Building comp., lots of help needed.

[DannyC.]

Ok guys, the time has come... I'm going to work on buying a new computer. All the parts I get will be bought one at a time, and once I have all of them I'll take it to some place and have them put it together. I've read two guides on building your own computer, but I'm too afraid to attempt it. I also do not want to take the risk in overclocking, so don't talk to me about that.

I plan on buying my parts from newegg, so should you have any suggestions, link from there. My goal, of course, is to have a computer that can run all the Half-Life stuff that's out and is coming out well, as well as other things. I don't know much about parts (which is why I need all the help from you guys), but I think I want two sticks of 512 mb RAM (Corsair?), and a 3.6 to 3.8 processor.

Most other things I need help and suggestions on. I know this thread will probably be ignored and sink into the second thread page and never be seen again, but seriously, any people who know a lot who are just browsing the forums while half-watching Family Guy (or some similar scenario) could just use up some time to help, or if you could just post a tid-bit, please do. I'm counting on you.

(Nothing about Google, either. I've looked, and I think people themselves would be much more helpful)

 

[Ev!lP!e]

1st off what is your budget and what will your computer be used for? im guessing gaming but we need to know, then we can progress from thei . Also do you need a monitor etc with your budget, or is it just the case and its inners? =)

 

[giant384]

yes plz give us the budget u have then it will be easier to choose parts

 

[DannyC.]

I have a knack for getting stuff I really don't need, such as my 2 gigabyte email address (I don't have to pay for it, not that stupid). I'm going for a closer to high-end, and I'll get the parts slowly, not all at the same time, so I can sort of stretch the prices. Mabye... around $1300 in total? I want my computer to play Half-Life stuff great, and run other things on it great.

Edit: Oh, I forgot to say earlier, I'll get an ATI graphics card. Probably one of the new ones coming out. And yeah, gaming computer, for the most part.

 

[Qonfused]

Well, for one, to save some money, go ahead and put it together yourself. It's not that hard. Ever put together a jigsaw puzzle -- it's just like that. There's no possible way to mix up the parts and where they go. One part goes into one slot and that's it.

 

[duffers20]

Well, for one, to save some money, go ahead and put it together yourself. It's not that hard. Ever put together a jigsaw puzzle -- it's just like that. There's no possible way to mix up the parts and where they go. One part goes into one slot and that's it.

Yeh I think its a good experience building your own comp. You save money (as you dont have to pay someone else to do it for you) and a you will also learn alittle and plus its a great feeling when you first try to power up to find that you have plugged in the front panel buttons on your case wrongly and the system doesn't start... nah joking, you should totally give it a try!

 

[DannyC.]

Well, for one, to save some money, go ahead and put it together yourself. It's not that hard. Ever put together a jigsaw puzzle -- it's just like that. There's no possible way to mix up the parts and where they go. One part goes into one slot and that's it.

What about all that thermal paste crap with the processor? And I don't want to risk all the wiring and alignment of stuff. Meh, mabye I'll learn more and do it myself.

At any rate, I'd like more info on how I should make the computer itself, not how it will be assembled.

 

[duffers20]

At any rate, I'd like more info on how I should make the computer itself, not how it will be assembled.

What like info on what type of motherboard will be needed if i want to use this cpu and that graphics card? Not sure what you mean

 

[giant384]

What like info on what type of motherboard will be needed if i want to use this cpu and that graphics card? Not sure what you mean

im confused to isnt making and assembling kinda the same thing with compy building

 

[DannyC.]

Gah, I mean I want to know what parts I should get, not how I'm going to put it together.

And yes, read the first post, I need to know "EVERYTHING".

 

[DannyC.]

Oh, come on guys, don't quit on me. I need to know some good parts; my birthday is the day after tommorow.

 

[Quixoticism]

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
DFI nF4-DAGF motherboard
Aspire 520W power supply
1GB(2x512) Corsair XMS Dual Channel DDR 3200
Western Digital 80GB Ultra ATA100 HD

 

[Link]

Ok, the way I would do it is:
Decide what sort of processor you want. Then choose a motherboard that takes that kind of CPU. After that, its a case of choosing parts that a.Fit the motherboard and b.are within your budget.
General advice:
Go for AMD 64 939 CPU, SATA HDD and PCI-E GFX cards. If you get a motherboard that supports those, you leave yourself the most room for upgrades in the future.

As I say, thats what I would do, not the only way by any means.

 

[sinkoman]

Oh, come on guys, don't quit on me. I need to know some good parts; my birthday is the day after tommorow.

It's only been an hour.

It's a fricking forum, relax.

And we need to know what you plan to do with it. "Gaming" is too broad. Will you ever do any image editing? Do you like listening to music while you play your games? Do you leave your instant messaging programs open while you do other things? Do you like to do any sort of video editing? That sort of thing.

EDIT: Oh and applying thermal paste is extremely easy. I decided to not read any tuts and wing it, and even though I screwed it up, my pc still works (I did minor screwups like putting the processor on the hsf and taking it back off :O). It's easy as cake, infact, think of cake. it's like putting icing on cake. Wiring? There is no "wiring" to do. Just put plug A into socket B. You're probably thinking of the art of "wire folding". It'll really make your PC look a ton nicer, but nothing you need to worry about right now.

 

[DannyC.]

Ok, I'm back from swimming and rescuing a frog to see the new posts.

Alright, I'll build my own computer, but if it doesn't work...

Link, I'm going to guess that the AMD 64 939 CPU is the processor, you'll have to tell me what the SATA HDD is, as well as PCI-E GFX cards. But a mobo that supports those will be easy to change around in future?

I know that only certain parts can fit with other parts. I can be kind of flexible with the budget because I'm getting the parts one at a time, over a period of time (not counting my birthday, where I'll probably get one or two parts).

I'm not very acquainted with Athlon processors, I was looking at a 3.6 or 3.8 pentium 4. What should I get; sinkoman, I don't really listen to music at all, and if I have AIM open, it will probably be the only thing I'm doing. Really, I only like to do one thing at a time, so that makes it easier. But I want the system to be good, because I'll learn coding/modding, flash, programming, etc.

For the prices of the parts, I suppose all the parts could be around $200 or more. Thanks a bunch for helping me through this, guys.

 

[Link]

AMD 64 939 CPU = CPU made by AMD, 64 bits, and of the socket type 939. There are different types of socket, and 939 is the latest AMD type.

There are 2 different types of HDD (Hard disk drive), IDE (old) and SATA (new). They have different types of connectors. Sata is the better, and future proof, so try to get a motherboard that supports it.

There are also 2 types of gfx card. AGP and PCI-E (PCI-express). Do not confuse PCI and PCI-E as they are different. As with the HDD's, agp is old and PCI-E is new. Again, PCI-E gives more room for expansion in the future (hence "future proof"), so its best to go for that.

As for AMD v Intel cpu's, I strongly recommend AMD. You won't see any difference in the set up, they just slot in and run, same as an intel, but they are better for games.

 

[sinkoman]

I'm not very acquainted with Athlon processors, I was looking at a 3.6 or 3.8 pentium 4. What should I get; sinkoman, I don't really listen to music at all, and if I have AIM open, it will probably be the only thing I'm doing. Really, I only like to do one thing at a time, so that makes it easier. But I want the system to be good, because I'll learn coding/modding, flash, programming, etc.

For the prices of the parts, I suppose all the parts could be around $200 or more. Thanks a bunch for helping me through this, guys.

Ok, first off, there is no being "acquainted" with a processor. If it works, you wont know the difference (general usage wise). Athlons are generaly better at everything consumer level, so i'd advise going with one. The only time i'd ever use a P4 is if it was for something on a corporate level (IE a team of high experience moddelers, a server setup for code compiling).

Ok, so since you seem to not do too much at once, i'd say go with an A64 (Athlon 64) 3500+. It fits into your budget perfectly, and has excellent output.

Judging from your knowledge on computer hardware (what is SATA?) I would say get somebody to build it for you.

An SATA Hdd is a Serial ATA Hard Disk Drive. Essentially, a harddrive that works off of a serial ATA port. SATA ports use thin red cables, while a PATA (parrallel ATA, mainly for CD drives nowadays) drive will use the familiar wide ribbon cables, which are greate for killing your airflow system.

A PCI-E graphics card is a PCI Express graphics card. It's the new graphics card interface standard, replacing the older AGP port. Better invest in a motherboard that has one, or your boned.

My motherboard (sig) works great for me. Most people will tell you to go with an ASUS A8N Diamond, or one of the many DFI LanParty boards available. The ASUS is an excellent board, but i'd advise you to stay clear of the DFI. It takes a bit of tweaking (from what i've heard) to get up and running, some stuff that you probably couldn't handle (bios flashes prior to CPU windows installation, that sort of thing).

The 6800gt is a great card for your pricerange, but i'd say go with a 7800gt. They're relatively cheap (you can get one for almost as much as I paid for my 6800gt) and give excellent performance.

um.. yeah.. there.

 

[DannyC.]

AMD 64 939 CPU = CPU made by AMD, 64 bits, and of the socket type 939. There are different types of socket, and 939 is the latest AMD type.

There are 2 different types of HDD (Hard disk drive), IDE (old) and SATA (new). They have different types of connectors. Sata is the better, and future proof, so try to get a motherboard that supports it.

There are also 2 types of gfx card. AGP and PCI-E (PCI-express). Do not confuse PCI and PCI-E as they are different. As with the HDD's, agp is old and PCI-E is new. Again, PCI-E gives more room for expansion in the future (hence "future proof"), so its best to go for that.

As for AMD v Intel cpu's, I strongly recommend AMD. You won't see any difference in the set up, they just slot in and run, same as an intel, but they are better for games.

Better for games, eh? That's exactly what I need. I'm gonna go look around on newegg, but I need to ask something: When I see an AMD Athlon processor and an Intel processor, both around $400 or so (that's a fine price for me), the Intel has, say, 3.6 ghz and some other stuff, and the Athlon has something like 2.2 ghz and some other stuff. I think it's settled that I'll get an AMD Athlong processor, but what are all the ways I can judge how good they are?

 

[Link]

In general terms, the guide is to look at the AMDs name. For example, a 3000 is the same as a 3ghz intel, 3500 the same as 3.5 ghz etc. Note, this is a very broad guide.

The reason AMDs are lower in ghz is that they do much more work per ghz.

The best way to compare is the price. An AMD for $400 is better for what you want than a $400 intel.

 

[DannyC.]

Ah, I see, Link. Well, lets see what I have so far. I'll be getting a mobo that can support SATA and PCI-E, or something similar to that, I'll look later. An AMD Athlon 64 processor, how about RAM? I've heard that 2 gigs will make my computer run worse, somehow. 2 sticks of 512 mb's will do fine, then. But what type?

 

[Link]

Ram will be dictated by the motherboard you get. Get the fastest the motherboard will support, Prob DDR400 or PC3200. As for the amount, look to get a gig. 2 gig will not cause any problems, unless you plan to run windows 95, so if you can afford more than a gig, go ahead and get it, your frame rate will thank you.

Those are the two mesurements for RAM speed btw, its either DDRxxx or PCxxxx. However, both scale the same, so DDR400 and PC3200 are exactly the same.

 

[DannyC.]

DDR400 or PC3200, I'll keep that in mind. Um.. I was planning on using Windows XP.

Let me make sure I understand: DDR400 or PC3200 are the same, except for the speeds which are DDRxxx or PCxxxx? Or... what do you mean scale?

 

[sinkoman]

DDR400 or PC3200, I'll keep that in mind. Um.. I was planning on using Windows XP.

Let me make sure I understand: DDR400 or PC3200 are the same, except for the speeds which are DDRxxx or PCxxxx? Or... what do you mean scale?

DDR is the rams running speed times two. So a DDR400 module would operate at 200 mhz. PC is the rams DDR number times 8k and rounded off, so a PC2700 module would be DDR133.

You're also going to want to look out for ram Timings. You shouldn't worry about what this is right now, but you're going to want ram with the lowest timings possible. I'd say don't go over 2-5-5-7. Just look for timings under a kits description.
Since you don't plan on overclocking, i'd say get some Corsair dimms. They're really good out of the box modules and are relatively cheap. If you were overclocking, i'd say get some OCZ VX5's, but that's not the case

So you'll be buying a Dual channel kit. If you plan on getting 2 gigs of ram, be sure to buy a kit with two 1gb dimms in it. You generally don't want to put more that two modules in your system, and you almost always want to run them dual channel (don't worry about how to do this, the guy setting up will be sure to seat them in the proper slots for dual channel. Just remember to buy a dual channel kit).

If you stick to 1gb of ram, then buy a 1gb dual channel kit with two 512mb modules in it.

 

[DannyC.]

DDR is the rams running speed times two. So a DDR400 module would operate at 200 mhz. PC is the rams DDR number times 8k and rounded off, so a PC2700 module would be DDR133.

You're also going to want to look out for ram Timings. You shouldn't worry about what this is right now, but you're going to want ram with the lowest timings possible. I'd say don't go over 2-5-5-7. Just look for timings under a kits description.

Since you don't plan on overclocking, i'd say get some Corsair dimms. They're really good out of the box modules and are relatively cheap. If you were overclocking, i'd say get some OCZ VX5's, but that's not the case

Hmm... well, I'll look check around some stuff. Corsair dimms.

Is it the graphics cards that needs to have the PCI-E slots? About the cards, I know I want an ATI, but should I get one of the new ones coming out, or an x800 or something?

 

[sinkoman]

Hmm... well, I'll look check around some stuff. Corsair dimms.

Is it the graphics cards that needs to have the PCI-E slots? About the cards, I know I want an ATI, but should I get one of the new ones coming out, or an x800 or something?

Hmm, so you're DEAD SET on an ATI card?

Well first, we'll have to know how much money you're willing to spend on a video card.

Most bang for your buck CURRENTLY is the x800xl. Best ATI card out now is the X850 XT PE.

And yeah, it's for the graphics card. The PCI-E slot is the slot the card goes inside

 

[giant384]

Hmm... well, I'll look check around some stuff. Corsair dimms.

Is it the graphics cards that needs to have the PCI-E slots? About the cards, I know I want an ATI, but should I get one of the new ones coming out, or an x800 or something?

your better off with a 7800gt than a ati card right now since theres so many rumors about the new ati cards idk what to believe, but i thought u said u were going to get like one part at a time so u should just get the gfx card last intil the new ones come out and we can get some benchies

 

[DannyC.]

your better off with a 7800gt than a ati card right now since theres so many rumors about the new ati cards idk what to believe, but i thought u said u were going to get like one part at a time so u should just get the gfx card last intil the new ones come out and we can get some benchies

That's probably a good idea. I'll decide on that later on, once I have the other parts.

Now lets see... a power unit? I have no idea how to tell good from bad with them. I'll let you guys give me some ideas while I try to better understand the RAM situation.

 

[DannyC.]

I looked through the RAM selection, looking for a pack with 2 sticks of 1 gig (I hope 2 gigs is going to work), and how would these do? The reviews look good, and I checked out the DDR and timings.

 

[giant384]

nice get those i wish i had that much money to get fast ram

 

[DannyC.]

Heh, sorry, bud.

Will those fit with only a few mobos? The RAM clips in with it, right? It is pretty expansive; how much performance is based on your RAM?

 

[sinkoman]

I looked through the RAM selection, looking for a pack with 2 sticks of 1 gig (I hope 2 gigs is going to work), and how would these do? The reviews look good, and I checked out the DDR and timings.

OCZ makes EXCELLENT memory. The volts are well within what any motherboard nowadays can handle (one of the reasons I told you to steer clear of OCZ) and those will run exceptionally.

And ram can make or break a rig. Got a great Graphics card and an ace processor, but only 512mb of ram? Well, texture detail will suffer (as in, goodbye high res) and you'll stutter all the way through your games.

On your PSU (Power Supply Unit), these are one of the most neglected pieces of hardware when it comes to deciding on PC parts, and buying a poor one could potentially burn out all your parts. You'll have to decide on a graphics card before we can be positive on what you're going to need, but here's an excellent one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103710

It'll be able to handle all the newer graphics cards on the way, and should meet all your expansion needs. It's also very stable, and is fairly efficiency levels (means you pay less on your electricity bill).

Fortron and Antec are also excellent PSU manufacturers.

 

[DannyC.]

Ah, there you are, sinko. You and Link are the ones keeping me alive right now.

I'll keep an eye on that power unit, but I was also thinking that my mobo should one of the first things that I decide on. It's sort of like the brain of your computer, isn't it? I checked out all the parts we were discussing, looked around, did some comparissons, and would this one suit my needs pretty well?

And I'm just curious as to why people say that 2 gigs of RAM will comonly hurt your computer, and you should get 1. Could you tell me the case on that?

 

[duffers20]

I'll keep an eye on that power unit, but I was also thinking that my mobo should one of the first things that I decide on. It's sort of like the brain of your computer, isn't it? I checked out all the parts we were discussing, looked around, did some comparissons, and would this one suit my needs pretty well?

That mobo is a cracking mobo, just make sure you choose a case with good airflow as the mobo is passively cooled, meaning it has no fans so you need to make sure that your system fans can cool it along with the other componants

 

[sinkoman]

Ah, there you are, sinko. You and Link are the ones keeping me alive right now.

I'll keep an eye on that power unit, but I was also thinking that my mobo should one of the first things that I decide on. It's sort of like the brain of your computer, isn't it? I checked out all the parts we were discussing, looked around, did some comparissons, and would this one suit my needs pretty well?

And I'm just curious as to why people say that 2 gigs of RAM will comonly hurt your computer, and you should get 1. Could you tell me the case on that?

Ah, that's a banging mobo you chose. That's the Asus A8N Diamond I was speaking of.

And generally, you have to be careful about your ram setups. When they say 2 gigs will hurt your performance, they mean buying 4 512 mb DIMMS. Asus can comment more on this.

And case is all user choice, and i'm loving my Lian Li PC65 B. There's also a silver model out. I think it's sleek, sexy, and sophistocated, as opposed to the gaudy and overdone gamin cases. Not to mention that it's got good airflow.

But yeah, Lian Li if you want sleek sexy box cases or mac look alikes, otherwise, just pic one and i'm sure you can get some comments from people who own one on airflow and the likes. Google is good for pulling case reviews too.

 

[DannyC.]

Yes, I saw that it heats up pretty fast in one of the reviews. Cooling can come after I have most of my parts. But you say it's good, eh? Lets let some others confirm it as well, make sure it checks fully in with the AMD Athlon processor I'm getting, and the PCI-E slots and SATA.

Edit: Oh, just so there's no confusion, this was a response to duffers' post.

 

[duffers20]

Yes, I saw that it heats up pretty fast in one of the reviews. Cooling can come after I have most of my parts. But you say it's good, eh? Lets let some others confirm it as well, make sure it checks fully in with the AMD Athlon processor I'm getting, and the PCI-E slots and SATA.

As long as teh processor is skt 939 then you should be fine. That mobo comes with SATA2 aswell, which is good as hd manufacturers are bringing out new HD's that are pretty damn quick. The Samsung SpinPoint is apparently a very good drive.

 

[DannyC.]

SATA2? Cool. I might settle for a hard drive already out, but we'll see. I was going to move on to the hard drive next, as well; I'll go look at some. What say you, sinko?

 

[sinkoman]

SATA2? Cool. I might settle for a hard drive already out, but we'll see. I was going to move on to the hard drive next, as well; I'll go look at some. What say you, sinko?

Depends.

If you ask me, the idea setup would be 4 74 gig raptors all running in Raid 0

But since most of us have bulletproof wallets, my ideal configuration (currently) is a 36 gig Raptor and an 80 gig Caviar SE. The raptor has my windows install and all my game installs, so all my games load up lickety split, same with windows. My 80 gig Caviar has everything else. I don't use much space, so this config is cheap and yields great performance.

A raptor is a 10,000 RPM hard drive manufactured by Western Digital. It's (currently) the fasts SATA harddrive on the market. There are two models. The first generation ones (36 gig) and the second generation ones (74 gig).

So for the average person, i'd reccomend a 74 gig raptor, and a 200 gig HDD of your choice, both running JBOD (don't worry about this. The guy making your pc will do it for you. Just tell him you want both drives running in seperate JBOD sets).

 

[DannyC.]

Oooh, this one looks nice, has good reviews; fast, but not much noise. Good storage capacity, and has good game loading times. But will it go good with my other stuff?

Also, should I be adding these to a cart? The part list seems to be growing...

Edit: sinko, how is it that you always post at the same time I do? I read your post, but I think I might have to let you figure a portion of the HD stuff out. I'm still trying to grasp all the information I'm learning.

 

[holydeadpenguins]

THe only thing i dont like about 1gb sticks is they dont overclock very well.