I FIXED IT!!! AHAHAHA TAKE THAT, COMPUTER

Poked around a bit and discovered that some wires wrapped around the CPU cooler had come loose and were rattling against the fan. So I moved 'em - now the system just purrs. :3

 

I'm sorry I'm late here, but I'll drop you an advice for next time. If you need the CPU just for games try any processor that would be compatible with crossfire technology. I firmly recommend AMD. You save yourself some money there but you can invest it in a kickass GPU. And a widescreen 23" or higher.

 

Eh. Right now, Intel holds a decisive lead over AMD in the processor department. You wouldn't save all that much by dropping from the i5 to one of the mid-upper range AMDs (maybe $50-80 at most), which isn't going to get you much more of a GPU than a 7850 at the cost of quite a bit of CPU performance. This was a much more balanced system.

 

AMD are destroyed by intel in price/performance, recommending AMD for anything except extremely budget or niche (htpc, etc) builds is simply incorrect.

Also I suggest you actually learn more about computer building before weighing in on matters such as these, motherboards can have crossfire compatibility, while processors do not matter in determining crossfire (or sli) compatibility.

 

Also, just to twist in the nail: the nice cheap but awesome monitor I bought in the end is widescreen 24".

 

Aaah, I missed this thread. Damnation. Oh well, there is always another one.

What's your final tally of computer parts? Nice case, I have the Corsair 600T and it looks remarkably like that (though it's bigger).

Word to the wise: don't touch that case with greasy fingers. Greasy fingers + white case = glaring spots. Guess how I found that one out.

What will you do regarding computer maintenance?

Uhm.... no. I'll stop here, because others have already explained why this isn't the case.

 

Motherboard: Asus 8Z77
Case: CM690 II usb 3.0 version
Monitor: Samsung S24B300HL
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB
CPU: i5-3570k
RAM: G-Skill 8G Ripjaws
SSD: Sandisk 128GB
Optical Drive: Sony AD-7280S-0B
GPU: Sapphire HD 7850
PSU: NZXT Hale Power 90+ 650W '80 Plus Gold' Modular

Well, I just tried quite hard and it didn't seem to do anything.

Uh... maintenance like what? Cleaning dust filters and crap, or replacing parts when they die?

 

Nice! That SSD wouldn't be my first choice, but nonetheless, you've chosen well. Enjoy the new computer smell while it lasts.

I'm talking KFC-chicken greasy. One of my cousins decided that he wanted to poke around my computer -- while he was eating KFC -- and left a whole slew of fingerprint spots all over it. You can't see it in direct light, but when you look at an angle, it's like CSI... fingerprint spots are darker and reflect less light.

I made him clean my case -- after I kicked his ass for touching my stuff.

Yeah, pretty much. I have this canned air alternative

http://www.amazon.com/Metro-Vacuum-ED500-500-Watt-Electric/dp/B001J4ZOAW?tag=vig-20

that I use for dusting out my computer. No matter how much dust filters you have, you will inevitably get a thin dust coating all over your computer parts. Pricey, yes, but it pays for itself (in not buying canned air). Also it's much, much stronger than canned air.

Wait for a sale though... I bought mine for $40 shipped on a sale, and haven't regretted it one bit.