Computer build compendium

[flopsquad]

Since I'm about to embark on my first DIY computer build, I searched the OCforums for related info. While there seem to be threads about the mechanics of actually putting stuff in a case, and also threads about evaluations of a particular configuration or new product, there doesn't seem to be a comprehensive collection people's favorite parts (all in the same place).

So what is your favorite brand of motherboard? RAM? Are you getting significant returns from PCxx00 DDR2 versus PCyy00 DDR? What equipment has worked well together for you and what has simply refused to get along? Favorite HD technology? What's the best bang for your buck currently in processors (AMD, Intel, anything); what's a steal and what's overrated? If you were going to put it all together right now, what would you put into a $500, $1000, or $money-is-no-option system? Anything related to turning a bunch of parts+case into a working computer is welcome.

Your experience is the guidance I'm going to use to build this system (my budget is <$500 but that shouldn't put any limits on this discussion; I'm going to start from here: http://overclockers.com/articles1134/ and see what else turns up in this thread)

Thanks!

[kayson]

First of all, it helps to know what you're going to be using your system for. That will help determine what kind of processor to get.

Good mobo brands: Asus, Abit, DFI, Gigabyte, MSI. I've used Asus and MSI myself, and they've all worked great. A lot of people here use Abit and DFI and get great overclocks with outstanding performance. Really any of those will work. Just remember to make sure everything is compatible.

RAM: OCZ, Kingston, Corsair, Crucial to name a few. I have DDR2 which are reaching higher and higher speeds, but DDR1 has lower latencies. I really think DDR2 is the way to go (if you're going Intel; AMD doesn't support it, in which case low-latency DDR1 is great), but that is really only found on higher-end systems, and there's nothing wrong with DDR1

HD: Western Digital, Maxtor, Seagate. Depends if you need storage or speed. Western Digital Raptors are very fast, but they'd take a chunk out of your budget. Any of their products will do fine. What you get should be because of the storage space you need. Just stay away from anything with the following words: quantum,fireball

As for overrated: Generally speaking, stay away from expensive processors. With a $500, you can't get there anyways, but a $1000 Intel 3.46 ghz EE is definitely not worth it. Really your performance will be a function of how much money you put into your system, but that's not to say that a cheap system won't run good.

See my sig for my "favorite" parts. I guess I can call them my favorites. That's why I put them together in my rig.

Another thing to consider is cooling. If you plan to overclock a lot, you might want to allocate more of your budget for cooling. If not, a stock cooler should suffice. Of course the other issue that arises is noise. If you want a quiet computer, you'll have to pay for it.

For $500, I'd suggest an Intel Celeron processor or a cheap Athlon XP. In fact, unless you have a strong issue against AMD, I'd go with AMD; you'll probably get more bang for your buck, especially if you're a gamer. On the other hand, if you do a lot of encoding and multitasking, it'd be worth it to stay with Intel. Again, it depends on what you'll be using the rig for. No one is going to give you your system's specs. A more productive way to go about this would be to come up with your own system specs and post them on the forums. Then people will give you much more informative responses, critiquing your system, pointing out anything that is incompatible, etc..

Good luck and WELCOME TO THE FORUMS! :welcome:

[flopsquad]

Thanks, much appreciated!
I was kind of hoping to do something bigger than my own specific needs here. The computer I'm building is actually a desperation rig I need to get data off of a failed laptop that won't power on anymore, with working (but RAID 0-ed) hard disks. It's minimalist, something to tide me over until the lappy is repaired. That's why I didn't include any specs or specific configs-- just trying to get a feel for brands, good values, what more experienced builders here in the forums look for in specific components rather than what some sales jockey says.

To that end, it's going to be a working not gaming computer. Modest overclocking is desirable but not mandatory.

Still, more posts like ^ will be helpful to inexperienced people like myself, so feel free to keep posting your favorite components.

[subtotal]

if you do decide to go with an "older system" athlon XP etc, you could check the classifieds (once you have 100 posts, no spamming) as you can get the same parts cheaper, it's quite common for members to sell off parts here as they upgrade to newer systems. the benefit of this if you decide to overclock is you know just how far a part will overclock and on what cooling

[flopsquad]

That's a good point, since I do plan to build a *real* computer in the future--part of the reason I started this thread. For now I'm just going for inexpensive and quickly obtainable (as in I can go buy the stuff and put it together tomorrow night :sn: ) while not being a dumb decision. Like I'm only going to blow so much $ on a CPU+mobo but if AMD is more games oriented and Intel is more multitasking, that's good to know. Plus things like, if I want to upgrade in the future, Socket A doesn't seem to be the Socket Of The Future, and apparently I should avoid HDs named "fireball" like the plague.

Thanks