MY SUPER PC How To Build A PC - A Computer Building Guide Rob Williams - E-mail Rob@MySuperPC.com Last Updated: 9/10/2002

What You Need To Build A Computer

So Welcome! It's good to have you here to share my experiences researching and building My Super PC! The information on these pages should streamline your research and save you hours of time, a fair amount of money, and you'll end up building your own super computer! Although technology changes quickly, I update this site frequently to keep it up-to-date. This site provides:

Special message insert from Rob@MySuperPC.com The following great deals are available right now! This message box only appears when something really good has come along! As usual, if the items in this box are of interest to you then work fast because they disappear quickly! When the inventory runs out, the coupon expires or the deadline is reached, then the hot deal is over and this message box disappears! You'll have no problem getting any deal shown if you click on the link and follow the instructions! Enjoy!

These American Express Gold card refunds are available right now if you used it to make your purchases! AMD Athlon XP 2200+ 266FSB Processor - Get $59 Back! The great low price I've been telling you about right here on this page for the AMD Athlon XP 2200+ processor has dropped! As of September 10, 2002 it's $148! As recently as August 11, 2002, it was $207! If you bought it at a higher price within the last 60 days then now use the "Best Value Guarantee" feature of your American Express Gold card to get the difference, namely $59! Falling prices netted me cash back of $160 on the cost of just a single PC! And that's buying "sweet spot" components, not the expensive top-end components that drop the fastest. Others have reported similar savings If you don't already have the American Express Gold card, you really should get it! As you know, this kind of price drop happens all the time, so get your card and be ready next time! Click on the image or link to apply now! Once at the American Express page, click on the "Find Out More" button at the bottom of the page to see all the features of this indispensable card! Here are some of the features that make this card ideal for PC builders, but there are many more! Although "Gold" does have a $75 annual fee, ever plunging computer component prices make that a good investment! That's because of the "Best Value Guarantee" feature! With "Best Value Guarantee", you'll pay the lowest price available for 60 days. If the price drops within 60 days, American Express will pay the difference! For real! Up to $250 per item, up to $1000 per year ($10 minimum)! Best Value Guarantee is only available with the "Gold" card and not other American Express cards. Return protection lets you return a covered item up to 90 days after purchase! If the place you bought it won't take it back, American Express will! If they do take it back then American Express will pay the restocking fee! Refunds are for up to $300 per item, with a maximum of $1000 per Cardmember account! Buyer's Assurance Plan, which doubles the warranty on items purchased with "Gold". Maximum time added to the warranty that already comes with the item is one additional year. Purchase Protection Plan, which covers accidental damage or theft up to 90 days. Maximum $1000 per item and $50,000 per card holder per year. Even if you already have a different American Express card, you can get this one, too! Note that "Gold" is a charge card, not a credit card, so balances must be paid in full each month. Apply Now! Many approvals are given instantly, so you can be using your new card in moments!

Dell Software and Peripherals Right now you can get 10% off everything! Including the Samsung 955DF 19" monitor and Lite-On CD-ROM and CD-RW I recommend! The discount is good through Monday, September 12. Shipping is free on orders of $25 or more for a limited time! Dell Software and Peripherals

GoBack 3 Deluxe Only $20.67! Free shipping! That's over 50% less than what you would normally expect to pay, thanks to the great price at Buy.com and the $20 rebate! And there's no shipping charge! The rebate is good on purchases made through March 1, 2003. Click the link to go to Buy.com and then find it fast by entering part number 20339329 in the search box. Buy.com

Free Shipping by Priority mail for orders of 2 or more printer ink cartridges. (Limited Time Offer) High quality compatible and remanufactured ink cartridges guaranteed to meet or exceed the performance of the equivalent name brand cartridge. Unconditional satisfaction guarantee - get 100% of your money back including shipping fees if not satisifed within 30 days even if the cartridge is opened and up to 70% of the ink used! All printer makes supported, including Epson, HP, Lexmark, and Canon. The discounts are excellent - I save about 33% over what my inkjet cartridges would cost at Wal-Mart. InkJetExperts - wholesale prices on laser toner and inkjet cartridges

Crucial Memory! Free shipping! Web Orders Receive 10% Discount! All Crucial memory is available with free shipping! Their prices and quality are already unbeatable, and now you get free shipping, too! Crucial makes outstanding memory and it's what I use in My Super PC! Click the link to get another 10% off for a web order! Crucial

Amazon Software Rebates Amazon is running rebates on some excellent products through the month of September. For example, McAfee VirusScan Home Edition 7.0 is free after rebates - with free shipping! Norton SystemWorks 2003 is only $6.99, also shipped free! And there are many more great deals, too many to list. Click the link to see them all! Amazon Software Rebates

Creative Labs Blowout Specials! Up to 50% off buying direct from Creative Labs! Wow! What fantastic deals! Click the link to get jaw-dropping deals on some of the best products in the industry direct from Creative Labs! I mean huge discounts on items like top-quality speakers and portable MP3 players! The catch? Not much really. Some items, especially the ones discounted 50%, might be refurbished, but so what? I've bought refurbished items before to get a great deal and they were perfect - good as new! Other items with huge discounts might use a rebate for all or some of the discount, but again, so what? I don't mind waiting a few weeks for my money to get this kind of savings! Quantities are limited! Items here today can be gone tomorrow! As an example, right now they have a sweet deal on a refurbished DTT2200 DeskTop Theater Dolby 5.1 speaker system! Get it now for only $59.99! That's a savings of $70.00! That's an outstanding value for sound this good, as this Creative Labs DTT2200 Speakers Review from JSI Hardware describes! Creative Lab's Savings Center

Here are the highlights of My Super PC today!

It wouldn't take long for My Super PC to become just an average PC. Would you believe that as recently as August 2000 a Pentium III 1.0GHz processor alone would cost $1000! But My Super PC was built with upgradeability as a primary consideration and it's as upgradeable as it gets! Within the first nine months of having first built My Super PC, I upgraded the motherboard, processor, RAM, and video card!

Which brings me to the first rule of building your own PC. Only use hardware and software that is at least 6 months old. There are three big reasons. First, as you may guess, is that prices drop drastically in even as short a period as 6 months. Second, as you may guess again, is that any problems will shake out in this time. But a third very important reason is that in only six months there will be volumes of information about an item from how it performs to how you can best use it.

My Super PC is built entirely from high quality components in the "sweet spot", meaning each component gives the most bang for the buck. This also means that the ultimate money-is-no-object component is not used. Doing so could easily double the cost, while only marginally improving on the final result.

The Processor And CPU Cooler

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
AMD Athlon XP 1800+ 266FSB	Thompsons Computer Warehouse	$73.00	OEM version. Click the link to get to their site. Then click on CPU's to find it. Here's the AMD Athlon XP FAQ, including an explanation of the speed of the processor. The Athlon XP works equally well whether it's used in a PC133 SDRAM motherboard like the ABIT KT7A or a DDR motherboard like the ABIT KR7A-133.
AMD Athlon XP 1800+ 266FSB	Accessmicro	$74.00	OEM version. Click the link and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Enter CPPAMSA18XP into the search box to find it.
AMD Duron 1.2GHz	Thompsons Computer Warehouse	$38.00	OEM version. Click the link to get to their site. Then click on CPU's to find it. The AMD Duron line of processors are very nearly as fast as their AMD Athlon counterparts. This speed of the processor is plenty for nearly everything and will save you quite a bit over the Athlon Thunderbird. The Duron is a 200FSB processor. The ABIT motherboards can take either a 200FSB or 266FSB processor. The FSB is referring to the speed of the Front Side Bus. The ABIT motherboards will run the FSB at the faster 266MHz independently as long as PC133 RAM is being used.
AMD Duron 1.2GHz	Accessmicro	$38.00	OEM version. Click the link and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Enter CPPAMSA1200 into the search box to find it. Their full selection of AMD Duron processor offerings can be seen by entering AMD Duron into the search box.
AMD Athlon XP 2200+ 266FSB	Thompsons Computer Warehouse	$153.00	OEM version. Not exactly the "sweet spot" pick, but not ridiculous, either. Click the link to get to their site. Then click on CPU's to find it.
AMD Athlon XP 2200+ 266FSB	Accessmicro	$148.00	OEM version. Click the link and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Enter CPPAMSA22XP into the search box to find it.
Thermaltake Volcano 6Cu CPU cooler (heat sink and fan)	Accessmicro	$17.00	Click the and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Enter FANTLSAA1139 into the search box to find it. The OEM version of the processor does not come with a heatsink-fan. Some, like me, prefer it that way so that a better cooling or quieter heatsink-fan can be purchased separately. The heatsink-fan that comes in the retail box will do the job and some times does not add much to the price. But I use the Thermaltake Volcano 6Cu in My Super PC since it's much better and much quieter. The Volcano 6Cu is good up to and including the AMD Athlon XP 2100+, so if you go with the AMD Athlon XP 2200+ then you'll need a more powerful CPU cooler that will also be noisier, such as the Volcano 6Cu+.
Thermaltake Volcano 6Cu+	Accessmicro	$14.00	Click the and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Enter FANTLSAA1138 into the search box to find it. While noisier than the Volcano 6Cu, this version with the more powerful fan will handle the AMD Athlon XP 2200+.

The Motherboard

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
ABIT KR7A	NCIX	$78.45	Click the link to get there. Then enter ABIT KR7A in the search box to find it and the other KR7A varieties fast. The ABIT KR7A is the best value if you don't want RAID since the performance of the ATA/133 IDE hard drive interface cannot be realized in practical usage. But it's increasingly popular to get the RAID version, which they also carry, even if you don't plan on using RAID functionality. That way you have additional IDE controllers allowing more IDE devices total and allowing more IDE devices to be on their own, individual IDE controller to improve performance.
Gigabyte GA-7VRXP	Accessmicro	$95.00	Top-rated KT333 DDR motherboard, RAID version. Click the link and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Enter MTBGASA7VRXP into the search box to find it.
Motherboard Bundles	Accessmicro	Varies	Click the link and then follow the "Bundles & Barebones" arrow to see the link to Motherboard Bundles. All of the components in My Super PC were purchased separately so that I got exactly what I wanted. But you can save some money if you come across a motherboard/processor bundle you like! A bundle typically includes the motherboard and processor, and perhaps the RAM and/or CPU cooler. Bundles from AccessMicro are nice since they can include all of these and can be pre-assembled and pre-tested!

RAM

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
Crucial 256MB PC133 SDRAM CAS 2	256MB PC133 SDRAM	$47.69	Free shipping! Clicking the link will take you directly to the right Crucial web-page for the RAM for the ABIT KT7A motherboard like I have in My Super PC and gets you the 10% discount for web orders! At these prices there's really no reason to get less than 256MB. In fact, I'd suggest you get two sticks for a total of 512MB. I did when the price was much higher!
Crucial 256MB PC2100 DDR	256MB PC2100 DDR	$63.89	Free shipping! Clicking the link will take you directly to the right Crucial web-page for the RAM for the ABIT KR7A and ABIT KR7A-133 motherboards and gets you the 10% discount for web orders! This is the right type of PC2100 RAM for a home computer. It's cheaper than RAM which is buffered or registered. Such RAM is typically only used in mission-critical systems, like servers.
Crucial 256MB PC2700 DDR	256MB PC2700 DDR	$80.09	Free shipping! Clicking the link will take you directly to the right Crucial web-page for the RAM for the Gigabyte GA-7VRXP and gets you the 10% discount for web orders!
All Other Memory	Crucial Memory	Varies	Free shipping! Click the link to get to the Crucial web-site and the 10% discount for web orders! Once there, choose Motherboard & RAID cards at the "Start Here" select list and push Go. Then select the maker of your motherboard, like ABIT, at the "Choose a Manufacturer" select list and push Go. Then select the model of your motherboard, like KT7A, at the "Choose a system model" select list and push Go. This will bring up a table of the right RAM choices for you.
Crucial Memory UK/European	Crucial UK/Europe	Varies	Free shipping for UK orders and 10% discount for web orders! Click the link for UK/European pricing and to get the 10% discount for web orders!

Video Card

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
Gainward Ti/450 - Gainward GeForce3 Ti 200 128MB DDR Golden Sample	Newegg	$133.00	This is the video card I have in My Super PC. Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering the part number N82E16814128116 into the search box. I strongly recommend a Gainward video card in their Golden Sample line. Their Golden Sample GeForce3 Ti 200 is a good example. Not only are it's default Core and Memory clocks higher than a standard GeForce3 Ti 200, but they overclock well from there even higher. Gainward has construed a model number of 450 for the video card since it's performance in many cases nears that of the GeForce3 Ti 500. They are top quality video cards, packed with power.
Gainward Ultra/650TV - Gainward GeForce4 Ti 4200 128MB DDR Golden Sample	Newegg	$165.00	Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering the part number N82E16814128132 into the search box. One day, and it won't be long, this video card will be mine. Here are the Gainward Ultra/650TV specifications.
Gainward GeForce2 MX400 AGP 64MB SDRAM	Newegg	$53.00	Not the powerhouse of a GeForce4 Ti 4200, but a powerful video card nonetheless. This will get the job done and save quite a bit of money if top level gameplay is not one of your needs. Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering the part number N82E16814128105 into the search box.

Sound Card and Speakers

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
SoundBlaster Live! 5.1	NeoComputers	$39.00	Nice price! Retail box. Click the link to get there. To find it, click on Multimedia. Then click on Soundcards. If you don't want either the game software that comes with the X-Gamer version or the music support that comes with the MP3+ version then an excellent option to save some money is to buy it like this.
SoundBlaster Audigy Gamer	Amazon.com	$84.99	Free shipping! Retail box. Clicking the link takes you directly to it. The next step in sound cards and heir apparent to the Live! 5.1 version.
SoundBlaster Audigy MP3+	Thompsons Computer Warehouse	$80.00	Retail box. Click the link to get to their site. Then click on Sound Cards to find it.

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
Cambridge Soundworks PCWorks Multimedia Speaker System	Hifi.com	$39.99	Free shipping! Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering the description PCWorks into the search box. This is a three-piece speaker system. Two satellites and a sub-woofer. Wow, does it sound great! A fantastic value!
Logitech Z-560 4.1 THX Speaker System	Buy.com	$140.07	Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering 10317487 into the search box. The price jumps quite a bit to go to the next level in speakers, a 5-speaker THX certified system. Actually, this system is an excellent value for a THX certified speaker system! The Klipsch Pro Media is the acknowledged money-is-no-object ultimate speaker system, but the Logitech Z-560 is right there with it in quality and much cheaper! See this Z-560 4.1 THX Speaker System review by Maximum3D for details.
Creative Labs top-of-the-line speakers, personal audio players, and more!	Creative Lab's Savings Center	up to 50% off!	Wow! What fantastic deals! Click the link to get jaw-dropping deals on some of the best products in the industry direct from Creative Labs! This is the deal shown in my "Special Message Insert" at the top of the page!

Hard Drive

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
IBM 80GB Deskstar 120GXP 7200rpm Ultra ATA100	Accessmicro	$98.00	OEM version. This is what I have in My Super PC! Click the link to get there and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Then find it fast by entering the part number HDPIBID80GB into the search box. Don't forget to include a floppy drive in your purchases if you don't have a used one available. Combine it with other purchases to save on shipping. Any brand is fine, such as Teac, Mitsumi, even generic or pulled from your old PC! Expect to pay under $15.
IBM 40GB Deskstar 120GXP 7200rpm Ultra ATA100	Accessmicro	$72.00	OEM version. This size is plenty for many systems. Click the link to get there and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Then find it fast by entering the part number HDPIBID40GG into the search box.
IBM 120GB Deskstar 120GXP 7200rpm Ultra ATA100	Accessmicro	$143.00	OEM version. But if you want bigger, here it is! Click the link to get there and then follow the "Computer Products" arrow. Then find it fast by entering the part number HDPIBID120GB into the search box.

CD-RW And CD-ROM

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
Lite-On 40x/12x/48x CD-RW	Dell Software and Peripherals	$51.95	Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering Lite-on into the search box. Lite-On has established a reputation for providing a great drive at a great price! See what I mean in this 40x CD-RW Roundup Review by CDR-Info.
Lite-On 48x/12x/48x CD-RW	NeoComputers	$96.00	Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering Lite-on into the search box. If you don't mind paying a little more than you will get your money's worth performance-size with the 48x.
Lite-On 52x CD-ROM	Dell Software and Peripherals	$22.45	Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering Lite-on into the search box. CD-ROM drive speed is not that critical, but if you want to be sure you are actually getting a top performing drive then this one will do very nicely.

Modem

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
Zoom Telephonics V.92 V.44 PCI (Model 3025)	Amazon.com	$36.99	Free Shipping! Clicking the link takes you directly to it. Chances are if you are buying a modem today then you'll want one that supports the new V.92 and V.44 standards. These standards offer a number of improvements, including support for faster data transfer. For more information, EdgeReview's V.92: Modem Standard Of Tomorrow review and overview is helpful as is this V.92 FAQ at MultiTech Systems. And Zoom Telephonics has been one of the best modem makers for years.

Keyboard And Mouse

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
Logitech Cordless Freedom Keyboard And Mouse	Accessmicro	$43.00	Great price! Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering the part number KYBLTPSCOMBO into the search box to find it. I'm using a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse with My Super PC and I highly recommend it! The ergonomic feel of both the keyboard and mouse is great! The wheel control on the mouse is sweet! If you're like me and never even heard of a wheel control before then you're in for a treat! The wireless feature comes in very handy, not to mention it's a real attention getter when I describe My Super PC to friends! And at this great price, you're not even paying a premium for it!

Monitor

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
Samsung 955DF 19" Dynaflat Monitor	Dell Software and Peripherals	$233.96	Great price! And free shipping! Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering the part number 955DF into the search box. This is an outstanding monitor for the price! See what I mean in this Samsung 955DF Monitor Review from Anandtech.. The price reflects a 10% discount credited in the shopping cart. The 10% discount expires Monday, September 16. The free shipping is for a limited time!

Software - Operating System And The Like

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
Windows 98SE	eBay!	$65.00	Click the link to join EBay. Membership is free. It's by far the best place I've found to buy software. You can get it at EBay for 10% to 20% less than the cheapest reseller! And I don't mean used or out-of-date stuff. I mean the latest version, brand-new-in-the-box, shrink-wrapped, registration card included just like you would find in a retail store - only much cheaper at EBay! And you can use it for lots of things, not just software. EBay is frequently identified as the #1 site on the internet! Its' not only easy to use, it's fun to use. So join already! And have fun! Clicking the link takes you to the EBay home page. To register, click on the "sign in" link at the top-right of their home page. If auctions are not for you then another good place to check is eBay's Half.com. An eBay company, Half is eBay without the bidding. Sellers list items for great prices and you just buy it!
Norton SystemWorks 2002 Professional Edition	eBay!	$15.00	Pretty sweet price, don't you think? This is for a perfectly legal and legitimate product. One reason it's so cheap is that this packaging does not include paper manuals. All documentation is still available on the CD-ROM and that works just fine for me. The AntiVirus utility alone is worth this price! But the "Professional Edition" is their most extensive suite of utilities, so you get lots of other useful items. The contents are detailed on Symantec's Norton SystemWorks 2002 Professional Edition product description page. You may notice that this suite includes a version of GoBack as well, but it's a scaled down version that I would not recommend as sufficient. Instead, purchase the "Deluxe" version separately. Everything else in the suite is full-feature.
Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade	Amazon.com	$86.99	Free shipping! Retail box. Some people swear by it. Others swear at it, but it's gaining acceptance. For my thoughts, see Build A Computer Like My Super PC - Windows. Clicking the link takes you directly to it. If you don't want to do eBay like I did then Amazon is very tough to beat on software products. The price reflects the $10 rebate good through September 29, 2002.
Goback 3 Deluxe	Buy.com	$20.67	Great price! And free shipping! Retail box. Click the link to get there. Then find it fast by entering the part number 20339329 in the search box. The price reflects the $20 rebate, good for purchases made through March 1, 2003.

Software - Other

Description	Where I Would Get It Today	Today's Price	Comments
PC Games		Varies	Once you've built your own super PC and you're ready to see what it can really do, click-through this graphic from GoGamer to get the very best in PC games at the absolute lowest prices! These guys are fantastic! They sell everything, even the just-released games that everyone wants - and at a discount price no one else anywhere can beat! There's no place else you can get today's hottest games new-in-the-retail box for less! And they really outdo themselves with their 48 Hour Madness Special which features even lower prices on selected, highly sought after games! The graphic features a new game deal every 48 hours, so check back again to see what's on special and click-through to get the great price shown!

Next: Build A Computer Like My Super PC - Price Considerations

	Thank you for enjoying my site! Did I save you lots of research time? Did I find you great deals? I hope it helped you build your own computer and keeps you informed as technology changes! A delightful practice is to recognize quality, personal service such as this through tipping. If you would care to do so then I thank you very kindly and provide this PayPal tipping button for your convenience. The amount is up to you. It's been my pleasure to help you!
One good tip deserves another! Save 10% on the great Cambridge Soundworks PCWorks Multimedia Speaker System I recommend. Go to Hifi.com, search on PCWorks to find the speakers, and enter the code tenpercent in the Discount Code box during checkout. The discount is good on any Cambridge SoundWorks multimedia speakers and all DVD players. And free shipping on everything! Good through Thursday, September 12.
And how about this? I bet you already know that Amazon.com is a great low-cost reseller, and not just for books but also for Computer Components and Computer Software. But did you know: Just about any order for $25 or more ships free! There's no sales tax in most states. There's no restocking fee on returned items.

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