1) What is your budget?
$1200-$1500
2) Are there any brands/resellers that you prefer or any you really don't like?
Yes, I want an Intel i5/i7 system, with Evga Geforce graphics cards.
I have had good experiences with Corsair power supplies, and have heard their RAM is really good too.
3) What tasks will you be performing with the Desktop?
Playing lots of video games, school, pretty well everything. I need to be able to multitask really quickly and efficiently, I have a dual monitor setup, so I'll often be playing a video game on one screen, while watching a movie on the other, with numerous windows and internet browsers open in the background, etc.
I want to be able to play games on high settings for about 4 years or so. I wouldn't really be able to afford another upgrade for 4 years, and I hate it when I have to lower a games settings.
4) Will you be playing games on it; if so, which games?
A pretty wide variety, MMOs like TOR, FPS like Crisis 2 or the net Far Cry, lots of RPGs like The Witcher 2, Skyrim, the Mass Effect series, the next Dragon Age, strategy games like CIV V, etc.
5) Do you mind buying parts online without seeing them in person?
I'm ok with buying parts online so long as it's from a reputable dealer, amazon, newegg, etc.
6) What OS do you prefer? Windows (XP/7/Vista), Mac OS X, Linux, etc.
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit
7) How much hard drive space is needed?
Tons, my current desktop has 1.5 TB with an additional 1.5 TB of external HD space and it's still not enough. I'm thinking maybe 2TB HD running in RAID 0? I can always transfer my 1TB HD from my current system to the new one for extra storage. Should last me for a while and still be fast enough?
8) What size desktop would you like?(All in one, compact, large)
Full Tower
9) Does the case need to be stylish?
Yup, definitely. I really like the Corsair Obsidian Series 800D case, it's pretty expensive but I like the look.
10) What resolution will the screen run at? One or Two screens?
I run two monitors presently, one is older, runs at 1680 x1050, the other is newer, runs at 2048 x 1152
11) Do you need any particular hardware?(Ports, HDD slots, double DVD drives, etc.)
Not really, 2 or more PIC-E slots for dual GPUs, I'm thinking I'd better get 12-16GB RAM because I run so much stuff at the same time. I would want a Blu-Ray/DVD drive.
12) How would you rate your technical skills?
Better than some, worse than others. I have upgraded a couple desktops, fought of malware and viruses numerous times (thanks be to Google), reinstall my OS, formatted hard drives, etc. etc.
13) Have you ever built a desktop before?
Nope. Never built a system from scratch, the thought is a bit daunting but I'm sure I could do it.
14) Do you need wireless connectivity?
No. I'll be connecting directly via cable.
