I wrote and refined a good guide on "Rules of Thumb for Great Performance at Low Prices" and it got more complex, as people showed they needed more details, but it occurs to me that another approach that would help first time builders is to answer what is a basic system right now that doesn't have a crippling weakness?
You could take such a basic system, and then strengthen some part of it that is oriented towards your goals:
Graphics for Gaming.
Disk Storage for being a DVR substitute (time shifting TV programs, storing movies).
CPU horsepower for less common pursuits like lots of video encoding
Silent Computing for those that hate whines and whirs....
All of these specializations require putting more money into a particular strength.
But it helps just to know what you should start with.
Basic without Weaknesses, In Priority:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. I think the first priority right now is to have at least a dual core. Also, if you want to mess with your system and upgrade it occasionally, you should avoid an older type of motherboard, like 939 on the AMD side. On the AMD side you'd go AM2, to open up an upgrade path. For more see "Rules of Thumb" and other posts.
2. Second most important is to get absolutely at least 1 Gig of memory, and 2 Gigs are better for gaming, or heavy multitasking, or for the new Windows Vista. If you get only 1 Gig, plan how you will add another Gig later. Tom's Hardware has a guide on Build It Yourself that addresses types of memory, and what is good enough.
3. 3rd Priority for overall basic system performance is a good hard drive. Don't go for the cheapest in this area. Use the best that fits your budget. It's pays to. See "Rules of Thumb" Post.
4. Plan you Power Supply vs your plans for your Video Card future. If you plan to increase your video card (gaming) power after prices improve in time, then plan the Power supply size for that requirement. "Rules of Thumb" has a bit of info, but you can get a lot more. I think don't buy the cheapest in this area!
5. Motherboard quality. This can be complex, but basically, at the moment, for choices once you have chosen a particular platform, like AM2, the exact motherboard doesn't matter a lot, unless, for example you want some thing on the motherboard, like sound output, or a 2nd eithernet (LAN) jack, and you don't get it! You should plan things like sound output, whether you want ok, good, better, great (the last requires a ad-in card). And video is built in on some motherboards, and it's not fast nor is it useless -- it's for basic non-gaming use. Gamers add their own card. I like having 2 LANs on my motherboard, because one goes to the router/modem, and the other goes to send video over to my TV via a video decoder. Have a plan, but once you have the required target, and platform choice, all the manufactuers' board with 4 stars or better reviews on NewEgg are fine.
6. Video. Video cards are a big priority for Gamers. See "Rules of Thumb", and don't worry that some folks don't understand that ambitious gamers with low end dual core cpus should have video cards that cost more than their cpus! A smart gamer on a budget will indeed put more dollars into the video card than the cpu, because it's a specialized computer, and needs the overweight. For example, a $180 dual core works fine with a $360 (or so) video card. It also works fine with a $180 videocard (but less fine), and with a $450 videocard (very fine!, and there's debate on that, but I put the emphasis on the marginal increase vs cost). Later that dual core will be upgraded with a cheap upgrade, and/or overclocked -- but that isn't necessary yet.
7. The Silent Option. Some people really don't like whining and noisy fans and such. I'm one. When my computer isn't making sounds I told it to, it's quiet! I've built two systems now this way, that are difficult to hear at all. Computer Cases are personal preference, but if you want a silent computer (some do), then you should pay attention to reviews of cases regarding noise. Silent computers also require fans designed to be quiet (power supply, cpu, system, motherboard, and video card). Fanless video cards (often a video fan is noisy) are becoming more common and powerful, and you can find for example a 7600GS or GT now. Many Hard drives whine in an irritating way for silence nuts like me (like the old Raptors!), so....read NewEgg user reviews of your candidate hard drive. You can load the entire list of reviews and search it for "nois" or "quiet" etc.
8. Minor stuff. I think the tiny price difference means everyone should get a dual layer DVD burner. Cases are personal preference, but you could keep it quite a while if you do upgrades in your system, so consider that. Wireless laser mice I like, but read reviews if you are a gamer, since different mice perform differently on games.
You could take such a basic system, and then strengthen some part of it that is oriented towards your goals:
Graphics for Gaming.
Disk Storage for being a DVR substitute (time shifting TV programs, storing movies).
CPU horsepower for less common pursuits like lots of video encoding
Silent Computing for those that hate whines and whirs....
All of these specializations require putting more money into a particular strength.
But it helps just to know what you should start with.
Basic without Weaknesses, In Priority:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. I think the first priority right now is to have at least a dual core. Also, if you want to mess with your system and upgrade it occasionally, you should avoid an older type of motherboard, like 939 on the AMD side. On the AMD side you'd go AM2, to open up an upgrade path. For more see "Rules of Thumb" and other posts.
2. Second most important is to get absolutely at least 1 Gig of memory, and 2 Gigs are better for gaming, or heavy multitasking, or for the new Windows Vista. If you get only 1 Gig, plan how you will add another Gig later. Tom's Hardware has a guide on Build It Yourself that addresses types of memory, and what is good enough.
3. 3rd Priority for overall basic system performance is a good hard drive. Don't go for the cheapest in this area. Use the best that fits your budget. It's pays to. See "Rules of Thumb" Post.
4. Plan you Power Supply vs your plans for your Video Card future. If you plan to increase your video card (gaming) power after prices improve in time, then plan the Power supply size for that requirement. "Rules of Thumb" has a bit of info, but you can get a lot more. I think don't buy the cheapest in this area!
5. Motherboard quality. This can be complex, but basically, at the moment, for choices once you have chosen a particular platform, like AM2, the exact motherboard doesn't matter a lot, unless, for example you want some thing on the motherboard, like sound output, or a 2nd eithernet (LAN) jack, and you don't get it! You should plan things like sound output, whether you want ok, good, better, great (the last requires a ad-in card). And video is built in on some motherboards, and it's not fast nor is it useless -- it's for basic non-gaming use. Gamers add their own card. I like having 2 LANs on my motherboard, because one goes to the router/modem, and the other goes to send video over to my TV via a video decoder. Have a plan, but once you have the required target, and platform choice, all the manufactuers' board with 4 stars or better reviews on NewEgg are fine.
6. Video. Video cards are a big priority for Gamers. See "Rules of Thumb", and don't worry that some folks don't understand that ambitious gamers with low end dual core cpus should have video cards that cost more than their cpus! A smart gamer on a budget will indeed put more dollars into the video card than the cpu, because it's a specialized computer, and needs the overweight. For example, a $180 dual core works fine with a $360 (or so) video card. It also works fine with a $180 videocard (but less fine), and with a $450 videocard (very fine!, and there's debate on that, but I put the emphasis on the marginal increase vs cost). Later that dual core will be upgraded with a cheap upgrade, and/or overclocked -- but that isn't necessary yet.
7. The Silent Option. Some people really don't like whining and noisy fans and such. I'm one. When my computer isn't making sounds I told it to, it's quiet! I've built two systems now this way, that are difficult to hear at all. Computer Cases are personal preference, but if you want a silent computer (some do), then you should pay attention to reviews of cases regarding noise. Silent computers also require fans designed to be quiet (power supply, cpu, system, motherboard, and video card). Fanless video cards (often a video fan is noisy) are becoming more common and powerful, and you can find for example a 7600GS or GT now. Many Hard drives whine in an irritating way for silence nuts like me (like the old Raptors!), so....read NewEgg user reviews of your candidate hard drive. You can load the entire list of reviews and search it for "nois" or "quiet" etc.
8. Minor stuff. I think the tiny price difference means everyone should get a dual layer DVD burner. Cases are personal preference, but you could keep it quite a while if you do upgrades in your system, so consider that. Wireless laser mice I like, but read reviews if you are a gamer, since different mice perform differently on games.
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