Yep, we’ve added another code-slinging hipster to our posse in Fort Collins, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time to see what crazy hardware $2000 will buy us. As I’ve noted in the past, we build our systems ourselves, which means that our cash goes a lot farther than if we went to Dell.com
As usual, we start from the part list for the last build, check the prices and upgrade what we can. This is our parts list from NewEgg:
| Qty | Image | Product Description | Unit Price | Savings | Total Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
$249.00 | -$30.00 Instant | $219.00 | |
| 2 |  |
$149.99 | $299.98 | ||
| 1 |  |
$39.99 | -$7.00 Instant | $32.99 | |
| 1 |  |
$289.99 | $289.99 | ||
| 1 |  |
$6.99 | $6.99 | ||
| 1 |  |
$74.99 | $74.99 | ||
| 1 |  |
$140.99 | $140.99 | ||
| 1 |  |
$289.99 | -$55.00 Instant | $234.99 | |
| 3 |  |
$179.99 | -$20.00 Instant | $479.97 | |
| 1 |  |
$119.99 | -$30.00 Instant | $89.99 | |
| 1 |  |
$25.99 | $25.99 | ||
| 1 |  |
$179.99 | -$25.00 Instant | $154.99 | |
| 1 |  |
$84.99 | $84.99 | ||
| Subtotal: | $2,135.85 | ||||
So, we did go a little over this time, but that’s how it goes. I’d rather spend ~$150 more now than get a less powerful CPU or less RAM. What I find amazing is that this stuff is really cheap! I mean this is a hell bent for leather gaming system that’s just over 2 grand! You better believe that these things jump and shout as developer boxes! And if you already have monitors, then this puppy runs ~$1650! Tell me that your company or you (freelancers) can’t afford that!
You can see some pics of the gear over at my “smallbites” mobile-photo-blog ( http://smallbites.posterous.com/dev-workstation-build) but I did want to show this one pic here…
This is the cooling system for the video card… and yeah… there are two of them in this system… when ArcGIS starts to leverage GPU’s, we’ll be ready! Until then, we can run a few Visual Studio instances, ArcMap, ArcGIS Server and a couple VM’s on a box like this, and not even be pushing it. And that’s how it should be 
Update (8/12/10):
So we built this rig out, and here’s the Windows Experience Index…
So, solid 7.5′s for everything BUT the video performance! With 1GB cards that have those mad cooling pipes, would not have guessed they’d be the limiting factor!
So psyched!
I’m surprised you didn’t use a solid state drive for the c:\ drive.
If you shopped around just a bit, I’m almost sure you could shave off another $200 and still get the same performance, but Newegg is not a bad way to go. Ya’ll must work really fast if you can utilize two mice =)
Replace the case with either a Cooler Master RC-690 or the RC-590. Much better cases for the money than the Antec.
That build is not good imo. Really old GFX card. I would use i5-760, 4-8GB DDR3 Kingston HyperX with XMP, Gigabyte P55A-UD3, Corsair P128 SSD, Seagate 7200.12 1TB, GeForce GTX 460 768MB, CoolerMaster Sileo case, PSU 500W Enermax Bronze, Samsung DVDRW Black
Jealous… FYI, it’s the buzz around the office here a Telvent… If only we had those.