Building my own PC

[Peji911]

Well, Im not, but my friend is (I know nothing about computers).

Here is what Im looking at.

These prices are in Canadian Dollars, taxes not included

Case: pretty nice gaming case, I found one for 49.99
Memory: KINGSTON 1GB DDR MEM PC3200 (400) for 129.99
Hard Drive: HARD DRIVE 320GB 7200RPM IDE 129.99
CD/DVD Drive: PIONEER 16x DVD±RW DL BURNER-BLACK 49.99
Video Card: RADEON X1600PRO256/DDR2/DVI/TV/PCIe 109.99
Audio Card: My brother just got a sick one- 7.1 for 149.99 but I can find a cheaper one

OS: already have it--Vista (came with the PC my brother bought
CPU: Havent Found a good deal yet
Motherboard: ditto
Case fan: meh, I can get one anywhere
Power cord: same

Right now Im looking at: 620 before taxes and without the above things I mentioned

The questions I have are:

What else do I need for this PC? (Moniter, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc--I know, but I mean, for the PC, not additions?

Are the things I have good or can I get better, or the same, but for cheaper?

Would I be better off with a store bought one?

[mudtiger]

Re: Building my own PC

You could save on a sound card as many motherboards have built in sound. Personally, I'd put that money saved from not getting an add on sound card towards a better video card.

Store bought vs building yourself? I'm a build it yourself person. Buy it in store and you can call and complain to someone if things go wrong. You build it yourself, you'll learn about the inner workings of your computer, you won't get a load of software pre-installed, overclockability, and you won't be limited to choosing from available options for things like video cards.

Even though your friend is building it, definitely watch him build it. It's not really that hard to do.

[Peji911]

Re: Building my own PC

You could save on a sound card as many motherboards have built in sound. Personally, I'd put that money saved from not getting an add on sound card towards a better video card.

Store bought vs building yourself? I'm a build it yourself person. Buy it in store and you can call and complain to someone if things go wrong. You build it yourself, you'll learn about the inner workings of your computer, you won't get a load of software pre-installed, overclockability, and you won't be limited to choosing from available options for things like video cards.

Even though your friend is building it, definitely watch him build it. It's not really that hard to do.

Is there a website that really shows you how to build them? I mean, me and this other friend of mine, although we dont know how to build PCs, we can definately do pretty much anything we put our minds to--especially if done together. We knew very little about cars but completely re-built my barricuda's engine and it is soo awesum rite now...

so if we had a website that said step by step, fairly simply, what to do.. we could definately do it--unless soldering or whatever, was needed... although programming the actual thing would be hard

also, are there stores that offer PC parts for fairly cheap?

Thanks man

[mudtiger]

Re: Building my own PC

The first 2 are a bit old, but should give you an idea of the basics.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2002/09/..._pc/index.html

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/guides/build_computer/

http://www.build-your-own-computer-tips.com/open-a-computer-case.html

Go slow, read the (at least glance at) the instructions that came with the parts, and do not force things if they don't fit at first. Just about all the connectors and plugs in the computer are designed to fit only one way, the correct way.

I buy 99% of my computer stuff at newegg.com

[Peji911]

Re: Building my own PC

The first 2 are a bit old, but should give you an idea of the basics.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2002/09/..._pc/index.html

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/hardware/guides/build_computer/

http://www.build-your-own-computer-tips.com/open-a-computer-case.html

Go slow, read the (at least glance at) the instructions that came with the parts, and do not force things if they don't fit at first. Just about all the connectors and plugs in the computer are designed to fit only one way, the correct way.

I buy 99% of my computer stuff at newegg.com

thx alot buddy...

im going to listen to u and get a motherboard with built in sound card... could u direct me in a couple of direction as to what i should look for? also, a pretty good video card (ie: to play games like WE10, Football Manager (and actually run fast), Fear, etc)..

Thanks again man, greatly appreciated

[mudtiger]

Re: Building my own PC

Decision time

AMD vs Intel cpu - answering that will narrow down the motherboard field
Nvidia vs ATI video card
Price vs. latest tech

You can look through some of the wishlists at newegg to get an idea of what other people are building or want to build and the cost

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/...cWishLists.asp

That should give you an idea of $$ and popular items and maybe give you an idea of what to look for.

When I build a pc for myself, my budget usually looks something like this

cpu 150-250
mother board 75-150
video card 250-350
memory 75-150

Staying within that price range will get you a strong computer, not top of the line, but still very good.

Personally I would be looking at a core 2 duo cpu from intel. If you wanted to save cash in the cpu area, you might look at something in the neighborhood of an amd 3800 x2.

Pay attention to the cpu socket type. You need a motherboard that supports that socket type and cpu (ex: Many core 2 duos are LGA 775 sockets so you would need a motherboard that supports LGA 775 socket cpus). Other things to look for on motherboards - make sure it has onboard audio if you don't want to buy that extra sound card (most new motherboards have onboard audio) and look at the number of pci slots if you have a lot of add on pci cards.

For brand names, you can't go wrong with an asus motherboard for reliability. Gigabyte, evga, and msi are good too just to name a few. I currently have an Epox because it's a good overclocking motherboard.

For video cards you could go cheap now and upgrade later as the nvidia 8800's come down in price. The 8800's are anywhere from 350 to 600$ us dollars. If you want a mid to high level card now and aren't worried about upgrading, you could go with something like a x1950 or nvidia 7950.

A x1600 will be ok, but you are going to struggle at higher resolutions with anti aliasing enabled. If you are ok running at 1024x768, you should be fine. If you want to run at 1600x1200 or you have a widescreen monitor, the x1600 probably won't get it done with high levels of detail on newer games anymore.

Oh, one of the things I didn't see on your original list is a power supply. You should be looking at 500W or more power supplies.

If you have any questions, ask away. I'm happy to help. I'm sure there are plenty of more highly skilled pc builders here than me too.

[ODogg]

Re: Building my own PC

Decision time

AMD vs Intel cpu - answering that will narrow down the motherboard field

I haven't built any PC's for a while but I am always reading PC and PC gaming magazines and although it changes constantly it seems nearly all of them recommend Intel right now. Personally I am anti-AMD as well since my computer I got last year was my first AMD and it's been nothing but problems. I'm not blaming it on AMD but I also don't plan to purchase anymore AMD systems. But with that being said, a lot of people have AMD and swear by it.

Nvidia vs ATI video card

Again, all the recent awards, and hoopla are going to Nvidia. I'd go with Nvidia as well.

Price vs. latest tech

I always shoot for this - the latest tech, one step down. In other words, don't buy the newest tech, but the second newest. Generall the price point is the best in terms of newest tech and value. Buying the newest tech is not only usually more expensive but has more bugs as well.

[mudtiger]

Re: Building my own PC

I haven't built any PC's for a while but I am always reading PC and PC gaming magazines and although it changes constantly it seems nearly all of them recommend Intel right now. Personally I am anti-AMD as well since my computer I got last year was my first AMD and it's been nothing but problems. I'm not blaming it on AMD but I also don't plan to purchase anymore AMD systems. But with that being said, a lot of people have AMD and swear by it.

I've got an amd64 3500 right now and love it, but that's from 1+ year ago already. I agree, intel and the core duo 2 are the way to go right now.

Again, all the recent awards, and hoopla are going to Nvidia. I'd go with Nvidia as well.

If you want the latest tech, I'd agree and say get the nvidia 8800. But if you don't want to spend 400+, there's nothing wrong with an ati x1950 for the price over a similar priced nvidia. Either way you'll get a good card. That being said, I have a nvidia 7800 right now.

I always shoot for this - the latest tech, one step down. In other words, don't buy the newest tech, but the second newest. Generall the price point is the best in terms of newest tech and value. Buying the newest tech is not only usually more expensive but has more bugs as well.

My policy to the letter too.

[Birdsonbat]

Re: Building my own PC

For the memory, I posted this in another thread, TigerDirect.com has Ultra 1024 pc3200 for $49.00 after a $70 mail-in rebate. I think the one rebate expires on Friday, so I'd jump on that if I were you.

Edit: Just checked their Canadian site and it looks like it'll be $82.99 after rebate.

[snepp]

Re: Building my own PC

Don't buy any memory until you know what you're getting for a motherboard.

[Zer0xray]

Re: Building my own PC

For the memory, I posted this in another thread, TigerDirect.com has Ultra 1024 pc3200 for $49.00 after a $70 mail-in rebate. I think the one rebate expires on Friday, so I'd jump on that if I were you.

Edit: Just checked their Canadian site and it looks like it'll be $82.99 after rebate.

i heard TigerDirect are notorious for bad rebates...i'd advise to avoid this

[WTF]

Re: Building my own PC

Not to steer this too far off topic, but you have a Barricuda? Any pics? You wanting to sell it? LOL...

I'm looking for a CUDA in decent shape right now. Wanting to completely restore it.

Anyway, you've got some good advice in this thread. Definitely don't buy the memory until you know what motherboard you get.. have to make sure it's the right kind

[Birdsonbat]

Re: Building my own PC

i heard TigerDirect are notorious for bad rebates...i'd advise to avoid this

I have bought every piece of my current computer from Tiger, and many peripherals for other computers, many of which had rebates and I have never had a negative experience. It takes about 8 weeks to get your money, but it's worth it for the deals that I have got.

[snepp]

Re: Building my own PC

http://www.zipzoomfly.com gets alot of my business. Typically a buck or two cheaper than newegg and 2-day rather than 3-day shipping.

[KENYON06]

Re: Building my own PC

Personally, for the processor, I would grab either a Core 2 Duo E6300 or E6400. For the price, they kill their AMD equivalent and can be overclocked to meet speeds of the E6700, and don't run hot or use a lot of power. Also, the X1600pro was a big disappointment and the Nvidia 7600GT blows the doors off it at a comparable price. However, neither one is DX10 compliant so the best course of action there may be to wait until the 8600 series comes out at under 200 dollars in a few months.