A desperate newb seeking help on first timePC buliding!

[MegaCharger]

I just went to the local comp store and the guy said "OMG you want P4 3.0Ghz(800Mhz FSB) and Radeon 9800 Pro in your PC!? That's gonna cost you 3000+ man!" I was like, what the f**k!? I can get all the parts for under 2000 online... Anyways, after that I decided to screw computer stores and, I might as well just try to build it myself. That being said, I'm a complete newb when it comes to PC building, so if anybody have any advice for me it's welcome! I plan to get the following, after May 11, that's when Intel will lower the chip prices:

-Intel Pentium 4 3.0Ghz 800Mhz FSB and HT
-Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB
-Gigabyte 8KNXP(non ultra) or the Asus P4C800 motherboard
-Corsaid XML DDR400 512MB x 2, I'm not sure what model to get yet because I'm completely thrown off by the number of models they have...
-WD ATA/100 120GB special edition
-Antec PLUS1080AMG case that comes with TruePower 430W
-SB Audigy 2
-LiteOn 16X DVD Drive and 48x24x48 CD-RW

I have my old speaker and monitor and DSL modem, maybe I should get a new ethernet card as well. Did I miss anything? Do you think I can really get all of those for under $2000? I am going to order the parts through newegg, so far almost everyone I've met say I should get it from them. But my parents are VERY paranoid about me using their credit card online, so I want to make absolutely sure they are not going to pull some BS on me... Should I trust them?

Oh yeah to the experienced people here who feel like helping me out, can you direct me to any link or tell me in depth on how to build my own PC step by step? Thanks!

 

[IanthePez]

I highly recommend that you read as many posts as you can about people having trouble building computers. See the mistakes people make and learn from them. That's the best source of knowledge.

 

[bozo1]

I plan to get the following, after May 11, that's when Intel will lower the chip prices:

It may not be that soon seeing that the 800MHz FSB P4's have been put on hold and the ones already out are being recalled.

 

[boyRacer]

Without the impending intel pricecut... i came up with ~$1800 (w/o shipping costs) from newegg. That's one hell of a system... :Q I don't know how you were able to know which were the best parts but not have any idea how to put a computer together... Surely you must know something... I wouldn't worry about newegg... if you do run into problems with your order since they probably won't come together and/or at the same time.... i'm pretty sure newegg will take care of it. Good luck!

 

[MegaCharger]

Er, if I just want to get the parts that I listed up there, would I need any extra cables? Also, should I get that anti-static thing that you put on your hand before handling the parts? Or would just touching some metal surface solve the static problem? Thanks!

Edit-I just came upon another problem, I heard that for dual channel RAMs, I should get a pair that was pretested to make sure they work together. But I don't know where to find a pair of 512MB corsair RAMs! Can anybody help me find them in newegg!? Thanks agian!

Edit2-Nevermind, I just found a twin model from newegg I've found everything except for the CPU and the motherboard, the total adds up to 1134, am I in good shape here?

 

[SpeedFreak03]

Mega, that's a nice system you've worked out there. I've been building systems for a while, and about the static issue, plug in the power cable and rub your hand on the PSU (Power Supply Unit). It's not really all that hard to build your own custom rig. Read some reviews on that hard drive before you buy because I've heard some bad things on a few sites about the higher capacity Western's. I don't know if this is true as I haven't used any of the higher capacity Western's (I have a 20GB, 30GB, and a 40GB 7200RPM ATA100 western digitals and love them though). Just check it out! About NewEgg, I order from them a lot, and haven't got ripped once. I just ordered a part from them on Friday, and got it today(from CA to DE with cheapest shipping, no rush order either)! Have you ever worked on or fixed computers before? That's pretty much how I learned how they go together. I know you want to do it yourself, but if $$$ is an issue Dell sells some nice systems for pretty cheap (they are costing me business :disgust: ). It's just like the Ditech.com commercial: "I lost another computer to Dell.com". Good luck!

-Josh

 

[SilentRunning]

I have my old speaker and monitor and DSL modem, maybe I should get a new ethernet card as well.


Both of those motherboards should have integrated LAN so you won't need an ethernet card.

 

[optimistic]

Originally posted by: MegaCharger
I am going to order the parts through newegg, so far almost everyone I've met say I should get it from them. But my parents are VERY paranoid about me using their credit card online, so I want to make absolutely sure they are not going to pull some BS on me... Should I trust them?

If you live in So Cal you can try mwave.com do will-call and pay in cash. But personally, I had no trouble with buying online.

 

[boyRacer]

Originally posted by: optimistic

Originally posted by: MegaCharger
I am going to order the parts through newegg, so far almost everyone I've met say I should get it from them. But my parents are VERY paranoid about me using their credit card online, so I want to make absolutely sure they are not going to pull some BS on me... Should I trust them?

If you live in So Cal you can try mwave.com do will-call and pay in cash. But personally, I had no trouble with buying online.

mwave just moved... you should see their new place... :Q ...doesn't look as ghetto as the last one. they're probably still trying to catch up from orders over last weekend during the move. I picked up my motherboard there last monday and there were people whining about their orders not being ready...

 

[Insidious]

Most of the 'problems' I see questions about are addressed in the manual (Paper and or electronic) that was included with the hardware.

my suggestion:

start a trend.... read the directions..... read the directions..... read the directions again!

then perform the installations by following the directions!!!!!

-sid

 

[IanthePez]

Originally posted by: Insidious
Most of the 'problems' I see questions about are addressed in the manual (Paper and or electronic) that was included with the hardware.

My stuff never comes with instructions, hehe.

 

[Bonesdad]

Don't worry about building your own comp. It's really quite ez if you use some common sense and try not to force anything into or onto anything else. Treat everything like it's an uncooked egg (unless your a chef of course). Handle with care, read the directions and do it step by step. The most difficult thing you will likely do is mount the HSF onto the CPU, and that isn't all that hard.

 

[IanthePez]

another that I had trouble with the first time was mounting the motherboard. Make sure the standoffs are in the right places and that you don't have any extra in that can short it.

 

[MegaCharger]

Ahh, the dreaded HSF... Does that stands for heat sank fan? I heard you have to put some thermal paste on the cpu then put the fan on it. Is it hard? Can someone tell me how not so screw it up ? Oh yeah I'll make another thread once I get all my parts(hopefully within a month) Thanks for the comment guys I'll be getting it from newegg, now all I have to do is to wait for the mobo and the cpu to be ready.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Thats a large amount. I'd try seeing if any local stores have anything close to it in price. Try buying things where you save atleast $10 or $15 AFTER shipping through newegg, the rest in town. This way, you risk less. It could turn out that newegg beats all your local stores by that much for all the things. I would make a shopping cart with that and then go to your local store with a printout of newegg's prices. First, have them price it. If its too high, haggle. If you go to any Microx-press stores, its very easy to start haggling there. Just tell them that if they give the things to you at newegg's price, then you'll get it from them. Tell them your willing to even buy some of the parts they're willing to price down from them and the rest from newegg.

 

[MegaCharger]

Hmm I've checked most of the local stores that I know exists. All charge kinda high prices.

Anyways, what is OEM? The 120GB WD I'm getting say it's an OEM and when I check the picture it doesn't have any cables. Should I get my own cable? If so what kind is good? What about those round cables that will not block the air flow that much?

 

[Insidious]

hmmm, I went to the microx-press store here in Indy and told them I would buy two NF7-S MoBos if they would match Newegg and they weren't interested.

Interestingly, they did offer to lower their price on a MSI MoBo as consolation though. I tried not to laugh, thanked them and left.

-Sid

 

[MegaCharger]

Yet another problem I came upon... I'm now torn between the 9700 Pro and the 9800 Pro. The 9800 Pro doesn't have that much of an improvement over the 9700 Pro. I wonder if I should save that extra 100+ and put it on something else instead, like a new monitor in case the one I'm using(still running good, but it's 3 years old). I'll be doing lots of 3D and video editing on it. Programs like 3Dsmax and Maya, photoshop etc. will be used a lot on it due to my major. Should I just ditch the 9800 pro and get the 9700 pro instead? Though it makes me feel that much better when I brag about my new computer... And what's in the 9700 Pro AIW? Is it some kind of uber card for video editing or it's just got a TV outlet?

 

[zephyrprime]

Check out the motherboard forums on anandtech here for potential compatibility problems. I think that the MB is always the most likely source of problems in new setups. Also, no floppy drive?

 

[MegaCharger]

Maybe I'll put a floppy in... But as it stands now they are completely useless. I used my floppy drive on my current PC, which is like 3 years old, for about 5 times.

 

[SnowBoarder9455]

Hey,

I've never built a system before, but I'm going to a few weeks. I can't give you any advice on building, but on the parts:

The All-In-Wonder 9700 Pro comes with a tv-tuner/capture. This means you can watch and record tv into your computer, or capture the video from anything else (vcr/dvd player etc)

I'm going to buy either the All-In-WOnder 9700 Pro, or a Leadtek video capture card and a ATI 9700 Pro.

The ATI 9800 Pro isn't worth the extra cash. By the time the 9700 is outdated enough to need a change, there will be something much better than the 9800.

If I were you, I wouldn't buy an ethernet card. First, saves $15, second on the Gigabyte board you mentioned, buying a seperate card would actually be slower than the integrated, since the lan onboard has a seperate bus built into the south bridge, but the card would be going through the PCI bus.

Just my 2 cents.

Kevin

 

[MegaCharger]

Um yeah kevin you are right, I'm going to ditch the 9800 Pro now. Hopefully when the 256MB one come out it will drive the AIW 9700 Pro down even more, it is 350 now. Hope it will drop to the 300 range But it most likely won't for at least 6 more months Now with the extra saved cash, the total cost of my system might drop to the 1700 range, which means I can add 100 and get a decent 19" CRT Any suggestion on what CRT to get? I know I should personally go to a store to see and pick on that fits my eyes the most and try to get the one on display.

Ok since the Gigabyte board have integrated boardband support, I won't bother with ethernet card. I've heard the ASUS P4C800 have major issues with the Corsair Twin3200 models(2x512), does the Gigabyte have the same problem? I really wanted Corsair as it was said to be the best, although I won't OC. If they have problems I will go with the OCZ one, and save $16, but I'm willing to shell out that amount for stability and performance since I'm paying about 2000 for the whole thing anyways.

 

[JZilla]

Nice system, I am so green right now.

Anyway, guides to assemble the thing.

Edit: Damn keyboard.

 

[resinboy]

mega-c :
took me a while to realise I didn't need the newest and best whenever I was building a system: you will be major bummed when you spend $300 clams on the latest/ greatest vid card, just to see it selling for 1/2 the price you paid for it only 4 or 5 months down the road. You'll find the best way to keep your system current without spending a lot of dough is to gradually upgrade you system over the year: and REALISTICALLY decide what you will be using it for, and to spend accordingly ( don't need a 9800 pro for Word documents).

 

[MegaCharger]

Hehe, well I've just gotten over that too! The reason I shoot for the 3.0Ghz is because it will come out sooner and I can't wait anymore As for my video card, I'm majoring in computer graphics so I'll be doing a lot of renderings, video editing etc. Though I should be leaving most of my overnight rendering to the school's lab computers(hey, that's what they are for!), after hearing some thief story I don't want to put my work at jeapordy.

While I'm at it, is the 3 fans(2 back 1 side) that come with the Antec case enough for my set up? I don't plan to OC it. Should I get 2 more fans and mount them on the front to act as exhaust fans? If yes which fans are good?