Well...I know I already made a thread about component compatibility, but this one is completely different. This is about the basic requirement inquiry about the components for the PC. 1) What components needed to buy to build a PC? 2) Are PCI and PCI-X and PCI-E used the same way as the connection of the peripheral? What are they? 3) What are Channel support something like triple and such. 4) What power supplies are required? 5) Does it also require Heat sink? All these are greek to me, I have done some search on google, but didn't really get a satisfactory answer.
1) Processor (CPU), graphics card (GPU), motherboard, RAM, power supply (PSU), case, hard drive (HDD) and optical drive (DVD/BDR). 2) They're different slots on the motherboard, they're used to connect graphics cards (PCI-E x16), and things like wireless network cards and sound cards (PCI-E x1 or PCI). PCI-X isn't used any more. 3) Dual Channel and Triple Channel refers to your RAM; DDR2, if used in matching pairs, can run in Dual Channel mode which basically offers higher transfer rates and lower latency. DDR3 memory can again run in Dual Channel mode if used in matching pairs, like DDR2, but if you have an X58 (Intel Core i7) motherboard then you can run it in Triple Channel mode if you have RAM modules in matching threes, which further increases transfer rates. There is however little real world improvement when running RAM in Dual or Triple Channel mode (maybe 5%-10%). 4) It completely depends on your build as to what wattage you need, though i and most people here would suggest a Corsair PSU. 5) Heat sinks where required are already attached to the component in question (graphics cards, RAM, the motherboard etc.), the only exception being the CPU, whose heatsink (and more than likely, fan) you fit over the top of it after you've seated it into the motherboard.
So What is the best Intel CPU to invest the money in? I am gonna go for i7 core. But I won't be buying the latest extreme i975, I would like to go for the i950...Do you guys think it would be a better option? As for graphic card, I would like dual graphic video. I am sure I will go for the best one or maybe not the top rank, but second rank. Besides, what POWER or the Electrical Adaptor or the wattage should I go for? And What heatsink should I buy also? Last question: How do you guys know which heatsink or the POWER ADAPTOR to buy?
For the price, the Intel Core i5 750 would actually be the best processor to go for (it's only $200), and you can also overclock it quite easily (there should be plenty of detailed guides around the internet on how to overclock). If you want to keep with the Intel Core i7 range, than the 920 is ample; it's the same processor as you suggested but with a lower clock speed (which you could therefore overclock to get back), and it saves you $300. If you want to consider either an SLI or Crossfire configuration in the future, then a 750W-850W PSU is a must, and i've never bought an aftermarket CPU cooler and haven't even looked into it much, so i wouldn't know, but some of the others around here would be able to suggest a good cooler for Socket 1366/1156. The only way we can know which components to buy is to look up reviews , benchmarks, compare specifications and share advice and personal knowledge with each other about different products.
1. CPU, Motherboard, RAM, Graphics Card, Case, Power supply, Hard drive, CD drive, as explained before. Some people like aftermarket CPU coolers (CPUs do usually come with one but it's not great) and sound cards, but they're not compulsary. 2. PCI is the old and simple slot for sound cards, network cards, all sorts of stuff. Hasn't been used for graphics cards (that are any good) since around 2001. PCI-Express is the new technology. 1x slots are the very small ones, and support Sound, network etc. cards, 16x slots are the big ones and are designed for graphics cards and RAID cards. 3. I explained this just now in your other thread, but Shokz has made a pretty good job of it, though the performance estimates are a little variable, it's not always as little as 5-10% difference, it depends on what you're doing 4. One PSU for the whole system will suffice. Typically 400W is enough for simple systems, 500W for powerful systems, 600W for high-end gaming systems. 5. All components you buy, if they need a heatsink, will have one either already installed, or there for you to install. This isn't always, or even often true. Don't go buying a top-end PSU you won't need.
Well...Would you guys please tell me a little bit more about the GPU. For example, I would like to buy the ATI 5870, but there are ASUS brand, SHAPPHIRE, GIGATEBYTE, POWERCOLOR and XFX...What is the difference and also wanna know what they are? Sometimes, the Motherboard doesn't tell you exactly what the specification for the GPU or the video card, how do I choose the right one? A bit of confusing to me.
I have no idea what that last sentence means. As for the first part though, they're essentially the companies that produce the card with their own software packages and sometimes their own cooler. Usually, they're all built to the same standard, but many companies use their own designs which are sometimes better, sometimes worse. In general I recommend sticking to Sapphire, XFX and HIS. Cheaper brands like Powercolor can be troublesome.
