Building a Computer Help

[ChrisB222]

So ive recently decided to retire my current computer and build a new one. Im gunna be using this computer for mostly gaming along with your typical computer needs. What im asking is what should i look for when buying parts, what all do i need, and some brands that are good. Thankss

 

[JMMD]

Start with a budget. There are some guides online that may help as well.

Here's a great article to get your started:
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2659

If you're not even sure what parts are needed, you may want to do some more research before taking on a new build.

 

[KingCody]

for a gaming PC:
1: start with an socket 939 AMD Athlon64 CPU (the larger the L2 cache, the better)
2. a socket 939 MoBo (with nForce4 chipset and a PCI-e slot for video card)
3: some good memory (get at least 1GB, always in matched pairs for dual channel, i.e. two 512MB sticks)
4. a good 256MB PCI-e video card
5. a quality 400w (or higher) power supply (this is where most people are cheap, yet it is arguably the most important component on your entire system)
6. a 7200RPM (or faster) SATA or SATAII hard drive
7. a nice steel case (you can get a cheap case if you want, but it will be louder and not as sturdy)
8. DVD/CD rom drive (be aware that CD/DVD burners often times have slower read speeds then read-only drives)

that is your basic gaming PC. I have not mentioned any specific brands or models because we don't know what your budget is. If you have the money, you can build a killer system, if you're on a tighter budget, you will have to compromise/sacrifice on some things, but you can still build a decent system that will run all the newest games

 

[ChrisB222]

My budget i would say is about 800-1000. If that hellps. But that last post was fantastic. Thank you guys for your help.

 

[alildevil]

Also building a new computer

Its also time for me to retire my old one or give it to my neice or nephew, anywayz... Oh one thing the machien has to be BXT.

I was thinking of using slightly better parts in this one than my last, could anyone find out what might be wrong with the compatiabiliy of these items or recommend any better parts instead of whzt im planning??? Of of course all parts will be retail and not OEM.
Q1. - Also I noticed on the MoBo that it has 2 PCI X16 slots on it does that mean I can use 2 of those video cards, to have alot of ram or is it for (2) smaller 256mb ones lilke the nVidia brand?
Q2. - The one question I have is does that motherboard with the socket T support that CPU?
Q3. - Is 775 the way to go?


(1)ATI 100-435805 Radeon X1900XTX 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card
(1)Thermaltake / Blue Orb 2 / Socket 775/939/940 CPU Cooling Fan for Intel & AMD Processors
(4)AeroCool Xtreme Turbine black 120mm / 89.39CFM / 32.46 dBA /
(2)OCZ EL Dual Channel 2048MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz Gold Memory (2 x 1024MB)
(1)Intel D955XCSLKR Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 955X BTX Intel Motherboard
(1)Intel Pentium 4 670 Prescott 800MHz FSB 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 EM64T Processor
(4)Seagate 300GB Barracuda 7200.9 SATA HD ST3300622AS, SATA 2.5 rev, SATA 3Gb/s w/ NCQ, 16MB, 7200RPM
(1)Cooler Master Stacker Case - Black (STC-T01-UWK) btx capiable
(1)Wolf Claw II - Ultimate Gaming Keyboard
(2)Hiper Type-R 580W Modular Power Supply - Blue (SLI Certified) case can handle them both


Optical drives I already have what I need, even thou they are IDE thou might upgrade in the future to sata ones just not sure yet.

I have all the lights and such from my old CM Stacker case which was only ATX.

 

[deltrun]

It's best to pick a good mobo first. I was told by a pro computer using friend that ABIT mobos are really good.

So I picked one of those up. Then all you have to do is research abit mobos and check the device capadibilities with graphics cards, HDD, CD/DVD, etc. DONT FORGET TO RESEARCH THOSE PARTS ASWELL.

Then pick your parts from that. Also make sure to get a decent case if you go for one with a built in power supply, because power supply can cause alot of problems if it is cheap, along with the power connectors. I went socket 742 3k AMD athlon 64, for gaming purposes. Graphics was 6600 GT AGP. I couldn't afford socket 939 components. Bewarey of windoze software also, if you need to buy it etc. Also bought most of my parts from newegg.com. Fairly good times.

Most problems i encounter are power connector issues. Graphics will turn off because power for graphics card is loose. Other than that it worked brilliantly for about a year and a few months, till it had a serous crash.

Take in account repair/maintaince software also into your budget. If you go windoze XP + decent anti virus software your looking at 2-400 software. Of course you don't always have to buy them but that's somthing I'm not gettin g into.

 

[alildevil]

I was kinda going along the lines of Intel MoBo and the CPU, in reality my last machine has a ASUS MoBo and I found it very good. Only thing is that I don't see ASUS selling any 775, PCI-Express, BXT ones.

 

[cookiedude]

My budget i would say is about 800-1000. If that hellps. But that last post was fantastic. Thank you guys for your help.

what currency? If you live in Britain i can def recommend www.ebuyer.com, probably the cheapest for most PC components. also www.pcnextday.co.uk and www.cclonline.com. For a £1000 you could build a seriously good system!!