06.03.2008, 06:09
Motherboard: Intel based P-35 for single graphics card or X-38 chipset if you plan on using two cards. My brand preference is Gigabyte as they seem to be reliable and durable. I do think that a motherboard that will support DDR2 and DDR3 RAM may be a bit of a future proofing purchase. Make sure your motherboard will support the latest Intel CPU's (Wolfdale CPU's).
Intel E-8400 or 8500 CPU. Get an aftermarket cooler as you will want to do some overclocking in order to get the most out the CPU.
RAM: Fast DDR2 RAM is fine. DDR3 is promising, but is also very expensive at this time. You can do very well with some high end DDR2 that will also overclock. I'm a big fan of Corsair brand RAM.
Hard drive: Personal preference here, I like at least two so the operating system (I still prefer Windows XP) can be on one drive and the page file on the other drive. It just seems a bit faster. If you want really fast, then identical drives set up in RAID 0 fashion.
Sound card: On board sound is ok, but a good sound card is better. I'm still using a Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS.
Video card: I'm an Nvidia fan. I'm also a simplicity fan, so I really don't like running 2 cards. I prefer to buy one card and make it the fastest card I can afford. The only exception to that rule is value. Nvidia's top of the line cards may cost 20% more than the next step down, but may give only a 5% increase in performance. To me, that is a poor value, so do your research.
CD-RW/DVD-RW: Personal preference, read some reviews before buying, you don't want to buy one that is known to have problems.
Power supply: Often forgotten, until it goes "BANG!" Buy quality, not cheap. PC Power and Cooling, Fortron, Antec, and I know there are a few more really good ones that I can't remember. I would not consider anything less than 650 watts and make sure it has at least +12v lines, each line providing 18 amps or greater. Yes, this is truly overkill, but PSU's lose there ability to provide power over time and if you start with one that is barely able to keep up, it will fail prematurely.
Case: Think about ventilation. You want smooth airflow, preferably with air coming in through the front and exiting through the rear and top of the case.
That's about all I can think of right now.
Intel E-8400 or 8500 CPU. Get an aftermarket cooler as you will want to do some overclocking in order to get the most out the CPU.
RAM: Fast DDR2 RAM is fine. DDR3 is promising, but is also very expensive at this time. You can do very well with some high end DDR2 that will also overclock. I'm a big fan of Corsair brand RAM.
Hard drive: Personal preference here, I like at least two so the operating system (I still prefer Windows XP) can be on one drive and the page file on the other drive. It just seems a bit faster. If you want really fast, then identical drives set up in RAID 0 fashion.
Sound card: On board sound is ok, but a good sound card is better. I'm still using a Soundblaster Audigy 2ZS.
Video card: I'm an Nvidia fan. I'm also a simplicity fan, so I really don't like running 2 cards. I prefer to buy one card and make it the fastest card I can afford. The only exception to that rule is value. Nvidia's top of the line cards may cost 20% more than the next step down, but may give only a 5% increase in performance. To me, that is a poor value, so do your research.
CD-RW/DVD-RW: Personal preference, read some reviews before buying, you don't want to buy one that is known to have problems.
Power supply: Often forgotten, until it goes "BANG!" Buy quality, not cheap. PC Power and Cooling, Fortron, Antec, and I know there are a few more really good ones that I can't remember. I would not consider anything less than 650 watts and make sure it has at least +12v lines, each line providing 18 amps or greater. Yes, this is truly overkill, but PSU's lose there ability to provide power over time and if you start with one that is barely able to keep up, it will fail prematurely.
Case: Think about ventilation. You want smooth airflow, preferably with air coming in through the front and exiting through the rear and top of the case.
That's about all I can think of right now.