Any Huddlers proficient with building computers?

[Tford]

I'll take a PM.

[Square]

I've built a couple but it's been a few years since my last. If you are looking for best bang for your buck, there are usually good articles on Tom's Hardware along with Slickdeals.net typically has a build your own computer thread that will have some good suggestions. It's not that tough. GL.

[buddahj]

I built mine. Got all the parts from tigerdirect.com. Just remember...get has much memory & HD space that you can afford. Nowadays...minimum of 4GB of RAM, at least a terabyte of storage, DVD burner (I like the lightscribe drives), at least a 2.6 Ghz processor, & a 1 GB video card (if you're into gaming). Just make sure the motherboard you get can support everything & you should be fine. One last thing, don't scimp on the power supply (at least 500 watts).

[Riffraff]

Newegg.com

Best online store for hardware. Combo deals on parts that work together. 3 day delivery on everything.

[SayItAintSoJoe]

Newegg.com

Best online store for hardware. Combo deals on parts that work together. 3 day delivery on everything.

 

+1

 

I built a computer for the first time last year as a project with my boys and I bought all of the parts from NewEgg.com. Ever since then whenever I need any new hardware I go to them. I haven't check out the tigerdirect.com site though.

[tosberg34]

+1

 

I built a computer for the first time last year as a project with my boys and I bought all of the parts from NewEgg.com. Ever since then whenever I need any new hardware I go to them. I haven't check out the tigerdirect.com site though.

 

+2

 

Newegg has the best deals and sometimes Amazon.com. I find that Tigerdirect.com, ZipZoomFly.com and others are typically more expensive.

 

Also, as mentioned above you want to get a good graphics card if it's going to be a gaming rig. Do a little research not only at Tom's hardware but Anandtech.com and xbitlabs.com also. They do lots of reviews of computer components and are an invaluable source of info whenever I build my machines!

Edited July 25, 2010 by tosberg34

[JoJoTheWebToedBoy]

Newegg.com

Best online store for hardware. Combo deals on parts that work together. 3 day delivery on everything.

 

+3

 

I have built my last 3 computers and use these guys for eveything.

 

You can usually buy pre-built ones cheaper then building them if you are just looking for a nonspecific one. But for high-end systems building is the way to go. I prefer to select my parts individually based on research, just can't do that very well with pre-built ones. Plus, it's really not that hard to do. Once you have all the parts, you can have it built in a day.

[ts]

I've not built my own machine in several years although I have built 4 of of them altogether ... I'm now too lazy, pre-built machines have become cheap enough & are generally customizable enough "off the shelf" that I'd not be bothered ... but I will say that on 2 separate occasions in the past I had some issues with tigerdirect & bad parts, as well as a bit of a run around with them before they eventually set things straight. Never any such issues with newegg ... granted however, as mentioned, this was a few years ago. My son built his own machine about a year ago, got all the parts (or almost all) from newegg, and had no complaints.

 

Echoing a post above, whatever you do, get as much RAM & HDD capacity as you can afford & don't skimp on the video card either.

Edited July 25, 2010 by ts

[Riffraff]

Agreed on the RAM and video card. Do not cut corners to save $$$. RAM = buy quality name brand stuff even if it costs plenty more.

Hard drives = terabyte, 7200 RPMs, and with it's own cache help alot. SATA over IDE generally.

 

MoBo and CPU chip preferences depend upon what the computer is going to be used for and how customizable you want the rig to be.

[Skippy]

Since you computer geeks are here answer me this.

 

I have a bad DVD drive. It is an old drive that is IDE interface. It is a second drive set to slave. Is is possible for me to put a SATA drive in there? Is it a big deal to do so?

[lennykravitz2004]

Since you computer geeks are here answer me this.

 

I have a bad DVD drive. It is an old drive that is IDE interface. It is a second drive set to slave. Is is possible for me to put a SATA drive in there? Is it a big deal to do so?

 

Not quite certain of what you mean by "possible for me to put a SATA drive in there". You may need something like this if your motherboard does not have SATA connections. You may also need something like this or this.

 

Can you provide a little more detail on what exactly you mean? Do you want to replace the IDE DVD with a SATA DVD? Or put a SATA HDD in it's place?

Edited July 25, 2010 by lennykravitz2004

[buddahj]

Not quite certain of what you mean by "possible for me to put a SATA drive in there". You may need something like this if your motherboard does not have SATA connections. You may also need something like this or this.

 

Can you provide a little more detail on what exactly you mean? Do you want to replace the IDE DVD with a SATA DVD? Or put a SATA HDD in it's place?

+1

1st off, you have to make sure your motherboard is SATA capable. If it isn't, it might just be easier to get a new IDE drive.

[Skippy]

Not quite certain of what you mean by "possible for me to put a SATA drive in there". You may need something like this if your motherboard does not have SATA connections. You may also need something like this or this.

 

Can you provide a little more detail on what exactly you mean? Do you want to replace the IDE DVD with a SATA DVD? Or put a SATA HDD in it's place?

Yes I want to replace the IDE DVD with a SATA DVD.

 

Any idea how I can tell pretty easily if my MB supports SATA?

[lennykravitz2004]

1) Yes I want to replace the IDE DVD with a SATA DVD.

 

2) Any idea how I can tell pretty easily if my MB supports SATA?

 

1) then you'll need one of the adapters if your mobo doesn't have SATA connections.

 

2) to tell if your mobo supports SATA, right click on "My Computer" and choose "Manage". In the tree/left margin, click "Device Manager". In the big/main area to the right, you will hopefully see something to the effect of "Standard Seriel ATA controllers". If you see this, you're good. If all you see is "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers", then you'll need an adapter.

 

EDIT: this assumes you are on Win XP or earlier. Windows Vista or 7 will be a bit different.

 

Hope this helps.

Edited July 25, 2010 by lennykravitz2004

[Skippy]

Thanks lenny. Looks like all I have is IDE ATA/ATAPI. I guess if I want the drive that I was looking at I will need the adapter. I will probably just hunt down a good old fashion IDE drive.

Edited July 25, 2010 by Skippy

[lennykravitz2004]

Thanks lenny. Looks like all I have is IDE ATA/ATAPI. I guess if I want the drive that I was looking at I will need the adapter. I will probably just hunt down a good old fashion IDE drive.

 

NP. I wouldn't really be all that bummed. Of the 4 boxes and 1 laptop I have, only two have SATA HDD drives, and all are IDE DVDs. My laptop is oooollllllllldddddd, but runs like a freakin champ (knock on wood). I wouldn't bother with the adapter though, since it will just bottleneck there and provide the same performance as an IDE.

 

GL.

[bpwallace49]

Holy crap I need to ask you guys questions about computers . . .

 

I am about to go buy a computer and reading this makes me realize how much I need to learn about computers.

 

I dont really play games, mainly internet/itunes/ word processing, etc. (although I may buy the nbew starcraft . . .)

[Ursa Majoris]

Newegg.com

Best online store for hardware. Combo deals on parts that work together. 3 day delivery on everything.

+4. Had a bad mobo / procesor from them a few months back, everything replaced at no charge damn quick.

[lennykravitz2004]

1) then you'll need one of the adapters if your mobo doesn't have SATA connections.

 

2) to tell if your mobo supports SATA, right click on "My Computer" and choose "Manage". In the tree/left margin, click "Device Manager". In the big/main area to the right, you will hopefully see something to the effect of "Standard Seriel ATA controllers". If you see this, you're good. If all you see is "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers", then you'll need an adapter.

 

EDIT: this assumes you are on Win XP or earlier. Windows Vista or 7 will be a bit different.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Hey Skippy - check your inbox too. One thing I noticed on my one older box with SATA, the "Standard Seriel ATA controllers" blurb isn't in my Device Manager. If you have a make and model of PC to Google... that would also work.

[matt770]

I built my system and it was a blast. I enjoyed researching all the different components and finding the best deals on Ebay, Newegg etc. I agree with the guy who said not to skimp on the power supply. Same goes for the mother board and even the case. You want to make sure there is enough space inside for all the parts and cables and plenty of fans to keep it cool.

 

I went with an ASUS motherboard, AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ (3.12 Ghz), a PC Power & Cooling power supply, 4GB of RAM (I'm running XP so it only recognizes 3.5 GB), and dual 250GB hard drives in a RAID config for redundancy. I'm not a gamer so the onboard video on my motherboard is more than sufficient. I've had zero issues in almost 2 years, in fact it's the most stable system I've ever owned. I will probably upgrade to 1TB hard drives at some point but overall I'm happy and like I said it was a lot of fun. Take your time to educate yourself and enjoy the process.

[Ursa Majoris]

One last thing, don't scimp on the power supply (at least 500 watts).

I would not go below 800W personally.

[smithkt]

I would not go below 800W personally.

 

I wouldn't make a blanket statement like that. It depends greatly on what the computer will be used for. Single high end or dual midrange video cards in SLI or Crossfire, yeah, 800W. High end video cards in SLI or Crossfire, 800 might not be enough.

 

Someone who is not overclocking a CPU and using a single midrange video card or less would easily get by with 500W. A quality 400W would be enough.

[MrTed46]

I wouldn't make a blanket statement like that. It depends greatly on what the computer will be used for. Single high end or dual midrange video cards in SLI or Crossfire, yeah, 800W. High end video cards in SLI or Crossfire, 800 might not be enough.

 

Someone who is not overclocking a CPU and using a single midrange video card or less would easily get by with 500W. A quality 400W would be enough.

 

+1, wasted $ for a PSU you will never need.

[Ursa Majoris]

+1, wasted $ for a PSU you will never need.

This calculator shows that a fair spec PC needs a bit more power than at first might be thought.

Edited July 26, 2010 by Ursa Majoris

[smithkt]

This calculator shows that a fair spec PC needs a bit more power than at first might be thought.

 

With all due respect, those calculators are fairly bad at estimating power utilization. The only one I have ever seen which is reasonable is this one:

 

http://extreme.outervision.com/psucalculatorlite.jsp

 

For example, the Newegg calculator suggests I need a 622 W supply for my configuration. This does not even consider the overclock I have in place. The same configuration on the outervision calculator yields a 424W supply. Much more realistic. Even with my overclock, the outervision calcuator yields 484W.

 

I measured the full load utilization and was consuming 380W. This was with all four cores running 100% and my 5870 card running Furmark. Not realistic typical usage.