The goal of this machine was to replace the oldest active computer in the house. This old computer predates – by over three years – the first recorded entry on this blog for computer builds. (First build: core i7<\/a>). This old computer was a combined “compute and storage” build – before I moved to dedicated compute<\/a> and storage<\/a> machines.<\/p>\n It’s main claim-to-fame is its case: a SuperMicro SC-743 4U case (now numbered as CSE-743T-665B<\/a>) which sells for $320 today. Fifteen years ago it was around $200. It contains a row of 4 hot-swap high-speed fans in the middle of the case. This was the case right after my infamous “Just because a case has space for 6 hard drives, that doesn’t mean it has adequate cooling for 6 hard drives” coming of wisdom. Unfortunately, those fans howl like a jet engine, and it was time to replace it.<\/p>\n Some facts on the CPU: the i5-4690 is currently #191 on PassMark [7,623] cpubenchmark.net<\/a>. At a price of $224, it has a “value” rating of 34.0. The Core i5-4590 has PassMark [7,224], for $180 and a “value” rating of 40.3, the highest “value” of all the i5s. Note that my “on sale” i5 was only $210. It is the 3rd fastest i5, the fastest is the #165, $320, i5-5675C@3.10GHz [8,106].<\/p>\n All product links are from the actual vendor.<\/p>\n
| Item<\/th>\n | Product<\/th>\n | Cost<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n |
|---|---|---|
| CPU<\/td>\n | Intel Core i5-4690 Haswell Quad-Core 3.5Ghz<\/a> Socket 1150 84W Intel Graphics 4600<\/td>\n | $210<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| RAM<\/td>\n | G.SKILL Ripjaws X 16GB<\/a> (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM PC3 1600 Desktop Memory Model F3-1600C9D-16GXM<\/td>\n | $80<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Motherboard<\/td>\n | GIGABYTE GA-Z97N0D3G<\/a> LGA 1150 Intel Z97 HDMI SATA 6Gb\/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX<\/td>\n | $109<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Power Supply<\/td>\n | Corsair CX750<\/a> 750W 80 Plus Bronze certified, Haswell Ready<\/td>\n | $60<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Video<\/td>\n | Intel HD Graphics, built in<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Case<\/td>\n | Antec Three Hundred Two<\/a> Gaming Case, Black<\/td>\n | $58<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| SSD Drive<\/td>\n | Samsung 840 Pro 256GB<\/a> SATA III MZ-7PD256BW<\/td>\n | $170<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| HD Drive<\/td>\n | WD Black 1TB WD1003FZEX<\/a> 7200 RPM 64MB cache SATA 6.0Gb\/s<\/td>\n | $80<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| BD\/DVD\/CD<\/td>\n | Samsung DVD Burner 24x<\/a> SATA Model SH-224BEBE<\/td>\n | $20<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Keyboard\/Mouse<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| OS<\/td>\n | Ubuntu 14.04 64bit<\/a><\/td>\n | $0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n |
| Total<\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | $787<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The goal of this machine was to replace the oldest active computer in the house. This old computer predates – by over three years – the first recorded entry on this blog for computer builds. (First build: core i7). This … Continue reading |