My dad built a computer a few months ago. He has been talking about building a new one for a few years now, so it was about time he got around to it. He had always talked about building a computer that he use to record some of his music on and he wanted something that was more cutting-edge than his current desktop. I think he succeeded quite nicely and although I would tweak a few things if this was a machine for me, I think it fits the bill.

• SAMSUNG T240HD Rose-Black 24″ HDTV Monitor (my recommendation!)
• CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W 80 PLUS Certified PSU
• COOLER MASTER HAF 932 RC-932-KKN1-GP Black Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case
• ASUS P7P55D PRO LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard
• Mushkin Enhanced Blackline 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1600 (PC3 12800) (x2)
• Intel Core i7-860 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 95W Quad-Core Processor
• SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5″ Internal Hard Drive
• LG Black 8X Blu-ray Burner Model WH08LS20 (free media)
• HIS Radeon HD 4870 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 Video Card
• Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders – OEM
• HIS Gift – Stormrise Game Coupon Bundle (free w/4870)
• Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Elite Pro 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Card

Total: $2200

That’s pretty expensive for a desktop these days. I was really surprised by the expensive sound card, although it does allow him to record multiple inputs, which he plans to use to plug his guitar into the computer. When I built my mom’s budget desktop back in 2008, I was able to do it for about $300 (without a monitor). She was just going for a bare bones system though. Of course this thing is a beast compared to that thing. I’d be interested to see how the Core i7 is working. Apparently, up until a few days ago, he was having trouble with the machine randomly freezing, but it looks like that problem has sorted itself out. He also grabbed a fancy webcam, so we’re able to chat on Skype.

All-in-all, it’s a very nice machine that makes me quite jealous. I had fun giving him my thoughts as he was picking everything out. Too bad I don’t have some spare money lying around because I’ve been brainstorming for an HTPC recently. Oh well, some day!