xxlowongxx said: "A techy person could tell why a video card is worth it or not, a big deal is the bitrate. My video card runs at 128 bits a time, that is 2ce as fast as the external video card that you have listed, and mine is onboard. Lots of people would say, wow onboard video cards suck! But not all onboard video cards these days are 64MB @ 32bit."

Chickenz said: "In the graphics card section you should mention that 8600GTS cards and up require a 6-pin connector to supply moar power. :0
..."

Dweomer said: "As a note, when I was buying my laptop last August the sales rep was very, very clear to never buy any graphics card made by Intel."

iMicrosoft said: "And for processor make sure its compatible with your motherboard"

N0dleBandit said: "... The application uses all cores to lay out it's work on the 4 cores so there's less stress on 1 core.. You can't just buy any processor without knowing if your motherboard fits the process size like that processor is based on the 45nm process which only work on newer motherboards and only on Socket 775. If you don't know the difference between Core 2 Extreme and Core 2 Quad don't get it. If you don't play hardcore games, overclock, do DivX encodes, Photoshop etc don't get a Quad. And people who play Maple don't need a 8800 or even a dual core since Maple will only be using 1 core of the CPU then."

tacocrusher said: "AMD Processors:

-Cheap
-Used to overheat in the past; newer cpu models come w/ liquid cooling so they stay cool; can't overclock above like 3.5% without a crapload of fan noise
-The speed compared to a similar intel one is unnoticable
-Use it if you're on a budget

-Cheapskate 2.2 GHz one: link (adequate; one core) [$40]
-Very good 2.8 GHz one: link (decent; two cores) [$163]
-Very good 2.5 GHz one: link (good; four cores) [$235]
-t3h uber smecks 3.2 GHz one: link (good; two cores) [163]

I basically just copied what you wrote :p"

Wikipedia said: "
* Standard Shield — Real-time protection
* Anti-rootkit — Built-in protection
* Anti-spyware — Built-in protection
* IM shield — Instant Messenger protection
* P2P shield — P2P protection
* Internet Mail — E-mail protection
* Outlook/Exchange — Microsoft Outlook/Exchange protection
* Web Shield — HTTP protection (localtransparent proxy)
* Script blocker — script checker (Pro version only)
* Network Shield — basic protection against well-known network worms. Acts as a lightweight Intrusion Detection System
* Audible alarms — vocal warnings such as "Caution, a virus has been detected!"
* Boot-time scan — through the program interface, a user can schedule a boot-time scan to remove viruses that load during Windows startup and are therefore difficult to remove. A very important feature especially for viruses written to shut-down the virus protection as soon as Windows starts.
* Self-Protection — Prevents malware from terminating Avast! processes and damaging Avast! files.
* Skinnable — Program is skinnable GUI.
* Virus definition updates — Avast updates its virus definitions on a regular basis (sometimes multiple times a day), and this process is automated by default.
* The virus chest is quarantine folder where "infected files" can be stored. The chest causes the files' usage to be disabled and is meant to prevent them from causing any harm. The virus chest also stores vital system files to prevent them from virus damage. They still can be run, but the access to the file by any source or other program is blocked until it is removed from the chest.

Registration (Home Edition)

Avast! needs to be registered after the first 60 days of use. After registering, a license key is e-mailed and can be used for only one year. After one year, the user is required to re-register. Despite registration, the program is still free for home use."

Wikipedia said: "Less protection - AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition 8.0 provides only base level protection against viruses, spyware and safe searching. It does not provide safe surfing (drive-by download protection) nor protection from hackers, keyloggers, spam, phishing attacks and malicious file downloads that can come through instant messaging and attachments from seemingly friendly sources. This protection is only available in the commercial versions of AVG products."

Wikipedia said: "# PC Tools's Spyware Doctor ( one free edition doesn't remove anything but protects, the other free edition removes but protects partially and uses a limited database)
# DriveSentry (free version (3.1) will remove spyware)"

Wikipedia said: "...real-time protection and anti-virus protection are not included with this version. Real-time protection and other advanced features are available in the paid versions of Ad-Aware 2008."

tacocrusher said: "MB (Gigabit lan, sound, video [dx10]): link (I got it on a sale before; now $70)
Processor (2 cores, 2.8GHz, 2MB Cache): link ($122)
HDD (160gb, 7200rpm): link ($45)
Power (Atx, 480w): link ($13)
Case: link ($24)
Edited: Forgot to put cd/os
CD (sata, cdrom): link ($14)
OS (XP Pro OEM): link ($140)
Total: $427... you might want to upgrade the hard disk and cd drives

This is all from one site, but you can probably get it cheaper if you search multiple sites.
And this is pretty good if you have a tight budget ($427)."

ultracheese said: "You should add a link to the Free Software Directory up there. It has a lot of great alternatives to the software you listed and they're all free and open source. Some of them don't have Windows versions though."

ali4z said: "Remember, expensive does not always (actually quite seldom) equal best.

Take the Maxtor disk you suggested: Maxtor has always been known for producing disks with a high sector fault probability factor, they are unstable and were pretty far behind when it came to performance compared to other manufacturers, however they were usually more silent. The reason the disk you have on your list is so expensive is because it is external. Which also means the bottleneck with this device is it's I/O, which is USB 2.0. USB is a very slow compared to other newer interfaces, like firewire or eSATA. So basically, you are paying more for worse. Only positive thing about it is that it is external. (if that can be considered positive.)

@Threadstarter:
Your list is actually quite minimalistic. Because when you buy a piece of hardware, there are only two things that really matters IMO: "What do you need it for?" and "How much are you willing to spend on it?".
Example: Do you want a silent or a heavy duty computer? (Those two almost never go hand in hand) Do you want it for text editing, number crunching, games or something else?
All these questions and many many more play in on your choice of hardware.
For hard disks, it would be performance vs capacity:
Performance: SCSI disks (very expensive(size-price ratio)) or a Raptor SATA disk (less expensive). And if you're really hardcore, get a RAID controller.
Capacity: Any interface (preferably SATA), but ATLEAST 1TB of space.

I could go on and on all day about different hardware recommendations for most setups and architectures, but I just don't got the time nor interest.
PS: Don't expect to get a reply here, I'm hardly EVER on basilmarket.com. Though you might find me at mapleanime.com under the same login name. (Report me for "advertising", I don't give a turd )"

LiLSquiggy75 said: "

OMGAWDDDD


YOU? ON BASIL AGAIN?
NO WAI"

LiLSquiggy75 said: "YOU? ON BASIL AGAIN? "

Kazum said: "

I don't remember him
Am I missing something? D:"

xxlowongxx said: "I like the simple guide that you made, but I have some stuff to say about the video cards,


My onboard video card (nvidia 6200 @ 128 bit with 256MB) runs high requirement games just fine. In fact, My onboard video card, comes from a motherboard that cost me around $80. And that is the whole motherboard, for 80$. Including a video card better than the ones you have listed there. I'm talking about the first 2 cards.

You would say, the more MB on a video card, the better and faster it is, but it does not work like that. That is just trick that fabrics use to fool people into buying a cheap high MB video card, because everyone knows... its all about the MB. (sarcasm)

A techy person could tell why a video card is worth it or not, a big deal is the bitrate. My video card runs at 128 bits a time, that is 2ce as fast as the external video card that you have listed, and mine is onboard. Lots of people would say, wow onboard video cards suck! But not all onboard video cards these days are 64MB @ 32bit.

Now your 3rd video card is good, it has a bitrate higher than 256 and the memmory clock is higher too, no wonder it is so expensive.


I hope I did not post all this for nothing and hope you learned something from me lol, nice guide


For the record, a video card with 128 mb with a bitrate of 128 bits a time, will run way better than a 512 MB videocard with 64 bits at a time."

swengw said: "Memory does make quite a bit of difference. In a benchmark, Nvidia 8800GT 512MB > Nvidia 9600GT 512MB > Nvidia 8800GT 256MB. I think that you are going to need sufficient memory to handle the current intensive games (Crysis) and to future-proof yourself. EDIT: Clarification; what he said was very true. You need a powerful chip to be able to actually utilize all of that memory. Among the same models though, be sure to try and get at least 256MB if it's a sub-$100 card, or 512MB if you're buying one right now.
"

Kazum said: "

I don't remember him
Am I missing something? D:"

LimusocoBobo said: "wow why didn't I notice this BEFORE I made my recent notebook dell purchase? x_X
No matter, it appears that all of my decisions are supported by this guide. "

KingEvilPast said: "What you pay is what you get. I hear people say 2GB and 4GB have little differences."

ali4z said: "

4GB is twice as much as 2GB.
If you'll need more, get more. If not, then it's not going to make any difference. :P"