bulding a new comp any suggestions

hey im bulding a new computer and i need some help on wat to put in it like good stuff for cheap prices.

If you really have no idea where to begin, I'd recommend buying from an OEM.

oem machines are ther for one reason: to make thier companies as much of a profit as they can get away with. compaq and sony don't even try making good computers, they just throw a box together using two-bit chinese crap, install windows and a bunch of other crap, and let marketing sell the people a lie. before you give your money to those corporations, perhaps you should buy a custom build from a local pc store/repair shop. if one is near you, that is. you can usually get a good computer there for hundreds less than a dell or something of similar specs, and that way you'll have a real machine to learn from. if you do choose to go with an oem build, i'd have to say that dell is your best bet, even though thier products leave a lot to be desired.

If you give us an idea of what KIND of computer you want (gaming? just for email and internet browsing?) as well as a sense of your budget we can give you some suggestions.

By the way, well said zephead!

its mostly for gaming and little bit for school and budget is $350-$430

What does your price include? Is it just the tower, or do you want a keyboard/mouse/monitor too? Do you want to include the price of xp in that($85usd)?

Point being, some people say computer, and they mean everything, tower, os, peripherals, etc, and others only mean the motherboard, cpu, ram and video card. My definition is a tower: a case, psu, motherboard, cpu, video card, ram, dvd drive, hd, fans, and the xp cost.

i just want a computer no speakers,monitor.
,mouse etc.

If you're building a gaming system, i don't think $400 is enough. A good mobo's going to run you $140. A good video card would be around $180. The Processor is also usually around $160+. The HD is $80-$140+. I dunno... If you don't know where to start, i suggest you do some research and then buy the parts. Or maybe it'd be easier to just by an OEM PC like someone already said.

a good graphics card will cost you around $200 (you'll want a 6600gt or higher card), and i reccomend the msi k8n neo2 motherboard. it has great performance, features, and costs about $80. it's nforce3 controller uses an agp slot, so you'll have more options on that graphics card, for less money. kingston 512mb sticks of DDR400 are selling for $50 a stick these days, i reccomend you have two sticks working in dual-chennel mode. for harddrives the maxtor 6y120mo 120GB sata models are fast, reliable, and inexpensive (mid $70). then all you need is a case/psu and an optical drive. make sure your psu is rated for at least 420watts, and that it is a high quality name brand supply.

BTW > make sure your a64 cpu is NOT one using the newcastle core, and that it is built on a 90nm process. you should be able to pick up a capable winchester model for a good price...

If your building a gaming computer, make sure you have it well ventalated. You'll need a good case, with room for extension, and several case fans. You'll also need a solid heatsink/fan combo. Heat kills more than any virus can

i already made it u can see the SPECS now