BackIn reality two separate parts, they are almost always sold as a single
item. Average prices range between $35-75. The case is nothing
more than a box where the components are stored in, and the power supply
converts alternating current electricity into direct current, for use by
all the computer components. The two main standards of case and
power supply components are the older AT, and the newer ATX standard.
We strongly recommend an ATX case and power supply, as it supports
the newest power management features. However, keep in mind an AT
motherboard will not fit into a ATX case, nor will the opposite. Cases
also differ in size. There are mini-tower, mid-tower, full-tower and
desktop cases. They mainly differ in the number of available drive bays
(areas to add CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, etc) Buy whichever size you
prefer, however, if you purchase a mini tower, you must purchase a Baby
AT, or a Mini-ATX motherboard.
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The motherboard (sometimes called Mainboard) is one of
the most important parts of the computer, as it provides an interface for
linking all the parts of the computer together. Expect to spend
anywhere between $80-170 for a motherboard. Although there are
dozens of manufactures that make motherboards, the vast majority of
motherboard chipsets are made by only three companies: Intel
, AMD, and VIA.
For Intel Pentium and Celeron prcoessors, we strongly recommended you
purchase a motherboard with an Intel chipset, such as the 820, or the
815e. For AMD K6 & Athlon processors, the most common
chipset is made by VIA. Different motherboards support a variety of Slots
and Sockets. Be sure that your motherboard supports the slot or socket
your processor does. For example a Pentium III 750 MHz FC-PGA processor
may be used with a Supermicro 370SCD motherboard.
Note: Certain motherboards have some components built in to
them, such as the video card or sound card. If the motherboard you
purchase has a built in component, you do not have to purchase that
component. The integrated components may not be as fast or
functional as ones purchased individually, but they are more economical.
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CPU:
The CPU, or Central Processing Unit, is the part of the computer that
performs the mathematical number crunching. Two two leading
manufacturer are Intel, which
manufactures the Celeron (low-end), and the Pentium III (high-end);
and AMD, which manufactures the Duron
Processor, which is similar to a Celeron, and the Athlon Processor,
which is similar to a Pentium III. Intel processors are generally
more expensive than their AMD counterpart, but are usually more compatible
with other hardware. Today's processors range in speeds from
500-1000Mhz (or millions of cycles per second), but a higher speed also
means a higher cost. The cheapest processor, the AMD Duron 600MHz is
less than $100, while the Athlon 1GHz (or 1000Mhz) is about $800.
For the best deal and compatibility, we recommend getting an Intel processor
that is a few levels below the fastest.
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The type of memory (RAM) you buy depends on the type of
motherboard you have. Most of the mainstream motherboards use PC100
SDRAM which operate at 100Mhz, and cost around $100-200 for 128MB.
(the price of RAM is very not very stable and can vary significantly from
week to week) Some high-end Athlon motherboards used PC133 SDRAM,
which is only slightly more expensive than PC100 RAM but runs at 133Mhz.
High-end Intel motherboards use Rambus Memory or RDRAM, which runs
at speeds up to 400Mhz but can cost as much as $500 for 128 MB with only a
slight increase in performance. Take this into consideration when
selecting a motherboard. For adequate performance, it is highly
recommended to use no less than 128MB of RAM. We recommended purchasing
128 MB of PC100 or PC133 RAM, and choosing an according motherboard.
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Floppy Drive:
With Floppy Drives, there is only one type to choose from: a 3.5"
1.44MB Drive. There are many manufacturers that make them, but they
are also basically all the same. They are very inexpensive and can
be found for $10-20.
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When you purchase a hard drive there are three key specifications you
should look for: the size, which is measured in gigabytes (GB,) the
rotations per minute (RPM,) and the controller standard (UDMA-33,
or UDMA-66). There are number of hard drive manufactures,
the most popular being: Western
Digital and Maxtor. Today's drives
come in either speeds of 5400 or 7200 RPM, and sizes ranging anywhere from
6-40 GB, The older UDMA-33 standard has essentially been phased out. We
recommend a 7200 RPM, UDMA-66 drive, with as much space as you can afford.
Expect to spend between $100 and $300 on your hard drive.
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A CD-ROM drive is a device that read CD-ROM discs, which hold about
650MB of data. They also read a variety of other discs, including standard
Audio CD's. The speed of these drives is measured by a number
followed by an 'X', which indicates how many times faster the drive spins
than the first generation of CD-ROM's. The typical speed for CD-ROM drives
is from 32x and on. Expect to pay about $40-80 for a CD-ROM.
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The computer's video card is a very important factor in determining the
quality of the image it displays, as well as 3D performance for video
games. Video cards come in two types: AGP and PCI.
With the development of the AGP slot, PCI video cards have virtually
stopped being produced, so count on getting an AGP card. The specific card
you get will be determined by the amount of video memory and the card's
chipset. If you are using your computer mainly for business, an
8-16MB video card will suffice, while gamers should get a 32-64MB card.
Common video card manufacturers are by ATI,
Elsa, and 3dfx. We
recommend any video card manufactured by ATI.
Note: if your motherboard has an integrated video card, you do
not need to purchase an additional one.
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- IDE Cables - It is best to have two IDE cables, with three connectors on each; one for the primary IDE controller, and one for the secondary. They attach to the hard drive, CD-ROM drive, or any mass media drive (such as Zip/Jaz) Each cable can connect two devices (for a total of four per computer). For UDMA66 hard drives, a special UDMA66 IDE Cable is necessary, which comes with all UDMA66 hard drives.
- CD-ROM Audio Cable - This comes with the CD-ROM, and is used to send sound from an Audio CD to the sound card to enable the playback of Audio CD's.
- Power Cable - This comes with the computer case, and is used to connect the power supply (and monitor) to an electrical outlet.
250W ATX Power Supply
FIC PA-2013 Motherboard
AMD K6-III 450 MHz CPU
64
MB of PC100 SDRAM
3.5"
1.44 MB Floppy Drive
WD
Caviar 21000 Hard Drive
S3 Virge 2 MB Video Card