| Guide | Link | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| General Buying Tips | Here | General buying tips. Written in May 2007, includes all major components |
| DirectX 10.0 Information | Here | A full information thread and card recommendations on DirectX 10.0 |
| Cooling | Here | A very informative cooling guide for your PC |
| Firefox Customization | Here | My Firefox is better than yours! A comprehensive customization guide and recommended plugins |
| Power Supply Guide | Here | A guide on understanding power supplies and recommendations for certain budgets |
Aimed to those who may be new to building computers, or just want to know if they are getting what's hot on the market at the minute! Even just for upgraders with a bit of cash! Have not included high setup recommendations because the fact that you are buying a high setup system would suggest you know what you need to know already.
The Processor
If you are not a die hard fanboy, then you will want to go with Intel's new Core 2 Duo Processor. It has better architecture and much better VFM (Value For Money). Even an E6400 can outperform some of the top AMD Athlon X2 Processors.
Current Processor recommendations are as follows:
- E4300 for basic, home applications
- E6420 for a casual gamer*
- E6600 if you are a casual gamer*, with a slightly higher budget
- E6700 for a strong, fast system.
* Note that you don't necessarily have to be a casual gamer to buy these processors. They offer both form and function, with fantastic reliability!
The Motherboard
The entire basis of your system. If you are buying a new system or even just upgrading, you will want a very strong motherboard to stand it all. With this in mind, there are many, many requirements your motherboard should have (really, there is!):
- SATA Ports
A must in today's society, SATA has taken over IDE, as it has a faster transfer rate and reading rates usually.
- PCI-Express
Primarily used for graphics, PCI-Express x16 is now a must on most motherboards to buy. AGP is old and outdated, and there's no point in buying a new motherboard with solely AGP and no PCI-Express!
- DDR2 Support
If you are buying a new system, you'll be getting a newly made CPU. Which means, you'll need some new RAM. Generally, most new CPUs are used on DDR2-accepted motherboards. These include AMD's new AM2 line and Intel's new Core 2 Duo line.
These are the general things you should look out for on a motherboard. Note that many things are not compatible with certain motherboards! IDE is still used for DVD-RW drives, but I've yet to see a motherboard without IDE!
There are no recommendations because there are so many different motherboards on the market.
RAM (aka Memory)
RAM is the acceleration of your PC, for you car enthusiasts! The more RAM, the better. As a gamer, I will instinctively say to get 2GB, but that's not all why! As Vista is out and as XP die-hards slowly come out of their shell to realize Vista *is* worth getting eventually, it requires a lot of RAM! 2GB is sufficient to make run smoothly, and 2GB does not cost that much now.
If you upgrading your CPU to a new C2D/AM2 (Core 2 Duo / AM2), then you will probably be upgrading your motherboard which means you need to upgrade your memory to DDR2. DDR2 is basically a faster version of DDR (which is what most systems have). 2GB will allow your system to run smoothly while operating many applications.
You should buy from a brand you know or trust. Like DDR, there are many different speeds of RAM that you can get. I recommend that you get 'PC2-5300' (or 5400), which runs at 667MHz. To give you an idea of how fast that is, the fastest non-overclocked DDR can go to is 400MHz! There is also 'PC2-6400' which runs at 800MHz, which is obviously even faster - twice the speed of DDR, don't you know! It may be more expensive and if you are on a budget, you should for the 667MHz version if the 800MHz costs more than you can afford in the end.
There are no recommendations for RAM, but I recommend you buy from one of the following brands: Corsair, Crucial, OCZ, Patriot, GeIL, G.Skill and Kingston. 1GB is a must, 2GB recommended!
Video Card (aka Graphics Card)
At the minute, there is a lot of controversy as to what to get. nVidia currently dominate the market as they have their DirectX 10.0 cards out, but ATi are planning on releasing their DirectX 10.0 cards in just a few days. Current benchmarks do show that ATi outperform nVidia, but these may be fake. As of 05/05/07 I cannot comment much on them.
If the benchmarks are true for ATi's DirectX 10.0 cards are true, then you will want to go with them if you can afford it. However, many cannot afford even an 8800 (nVidia's DX10 card). With this in mind, I recommend that you do not purchase a top of the range DX9 card. If you are desperate for good graphics under a low budget, my choice is to go with the GeForce 7600GT. Other than that, I recommend you don't spend any more than £100 ($200 US) on a graphics card that is not DirectX 10. Why? Because ATi and nVidia, as always, will lower their prices to the consumer in order to boost their sales. Both ATi and nVidia dislike this, but for the consumer (you) it is fantastic! You'll get amazing cards for amazing prices.
Recommendations for current DirectX 9.0c cards include, but are not limited to, Radeon X1900XL, GeForce 7800GT and GeForce 7600GT.
Hard Drives
I shouldn't have to say that Hard Drives are one of THE most overlooked component in a computer (along with a PSU but we'll move onto that later). With bigger applications and bigger files, you need a bigger hard drive. And the fact that you have a nice new motherboard, means you have nice new shiny SATA ports! SATA is greater than IDE (SATA > IDE), which is why you want to get it. I needn't say any more!
Recommendations are: at least 250GB of space, minimum 7200RPM, SATA or SATA-2.
Power Supply (aka PSU, Power Supply Unit)
This is the most overlooked part of the system. DO NOT SKIP THIS SECTION IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON UPGRADING! The Power Supply is the entirety of the system, to say the least! Always, and I mean ALWAYS, buy from a brand you have heard, and NEVER use the power supply that came built into your case, unless it is built by a respectable brand. I cannot stress how important the Power Supply is, so I encourage you to read the PSU 101 for information that you need. Do not underestimate the power of a bad PSU, it can ruin your ENTIRE system!
Okay, I might be scaring you now (well, I hope not but there's always a few..) - just read PSU 101 and get a well branded one! See my recommendations list below to understand who are the best to buy from! I recommend on getting at least a 500W PSU (Power Supply Unit) for your system. Obviously, the better the specification of the system, the better PSU you will need!
Recommendations: 500W at least if you even think about upgrading. Recommended brands are the following, but not limited to more: Hiper, Corsair, OCZ, Seasonic, Antec, Coolermaster, Enermax, Tagan and Zalman. Ideally you want at least 6 molex connectors, a 20+4 (although 24 is ok) main cable and SATA cables. Some power supplies are modular, meaning you only plug in the cables you need - these are great, but are generally more expensive.
Sound Card (aka.. wait a minute! there shouldn't be an 'aka' here..)
Creative Labs. I really shouldn't need to say that if you are going to get a sound card (not necessary, but recommended) - you want to go with Creative Labs. Currently, their latest X-Fi range dominate most of the market. There are many models, I recommend going with the one you can best afford. Xtreme Music is recommended because it is the cheapest version that has X-RAM inside it (improves sound, basically). No other card has X-Ram in it except for Creative's X-Fi line.
Recommendations: Creative Labs. X-Fi Xtreme Music or Fatal1ty.
Optical Drives (aka CD/DVD Drives)
There is a bit of a technical advancement here, they are moving onto SATA (discussed earlier). However, they are more expensive and most on the market at the minute are in IDE format.
Needless to say, you should be getting a DVD-RW (re writer) drive, you will want one that is ± Dual Layer (also written as +/-). This means it can support both + and - disks (yes, there are 2 types of standard DVD!). You may see a '16x16' which shows that it can burn at a 16x rate. Unfortunately, DVDs cannot be burned as quickly as CDs - but that may change in the future!
Recommendations: DVD +/- Dual Layer 16x16 (or sometimes 18). IDE or SATA are both fine. Although if you want to be on top, go for a SATA if you have the cash! Get rid of IDE once and for all!
Case
Everybody loves a case! From LEDs to simplicity itself, there is a case for EVERYONE! There are so many out there, it is unreal. The problem with me writing here is I like simple cases (P180!), but there are lots who like LED cases as well. Well, as much as I'd like to change your view, there are really only a few pointers you should know about buying a good, solid case.
Do not get a case with a built in PSU, unless it is by a popular PSU brand (see above). ATX Form Factor is a must, but 99% of the cases you will look at it are ATX anyway! Don't buy a tacky case. a £30 ($60) case isn't generally that good. It has poor air flow (see below) and probably won't last for very long. Aluminium is preferred in a lot of cases because it is light and durable.
I recommend that you do not buy a case that costs less than £40. Even though there are a lot of value cases out there, for a little more you can get a much nicer case that will hold longer! I cannot recommend certain cases because there are so many and so many different people like so many different styles of case. But please do look at the recommendations and requirements below:
Recommendations and Requirements YOUR case should have: 3 x 5.25" (Optical / DVD) Drives, 3 x 3.5" (Hard Drive) drives, and room for at least 3 92mm fans at least (see below for more information on cooling). Should be made by a brand you know and trust!
Cooling (includes Thermal Paste, Fans and Heatsinks)
The final hurdle! Cooling. Everything from aftermarket to airflow, it's covered in this section.
More and more people are becoming concerned with their temperatures. The reason why your System Temperature is so high is because your airflow is blocking air from getting out (escaping the system, which you want it to do). In today's case society, most come with 120mm fans. There are 3 main sizes of fans - 80mm, 92mm and 120mm. I recommend you start going for 120mm fans! You can get very cheap 120mm fans that still move a lot of air and are quite quiet.
As for GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) and CPU (Central Processing Unit), many people revert from 'stock' (meaning what kind of fan it comes with as standard) to 'aftermarket'. Aftermarket cooling is cooling built by companies to cool your CPU or GPU better or quieter. There are hundreds of aftermarket fans and heatsinks on the market. Generally, good aftermarket coolers are around £40 ($80). As long as your GPU temperature is under 65C and your CPU temperature is under 50C, I wouldn't worry too much about going aftermarket unless you have the actual money to do so. Most aftermarket coolers come with both a heatsink and a fan.
A fan is well, a fan! It blows air away (or in some cases {NEVER for a CPU or GPU} sucks air in, also known as an intake fan). A heatsink, some people may not be familiar with. A heatsink basically dissipates the heat given from the CPU or GPU. A good heatsink aims to have a VERY large surface area. The reason why there are so many 'fins' on a heatsink is because, if there is a larger surface area, heat can dissipate quicker - which is better for your processor.
Finally, thermal paste. Generally, most heatsinks and fans (aka HSF) come with pre-applied thermal paste. If you take the HSF off from the processor, it is recommended that you coat it with a new layer of Thermal Paste. Thermal Paste (aka Thermal Grease) conducts the heat from one surface to another (most usually your CPU top surface to your HSF bottom surface). If you have ever touched the top of a GPU or CPU that is clean, you will feel that is very smooth - which is good! You don't need much thermal paste to 'die' (technical term given to coat surface layer). A small blob will cover it. If you are applying thermal paste, I recommend that you put it on the CPU, and use an old credit card or something similar, to create a very thin layer, that covers the entire top of the CPU. A 3.5g of thermal paste is enough for SEVERAL processors, and 3.5g is very small. I recommend going on Google for information about applying it properly, as this isn't what this post is about.
Recommendations: 120mm fans, Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste, a well-known branded aftermarket cooler, eg Zalman.
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And that's it! Your general buying tips! If you need any more help you can drop a thread in at the appropriate section and I'm sure you will get a good and efficient answer!
Until next time,
kyle.
Last edited by leetkyle (2007-06-28 07:55:51)