HOWTO choose hardware for a desktop PC

How to do things, solutions, recipes, tutorials
Message
Author
linuxcbon
Posts: 1312
Joined: Thu 09 Aug 2007, 22:54

HOWTO choose hardware for a desktop PC

#1 Post by linuxcbon »

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is a very simplified guide.
This applies to desktop PCs ONLY (NOT to laptops).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TOTAL PRICE : 685 dollars , which is cheap for a new and very fast PC :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Examples of web sites for buying new hardware :
newegg
amazon
etc.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These were only simple examples but you get the rough idea.
If you have other advice , remarks , please answer here.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------





.
Last edited by linuxcbon on Fri 14 Feb 2020, 15:23, edited 41 times in total.

User avatar
ardvark
Posts: 1448
Joined: Tue 02 Jul 2013, 03:43
Location: USA

#2 Post by ardvark »

Hi...

Thank you for the rundown. The only two things I would add are...

1. PC Power and Cooling also make good PSU's.

2. I'm not sure Western Digital or Seagate are the best brands but I think they are pretty much who we have left. :wink:

Regards...
Our Lord and Savior [url=http://peacewithgod.jesus.net/]Jesus Christ[/url] loves and cares about you most of all!

PLEASE READ! You don't have to end up [url=http://www.spiritlessons.com/Documents/BillWiese_23MinutesInHell_Text.htm]here![/url]

User avatar
Galbi
Posts: 1098
Joined: Wed 21 Sep 2011, 22:32
Location: Bs.As. - Argentina.

#3 Post by Galbi »

For Hard Disks look at this brand comparative:

http://www.omicrono.com/2014/01/cuales- ... l-mercado/

In spanish, but graphs are very clear.
Remember: [b][i]"pecunia pecuniam parere non potest"[/i][/b]

User avatar
ardvark
Posts: 1448
Joined: Tue 02 Jul 2013, 03:43
Location: USA

#4 Post by ardvark »

Thanks, Galbi but I wonder how old the survey is? I know that Hitachi, Samsung, Maxtor, IBM and Fujitsu were bought out. So apart from WD and Seagate, I guess that leaves Toshiba. :(

Regards...

User avatar
grump
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon 10 Oct 2011, 10:47
Location: Melbourne, Oz

#5 Post by grump »

In the middle of last year I built a desktop (actually, an under the desk) PC for home with the following components:

MB - Gigabyte H87M-D3H
CPU - Intel i5-4430
RAM - 8Gb Kingston 1600
SSD - Intel 330 80Gb (system disk)
HDD - WD Green 1Tb (data disk)
DVD - LG
Case and PS - Antec 4482B
MS wireless kb mouse

This boots 64bit Win8 in 15 seconds. The SSD is magic.
I've tried a Puppy (live CD) on it - everything worked straight off.

I based my choices on Charles (seldom) Wright's workhorse PC articles such as this:
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/comp ... 2ovtq.html

I'm delighted with this PC.

User avatar
NickAu
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon 30 Dec 2013, 04:32
Location: Far North Coast NSW ɹÇ￾punuÊ￾op

#6 Post by NickAu »

@ grump

I guess you are aware of the fact that you do not defrag a ssd? In fact defraging a ssd can reduce its life. ( windoze os only as linux dose not need defraging.)
[b]Precise Puppy 5.7.1 Retro Fatty Edition. Hp Compaq 2510p 2x Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Cpu U7700@ 1.33 ghz,2 gig ram Booting from 8 gig micro USB + 32 gig SD card instead of HDD[/b]

EdD
Posts: 197
Joined: Tue 10 Dec 2013, 00:10
Location: Southside Virginia

#7 Post by EdD »

Very good info. I would add that there's a good source for HDDs on ebay, new drives, IDE or SATA , some very economically priced:

http://stores.ebay.com/goHardDrive-Whol ... ail?_rdc=1
Dell optiplex 780, Intel Core 2 Duo CPU E7500 @ 2.93GHz, 4g RAM, w/ATI RV620 LE Radeon HD 3450. Currently running a full install of Slacko 6.3.0 ( 32 bit version).

User avatar
grump
Posts: 124
Joined: Mon 10 Oct 2011, 10:47
Location: Melbourne, Oz

#8 Post by grump »

NickAu wrote:@ grump

I guess you are aware of the fact that you do not defrag a ssd?
Sure diddly neighbouroony.

User avatar
Burn_IT
Posts: 3650
Joined: Sat 12 Aug 2006, 19:25
Location: Tamworth UK

#9 Post by Burn_IT »

windoze os only as linux dose not need defraging
Well that shows how much you understand about disks.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

User avatar
NickAu
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon 30 Dec 2013, 04:32
Location: Far North Coast NSW ɹÇ￾punuÊ￾op

#10 Post by NickAu »

Burn_IT wrote:
windoze os only as linux dose not need defraging
Well that shows how much you understand about disks.
Yet to read a post that says linux needs defraging. But then again im only new to linux, So please teach me how to defrag linux.
[b]Precise Puppy 5.7.1 Retro Fatty Edition. Hp Compaq 2510p 2x Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Cpu U7700@ 1.33 ghz,2 gig ram Booting from 8 gig micro USB + 32 gig SD card instead of HDD[/b]

User avatar
Burn_IT
Posts: 3650
Joined: Sat 12 Aug 2006, 19:25
Location: Tamworth UK

#11 Post by Burn_IT »

Fragmentation of the data on disks has nothing to do with the operating system using the disk.
It has to do with the file system that is used on the disk.

Puppy Linux very often uses the same file system as Windows, as it is often run on the same disk as Windows is.

As to how to defrag disks using Linux, or in particular, Puppy, that is a good question that I don't know the answer to off the top of my head.
Now I've got to go away and look it up......

Actually I'm misleading you a bit as when you do a frugal install of Puppy it grabs a large chunk of space on the host file system as a single file and creates its own virtual file system within that space. However it is still a good idea to store SFSs and as much as possible in the host file system where it can be shared between Puppies far more easily.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

User avatar
NickAu
Posts: 183
Joined: Mon 30 Dec 2013, 04:32
Location: Far North Coast NSW ɹÇ￾punuÊ￾op

#12 Post by NickAu »

Just FYI I am not arguing with you or anybody when I ask these questions I truly do not know or may have read something some place that says something else. And there is a lot of "information" out there and some of it is well lets say not correct. I have found this forum gives good advice.

Heres something I found on the subject of linux fragmenting and yes it mentions the sort of file system it uses etc.

Linux’s ext2, ext3, and ext4 file systems – ext4 being the file system used by Ubuntu and most other current Linux distributions – allocates files in a more intelligent way. Instead of placing multiple files near each other on the hard disk, Linux file systems scatter different files all over the disk, leaving a large amount of free space between them. When a file is edited and needs to grow, there’s usually plenty of free space for the file to grow into. If fragmentation does occur, the file system will attempt to move the files around to reduce fragmentation in normal use, without the need for a defragmentation utility.

Because of the way this approach works, you will start to see fragmentation if your file system fills up. If it’s 95% (or even 80%) full, you’ll start to see some fragmentation. However, the file system is designed to avoid fragmentation in normal use.

If you do have problems with fragmentation on Linux, you probably need a larger hard disk. If you actually need to defragment a file system, the simplest way is probably the most reliable: Copy all the files off the partition, erase the files from the partition, then copy the files back onto the partition. The file system will intelligently allocate the files as you copy them back onto the disk.
[b]Precise Puppy 5.7.1 Retro Fatty Edition. Hp Compaq 2510p 2x Intel(R) Core(TM) 2 Duo Cpu U7700@ 1.33 ghz,2 gig ram Booting from 8 gig micro USB + 32 gig SD card instead of HDD[/b]

User avatar
Burn_IT
Posts: 3650
Joined: Sat 12 Aug 2006, 19:25
Location: Tamworth UK

#13 Post by Burn_IT »

Its all right, I'm being finicky.
I object - well get annoyed- when people (generally) say one thing is good and another is bad when they have no idea about the facts behind the case.

I quote an example that most people will have heard.
The Popeye series of cartoons implied spinach was some sort of super food. That was based on the iron content of it. The problem was that the researcher measuring the iron content got his sums wrong and the figures were a factor of ten out.
Another is the myth that SALT is bad for you. Salt is an essential compound for life, as is shown by the fact that Explorers have to carry extra salt tablets. What salt does is enable the body to retain water. If your body does retain TOO much water your blood pressure rises leading to heart problems.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

linuxcbon
Posts: 1312
Joined: Thu 09 Aug 2007, 22:54

#14 Post by linuxcbon »

Updated and added SSD. :)

User avatar
drunkjedi
Posts: 882
Joined: Mon 25 May 2015, 02:50

#15 Post by drunkjedi »

Hi in case of RAM, do you think having two identical sticks are better than single big stick?
Something to do with dual channel RAM.
I don't know much about it.

I did asseble PC myself 2 years ago.
I didn't know much about PCs then.
Just bought what some friends suggested. ( who don't know much themselves).

I have processor i3 3220, what I think I made wrong choice is the motherboard and RAM.
Motherboard is Intel DH61BF, should have bought something with more features and latest chipset.
The RAM is 6gb, one stick is of 4gb and other is of 2 gb.
Ohh and I didn't buy any graphics card.... yet.

Thanks for your guide.

User avatar
Burn_IT
Posts: 3650
Joined: Sat 12 Aug 2006, 19:25
Location: Tamworth UK

#16 Post by Burn_IT »

You are not going to even see any difference between 1 single stick and two dual channel sticks in a home environment unless you are doing something that is extremely memory intensive and you have enough for it to reside wholly in memory (like rendering) and the program is designed to use it properly. The quantity is more important.
"Just think of it as leaving early to avoid the rush" - T Pratchett

linuxcbon
Posts: 1312
Joined: Thu 09 Aug 2007, 22:54

#17 Post by linuxcbon »

drunkjedi wrote:Hi in case of RAM, do you think having two identical sticks are better than single big stick?
Yes it is faster (maybe 5 or 10 %) to have 2 same RAM sticks in "dual channel". To have dual channel, the 2 RAM sticks need to have the same model, same size, same speed.
drunkjedi wrote:I have processor i3 3220, what I think I made wrong choice is the motherboard and RAM.
Motherboard is Intel DH61BF, should have bought something with more features and latest chipset.
Intel DH61BF has socket 1155, so it will accept i3 3220.
The 2 most important features for a motherboard are : max RAM speed, max RAM capacity.
drunkjedi wrote:Ohh and I didn't buy any graphics card.... yet.
You can chose a fast or slow card and it depends how much you want to pay. For example one benchmark : http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/gpu_list.php

User avatar
drunkjedi
Posts: 882
Joined: Mon 25 May 2015, 02:50

#18 Post by drunkjedi »

Thanks for the input friends.

wboz
Posts: 233
Joined: Wed 20 Nov 2013, 21:07

#19 Post by wboz »

You could add the potential for use of an M.2 SSD, which would be a lot faster than SATA -- probably more future proofed if you got a MB with that slot or an extra PCI lane to accommodate if you wanted. Personally my own computer was built just before that kind of went mainstream, so unfortunately I'm stuck with SATA for the long haul :) It's OK though it doesn't have to be a screamer and being a desktop is more than fast enough for photo editing.

My own setup was quite reasonably priced back when LGA1150 was new (i3-4130, B85 MB) but no one will be interested in the details now since times have moved on substantially after 1 yr ... I don't see why you wouldn't go 1155 now even though I do still see the older stuff for sale.

linuxcbon
Posts: 1312
Joined: Thu 09 Aug 2007, 22:54

#20 Post by linuxcbon »

wboz wrote:You could add the potential for use of an M.2 SSD, which would be a lot faster than SATA -- probably more future proofed if you got a MB with that slot or an extra PCI lane to accommodate if you wanted.
M.2 is not faster, it's the name for a connection.
M.2 can have 1 those 2 interfaces : SATA or PCI-E.
M.2 with PCI-E is faster than M.2 with SATA. The problem is that M.2 with PCI-E is more expensive than M.2 with SATA.

Post Reply