Best computer components

[Andy]

Disregarding cost, what are some of the best components to purchase currently if I want to build a lightning fast pc? I want it to handle home-recording and quite possibly use it as my development pc.

[ALL]

#1: RAM, atleast 512, if you have the $$$ go for 1gig
#2: PCU, anything over 2.6ghz
#3: (if you do alot of gaming) PCI graphix card, try to stay away from shared memory graphix cards, because the graphix card and the pc cannot access the ram at the same time
#4 (if you deal with large files) 10K RPM hard drive, you dont need it that fast, but it is nice to have a really fast hd, especially if you read/write big files
#5 (if you use cd rom often) 52x CD reader, i would get one of those CDR/CDRW/DVD+R/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD-DL all in one packages

NOTE: make sure you get a good size power supply for all of this!

[SLH]

Disregarding cost... a super computer....


I'd guess a duel processor computer, with duel PCI-Excpress graphics cards, 2GB RAM etc.

What do you mean by lightning fast? A pretty average computer could have a good crack at home-recording.

[Andy]

lightening fast...no latency (well, in theory LOL) smooth, quick startup/shutdown...you know, the impossible...LOL

[Andy]

#1: RAM, atleast 512, if you have the $$$ go for 1gig
#2: PCU, anything over 2.6ghz
#3: (if you do alot of gaming) PCI graphix card, try to stay away from shared memory graphix cards, because the graphix card and the pc cannot access the ram at the same time
#4 (if you deal with large files) 10K RPM hard drive, you dont need it that fast, but it is nice to have a really fast hd, especially if you read/write big files
#5 (if you use cd rom often) 52x CD reader, i would get one of those CDR/CDRW/DVD+R/DVD-R/DVD-RW/DVD-DL all in one packages

NOTE: make sure you get a good size power supply for all of this!

Whats the biggest power supply out now?

I'm gonna make myself look like an idiot now: I'm a+ certified and have been since 99 but i've been 'outa the loop' if you can understand..With all the new technology and the speed at which it changes, it's SO hard to make an educated decision as to what you want/need....

[thegreatone]

Video Editing - Intel P4 series, especially the C model, with a compatible motherboard, get the entry level C model, and overclock your way to a safe 3.36Ghz for less money.Oh, and it can hyper-thread obviously.
Heres what i'm on about - http://www.cluboverclocker.com/revie...intel/p4/2.4c/

Gaming, i recomend the Athlon XP x2 series, currently you can get a 4800+, this thing is like lightening for gaming, and of course can be o/c'd to give a higher performance rate, plus its Dual Core
http://www.dabs.com/uk/channels/comp...quicklinx=3R2X

RAM, usually the thing thats gonna stop your overclocking fun if you have decent cooling, so, i recommend some of the fast PC4000 Grade stuff, it can take it, and for lightening fast i recommend good timings, and between 1 and 2gb total. Of course don't hesitate to add more...
Oh, and the latest is PC4200 running at around 500+mhz...
Get Dual Channel please !
http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-189-1.htm

An ultra-fast hard-drive, such as a SATA 10k rpm drive, or even higher speed ratings such as 15krpm...This should make file access much quicker, write acces much quicker and general use Much quicker.
One side effect is drive size, they usually only go to around 36Gb.

Hope this can in some way help.

[TomGibbons]

I can't believe how cheap the Athlon64 X2 series are. They cost less than my Athlon64 3800+ did when I bought it. It's compatible with my GA-K8NXP-9 board too so I might upgrade when I'm back in England. Also, 512mb of RAM is the very least you should get, seriously, it's practically a minimum requirement for Windows XP. I'd stick at least 1gb in there if I were you. Try to get a board that supports memory running in dual channel and get 2 sticks of low latency 512mb. That's what I did

[NoteMe]

Buy a FireGL card for $4000, then you have an OK GPU. BTW not sure if they have SLI yet, but if they do, then buy two of them, then you can edit your movies. So that will be $8000 for your GPUs Mr...

[Andy]

Buy a FireGL card for $4000, then you have an OK GPU. BTW not sure if they have SLI yet, but if they do, then buy two of them, then you can edit your movies. So that will be $8000 for your GPUs Mr...

hmmm...not QUITE in my price range but tempting...no wait...no, no, no...i can't go that much in debt for a computer.

[Andy]

a buddy at work just bought a Gateway 830GM from BestBuy...it's fat!

i'll post the specs a little later...it's pretty awesome for a pre-built unit.

[TomGibbons]

Gateway makes baby Jesus sad

[Andy]

Gateway makes baby Jesus sad

what?