Well, not a new computer for me, but instead a new machine for the girlfriend! My brother decided that he no longer has the time or desire for PC gaming, so I put in an offer, and he accepted. His rig is the same one I helped build over the years. Hell, I remember when it was an Athlon x2 and an 8800GT. Those were the days. Anyway, below are the specs:
Intel Core i5 750 w/ Noctua NH-U12P
Gigabyte P55M-UD2
4GB Mushkin Silverline Stiletto DDR3 RAM
Gigabyte Radeon HD6850 Windforce edition
150GB Western Digital Velociraptor
Coolermaster HAF912 w/ 4x Yate Loon 120mm
Antec Earthwatts 430w PSU
22” Samsung 1080P LED LCD
Logitech G110 keyboard + G500 mouse
Overall, it’s a pretty well rounded machine with a fair bit of gaming potential, even in this day and age. It’s a little light on the RAM side of things, but for what the girlfriend is playing/doing, it shouldn't be an issue. I was absolutely surprised by the feature set of the motherboard. For being a UD2 board, and using the mATX form factor, it’s a pretty loaded board. Looking through the BIOS settings revealed a lot of potential for overclocking.
The only thing we didn't like about adding the machine to the apartment was the inability to run a length of CAT6 to it. Unfortunately, the path between the router and the living room has a doorway in the way, making it undesirable to run. Connecting it wirelessly has been a pain, as we've had to rely on my Alfa USB wireless adapter. Although the adapter is great for what I use it for (Great for Backtrack), it doesn't seem to perform quite as well under Windows. Time will tell what we end up doing with the machine. The girlfriend will keep using it for another month or so, and if we find she isn’t using it enough, I’ll get to re-purpose it into something else. (Virtual platform anyone?)