This is a very simplified guide.
This applies to desktop PCs ONLY (NOT to laptops).
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What is important is to know which main features to select : size, energy consumption, speed, price, connection, ouputs etc.
There are many other features like color, but they are not important and thus are not listed.
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1/ PC CASE
Main features :
- Size : "Mini Tower"
- Supported boards : Micro-ATX
- Metal : Steel (very solid with some plastic parts)
- Without power-supply (you can buy it apart)
- Dust filters
- USB 3.0 ports
- 1x120 mm rear fan
- 1x120 mm front fan
----> Example : Cooler Master N200 ($ 50)
(reference NSE-200-KKN1)
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2/ POWER SUPPLY UNIT (PSU)
Main features :
- Around 500W is enough
- Silent
- 80 PLUS (energy saving and less heat)
----> Example : Cooler Master MasterWatt Lite 500 ($ 50)
(reference MPX-5001-ACABW-ES)
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3/ SSD HARD DRIVE
Main features :
- 500 Gb is the best size/price ratio
- Connection : SATA 3.0 is enough (avoid NVMe, too expensive)
- Max Read speed : about 550 Mbps
- Max Write speed : about 520 Mbps
----> Example : WD Blue 3D NAND 500GB Internal PC SSD ($ 65)
(reference WDS500G2B0A)
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4/ VIDEO CARD
Main features :
- There are many extensions generations : PCIexpress (3, 2, 1), AGP, PCI...
Note : PCIexpress is "backward compatible" : it means that a PCIe3 card will also work on a PCIe2 or a PCIe1 slot , but slower.
PCI or AGP are old and obsolete : avoid them.
- For speed comparison :
http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php
Order list by Rank (lower is better).
- Fastest around 150 dollars : Radeon RX 570
----> Example : SAPPHIRE PULSE Radeon RX 570 8GB GDDR5 ($ 150)
(reference 11266-66-20G)
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5/ CPU = Processor
Main features :
- A CPU is defined by its "socket" (= generation).
For modern desktop CPUs, the latest sockets are :
* AM4 (for AMD Ryzen)
* 2066 (for Intel Skylake)
- For speed comparison :
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php
Order by CPU Mark.
- Fastest CPU at around $ 150 :
----> Example : AMD Ryzen 7 2700 (for AM4 Sockets) ($ 150)
(reference YD2700BBAFBOX)
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6/ PASSIVE CPU COOLER (=NO FAN=SILENT) :
----> Best and cheapest :
Arctic Alpine 11 Passive ($15) for Intel processors (until ~50W).
Arctic Alpine AM4 Passive ($10) for AMD processors (until ~50W).
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7/ MOTHERBOARD
Main features :
- Socket : depends on the CPU (can be AM4 or 2066 etc.)
- Size : Micro-ATX (small and energy saving)
- max RAM speed : for example DDR4 @ 3200Mhz
- max RAM capacity : for example 64 Gb (4x DDR4)
- video output : at least one HDMI
----> Example for AM4 sockets : ASRock B450M-Pro 4 ($ 90)
(reference B450M PRO4)
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8/ RAM = Memory
Main features :
- DIMM is for desktops, SO-DIMM is for laptops
- Generation : from oldest to newest are : DDR1, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4
- Latency (CL) must be low : CL16 is good enough
- Voltage : 1.2 Volts (standard normal voltage)
- Buy 2 same sticks : for dual channel, which is ~10% faster than a single stick
- If you need DDR4 : 2 sticks of 8 GB at 3200 MHz is enough and cheapest
----> Example : G.SKILL Ripjaws 5 DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB ($90)
(reference = F4-3200C16D-16GVKB)
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9/ USB FLASH DRIVE
Main features :
- 64 GB is the best size/price ratio
- USB 3.0 is fastest
- Secure data : yes
- Crypted data : yes
- Shock resistant : yes
- 5 years warranty
- Read speed : 130 Mb/s
----> Example : SanDisk Ultra Trek USB 3.0 - 64GB ($ 30)
(reference = SDCZ490-064G-G46)
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TOTAL PRICE : 685 dollars , which is cheap for a new and very fast PC
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
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Examples of web sites for buying new hardware :
newegg
amazon
etc.
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These were only simple examples but you get the rough idea.
If you have other advice , remarks , please answer here.
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