I want to build my own pc, where do I start?

[blagh]

I've read some tutorials, I've browsed the forums, I tried the search function, and the main question I still have is:

Where do I start? Is there a specific component I could/should be building my computer specs around? I'm thinking of looking into Linux, would that seriously effect what components I should buy?

Thanks for patience with a wannabe geek and hardware n00b.

 

[mechBgon]

I'm not the Linux guy, but as far as assembling the hardware, this might help: http://www.mechBgon.com I bet you didn't realize consuming pizza is an integral part of the assembly process, for example

Welcome to the Forums, and you may want to post in the Operating Systems section regarding what hardware has the best Linux support.

 

[misterv]

Blagh--

The biggest question is how much you want to spend. The first thing you will always have to do is match a motherboard and a processor. Everything else is secondary to the motherboard and processor.

Intel uses Intel specific motherboards
AMD uses AMD specific motherboards.

Newegg.com will be your new best friend. They have great prices on a wide selection of components and are fast and reliable.

Most everyone will recommend buying AMD. There are several AMD processors to choose from and vary by price. The Sempron is AMD's 32-bit (celeron like) cheapo processor. Don't bother. Get at least an Athlon 64 bit processor. The latest use what's known as Socket 939. You have to get a motherboard that supports the socket 939 processor. Most of these motherboards use PC 3200 memory (or 400MHz DDR). However, some of the newest use DDR2. There is a distinction and make sure you look at what your motherboard. Don't get the cheapest motherboard for your first. Many cheap motherboards take a bit of effort to get them to work or will have numerous problems. Spend a bit more and get one that people haven't had much trouble with.

For instance a good level relatively affordable processor is AMD's Athlon64 3000+ which uses the venice core (socket 939). (Athlon processors actually run at a slower rate e.g. the 3000+ ACTUALLY runs at 1800MHz but they claim (rightfully so) that it has the performance of a 3000MHz processor).

Take a look at it here:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537 it's $146
My advice for your first computer is to get the retail processor. It comes with a fan, warranty, etc. The fan is not the greatest thing in the world, but it keeps you from having to apply thermal grease yourself for your first time out.

As far as motherboard goes look at Asus, Abit, MSI. They tend to be good. Make sure when you are looking that you take note of what people are saying. If you read you have to flash the bios to get SATA to work, DON'T BUY IT. It's complicated enough setting up a computer without worrying about things like that.

If you are going to use Linux, I would strongly recommend the motherboard to use the "nforce4 chipset". Nvidia (who makes graphics cards) also makes motherboard chipsets (what controls the interface between the CPU/memory/videocard/harddrives/PCI cards/USB etc). NVidia is pretty good about supporting linux with drivers. I would also recommend buying a NVidia graphics card. There was a point at which everything ATI made was better than NVidia but that is no longer the case.

As far as graphics cards go, your motherboard should probably have PCI-Express. That means you will need to buy a graphics card that uses PCI-Express. As you are going to be interested in linux, I would again recommend a NVidia PCI-Express card. Look at newegg for videocards and search for PCI-Express.

Anyways, hope this gets you started. It's quite fun putting one together but it can be very frustrating too. If you have anymore questions I or anyone else would be happy to help.

 

[mountcarlmore]

one note, dont get confused, amd doesnt support ddr2, only look at ddr, otherwise follow the post above.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

You can look into Linux later, if you're interested. For now, you should plan for Windows XP.

To build your own PC, you start, as Misterv said, with a budget. How much do you want to spend? That is your starting point.

Although Intel does make some fine products, almost all of them are badly overpriced. For this reason, you should stick to an AMD-based system.

Here's what you need to worry about, as far as compatibility goes: The processor needs to fit in the motherboard. The two most popular interfaces are socket-754 and socket-939. Make sure the CPU and the board use the same socket.

If you play graphic-intensive games (like Battlefield 2 or Doom 3), you'll probably want to get a high quality graphics card. That means you'll need a PCI-express x16 slot on the motherboard. If you don't plan on graphic-intensive gaming, a standard (AGP) slot is just fine.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

After you decide your budget, you should pick a platform: CPU, motherboard & memory. Here are some sample configurations...

$170 total: Sempron 64 2800+ ($64), Epox EP-8KDA3I ($64) & 512 MB DDR400 SDRAM ($42)
$322 total: Athlon 64 3000+ ($146), MSI K8N Neo4-F ($88) & 1GB dual DDR400 SDRAM ($89)
$681 total: Athlon 64 X2 3800+ ($353), DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D ($127) & 2 GB dual DDR400 SDRAM ($201)

 

[blagh]

This is exactly what I was looking for, thank you all very much!

I had started thinking about my budget, but I had no idea what kind of metric to use.

Thanks again!

 

[blagh]

Another question: Which components should I not buy OEM? I know the components are physically the same, but do they still come with manuals when they're OEM? If not, which components do I absolutely need a manual for?

Also, which components is it worth getting extended warranty for?

 

[misterv]

Don't bother with extended warranties. They never are worth the price...with most electronics, if something isn't broken when you get it, it probably won't break for quite some time. (Hard drives being the notable exception...always back up your data but don't bother with extended warranties. Most drives have warranties for 3 years even OEM).

OEM is fine for just about anything. The biggest trouble with OEM is that it usually comes with no spare parts cables etc. For instance, if you get an OEM SATA hard drive, you will need to buy an SATA cable. (Ususally motherboards come with one though). They also don't have any mounting screws so you best be sure your case came with them or you'll have to make sure you buy screws seperately.

I always buy retail processors just 'cause. Most people only let you return OEM processors in 7 days and if for some reason your system doesn't post, you will likely HAVE to return the processor even if it isn't the problem just because you don't want to get stuck with the bill. Retail processors are warrantied for 3 years. They are usually only $5-$10 more and they give you a sticker =). But you really should buy your own fan (the fan they give you is generally loud and sucky) and thermal grease (arctic silver 5 or comparable).

Be very careful applying your own thermal grease. Follow the instructions (arctic silver 5 has them online) to the T. The urge is to always add too much but really you cannot add too little. It isn't that bad, just really use as little as possible to cover the chip.

 

[blagh]

My budget is a bit limited (around a grand or so CDN), but I've managed to narrow down the components (prices also in CDN):

Athlon 64 3000+ $179
Asus A8N-E $140
Crucial DDR400 521 Mb $69.99
Seagate 160 Gb 7200 $104.99
Lite-on SOHW-16935 16X DVD +-RW $52.00
Antec Solution $109.99
Dell Ultrascan 17" $89.99
Logitech Keyboard + Opt. Mouse $29.99
Canon PIXMA iP1500 Printer $69.99
Logitech X-530 Speakers $69.99
Windows XP Pro $169.99

Total: $1085.92

I'd want to be able to upgrade a bit in the future where I get a better job, is there anything here that isn't worth my time?

This is such an awesome forum, thanks for all the help!

 

[BornStar]

You don't have a graphics card listed. Did you already have one that you are going to re-use or did you forget? With the A8N-E you're going to need a PCIe card. Since I don't know what you intend to do with the computer, I can't make a recommendation however you seem to be interested in linux so I would recommend using Nvidia. From what I've heard, Nvidia has far better driver support than ATi does.

 

[blagh]

I'm using the computer mainly for programming assignments, webbrowsing and such, and perhaps for PC gaming in the future. Up till now I've mostly been playing console games, so I think a graphics card can wait until I actually get around to buying a PC game or two (especially since I haven't had much in the way of time lately).

 

[JCKC]

It does not appear your motherboard has integrated video, so you will have to select and purchase a video card separately, unless you have one laying around somewhere.

 

[ZoomStop]

You've done pretty good picking your parts! For the graphics card just pick up an entry level PCI-E if all you'll be doing is programming stuff. Any PCI-E card will be newer and be pretty good even for basic games. Also, make sure you get PCI-E and not just plain PCI.
If I had to make a suggestion though, go with a gig of ram. You should be able to go from 512 MB's to 1024 MB's for not too much more.
If you needed to scale back on a part or two I would suggest:

PC Case - Antecs are GREAT but you could save $50 on a cheaper one and still get a nice case.

Speakers - The ones you have a good, but if you wil not be gaming much an entry level 2.1 setup would be a bit cheaper.

WinXP Pro - think about going with the Home Edition (not that much difference, google for the key differences) or look at picking up a used copy in the BST forum here or on eBay (make sure the seller has very solid feedback).

Motherboard - the one you picked is very solid but a bit of an overkill in your situation. Maybe the Foxconn NF4K8AC would be better suited for you. Same chipset and Foxconn is a decent brand (Dell uses their mobos in their systems and many Intel branded mobo's are actually Foxconn).

With the money you save here up the RAM to a gig and give some thought to going with an LCD monitor (they are so sexy!).

Lastly... don't forget to pickup a few fans for the case. I am not framiliar with the Antec Solution case but your'll want a minimum of two fans (one in front sucking air in, one in back blowing it out).

But building your own PC is a blast and we wish you the best of luck!

 

[Blake]

If you not interested in using two graphics cards as in SLI then the A8N-E is probably one of the best non-SLI chipset based motherboard to buy. The graphics card is one of the most important considerations in building a computer. You can run one or two graphics cards with the board, just no SLI.

You will want to use two matching sticks of DDR400 521 Mb memory to run Dual Channel Configuration at DDR 400. One stick will work but will probably run at DDR333.

Windows XP Retail not OEM software will allow you to use the software on one computer with no limitations on changes to hardware.

The place to start would be the case. I got a Cooler Master Praetorian 730.

 

[cheesehead]

Originally posted by: blagh
My budget is a bit limited (around a grand or so CDN), but I've managed to narrow down the components (prices also in CDN):

Athlon 64 3000+ $179
Asus A8N-E $140
Crucial DDR400 521 Mb $69.99
Seagate 160 Gb 7200 $104.99
Lite-on SOHW-16935 16X DVD +-RW $52.00
Antec Solution $109.99
Dell Ultrascan 17" $89.99
Logitech Keyboard + Opt. Mouse $29.99
Canon PIXMA iP1500 Printer $69.99
Logitech X-530 Speakers $69.99
Windows XP Pro $169.99

Total: $1085.92

I'd want to be able to upgrade a bit in the future where I get a better job, is there anything here that isn't worth my time?

This is such an awesome forum, thanks for all the help!

Your config looks pretty good, but I might reccomend a few changes.
-WinXP pro is not really worth the extra money for most users. I would know; I'm runnning it.
-Crucial memory is not worth the money. NewEgg sells Corsair Value Select (good memory) for 55$ for a 512mb stick. I, personally, would reccomend getting two; for 100$ you can get 1GB of good ram,
-You probbably want to try and get one of the newer socket 939 chipset motherboards, and one of the new socket 939/PCI-E motherboards. They don't cost much more, and the performance is better. Also, PCI-E allows you to upgrade in the future.
-A graphics card is mandratory unless your motherboard's got video. In the case of an AGP setup, you can use an old GEforce4 if you're not running any games; in the case of a PCI-E setup, you'll likely end up with a 6200. (The 6200 is much faster, but they can take up a bit of system RAM, and cost only a little bit more.)
-Antec makes nice cases, but you can really get along just fine with a far cheaper case. If you get one from a broken computer, you can save the 30$-40$ shipping charge involved with sending a big chunk of metal. An Antec power supply is reccomended regardless, though.

Things to NOT buy OEM:
-Motherboard. OEM motherboards are a pain.
-Processor. An OEM processor would likely not include a heatsink and fan, two important components.

Things you can likely upgrade later:
RAM. Even if you get a newer socket 939 (dual-channel memory) system, you can get one stick of RAM now, and another one in a month or two.
Also, if you don't burn DVD's a lot, you can get a cheap CD burner for something like 15$ if you keep an eye out in the local paper, and add the DVD burner later. That way, you have a secondary optical drive.
If you're short on cash, go with cheaper speakers or headphones. Also, one can plug one's computer into an existing stereo. (I've done that with mine, and it works pretty well.)