ibex333
Diamond Member
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Low-end to mid-range gaming, (EVE Online, Company of Heroes, Oblivion, C&C3 at 1080p res), internet, video converting like avi to mpeg, or divx to avi, etc, maybe some photoshop
***Note: If I cant play all games out there at max res, I'll live, and if I'll have to scale down to 1280x1024, that's fine too.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
My max is $300. Maybe $400 if I absolutely have to go there.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
As far as CPUs go, I'm an Intel fanboy. Aside from that, I really don't care as long as everything works.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Please read the details below - I'm building this system because my current one in sig broke down. I will try to reuse whatever still works. The PSU and case will be reused for sure, because they seem to be just fine. 😉
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I spend a big part of my free time here on AT, so off course I do a lot of reading and researching. The only reason why I have trouble with all this is because I have little real hands-on experience.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Will overclock slightly after initial burn in.
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Now. ASAP. I don't have a working computer! Need I say more?
What basically happened, is my mobo burned down, and I have no way of testing individual parts cause I don't have a spare mobo. My dad wanted a PC of his own for a while now, so I figured that whatever still works from my old system will go to him, and whatever else will be needed, he will buy later. I'll keep my video card if it still works. Dad doesn't like games, so I picked a mobo for him that has integrated video. (that being said, I am NOT particularly attached to this board, and I can buy a cheap video card if needed. I just figured it's a decent board that has 45nm support in case we'll upgrade down the road) I didn't pick a PSU for him, because I first want to see which parts from my dead system are still alive, before building up both systems. (hope that makes sense)
Anyway, here is what I came up with for now:
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819116072
Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128357
RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231111
HD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218
If you guys can recommend parts that are cheaper but offer same or better performance, I'd be very grateful. Also please take a close look at the RAM I chose. I am not 100% sure it will work with that mobo, although I cant see why it shouldn't.
As a final note, I got a few questions...
See, I'm pretty pissed off right now, because I thought I knew computers, and it turns out I don't! I fixed many PC's for friends, family, and people I dont even know. But most of the time their problems were limited to "slow system", viruses, spyware, "cant connect to internet", "cant partition a hard drive", etc. All that was a piece of cake, and I felt pretty "special" and "knowledgeable". I even went and passed the CompTIA A+ exam after studying for a few weeks... But now when my mobo died, I feel like I don't know s*it cause I cant even "fix" my own PC that I built by myself... The only thing I can do is replace parts and see what will work and what wont.
So here's what I want to know.. What do the "pros" do in my situation? Are there any diagnostic tools which help people find out if their CPU, mobo, video card, ram work without using them in a PC?
I was thinking of buying a speaker for my mobo that will emit these "beep codes" that might help me understand problems with hardware. But how useful/precise are these things?
What about those little cards that display POST error codes? Can someone recommend one?
Thanx very much for reading. 😉
Low-end to mid-range gaming, (EVE Online, Company of Heroes, Oblivion, C&C3 at 1080p res), internet, video converting like avi to mpeg, or divx to avi, etc, maybe some photoshop
***Note: If I cant play all games out there at max res, I'll live, and if I'll have to scale down to 1280x1024, that's fine too.
2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
My max is $300. Maybe $400 if I absolutely have to go there.
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA
4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc, etc, etc, you get the picture.
As far as CPUs go, I'm an Intel fanboy. Aside from that, I really don't care as long as everything works.
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
Please read the details below - I'm building this system because my current one in sig broke down. I will try to reuse whatever still works. The PSU and case will be reused for sure, because they seem to be just fine. 😉
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
I spend a big part of my free time here on AT, so off course I do a lot of reading and researching. The only reason why I have trouble with all this is because I have little real hands-on experience.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Will overclock slightly after initial burn in.
8. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Now. ASAP. I don't have a working computer! Need I say more?
What basically happened, is my mobo burned down, and I have no way of testing individual parts cause I don't have a spare mobo. My dad wanted a PC of his own for a while now, so I figured that whatever still works from my old system will go to him, and whatever else will be needed, he will buy later. I'll keep my video card if it still works. Dad doesn't like games, so I picked a mobo for him that has integrated video. (that being said, I am NOT particularly attached to this board, and I can buy a cheap video card if needed. I just figured it's a decent board that has 45nm support in case we'll upgrade down the road) I didn't pick a PSU for him, because I first want to see which parts from my dead system are still alive, before building up both systems. (hope that makes sense)
Anyway, here is what I came up with for now:
CPU - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819116072
Mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128357
RAM - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231111
HD - http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218
If you guys can recommend parts that are cheaper but offer same or better performance, I'd be very grateful. Also please take a close look at the RAM I chose. I am not 100% sure it will work with that mobo, although I cant see why it shouldn't.
As a final note, I got a few questions...
See, I'm pretty pissed off right now, because I thought I knew computers, and it turns out I don't! I fixed many PC's for friends, family, and people I dont even know. But most of the time their problems were limited to "slow system", viruses, spyware, "cant connect to internet", "cant partition a hard drive", etc. All that was a piece of cake, and I felt pretty "special" and "knowledgeable". I even went and passed the CompTIA A+ exam after studying for a few weeks... But now when my mobo died, I feel like I don't know s*it cause I cant even "fix" my own PC that I built by myself... The only thing I can do is replace parts and see what will work and what wont.
So here's what I want to know.. What do the "pros" do in my situation? Are there any diagnostic tools which help people find out if their CPU, mobo, video card, ram work without using them in a PC?
I was thinking of buying a speaker for my mobo that will emit these "beep codes" that might help me understand problems with hardware. But how useful/precise are these things?
What about those little cards that display POST error codes? Can someone recommend one?
Thanx very much for reading. 😉
