Building a computer

[gpicazo]

Hi everyone,

I would like to build a new computer in the next couple of weeks. The problem is that I have never build a computer before, and I don't really know much about putting one together or choosing the parts. I was hoping that some of you could provide help on the subject.

I am a software developer/electrical engineer (which makes this situation that much more embarrassing), so I need a computer that will suit all my programming needs. The purpose of the computer will be mostly development and personal use, which means that I will be using all kinds of microsoft products heavily (MS Visual Studio, VSS, ...), as well as graphics programs like photoshop, illustrator ...

The software that I develop varies a lot, so in some cases I will need to do a bit of number crunching.

While I do not game very much, I do love to listen to music and watch videos on my machine, so decent speakers and sound card would be nice.

At the moment, all I really know is that I would like to go with AMD for the processor (dual-core, but don't know which model). I do not need a monitor or keyboard/mouse since I have all that already.

Please keep in mind that since I do elec eng projects, so external connection (usb ports, card readers, ...) are important... but I guess those are there by default.

Finally, I would like to keep the cost under $1200 (lower is better), but I am willing to spend a little extra if the benefits are worth it. Oh, yeah... also scalability and modularity of the system is a high priority.

Any advice would be very much appreciated

- Picazo

[Dana2002]

i wish i had a $1200 budget
AMD dual core sounds nice with a quality MB and Ram
for as much as i've read ati has the better video playback
that sounds like the major decisions
psu case and hdd are last on the list but this thread will get flamed if the importance of a quality psu isnt mentioned
I think half the fun of upgrading is selecting the parts and price shopping.

[judge john]

well it's for websites like this that i wish i lived in the US;
http://www.newegg.com/
that site will have everything you need to take a look at and at very good prices.
one thing will lead you on to another so you need to start making some decisions. first i would start by choosing exactly what CPU you will have(AMD X2 is a very good choice btw) and then you need to find a compatible mobo etc. from what i see you will only need standard parts that should be nice and easy to find. as you use quite a few gfx programs memory is very important, 2GB is probably the sweet spot, but the more you do the more memory will come in handy. and on the gfx card front i would be looking around the Geforce 6600/6800 range.

[bistro]

Ditto. With what you describe, 2GB memory sounds right, one or two large-capacity (= or > 75GB) drives (I prefer Western Digitals...quiet and reliable), a Nvidia 6800 or Radeon 9800 or better, Creative Audigy series or Turtle Beach sound card (64-bit, in other words), and a good DVD burner like Sony or Plextor. As for card readers, Enermax makes a nice internal reader with 2 USB ports. Vantec makes a good one (internal) with 1x USB port and no fan controllers.
Motherboards: I'd look to Asus, Gigabyte or MSI.

[lgbpop]

Hi gpicazo, welcome to Virtual Dr.

Funny you mention AMD and dual-core...the Athlon 64 X2 4400+ just happens to be featured at Newegg--lowest price I've seen yet, it was around $600 just a few months ago. Dual 1GB L2 caches make for a heck of a CPU. IMHO the 4400+ gives the greatest bang for the buck of all the X2s; the 4600+ and 4800+ don't seem to add much performance over the 4400+ to justify the extra cost (the 4600+ is the Manchester with half the cache!). Some serious multi-tasking potential here. Spend the extra bucks to buy a good motherboard and PSU, too. A little lower price, and I'll sell my computer to buy one myself and start over.

[SuperSparks]

I recently built a PC with an AMD X2 4400+ and 2GB of RAM. Absolutely nothing seems to faze it, the only thing I've found so far that will max out both cores is Acronis True Image when I take a backup. I run Visual Studio on it, and it barely registers on CPU usage most of the time.

What I used in mine:

AMD Athlon X2 4400+
Asus A8N-SLI Premium motherboard
2GB Crucial PC3200 RAM
Gainward 7800GT graphics card
Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty sound card (I like my music)
4 x 250GB Hitachi Deskstar SATA drives

I don't think even with the lower US prioces than we pay over here you'll be able to build that with the budget that you set, but I can attest that it is proving to be a fabulous multitasking PC.

[liam858]

Ditto, AMD X2 range, 4400+ is the bees knees, a decent board such as a high end Asus, or Gigabyte, 2gb of DDR, stock cooler should be sufficient, a nice ATX case, with room for some case fans (120mm if possible) SATA drives are pretty cheap for 7200 rpm or for some Raptors as Bistro mentioned, they would set you back some more cash for less space, but faster access times, and make sure you get a nice fat PSU, i think Nick got a 680W thermaltake for about £100, which is amazingly cheap, so go for the good manufacturers (Antec/Akasa/Thermaltake/Fortron/Enermax) and around 550W if you're going for a really high end system.


Liam

[lgbpop]

Creative X-Fi Fatal1ty sound card (I like my music)

Rub it in Nick--I'm still looking for a computer case big enough to fit my turntable.