I have been thinking of building my own PC for a while. So at last, for the next few months, I will have some free hours every evening, and I think I might take a shot at it.
Since I make a lot of iOS/OSX targeted software, I plan to make it OSX compliant, so that I can dual boot OSX and Arch Linux. I also need something with a nice processor and heavy-graphics capable, since I do lots of video editing and some casual gaming.
I have considered getting the MacPro, but the lack of expansion ability limits me…
After some high level research, below are the parts that I think I will need: These parts will change as I do more detailed research on fitting and compatibility, and I’ll post any changes here.
ALREADY HAVE:
[ul]
[li]Display: ASUS 32" 4K/UHD Monitor ($0)[/li][LIST]
[li]This will work well when I switch to KDE on arch for my video editing using kdenlive.[/li][/ul]
[li]Mouse/Keyboard: Logitech Wireless wave combo ($0)[/li][li]Webcam: I have a USB unit somewhere ($0)[/li][li]RAM: Crucial Ballistix Tactical 32GB ($0) [/li][ul]
[li]I do a lot of cross-platform programming (OSX-Unix-Windoze), so I need as much RAM as possible. I think this 8GBx4 kit will suffice. OSX El Capitan with xcode, qtcreator and chrome always running will do quite well with < 12Gb, so I can have several VMs with 4Gb each. Later, if need be, I will upgrade to 16Gbx4 if reliable chips will be available.[/li][/ul]
[/LIST]
[B]TO BUY:
PS…this list will grow/shrink considerably.[/B]
[ul]
[li]CPU: Intel Broadwell i7-5775C ($395 on amazon)[/li][LIST]
[li]I decided to go with the 3.3 Ghz i7-5775C because it has the faster Iris Pro 6200 integrated graphics. I also don’t plan on ever overclocking it.[/li][/ul]
[li]CPU Cooler: Zalman CNPS8000B B[/B][/li][ul]
[li]Water cooling is not a viable option, so I will have to go with a low profile air cooler.[/li][/ul]
[li]Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GT 740 ($115)[/li][ul]
[li]I don’t plan on updating any of my hardware anytime soon, so I will go with this superclocked 4GB graphics card[/li][/ul]
[li]Storage (OS): Samsung 850EVO 500GB SSD ($160)[/li][ul]
[li]This will be my primary OSX drive.[/li][/ul]
[li]Storage (Music, video and Sh*t): Seagate 3TB SATA HDD ($85) x2[/li][ul]
[li]I will buy one, and plan for a future addition next year. I think 3TB will be enough for the time being. (If I can get a cheaper option locally…the better)[/li][/ul]
[li]Power supply: Corsair AX760: 760Watt Modular PS ($125)[/li][ul]
[li]I need a modular power supply, so that I can have neat cable management. 760 watts should be enough for my needs, and then some.[/li][/ul]
[li]Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97X ($230)[/li][ul]
[li]This should fit quite well in the bitfenix case…[/li][/ul]
[li]Case: BitFenix MicroATX (White) ($112)[/li][ul]
[li]I think bitfenix cases have always been sexy, and this unit’s elevated position will make cooling much easier since the rig will have to rest on a carpeted area.[/li][/ul]
[/LIST]
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41LDNsinHxL._SX425_.jpg
So this sums up to around $1,257 (around KES 127k). If you add around $200 for shipping, I think this is a sweet deal, considering that a MacPro with 12GB RAM and 512GB Flash Storage costs around $3,000
Once I source the components, I will post pictures of my progress here and hopefully a video. This should be fun!!!