Newbie need help building computer

chockomonkey · Mar 22, 2004

Hey all, i'm new here and, to be honest, completely new to computer hardware. Essentially, i want to build my next computer, but have no idea where to begin or what to do. My friend who knows stuff about all this won't help me because he says i need to learn for myself, and he sent me here. So, here i am. Basically what i'm looking for is a 3000 MHz processor, about an 80 gb harddrive, cd burner, dvdrom, 128 mb video accelorator, and sufficient ram (what is sufficient?)... i'm not sure what else i need... other than motherboard and stuff... but when it comes to what to buy and where, i have no clue. So, whatever help you all have to offer would be usefull.

thanks...

angrybusdriver · Mar 22, 2004

The necessary questions:

- What's your budget?
- What're you going to use it for?
- Where you buy depends on where you live; where do you live?

BB Gun · Mar 22, 2004

Assembly guides....

http://www.arstechnica.com/guide/building/

http://www.tomshardware.com/howto/20020904/

http://www.intel.com/personal/resources/build/

and ditto what the bus driver said.

BB

RS3RS · Mar 22, 2004

Originally posted by chockomonkey
Hey all, i'm new here and, to be honest, completely new to computer hardware. Essentially, i want to build my next computer, but have no idea where to begin or what to do. My friend who knows stuff about all this won't help me because he says i need to learn for myself, and he sent me here. So, here i am. Basically what i'm looking for is a 3000 MHz processor, about an 80 gb harddrive, cd burner, dvdrom, 128 mb video accelorator, and sufficient ram (what is sufficient?)... i'm not sure what else i need... other than motherboard and stuff... but when it comes to what to buy and where, i have no clue. So, whatever help you all have to offer would be usefull.

thanks...

Processor: 3.0 "C" GhZ with Hyper Threading

Hard drive: Western digital special edition 80 GB w/ 3 year warrenty

Lite on CD burner and DVD rom

ATI Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB video card

1GB of dual channel pc3200 ram (or 512 if you have to)

But yeah, we need a budget

chockomonkey · Mar 22, 2004

my budget would be about $1500... and as far as what i'm going to use it for... everything? Gaming mostly. I simply want a fast computer that i will be able to play any game i want without problems. Everything else i would be using it for i think that i probably could do on any computer. So yeah. I live in Gig Harbor, Washington.

CoolEthan · Mar 22, 2004

The video card recommendation stated above is a good choice for under $200, and thats what its really going to come down to when you do your gaming machine. Id start from there and get the board that will support it, then the ram that supports the board...etc. Almost any new technology that you will be slapping together will give you a gaming machine that you will be happy with, something with 512 to 1gig of RAM as stated above is a good idea too. You'd be surprised how much a good a LCD monitor and a nice mouse/keyboard combo will increase your enjoyment of playing so dont skimp on it.

CoolEthan · Mar 22, 2004

err, noticed a typo, video card under $400, not $200....

vegetash · Mar 22, 2004

Originally posted by chockomonkey
my budget would be about $1500... and as far as what i'm going to use it for... everything? Gaming mostly. I simply want a fast computer that i will be able to play any game i want without problems. Everything else i would be using it for i think that i probably could do on any computer. So yeah. I live in Gig Harbor, Washington.

for $1500 you could build an awesome computer with 6.1 surround sound, top of the line graphics, and super fast. check www.newegg.com

80gig HD - $80
http://newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=22-144-318&DEPA=0

DVD and CD Burner - $45
http://newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=27-106-193&DEPA=0

CPU 64 bit athlon 64 - $282
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-416&depa=1

Case - $50
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-144-025&DEPA=1

2 gig of RAM - $360
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-310&depa=1

Motherboard - $90
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-203&depa=1

Sound Blaster Audigy 2 - $87
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-102-162&depa=1

6.1 Logitech Speakers - $78
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=36-121-115&depa=1

Radeon 9800 XT 256 DDR - $400
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-319&depa=1

Thats $1472 and its a beast of a system! Thats just a quick look you might be able to find even better deals

Kruzen · Mar 22, 2004

Originally posted by vegetash
for $1500 you could build an awesome computer with 6.1 surround sound, top of the line graphics, and super fast. check www.newegg.com

80gig HD - $80
http://newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=22-144-318&DEPA=0

DVD and CD Burner - $45
http://newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=27-106-193&DEPA=0

CPU 64 bit athlon 64 - $282
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-416&depa=1

Case - $50
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=11-144-025&DEPA=1

2 gig of RAM - $360
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-144-310&depa=1

Motherboard - $90
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-128-203&depa=1

Sound Blaster Audigy 2 - $87
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=29-102-162&depa=1

6.1 Logitech Speakers - $78
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=36-121-115&depa=1

Radeon 9800 XT 256 DDR - $400
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-319&depa=1

Thats $1472 and its a beast of a system! Thats just a quick look you might be able to find even better deals

(im his friend)

he needs a nice monitor too.

get a radeon 128mb 9800 pro, forget those crappy 6.1 logitech speakers, wait for a nice deal on some z560's on fatwallet.

as for that motherboard.. eww.. find a nice Abit

He doesn't need anywhere near 2 gigs of ram, 1 gig of crucial would be sufficient.

everything else looks good though..

Wixard · Mar 22, 2004

If hes assembling it by himself he may wanna check local pc stores. First time builds many times dont end well, then you're stuck with having to ship half the shit back

chockomonkey · Mar 22, 2004

i'm a first time builder, true... but kruzen said that he would at least help me assemble all of it... he just won't find the stuff for me...

and 1500 was just for the computer... i'm going to get everything else later...

133 · Mar 22, 2004

If you are going to game, get a nice flat screen CRT. Better Frame rate

dwayne001 · Mar 22, 2004

#1-- as my friend Bokunotenken likes to remind me, tehre are no 6.1 speaker sysems. There are 5.1 and those are 6 channel. The z640s are fine for you, a beginner. As you learn more what you want out of your sound, you'll be able to upgrade without being worried that you paid too much for speakers. The z640s cheap, and therefore worth every penny

#2--Mr Man who mentioned the machine for $1472 did ok, but you have to check out www.bensbargains.net and fatwallet.com and techbargains.com. Beware of rebates from teh company known as Tiger Direct.

#3--Don't skimp on the keyboard/mouse thing, but don't go overboard. You want a Logitech MX 700 mouse. Wireless keyboards are over-rated, so if I were you I'd save my moolah in that respect and get something that's neat and can work on PS/2--there's no reason a keyboard should eat a perfectly good USB port.

#3--If your budget is $1500 forget about the LCD. Any LCD worth gaming on runs at about $600...get a reasonable 19" CRT (something from the samsung 900 series) and despte the footprint, you'll be happy. Very happy.

#4--Try and get your hands on a second optical drive...it speeds up the burning process considerably.

#5--Take a look at the deal-sites that I mentioned above and look into a second hdd--the one you'll keep all of your data on in case windows gets fragged and you have to reformat the thing, losing all of your data.

This is good. We should all share like this more often.

homIcIde · Mar 22, 2004

Just to help clarify, he said that the 1500 was for the box alone and that speakers, monitor and everything else would be seperate. On that note, you definitely want to make sure you get a nice case and powersupply. That is definitely not an area to skimp in. Maybe an antec sonata or one of those other antecs that come with decent sized PSUs. Also, I agree that getting a nice lcd, nice mouse and keyboard, and some good speakers will make your system 100 times more enjoyable.

Kruzen · Mar 22, 2004

Originally posted by chockomonkey
i'm a first time builder, true... but kruzen said that he would at least help me assemble all of it... he just won't find the stuff for me...

and 1500 was just for the computer... i'm going to get everything else later...

stop by www.tomshardware.com , www.sharkyextreme.com , and www.hardocp.com and look at some motherboard reviews to help you decide what you want (i reccomend abit or asus)

mi1stormilst · Mar 22, 2004

Don't forget your OS (-:

angrybusdriver · Mar 22, 2004

Originally posted by 133
If you are going to game, get a nice flat screen CRT. Better Frame rate

Your display device has nothing to do with your framerate.

The reason SOME people prefer CRT monitors for gaming is because of their flexible resolutions and refresh rates.

A 19" CRT can typically go up to 1600x1200 and down to 640x480.

A 17" LCD is typically native at 1280x1024. Any lower or higher resolutions will just "smudge" or "mix" pixels and result in a blurry, messy looking image.

If you have the graphics card to run games at your LCD's native resolution, by all means go for it, it'll look beautiful.

I have a 19" CRT (ViewSonic G90F 19") and a 17" LCD (Samsung 172N 17") and I love them both.

I play UT2004 at 1280x1024 on my LCD and it's crystal clear. No sync issues either.

jacuzz1 · Mar 22, 2004

There are alot of things you must consider.

1.) determine exactly what you will be doing with it
2.) Chose a platform based on your determinations
3.) research known issues with your platform of choice
4.) research the best hardware you can buy that is within your budget
a.) Opertating system
b.) Storage HD type and how many and what storage volume requriements
c.) Memory, what type , speed and quantity (determined by platform choice.)
d.) Case design (consider your cooling requirements and ease of assembly as well as removal and installation of components
e.) sound integrated or add in
F.) Network inteface (usualy integrated)
g.) Power supply requirements (quality is very important)
h.) Video subsystem will be integrated or add in
i.) Human interface devices (wireless or non)
j.) Screen type and size (LCD versus CRT etc)
Do your homework and decide exactly what equipement you want then shop the price . Revise your requirements as your budget dictates.

Once you have obtained all your hardware have a process of assembley in mind and stick to it. This will facilitate assembly and reduce errrors as well as help t shoot errors that may occur.

good luck and enjoy your project

chockomonkey · Mar 25, 2004

Deadguy · Mar 25, 2004

looks good just, go for two of those crucial sticks and you'll be set

jacuzz1 · Mar 25, 2004

that concerns me. That chip runs hot on curent boards. Go 2.8c it performs better and with that board you could overclock it easily

Mojo · Mar 25, 2004

I'm not a big fan of that sound card. Go for an Audigy 2.

Speakers?

chockomonkey · Mar 25, 2004

looks good just, go for two of those crucial sticks and you'll be set

noted and fixed. thanks.

that concerns me. That chip runs hot on curent boards. Go 2.8c it performs better and with that board you could overclock it easily

I picked that one because it has twice the amount of L2 cache, which i thought would be good. it, as you know, also has the new prescott technology... I admit i don't know really the difference between that the the northwood... but i figured the newer, the better. Will it running hot really make a difference, if i'm not planning to oc it?

I'm not a big fan of that sound card. Go for an Audigy 2.

I went ahead and went with the audigy2. it is cheaper anyway. Thanks.

Newbie need help building computer

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