Hardware PC Hardware Buyer's Guide March 2011

When the suggestion leads to a better spec'd system in the same price ball park why not?


Seriously what is the point in even having a comments section on these guides if our suggestions and constructive critism are not taken on board

 

But have you tested all the competing components in the market place today? So how do you know it would be better spec'd?

 

Comparing reviews on Bit-Tech can help with that....

 

i thought they were indicating single GPU solution, not single card solution. multi-GPU is the same as multiple cards.

besides:

multi-GPU card and setups are unable to satisfy those 2 bold parts.

 

Surely the best cpu for the Affordable All Rounder has to be the Phenom II x4 840. It will overclock to 3.8.
It beats the i5 655 hands down in many benchmarks for half the price.
Scan £76-ish

 

Personally I think you guys do a good job. Recommending hardware is always going to be a contentious issue, that comes with the territory. The discussions that follow from your list are almost always interesting. Since there are many, many hardware reviewing sites around, and even more hardware, no one site can cover comparisons comprehensively, with the same test conditions maintained. Time constraints dictate some items wont be included for comparison.

Keep up the good work.

 

I basically have the Premium player PC (I have a UD3R and a 930) appart from my graphics card, but I can't afford to upgrade that STILL!!!!!!

God Damn 8800!!!!

 

Thankyou very much for making this. I actually really like giving it a read to keep on top of the reviews I didn't manage to read.

 

Thank you

 

Thank you, I don't always agree with your recommendations in their entirety but almost every month whilst building a machine I do give it a look over for what your suggestions are at the different price points.

 

Thankless task? 49 comments and God (and you) knows how much traffic! I thought you did it perfectly, especially the video cards and cases, because there is no one answer to everything and you made sure that was explained.......with a few exceptions....

get your hands on the i3 2100 and 2120 ASAP. We're talking $200 i5 760 performance for $100~130.

Sandy bridge everything! even your kitchen sink. Asus P67Pro SLI motherboard for $150 is crazy and we haven't seen the ASrock Extreme4 yet!

You did not mention you were hell-bent on staying below $2000 so you chose the XFX PSU (re-branded Seasonic with cheaper cables and noisier fans ) in the premium build. It's a solid budget PSU but also a major cheap out. At least mention the Premium Seasonic X850 for $70 more for those who seek the best.

 

I put it to you, I was using one in 2007, when all the cool running components you showed me in that screenie didn't exist. 8800GTX and later a 9800GX2, Pentium D and later a Core 2 65nm and later a Quad....

I discussed this in length with the guys on SPCR, i'm not some wet behind the ears kid. The tricools were medium high, like I said, and I tried other fans like Nexus, sharkoon. FYI, drlling the side with holes reduced the temp of the 9800GX2 at idle by 6 degrees.

I also had a P180....I was well versed in those cases, one plus point was they were quiet and looked nice and clean.

I've got pics of various fan combinations, the cases themselves, door on, door off, mods, side fans etc, if you consider I might be making this up. You can see on one pic I chopped the metal on the top fan mount away and replaced it with a grille, that dropped temps slightly. Also tried ALL the fan combos, HDD cages in and out. But in other words, I didn't just throw the bits into the case and complain without a lot of trial and error. Had fan controllers in at one stage, the crux of it is...removing the side drops the temps loads, every boy and his dog knows that. A good case should not be lots cooler with the side removed !

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5520441953_b5f1bb4009.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5220/5521033206_83d444ee78.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5137/5520440361_6b38a1a155.jpg

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5520439457_756afbdcec.jpg


http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5013/5520438577_4f27cf0f83.jpg

 

when I go to configure a PC in the shop where I work always guided by custom pc serious comment, it is certain that the intel processors are at the forefront of technology but these days they feel that this takes space away from the AMD pc .

 

For shame! It appears that you're referring to the truism that the squeakiest reviewer who gets his palm greased the most by the manufacturer gives the best review.

 

Not here it doesn't. Bit-Tech has been one of the most consistant independent reviewers in the industry. If it's bad, they tell you it's bad. I've never seen them review a product in a positive light that has gone on to be a turkey. The main problem here is that too many fans of one particular product provider get their backs up when they release a poor product in comparison to the competition and Bit-Tach call it for what it is.

 

Only the best site to buy computer parts, www.newegg.com

 

Why is the 1TB Samsung SpinPoint F3 still recomended? Surely there must be something better out there by now? Or Does all 2TB hdds come with 5400 rpm? It's not nessecary a bad thing if you want TBs/money.

 

Thanks......

I have found your buyers guide extremely useful getting the components together for my latest build. In fact it was your guide that motivated me to start building a new one. Some people seem to have nothing better to do than rant on forums...

I got the latest custompc edition yesterday and was going to question in the buyers guide why the "Dark rock advanced" cpu coooler was now being recommended over the Frio, when the Frio outperforms it in all areas except noise but i see you have the Frio reccomended on here for the gaming rig anyway....

Is the Frio that much louder than the Dark Rock Advanced?

 

@Material

I registered an account just to say thank you for creating this buyers guide! I haven't looked at hardware since building my rig a couple of years ago and this guide helped me decide on a new graphics card.

Thanks again!

 

Is there going to be an April version? I know you are busy playing Portal 2....