Computer Hardware Review: Everything Inside and Outside My Desktop Computer That Is Worth Reviewing

"What the hizzle should I review today?" Those were my thoughts this morning. Yes, that is how I talk to myself when I'm homie stylez. "What the HIZZLE should I review today....??"

What was my answer, you ask? I'm so glad you are involved in my life choices...

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You will, then, be happy to hear that the answer is none other than my favorite piece of electronic equipment in my house! My super happy awesome computer! Foshizzle with the electronic Bizzle, Hizzle!

Yeeeah, let's act like that didn't just happen. And also ignore the fact that I ended every sentence in that last paragraph with an exclamation mark. The words of the day are "Overzealous" and "Gangsta".

Back on topic, I personally hand-picked .every.single.component. inside and outside this computer. Everything, from the motherboard to the case to who got the commission, was carefully chosen, taking quality, value and performance into account. I spent months researching the whole thing. It was quite ridiculous, actually.

And I bought it all from Memory Express (gasp...I thinks I recalls an amazing review of this company right...here--> Memory Express Review Linky

Anyways, Im not going to review EVERYTHING in this computer (well, I think I did in the end), but I will review the most interesting pieces (yep, I reviewed everything). Some parts I will just mention to let you know that it is good, and not spend a lot of time explaining, and other parts I will make you wish you never got me started on.

...and away we go:

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The Vitals:

1- The Motherboard: ASUS P5B-E
2- The CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6420
3- The Heatsink: Zalman CNPS 8000
4- The Powersupply: Enermax Infiniti 650W Modular Power Supply
5- The RAM: Micron Original 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 (with D9 chips!)
6- The Hard Drives: 1 x Western Digital Raptor 74Gig 10,000rpm, and 1 x Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10 SATA drive with 16MB cache
7- The Soundcard: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer
8- The Videocard: BFG NVidia 8800 GTX Overclocked
9- The Case: Lian Li PC-V600B Mid Tower, Black

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The Sorty:
The Motherboard: ASUS P5B-E $189.95
Nothing really worth going into other than it is a very good motherboard, very low price, and has very decent overclocking capabilities. My first choice was the P5B Deluxe, which has so many awesome bells and whistles - and is my #1 recommendation by far, but I wanted to cut my costs and the Deluxe was $60CDN more, so it was dropped. I'm very happy with the P5B-E nevertheless, so definitely a great choice for those who want to save some money.

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The CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 2.13 GHz w/4MB Cache $239.95
I had initially chosen the E6600 2.4GHz processor, but I later realized that it is pretty easy to overclock the E6400 processor to 3.0GHz, so I could save some money there (about $40 difference). But then the E6420 processor came out, which was $20 cheaper than the E6400, AND had 4MB cache instead of a 2MB cache, so it was obvious who the winner would be. Needless to say, this is a fantastic processor, and I am so very impressed with the stunning speed this little chip offers. Overclocking is a breeze and I have had no problems until this day.
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The Heatsink: Zalman CNPS 8000 Ultra Quiet Low Profile CPU Cooler $49.95
I originally chose the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro, which is truly a cooling legend, but unfortunately my case was a bit too small for it, and I was forced to get the CNPS 8000. Now, don't get me wrong, this is an excellent heatsink, but it's just not AS good as the Freezer 7. So, if your case can fit it, get the Freezer 7, but if your case is a bit small, then go for the CNPS 8000.

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The RAM: Micron Original 2GB DDR2 PC2-5300 $90.95
Now, I chose this RAM for a number of reasons. One, Micron are the guys who make everyone's RAM chips. Yes, pretty much any RAM you see has its chips made by Micron, so why not go with the original? Two, these chips are D9 chips, which are the Rolls Royce of chips. If you are gonna buy RAM, make sure it has D9 chips. Three, I chose PC2-5300 instead of PC2-6400 mainly because this particular RAM performs differently than other brands. It will run cooler for longer than other chips, especially when overclocking. It's really a long story, but it saves money (about $40 difference) and allows for safer, cooler, and more stable performance.

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The Powersupply: Enermax Infiniti 650W SLI-Certified Modular Power Supply w/Triple 12V Rails $199.95

Yeah, this was overkill, but man is it pretty. First, it is modular, so you don't have any unused wiring running through your case. If you don't need it, you simply disconnect it, and if you need more cables, you simply connect one and presto, BZZT. Second, the cables are really pretty. Sure, what a lame reason, but they look so nice inside the case. Third, this thing is dead silent. I hate noisy fans. Fourth, I'm running an 8800 GTX video card that is overclocked and needs TWO powersupply cables to power it, so extra preparation is a step in the smart direction. And the last reason for this powersupply unit is that they were out of stock on everything else that I wanted. My first choice was the Corsair HX 620W Modular Powersupply w/Triple 12V Rails for $169.95, but it was out of stock. Ah well.

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The Hard Drives: 1 x Western Digital Raptor 74Gig 10,000rpm $199.95, and 1 x Seagate Barracuda 320GB 7200.10 SATA drive with 16MB cache $89.95
The Raptor is the best choice for your main hard drive, since it is extremely fast and much more reliable than a RAID setup. Some people will argue that RAID is faster, or whatever, but the difference is negligible and the reliability difference is significant, not to mention the user friendliness. If the Raptor blows up, get a new one. If one of the RAID drives turns into anti-matter and travels into netherspace, what do you do? Most people won't know how to recover their system. The Raptor is a bit noisy, I must say, but freaking crap is it fast. Put your operating system, games and all heavy-use software on this drive, and all your other garbage (movies, music, stupid programs) on the second, storage drive.

As for the Barracuda, aside from the really cool name, it is one of the most reliable drives, and one of the most affordable on the market. The one I got is 320GB, which is more than enough for storage and backup...at least for now. If you run out of space, get another one. Wowie. Hello Rocket Science.
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The Soundcard: Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer $76.95
Not much to say other than this is a fantastic upgrade from onboard audio. What a massive difference. Anyone who listens to any sort of audio on their computer should upgrade their audio, and the XtremeGamer is an exceptional choice. There is no point getting anything higher up in price, since all you really get is just the front face plate, and anything below in price has different components and pretty much sucks.

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The Videocard: BFG NVidia 8800 GTX Overclocked $719.95
Sigh, this was such a big money pit, but this whole computer build revolved around this one card. What can I say about this dream card? All reviews are raving, drooling, blabbering love letters. I run over 100 frames per second at high (but not max) settings, and a solid 60 frames per second at maxed out settings with high-end games (your eyes can only notice the quality up to about 60 frames per second, but since fps fluctuates, the higher the better). Keep in mind that most average video cards are lucky to hit 40 frames per second. The quality of colors and images is so far beyond anything else I've seen, it's beyond words. Even my desktop background is more vivid, deep and spellbinding. Wow...no question about it, if you can afford this card, don't even think twice about buying it.

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And don't worry about which brand to buy. They are all pretty much the same.
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The Case: Lian Li PC-V600B Mid Tower, Black $199.95
A number of years ago, I fell in love with the Mac G5 aluminum tower (Google "G5 Tower" in Images and take a look at it). It was the most beautiful computer case I had seen. Since that day, all computer cases have had to measure up to the G5 tower. When I saw the Lian Li V600 case, I finally found a case that looked like it, but wasn't a cheap knock-off.

Lian Li makes some of the best cases on the market. Their quality is truly exceptional. Even the silver accents, the buttons, everything is made from high quality aluminum and metal; no cheap plastic. Sometimes I look at their cases and I'm amazed at how relatively affordable they are in comparison to the build quality. I initially wanted the V1000 case, which is a larger tower, but it was almost $100 more, so I decided to go with the smaller mid-tower.

Airflow in these cases is far above average, and is almost too good. My computer room is always very warm due to all the heat from the case being shoved out the vents via the three huge fans. It even cools the hard drives for you.

Everything has big fat thumb screws, the hard drives slide in and clip in, the fans come off very easily, and the aluminum is all polished inside and out - not that gross, ugly, rough crap that fills most cases - even the parts that most people won't see.

Without a doubt, the V600 (or the V1000 if you can afford it) is my top choice for a case, and it comes in either silver or black.


And that is the end of my fun review of my super happy awsome computer. Happy Happy Hiro Nakamura!!

- Consumer #1337