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Motherboards & CPUs
A quick commentary on my motherboard selection and vendors:
What I have tried to do here is show the best products in every category. Many motherboard vendors don't make the cut for one reason or another, whether it be horrible tech support / return policies, or lack of bios support. I choose boards that have proven themselves on the market as top performers, and boards that I would be proud to recommend to any system builder. To get a feel for the different quality vendors available, I'll write a short synopsis of my opinion of their companies.
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ASUS - Top quality support and motherboards. They consistently put out the first and best motherboards of any given chipset, and have proven themselves as leaders in the enthusiast motherboard scene for several years now. I generally recommend boards from ASUS to people looking for straight-up quality and ease of use. You really can't go wrong with anything they make. If you're unsure about which manufacturer to pick, choose ASUS.
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Abit - Out of all my recommended vendors, this is the only company I haven't personally used a board from. They have a long history of supplying performance motherboards, and many people swear by their massive overclocks on Abit boards. It seems to me, that the enthusiast community tends to think that Abit boards are tricky and a pain in the rear to set up, but if you're willing to put in the effort, you can get great results. As of late, their bioses have been sub-par with the exception of their nF 650i and Quad GT boards.
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DFI - I wish I could say DFI is still what it once was. Back in the AMD 939 days, DFI's LanParty boards were untouchable in terms of quality and performance. In a sense, you could say they raised the bar for other companies to follow in subsequent generations. Every DFI board still comes with the most bios options and very high overclocking potential, but they tend to be slow on the scene to produce boards and stable bioses. These boards tend to be picky with little margin for error, but can be great if you are willing to give them time and effort.
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eVGA - eVGA makes nVidia reference motherboards, meaning they design exactly what nVidia came up with for their chipset designs. Their boards are very good and work great, but the documentation for their motherboards isn't as refined as the other companies who have been in the game for longer. Bios updates are few and far in-between, but the prices on eVGA boards are generally very competitive.
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Gigabyte - For the longest time, Gigabyte has taken a back seat to ASUS. They consider them their #1 competition, and have been trying very hard to steal market share from ASUS. Their latest incarnations of Intel motherboards for Core 2 Duo continue to be top performers in the overclocking scene, and Gigabyte has succeeded in bringing high quality motherboards at low prices.
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AMD - These be dark days for AMD, at least in the high performance (gaming) desktop world. Their radical price cuts have been effective to a degree, but Intel is really locking down the gaming market with their brand new Core 2 Duo. Expect competition out of AMD's K10 Architecture CPUs in the future, but only time will tell if that will be enough to put big blue back in their place.
AMD Motherboards:
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-nForce 4-
[i]nVidia's nForce 4 was the #1 chipset of 2005-2006. It provided solid gaming performance and good overclocking potential for the time. The only flaw associated with the chipset was nVidia's ActiveArmor firewall technology, which pretty much just doesn't work and will corrupt your network transfers if you install it. nVidia has killed all support for ActiveArmor and it won't work in Vista (or linux, obviously), but make sure you choose 'no' when installing motherboard drivers in XP. Other than that, you can have a great performing chipset for your AM2 build at a budget price.
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Abit NF-M2S mATX - $63 - Good overclocking on a mATX motherboard. Very unique.
Gigabyte GA-M55SLI-S4 - $80 - Great budget SLI motherboard. Gigabyte makes excellent driver install CDs, good for first-timers.
DFI INFINITY NF ULTRAII-M2 - $80 - The #1 budget overclocker with a better bios than anyone else. Might be able to mod into SLI.
DFI INFINITY NF SLI-M2 - $90 - This is the UltraII with the SLI nodes connected on the chipset. It's cheaper to just buy this one if you want SLI though, as it comes with the SLI bridge.
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-nForce 5-
nVidia rolled out nForce 5 just in time for AMD's new AM2 socket in 2006. It enjoyed a very brief time in the spotlight before nVidia began focusing on Intel's Core 2 Duo with their nForce 6 series, but nearly all of the features of nForce 650i and 680i can be had in the AM2 counterparts of nForce 570 and 590, respectively. These are very sweet enthusiast-grade motherboards for the AM2 platform.
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ASUS M2N-E - $100 - Essentially the nF570 Ultra mobo to have for AM2. Nice bios on this one.
Gigabyte GA-M57SLI-S4 - $100 - Here's a fine nF570 SLI specimen, notable for supporting LinuxBIOS, an open source and fully customizable bios.
eVGA 122-M2-NF59-TR - $100 AR - You simply cannot beat the value of nF590 at $100. Spartan accessories, weak tech support, strong reference nVidia design OCer. I have personally OCed on this board. Fabulous bios.
Abit AN9 32X - $150 - nForce 590 chipsets are great, feature-packed OCing boards. Definitely a good deal, also has solid caps for the CPU for good OC potential. Also available in Fatal1ty Version if you're into that sort of thing.
DFI LP UT NF590 SLI-M2R/G - $169 - This is it, the #1 motherboard to have for socket AM2. Expect massive overclocks, unbeatable bios options, and the highest quality components all packed into one motherboard on 2006/11/22/dfi_lanparty_ut_nf590_sli_m2rg/1
ASUS Crosshair nForce 590 SLI - $240 - ASUS's take on the legendary DFI LanParty series. Built to the hilt with all solid capacitors, this mobo is a high overclocking extreme performer.
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-AMD 480/580X-
Crossfire on AM2 you say? After AMD bought ATI, they took the Radeon Xpress 3200 northbridge, put a new southbridge on it, and called it the 580X. These are excellent motherboards capable of rivaling nVidia's nForce 590 chipset. Plus, they're pretty much your only solution for crossfire on an AMD platform at the moment.
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ASUS M2A-MVP - $85 - A newcomer on the scene, I haven't heard anything about this one yet. $85 gets you a quality brand name and crossfire on AM2.
ASUS M2R32-MVP- $133 - AMD 580X chipset mobo from ASUS for excellent Crossfire performance.
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AMD CPUs:
AMD Athlon 64 3600+ X2 Brisbane - Current Price: $62 - Old Price: $69 - Can't beat the performance of this dual core for the price. Highly recommended for budget builds.
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ X2 Brisbane - Current Price: $70 - Old Price: $100 - Same chip as above, but with a higher multi.
AMD Athlon 64 4400+ X2 Brisbane - Current Price: $91 - Old Price: $115 - This chip competes directly with the Core 2 Duo e4300. If you're an OCer, go C2D. If you plan on keeping your machine at stock speeds, this one might be a bit faster.
AMD Athlon 64 4800+ X2 Brisbane - Current Price: $110 - Old Price: $130 - My roommate picked one of these up, we got it stable at 2.8Ghz within the day. That's the limit of the stock cooler.
AMD Athlon 64 5000+ X2 Brisbane - Current Price: $119 - New one on the egg. I suppose it's a pretty good value for non-OCers but above $100 you're really starting to dip into C2D land.
All the other 90nm AMD CPUs really aren't worth buying. If you want to spend more, your money is better invested in a C2D, and the 65nm chips will easily do 2.8Ghz at least as they are.
Intel- After a long stretch of getting owned in the market by AMD, Intel came back with a roundhouse kick to the face named Core 2 Duo. The brand new Core microarchitecture encompasses the latest and greatest in technology, and is being marketed at a price and performance level heretofore unheard of.
Before running off to get one of these hotcake processors, read this compatibility guide to make sure your mobo is capable of handling the monster:
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Intel Chipset Compatibility Guide for LGA775 CPUs
What chipset it right for me? Choose the style of CPU you have/want, and look to the right to see your chipset options.
Core 2 Quad: intel 965/975, nForce6, AMD Xpress 3200
Core 2 Duo: intel 945*/965/975, nForce6, AMD Xpress 3200, VIA P4M890/P4M800 pro*
Pentium EE: intel 955/965/975. nForce6, AMD Xpress 3200, VIA P4M890/P4M800 pro*
Pentium D: intel 945/955/965/975, nForce6, AMD Xpress 3200, VIA P4M890/P4M800 pro*
Pentium 4 EE: intel 925XE,945,955,965,975, nForce6, AMD Xpress 3200, VIA P4M890/P4M800 pro*
Pentium 4 w/HT: intel 915,925,925XE,945,955,965,975, nForce6, AMD Xpress 3200, VIA P4M800/P4M890/P4M800 pro
Celeron-D: intel 915,925,925XE,945,955,965,975, nForce6, AMD Xpress 3200, VIA P4M800/P4M890/P4M800 pro
SLI: nForce 650 (8x & 8x), nForce 680i (16x & 16x)
Crossfire: intel P965 & P35 (8x & 4x), intel 975X (8x & 8x), AMD Xpress 3200 (8x & 8x)?
*chipset may not actually have this support included, check manufacturer website for details
Please not that this guide does not include every chipset available for LGA775 CPUs, however it covers a good range.
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Intel Motherboards:
-VIA PT880 Ultra-
Normally I don't recommend budget chipset motherboards (VIA, SiS), but this one has a special purpose.
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ASRock 4CoreDual-VISTA- $59 - aka The OMGWTFBBQ Motherboard, this engineering feat encompasses Core 2 Duo compatibility, DDR1, DDR2, AGP, and PCIe all within the ATX form factor. A great transition board for those who have older equipment, expect budget performance from this budget board.
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-Intel P965-
This was the brand new high performance chipset that debuted with Core 2 Duo. Many people report overclocks of well over 400fsb on good P965 motherboards. The only disappointing part of these boards is that the crossfire capability is limited to 8x and 4x bandwidth, assuming you have a full size second PCIe slot to begin with. Intel has launched the newer P35 chipset to replace the P965, I recommend purchasing those motherboards but have left a few lower cost P965 options available.
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Abit IB9 - $75 AR - One of the cheapest P965 solutions, it's full-featured and looks nice too. Abit is an overclocking brand, but they have yet to prove themselves in the C2D realm.
Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 - $115 - This is the S3 with solid capacitors for cleaner power and improved overclocking potential. A recommended upgrade for OCers.
Abit AB9 QuadGT- $120 AR - This is a P965 chipset designed specifically for high overclockability. Abit marketed it against the ASUS Commando.
DFI INFINITY P965-S - $140 - Easily the best overclocking P965 motherboard. Just released not too long ago, DFI took a lot of time getting this one right. Highly recommended.
ASUS Commando - $200 - ASUS took the P965 all the way. Noted for extreme overclockability and awesomeness.
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-Intel P35-
Intel's new replacement for P965, guaranteed to support quad cores and 45nm right out of the box. There are two main styles worth considering: the DDR2 only boards and the DDR2/DDR3 boards. Obviously, the boards with two DDR3 slots allow for ultimate upgradability, but they pay the price with decreased overclocking capabilities.
Personal Commentary on the P35 market: I haven't really read a whole lot about these boards (maybe 2 reviews, got basically a better OCing chipset than P965 out of it) and so I went to newegg and compared the packages and layouts of all the P35's on newegg. There's a lot of cheaper P35's which feature skinny motherboards. I wouldn't buy one of those, they look cheap and probably perform the same. I'd also be hesitant to spend more than about $150 on these boards, seeing as they're P965 replacements and aren't really going to compete feature-to-feature with the nVidia 680i in the $185+ market.
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DDR2 Only
ASUS P5K - $137 - The cheapest P35 currently, and it boasts more features than the competitors. Probably the one to go with.
Abit IP35 - $145 - Lacks a second PCIe 16x slot but is otherwise a nice board.
Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3P - $150 - Gigabyte has many P35's on the market. This is the cheapest one worth getting.
ASUS P5K-E/WIFI - $155 - Black PCB and integrated wireless is a great benefit considering the wireless itself is worth $25 and isn't taking up a PCI slot.
Abit IP35 Pro- $185 - Abit's deluxe P35 offering. The features don't really stand out as a motherboard worth this much.
ASUS P5K Premium- $240 - This is nearly the same board as the P5K-E, but with bigger heatpipes and what appears to be better capacitors around the cpu area. I presume this implies better overclocking, but I don't think it warrants the cost.
DDR2 / DDR3
ASUS P5KC - $153 - DDR3 compatibility is certainly worth $16, but having two memory controllers stresses the chipset more.
Gigabyte GA-P35C-DS3R- $160 - Same story as above, except Gigabyte managed to lose a PCIe 16x slot in the process. Pass.
DDR3 Only
Gigabyte GA-P35T-DQ6- $240 - See below, first gen DDR3 motherboards are going to suck by the time DDR3 is affordable/mainstream.
ASUS P5K3 Deluxe - $247 - Pay more for your motherboard, pay a lot more for your DDR3, and...not really notice a difference.
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-Intel 975X-
Slightly older than the P965, the 975X is currently Intel's most deluxe chipset available. While it hasn't been consistent in providing killer 500fsb+ OCs, these boards can definitely push well into the mid 400's. Dual 8x crossfire bandwidth.
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DFI INFINITY 975X - $145 - Killer overclocker, great bios. Reaches into the domain of semi-deluxe P965 boards.
Abit AW9D- $180 - Abit's deluxe motherboard line, the AW9D is a very good board but their BIOS hampers overclocking ability.
Abit AW9D-MAX - $210 - The uber version of the AW9D, Has been reviewed with dismal overclockability. Other than that, very solid board.
ASUS P5W DH Deluxe - $210 - The same mega-deluxeness of the P5B Deluxe/WiFi, except on an Intel 975X chipset.
Intel BadAxe 2- $230 - Because they couldn't get away with BadAss. Seriously nice mobo, crazy bios features. The only performance Intel board out.
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-nForce 650i-
650i is the affordable dual 8x bandwidth chipset from nVidia for Core 2 Duo. It features rock solid performance, good OCing capability, and decent features for the money. Recommended for mid-end budget builds involving nVidia cards.
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ASUS P5NSLI- $98 - nForce 570 SLI for Intel, average OCing performance with SLI at a budget price.
eVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1- $100 AR - This is the first 650i Ultra board out on the market, which means it only has 1 PCIe 16x slot. If you don't need SLI and want excellent overclocks on a tight budget, this is a great way to go.
Abit Fatal1ty FP-IN9 SLI - $128 - Great looking and performing nForce 650i motherboard at a really nice price. I'd be very tempted to pick this one as my C2D mobo under $150. More features than ASUS's offering.
Gigabyte GA-N650SLI-DS4 - $140 - The newest 650i on the block, Gigabyte's offering looks very full-featured for the money.
ASUS P5N-E SLI - $150 - The first retail nForce 650i motherboard on the market, which means it has the most mature bios for the best OCs. Great budget SLI board.
ASUS P5N32-E SLI Plus - $187 - The nVidia frankenboard? Half 650i, half 680i, looks pretty awesome for the money.
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-nForce 680i LT-
The concept behind 680i LT was to bring the beefy overclocks and performance of 680i, without all the shiny features and at a lower price point. Looks like the only manufacturers taking the bait are making nVidia reference boards, but these are still solid choices for spartan performance guys.
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XFX MB-N680-ILT9 - $150 AR - XFX's first production motherboard. Comes with a good set of features at the lowest price. I'd probably do it if I were planning on using a couple cards from XFX.
eVGA 122-CK-NF67-T1- $160 AR - See the 680i section below for the differences between eVGA's T1 and A1 motherboards. In a nutshell, this box doesn't come with very many accessories.
eVGA 122-CK-NF67-A1- $170 AR - Same board, more stuff, $10. I think it's worth the cash.
DFI LanParty UT NF680i LT SLI-T2R - $300 - It's an LT with all the performance of the full 680i, initial bios won't go to 500fsb. Expect this one to be the top performer with a later bios revision.
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-nForce 680i-
These are the latest high performance chipsets from nVidia. They offer great overclocking performance and tons of features (especially in the bios), including three PCIe slots for the upcoming SLI + physics card technology.
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eVGA 122-CK-NF68-T1 - $230 - This is the revision "T1" to the i680 "TR" board just the same as the "A1" to "AR" board. Many fixed issues such as Quad core OC ability and Memory voltage issues, don't buy the first gen boards. This is the base model without many accessories.
eVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 - $240 - This is the deluxe package for the eVGA nForce 680i motherboard. It is a reference design based on nVidia's specifications, and is probably the most popular choice for GeForce 8 SLI setups.
ASUS P5N32-E SLI- $210 - Essentially a Striker Extreme without an LCD and LEDs on the mobo, this is definitely a top performing C2D mobo.
Abit IN9 32X-MAX- $330 - Abit's uber deluxe nForce 680i motherboard, it is the only 680i solution to offer integrated wireless networking, which could be an advantage in today's PCI-starved market.
ASUS Striker Extreme - $340 - This is the best overclocking motherboard in the world for GeForce 8 SLI setups.
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-ATI Xpress 3200 IE-
Lots of money and time went into this chipset. It was supposed to be the great nForce 680i killer from ATI. Unfortunately, that didn't happen after AMD bought ATI and DFI was the only company with enough balls to go ahead with production of the board. Surely a disappointment for crossfire fans everywhere.
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DFI LANPARTY UT ICFX3200-T2R/G - $250 - The highly anticipated RD600 is now in stock! Extreme overclocking performance with unrivaled memory tweaking options, as well as the best crossfire platform on the market. Unfortunately, synthetic benchmarks on this board leave a bit to be desired and support from other companies on this chipset have been slim to none.
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Intel CPUs:
Pentium E2140 - Current Price: $83 - Old Price: $84 - It shares the Core 2 architecture, but is crippled with a 1MB L2 cache.
Pentium E2160 - Current Price: $99 - Old Price: $91 - The better choice out of the two, this CPU is on par with an AMD 3600+ X2 at stock speed. However, the superior overclockability of the Core 2 architecture can make even this budget CPU a winner at high speed.
Core 2 Duo E4300 - Current Price: $130 - Old Price: $116 - The E4 series doesn't support virtualization and defaults to an 800Mhz FSB, which might be a good thing if you don't have overclocking ram.
Core 2 Duo E4400- Current Price: $129 - Old Price: $139 - Higher multi version of the E4300.
Core 2 Duo E6320 - Current Price: $165.50 - Old Price: $168 - Sweet deal, a price drop and double the L2 cache make this processor the best bang per buck at the moment.
Core 2 Duo E6420 - Current Price: $186 - Old Price: $190 - Higher multi version of the E6320 for easier/higher overclocks.
Core 2 Duo E6600 - Current Price: $222.90 - Old Price: $230 - The original Conroe AMD killer, now at a price that pretty much defeats their entire lineup.
Core 2 Duo E6700- Current Price: $317 - Old Price: $323 - Just an E6600 with a higher multiplier, not worth the extra cash in my opinion.
Core 2 Quad Q6600 - Current Price: $299!!! - Old Price: $535 - Essentially two E6600's on one die. Intel just dropped the price of this baby by like $500 since launch.
Core 2 Extreme X6800 - Current Price: $980 - Old Price: $975 - The fastest dual core CPU on the market, an E6600 with unlocked multipliers. Buy the QX6700 instead, it's more fun.
Core 2 Extreme QX6700 - Current Price: $968 - Old Price: $970 - Double up some Core 2 Extremes and put them on one die. Very powerful CPU, but there aren't many apps to take advantage of four cores yet. Not to mention the price is rape compared to the Q6600. Pass.
RAM:
How do I choose a nice set of ram?
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Well, it's much easier these days than it used to be. The first thing you need to think about is how fast you need your ram to go. After DDR2 800, there is less than 1% of real time performance gains to be had by overclocking the ram, so only buy ram that can go faster than DDR2 800 if you need the overclocking headroom (generally, above 400FSB on C2D motherboards which can only go as low as 1:1 on the memory divider).
There are essentially two types of DDR2 on the market. Value ram and Micron D9GMH. Value ram is basically any chip other than Micron D9GMH and is good to DDR2 800 and sometimes a little bit more. Micron D9GMH is "the good stuff" and can generally hit DDR2 1100 and above with some effort.
Don't be fooled by all this fancy crap on the market. Companies will dress up and overvolt value ram, charge a lot, and deliver a product that is completely incapable of overclocking. Corsair XMS, OCZ Reaper, all that junk is value ram unless proven otherwise.
I happen to be a big fan of G.Skill because they deliver a quality product with a lifetime warranty at very competitive prices in the US. Also, you always know what you're getting when you buy G.Skill.
Crucial gets all their chips from Micron, so their entire lineup of Ballistix is Micron D9GMH and also an excellent choice. Super Talent is great for low priced value ram, and also offers affordable D9GMH.
When you build a new PC, you will notice that many sticks of ram are sold in pairs. This is done because paired ram runs in Dual Channel, which allows each pair to operate in parallel, meaning that instead of one channel doing all the work, it's split between the two. This gives you greater performance without any penalty and is therefore the only intelligent solution.
2x1GB of ram is really the sweet spot these days. It's enough memory for Windows Vista running every game out now and into the forseeable future. Four gigs of ram has difficulty in 32bit operating systems (there are more banks of ram than addresses in a 32bit integer) and still isn't useful for 64bit operating systems meant for gaming and home use. Stick to 2 for now.
I have implemented a star-based ranking system which lets you visually see which ram sets I think will OC well, because I know there's a lot out there. Here's how it works:
* - Good for rated speed performance, or very mild OCing with loosened timings.
** - Might be able to tighten the timings at the rated speed, or keep the same timings with a mild OC.
*** - Good for moderate overclocking, might be possible to hit DDR2 1000.
**** - Capable of achieving DDR2 1000 and possibly beyond on the right setup.
***** - Now we're cookin with fire! Aim for DDR2 1100 and beyond with this stuff.
-2 x 512MB Value Kits-
Corsair ValueSelect 2x512MB DDR2 667 - $47 - High Point: $104 - **
-2 x 512MB Overclocking Kits-
Corsair XMS 2x512MB DDR2 800 - $70 - High Point: $131 - **
Buffalo Firestix FX800D2C-K1G DDR2 800 - $85 - High Point: $123 - ****
G.Skill 2x512MB DDR2 800 1GBHZ - $95 - High Point: $155 - ****
-2 x 1GB Value Kits-
Super Talent 2x1GB DDR2 667 - $85 - High Point: ~ - ***
G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2 800 2GBNQ - $100 - High Point: $210 - **
Corsair ValueSelect 2x1GB DDR2 667- $105 - High Point: $200 - **
-2 x 1GB Overclocking Kits-
Corsair XMS 2x1GB DDR2 800 - $110 AR - High Point: $260 AR - ***
G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2 800 2GBHK - $135 - High Point: $270 - ****
Super Talent 2x1GB DDR2 800- $149 - High Point: $258 AR - ***
Buffalo Firestix FSX800D2C-K2G DDR2 800 - $160 - High Point: $244 - ****
Corsair XMS 2x1GB DDR2 800 Dominator - $175 AR - High Point: $275 AR - ****
-Guaranteed Micron D9GMH (B6-3) 2 x 1GB Kits-
G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2 800 2GBHZ- $155 - High Point: $300 - *****
Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2 800- $160 - High Point: $290 - *****
G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2 667 2GBGA - $190 - High Point: $300 - *****
Crucial Ballistix 2x1GB DDR2 1000- $199 AR - High Point: $310 - *****
Mushkin XP 2x1GB DDR2 1066 - $215 AR - High Point: $400 - *****
++Crucial Ballistix Tracer 2x1GB DDR2 1000 - $220 AR - High Point: $325 - *****
+Corsair XMS 2x1GB DDR2 1066 Dominator - $224 AR - High Point: $389 - *****
Corsair XMS 2x1GB DDR2 1066- $237 AR - High Point: $366 - *****
-2 x 2GB Value Kits- (omgwtf four?)
Apida 2x2GB DDR2 533 - $235 - High Point: ~ - **
G.Skill 2x2GB DDR2 667 4GBPQ - $290 - High Point: ~ - **
Super Talent 2x2GB DDR2 800- $330 - High Point: ~ - *
+Normally, I don't reccomend gimmicky ram because those sticks are the same exact ones as the normal XMS, and those heatsinks aren't doing anything better than normal heatspreaders. But it's only $15 more, and they look really cool.
++These are the Tracers, they have blinky lights. I'd pay $15 for blinky lights I suppose.
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Video Cards:
The first thing that must be said about video cards is that their particular market moves faster than any other component in the PC Gaming industry. Literally every month represents a new favorite in every price bracket. What I'd like to do in this section of the tutorial is provide a basis in which anyone can decide for themselves what a good value for a video card is, and how much performance they really need. Secondly, I'd like to debunk a few quick myths about video cards before we get started:
Myth #1: My card has 512MB of VRAM. It is faster than your 256MB card.
--Absolutely not. Video ram exists to store color (pixel) information as a high speed reference for the rest of the system. Think of VRAM like the size of a container, and think of pixels like marbles. The more pixels you need to hold information for, the larger the bucket you will need to hold them. That being said, how big of a bucket (or how much vram) do you need? If you run at 800x600 or less, 128MB will be perfectly adequate. If you run between 1024x768 to 1280x1024, consider a card with 256MB of vram. There has been much discussion about the 8800GTS, since it is offered in 320MB and 640MB flavors. Test after test has proven that for resolutions under 1920x1200, the 320MB of VRAM is perfectly adequate.
Myth #2: My card has a higher number than yours, it is better.
--Negative. Video card ranking systems are series specific, which means that you can only relate performance to number/rank within that particular series of video card. It is most surely not as powerful as this 6800GT Also take note, that 7900GT is indeed more powerful than the 7300GT (and it also happens to be more powerful than the 6800GT). Comparing video cards across companies (nVidia and ATI for example) using their number/rank is also impossible.
Myth #3: nVidia cards get more FPS, but ATI cards have better image quality.
--This is the one where all the fanboys start to bunch up their panties. Back in the day of the ATI Rage and nVidia TNT (Don't forget Voodoo 3), this statement might have had more merit. DirectX wasn't the overpowering standard it is now, and these "3D Chips" often varied in performance and capabilities widely. Not all were capable of supporting the same effects like they are today. Nowadays, both companies are capable of achieving the same visual quality and at the same FPS. ATI and nVidia have a few different ways of antialiasing lines, but the fine differences are only noticable on the very high end cards like the 8800 and 2900 series where they can force high levels of antialiasing. Some games run better (or have been "optimized", if you will) on one architecture or the other. If you play a certain game a lot which you know runs better on ATI than nVidia, then you may wish to purchase a card from that manufacturer. Otherwise, pick the fastest card in your budget and let everyone else know you aren't a fanboy.
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Now that we got that out of the way, let's dive into how to find the right card for you. First of all, you should check out what's hot and new.To compare two cards properly, look down at these characteristics:
-Memory Bandwidth -Shader Operations -Pixel Fill Rate -Texture Fill Rate -Vertex Operations
Intuitively, more is better here. The card with significantly higher numbers in all categories is likely to give more FPS in game. If a card has a little more in some areas, but a little less than other areas, it's likely to play just about the same.
How much money do you need to spend to get some good graphics? The cheapest you want to go on gaming quality graphics cards is about $80, below that they really turn into junk and you might as well get an onboard solution to tide you over until you can afford something better. If you want something modern that will play all the new stuff on the market on High with most (if not all) the eye candy, look at spending about $200-300. If you've got cash to burn on the very bleeding edge of graphical entertainment, you're looking into the $500+ range. I don't recommend buying these cards and here's why: That #1 industry leading GPU you just laid down a house payment on is going to be whooped by the new 'hot thing' four months from now. Thus, these once-behemoth graphics cards inevitably fall in price and end up sitting somewhere between $200 and $300, where the intelligent gamer can pick one up and still be ahead of the curve for a fraction of the price.
The cards I pick here represent average prices and choices; you may pick whichever vendor you fancy for your application. Currently, I have migrated all my choices to DirectX 10 compatible video cards.
Sub $100
Radeon HD2600PRO - $90 - Same internals as the 2600XT, but features much slower GDDR2 and lower clock speeds.
GeForce 8500GT- $90 AR - Expect performance around 6600GT / 7600GS level. There are fanless versions of this card available from several vendors.
$100 to $200 Range
Radeon HD2600XT - $145 - On par with the 8600GT in terms of performance, think of these cards like the x1800gto or 7600GT but with DX10 capability.
GeForce 8600GT- $148 - Has the same specs internally as an 8600GTS, but does not require an external 6-pin connector and is clocked lower. Also they feature smaller coolers. You could probably overclock one to 8600GTS speeds, but don't expect much more without that 6-pin connector. Available with or without a fan.
GeForce 8600GTS - $180 - Stock performance is in between a 7800GT and 7900GT. They are apparently extremely overclockable, and with voltmods some people have reached 1Ghz core clocks for the first time in history on these very cards. Almost all of these have fans, but Gigabyte has a beefy fanless model available.
$200 to $300 Range
GeForce 8800GTS 320MB - $260 AR - Perfect for 1280x1024 gamers. I run all my games at 16xAA 16xAF on one of these. Great for trash-talking and general ego-tossing. Also gives you the ability to pretty much bang any chick on sight.
$300+ Range
GeForce 8800GTS 640MB - $330 AR - This is the full 640MB version, it starts to shine in resolutions greater than 1600x1200.
Radeon HD2900XT - $430 - ATI's much delayed foray into DX10. Driver issues make this card a little weak, but I think it'll end up being a contender with the 8800GTX eventually.
GeForce 8800GTX 748MB - $530 AR - The most powerful graphics card on the market. Recommended for gamers who run mega high resolutions and want lots of antialiasing as well.
GeForce 8800 Ultra - $LMAO - Litterally an overclocked GTX with a better cooler, these have the advantage of being the highest-binned and therefore most overclockable 8800GTXes. Very poor price/performance ratio.
Sound Cards
First of all, it should be noted that sound cards are never necessary in the building of a PC. However, they are nice to have if you can afford one into your budget and there are most definitely realistic gains to be had by using a sound card.
Onboard sound used to be a lot worse than it was today. It was fairly common to get a lot of crackling and popping, and generally thin, tinny sounds out of the standard motherboard audio. Combine that with your typical 2.0 $5 Dell 'stereo' desktop speakers and you have, well, not much. The last generation of motherboards (and many are still on the market) had Intel AC'97 (Yes, that '97 stands for 1997. Meh.) codecs usually being powered by Realtek chips. This combination is adequate for basic music, and can support 5.1 stereo surround sound on the right motherboard. With some software mixing, you can usually make these sound pretty good, although some distortion will probably be present above 75% volume. In 2004, Intel developed the High Definition Audio codec, which is what most of the new AM2 and Core 2 Duo motherboards are equipped with. These sound a bit better than AC'97.
So why would you want to spend money on something that you already get for free? Three reasons:
1. Sound quality. Onboard sound, no matter how you spin it, is going to distort your music at 100% volume and it oftentimes lacks tone definition throughout the audible range. Sound cards (well, proper ones. Not that X-Fi XtremeAudio trash) have dedicated digital to analog converters. This means they mix your music in hardware, not simulated through software being passed through the CPU. If you are at all a music enthusiast, or interested in using your PC as a Home Theatre solution, you will greatly enhance your aural experience by using a dedicated sound card.
2. EAX Support. EAX, also known as Environmental Audio Extensions, is a set of digital signal processing presets that enhance gaming by being better able to simulate realistic audio environments. This technology was pioneered by Creative Labs, and for many years was considered an industry standard for audio ambiance in games. Creative used to have a monopolizing stranglehold on the gaming market with their EAX, but times are changing and game studios are moving away from the EAX standard. I hope the market continues to diversify, and as gaming translates into DX10 on Vista, I hope we will start seeing other companies like Auzentech, Turtle Beach, and M-Audio come back to the limelight. There are five levels of EAX currently available. As the number increases, the amount of simultaneous voices doubles starting with 32 voices supported by EAX 2.0. This level of audio processing is supported by the SoundBlaster Live! series. The Audigy 1 series supports EAX 3.0, while Audigy 2, 2ZS, and 4 support EAX 4.0. The X-Fi series support EAX 5.0, which is the latest and most complicated version. The Auzentech X-Meridian supports EAX 2.0, some other sound cards based on C-Media chipsets are capable of EAX 3.0.
3. Dedicated Audio Processing. Sound cards have dedicated digital to analog converters, which basically translate the sound from things your computer can understand to things your speakers can reproduce. Your motherboard can do this too using some pretty slick software, but it's nowhere near the same quality as even budget sound cards. Sound cards have DSPs, also known as Digital Signal Processors, which takes the workload off the main CPU by performing calculations and take care of playing multiple sound channels at once. This can translate into more CPU cycles available for your game, which means it is possible to gain more FPS by installing a soundcard and disabling onboard sound processing. The amount of performance gained by having a sound card is dependant on the complexity of the sound you're trying to play. Anything more than 16 voices is going to make onboard struggle pretty hard. Audigy 4 cards can do 64 with 0 performance loss, and X-Fi's can handle 128. This becomes important in games like Battlefield 2142 when things are exploding around you from every direction.
Gamers looking for the best quality sound for hearing people sneak around corners and such will probably want to go for a Creative X-Fi. They support the highest level of EAX and pretty much go hand in hand with modern games. If you're into other forms of multimedia such as movies or music, many find all of Creative's solutions to be disappointing at best. I'm currently gathering more information about sound cards based on C-Media and other chipsets.
*Side note: Do not purchase SoundBlaster Live! 24 bit, Audigy SE, X-Fi XtremeAudio, or any other budget cards made by Creative! These cards lack even basic hardware acceleration; they are little more than a redirection of your onboard audio and do not fulfill the purposes of having a sound card in the first place! As a matter of fact, don't believe anything Creative says.
I smell bull. Anyways, on with the cards:
Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer - $80 - A stripped down version of the original X-Fi. Features hardware acceleration, EAX 5.0, and front audio panel pin headers.
Creative X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional- $100 AR - This card replaced the XtremeMusic on the market. It is essentially the same, except now it features X-RAM (onboard memory, only useful if the game you're playing was written to take advantage of it) and front audio panel pin headers.
M-Audio US41750 Audiophile 192 - $165 - Recommended from audio enthusiasts, very excellent sound for movies and music. May not be compatible with Vista and won't be great for EAX gaming.
Auzentech X-Meridian- $170 - A C-Media based card with awesome music playback but really poor game performance. The Auzen X-Fi Prelude has been designed to rectify this situation, but it has yet to be released.
Creative X-Fi Elite Pro - $190 AR - Built as an X-Fi, but with a breakout box capable of powering high impedance headphones, more inputs, better DACs, better sound quality, better SnR(119db). It's better in pretty much every way.
Auzentech X-Fi Prelude[/url] - $200 - EAX 5.0, Dolby Digital, changable opamps, best overal gaming / listening sound card ever.
Gaming Headsets
TreeWombat did quite a bit of research on headsets designed for gaming use. Here are his reviews on several popular "gaming" sets on the market.
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Logitech Gaming Headset - $20 - The cheapest of the gaming headsets and it really shows. The headband isn't adjustable, so it's one size fits all, the sound quality is very poor. The mic is also relatively short, making it sit behind your mouth so you have to yell most of the time for people to hear you. This one is only for the extreme budget buyers at mind.
Plantronics GameCom1- $23 - One of the cheapest gaming headsets, but often considered the best. The GameCom1 provides spot on quality sound for games and music; however its mic and sound have been known to stop working due to the thin, fragile cord.
Sennheiser PC150 - $36 - Thought of by many as the best bang for your buck when it comes to headsets, the PC150 offers up a nice bassy sound in a comfortable build. The mic is also clearer sounding then most other headsets. However, some do complain of "sound leakage" due to the small ear pieces and it has been known to have similar problems with the cord as the GameCom1.
eDimensional Audio FX- $40 - A fairly unknown brand name, eDimensional came up with an interesting idea for this one. The headset (with its average-at-best sound and fair comfort due to its large fitting size) has the same kind of force feedback that you can get out of your modern console controllers. The only problem with this is that long periods of gaming can be tedious because the feedback can distort sound quality.
Icemat Siberia - $63 - In my opinion, one of the most comfortable headsets money can buy; however they do have some flaws. The sound is known to be very crackly when volume is changed and the mic (a clip on) isn't connected to the headset itself. General sound quality is very good though, with no leakage.
SteelSound 5H- $70 - Not great for the amount you'll be paying for them. The sound quality and comfort is sub-par, plus there audio has been known to stop working for no good reason. The headset seems to demand a high priced sound card to sound anywhere near as good as a cheaper headset.
Everglide S-500 - $100 - This one seems to have the flaws of the 5H and Siberias combined. It has the same basic shape of the 5H which many complain about to be un-comfortable and it has the same clip on mic of the Siberias. The only difference is that it has fairly good sound quality, possibly one of the best out of the gaming headsets listed here.
Razer Barracuda - $120 - In the eyes of many, this is a total dud. The headset itself has many problems; it's been known to snap and ear pieces have easily came out. It also has poor sound quality that makes a hissing sound at idle. When Razer support techs are asked about it, many are told it must be their existing hardware and/or configurations. Not much good can be said about this one.
The choice is yours, good sound isn't something you can benchmark. If I were in the market for headsets, I'd be looking at these:
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Plantronics .Audio 350 - $22 - These look very similar to mine, but fit overtop the ear instead of on it. They probably cancel the sound out better for higher-noise (i.e. lans) environments.
Plantronics GAMECOM1 - $23 - Back in the day, these were known as Audio 90's. I bought them over a year ago and they're still going great. They fit on your ear softly, and they muffle outside noise more than cancel it. If you need a decent headset and don't have a lot of cash, either of these two will be solid choices. I'm not going to say I haven't heard better sound out of other headphones (read: more expensive), but nothing comes close at this price.
Turtle Beach TBS-2110-01 - $50 - Look familiar? This is the OEM version of the Razer Barracuda headset. It might not be a good bargain at $120, but it probably is at $50.
The below headsets have been recommended and highly praised for their price by professional audio enthusiasts. I would consider these to have the best bang for your buck:
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Sennheiser HD555 - $110
Audio-Technica ATHA700 Audiophile Headphones- $120
Both of these are headphones, not headsets. Turn them into one by adding a Zalman ZM - Mic 1 or similar.
I recommend finding something that fits your needs and your budget. If you invest more than $50 in a headset, it might be a good idea to upgrade from onboard sound to a dedicated sound card as well.
Surround Sound Speakers
If you're not a fan of wearing headsets, or you really like pissing off your neighbors, surround sound is where it's at. You just haven't experienced a game until you feel the boom of grenades going off or spells being cast. Take note that shipping on surround sound setups is generally $10 - $15 in itself, so getting free shipping can save you some big bucks.
Common Speaker Questions
What is 2.1, 5.1, and 7.1? - These numbers refer to the number of speakers in the setup, the first number represents how many satellites are in the system, and the second number represents how many subwoofers are in the system. Thus, a 2.0 system consists of just two speakers, a 2.1 system consists of two speakers and one subwoofer, and a 5.1 system would have five speakers and one subwoofer.
What is the difference between a powered sub and a non powered sub? - A powered sub draws its power from a wall outlet, whereas a non powered sub must draw all its power through the audio output. Large speakers need more watts than just what an audio output can provide, so I strongly recommend purchasing a subwoofer that can plug into the wall.
How do I know if my setup is good or not? - Well, truly good setups cost a lot of money. The audio industry can get pretty insane in terms of price ranges and audio quality, the setups I have listed here are easy solutions that sound very good to the PC Gamer and Enthusiast. True audiophiles will want to do their own research and probably build their own custom setup in order to get the best possible surround sound setup.
Here's a few options to help complete your gaming rig:
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-Budget System-
DCT Factory OG-560 5.1 - $17 - Certainly not enthusiast level audio equipment, this set is a great way to experience 5.1 surround sound on a budget. Great for gamers that need a decent sound setup.
-Gaming Grade System-
Logitech X-230 2.1 - $40 - Excellent sub with two great sounding satellites, this setup is nice for those who aren't interested in a surround setup.
Logitech X-530 5.1- $60 - Same sub and satellites as the X-230, this set features two more rear satellites and a special center. My personal setup, it puts out some killer sound and can get very loud. Highly recommended.
-Enthusiast Grade System-
Logitech Z-5500 5.1 - $270 - I heard these things once hooked up to an X-Fi, they were amazing.
Power Supplies:
How To Choose A Power Supply
It is a common misconception that high wattage Power Supplies (or PSUs) are better, and the only characteristic you need for a PSU is watts, watts, watts. I'll lead you through the steps of what you need to do to find a PSU that is right for you.
Step 1: Figuring out what you need.
This part is rather simple. Design your entire build first.
Step 2: What are you looking for in a PSU?
The next step in PSU selection is deciding what important factors you wish to have present in a PSU. Obviously you want a good one that isn't going to blow up, but do you need it to be quiet? Must you have flashy LED lights? What are these Modular PSUs and do I want one? There are a lot of things to consider. PSUs with shiny lights are generally attempting to persuade you to purchase their products because they certainly don't speak for themselves (with the exception of OCZ power supplies, which are FSP units with blue LED fans). My recommendation is to kick those junkers to the curb and go for the ones who give reliable performance. Modular PSUs are simply ones with a removable cable interface on the front of the PSU so that you only have to use the cables you need. This is a nice solution if you are using a minimal amount of components, but if you plan on doing SLI, have two optical drives, and/or two or more hard drives, you're going to end up using all those cables anyway. If you're going for style, there are some nice modular options available, but all the highest of high end (600w+, for multiple 200w+ video cards) do not come in modular flavors, mainly because the modular design increases resistance within the wiring by adding another connector to the system. Again, it's not a huge issue on systems which are not pushing the PSU to the limit, but for 100% performance, modular is not the way to go. Read more about what to look for in a proper PSU from the leading company in ATX power supplies, PC Power & Cooling:
Step 3: Amps, amps, amps.
Why are amps important in selecting a PSU? Simple; if your PSU cannot provide enough amps to your components, your PC will not function correctly because its components are trying to draw more amps than the PSU can provide, regardless of how many watts the PSU has available. A lot of the components in a PC are powered off the +12 rail, so this is the most important area to notice when looking at the specifications of a PSU. When looking at a PSU with multiple +12 rails, simply add all the +12 amps together, because they all work together anyway. I'm obviously not an Electrical Engineer, but that's the layman's version. How many amps do you need? Again, that depends on what hardware you have selected. A single graphics card PC with 2-4 hard drives and 2 optical drives will be happy with 28amps on the +12 rail. When you start getting into SLI or Crossfire gaming machines, expect to shell out some cash on a stable PSU. For a mid-range dual graphics card setup (2x8600GTS), you will want at least 500w with about 36-40a total on the +12 rail. For high end dual graphics card setups, check with the manufacturer's minimum system requirements. These days, you're looking at at least 600-700w, with > 65a on the +12. If in doubt, it's always better to have an overkill PSU than to cut it close.
Step 4: Picking the right PSU for you.
Quality is the #1 idea to keep in mind when selecting a PSU. PC Power & Cooling make the best PSUs on the market, so if you can afford their PSUs, you won't be disappointed from any of their offerings. Seasonic makes extremely excellent and very quiet PSUs, I recommend them for all silence enthusiasts. If quiet isn't so much a concern as power on the rails and lots of watts, OCZ, Fortron (FSP), and Corsair PSUs pack a lot of power and are priced conservatively. Follow these simple steps, and you're guaranteed to find a good PSU that works for you!
My interpretation? Be safe, not sorry. Don't settle for anything less than 600w for 8800GTS SLI, or 700w for 8800GTX SLI.
Komet's Recommended PSU List
*Note: All of these PSUs are capable of supporting the following basic computer model:
CPU: Any, including overclocking.
RAM: Four DIMMs filled.
GFX: One graphics card.
PCI: Any other PCI devices (ex. Sound Card, NIC, etc.)
Fans: 4+ 120mm, high performance. Also includes Fan Controllers.
HDD: Up to 4, any type.
Optix: Two optical drives.
*GeForce 8800GTS minimum power requirements:
Single card: 425w with >= 28a on the +12
SLI (Dual cards): 600w with >= 56a on the +12
*GeForce 8800GTX minimum power requirements:
Single card: 475w with >= 32a on the +12
SLI (Dual cards): 700w with >= 64a on the +12
*Radeon HD2900XT minimum power requirements:
Single card: 500w with >= 35a on the +12
Crossfire (Dual cards): 750w with >= 70a on the +12
A good rule of thumb for these cards is thus: If the PSU in question cannot natively (meaning, capable of without adapters) support your graphics card configuration with PCIe power, then it probably isn't good enough for that configuration.
Dual graphics card capability is noted in the individual PSU comments. Any SLI Certified PSU is capable of supporting up to 8600GTS SLI, but not all are up to the task of dual 8800's, therefore you cannot rely on SLI Certification alone. nVidia provides the SLIZone which has some useful information tossed with a healthy dose of marketing. Basically, if a PSU can support a single 8800GTX, it can support two 8600GTSes or lower.
Budget PSUs
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Suitable for single video card setups. These are budget because they're affordable, not because they're low quality.
FSP 400w AX400-PN - $41.50 - Great PSU for mid-high end single GPU rigs (8600GTS and below). I own one of these; it is heavy and quality. 400w 34a +12.
Rosewill RP-500-2 - $50 - Read the review, it's solid. Available in Chrome. 500w 34a +12. -
FSP 450w AX450-PN - $51 - This is the 450w version of the above PSU, single GeForce 8800GTS Compliant. 450w 36a +12.
Antec TruePower Trio 550w - $75 AR - SeaSonic made PSU, JonnyGURU budget recommended. 550w 54a +12.
Antec EarthWatts EA500- $95 - Looks like junk, but scores a 9 from Jonny. Made by SeaSonic. 500w 34a +12.
Antec NeoHE 500w - $100 - Made by SeaSonic, these are excellent modular PSUs. Single GeForce 8800GTX Compliant. 500w 51a +12.
Mid-Price Range Performance PSUs
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Suitable for bringing cutting edge multi-gpu setups under budget, without sacrificing safety. Everything from here on out is
OCZ GameXStream 600w - $105 - Rock solid PSU with tons of power for 8800GTS SLI. Recommended if you're unsure about what you need for a high end build. 600w 72a +12.
Corsair HX520W 520W - $115 AR - Sweet modular SeaSonic psu, scored a 9. 520w 54a +12. -
SilverStone ST56ZF- $138 - The cheapest Tier 1 PSU, great for single 8800GTX / HD2900XT builds. 560w 38a +12. -
Hiper HPU-4M730-SS- $140 - Tier 2 High Performance PSU based on server grade Andyson AD-800 units.
SilverStone Olympia OP650- $150 - Scored a 9, remarkable for having a single rail. 650w 54a +12.
Zalman ZM600-HP - $150 - Another 9 scoring unit, made by FSP. 600w 64a +12. -
Corsair HX620W 620W - $150 AR - Sweet psu for the money made by SeaSonic, modular as well. 620w, 54a +12. -
OCZ GameXStream 700w - $155 - Capable of 8800GTX SLI configurations. Very powerful and reliable for the money. 700w 72a +12. -
SeaSonic M12 SS-600HM - $170 - Need a Modular, Quiet, 8800GTS SLI beast? Tier 3 recommended psu. 600w 72a +12.
Thermaltake Toughpower 750w- $190 - Surprise, it's actually a good PSU. Expensive in the US, but readily availible in other countries. 750w, 72a +12. -
High End Performance PSUs
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The very best of the very best, for high-end high-budget builds.
PCP&C 750w- $200 - Tier 1 High Performance PSU, this will reliably serve any GeForce 8800GTX SLI setup for years to come. 750w 60a +12.
Enermax Infiniti 720w- $210 - Got a 9.5points, 8800GTX SLI Certified. 720w 86a +12.
Enermax Galaxy 1000w- $330 - Notable for being huge and having extremely long cables, the massive 120a on the +12 rails will be capable of supporting any next-gen triple high end graphics card setup. 1000w 120a +12.
PCP&C 1000w- $580 - Extremely high quality, but since it can only put out as many amps as an OCZ GameXStream, there isn't a good way to use all those watts. I'd recommend the 750w version instead. 1000w 72a +12.
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Identifikohuni:
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Pėrgjigju duke cituar mesazhin
) and a pair of needle nose pliers (for the rare situation fingers aren't doing it). If you don't think you have the skill; you do. Everyone has it in them to build their own PC. All the parts come with excellent manuals and guides that tell you everything you need to do to successfully assemble your PC. We also have many experienced individuals in Hardware & Software to help everyone on their way, person to person. I won't name any names to protect the innocent, but I have literally spent over 12 hours over a period of two days with someone before as we went through his computer, assembling it step by step. Let me assure you, he knew nothing about building PCs and yet still managed to build it correctly. Now, that was a testament to myself and I would rather never go through it again, but I'd be more than happy to spend a couple hours with anyone if there's something you feel unsure about.