the ultimate pc parts list...

J

Jason711

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Aug 3, 2001
Messages
5,975
last updated on April 8th @ 12:00am

added a few PSU's and some speakers...

i am compiling this list for ppl that are not exactly sure of what they may want or need... and please feel free to ask any part related question in here. i know ill do my best to give you a decent answer or opinion. :D


Processors
AMD
- AXP mobile 2400+ $78
- A64 mobile 3200+ $270
(i wont recommend the FX until it hits 939)

Intel
- PIV 2.4c $164 (retail)
- PIV 2.8e $176 (oem (on sale))
- PIV 2.4a $149 (retail)
- PIV 3.2EE $941

Motherboards
AMD
- DFI ultra infinity $97
- Abit NF7-S v 2.0 $100
- Shuttle AN50R (A64) $132
- KV8-Pro [not yet availible, will feature pci/agp lock]

Intel
- Abit IC7-Max3 $190
- Abit IS7-E2 $83
- MSI PT880 Neo-LSR $65
- Asus P4C800-E Deluxe $180
- Asus P4P800 Deluxe $121

RAM
AMD
- Muskin PC3200 222 special (2x512MB) $312
- other brands such as corsair, kingston are very popular aswell. the main point is to look at cas latency.

Intel
- Corsair XMS PC-4400 (2x512MB) $399.50

(generally speaking, with AMD setups look for the highest qualty sticks with the lowest possible latency timings. with intel setups you can get away with higher latency at higher clockspeeds. of course, if you want the low-latency stuff for the PIV's by all means go for it, its a matter of taste, imo.)

HDD
Speed
- WD Raptor 36GB $116
- WD Raptor 74GB $213 (on sale)

Capacity
- WD Quiet Drive 250GB 8MB cache 7.2k rpm $205

Optical
CD
-Lite-On 52x $15

CDRW
-Plexwriter Premium 52x32x52 $88
-Yamaha CRW-F1 (if you can find one) $?

DVD
-Pioneer 120S(Z) (slot load, 16X) $40

DVDRW
-DVD-RW - Plextor PX-708A 8x (+/-) $158

Air Cooling
AMD
- SP-97 $59
- zalman cnps7000a-cu $43.25

Intel
- SP-94 $57
- zalman cnps7000a-cu $43.25

Sound Cards
- Turtlebeach Santa Cruz $55
- Via M-audio Revolution 7.1 $99
- Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS $83

Audio
5.1
-Klipsch Promedia 5.1 ultras $342
-Logitech Z-680's $273
-Creative Gigaworks 5.1 S700 $326
-Videologic Digitheatre DTS $599 (im positive this can be had for cheaper)

4.1
-Klipsch Promedia ~$200 [discontinued?]
-Atec Lansing 641 ~$170 [discontinued]
(i dare you to find a setup with a better price/performance ratio)

2.1
-Klipsch Promedia

2.0
-Swans T-200A $413

Video Cards
ATi
- 9800Pro 128MB ~$220
-R420 >$500 [when available]

nVidia
-5900nu/xt >$200
-NV40 >$500 [when available]

Power
- PC Power & Cooling Turbo-Cool 425 $134.10
-Sparkle Power 400 $62
-Zalman Noise-Free 400 $85
-Fortron 400 $75
-Antec True Control 550 $101

need more input on audio...
 
P4C 2.6Ghz # aout 3.4 / 3.6
Overclock that somabich
1GB DDR4000
IC7-MAX 3
74GB raptor
 
someone would only find this usefull if they are a newb to building comps. and the only reason a newb would have for building a computer is for customizability. and its not very customizable if your building the exact system that someone tells you to build, with putting no thoughts of ur own into it.

all the fun in building your own computer is putting your own ideas into it and learning for yourself what works.

so why not just buy from an OEM manufacturer like dell. they make it even easier and faster for you to waste money.
 
Originally posted by jamestime88
someone would only find this usefull if they are a newb to building comps. and the only reason a newb would have for building a computer is for customizability. and its not very customizable if your building the exact system that someone tells you to build, with putting no thoughts of ur own into it.

all the fun in building your own computer is putting your own ideas into it and learning for yourself what works.

so why not just buy from an OEM manufacturer like dell. they make it even easier and faster for you to waste money.
Click to expand...

i understand this.. but why is it there are so many threads about asking what to buy? something like this could and will be of great value. either you can contrubute to a thread or you do not.. there is no need to post otherwise..

im not trying to be rude.. i just want this thread to be clean for the ppl that can use it to their advantage is all.

and thanks USMC... (never thought id be thanking a marine, im former AF) hehe.. JK bud.
 
off topic, i'm originally from raymore, currently live in overland park :p
 
in that case get:
antec truepower 430watt
barton 2500+
nf7-s rev2
raptor or 120gb seagate sata
radeon 9600 pro
1gb of pc3500 mushkin lvl2
thermalright hs w/ panaflo

not a bad setup. and u can always replace the ram with something cheaper because that will cost twice as much as any other component if you buy mushkin. corsair XMS and kingston hyperX are both good.
 
Originally posted by jamestime88
in that case get:
antec truepower 430watt
barton 2500+
nf7-s rev2
raptor or 120gb seagate sata
radeon 9600 pro
1gb of pc3500 mushkin lvl2
thermalright hs w/ panaflo

not a bad setup. and u can always replace the ram with something cheaper because that will cost twice as much as any other component if you buy mushkin. corsair XMS and kingston hyperX are both good.
Click to expand...

then we should help ppl out and list the types of ram that are more 'economial' and still do very well.

buffalo comes to mind..
 
buffalo, corsair, kingston value, pny, its all pretty much the same if your not looking for an overclock.
 
One of the last cheap resources for BH-5 is Kingston HyperX PC3000
I have mine doing 225 11-2-2-2 timings with just 2.9v
Great Memory and a Gig is under $200 :)
 
The Ultimate PC Parts List Implies some ultimateness. Ultimate != Cheap.

I'm on the XEON Kick right now- so here I go with parts related to a system similar to what I post. I'm not gonig to post everything- just the juicy stuff. Sticking with the ultimate theme

Mobo: Supermicro X5DA8
Processor: Roadmap - can't wait for the 800mHz stuff.
HDD's: I've got a couple of the 18GB drives- can't beat 15k's.

Now I'm tired. No more links for now.

Plextor CD-R's, and I'm especially pleased with the new DVD-R from Plextor- 8X.

I bought a PC Power 550W Power Supply; It looks great.

I'm a BIG Lian-Li fan. I have a PC-70 and a PC-76; the 76 is for my watercooled dual XEON system. The case really makes the system.

I'm sure any 9800 video card would be more than adequate; for more than the next decade.
 
Originally posted by Jason711
this isnt ars ;)

im gonna go through everybodies listings after a few and put them in my original post.. it should be pretty neat.
Click to expand...
We tried an [H]Forum system guide thing a while ago; didn't work very well, because people generally disagreed too much.

Maintaining a thread full of links to "What to buy for $XXXX?" threads would probably be a good idea, though.
 
Originally posted by Stiletto One
We tried an [H]Forum system guide thing a while ago; didn't work very well, because people generally disagreed too much.

Maintaining a thread full of links to "What to buy for $XXXX?" threads would probably be a good idea, though.
Click to expand...

perhaps.. however we must try and try again..
 
I like this thread...It will defiantely cut down on multiple threads with the same questions...
 
Split the stuff into groups divided by cost.

Like:

Processor Budget:
AMD
$100 - Barton 2500+ Athlon
$250 - 4300 - A64 3000+

Intel
$160 - $200 - 2.4, 2.6, 2.8 Northwoods (All C revisions)

etc.

Memory:
You got the BH5 going (Level II, earlier Corsair XMS...)

RAM for system stability (non overclockers)
Crucial RAM

Also, don't forget that Mushkin now has the 'Special 2-2-2' RAM, which uses BH6 chips since BH5 is gone.

Power Supplies:

Arguably the ultimate for desktops: PC Power and Cooling Turbocool 550

Upper End: $70 - 100
Antec TruePower 430
Antec TruePower 480
etc.

And then of course, Forton, and Sparkle, and such, I'm just not really going in depth
 
I think it's helpful. Better than nothing. Maybe it should be grouped for people on a budget who's looking for the best bang for the buck and people who just want the best no matter what the costs are.
 
UPDATED!!!

Nice idea...I hope it will kill a few of those "Is my system good" threads.

Intel MB:
I'd add the Asus P4P800-Deluxe - It's a killer Springdale with the unlocked PAT system...

RAM: HyperX DDR 3200+

HD:
Raptors are nice, but the new, fast, and hopefully realiable Hitachi Deskstars (PATA) are really nice. I'd also look into some of the new seagate SATA, seeing as it's the only brand to offer native SATA support.

Video:
Top End: ATi 9800XT/Pro
Mid Range: ATi 9800Pro or Nvidia 5900 NU/XT
Low End: ATi 9600XT/Pro

Opticals:
Low/Mid End:
DVD - Lite-On XJ-HD166S; (16x)
CD-RW - Lite-On LTR-52327s (52X, 32x, 52X)

High End:
DVD-RW - Plextor PX-708A (+/-)
CD-RW - Plexwriter Premium

Power Supplies:
Most Antec, Vantec, Enermax, Forton/Sparkle, PC Power and Cooling power supplies are all great.
 
Originally posted by lil layzie
I think it's helpful. Better than nothing. Maybe it should be grouped for people on a budget who's looking for the best bang for the buck and people who just want the best no matter what the costs are.
Click to expand...

well, i figure that ppl can just go through and pick the things in the list that they are willing to spend on.
 
Originally posted by Flipside
UPDATED!!!

Nice idea...I hope it will kill a few of those "Is my system good" threads.

Intel MB:
I'd add the Asus P4P800-Deluxe - It's a killer Springdale with the unlocked PAT system...

RAM: HyperX DDR 3200+

HD:
Raptors are nice, but the new, fast, and hopefully realiable Hitachi Deskstars (PATA) are really nice. I'd also look into some of the new seagate SATA, seeing as it's the only brand to offer native SATA support.

Video:
Top End: ATi 9800XT/Pro
Mid Range: ATi 9800Pro or Nvidia 5900 NU/XT
Low End: ATi 9600XT/Pro

Opticals:
Low/Mid End:
DVD - Lite-On XJ-HD166S; (16x)
CD-RW - Lite-On LTR-52327s (52X, 32x, 52X)

High End:
DVD-RW - Plextor PX-708A (+/-)
CD-RW - Plexwriter Premium

Power Supplies:
Most Antec, Vantec, Enermax, Forton/Sparkle, PC Power and Cooling power supplies are all great.
Click to expand...

the deskstars im a little scared of still... and seagates sata solution just cant match WD's raptors in terms of speed... however one of their high capacity drives might be better than Wd's solution.

the opticals...

cool, thanks.. is that liteon dvd a burner?
 
Originally posted by Jason711
the deskstars im a little scared of still... and seagates sata solution just cant match WD's raptors in terms of speed... however one of their high capacity drives might be better than Wd's solution.

the opticals...

cool, thanks.. is that liteon dvd a burner?
Click to expand...

Check storagereview.com about the Deskstars, apparently the new batch are really good, but see what they say in a year. ;)

The Lite-On DVD drive is just a straight reader...I figure for a low budget system there isn't really need for a DVD burner, espcially considering that dual layer burners are coming out soon, and though firmware upgrades may allow some of the burners to accomadate the new media, I doubt this will be the case for the sub $150 drives.

The Plextor drive, from what I've read, is the best route to go right now - Dual format, nice read/write DVD speeds, and it has decent CD burn (40x) speeds if you don't have another burner.
 
i'm relatively new as I have posted some questions and replies and upgraded my rank to cheeze. :D

And I was wondering whether the OCZ PC3700 Gold Rev.2 (the 512 dimms) are a good buy for the price because I read an article at Anandtech which says u can run DDR 400 at 2-2-3-5 and scale to 520. However, I wasn't sure about reliability and stability as I have heard a few negative comments toward current OCZ RAM. I know they had a bad rep in the past, but I thought that the RAM had improved.
 
if djnes were here, he'd say no, and i tend to agree with him. they did some shady stuff in the past, and they still dont deserve the business. with any luck, they will go out of business.
 
It would be a gamble to go with OCZ because of their past history. If you want to be sure, might as well go with Muskin or Corsair.
 
tigerdirect sells a brand of memory called "Ultra" .. its rated at 2-2-2-5 i believe and it goes for like $124 for a 512MB stick.

id try that before going to OCZ.
 
Thinking of getting 2x512 of Mushkin PC3200 2-2-2 special and paying an extreme premium =P But worried that upgrading RAM if necessary in the future will suck since those chips will all be gone basically
 
Originally posted by mayakindaguy
Thinking of getting 2x512 of Mushkin PC3200 2-2-2 special and paying an extreme premium =P But worried that upgrading RAM if necessary in the future will suck since those chips will all be gone basically
Click to expand...

nows a good time, the price on ram has been rising steadily..
 
updated.. tried to make it look a little spiffier.. and added a very small bit of info.
 
The list is really beginning to look better. I noticed you put only PC Power & Cooling as the only Power option? I don't think everyone can afford it. Why not add an Antec TruePower or something?
 
I agree with a few of the suggestions. It would be better to make it into price brackets. Have a few setups for around $500, have another set of setups for over $500 but under $1000 and so on.
 
Alright.. I need help. I haven't been following PC hardware since I bought my last PC, early winter of '01 (xp1600+, gf3 ti200, 512 pc2100)

I'll be building a new PC shortly, but I can wait a month or so for new hardware to come out.

CPU...last I heard hyperthreading P4's didnt give much advantage, but the A64s are doing pretty well? what sort of chip revisions should I consider waiting for?

RAM... 2x512 is probably a given, i'm assuming dual channel

GPU... should i wait for next gen cards? is the current ATI (9800xt?) consistently faster/better than the nvidia?

Hard drives... probably 20-40GB for a boot/favorite game drive, what are these raptor thingies? will the 10k or 15k drives be really loud? is SATA getting close to scsi? I assume PATA is parallel ata, much better than serial?

what kind of cooling? water? or just a lot of big smaller fans? which case will allow for good airflow? (i drilled extra holes in my last case) I'd like it to be somewhat quiet, no tornado fans.

sound... my speakers (altec lansing ACS400? 2 fronts w/ side speakers and a big woofer) aren't that great, and probably won't be updated for a while. I may double up some old boston acoustics for a rear setup.

mobo... integrated sound is probably fine, i've heard its getting pretty decent?

I could probably spend $1.5-2k (no monitor, probably no speakers) but I dont want to spend $ just to spend... if theres no real advantage then forget it. any advice on potentially waiting for newer equipment to show up would be appreciated.
 
One suggestion (look at my sig)- try and include components, at least Mobo, CPU, and RAM, for stable/non-overclocked stuff. yeah, it goes against the main theme of the forum, but for people building high end machines that HAVE to work, I think it would be really helpful.
 
Also, maybe look at quiet stuff- especially in the areas of video cards, PSU's, HSF's, HD's etc- No doubt those of us that have used a Delta fan (love that deafening whine...) can appreciate silence over absolute top speed.
 
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