Need help building that computer? Look no more.

[Sgt.Igneri]

So heres that thread most of you new to PC hardware would love.

What you need:

1. Motherboard
2. CPU- If you buy a OEM CPU, it will not come with a HSF. A heatsink and fan is NEEDED. Retail CPU's include an HSF that will be fine. They also have a thermal pad ont he bottom so you will not need to purchase thermal compound.
3. RAM
4. Vid card
5. PSU (If case doesnt come with it)
6. Case
7. Hard drive
8. CD/DVD/CDRW etc drive

Specifically, Im only going to name one single place to buy from (for people in US, I dont know any international retailers so maybe someone could add on to this with UK and CDN stores) and this is Newegg. There is no ifs, ands and buts about it. Newegg is #1 for PC hardware.

Guide for building:

Alright, so you have all the stuff. A desk will be fine to work on. Just dont build on carpet, or near the god damned cat. You shouldnt need an anti static strap, but its pretty nifty and makes things easier for when you get up and come back. Besides that, just touch the case before touching the hardware and your fine.

Get out the mobo. You need to look at the diagram in your manual so you get familiar with important things. Know: CMOS, battery, dimms, CPU socket, AGP slot and PCI slots. Before starting, get your case out. Take the mobo and place it in the case. Match each mounting hole to the case. Mark each slot on the case with a sharpie (DONT MARK THE MOBO, lol) Place the mobo on the flat surface resting on the anti static bag it came in. Get out the CPU, lift the socket lever and insert the CPU (there is an arrow at the top right corner of the socket, which needs to match the arrow on the CPU so it goes in correctly. It will only fit one way, and it DOES NOT need ANY force. If your forcing it, your doing it wrong. Once its in close the lever. Get the heatsink, and a flathead screwdriver. Mount it as the diagram shows. Get the RAM and put it in the dimms. To enable dual channel (all new mobos include this feature) insert the RAM into either dimm #1 and #3 OR dimm #2 and dimm #4. Either will be fine.

Ok, get your I/O shield included with the mobo and exchange it with the one on the rear of the case. Mount your mobo in the case. Mount the Hard drive and CD drives, and set the jumpers on each (self explanatory) There should be a label on both things that show a diagram of how to set the jumpers corectly.

Run the jumpers from the case to the pins on your mobo (this is very tricky, they have to be in an exact order, your mobo manual shows this)

Get the vid card and insert it in the AGP slot. Insert any PCI cards you have.

Mount the PSU (if case didnt come wtih one)

Plug in all the power cables to:

Each fan
The 2 mobo power connectors
Your vid card, if needed
Hard drive
and any other things- lights, controllers, etc.

Get 2 IDE cables. Run one to the CD drive and the other to the hard drive (only if it isnt SATA or SCSI)

If its SATA get the SATA cable and run it from the mobo to the HDD.

Power her up!

Configure BIOS options (most likely keep default until you know more about these settings) Check the temperature in BIOS and make sure it is reasonable. Set the shut down temp to 60*C and CPUFAN failure setting to enabled.

Get the windows CD and install windows (self explanatory)

Thats about it.


eTailers(UK)

www.dabs.com
www.cclcomputers.biz
www.komplett.co.uk
www.overclockers.co.uk
www.overclock.co.uk

eTailers (US)

www.newegg.com

eTailers (pretty much anywhere)

www.ebuyer.com

 

[_-_-SELAS-_-_]

Nice thread Sgt.Igneri although I think theres a few steps that could need a bit more explaning for new guys. Hmm but maybe if they are that green you shouldn't be building it by yourself in the first place :cheese: . I mean stuf like how to/how much paste to put between the CPU and fan, just small stuff.

Very nice thread indeed though :bounce:

 

[_-_-SELAS-_-_]

bah delete this post Im tired............ Going to bed now................ The one above counts

 

[markshrimpton]

The area i have a problem with (never built a computer - only upgrades), is how do you know which mobo, cpu and ram go together.
Mobo's have FSB's, sockets etc
CPU's have cache, and two different frequencies
RAM has a frequency

This is where i get confused (and the fact that AMD and Pentium have substantially different frequency speeds - yet common sence says they must be similar

Please help!

 

[Washuu]

Also... i would have the person decide, Intel or AMD? then... what motherboard, because it will affect all the other parts you will decide to buy.

 

[Sgt.Igneri]

What do you want? AMD or Intel?

If you get an AMD socket A mobo, your going to need a thouroughbred (anywhere from a 1700+ to a 2700+) or a barton (2500+ to 3200+, though there are variants, such as a 2600+ barton and a thouroughbred.)

If you get an Intel, its pretty simple. P3's and some cellery's (celeron) use Socket 370. P4's, and the newer cellery's use socket 478.

Everything else is pretty much standard. Basically any vid card fits any mobo (with an AGP slot). The RAM can be either DDR or SDRAM (and RDRAM, though not really used anymore) which will fit most mobos.

 

[Camon_Draconis]

Originally posted by Sgt.Igneri

Specifically, Im only going to name one single place to buy from (for people in US, I dont know any international retailers so maybe someone could add on to this with UK and CDN stores) and this is Newegg. There is no ifs, ands and buts about it. Newegg is #1 for PC hardware.

Umm, that sounds a little one sided. For starters, why is newegg the best, is it because of prices, dependablity?? personally, ive had much better experience with other sites like tigerdirect.com but i guess its all personal flavor, theres plenty of sites out there, you just have to find them. just dont go anywhere near pricewatcth.com!

 

[addy]

Very Nice Just what i needed thx Sgt.Igneri

 

[markshrimpton]

Originally posted by Sgt.Igneri
What do you want? AMD or Intel?

Well, the thing i cant understand with AMD or Intel are quite what the differences are.
I will be playing lots of 3D games and obviously will be getting hl2 as sson as possible.
I am on a budget but not really tight so i could stretch to Intel if the performance was significantly better. Im also hoping to use the comp as a tv.
It will centainly be Athlon or Pentium

 

[NJD2003]

For canadian online computer retailers there are:

www.NCIX.com (I find this is the best one, they pricematch anything, and very good customer support)

www.vibecomputers.com

www.pccanada.com (Cheaper prices than the 2 above, but I just pricematch the items at NCIX.com)

 

[Sgt.Igneri]

Originally posted by markshrimpton
Well, the thing i cant understand with AMD or Intel are quite what the differences are.
I will be playing lots of 3D games and obviously will be getting hl2 as sson as possible.
I am on a budget but not really tight so i could stretch to Intel if the performance was significantly better. Im also hoping to use the comp as a tv.
It will centainly be Athlon or Pentium

My advice is to wait until early '04 and save up a bit more. Theres going to be a mass amount of new technologies (BTX mobos and PCI expressfor starts) and 64 bit will become more mainstream and efficient.

BTW, thanks NJD.

 

[RandomPING]

If you're going to be buying from an online retailer, a great source to check first is http://www.resellerratings.com/ and also http://search.bbb.org/search.html for the better business complaints. I have the two favorited for whenever i make an online buy.

 

[markshrimpton]

Thanks, i'll take all of that into account.
I might actually wait until the new year, i can play quite a few games on my laptop at uni at the moment, but will get a new comp closer to the release date for hl2.
Everything now will be cheaper by then (i hope)

 

[thehunter1320]

i could have used this 3 months ago :hmph:

 

[SubKamran]

Before I buy my Zalman CNPS7000 HSF for my P4, if I want to OC it to, oh, say 3.0 (it's a 2.6C) should I even bother with the fancy schmany HSF or use the retail box one?

Hey, this could save me $36!

 

[Sgt.Igneri]

If your just aiming for 3.0, get the box one. A lot of people were able to get 800mhz out of the stock HSF.

 

[SubKamran]

+800Mhz FSB? (being 1600Mhz) Since the 2.6C is already at 800Mhz FSB.

Or 3.4Ghz you mean? If so, that's more than enough.

 

[Sgt.Igneri]

You cant OC the FSB seperately on Intel CPUs. You cant on AMDs either now. OCing remains on just upping the FSB at this point, so I meant that you would get 800mhz on the clock speed= 3.4ghz liek you said. The FSB speed at 3.4ghz should be around 1300mhz if you managed to get it to 3.4ghz.

 

[SubKamran]

Yah, I knew you could only up the FSB to change the clock speed; you do that with Pentium3's too.

I should have thought just a little more. I think for that split second I didn't realize 800Mhz was a lot.

*feels stupid*

 

[Shift]

Lol... I remembered once I bought my own computer. It took me the entire day to figure out where to poke the RAM into. Ah... The Motherboard.

 

[Lavrik]

I remember when i got a Radeon 9800 pro and i was like okay this is simple its like sticking a Voodoo 3 in so i stuck it in and then i forgot abotu cables and nothing worked and it was real hot that day.So i spent a hour and finaly i realised that the manual had one page stuck to another and i missed a step so then yeah i fixed it to work.I was pretty mad though.

 

[Ygor SS]

Hmm I have:
pentium 4 2000 Mhz, ram 256 DDR, radeon 9600pro 128 mb (mhz I cannot remember)
Is that good for Halflife 2 ??

P.S. Im soory if I make any gramatical mistakes Im from Poland! Hello all!!

 

[Foxtrot]

pricewatch.com has lower prices than newegg....

 

[Time2ki1l]

If you live in the UK, you could just go to www.novatech.co.uk, order all the bits for your PC, and they will build/install it free of charge. makes it a lot simpler + if anything wrong, then you arnt the one who is blamed.

 

[Murray_H]

My computer came yesterday but when it booted up it didn't beep, there was no output from my gfx card but all the fans were blowing (even on the 9800). It's back at teh PC people now (bloody good service - built to my spec, next day delivery (when they get around to building it ) and i rang them up, told them the problem and they sent for it to be picked up the next morning!)

Anyway, just wondering if anyone has any ideas what could have been the problem...memory issues maybe?

 

[Alig]

Some good UK priced sites here

http://www.cclcomputers.biz

and

http://www.overclock.co.uk

 

[ComradeBadger]

Alig, I'll add them to the list

 

[Alig]

Hmm I have:
pentium 4 2000 Mhz, ram 256 DDR, radeon 9600pro 128 mb (mhz I cannot remember)
Is that good for Halflife 2 ??

P.S. Im soory if I make any gramatical mistakes Im from Poland! Hello all!!

Hello :bounce:

You might want to upgrade your memory to 512mb, it is rapidly becoming the minimum for gaming, ultimately 1024mb ram is best...dont really need more for games, ive got 1024 ddr 400 and its good enough :cheese: Also there is a HL2 predictment benchmark site but i dont stumble accross it that much so if i do i'll edit this post or something so you can see for yourself.

Edit/

Alig, I'll add them to the list

Cool Not sure if you have done it yet but from the time it was edited i think you have...you put www.overclockers.co.uk instead of www.overclock.co.uk, not sure if their the same site just differently layed out...if not then thats 3 sites for the price of 2 :thumbs: Thx.

 

[ComradeBadger]

Ooo, it's a different site, I thought you'd made a type :E

 

[ferd]

I was wondering, would it actually be possible to setup that PC using the guide in this thread, even if youre a noob?

 

[Asus]

Other Sites for Canada:
Anitec
Eglobalci.com
NTCW
Dangeo

US sites:
SVC - Very good on prices for Cooling (Fans and Heatsinks)
Mwave
Directron
Monarch Computer Systems - Very good place as well. We order parts for our server from here. They have shipped Items past the shipping time NextDay Air because of emergencies for us.

IMO newegg is the best because they have a place in CA (West Coast) and in NJ (East Coast).
They have the best return policies and service from any website I have ever shopped at. My friend has even RMAed a Motherboard back w/out all the manuals and they said don't worry about it.
They have free shipping on almost every single product and reduced shipping on others.
They keep their prices very low and competitive.
HUGE selection and very easy to navigate their site and find exactly what you need.

 

[Daegon]

Just a suggestion, lest I'm heavily confused, I find it is generally a good idea to mount your cpu, hsf, and ram before putting the motherboard into the case. Especially when you don't have one of those cool cases (ie lian-li) that has a removable motherboard tray.

 

[bosox188]

Do either of these look good? I was gonna get a 9600xt, but a 9700 is much better, and with the card I have now, I don't mind getting a refurbished one.

Pro $135

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-254R&type=Refurbish

Non-pro $115

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-201R&type=Refurbish

 

[Asus]

Do either of these look good? I was gonna get a 9600xt, but a 9700 is much better, and with the card I have now, I don't mind getting a refurbished one.

Pro $135

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-254R&type=Refurbish

Non-pro $115

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-201R&type=Refurbish

Go for the Pro. Seeing that they are only 135$ I wouldn't mind a referb either.
Just for comfort, here is a review. Basicly 9800 speeds and close behind the 9800Pro.

 

[The Terminator]

Any good?

Cables - Round
ANTEC Cobra A36 Round 133 ATA Cable, Model "77236" -RETAIL
Specifications:
40-pin 80-conductor cable, ATA133/100/66/33 compliant for high speed data transfer
Highly flexible 36" round cable with two device connections, one motherboard connector.
Wrapped with nylon mesh plastic tubing for maximum air flow improvement.
Shielded with aluminum foil and braided silver mesh with ground, for maximum shielding. more info>
N82E16812105005
$12.50
$25.00


Cases (Computer Cases, ATX Form)
ANTEC ALUMINUM SERIES SUPER LAN BOY MINI TOWER CASE with Clear Side Acrylic Window and FREE Case Carrying Strap -RETAIL
Specifications:
Case Type: MINI TOWER CASE
Color: Silver
Material: anodized aluminum
Drive Bays: 5.25" x 3/0, 3.5" x 2/4 (external/internal)
Expansion Slots: 7
Front Ports: USB2.0 port x 2, Audio
Power Supply: N/A
Cooling System: 2 x 120mm
Motherboard Compatibility: up to Standard ATX
Dimensions: 8.2"" x 17.3" X 16.5" (DxWxH) more info>
N82E16811129145
$85.00
$85.00


Floppy Drives
Mitsumi 1.44MB 3.5Inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model D359M3, OEM
Specifications:
Capacity: 1.44MB
Average Access Time: 94 ms
Interface: 34 Pin Standard Floppy Connector
Form: 3.5 inch
Media Type: All Standard 1.44MB & 720KB 3.5 Floppy Diskettes
Features: Quiet Operation, Enclosed Mechanism
Packaging: OEM more info>
* (Includes FedEx Saver Shipping) N82E16821103104
$12.50
$6.99/10 pcs*
$6.5/20 pcs*
$6/60 pcs*
$12.50


Hard Drives
Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6Y120P0, OEM Drive Only
Specifications:
Capacity: 120GB
Average Seek Time: 9.3 ms
Buffer: 8MB
Rotational Speed: 7200 RPM
Interface: IDE ULTRA ATA133
Features: Maxtor Shock Protection and Data Protection Systems
Manufacturer Warranty: 3 years
Packaging: OEM Drive Only more info>
N82E16822144148
$95.97
$95.97


Memory (System Memory)
Kingston HyperX Series Dual Kits 184 Pin 512MB(256MBx2) DDR PC-3200
Specifications:
Manufacturer: Kingston
Speed: DDR400(PC3200)
Type: 184 Pin DDR SDRAM
Error Checking: Non-ECC
Registered/Unbuffered: Unbuffered
Cas Latency: 2-3-2-6-1T
Support Voltage: 2.6V
Bandwidth: 3.2GB/s
Organization: two 32M x 64 -Bit
Warranty: Lifetime more info>
N82E16820144113
$145.00
$145.00


Motherboards - AMD
ASUS "A7N8X" nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL(New Version, now support AMD Barton 400MHz)
Specifications:
Supported CPU: Socket A AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Processors
Chipset: NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 + MCP
FSB: 400/333/266/200MHz
RAM: 3x DIMM for Dual Channel un-buffered non-ECC DDR400/333/266 Max 3GB
IDE: 2x UltraDMA 133 up to 4 Devices
Slots: 1x AGP PRO/8X, 5x PCI
Ports: 2xPS2,1xCOM,1xLPT,6xUSB2.0(Rear 4),1xLAN,Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650 6CH w/ built in HP amplifier
Onboard LAN: Realtek 8201BL 10/100Mbps
Form Factor: ATX more info>
N82E16813131455
$84.00
$84.00


Power Supplies
Sorry this item / special is sold out.
Antec P4 ATX12V 350 Watt Power Supply With 2 Fans and Blue Internal LEDs, Model "SL350BLUE" -RETAIL
Specifications:
Type: ATX
Maximum Power: 350W
PFC: No
Power Good Signal: 100-500ms
Hold-up Time: Not specified
Efficiency: Not specified
Over Voltage Protection: +5V trip point<+6.5V;+3.3V trip point<+4.1V;+12V trip point<+15.6V
Overload Protection: Latching Protection+5V @<50A;+3.3V @<48A;+12V @<21A
Input Voltage: Not specified
Input Frequency Range: Not specified
Input Current: Not specified
Output: +3.3V@28A,+5V@35A,[email protected],+12V@16A,[email protected],+5VSB@2A
MTBF: 50,000 hrs@25ºC
Approvals: UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLA more info>
N82E16817103921
$49.00
$.00


Processors
AMD Athlon XP 2600+ "Barton", 333MHz FSB, 512K Cache Processor - Retail
Specifications:
Model: AMD Athlon XP 2600+
Core: Barton
Operating Frequency: 1.9GHz
FSB: 333MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included) more info>
N82E16819103418
$90.00
$90.00


Video Cards
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800SE Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP -BULK
Specifications:
Chipset/Core Speed: ATI RADEON 9800SE/325MHz
Memory/Effective Speed: 128MB DDR/580MHz
BUS: AGP 1X/2X/4X/8X
Ports: VGA Out(15 Pin D-Sub)+TV-Out(S-Video Out)+DVI Connector
Support 3D API: DirectX®9, OpenGL®2.0
Cable/Accessories: 2 Cables, Driver CD
Max Resolution@32bit Color: 2048X1536@85Hz more info>
N82E16814102303
$134.00
$134.00

Subtotal »
$ 671.

Worth it? All from newegg.com Anything youd change? Trying to keep it below $750. Ive got a monitor, keyboard, mouse speakers, sound card. I just wanna know if Im making smart buys here.

 

[Cylleruion2012]

Since I'm a complete noob at building computers, that helped me a lot, but I don't understand some of the abbreviations.

 

[poseyjmac]

pricewatch.com is my favorite site. and since they redesigned it its pretty easy to see if a retailer has a good customer rating.

newegg is great, but not always the best way to go if you live in california like me where you have to pay sales tax. even so i still buy things at newegg because of their great service and competitive pricing.

 

[Fletch]

Thanks for the help Sgt.Igneri.

 

[Dynasty]

Hey guys, im kinda new to these forums so go lightly on me... i just went out and bought myself an AMD Athlon XP2600 OEM, another stick of 256mb DDR (400mhz) taking my total to an equal mhz 512mg (originally had 333hz and 400hz), and put them on a new asus a7n8x-e delux mobo. Ive got a gainward fx5600 256mb, but was wandering whether i should keep it or get a radeon 9600xt instead....never really been fond of ati but thought i might give them a shot . i was thinking of selling my FX and getting a bit extra to pay the £100 for the radeon, as i want hl2 to run smoothly with relatively high detail. any help would be appreciated.

 

[lePobz]

FX5600 = bad... get an ATI 9600XT or a 9800PRO/XT or even a X800 Pro/XT depending on what you can afford, but if you want smooth gameplay with resolution and details on full you'll need an X800 at least.