Hey... Blogging Time

Whoa... check this out from Tiger Direct - http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=4086974&sku=P450-9110%20C&SRCCODE=WEM1670BY&cm_mmc=Email-_-Main-_-WEM1670-_-components

Looks like a good deal right. It's got a quad core CPU, Nvidia Mobo, 2 Gigs of RAM!!! But its not such a good deal... why not... well lets start with the case - the case is el cheapo... hard core el cheapo... like its not even worthy of being called welfare.. that case is so poor it cannot afford the r on the end so its poo.

The mobo is a dirty skank - a micro ATX board with a lamo chipset (630i)... only 2 gigs crucial RAM, but its the DDR2 667 or (4800 DDR2) cmon RAM is soooo cheap! Finally there is the power supply. My guess is it would make a better boat anchor than anything else.

I can do better than this... I can do it peicemeal... watch and learn -

First off the motherboard should be robust. No cheaping out here. No if you want performance and stability and the ability to overclock then by god almighty you need a right proper motherboard. - This is a Gigabyte EP45-DS3R mobo... it utilizes the new P45 chipset. The P45 Chipset is the mainstream chipset where as the X48 chipset is the top of the line performer. This thing is only $149.99. I like it... lots of expansion ports, nice features, dual gig lan, oh its so pretty for such a low price... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3969362&CatId=3790

Now lets stuff a quad core in there. This Q6600 is the same on as in the build that tiger direct is selling... only its OEM, so no box or fan... no worries though... well get to the fan in a bit... http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2643933

Ok, now for some RAM. I chose to stick with 2 gigs of RAM. This RAM though is from OCZ, has a wicked cool heatsink config, and is PC9200 DDR2 - thats PC1150 for those of you keeping score. For 60 bucks after rebate... sick: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3079599&CatId=2531

A heatsink and Fan - this is a golden oldie, a favorite of builders round the web - I present the Zalman 9700 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118020&Tpk=zalman%2b9700 - Is it as cheap as I'd like, nope, but were talking about protecting a major investment here. You need a CPU cooler that can get the job done and maintain decent thermals then this is what you want. At 79.99 it is pricey, but I use the 9500 version of this cooler and it has never failed me - ever.

Now we need a case. You need to evaluate your needs when buying a case. Do you want to run a noisy machine, or silent machine, a blazing fast silent machine (these do not exist by the way), what do you want? How much room do you have? Tower or desktop (good luck with finding a decent desktop) How much power do you need? Do you want to buy your own power supply or use the one that comes with the case? What about a clear side, hows about LED's, thermal management, fan's, fan controller, how many external drive bays do you want? Yeesh!!!

Here are some basic rules that most people follow - first of all most people do not want their computers to stick out. Most people like it when their computer blends in with the rest of thier electronics equipment - so this normally means a black colored case. Most do it yourselfers understand the value of room for case fans - since 120mm fans move the most air with the least amount of noise you want to look for a case that supports 120mm fans in both the front and back of the case. Next you want to think about mobo size, most mobo's are ATX size or mATX (micro ATX), If you buy an ATX compatible case your probably safe. A power supply is the heart of a computer - bad power supply = fried equipment. Here is just a short list of the problems that a piss poor power supply can cause.

Random Lockups
Random Restarts
Poor 3D performance
Overheating parts
Poor thermal management leading to hardware failure
Ruined or zapped equipment
Miscellaneous BIOS resets
Poor overclocking performance
Inexplicable random internal component failure/crash

Yeah... don't skimp here. Behold the Antec Sonata 500 with 500 Watt Antec Power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129024

It's 100 bucks with the power supply. Its not tool free, but real men don't need drive rails ;) Anyway its quiet, will fit most mobos, has room for some 120mm fans, and is well built by a reputible company.

Ok, so the I'm not even close to 299 or even 499 on this one - I am however, impressed with what you can buy and the featues that you can get for around 500 - 600 bucks. Peace!!!