Cheap Gaming PC (AMD): Running Most Games w/ Ultra&High Settings

So you want to play your games on ultra high resolution/quality, but don’t have a ton of cash? Games like Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft, the new Fallout new Vegas etc. will all play great at 1080p resolutions on ultra graphics with these builds. When looking into a gaming PC you want to look for  decent processing power, around 4Gb …

A Basic/Cheap Home Theatre PC (HTPC) Build w/ Blu-ray

So you are wanting to build a cheap basic HTPC build to set beside your entertainment system/television for your basic entertainment needs. This means that you can create a PC that will play full 1080p video but is missing all the fancy whistles such as a separate sound-card, tv-tuner, tv-recording, video encoding, video recording  etc. This is not to say …

Interested in CPU, SSD, and GPU Benchmarks?

If you are then you should visit AnandTech‘s benchmark page. It has a simple to use interface that allows to select two different CPU’s, SSD’s, or GPU’s and then configures a comparison ratings chart with categories like “Video creation”, x264 HD Encode Test, “Windows Media Encoder 9 x64”, “Far Cry 2 playback”…etc. As well the comparison chart includes the overall …

New: The Radeon HD 6850 and Radeon HD 6870

Looking for a new mid range graphics card, well then wait no further! The Radeon HD 6850 and 6870 are in. Meant to replace the older Radeon HD 5000 series graphic processors compare to the 6850 and 6870 as follows (Taken from: guru3d): Specifications Radeon HD 5770 Radeon HD 5850 Radeon HD 6850 Radeon HD 6870 GPU Juniper XT Cypress Pro …

Home Theatre PC (HTPC)

I would like to introduce another build you may consider building: The Home Theatre PC (HTPC). A  HTPC is just a basic computer that is mostly of personal preference in terms of the added components, so when starting your HTPC build you want to include the basic components for building a PC which include: 1. A Computer Case: This is purely …

AMD Phenom II X6 – Six-Core: But Why Six-Cores?

Six cores has been said to be overkill for the average consumer, and in fact will create a slower performance on the apps that cannot use them (Daemon news). This is because at the moment few apps are abel to utilize all six cores. The AMD’s come with a 6MB L3 cache with software for software based turbo when you …

Cheap and Solid Intel i7 860 Builds

I derived a couple Intel i7 860 2.8 GHz builds, so take a look and see what you think. The prices in both could be lowered a tad if you were to choose a cheaper computer case, different power supply, less than 4GB RAM, different/less than 500GB hard drive, or a cheaper video card than the Radeon HD 4870. I …

A $214 Build That Runs Windows 7 (64-Bit)?

I put together a build for only $214 (US) that will run Windows 7 (64-Bit) pretty well. It has plenty of power with 500W, 2.7GHz AMD Sempron processor with a possible second core to unlock, 2GB DDr3 RAM, 320GB 7200RPM hard drive, and a GT 220 512mb video card. This is over the minimum Windows 7 (64-Bit) requirements of 1GHz+ …

AMD 955, AMD 965, AMD 970: Which one?

Picking between very similar processors such as the AMD 955, 965, and 970 can be frustrating. All three processors are AMD Phenom II, X4, Black Edition, AM3 Socket, 125W, Quad-Core Processor, but have the respective processing speeds/costs of: 3.2GHz and $139.99 (US )for the AMD 955 3.4GHz and $159.99 (US) for the AMD 965 3.5GHz and $180.99 (US) for the …

Conclusion: Of My Computer Parts

Here I have compiled a list of what you need to build your own PC, as well a what I used to build my most recent one with attached links. I will be making more builds, and would like input on what you would like to see. Perhaps builds within a certain price range, particular types of builds, or if …

10. Other

A computer build needs its peripherals. At the time of purchase I already had an extra keyboard, mouse, and monitor lying around;  if you know where to look keyboards and mice can be purchased at relatively cheap prices. If you are purchasing your computer parts in one big build from Newegg.com then you may want to bundle these parts together, …

9. Operating System

After you have all of your computers parts, and have put them together you will need the software to run it. Ultimately the operating system you want to run is completely up to you, but for simplicities sake I would recommend just purchasing, borrowing, trading, or finding a copyAfter you have all of your computers parts, and have put them …