Okeydoke, techie gurus -
I need some recommendations for a Blu-ray burner.
Been looking around and don't really know what to choose. Most of the ones with decent reviews (at least on Amazon, Newegg, and TD) don't seem to come with the software necessary to play/burn BR discs, so I guess I will need to look for that as well. So I need good recommendations for a combo of drive and software. And I will also want the software to work with my current LG DVD/CD RW drive.
Realized just today that I will be off work the week of Sept 5th so that is my target date for the build. Well, it was always the target date, but I kinda forgot that with so much other stuff going on the past few weeks. So I need to figure out what I absolutely need to pick out and order so it arrives on time. Some little stuff I can pick up locally at a reasonable price, but all the major purchases I know I'll probably get cheaper online, plus Subsim will get a cut of any Amazon orders.
So far, the following things should be covered (I have them, or should have them next week):
Motherboard
CPU
Case
Hard drive(s)
RAM
Gfx card
Sound card
DVD/CD drive
The one major thing I still gotta get is the PSU. Leaning towards a Corsair for that purchase.
Also the Blu-ray drive as noted above. I know I could always get it later and add it then, but for things I know I want I'd rather have them and get them in there at the start.
I will probably also get a new keyboard and mouse and take the current combo to work, where my old hand-me-down from home is getting really worn out. Plus I miss my Microsoft Ergonomic mouse!
I've had great luck with Logitech but nothing was ever as comfortable as that MS "natural" mouse I had. My biggest question is whether to buy the wireless mouse & kb combo or just get the wireless mouse and buy the wired version of the kb separately. I had the wireless combo before but had issues with both the kb and mouse "dropping out" in terms of response. So when I was ready for new ones, I got a wired kb instead. Still got a wireless mouse, because I just can't go back to having that thing wired, what a pain.
But I discovered the new mouse would still drop out, so I ended up buying a little extension thing for the USB connection, so now the receiver thingy for the mouse is out closer to the mouse instead of sticking out of the back panel of the computer, and since then the mouse works fine. So I'm wondering if the same trick will work just as well for a wireless keyboard, which I'd really like to have again.
Still undecided about the gfx card issue - whether to stick with one 5770, add a second one to the mix, or upgrade. Since the 5870 seems difficult to find at anything like a reasonable price, I doubt I'll go that route. Another 5770 is still readily available at a great price, but apparently there's also a 6770 that is basically the same card but with Blu-ray support? I dunno if that's gonna make any difference in playing Blu-rays on the rig.
One thing I found out today, I stopped in the little computer shop I found and they buy abd sell a wide variety of used tech stuff, including some stuff that I didn't think there was even a market for any more. Judging by what they had on the shelves I may be able to make a quick bit of cash with anything I have left over that I don't need. In fact I've got stuff around here now that I know I'll never use that I could probably unload there. I should probably start gathering that up and see if I can use it to defray the cost of new purchases.
Oh and I definitely need some new headphones, I don't use them often but the cheap little ones I've had for years are falling apart.