Deciding what kind of computer you want to build

From TheBestCaseScenario

[edit] PC system types

Depending on your needs there are specific types of systems to suit your needs, this can mean that a system can be nice and cheap, to very expensive.

[edit] General PC

A PC system for Word documents, browsing the web and e-mail. Building a system that doesn't need to do much means you can save lots of money. You don't have to spend loads on a processor, and the cheapest will easily cope for simple tasks like this. Also, you don't need lots of memory (RAM). A small hard drive will also be sufficient as document files are small, in comparison to other files.

Sample Spec:

CPU (processor):1.6GHz+ single core.

RAM (memory): 512MB DDR/DDR2 slow speeds are good enough.

HDD (Hard Drive): 80GB SATA

Mobo (Motherboard): One that will accept the CPU you have chosen and has on-board graphics.

GPU (Graphics):On-board will be good enough. If the motherboard doesn't have on-board then the cheapest card will do.

PSU (Power Supply Unit): VERY important. Getting a PSU that is powerful enough is a must, and cheap PSU brands can damage systems. 200-300W should be enough for a simple system.

[edit] Multi-tasking PC

A PC that will do all that a cheap PC will do but more, and quicker. A system like this will be good enough for playing movies, music, as well as very light gaming. So this system will have a more powerful dual-core processor, which is two logical cores inside one processor. It doesn't mean there are two processors in one processor, there are two logical cores instead of one. This allows you to run more applications without noticing a slow down in performance. For light gaming you will start to leave behind on-board graphics (graphics that run from the motherboard) and switch to cheap graphics cards, using their own memory and not the system memory. Again you will need more memory in the system to game, more memory and faster memory also offers performance increase. You should be looking for a bigger hard drive if you plan on storing music and movies, as the use lots of space.

Spec:

CPU: 1.6/1.8GHZ Dual-core.

RAM: 1/1.5GB DDR2 (DDR2 because most dual cores need it)

HDD: 250GB+

Mobo: One that excepts the CPU and supports DDR2 (make sure the CPU does too, if not then DDR needs to be used)

GPU: on-board will do, if not again a cheap GPU will do.

PSU: 350/400W

[edit] Gaming PC

A PC that will allow you to perform simple tasks easily and then jump into some great gaming A system like this doesn't come cheap, your looking at high end components not cheaper parts like you would in a simple system. Like the multi-tasking PC a dual-core processor is a must really, as games progress to take use of more cores the more playable your games will be.

More memory is a must again, games require lots of memory to perform well and make them play smoother, you should look for some of the top memory here, not maximum but high speed and a minimum of 2GB should be used for gaming. For a hard drive you should probably look for more than one, otherwise performance is limited as the OS is trying to access the drive the same time as games. Two hard drives would be much better. Motherboard become more important here, making sure they are good enough to support the latest processors and Graphics, always check the specification.

Graphics, here onwards, you don't want to be using on-board graphics they don't hack it in games as they use the system memory instead of their own, one of the latest cards isn't really needed, a few hundred £/$ should get a good enough card. PCI-E cards not AGP as the AGP interface is becoming less supported by high end cards and PCI-E offers more power. Again make sure the mobo supports PCI-E 16x.

Spec:

CPU: 2.0GHz+ Dual-core.

RAM: 2GB/3GB DDR2

HDD: 2* 250GB+

Mobo: good spec mobo that excepts the CPU, RAM and has a PCI-E slot.

GPU: High-end card few hundred £/$ PCI-E.

PSU: 600/700W+

[edit] Serious Gaming

A gaming system that will allow you to game with the eye candy This is where PCs become really expensive. A system like this will fly through simple tasks and heat up your gaming. You’re looking at the top end of dual-core processors now. Lots of memory. A serious hard drive setup. And a graphics card that puts all attention on you.

For the processor you looking at the most expensive dual-core kit you can get, this is just under 3GHz at the moment, and allows for some serious game play. Even Quad-core processors if you are really wanting some major speed.

For the memory you are going to need 3GBs and up the more the better, the faster the better. Here you will defiantly be looking for some expensive RAM without it you could slow down. DDR2 is the only way you will get this performance.

Hard drives play a big bit now you need more than 2 to get the cheapest performance or you could have two but at more of a cost. Buying 3 hard drives, 1 for the OS and your files and two for your games. Why two? Because of RAID which allows you to link two or more drives together to increase performance or security. Using 2 drives in Raid 0 will make the OS see it as one, therefore splitting the data in half and writing to each one every other bit of data, in theory this make the hard drive twice as fast. Or you could buy a 10000RPM drive which has quicker access times than 7200RPM drives which are more common, but linking two 7200RPM drives can be quicker than one 10k drive. The 10k RPM drives are very expensive for small storage.

The mobo plays another major role you want top gaming you need a mobo that can either support NVIDIA’s SLi or ATi’s Crossfire (Allowing you to link two cards together for extreme performance). This means a top line motherboard with 2 PCI-E x16 slots, that supports SLi or Xfire. If you want to boost your performance a board that will allow you to overclock the CPU is even better but overclocking can damage expensive parts.

The Graphics here become very important too, A SLi mother board will allow you to link two of the top line cards together, so lots of money will be spent here. And the same for Crossfire, although with ATi’s cross fire you have to buy a special Master card for crossfire NVIDIA’s cards don’t need a special card.

The PSU is under Lots of pressure now You need one that will have enough connectors so everything can be powered equally, the only way you will get enough power for systems like this is looking towards 1kW PSUs.

Spec:

CPU: 2.8GHz+ Dual-core or 2GHz+ Quad-core.

RAM: 4GB+ fast DDR2

HDD: 1* 320GB for OS and files, 2* 250GB drives for games in RAID 0 or a 10000RPM drive.

Mobo: High spec that accepts SLi or Crossfire and supports the latest CPUs RAM and has a RAID driver, this saves money on buying a separate RAID card.

GPU: Top of the line card, twice.

PSU: 1000W + with enough connectors.