A word to the wise

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Saturday, April 2, 2016

Computer Build II: Second Thoughts

First I thought April 1 (April Fools day), 2017 would be a good day to shoot for completion. Then I spent a few of the project bucks on an unrelated deal I couldn't pass up and that pushed it to March 1st. Now, I'm thinking I'll push it out another another year and a half or so.

If I finish it for my 60th birthday on October 7, 2018, I could easily squirrel away a couple more grand, make it my pièce de résistance finale and no financial concerns would be any the wiser. Not only would that give me more liquidity to work with, but also give the bleeding edge tech a few months to coagulate.

I'm really looking forward to seeing what Intel comes up with for their Optane 3D XPoint. In 2017 we could see it used in conjunction with PCIe 4.0 NVMe x4 M.2. The motherboards with their new 200-series chipset, codenamed "Union Point," that will be able to take full advantage of it, haven't even been previewed yet (AFAIK). This will also give a little breathing room for USB 3.1 Gen 2 to develop a better footing. Plus we could have a better handle on how Cannonlake is stacking up by then as well. We can't go too far beyond the next die shrink before quantum tunneling starts to become a concern.

Any way you look at it, we are on the verge of a rarely seen technological confluence of innovations in personal computing over the next two years. Depending on what's on offer, this could be a good time for a nice microATX build. I'll be keeping a close eye things for a bit longer than originally expected, but I think the cost/benefit ratio will pay out.

EDIT (1/17/2017): 

 I think I'm going to be going with the Coffee Lake - X chip. It should be available close to when I'll be ready to build...give or take a little bit. Waiting a little longer for it won't be a big deal if I need to. The form factor and computer case are going to be the hardest decisions.

 
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