building a new PC this week. how?

[VirusType2]

Whats the cheapest, bare bones way to build a PC?
I just got my tax return and thought I would build a new PC by stripping down my current PC

I already have 2 hard drives, windows XP, Sound card, ethernet card, computer tower case(don't know if its big enough) powersuply, monitor, mouse, graphics card, keyboard.

Basically I think all i need is the motherboard(with AGP slot this time :thumbs: ), and the processor... what else do i need?
cords? special parts? what?

 

[bryanf445]

well you need to say how much your going to spend first then well help

 

[VirusType2]

Well I assumed I could get a mobo for about 300 and a processor for about 300.

I want an AMD 64 BIT and a mobo with agp slot. thats about all I ask

I have about $900 but really dont want to spend more than 600

Thanks!

 

[Quixoticism]

It sounds like you have pretty much everything you need with the exceptions of the mobo, cpu, and ram.
Like bryanf445 said, we need to know how much you can spend and what minimum specifications you want your new parts to meet.

 

[Asus]

You can easily get a motherboard and CPU for that price. What exact parts do you have right now? Standard ATX case? Brand and Power Supply Watts? DDR memory? GFX card?

We would want to make sure you wouldn't buy these nice parts only to find your current parts are inadequit and you need something else.

 

[VirusType2]

I have 2 sticks of 512MB 400 mhz RAM PC3200
ATi 9250 256MB PCI card
I have the emachines tower, fans, wires and PSU that came with my computer. I think its probably around 300 watts

I can upgrade the graphics card and ram later though, Im hoping the mobo I buy supports this stuff i have now

EDIT: and when it comes to what mobo and processor I want, I just want a really good AMD 64 bit. like the worst of the best. or the best of the worst. you know? like i know there is a huge price jump when you get to a certain point. I just want enough power to play D3 ROE with high rez and at least 60fps :E

 

[NetGuru42]

Goto newegg.com Select the speed of processor you want (I recommend AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939-based proc: 3200+ ($191), a 3500+ ($274), or a 3800+ ($420). Then an ASUS A8V Deluxe mobo ($135). You will probably have to get new RAM. Basically any RAM will work, just make sure you get PC400. If you get 1GB, you'll probably end up spending in the neighborhood of $150 for some pretty cheap stuff.

The rest of the stuff, as you said, should work fine on the new computer. The power supply *might* need to be upgraded, and I'm presuming that your case is a standard ATX size. If not, those two things might also need to be upgraded.

Hope this helps. :cheers:

 

[VirusType2]

Goto newegg.com Select the speed of processor you want (I recommend AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939-based proc: 3200+ ($191), a 3500+ ($274), or a 3800+ ($420). Then an ASUS A8V Deluxe mobo ($135). You will probably have to get new RAM. Basically any RAM will work, just make sure you get PC400. If you get 1GB, you'll probably end up spending in the neighborhood of $150 for some pretty cheap stuff.

The rest of the stuff, as you said, should work fine on the new computer. The power supply *might* need to be upgraded, and I'm presuming that your case is a standard ATX size. If not, those two things might also need to be upgraded.

Hope this helps. :cheers:

Wow thats cheap! :E

I'll buy the AMD 3200+ and the mobo you suggested.

I want to thank everyone for helping me sort this out. this will be my first time building a PC.

Wow $100 more for the 3500? that doesnt hardly seem worth it if im trying to save money. Is it a big difference in performance? I mean, maybe I should spring for the 3500+ so I don't have to upgrade for a bit

oh, and I forgot to add that I have a new CD-R/DVD ROM... but can I boot my mobo drivers or whatever i was reading?? I dont have a floppy drive, will i need one? and the drivers come with the mobo/cpu or do I have to download them prior?

And why do I have to buy new RAM? will mine work? 2 sticks 512MB 400 MHz PC3200

BTW my tower is the same as most all the store bought PC size. It's not big like the custom ones you can buy, but I would think it should be big enough.. seems standard.
Thanks!

 

[NetGuru42]

Wow $100 more for the 3500? that doesnt hardly seem worth it if im trying to save money.

oh, and I forgot to add that I have a new CD-R/DVD ROM... but can I boot my mobo drivers or whatever i was reading?? I dont have a floppy drive, will i need one? and the drivers come with the mobo/cpu or do I have to download them prior?

And why do I have to buy new RAM? will mine work? (in my last post)

BTW my tower is the same as most all the store bought PC size. It's not big like the custom ones you can buy, but I would think it should be big enough.. seems standard.
Thanks!

3500+ has quite a performance jump compared to the 3200+, however 3200+ should be fine for your new computer.

Your new CD-R/DVD-ROM drive will be able to boot a CD to install XP, if that's what you're asking. And no, a floppy drive isn't required, it's up to you whether you want one or not. All of the cables, software/drivers, and other stuff will come with the mobo and CPU as long as you buy the *RETAIL* versions of them. DEFINITELY get the retail, not the OEM versions.

Your RAM will work fine - I hadn't seen your last post before I posted mine.

A standard store-bought case isn't the same as a standard custom case. You might get lucky, or you might not. If it doesn't end up fitting, just go to newegg and find a GOOD-QUALITY case. I can't stress enough the importance of getting an AT LEAST $50 case. Anything below that WILL be damaged in shipping - I know, I've had to send back several cheap cases that were damaged because the packaging materials AND the case materials sucked. The Antec brand of cases is your best bet.

 

[VirusType2]

I wanted to thank you so much NetGuru and everyone else who gave me advice.

I'm glad you told me to make sure I buy the retail version and not the OEM, becuase I would have surely bought the wrong one!

I'll have to consider If I should spring for the 3500+ at this point. I'm sure I will regret it if I don't :dozey:

If anyone has either the 3200 or 3500 AMD 64 939, let me know what to expect performance wise. I'm starting to lean towards getting the 3500+ for about $80 more

 

[Quixoticism]

You could also save a good $40 by just getting the 3000+ The only difference between that and the 3200+ is 200MHz, they have the same cache and everything else.

You won't need a floppy drive(well, you better not need one!) they aren't used at all anymore and cds are cheaper and hold about 486 times more data. If you really wanted to transfer or store 1.44MB*snicker* then you could always email it to yourself. LoL, the wonders of modern computing.

Some extra advice, since it's your first time building a computer, use the manual! It is your best friend when building for the first time(we were all there once) from the obvious to the minute(front usb ports for example) it'll help get everything where it needs to be so you can have a (very)happy working computer.


... ...I'm downloading my new OS right now(Fedora Linux!![at 350k baby]) So I might as well try and be of help

 

[NetGuru42]

You won't need a floppy drive...

Some extra advice, since it's your first time building a computer, use the manual! It is your best friend when building for the first time(we were all there once) from the obvious to the minute(front usb ports for example) it'll help get everything where it needs to be so you can have a (very)happy working computer.

Just get a USB flash/stick drive, they're much faster, more reliable, and versatile than a CD Burner - if you need to transfer files, no matter how large or small. Plus they're not round - they fit in your pocket.

And yes, read the manual that comes with the motherboard - it should tell you pretty much everything on how to build your computer. Except for the CPU - read the manual that comes with the CPU too. And the other reason for getting retail CPU especially is because it comes with the heatsink and fan. It's guaranteed to work, at least until you start overclocking, if you ever do.

Good luck, let me know how it turns out. :thumbs:

 

[63]

AMD ATHLON 64 3500+ S939 PROCESSOR NEWCASTLE 2.2GHZ 512KB CACHE RETAIL BOX
$310.50

MSI K8N NEO2 PLATINUM NFORCE3 ULTRA S939 AGP 5PCI SATA 1394 SOUND 1000LAN MOTHERBOARD
$155.88 (x2)

SAMSUNG 512MB PC3200 DDR400 184PIN OEM
$129.48

XFX GEFORCE 6600 GT 128MB DDR3 AGP 8X DUAL DVI & TV OUT VIDEO CARD
$227.74

keep your hard drives, windows XP, Sound card, computer tower case, powersuply, monitor, mouse, keyboard.

Total: $823.60

That's what I'd do...

www.ncix.com

 

[DrDevin]

He does not need any more ram since he has 1 GB PC3200. I would go for the AMD Athlon 64 Socket 939 3200+, and an ASUS A8V Deluxe or something similar. Motherboard choices are mostly up to you and your needs (firewire, integrated audio, RAID). One big concern in my oppinion is your case and power supply. A new videocard, processor and hard drive/ optical drive might end up consuming more than 300 watts or something might not fit inside your case. Since this is your first time building a PC you would not want any of those problems or other problems caused by an inadequate Power supply like your PC strangely rebooting itself. Also changing a powersupply is not an easy job once you have everything hooked up. Save yourself the pain and get a new case/ps. Finally you wont see much of a difference in performance without buying a new videocard! Doom 3 and its expansion will run horribly as i had a very similar card and it did not perform good at all. I would advise you to get an NVIDIA 6600GT or a 6800GT. They will suit you just fine. They support the newest graphical effects in PS 3.0 and will run doom 3 at max resolution with all effects just fine. A graphics card is much more important than a CPU for gaming.

 

[Shamrock]

AMD ATHLON 64 3500+ S939 PROCESSOR NEWCASTLE 2.2GHZ 512KB CACHE RETAIL BOX
$310.50

MSI K8N NEO2 PLATINUM NFORCE3 ULTRA S939 AGP 5PCI SATA 1394 SOUND 1000LAN MOTHERBOARD
$155.88 (x2)

SAMSUNG 512MB PC3200 DDR400 184PIN OEM
$129.48

XFX GEFORCE 6600 GT 128MB DDR3 AGP 8X DUAL DVI & TV OUT VIDEO CARD
$227.74

keep your hard drives, windows XP, Sound card, computer tower case, powersuply, monitor, mouse, keyboard.

Total: $823.60

That's what I'd do...

www.ncix.com

Uhh, have you ever heard of www2.newegg.com or www.zipzoomfly.com? Each site has lower prices for everything you listed. Also, www.pricewatch.com is a great site to look for low prices on any item you wish. Although, some of the retailers on there are very cheap, poor service, etc.

 

[NetGuru42]

One big concern in my oppinion is your case and power supply. Save yourself the pain and get a new case/ps. I would advise you to get an NVIDIA 6600GT or a 6800GT. A graphics card is much more important than a CPU for gaming.

I agree, it'll make it a lot easier for you in the long run if you just get a new case - most come with a good power supply pre-installed, if you get a good-quality one, like an Antec. I believe that you had already said in a different thread that you'd get an ATI X850 XT Platinum Edition or something... go for that over ANY nVidia card at this time.

And actually, as many benchmarks have proven, in most games today the CPU is the fps limiter, not the GPU. Once you get past a certain point in GPUs (like say a Radeon 9800/GeForce FX-5900) the CPU is the only thing that will drive your frame rates up. So basically any card introduced by ATI or nVidia within the last 6-8 monthes should do just great. Especially on HL2.

:cheers:

 

[63]

Antec Sonata is niiiiiiiice....