Computer Builds
The "Sweet Spot"
| Component | Recommended Model | Info/Pictures |
Why? |
| Case |
17" 250W 17" 300W w/ front USB |
Cases | Your choice of power supply, with or without front USB ports, and choice of standard beige, silver w/ black front, black w/ silver front, beige with blue front. Try the optional side-window with blue LED fan! |
| Motherboard | MSI K8N Neo4-F | MSI | nForce4 chipset for Socket 939 Athlon 64 CPU, PCI Express, 4 SATA, 2 PATA, 10 USB 2.0 ports (4 rear, 6 front), RAID 0, 1 using SATA or PATA. |
| Processor | AMD Athlon64 3200+ | AMD | Faster, cooler than comparable Intel chips - 64-bit capable - what's not to like? |
| RAM | 1 GB CAS 2.5 PC-3200 DDR | Kingston | 2x512 MB (dual channel) Kingston memory - lifetime warranty. |
| Video card | MSI GeForce NX6200TC-TD64ES | MSI | Good performance , good price 128 MB, has TV-out, DVI (for digital flat panel monitors), or use both outputs together (two independent RAMDACs!) Serious gamers - upgrade to the MSI NX6600GT card. |
| Hard Drive | Maxtor 200 GB (8 MB cache), 7200 RPM SATA | Maxtor | Seagate drives - 8 MB cache for great performance and still reasonably priced - Maxtor has taken over as the quietest drives on the market (from Seagate). |
| DVD-RW | LG 16-40-24-40 | LG Electronics | DVD-RW (dual layer) 16x, CD-R (40x), CD-RW (24x), CD-ROM (40x) - compatible with ALL formats |
| Sound Card | Built-in to motherboard | Save some money if you don't need advanced sound - this has a 7-channel audio card and game controller built in! There's even an optional digital in (coax, fiber) and center, rear channel out I/O bracket available. | |
| Speakers | Logitech X530 - 5.1 surround speakers w/ subwoofer | Logitech | Okay, you HAVE to have a subwoofer - but if you get a cheap plastic one, you'll be sorry! This one is fantastic for the price and has a wood sub AND a center channel! |
| Keyboard | BenQ X120 | BenQ | It's less than $20 and has full support for media buttons, Internet shortcuts, etc...you can't go wrong! |
| Mouse | Logitech wheel optical mouse (black) | Logitech | Trust me again...get an optical mouse! This one also supports both PS2 and USB. |
| TOTAL COST |
$ GST included |
You can find 'em cheaper, but it's a challenge to find 'em better! | |
| Options/Peripherals: | |||
| Monitor - CRT | NEC Multisync FE990 (black) | NEC | A good, flat-screen 19" monitor for the best price. You could get one for nearly $100 less, but this is something you look at all the time - do it right! This one's slightly above middle-of-the-road. (yes, it comes in black too) |
| Monitor - LCD Panel | Samsung 715v | Samsung | A good, affordable 17" LCD panel approx. $ 329 |
| Joystick | Thrustmaster Firestorm Dual Analog gamepad | Thrustmaster | A digital AND analog joystick (more precise control) with force feedback and lots of buttons! |
| Color Printer | |||
| Laser Printer | |||
| 56K PCI Modem | |||
| Scanner |