This is the final month of my Building a PC series that details the components that I will purchase for my new computer. To be able to compare components and prices I selected Newegg as the online shop for all components. Newegg does not always carry the best prices though and I will definitely research the prices to find the best one for each component considering shipping and handling of course.
Some new items have recently been introduced, for instance the Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drive that will most likely be the fastest SATA drive on the market when it comes out in Mai 2008. The question that I have to ask myself is if I really need to buy that 300 Gigabyte drive that is definitely faster than any other SATA drive that I could buy for roughly $300 or invest in more space and less speed.
Since I’m not that much of a gamer anymore I decided to not buy that hard drive. The same holds true for my choice of video card and cpu. I do not need the fastest, I need reliable hardware that runs Linux and Windows plus the applications that I need. I need Windows to test software for Ghacks and for the occasional game that might come out that sounds interesting, Starcraft 2 anyone ?
Some other thoughts: I always choose a low noise level over performance. That means I tried my best to find pc components that produce the least amount of noise possible. I’m not talking about passive cooling here although that would probably be an option as well but about components that have been developed to be less noisy than the usual pc components.
| Type | Name | Quantity | Price |
| CPU | Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80570E8400 - Retail | 1 | $204.99 |
| Motherboard | GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS3L ATX All Solid Capacitor Intel Motherboard - Retail | 1 | $89.99 |
| Memory | G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Retail | 1 | $74.99 |
| CPU Cooler | ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 7 Pro 92mm CPU Cooler - Retail | 1 | $31.99 |
| Video Card | MSI NX8800GT 512M OC GeForce 8800GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail | 1 | $174.99 |
| Hard Drive | Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM | 2 | $109.99 |
| Computer Case | COOLER MASTER CAVALIER 3 CAV-T03-UW Silver Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail | 1 | $54.99 |
| Power Supply | SeaSonic SS-500ES ATX12V 2.2 / EPS12V 2.91 500W Power Supply - OEM | 1 | $72.99 |
All components for that pc cost $844.92 which is more affordable than I thought it would be. That leaves enough money for a better LCD monitor and a sound card. I know that some components are not the fastest like the video card. Nvidia and ATI are pumping out new video cards every three to six months it seems that are faster and more powerful than those that have been released just a few months ago.
I don’t need to play games on highest settings and the card that I have chosen is perfectly capable of delivering a good gaming experience on my Samsung Syncmaster 19″ lcd monitor. Did I miss something, would you change something in the setup ? Let me know, this might be the last chance to change components.
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