Building PCs - How do you Choose Your Components?

ATP asks: "It's been a few years since I built my current system by ordering parts from the cheapest vendors I could find. Everything went smoothly with very little research, and my system is still running great today. I'm now looking into building another desktop system, but I've become quickly overwhelmed by how complex components have become. In particular, motherboard/CPU compatibility are confusing (think: single/dual, socket 478/604/754/939/939pciExpress/940/LGA775, OS compatibility, memory types, etc). Is there a guide to the not-so-novice PC guru somewhere that would help me catch up on the developments in the last couple years?"

Comments

Well

[Now.Imperfect]

I don't have much advice other than go AMD, its easier to find compatible parts.

Build Your Own is So Passe

[the eric conspiracy]

I used to buld my systems from loose parts, and had fun doing it. Now though I find I like to save some time buy going to an ala cart shop like Monarch Computer. Using them I can pick out the system components I want and let them assemble/test the system. Monarch does a good job putting together a list of options and is pretty helpful with suggestions. It's much better than buying some off the shelf thing without knowing what is in it plus you get some help picking out a good combination of stuff.

start with the processor

[max born]

I get my stuff from price watch.

First I find the processor I want, then I get the system board, memory, HD, DVD, case, keyboard, monitor, etc.. Having saved by building it myself, I like to splurge on a nice case, aluminium or fish tank cases are nice.

look for value

[Eil]

I was in the same boat not too long ago... it took me a few days to get back up to speed, but my method was basically to hit up Wikipedia for the terms and technologies I knew nothing about, shopped around taking notes on what was available, and then finally read reviews on the specific items that I was considering. Eventually those items with the best value got my buy.

Here's a hint on how to get the best value when buying certain kinds of components and money is not an overriding factor. When narrowing down your search for that one component, you'll reach a point where you've found a line of processors, memory, or hard disks that have the features you want. The only difference among your choices is speed or size. The price increases with those numbers, but almost never linearly. Graph speed/size vs price of any current processor model to see what I mean.

At the lower left, you'll see the line rise steadily and then about midway through it starts to rise more rapidly. At any point above that rise, you're paying significantly more money at each increment for only moderate or even insignificant performance gains. The sweet spot for value is right before that rise.

Re:Narrow Down at the Start

[Jeff DeMaagd]

Multiple CPU sockets gives an upgrade path, I don't see it as relevant to even a high-end desktop now that multicore CPUs are available.

Re:Here's my guide.

[BKX]

I just did. I got about 1.6A. Thats with a Geforce 6800GT and P4-2.8GHz Prescott. Comparable everything else. With an Akasa 460W PSU. That doesn't surprise me in the least. I was more warning about quality anyway. A lot of those cheap "450W" PSUs can't handle more than 200W and when they're putting out that much, the power quality is ridiculous. Of course, I tested my home system as drawing 3.5A last year. I was burning two DVDs and four CDs at once. It was on an Athlon 3000+ with 1GB RAM, a Chaintech mobo, 4 CD-burners, two DVD-burners, 4 HDs, a GeForce 2 (I don't play games on that system, so a 2 is fine), a tape backup and a floppy drive. I power it with an Akasa 650W PSU. (I just happen to like Akasa. There are a buch of other good brands too) So, for most people, even 460W may be overkill, but for people like me who like using their outdated hardware just because they can, it may not even be enough.

The only reason I say don't spend less than $60 is that at lower prices, crappy PSUs will find their way into the mix at ridiculous prices. And they usually seem like good deals. But by $60, the crappy ones are pretty much weeded out. What's $20 anymore anyway, if it means you're getting something worthwhile?

Two easy steps to an affordable home built PC

[Cainjustcain]

First, find the newest, greatest component. Second, buy the one that came before it.

Re:Here's my guide.

[meringuoid]

These are the least important. Get whatever monitor you can afford. Get the cheapest keyboard that your willing to have on your desk.

Otherwise good advice, but this is awful. Do NOT skimp on the monitor. Right now you're not playing Halflife 2, you're reading /. That's something that will work exactly the same with any CPU, video card, hard disk, whatever. Hell, I could dig up my old P90 from 1995, set up a lightweight distro, and Slashdot would work just as well as it does on the latest-n-greatest. The component of your computer that you are using 100% of the time, whether gaming or surfing or working, no matter what the task may be, is the monitor.

Get a decent monitor. Your eyes will thank you for it.

The keyboard - again, a component that's ALWAYS in play. Cheap keyboards are horrible. Have you seen how much geeks are willing to pay for antique IBM keyboards from back when they made them well? If you spend a lot of time using your keyboard, and if you post to /. you probably do, then getting hold of a decent quality one will make a world of difference.

Yeah, its confusing ain't it

[TheSkepticalOptimist]

That last full revamp of my computer I did was about 3 years ago and I am itching to get a new system. But looking at ALL the processor choices as well as video cards and motherboards can be a little staggering.

The bottom line is, don't worry too much about price, and start to focus on particular brands.

If your last computer ran smoothly for a number of years, then stick with the brands you are familiar with. They probably won't fail you again with your new computer.

Sure, some other brand might offer a super deal on a seemingly sweet piece of hardware, but generally the cheaper the component and the more off-mainstream the company, the worse the product is. Why risk buying something that claims better features for less money when you are familiar with a brand that offered you years of quality.

So, once you decide what brands you like and find reliable, then decide what CPU you want.

I recommmend AMD, period. Any 939pin Athlon 64 will give you ample performance in an easy to afford package with an upgrade path that should last a few more years. Don't worry about the dual cores, they are new, underperforming and still a novelty for desktop workstations. See TomsHardware.com ultimate CPU guide to realize just how underwhelming the dual cores are.

Next time to get a motherboard that suits your needs, it may be trying, but weeding out first those motherboards with dual or quad SLI solutions or can connect to 16+ hard drives with RAID X is a good way to weed out wasting money on features your never going to use. You will find that whatever brand your looking at usually has a few good and reasonably priced motherboards that don't have superflous bells and whistels. Asus is still a top notch motherboard maker and offer both premium and price conscious models.

For video cards, nVidia, period. ATI still can't make good drivers, I upgraded to a mid-range x700 for sh*ts and giggles after using an nVidia Geforce 4400ti for years and found my system suddenly unstable, crash prone, and underperforming. Most games I played with the new card was only about 10% faster then the nVidia card that was 2 generations behind. I quickly returned the ATI card, and I won't look back. Again, don't get caught up in the hype surrounding different brands of products, if you find a product that works well for you, and offers years of stable performance, the keep with that brand.

From there, your talking about ram and hard drives, any will do really. If your going for a high performance system, then you might care what the timings are on RAM, but for general systems where price is a concern, any Generic ram that fits in your motherboard will work, there are only a few makers of the actual chips that go on RAM anyways. Same with a hard drive, maxtor, seagate, western digital, may will tell you tale of horror about one or the other, but hard drives have become commodities that are easy to make and generally more reliable as the years go on.

The bottom line is, don't fear the industry. It is easy to fall behind and loose perspective on what is the latest and the greatest, but reading any hardware site like anandtech.com or tomshardware.com will quickly get you up-to-date on which products are hot and which are not and you will get a better idea of what to upgrade to if you spend a little time reading some review sites.

Lastely, if it still seems too daunting, get a Dell. Don't laugh, but after a certain age you don't care about finding the right component X to fit with component Y, getting a preconfigured PC means your going to get a decent system with the support and warranty that makes it a brainless decision in a box that arrives are your doorstep.