Mark Roper - Allrounder PC

Mark Roper wanted a wanted a system which stood alone, supported a range of the latest games (albeit at reduced resolutions), and had flexibility for family needs and future upgrading. He says: "I wanted enough processing power to enable basic video and audio editing/scaling, as well as support for multiple monitor connections."  Future-proofing to include an HDMI output was also considered. "My family enjoys the function of a responsive and stable system whilst I was after a Motherboard and CPU combination which gave me some flexibility to tinker. After much researching, I believe this is the best combination for all members of my family."

Mark is a medical-turned-veterinary scientist, with a background in pharmaceutical manufacturing and research and development. "Computers have always been an integral part of my life, my father being a career computer programmer. My first ever computer (that I could call my own) was one I made from salvaged parts from the side of the road and old parts from around the house. I enjoy my career choice, however still wonder if I would have made it as a computer technician or IT consultant. When I am not entertaining our girls, I tinker with any one of the 4 computers I have put together around the house."

CORE SYSTEM

CPU: AMD Phenom II 550BE Dual Core 3.1Ghz - $106
Great performance versus price. Easily overclockable and stable to 3.8+GHz by only increasing the multiplier. If you are lucky (which I haven't been this time, well not yet anyway :o) ) this may be unlocked to a quad core processor without overclocking or unlocking though. This is a beefy little CPU!
 
COOLING: Thermaltake DuOrb ($58) and Thermaltake (NB) Extreme Spirit II ($33) - $91
The DuOrb has such an innovative design and efficiently cools the CPU, memory modules and surrounding motherboard. In researching a cooler, no other cooler I came across offered as wide a function as this, and it looks great ($33.00)!  The Northbridge cooler is a great little addition, removing the worry for adequate cooling of the NB chip. The stock heatsink was hot to touch and I worried about overheating of the chip, especially with the integated HD4200 which I planned to push to its limit.
 
MOTHERBOARD: Gigabyte GA-MA785GM-US2H - $91
This is only a micro-ATX board but great value. The NB785 chip has integrated HD4200 Graphics, enabling full HD playback and DirectX 10.1 straight out of the box. Also allows for reasonable gaming, although not at top resolutions. SB710 chip allows ACC for tinkering with the 550BE CPU. Integrated 7.1 Audio, HDMI, the list goes on.

GRAPHICS: Onboard ATI HD4200 - $0
Integrated on the motherboard, this is quite a reasonable chip for most family requirements. I have made my recommendation for a graphics card upgrade in the extras, should greater gaming expeciences be desired.

RAM: 4GB (2x2GB) Kingston DDR2 1066Mhz HyperX - $135
I chose these as the modules come with a basic heat sink attached. Running them at a lower speed than maximum specifications allows room for tinkering (such as increasing the CPU FSB) without serious risk of damage.
 
HARD DRIVE 1: Seagate Sata II 500GB 7200rpm 16M Cache - $61
I have often used Samsung drives, however having had one recently die after only a week of operation so I switched to Seagate and they have been great. I prefer to use smaller drives (less data to lose if drive fails) and use one drive for OS and programs.
 
HARD DRIVE 2: Seagate Sata II 500GB 7200rpm 16M Cache - $61
This second drive is for data storage and archiving. I also do regular backups from this drive to an external source that I keep off-site in case of system (or property) issues.
 
OPTICAL DRIVE: LiteON SATA DVD-RW 24X - $38
An optical drive is still a must while software manufacturers continue to release on optical format. However, I could not justify the cost of a Blue-ray drive for this PC. LiteON produce cheap and reliable drives and this has more than paid its way. I have never had a bad disk burn from this drive (50+ burns with TDK DVD-R).

PSU: Thermaltake TR2 550W ($119) and Belkin Surge Protector 6 Outlets 1940 Joules ($70) - $189
An older model, however this PSU offers more than sufficient power for this rig, with the flexibility for powering a PCI-e video card in the future. Runs very cool and has nice metallic finish. Cable management also a bonus and, at this price, fantastic value.
Surge protection is a must. Why pay large amounts of money on a good computer system and not protect it from the elements? Connected equipment warranty included with this Belkin unit.

CASE: Thermaltake V9 (Without PSU) - $109
This is perhaps not the most raved about case, however I found it to be a good size and easy to work on (I did away with the screw-less PCI retention system though). Great airflow and a good looking case without being too glitzy.

Core system cost: AUD $881

EXTRAS:

MONITOR:  19-20" - $150
 If you don’t already have an LCD monitor, get one. It’ll save you a great deal of desk space and will be much kinder on the eyes. If buying one, think about what you need. A 19” widescreen is pretty much low-spec these days but still highly functional and cheap. Look around for clearance models as they are the best value. Do shop around for the best deal though!

KEYBOARD/MOUSE: Logitech Desktop Wave Pro KB+Mouse (Wireless) - $106
Shop around and you’ll get this cheaper (I got mine for $90). Yes it is wireless, so not the fastest response times for gaming but a blessing for cable management especially with messy teenagers, and comfortable to use. Quite good battery life too.

SOUND  Logitech X530 5.1 Surround  - $74
Older sound system but still the best value surround-sound. I've had mine for 4 years and it is still fantastic!

GAMING PAD  Belkin n52  (new or old model) - $59
A comfortable and functional addition to any gamer’s toolbox.

GRAPHICS CARD  Gigabyte ATI HD 5750 PCI-e 1G -$168
For increased gaming experience and compatibility with the next generation of gaming standard, this is a great budget-mid. range card with great performance and support for DirectX 11.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit or 64bit
Forhome use, Home Premium is fine. The 64-bit version will enable fullfunctionality of this listed hardware (memory especially), whilst the32-bit version will likely be better backward-compatible for olderhardware (and software). If you have more than one computer in the homeand want to upgrade to Win7, the best value option is the 3-userlicense available from places like Officeworks or Harvey Norman ($240for 3 computer upgrade licence).