The Ultimate Computer System: A Preview

My god that is a sexy computer case...
After about of month of spending countless hours surfing the internet for a computer case I thought wold be worthy of a future computer build (or simply "build") I found the case of my dreams; the holy grail of production computer cases; the Thermaltake Level 10 GT. Once I discovered the Level 10 GT computer case I began to dream of a future build of epic proportions utilizing the latest in processor technology and more importantly (to satisfy my OCD) to purchase parts which would share the common color theme of the classic Thermaltake Red and Black scheme. If nothing else at least this system will look fast!

The internal conflict: AMD vs. Intel...
Back in the day when I was an Electronic Engineering Tech AMD manufactured some very intriguing ICs. It was only natural that I would build my first two systems utilizing AMD processors (vs. Intel processors). Additionally to further my support of AMD products I had a job after school during my high school days which included a couple of guys who built "PC-Clones" for a living; this little fact in hindsight is probably where I leaned you didn't have to use Intel/IBM equipment to build a DOS-based system.  Actually the first Intel processor that I ever used for a build wasn't until the release of the Pentium 4s which by at that point Intel had finally surpassed AMD to take the lead in CPU performance (in the Windows-based world) which Intel has maintained to this day. 

The tie-breaker: motherboards...
 Everyone  has a budget right? With that said my wife who normally does not comment on my purchasing decisions may re-think her opinion on that subject (thank you Bill-Me-Later) as there were several items that I needed to purchase to once again satisfy my strategy of having matching components such as a keyboard, mouse, etc that I would not normally purchase for a new build. As a footnote I've been using the same Logitech Multimedia keyboard and mouse for the last 15 years so I figure I'm due for a new back lite RGB color changing keyboard right?

Generally speaking I discovered that for top-of-the-line motherboards there is easily a difference in cost of over $75 for the basically the same type of motherboards between an AMD AM3+ and a Intel LGA-1555 (yes I know, Intel Board has Thunderbolt built-in). Because of the simply illustration below I opted for a AMD-based build; this will be my first AMD build in over 20 years!                     

Asus Crosshair Formula-V $240
Asus Maximus-V $320 

Now for my two cents. The Intel boards generally speaking should BE cheaper why? First the iCore Processors have the Northbridge (GMCH) built into the CPU so that should reduce the cost of the motherboard due to lower part count. Secondly the law of economics should prevail which states that "the more" of something that is produced that the overall cost of the manufacturing should become lower. 


Be sure to check out additional pages to my blog that will be related to my future system build; who knows; maybe I'll even add a video clip or two!