My New Desktop PC - Full System

It's actually really surprising how quickly one can put together a desktop system once the choice of processor is made. I thought it was going to be a long and arduous process of pouring through an endless series of websites reading part specifications, combing through marketing and sales jargon to get the tiny nuggets of real information, and reading TONS of user reviews to see which pieces really stand the test of not only time but also usage. Well, as it turns out, I actually did all that stuff, but it went a LOT faster than I thought it would.

I must admit, I did have a little help from my friends, but at the end of the day, the part choices were mine. And so I have completed the part choices for my new desktop PC. As an added bonus, I've also listed the prices for all the parts and a cost summary at the end of this post. And now, without further ado, here are the specs for my new desktop PC:

CPU:
AMD FX-8350

Motherboard:
GIGABYTE GA-990FXA-UD5 ATX

Graphics Card:
ASUS HD7770-2GD5 Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition

Hard Drive:
WD Green WD20EZRX 2TB IntelliPower SATA 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

Optical Drive:
LG Black 14X/2X BD-R/RE 16X DVD+R 12X BD-ROM  SATA BDXL Blu-ray Burner

RAM:
Crucial 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory

Case:
CM Storm Scout 2 Advanced - Gaming Mid Tower Computer Case with Carrying Handles, Black

Power Supply:
EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750B 750W BRONZE ATX12V/EPS12V Certified Modular PSU

And that's the hardware, folks! But as we all know, hardware isn't the WHOLE story with any computer system. You could have the greatest electronics in the world, but if it's running crap software, you might as well be using a plug-in paperweight! Right now, I haven't decided which of the current available Microsoft OSs (7 or 8) I want to run on this. Granted, the ideal would be to run a flavor of Linux on this box (most likely Ubuntu or Red Hat), but I don't want that particular hassle right now. Especially since 99% of the coding jobs I'd EVER be applying for pretty much require a solid familiarity with a version of the Visual Studio IDE.  The best part of all this is that both Win7 and Win8 are at the SAME price right now so it's really more of a personal choice than financial at this point.

Anyway, as promised, here's the cost analysis for my lovely new PC:

CPU:	$194.67
Motherboard:	$169.99
Graphics Card:	$134.99
RAM:	$108.99
Hard Drive:	$89.99
Optical Drive:	$59.99
Case:	$94.99
Power Supply:	$94.99
Operating System:	$139.99
Total Cost:	$1088.99

And so there you have it folks. My new desktop PC. She will be lovely when she's fully assembled. What do you think, my dear readers? Do you agree with my choices? Are there other choices you would make?

Sound off in the comments below!