first, ignore the trolls that’ll pop out telling you why such-and-such totally sucks and you should only go with {fill in the blank}…..
as far as CPU, you won’t go wrong with either an AMD or an Intel. I’d get a minimum 2.4Ghz cpu. Lots and lots of RAM. As much RAM as you can get. The type you need will depend on the motherboard you get. Mine takes RDRAM, which is too expensive. Get a mobo that supports DDR ram. Unless you’re gaming, then the speed of the ram won’t matter a whole lot.
If you do go the AMD route, the nvidia nforce2 motherboards seem to be the way to go. Built-in 5.1 surround audio (on certain models). Also have built-in video, but you’ll probably want a video card.
Vid card – if you want to play games, I’d go ATI Radeon 9700 or 9800, or nvidia GeforceFX 5600 or 5900. If you’re not gaming, then the Matrox Parhelia cards will be great for you. I know that the nvidia and matrox cards support dual monitors, not certain about the ATI.
Monitors – go CRT, or one CRT and one LCD. LCD’s can’t reproduce some portions of the color spectrum, and I don’t think you can reliably color calibrate an LCD. So you’d need at least one CRT for design work, but could use an LCD for tool pallets and the like.
I’ve had good luck with Maxtor hard drives. My wife doesn’t like Western Digital drives, but I have two in my machine at work and they’ve given me no problems.
www.anandtech.com is a good source for component reviews. Also www.extremetech.com .
and www.pricewatch.com will let you find out the general amount components are going for (maybe not in Aus though).
"John Cooper" wrote in message
Hi all, can anyone offer any advice on components to build a new PC, specifically for graphics and web design using dual display. My budget is about AUS$ 3000.00. Considerations on mother boards Graphics / Video cards LCD monitors and Memory. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks
JC
