As many of my friends and colleagues know all too well, every few years I decide that it’s time to take a serious look at my main computer at home and embark on what I would consider my ‘Geek Pilgrimage’; I build a new computer system from the ground up. I honestly can’t remember the last time I bought a computer to use as my main home workstation from a reseller, but I remember putting together a system for myself back in 1994 so it would have to be earlier than that. While I consider myself an Apple Mac guy when it comes to laptops, there’s just something that keeps me coming back to PC’s for my desktops. I’m sure that might change when I decide to upgrade to a Mac Pro desktop system, but until that time arrives (and the cash!), I’ll keep rolling with my PC builds.

I will be calling this new System Build for 2011 “Project Fireball“.

Up to this point, I’ve spent somewhere around $1,450 on all the new hardware, not including some cable management parts I’ll be picking up this week to better organize the cables in my case. I’ll be moving my Windows 7 Ultimate license from my current PC to this new one, so no need to purchase that. I’ll also be using the great monitors I have sitting on my desk, the external drives, keyboard, and mouse. I’ll be moving the memory card reader over to the new PC, as well as all 3 1TB harddrives. Since one of my primary assumptions when I build a new system is that it will have to last me between 3-4 years, many of my components will tend to be in the mid-upper range in regards to costs, speed, etc. There’s one place where I draw the line though and that’s on video cards – you’ll never see me plunk down $750 on a video card. You can usually find a really good card for about $250 by doing a bit of homework and research.

One important thing to note; when I decide to begin a Build such as this one, I do so with the knowledge that shopping for the components might take me two or even three months. For me, it’s one of my favorite parts of the process. Some might think that’s quite excessive, but it’s an important part of the process, and one that has saved me hundreds of dollars. Once I have chosen my components, I begin monitoring Amazon.com, Newegg.com and Microcenter.com for sales and promotions. With time on my side, I can wait for a sale or even a promotion code that can save me money. Believe me, if you rush into a build, you’ll pay a premium. Give yourself at least a month to gather components and to give yourself time to pickup something at a competitive price.

Here are the specs for my build (with links to Amazon for more information):

• Motherboard: Asus P8P67 PRO, LGA 1155
• Processor: Intel Core i7 2600 (Quad-Core/Hyperthreaded), 3.4Ghz
• RAM: 16GB DDR-3 1600 – 4 sticks of G.SKILL 4GB SDRAM
• System/OS Hard Drive: Intel 510 Series (Elm Crest) 120GB SATA III Solid State Drive (SSD)
• Data Hard Drives: 3 WD Caviar Green 1TB
• Graphics Card: MSI GeForce GTX560 1 GB DDR5 N560GTX TI TWIN FROZR II OC Video Card
• Power Supply: Corsair 750W TX Series
• Optical Drive: SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L with LightScribe Support
• Case: NZXT Crafted Series – Phantom White

The last major component, the SSD, arrived today, so I can begin planning out my build during the week and begin the actual work Friday evening. I’m looking at a few more odds and ends, such as an additional case fan and some cable extenders to facilitate cable management, but I expect to have those on hand by Friday which shouldn’t impact my build.

I’ll be documenting my build and progress here as I move forward into the project, including lots of pictures of the components and the system as I’m putting Project Fireball together and ‘refining’ it.