Building a computer???

[bandaro]

ok guys, i am looking into getting myself a computer, wanting something that will last me the next 4 years (4 year uni degree) and capable of running a CAD program with ease, but not cost an arm and leg... i know the basics of computers, and got some gamer/techie friends that can help if i get stuck, but i was basically wanting to know how hard it will be to get all the parts i will need to make a setup powerfull enough to run a professional cad program, bit of gaming, etc, without being too slow.

what kind of specs would i need to be looking at, and what price? if building it myself will give the same specs as buying one, for the same price, then id rather build it, and any links to places i can get the parts from (im in australia, but shipping would be ok) would be greatly appreciated. i hear fast tracking takes to much lifespan out of a system, so id rather go 2 processors, bigger ram instead, if needed.

[Adidas]

Why not simply buy a pre- built machine? It would save you a ton of work, what's your budget?

[jack90]

you will deffintaly need a qaud core cpu. if you want it to not be out of date for 4 yrs. id go with 2- 4 gis of ram. and a video card with good shader quality, and lots about 1 gig of video memeory. id say youd spedna bout 700-1200 dollers.

[penguinrusty]

you will deffintaly need a qaud core cpu. if you want it to not be out of date for 4 yrs. id go with 2- 4 gis of ram. and a video card with good shader quality, and lots about 1 gig of video memeory. id say youd spedna bout 700-1200 dollers.

A quad core would be good for CAD, but Im not sure if windows 7 has support for quad core cpus yet... I agree with 4 gigs of ram, but why not 8? ram is cheap.

Building a computer is super easy, i've built many. pm me and id be more than happy to walk you through anything

[jack90]

remeber if hes going for anything over 3.5 gigs you need 64bit windows.

[stampede_dude]

Not if he's using Windows 7.

[bandaro]

Why not simply buy a pre- built machine? It would save you a ton of work, what's your budget?

well, basically because i want to get a good one, and computers now days are only made to last 8 months, and the work wouldnt be a problem, another project :D

it doesnt need to still be state of the art in 4 years, just still running decently.
thanks for the input guys, and i may take you up on that offer pengu :) i didnt think it would be hard, just not a clue where to start, lol, anyone know of a guide i could read to give me an idea?

[Cubic2.4]

I say get some computer with Vista and install XP over it and run a program like that (I run Inventor). Make sure you have at least 400 GB's.

[satan6907]

building a pc is super easy and its cheaper int he long run then buying pre made, is basically pick out a processor you want to run, then find a mobo that can run the cpu, then find ram and a power supply to run on the mobo.

[CJ42991]

yo go to this website, cyberpower.com

[Stampede_Stromn]

my personal favorite site to get PC hardware is newegg.com , they are a warehouse style place , and have lots of deals all the time , and the search functionality on the site is so easy a one armed retarded monkey could figure it out. as for building these days for about 1000 buck on newegg ya can get a new CI7 quad core intel processor , with 6 gigs of ram on a high performance mother board and a very decent video card with 1 gig of ram and a case to boot , as for a monitor they got those as well , but thats just my two cents on that subject i myself have been building PC's for 6 years now. another place if your wanting super cheap is pricewatch.com they got alot of deals its like a PC hardware store ebay they list all the sites and list the cheapest place to get what your looking for. but best of luck to ya hope the info helped :)

[bandaro]

sweet, thanks for the sites guys! so a quad core would be the way to go you say? that seems to be the general gist of things, and i was thinking 400 or so gb memory or so, 6 gig ram sounds good, little confused on the video card, but i shall go read/google up :)

[GOLDSNIPER]

I suggest Nvidia for a video card. I personally like the 9800GT AND GTX280. Maybe a SLi configuration. Or even ATI Radeons Crossfire.

[Stampede_Stromn]

+1 on nvidia , they seem to be at the top of the market , and seems ati has gotten close to going under a few times in the last couple years.

[GOLDSNIPER]

NewEgg is like the equivalent of HobbyCity. Great prices on Great products!

+2 I second Nvidia. They just produce a way better product than ATI. Although some ATI products are equally impressive.

[bandaro]

ok, done a bit of research into it (that cyberpower website never had the chat on, and the link below was no good, so im not sure whats up there, probly just the time differences, being in australia) and ive got a few questions, and a basic list:

motherboard, the cpu gets the messeges via this right? the newegg motherboards (http://www.newegg.com/store/category.aspx?Category=20&name=Motherboards) are basically divided between 4x240 and 6x240 pin, what is this and what do i need? also, ddr2 or ddr3? so it will need to support 64 bit, 6gb or more ram, plus around 500gb hard drive.

cpu, the newegg cpu's here (http://www.newegg.com/Store/Category.aspx?Category=34&name=CPUs-Processors) i would be looking for a 80-100w quad core right? so the quad cores process with 4 processors combined to make the X.X ghz speed right? what does the XXXXmhz and XXnm mean, and what ones would i want, if they make a noticable difference, as prices dont seem to vary depending on those values. AMD or intel???

also, with the memory cards and stuff, some of the same size's are hugely more expensive, is the expense justified, or are they all basically the same quality? with video cards, do they have the inbuilt gpu, so plug and play, or do they need more stuff? i need a decent one, doesnt need to be top of the line gaming one but, and the main stuff it will do are rendered images, dvd's, etc... if was to burn a dvd, does the video card determine the quality of the burn dvd? is this the same for music?

[jack90]

ok here is a rough quad core pc im looking to build
get 2 of these for 8 gigs of ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145200
this processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103675
this motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131366
then for a video card im not sure what you need for drafting i jsut know bout the gaming ones. but these ar eobth good cards. ones nividia ones ati.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102768
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130486
then you'll need a powersupply look to get at least at 750-1000w. then id look into a mid or full atx case with good air flow.

one some of your questions. the the 4x 240 or 6x240 stands for the number of ram slots on the motherboard. the first number is the number of slots the 2nd one is how many pins in each slot.

i would go with ddr3 ram

the processor is 4 seperate "cores" the nm stand for nanometers which im not 100% sure on this is the platform the cpu is built on.

harddrives try to get one that has a speed of about 7200rpms,and 3.0 gbps SATA port. id recommend western digital for the brand

the video cards are pretty much plug and play. once you install the included drviers. the video card will not affect the quality of a brunt dvd or cd that will be determined by the buring software and the quality or the disk burner.

hope this helps you out with info on the computer.

[GOLDSNIPER]

The Nvidia video card you suggested would be amazing in SLi.

[bandaro]

ok, sweet, thanks for that, i also did a few hours googling/harassing a techie friend (unfortunately he hasnt done the hardware part of the course yet) and got some answers, plus a vague list, very similar to yours, except the video card, way more than i would need...

as for my techie friend, he said to watch the dell specials going round, he got his computer, (two quad core 2.66ghz running together, ddr3, 4gb ram, radeon 512 video card, 1tb memory) for around $2000 AUS. my estimation on prices was about 1500 for the gutsof the system, with case, screen, etc... also found out i cant order from new egg, as it doesnt ship internationally, so i shall have to find an australian provider.

[GOLDSNIPER]

Oh woops! I thought you were trying to build a gaming rig when I was suggesting video cards.