New Desktop PC Build with a 7.8 WEI

When my work PC died (an HP Compaq dc7800), I decided to take my Corsair 600T in and use it as my primary work machine. So, I set about building a new home PC from a combination of parts on hand and new components. 

While I like the Corsair 600T case a lot, I really wanted to get my home PC up off the floor. My desk, a Legare 48" straight desk, has a small shelf on one side to hold a PC. With a depth of 17", it wasn't nearly big enough for my Corsair 600T so I looked for a case that would fit on it with room to spare. I found the Silverstone Fortress FT03B on NewEgg and it seemed to fit the bill. It's a little funky, but I like funky cases. I ordered the remaining components I needed and ended up with a WEI of 7.8:

Wei-7
Here are the detailed specs:

  • ASUS Maximus IV Gene-Z motherboard
  • Intel Core i7-2700K Sandy Bridge 3.5GHz (3.9GHz Turbo) 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor
  • Corsair Vengeance 16GB (4 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
  • MSI N570GTX Twin Frozr III GeForce GTX 570 1280MB 320-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16
  • Plextor PX-256M2S 256GB SATA III MLC SSD
  • Seagate Momentus XT ST95005620AS 500GB 7200 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hybrid Drive
  • Hitachi Deskstar 0S03230 3TB 5400 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
  • LITE-ON DC-8A2SH SATA CD/DVD Burner (Slot-load)

I replaced the stock fans in the Silverstone case with Cougars (my personal favorites) and it runs quite cool and quiet. The fans on the video card get a bit loud during gaming sessions, but I usually play with headphones on anyway.

Updated Windows Experience Index for my Corsair 600T

Windowsexperienceindex
I made a couple of upgrades to my custom, built-from-components PC this weekend:

  1. Added two 4GB sticks of Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1333 SDRAM for a total of 16 GB.
  2. Upgraded the video card to a GeForce GTX 570.

The other components I have are:

  • MSI P55A Fuzion LGA 1156 Intel P55 Motherboard | NewEgg
  • Intel Core i7-875K Lynnfield 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Processor | NewEgg
  • Corsair CAFA70 120mm Dual-Fan CPU Cooler | NewEgg
  • Crucial RealSSD C300 128GB SATA III SSD | NewEgg
  • Hitachi Deskstar 3TB 5400 RPM SATA III Hard Drive | NewEgg
  • Hanns-G 27.5" HDMI LCD | NewEgg
  • D-Link DWA-556 PCI Express Xtreme Desktop Adapter | NewEgg
  • Corsair Enthusiast Series 650W Power Supply | NewEgg

All of these components are housed in a Corsair Graphite Series 600T Mid-Tower Case. The hard drives are connected to two SATA III ports on the motherboard. I have a third hard drive (a 2.5" 500 GB Seagate) that I have mapped under my Steam directory to store all of my games - that leaves plenty of room on my boot SSD for Windows and Apps.

This is my workhorse machine, so I do a little bit of everything with it. I use it for software development (Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate), Design (Visio 2010 Pro), Gaming (via Steam), etc. It's extremely quiet, even with the new video card. The Corsair case is big, but it's very well ventilated and easy to work with. It's definitely the nicest case I've ever owned. The drive and cable management features are fantastic.

I was tempted to upgrade my CPU when the Sandy Bridge processors were released. But, it would mean upgrading my motherboard as well, and I'm not quite ready for that. When I checked the available performance data, the latest processors didn't seem that much faster than my Core i7-875K. Also, my 875K is unlocked, so I still have the option to overclock - though I haven't yet.

I'm really pleased with the video card upgrade. My previous card was a Radeon 5770 from MSI. And, while it was no slouch, it couldn't play Arkham Asylum at 1,900 x 1,200. The GeForce GTX 570 does that resolution at 60 FPS and visuals are better. The PhysX support is very cool too - it adds a whole new dimension to the game.

Dan Pink's TED Talk on Motivating People

It’s incredibly reassuring to hear that there’s hard scientific evidence to support what I’ve believed for most of my professional career – the best way to motivate people who solve problems is to make them feel like what they do actually matters and will, at least in some small way, make the world a better place.

http://www.ted.com/talks/dan_pink_on_motivation.html

A shorter (and more visual) variant is available on YouTube:

It’s interesting that he mentions Atlassian in his talk.

Personally, I apply this to my own work by thinking of our product as a way to help teams deliver better software. If the issue of money wasn’t a factor, what would get you out of bed in the morning?

Jim