First post from my new homebrew computer.

[IronEagle]

Haven't built one myself for over 10 years. Last ones have been Dells.

It's screaming with a solid state drive, a good 3d graphics accelerator and an overclock-able processor. I'll probably push it a little but not too much. Not into crazy cooling solutions, nor do I want to pay the electricity bill. I'm just happy I got what you can get for state of the art at $1200 price point. I had an extra Windows 7 license so I used that.

But it's still not complete. I bought 2 Western Digital hard drives for RAID data storage and both were crap. I verified this by putting them into another system.. also when I put another WD drive I knew was good from another computer into my build it worked fine. Returned those and ordered two new ones so hopefully they work.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with this. Plus I learned some stuff doing the research and integrating the components. It will probably last me for the next five years or as long as people still use bulky desktops. Very upgradable. I know every component that went into this thing.

[nerd]

Actually building my first comp this weekend. Nothing to crazy...but I do overclock but don't like water cooling. Friend of mine had his leak and fry his comp. Ended up going with a phanteks air cooler

[Riccardo]

Cool

are there kits to build your own laptop or is that a different animal??

[D Leff]

Very cool. My last 3 were home built and my next one will be.

[QuakeTen]

Haven't built one myself for over 10 years. Last ones have been Dells.

It's screaming with a solid state drive, a good 3d graphics accelerator and an overclock-able processor. I'll probably push it a little but not too much. Not into crazy cooling solutions, nor do I want to pay the electricity bill. I'm just happy I got what you can get for state of the art at $1200 price point. I had an extra Windows 7 license so I used that.

But it's still not complete. I bought 2 Western Digital hard drives for RAID data storage and both were crap. I verified this by putting them into another system.. also when I put another WD drive I knew was good from another computer into my build it worked fine. Returned those and ordered two new ones so hopefully they work.

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with this. Plus I learned some stuff doing the research and integrating the components. It will probably last me for the next five years or as long as people still use bulky desktops. Very upgradable. I know every component that went into this thing.

Awesome! Instead of throwing those other drives in your new PC in a RAID configuration, maybe try building a server next. It will help keep your main PC running lean, mean, and screaming fast while holding data elsewhere. Servers are fun and easy builds too. I have a server in my basement holding 23TB of information :D Drop me a PM if you want some tips as I'll be happy to help in whatever way I can.

-Ten

[The Ref]

[Susquehanna Birder]

I wonder if that comes with rubber lips.

[D Leff]

I wonder if that comes with rubber lips.

I lol'd

On a side note/thread hijack, what do you think of Nikon d3200 for an entry level dslr susq? Needed something for kids sports shots and just better pic taking. I already got it, but is still returnable. I'm a complete newb.

[Susquehanna Birder]

It looks like a pretty solid entry level camera, although my Nikon experience is pretty limited. From what I could see online (dpreview.com is a great resource), it has decent image quality that will improve even more if (or when) you add some higher quality lenses down the road. For starting out, though, I think you'll do well with it.

[BigSlizz]

Does it double as a trash can?

I'm sure it's going to be super powerful, but I'm not sure I trust Apple as innovators anymore. Outside of connecting monitors, I think Thunderbolt is falling on deaf ears (and that thing has a zillion Thunderbolt ports), and I find that design to just be artsy fartsy BS.

Apple began frustrating me with by limiting the recent version of Quicktime (worthless next to Quicktime 7 Pro), and infuriated me with the new Final Cut. The only thing that keeps me coming back is the reliable desktops, and the fact that I've got so much invested in them in terms of software and devices.

If this machine sucks, it could be my first step to a PC and Media Composer.

[IronEagle]

Does it double as a trash can?

I'm sure it's going to be super powerful, but I'm not sure I trust Apple as innovators anymore. Outside of connecting monitors, I think Thunderbolt is falling on deaf ears (and that thing has a zillion Thunderbolt ports), and I find that design to just be artsy fartsy BS.

Apple began frustrating me with by limiting the recent version of Quicktime (worthless next to Quicktime 7 Pro), and infuriated me with the new Final Cut. The only thing that keeps me coming back is the reliable desktops, and the fact that I've got so much invested in them in terms of software and devices.

If this machine sucks, it could be my first step to a PC and Media Composer.

I think it's going to be a good computer. Expensive, but good. I like the design from a cooling perspective. Don't have an strong opinion on the look.

I know what you mean about the relatively small number of Thunderbolt peripherals.

[D Leff]

It looks like a pretty solid entry level camera, although my Nikon experience is pretty limited. From what I could see online (dpreview.com is a great resource), it has decent image quality that will improve even more if (or when) you add some higher quality lenses down the road. For starting out, though, I think you'll do well with it.

I'll check that site out, thanks.

[BigSlizz]

Super Duper computer, with "pro"-sumer applications. A hobbyist's dream!

[Susquehanna Birder]

The thunderbolt thing is interesting, but I'm thinking that Apple is going to get Betamaxed by USB 3.0. There seems to be plenty of both on the B&H website, but I'm not sure how much product is going out the door.

[BigSlizz]

USB3 drives are cheap. The last time I thought about a thunderbolt drive, it was twice as expensive.