Every once in a while I get a question sent to me asking what type of computer that I use. Most people are trying to get an idea of what type of computer that I like enough to use, but what they may not realize is that I have been building my own PC from components for over 20 years now. So, for those that are curious what I use and why, I've decided to put together the list of items that I use in my computer and why I chose those them. I've tried to make the list as complete as possible with all of the various small components. Many of the items on the list have links to the reviews posted on the site for them.
Last Updated: July 19 2011
- Antec P182 - One of my main goals for my computer is to be very quiet as I use it many hours every day and I also listen to music while I work. Antec's Performance One P182 offers an excellent level of accessibility to interior components while still providing excellent cooling with low noise. This case has since been discontinued in favor of the P183.
- Seasonic SS-560KM Power Supply - Not everything is about high watts. This is a very low noise power supply with excellent efficiency earning it a 80 Plus Gold rating. The modular cables also help keep interior clutter to a minimum.
- ASRock Z68 Pro3 - While the P67 series chipset has been out for some time and offers some outstanding performance with the new Sandy Bridge chips, the Z68 adds some much needed items such as SSD Caching and Hybrid graphics. This board is very affordable even if it lacks the bells and whistle or feature lists of the premiere boards. It gets the job done and has modest overclocking potential.
- Intel Core i5-2500K - This is probably one of the best values among the Sandy Bridge chips. It offers four cores and good overall base performance. If that isn't enough for you, it is clock unlocked for easy overclocking with compatible motherboards. The base cooling heatsink leaves much to be desired though ...
- Noctua NH-C12P SE14 - Intel's base heatsink may do a fine job of cooling the processor but it isn't very quiet and not well suited for overclocking. The Noctua NH-C12P SE14 may be large but the design fits well into my system setup of being very quiet and still offering solid performance.
- G.SKILL Ripjaws PC3-12800 8GB DDR3 Kit - This DDR3 memory kit was surprisingly affordable and offers some very solid performance with 1600MHz frequencies. The 8GB memory kit offers smooth performance with room to upgrade on my motherboard with a future pair to bring it to 16GB.
- Western Digital Caviar SE 640GB - There are newer and faster drives on the market, but the pair of these I have running in a RAID-0 drive array still offer a very solid level of performance. They are actually carry overs from my past system.
- OCZ Agility 3 60GB SSD - To help boost the performance of my system, I have added a small solid state drive to be used with the Z68 chipset SSD caching feature. It's not the same as running solely off a SSD but much more affordable.
- LG GGC-H20L Bluray/HD-DVD - This drive allows me to playback Blu-ray or HD-DVD movies and also burn CDs or DVDs.
- Sapphire Vapor-X Radeon HD 4890 1GB - This is an older 3D graphics card but its performance is still quite good such that I haven't felt the need to upgrade just yet. The cooling solution also keeps the system very quiet under heavy gaming sessions which is a huge bonus.
- Dell UltraSharp 2711 27-inch LCD - Graphics are a major part of my job and I really wanted a single high resolution screen compared to multiple smaller screens. At 2560x1440 I don't feel the need for any more screens and the plethora or connectors it great when I need to test other desktops.
- Logitech Z-680 5.1 Speakers – This is a much older 5.1 speaker setup, but I originally got it for my nForce2 audio that ran over digital coax. They may be old but they still work extremely well whether I'm using a digital coax, SPD/F or minijack connectors.
- Microsoft Natural Ergonomics 4000 - With the amount of typing I do every day, carpal tunnel syndrome is a big concern. I found that the ergonomic keyboard layout helps keep my wrists from hurting.
- Logitech Trackman Wheel - Similar to the keyboard, mousing can really cause my wrists to hurt. This trackball I found the best suited to me for my work and playing PC games. Now if only more companies would produce similar products or Logitech would update it for higher resolution.
