Parts is Parts! A Guide for new computer builders.
By
Eldandil,
Posted on: 2006-11-24 11:03 in Player Guides
Hello again!
As these are related to the above "So... You wanna know how we know what parts to get for a computer, eh?" Guide, I thought I'd post some of the other posts in that thread I thought would be very helpful. Credit is given to the OPs, as is right. Enjoy!
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Foxy_Phoenix has a good inspirational story for those who are starting out on a BYOPC project:
I really don't know where to start with this....I mean most things people just pick up along the way if they are interested to learn. I got my first computer 5+ years ago. I started out after that installing a second cd drive. (My first cd-burner, at the time...lol)
I eventually tried upgrading graphics cards....added a second harddrive....so on and so forth. I finally had a friend help me with a cpu/motherboard upgrade. After that, I had enough extra parts left over from various upgrades I'd done before to build a third computer (me and my wife both have a computer...and most of my old stuff get's passed down to her's first, so the third computer I just build isn't all that impressive)
So, that's 5+ years from computer noob to a computer savvy person. People come and ask me for help now.
Anyway, I bought another case, and some extra stuff like a KVM switch, and I actually build a computer from the ground up, just from extra parts. It's fun...it's rewarding....but I really don't know what to tell you except READ and RESEARCH.
One tip I do have for you though. Google is your friend. Don't understand something? Google it. The amount of tutorial/educational sites out there is mind boggling.
When I setup my first home network, I Googled it. Followed the instructions found on a few websites and poof! It worked. Then once I got it working by following instructions, I went back and studied to try to understand what was happening with each step, what that step did, and why it was important.
First place to get started. Know and understand the hardware that's in your system right now. What cpu does it have. Ram? Vid card? etc...then go from there.
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Caulderone didn't know I would do some expounding (sorry about that Caulderone,) but offered some good sites to look at too!
Unfortunately, what you are seeking isn't something that would ever be easily expounded upon in a forum.
Tech knowledge, to me, is something that amounts to "teeny dollops of information" amassed into a large conglomeration.
That's not all that helpful, I know. But what you are asking for isn't easy to just "dump on you" in a singular, meaningful way.
Maybe someone will come along with a link to a good repository of information that will be helpful. I'll offer a few links (some of which you already listed) to some good places to peruse. There are oodles more, but these I frequent.
Tech info/news/reviews + forums:
www.anandtech.com
www.tomshardware.com
www.guru3d.com
www.hardocp.com
www.vr-zone.com
www.legitreviews.com
Tech news:
www.dailytech.com (also links to various site's reviews)
www.arstechnica.com
www.zdnet.com/zdnn
slashdot.org
As to Brand preference (asus, asrock, foxconn, etc.), that's really a hard one. Lots of tech sites will have favorites. Often, these are deserved due to reliability and/or support, as well as a history of products that perform well. As with any type of product, picking a brand just because they've always been good before can be a good thing or a bad thing.
Well, good luck in your search for enlightenment!
It's not one giant leap. It's lots of small hops.
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MrQuizzles had this to say:
Yeah, I have to agree that most of it's just stuff that you pick up on when hearing from the experiences of others and having your own experiences with the items in question. The best way to learn is to read and take part in discussions about tech stuff.
Tech news sites are also a great place to learn about what's happening/going to happen in the tech world. I like The Register (www.theregister.co.uk/)
I started with a long shot, building my own computer. I spent a lot of time confirming the basic parts that I needed and poring through customer reviews on Newegg to get a gyst of how people felt about the products and selecting the parts I wanted, making sure it would all be compatible, and making sure I could afford it all.
Actually building the computer was done with help from a nice and informative DVD included in Leo LaPorte's Technology Almanac 2003, thanks Leo!
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FatherXmas claims his props, and offers some help too:
Well thanks for the kudos.
Caulderone has a lot of good links. Others that I would add. Since just about everyone review CPUs, video cards and motherboards here are places to find reviews about the other parts in your system.
For hard drives there is *StorageReview*. (http://www.storagereview.com/)
For power supplies there is the power supply section at *SilentPCReview*. There are a few *good*, *general* articles about power supplies there as well as reviews.
( http://www.silentpcreview.com/section10.html ) ( http://www.silentpcreview.com/article28-page1.html ) ( http://www.silentpcreview.com/article265-page1.html )
For CD/DVD drives *CDFreaks* and *CDRLabs*.
( http://www.cdfreaks.com/ ) ( http://www.cdrlabs.com/ )
The big thing is simply read reviews. Lots of them. I prefer reviews with lots of side by side testing, multiple video cards, multiple motherboards, etc. Every mourning over at *BluesNews* there is a list of reviews found on other sites. The TechReport also has a daily list of links to off site reviews.
( http://www.bluesnews.com/ ) ( http://www.techreport.com/ )
Also several of the sites Caulderone listed also have sample builds of systems for different price ranges. AnandTech and Arstechnica both have system guides every few months. If anything it's interesting to see what part of the system they put their dollars in.
That's all I can think of for now.
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Mr Quizzles started a banter about heatsinks..
AMD's newer stock HSF (heatsink/fan) is actually incredibly good at dissipating heat. It just gets loud, which is why some may opt to use aftermarket coolers. Many aftermarket coolers are actually significantly worse than the stock HSF from AMD.
Only use an aftermarket cooler if you have a problem with heat/sound. There's no reason to use one otherwise.
If you do choose to use an aftermarket cooler, make sure that it has temperature reporting and supports speed control through the motherboard.
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to which Hawkeye couldn't help it...
I must respectfully disagree here.
Even if the stock fan is cooling the cpu or gpu adequately, there's always room for improvement. The cooler you keep your processors the greater longevity they'll have. So, there is a reason to replace a stock cooling device.
Even if you have no plans on OC'ing, an aftermarket fan and heat sink are still great options and can be done with high end air equipment for less than 100 bucks.
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Which got this response from Anijo:
2 years ago I would've wholeheartedly agreed with you Hawkeye, but I think AMD and Intel has both been learning on that front. The current generations of stock heatsink and fan combos are really incredibly good. The Core 2 Duo HSF is actually repackaged and sold with a different fan (SOMETIMES) as around 50% of the aftermarket replacements out there.
So no one has really brought this up yet... but another aspect of learning this stuff is honestly Trial and Error. I'm sure Bill, Wolf and the rest have several horror/embarrassing stories about when things went horribly wrong, but they learned from it. Sometimes you just plain have to live and learn.
I like to think of computer knowledge in layers. Generally the lower the layer you understand the longer you've been at it and the geekier you are. Every time you think you've really mastered and understand how one given layer works you start to get hints and glimpses of what's happening lower down and you end up researching the next layer down out of sheer curiosity.
As far as brands go, I'm of the opinion that someone has had a terrible and scarring experience with every company there is. All you're ever really doing is playing the odds of which companies have it happen less often. Asus and Newegg were for a long time the kings in my book in that regard until my Roommate had a huge fiasco RMA'ing his motherboard that left him without his computer for 10 weeks before all was said and done. Both companies really dropped the ball and left him with huge delays and out the cost of shipping it back and forth between them.
I just want to re-iterate though, Google is your friend.
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Hawkeye quoted/replied to the first paragraph from Anijo:
Again, I'm not saying that the stock HSF isn't going to do the job. What I said was that there is always room for improvement.
No matter how cool the stock HSF has the cpu or gpu there's an after market fan that will cool it more and probably quieter.
Again, a cool cpu/gpu is a happy cpu/gpu, and the longer life you'll get out of the both of them. YMMV
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Then Gamma_Guardian jumped in after that one:
This is true, however if the CPU/GPU are operating within the manufacturer's established temperature ranges, there is no further need for an after-market cooler to extend a components lifecycle, especially given that the actual usable lifecycle of CPUs and GPUs is far lower than that established by their manufacturers.
How many out there are still using Pentium3s or the original slotA Athlons?
Even if you were, they are likely still within their expected operating life, however you are unlikely to be using them simply because technology has moved past them, and so have you.
After-market coolers as an option to correct perceived noise levels are, of course, a personal preference, but unless you intend to overclock, and thus push your component beyond it's designed limits, there really is no need for them for stability reasons.
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Yay debate!!! So who won? 
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A good question from Nomuken:
Does anyone have a good guide (I can Google for a guide, but not necessarily a good one) they can link for how to actually take apart and put together a computer?
Sooner or later I know that I want to upgrade my MoBo (it'll be the first upgrade I make on my current box), and to do that I know I'll need to essentially take the whole thing apart and rebuild it from zero. I'm OK with unplugging RAM and vid cards, but pulling off the processor scares the beejeebus out of me.
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And a guide was supplied by RathBrown:
Well, it doesn't tell you how to take one apart, but I used this guide to help me build my computer.
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Haakon liked my case :
Duuude... You are *such* a geek.
Props dude. < chest taps >
I just wanted to brag.
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CitricAcid posted this...
Changing the MoBo isn't really that bad. When you buy your new MoBo, it should come with instructions for putting it in and will also probably have illustrations to make it clearer. It should also have the same type of instructions/illustrations for putting the new CPU in... The only thing to make sure of there is that you are seating it properly and make sure it is lined up correctly. That is, there is one way it should go in... there is usually a notch or some such that will align it properly with the socket.
The other thing to remember is to use a good thermal paste between the cpu and it's heatsink.
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Nomuken then had issues...
This is the sort of thing that scares me a bit. If the heatsink is currently thermal-pasted on to the CPU, do I need to get it off? How?
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But Citric had the answer:
Usually they aren't stuck permenantly together. But, the new CPU will probably not have any paste on it, it's typically on the heatsink with a little soft plastic cover that you peel off. I will usually scrape the paste that comes with the heatsink off and use something like Arctic Silver ( a really good thermal paste IMHO). It doesn't take much.. usually a pea sized amount. The thermal paste helps transfer the heat from your CPU to the heatsink/cooler. And, on that note, I also usually use a different/better heatsink/fan combo than what comes with the CPU. But, the ones that are shipped with new AMD/Intel CPU's are much better than they used to be. And, if you're not going to OC or anything, that should be good.
Ed. - I would note that there are some times when a CPU will get stuck to the bottom of a stock heatsink. It's very possible to mess up the CPU if this happens, as there's no way to lift the ZIF lever (ZIF=Zero Insertion Force), or whatever secures the CPU. It is important to recognize this when you attempt to pull the CPU heatsink off. If you find the heatsink will not come easily off the CPU, it is stuck, and the only way to get it off is to try to twist it a bit, but gently, get it hot (which may unstick it), possibly use a screwdrivers (ahhh!!!) or lastly, pull *straight up* and hope a pin doesn't snap off in the socket. It's scary, but I've done it successfully before... I sure do hate that when it happens though. Be *very* careful, or you'll be buying a new CPU/Mobo.
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A good amount of info in there, eh? Thanks to all the posters, I hope they don't mind being glorified in this addendum to the "So... You wanna know how we know what parts to get for a computer, eh?" Guide! Have a good one!
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012
[ QUOTE ]
Yay debate!!! So who won?
[/ QUOTE ]
I realize this was a joking comment and I'm not here to try and say that I was correct on the matter.
I just wanted to add that I hope anyone that reads this thread, that they get the most out of it because it is a great one.
As for the CPU/GPU cooler debate, while they are probably correct in stating that if they are operating within allowable temperature ranges that they'll last well beyond their expected lives, I still feel more comfortable knowing that mine is just a bit cooler than yours. Again, YYMV 
Thanks again, Houtex!
Houtex, thrilled to see this!!!
Nice guide.
Throwing my two cents in - my biggest gripe about all-in-one mainboards (despite using a very integrated MB right now - nice little Asus number with built in wifi, wired networking and sound) is that if one thing goes... everything goes.
Now, while this is true in some instances with discrete components (sound card, video card, network card - see also "lightning strike,") it's more an issue with everything all in one. Laptops even moreso (I go around repairing systems - laptops, unless it's a keyboard or screen, I'm normally replacing a mainboard.)
Onboard video - don't forget to mention that in almost all cases, it takes up *system* memory. That 1 Gb RAM in your system, with 256 Mb video? Yeah... not only is the video RAM slower than it could be, but your system now has a functional 768 meg, not 1 Gb. OTOH... my old system had it, though I used a regular video card. As a testing fallback, or "in a pinch" if the video went bad... fine. I just wouldnt' game with it like that.
I notice you didn't mention anything about Overclocking the CPU or Video Card, so I thought I'd point folks in the direction of a good site to learn about that subject. Extreme Overclocking
The nice folks there can help a great deal with numerous topics that you touched on such as case modding and other subjects related to PCs. Feel free to register and ask questions; they may all have their personal preferences in hardware, but they will generally steer you in the right direction.
Lady Thor: Level 50 Invul/War Mace/Pyre Mastery Tanker
Miss Microblast: Level 27 Energy/Energy Blaster
Teresa Thorensen: Level 17 Peacebringer
I dont think that motherboard in your example could support that E6600 (dual-core) processor you chose. Just nit picking.
Also, I can vouch for the new AMD heatsinks being much better than their old ones. Some of them even have the heatpipes which seem to be all the rave these days.
Memphis: Never was a fan of the all in ones either... But they're so prevalent now, what ya gonna do?
Yes, Lady Thor, I deliberately stayed away from the OC scene. There are many better that I for that..
Severe, I thought I had done that search right, but it looks like I goofed. Oh well! So many things that could go wrong... How many different mobos are there again? 
So, as a mea culpa, I offer a board that does what I said:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131031 - The ASUS P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe
Kinda expensive though... But then, we're "thinkin' big!"
Thanks for the input everyone!
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012
Nice one, houtex. I learnt something today.
<Anti-Nuke enzyme taken, in paranoid mode, it appears, as this is in the Guides section. :P>
edit: My faux pas explained.
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012
Nice guide there, I enjoyed the read. I've been gathering parts myself lately to put together a new computer. So far, it's a [u]significant[u] update from what I have now, so I'm looking forward to putting it together. I planned on using my old case, but now I'm curious if I should just replace that as well. My old case has two 80mm fans in the front and in the back. It will be a bit loud and wondering if 120mm fans would be the way to go.
The forums are undergoing... surgery tomorrow... (1-16-08) as such, this is an official chainsaw prevention posting from houtex. Just in case. Move along, nothing to see here.
I know this is in the Guides section... but I'm still paranoid about it.
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012
Heh. Was pokin' about looking for demo recording guides, and stumbled across this thing. Survived 5 years now... Sooo outdated... but it was fun to re-read it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pDugHeoXg4
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012
I recently rebuilt my computer, and it's great for CoH, so here's what I'm using:
i7-950 CPU
Asus X58 mobo
12GB DDR3 RAM
128GB Intel SSD drive
WD 2TB 7200 RPM drive
Creative Audigy X-Fi Titanium
PNY Geforce 460 GTX
Antec Nine Hundred Case.
Windows 7 Ultimate
Hello there, and welcome to the "So... You wanna know how we know what parts to get for a computer, eh?" Guide!
)
)
This Guide started innocently enough from a little post by a user called An_Altoholic in the Technical Issues and Bugs section of the forums...
[ QUOTE ]
Wanted: An Education (Pretty Please).
Hey folks,
I figured this would be the best forum to post. In short, I seek education about computers. And is there a good point of "reference" that will open my eyes to sooooo much of saviness that is spoken here?
I try to follow BillZBubba, Wolf, FatherXMas and few others in their posts, but I often stumble because their computer knowledge totally surpasses my rudimentary awareness. Overall, I just know very general things that are important such as:
1. Ram/Memory
2. Graphics Cards (AGP/PCI.../SLI/FOXFIRE)
3. Importance of PSU and computer cooling.
4. Having a good motherboard/Processor.
As you can see, if I were to shop, I know what to look for "basic" wise. But I want to learn more about specifics. For example, why choose ASUS MOBO over a FoxCon and such.
Also, I do try to follow people's links to sites like NewEgg and Tom'sHardware. But when specifics come to play, I don't know what I'm really reading. I might as well be trying to understand the pros/cons and differences between car engines: A V-Tech vs. A Rotary Engine.
I am eager to learn...Educate this "noob"
Thanks in advance.
BillZBubba, Wolf and FatherXMas...thank you very, very much for sharing your knowledge.
[/ QUOTE ]
(Note... I dunno what happened to the formattting... Oh well... I tried to fix it.
Well, I thought... Hm. Haven't exactly seen one of those about... I thought about it and said, "Why not?!" And posted to *that thread* a 9 post guide to computer parts for the slightly uninitiated.
Apparently I did a good job or something, as there was *another thread* with various kudos to me, and the suggestion I put it up as a guide here so it doesn't get chainsawed when it's old. And so here I am, and here you are!
Much is unchanged, but a few tweaks happened here and there. Please note, as of this writing (11/2006) Links listed may or may not stay available as is the flexible nature of the Internet. So if a link doesn't work, please let me know, and I'll see about fixing it or something. Thanks!
Without further ado...
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Part 1: The Case.
Today the case is dang near the showpiece AND the airconditioning of the unit. Care must be taken to choose the right case or you could have heat issues of all kinds, which can kill portions or the whole computer. Also, shoddy construction can leave you feeling like you did yourself no favors, so you migh as well get a nice case.
A nice case is like this one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811147033
This seems to have good reviews! It's a steel case, 40 bucks, has two 120mm fans in front and back, which cool the hard drive, allow air flow to the cards, and exhaust the hot air from the cpu. The CPU has a nice little duct to suck cold air from too. It's even 'screwless' which means that the drives and sometimes the cards do not require a screwdriver to get in the case... although you'll generally need one to mount other things, such as the rails on the drives before the 'screwless' can take place...
There are many different cases, some with 80mm fans (which are generally louder) and some with none (using 'natural' venting from the Power Supply (discussed later) and vents in the sides/front/top) and some with 20 fans or such overkill. Some come with a power supply, and some don't, like the example. Some even orient everything upside down (BTX). And who knows what the future will bring?
There is also the choice of aluminum (lightness), windows (visibliity of parts) and side vent holes/ducts for a cpu to get direct cold air from. Even a top exhaust can be had. All of these are desirable, but cost more as you add features.
And finally, there are the rare 'toolless' designs that incorporate some or all the above, and do in fact require very little to no screwdriver use. Neat when you can play with them.
So in choosing a case, there are many factors, but the primary concern is going to be "does it fit my needs?" Examine the other parts of the machine you're building, and you should be able to browse for *just* the case you want.
And then cut it up like I did.
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Part 2: Power Supply Unit.
Basically, this is *the* heart of the system. Forget the CPU, Video card, RAID drives, without a decent power supply, you won't get anywhere.
As mentioned in Part 1, many cases can come with a power supply, and in many instances, it's fine for general use. Unless one is pushing a lot of hardware, a 300-400 watt generic PSU will last a long time with no ill effects.
However, the more you add, the bigger the power supply you will want to get. And then there's dual +12V rails, PSCs, etc... I dunno about those. I figure they must be good though, they get more money for them...
You can bet your Dells and Gateways don't put super high dollar PSUs in their computers though. Why? Law of averages, and specifications. Generally speaking, they calculate how much power they should expect to need, calculate a bit of overhead, and spec the part out to get manufactured. As long as it meets their power needs, it's fine. The averages part comes in with this: Out of 100 PSUs made, how many won't work? If it's 10% it's acceptable (or whatever it is.)
But a homebuilt? You might want to spend the extra cash on it.
Here's a nifty tool: Click!
I put in my current computer as a test: A Pentium 4 @ 2.53GHz, 2 sticks of DDR, nVidia 6800GS AGP video, Sound Blaster, 2 7200 Hard Drives, 1 DVD R/RW Drive, a Floppy Drive, 1 SATA drive, maybe 4 USB things, and 2 80 mm fans. (Think that's enough?)
According to the tool, I need a 457 Watt PSU to run all that. Good thing I have my 550 Watt!
Another consideration in addtion to overall power is how much the +12V can supply. I can't answer that one, but it can be found. Generally, the more Amps, the better, and best if it's spread across to both rails (if a dual rail system.)
Finally, there's noise. The PSUs that have two fans instead of one can be quieter, if they're temperature controlled. The 120MM fans instead of 80MM fans can be very quiet indeed. Reviews of the power supply should be actively pursued if possible.
There have been questions whether a bigger wattage power supply will hurt an older computer. Not likely. The wattage of a power supply is a *potential* number, and doesn't reflect how much is actually used. My 550W power supply is going to only supply 457W, as that's all my computer wants. So go ahead and get that PC Power and Cooling 1KVW power supply for your old Pentium II... If that's your bag...
Also a good rule of thumb is to have 10% extra in reserve. So in my case, I need 457W, I should get no less than a 500Watt (they don't make 507.2 Watt power supplies... so 9 percent is enough...)
Remember, if in doubt, go bigger (wattage)
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Part 3: The motherboard.
You really have to know what you want to do so you can get the right board. You'll need to know CPU choice, Ram choice, SLI, RAID, all that. Then get the board that fits your needs. I know we haven't discussed some of these, but they're coming soon enough. Patience, my Padawan...
It's really not too hard. Let me put forth a couple of suggestions, and you go ahead and trust me, ok?
You have chosen a Socket 775 Intel E6600. There, there's one variable on the list.
You're planning on 4 gig of Dual Channel DDR2 goodness, so you're gonna use 4 1G sticks of DDR2. Therefore, 4 DDR2 slots. 2 down!
You're thinking big. 2 nVidia 8800 PCI-e video cards in SLI, so that means 2 PCI-e x16 slots. 3 down.
Want 2 drives in RAID 0 so it's really fast? Need to get a board that has RAID SLI driverless. Add that.
Let's say that's enough specs. Here's my pick:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128316 (this is a Gigabyte GA-8N-SLI)
This board has all the requirements we want. There are more, and different, needs, but that's good enough for my example. I had 4 things I wanted/needed to have the board do, and I got them. I might then go review the board using Google to see if there's any pros/cons to my pick.
Now why did I pick Gigabyte? I like them. I have good experiences with them. Some like Asus, some like others. You'll have to make up your own mind on that issue. Just do the research and you'll be just fine.
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Part 4: The CPU.
Well, now we've gotten to a big part of the build. What kind of brain you want?
Braaaiiinnns....
Right now (11/06), the Intel Core Duo is a very hot item. Good price for great perfomance. Nothing wrong with AMD stuff, it's just fallen a bit behind. Leapfrogging happens in CPUs a lot.
When selecting a CPU, it really all boils down to what you want, what you believe will work for you. Research is the key. AMD peeps swear by them, and Intel peeps are the same for Intel. I myself am an Intel person, but that hasn't stopped me from using AMD if the price is right at the time for the performance I'll get.
The Intel Core Dual E6400 and E6600 are kind of nice because they're pretty good out the box, but can be Overclocked to really great levels with the right cooling, the right ram, the right power supply, motherboard, and having your toes crossed and your tongue in cheek *just so*... And I'm not going to explain that here. We's just pickin' parts, ok?
There are a few programs which are known to work better or open up additional features if you use an Intel versus an AMD. I know that Skype (at this time) will let you conference more if you have an Intel chip, for example. This may play into you decision, the research on the software you will use.
The reality is, when you get down to it, a computer's a computer. Sure there are single core (one CPU), dual core (2 cpus, one chip), and even Quad Cores (4 CPUs one chip.) Intel or AMD. What money/performance are you willing to spend for? That's all it boils down to. And generally for any type, the faster the better, but you'll have to deal with more and more heat generation, which brings me to...
Part 4A: CPU coolers.
The stock coolers that come with retail (or boxed) CPUs are adequate for the job. That's not to say they're great. They merely do what they are supposed to. Get rid of the heat off the CPU. But they're not nearly as effective as a good aftermarket can be. A good Zalman, for example, applied to a hot CPU can both chill the cpu quite a bit (some say 20 degrees C or more!) and also do it quieter. Cooler components work better, and can offer better overclocking options (again, not goin' there.
There is usually a tradeoff to this kind of performance, and there are two: Weight and size. Especially in an all copper cooler, these things can get heavy, so they'll require extra bracing or brackets to mount, and they can sometimes interfere with parts of the motherboard or case. So keep that in mind when building your computer, if you plan to put in an aftermarket cooler.
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Part 5: RAM. (Aka ram, as I'm a bit lazy on that acronym.)
There's an interesting relationship between Ram, the motherboard, and the CPU... and I ain't got that time.
http://www.oempcworld.com/support/fsb.htm
That's better than I could write it anyway...
However, to sum up quickly... Use the fastest ram your motherboard supports, and you will be *FINE*. So if a motherboard supports up to DDR400MHz Ram, that's what I'm buying. You should too. You *could* run with a lower MHz ram, but it'll slow down the system at best, and have issues at worst. Selecting the fastest compatible ram ensures that a CPU upgrade will not make the ram obsolete.
Overclocking is a magical art, and Ram timing is involved. I don't want to get into it. Google that, ok? Thanks, I appreciate it.
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Part 6: Video cards.
This is an area that is subject to *MUCH* debate. And as with everything else in this entire series, all are valid opinions, and when it comes down to it, it's YOUR needs that will determine your move on this.
Suffice it to say there are plenty of video cards to choose from. Take a look:
Click here. As of this writing, that should show up 661 (the new 8800s are in!) different video cards, all kinds of makers, GPUs, slots, memory, speeds... How to choose?
Good question. And the answer is... I dunno.
For *me*, it's a lot of things. Price, performance, experiences, and reviews. Not by default in that order.
I currently have an nVidia 6800GS AGP 256MB. I got it because at the time it was a good performing card at a price I could live with. Oh, and it was an AGP card. (I have trouble with this whole replacing my entire computer to upgrade my GF FX 5600... but methink's this year, I'm gonna get stupid and spend LOTS... ) Also, I would have rather gotten a 512MB card, but wasn't willing to pay the price.
How did I know about the performance beforehand? Welll... Research. And a good magazine like 'MaximumPC'. I've been a subscriber to it since it was 'boot', and it's been one of the better investments I've ever had. I read about upcoming, released, and even some older stuff. And they NEVER pull punches, if it's crap, it will say so, and why. If it's teh uber, it will get a 'Kick-A$$' award, and tell you why.
It's why I have an Artic Cooler X1 on my 6800. And they were dead on. Quiet and cool. Sweet. 10 degrees cooler than stock. (Not as good as the Zalman, according to Bill, but I'm happy. The Zalman got a lower rating due to the ram chip heatsinks falling off when they tested. No such surprise with the X1.)
But if you want a table of cards and how they tested, here ya go:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html
This seems to get updated all the time. Now pick one.
The table lets you select different models, such as the nVidia 8800 and the ATI X1950. Then you can swap different games/benchmarks/settings about to see how they fare against themselves and others. (These two are, at this writing, 11/06, at the top 5 or so most times... )
The various games use different techniques and libraries (OpenGL or DirectX or ???) to render, and by looking at them all you can find the performance average of sorts.
As far as what you'll see... FPS (Frames per second) is the usual benchmark they go by. These are shown at various resolutions and settings to try to maximize your information. And all settings are the same for all cards for the run, as long as the settings are available. I know my FX 5600 did not do the water stuff that my 6800 does, for example. But the water will be ON for the test for the 6800, and just n/a in the 5600. This of course does two things. Makes the card work harder if a setting is available, and shows true performance with all bells and whistles. Which is why you're at the guide, yes? Why test in Atari 2600 mode? Anyone can do that...
For visual quality... They're all dang close. ATI has in recent months surpassed nVidia for quality in playing video... but only recently. It's called AHQ, I think... Anyway it's a standard of how well video (from a DVD, for example) is played back. 100 is the best, nobody gets that. Well, ok, yet. But 88 and up from ATI is nice.
As far as which one is better... Eh. Gaming/Desktop wise, there's not much difference. As has been posted in these forums, Co* doesn't play as well with ATI as it does with nVidia on a couple of settings... Bloom and Field of Depth, I think. Bill likely will correct me. (Ed. - He didn't so I guess I got that right!) But except for those...
So for gaming you're looking for FPS, some visual quality, and resolution. For something like a DVD, visual quality is the thing. For Desktop/Internet/Word processing, literally anything will do. Onboard is fine for that even.
CAD and stuff? Well, there's probably a good reason you'd want a Quadro or a Wildcat if you were doing CAD... but I've never been convinced of it... I think it's better at splicing edges and double or more coexisitng panel rendering... But I'm not gonna look it up, this here's a game forum.
Anyway, after you select a card, Google the model number and/or chip for a specific review/rant/rave on it. Do that a couple of times, and you'll likely find the card that is just right for you. For the next 3 months. Then you'll want to upgrade. It always happens...
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Part 7: Hard Drives.
Now we're getting to the simpler stuff. After the technical barrage of CPUs, Mobos, we come to the long term memory storage things.
Hard drives are simple. You get one. You plug it in. You install an OS on it. Use it. Store stuff.... and finally it crashes on ya at some point. <<< NEVER FORGET THIS. Backup anything important to ya.
There ya go! Have a good day!!
Welll.... I *guess* there can be a bit more than that to it... Fine...
You want to have a speedy drive. 7200 RPM is recommended. If you can afford faster (should that come to pass) you should. There are also onboard buffer memory sizes to consider. 8MB is nice, but not all have that much. Some have more.
A new mix into the bucket of hard drives is something called 'perpendicular' drives. This cuteness explains it a bit. They're fast and big in the same overall size. An interesting development is the fact that notebook versions run at 4200 RPM. This offers power savings, but due to the density of bits onthe hard drive, which is a savings of up to 10x over the old ways of making drives, they can theoretically read 10 bits in the same time as 1. Therefore they don't need to spin as fast. Theoretically. But enough about that.
Interfaces are important too. SATA is the current thing. There's still plenty of IDE (aka PATA) HD stuff about, but the new stuff is all SATA. SATA for hard drives is nice, because the cables are small and easy to work with. However, the ends have been known to be fragile. Then again, this is a computer. Gorilla is not recommended as a force factor.
Ok, so you pick an interface. Now, how much drive you want? How much money you got? There are drives from 40GB (Gigabytes, or about 9-10 DVDs or about 58 CDs or about 27777 Floppy drives. Give or take.) all the way up to 750GB. From about $40 to $400, depending (no SCSI included...) The more storage, the more pictures and movies and games and such you can store.
And why stop at one? You can get two, three, however many you can find interfaces for. My machine *could* get 6 of them, 4 IDEs and 2 SATAs. And I haven't even added a PCI card to put more on the system! And since I know I can get Seagate 750s for both, that means that I could have 4500GB (or 4.5TB) of storage space available on this computer! (This would mean a bigger Power supply, and an external USB DVD R/RW... but man... just thinkin' of it... ) (And we haven't touched multiple SCSI interfaces with up to 15 drives each... Man, that'd be a way fun project... I gotta do that sometime...)
And why stop there? So you have a bunch of 750GB drives. They sure are slow. Why not put them in a RAID? YEAH!!! Wait... What's RAID?
This page will explain RAID:
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/...vels/index.htm
And this one will show on the left side the different single levels, to which you can click on:
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/perf/...els/single.htm
Now, the one I'm talking about for speed is RAID 0, aka Striping the drives. If you take two drives, and "interlace" the data between them, then they can access data twice as fast (well, not quite that speed, but definintely faster than a single drive by itself.) It's kind of like DDR for hard drives.
*THE* problem with this approach is if one drive dies, the entire dataset on the two is lost. One drive cannot exist without the other. This is why many will put 3 drives in a system. One single to boot/run programs from, and two in RAID 0 for speed for games, fast data access about data that doesn't matter if a drive dies. Like (for the most part) games.
Some even opt for a fourth drive to back up with.
Overall, however, a drive is a drive. It's what you intend to do with it that's the key to selection(s).
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Part 8: Sound and Network cards.
I'm lumping this together as it's the same argument. Here goes.
Many motherboards come with onboard things. Obvious things such as the drive interfaces and ram slots make sense to put there. Less obvious, but prevalent these days are sound and network on board. Not to mention video (ugh).
Some don't have a problem with this lumping of everything on the motherboard. And in many cases, sure, it's not a problem. However, the more you lump on the motherboard, the more the CPU and/or motherboard have to do.
This is why I always use a separate sound card that does NOT require much CPU usage. I want my CPU dedicated to the task at hand, not spending it's time playing sounds.
Also, a separate card can give you better quality sound, better surround sound, and even better effects. The onboards are pretty good, but they're still CPU using, and I don't like it. Nosir.
There are also arguments that the same can be said for the network card. I can certainly agree... but I haven't seen much performance hit with the onboard network card, so I've not done it on this latest iteration of my system. That'd be your call.
There is a small thing to deal with about a network connection, and that is speed. Most onboards now are 10/100MB capable, and even 1000MB capable. I would ensure that any new board would come with 1000MB available, there's no reason not to. But if it just won't, but has all the other features, a PCI addition in the future isn't going to be terribly expensive.
Pretty much it on those fronts.
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Part 9: Removable storage options and the rest of it.
You'll likely want a DVD at least. The prices are such that a good DVD R/RW isn't a bad deal to get. It'll burn CDs and DVDs and that's a good thing!
It may be of benefit to get two. A reader and a burner. That way you can make backups of your new 'Joe Dirt' DVD, in case it's stolen. As if.
Besides the obvious silver/black/? colors, you also have a speed issue here. The faster the better, but at what cost? A typical LiteON DVD R/RW is a pretty good deal, but it's not the fastest. It is perfectly capable. However, if you want the king of any optical hill, Plextor is highly regarded as *the* optical drive to get.
HD-DVD or Blu-Ray: Well, I'm not real sold on this. Sounds much like the BetaMax vs VHS when video tape came out. Heck it even sounds like the whole DVD writing formats a couple of years ago! Matter of fact, take a look at that LiteON DVD burner... see how many formats it will do in DVD alone? Sheesh.
I would probably wait until there was a unified drive (if that's possible) or one of the formats "won". There's pluses and minues to both. Also, there's much discussion about HDCP problems with the video cards, to which the newest ones apparently are compatible now. HDCP is a whole other discussion I'm not even messing with. But the RIAA an MPAA OWNZ J00 ALL!!!
A floppy drive? Only if you need it. I happen to in my line of work. Less and less though.
Then there's USB keys and Zips and external hard drives and CDs and DVDs... That's all up to you.
As far as the rest of it?
What rest of it? I do believe, without getting into cutting up things, air/water/AC cooling, etc, details details... I've done the big stuff. What more do you need?
I hope that I've been helpful in some way. I sure was having fun with this. I'm sure I got a few details wrong here and there, and I bet the gang will jump in and say "WHAT? Oh, Mikey, you so stupid", but I had a grand time with my technical prowess. Heh. (Ed. - well, I was wrong. I got encouragement and praise, so I guess I did ok. Thanks again guys/gals!)
My final advice is: Go build one already. Or better yet, take yours apart and then put it back together. And don't be afraid to screw up, and blow away your OS and reinstall it. It's funtimes!
Although, I dunno how Microsoft's activation center will like you doin' the reinstalls 16 times in 4 days...
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Addendum: Laptops/Notebooks/Tablets.
I had to put this in after reading it all again, and knowing there's interest in them for Co* and other reasons.
Laptops are very interesting creatures. While you don't normally see one you build yourself, they do exist. They are not for the faint of heart to play with though, and most usually wind up getting one from Dell, Sony, HP, etc...
There's not a laptop I like. Let me repeat this. I dislike laptops. It's a simple thing really. I don't like how they break, and the expense of fixing one.
One cannot, for the most part, replace much except Ram and Hard drive in the things. Maybe an optical drive. That's about it. You generally have to buy what you want right off the bat and hope you don't change your mind or find you didn't get what you really needed.
They're expensive and not as good at computing or comfortable. They are the essence of compromise, bar none.
However, I do see the reason for having one. I have one myself. It's ok... It's company issue. Can't do much with it, nor to I really want to. It serves a purpose, letting me do a particular task I need to do. But except for the required work, I don't need one. Yet. I still lust after the MPS1710 from Dell... Don't ask me why...
Anyway, one can also certainly get a great gaming laptop, if one isn't opposed to being plugged into a sufficient power source. That battery won't last long if the computer's geared for gaming.
Now, this is my general rule I tell any and all who ask me "Hey! You're a computer guy. What kind of laptop should I get?"
I say, go to Dell, and buy the biggest HD, fastest HD, Fastest CPU, Most Ram, Biggest screen, Most battery, best Video card, all the wired/wireless networking you can, modem, XP Pro, DVD writer, and basically as much kitchen sink in *PARTS* you can get for the money you are willing to commit to the thing. Because inevitably one lowballs the thing for the pricing, and winds up disappointed.
Besides that, you buy this ONCE, and you're stuck with it for a while. Unless you like throwing away $2000 or so every few months, it's likely you've invested in several years of use of this thing. You might as well get one that's worthy of being around for several years, and still capable of running the newer bloat^H^H^H^H^Hsoftware you inevitably put on it.
I pick Dell because I've had good luck with their refurbs. Some may not. I have. So that means their "main" products are good too. Do your research and pick a good one, ok? 'Cause it'll be obsolete when you get it.
Now, unless you roll your own, you will have two tasks to perform. First, BURN A COPY OF THE RESTORE DISKS. Most these days do NOT come with a restore disk, and you must do some procedure to burn them. You don't do this, and the computer goes wonky so bad you might as well start over, and you won't be able to because you DIDN'T burn the things.
Secondly, you'll want to perform a slash and burn of all extraneous CRUD the Dell/HP/Sony/? office put in there. It's cloggin' the machine's memory and HD.
There. All ready to use as your primary weapon for Work and Play.
Until it crashes. Remember, IT'S NOT A QUESTION OF IF. When. As in "When is this thing gonna die on me?" Today. Yes.
So be sure to back it up to something, whether that be DVDs or an external hard drive, or another, networked computer.
There. You're now ready to own a laptop.
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So, there ya go! I hope this Guide has helped you in deciding your computer parts. Again, much thanks to my supporters, you know who you are! I wouldn't have done this without ya.
MikeyB! aka...
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012