Windows and Mountain Lion office build

[YWO]

Greetings, I haven't yet completed my first build, but am starting a second build for someone who's been using Windows XP and MacOS 10.7 laptops but now needs a desktop PC. The aim is to build a dual-booting machine for general office usage, running Windows most of the time. Proposed build:

Intel Core i5 3570K CPU
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SZ0E1K/
The machine will use the i5 3570K's on-board HD4000 graphics unit.

Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3V microATX motherboard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007R21JKE/
I started by considering ATX motherboards and narrowed the choice down to the GA-Z77X-UD3H and GA-Z77X-UD5H. The UD3H is much cheaper, but audio and USB ports don't appear fully functional. The UD5H is much more expensive and most of the features (e.g., extra SATA ports) would not be used. After doing some searching, microATX motherboards came into consideration. As far as I can see, the only limitation of the B75M-D3V in this situation is no overclocking (and therefore, I'm assuming, no scope for performance tuning).

Kingston HyperX LoVo 16 Gb RAM (2 x 8 Gb), KHX16LC10K2/16X
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0098RCGFI/
These low-profile modules shouldn't interfere with the CPU cooler.

SanDisk Extreme 120 Gb SSD, SDSSDX-120G-G25
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006EKJCWM/
This will be the Windows boot volume, running off the motherboard's sole SATA3 port.

Western Digital Black 2 Tb HDD, WD2002FAEX
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004CSIG1G/
This will hold the MacOS boot/data volume (first partition) and main Windows data volume.

Western Digital Green 3 Tb HDD, WD30EZRX
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RORMF6/
This will hold the Windows backup boot volume (first partition) and data backup volume(s).

Lite-On Blu-ray/DVD/CD optical drive, IHBS312
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007TC63TY/

Bitfenix Outlaw case
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0066UIIHK/
This was the user's choice from a selection of small ATX cases that I suggested. The aim is for something big enough to hold a few drives with adequate cooling, but not so big that it takes up a lot of desk space.

Corsair TX650 power supply, CMPSU-650TXV2
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007YW48MS/
This looks to be a decent, low-cost power supply, although it lacks modular cabling.

Noctua NH-UH12P SE2 CPU cooler
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002N2JVEE/

2 x Noctua NF-P12 120 mm fan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GDDV2E/
These will go into the two mounts in the front of the case. The case comes with a single exhaust fan at the rear.

I'll be setting up the machine with MacOS 10.8, but haven't yet decided on whether to install Windows 7 or Windows 8. I think maximal compatibility with Windows XP applications will be the deciding factor. I'm in the midst of researching this issue further. If the user ends up running MacOS more frequently, I'll probably add another SSD. Comments and suggestions welcome; thanks.

 

[Going Bald]

Greetings, I haven't yet completed my first build, but am starting a second build for someone who's been using Windows XP and MacOS 10.7 laptops but now needs a desktop PC. The aim is to build a dual-booting machine for general office usage, running Windows most of the time.

I'll be setting up the machine with MacOS 10.8, but haven't yet decided on whether to install Windows 7 or Windows 8. I think maximal compatibility with Windows XP applications will be the deciding factor. I'm in the midst of researching this issue further. If the user ends up running MacOS more frequently, I'll probably add another SSD. Comments and suggestions welcome; thanks.

For the stated usage, the i3 3225 would work just as well and save you some $$.

I would go with the Pioneer BDR - http://www.amazon.com/Pioneer-Electronics-Internal-Burner-BDR-208DBK/dp/B00A4ZXE40/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1362409911&sr=8-5&keywords=pioneer+blu+ray

If you want to run WinXP and OSX there are some things you need to know to get it to boot correctly. See http://www.tonymacx86.com/snow-leop...multibooting-novice-updated-3-12-see-log.html and scroll down to the bottom to SL + WinXP. Lion and ML work the same as SL.

Best is to go with separate HDD/SSD for each OS and use Win7 and use the XP emulator in Win7 to run XP apps, or update your apps to an Win7 version.

 

[zaptoons]

For the stated use, there's really no need for the third party cooler. I'd recommend just use the stock fan- especially if you were to go i3. (Which I agree, for this build would be much better bang-for-buck).

3 case fans is a bit overkill as well, but as long as they don't add any significant fan noise, then no biggie. I routinely build similar low-end systems for clients with only a front fan bringing air in over the drives, and the PSU acting as a rear-fan. Occasionally, I'll use an additional rear fan, but it's rarely needed. These modern systems just don't run all that hot to justify turning them into noisy jet engines.

Also, most apps that work with Windows XP should run fine in Windows 7. I'm not as certain about Windows 8, but definitely with 7.

 

[YWO]

Thanks for the suggestions and pointers, Going Bald and zaptoons. I hadn't actually considered the i3 3225, but it does indeed appear to be suitable, and at a substantially lower cost (both for the CPU and the cooling solution).