High End
PC Buyers Guide High End
Target Resolution: 1920x1200 or 2560x1600
This guide will only cover the box. Monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers are not included. I do this for brevity's sake, as the monitor alone would require its own guide, especially if I were to cover LCD monitors. Since this site is called "Guru3D" this guide will target a system intended for gaming primarily. So what sort of criteria do I take into account when deciding what parts to recommend?
- Price and Performance: First and foremost, what gives the most bang for your buck, in terms of gaming primarily of course.
- Reliablity: Second on the list but just as important. This includes things such as compatibility (ever had RAM that worked on one motherboard but not in another?), trustworthiness of a brand overall (do they have a history of making reliable parts?) in addition to the reliablity of the part in question.
- Overclockability: Overclocking can help squeeze out that extra performance out of a system and can make a big impact on price versus performance (why should you buy a $1000 CPU if you can overclock a $200 CPU to match it?) so this factor can always swing my decision.
- Heat and Power Issues: Heat is the enemy of a computer and it can affect the stability (and reliability) of your machine. Performance per watt has become a buzz word and as power requirements for computers rise I eye this more and more closely.
For those wondering about "Target Resolution," instead of listing a particular price point (since price will vary somewhat with vender/e-tailer) I have listed here what type of resolutions you can expect to be playing most of today's games (with AA and AF on of course) on such a rig, both standard and widescreen resolutions were taken into consideration.
Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo 6850 or Q6600
The Core 2 Duo's have graced the market for a year now and the first refresh has just been released, accompanied with a always welcome price cut, as Intel seeks to regain all that AMD had managed to take away during the Athlon 64 dominance. The new Core 2 Duo's boast a faster 1333 MHz FSB, be sure the motherboard you select supports this (many boards already on the market will support it through a BIOS update).
And yes at last a quad core has made my recommendation list. Thanks to very deep price cuts, the Q6600 can be found for less then the 6850 in fact. Fans of quad core and overclockers, this CPU should sit at the top of your list!
Check out Guru3D related reviews:
Core 2 Duo 6600, 6700, X6800
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Heatsink and FanZalman CNPS9500 LED
The stock HSF will provide ample cooling power for a Conroe, but this is a high end rig and you want to treat your CPU right don't you??? The Zalman CNPS9500 is one of the finest HSF you could ask for, offering some of the highest quality air cooling while remaining extremely quiet. And it does it all in style with its LED fan and unique copper finned design. A note: Zalman does have a new, larger version, the CNPS9700, but its large size causes some compatibility problems (our own Hilbert found it could not be mounted properly in a Lian Li V1000 case), hence my choice of the 9500.
Motherboard
nForce 680i SLI
What to look for when buying a motherboard, regardless of chipset or processor it supports:
- Good chipset cooling. Chipsets these days continue to run hotter. Better cooling means improved stability, improved longevity and better overclocking potential. Be mindful when using a passively cooled motherboard (even one with the works, including copper heatsinks and heatpipes) to ensure that you can provide the coolers with adequate airflow.
- Solid state capacitors. Offers improved longevity and heat resistance as well as avoids the dreaded "leaking" capacitor problem.
- Improved voltage regulator. Does the motherboard use a 3 phase voltage regulator or something higher? How do you determine the phase you ask? It is determined by the number of MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) used. As a rule the higher the number (and hence the phase) and quality of the MOSFETs, the cleaner (higher quality) the voltage delivered to the CPU, offering improved stability and overclockability of the CPU and improved thermals for the MOSFETs. Many motherboards now feature heatsinks to cool the MOSFETs as well, always nice.
- Features. What features do you need? Chispet features vary broadly as do features individual motherboards may offer. Do you need RAID? If so what type? If you chose to use onboard sound then take a close look at the audio chipset and its associated features as they differ widely. If you want a SLI setup you will need a an nForce chipset, but not if you want Crossfire. All things to consider.
The nForce 600 series brings almost the same features as the nForce 500 series, but corrected the one weakness of the previous series: overclockablity. Simply stated, if you want the most feature rich, overclockable boards for the Intel Core 2's (at least until we see the X38 chipset from Intel later this year), look no further then the nForce 600 chipset.
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Hard Drive
1 TB Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000
Ah where has the time gone? I remember the first 1 GB hard drives. Imagine the hours of HD video this drive could store. This drive features the new perpendicular magnetic recording technology, which allows for greater disk density and improved performance as well. It also boasts an unprecedented 32 MB cache. Truly the high end, high capacity drive a this computer deserves.
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Memory
2 GB DDR2 800 MHz RAM
Games have grown greedy for RAM and for a high end gaming rig, 2 GB is a necessity. I fear with Vista that it won't be too long before I'm recommending 4 GB...
Remember that DDR2 latencies are much higher than DDR. So always take advantage of lower latency memory. Lower latency modules will have timings in the range of CAS 4-4-4-12. Keep an eye on the default voltage for the module, the default for DDR2 is 1.8v, if the default is higher (and on 800 MHz DDR2 RAM it likely is) then make sure your motherboard can support it. Don't forget to buy that RAM in matched pairs so you can take advantage of dual channel for a slight boost to performance, most memory makers now sell match pairs for your convenience.
DDR3 is now available, but at this time I would not recommend it as it is priced 2 to 3 times more then DDR2 (and the performance benefits are minor). Better to wait until the price and latency on DDR3 to come down before making the switch.
Editor's Choice: Corsair XMS2 Dominator. The Dominator series is new from Corsair and in addition to the impressive heatspreaders, they boast excellent timings (CAS 4-4-4-12), support for EPP (Enhanced Performance Profiles), excellent overclocking potential and the excellent reputation for reliability that Corsair is well known for.
Alternatively and much cheaper is OCZ latest Reaper series of memory, just as fast and less expensive is that PC2-9100 series.
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Video Card
GeForce 8800 GTX
Well the much delayed HD 2900XT finally arrived, but ATI chose not to compete with NVIDIA's highest end offerings, so NVIDIA remains the unchallenged leader for the high end graphics card. The new GeForce 8800's boast the best image quality and best performance of any video card to date. 16x AA and 16x AF @ 2560x1600, yes please! And I know some of you are wondering about the GeForce 8800 Ultra... I find the price outrageous, a pre-overclocked 8800 GTX can get you close to the same performance for hundreds of dollars (USD) less.
Check out Guru3D related reviews:
BFG GeForce 8800 GTX GeForce 8800 GTS and GTX
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Sound Card
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum
Our own audiophile Brann Mitchel: Playing a few games with Creative's latest sound card in your rig will convince you that there really isn't anything better than the X-Fi. It doesn't matter which of the four models you choose either, you'll still get blistering performance in any game you choose with the powerful new APU, CMSS 3D Headphone and EAX Advanced HD 5.0. While Creative's X-Fi is no doubt the performance leader in gaming, it will also impress you with its music capability.
We get lots of sound cards that offer one or the other, good sound or good gaming, but the X-Fi really delivers both. It has that rare ability to make you play song after song just to hear how they sound through the X-Fi. For these reasons, the X-Fi is our new reference.
Check out Guru3D related reviews:
Creative X-Fi Xtreme Music Sound Blaster Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty FPS Sound Blaster
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DVD-RW Drive
Samsung Lightscribe DVD Burner SH-S182M
There really is no excuse to not have DVD±R/RW drives, they are very cheap and reliable these days. This drive has a few extras that set it apart like the ability to burn 18x DVD+R and DVD-R as well as 12x DVD-RAM. It is also a LightScribe capable drive. This will allow you to burn a label (or image or whatever you want) onto your disks, no more barely legible permanent marker labeling!
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Case
Okay Im going leave this one open to your decision. Cases are a love-hate thing, what one person likes another will not. So go find a case you think suites you. I have a few suggestions when looking for a case. Aluminium is a definite plus; it will make your computer significantly lighter. 120mm fans are the way to go as well, ensuring good airflow in your case while maintaining a minimum of noise. A removable motherboard tray is particularly useful in cramped cases.
Editor's Choice: A number of good cases come to mind. The Antec Performance 1 P160, an excellent aluminum case. Comes with or without a side window, 2 120mm case fans for maximum airflow at a minimum of noise, rubber grommets to reduce hard drive vibrations (and noise), washable air filter, LED temperature display, removable mobo tray and more. Lian Li has had huge success with their very stylish PC-V1000 case and now a number of designs based on this chassis are available from Lian Li including the PC-101 and PC-V1100. I'm sure one will catch you're eye. Thermaltake offers a number of excellent cases that fit my criteria as well such as the Eureka, Shark, Tsunami and Tai-Chi.
Check out Guru3D related reviews:
Lian Li PC-V1000 Plus Aluminum Case
Power Supply
OCZ GameXStream 850 Watt
The power demands of the PC continue to escalate, thanks in large part to GPU's and the looming arrival of quad core CPU's. Be sure to go out and get the biggest and best power supply you can, do not skimp on the power supply! This is an often overlooked part and yet it's the source of so many computer woes. Be sure to check the amps on the 12V rail(s), you want a power supply that can handle a lot, multiple 12V rails is an additional plus. For a frame of reference: NVIDIA recommends 450 Watts with 30A on the 12V rail for the 8800 GTX. Another plus to look for is a power supply with dual fans to help with cooling. Just remember: don't try and buy a cheap generic brand to save some cash, just because it says 480 Watts (or whatever the number is) doesn't mean it can actually handle that, sadly. Quality counts big, be sure to get a quality power supply or you can face any number of problems. The GameXStream is the latest in OCZ's offering of excellent power supplies offering 4 (yes 4) 12 volt rails, a single 120mm blue LED fan, compact size (making it easily installable in any case) and great performance.
Other really good PSU's to consider are:
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