System Building Part I: Choosing the Right Parts

While it's easy to recommend which parts to buy, not many people actually stop to tell you why, or bother to explain to you what the different choices are, or what they mean. First and foremost, planning out your system build will ensure you buy the correct parts, and that the parts you buy will not only work together, but will do so optimally. It would be easy simply to tell everyone to just buy the baddest and most expensive parts they can afford, but that's silly; the best way to do things is to shape your build to a budget, and choose parts consistent to your goals. You'd be surprised at the money you can save, and performance you can achieve, with a simple plan before building. Today, HardwareLogic presents the first in a three part series on system building.

Why Build Your Own Computer?

• Less Expensive: You don't have to pay for a Major Company or a Computer Boutique shop to build your computer for you. You can pay for the computer and not just a "Name"
• Easy to upgrade:  Pre-built computers often use proprietary parts, so when you go to upgrade or replace an inoperative part your forced to buy from the Original Manufacture because off the shelf parts won't work in your system.  Often times you will not be able to upgrade at all.
• Use exactly the components you want: You're able to build a computer specific to your needs.  For example a top of the line Video Card for gaming or a 750gb Hard Drive for data storage.  You choose every component, so you get exactly what you want.
• Easy to customize and no bloat:  Pre-built computers are known for stuffing their computers with software packages you don't need or will even use. You're able to install the software you will use.

Probably the most important aspect of building your own system is "looking for the best deal!!!!" There's a big difference between the "Best Deal" and the "Cheapest Deal". Using Froogle or Shopping.com as an example, you can search for any given component and see a huge disparity in prices. Sometimes you'll notice a price so incredible your heart will skip a beat; that is, until you click the link and see that what you are looking for, and what they are selling, are not the same thing. This is called "Bait and Switch", and companies have been doing it forever.  They quote an incredible price on a hot new product to draw you in, then they either link the price to something they are trying to sell, or they are "out of stock" on what you want, but will 'graciously' recommend you something they want to sell. Still other companies do have good prices, but their shipping policies might be suspect, meaning they are quoting you a great price to buy a product, only to make up the difference in a "handling fee" or exorbitant shipping costs. Another ploy used is rebates, which are not regulated and an unscupulous company can get away with not honoring them for a variety of reasons, such as claiming they never received your paperwork, or that it was incorrectly filled out or past the expiration date. Then there is the turn around time on rebate checks, usually 6-8 weeks or more. Always remember to check the rebates before buying something, both at the place of purchase as well as the manufacturer's website. Follow the instructions to the letter, and photocopy everything before sending out the rebate form.

HardwareLogic recommends shopping online for your hardware as opposed to using brick and mortar stores like Fry's or CompUSA, for a couple of reasons. first, online retailers typically have better deals (and for the kost part no taxes). Seocnd, online retailers usually have the most variety of parts, meaning you can research, compare, and research each and every part you are considering. Online retailers like Newegg or Zip Zoom Fly are great options for buying your components. Before buying from any online retailer look them up on ResellerRatings or Epinions, two very good sites dedicated to vendor feedback. Sometimes it pays to spend a little more to buy from a respected and trusted vendor instead of buying from the cheapest you can find online. You'll also want to note what a retailers return or "RMA" policy is. Some will hrefer you immediately to the manufacturer, some will switch out the components for you, and believe it or not, some will simply ignore your emails or phone calls.

Do Your Research

At one time or another, we're all guilty of impulse buying. We'll see some guy start a rumor about a certain component performing incredibly well, so you run out and buy one, only to find out your component doesn't live up to the hype. Does this mean the guy lied? No. Using processors as an example, you have to understand that there are different circumstances which are going to affect the performance, so five identical processors will give five different results. Will there be drastic differences? No, but also consider that there are several components in a system, and those components all affect the performance of each other. Another thing to keep in mind when reading reviews is the "Review Sample" factor.  Many companies send out cherry picked parts to review sites. Processors and memory are the two most common cherry picked parts, keep this in mind when reading any review about spectacular results.

In the end, research is going to save you time, money, and your mind. We'd love to tell you to use only our HardwareLogic Recommended Hardware Lists when researching components, but your best bet is to look over a variety of resources. You should always read several reviews from trusted review sites, research people's opinions on different forums (to include the support forums of the product you are considering), and as usual, use your common sense before spending your hard earned money.

Choosing Your Components

In a perfect world we'd all have a super computer capable of doing anything we want. Unfortunately, this is far from a perfect world. The first issue that's going to determine your system build is your budget. It doesn't do you much good to buy the best processor on the market if you are going to surround it with cheap parts. Stop and think about the bigger picture and as always RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH!!!! Plan your build before you spend any money. Our Recommended Hardware Lists are a great place to start, but keep this in mind, you DO NOT have to use everything from a given list, you can mix and match certain components based on your budget, build experience, and needs. Being an "nthusiast is not about having the most expensive components money can buy, it's about tweaking your system to get the most out of it. The best components are not always the most expensive. You have to find a balance between price, quality and performance. Often times high performance parts come at a premium price, and the difference between performance of high performance parts and midrange parts isn't worth the additional hit to the wallet.

The Processor

The current flavor of choice is INTEL's Core 2 Duo processor. The LGA 775 socket the Core 2 Duo processors are based on offers support for an incredibly wide range of Intel processors, chipsets, and memory types.  So if you can't afford a Core 2 Duo processor today and still want an Intel based computer, you have plenty of other processors to choose from to hold you over.  The Core 2 Duo budget and midrange processors are also known for being good overclockers; if you're willing to try your luck with the dark arts of overclocking, you are likely to squeeze more performance out of a less expensive processor.  All in all, Core 2 Duo processors offers excellent performance for their price.

AMD has very capable processors at great prices too. They released their AM2 platform several months ago, but they didn't introduce anything really new with this socket that didn't exist with its predecessor, the s939.  The major advantage to AM2 over s939 is that it supports DDR2 memory, so any performance differences between the two sockets (if any) is likely to come from the faster DDR2 memory rather than the processor. Since AM2 is the new standard for AMD processors and DDR2 memory has taken over DDR, an AM2 platform is the best choice should you decide to go with AMD. INTEL might be the new king of the hill for now, but don't discredit AMD all together, this company is known for pulling rabbits out of their hats and has a brand new processor architecture right around the corner with "K8L".

Whether you choose AMD or INTEL the standard for both processors right now is 64bit Dual Core. Something else that should be mentioned is that the Gigahertz War is over.  You will notice that the newer processors from Intel and AMD have lower clock speeds than older processors.  With out going into a long drawn out explanation of architectures and transistors, the newer processors are more efficient, and are able to deliver more performance with less power requirements at lower clock speeds than ever before.

Quad core processors have made their way to the retail market, but shouldn't really be considered for a standard build just yet. This is likely to change in then next year or two as more and more multithreaded software is released, but for now, just about every dual core processor is sufficient for any standard system.

Motherboard

The motherboard is really the nervous system of your computer, linking everything together. It will be be the easiest source for most all of the features and options you want for your computer. If you are on a budget, it might be smart to find a motherboard that has a good warranty and includes most (if not all) of the extra features you want so you don't have to purchase a separate add-on card to get some FireWire ports, surround sound, or another Ethernet port. If money is not an issue, then features might not play as large a determining factor as you will probably be looking to purchase a separate card with better performance for your specific needs. This is most often the case with onboard sound options and high-end add-in sound cards. So if you don't plan on buying a separate sound card, it is a good idea to choose a motherboard with a good onboard sound solution.

Besides onboard features, the primary focus your motherboard shopping efforts should be focused on is choosing the right chipset. The chipset is the chip or pair of chips that control the main functions and features of the motherboard. The chipset determines how much memory and of what type you can put into the board, what processor you can use, how many SATA ports and of what kind, what type of videocard interface, etc. Unfortunately, there are so many different chipsets available for each type of processor that it is beyond the scope of this article to try and go over them all. What is usually the best option is to decide which processor platform you want and then choose from the list of chipsets supporting the processor you want. In this day and age, AGP based boards aren't even made anymore, so it is wise to make sure you choose a motherboard and chipset that supports PCI-Express in order to have a full selection of the latest and greatest videocards available to you, as well as a GPU upgrade path.

Finally, depending on your intended use of the final system, it is also important to consider the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of the motherboard. Some BIOS's can be extremely confusing and difficult to navigate while others can have so many features and options it will make your head spin. If you are planning on tweaking and overclocking your new system, then finding a BIOS with extended voltage, frequency, and timing options would be beneficial. Otherwise, if overclocking really isn't your thing, then finding a relatively simple BIOS that is easy to navigate and has "Auto" options for most settings is beneficial.

Memory

The standard in Memory now is DDR2. Like we mentioned earlier in the CPU section AMD's switch to DDR2 support with the AM2 socket, officially making DDR2 the standard across the board.  DDR memory is still available so when buying RAM for your new build make sure you’re choosing DDR2 instead of DDR.

The next step is to tackle the age-old question of "How Much." It is a good idea to first decide how much memory you want (or need) before trying to narrow down your selection. We would not recommend getting less than 1GB of total system memory unless you are on an extremely tight budget and you are well aware of the poor Windows XP performance. If you are pinching pennies but still want a system that will run well while doing typical single user tasks, then 1 GB of system memory would be sufficient. If you often find yourself with several programs open at the same time, open many large image, video, or CADD files for editing, or want to play the latest 3D games, then we would suggest going for a total of 2GB of system memory. If you are building your dream system with a very large budget and want the best performance possible without having to upgrade next year to stay up to date, then you might also want to consider going with a total of 2GB of system memory. For most cases, 1GB of system memory is more than enough.

The next thing you have to decide is what speed memory you need or want.If you are not an overclocker, there is no reason to buy memory faster than the front side bus (FSB) speed of your processor. The following chart should help you to decipher the memory speed terminology:

DDR2 Memory Speeds:

DDR2 memory goes up to speeds much higher than DDR memory did. But choosing the right speed for your system is crucial. If you buy DDR400 memory for a system with a processor that has a bus speed of only 333MHz, then your memory speed will actually slow down in order to keep in sync with the processor bus speed. Similarly, if you buy DDR333 memory for a processor that has a bus speed of 400MHz, then your processor will have to slow the bus speed down to accommodate the slower memory. You can use slower or faster memory in a system, but it is not ideal (as you can see). That is why it is important that you buy memory that will match the speed of your system's bus. In order to determine the FSB speed of your processor, you first need to know how the new processors from AMD and Intel work. Everything produced by Intel from the Pentium 4 after has what is called a "quad-pumped" bus. For the focus of this article, this basically means that the Intel processors actually multiply the speed of the memory by four So an Intel processor that claims a bus speed of 800mhz really still only runs the memory at 200mhz and thus, requires memory that runs at a speed of 200mhz (200mhz memory speed times 4 for the quad pumped bus equals 800mhz bus speed). So if you have an Intel processor with a bus speed of 800MHz, you need to get DDR400 or DDR2-400 memory to get the most out of your system. If your Intel processor has a bus speed of 533mhz, then you will need memory that runs at a speed of 133mhz (266mhz effective) because 533 / 4 = 133. Some Intel processors also have a quad pumped bus speed of 1066mhz, in this case, you will need memory that runs at actual clock speed of 266mhz (533mhz effective).

Video Card

It's important to get the right video card for the job. If you're not building a hard core gaming machine you don't really need two $500 video cards in SLI. However if you do plan on doing some gaming you won't be very happy with a $50 video card. Research to ensure you choose a videocard that will handle what you plan to do with it.

Choosing the right video card can quickly get very confusing.  At first you think you just have to choose between nVidia and ATI, but once you start shopping you realize it's not that easy. Many manufactures make the same video card but they vary in price, and sometimes performance. When choosing an nVidia card companies like BFG, eVGA, and XFX offer the best combination of warranties, quality and performance.  When choosing ATI cards manufactures tend to stick more to the ATI hreference design. Unlike nVidia, ATI makes their own boards and GPU's.  We recommend choosing cards manufactured by ATI, but if you choose a different manufacture make sure to check their warranty first, just because they are cheaper doesn't mean it's a better deal.

There is no clear cut King of the Hill when it comes to video cards. ATI and nVidia both offer excellent video cards in all budget ranges.  ATI tends to be stronger in video playback and multimedia duties, where nVidia tends to be stronger in gaming. The trick here is to choose the best video card for your budget, and what you plan to use the computer for.  In some cases one company or the other may offer the better video card for your price range.

SLI and Crossfire

When trying to decide to go with a dual video card solution keep in mind that unless you have a large monitor running higher resolutions you won't see a big jump in frame rates.  We don't recommend dual video cards to first time builders.  However there is nothing wrong with buying a SLI or Crossfire motherboard and compatible power supply so you can upgrade to a dual video card setup later.

Case

Choosing the right case is probably one of the hardest parts of choosing your components. The case you choose depends on what you plan to use your computer for.  Keep in mind if your building a media center PC, many media center cases are only big enough for mini ATX motherboards.  This may affect the rest of the components you choose.  If you're choosing the standard mid-tower case your choices may seem endless.  Some of the top manufactures for mid-tower and media center cases are, Thermaltake, Antec, Lian Li, Silverstone, Cooler Master, Zalman, and Enermax.  Other companies also offer high quality cases.  When choosing a case keep in mind this is the one component that you will probably uses the longest.  So make sure you buy one that fits your needs and is high in quality.  There is nothing worse then building a computer in a cheap case with sharp edges and a poor design. If you don't read reviews for any other component you buy, read reviews for cases, because different cases have so many different features.

Power Supply

When it comes to choosing power supplies it is very important to choose a high quality PSU (Power Supply Unit).  A poor quality PSU could seriously damage your system, no matter how tempting the specs may look in relation to the price.  Chances are that $25 600 watt unit is actually only capable of half that amount, as well as providing 'dirty' unstable power to your system. While not foolproof, a good indication of quality is the weight of the unit; light PSUs tend to be of lower quality than heavy units.

You should start with at least a 450 watt PSU to allow you plenty of headroom for future upgrades.  Depending on the other components you choose you may need a larger PSU, as some videocards tend to be real power hogs.  There are several different PSU calculators online that will help you figure out approximately how much power your computer will require.  Our suggestion is to add about 100 watts to what the calculator recommends.  Some of the top PSU manufactures are OCZ, Antec, Enermax, Thermaltake, PC power and Cooling, and FSP Group.  Other companies also offer high quality PSUs, do your research to ensure you choose the best PSU that fits your budget.  Just because two PSUs cost the same, doesn't mean they are equal performers.

Cooling

This can be a very in-depth subject. Proper cooling can make a huge difference in the stability of your system.  We do not suggest water cooling to first time builders.  Water cooling is great for enthusiasts that want to squeeze out the most performance while overclocking. Air cooling is still sufficient for standard builds. Larger fans provide better cooling with out the noise.  A lot of cases allow you to install 120mm fans.  Keep this in mind when choosing a case.  Intel and AMD's CPU Heat Sink and Fans that are shipping with retail CPU's are a lot better then they used to be but some people may still choose to buy third party HSF's.  Some of the top manufacturers for Air Cooling are Thermalright, Thermaltake, Zalman, Cooler Master, and Scythe.

Keeping Quiet
If you have lots of fans in your computer it can be very loud.  To help keep the noise down we suggest that you use a fan controller so you can turn the fans down while your system is idle.  You can either use a fan controller that fits into a drive bay or a software fan controller like Speed Fan.  Software fan controllers like Speed Fan only works for fans connected to your motherboard.

Hard Drives

The hard drive is where all your important data and work are stored, and as such we recommend buying a quality drive that provides you with all the room you need for now, and the future. As the SATA hard drive evolves, SATA II features have become major selling points. 7200.10, 16MB cache, 3.0GB/s, Perpendicular Recording

For first time builders we suggest buying a single moderately large HDD. For most home users a drive between 250 and 500GB are enough to store most anything (music, pictures, work documents, gaming, etc). Larger faster hard drives are being released all the time.  1 terabyte drives are right around the corner.

SATA (Serial ATA) is the standard interface now for Hard Drives.  While PATA (Parallel ATA) remains the standard for Optical Drives. All motherboards being sold today offer support for SATA.  When buying a Hard Drive make sure it's SATA, as systems have evolved over the past couple of years, PATA ports have begun disappearing on most mainstream and enthusiast level motherboards, with most offering but a single port, which is typically used by your optical drives.

There are two types of SATA Hard Drives available, either SATA 1.5 Gb/s or SATA 3.0 Gb/s. SATA 1.5 GB/s also known as SATA/150 or SATA 1 is the first generation of SATA. SATA 3.0 Gb/s also known as SATA II, SATA 3.0 or SATA/300 is the second generation of SATA offering faster transfer speeds. SATA 3.0 Gb/s is backwards compatible with SATA 1.5 Gb/s so SATA 3.0 Gb/s Hard Drives will work with SATA 1.5Gb/s controllers and vice versa.

Seagate now offers Hard Drives with Perpendicular Recording Technology with their 7200.10 series Hard Drives. The biggest advantage with PTA is your able to put more data  on to the surface of the disk because the bits of data are stored perpendicular on the disks surfaces as apposed to horizontally in longitudinal recording technology, which until now is how hard drives would write to disks.  Using PTA is how Seagate was able to produce a 750GB Hard Drive before any other company.

When choosing a Hard Drive you may notice some Hard Drives offer 8mb of Cache while others offer 16mb.  What the difference?  Think of Cache as being like RAM for your Hard Drive.  Data is stored in the Cache temporarily to speed up Hard Drive seek and read times. The more Cache a hard drive has, the more data it can hold in the cache. 16MB Cache Hard Drives don’t generally cost too much more then 8MB Cache Hard Drives. . There are still drives out there with 2 and 4 MB of cache at lower prices then drives with 8 or 16MB of Cache for the same size drive. Pay attention when choosing hard drives so you pick the drive with the Cache you want.

RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks)

We highly suggest doing a lot of research before choosing to go with a RAID setup in your system.  RAID Setups can offer a lot of advantages when running multiple Hard Drives. There are also disadvantages to RAID as well, so make sure you understand RAID before choosing to run it in your system. For a brief overview of RAID arrays, check out HL's Glossary of Technology Terms

Optical Drives

There are many Optical Drives to choose from these days, and choosing the right one can seem confusing at first. The standard right now is a 18X DVD-+R. A single DVD burner will handle pretty much any optical drive duties out there. A few of the better brands to choose from are Pioneer, Sony, NEC, LG, LiteOn and Plextor.  Plextor makes some of the best optical drives out there, but they come with a premium price. For the average user one optical drive is enough, but some people may choose to have more then one optical drive to speed copying disks, or to multitask

Optional Parts to Consider

• USB (Thumb) Drive: If you don't already own one we suggest buying one. The prices on these devices have dropped considerably of the past few years. You can pick up a 1GB drive or larger for under $40. The thumb drive has replaced the floppy drive in most applications.
• Floppy Drive: The floppy drive is almost obsolete but you may find that one will still come in handy when troubleshooting a system and may be necessary to update the bios on some motherboards. Even if you don't install one in your system it might be handy to have one around for emergencies.
• Flash Card Reader: Many devices like digital cameras use flash cards and memory sticks. Installing a Flash Card Reader will make transferring data from your flash card to your hard drive easy.  When choosing a Flash Card Reader make sure it supports the Flash Card in your device. Look for a multi-card reader, something in the 9 in 1 to 14 in 1 range, which covers the most common card types.
  

Final Approval

Once you have chosen all of your parts you should post your list of parts on several different forms to get the opinions of others.  You may get some suggestions on areas you are either not sure about or you may have overlooked.  Choosing the right parts may seem like a grueling process, but it is the most important part of building your own computer.  Choosing a low quality part or part that is incompatible with your system is very frustrating. Take your time and choose your parts wisely to ensure you get the best computer for your money.

Links To Remember