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Selecting components to build your own custom computer is usually a very difficult scenario. When you are placed on a budget, it make the process even harder. The following is some basic suggestions and general prices for specific components of the computer which need to be obtained.
Steps
- Motherboard :
- This is arguably the most important component in the computer. If this is not a quality piece of hardware, your whole computer could be doomed from the get-go.
- Try buying from established and reliable companies such as ASUS, GIGABYTE, or MSI.
- Purchasing the motherboard is a complex decision. It often determines how much money you will need to spend on other components, but you also want to keep options open for upgrading. Some examples (for modern components as of Dec 2006) would be purchasing a AMD AM2-socket (future-compatibility) motherboard rather than a 939-socket or A-socket (cheap components); another example would be getting a motherboard with SLI capabilities (with 2 or more 16x PCIe slots) or single 16x PCIe (cheaper motherboard).
- Additional options should be considered for the motherboard. If you are not using the computer for video card-intensive programs (such as gaming, certain 3D workstation applications, or some components of advanced video editing) then on-board video will save you money. Additionally, on-board sound is much higher quality than it was a couple years ago, and this too will save you money (if exceedingly high-quality sound it not required). On-board ethernet should be a must for any modern computer.
- Count on spending 10-15% (of your total costs) on your motherboard without spending less than $90.
- Processor (AKA proc):
- The processor is to the computer as the frontal-lobe is to your brain. It processes, computes, and organizes all the information going to, from, and through your computer.
- This category has many dimensions to look at. Now, more than ever, megahertz (MHz) is not the determining factory when choosing a processor. Key factors in a processor are such: manufacturer (AMD or Intel), cores (multi-core processors are very common now), speed (MHz), cache (L1, L2, and sometimes L3: the more the merrier), and ultimately the proc has to be compatible with the motherboard your chose (socket type).
- As of today's date, Intel's Core 2 Duo is the fastest single-socket processor available for consumer products (for both gaming and applications). In very recent times AMD was fastest for gaming, and Intel held the application market.
- It may be smart not to buy the absolute top-of-the-line processor, since upgrades are always available later (if you purchased the right motherboard). Also (for right now), Intel is going to release a 4-core processor soon to the public, which will prove useful in the near future (as multi-threaded applications and gaming become more popular). Even if you don't purchase the 4-core proc, other processors will be cheaper at that point in time.
- Based on your needs, plan on spending between 10% and 25% of the computer's total cost on the processor. Add another 2-7% if the processor does not come with a cooling solution (you will need to purchase one separately).
- Video card:
- This is either a critical component, or a negligible one based on what the computer is being used for.
- If you chose to buy a motherboard and purposely got on-board video, this section can be ignored (if you have a motherboard with on-board video, but wish not to use it continue reading--but be sure to disable on-board video in the BIOS when you first build the computer).
- Be sure to get a video card with PCIe 16x or AGP (depending on the motherboard slots you have available).
- When not using the computer for gaming, a simple video card will likely be sufficient. Something that is designed by ATI or nVidia (nVidia does not actually produce their own video cards, but a card with an nVidia GPU should suffice) is best. Be sure it is at least DirectX 9 compatible (unless you intend to run Microsoft Windows Vista's new Aero Glass UI, you will need a DirectX 10 video card, which will be much more expensive).
- Spend at least 10-15% on a non-gaming rig's video card.
- Gaming computers require much more in a video card (or cards). Video cards are the primary bottleneck in modern gaming. Running high resolution 3D games with all the bells and whistles require a $500+ video card. And for the hardcore gamers, they will put two video cards in the computer.
- While on a budget, it may behoove you to only purchase one video card at this time, but having a motherboard capable of accepting two gives you room in the future to upgrade. In a year or two, you can add another identical video card and (by then) cheaply increase your video performance (by an average of about 40-50%).
- Gaming video cards are extremely important, and likewise, expensive. 25% (of the total cost) would be the minimum for a gamer, and 35-45% of the rig's cost wouldn't be out of the question.
- Hard drive (AKA HDD):
- Two primary aspects of the hard drive to consider is first: capacity; and second: performance.
- Capacity will allow grand numbers of files to be stored on the computer. The more GBs, the better. The highest capacity hard drives are perpendicular-recording drives.
- A byproduct of capacity is performance due to areal density, which allows the disk to read/write more information while spinning at the same speed. There are other attributes which contribute to performance which is RPMs (don't settle for less than 7200 RPMs), and cache (16MB is good, but there are still some very high performance HDDs with only 8MB).
- Capacity should almost always take priority over performance, since in most cases (especially in gaming or other 3D applications) the HDD is not a performance factor except for when loading files for caching.
- If your motherboard supports SATA, be sure to get a SATA hard drive (while many SATA motherboards also have PATA connectors, SATA will perform slightly better, and will be compatible with future motherboards.
- You should never spend more than $0.50 per GB (unless getting a high performance hard drive). Less than 15% of the total cost is reasonable.
- Memory (AKA RAM):
- This component allows your computer to cache files in temporary, fast memory, which allows you computer to do many smaller things faster than it normally would. Thus, to a point, the more RAM you have the faster things will respond.
- RAM is important for modern games, at least 2GB is recommended; but for a standard user 1GB is plenty.
- Be sure to purchase RAM which is compatible with your motherboard (SDRAM, DDR, DDR2), and does not exceed the speed that your motherboard supports (800MHz or other).
- Spend 15-20% for standard users, and 20-30% for gamers.
- Sound card (not included in total price):
- Sound cards are usually only added to motherboards without on-board sound, those who require nothing but the best quality sound, or those who do audio editing.
- If you are adding a sound card because the motherboard doesn't have on-board sound, any sound card will do, but cards from Creative are highly recommended. Audigy, Audigy 2, or X-Fi come in many different specs and prices, and are among the best.
- For the best quality sound, or for gamers, there is only one option: Creative's X-Fi. If you want to go all-out, X-Fi Fat1ty will even give you slightly better performance in games.
- Case, monitor, optical drive(s), mouse, and keyboard:
- Case: the case should be large enough to house all your components, and larger if you want the installation to be easy. If you bought an ATX motherboard, almost any standard case should work (if you didn't, make sure the case supports the motherboard mounts).
A case and power supply combo will save you money, but the power supply may not be able to support certain things like SLI and video card power assist. In these cases, a separate power supply will need to be purchased.
- Monitor (this was not included in the total price): LCDs are cheap, and are always getting better. For a standard user a $200 19-inch or $170 17-inch is perfect. For gamers CRTs (older, big, heavy monitors) still offer the best flexibility and image response, but LCDs are very convenient, and a well-priced LCD can give performance comparable to CRTs.
- Optical drives: as long as you do not purchase next-generation hardware like Blueray or HD-DVD, these drives can be very cheap. A very fast DVD+/-RW can easily be purchased for less than $40. Going with a respectable and reliable company is key, but speed is also an issue. One DVD+/-RW should take care of all your current-gen optical drive needs.
- Keyboard and mouse (not included in total price): wireless mouse and keyboards are the staple for modern computer users. You can get a key/mouse combo for less than $75. A wired mouse and keyboard could be bought for $30 or less.
- Operating System (AKA OS -- not included in total price):
- Windows XP is still one of the best Windows OS available. Windows Vista is slowly becomming the new standard. It offers many new feature and increased security. For gamers, it will be a must (to use DirectX 10, Vista is required), but for standard users Windows XP will be just as usable for a few more years.
- Under certain circumstances (non-OEM purchases) Windows XP buyers can upgrade to Windows Vista. There are many version os Windows XP Vista available for most the basic is fine unless you are a gamer then you will want the ultimate edition.
- Remember that Linux is free and outperforms Windows XP or Windows Vista in some benchmarks. Although it does have an abbreviated list of supported hardware (compared to Windows XP), the constant development of open source projects means required hardware support may come out any day. Additionally Linux has virtually no support for modern 3D gaming.
Dont hesitate to contact one of our sales reps to day to help answer your questions or configure a computer system for you.
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