For optical, all you really need to do is buy the cheapest one you can find. DVD burners are at dime-a-dozen prices, so it really doesn't matter whose you go with. If I had to recommend one, I'd say LG, but I don't think it matters.
What are you in school for? Some education areas would make me suggest you may want to consider something a little different for your system, all depends on what your studying.
Some financial programs are more intense then others. I guess your just going the route with financial planning, and intense business analysis, etc.
The system you've specified will be fine until you really get into crunching financial data for businesses with Sage. (and even then it will depend on the scale of the data your working with)
I probably won't be doing any professional work on this system though, just basic stuff. Most of the work I do on here will be coursework. Got some money coming to me in a couple days so should be putting in the order this week. As a novice builder (this is my first build from scratch) can anybody give me any advice or tips? Is there anything else that I need to order like cables etc? I know I am going to need a power cable and stuff.
Wow, this thread has gone a long way since I checked it last. If I might throw in my 2 cents on the optical drive question, I've always been a fan of Lite-On drives. It's been a while since I looked too deeply into this, but last time I checked they were manufacturing drives for a lot of the higher end companies. I've owned 3 Lite-On drives (one CD-RW, one DVD-RW and one DVD-ROM) and have always been completely satisfied with both the price and performance.
As for other things to order, you might want to get a small computer builders toolkit. The torx and hex head drivers can be quite helpful. Probably wouldn't hurt to pick up an antistatic grounding strap as well (some of the kits come with them though). I own this one and it has gotten me through about a half dozen builds without a problem. Wouldn't hurt to go with something a bit larger though such as this. The real big thing is that these kits are all demagnetized. You DO NOT want to be working with magnetized tools in a computer.
Cool, I will definitely invest in one of those tool kits and an antistatic strap. I usually just touch my toe on a radiator but that's a temporary solution to an ongoing problem.
I will have a think about the optical drive.
I have realised that I will need to get another PSU so rather than yank the OCZ one that is happily sitting in my other system, I'm going to buy a new one for this new system (seeing as it is my first child I might as well spoil it).
I'm thinking to go modular because I want to have as little clutter as possible inside this beast.
I have found a couple which have pretty good reviews but I don't really know what makes one PSU better than the next so as usual, I will be consulting the people in the know here at Icrontic
Comments
So system currently looks like this
CASE
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-164-CM&groupid=701&catid=7&subcat=29
RAM
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-037-GS&groupid=701&catid=8&subcat=1387
MOBO
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-231-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1481
GPU
http://www.tekheads.co.uk/product/Asus-ATi-Radeon-HD5750-1GB-GDDR5-Dual-DVI-HDMI-DisplayPort-PCI-E-Graphics-Card-Retail_22277.html
CPU
http://www.tekheads.co.uk/product/AMD-Phenom-II-X4-965-3.4Ghz-Socket-AM3-BLACK-Edition-125Watt---Retail_24627.html
Who is leading with optical drives these days? I don't need blu-ray, just a reliable DVD-RW.
I have usually faired pretty well with NEC but from what I understand, they have now merged with SONY. Technology moves so quick:eek3:
I figured the Optical drive wouldn't matter much, just as long as I don't end up with a shocker.
The system you've specified will be fine until you really get into crunching financial data for businesses with Sage. (and even then it will depend on the scale of the data your working with)
As for other things to order, you might want to get a small computer builders toolkit. The torx and hex head drivers can be quite helpful. Probably wouldn't hurt to pick up an antistatic grounding strap as well (some of the kits come with them though). I own this one and it has gotten me through about a half dozen builds without a problem. Wouldn't hurt to go with something a bit larger though such as this. The real big thing is that these kits are all demagnetized. You DO NOT want to be working with magnetized tools in a computer.
I will have a think about the optical drive.
I have realised that I will need to get another PSU so rather than yank the OCZ one that is happily sitting in my other system, I'm going to buy a new one for this new system (seeing as it is my first child I might as well spoil it).
I'm thinking to go modular because I want to have as little clutter as possible inside this beast.
I have found a couple which have pretty good reviews but I don't really know what makes one PSU better than the next so as usual, I will be consulting the people in the know here at Icrontic
Any thoughts on this one as a jumping off point?
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-022-CS&tool=3