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So my current laptop has proved unreliable after 4 years of trusty service. It overheats, and just generally has issues and as a result I’ve had to wipe and reinstall twice in the last six months, so… i’m looking at a replacement with a good backup system. A friend has recommended these parts for a new desktop and I have a 1TB external I plan to have as a scheduled back up (once a week for standard files, once a day for ‘working files’ (writing and photography).
I need to run Adobe Photoshop CS3/CS4, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Lightroom, Office, Firefox, Adobe After Effects, Illustrator, Ableton Live with VST/DirectX/Midi, Sony Sound Forge and would like to be able to handle some games. Also, I use a graphics tablet and laser printer, both USB.
Current laptop (for comparison) is:
19″ widescreen, 1.7Ghz, dual core Intel, GeForce 5600 (i think) graphics card, two Hard drives – 120GB and 80GB, DVD-RW, Memory Card reader that has never worked, 4USB ports.
Here’s the specs for the replacement:
: COOLER MASTER ELITE 341 350W HD AUDIO COMPUTER CASE ($71)- 5.25″ Drive Bay 2 (Exposed)
- 3.5″ Drive Bay 2 (Exposed); 2 (Hidden)
- I/O Panel USB 2.0 x 2, MIC x 1, SPK x 1 (Support Intel HD Audio / AC 97)
- Cooling System One 120mm front fan (optional),
- One 120mm rear fan (optional)
- Expansion Slots 4
- Power Supply Standard ATX PS2
Motherboard: MINIX 780G-SP128MB ($159)
- MINIX 780G-SP128MB M/Board – AMD 780G+SB700, 5.2/2.0 GT/s,Socket AM2+/AM2 for AMD Phenom FX / AMD Phenom / AMD Athlon 64 FX / AMD Athlon 64 X2 / AMD Athlon 64 / AMD Sempron processors, DDR2 1066 SODIMM 2x DIMM max 4GB, Built in Radeon HD 3200 Graphics, DirectX?10 Ready, with 128MB side-port DDR2 memory onboard, UVD hardware decode, Avivo HD, DX10 graphics, HDMI +DVI + D-SUB output, 1x PIC-Ex4, 4x SATAII, RAID 0, 1, 5, 10, 8ch audio, mini-ITX
Processor: AMD PHENOM II 81
0 ($243)
- QUAD-CORE/2.6GHz/6MB CACHE/95W AM3
RAM: KINGSTON 4GB 800Mhz DDR2 SODIMM ($97)
- 4GB 800MHz Low-Latency DDR2 CL5 (Kit of 2 – 2GB)
- latency timing: 5-5-5-18
- 1.8V
HDD: Hitachi 500GB DeskStar P7k500 ($77)
- 3.5″ SATA 3.0Gb/s HDD, 16Mb, 7,200RPM, 2 Data disks (4 Physical Data Heads), Perpendicular Magnetic Recording & HiVert technology, Thermal Fly-height Control, Head load/unload, CRC detection and ECC correction
- Advanced Power Management
- 3 Year Warranty
DVD: SONY DRU865S INTERNAL 22X DVD BURNER SATA LIGHTSCRIBE ($66)
Total Price (incl GST, Assembly and Delivery): $812
With cheaper processor (AMD Phenom II X3 Triple Core 710, 2.6GHZ, 6MB Socket AM3+/DDR3 – $173)= $742
Will be pairing with a 17″ monitor I have, andthen adding a 22 or 24″ in a month or so.
PLEASE leave me a comment here or on twitter (@wiredjazz) – need your opinions, looking to buy soon.
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