Wisdom of the Masses

Building the Best PC

Published on February 21, 2005 By Akoloutheo In Personal Computing

One day in a (hopefully) not to distant future I will build the ultimate in desktop computers. All the nations will cower before the computing might of my mega computing machine and I will...
Sorry... a little... OTT

If you (the great and wise WC masses) could build your ideal PC what would you put inside it? Which MoBo? Which processor? Ram and what type? What Graphics card? Why?

Indulge in your wildest dreams (and help a future PC builder understand whats Hot and whats Not)

Thank you

Comments (Page 1)

Double Zero

on Feb 21, 2005

I have actually built my own, about a year ago..ready to build a new one now..but..::laughs::
I chose a Soyo MoBo The Dragon Ultra Platinum to be specific
I put a 3gig P4
I used Geil Golden Dragon series RAM PC3200 400MHZ

Then I put it all in a Green UV sensitive Acrylic case and adapted a Modded 500w PSU,Front and rear LED Fans in the PSU w/adjustable speed controll..

all the wiring I sleeved with UV Sensitive red sleeving
I have 4 case 80mm Case fans that are black light LED's and also a 12" black Light cathode

The Graffix card I went with is the Asus 9600XT but I wish I would have paid the Xtra cash and got a Radeon..

I Have an Ernmax fan controller
a TDK Indi 880n DVD Burner

Originally I had a WD 74 gig Raptor for my HD..but I bought the thing off of Ebay and needless to say it fried within the first month
So now I run a Basic 80gig WD as my main drive and a 60gig Maxtor as my slave..

I think that about covers the one I built, as far as whats new on the hardware scene I am not up to speed..I have heard tho that the new processors, the 775's, they are having a bit of an overheating issue..So be careful..

Zero.

Double Zero

on Feb 21, 2005

I could have been a little more vague eh?..::laughs:: I am tired, its been a long day, hers better spec's on the hardware..

P4 3.0gig w/800\512 FSB ~These days they are up to 1 mb FSB "Mo Bettah!"

1gig Geil Dual Channel unbuffered DDR RAM PC3200\ 400MHZ ~ They have introduced DDR2 for RAM I htink it was at 800MHZ? Im not sure but it's faster!

I Highly recommend Soyo MB's, this is the 2cnd PC I have built using their product and it is a very solid MoBo. They have an online store at soyousa.com

The Graffix card, the Asus I am using, I bought it because it was like $200 cheaper than the Radeon in the same class, it uses radeon graffix chips..but when all is said and done it just is NOT a radeon..get the Radeon you'll be happy you did.

As for all the other stuff, those are just frills..::laughs:: The UV Fans, the modded PSU, Wire sleeving, Stainless Steel Lazer cut Dragon Fan Covers..etc..etc.. They have a ton of PC Mod stuff, some of it is *Very cool..but..it's mostly lights buzzers and bells...

Zero.

Akoloutheo

on Feb 21, 2005

Sweeeeeeet!

When does the next project begin.

Jafo

on Feb 21, 2005

Lian Li PC67 aluminium tower...500 watt PSU

Asus P4P800E Deluxe MoBo Serial raid/9 channel sound, 8 USB2, etc

P4 3gig 800 fsb !gig DDR3200 400fsb dual channel.

Gigabyte Radeon 9600XT 256 meg.

80, 60, and 160 gig drives.

Pioneer 16x multi format dual layer DVD rewriter

LiteON 52x32x52 CD rewriter.

100 meg Zip

56k modem and ADSL modem.

Diamondview 19" Flat CRT

Double Zero

on Feb 21, 2005

Nice System Jafo..just about the same as mine with minor differences..

I threw together a quick web page so you could get a visual, it's best viewed maximized due to the fact the pics wont stay where they are supposed to..grrr..shoulda used a table..Link

The place to begin when your going to build a system is at the very heart, that would be the MoBo, since it will determine what hardware you can use, RAM, Video..etc..etc..

When I built this thing I pretty much bought a piece at a time, took me over six months to get everything together, the first item I bought was of course the case, because thats what I wanted to use for certain..the next was the MoBo..I knew I wanted a Soyo...but I had not decided which one until I did a little reading..each piece of hardware I investigated, read reviews, compared price..etc... Thats what worked for me when I had decided to "build the ultimate in desktop computers. All the nations will cower before the computing might of my mega computing machine and I will..." LoL! As you appear ready to do..

Good Luck!,
Zero

Akoloutheo

on Feb 21, 2005

It looks like you have both built some neat systems. Thanks for the web site BTW! Did you face many difficulties in piecing them together?
What tools do I "need."

Ta!

kona0197

on Feb 21, 2005

Any system I own or I dream about have on thing in common: NO INTEL PARTS!

AMD all the way!

Double Zero

on Feb 21, 2005

LoL..Kona...I Have nothing bad to say about AMD, as I am sure you have a list for Intel, I have used both processors and a couple of other off brands, AMD did have an edge on pentium for a short lived time frame as far as bench tests were concerned, But like the Weird Al Parody goes.."It's all about the Pentiums Baby"..Nothing beats a smooth running Pentium chip...a fact is a fact.

As far as tools, I recommend going to your nearest PC store, Major retail, or my personal favorite, just the little hole in the wall PC shop. Purchase a Computer Tool Kit..The good ones will have soldering accessories and the whole ball of wax.
One thing is *Very important, be *Very sure the toolkit you purchase is *Demagnatized* not all of them are, Magnents are a bad thing..::laughs:: real bad..Soooo...there ya go..I hope thats useful for you.

Zero.

Jafo

on Feb 21, 2005

Lian Li cases are thumb-screwed.....almost no need for a driver.

About the only tool/s you need is a phillips head [small] tweezers [if you're a bit dropsy] and the odd zip-tie to get things tidy...

Double Zero

on Feb 22, 2005

Or..What he says..[jafo].LoL...Just watch the magnet stuff...

kona0197

on Feb 22, 2005

I really hate to do this but here goes.

Intel Pentium 4 chips are not 64 bit. They are 32 bit. AMD FX series are 64 bit. And basically blow Intel chips away.

Sorry kid.

Double Zero

on Feb 22, 2005

::nods:: For the time being, The 64's are pretty fresh still..When in competition thats how it goes..::laughs:: But soon Intel will release their new line of processors and AMD will then again be "Second Rate" The thing that I personally found about AMD at least for me, is they do not have the lungevity of the Intel.
Gamers love them because they are so impressively "overclocked" which only leads to an even ealier demise..

Anyway, Thats why we have slogans in this country like "Have it your way" because you can.. If AMD works for you then by all means..keep using it..I may purchase another one in my life myself!

As for the "Kid" part..Thanx..at 42 I was beginning to feel old..real mid-life crisis stuff and all...LoL!

Take Care,
Zero.

kona0197

on Feb 22, 2005

But soon Intel will release their new line of processors and AMD will then again be "Second Rate" The thing that I personally found about AMD at least for me, is they do not have the lungevity of the Intel.

Again I beg to differ.

Intel is supposed to be releasing a 64 bit chip but from what I have heard it is nothing more than a AMD clone. Everyday they do not release it is another day AMD gains ground.

AMD chips last just as long as Intel. And here is something else to think about: They are much cheaper while offering above avaerage performance. In other words you can get an Intel crushing AMD CPU for a lot less than an simular speed Intel chip.

My system I have right now is AMD and has an Nvidia Nforce chipset and an Nvidia based graphics car.

Double Zero

on Feb 22, 2005

I believe I did state, somewhere in this thread that it has been awhile since I looked into all the goodies the hardware scene had to offer, but I have managed to catch scaps and tidbits of info here and there [what can I say, old habits die hard..LoL]

Concerning Intel, the last article I read about their upcoming chips stated they were going to be of a *Very unique design, something to do with nano-architecture, the overall design of the new chip will not even function in the same respect that the modern ones do today..::sighs:: I wish I knew more about them right now because I remember being pretty amazed at the features..

Either way..I dont want this to turn into the "Cliche'" Mac-PC arguments. only concerning Processors now..::laughs:: I am receptive to innovation and I go with whats Hot at the time I am reaching for it..be it AMD at the time or Pentium..For I am a consumer, my crime..I consume..LoL

I generally start reading reviews, asking questions, taking cost into perspective and go from there. I simply prefer Pentiums, but I am not a die-hard, loyal to the last breath consumer, if there is another product out there that I find better than what I have, I'll jump right on it..but that takes alot of investigation and information to base a decision upon.

Sooo..Friends?..LoL..or do you hate me because of Pentiums...LMAO

Zero.

Double Zero

on Feb 22, 2005

Btw, When I do become a member [would have been today but the banks were closed and mine hasnt posted my deposits yet..GRRRR!]

Will I be able to do that cool yellow highlighting that all of you seem to love to use when your throwing words back in someones lap??

Im not done yet [obviously, ya got me on a rant now..LoL] I never once suggested that anyone buy a Pentium, I simply stated what *I had, and some of the capabilities I have heard the newer ones boast.

infact, I even cautioned against purchasing the new 775pin Pentiums due to the fact I have read they are having heat issues.
Even I would take a AMD over a chip that is destined to go down in flames! "mama dint rayz no dumy" LoL

So there, you have been officially "Told"..

Zero.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!