motherboard in my computer, because the the case is set up for the BTX form factor, and almost all new motherboards are ATX form factor.<\/p>\n

So, in order to upgrade my CPU, I need to upgrade my motherboard. In order to upgrade my motherboard, I need a new case (and power supply).<\/p>\n

Now, while that might not sound that bad, there\u2019s a few other things to concern myself with. For example, a new motherboard and new CPU should probably be paired with new RAM that runs at the right speed, and a new hard drive would probably be a good idea, since they\u2019re so cheap these days (and given that my old hard drives – as I\u2019ve written about before<\/a> – have a few glitches).<\/p>\n

So, when you factor in a new CPU, motherboard, case, power supply, RAM, and hard drive, you\u2019re basically looking at a whole new computer. But wait, there\u2019s more!<\/em><\/p>\n

You see, I\u2019d also like to keep my old computer more-or-less intact, because I don\u2019t want to end up with half a computer that I just have to throw away. I\u2019d much rather have an intact old computer that can still do work \u2013 like maybe be handed down to someone who needs a new computer (i.e., family).<\/p>\n

So a new computer seems to be the way to go. But, how to get that new computer? Buy a pre-built one, or build it myself?<\/p>\n

Well, years ago I would have scoffed at anything but the \u201cbuild it myself\u201d option. But these days, I\u2019m too much out of touch with the technology to trust myself to get it right \u2013 especially when I depend on my computer for so much.<\/p>\n

Also, the pricing is an issue as well. Although I could build a decent computer (assuming I could figure out which CPU goes with which socket, and which motherboard has the best performance, the right expansion slots, supports the maximum amount of memory I\u2019d like, etc.), when you factor in buying all the parts (and the shipping costs), it comes very, very, very close to the cost of a similarly-equipped pre-built computer.<\/p>\n

So once again, I\u2019m going to buy a pre-built computer. From Dell.<\/p>\n

Since I work from home, and I\u2019m a software developer, I have slightly different requirements for my computer than the \u201caverage\u201d user might. Specifically, I need:<\/p>\n