Building a system from scratch

[praetorius]

My first post.

Can anyone point me to some good sites that provide comprehensive information on building a system? I've done routine stuff on my latest system (installed a new hard drive and new memory, replaced the sound and video cards, replaced the CD ROM drive) and have done a few basic tweaks to BIOS settings. But I've never built a complete system.

So, I'm looking for a site or sites that will provide as complete information as possible. For example, when one purchases all of the components of a PC, will there still be additional cables, connectors, et cetera that need to be ordered?

In the past (with simple changes to the system), I've gotten into minor difficulties when little tidbits of information were left out of up-front explanations. And I worry that building a complete system is just asking for problems. So it would be nice to find a site that could lead me through the process.

Maybe another way of putting this is: Can one build a high-performance gaming system as a cookie-cutter project? Or, should I expect plenty to go wrong?

Thanks!

 

[Risteon]

Usually there's no "standard" for putting a system together. It depends on the type of hardware you're using and it's interface to the motherboard. One of the biggest things to remember is to READ the manual that came with your motherboard. Even if you don't understand some of it, you usually run across some detail that will help save you from running into a hardware/bios problem. Other than that, it's mostly just putting it all together, which is basically simple. More often than not, your hardware should come with all the necessary cabling. Just remember to READ the instructions on the installation. Like I said before, they can contain details that are necessary to know. I've run into problems before simply because I overlooked these by skimming through the manuals. Don't rush it, double check everything, such as making sure all the connectors are pushed in all the way, etc.

Setting up the BIOS is a little confusing at first if you don't have much experience with it. Your motherboard manual should explain all the features within the BIOS, so read those to understand what options to set. If there's something you don't understand, it's usually good just to leave it at it's default option.

From here it just depends on what OS you plan to install. For Windows, you'll need to create a DOS partition and format the harddrive. Sometimes harddrives come with utility boot disks that can simplify this process. Otherwise you could use a windows boot disk (coorisponding to the version you will use preferably, but no necessary in some cases) to boot up to a command prompt and run fdisk partition utility, then format the drive. After that you should be able to run windows setup from the cdrom (make sure the boot disk has cdrom support (meaning it loads a cdrom driver)).
For Linux it's a bit different process, but I'll assume your using windows to avoid explaining the Linux setup process. Sorry, getting lazy here. hehe.

Anyway, hope this helps some. Just remember to READ the manuals. It'll give you the initial feel for what's going on and how things are inter-connected.

 

[praetorius]

Reading (and understanding) a manual I can do. I'm assuming that if I stick to major-brand components there won't be any compatibility problems. Right?

 

[Risteon]

Yea, I don't imagine you should have too much trouble. And major brand stuff is mostly plug and play (just remember to check for driver updates and all that jazz). Good luck and have fun.

 

[Thyme]

<< Reading (and understanding) a manual I can do. I'm assuming that if I stick to major-brand components there won't be any compatibility problems. Right? >>



Not true. There can always be conflicts between major hardware, for instance ATA100/Soundblaster/VIA 686B/Win2k Etc. Post your configuration before you buy and I'm sure someone here can tell you if there are any known conflicts.

 

[praetorius]

I will make a point of doing that. Thanks.