Deciding to build a PC.

Tacoeaterguy

Tacoeaterguy

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I've saved up about 800$ and I was hoping to build a new PC with it. I made a thread similar to this around Christmas, but I was still financially low, so I decided to keep saving. I've taken a look at the stickied guides, and they are very helpful in telling me what components I need to build it. There is one problem. I'm not sure which specified components I should buy? I mean, I know I have to buy a case, power supply, motherboard, etc, but I'm not sure which ones I should buy?

And does anybody know of a guide on where I put all of these components in the case when I actually get them delivered? Would the case have directions for any reason? Idk if I'm missing something obvious, but I really don't want to buy the wrong stuff and have it not work. If anyone can provide some help in answering my questions that would be great.
 
This should help for actually putting things together.

You will want a case to have as many intake fans as exhaust. Keeps the air flow even. Some cases may only come with a front fan while having the back spot empty. You would have to buy another fan of the right size.
I highly recommend getting a case with spots for 120mm size fans rather than 80mm. The smaller fans cannot move as much air and are louder. 1 front 120mm and 1 back 120mm is perfectly fine. Too many fans and you have excess air flow. By itself that is not a bad thing but it brings more dust and more noise.

Cases with a dust filter on the front are nice but at the same time usually only $$ cases have them.

If you get a hot GPU you will probably want one with a cooler that spits the hot air out the back rather than one that lets the air just mix on the inside of the case.
 
Quixoticism said:
Tomshardware just finished their quarterly systems builder marathon and the $750 machine is quite the winner.

Check it out.
Click to expand...

Oh wow this is very helpful. Would this be a good gaming computer? Could I run newer games on at least medium specs? If so, this could have just solved my problem. Thank you.
 
Yes it's a good PC that can run modern games. It's better than mine (look at sig) and I still run stuff at medium/high at 1920x1200
 
Hmm. Now I need to think about the operating system. Windows 7 is about 200$. Would it be a good idea to look for it cheaper than on the Microsoft site? Like ebay or something?
 
Newegg has W7 for system builders for $100. And yes that system will kill most games. Newer ones like Metro will need lowered details, but most others should be fine.
 
Quixoticism said:
Newegg has W7 for system builders for $100. And yes that system will kill most games. Newer ones like Metro will need lowered details, but most others should be fine.
Click to expand...

Oh wow this is great. Grand total of about $860. I do have a question about the W7 for system builders. How is it that they price it so low?
 
So people who build and sell can have reasonable prices. If they had to pay full retail people would always opt to go with Dell/(insert dirt cheap name brand here).
 
Tacoeaterguy said:
Oh wow this is great. Grand total of about $860. I do have a question about the W7 for system builders. How is it that they price it so low?
Click to expand...

OEM (Original equipment manufacturer) editions of Windows are cheaper because the person who sets up the PC is then in charge of providing technical support for that PC as opposed to a retail copy which Microsoft provides technical support for.

For computer savvy users the choice is easy since they have probably been fixing any issues with their PC by themselves for a while now.

If you are a student it is worth checking out the Microsoft's student offers which are even cheaper than OEM editions:
http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/software/windows-7.aspx
 
I would actually drop the two 4850 512MB cards from that Tom's hardware link and go for a single 5850 1GB. Would be able to pull money from below* for the higher priced card.

1)*Going crossfire will cost you more on the motherboard and PSU.
2)*The 5000 series card uses less power than a 2x 4000 series cards in CF and costs less over the year to run.
3)*You need to watch your cooling more with CF. Unless you spend a little extra on the cards and get the long coolers that push the air out the back, 1 of the card's fans would be sandwiched and not getting much air.
4)The percentage increase going from a 4850 to 2x 4850's in CF will not be the same in all games and some games you may as well have just 1 card. Also CF will depend a lot more on drivers than a single 5850.
5)Crossfire vs a Single card is more likely to be bottlenecked by CPU at any resolution (look @ 2.7GHz AMD X4).
6)High resolutions where CF performs well also need more RAM (2x 512mb cards do not equal 1gb under CF or SLI).
Bottlenecked here with the fast CPU @ 1920x1200 w/AA+AF, 4850 CF 14 fps, 5850 47fps.
Not bottlenecked here as they are somewhat equal at 1680x1050 ~128 fps.
7)DX10 vs DX11
 
Asus said:
I would actually drop the two 4850 512MB cards from that Tom's hardware link and go for a single 5850 1GB. Would be able to pull money from below* for the higher priced card.

1)*Going crossfire will cost you more on the motherboard and PSU.
2)*The 5000 series card uses less power than a 2x 4000 series cards in CF and costs less over the year to run.
3)*You need to watch your cooling more with CF. Unless you spend a little extra on the cards and get the long coolers that push the air out the back, 1 of the card's fans would be sandwiched and not getting much air.
4)The percentage increase going from a 4850 to 2x 4850's in CF will not be the same in all games and some games you may as well have just 1 card. Also CF will depend a lot more on drivers than a single 5850.
5)Crossfire vs a Single card is more likely to be bottlenecked by CPU at any resolution (look @ 2.7GHz AMD X4).
6)High resolutions where CF performs well also need more RAM (2x 512mb cards do not equal 1gb under CF or SLI).
Bottlenecked here with the fast CPU @ 1920x1200 w/AA+AF, 4850 CF 14 fps, 5850 47fps.
Not bottlenecked here as they are somewhat equal at 1680x1050 ~128 fps.
7)DX10 vs DX11
Click to expand...

Oh I hope you don't mind me bringing this thread back, but I never saw this post until now. Based on what you posted, I think I actually will go with the single 5850. It is gonna cost a little more than expected, but it doesn't matter. As long as I'm not going too much over my limit. This has been very helpful, thank you.

Edit: (Unrelated to above) The CPU cooler I was gonna buy is sold out. How do I know which is a good one to buy?
 
You could always stick with the fan that comes with the CPU, it gets the job done.
 
Alright, everything has been delivered. So I take everything out, look inside all the boxes. Very cool. Take my case out, put it on the table. Then I realize something that I forgot. I needed screws. I can't find them anywhere in any of the boxes. Was I supposed to buy them or something? Oh my god, help please.

EDIT: I found the little shits behind a piece of cardboard or some thing. Scared the hell outta me.
 
lol, screws for what? The case should come with all of the screws necessary.
 
Glad you found em, because they always have the screws you need. Be sure to post pics!
 
Vegeta897 said:
lol, screws for what? The case should come with all of the screws necessary.
Click to expand...

Haha yeah. They were hidden in the case way in the back. I couldn't see them. I do have one more question, I am installing the CPU in the motherboard atm, and I was just wondering if it needed to have thermal glue applied. I have an anti-static wristband as well. Should it be clamped to the case at all times, or if I'm working on the motherboard should it be clamped to that?
 
Always clamp the wristband to your case! The motherboard would be a very bad place to put it.
Look on the heat sink, it should have the thermal paste applied to it. If not then you would want to put it on the CPU casing before you put the heat sink on.
 
Exactly.

One thing of importance: the case won't be grounded unless you've got the power supply installed and plugged into a grounded wall outlet. Yes, that's right: plugged in. Obviously, you will want to keep it switched off. You don't have to have all the wires connected in order for it to be grounded; the ground is the frame of the PSU touching the frame of the case, which travels to the ground through the electrical cord plugged into the wall.

Another way to keep you and your case grounded is to put the computer together on a cement floor. You'll be insulated if you wear rubber shoes though, so being barefoot would be even better. But that's all a bit extreme. Something you might do with a $1000 CPU.

I think the most dangerous things you can do are: wear fleece, walk around on carpet in the winter, or decide to pull off your shirt while working. All of these have the potential to generate a very powerful and possibly destructive shock. Each time before picking up a component, touch the case to ensure that you are discharged.

When I built mine, I didn't have a lot of options and worked on a table in a carpeted room. But I used an anti-static wrist strap clamped on to the grounded case, and I used latex rubber gloves.

I think wearing latex rubber gloves is the single most important precautionary step you can take.
 
Oh god. I hope none of my shit got shocked. Well heres another problem I just encountered. My optical drives came with no wires or anything. Is there any way I could just buy them somewhere?
 
Yes.

I usually get them from newegg. You can also get them at local computer retailers.
 
I've done it! Complete! I saw it was able to use SATA cables, so nevermind. Theres alot of wires hanging about in the case. Do I need to put them in the back, because theres a little spot in the case with twist tie like things for the wires. I'll post pics of it tomorrow.
 
I'm not really sure as I haven't kept up on this thread. The wires [strike]can[/strike] will obstruct airflow to a degree, but should still be okay if you can't get them out of the way. SATA cables aren't known for being all that sturdy so take it easy. Also, make sure wires can't come in contact with fan blades.
 
Ok well, I got rid of most of the wires blocking air, and they're in the back compartment. So, I'm making a prediction here, when I load up the computer I'll get some BIOS setup screen, in which then I start installing windows? Do I have to do anything in BIOS?
 
Nope the BIOS handles the boot all by itself. Just make sure you select the boot device as CD and be sure that all the drives are showing.
 
Okay so I just plugged it in, look in the case, everything seems to be running fine. Graphics card, Motherboard, Fans, USBs, LEDs, etc. So I go up to my monitor and see that it does not fit the graphics card slot thing, so I attach the extension that it came with, and it fits fine. I go to turn on my monitor, and it isn't getting a signal. Any suggestions?
 
Tacoeaterguy said:
Okay so I just plugged it in, look in the case, everything seems to be running fine. Graphics card, Motherboard, Fans, USBs, LEDs, etc. So I go up to my monitor and see that it does not fit the graphics card slot thing, so I attach the extension that it came with, and it fits fine. I go to turn on my monitor, and it isn't getting a signal. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
So you're using a monitor with a 15-Pin VGA lead? I doubt 'spend more' is something you want to hear, but that would kind of make the monitor itself antiquated enough to be a bottle-neck in the performance of your system. i.e. lower resolutions and the general crumminess of any monitor released with VGA cables in the last five years when DVI has long been the standard.

More practically, if the monitor actually has a socket for an 18-pin DVI lead, start using that cable instead (one should have come with the monitor if it is any good). Or is there an 'input select' option in the onscreen monitor controls?
 
I got this monitor maybe... 2 years ago. It's not that old. There's no way I can buy a new one. I'm not really sure what I can do now.

Edit: Is it possible that I need a new power supply with more watts? Mines 650.
 
It's probably something not hooked up right or plugged in all the way. Just check that every wire is in the right place.

Does it sound like it's doing things?

Steady photos would help.
 
I'll get some pictures in a second. Define making sound. It sounds like the system is on, it's just very quiet compared to my loud ass computers. I'll do a check on all the wiring too.

Edit: I tried it with my brothers monitor as well. Still, nothing.
 
Tacoeaterguy said:
Edit: I tried it with my brothers monitor as well. Still, nothing.
Click to expand...
With and without the adapter?

As far as noise goes, is the fan on the graphics card turning?

And not meaning to be rude, but because I had a friend in this exact situation before who made a rather daft mistake... so it's always best to check: you are plugging it into to the output on the video card, right? My friend had her monitor hooked up to the onboard graphics and got herself in such a flap :p
 
kupocake said:
With and without the adapter?

As far as noise goes, is the fan on the graphics card turning?

And not meaning to be rude, but because I had a friend in this exact situation before who made a rather daft mistake... so it's always best to check: you are plugging it into to the output on the video card, right? My friend had her monitor hooked up to the onboard graphics and got herself in such a flap :p
Click to expand...

Well, theres really no way to plug it in without the adapter. And yes, when I turn it on the fan on the graphics card is spinning. Everything seems functional. Heres some pictures. Sorry about size and blurryness.






 
Very top left of first photo.

tacod.jpg


Isn't there supposed to be something from your power supply plugged in there? I'm pretty sure that's your problem, though there may be other problems as well (see below)

Also, are you sure the RAM is in the right slots?

And, you have plugged in your video card right? I believe that video card recommends that you have 2 power wires plugged in.
 
From what I can see in your Motherboard's user manual you've plugged the GFX card in the second of the two PCI-E ports. Whilst the manual doesn't say you won't get video out by putting the card in the lower port, it does say on page #8 that "For optimum performance, if only one PCI Express graphics card is to be installed, be sure to install it in the PCIEX16_1 slot."

edit: Re: my comment about onboard video, have you tried booting the PC by plugging the monitor into the onboard card the manual seems to indicate you have? There could be a setting in the BIOS that is giving the onboard card priority (I can't see the manual right now, I think my pdf plugin just died).
 
I had a feeling I might have plugged my ram in wrong. The manual said to plug 2 sticks in DDR3_1 and DDR3_2 I think, but I'm going to re check. As for the graphics card in the wrong spot, that could also be the problem as well. I'll go check later today or tomorrow.

VirusType2 said:
Very top left of first photo.

tacod.jpg


Isn't there supposed to be something from your power supply plugged in there? I'm pretty sure that's your problem, though there may be other problems as well (see below)
Click to expand...

Well I think theres only one more wire from the power supply that would fit that. On the motherboard it is marked "VGA_DVI" something something, w/e. Should I try it? Would it hurt?
 
Yes, I agree Kupocake. The computer BIOS may need to be set up to use PCIexpress rather than onboard. Plug the monitor into the onboard video output to set up video in the BIOS. After you've made that change, then you can hook your monitor up to the ATi video card.


And here is what I was talking about before:

tacopowersupplymobo.jpg


This wire (circled above) plugs into the motherboard here (some use 4 pins and some use 8, but yours uses 8):


tacod.jpg
 
There is only one 8 pin wire left, so that must be it right? If I connect that it might work. Also, how to I connect my monitor to onboard video output? Is that the one on the motherboard?
 
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