custom computer

[Cloud]

hey, i've been thinking about building a computer from the ground up, and i was wondering if anybody else here has done this...if so, are there any suggestions you have for a first-timer? thanks

[Dmitry M. (Lazer)]

Stick with these brands when buying parts:

Motherboard = Asus or Abit (Do not buy any other brand including Intel) - Also keep in mind this is the most important purchase, even if you don't have a lot of money and have a tight budget, spend the money neccessary for a good Motherboard. And cut back on other parts. Because in the future when you do want to upgrade if you motherboard does not support the part, then you are screwed. Today you would want a motherboard with built-in Gygabit Lan, SATA (RAID), IDE, 3-4 DIMM slots, PCI, PCI-Express, and maybe optional if you want Audio.

Either AMD or Intel will do fine, which ever you prefer.

As for videocards right now i would stick with Nvidia if i was going high end only because of SLi technology.

Memory doesn't really matter what brand but you should have something that associated with your motherboard, minimum DDR400 PC3200. Also reccommend minimum 1gb of ram. Also buy ram in pairs. If you want 1gb then buy 2 512mb sticks. This is called Dual-Channell Processing and it works far better then 1 stick.

Harddrives - Stay away from Western Digital. Maxtor, Lacie, or Seagate are the way to go. Far better speeds on them also stick with the SATA HD's.

DVD/CD Burner - Stick with Plextor or Sony, they are the best.

Case - Doesn't really matter, just keep in mind Full Alluminum cases keep your pc cooler and finding a case that's screwless and easier to handle will make life a lot easier.

I think that's about it.

[Cloud]

i already searched the net for some of the best parts, and i made a list of the one's i've got my eye on...let me know if i should reconsider any of these or not

Motherboard - Abit AN8 SLI NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 1 MB Cache 1600 MHz
CPU Cooler - AOC Evercool CPU and VGA Liquid Cooling System
Memory - Ultra 1024 MB PC 3200 DDR 400 MHz RAM sticks (I wanna get 4 of these)
Video Card - Connect 3D Radeo X850 XT Platinum 256 MB GDDR3
Sound Card Turtle Beach Montego 7.1 Dolby Digital Live Surround PCI Sound Card
Hard Drive - Seagate 250 GB/ 8MB ATA-100 EIDE/OEM
Floppy Drive - Sony Premium 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
CD ROM - Sony DRU 720A Internal CD-RW/DVD RW Burner
Speakers - Logitech Z5300E PC 5.1 280W RMS THX Speakers
Case - 11-Bay Acrylic yin-yang ATX computer case w/ LED fans
Keyboard & Mouse - Microsoft Wireless optical Desktop Pro Keyboard and Mouse Combo
Monitor - Hyundai L70N 17 inch LCD monitor

all these parts besides the case can be found at www.tigerdirect.com ....i priced them and after rebates, i will be spending almost $1800 on this monster

[Cloud]

it seems i was already on track with most of ur suggestions...i am getting the same brand motherboard, processor, burner, and hard drive...plus i'm breaking the 1 G of memory by about 4 times lol

[Pocky Fiend]

I prefer www.newegg.com over all others myself..they usually have the best prices, great deals on shipping & handling, and the shipping is ALWAYS earlier than expected.

And god damn..4 gigs of RAM is REALLY unnessacary..2 gigs is more than enough..

And shit..buy me a new Nvidia Geforce 6800 GT Ultra while you are at it

[Cloud]

Originally posted by Pocky Fiend
I prefer www.newegg.com over all others myself..they usually have the best prices, great deals on shipping & handling, and the shipping is ALWAYS earlier than expected.

And god damn..4 gigs of RAM is REALLY unnessacary..2 gigs is more than enough..

And shit..buy me a new Nvidia Geforce 6800 GT Ultra while you are at it

i kno 4 gigs is a lil overboard, but what the hell, right?...and i looked at that nvidia geforce 7800 gt oc...do u think that would be better than the video card i have on my list?

[Gabriel013]

I can't give you any recommendations but I will take my hat off to you. I don't have the balls to build my own PC even if it is a lot cheaper as I'm to afraid that I'd stuff it up. After all the trouble I've ben having installing a simple router driver can you blame me for having doubts?

[Cloud]

Originally posted by Gabriel013
I can't give you any recommendations but I will take my hat off to you. I don't have the balls to build my own PC even if it is a lot cheaper as I'm to afraid that I'd stuff it up. After all the trouble I've ben having installing a simple router driver can you blame me for having doubts?

can't really blame u....it doesn't seem very hard tho...i've installed different hardwares in my computer before...plus if u go to google and type in "computer assembly", u can get step by step instructions on the best order to put different parts in

[Pocky Fiend]

Originally posted by Cloud


i kno 4 gigs is a lil overboard, but what the hell, right?...and i looked at that nvidia geforce 7800 gt oc...do u think that would be better than the video card i have on my list?

I have no clue which card is better, but I do know they are both powerful and you'd probably be happy with either one. Or just buy both and I'll take the one you don't like. :P

What kind of specs does your current pc have?

[Dmitry M. (Lazer)]

Originally posted by Cloud
i already searched the net for some of the best parts, and i made a list of the one's i've got my eye on...let me know if i should reconsider any of these or not

Motherboard - Abit AN8 SLI NVIDIA Socket 939 ATX
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3700+ 1 MB Cache 1600 MHz
CPU Cooler - AOC Evercool CPU and VGA Liquid Cooling System
Memory - Ultra 1024 MB PC 3200 DDR 400 MHz RAM sticks (I wanna get 4 of these)
Video Card - Connect 3D Radeo X850 XT Platinum 256 MB GDDR3
Sound Card Turtle Beach Montego 7.1 Dolby Digital Live Surround PCI Sound Card
Hard Drive - Seagate 250 GB/ 8MB ATA-100 EIDE/OEM
Floppy Drive - Sony Premium 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
CD ROM - Sony DRU 720A Internal CD-RW/DVD RW Burner
Speakers - Logitech Z5300E PC 5.1 280W RMS THX Speakers
Case - 11-Bay Acrylic yin-yang ATX computer case w/ LED fans
Keyboard & Mouse - Microsoft Wireless optical Desktop Pro Keyboard and Mouse Combo
Monitor - Hyundai L70N 17 inch LCD monitor

all these parts besides the case can be found at www.tigerdirect.com ....i priced them and after rebates, i will be spending almost $1800 on this monster

Don't buy an Nvidia based Motherboard and then put in an ATI card. Also i would prefer Nvidia 6800GT as well. It has SLi technology, allowing you in the future if you want to, you can connect 2 videocards together and have quadro monitors. Yes for gaming X850 may slightly outperform the 6800GT but only on certain games, but like i said it may run better on your motherboard.

Also that 4gb of ram is useless if you're going to be running Windows XP Home, Pro, or Media Center Edition. They only support up to 2 gigs. In other words you can place 4 gigs but Windows won't be able to utilize them. Windows XP 64 & Linux system have the ability to utilize up to 8gb of ram. So unless you get one of those don't waste you money on that much ram. 2x1gb sticks would be excellent. And if you want quality ram i would get Corsair. They are the best. Though remember that AMD motherboard aren't as support worthy as intel motherboards. That's what i hate, i love that AMD has 64 technology and there CPU's run a hell lot better then P4's but i hate the fact that most AMD motherboard even the high end ones don't even come close to stacking up against the P4 high end motherboards.

Since you are spending money get the Plextor PX-716SA DVD/CD Burner, it's faster and more reliable then the Sony you're getting. And it runs under SATA for maximum airflow and performance.

Also Get a Logitech DiNovo Laser Set or any Logitech Mouse & Keyboard Combo that comes with a Laser mouse. Laser mice are far more precise and will wipe the socks off that Microsoft mouse. Hell Logitech right now is the leading provider of peripherals.

Hyundai Moniter, wtf, don't trust their cars, wouldn't trust their moniters. Stick with Samsung and with the pc you're getting you might as well cough up the money for a bigger monitor. 19in or higher would be best.

Also don't buy OEM HD's you'll regret if it ever dies on you. And why in the world would you get such a powerful machine and such a peace of shit harddrive. It's an EIDE ATA/100. Get a Maxtor 250gb SATA 7200rpm ATA/150 w/ 16mb Buffer. No point of getting 4gb of ram if you HD can't even keep up with it.

Sound card = http://www.creative.com/products/pro...roduct=140 65
The Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum is the best sound card on the market, hell i would go with the Audigy 2 Platinum over the Turtle Beach.

Best case on the market is the Lian-Li V1000 or V2000 (Also comes in Black), it was rated best performing case in cooling, and it's full aluminum. You will spend a huge amount for that case though, it ain't cheap. I know because i bought the V2000B and i got to say best case i've ever owned.