First, a little bit of history. Back in September 2007, I first wrote about what I would be looking for in a computer if I were buying one today. To get a better idea of the kind of system I’m looking for, please refer to the original blog entry, but to sum up, it would be a system for playing the latest 3D games as well as a system ready for Blu-ray playback, but one that is reasonable in price and without the need for overclocking. But overall, it’s all about the price performance ratio and finding the best system that offers the best ratio (so not necessarily a “budget” system, nor a “high-end” one). 

I will format this post a little different than previously, as I will be explaining the various parts up front, and then listing the specs table. I will also be looking at US parts and prices, despite being located in Australia, since this avoids issues with the exchange rate. Got a lot to go through, so let’s get started …

AMD Phenom II X3 720

CPU: Since the last post, Intel has released its Nehalem series, now called the Core i7. AMD has been busy as well, releasing a less radical processor in the Phenom II. I don’t want to get into it too much, but suffice to say that the i7 is way overpriced at the moment, especially if you add in the cost of expensive motherboards. The Phenom II series make more sense from the financial point of view, although it’s far behind the i7 in terms of performance. I’ve chosen the Phenom II X3 720, as it costs less than the ageing Phenom X4 9950, and offers slightly better performance. Yes, you miss out on one core, but then it offers an extra core compared to Intel’s Core 2 Duo range (which costs a lot more).
Pick: AMD Phenom II X3 720
Alternative: AMD Phenom II X4 810 – an extra core if you really need all four

Motherboard: The choice would be between a AM2+ or AM3 motherboard due to our CPU pick. The basic difference is that AM3 supports DDR3, whereas AM2+ supports only DDR2 – both will support the Phenom II processor. So while AM3 is more future proof, AM2+ is better value at the moment if you add in the cost of RAM. With the economy the way it is, I’m going with AM2+. I’m going with the 790X chipset, since the FX’s quad GPU support is not a must have feature. I’m sticking with a brand I know, Gigabyte. 
Pick: Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P
Alternative: Gigabyte GA-MA790GP-UD4H – if you don’t need gaming, then the onboard Radeon HD 3300 will provide excellent Blu-ray decoding acceleration for $20 more than the MA790X-UD4P 

RAM: DDR2 is cheap and plentiful. 4GB is enough for today’s applications, especially if you’re still going to use a 32-bit OS. You’ll probably have your own preferences in terms of brand, but I’ve chosen Corsair 2 x 2G DDR2 1066 RAM at CAS 5.
Pick:  Corsair XMS2 PC2 8500 CAS 5 (2 x 2G)
Alternative: Corsair XMS2 PC2 6400 CAS 4 (2 x 2G) - if you want an extra bit of performance, go with these CAS 4 rated DDR2 800 RAM

HDD: TB drives are all the rage, so we’re going with two of the Samsung F1’s which are quiet and fast. We’re going with two for a simple RAID 1 setup, but you can grab more or less depending on which RAID you want or don’t want.
Pick: 2 x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD102UJ 1TB
Alternative: Go with just a single drive for a non RAID setup, or a RAID 5 setup with 3 drives

HIS Radeon HD 4850

Video Card: ATI’s 4800 series has been extremely popular, in terms of both price and performance. This is one area where it really depends on your needs, whether you want the best gaming performance, some gaming performance, or none at all (if so, then going with the motherboard with integrated graphics is the best choice – see above). The NVIDIA range seems expensive for the power they provide, and you should really only consider the top range cards for top performance. In the mid range, I still prefer the Radeon HD 4850 series for those who wants to dabble in gaming, but don’t mind turning down a few details here and there. The brand of the card is up to individuals, and you’ll have to look at the included HSF, software bundle and such (I’ve picked the HIS with free copy of S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Clear Sky until the end of May).
Pick:  HIS Hightech H485FN512P Radeon HD 4850 512MB
Alternative:  HIS Hightech H487FN1GP Radeon HD 4870 1GB – the 4870 comes with more performance, 1GB of faster GDDR5 RAM as well, for those that want the few extra FPS

Sound Card: Still going with a on-board solution, which works well for most people that don’t require audiophile level quality. With ATI’s Radeon HD range, you can output audio via the graphics card’s HDMI as well.

Optical Drive: Still sticking with a Blu-ray reader drive. My thinking is that when Blu-ray media becomes cheap enough for everyday use, then drives will be dirty cheap and much faster than current offerings, so it’s not worth buying a Blu-ray burner drive at the moment. Of course, if you really must have 50GB of storage per disc, regardless of the price, then these drives are not too expensive.
Pick: LG GGC-H20L Blu-ray/HD DVD reader, CD/DVD burner
Alternative:  LG GGW-H20L Blu-ray/CD/DVD burner, HD DVD reader – add Blu-ray burning for $70 more

Samsung T240HD

Monitor: 22″ seems to be the sweet spot in terms of price, but I prefer 24″. You can spend a little, or a lot here, and it really depends on your needs. But I like to spend a bit more on your monitor, because a good one can last several computers, and it’s the only part of your PC that you have to interact with everyday. Most people would probably want a 16:10 ratio monitor, this will give you 1920×1200 resolution. However, there are more monitors carrying the 16:9 ratio (1920×1080, 1080p), which is the same ratio used by widescreen TVs and is most suited for connecting to game consoles or Blu-ray players. The problem with these 1080p displays is that it lacks the vertical resolution of 16:10 monitors (1200 lines versus 1080 lines), and so you won’t be able to display resolutions like 1600×1200 for example, despite having a horizontal resolution that’s greater than 1600.  I went with the Samsung T240HD because it had HDMI input (the more popular 2443BWT does not). If you are serious, then look for S-IPS or VA type displays, including the Dell UltraSharp range.
Pick: Samsung T240HD 24″
Alternative: ASUS VW246H – A cheaper 24″ with 16:9 as opposed to 16:10 (lower vertical resolution), good for Blu-ray

Case: I’m keeping with the Antec Sonata Designer, which comes with a quality 500W power supply that is more than enough to power the above system. 
Pick: Antec Sonata Designer 500
Alternative: RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WBP – a more fancier, yet cheaper option, also with a 500W power supply

So that’s the system picked out. All you need is to add an OS (get XP, and then wait for Windows 7), and a keyboard/mouse combo. Here’s the full system spec and prices (note that comparison with October 2008 prices removed since that was for Australian prices, and this time, we’re using latest Newegg.com prices) – changed parts in blue, unchanged in black:

So that’s a system that will play all the latest games, albeit not always at the highest quality, and will play Blu-ray movies without breaking a sweat. It’s not the cheapest system available, but it’s full of quality parts and it will last you many years.

For the next issue, it will all be about waiting for the Core i7 prices to drop, perhaps Intel could release a few lower spec’d models at lower prices to compete with the AMD chips. Otherwise, the Core 2 Duo line-up doesn’t fare too well compared to the new Phenom II’s. 

See you in a few month’s time …

Back in September 2007, I first wrote about what I would be looking for in a computer if I were buying one today. To get a better idea of the kind of system I’m looking for, please refer to the original blog entry, but to sum up, it would be a system for playing the latest 3D games as well as a system ready for Blu-ray and HD DVD playback, but one that is reasonable in price and without the need for overclocking. This is still the system that I will “imagine” to build today, which is slightly different to the requirements of the computer that I will buy this month. My computer will be more work related, will still require Blu-ray/HD DVD playback, but less emphasis on gaming.

So let’s not waste any time. Here are the specs of the computer, including comparisons with the last specs from May (as compared to May: upgraded parts in blue, lower prices in green, higher prices in red). Note that some parts have risen in price due to currency fluctuations (the $Aus has been hammered lately).

Ok, as mentioned above, the currency fluctuations here in Australia has been crazy over the last month or so, partly to do with the world economic crisis. So we have a situation where a PC that’s much more expensive in Australian dollars, but much cheaper in US dollars. The AUD was probably overvalued back in May, and now it may be undervalued, so that explains the price differential. For those earning US dollars, now is a great time to buy a computer here in Australia though thanks to the generous exchange rate and computer retailers not having caught up yet. And I have taken this opportunity to upgrade a few parts to make the system fresh enough for the second half of 2008.

Let’s go over each specification. As usual, I will provide alternatives, including rival AMD/ATi offers.

CPU: We’ve gone quad! The Q8200 represents a good value quad core processor that uses the 45nm process shared by the more expensive quad-core chips, but at a price that’s closer to the original Q6600 (65nm). Performance wise, it’s similar to the E8200 in dual-core only apps, but faster than the Q6600 and E8400 in quad-core enabled applications, which are more and more common these days. For future proofing, we’re going with quad core.
Alternatives: For a few dollars less, you can get the Intel E8500 dual-core processor or the AMD Phenom 9950 quad-core. Of these two, the 9950 is better value, and it is much faster than the Q8200. The Q8200 is less power hungry, but if you take into account the performance of the 9950, it is probably more worth it for the extra power it uses (get the 125w version).

Motherboard: (Update) We’re going with the Gigabyte EP45T-DS3R, which is basically the same board as last time except it supports DDR3 only. Didn’t see the point of keeping DDR2 support when we’re not using it, and this way, you can have up to 4 DDR3 slots rather than being limited to 2. The price remains the same. It’s a very fully featured board (HD audio, RAID, 0/1/5/10), with all the options you would expect and outputs galore.
Alternatives: For your AMD processor system, you might consider the Gigabyte MA790X-DS4 for $175. This is a very similar featured motherboard to the EP45T-DS3R and it uses AMD’s latest 790X chipset.

RAM: Still sticking with the same DDR3 memory as in May. Prices have dropped again during this time. As mentioned before, there really is no benefit to getting DDR3 memory unless you are overclocking to the max (and even then, DDR2 is probably enough), or if you prefer the power saving nature of DDR3 memory. The only other advantage is that they may be easier to sell off in the future once DDR3’s superior bandwidth is actually useful. 
Alternatives: If you plan on overclocking your system, faster DDR3 memory can be had. At this stage, there isn’t much benefit to get DDR3 anyway until faster FSB speeds are available, so you might save a bit of money and get 4GB of PC-6400 (800 MHz) rated low latency (C4) DDR2 instead (you will need to make sure the motherboard you get supports DDR2). You can also opt for the C9DHX range of DDR3 memory from Corsair, with has enhanced cooling, but it’s mostly unnecessary if you don’t overclock your memory. With the AMD system, you can only use DDR2, which is great as it’s much cheaper and you can actually get 4 GB for the same price as 2GB of DDR3.

HDD: After reading good review of the Samsung 750 GB drive, I’m including it in the specs. The extra 250 GB is obviously an improvement, but probably not as important as the price drop that comes with it.
Alternatives: If money is more important than space, then getting the 500 GB drive for $24 per drive ($95) may be worth it.

Video Card: A new quarter, so a new GPU to go along with it. The Nvidia GTX260 is their latest card that will give you a performance boost over the 9800 range. It’s not the best value card, I must admit, as you can get a card that’s nearly half the price but much better than just half the performance.
Alternatives: As mentioned, you can get a cheaper card that is not as powerful as the GTX260, but much cheaper. The Nvidia 9800 GTX+ at $299 is tempting as it gives similar performances to the GTX260 in games that don’t benefit too much from having more stream processors, but the cheaper ATi Radeon 4850 is the best value at $249 and it will give you similar performances to a 9800 GTX+.

Sound Card: Still going with a on-board solution. Until HDMI audio output gets sorted out, it’s probably not worth getting a new sound-card for your PC. HDMI audio output would allow the pass-thru or decoding or several of the new HD audio formats, which is not possible through SPDIF/optical due to insufficient bandwidth.

Optical Drive: Still sticking with the Pioneer Blu-ray reader drive. Not much point in buying a Blu-ray writer at the moment as media prices are still high, and prices are sure to drop any day now.
Alternative: The LG GGC-H20L is also at the same price, but reads HD DVD. It’s also a lightscribe DVD writer.

Monitor: An upgrade with 2 more diagonal inches, and full HD resolution (1080p) to fully take advantage of Blu-ray playback. Prices have come down a lot, although the price I’m quoting here includes a local cashback offer.
Alternative: If money isn’t an issue, then you can get the Samsung 2493HM for $100 more. It is an improved model on the 2433BW. If you want HDMI, DisplayPort and equally excellent quality, then the Dell Ultrasharp 2408WFP is worth considering, although it costs an arm and a leg at $669.

Case: A change here, but mainly for those that want something in silver, not black. It’s a quiet case too, also part of the Antec Sonata family like the Sonata III featured here previously.
Alternatives: There are lots of alternatives to cases, and it depends largely on taste. The one that I’ve seen lots of good reviews for is the Antec P182 case, but the style is not really to my taste and it costs more than the Sonata III despite not including a power supply unit.

You might now be wondering what are the specs of the work computer that I plan to buy, so I’ll tell you. For the optical drive, I already own a LG GGC-H20L that will go into the computer. The monitor is also taken care of after I purchased a Dell 24″ on discount (and I mean discount – $499 down to $258, or only $US 176). The rest of the system, shown below, consists of a few parts that are the same as the selection above, plus the rest from the “alternatives” selections:

AMD Phenom 9950
Gigabyte MA790X-DS4
Corsair 2 x 2GB 8500 C5D Twinx
2 x Samsung 750 GB SATA
Asus Radeon 4850 512 MB
Antec Sonata Designer

(Update)

I eventually went with a different system altogether, and one that’s much closer to the system recommended by this post. Here are the specs:

Intel E8500
Gigabyte GA-EP45T-DS3R
OCZ 4GB 1333 C9
2 x Western Digital 640GB WD6400AAKS
Asus 512 MB 4850 

In a normal situation, you would be better off going with cheaper DDR2 memory, with the extra $100 savings going towards a better GPU or CPU (or rent), but I got a special deal with this package so even though getting DDR3 memory is a bit of an overkill, I’m sticking with it.

Whether you go with the selected system, or my work computer, the value for money has never been greater. For $US 1,400 (or just $US 950 for my work system, although the monitor and optical drive is not included in the price), you can get a system that plays all the latest games at high detail and resolution, plus Blu-ray on a monitor that displays all 1080 lines of resolution. And it can do some work too!

With Intel’s new line-up just around the corner, all of this will be come outdated rather quickly, but if you don’t mind buying a system with little upgrade potential, then now or waiting another month or two is a good time to buy (I haven’t upgraded a PC in years, they last longer than before and by the time you need more power, it’s cheaper to just buy a new one than to upgrade almost every single component). I suspect the next edition of this feature will have a vastly different PC from the one above.

See you in a few month’s time …

Back in September 2007, I first wrote about what I would be looking for in a computer if I were buying one today. To get a better idea of the kind of system I’m looking for, please refer to the original blog entry, but to sum up, it would be a system for playing the latest 3D games as well as a system ready for Blu-ray and HD DVD playback, but one that is reasonable in price and without the need for overclocking.

So let’s not waste any time. Here are the specs of the computer, including comparisons with the last specs from February (as compared to February: upgraded parts in blue, lower prices in green, higher prices in red):

 Look at all the blue (upgraded parts) and green (lower prices) above … a sight to behold! It seems the May system has had most of the internals upgraded to better parts, and with almost every item’s price dropping at the same time. It’s a savings of $AUD 260 ($USD 250), except we have a much better system than the February build. Let’s go over each specification.

CPU: Remain unchanged from the February specs, prices have dropped, but only by a very small amount.
Alternatives:You can get the Intel Q6600 quad-core processor for slightly less, or almost any of the AMD Phenom processors for lower price. I’m sticking with the E8400 due to the superior efficiency in the Intel chip.

Motherboard:Giga-byte have upgraded the P35C-DS3R from revision 2.0 to 2.1. The EP35C-DS3R is basically the same board as the revised P35C, with the enhancement being more environmentally friendly features. I’m sticking with the “C” motherboard due to support for DDR3 memory, which is much more important this month than previously (see below).
Alternatives:If you want DDR3 using the P35 chipset, then you don’t really have much choice in terms of Giga-byte motherboards. There are X38 and X48 chipset enabled motherboards, but these are for enthusiasts as opposed to the mainstream public, and are a lot pricier as a result.

RAM:DDR3 memory pricing have dropped considerably since February, so much so that I think it’s the right time to include them in the system specs. I’ve gone for Corsair C9G DDR3 memory rated at PC-10600 (1333 MHz) to match the FSB of the 8400/P35 chipset.
Alternatives:If you plan on overclocking your system, faster DDR3 memory can be had. At this stage, there isn’t much benefit to get DDR3 anyway until faster FSB speeds are available, so you might save a bit of money and get DDR2 instead (the motherboard we’ve chosen does support both types of memory). You can also opt for the C9DHX range of DDR3 memory from Corsair, with has enhanced cooling, but it’s mostly unnecessary if you don’t overclock your memory.

HDD:There’s been a slight upgrade from the AS type to the NS type HDD, but still a Seagate 500 GB SATA2 with 32 MB of cache. The price difference between AS and NS was minimal, so I went with the slightly more expensive model.
Alternatives:You can save around $50 by getting two 400 GB drives (with 16 MB cache). Or you can break the bank and get two 750 GB drives for double the price. My thinking is that if you need the additional space offered by the 750 GB drives, you’ll be better off buying external SATA or NAS drives, which is cheaper and much more useful.

Video Card:A slight upgrade from the 8800 GT to 8800 GTS 512 MB (don’t get the 320/640 MB version, as they use an older architecture). The GTS has better performance and comes close to the newly released 9800 GTX (basically any game that plays on the 9800 GTX will play on the 8800 GTS, but games that can’t play smoothly on one won’t be more playable on the other). And we’re also concerned about reports that the 9800 GTX has some noise related issues. Unfortunately, the 8800 GTS is being phased out apparently and it might be hard trying to secure one.
Alternatives:If you can’t find a 8800 GTS, then a 8800 GT for $75 less is great value. But perhaps the 9600 GT at $50 less than the 8800 GT is even better value, especially if playing the latest 3D games isn’t a priority or if you don’t care about gaming at all. If having the best performance is what you want, then the 9800 GX2 or ATi’s HD3870X2 might be what you are looking for, but it will cost you (not just in price, but noise and heat levels as well) – but compared to both of these dual GPU cards, the 9800 GTX is still better value with similar performances at most games apart from Crysis at the Very High setting, and at almost half the prices of the GX2.

Sound Card: Still going with a on-board solution. Until HDMI audio output gets sorted out, it’s probably not worth getting a new sound-card for your PC. HDMI audio output would allow the pass-thru or decoding or several of the new HD audio formats, which is not possible through SPDIF/optical due to insufficient bandwidth.

Optical Drive:Still staying with the Pioneer Blu-ray reader and DVD writer drive. People might be tempted to get a Blu-ray writer drive, but writing speeds are slow and media is expensive, so I say avoid for the moment. By the time media prices come down, writer drives prices will be much more affordable and writing speeds (as well as reliability) will be much improved. I would have gone with the LG dual format drive (see below), but I’m assuming most people don’t have HD DVD movies (and don’t plan on getting them), so while the LG is only a couple of bucks more expensive, it’s still unnecessary if you only need Blu-ray playback.
Alternatives:If you don’t need Blu-ray playback, then any old DVD writer drive would do. If you also need HD DVD playback, then LG GGC-H20L Blu-ray/HD DVD reader combo drive is the way to go, as it’s about the same price as the Pioneer. LG are discounting it as they will no longer be making HD DVD drives, so this might be a last chance to grab a dual format drive.

Monitor:I went with the Samsung 226BW last time, but this model has been superseded by the 2243BW at least here in Australia. I won’t complain because the new model is cheaper, and at 22″, it’s neither too big nor too small (and the resolution of 1680×1050, while not quite at 1080p for Blu-ray, is close enough for a monitor of this size (you really need 55″ or above to fully appreciate 1080p, anything less and the difference between it and 720p @ 1280×720 is minimal).
Alternatives:If you want to spend a bit more, then try and find a 24″ with 1080p support, perhaps with HDMI and DisplayPortinput as well. I can’t really justify the extra money over only 2 more diagonal inches, and as mentioned above, the extra resolution won’t make things that much more clearer. A better alternative may be something like the Samsung 225MS – it’s almost $200 more expensive, but for that, you can more consumer friendly features like HDMI, component input and a set of speakers. A good use of these connections may be for connections to a game console (Xbox 360 or PS3).

Case: Again, I’m sticking with the Antec Sonata III case, because it’s good value as it comes with a high quality 500W power supply (designed for quietness), and the overall build quality of the case (and Antec cases, in general) is quite good. Building a quiet system is essential if you plan on using the machine as your Blu-ray/HD DVD player. Of course, a quiet PC depends much on the type of cooling you have for your CPU and GPU.
Alternatives:There are lots of alternatives to cases, and it depends largely on taste. The one that I’ve seen lots of good reviews for is the Antec P182 case, but the style is not really to my taste and it costs more than the Sonata III despite not including a power supply unit.

So there you have it. $AUD 1,840 ($USD 1,760) for a system that plays all the latest games at 1280×1024 at full framerates and at 1600×1200 with acceptable framerates, and also plays Blu-ray movies without breaking a sweat. It also shouldn’t be too noisy either. But most importantly, this new “May build” represents a saving of more than $250 compared to our last system despite it being a much better system. With DDR3 prices dropping, lots of choices right now in terms of Nvidia or ATi graphics cards, now may be a good time to buy a system (and I’m really tempted, except I have no money).

See you in a few months time …

Back in September, I first wrote about what I would be looking for in a computer if I were buying one today, and today’s blog will see what has changed in the last few month. To get a better idea of the kind of system I’m looking for, please refer to the original blog entry, but to sum up, it would be a system for playing the latest 3D games as well as a system ready for Blu-ray and HD DVD playback, but one that is reasonable in price and without the need for overclocking.

So let’s not waste any time. Here are the specs of the computer, including comparisons with the last specs from December (as compared to December: upgraded parts in blue, lower prices in green, higher prices in red):

The price of the system has dropped $111, but the specification of the system has also been improved, now with a state of the art Intel Penryn 45nm CPU, a set of bigger hard-drives and a superior Samsung LCD monitor. Let’s go over each specification.

CPU: I’ve changed the spec from an Intel Core2Duo 6750 to the new 8400 part. The 8400 is Penryn chip based on the new 45nm process, which means lower power usage and a cooler CPU. Reviews of this new chip has been extremely positive, with clear improvements over the 6750. The real improvement will come later in the year when a new architecture is unveiled to take full advantage of the new 45nm process. AMD has also released their new Phenom range of CPUs, and the 9500 is an attractive package at just slightly cheaper than the 8400, although not as efficient considering it is still a 65nm part. Obviously, choosing a Phenom means a different motherboard choice to the one I’ve listed, but the price should remain similar.

Motherboard: I’ve stuck with my choice of motherboard from the last update.  I like Gigabyte motherboards, although the sheer number of models that are available for a single chipset is a big confusing at times. Gigabyte was recently chosen as the best overall motherboard manufacturer in an Australian PC magazine survey (PC Authority). The model I chose is one that supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, allowing for a smoother upgrade path when DDR3 memory pricing becomes a bit more reasonable. Despite getting a newer motherboard, the price has actually decreased. Note that the previous chosen motherboard had ATI crossfire support, which the new one does not, but since we’re going with an NVIDIA card anyway, it doesn’t really matter.

RAM: We’re sticking with our choice from last time again. DDR3 memory is still not cheap enough for us to consider, but our choice of motherboard above means we can use DDR2 for now, and upgrade to DDR3 when they become more reasonable in pricing.

HDD: This is where the increased costs mainly comes from. An upgrade from 400 GB (which seems to be no longer available) to 500 GB, and the 32MB version as well.  Still sticking with a Seagate drive. The same PC Authority survey I mentioned above also gave Seagate the best overall award, so it’s an easy choice for me.

Video Card: I had to think about either sticking with the 8800 GT 512 MB, or getting the new 8800 GTS 512 MB (don’t get the 320 or 640 MB version, since they are old models while sharing the same 8800 GTS name). Because the price has already went up more than $100 for the updated specs, I decided to hold off and keep the 8800 GT for now. If an extra $110 is not a big deal, then get the 8800 GTS 512MB.

Sound Card: Still going with a on-board solution. Until HDMI audio output gets sorted out, it’s probably not worth getting a new sound-card for your PC. HDMI audio output would allow the pass-thru or decoding or several of the new HD audio formats, which is not possible through SPDIF/optical due to insufficient bandwidth.

Optical Drive: Still sticking with the state-of-the-art Blu-ray and HD DVD dual format reader drive, which also can write to the usual DVD formats. With this drive, you can make your PC format neutral and playback both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies. The huge cost increase, especially for those that want HD movie playback right now, is therefore understandable. If you want to save a bit of money, you can get the Pioneer BDC-S02 Blu-ray reader and CD/DVD writer drive for $215, but you miss out on the ability to play HD DVD movies, which still make up nearly 50% of all available HD movies. Update: With the high definition format war appearing to be over and Blu-ray the victor, I have updated the specs to use the Pioneer BDC-S02 drive, instead of the LG dual format drive. Those with HD DVD movies and want to play them on the computer might still consider the LG drive better value. The Pioneer is exactly half price of the LG, so the extra savings means that this instalment’s computer is actually cheaper than last instalment’s.

Monitor: I’ve chosen the Chimei 22″ for a while now, so I thought it might be time to upgrade. The new monitor I’ve chosen is the Samsung 226BW 22″ model, which looks a lot nicer than the Chimei, both in terms of style and picture quality. The monitor has a resolution of 1680×1050, which is still a bit lacking for 1080p HD content, but you will need to up the size to 24″ to be able to buy a monitor that is capable of 1080p display (like the Samsung 24″ 245B), which means at least another extra $200. Others might want to consider a HDMI capable monitor (the Chimei has a HDMI capable model), but it’s not needed for Blu-ray/HD DVD playback as long as the DVI port is HDCP compatible (which it is) – the 8800 GT doesn’t even have HDMI output anyway. The main use for HDMI would be to connect external devices to the monitor (eg. the PS3), but 22″ is probably on the small side if you plan on using the monitor for watching Blu-ray/HD DVD.

Case: Again, I’m sticking with the Antec Sonata III case, because it’s good value as it comes with a high quality 500W power supply (designed for quietness), and the overall build quality of the case (and Antec cases, in general) is quite good. Building a quiet system is essential if you plan on using the machine as your Blu-ray/HD DVD player. Of course, a quiet PC depends much on the type of cooling you have for your CPU and GPU.

While $AUD 2,100 (that’s $1,930 for you US folk) is a bit on the high end, we are loading the system with some very new and higher quality parts. This is a system that will pretty much do everything and then some. Whether it’s gaming or HD, it won’t disappoint. Hopefully by our next instalment, DDR3 prices will have dropped, and perhaps a new graphics card will tempt us to upgrade the specs again. So until then …

So let’s not waste any time. Here are the specs of the computer, including comparisons with my original specs back in September (as compared to September: upgraded parts in blue, lower prices in green, higher prices in red):

As you can see, there are in fact lots of changes, and an increase in price too. But just under $300 more, we’re getting a vastly superior system, and one that can play both Blu-ray and HD DVDs, so I think it’s worth the slight increase in cost. Let’s go over each specification.

CPU:We’re sticking with the Intel Core2Duo 6750, as it still represents the best price/performance Intel processor. There’s a price drop too, so that’s a bonus. If you like AMD processors, then you might also look at the AMD X2 6000+ for just over $200. Those that are patient can wait for the Intel Penryn range of processors (non Extreme Editions) to come out early next year. It will the the “tick” in Intel’s “tick-tock” release schedule, which means the new 45 nm CPU will use existing architecture. For real improvement, you should wait for the “tock” release later in 2008, where a new architecture will be introduced to better take advantage of the new fabrication process.

Motherboard: I like Gigabyte motherboards, although the sheer number of models that are available for a single chipset is a big confusing at times. Gigabyte was recently chosen as the best overall motherboard manufacturer in an Australian PC magazine survey (PC Authority). The model I chose is one that supports both DDR2 and DDR3 memory, allowing for a smoother upgrade path when DDR3 memory pricing becomes a bit more reasonable. Despite getting a newer motherboard, the price has actually decreased. Note that the previous chosen motherboard had ATI crossfire support, which the new one does not, but since we’re going with an NVIDIA card anyway, it doesn’t really matter.

RAM: An upgrade from PC-6400 to PC-8500. You could save money here by getting cheap DDR2 memory and upgrade to DD3 until prices are more reasonable. Price has increased as a result of the upgrade.

HDD: A slight upgrade for the same price, from 320 GB to 400 GB. The same PC Authority survey I mentioned above also gave Seagate the best overall award, so it’s an easy choice for me.

Video Card: After all my blah blah-ing about the GeForce 8800 GT being “the card everyone’s been waiting for”, I had to choose it for this month’s selection. I chose the XFX version of the card since it’s the cheapest I could find – the Asus come highly recommended (via the PC Authority survey), while there are also “souped up” versions from XFX for a slightly higher price. We’ve done well here by upgrading to a better card, while saving money at the same time.

Sound Card: Still going with a on-board solution. Until HDMI audio output gets sorted out, it’s probably not worth getting a new sound-card for your PC. HDMI audio output would allow the pass-thru or decoding or several of the new HD audio formats, which is not possible through SPDIF/optical due to insufficient bandwidth.

Optical Drive: This is where the big cost increase has come from. Instead of settling for a run of the mill DVD writer drive, I’ve gone out and replaced it with a state-of-the-art Blu-ray and HD DVD dual format reader drive, which also can write to the usual DVD formats. With this drive, you can make your PC format neutral and playback both Blu-ray and HD DVD movies. The huge cost increase, especially for those that want HD movie playback right now, is therefore understandable.

Monitor:I’ve stated with the Chimei 22″, since it has dropped in price too. Others might want to consider a HDMI capable monitor (the Chimei has a HDMI capable model), but it’s not needed for Blu-ray/HD DVD playback as long as the DVI port is HDCP compatible (which it is) – the 8800 GT doesn’t even have HDMI output anyway. The main use for HDMI would be to connect external devices to the monitor (eg. the PS3), but 22″ is probably on the small side if you plan on using the monitor for watching Blu-ray/HD DVD.

Case:I’m sticking with the Antec Sonata III case, because it’s good value as it comes with a high quality 500W power supply (designed for quietness), and the overall build quality of the case (and Antec cases, in general) is quite good. Building a quiet system is essential if you plan on using the machine as your Blu-ray/HD DVD player. Of course, a quiet PC depends much on the type of cooling you have for your CPU and GPU.

So there you have it. A brand new HD gaming and movie PC for just over $AUD 2,200 (that’s $1,930 for you US folk). Not the cheapest system, but one that will pretty much do everything for you and some. Certainly cheaper than buying a same spec’d system from Dell or HP. The next edition of this feature might see the new Intel Penryn being added to the specs if the price is right, but who knows.

Before I list my proposed specs for the computer, I should share my intended uses for the computer so you can get a better idea of what I am after. This computer will mainly be used for entertainment purposes. This includes 3D gaming, video playback and video encoding, but mostly for gaming. I connect my computer to my TV and sound system and use it to play DivX/XviD video files, and I plan on eventually adding a Blu-ray/HD DVD drive to it so that it becomes a dual-format HD player too. My budget is not that high, and my intention is not to get the best possible system, or do any overclocking – I’m looking to strike the right balance between price and performance, getting the parts that should provide the best price/performance ratio at the time of purchase (in Australia, of course, so the situation in the US might be completely different).

So here are the specs:

Now is probably not the best time to buy a computer, at least not for me (even if I had the money). The reason is that DDR3 memory has come out and it fits in nicely with the Core2 Duo 6750 processor’s 1333 MHz FSB.  But that would mean investing in a DDR3 motherboard, which is hard to come by here in Australia, and it would also mean buying much more expensive DDR3 memory, which is not worth the premium at the moment. The other reason is that out of all the available GPUs, there isn’t one that offers great 3D performance plus solid HD (H.264/VC-1) acceleration – both of the top of the range GPUs from NVIDIA and ATI (8800 and HD 2600) do not have the same high performance acceleration as their low/mid range GPUs (eg. 8600 and HD 2400 both accelerate HD better). Waiting 6 month will hopefully solve these two problems. You might think with a 6750, acceleration won’t matter – but if you want a quiet and cool system, having GPU HD acceleration is a must.

Now for my reasoning. I chose the 6750 as the CPU since it represents the best value for money right now. Gigabyte motherboards have been rated quite highly recently, and their price is good. The RAM I’ve gone with PC-6400 as opposed to PC-8500 to save a bit of money – as mentioned before, I would prefer DDR3 PC-10600 but for the price, so maybe cheaper RAM now, with a view to motherboard+RAM upgrade in 6 months time (still not as ideal as waiting 6 months to buy the computer).

Moving on to the HDD – 320 GB represents better value than 400 GB drives. I get 2 of them and use either RAID-0 or some kind of matrixed array where the system file/saves partition is mirrored, while the rest is striped.

The choice of video card, also mentioned before, is not my ideal choice, but it’s the best available now. I could save money by opting for the 320 MB version of the GeForce 8800 GTS too, but what I want is a card that combines the HD acceleration (PureVideo HD or AVIVO HD) of the 8600 GTS (or HD 2400 XT) with the 3D performance of the 8800 GTS. Again, waiting 6 months will probably make this possible.

I almost always buy a Creative sound card, but I might skip it for this computer and try out the in-build sound. I can always get a card later if needed. I also like Pioneer optical drives – this drive is really just a temporary measure until a Blu-ray/HD DVD read-only + DVD writer drive becomes available cheaply (I can always use my Xbox 360’s HD DVD add-on drive to play HD DVD movies for now on this computer).

I put the specs for the monitor and case in brackets because I haven’t researched these areas too much – I usually only research these when I do decide to spend the cash. For a monitor, I will look for a 20-22″ screen, with HDMI input (the Chimei I listed does not have HDMI). For the case, it will have to be a good looking one that matches the other A/V equipment near it, plus be quiet too (the Antec Sonata III is the one I’m looking at – I have the original Antec Sonata right now). Other things like keyboard and mouse I might not even upgrade, since I like my current (Logitech wireless) setup.

So that’s it for this edition of “If I were to buy a new computer today” … I might do one next month, or when some prices start dropping, and do a comparison with the one today. It should be interesting.