PC Hardware Recommendations
I'm frequently asked to recommend PC hardware for people building their own systems.
Putting together your own system is not difficult, but it is often not any cheaper than buying a name brand system because you are paying the retail price for every component. Dell, Compaq, IBM, HP, etc. pay far less for each piece of a system, including the operating system. And I know this, as I've been a supplier to these companies (motherboards and semiconductors).
Contrary to what many people think, the major PC companies do not use low quality components. They cannot afford to do warranty repairs and still be profitable so they are very concerned about reliability.
You can also build a high quality machine that is very upgradeable but it will cost more than a Dell, Gateway, or HP machine. For people that enjoy doing it themselves it's a fun thing to build your own, but for people that just want to buy a pre-made system and not learn about the guts of the system there's no shame in buying a complete system.
In general, do not try to upgrade an old system. Newer CPUs are very power hungry, and it's unlikely that you can actually use anything from the old system other than the keyboard, mouse, floppy drive, and CD-ROM drive, a savings of less than $100. You can re-use a PCI 56K modem as well.
I don't own stock in Newegg, but I have found that they consistently have the lowest prices (or close to it) on almost every piece of hardware.
Remember that when you build your own system you have NO warranty on the complete system. YOU have to troubleshoot any system problems. Your machine will not be FCC certified or UL approved. Your system will not be WHQL (Windows Hardware Qualification Labs) certified. These certifications are not all that important to you, though they do provide some assurance of quality when buying a pre-made system (an assurance you won't get when you buy a system from a chop shop). The WHQL certification is especially valuable because it means that extensive testing has been performed on the complete machine to ensure compliance with Microsoft's standards. All name brand machines are WHQL certified because the operating system costs less for WHQL certified machines. WHQL is a GOOD thing. It imposed sanity on manufacturers of peripherals, forcing both their hardware and their drivers to work with fewer problems.
I am very into low noise and good cooling. This involve using multiple case fans and hard drive fans, running at low speed. You can buy speed controllable fans from http://svc.com. You can also lower the voltage on 12 volt fans by using some power diodes in series (6 diodes will lower the 12V to 7.8V).
On higher end systems I am into RAID, as the consequences of a hard disk crash are getting to be just too high, and back-up solutions for today's high capacity hard drives are not practical. Many motherboards have integrated RAID 1 controllers (RAID 0 is a misnomer and is not redundant).
I prefer controller-based call-waiting modems as opposed to WinModems. If you are using dial-up then you're too cheap to get DSL or a cable modem, and you're also probably too cheap to get a second phone line, so a call-waiting modem is a good idea (but you have to subscribe to call-waiting).
I don't build systems for friends and relatives as this generally involves a commitment of lifetime technical support that I am unwilling to provide. I recommend that they buy complete systems. In general I've found that HP has the best combination of features and price, but that Dell machines rapidly get too expensive when you start configuring them with sufficient memory, hard drives, etc.
Video Editing, Photo Editing |
|||||||
This system uses a graphics card designed for video applications, not gaming. It has the more expensive 8X DVD writer. Dual SATA drives should be mirrored with the on-board RAID 1 controller. ECC memory is used for extra reliability. Top of the line SuperMicro full tower case with extensive cooling. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-System |
Mfg |
Part # |
Description |
QTY |
Each |
Total |
Vendor |
MB |
Asus |
P4C800-E Deluxe |
Motherboard |
1 |
181 |
181 |
NewEgg |
CPU |
Intel |
BX80532PG2600D |
2.6Ghz P4 800 Mhz FSB |
1 |
174 |
174 |
NewEgg |
Memory |
Crucial |
CT6472Z40B |
512MB DDR400 ECC |
2 |
120 |
240 |
NewEgg |
Graphics |
Asus |
V9560 Video Suite |
VIDEOSUITE GEFORCE |
1 |
175 |
175 |
NewEgg |
DVD-ROM |
Pioneer |
DVD-120 |
DVD |
1 |
35 |
35 |
NewEgg |
CD-RW/DVD-RW |
Plextor |
Plextor PX-708A |
DVD Burner |
1 |
216 |
216 |
NewEgg |
Hard Drive |
Maxtor |
6Y200M0 |
200 GB, 8MB cache, 7200 RPM (RAID 1), Serial ATA |
2 |
186 |
372 |
NewEgg |
Case/Power Supply |
SuperMicro |
cse-762-420 |
Full Tower Case w 420W supply |
1 |
187 |
187 |
nerds.net |
Media Reader |
Koutech |
F7209 |
Multi-media front panel, USB 2.0 |
1 |
52 |
52 |
NewEgg |
Modem (if needed) |
ActionTec |
PCIV9212-60CW |
Controller Based Call-Waiting Modem |
1 |
49 |
49 |
Digitally Unique |
Keyboard |
Microsoft |
K49-00023 |
102 key Multimedia Keyboard |
1 |
14 |
14 |
NewEgg |
Mouse |
Microsoft |
D58-00041 |
Intelli-Mouse Optical |
1 |
16 |
16 |
NewEgg |
Operating System |
Microsoft |
E85-02179 |
Windows XP Pro |
1 |
140 |
140 |
NewEgg |
Floppy |
Samsung |
SFD321B/LEB |
3.5" Floppy |
1 |
5.6 |
5.6 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
SVC |
GF8M4B |
80mm cooling fans/4 pin Ball Bearing |
7 |
2.5 |
17.5 |
SVC |
Cooling |
Vantec |
Iceberg Copper |
DDR Heat Spreader, copper |
2 |
5 |
10 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Unknown |
EC-HK-3F |
Triple fan hard drive cooler |
2 |
6 |
12 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Speeze |
4F01B4 |
Fan Card |
1 |
5.5 |
5.5 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Vantec |
HDC-502A |
Hard Disk Cooler |
2 |
8 |
16 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Zalman |
ZM-NB32J |
Northbridge Heat Sink |
1 |
5 |
5 |
NewEgg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1922.60 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Gaming (High end graphics) |
|||||||
This system uses a graphics card designed for gaming. It has the less expensive 4X DVD writer. Dual SATA drives should be mirrored with the on-board RAID 1 controller. ECC memory is used for extra reliability. Top of the line SuperMicro full tower case with extensive cooling. Not an exciting case with neon lights, just a very good quality server case. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-System |
Mfg |
Part # |
Description |
QTY |
Each |
Total |
Vendor |
MB |
Asus |
P4C800-E Deluxe |
Motherboard |
1 |
180 |
181 |
NewEgg |
CPU |
Intel |
BX80532PG2600D |
3.0 Ghz P4 800 Mhz FSB |
1 |
174 |
174 |
NewEgg |
Memory |
Crucial |
CT6472Z40B |
512MB DDR400 ECC |
2 |
120 |
240 |
NewEgg |
Graphics |
Asus |
RADEON 9800XT |
256MB Radeon 9800 Graphics Card |
1 |
490 |
490 |
NewEgg |
DVD-ROM |
Pioneer |
DVD-120 |
DVD |
1 |
35 |
35 |
NewEgg |
CD-RW/DVD-RW |
Pioneer |
DVR-A06USPK4 |
DVD Burner |
1 |
155 |
155 |
NewEgg |
Hard Drive |
Maxtor |
6Y200M0 |
200 GB, 8MB cache, 7200 RPM (RAID 1), Serial ATA |
2 |
186 |
372 |
NewEgg |
Case/Power Supply |
SuperMicro |
cse-762-420 |
Full Tower Case w 420W supply |
1 |
187 |
187 |
nerds.net |
Media Reader |
Koutech |
F7209 |
Multi-media front panel, USB 2.0 |
1 |
52 |
52 |
NewEgg |
Modem (if needed) |
ActionTec |
PCIV9212-60CW |
Controller Based Call-Waiting Modem |
1 |
49 |
49 |
Digitally Unique |
Keyboard |
Microsoft |
K49-00023 |
102 key Multimedia Keyboard |
1 |
14 |
14 |
NewEgg |
Mouse |
Microsoft |
D58-00041 |
Intelli-Mouse Optical |
1 |
16 |
16 |
NewEgg |
Operating System |
Microsoft |
E85-02179 |
Windows XP Pro |
1 |
140 |
140 |
NewEgg |
Floppy |
Samsung |
SFD321B/LEB |
3.5" Floppy |
1 |
5.6 |
6 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
SVC |
GF8M4B |
80mm cooling fans/4 pin Ball Bearing |
7 |
2.5 |
17.5 |
SVC |
Cooling |
Vantec |
Iceberg Copper |
DDR Heat Spreader, copper |
2 |
5 |
10 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Unknown |
EC-HK-3F |
Triple fan hard drive cooler |
2 |
6 |
12 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Speeze |
4F01B4 |
Fan Card |
1 |
5.5 |
5 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Vantec |
HDC-502A |
Hard Disk Cooler |
2 |
8 |
16 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Zalman |
ZM-NB32J |
Northbridge Heat Sink |
1 |
5 |
5 |
NewEgg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
2176.50 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Digital Piano (MIDI, no fancy graphics, slim case) |
|||||||
This system is designed to be used with a digital piano. It has a built-in MIDI port, something lacking in all retail PCs these days. It uses a very unique slim line case. I've built one of these, but with a previous model motherboard from Gigabyte. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-System |
Mfg |
Part # |
Description |
QTY |
Each |
Total |
Vendor |
MB |
Gigabyte |
Gigabyte 845GV |
Motherboard (AGP, MIDI)1 |
1 |
63 |
63 |
NewEgg |
CPU |
Intel |
BX80532PC2400D |
2.4 Ghz P4 533 Mhz FSB |
1 |
165 |
165 |
NewEgg |
Memory |
Crucial |
CT3264Z335 |
256MB DDR333 |
2 |
42 |
84 |
NewEgg |
Hard Drive |
Maxtor |
6Y120P0 |
120 GB, 8MB cache, 7200 RPM, EIDE |
1 |
104 |
104 |
NewEgg |
CD-RW/DVD-ROM |
LG |
GCC-4520B |
CD-RW drive with DVD reader |
1 |
65 |
65 |
NewEgg |
Case/Power Supply |
Evercase |
ECE0229 |
Slim case with RPC313 PCI riser card & Front I/O2 |
1 |
70 |
70 |
Evercase* |
Floppy |
Samsung |
SFD321B/LEB |
3.5" Floppy |
1 |
6 |
6 |
NewEgg |
Modem (if needed) |
ActionTec |
PCIV9212-60CW |
Controller Based Call-Waiting Modem |
1 |
49 |
49 |
Digitally Unique |
Keyboard |
Microsoft |
K49-00023 |
102 key Multimedia Keyboard |
1 |
14 |
14 |
NewEgg |
Mouse |
Microsoft |
D58-00041 |
Intelli-Mouse Optical |
1 |
16 |
16 |
NewEgg |
Operating System |
Microsoft |
N09-00741 |
Windows XP Home |
1 |
91 |
91 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Vantec |
Iceberg Copper |
DDR Heat Spreader, copper |
2 |
5 |
10 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Speeze |
4F01B4 |
Fan Card |
1 |
6 |
5 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Vantec |
HDC-502A |
Hard Disk Cooler |
1 |
8 |
8 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Antec |
76005 |
40 mm ball bearing fan |
1 |
6 |
6 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Zalman |
ZM-NB32J |
Northbridge Heat Sink |
1 |
5 |
5 |
NewEgg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
761.00 |
|
1. Note that very few motherboards still provide MIDI ports, the motherboard specified is one of the few Micro-ATX boards that has a MIDI connector on the I/O panel. Even digital pianos with USB ports do not provide the functionality of a true MIDI port. |
|||||||
2. This is the only slim case for MicroATX that allows the use of full size PCI add-on cards via an innovative right angle riser card that breaks out slot specific PCI signals onto little boards that plug into the motherboard's PCI slots. Contact Evercase to purchase. Be sure to order the riser card and the front I/O panel as well. I bought this case direct, by going to their San Jose office. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Web Browsing, E-mail, Office Applications, a good PC for your kid's school work, and too slow to play high end games! |
|||||||
This is a basic system with high quality components. If buying a retail system instead, be sure that it includes 1394 (Firewire), front audio and USB ports, at least a 120GB, 7200 rpm hard drive with 8MB of cache, and 512MB of RAM. Watch out for decontented systems that will require a lot of additonal items. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-System |
Mfg |
Part # |
Description |
QTY |
Each |
Total |
Vendor |
MB |
Gigabyte |
Gigabyte 845GV |
Motherboard (AGP, MIDI) |
1 |
63 |
63 |
NewEgg |
CPU |
Intel |
BX80531P180G128 |
1.8Ghz Celeron, 400Mhz FSB |
1 |
56 |
56 |
NewEgg |
Memory |
Crucial |
CT3264Z265 |
256MB DDR266 |
2 |
38 |
76 |
NewEgg |
Hard Drive |
Maxtor |
6Y120P0 |
120 GB, 8MB cache, 7200 RPM, EIDE |
1 |
104 |
104 |
NewEgg |
CD-RW/DVD-ROM |
LG |
GCC-4520B |
CD-RW drive with DVD reader |
1 |
65 |
65 |
NewEgg |
Case/Power Supply |
Antec |
SLK3700AMB |
Mid Tower |
1 |
73 |
73 |
NewEgg |
Floppy |
Samsung |
SFD321B/LEB |
3.5" Floppy |
1 |
6 |
6 |
NewEgg |
Media Reader |
Koutech |
F7209 |
Multi-media front panel, USB 2.0 |
1 |
52 |
52 |
NewEgg |
Modem (if needed) |
ActionTec |
PCIV9212-60CW |
Controller Based Call-Waiting Modem |
1 |
49 |
49 |
Digitally Unique |
Keyboard |
Microsoft |
K49-00023 |
102 key Multimedia Keyboard |
1 |
14 |
14 |
NewEgg |
Mouse |
Microsoft |
D58-00041 |
Intelli-Mouse Optical |
1 |
16 |
16 |
NewEgg |
Operating System |
Microsoft |
N09-00741 |
Windows XP Home |
1 |
91 |
91 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Vantec |
Iceberg Copper |
DDR Heat Spreader, copper |
2 |
5 |
10 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Speeze |
4F01B4 |
Fan Card |
1 |
6 |
5 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Vantec |
HDC-502A |
Hard Disk Cooler |
1 |
8 |
8 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Thermaltake |
A1280 |
120 mm ball bearing fan |
1 |
7 |
7 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Zalman |
ZM-NB32J |
Northbridge Heat Sink |
1 |
5 |
5 |
NewEgg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
700.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Your Mom's or Grandmother's PC for Web Browsing & E-mail |
|||||||
This is a small, inexpensive system to give your mom or grandmother. It still uses good quality components and has extra cooling in an effort to minimize the amount of free tech support that you have to provide! The call-waiting modem is a good way to eliminate the need for an extra phone line, but if you don't care about this you can use a cheaper WinModem. Front audio and USB ports. It's still probably better to buy them an HP or Dell entry level model. You may have to work at attaching the hard drive cooler, but it is important with a 7200rpm drive. I actually like the Evercase ECE0229 with the riser card better, but it's too difficult to acquire, as they are not sold at retail. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-System |
Mfg |
Part # |
Description |
QTY |
Each |
Total |
Vendor |
MB |
Gigabyte |
Gigabyte 845GV |
Motherboard (AGP) |
1 |
63 |
63 |
NewEgg |
CPU |
Intel |
BX80530F1200256 |
1.2Ghz Celeron, 400Mhz FSB |
1 |
38 |
38 |
NewEgg |
Memory |
Crucial |
CT3264Z265 |
256MB DDR266 |
1 |
38 |
38 |
NewEgg |
Hard Drive |
Maxtor |
6E040L0 |
40 GB, 8MB cache, 7200 RPM, EIDE |
1 |
59 |
59 |
NewEgg |
DVD-ROM |
Pioneer |
DVD-120 |
DVD |
1 |
35 |
35 |
NewEgg |
Case/Power Supply |
Inwin |
V535 |
Micro-ATX |
1 |
38 |
38 |
NewEgg |
Floppy |
Samsung |
SFD321B/LEB |
3.5" Floppy |
1 |
6 |
6 |
NewEgg |
Modem (if needed) |
ActionTec |
PCIV9212-60CW |
Controller Based Call-Waiting Modem |
1 |
49 |
49 |
Digitally Unique |
Keyboard |
Microsoft |
K49-00023 |
102 key Multimedia Keyboard |
1 |
14 |
14 |
NewEgg |
Mouse |
Microsoft |
D58-00041 |
Intelli-Mouse Optical |
1 |
16 |
16 |
NewEgg |
Operating System |
Microsoft |
N09-00741 |
Windows XP Home |
1 |
91 |
91 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Vantec |
HDC-502A |
Hard Disk Cooler |
1 |
8 |
8 |
NewEgg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
455.00 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Small PC for Web Browsing & E-mail |
|||||||
This is a small form factor system, good for web browsing and e-mail. It still uses good quality components. Limited expansion capability because it supports only low profile PCI cards. Front audio and USB ports. Case is also available in black, but if you do this be sure to buy a black face floppy and black face DVD drive. You may have to work at attaching the hard drive cooler, but it is important with a 7200rpm drive. I actually like the Evercase ECE0229 with the riser card better (the only slim case that allows multiple full size PCI cards), but it's too difficult to acquire, as they are not sold at retail. |
|||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sub-System |
Mfg |
Part # |
Description |
QTY |
Each |
Total |
Vendor |
MB |
Gigabyte |
Gigabyte 845GV |
Motherboard (AGP) |
1 |
63 |
63 |
NewEgg |
CPU |
Intel |
BX80530F1200256 |
1.2Ghz Celeron, 400Mhz FSB |
1 |
38 |
38 |
NewEgg |
Memory |
Crucial |
CT3264Z265 |
256MB DDR266 |
1 |
38 |
38 |
NewEgg |
Hard Drive |
Maxtor |
6E040L0 |
40 GB, 2MB cache, 7200 RPM, EIDE |
1 |
59 |
59 |
NewEgg |
DVD-ROM |
Pioneer |
DVD-120 |
DVD |
1 |
35 |
35 |
NewEgg |
Case/Power Supply |
Aopen |
H340D |
Micro-ATX Slim |
1 |
38 |
38 |
NewEgg |
Floppy |
Samsung |
SFD321B/LEB |
3.5" Floppy |
1 |
6 |
6 |
NewEgg |
Modem (if needed) |
Aopen |
FM56-SVV |
WinModem with optional MDA-56SVVL bracket |
1 |
14 |
14 |
MyAopen |
Keyboard |
Microsoft |
K49-00023 |
102 key Multimedia Keyboard |
1 |
14 |
14 |
NewEgg |
Mouse |
Microsoft |
D58-00041 |
Intelli-Mouse Optical |
1 |
16 |
16 |
NewEgg |
Operating System |
Microsoft |
N09-00741 |
Windows XP Home |
1 |
91 |
91 |
NewEgg |
Cooling |
Vantec |
HDC-502A |
Hard Disk Cooler |
1 |
8 |
8 |
NewEgg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
420.00 |
|