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Looking to build a computer...
Gamefreek333
Member Posts: 166
So I finally finished rebuilding my old computer (took it apart, and put it back together, completely unknowledgable of what I was doing, not sure if you would consider that building), and I got it working 100% and now, I want to build my own computer, instead of buying one, and I need some help.
I need to know all of the components that I'm going to need. All I know is that I need:
- Mother board
- Graphics Card
- Chassis
- Power supply
- Fans
- Hard Drive
- The CD-ROM thing
- Processor*
- RAM*
Is there anything missing? Please let me know. I've already picked out a chassis:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=abcat0507006&type=category
It says in the info for that chassis, that it's compatible with ATX motherboards, and I want one with a Nvidia Motherboard, but it doesn't really matter. What graphics cards are compatible with an ATX motherboard? I think it's ATI, but I'm only an amatuer at this stuff. So please recommend some things for me. Thanks everyone!
Comments
memory/RAM is missing from your list. And i would buy everything from newegg, except for the motherboard. Maybe someone else can reccommend a site for the motherboard, but ive expirienced and heard stories of alot of bad motherboards comeing out of newegg.
EDIT: my only reccomendation ATM, is to go to your local radioshack and ask for an anti-static wrist strap. It will save you time and frustration.
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
Go to newegg.com and build it from parts.. thats what I did with mine and I saved like $800
The first thing you are missing is RAM.
Motherboard - Asus is a good brand and has always been stable for me. They also aim some boards at the gaming market etc. Just make sure the motherboard you buy supports the CPU you want. The biggest decision really would be do you get a SLi (2 cards) or just single. If you get SLi then make sure it supports the cards as well. E.g. dont buy an ATI mobo if you want to run Nvidia SLi
Graghics Card - Dont go lower than a 8800GT. Its a good card but if you go less than that then you are walking backwards
Chassis - ATX is standard and you will be safe with that
Power Supply - Go for 750 watt at least and don't fall into the trap and buy a cheap generic version. Make sure you get a good brand like Corsair
Fans - No need to buy extra because the chassis has loads, mobo, all components have their own. Only thing you may want to do is buy a large copper fan for the CPU but the factory standard fan for the CPU is still fine if you dont Overclock it too much.
Hard Drive - I bought sata drive 10rpm. Its a little noisier but helps a lot with games.
Cd - Rom...whatever
RAM - Better to get 2 x 2gig of Ram. Once again make sure you check your mobo to see what it takes. Once again its better to invest in good RAM like Corsair or Oz etc. Ram varies a lot in speed so if you see numbers like 4-5-5-5 then the lower the better. Cheap RAM will have something like 9-9-9-9
Some other important tips.
- always bolt the mobo in first before putting in components.
- When installing the CPU make sure it has silver paste on top of it. Most companies will put it there already but if not then you need to smear it on the top
- Really take your time. I have built 5 PCs from scratch but each time I lay out everything and still read the manual and still do everything slowly. Make sure you hold the case when doing anything so you dont get static.
- If you turn on the pc for the first time and it doesnt work dont panic. Probably means a fan isnt plugged in or something simple and it starts to beep like hell.
- Take a night to read lots of reviews because it can really help guide you
Enjoy it though. I take great pride in buying the best components and saving 30-50% besides I know what is in the machine and I built it.
Hope this helps.....dont forget the RAM!!
Ok, so I've gathered everything for the computer I want to build, and no doubt they're gonna change, but here's what I got so far:
This is all for a grand total of $968.43, about a 50% difference from my Alienware!! So let me know what you guys think about it! Everything is from Newegg, except for the fan and Motherboard. The only thing I probably won't be changing is the Operating System, I'm used to Vista. Also, I'm not so sure about the graphics card, I've never used Radeon or anything. So ya thanks everyone for all your help!
i wouldnt have gone with ATI and AMD with my first computer, but to each their own
Playing: EVE Online
Favorite MMOs: WoW, SWG Pre-cu, Lineage 2, UO, EQ, EVE online
Looking forward to: Archeage, Kingdom Under Fire 2
KUF2's Official Website - http://www.kufii.com/ENG/ -
Much better than you were going for with the Alienware garbage.
Get Vista 64 instead of Vista32.
Does your case have any fans included? If not get rid of the 80mm fan and get a 120mm fan, preferably two. You want one fan in the front, one fan in the rear of case at a minimum to get fresh air flowing in, and hot air flowing out.
Remove any crappy thermal paste (grey stuff on top of processor/bottom of cpu fan) and put your own on. Most people recommend artic silver.
Spread past on the top of the processor evenly and thinly before attaching the CPU heatsink/fan.
The rest looks pretty solid.
BTW..ATX form factor is the design size of the motherboard.
You have ATX, BTX and microATX on the market. They have nothing to do with Nvidia or ATI, but the size of the whole motherboard.
Most pc cases can take ATX and microATX motherboards, unless it is a micro case...then it obviously only takes micro ATX mobo's. Just so you know.
Also, I'd suggest reading a good builders guide. They are all over the internet.
Two good sources I believe are www.extremetech.com and www.techreport.com
I don't know if Tom's Hardware has one or not.
pretty good system. I had AMD cpu's for years but just went with a quad core intel. AMD for the price and power is still a very good buy. like the last post said, make sure you download and / or print off good build guides and dont rely on one...cross reference.
Personally, I would wait until September to build. Its always good to follow milestones in technology when building. In September there are new processors and chipset releases from AMD and Intel. As well as the ATI 4870x2. Everything will drop in price at that time. I am planning to build my new system at that time considering I have been on the same machine for the last 2 years.
Also any graphics card can be compatible with an ATX motherboard. ATX size is the default motherboard size, and what it can support is dependant on the peripherals of that particular motherboard. Your missing the Operating system. I recommend a 64-bit OS right now.
My only suggestion is go with an Intel Core2Duo or Core2Quad instead of AMD and go with a Nvidia graphics card instead of ATI.
Tried: LotR, CoH, AoC, WAR, Jumpgate Classic
Played: SWG, Guild Wars, WoW
Playing: Eve Online, Counter-strike
Loved: Star Wars Galaxies
Waiting for: Earthrise, Guild Wars 2, anything sandbox.
ATI > NVIDIA with respect to price per peformance.
--------------------------------
Desktop - AMD 8450 Tri Core, 3 gigs of DDR2 800 RAM, ATI HD 3200 Graphics, Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit
Laptop (Dell Latitude E6400) - Intel P8400, 2 GIGs of RAM, Intel X4500, Windows XP Professional
AMD and ATI are much better in the price vs performance, aka more bang for your buck.
The difference is when you go to the high end is where intel and Nvidia take the lead, but for the average gamer AMDATI the way to go you get the most bang for your buck the 48xx series video cards and black edition processor = cheap for big power.
Some people give BS responses to using AMD. AMD processors can outperform certain other processors. The 9850 and the 9950 both perform better then the Q6600. The 6400+ does perform better then most of the Core2 Duo Line except anything above an E6850.
The Phenoms are also a better design for the future which is why Intel is starting to try and make thier own. You can only go so far with mutli-core processors by making your L2 cache fatter and fatter. 8 cores really isn't possible with Intels quad core design since its 2 cores that consist of 2 more cores instead of 4 independant cores. In the end they have to make several work arounds to deal with it like mirroring cache data.
Nahelhiem is a 2.93 ghz phenom. It uses Intels version of Hypertransport, it has an 8MB L3 cache, and 4 independant cores with a 256KB L2 cache. This actually puts AMD and Intel on equal footing again even though how they got to this point is different (cough cough in the red for 2 years). Also AMD has a little bit more ground on Intel since they invested on the technology sooner while Intel was shrinking dies and fattening L2 Caches.
Should I go with an AMD Phenom Quad-Core processor, at 2.6GHz? My mother board does support it. I thought maybe I'd get it cause Newegg is having a deal with my graphics card, and motherboard, that comes with that processor. So should I get it? Or stick with my AMD 64 X2 6400+?
If you already have a 6400+ there is no need to swap it out this year. However, if its between the 9950 and 6400 go with the 9950. Clock for Clock Phenom performs better then Athlon64.
Ok, I almost completely changed out everything! Here it is:
Chassis - NZXT Apollo (Black)
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 250GB
CD Drive - Sony NEC Optiarc (Uhm, help me out here, is that so I can install games and what not? I think I chose a DVD Burning drive)
Power Supply - PC Power & Cooling 750W
RAM - G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB)
Motherboard - MSI K9A2 Platinum
Graphics Card - Sapphire HD 4850
Processor - AMD Phenom 9950 B.E. 2.6GHz
Operating System - Vista Home Premium 64-Bit
Plus a webcam! Haha. Ok, so that's everything, for a grand total of $1103.28 with shipping and handling. Let me if you guys like this build better or the other one. Also, please let me know if everything is compatible. I seem to mess that up a lot. Thanks everyone so much! Hopefully this will be my last changing up of things, every time I change the price goes up, lol. (If I messed up the linking, just type the name of the component in the search bar on newegg's site).
Depending on how much your willing to spent of course , i will provide you with some reference here on what i've bought my self just yesterday.
Motherboard : Asus P5Q Deluxe , why you say ? , it beat the Maximus II version on techspot's review of it, and that was supposed to be a gaming motherboard, well i guess they released it with just to many glitches
Graphics Card : Geforce GTX280 - Its a beast but also expensive , i you dont wanna use that amount of money , take a ATi 4850HD , it costs like 250$ , in Denmark anyhow , where the 280 costs 600$.
Power supply : Anything above 750w, preferably a good brand.
Fans : 120mm
Harddrive : Western Digital with 10000 rpm. , its usually a 80gig drive , but you will just need it for your operating system.
Cd-rom : I'd get a DvD Burner , allmost any brand, just not a noname.
Processor : Core 2 Duo E8400
RAM : 4096mb Corsair Dominator
List of SOE lies
Depending on how much your willing to spent of course , i will provide you with some reference here on what i've bought my self just yesterday.
Motherboard : Asus P5Q Deluxe , why you say ? , it beat the Maximus II version on techspot's review of it, and that was supposed to be a gaming motherboard, well i guess they released it with just to many glitches
Graphics Card : Geforce GTX280 - Its a beast but also expensive , i you dont wanna use that amount of money , take a ATi 4850HD , it costs like 250$ , in Denmark anyhow , where the 280 costs 600$.
Power supply : Anything above 750w, preferably a good brand.
Fans : 120mm
Harddrive : Western Digital with 10000 rpm. , its usually a 80gig drive , but you will just need it for your operating system.
Cd-rom : I'd get a DvD Burner , allmost any brand, just not a noname.
Processor : Core 2 Duo E8400
RAM : 4096mb Corsair Dominator
I think he's into the build/built stage... I saw another thread were he (and his mom) were asking for build advice...
AMD is starting to ship its new South Bridge, the SB750. If you pair the board with a phenom 9950 and an ATI HD card, you get quite the performance increase. Anandtech is already reporting getting to stable clock rates beyond what the Q6600 can overclock to stabily, while also getting better energy consumption and faster motherboard components.
Dude,
whats your budget... and then we go from there
I made another build, but with an Intel processor and motherboard:
Uhm, so far I'm comfortable with the build I have right now:
NZXT Apollo Chassis
Seagate Barracuda 250GB Hard Drive
Sony NEC Optiarc CD Drive
Corsair 750W Power Supply
G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) RAM
Vista Home Premium 64-Bit
An extra fan (APEVIA 120mm) for the front of my case
MSI K9A2 Platinum Motherboard or Intel 975X Motherboard
Sapphire HD 4850 Video Card
AMD 9950 Phenom Black Edition Processor or Intel Core 2 Kentsfield
And that's $1087, with shipping and handling. I want to keep it under $1100
The Intel build comes out to be $1,103.53. I just might go with that, but I need your opinions on it. I made another build with Intel because I know that it runs cooler than AMD. So please let me know what you guys think. Again, my budget is $1,100 if you want to suggest any changes.
I'm done, I'm done, I'm DONE!
for the past days I've been stressing of what to pick, and I've had to go over my budget, because most of my things weren't compatible with each other, and now they are. (I think, I need some help with you guys telling me if everything is compatible with each other). So here it is:
Chassis - NZXT Apollo
Hard Drive - Seagate Barracuda 250GB
Graphics Card - XFX 9800 GTX Black Edition (I'm eventually gonna get another)
CD Drive - Sony NEC Optiarc
Power Supply - Corsair 750W
RAM - G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB)
Motherboard - XFX MB-N780-ISH9
Processor - Intel Q6600 Kentsfield
Operating System - Vista Home Premium 64-Bit
Fan - APEVIA 120mm Blue LED Fan
There we go, for a total of $1,196.4!!! It's gone up a lot since my first build (Or maybe just $200). But that's it. I reallllllllly don't want to change anything, but if I have to, I will. Please let me know if everything is compatible. Thanks guys so much. This might be the last post of mine for a while on this forum if this is it. Thanks again, I've really appreciated your help.
Pretty impressive overall. The only changes I'd make are upgrade the card to a 9800 GX2 and upgrade the HD to 500GB just to be safe. Overall though, good job.
get a ATI 4850 or 4870. $230 for a 9800GTX is stupid now. RAM I would recommend Mushkin 4-5-4-12 800. OC's to 1066 at 5-5-5-12 with no volt change.
Crossfire and SLI are not worth it. 1/2 the games don't fully support and the ones that do support it don't utilize it enough. 9800GX2 right now, or if you can wait a little while, 4870x2 will be better.
According to TigerTV it's kinda better than the GX2, plus it was kinda expensive. Also, over time I'm gonna get some more Hard Drives, I know some laptops with 250GB HD's haha. But thanks!
What makes a computer?
A case
A Mobo (Motherboard)
A GPU (Videocard)
A PSU (Power supply)
A Hard disk (Hard drive)
A Disk drive, IE: CD/DVD Rom
Basic I/O device (Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor)
Thats it.
"What graphics cards are compatible with an ATX motherboard? I think it's ATI"
The motherboard chipset does not tell you what videocards are compatible. ATX is a form factor. Basically tells you the size of the motherboard. AT > ATX > microATX > FlexATX > miniATX > and even BTX. Its just the form factor, not videocard standards.
What tells you the TYPE of videocard, not the brand (ATI, nVidia) is your video ports. Do you have a PCI slot, a PCI-E (Express) slot, or an AGP slot? That tells you the type of videocard you need. Most common are AGP and PCI-E cards. The modern card is now PCI-E, over AGP but AGP still plays a role.