| It's that time of year when new parts are being | | | | pieces of equipment and you do not want it to fail on |
| released and I need to upgrade my guide on buying | | | | you (I speak from experience here). |
| new computer systems during January. | | | | If you want quad core now, which means |
| I have already given a lot of useful information in my | | | | performance advantages in newer games and an |
| last post, which should be very useful and worth | | | | extreme multi-tasking ability, with the potential for a |
| reading. | | | | hefty overclock, then go for the q6600. |
| I will show you 3 different setups at increasing price | | | | If you want a fast powerful machine where you do |
| and performance levels. I am not going to include the | | | | minimal multi-tasking and can achieve a similar |
| cost of a monitor and peripheral devices in these | | | | performance at this point in time as quad cores and |
| systems, so you may want to bear that in mind when | | | | even more potential for overclocking, then take the |
| calculating costs as they can add on a few hundred | | | | e8400. Bear in mind, there is a fair price difference of |
| dollars. We mainly just want to look at the best value | | | | ~$100 AUD. If I were to walk out and buy a computer |
| parts available and justify the reasons for or against | | | | tomorrow it would have to be the e8400, it is the |
| different upgrades. | | | | newest technology and will run quieter and cooler with |
| Entry Level System ($500-$1000 AUD) | | | | the 45nm architecture. |
| CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo e2160 | | | | You could either go for 2gb or 4gb, depending on how |
| Motherboard: Good quality ASUS P5K or Gigabyte to | | | | your budget is looking, but another rule of thumb is as |
| suit your choice of processor for less than $150 AUD | | | | follows; |
| Memory: 2gb DDR2 667 | | | | Do not get over 2gb of DDR2 ram, unless you have |
| Hard-Drive: Western Digital 250GB | | | | 64-bit Windows Vista. |
| Graphics Card: Onboard or ATi HD 512 3850 | | | | If you do not have this, the extra ram will not be |
| DVD Drive: Lightscribe/Pioneer DVD Burner | | | | recognised and it will be a pointless waste of money. |
| Power Supply and Case: 400-450W will easily suffice | | | | The hard-drive size is up to you, the more storage, the |
| and your choice of case, I wouldn't recommend | | | | higher the cost. |
| spending anything more than $150 here. What I do | | | | The 512mb 8800gt is hands down the best value card |
| suggest is to go into your local shop and have a look | | | | on the market at the moment for its pure power and |
| at the range, then make the decision. | | | | thermal control. |
| This system is very much ideal for the home user. It | | | | |
| will handle all office applications with ease and have | | | | High End System ($1500-$2000 AUD) |
| enough power as a low end HTCP machine. | | | | CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo e8400 OR q6600 (g0 stepping) |
| If you have no intention of gaming, then the HD 3850 is | | | | Motherboard: ASUS or Gigabyte 650/680i board to |
| a waste. Simply use the motherboards onboard video, | | | | allow you to have SLi. Bear in mind, this will perhaps |
| or purchase a cheap ATi HD 2600 Pro, which will | | | | put the final price just beyond $2k and I don't think it is |
| easily suffice. | | | | a realistic choice at this stage, but you can at least |
| If you are looking to build one of these systems, what I | | | | have the option later down the track. If you don't want |
| suggest you do is select all your parts, excluding the | | | | SLi, then stick to the P35 boards. |
| processor and see how much money remains. From | | | | Memory: 4gb DDR2 800 |
| here, you want to do some research into the different | | | | Hard-Drive: Western Digital 500GB |
| processors available and see what you can squeeze | | | | Graphics Card: nVidia 512mb 8800GTS |
| into your budget. From there you can look back at | | | | DVD Drive: Lightscribe/Pioneer DVD Burner |
| your previous selections and opt for cheaper parts if | | | | Power Supply and Case: 550W is more realistic here. |
| you have the need. The range can be anywhere from | | | | Once again, you want a good quality power supply |
| the $75 AUD of the e2160, through to $185 AUD for | | | | (Thermaltake is a good brand for this) and the case |
| the E6750, if you can afford the luxury ;) | | | | must offer great cooling. I suggest you do some |
| Midrange System ($1000-$1500 AUD) | | | | research before buying your case and really decide |
| CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo e8400 OR q6600 (g0 stepping) | | | | what you want and need. Many people will still swear |
| Motherboard: ASUS p35 - look on the website and | | | | by the Antec 900's cooling ability, but many will tell you |
| choose one which suits your budget and needs | | | | otherwise, so realistically, you have to make the |
| Memory: 2gb DDR2 800 | | | | decision on this one. |
| Only ddr-800 if overclocking, if not, then ddr-667 is | | | | The same issue applies with the CPU in the high-end |
| plenty, as any more is a waste. | | | | system as in the midrange as the low price of the |
| Hard-Drive: Western Digital 320GB | | | | e8400 makes it almost irresistible. |
| Graphics Card: nVidia 512mb 8800GT (if none in stock, | | | | The 512mb 8800GTS is simply the most powerful |
| then the ATi 512mb 3870) | | | | card at a realistic value. Going SLi is a big decision and |
| DVD Drive: Lightscribe/Pioneer DVD Burner | | | | I suggest you read up on the disadvantages and |
| Power Supply and Case: 450-550W should be | | | | benefits of it. |
| enough. If you plan on overclocking, you may want to | | | | I have an article coming up for this so bookmark the |
| consider putting a little extra money into the cooling | | | | site (Ctrl+D) or subscribe to my RSS feed in the top |
| system. Good recommendations are the Antec 900, | | | | right hand corner of my site! |
| Coolermaster Stacker 830 and the Lian-Li range which | | | | Stick around for further updates and I hope this helps |
| offer a good quality design. Also, pay extra for a good | | | | you in your next computer purchase. |
| quality power supply! It is one of your most important | | | | |