Hardware Confusion 2009
[Page 2] The Old & The New
Before we jump into the main proceedings, I must stress that the aim of this article is not to provide you with a step-by-step blueprint for your own upgrade. I've tried as much as possible to provide objective reviews of the individual components I bought, but inevitably the decisions I've made are also based on subjective considerations. As such do not purchase any computer component based on my choices without first independently researching and considering your own particular needs and circumstances. The true value of this article lies in the way in which it provides food for thought and avenues for further research, thus I encourage you to employ similar methods to that which I've used, not to just emulate my purchasing decisions without understanding the reasons behind them.
Furthermore, in certain areas of this article, I speculate on hardware and software developments in the future. I've tried to base this on established facts and logical deduction, however obviously it is still just speculation, and I encourage you to research further on your own regarding future developments, and not just accept my conclusions.
Note: Because this is a long article, if you find the text size uncomfortable, hold down your CTRL key and use your mouse scrollwheel to adjust the text size to make reading easier (CTRL+0 resets the size back to default).
Full Disclosure
I am not sponsored by any hardware or software company. As such, all of the parts in this article were purchased by me through normal retail channels, and no manufacturer or retailer provided me with any discounts, inducements or support which would cause me to promote a particular brand or product over another.
Old System Specifications
Before looking at the new system, let's take a look at the previous system I used from July 2005 until December 2008. It's detailed in the previous Hardware Confusion article, but the specifications are reproduced below:
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4400+ Dual-core
CPU Cooling: Thermalright XP-90
Motherboard: DFI Lanparty NForce4 SLI-DR
RAM: 2 x 1GB OCZ PC-3200 Platinum EL
Graphics: Sparkle 7800GTX 256MB PCI-E
- Updated to a Palit 8800GTS 640MB PCI-E (May 2007)
Sound: Creative Audigy 2 ZS
Monitor: Hyundai 19" L90D+ LCD
Primary Hard Drive: 2 x 74GB Western Digital Raptor 10,000rpm SATA RAID 0
Secondary Hard Drive: 74GB Western Digital Raptor
Optical Drive: Pioneer DVR-109 DVD R/RW
Keyboard & Mouse: Microsoft Optical Desktop Wireless (CE)
Power Supply: Silverstone Zeus 650W
Case: Cooler Master Stacker 820
I view this system with great fondness because it's genuinely been rock-solid in terms of stability without ever needing any modification. I've used it virtually every single day for over three and a half years, through extremely hot weather, through hours of continuous gaming with the most strenuous games, through often grueling testing when writing my game guides, and not once has it exhibited any signs of instability or odd behavior.
Aside from its flawless stability, it also performed superbly throughout its life. For example, as part of my Vista Annoyances Resolved article I put up this YouTube video showing precisely how responsive and smooth this system still is under heavy load in Windows Vista. I've also put up videos such as this one showing Crysis running at 'Cheap' Very High settings quite smoothly, even with the FPS-crushing overhead of the Fraps video recording utility. There are plenty more videos showing its performance in various games at maximum or close to maximum settings here. In short, even in its last days, the system was not as slow as its age would imply.
Part of the reason I was able to get good performance for so long was because I upgraded the graphics card in May 2007, and also because I was running a 19" 1280x1024 LCD monitor. However a significant reason in my opinion was that I chose parts for the system which were relatively well-balanced and future-proof. When I purchased a dual core AMD X2 CPU for example, they had just been released and were still considered a wasteful novelty. The Western Digital Raptor hard drives were similarly deemed expensive and excessive at the time, and 2GB of RAM was not yet thought necessary. Yet it was precisely this combination of future-looking components that meant my system could face the upcoming challenges without faltering, and last so long with only one upgrade along the way, making it good value for money despite the higher initial cost. This system is still powering on by the way; it's been passed on to my parents intact, providing them with everything they need for a fast responsive Vista-based home PC, hopefully for several more years.
As the saying goes "to everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under the sun." It was time for me to let go of my old system and take the step towards new technology and new levels of performance. The new system was first booted up on 18 January 2009, and the specifications are as follows:
CPU: Intel Core i7 920
CPU Cooling: Stock Intel HS&F
Motherboard: ASUS P6T-Deluxe X58
RAM: 6GB (3 x 2GB) G.Skill 1333MHz DDR3
Graphics: Leadtek Nvidia GeForce GTX 285 1GB
Sound: Onboard ADI AD2000B HD Audio Chipset
Monitor: Samsung 24" 2443BW LCD
Primary Hard Drive: Western Digital 150GB VelociRaptor SATA2
Secondary Hard Drive: Western Digital 74GB Raptor SATA
Optical Drive: Pioneer DVD-RW 216BK SATA
Keyboard & Mouse: Microsoft Wireless Laser Desktop 7000
Power Supply: Seasonic 700W M12
Case: Cooler Master Stacker 832 SE
OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit
Nothing is overclocked or otherwise physically modified.
On the next page I discuss the methods and considerations behind the purchase of PC components.
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