A water-cooled, dual-core 4 GHz DIY PC for €600

Who needs a mere 4 GHz of processing power these days? Why not double it up, with a dual-core device while you're at it? Our do it yourself (DIY) project shows how you can build a dual-core CPU PC by buying parts from your friendly neighbourhood or online PC component vendor.

It is important to find a processor device with cores designed for a much faster clock than their nominal rating at a speed of up to 4 GHz without problems. With such a CPU and given the right combination of additional parts, you can truly build a high-end PC. And But won't such a project cost an arm and a leg? Think again: Using our select list of components, costs start at about €600 - including a quiet water cooling rig.

Those who want to build an optimum system might need to spend as much as €1,007 but will obtain a truly unique computing solution. However, by comparison with deals offered by big-name vendors such as Dell Computer, you can spend the same amount of money and wind up with much less PC for your money, not to mention greatly reduced performance.

Everybody known budget white box vendors such as eMachines (now part of Gateway), CyberPower, ZT Group and so forth have been struggling to stay afloat in a world in which prices drop on a daily basis. Even big-box vendors such as Dell and HP must struggle against this ever-downward spiral (and Dell stock has taken recent hits thanks to narrowing profit margins). The temptation by these vendors to lower prices even further by selecting middle-of-the-road or below-average system components is hard to withstand, especially for those being squeezed at the bottom of the market. That's why vendors keep marking down what they're willing to spend on what goes into their systems.

Motherboard choices typically lean toward OEM designs optimized for the lowest possible cost, paired up with trailing-edge audio and networking chipsets. An outmoded graphics card typically rounds such configurations out. That being said, the €600 we spent to build our PC did not come with software or vendor support which you'd normally get from any system vendor, even those at the bottom of the market.

So why else do people follow the DIY path? For many it's the joy of building their own systems, especially to get the best system for the lowest possible price while also playing in the big leagues of system performance.

In A 4.1 GHz Dual Core at £80 - Can it be True?, we purchased a stock processor at the prevailing retail price. Since then, demand for this CPU has spiked, and prices have also gone up. Individual buyers have stormed these outlets and purchased numerous units, only to offer them at increased prices in online auctions in hopes of quick and easy gains. At some online stores, in fact, the Intel D805 is the only item that's moving across the virtual counter. According to a spate of recent e-mails we've received recently, scads of users are switching from AMD to Intel processors, thanks to the Pentium D 805's outstanding performance characteristics.