Building my own computer

I would like to build my own computer. I know very little about the inner workings of a computer. That is the main reason I want to build one myself. I would like to build a powerful pc without spending thousands of dollars. I will probably only be able to come up with about 200 to 300$ a month so I expect this to take awhile. I would like any help I can get on what to do and what parts I need that would give me the best bang for my buck. And please remember, I am still fairly new to all this, when you're telling me what parts I need.

What will you manily be using the system for? Work/Pleasure/Gaming etc?

Will you be buying a new monitor too? any ideas on type/size you want?

If you want a gaming system, that will be an easy theme to work around, as we can recommend a good graphics card, memory, and processor.

If it's a work system and you use Photoshop, for example, then you'll want a mid-level graphics card, lots of memory as it eats it, and probably a large high res monitor.

You get the idea.:)

Liam

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Originally Posted by kraz432

I know very little about the inner workings of a computer. That is the main reason I want to build one myself. I would like to build a powerful pc without spending thousands of dollars.

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Bear in mind, if you have any problems you're going to be the one that has to fix them. You're not going to have an 800-number to call for support. The upside to buying a computer somewhere else is that you get tech support. There are lots of places to look to get a good deal on a brand name PC without spending thousands of dollars.

I will be using the system mainly for games/pleasure. I will end up getting the monitor after evrything else is finished. I'm not sure what kind or size yet but I am leaning toward LCD or HD depending on prices. I don't play any games on my pc now but I would like to. I like messing around with photoshop and adobe premiere and it eats up a lot of my memory. So I would like to have a lot of memory.

Right now I have a dell that is about 3 yrs. old. It is an ok computer but I want a great computer. I mostly want to learn how to build one and get the experience of doing it. I know I will have to fix anything my self, but thats how I will learn what not to do.

I'd advise anyone to build their own, you learn a tremendous amount from doing it, and you're always sure exactly what components were used. In any case we've seen the sort of "support" people get from most PC suppliers - most of the time it's a joke, and not a very funny one at that.

This sounds like a project for the Lab, so I'll move this thread over there ;)

Let's start at the beginning. One of the first choices to be made is whether you want an AMD or an Intel CPU, as it will then determine the motherboard, memory and even the case possibly. Do you have any particular pererences for one brand over the other?

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Originally Posted by flachebaq

Bear in mind, if you have any problems you're going to be the one that has to fix them. You're not going to have an 800-number to call for support. The upside to buying a computer somewhere else is that you get tech support. There are lots of places to look to get a good deal on a brand name PC without spending thousands of dollars.

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You'll have this forum to help you out, which in my opinion is far better than an 800 phone number to Lord-knows-where. Be prepared to have fun and enjoy yourself. ;)

Once you feel the joy that comes when that computer first boots up to the OS, you will wonder why you ever got a store bought computer in the first place.

Yes, we have helped a lot of folks build computers here at vdr. But figuring out what you want to do in the future, and building accordingly, can sure save you from updating the next day.

On the CPU I have no experience with the AMD at all. I'm not sure exactly what the diffrences would be between them, but from what I've been reading the intel is better.

We don't wanna start and Intel VS AMD war, but in my opinion, AMD = Gaming, Intel = Number crunching......BUT as the birth of dual core has been brought forward by AMD, i think that is a good all round chip, and basically is the best available at the moment, unless you ventured towards Opterons/AMD FX series, which equal big bucks in most cases.;)

I would recommend either a high end AMD 64(Socket 939 3500+ or above), or indeed a dual core(X2, 3800+ or above).

Then we would move onto graphics card, and the inevitable Nvidia VS ATI war.:rolleyes: ....any preference?


Liam

The AMD dual core seems like a good choice. I found AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200 Dual Core Processor for about 400$, is that about what I should expect to spend?

I have absolutely no clue on graphics cards. I don't know anything thing about any of them.

For what you're getting that is a good price, as SuperSparks (Above) just got one of those for around £350, so $400 would be a bargain, and it would be an awesome choice and capable of doing some intense programming/photoshop stuff without breaking a sweat....teamed up with some decent RAM.:)

If you are going to venture into games, are you talking about high-end games such as F.E.A.R/Doom 3/Unreal Tournament etc?

If so, you'll be wanting something powerful, along the lines of an ATI X850/X1800 series, or Nvidia 6800/7800 series.


Liam

AMD Athlon 64 FX60 which is the top of the line right now. SPENDY

What newegg list for AMD X2 cpus Just to give you a idea of price range.

The AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ and 4200+ are about fifty dollars apart. Is it worth it to get the 4200? Or would there be little diffrence like it is just for bragging rights?

I plan on playing games like F.E.A.R., World of Warcraft etc..

I wouldn't think you'd notice that difference, so i'd go for the 3800+.

If it was a toss up between the 4200+ and the 4400+, that would be a different story.

You'll be wanting a nice high end graphics card for games F.E.A.R and WOW.


Liam

Quote:

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Originally Posted by liam858

For what you're getting that is a good price, as SuperSparks (Above) just got one of those for around £350

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I got the 4400+ actually. The 4200+ would have been £60 cheaper.



The dual-core Intel CPU's are actually cheaper at the moment, and might be worth considering if you favour Intels. But they aren't as technically advanced as AMD dual-cores and don't do as well in performance tests. Personally, I don't really get why folks either love one brand over the other - I just choose what is the best CPU at the time, determined by objective reviews. Last time I chose Intel, this time I went for AMD. Both firms make superb CPU's, and it's frankly ridiculous why some people always claim that one make or the other is the spawn of the devil :D

This is always a good place to start when choosing a CPU:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/11/...u_charts_2005/

I will be going with the AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ for my cpu. I don't have any brand loyalties, this just seems like the best choice to me.

Now for my graphics card we have ATI X850/X1800 series, or Nvidia 6800/7800 series. Will there be a big diffrence between these or would whichever one I find cheaper be enough?

BTW, I would like to thank everyone for their help so far! I have already learned a lot just looking into the things you are telling me about. :D

You'll get exactly the same brand loyalty between ATI and Nvidia as you get between AMD and Intel. I'd say that exactly the same applies really, they both make excellent graphics chipsets and really there is nothing to choose between them. I have to say that I personally have always preferrred Nvidia's driver software though.

However, with graphics cards the situation is more comlplicated in that ATI and Nvidia make the cipsets, you still have to consider the actual make of card as well.

Asus, Gainward, Gigabyte and MSI are all excellent brands right off the top of my head.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/12/02/vga_charts_viii/

Rosewill is a newer brand, but their reviews are good. I have a vidcard and 19" LCD monitor both made by them, they work quite well.

Motherboards often have Nvidia northbridges on them now; I don't know if it makes any difference in compatibility with the vidcard, but if it does you may want to keep that in mind, too.

Well, if you base it on budget, then you can pick one from either manufacturer.

E.G If you break it down for the whole system like this:

CPU = $ 400 ish

Motherboard = $ xxx.xx

Graphics Card = $ xxx.xx

Memory = $ xxx.xx

PSU = $ xxx.xx

Soundcard (Unless onboard 5.1 would be sufficient)

You get the idea. This way if you want to spend $1000 total, and you take off about $400 on the CPU, you can then breakdown the $600 remaining into the other bits and bobs.:)

You will have to choose a motherboard with a 939pin socket as you're using a AMD X2, and they will probably be standard with a PCI-E slot for the graphics card, so you can then look into PCI-Express graphics cards alone.


Liam

Graphics card eVGA 256-P2-N516 Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card seems like the one I need, although about 100$'s more expensive than I would like.

I must admit I don't understand what all of these numbers mean but this seems to be what I would need to play games like F.E.A.R. without losing any graphics. Am I right or just horribly, horribly confused?

The Geforce7800GT is a very fine graphics card, and would do you very nicely for playing games. It's an excellent choice (but then I would say that, I've just bought a 7800GT myself :D ).

However, that is a rather unknown brand. I'd advise paying a few dollars more and going for the Asus, Gigabyte, MSI or PNY cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ice=&maxPrice=

Thanks for the advice on the brand, I've changed to a MSI NX7800GT-VT2D256E Geforce 7800GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card.

What should I look to next?

Motherboard can now be added, as we've established a socket 939 and PCI-E should be incorporated, this will help narrow down the board choices.

Stick with brand such as Asus/MSI/Gigabyte/Abit.


Liam

Alright, I found a MSI K8N Neo4-F Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard on newegg. Best I can tell, it has what I need.

That sound good, all of these are compatible: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ice=&maxPrice=

Just incase you overspend on one component, you can always go for a cheaper board that has the right features.

Next thing would be RAM, again you want to stick with the good manufacturers such as Crucial/Kingston, and you'll be looking for 512mb minimum of 3200 400Mhz DDR RAM.

Liam

This RAM is what I bought just last month. The difference in response time is startling. There's also 2 x 512MB pairs for $120. Get decent RAM up front, you'll save money in the long run by not wasting it on slower RAM first (like I did!).

Photolady recently had problems with eVGA vidcards, got two bad ones in a row.

Is patriot a good brand for RAM? If not how about corsair?

They are both god makes, but i would say Corsair are better, for the simple fact that they are crazy and make stupidly powerful gaming RAM. :) .....with a stupidly powerful price to match some......


Liam

If you're looking towards something like Corsair, you may want to look at Geil/OCZ/G.Skill/Mushkin....


Liam

You can add Micron to that list.

Corsair/Geil/OCZ and Mushkin for years were the overclockers ram of choice as they were designed and made with that idea in mind.

But I might add that I've used bog standard Crucial RAM for years, and I've never had any problem with overclocking it. Personally I wouldn't buy any other RAM :)

www.crucial.com

www.crucial.com/uk

I hope I didn't start something here! :D I mentioned that particular RAM for the low latency, not overclocking or anything else. My only point was to suggest getting the fastest RAM for the money--you'll notice the difference. ;)

i know you where discussing video cards a while ago but i'll just add my 2 cents. i am also planning on getting a 'Geforce 7800GT 256mb' and did quite a bit of research on brands and power etc. and from what i found out the 'XFX' one is the best; http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150108
unlike the MSI this card is factory Overclocked to run 10% faster than the standard 7800GT at 450Mhz 1050Mhz as opposed to 400Mhz 1000Mhz. also it comes with a better fan and heat sink which allows greater Overclocking still if that’s what you want to do.