What can a $2000+ multimedia PC do for you?Nov 19 '01 (Updated Jan 07 '02) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line If you plan to spend more than $2000 on an ultimate computer, now's the time.
With the plummeting global economy today, PC prices have fallen considerably. This is great news for those who are looking forward to build their ultimate PC. I probably think that you have trouble to start with this, right? If so, you might want to follow my advice for building your very own dream machine. This is because with brand name computers that costs over $2000 in the market, they still offer the cheapest components (hardware), such as speakers to keep costs down. But if you want to have a better PC for your money, then you may want to consider building your own. It’s not as hard as you may think. Housing, Processor, Motherboard and Memory For a PC of over $2000, usually they’re equipped with the latest processors that came in the market. This includes the Intel Pentium 4 and AMD Athlon XP. The speed ratings should at least be 1.6GHz for a PC to really get the power needed to make a $2000+ PC. Most motherboards that are manufactured today have integrated ATA/100 hard drive controller to accommodate even the latest hard drives. It should contain at least 3 memory slots, 1 AGP slot (brown slot) and a minimum of 5 PCI (white slots) slots. Some of the new motherboards also allow additional USB ports on the back of the computer that attaches to the back of the case. This is ideal, because they don’t have to buy a USB hub at a computer retail store. The case should be at least a mid tower case, since most PCs within this price range are looking for maximum expansion room. They should include at least three 5.25-inch bays, 2 visible 3.5-inch bays and 1 internal 3.5-inch bay. It could be more if you can find one at your local computer retailer. In addition the power supply should be approved for the particular processor and it should have a minimum power rating of 300W. If they want maximum expansion in their dream computer I would really recommend a full tower case. Usually it will include at least four 5.25-inch bays, one visible 3.5-inch bay and at least 2 internal 3.5-inch bays. With the plummeting prices of memory today, I would recommend at least 512MB of memory in your dream machine. This is because, with many of the professional applications that are operating today, most of these applications are very demanding on memory. For the AMD, I would recommend the DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate), and check with the AMD based motherboard for DDR SDRAM compatibility. For the Intel, I would recommend the RDRAM, since prices of RDRAM have sank since the Pentium 4 debut. Storage For the storage, users should be very flexible with this category. For the hard drive, I would recommend at least a 60GB Hard Drive @ 7200 rpm. But with even larger hard drives entering the market today, especially with the recently announced Maxtor's 160GB hard drive, it’s even more important to buy a larger hard drive for the image files, games, all the professional software for video creation, photo lab and even a desktop theatre, they devour a large amount of hard disk space. If you want even more space, I would recommend purchasing a 2nd hard drive. For the optical drive, I at least recommend a 16 x 10 x 40 CD Rewriter and preferably a 12x DVD ROM. It all depends on the applications. For the games and desktop theatre, I would recommend at least a 12x DVD ROM. But for a photo studio, I would recommend a CD Rewriter of at least a 16x Record, 10x Rewrite, 40x CD ROM reading (16x10x40). However, if you’re using your PC to create videos, I would at least recommend a 12x DVD ROM and a 16x10x40 CD Rewriter is recommended. If your budget permits, you can substitute the CD Rewriter with a DVD/CD Rewriter combo drive to increase versatility, but do keep the DVD ROM though. Multimedia The key area in a $2000+ PC is the multimedia hardware. For video, you want at least an ATi Radeon or GeForce 2 at 64MB of video memory. But for those who are into video creation and photo studio, it’s even more essential to have a top quality video card. For that, I would recommend a 64MB 4x AGP video card, preferably GeForce 3. In addition, the video card should support the ideal resolution for your monitor. For the sound in any applications, I would suggest at least a 5.1 sound card such as Sound Blaster Live! 5.1, Sound Blaster Audigy 5.1 and Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 5.1. For the ultimate sound, I would suggest specialty sound cards such as Sound Blaster Live! MP3+ 5.1 and Sound Blaster Audigy Platinum 5.1. For the speakers, I would at least recommend the 4.1 or 5.1 systems such as the Cambridge SoundWorks FPS 2000 for gaming and desktop theatre. For the photo studio, I would recommend 4.1 systems such as the Cambridge SoundWorks FPS 1600. But for the video creation, speakers are even more essential and I would recommend digital speakers. If you happen to have two, three or all applications combined into one PC, I would suggest a 5.1 speaker system. For the monitor, I recommend at least a 19” CRT monitor preferably a Diamondtron or the Trinitron. This is because color is essential for the DVD movies, games, photo studio and video creation. But if you’re strapped on space, a 17” or 18” Flat Panel Display is also recommended, since the prices of Flat Panel Displays have been plummeting down to CRT prices. With 17” Flat Panel Displays at about a price of a 21” monitor, it’s the time to buy one. If you happen to buy a CRT monitor, and use your computer for photo studio and video creation, I would recommend a CRT monitor to have BNC (Bayonet Nut Connector), because they provide a high bandwidth video transfer to render the images at a high refresh rate. Miscellaneous For those who are video creators, you may want to add a firewire (IEEE 1394) adapter to plug into the motherboard’s PCI slot, for digital camcorders and professional scanners. For the operating system, I can’t recommend Windows ME, because of the Operating System’s stability issues and for those who are working in professional applications, including DVD movie viewing. I would at least recommend Windows XP or Windows 2000 for stability. A typical configuration: - AMD Athlon XP @ 1600 - 512MB DDR SDRAM @ 266MHz - Asus A7V266-E Motherboard - Western Digital 60GB Hard Drive @ 7200rpm ATA/100 - 1.44MB Floppy Drive - Plextor 16x10x40 CD Rewriter Drive - Pioneer 16x DVD ROM - ATi Radeon 7200 64MB 4x AGP - Sound Blaster Live! 5.1 - Cambridge SoundWorks FPS 2000 Digital 4-speaker system with Subwoofer - Microsoft Internet Keyboard Pro - Logitech Wheel Mouse Optical - 3com 10/100 Ethernet Card - Sony 19” G400 Trinitron (0.25mm AG pitch) monitor. - Antec SX1240 Full Tower Case @ 400W - Microsoft Windows XP Approximate Price: US$ 1900 Recommended Options: (Prices are estimates) - 80GB 7200rpm ATA/100 Hard Drive $70 (From 60GB) - 2nd Hard Drive, depending on size (up to $ 230) - Firewire Controller $35 - Cordless Keyboard and Mouse (up to $45) - 21” or 22” Monitor (up to $800) - Upgrade of Sound Card (up to $200) - DVD/CD Rewriter (from CD Rewriter only) $400 - Speaker Upgrade (up to $200) - Processor Upgrade (up to $360) Prices will depend on the options that you happen to choose.  |
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