Well, I've wanted to build a computer for awhile now, but the problem is I don't know where to look for parts, and what parts I will really need.

I know NewEgg.com has a bunch of great deals, and what ever, but that wont help me with getting the necessary items.

Some info on what I'll be building: A gaming type-rig. Lots of memory, lots of ram, and good graphics. I'll probably buy Windows Vista too, just because some games ( Such as Bioshock ) require you to have Vista to run it.

Any help with my project would be nice. Price isn't really that big of a topic. Anywhere from $1,500 total or lower is great.

Well My friend started a business, Im supposed to help building the website, but that hasn't happened yet, but him and his friends, build computers cheaply too, anything custom you want, and it could be around $500-1000. If you want I can talk to him about it, next week, though you will have to tell me what you want, how much RAM, Mags of Memory, and what ever else you need.

I think he wants to do it for experience.

Posted By Cryhavoc_ on 26th Mar 08 at 10:42pm

 

I think he wants to do it for experience.

Yeah, pretty much

Part of it is getting a new computer, but the other part is it's something I've wanted to do.

Thanks for the offer, but I just need to know some of the required parts for a computer to run. I guess I can just google it.

I haven't built a computer in a while; I plan on building one again somewhat soon, so I'll try to get a tutorial vid posted if I get around to it in time.

Currently I have a PSU, motherboard, some sticks of RAM, a 20 gig hard drive, 2 old monitors, keyboard, mice, CD-drive, floppy drive [old but needed cause I like old computer technology; fun to learn from], some Windows ME CD's, a Windows 3.1 CD, a Windows 2000 Server Edition, network adaptor, and other random old things such as power cables and adaptor cables and whatnot lying around my room; most of which in my closet.

Oh, and I might get a copy of Windows 1.0 from my Computer Engineering teacher, as I haven't meddled with it in quite a while.

EDIT: Let me know if you need any help getting it built, or with troubleshooting.

I wont be building it for awhile. I have to work for the money to buy it, but it shouldn't take too long. I'll sell a few things, work around the house, etc.

Also I was looking at some stuff on NewEgg. Portable hard drives seem to be bigger, by about 400 gigs. I'm thinking of just getting one of those but leaving it there, would that work or would I have to get a main hard drive?

Just be sure to be careful when putting the motherboard into the case. I've on many occasions shorted out a motherboard. It's really not that hard though just making sure you don't force anything.

Yeah if Marc doesn't get to it then i can make a vid of myself doing it. I work at a computer store so i have plenty of machines to practice on lol.

Thanks for the help

I guess I better get a set price so I can start working myself. As for the video, that'd be really helpful, but at the moment I can't really say I'd need it

Just be sure to consult us before making your purchases; quite a few of my friends have come to me asking for help only to have me tell them that the sockets on the motherboard don't match up with what they're trying to add on.

I'm going through right now and picking out things that will go with what I want. I'll worry about it working when it comes down to purchasing though.

I'm looking through the Motherboards now, but I really don't know what I'm looking for. What kind of motherboard should I get?

Posted By tricky.cb on 27th Mar 08 at 3:14am

 

I'm going through right now and picking out things that will go with what I want. I'll worry about it working when it comes down to purchasing though.

I'm looking through the Motherboards now, but I really don't know what I'm looking for. What kind of motherboard should I get?

Depends on a few things, but first and foremost; how much are you willing to spend on it?

From browsing through I guess from $100-$250. I don't care about the individual part cost, I'm more worried about the total. As long as it's around $1500 total, that isn't too bad.

Posted By tricky.cb on 27th Mar 08 at 3:14am

 

I'm going through right now and picking out things that will go with what I want. I'll worry about it working when it comes down to purchasing though.

I'm looking through the Motherboards now, but I really don't know what I'm looking for. What kind of motherboard should I get?

My best luck is through the asus boards they seem to last a while and i get fewer complaints back about them. Also it's ultimately up to you but i prefer the intel chips over amd. I'll post back with some prices of some websites i know for you.

Edit: let me ask you though what type of stuff are you looking to do with this machine ?

I'm going to do graphic design, and gaming. It's going to have a big sound system, nice graphics card, and possibly Vista. If that helps

Alright ill throw in a recommendation here in a little and marc your more than welcome to critique it.

Thanks I was just randomly throwing what I thought looked good together anyways

A p35 chipset for the motherboard is a must in my opinion.

Motherboard: ASUS P5KC Core 2 Quad Socket 775 1333MHz DDR3 1333MHz ATX Motherboard

Can be found herehere
$129.00

Processor: Intel q6600 Quad core 2.4GHZ
Can be found here
$254.50

Case: http://www.xoxide.com is a great source for cases. I'd recommend really an antec case they seem to be built very well. Also coolermasters i've heard people talking about those as well.

Graphics Card: G-Force 8800GTX 768MB
Can be found here
$389.99

Harddrive: Have it set up as a raid striped is the best way to go especially if you ever have hard drive problems. if you get two or three hd's and have them striped when one goes out you won't lose all your information.

Sound Card:
Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatality Pro Series Sound Card
can be found
here
$122.98

Memory:
1GB Ballestix memory
can be found
here
$189.99

That right there is $1086.12 plus what ever tax may be. This is not factoring in the harddrive or the case. I recommended that asus board because my gaming friends have told me about how well it performs and it was on the top for a while for the tom's hardware list.

The q6600 processor i personally use and must say it was the best choice i've made yet. I can play a game, render a movie, and burn a dvd all at once and even with the right cooling overclocking it.

The customers that come in tell me about the 8800gtx i personally don't use it but i hear it's phenomenal in graphics. I currently use the radeon x1650 Platnium edition so i could'nt tell you much about performance.

That soundcard i use personally and like it a lot i have 12 speakers connected to it through a extra addon and the sound quality is amazing plus it was another one i found off a consumer reports list.

All together though this is a crazy machine if you'd like a lower price i can do that and Marc i'd like to hear your opinion on this.

edit: If you take the model numbers you might also be able to find lower prices for those parts

I've tried both the Intel quad-core as well as the AMD quad-core in some controlled tests with my comp. engineering teacher, and we found AMD to far outperform Intel, so I would rather suggest the AMD Opteron Quad-Core.

Other than that everything seems to be good; I would suggest an Alienware case though, just cause they look sexy.

Posted By Marc on 27th Mar 08 at 4:32am

 

I've tried both the Intel quad-core as well as the AMD quad-core in some controlled tests with my comp. engineering teacher, and we found AMD to far outperform Intel, so I would rather suggest the AMD Opteron Quad-Core.

Other than that everything seems to be good; I would suggest an Alienware case though, just cause they look sexy.

Huh really that is interesting. I split off of amd because of a major problem i had with a processor and kept having. I will have to look into that one. Yes though them alienware cases are sexy.

That's quite the pricy graphics card I was also going to get 2 (2-Gig) Sticks. I like to be able to do many things at once.

Yeah i would agree it's quite pricy but the faster performing ones tend to be above $250.00 i'll search around on tomshardware.com and several other places and see if i can find any other high performing ones.

Posted By Garet on 27th Mar 08 at 4:37am

 

Posted By Marc on 27th Mar 08 at 4:32am

 

I've tried both the Intel quad-core as well as the AMD quad-core in some controlled tests with my comp. engineering teacher, and we found AMD to far outperform Intel, so I would rather suggest the AMD Opteron Quad-Core.

Other than that everything seems to be good; I would suggest an Alienware case though, just cause they look sexy.

Huh really that is interesting. I split off of amd because of a major problem i had with a processor and kept having. I will have to look into that one. Yes though them alienware cases are sexy.

Was this with the quad core? I know they were a bit buggy when they were first released, but there's been a few hardware fixes since the release.

I found that i had problems with the amd athlon processor when i was using it went through three of them due to hardware failures. Then switched to the AMD semperon which seemed to work fine for my test machine. Havent played around with the dual or quadcore amd's but it may be time to get another machine soon lol .

I thought of making my own computer, but I'm not doing that till I get a good job that pays well,

I'll be considering parts from what you've shown me, but the only thing I may really change is the graphics card and the memory sticks.

I talked with my mom about doing this today, and she told me I had to wait till summer. So instead I'll be buying an iPhone, so if you'd like you can close this topic.