Its Time For A New Computer Can You....

[vam-pire]

Its time to get a new computer, Ive looked at all the main brands, the ones with the good specifications i like are around the 40,000 Baht range. At my local internet /computer repair shop the guy who does all the computer repairs said he could build me a computer with the exact spec I wanted ( excluding monitor ) for 30-50% less than the same branded machine with the same/better spec. I know how to use a computer but just whats under the hood, I am not really up to date with , the spec I would want would have to include ...

Pentium 4 processor 3.6 Ghz

1GB memory

250 HDD

mid range graphics card

media reader

DVD -RW dual layer ...?

as for the rest , case, cooling, ports,modem, fire wire Etc Etc here's where I hope some forum members can help, can any one come up with a good spec , the guy in the shop if I gave him a list of the parts inc brand names/ model of the parts required etc he could give me a price...? so can any one come up with a good spec using the latest items..?

Tahnks .... VAM

[The Coder]

I would go for parts to save cost and get better specs. You haven't said what things you will use it for so hard to say. My experience is the hard drive is a real bottleneck for everything. Regardless of size, make sure you get a 7200RPM drive with a 8MB buffer, minimum! That's crucial. The mobo and hard drive should be SATA, and preferably SATA-2. You want a good PCI-Express graphics card as Vista (next version of Windows) has some pretty high guidelines for video. And if you are a gamer, video card will be your most important component. DVD selection not too important as next year or so you will probably want to upgrade to a HD-DVD (the next standard after DVD). CPU should be 64-bit capable. Dual core is overrated, but it is fine to include. Logitech G5 mouse is key.

[Jockstar]

Not to sure about your request. But you could check an old thread of mine regarding new PC etc.

Check here.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=26364&hl=

[Highwayman]

If you're into the latest games then AMD is by far the best choice for a CPU, not Intel. Runs cooler as well.

If you will be using Pentium 4 then make sure you install a good cooling system. Lian make some good cases but can cost 10,000 baht for a top of the range one. Plenty of cheaper brands around for around 1000 baht but you need to inspect them for quality, you don't want too many sharp edges and poor airflow. There's one shop in Pantip that has a good range (i.e. not cheap) of cases and cooling gear. If you enter Pantip and look straight ahead it's one of the shops you can see at the front on the 3rd or 4th level. It has some cases with the internals visible in the window so a short walk around will find it easily. Make sure you get a decent power supply, too many cheap Chinese versions around which aren't the most reliable longterm.

Memory wise if using Intel then use DDR2. With AMD DDR400 is good, DDR2 for AMD is not compatible yet, maybe another couple of months until the new M2 motherboards are available, maybe longer for Thailand. Get a motherboard that supports dual channel memory and use 2x512MB instead of 1x1GB RAM. If someone is building it for you make sure they know to select one that can utilise the memory config suggested, not all motherboards can.

One thing to keep in mind with building to order rather than buying a complete system like Compaq, Acer etc. is the OS. Is the guy building it for you going to use a genuine version of Windows, that's if you want Windows of course. Genuine XP is around 4000 baht.

[lomatopo]

I just went through the custom-built PC exercise about four weeks ago. I started with nearly zero knowledge. I always just bought Dell desktops and IBM Thinkpads in the U.S.A. for the past 6 years so I was totally unfamiliar with all the possible components and specs.

I ended using using one shop in Panthip. I had to compromise a bit as not every shop has, nor can they get, any/all desired components. There are 2 ~ 3 very high-end shops in Panthip; they are small and hardly noticeable but they have top of the line and exotic components, esp. cases, cooling, power supplies, etc. There are ~ 5 upper mid-range shops in Panthip, and maybe ~ 12 mid-range shops. I ended up using what I called a upper mid-range shop (P4, 3.0+, P5 motherboards), and am happy, so far.

I did a lot of research, mostly on the internet. After a while every motherboard looked the same!

Some general comments:

Decide on the processor (manufacturer, AMD or Intel, and socket type) first, as this forces a lot of subsequent decisions. I do not believe the P4 3.6 is generally available here, at least I did not see it in Panthip or Fortune IT Mall, and the 3.4 is still a bit pricey (10,000 ~ 11,000 . I settled on the 3.2 (640), so this requires an Intel socket 775 mainboard.

Next up is the mainboard decision. This is where it gets really confusing as you have a choice of upwards of 25 mainboards within a manufacturer’s family, 29 in my case! I decided on Asus and spent a lot of time on their website. In some cases the MB’s are targeted at certain applications, in others it is a combination of certain features and functionality. To make the mainboard decision you do need to decide on some other features that you might like, memory type and speed (DDR2/533 seemed like a decent compromise) SATA interface, PCI express, etc. I chose an Asus P5AD2-E Premium, as much for what it didn’t have (if that makes sense)!

I did not spend a lot of time on the case and power supply decision. I did consider an Enermax power supply as I was concerned about not having a switching (110 – 220), but defaulted to the recommendations of the technician, with a ATX case and a 220-only 450 watt PS. The fans are quite loud on my system, and it is a bit of a vacuum cleaner! (Remember to match the case color with the color of the DVD burner.)

I went with 2x512 MB DDR2/533 Kingston memory; a Western Digital 200 GB SATA 7200 8MB HDD (I am going to add memory and a 2nd HDD purchased in the U.S.A.); a Pioneer DVR-110D DVD/CD burner; Samsung 713n display; internal 56k modem; keyboard, mouse and Windows XP pro OEM license. That leaves the graphics card. I did not spend a lot of time on this choice as there are what seems like hundreds and I confess I could not figure out all the features and benefits of the various models. I went with an Asus EN6600 Silencer 256 MB Extreme (PCI Express), although I’m hard pressed to explain why. Extreme gaming, TV (tuner), video editing are just some applications that might drive your video card decisions.

The shop let me sit with the technician as the system was assembled, and we spent a lot of time ( ~ 3 hours total) on it. One nice thing was that I got to install basically any software I wanted, so I was a bit of a “kid in a candy shop”.

Try to narrow down your mainboard decision then go get quotes from several (4 ~ 5) shops to get familiar with components. The sheets provided as part of the quoting process are very handy, especially if you want to pass that on to your preferred shop.

Good luck.

[Highwayman]

I did a lot of research, mostly on the internet. After a while every motherboard looked the same!

Ain't that the truth.

On thing l found useful was to download some of the motherboard manuals in PDF format that l was interested in from sites like ASUS. You can get basic info from a lot of online retailers but sometimes it isn't 100% acurate so looking through the manual can be very helpful. ASUS and Gigabyte seem to be the best regarded boards from what l've read.

The shop let me sit with the technician as the system was assembled

I think some shops would want to charge you double for that but in Thailand they seem okay about it

[AlexLah]

I tried to configure some different options for you, here we go lah:

Basic system:

Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (S939, 1,8GHz, 512KB, Boxed)

Motherboard Asus A8N-VM CSM, GeForce 6150 (mATX, PCI-e, Sound, G-LAN, SATA II RAID, 1394, VGA)

Cooler: Thermaltake Silent Boost K8

Memory 256MB x 2 (512MB) PC3200 DDR (TwinMos)

Graphics card GeForce 6150

Sound card integrated

Networkcontroller Integrated

Hard disk Hitachi Deskstar T7K250, 160GB (7200rpm, SATA II, 8MB)

Optical drive: NEC ND-4550 16x

Memory stick 256MB USB 2.0

Casing AOpen QF50A (300W, Black)

Monitor: Acer AL1715s

Speakers: Logitech S100 OEM (Black)

Keyboard Logitech Cordless Desktop LX300

OK LAh a multimedia system:

Processor AMD Athlon 64 3000+ Venice (S939, 1.8GHz, 512KB, Boxed)

Motherboard: Socket 939 Asus A8N-E, nForce 4 Ultra (Sound, LAN, SATA-RAID)

Memory: 2 x 512MB PC3200 DDR (Kingston)

Graphics card: MSI GeForce 6600 GT 128MB DDR3 (PCI-e, DVI), NX6600GT-TD128E

TV-Card Hauppauge WinTV PVR-500MCE

Sound card: Realtek ALC850 8-channel audio

Networkcontroller nForce4 Ultra LAN-controller

Hard disk: Hitachi Deskstar T7K250, 250GB (7200rpm, SATA II, 8MB)

Optical drive NEC ND-4550 (Black)

Case: AOpen H600B (ATX, 350W, Black)

Monitor: Samsung SyncMaster 730BF (17", 4 ms G-G, D-sub/DVI-D)

Speakers: Creative Inspire T7900 (7.1)

Keyboard and mouse: Logitech Cordless Internet Pro Desktop

You want to game, here we go:

Processor AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Venice

Motherboard Asus A8N-SLI nForce4 SLi

Cooler: Zalman CNPS7700-AlCu

Memory: 2x 1024MB PC3200 DDR (TwinMos)

Graphics card: Asus GeForce 7800 GTX

Sound card: Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS

I/O-controller Onboard RAID-controller

Networkcontroller nVidia nForce4 NV Gigabit LAN-controller

Hard disk: Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 250GB

Dvd-player Lite-On 16x48x, LTD-166S (Black)

Dvd-burner NEC ND-4550 16x (Dual-layer, Black)

Flash-card reader Apacer Embedded Card Reader 15 in 1

Memory stick: 256MB USB 2.0

CAse: Antec LifeStyle Sonata II (ATX, 450W, Black)

Monitor (LCD) Samsung SyncMaster 930BF (19", 4ms)

Speakers: Creative Inspire T7900

Keyboard: Logitech UltraX Flat Keyboard (PS/2)

Mouse: Logitech G5 Laser Mouse (USB)

Headset Plantronics .Audio 90

Have a good time!

KR,

Alex

[MikeWill]

I heard good comments on the following system:

Processor

Dual Core CPU AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (2.0 GHz, 2x512kB L2 Cache)

Memory

2x512MB - DDR400 (200 MHz) Corsair Pro Series CMX512-3200XL (XMS3208 V1.1) (CL2.0-2-2-5-1T @ 200 MHz)

Motherboard

Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe (Rev. 1.02, BIOS 1007)

NVIDIA nForce4 SLI Chipset

System Hardware

Graphics Card (PCIe) NVIDIA Geforce 6800 GT (Reference Board)

GPU: NVIDIA Geforce 6800 GT (350 MHz)

Memory: 256 MB DDR-SDRAM (500 MHz)

Hard Drive Western Digital WD740 Raptor 74GB, 8MB Cache, 10000 RPM

Network integrated NVIDIA GbE LAN

DVD-ROM Gigabyte GO-D1600C (16x)

Power Supply Tagan TG480-U01, ATX 2.0, 480 W

Yet, I'm not sure if all the components are available in Thailand and the prices.

[Crushdepth]

Suggest getting 2 hard drives (smaller capacity if budget is an issue) so that you can BACK UP YOUR DATA!!!!. Or get an external backup drive you can store off site.

If you want value for money, go slightly less than a cutting edge processor. Spend the money on a good monitor.

Don't worry about firewire unless you deal with seriously huge files (ie. digital video or external backup).

Things to avoid: Cheap cd/dvd drives. Get a quality brand or you will probably throw it away after 6 months.

[Buff-horns]

is it for use in LOS ? then maybe look at a cool running CPU such as an M Intel chip.

after xmas a cooler running Intel 65nm chip will become available. Or you could include water cooling in the price. The M chip can be run without a cooler aparently..

[vam-pire]

Thanks to every one for their comments/ spec's just what I am looking for .... any more specs out there...?, the more the better,

Thank You ...VAM

[MikeWill]

Hey Vam,

Have you been able to get the price offer for the specs I posted?

Are there any alternative offers?

[lomatopo]

Hey Vam,

Have you been able to get the price offer for the specs I posted?

Are there any alternative offers?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Most of that gear is available in Panthip, I have seen the CPU, mainboard, memory, graphics, HDD. Not sure about the DVD and power supply as I wasn't really looking for those brands/models. It's just a matter of heading over there and getting some quotes.

I am sure there are hundreds of similar websites, but Tom's Hardware Guide is a pretty good source.

[Conan]

WRONG!

ALL WRONG!

What car should I get, what engine should I get, should I get a 4WD, 5speed, 6speed, auto, manual?

What are you going to do on the computer? Not what would you like to fancy yourself doing, but what will you actually be doing with it?

Answer this and 95% of your other questions will be answered for you.

(I owned a laptop shop and computer business for about 5 years people always sstart with numbers and dont look at what the PC is for)

Also Gigabyte is not a good brand - consumers say that because they have no idea - the main importer in Aus would change every couple of months becasue they would get sick of the number of RA's - ask someone in the trade for a long time which current board he would use.

My personal preference at the moment would be an AMD64 chip and not a Pentium. And a Tyan Motherboard for stability, with Crucial or Kingmax RAM, WD Raptor 10,000RPM HDD, and go from there.

Tyan make server boards, everything they make is more expensive but tested and ultra stable. When I had the shop 1 part in 3 would arrive dead, or dead in the first two weeks. Name brand stuff.

[simcity]

most of you are going for the AMD CPU , it is what i got 4 year ago , but was in the impression Intel was better ?

[The Coder]

most of you are going for the AMD CPU , it is what i got 4 year ago , but was in the impression Intel was better ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

They have been playing leapfrog. 2005 has been the year of AMD. All year long their desktop chips drew less power, offered 64-bit, had anti-virus technology in the chip, and offered better performance for the buck. This led to AMD processors for the first time in history actually outselling Intel. Intel has been storming back and next year may be equal or better than AMD in all measurable areas on the desktop with their new 65nm manufacturing process, save price. Laptops are a different story altogether. Typically Intel centrino packages are the best choice for battery life. But Centrino doesn't have 64-bits and that is way far out on the roadmap.

[Buff-horns]

most of you are going for the AMD CPU , it is what i got 4 year ago , but was in the impression Intel was better ?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

power for $ AMD is the best right now . But in hot temps like you get in LOS i would go for Intel . unless you include water colling . Intel are more cooler running .

[The Coder]

But in hot temps like you get in LOS i would go for Intel . unless you include water colling . Intel are more cooler running .

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Untrue!!!

The gulf separating the AMD and Intel platforms in their use of power is nowhere clearer than during simple operation of the Windows user interface: The Intel system consumes 13 percent more power than AMD. This rises to up to 30 percent when both systems are running under full load. This once again demonstrates just how power-hungry Intel's processors are, which can be traced back to their much higher clock speeds.

Source: http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20050714/stresstest-02.html

[Firefoxx]

I honestly think that both platforms have their good points and bad points. Intel processors (non-mobile) run pretty hot, while the mobile Intel processors are champs. Intel dual-cores are much cheaper than AMD dual-cores. AMD mainboards are dirt-cheap, compared to Intels. There are 64-bit AMD notebooks, but not so for Intels. And so on and so forth.

Just like the Mac Vs PC debate, there is no real "killer" system, and people who think that there is a king are delusional. Just pick one that fits your needs and budget.

[lomatopo]

For those wanting to check prices on-line here are a couple of websites:

http://www.hwhinter.com/price_list/price.asp

http://www.dcomputer.com/proinfo/product/pcat.asp

Hardware House has a number of retail outlets throughout Bangkok, including several in Panthip, and at least one in Fortune IT Mall.

DComputer seems to be a distributor (supplier) for many shops in Pathip.

Not sure why I didn't post this earlier?

[Temp]

I have been thinking a bit about building a new system or expanding my current one after arriving in Thailand. When I was there last and everywhere I look for it on Internet however it seems impossible to get high-end parts. All parts offered seems to be the parts offered in Europe one or two years ago. Does anyone know any places that offers Tyan motherboards, AMD Opteron processors, DDR2 and such?

Also what would the prices in Thailand be for such parts? Some of the pricing also seems to be last year compared to Europe and US in that they still price last years parts as if they were cutting-edge. How is this possible, originally I expected prices to be less in Thailand than in the west.

Conan maybe you know some places in BKK?

[The Coder]

Even if you are able to find the very latest components, you can expect they will cost you double in Thailand. Don't bother. Mainstream components are closer to farangland prices, but still markedly higher. Even your basic disk drive manufactured in Thailand costs more when purchased in Thailand! You can get the same disk drive shipped right to your door step in USA cheaper than buying it at the country it was made in--go figure. When I was ready for a spiffy new computer, I had a friend buy all the components in the USA and ship it assembled to me. I got all the latest stuff and at all the best prices. No duties were applied either. Years before that I just put a desktop in my suitcase and brought it in to Thailand myself, again no duties. Couldn't be happier to break the price gouging juggernaut. Dealing with warranties on parts that go bad is a downside though.

[Temp]

It's a crazy world! I'm just wondering how you were able to escape duties on the assembled computer shipped to you. From reading around I was under the impression that all shipments were checked and that a high duty was applied to computers. Was it shipped as home inventory or something and you have a residency permit? If shipping something later I could always ship it to my girlfriend if that would help. Are personal packages not checked?

Without getting paranoid I would assume this is a bit like the region coding of DVD. The multinational corporations I guess have different regions and will simply not allow bulk export of new technology to all regions at the same time. There was even a large delay when it came to Opteron from when it was available in USA to when it was readily available in Europe. I guess there is some business plan behind this. It really sucks though. :-)

Cheers

[The Coder]

I only have a tourist visa. The Dell desktop in my checked hardshell I didn't declare; I never even knew I needed to at the time so it never crossed my mind. The one shipped made from parts I instructed my friend to list as used computer parts which was maybe slightly creative. UPS was a bit nosy over the classification so my friend ended up sending it USPS to be safe. Just my experiences, no guarantees you won't have a harder or easier time. Even with duties I would have saved substantially.

[lomatopo]

Did you check the links I provided above? That should give you an idea on pricing and availability.

In general I would agree that the latest, top-of-the-line components, where available will be much more expensive than in the U.S.A.

I would disagree that there is any wide disparity in the pricing of individual, generally-available, mid-range components when you factor in sales tax, shipping (intra-USA) and transportation (shipping, hand-carry) to Thailand. I would not count on there being no duty and/or VAT on items shipped into Thailand. I have no first-hand experience, but some have reported (here on TV) having to pay duty and/or VAT, on all sorts of items. Computer equipment is not excludable as part of presonal effects, as I understand it. This duty can range from the reasonable to the extortionate (50%). VAT is 7%. Hand-carrying items makes it much easier to avoid possibly having to pay duty/VAT, there have been a few reports (again here on TV) about people getting stopped at BKK in the “green” (no goods to declare) lane.

A Seagate 250 GB HDD (ATA/IDE 100) with tax and shipping (shipped to an address in the U.S.A.) is ~ 115 USD in the U.S.A.(Newegg), the exact same drive is 119 USD (4,500 THB, I used 40.5 for conversion.) here in Bangkok at Panthip. These figures are based on investigations and purchase made by me as of two days ago.

I haven’t seen Tyan mainboards here but then I haven’t looked for them. I’m not familiar with the CPU you reference. AMD 939 CPUs and mainboards are generally available here. If you provide details I’d be happy to check on prices for you. ASUS and Gigabyte are generally available.

If you require top of the line gear then you’d be well advised to bring it with you, at least the CPU and mainboard, or ship it. Otherwise build a new system when you arrive.

[francois]

hi'

if I were you(close to be ... thinking about upgrade too), I would wait a bit ...

the new P5 is on it's way 0.65 instead of the 0.90 now(still prescott), they will have a real dual core, 64b capable, dep included and this should ovetake even the 5 or 6x generation we see now, they will be on socket 775, so no worry for upgrade later.

just take one of the best MB on the market Gigabyte or Asus, the top one with the 975 chip, Sata2, firewire, lan, sound is of no importance as for a couple of thousand bath you can get an Audigy2 which is far better than any onboard chip, and then you may play any game(some don't work with sound onboard .. TocaRaceDriver2..)

then take the highest memory you MB can take, some ddr2 667

and don't save on this, take a good name(corsair or kingston or pny) and check that it's not a "value" set, I say set, because you really have better to buy a dual channel set of memory to be sure that they are abolutly same. 1GB is enough, but if you think about future tale 2GB(2x1gb).

video card, a PCi express of course, anyway with the new chip, no much choice ... any n'vidia 6600gt would fit any system go for a 7800 if you are a gamer

hard drive, check the speed, 7200tr/mn is a minimum and 8mb of cache also, go for the new sata2, maxtor or western digital, prefer a 200gb internal and add an external drive(usb2) of 300bg for backup and storage.

take a well ventilated case, some have a top fan, usefull

don't save money on the power supply, tagan, enermax and some other offer some good products, the voltage is stable, and add to this a UPS in case, you know, raining season with all the powercuts

add to it a brand new flat screen of 20", samsung make some nice ones

last but bit least ; fill up bank account and prepare to a shock for all this speed and nice features

francois

[Temp]

AMD Opteron used to apply to the 64-bit enabled socket 940-CPU's for up to 8-way systems(multiple processors). Now I see, from checking a store in Norway, it is also applied to some socket 939 dual-core CPU's. Although this is limited to single CPU systems it seems. Low-end desktop processors seems to be very easy to find but dual-core 64-bit and processors for multicpu systems seems to be harder to come by.

I checked the links. The first didn't have any socket 940 and the next had a category for it but no CPU's listed. :-) No need for prices yet but thanks for offering. I will soon be in Bangkok myself so I can look then, but it looks very much like I will take the chance to get some presents sent to me by my father back home if I decide on something new.

[Temp]

All good advice francois. I have a Tagan 480W already so now I only need to wait a bit and replace the rest of my system. hehe.:-) I am curious about the new CPU improvements and need to check a bit more thoroughly about how the dual-core CPU's compare to the traditional multiprocessor systems as more are released to market.

Cheers

[The Coder]

A Seagate 250 GB HDD (ATA/IDE 100) with tax and shipping (shipped to an address in the U.S.A.) is ~ 115 USD in the U.S.A.(Newegg), the exact same drive is 119 USD (4,500 THB, I used 40.5 for conversion.) here in Bangkok at Panthip. These figures are based on investigations and purchase made by me as of two days ago.

But you can buy a Seagate 250GB 7200RPM 8MB cache from here for $107. And that includes free FedEx shipping to your doorstep. If prices were typically this close, I wouldn't mind. But In my experience the savings are usually much, much higher.

[MikeWill]

I honestly think that both platforms have their good points and bad points.  Intel processors (non-mobile) run pretty hot, while the mobile Intel processors are champs.  Intel dual-cores are much cheaper than AMD dual-cores.  AMD mainboards are dirt-cheap, compared to Intels.  There are 64-bit AMD notebooks, but not so for Intels.  And so on and so forth.

Just like the Mac Vs PC debate, there is no real "killer" system, and people who think that there is a king are delusional.  Just pick one that fits your needs and budget.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Re: "needs and budget" (for the system that will be reliable and serve you as long as possible).

The discussion is apparently narrowed down to the type of CPU: Intel, AMD, dual-core, etc.

There is no doubt that 64-bit is a must.

From what I've read, the AMD is the King today, but the cheapest dual-core Athlon 64 X2 3800+ (2.0 GHz, 2x512 kB L2 Cache) is ~$300 (street price). In Thailand I found it at http://www.busitek.com/forms/pricelist.html at THB 16,900 (Athlon X2 3800+, Socket 939 Dual-Core 2.0GHz , L2 Cache 512KB x 2, | 3 Years; | 16,900 |).

This processor is powerful enough... for most needs of an average computer user. The only drawback is the relatively high price.

It can be used with ASUS mainboards: from A8N-E (THB 4,750) to A8N-SLI Premium (THB 8,100).

As for the other specs, I can hardly disagree with francois:

hi'

if I were you(close to be ... thinking about upgrade too), I would wait a bit ...

the new P5 is on it's way 0.65 instead of the 0.90 now(still prescott), they will have a real dual core, 64b capable, dep included and this should ovetake even the 5 or 6x generation we see now, they will be on socket 775, so no worry for upgrade later.

just take one of the best MB on the market Gigabyte or Asus, the top one with the 975 chip, Sata2, firewire, lan, sound is of no importance as for a couple of thousand bath you can get an Audigy2 which is far better than any onboard chip, and then you may play any game(some don't work with sound onboard .. TocaRaceDriver2..)

then take the highest memory you MB can take, some ddr2 667

and don't save on this, take a good name(corsair or kingston or pny) and check that it's not a "value" set, I say set, because you really have better to buy a dual channel set of memory to be sure that they are abolutly same. 1GB is enough, but if you think about future tale 2GB(2x1gb).

video card, a PCi express of course, anyway with the new chip, no much choice ... any n'vidia 6600gt would fit any system go for a 7800 if you are a gamer

hard drive, check the speed, 7200tr/mn is a minimum and 8mb of cache also, go for the new sata2, maxtor or western digital, prefer a 200gb internal and add an external drive(usb2) of 300bg for backup and storage.

take a well ventilated case, some have a top fan, usefull

don't save money on the power supply, tagan, enermax and some other offer some good products, the voltage is stable, and add to this a UPS in case, you know, raining season with all the powercuts

add to it a brand new flat screen of 20", samsung make some nice ones

last but bit least ; fill up bank account and prepare to a shock for all this speed and nice features

francois

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>