Buyer's Guide: Mid-Range to High-End, May 2005
by Jarred Walton on May 23, 2005 5:30 PM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Miscellaneous Extras
Besides everything else, there are still a few items that you should probably get. Networking isn't something that you need to worry about with any of these systems, as they all feature Gigabit Ethernet ports. Of course, if you're less interested in bandwidth and prefer to go wireless, you'll need to get an appropriate adapter. While we're on the topic of networking, we'd also recommend that anyone with a broadband connection go out and purchase a cheap NAT/Router/Firewall (usually, you get all three in one device). You won't suddenly become immune to all virus attacks and security vulnerabilities, but the vast majority of network attacks won't get around even a cheap firewall. If you open that virus attachment that you received in an email message, you're on your own, however.You should also grab a surge protector at the very least – again, assuming that you don't have anything of reasonable quality – and we'd even go so far as to recommend getting an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS), also sometimes referred to as a battery backup. A good quality UPS can also clean up the power supplied to your system, so voltage fluctuations are removed. That's in addition to preventing data loss or hardware failure caused by brown outs and power spikes – remember, summer time is almost here in the Northern Hemisphere, so if you live in an area (CA) where everyone runs their AC all the time, brown outs and outages are an all too common problem. $50 to protect a few thousand dollars of equipment is a sensible precaution. We won't actually include the price of a UPS or surge protector in our final total, but we hope that you'll heed our advice and pick up these items if you don't already have them available.
Depending on how you plan to use your new system, you may also need some additional cables. Power cables are included, but you might need a network cable. A more important consideration is cables for hooking up your system to a TV. If you have an HDTV, a DVI to DVI cable will often do the trick. If you have an ATI card, you might want component cables instead. Firewire cables, S/PDIF cables, and longer S-VIDEO cables may also be something that you'll want. Whatever the cable, trust us: buy such cables online! We've seen some cables for $100 at Radio Shack and Best Buy, where you can find them for $20 and less online.
Click to enlarge.
Keyboard and Mouse: Logitech Internet Pro Desktop
Price: $26 Shipped
A keyboard and mouse are definitely required, unless you have something that you're happy with. We're going to go with a bundle from Logitech, although you could grab something from Microsoft or another manufacturer if you want. The bundles often save you quite a bit of money. You could also go with a wireless model if you prefer that, and many of us insist on ergonomic keyboards. [You can have my MS Natural when you pry it from my dead, carpal-tunneled hands! Er, sorry…] You can even go really upscale and grab the MX-1000 laser mouse from Logitech, or perhaps a Bluetooth setup. Whatever you like, go for it. This is simply our baseline recommendation.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
60 Comments
View All Comments
Calin - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
Oh, and no micro ATX board is the flagship of any mainboard manufacturer. VIA is the only one that has a small mainboard as the flagship (the Mini ITX platform)Calin - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
Hi TujanI think I would like to see more Micro ATX mainboards too. But the idea is that micro ATX boards are not in the segment that typical reviewers like. They usually lack any kind of overclocking potential, their expansion possibilities are very restricted, and in some cases the performance is lacking compared to their big brothers (ATX). Also, they usually have 2 memory slots (unlike 3 to 4 of ATX), and the layout is much more cramped.
Advantages? There could be a price advantage, size and maybe cooling.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
crimson117 - Hey, I gave plenty of options for more RAM. The fact is there are very few people that really need more than 1GB of RAM right now. If you need more than 1GB, I'd probably go for 2x1GB rather than 4x512MB, as that gives you the option of upgrading to 4x1GB in the future. Still, 1GB DIMMs are expensive, so 4x512 isn't a terrible choice. Just realize that unless you really need more than 1GB of RAM, you'll end up with slightly slower performance, as none of the boards we've tested will run with 1T command rates and maximum timings when using four DIMMs.crimson117 - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
If you go for the AMD board, I'd recommend getting 4x512mb ram.crimson117 - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
It is a crime to limit such great systems with a mere 2x512mb of ram.KristopherKubicki - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
arswihart: All motherboard manufacturers do that.Kristopher
arswihart - Tuesday, May 24, 2005 - link
that chaintech card is one of the best values in computer hardware, it only has a few downsides, including lack of eq control, no eax (who cares?), can't use microphone input when hi-quality mode (24-bit 96 khz) is enabled, and no spdif in (who needs it?). The Hi-quality 24-bit 96 khz 2-channel mode is what this card is all about, and it is a noticable improvement over onboard audio.Regarding the Catalina card, the sound quality of the DAC's on that card are obviously worse than the Chaintech.
berkut7 - Monday, May 23, 2005 - link
My brother owns the Chaintech soundcard, and the drivers do not have an option that allows control of either treble, or more imortantly (he has the Logitech's Z-560 speakers.) Plus, the soundcard doesn't feature any EAX support, but I don't think EAX even does anything to make games sound better.Tujan - Monday, May 23, 2005 - link
Im a little aprehensive about putting money into Nvidia now.Since there are plenty of other vendors wich have AMD solutions.True Nvidia is the one to best. But it simply cant be an all Nvidia show.Your article is most of dealing with what 'cost is for given components.Think that the smarter buyer is purchasing,especially the first time buyer,based on fact of 'future proofing . In a performance based category. The smarter buyer,is buying performance,they are buying cheaper components on a performance upgrade path.
An example for the AMD setup,a 1.8 Winchester,could be used instead.And too a video card such as an ATI x600pro PCI-e. This shaves about 120.00 off of that notch. A 300+ LCD ? Dont think so. However anyway,the fact is the 'smarter buyer,is taking the cheaper expense,to a platform wich is 'performance.
I know Ive seen the benchmarks for the different Video cards.It isn't a bragging thing to me.My grandma uses DDRMemory on here video card,with a 400Mhz Ramdac,but she uses it on a PCI-e board.
The range of performance/platform is a little different for an Intel platform,where processors run from Celerons ,to EM64 Prescotts.Then stop at where we are now,the 945,955/dual core 'boards.But the range of upgrade is there,and its based on performance.The smarter buyer is taking the least expense,for the platform with the longest upgrade range.
First time buyers are the most luckiest because they do not have to take second chances with their money.
Would like to see more m-atx performance platforms.Motherboards w/o onboard graphics for example.There are only a few.However this would probably be something 'performance should win,over 'cost analysis.
Like IDE,IDE went to IDE33 all the way through to UDMA133. Only criteria was the prerequisite of the 40 pin connector on the motherboard.
Limiting 'range on a 'cost effective analysis is anybodies choice.If there is such a choice.
arswihart - Monday, May 23, 2005 - link
i hope you didn't dump your 8rda+, you should send it to epox I know they will fix your caps or give you a new boardmy caps started bulging as well, without any problems though, but I sent it to Epox anyways and i had another 8rda+ with high-quality caps just over a week after i sent it out. Thats great customer service.