Around 7 years ago I purchased a high-end laptop — the Acer Aspire 2025WLMI. That laptop was one of the best computer purchases I ever made. Although it can’t compete with today’s offerings, it’s still plenty fast enough to code on, develop web sites, web apps, and handle the image creation/manipulation related to those tasks. Thanks to the combination of an Intel Centrino 1.8Ghz Processor and an ATI Radeon Mobility 9700 Pro 128 video card I was even able to play games like Quake Live and run Windows 7 w/Aero without a hitch. Unfortunately, no matter how much I was attached to my old laptop, there was no mistaking the fact that the system was a step behind when it came to running latest generation hardware intensive software. It took a lot of convincing to part ways with my old Acer but I decided to build a new system.

Rather than simply go out and buy the latest and greatest — I evaluated my needs. First I went through all of the hardware I had (new, old, or otherwise) and divided it up into three categories. Category one – hardware that could simply be re-used. Category two – blown hardware that I held on to and had a warranty, but for some reason I never had replaced. Category three – hardware that was obsolete and could be sent back to the storage bins, disposed of, or sold on ebay. I set out with with the goal of building an ultra-quiet pc with high-end dx11 video, 45nm processor, and enough ram and storage to run everything I need and store my vast music collection, digital pictures, videos, and documents which date back to the early 90′s. I decided that my money was best spent on a top-end video card and high-end (but efficient) mainboard — but that I could get away with a slightly dated cpu, memory, and hd’s. Don’t get me wrong — with an Intel Core2Duo 45nm 2.53Ghz CPU, 4GB DDR2 800Mhz Memory, and 320GB Raid 1 storage, the system is no slouch — but those specs don’t exactly turn heads either.

Below is the breakdown of the hardware I used in the new system.

Components Purchased New (value: $635.92)
Intel Core2Duo E7200 2.53Ghz CPU – Purchase Price: $89.99 – Sure it’s not the latest and greatest, but it’s no slouch either. Oh yea, and the price was right.
Asus P5Q Pro Turbo – Purchase Price: $104.99 – This is one of the best Intel P45 mainboards on the market.
Corsair XMS2 DDR2 2GB Kit Qty. 2 – Purchase Price: $34.99 each – This memory really is great when it works, but it has a fairly high DOA rate. It’s also touchy with system compatibility. Works great here!
Gigabyte GV-N460OC-1GI GTX 460 1GB Video Card – Purchase Price: $229.99 – What can you say about one of the best graphics chipsets on the market? Lots! This thing runs pretty much every game on the market at it’s highest settings while maintaining silent 2D performance and running extremely quiet during 3D gaming. If you’ve been on the fence about purchasing a GTX 460 don’t hesitate!
Corsair 400 Watt 80% efficient PSU – Purchase Price: 29.99 – Plenty of power when paired with the ultra efficient Nvidia GTX 460 video card and efficient mainboard.
Asus USB-BT21 Bluetooth 2.0 +EDR Transceiver – Purchase Price: $9.99 – I gotta have my bluetooth! Don’t waste your money on those bargain no-name bt receivers. Spend the extra $8 and get this top-end micro receiver from Asus.
Logitech Z-2300 2.1 Speakers – Purchase Price: $100.99 – For seven years Ive used laptop speakers. Sure they were excellent 2.1 laptop speakers, but I decided to splurge a little. For $100 you can’t beat this offering from Logitech!

Re-Used Components/Accessories (re-used items value: $196.95)
I had all of the following components from previous systems.

Antec Sonata Case – Original Price: $99.99
Samsung DVD-R Optical Drive – Original Price: $19.99
Kensington Slim Type Keyboard – Original Price: $28.99
Logitech V470 Bluetooth Laser Notebook Mouse – Original Price: $39.99
IOGear 4-Port USB Hub – Original Price: $7.99

Freebies (freebie value: $509.98)
Since I am an IT Manager, friends often have old hardware that is damaged or quirky, which they simply give to me with the expectation that I will be able to make use of it somehow. The items below fall into this category.

Gateway FHD2401 24″ 1920×1200 Monitor – Original Value: $399.99 – This monitor replaced an Acer 23″ a friend gave me which suffered from a blown inverter. Acer warranty services sent me this monitor which is actually much nicer. I really can’t say anything bad about it. It’s bright, sharp and vibrant. Plenty fast for gaming. I love it.
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Qty. 2 – Original Value: $109.99 each – Refurbished but when paired in Raid 1 they are just fine for a personal desktop.

In the end I have ended up with a system that has a tremendous amount of power, room for future upgrades, and more than meets my current needs. By performing an inventory of my existing hardware, I was able to make some smart decisions to save a bit of cash. If I had to select the best places I spent money during the build it would be the video card and mainboard. Both have exceeded my expectations. The best compromise was on storage. Sure it would be fun to brag about the terabytes of storage my system has, but I don’t really have a need to store that much data. Besides larger drives produce more heat and have a shorter life expectancy when compared to smaller drives. As for CPU speed and memory? I can hardly notice the difference between the E7200 I purchased and its faster quad core cousin when operating the software I normally use. Like wise, gaming performance has been excellent. Even at the high resolution of 1920×1200.

I have not had time to run any credible benchmarks so for now I leave you off with the somewhat irrelevant Windows Experience Index.