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Help on building comp

B

bemused

Member
Recently I decided to embark on the journey of building my own comp, but then i realized one little detail, and that is i really don't know much about the hardware that goes into it. I understand some basic stuff but I don't really know what is the best things for my dollar. I am looking to spend under $2500 for everything. I need some suggestions on configurations. I would like a 1.33 - 1.4 GHz Athlon processor and the ability to support DDR SDRAM but the motherboard is the tough one there for me. Also with the sound card should the choice be SoundBlaster Live! Platinum , SB Live! X-Gamer , SB Live! Mp3, or SB Live! Value? Which gives me the best overall deal, like i know most likely Platinum is best but which is the best deal? Also which cases and speaker systems would you guys recommend without burning a hole in my wallet? I got the graphics card covered, hard drive, dvd-rom, cd-rw, ethernet card, modem, and floppy drive all covered. If there is anything major I am forgetting please enlighten me.

After all the technical specs are covered the last thing I would like to know is exactly how to to really bring it all together, so can you guys recommend any books or online guides to help me out ? I have 2 friends who really know what they are doin, i remember they once built a computer inside a shoebox, it didnt run too well but it ran once. Well anyways thanks beforehand.
 
Wow, 2500? You can build a dang nice system everyone on the block would envy, I'll post some spec's that I think might be good in awhile.

Edit:

Antex SX1040 Case
Epox 8K7A+ (for ddr solution) Iwill KK266-R (for sdram solution) both are raid, can come without
2x 256MB DDR
Klipsch Promedia 4.1 (or 5.1) or Boston Acoustics BA4800
Hercules Game Theater XP w/breakout box
CD-RW (I am sure with the budget, you can get atleast 20x/10x/40x)
16x DVD (Brand is preference, Toshiba is one of the recommended though there ARE others.)
AMD Athlon 1.4 Ghz processor
Heatsink and Fan (Not sure on what's the best here, Swiftech, Thermaltake are all recommended ones.)
GeForce 3 (you could probably get, this is highly subjective to needs in a video card, more info is needed here)
IBM DeskStar 60GB 60GXP HDD (Could get 40 gigs and set up raid or something)
250MB Zip (If you need or feel like it)
UPS Power Supply (something like APC Back UPS 650 or something)
Monitor, probably a Samsung, sony or something, trinitrons are popular

The above is a start and I'm confident you can get it below your budget, will post links in a little while.
 
A DDR motherboard that has been getting a lot of hype in these forums is the Epox EP-8K7A. It is a great board and won't break the bank. I bought one for a customer recently and it runs like a champ. If you get one though, don't get a Netgear NIC because there are some issues there. As far as the sound card goes, the board has basic sound onboard, but if you want an upgrade, might I suggest the OEM version of the SB Live! 5.1 that is found here (it is the fourth one down on the page). It has the benefits of the more expensive cards but only costs $15 more than the value. Also, the Platinum just adds an interface thing that takes up one of your 5.25" drive bays. You can get it separately if you really want it. A lot of people here will tell you to shy away from the SB line completely. I don't have that much experience with those problems, so I won't say that.
 
Just want to add a few things to the excellent advice from NelsonMuntz.

DDR is the way to go. It is the future. The price of DDR ram is right on par the price of regular SDRAM, so there's just no reason to not go w/DDR.

Excellent choice on the mobo too. On board sound = one less thing to buy. Are you a big gamer or listen to a lot of music on the pc? If not, just stick w/the onboard sound. BTW, your answer to this question will also dicatate how much you spend on speakers. You can get a really nice 2.1 setup for about $50 these days.

I will not get into the whole AMD vs. Intel thing. I will just say that dollar for dollar, AMD is way ahead. I.E. your money will go further.

You need a case. May I recommend the Antec SX 1030? Excellent case with one of the best powersupplies on the market today. Don't get a cheap case. Your components and your hands (sharp edges) will regret it. But w/that budget, you can afford a really great case! Good luck and remember that if you have any doubts about whatever step your about to do, to ask questions here before you start messing with it. (That's what I did when I built my first rig...these guys are really great! ) We'll help you. Welcome to the forums! 🙂
 
another thing:

i would like to run a dual boot system, just to figure would it be much easier just to have two large hard drives then partition one large ? i never could reeally get the partition thing down, when i first tried i lost all my windows files when i installed red hat linux, but i guess that was a blessing in disguise because my parents want to get me a new comp :-D. so partition or two large hard drives ?


also thanks everyone for helping me out, but also one last thing. any good sites with guides to get me through this process or even books because i will need some serious help. thanks.

ohh yea, also will this rig be sufficient for running programs easily with Adobe Photoshop 6, 3d Studio Max, Bryce, Poser etc for my 3d and graphics need also with programming and stuff ?
 
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