IT Coder Build Suggestions

[bdaMike]

Hey all!

Been a long time reader of Anandtech but just now checking out the forums.

I am going to be building 2 PC's for myself and another programmer where I work.
Our budget can be up to about $2000 per system (including monitors), but I'm thinking I can do it for well under that.

I have read through the Mid-range and high-end buyers guides, and thats where a lot of my info came from.

CPU: Intel E6400 $223
Mobo: ASUS P5B Deluxe $180
RAM: CORSAIR XMS2 2GB DDR2 800 $240 After Rebate
Vid Card: eVGA 256-P2-N554-AX Geforce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 $120 After Rebate
HDD: WD Caviar SE16 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s $90
Power Supply: ENERMAX Liberty ELT500AWT ATX12V 500W $110
Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW $50

Total with tax and shipping: $1130

Not sure what CPU Fan to get, but I would like to OC the cpu to 3.2 GHz (8x400) if possible, so need suggestions there.

Will also be getting 2 LCD monitors, not sure what though right now. Depends also on the final price of the system without the monitors.

So let me know what you guys think.

Thanks!

 

[Markbnj]

Really depends on what you're building. If you're working on graphics software that 7600GT will be useful. Otherwise it isn't going to contribute much to running the IDE. 2 gigs of ram is good, more might be useful if you plan to be running Server 2003 with local SQL databases or IIS. Makes a lot of sense to get two monitors. Dual core also makes a lot of sense.

Fact is you don't need much on a dev workstation, unless you'll be playing games at night 🙂. Fast processor, dual cores, lots of screen realestate, responsive and ergonomic keyboard and mouse, good monitors that you can look at for a long time. On the hard disk you should be moving code and resources to/from a backed up server like a source control system, so you really don't need much more space than your local tool/data needs demand.

 

[bdaMike]

We're doing C#/ASP.net development. We're running XP Pro with IIS locally. We use our server for the database, and also source control. For the HDD, going with less capacity doesn't lower the price much to really affect the overall cost. And I figure the 7600GT will be good for running dual monitors (possibly dual widescreens), plus we do get in some off hours Guild Wars 😛

I think the biggest areas I would like input on are the CPU/Mobo as far as overall overclocking and the ram (quality/speed wise). Originally I was thinking about the E6600 but from what I've seen, the E6400 OC'd is really a stellar performer. So I could save the money from the E6600 and use it for very good cooling (which I would also like a recommendation on).

Thanks Mark, and anyone else who helps out here 🙂