Need help with building a computer

[Chinokix06]

Well i want a decent computer for gaming and still be affordable *for a 16 yearold without a job using bday/xmas money* and i know almost nothing about building a computer, and i was wondering if anyone could point me into the right direction.......

Ive been looking at other forums and constantly im told i can build a computer thats better then the dell i was looking at for the same price...... so anybody?


-sean

btw- ive been using intels/dell all my life so yea im hearing amd is better is this true?

[Dirt Track]

First thing you do is buy a book on building pcs. You can get them at comp usa or probly a book store.
Yes you can build a pc for quite a bit cheaper then buying from dell.................
Unless your an in an eliet group like me that gets emails from dell for 1500 notebooks for 650..... lol :toocool:
well after you get a book and read it come back here with any questions you might have.

[SuperPede111]

i've built 2 computers and in the process of picking parts out for my friends girlfriend...it's pretty straight forward...read the manuals...just get all the parts you need for it and put it together...it's pretty much a big puzzle.

[FrogmanNH]

I stopped keeping track of how many computers I've built. The real secret for keeping the cost down is to balance what you want with what you can live with. In most cases, you can upgrade later if needed. In my experiences, it has generally been cheaper to buy the parts over the internet than in stores. www.pricewatch.com will give you the cheapest prices from various websites, but I would stick with www.newegg.com for most of the more valuable components because of their customer service.

It is also true what you have heard with AMD being better than INTEL, just be sure not to cheap out on the fans.

[MetalMan]

All of the comps in my house have been hand built (all 4 of them). What we do is when one comp. gets a new part, the replaced one becomes a hand-me-down part. My dad and I are very knowledgable about computers in general, we have been able to eventually solve ~90% of the problems we have on our own.

To get started, you might just want to but the parts first. Then if you can't figure it out, then ask questions. It really is very simple. You might want to take the cover off of one of your current computers, take a look at the way things are mounted (how the cd-rom drive goes in, where the hard drive goes, where the expansion cards go, etc.).

[Telly47]

I posted a thread in here not too long ago about graphics cards, I didn't even know about them, but today I ordered about $215 worth of equipment from Newegg.com for building a gaming computer intergrated into my current comp., you don't need a book in my opinion, there are LOTS of great websites to show you what you need ,pics of step by step install processes, what you should get for your computer needs, and you can then deciede yourself on what you want to buy, I will never buy a complete computer again(like from Dell), because building them is really straight forward once you know why and how each peice "talks" to the other installed equipment, if you have any electronic knowledge you will do just fine, type into your search engine " Building computer basics" and start from there, good luck.

P.S. High end pieces don't always mean they are what you need, read reviews from people who have bought various pieces of equipment, they will tell you that some mid range pieces will perform just as good as the newest, greatest thing on the market. Feel free to PM me with questions.

[Chinokix06]

my dad knows about buildin comps i was just curious if anyone had suggestions for components for it? i.e. vid cards, sound, processors, etc.

[WESTOZ racer]

One o' thems
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=20-146-541&DEPA=0

Ones o' these mebe some other NForce2 board
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-166&depa=1

One o' these for overclocking to ~2.4ghz. (multiplier unlocked) 200x12.5=2500mhz easy :p
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-401&depa=1

Ones o' these to kool that overclock decently.
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-106-014&depa=0

Maybe this or something more affordable.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-131-412&DEPA=1

And ur choice of storage options.....

As for building a comp, Youll get the idea straight away wen u pull the old one to bits. Its basically screw in things the correct way, plug in stuff the manuals say correctly and bang ur comp should fire up no probs. Then just install the os and stuff and away u go.

[Chinokix06]

that card is too awsome, i like everything i saw there, what you think about this casing, it has good reviews
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=11-105-113&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE


i have no idea how to overclock so i thought about lookin intoa 3.2ghz p4 with ht.
personally if i can afford the intel would u recommend that over an amd?

All night ive been checkin out a few how to sites, but im still wondering if you could recommend a faster amd chip to possibly overcloak. one that goes 2.8-3.0 ghz if possible.

my budget is around 1k and lookin for the greatest bang for my dollar.

[SuperPede111]

My friends have this set-up and i built it

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-170-120&depa=0


vid. card (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-170-120&depa=<img src=)

Processor (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-116-181&depa=0)<-That is a bit more expensive cause you have a bigger budget

Those are the basics but you could definately go pci express with your budget and i say go for it...a 16x slot really helps...that computer could run doom 3 on ultra with no problems...even my friends computer that is similar to that can. I'd say get a gig of ram and a 160GB hard drive and a cool case and you'd be set. Definatly check out www.xoxide.com (http://www.xoxide.com/). I hope this helps you a bit in your decision!!!

[WESTOZ racer]

Why shell out on a dodgy Prescott? Gets eaten by AMD64 of the same rating at lower price. Ok, for better for games and arithmetic that brings a smackdown on Intel Prescott-cheaper-......try..

One o these (run real cool-like 38c load~good for overclock and kills intels rated solution 52c load hehe bums)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-498&depa=1

One o these in case you do decide to get your monies worth by o/cing hehe
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDesc.asp?description=13-127-181&depa=1

PCI express aint proved it's worth yet, so theres no point gettin somethin dearer that doesnt have advantageous tchnology...so heres a good card
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=14-102-335&DEPA=1
or
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-135-138&depa=1
or
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-131-266&depa=1
(all will do better than a tanked up FX5200 with a PCI express bridge someone mentioned)

Sum rams too...
Two o these in dual channel will go well..
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-125&depa=1

And watever case you decide.....just remember it needs to have decent airflow. Get something with a decent 120mm or 92mm front intake and another 120mm or 92mm or 2x80mm exhausts in the back.

And watever storage options you might need. An 80gig seagate might be all you need..
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=22-148-019&DEPA=1

So, its 691 US bucks for HALF a system of crap gaiming ability....Im sorry mate, intel aint got it goin on in budget or performance as far as Im concerned. They get beaten soundly by 1ghz lower clock cpus in games.

OR its a COMPLETE sweet gaming machine that will RoXOR for about 750 bux. Which do you choose? Ripoff barebones or complete beast? Choose well.

COOLjoe if you're out there, dont come in here blabbin bout Intels offerings being better, there are heaps of benchmarks that suggest otherwise, its just rude and misinforms and confuses less knowledgeable ppl. We dont want that now, do we?

[WESTOZ racer]

Chinokix, if you like big numbers then get intel, like gaming and arithmetic performance then go AMD. Thats that.

[Chinokix06]

is overcloaking difficult to learn to do?

is there a case you could recommend? im looking at different ones from newegg and xoxide and the ones on xoxide are pretty expensive, what kind of power supply would i need?

one thing i dont quite understand people get better performance with a 2.2 ghz amd chip over a 2.5 intel how/why is this?

[WESTOZ racer]

Not difficult to do at all. You just increase a number called the Front Side Bus incrementally by 2 each time in the Bios options screen, then save and exit Bios and then load your O.S. When the o.s stops working or cant load after a you've increased the FSB some, simply restart and increase the cpu voltage by 0.01 or the lowest increment the bios allows you to do (up to 1.5v is safe) until the computer is fully stable.

So.....#1. Go into Bios. #2. Change front side bus speed up 2 increments and save and exit. #3. Load operating sys. and check it's running properly. Play games or watever you want. Repeat process #2 as many times as windows loads and does games without crashes.
When you get to a point where windows doesnt work properly, or games freeze, restart, and go into Bios and put up vcore or cpu volt by .01 (max safe of 1.5v on stock cooling, DONT GO BEYOND!) then save & exit bios, load windows if you can play games etc without crashes, leave this setting.

Hint: Its very helpful for your overclock if you have your memory voltage set to it's highest. Most memory is rated to 3.3 volts, so dont be afraid of putting up to 3v in it. The voltage helps the ram go faster.

Here is a good link with extended info on the subject of o/cing athlon64s.
http://www.insanetek.com/index.php?page=overclocka64

And some forums where I'm a member Here
http://forums.overclockers.com.au/?
(you'll need to join to be able to start threads and ask ppl about things just like this forum)

And a page with daily news and things to interest. (theres usually a lot of helpfull links there...like the A64 o/cing one!)
www.overclockers.com.au

And voila, with the system I listed and some overclocking, you should be equivalent to say, a 4ghz pentium4, which aint even made yet!

[Johnny J]

WESTOZ racer, I have just about everything in your first list of parts, bar the 9800, I have a 9600 XT. Im not sure of the exact price, but it was under $750 AUD. Pretty sweet computer too, runs Doom 3 at 1024 with high detail, thats good enough for me as Im not a hardcore gamer.

[WESTOZ racer]

U got an AthlonXP mobile? They're pretty hard to get in Australia. Lucky you indeed!
Ahhh if only newegg posted stuff to oz, thered be no enthusiast running plain Axp's, we'd all have mobile athlons goin at 2.8gig! (I wish)

[Chinokix06]

wow westoz thank you very very much now to start reading up on those sites!!!

ive been flipflopping back and forth over overclocking and not, considering im not an adult and cant get a job right now it seems like too much of a risk if i burn out my chip, cause i wont have the money to just go out and replace something..

[WESTOZ racer]

The ONLY risk is if you go overboard with the voltage and the chip overheats, but even then its not as most mainboards shut it off at~65deg C. Go forth and o/c i say! You wont kill any component if you keep in respectable limits I explained in the post I made, and you'll have a decent overclocking board going to waste if you dont!

Also, think of the value for money and performance gained by getting a 3500+ rated cpu to about 4000+ rating. Ur just getting your moneys worth!

[jdude]

First thing you do is buy a book on building pcs.
Well, I have built a few pc's and you dont "need" a book (unless your blind to the obvious(isn't meant to offend anybody)).

ok, now

good pc parts store:

newegg (http://newegg.com) (this is a very good store)

good help sites:

hardocp (hardocp.com) (good site, just dont mention any illegal activivties ' oops')

bit-tech (http://bit-tech.net)

good modders sites ( if you want to make your comp look good )

mashi (http://mashi.org)

bozai-mods (http://bonzai-mods.com) ( this guy makes incredible fan grills )

thats all I can think of at 11:00 at night