Help me build a PC

[mitsuman47]

Somebody? Anybody?  :)

[Neon]

It certainly looks like he is interested in a high-end system. I have heard that Antec's Smart Power PSUs are not nearly as good as their TruPower series. Otherwise, that case should be good. Unfortunately, I cannot help you much with a P4 mobo recommendation, but maybe someone else can. Does your friend have a preference for DDR or Rambus RAM?

[John]

mitsuman47, to go along with Neon's question of which kind of RAM your friend desires my only question or suggestion is why does he think he needs 1Gig of RAM. Depending on what he intendes on doing with his system he likely wont see any increase in performance.

[mitsuman47]

I called him and he isn't home.  I don't guess he would have any preference.  The computer will be a multi tasker.  He will be running high end games, while at the same time playing music, managing his finances, and basically a whole lot of everything.  Is there not an advantage to having a gig compared to just 512?  Does it just get to where there is just too much and it's overkill?  Teach me :)  

[mitsuman47]

I just takled to him, and he said that he would prefer DDR.

[pat]

I?m not sure if any of our regulars build Intel systems, but here is a DDR motherboard review from Tom?s Hardware Guide.
Check it out and we?ll be happy to help with any questions.

[dcsun]

Nope, I've never built an Intel system since the P166 days.  Have a look at some of the ASUS boards at http://www.asus.com

[mitsuman47]

Hey guys and gals.  

Good news, somewhat.  I got him to consider an Athlon.  I know you're gonna have some good suggestions for this one, so:

What is a good high end athlon processor, motherboard, and RAM to go with it?

Oh yeah, I know it seems wierd that my buddy doesn't come on here.  He doesn't have a computer right now because he just moved out of his parents house, and he's an hour away from me.  I just figured y'all were wondering why he wasn't around.

Hasta luego.

[Neon]

Hmmm... After two detailed questions, and two dead ends, we are on to the third detailed question. And your "friend" isn't able to be here. I think just maybe there is no friend, and there is no intent to buy any of this stuff. You are just testing us, that's it, yeah.  ;)  That's okay, we are up to the challenge.

We could use a little more info on what your friend wants. Does he need RAID? Bluetooth? SerialATA? Dual CPU? If price is no object, a maxed-out Athlon system might be:
AthlonXP 2800+ $410
Asus A7V8X $160
512MB Corsair PC2700 $172

I would probably not recommend this system unless a) maximum speed is absolutely *required*; or b) the money was otherwise going to power his space heater.  ;)

[mitsuman47]

I knew I'd adventually get that remark.  But he is real, and very seldom gets to get online (the few rare times he's at his parents house).  I'll try to get him on here.  

[mitsuman47]

Why does the FSB on the athlon run at 333 and some of the intels at 533?  

Is the athlon more efficient or is there a noticable difference between the two.

[Neon]

Intels CPUs can run FSB at 533 MHz instead of 333 MHz, cause that's what makes em go fast.  ;) Yes, the Athlons are somewhat more efficient, which makes up for the lower internal speed that they run compared to P4. The speed ratings that AMD uses (2600+) are a rough guide to how each CPU measures against its Intel counterpart. As you can see, Intel has the all-out speed crown right this minute, with the P4 3.06.

Here's the deal: your pal needs to decide on the price/performance constraints that he is comfortable with. If he wants *The Fastest* CPU available today, then he probably wants the top P4. If he wants high performance for reasonable price, probably Athlon. If he wants bargain, definately Athlon.

If you carefully examine CPU prices, you will notice that the fastest one or two models (P4 or Athlon) are disproportionately expensive. In other words, if you want max performance, you must pay max price. The trick is to drop back to the second, third, or fourth fastest, where you still get a very fast and capable CPU, but the cost is moderated considerably. If you feel like it, you can even make yourself of graph of price vs. speed, and look at the slope. You will see the slope rise gradually for the older slower CPUs, then it skyrockets for the newest models. To get good value, choose a CPU that is near the bottom of the skyrocket slope.