I'm really getting tired of waiting for computers to do things; boot, shutdown, open Visual Studio, build. I feel like I spend more time waiting for the computer to do something then actually getting work done and this is very frustrating. I like my laptop and unfortunately it's not dual core, but I've decided that for the amount of mobility that I need it can still handle the job. What I do what to do is build a new desktop development box that I can use when working in the office since this is where I do most of my work, outside of the day job anyways. I've gotten a bit out of touch with the hardware world lately so I was hoping to solicit some feedback in a few areas. Here is a list of the general specs I've laid out.
Quad Core Processor – I realize that this is still a bit vague since some argue that a dual core with a faster speed is better that a slower quad core, but I hope to get the fastest quad core processor for a reasonable price when I make the purchase.
Motherboard – This is where I've gotten a bit rusty. Does anyone have any suggestions on brands and specs that I want to look for?
Vista Ultimate 64 bit – Yeah, Yeah don't do it, Vista sucks. I'm going to do it anyways.
4GB of RAM – Anything important here besides speed and response time?
16-30GB Solid State Hard Drive – This one I think is the sweet spot. The last moving part on the computer is the hard drive and common sense says that means it's the real bottleneck. I hope to get a small solid state hd that will hold the OS, VS2008, and maybe Office depending on price vs size. My one issue here is I haven't seen any 3.5 inch solid state drives.
Large Secondary Hard Drive – A regular SATA hard drive to handle everything else that isn't used all the time. I'm thinking a WD Raptor for this.
Video Card(s) – Yet again I'm going to need to do some research here or get some feedback. What specs do I need to look for here?
2 X 22 inch Widescreen Monitors – I haven't decided on anything specifics here, I just know I want 2 that are exactly the same so they are at the same level.
Case – A really, really quiet case. This is going to involve research too.
Any feedback that anyone has would be great.
Disclaimer The opinions expressed herein are my own personal opinions and do not represent my employer's view in any way.