For the last year, my primary computer has been a Macbook Pro laptop running OS X.  I had Vista loaded on Boot Camp but I found that I avoided developing on it unless I had to due to the keyboard and screen size.  Recently, I've also missed having a desktop PC to handle media center and file server duties.  I finally gave in and decided it was time to build a new PC.  I thought I'd share my experience as well. 

The first decision was the most difficult for me.  I had to answer the eternal question (42)...

"Buy or Build?"

Some background.  I managed a computer store in college.  I helped build and repair dozens (if not hundreds) of PCs.  Eventually I swore I'd never build a PC again.  I got my next tower from Dell, a great XP Media Center that served me well for the next few years.  Unfortunately, the hardware in that box was near the end of several product cycles (P4 and AGP) and it didn't make sense financially to upgrade any of the parts.  I dropped that PC off at the old PC home and picked up the Macbook Pro.  Fast forward to now. 

On the "Buy" side, I knew I could be happy with a slightly lower quality Dell, possibly with a better, cheaper monitor.  On the "Build" side, I knew I'd have higher quality parts but it'd be a lot more work and I'd have no support.  I started leaning toward "Build" when I went to the Dell site and realized that to get any amount of control over my parts, I'd have to go with an XPS system and the price would double instantly.  Eventually, I decided building it myself was the way to go.  Honestly, I think the deciding factor was that it'd been long enough since I built a PC that I was curious if I still remembered how. 

My Requirements

The first thing to do was to figure out what I wanted from my PC.  I knew most of the time it'd be Internet, MS Office and iTunes but occasionally it'd be a development or gaming box as well.  Here's the priority list I ended up with:

1. Under $2000, including monitor
2. Close to high-end, standard, upgradeable parts
3. Run Vista, Visual Studio 2008, SQL Server 2005 and (hopefully) Starcraft II (Dear Blizzard, please hurry)
4. 2 LCD monitors (19" or larger) or 1 wide screen LCD monitor (20" or larger)

Parts

That done, I went looking for parts.  I started with the the Little Bang system from Coding Horror as reference.  The hardware is a generation behind or so, but it's pretty close and the parts list was helpful.  I went to Newegg and started checking out parts.  I immediately remembered something important. 

Working in software does not mean you know anything about current hardware.

After about 10 minutes I felt sorry for all the confused computer users in the world.  I was wandering around the office spouting gibberish like "Does it need power?"  and "Do I need 1200?  Cause 1200 is a bigger number...I think I need 1200..."  With some help from my very patient co-workers, I ended up the following part list:

• EVGA 680i Motherboard - This is a mid-level EVGA board.  It's SLI compatible for multiple video cards, has a 775 socket for dual-core or quad-core processors and takes DDR2 800 memory.  Lots of slots, ports and upgrade possibilities, plus on-board audio.
• Intel Core 2 Duo, 2.66 Ghz, (Conroe) - I used to champion the AMD cause but these days it's clear that Intel is really the only game in town.  I went with a slightly faster dual-core rather than the quad-core that's at a comparable price right now.  They're both socket 775 so I can upgrade in the future and right now quad-cores aren't really doing that much for me.
• 4 GB. of Muskin DDR2 800 - I went with DDR2 800 to match the EVGA board.  I don't have a brand preference but I'll point out that a pair of 2 GB memory sticks were around $80.  I guess those price-fixing lawsuits are kicking in.  Awesome.
• MSI NX8800GTS, 512 MB Video Card - I settled on this video card because it had great reviews and it's one step down from the current monsters.  Things of note: it's SLI, so I can add another if I decide to later.  It's also PCI-E 2.0 and DDR3, so it's newer hardware.
• 150 GB, Western Digital Raptor, 10000 rpm, SATA, Hard Drive - A smaller but blazing fast hard drive.  I always run two drives, one for the OS and one for my data.  This ensures my OS is running as fast as possible and I can wipe it out anytime without losing any of my data.
• 750 GB, Western Digital Caviar, 7200 rpm, SATA, Hard Drive - A larger but slower drive for data.  I think Western Digital drives are great and generally don't buy anything else these days.
• Antec P182 Case - I always recommend Antec cases.  This one has lots of room, removable drive bays, and looks sharp in black.
• Antec 550 Watt Neo Power Supply - Again, I stuck with an Antec power supply as well.
• Samsung 20X DVD Burner - I threw in a DVD burner.  It's got Lightscribe.  I'm not sure what that is but it sounds cool.  Enough said.
• Dell 2208WFP Ultrasharp, 22" Widescreen Monitor - I went back to Dell for a monitor.  In the past I've been very happy with their monitors and they happened to be having a 20% sale at the time.  The 22" was less than 50% of the cost of the next model up, a 24" widescreen.

My last task was to pick up all the "other stuff" that a computer needs.  Any monster worth it's salt needs good input too.  My personal favorites are the Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 and the Logitech G9 Laser Gaming Mouse.  I have two of Microsoft's split, raised keyboards, one for work and one for home.  The slightly ridiculous Logitech mouse has adjustable DPI, weights and casings, and a multi-function mouse wheel (no click, great for text).  I have two of those as well.  Lastly, I picked up a smaller desk from Ikea.  I live in San Francisco so space is at a premium for me.  I'm also a bit of a minimalist so I went with a Galant desk.  It's basically just a flat surface in different sizes and colors (black for me).  I like mine a lot. 

Build Results and Lessons Learned

So that's pretty much it.  I got the parts delivered and put everything together.  I won't try to teach you how to build a computer (so don't blame me) but I went with the old shop way of doing things which is to start with the motherboard, processor and memory to make sure the core boots, then add parts until you're done.  After that, the only thing left to do is install Windows a few times (until it works) then wait for it to finish updating (3 - 6 weeks).  In the end, everything worked fine and I was up and running pretty quickly.  This is my first build in around five years but I was amazed at how little had changed besides sockets and card slots.  I guess that's the good thing about PCs.  Some notes about my experience:

1. The total cost for the tower was around $1600.  Adding in my new LCD monitor, I still stayed under $2000.
2. Once I got all of the hardware up, software installed and drivers updated, I ended up with 5.6 Windows Experience Index.  Everything hit 5.9 with the exception of my processor, which is the weakest link at 5.6.
3. Most of my parts are highly upgradeable. The Intel 775 socket is good for the current dual-core AND quad-core processors so I can upgrade later.  If I want another video card, I can add a second using the built in SLI.  I have 2 DDR2 memory slots left.  I have plenty of PCI-E slots, USB ports, etc.  I can add another monitor before having to get a second video card.  I can put stickers on the case.  Rock on.
4. I recommend you splurge on the case.  It's totally worth it to have all that room when you're building from scratch.  Also, it looks pretty cool.
5. I dumped legacy cable support.  All input is USB and all drives are SATA, even the DVD drive.
6. The worst thing for me was figuring out what power supply to buy.  None of the online calculators are very helpful and I have no idea what is standard now.  I finally asked for help and was told that 550 watts should be more than enough for my power needs.

That's about it.  Now I just wait for Starcraft II.  Hope it helps.