Buying the Ultimate Computer (Oct. 21, 2002)
Oct 20 '02 (Updated Nov 04 '02)
The Bottom Line Planning to buy the ultimate computer doesn't mean you should go for the brand name computers.
When people are looking to build the ultimate computer, they're looking at a price of near or over $2000 and often expect the latest technologies. But often times, people are intimidated about the information what it really means. Here, the article will explain what the consumer should look for in the ultimate PC for any application, whether it's for creating a home server, the ultimate theatre (entertainment centre) in your room or just for extensive work.
Processor, Chipset and Memory
When considering the processor for the computer, you're looking for the latest technology here, such as the upscale Pentium 4 and the Athlon XP . With the 3.0 GHz processor debut only weeks away, hardcore users are looking forward to true performance of the PC. But even though it is marketed as a 3.0 GHz processor, it doesn't necessarily mean it's 50% faster than a 2GHz or 20% faster than a 2.5 GHz. It just means that the processor has the potential to reach as fast as 3.0 GHz. What happens is that people who go wacko about upgrading the processor go for the latest and greatest, suppose that a buyer is upgrading from a 1.5 GHz to a 3.0 GHz, they don't see double the processor power. This is because most of the applications that are being used right now are not really optimized for the newer processors and that it doesn't really need all the power to perform such application(s).
But as to choose, I would suggest the buyer to go at or above the 2.5 GHz mark for the processor. Remember that even with the same advertised speeds and internal buses for example a 1.8GHz processor from Intel Celeron is slower than the Pentium 4 counterparts, due to the smaller L2 cache of 128KB of the Celeron and the 256 or 512KB L2 cache from the Pentium 4. Therefore, the cache memory also has importance to the performance of the computer when the computer is performing more demanding applications such as gaming, since the cache memory is intended to speed up the memory access, as it doesn't require continuous refreshment.
To complement the processor, comes the memory, which I would suggest using the DDR SDRAM. But depending on the chipset, it has a limit to what memory we may use on the computer. For example, if you we're using the i845 chipset, you’re limited to using the traditional SDRAM, which slows everything down, endangering the processor’s full potential. With Intel having to withdraw the license from RAMBUS, since they can use the Pentium 4 with DDR SDRAM, often RDRAM modules are costly to upgrade in the end. Therefore, the DDR SDRAM is often the best solution to the memory expansion in the long term. Recommended minimum should be at 512MB.
Motherboard and Housing
The most important after the processor and memory is the motherboard. When looking for a motherboard, you’re looking for expansion room, especially the memory slots. Most motherboards manufactured today include integrated audio and LAN, to free up some valuable PCI slots, some even come with integrated Firewire (IEEE 1934) for the latest digital camcorders, the latest external storage devices and the latest scanners. Some of these motherboards also include RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks), which allows us to add more hard drives and CD-ROMs without buying a controller card that robs a PCI slot. But the I/O ports are also important too, since it allows us to connect to external peripherals such as the scanner, mouse, keyboard and many more. Really, buyers are expected to look for 2 PS/2 ports (one mouse, one keyboard), 4 USB ports (with support for 6 or 8) and USB 2.0 is preferred, a Serial port and a Parallel port (Printer) as to start off. But many of the motherboards as I’ve mentioned include integrated audio and LAN to save some of the expansion slots from the motherboard for something else. But as to use the 5.1 audio mode from the integrated audio (if applicable), they can easily use the plugs that are provided for the headphones and microphones and connect them to the motherboard.
The key is that you should look for at least an AGP slot, 5 PCI slots and 2 memory slots within the motherboard.
For the case, I personally recommend a tower case since it does provides the most expansion room and you can easily place it the floor without too much damage to the motherboard and the components inside the computer. What I would suggest buyers to go for is to look for at least three 5.25" bays and two external 3.5" bays and at least 2 internal 3.5" bays (more internal bays would be better, as this is growing in popularity). In addition, look for at least two front USB ports, most of the time they could even expect front headphone and microphone ports too. Also, buyers can even expect a Firewire (IEEE 1394) port in the front too. Often it's either the Audio ports or the Firewire port.
When looking for the power supply, look for at least a 300W power supply and look carefully if this power supply supports your processor, since AMD Athlon XP and Intel Pentium 4 processors require specialized power supplies.
Storage
After the casing, motherboard, processor and memory comes the storage. Here, we include hard drives and CD-ROMs.
For the hard drive, since most motherboards right now support ATA-100 hard drives, people should have no hard time looking for the ideal hard drive. But for capacity, they should look at capacities of at least 120GB, which are up to 6 times more than what the average Joe ever needs right now. With falling hard drive capacity to cost ratios, people can often see themselves upgrade to larger hard drives without too much of a budget planning. With hard drive sizes of up to 200GB at present, there is ever very little need to even think about considering upgrading hard drives in the long run.
With extra large hard drives, one doesn’t have to really worry about the capacity based on the individual's or individuals' applications for the computer.
As for the CD-ROM (secondary storage), the individual should consider at least having 2 CD-ROM drives. Forget about the conventional CD-ROM here, as it doesn't really cut out in a computer within this price range. Look at the DVD-ROM, CD-RW and the DVD-R/RWs here. But try to at least have either a DVD-R/RW drive or a DVD-ROM and CD-RW drives (not combo)
If interested in creating your own CDs for audio, photo albums and many more a CD-RW is an essential component you don't really want to miss here. But the speed is really up to you though, since many of them are at least 32x writing for CD-R media and for CD-RW writing users should expect at least a 12x rating. But to read a CD-ROM, it should be rated at 40x. When looking for a CD-RW drive, they should expect a buffer under-run protection and a sufficiently large buffer of at least 4MB. Even I convince buyers buying a budget system to have a CD-RW drive, as this is a highly versatile drive.
But if you want to view video, play games and load software with your computer, consider investing a DVD-ROM. Here, you can use your created CDs, the software CDs, your recorded DVDs from the wedding and many more. But the key to using DVD video is the software decoder to the drive as this allows you to view DVD video.
Buyers looking for the ultimate solution should consider the DVD-R/RW drive. With this drive, people can create their CDs for any purpose, view DVD video, use CD-ROM software applications, create DVD videos and transferring old video tape contents into the DVD-R or DVD-RW, such as your sister's wedding. But because price isn't really an obstacle, people can often see this as a practical solution, so that they don't have to go under an extensive upgrade to their PC in the foreseeable future.
Multimedia
The key area for the ultimate computer is video. Buyers should consider either a GeForce 4 or Radeon video card of at least 128MB of video memory. For those who are considering using their computer as a video creation station, this is even more critical. Ideally, the video card should be able to support the resolution of your monitor. But often at times, Intel Pentium 4 motherboards have restrictions on what video cards that are usable for the AGP slot. So, shop very carefully for a video card. With 8x AGP beginning to evolve, users can really look forward to superior graphics, only if the motherboard supports it. Some video cards may include a TV tuner to watch TV right out of the comfort of your room, instead of the living room. But you do want to look for the right kind of connector present within the video card, since not all video cards support digital LCD monitors, since they lack the DVI interface.
As for audio, since most motherboards have integrated audio, most people wouldn't even have to worry about it, especially with the 5.1 audio support built into the motherboard's BIOS. Many users often would like to hear more and find that a separate audio card is a better solution. As to address that, I would recommend the Sound Blaster Audigy and Voyetra's Turtle Beach Santa Cruz 6.1 audio card as they can allow up to a 5.1 or 6.1 speaker systems to experience the full potential for gaming and DVD video sound. To complement that, I would suggest at least a 5.1 speaker system from a good vendor such as Creative, Altec Lansing, Logitech and Yamaha, as they're reliable and they offer the finest quality in audio with your audio card.
For the monitor, I would suggest at least a 15" LCD and a 21" CRT monitor. With the falling prices of LCD monitors and the compact dimensions, it's really a great deal compared to what it was 2 years ago. But I would really suggest going for something like a 17"-18" LCD monitor to really render what is useful for the video card.
For those that are not concerned about desk space, CRT monitors is a great solution. They should look for at least a flat-screened display, which reflects glare in a uniform plane, compared to the curved screen which causes glare by reflecting glare in scattered directions. Look for a Trinitron or Diamondtron tube in a CRT monitor. For the CRT, a BNC connector is recommended for those that consider video as an importance to their applications.
Accessories and Applications
For the software, Windows XP is the recommended OS for the buyer as it provides the same level of stability and security of Windows 2000, yet in an easy user interface that we see with Windows 98 and ME.
For those that use digital media often, they should consider purchasing a digital media reader from their local computer hardware store. Common forms of digital media include Compact Flash (CF), Smart Media (SM) and Secure Digital/Multimedia Card (SD/MMC). Although there’s Memory Stick (MS) as a media, it just isn’t very popular at the time being due to the costs.
Typical Configuration
[Intel Pentium 4 2.53B (A= 400MHz FSB, 512kb L2 cache; B=533MHz FSB, 512 L2 cache) and Asus P4B533 Motherboard] or
[AMD Athlon XP 2400 @ 266MHz FSB and Asus A7V333 Motherboard]
512MB DDR-SDRAM (PC-2100)
1.44MB Floppy Drive
Maxtor 120GB 7200rpm Hard Drive with ATA-133
Pioneer 16x DVD-ROM
Plextor PlexWriter 40x12x40 CD-RW Drive
MSI GeForce 4 128MB Ti-4200 VTP or ATi Radeon 9000 128MB
Creative Inspire 5300 5.1 speaker system
Logitech Internet Navigator Keyboard
Microsoft Intellimouse Explorer
Viewsonic P220F 21" Monitor.
Antec Plus 660 Case with 330W power supply
Windows XP Home Edition
For the AMD based machine:
3 Com 10/100 PCI network card.
Estimated Price:
$ 1900
Suggested Options (Estimated price additions)
Pioneer DVD-R/RW (replaces both CD-RW and DVD): $ 160
Processor and/or Memory Upgrade: See your local computer hardware retail for price.
Asus P4PE-L Motherboard with 512MB PC-2700 DDR SDRAM: $ 15
2nd Hard Drive: up to $ 400.
Cordless Optical Mouse and Keyboard Combo: No Charge
Sound Blaster Audigy: $55
Speaker Upgrade: up to $300
17”-18” LCD Monitor: No extra charge.
Firewire Controller: $30
Video Card Upgrade: up to $300.
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