Build-up Advice

Updated: Sept. 23, 2003

Personally, when I build a computer system I always purchase parts for it based on "best bang for the buck".

Here is a list of computer hardware parts I've used in the past and/or have in my current system(s) (recommended hardware is listed below in a separate section):

Motherboards (Mainboards)

ABit BP6 (dual celeron), running two 366MHz Intel Celerons at 505MHz overclocked*.

ABit VH6 (socket 370, Via chipset), single 566 Celeron2 at 706MHz overclocked*.

ABit SL6 (socket 370, Intel 815 chipset), single 566MHz Celeron2 at 706MHz overclocked*.

ABit KT7A (socket A, Via chipset), single AMD Thunderbird at 900MHz, not o/c.

No-name (socket 370, Via chipset) all-in-one (onboard video, LAN, modem, etc) with single Celeron 400MHz. (dreadful performance!)

FIC PA-2007, (socket 7, Via chipset), single Cyrix PR200+. (considered slow now - fast in it's day)

Gigabyte GA-5AP, (socket 7, Intel 440 chipset), single Pentium 90 o/c* to 100MHz. (very slow, plays mp3's to my home stereo off my server)

Can you tell I had a bias towards ABit motherboards?? :-) My new system is an MSI K7D dual Athlon motherboard so not ABit this time around.

My problem is that I like to overclock* my cpu's (run the processor at a higher frequency that it wasn't meant for) and ABit offers motherboards that are easy to manipulate for overclocking*. My first ABit motherboard was my BP6 server board and I've never looked back.

*disclaimer: don't come complaining to me if you fry your cpu or other hardware. Overclocking voids your warrantee. Never run a cpu without a heatsink installed with a good quality heatsink grease (Arctic Silver brand is great). This page is full of my own opinions and you may have your own.

It used to be that the systems based on the socket370 motherboards and cheap Celeron2's over-clocked were the way to go. The reality is that the cheap AMD Duron easily defeats the Celeron2 chips at the same frequency speed so don't spend your preciously earned wages on Intel cpu's right now. The Pentium4 seems to be a waste of money as well. Lots of hype and no performance because most of the current software packages out there are not optimized to use it's performance advantage and it usually runs slower than a lower MHz AMD Thunderbird.

If I were to build a system for a moderate amount of money ($800-1000 CDN) right now it would be with the following components:

Case: any decent, 17 or 19" high, tower case that has room for at least 3 internal harddrives, room for an extra 10cm diameter cooling fan in the rear of the case as well as the bottom/front of the case. 300watt power supply or higher. ($50-120)

Mainboard**: Any decent socket A mainboard (for AMD Athlon XP processors)

CPU: AMD Athlon XP "Barton" 2500 processor. Price point today is $137 at www.a-power.com . $159 for XP2600. A slower Intel P4 2.4ghz is $229.

Heatsink/CPU fan: Cool-Jag models starting at around $25cdn.

Memory: Crucial or other quality brand name DDR memory. Use at least 256mb, preferrably 384 or 512mb. Windows XP can be memory hungry.

Video Card: any brand Geforce4-Ti4600 or ATI 8500 series cards or better. I've always used Nvidia cards.

Monitor: any decent brand of 17 or 19" semi-flat screen for under $450 will do well. LCD screen monitors just don't cut it for 3D gaming. I haven't seen any truly exceptional LCD screens with decent sharpness under $600 so it's still a waste of money unless all you do is use WORD and an accounting program. The cheapest 17" monitors sell for just a under $160cdn right now.

Harddrive: most any brand but must be 7200rpm (not 5400) and have an ATA-100 interface for maximum speed. ATA133 is also now becoming commonplace but IDE interface harddrives cannot maintain a data stream of that speed for any length of time so even ATA66 will do.

CD-writer: Lite-On or equivalent 52x cdrw for under $50cdn! Or a DVD writer starting at just over $200.

DVD player: any name-brand 10x or faster player (less than $45cdn now).

Floppy: whichever, only $15 bucks.

Keyboard: cheap generic only $15 bucks, prefer Logitech at $60.

Mouse: cheap generic only $10 but prefer optical v.s. traditional ball mouse for $35-40.

Network Card: any $20 DLink or Linksys or Netgear, etc as long as it's a PCI slot card and has bus-master capability. If you're running a dedicated server use a gigabit speed card to interface with your main network switch. Use Intel network cards for servers - more expensive but reliable and fast.

Sound Card: any decent $40-100 PCI card will do. I've used a lot of Creative products. Latest being the Digital Value! Live card which has worked fine. You many have software driver problems on installation with these cards as the card is excellent but their programmers lack skill. A popular option now is the Creative card which includes 5.1 dolby surround and a IEE firewire interface so you don't have to purchase a separate firewire card for your DV video editing needs.

Speakers: any name brand or generic set with built-in amplifier and separate subwoofer box will do. I have used a GNT-5000 set which are an excellent deal for the money ($55). Hifi sound with plenty of bass. Ignore such marketing hype as 500 watts.... ya right.... not for $60 bucks. A small subwoofer should have at least 20 watts rms (real) power. Currently I use a Logitech ZX-540 system for around $95cdn which is excellent and offers 4 speakers plus subwoofer for 5.1 surround.

Scanner: don't bother with cheap models unless you plan not to use it very often. I use an Epson 636U flatbed (now discontinued). It has a plastic body but a heavy-duty metal chassis inside and is rated for at least 40,000 uses. This unit is priced in the middle of the road ($250-300) and is very quiet, has no warm-up time (unlike the cheap models - ie. Mustek, Plustek) and is extremely fast with accurate colour. Never buy a parallel port scanner (USB is easily twice as fast as Parallel). Do your homework and read lots of user reviews and comparisons. If you only spend $100 don't expect high speed or quality scans.

Dream system basics:

I own a new dual cpu box right now based on a Antec 1030B case, MSI K7D Master mainboard, dual AMD XP2000 (MP modded) cpu's.

Find the most current computer hardware prices in the Vancouver, B.C. area at these websites:

(in no particular order - shop around for best price on the item you want)

If you visit any of the larger retailers such as London Drugs or Future Shop, etc you must expect to pay at least 5-10% more than the above listed links. Do the research online on what you want to purchase, then buy it cheap.

I've received excellent service from www.mconcept.com and would highly recommend them if you are purchasing a built finished system or parts. See their large ads in "The Computer Paper" (available at your local library) and other free computer news publications.

HARDWARE TIPS:

invest the extra $ for 7200rpm harddrives v.s. 5400rpm models. There is a marked performance increase. Even a 1.3GHz system will drag along like a boat anchor if you throttle it down with a 5400rpm harddrive. The time it takes to load a program/game is directly dependent on your disk subsystem speed.
ram memory is cheap right now. Get at least 128Mb to start and preferrable 256Mb. I use 384 (3x128) on my server.
don't get a lesser video card than a Geforce2-MX, you won't be satisfied with the 3D gaming experience if you do. Putting a cheap $50 video card in a 1.3GHz machine is a complete waste of time, you can barely play 2D pacman on it.
don't buy cheap case fans, get the ones with ball-bearings. You won't have to replace them every 6 months.
even if you don't overclock consider purchasing the OEM version of your CPU and adding a good aftermarket processor heatsink/fan unit such as a Golden ORB or SUPERORB or more expensive unit. The cooler you keep your cpu (even at stock speed) the longer it will last and the more stable and reliable your system will be. It's worth the $25-40 bucks. Remember than with the OEM you don't get a factory spec cooling heatsink/fan which reduces the price of the cpu so in the end you will only pay perhaps $10 more for a really good cooling solution.
never mount your cd-rom or dvd-rom drives on your primary IDE connector. If you do your harddrive will only be able to speak to your mainboard at the lower maximum speed of either device. Generally your cd-rom drives will always not be able to keep up with a harddrive's read/write speed. Please, connect your cd-roms and zip drives,etc to your IDE #2 connector. I've actually seen a system where an idiot installer put a 2x speed (very old) cd-rom drive as the slave on the primary IDE channel. It reduced a Pentium3 (550MHz) system down to 486 par performance!! Spend the $5 bucks and get the second ide cable.
if you are overclocking the small 486 cpu fans or socket7 (Pentium1 series) cpu fans work great for cooling your chipset heatsink and/or if you want to add an extra fan to your video card. You can also get a "Blue ORB" heatsink/cooling fan made specifically for chipset cooling. I replaced the fan cooled chipset hsf on my MSI K7D with a passive heatsink (quiet!) from Zalman. Works great.
occasionally open your computer case and blow out all the dust and hair every few months. You'd be surprised what is in there. If you haven't done so yet DO IT NOW!! You can kill your system by clogging up the cooling fans with furballs and reducing their cooling efficiency to nil. Use a moist cloth to wipe out the bottom of the case and carefully blow the dust out of the other parts or use q-tips, etc. A soft long-bristle vacuum works good too but be careful not to suck up and jumpers or small parts of the mainboard or your accessory cards.

Please don't overwhelm me with questions. Check the hardware forums at www.2cpu.com or www.tomshardware.com for detailed hardware info and tips.

I will probably add to this page at a later date.