Additional Components

The remaining components will not have as much of an impact on performance, but they are still important. A cheap display, for example, will limit your maximum resolution in games. The low-end power supplies that come with many cases can cause instabilities that are difficult to track down. Your hard drive might also run out of space if you find yourself installing numerous games at the same time, ripping CDs to MP3 format, and/or storing movies on your system. Here, then, are the remaining components, in no particular order.

Hard Drives
Target Segment Component Price
Budget Seagate Barracuda 80GB EIDE model 7200.7 (PATA Hard Drives) 59
Mid-Range Seagate 160GB SATA 7200RPM 8MB Model ST3160023AS (SATA Hard Drives) 93
High-End Western Digital Raptor 74GB SATA 10000RPM 8MB Model WD740GD 173
High-End Maxtor 300GB SATA 7200RPM 16MB Model 6B300S0 207

The two major factors in the hard drive segment are capacity and performance. We recommend 80 GB 7200 RPM models with 8 MB of cache as the bare minimum for any hard drive, as getting less than this can noticeably affect performance while saving only $10 or $15. With the more expensive models, you get increased capacity, except with the Raptors, which instead go for faster access times and sustained transfer rates. RAID 0 is also an option for increasing transfer rates, but our testing has shown that you are not likely to notice the difference in many tasks.

Optical Drives
Target Segment Component Price
Budget Lite-On 16X DVD-ROM Model SOHD-167T 30
Mid-Range NEC DVD+/-RW Drive Model 3500A (DVDR Drives) 72

We have only listed two optical drives, a 16X burner and the other, a 16X DVD-ROM. 8X and 12X DVDR drives are also sufficient and can save you a bit of money. We suggest that anyone building a system should add in a DVDR these days, as they are very handy for doing large backups of critical data. If you're sure that you don't need the capability to burn CDs and DVDs, we prefer DVD-ROM drives. They only cost $10 more than CD-ROM drives and we are starting to see more games shipping on DVDs. It is much more convenient to install from a single DVD than from multiple CDs.

Cases and Power Supplies
Target Segment Component Price
Budget Athenatech A602 Black/Silver with 350W PSU 62
Mid-Range Antec SLK3700-BQE with 350W 91
High-End Antec True480 480W PSU 95
High-End Antec Lanboy Aluminum 96
High-End Ultra X-Connect 500W PSU 98
High-End Thermaltake VA3000 Dream Tower Tsunami with 400W PSU 135
Mid-Range SFF Shuttle XPC SN95G5 (AMD socket 939) 299

Depending on your personal tastes, a case can be simply a box to hold your components or it can be a fashion statement. Some cases are built to be more accessible than others, but once a system is assembled, that doesn't matter anymore. The only factors that you will notice are the noise level and appearance. For appearance, SFF cases are a reasonable suggestion, while noise levels are harder to address. Some people can tolerate higher noise levels than others, and you can always try to find lower RPM fans or install a fanbus in order to reduce the noise levels. Larger 120mm fans can also reduce the amount of noise emanating from your case by moving the same amount of air as a faster spinning 80mm fan. The power supply will also contribute to the noise levels, but more importantly, a low end power supply can actually cause a high end system to crash. The AntecTrue480 and the Ultra X-Connect are both high quality parts that should allow even the most powerful systems to run reliably. They won't improve performance, but we value stability over performance.

Displays
Target Segment Component Price
Budget Samsung 793DF 17 Black/Silver CRT (1280x1024@75 Hz) 139
Mid-Range Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19 CRT 234
High-End Samsung 172X 17 LCD 429
High-End NEC/Mitsubishi FP2141SB-BK 22 634
High-End ViewSonic VP912B 19 LCD 12ms 710

Like the case of your system, displays can either be a functional unit or a statement of style. The latter generally requires the use of an LCD panel, as it is hard to consider a bulky CRT as stylish. If you can afford it and have the desk space, a large 22" CRT still provides what is arguably the best gaming experience. Whichever path you choose, remember that a high quality display can easily last through three or more computer upgrade cycles. The initial investment may be painful to bear, but $600 for six or more years of quality use is a good investment.

Speakers and Sound Cards
Target Segment Component Price
Speakers Logitech Z-640 5.1 52
High-End Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS 75
High-End M-Audio Revolution 7.1 92
Mid-Range+ Logitech Z-5300e 5.1 THX Certified 159
High-End Logitech Z-680 5.1 THX Certified 236

Finally, we come to the sound category. For most users, integrated audio is more than enough to handle even the most recent games. If you're something of an audiophile, we recommend spending more on speakers before you look into purchasing a better sound card. Once you're at the $200+ speaker price point, however, a separate audio card can provide a noticeable difference in sound quality. If you happen to notice a high-pitched hiss coming from your speakers, an add-in card can also cure that ailment. While the audio codecs and sound processing capabilities are usually sufficient with integrated audio, some motherboards do generate a lot of noise.

Of these parts, the only areas that we would really suggest that you take a look at are the displays and hard drives. Capacity is our primary concern with hard drives, so if you store a lot of movies and music on your system in addition to games and other documents, a larger hard drive would be almost a requirement. For the displays, given their longevity relative to the rest of the system, upgrades can be with you for years to come. For gaming, we definitely recommend getting a display that can handle the highest refresh rates possible. Enabling VSYNC (Vertical Synch) will avoid tearing, but it can have a massive impact on frame rates. Running with VSYNC disabled, on the other hand, will result in noticeable tearing in many games. (Tearing is what you get when the frame buffer is updated while the monitor is in the middle of refreshing the screen's content.) At refresh rates of 100+ Hz, tearing is very difficult to notice; however, at 60 to 75 Hz, we definitely feel that it results in a loss of image quality.

Core Component Summary Conclusion
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  • benk - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    The Dell 2001FP is listed at 799 and is often on sale for well below 700.
  • Swaid - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    Illissius -
    I was just about to suggest that. The Epox motherboard is a much better "buy" then the Chaintech now.
  • Illissius - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    I agree with nearly all the choices, which can't be said for most other buying guides I've read :)
    My one suggestion is that the EPoX 8KDA3J costs nearly the same as the Chaintech VNF3-250, and has more functionality -- namely, it uses the 250Gb chipset.
  • kherman - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    AGP:

    Anyone wondering aobut when it will be phased out, just look back to old PCI video cards. Took about 1-2 years for manufacturers to drop AGP support altogether. It's a supply demand issue.

    As for mobo's I'd expect to see new mobo's w/AGP for atleast a year more. Some people iwll be using those older video cards after all. Also, multiple PCI-X slots are the goal and if I understand correctly, PCI altogether will be dropped, menaing network and sound cards will also need a PCI-X home.

    Anyways...my 2 cents.
  • kherman - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    How about RAID 5 for the "fully employed" system? Would be redundant and should give slightly faster load times ;)
  • kherman - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    "Budget Gaming System, Part Two"

    IMHO: Keep the 2800+ part and spend that extra $50 on a better video card. That will give better frame rates, IMO of course.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    I've heard conflicting reports about the quality of gaming on the Dell 2001FP. Some people love it, and others think it's good but perhaps not great. The price on it is also subject to quite a bit of variation. Right now, I believe it's on sale for about the same as the Viewsonic, while "normally" it might be $1000 plus shipping. I have not actually used one in person, so I can't really comment on interpolation quality, but of the LCDs that I have used, I have yet to see one that offers interpolation of such a quality that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it. Opinions on that, of course, differ.

    The same goes for the wireless mouse. Some people swear by the MX510. I've tried it, and I simply did not like it. The Microsoft wireless mice I've tried were even worse, however. Anyway, the choice of mouse is very personal. I really like the standard MS Optical five button. It's light and accurate enough that I don't have any complaints. Even with an unlimited budget, I would still buy that same mouse for my own use. I *could* go out and try numerous other mice, but I'm just not that concerned with that one peripheral. If you are, more power to you! :)
  • MiLLeRBoY - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    Also, for the High-End Gaming, check out the new the Logitech Z-5500 Digital speakers. It's just a revamped version of the Z-680's design as well as adding more power. The subwoofer is noticeably larger than the former though. The retail price is $400.
  • MiLLeRBoY - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    DEMO24 - I have the 20.1" Dell 2001FP and it only has a 16ms response time. However, I don't see ghosting when playing games. I also play my games at 1024x768 with 4xAA when the LCD's native resolution is 1600x1200. The image interpolation is great, it doesn't look horrible even at 1280x1024 or 1024x768. And the price is around the same as the ViewSonic VP912B. However, I probably wouldn't mind using any of those two LCDs, they're both great.
  • xsilver - Monday, November 22, 2004 - link

    ?? min 18A on 12v rail -- crap my PSU doesn't have that... will it not run a AMDs939? (15A -- enhance brand, respectable, heavy)

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