Upgrading season

An insomnia update: After staying until closing (and having to drive home from) looking at parts at Micro Center, I've decided to make the HDD "upgrades" my new immediate project. (Nope; I still haven't received the Swans yet.) I was able to pick up the last Hitachi Travelstar 500GB retail box that I saw in store for $90... and now I see that the MC website mentions that 32 are still available there. (I know, I know: It's time for a return trip.)

And now, I'm mulling the opportunity of buying another WD Scorpio Blue 640GB HDD (for my PS3). Best Buy has it for around $130 (plus 5% VA sales tax) in-store, but the website price is $110 (plus tax, natch). By comparison, NewEgg's price is $100.98 ($99.99 sales price plus $0.99 shipping charge). All the weekly ad says is that "all WD hard drives are on sale" -- I guess I'll find out after work today.

(Yes, I've tried asking MC about price-matching the Scorpio HDD, but it apparently has a few limits. Namely, you'll gain a greater likelihood of obtaining a price match against, say, NewEgg if you were building an entire system from MC, but there's a "hard cap" against how far they'll lower their prices since "it costs them more." Of course, different stores different rules, YMMV, yada yada yada....)

We'll see what happens tonight....
 
... And nearly two months later.... :rolleyes:

I've decided that I want to do some more upgrading. I've already planned out a few upgrades, and I'm mulling over a few more. But first, I need to sort through my peripheral issues:



That's right: two pairs of speakers, three keyboards, five mice, two sets of "headphones" (plus a bunch of $10 "earbuds" in various parts of the house)... and a second monitor, not pictured -- and I want to get a new monitor.

(Before you ask -- yes, those are Hi-Vi's Swan M200 MkII speakers. Let me just say: :D )

I also have to factor in the fact that I have over a dozen thumb drives that I've collected over the years, two external HDDs, a couple of unused HDDs, and some other "spare parts" that may have exceeded their "expiration dates." :eek:

And then, there's also the proposed upgrades (in no particular order):
- A new monitor -- or two (you know one of the ones that I'm considering....)
- An SSD (maybe as a Christmas gift to myself)
- A Herman Miller Aeron office chair (maybe as a birthday gift to myself)
- The mini ITX firewall
- A new video card (maybe an HD5850 or HD5870, depending on how much money I want to spend)
- CoolIT ECO ALC (if/when I perform the proper research on it, unlike how I did with the Corsair H50)

What to do... what to do....
 
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Why do you have three keyboard? :eek:

Nice to hear that about the Swan speakers.

AS for the upgrades, man I'd be hard pressed to choose if I was in that situation.
 
The one closest to the monitor is the recently-bought Filco Majestouch; that's now my primary keyboard. The Microsoft keyboard is part of the Microsoft Cordless Elite Duo kit. It's my "troubleshooting" keyboard (and mouse set) as it uses both USB and PS/2 (then again, so does the Filco -- in fact, it has full n-key rollover using the PS/2 port). The Logitech keyboard is the UltraX with the laptop-style keys. Chances are good that I'll be putting it up for sale soon. As for the mice, I'm still using the MX518 as my primary mouse. I've been using the trackball at work (I only brought it home to take pictures of it alongside everything else), and the "black" Microsoft mouse is the mouse that I've bought for my laptop. The gray-and-black Microsoft mouse is part of that Cordless Elite Duo "troubleshooting" set, and I've all but decided to get rid of the MX Revolution. It's not that it's a bad mouse, but I hate recharging it every two to three days.

The sad thing about the Swans is that I haven't really had the chance to play with them much. That, and I'll probably need to buy some speaker stands tomorrow.

Right now, I'm researching the CoolIT ECO ALC and checking out used prices for the 5850 and 5870. I'll probably build the firewall only when I'm ready to devote the entire weekend to building it and setting it up (properly). I'm still considering the NEC EA231wmi as my new monitor, but I'm thinking more about possibly getting another 23" 1080p monitor (preferably, one that's also capable of switching to Portrait view on the fly) -- actually, I'm still fighting between picking the better, smaller monitor or the larger, not-quite-as-good one (like the Samsung T260HD).

Now that I think about it, I also need to pick up some more accessories for my digital camcorder. :eek:
 
I just got off the phone with my brother, and the long story short is that the computer that I built for him is still causing him problems.

Remember that issue he had where the system would overheat unless he kept it on its side? (We both "determined" that the stock Intel HSF became loose during shipping, but he was too lazy to reattach it properly.) Well, he still didn't take care of that problem. Worse, he called me today to indicate that one of the case fans and one of the PSU fans went out. :mad:

Which is just as well, because I'm still mulling over the "upgrades" that I want to buy for myself, namely (in no particular order):

- A DSLR (either the Nikon D90 or the Canon 50D)
- An HDTV (preferably at least 42", LED backlight, with 120Hz refresh)
- Speaker stands (for the Swans)
- A Herman Miller Aeron office chair (I saw a few on Craigslist for around $300, but it would require a bit of travel)
- Maybe a new monitor (I'm still itching for a larger screen and/or resolution, even though I already have a perfectly serviceable monitor)
- A new battery for my UPS (APC 1200VA) or possibly a new UPS (and transfer the old one to my HDTV setup)

The PSU's actually easy; I just need to find a decent one on Amazon (though I may be nice and get it to him via overnight shipping). But what should I do next?
 
tiraides said:
The PSU's actually easy; I just need to find a decent one on Amazon (though I may be nice and get it to him via overnight shipping). But what should I do next?
Click to expand...

Well first, tell your bro to get off his lazy ass and reattach the damn HSF. Second, buy me a DSLR. Third, get some new fans for your bro
 
Sure... you'll get your DSLR after enginurd buys me my new office desk and 37" LCD. :p

But Danny, c'mon -- what do you think I said to him after he gave me the "good news"?
 
tiraides said:
Sure... you'll get your DSLR after enginurd buys me my new office desk and 37" LCD. :p

But Danny, c'mon -- what do you think I said to him after he gave me the "good news"?
Click to expand...

LOL! Touche :D

Haha, smart man.

Anyway, if you're a shutter bug, I highly recommend getting a DSLR.
 
A brief update: My brother finally stopped being lazy and fixed his computer... somewhat. The long story short is that the PSU fan works fine, but the two Yate Loon fans (for the front and rear of the case) aren't working. One trip to Micro Center later, and....

Eh, I got him two Cooler Master PWM fans -- they'll go in the mail this weekend. But I also picked up an external eSATA HDD for around $80 -- or, more specifically:

$52 - Samsung HD103SI 1TB 5400 RPM HDD (VA state tax included)
$32 - Vantec NexStar CX NST-300SU-BK 3.5" eSATA/USB 2.0 HDD enclosure (VA state tax included)

I'm also waiting on one other item that I bought earlier this weekend: a refurbished Nikon D90 (that I got for about $850). Pics if/when it arrives....
 
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Good to hear the somewhat good news about your bro's PC.

Wait. $52 with tax? Is that typo?

OH and cool beans about the camera. Where'd you buy it from?
 
No typo. It was one of MC's door-busters: $49.99 plus (VA 5%) tax. It was a pretty hard decision, as I really wanted a 2TB HDD... but then I remembered the price that I paid two years ago for a WD external HDD. (OK, it wasn't that hard of a decision.... ;) )

I got the camera via eBay. I received the tracking number for the package, and it was mailed today (using USPS Priority Mail), but I don't expect it before this weekend, at the earliest.
 
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To recap:



eBay auction. Refurbished. With (refurbished) 18-105mm lens. About $867 shipped. (The bad part: 90 day warranty. Should I extend it through the "store" that I won the auction from or Nikon?)

In case you were curious... Best Buy. Amazon. NewEgg. (Keep in mind that those prices are for a new camera body and lens with a one year manufacturer's warranty. And yes, I am aware of B&H and Adorama, but I chose places that most people here are familiar with.)

... Wait, you wanted to see the hard drive? Go to Micro Center if you don't believe me!
 
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I'm planning the next round of updates shortly -- this time, for my desktop.

In light of my brother's recent problems, I decided to give him my PSU. In exchange, I paid the idiot tax over at MC for a Corsair HX650. I also just received my NewEgg package and my purchase from someone in the FS/FT forum.

Two other "upgrades" that I'm considering are a new video card and an all-in-one CPU water cooler (either the CoolIT ECO ALC or the Corsair H50). But I still need to conduct more research before I can commit to a new CPU cooler -- the H50 didn't "work" last time because I tried to use two fans on the radiator, whereas one barely fit inside my case, and now I'm hearing that the CoolIT ECO ALC has QC issues aplenty. And about the video card: Isn't ATI due for a high-end refresh soon?

(D'oh! I keep forgetting about speaker stands for the Swans....)

(Oh, I haven't forgotten about the D90 -- I'm still gathering accessories for it. I'll show you what I picked up soon enough... after I finish reading through the instruction manual....)
 
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I've been picking up a few "spare parts" here and there over the past few weeks, but today, I finally broke down....

Before I finally click Checkout, does anyone have any ideas on any good LCD monitor arms? I'm looking at picking up a couple this weekend for my monitors (yes, plural... I'll take a few more pictures later on this weekend...).
 
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Danny Bui said:
Just couldn't resist, huh? :D
Click to expand...

Actually, I'll have to hold off a bit longer, as I just checked my bank account and received some bills that I have to pay off first. At this point, I guess that it's better from me to wait for the Black Friday sales and hope that the new (reportedly cheaper) SSDs arrive sooner rather than later.
 
I'm thinking out loud right now, but I could use some outside... uh, input.

The long story short is that my parents need upgrades to one of their desktops -- basically, they want to play StarCraft 2. (Translation: They're essentially building a new system for StarCraft 2.) They plan on buying parts piecemeal, but since they don't follow hardware as closely as I do, they don't have any idea of what they "need." I was thinking of giving them my "old" Seagate 7200.12 1TB drive and my HD 4890, since I don't need them any more. (For those who don't know, they are been replaced in my desktop rig by a Samsung F3 HD103SJ and the XFX HD 5850, which I bough during one of NewEgg's $250 sales.) I was also thinking of giving them my Corsair HX620 (the HX650 that I bought at Micro Center I ended up giving to my brother along with some new fans). The only problems that I could see with this thought process are that the 7200.12 isn't as hot performance-wise as the F3 (and I still haven't figured out why) and the HD 4890 may be overkill for the monitor(s) they might be using. (The last time that I visited them, their "primary" monitor was a seven-year-old 1280x1024 17" screen... or was it 15"?)

So, I was thinking of replacing the HX620 with one of the new XFX modular 650W PSUs. I'm thinking about also getting a 120GB to 160GB SSD now and be done with it. I'm open to not relying on the X25-M series, but I need to perform a lot more research on the newer SandForce models. (And I'm now 40% sure that I want a water-based CPU cooler... but I'm not sold on either the Corsair H50 or the CoolIT ECO ALC. No, the Corsair H70 wouldn't fit -- remember my earlier "experiment"?)

Well... thoughts?
 
tiraides said:
I'm thinking out loud right now, but I could use some outside... uh, input.

The long story short is that my parents need upgrades to one of their desktops -- basically, they want to play StarCraft 2. (Translation: They're essentially building a new system for StarCraft 2.) They plan on buying parts piecemeal, but since they don't follow hardware as closely as I do, they don't have any idea of what they "need." I was thinking of giving them my "old" Seagate 7200.12 1TB drive and my HD 4890, since I don't need them any more. (For those who don't know, they are been replaced in my desktop rig by a Samsung F3 HD103SJ and the XFX HD 5850, which I bough during one of NewEgg's $250 sales.) I was also thinking of giving them my Corsair HX620 (the HX650 that I bought at Micro Center I ended up giving to my brother along with some new fans). The only problems that I could see with this thought process are that the 7200.12 isn't as hot performance-wise as the F3 (and I still haven't figured out why) and the HD 4890 may be overkill for the monitor(s) they might be using. (The last time that I visited them, their "primary" monitor was a seven-year-old 1280x1024 17" screen... or was it 15"?)

So, I was thinking of replacing the HX620 with one of the new XFX modular 650W PSUs. I'm thinking about also getting a 120GB to 160GB SSD now and be done with it. I'm open to not relying on the X25-M series, but I need to perform a lot more research on the newer SandForce models. (And I'm now 40% sure that I want a water-based CPU cooler... but I'm not sold on either the Corsair H50 or the CoolIT ECO ALC. No, the Corsair H70 wouldn't fit -- remember my earlier "experiment"?)

Well... thoughts?
Click to expand...

does your bro have a weaker card than the 4890 that'd be enough for your parent's upgrade for SC2 that you could do a swap around for?

I don't think there would really be a problem using the older HD for SC2 either. I'm not quite sure how SC2 loads, but from what I remember of most older rts they just loaded the map and stuff at the beginning of a match, so it really shouldn't effect their gameplay.

I think one of the cheaper sandforce SSDs would be the g.skill phoenix pro (though I'm not entirely sure as I haven't been keeping my nose into it too much), I remember some testing done on it showing similar performance to the OCZ vertex 2 (personally I'd probably go with g.skill over OCZ too). but, for basic user performance and reliability, I'd probably stick with the intel gen.2 just because intel's been working with SSDs for quite a bit and are pretty well known for their reliability so far.

I'd probably stick with the corsair hx620, but I don't know how old it is. so if it's old enough to warrant the new psu, probably best to go for it.

is there a reason behind your preference for a water based cpu cooler? I can understand if noise level or space is the issue. I don't know too much about aftermarket air coolers other than heat-pipe towers, but it's hard to beat the cogage true spirit for $40 +$10 for the appropriate bolt-through kit from thermalright, I've also heard good things about the cogage arrow for $65(?). a simple way to increase performance on any cooler (which may also reduce noise level) is to add a fan shroud which can be easily fashioned out of an old gutted XXXmm x 25mm fan. I picked up the true spirit myself and am quite happy with it's performance after lapping (even with the stock fan).

the only other input I have to give about the water cooler is that eventually the water level will drop and the pump will fail. I had been using a closed-loop water cooler for ~4 years 'till recently and had to replace it due to the pump going out. I also got curious as to how much fluid was still in it as the pressure in the tubes seemed really low, so I cut it open to find that 1/4~1/3 the fluid had evaporated (I opened it up at an angle so that the fluid wouldn't spill everywhere and the tube I had cut was cleared, lol).
 
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My brother actually has an HD 4850. Problem is, I don't trust him to package it well, and I can't fly all the way to California (where he lives) to pack it up for him.

The Corsair HX620 is about a year old. Given my parents' "ignorance" towards today's hardware, I'd rather give them one less thing to worry about.

I can't fit a 120mm CPU cooler into my case, as I have a microATX tower case. I believe that, should I decide to go towards a water-based CPU cooler, I'll have to reattach the stock northbridge heatsink (I'm using a Thermalright HR-05/IFX for the northbridge) and add a 40mm fan on top of it. But again, I'm only 40% sure that I want one; if push comes to shove, I'd probably keep what I have (a Noctua NH-U9B with a second 92mm fan).

Regarding SSDs, I'm trying to juggle between storage capacity (I believe that 80GB or less would be cutting things close for my needs) and price (I'd rather avoid paying over $300 for an SSD, but I don't think that I'm willing to wait any longer).
 
ah ha, I wouldn't trust my brother to box up computer components either, hahaha. well, at least your parents should be happy with that 4890, may be you can even get them to consider upgrading to a larger monitor later on, lol.

that HX620 should still be pretty good unless you had it steamin' up in a hot box, only real concern I'd have is if it had the exact connections needed (my own dad would probably think a 20+4 pin connector was the completely wrong cable for a 24 pin slot).

I wouldn't think you'd have any problems with that NB heatsink with a water cooler, does the mounting bracket get in the way? I'd be reluctant to go back to stock too, esp. with a water cooler, taking away any more active cooling in that area can hurt (shoulda seen the pair of 30mm fans I had ghetto mounted on my board with the old water cooler. man, I <3 zip-ties, lol).

there is one other option, though I'm not sure you'll like it much. there's a newer mATX tower case out that can accommodate some beefy gear (full size ATX psu, full sized video cards, 160mm tall cpu heat sinks), the problem is it's slightly large for mATX and it's not really a looker, lol. but, it does have awesome airflow and is relatively cheap. the case I'm talking about is the NZXT Vulcan, one of the only real problems with this case is that there's not a large amount of room top-side which can create a problem for 'fatter' heatsinks on i7 mATX boards (you gotta <3 how they slap the socket at the top of these boards :/ ).
 
I don't really like the look of the NZXT Vulcan. If I wanted to get a new case for everything, it would probably be Da Box 100.

For clarification, I'm not talking about a complete water cooling setup -- I don't have the room for one with my current case (Silverstone TJ08-B). I'm talking about the all-in-one CPU-only kits that have been popular within the past year or two. However, now that I think about it, a new case would probably allow me to use one of them.



EDIT: Thinking about it a little further, I don't believe that my parents really need the power of an HD 4890, especially since 1) their primary game of choice (and they rarely game otherwise) is StarCraft II, and 2) unless they plan on using their HDTV, I don't think that they'll be using a 1920x1080 or greater resolution.

I think I may try to find a nice 5770/PSU combo on NewEgg or Amazon and send them that, instead.
 
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tiraides said:
I don't really like the look of the NZXT Vulcan. If I wanted to get a new case for everything, it would probably be Da Box 100.

For clarification, I'm not talking about a complete water cooling setup -- I don't have the room for one with my current case (Silverstone TJ08-B). I'm talking about the all-in-one CPU-only kits that have been popular within the past year or two. However, now that I think about it, a new case would probably allow me to use one of them.
Click to expand...

I was considering Da Box when I was looking at mATX boards, but it's a bit limiting with some video card+psu combinations (as well as most ppl saying it's like piecing together a puzzle-box, I enjoy puzzles myself though, lol), that's the only reason I had an eye on the vulcan if I decided on mATX (piece together a lil' monster, haha).

I understand which water coolers you were talking about, I was just warning you that it's probably not going to outlast your pc like a good air cooler. if it's filled with liquid, it's eventually going to leak/evaporate out no matter how tightly it's sealed, there's always a chance that the pump with fail too.
 
Skull_Angel said:
I understand which water coolers you were talking about, I was just warning you that it's probably not going to outlast your pc like a good air cooler. if it's filled with liquid, it's eventually going to leak/evaporate out no matter how tightly it's sealed, there's always a chance that the pump with fail too.
Click to expand...

Yes, I am aware of that fact. In fact, I took it into consideration before I bought the H50 months ago. My problem, which is why I didn't follow through the first time, is that I need something that can fit in my case without losing efficiency. (I wasn't in the mood to hack my case up just to make something "work as advertised.") But right now, I'm just going to drop the matter. It's not really a priority for me right now.

Looking for ideas -- and a quick fix (come up with your own conclusions there) -- I went to Micro Center earlier today and ran off with an XFX HD 5770 for $150 plus (VA) tax. I couldn't find a decent PSU that I thought would be worth matching, so I'm thinking of giving my parents my HX620 and picking up the Seasonic X650 for myself.

Still trying to sort through the SSD mess in my head... X25-M... G.Skill Falcon... OCZ Vertex 2... well?
 
still think the HX620 would be fine for them (pretty sure you'd be nicely happy with that x650 too, haha).

if you're looking for basic user performance, I'd probably just go intel x-25m g.2 for the reliability. the sandforce controller on the g.skill phoenix series (falcon series should be using the indilex barefoot controller) and ocz vertex 2 series is only really better for write performance if I remember correctly. the only reason I'm still somewhat reluctant to recommend the sandforce controlled drives over intel is because they're still relatively new, but that's not to say they've been performing pretty great (they have).
 
I finally picked up the parts that I was considering earlier... but now I have more questions than answers at this point.

First off, my plans for my family have changed: I plan on building my mother the server that she wanted me to research earlier. The catch is that my parents and my brother have caught the SC2 bug and want their systems to be able to handle it.

I have the HD 5850, HD 4890, and HD 5770 on hand. I'm considering turning my system into a Linux-capable, Photoshop machine (along with my VM plans, which still haven't changed), so here are my options:

Plan A: I keep the 5850, I give my brother the 4890, and I keep the 5770 for my parents' build
Plan B: I keep the 4890, I give my brother the 5850, and I keep the 5770 for my parents' build
Plan C: I keep the 5850, I give my brother the 5770, I sell the 4890, and I buy another 5770 in time for my parents' build
Plan D: (What's your idea?)

If I do buy another video card for myself, I'm willing to wait for the new AMD 6-series cards to arrive before I decide whether or not to pursue Nvidia's options. But given Nvidia's advantages towards the Adobe CS5 suite and Linux, I may go that way regardless.
 
Well out of the three groups (you, your bro, and your parents), who's more likely to put up with the heat and power usage of the HD 4890? Also, between your bro and your parents, who's more likely to play other games that are more GPU dependent than SC2?
 
I'm most likely to put up with additional heat and power, especially since my new PSU came in the mail last week.

My brother is more likely to play GPU-dependent games, but he'll be glad to accept whatever is given to him. (I have to "teach" him how to package up his "old" HD 4850 so I could ensure that it works. That way, I could recoup some money by selling an additional video card... or two....)
 
tiraides said:
I'm most likely to put up with additional heat and power, especially since my new PSU came in the mail last week.

My brother is more likely to play GPU-dependent games, but he'll be glad to accept whatever is given to him. (I have to "teach" him how to package up his "old" HD 4850 so I could ensure that it works. That way, I could recoup some money by selling an additional video card... or two....)
Click to expand...

Then 4890 to you and your bro the 5850. Then sell off the HD 4850 and 4890 if you want to :)
 
Danny Bui said:
Then 4890 to you and your bro the 5850. Then sell off the HD 4850 and 4890 if you want to :)
Click to expand...

After I answered your questions, I realized that it was probably the best way to go. Now I have to determine how badly I want to go back to Nvidia....

On a side note, I decided to grab a few "easy" parts for my mother's build. I already have the video card (the 5770) and a storage HDD (a 2TB Samsung "green" HDD), but my mom wants two separate HDDs for her two OSes (I believe one version of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008). Her requirements to me were:

- Capable of running a VM or two
- Able to play StarCraft 2 (IIRC, it will be the most strenuous game she'll play, but I'm sure one of my brothers will try to install an FPS and/or play on one of my parents' HDTVs)
- Two HDDs for separate OSes (yes, she knows all about partitions; no, she rather have two separate hard drives)
- Can't have anything too (physically) heavy
- She keeps telling me "the cheaper, the better"

With all of that in mind, I'm thinking:

- Athlon II X4 (any one) or Phenom II X6 1055T
- AMD 8-series microATX motherboard (primarily for USB 3.0 and SATA III support)
- 2x2GB DDR3 1333 or DDR3 1600 RAM (for now)
- Two Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200RPM HDDs (they're on sale at MC right now for $40 each)
- Samsung EcoGreen F3 HD203WI 2TB 5400RPM (the storage HDD)
- XFX Radeon HD 5770 1GB video card (bought already for the purposes of this system)
- Any <$30 DVD burner
- (likely) Antec NEO ECO 520C
- (I haven't decided on a case yet. I probably want something that can handle four or five HDDs plus the rest of the parts without weighing more than 25 pounds.)

We'll see how this project pans out....
 
At current prices, I wouldn't get the 520C. The Antec 620C costs less in fact.

Case is definitely gonna be a tough one.
 
the athlon II x4 route is probably going to be the cheapest route, and being on AM3 it'll have some decent upgrade paths if she decides she wants more power.

that's a really nice deal on the samsung f3s, better pick them up while they're still in stock, haha.

unless you're going to dick around with the clocks for her build, you might be better off with the 1333MHz kit. the bios will usually get stable timings underclocking 1600MHz kits automatically, but it's kind of hit-and-miss.

I'll also agree with Danny that the 620C's the better choice with current prices.

as far as cases go... haha, that is a tough one. I'm not sure, may be something like a lian li lancool? they're not quite the same quality as the normal lian li's last I checked, but they are quite cheap and relatively light (I think the pc-k58 is ~20lbs).
 
Here's what I currently have on hand for my mom's build:

Samsung SpinPoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200RPM HDD
Samsung EcoGreen F3 HD203WI 2TB 5400RPM HDD
LG GH22NS50 SATA DVD burner
XFX HD-577X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5770 1TB PCI-E 2.0 x16 video card
Corsair CMSPU-620HX 620 watt modular PSU (yeah, I forgot about it, for a moment...)

I went to MC today looking for the Samsung F3 500GB drives, but they were all sold out. Which is just as well, because I wasn't so keen on using two of those drives when I bought the F3 1TB drive for her for $60 a couple of weeks ago. (I ended up leaving with the DVD burner instead, which was on sale for $20 including tax.)

As for cases, I resigned myself to using a small ATX mid-tower case like the Antec Three Hundred or the Cooler Master Elite series cases. If I were to go with a microATX case, I'd "reuse" the Cooler Master Elite 341 case that I used in my brother's build -- but I'd then be tempted to use a 3-in-2 HDD rack and stick to an external DVD burner as it has the same clearance issues as my case. (OK, the Elite 341 isn't really that bad, as Silverstone uses proprietary drive covers that make the 3.5" slots unusable for hard drives. However, my mom plans on installing multiple hard drives over the life of this machine -- IIRC, she kept her last desktop over seven years now, yet it still runs fine today -- and, well, some old habits die hard.)

Here are my current ideas for hard drive configurations for this system:

Option A:
-- Two 500GB HDDs (Samsung F3 or WD5000AAKS), one for each OS
-- 2TB HDD for storage

Option B:
-- Two 1TB HDDs (Samsung F3, natch), one for each OS
-- 300GB partition in each HDD reserved for OS, rest of the space for storage

Option C:
-- One 1TB HDD (Samsung F3) for OS, one 2TB HDD for storage
-- Two 300GB partitions on 1TB HDD, each partition for OS
-- Remaining space on 1TB HDD used for swap disk and "junk space"

I haven't decided how I'll approach the "core" (motherboard, processor, memory) just yet. It's kind of hard to balance my desire for excellent bang-per-buck performance with my mom's request for a "budget" build.

(Oh, and I decided to keep the 5850. In an earlier phone call, I hinted to my brother that he may get a new video card and he responded, "And you're going to give me your camera too [the D90], right?" I may buy him one before Christmas if I find one on Amazon -- or used -- for $250 or less.)
 
Will the files that's gonna be stored on your mom's PC need to be accessed by both OSes?
 
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