Computer Building Help

[Archaos]

So my little bro and I thought we'd do a little family project and see if we could build him a decent computer this summer. I've never really built one from the ground up entirely, but I think I could handle it. Any tips ? Recommendations for parts etc? I can use any help I need. I think we are gonna start ordering stuff in a week when I get back from college, so any help or knowledge you guys can throw my way would be cool.

[Damascus]

It isn't all that hard really, at least mine wasn't. A really, really good tip is to read any and all documentation you receive, particularly the motherboard stuff. If it's halfway decent it should tell you exactly what to put where - as long as you don't force anything too hard then you shouldn't be able to stuff anything up by trying to jam it into the wrong slot type.

[damme]

Just put stuff in the slots they fit in.

[Tengil]

Make sure youre grounded first. If youre staticly charged you may damage some components. Graphic cards especially.

Then, like Damascus says, read the documentation. <-- Important, you cant know too much.


If it dun start up the first time (sometimes it doesnt) go over everything from scratch again. Make sure every cable is connected the right way.

And, always double, tripple and quadrupel check before you plug it in.

The hardest part IMO is the wireing.

Tiny little wires are supposed to connect to the right slots and sometimes you misstakingly place them the wrong way/order/way.

[Archaos]

That sounds good. Any recommendations on some mother boards that are easier to deal with? I won't be ordering anything until next week probably.

[Talorth]

Don't buy shitty stuff...

let us know first thx.


(Motherboards are generally the same as far as difficulty to the above question.)

[Grindrolas]

piece together a pc, post links to all the parts, and we'll tear it apart and tell you whats good and what isn't

[Archaos]

that sounds counter productive.

why don't you just tell me what to get? lol

so we can skip the step where i look like a moron.

[LinnEva]

but we all love that part!

[Grindrolas]

but we all love that part!
QFT

but, in all seriousness, give me a price range and I'll post some things.

[Damascus]

I don't know much about parts, but this is the one that is being put together for me this week. I let the dude at the store pick the specific parts, I just told him I wanted a C2D, so I'm hoping he hasn't put a piece of shit together... :s

Motherboard - Gigabyte GA695P-S3 S775

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 2.13 ghz LGA775 1066FSB 2MB (lol @ all that, dunno wtf it all means)

Memory - 2x sticks of Kingston 1gb DD2/667 PC5300

HDD - Seagate 320GB SATA2 7200 RPM, 16MB cache

Optical drive - lol, didn't have much choice.. LG 18x dual layer DVD-RW BLACK

Video card - Leadtek 512MB NX7950GT PCI Express

Then just like a 450W power supply and a black case to match the black DVD burner.

[Talorth]

Give a price range and a 'what he wants it for'.


btw dama, the ram you suggested is shit, and that card is a little overpriced :P

rest is good though, i'm just a firm believer that 512mb on a 7950gt is kinda.. well... blegh unless you run at quite high a res O.o

[Damascus]

lol, then change it for some RAM you would recommend so at least Archaos is saved from wasting money on shit RAM and expensive video card :p

I do tend to get everything as hi-res as possible though, helps alot when I'm making 200/300 DPI images.

[WiGgLr]

Make sure youre grounded first. If youre staticly charged you may damage some components. Graphic cards especially.


I once took 32MB of EDO RAM, dropped it on the floor and rubbed it on a nylon carpet for a good 60secs, then put it back into a 486 box to see if it would be fucked or not.

It wasn't.

[LinnEva]

ati hd2000 cards(dx10) will be released mid may, so prices may drop a bit after that. suggest you wait for that and check what will give you most bang for the buck!

[damme]

I once took 32MB of EDO RAM, dropped it on the floor and rubbed it on a nylon carpet for a good 60secs, then put it back into a 486 box to see if it would be fucked or not.

It wasn't.

It can cause latent errors waiting to pop up a year after and you'll have no idea why.

[Damascus]

Yeah cause Wig prolly uses that 486 for everything.

[Bonk]

I once took 32MB of EDO RAM, dropped it on the floor and rubbed it on a nylon carpet for a good 60secs, then put it back into a 486 box to see if it would be fucked or not.

It wasn't.

No shit, latent errors, lol @ wearing a strapon while building a computer.

Of the 20+ pc's i've built i've never worn a strapon while making them and i've never had any weird arse reset dramas from dropping ram, leaving shit touching (remember never the balls)

and yeah.

Motherboard brand - Asus
CPU - can't go past Intel Core2 Duo or Quad
Ram - pick what you like, just make sure it's compatible and with a low latency
Vid - lol cga or better :P seriously though, with dx10 around the corner choose an appropriate card that supports dx10 - you won't be sorry when games like crysis hit.

[Archaos]

Well I think I'm gonna buy myself a new video card, so I'll give my bro my Geforce 7300 LE.

I don't think he wants to spend a lot of money though, he doesn't want anything great, just a system that he can have on his own.

Just piece together something really cheap, like 500$, or cheaper.
we are talking bare minimums. Its just the PC were talking about.

[Talorth]

Geforce 7300 LE.


Thats just mean.

[Talorth]

Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103729
Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128321
Ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227126 (As nice as 2gig ofram is ddr2 ram is fuckin expensive.)
Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140
PSU
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Shopping/ShoppingItem.asp?ItemList=N82E16817371002&MainItemList=N82E16817371002
Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119047
Optical
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106055
Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130062

$607.93 before taxes (Before the $55 dollar mail in rebates, which btw blow chunks.)

Thats the cheapest I could make it withoug being absolute crap. And yes c2d is better but its alot more expensive.

[Zelandra]

I wish I could help archaos, but I haven't checked on the market at all since this time last year. Hopefully what kids input here will help me with my new build this summer :P

[Archaos]

Thats just mean.

I know, thats why I have to get a new video card. And he can just have it:P

[Archaos]

I need to replace my HP case with a normal one, think it'd be easy?


And for above I'm looking at ordering everything except that case cause we have one laying around and that video card because I think we can take the one out of my dad's computer.

Looking pretty decent for only 370 ish $

[BLACK]

HP cases are usually smaller than normal cases, so yeah. Easily.