My first PC

[RobbieG1977]

Hey folks,

I have grown to know a lot about computers but am far from a pro. One task I never accomplished was building my PC from scratch.

From all the research I gathered, you start with the mobo and CPU first. Here is what I came up with. From your expertise are these a good match:

Please rate 1/10 for being a match. 10 is the best!

Mother Board: MSI LGA1155 Intel Z68 G3 DDR 3 Crossfire X-SLI SATA3 & USB3.0 ATX Motherboard Z68A-GD65(G3) CPU: Intel Core i7-2600 3.4 - 3.8 GHz Hyperthreading for video conversions Socket LGA1155

Thanks!

[Staren]

I'll start with the CPU first since that is an easier discussion. Depending on what you plan to do with this system an i7 might be overkill. For regular use an i5 is more then powerful enough. In fact the i5 is usually recommended here for most mid range gaming systems. Now if you're planning video / photo work or your a statistician, then an i7 might be worth looking at. Also it's usually best to get the K version of the i processors since they are unlocked. That means that you can overclock the system later if you're so inclined. They arn't that much more expensive then the standard i5 2500 or i7 2600.

My personal view is that the big PC brands go overkill on processors for marketing. The rest of the system is always weak by comparison. That's actually the wrong way to match parts, but people have gotten used to it.

As for the motherboard, that's more of a personal opinion. MSI is more of a second tier manufacturer. I would go for an Asus or Gigabyte as a first choice.

It really all depends on what you're actually doing with the computer and how much you want to spend.

[glc]

You start with a BUDGET and an idea of what you will be DOING with this computer.

[RobbieG1977]

Pretty much my goal is to build me a machine that won't require much upgrading for the next 5-10 years, maybe more. It is possible to build a machine that lasts you the rest of your life. The only thing that would and should falter is optical devices and hard drive.

I am not saying that the mobo, cpu or memory won't go bad but I am planning on building this machine into a beast to last me awhile.

So with that in mind are these mentioned items enough to last me awhile.

As for how much money I would like to spend, no more than $3000.

[flanzig1]

With that kind of budget, we need to know what the main use will be. If you are a hardcore gamer, then part selection will go down one road and if a video editing/CAD/number cruncher then part selection goes down a different road. A PC can last up to ten years but after 5 years replacement parts become expensive due to new technologies replacing them and manufacturers not making the old stuff.

[David M]

A computer that is not obsolete in 10 years, for most people is not going to happen, no matter how much money you sink into it now. Technologies, processing power and speeds will exist then that do not exist now. Five years is more typical for most people. Five years from now it might come down to to whether or not your five year old computer will run the new applications you need it to run and how fast you want those applications to run. There is almost no predicting what software will be available in five years and what the system requirements for that software will be at that time.

[Staren]

As the others have said, components simply change too quickly. There's no telling how a computer built now will stack up to what will be available in 5 or 10 years. You could drop $5,000 on a system and in 10 years it will still be generations old.

For example, I have a Dell that I bought in 2001. It will still happily do word processing, surf the net, check e-mail, and run the programs from its time. However, there is no way for many current programs to run on it. This was a mid range $1,200 computer in its day, but that doesn't really matter. We are now 4 operating systems ahead. RAM has quadrupled. Hard drives are 100x larger. It will do day to day tasks, but nothing else.

So you need to ask yourself what you do with a computer. We can help you a lot more with that information.

[glc]

I'm pushing close to 5 years old on this thing, and it's still more than adequate for what I use it for.