It's Time to Build My First System!!

[williams22]

I recently got a job and now have enough money to build my first system. Could someone give me a run down of whats the best way to go about this? Im looking to go top of line, or one notch below top to save some cash. Let me know what you would suggest for the hardware and in what order I should buy things. Also, how hard is it to build a pc? I have always bought from Dell before but I want to build this one to make it exactly how I want it.

[jkrohn]

At this point I would probably look at picking a 2500+ Barton. Wil run at 333MHz bus, and at $90 this processor is a mad bargin.

Going up to a 2800+ or a 3000+ can't be justified IMO, the price increase is nowhere near the performance increase.

Also, most people are able to significantly OC the 2500+ (up to as high as 3200+).

It is fairly simple to build a PC IMO. Pc's are a lot like legos Just buy the right parts and plug em in (almost at least). The hardest part would definately have to be the heatsink, and even that is not too hard.

If I was going to build a computer I would pick up
Asus A7N8X for the mobo.
XP 2500+ Barton
512MB - 1G of PC2700
ATI Radeon that you can afford 9700? 9800?

That mobo has onboard sound and NIC, I use them and they work fine for me, I am no audiophile though.

Other than that pick up a case you like and a decent performing heatsink and you should be good to go

Jkrohn

[williams22]

sounds pretty good. Few things:

1) How easy is it to OC?
2) wouldnt pc3200 ram be better?

[jkrohn]

1) How easy is it to OC?

It really isn't too difficult, especailly with that motherboard. Just go into the bios and adjust the multiplier and FSB. Look around the OC forum for more info on that one

2) wouldnt pc3200 ram be better?

Depends, your processor only needs PC2700. PC2700, along with your processor uses a 166 MHz FSB. If you buy quality RAM then it will go higher than this, and it should stay within your overclock. Some people have gotten the 2500+ up to 200 MHz FSB.

PC3200 will run on a 200MHz FSB *stock*, thus guranteeing that it will keep pace. Just depends on how much money you want to spend, and how much you want to overclock.

Jkrohn

[williams22]

Can you give me some estimated prices on these parts? also what about psu?

[Martoch]

Here's the BIGGEST money saving tip ever!

Do 99% of your shopping at Newegg!

#1 place on the net for computer parts!


I agree, get the 2500 Barton.
If you're going to OC, get the PC3200...if not, stick with 2700.
I would get the A7N8X Deluxe, use the serial ATA connection for your HD.
Grab a Western Digital Raptor 36GB SATA WD360GD 10,000 RPM 8MB Hard Drive , I've seen 3 systems with these drives in them, quite a bit faster than the standard 7,200RPM drives.

EDIT: Linkage fixed!

[Ed_S]

It's not hard to build one, but before doing or buying anything you should decide what the finished machine is for - meaning is it primarily a game machine, business use, or what. What conveniences do you want? Establish your priorities.
Then, what features are needed to achieve this.
Shop for a mainboard that'll fill the need. Obviously, you'll want one that supports the planned processor, but there are lots of other options. Think you'll ever want RAID? Now's the time to plan for it. Lots of USB ports? How many PCI slots? Onboard sound & LAN? Etc.

Same for every part of it - after all, a custom build should be just that - custom! Tailor it to YOUR specs, no one else's.

Here's mine - set up my way, all the way.

[wingsfan]

I just recently built one of the systems that Martoch is talking about. That Asus mobo is by far the best one I've used yet! As far as the oc'ing is concerned, the only thing that I did was change the CPU external frequency from 100mhz to 200 mhz and rebooted and the processor speed went from 2500 to 3200. The only problem I had was with the SATA drive. When you do Windows update, DO NOT download the new RAID driver. I had to learn the hard way. Not once, but twice! But overall, I was highly satisfied with the system that I built. But just like Ed said, the ball is in your court. We can only make suggestions. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

Wingsfan

[williams22]

OK, I have a few more questions....

1) If I choose to try overclocking is their a risk of damaging my parts?

2) Could someone explain RAID to me?

3) Could someone explain the basics of mobos to me so I can know what to look for?

[Ed_S]

1) Yes - to a degree. But the only times I've seen parts get "fried" was when something radical was attempted. Main risk is heat, o/c'd chips DO run hotter.

2) A quick google turned this up: Raid levels explained

RAID stands for Redundant Array of Inexpensive (or sometimes "Independent") Disks. RAID is a method of combining multiple hard disks in a single logical unit to offer high availability, performance or a combination of both. This provides better resilience and performance than a single disk drive.

BUT - there's a hidden advantange to having an on-board RAID controller - you get two more IDE channels! If the bios allows it, these CAN be used for non-raid drives, giving you support for 8 IDE devices. That's what I do on the big box, all hd's are on hte raid controller but configured as non-raid.

3) Not sure where to start on this one....