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building a pc

BigKahuna
By BigKahuna ยท 11 replies
Jul 1, 2007
  1. i am building a pc , i want to have a dvd/cd burner then the hard drive. the hard drive stores memory and my question is when u go to MY COMPUTER is c & d drive how many hard drives do i need. i need 1 for disks is that all?
     
    Jul 1, 2007
    #1
  2. BigKahuna

    BigKahuna TS Rookie Topic Starter Posts: 33

    Jul 1, 2007
    #2
  3. Tedster

    Tedster Techspot old timer..... Posts: 6,000   +15

    while a computer will work fine with just one drive, it is always better to have 2 HDD. Use the second for backups. With 2 identical drives you can also run them in a RAID array for even faster booting.
     
    Jul 2, 2007
    #3
  4. tipstir

    tipstir TS Ambassador Posts: 2,425   +112

    Go with AMD CPU, X2 are cheap now and you can over clock the CPU but you need to check online for whichever CPU you buy to see which speed works best. CDRW and DVDRW you can get both into one, but I still like the fact you can still use two. DVD ROM with CDRW features along with DVDRW. If you can stick 2G or 4G into the system will be great down the road. Video for gaming PCI-Express or PCI-X 256Mb min to has high you can budget too.

    You can order online or go to a computer show with cash to get the items wholesale. Have fun..
     
    Jul 2, 2007
    #4
  5. TimberJon

    TimberJon TS Rookie

    Answer to question

    I think I see your question. It seems like you are asking what parts that you need when you view my computer and see the items there.

    To build a basic PC, one hard drive unit, and one CD reader/writer is what you will see in my computer when there is a C: and D: drive.

    By default, C: is always your hard drive, and D: is for your CD drive.

    You would not need two hard drives. For a home PC, one gig (1GB) of memory is sufficient for Microsoft Office and most games. If you will be playing any of the latest high-end games, or be working with powerful programs like Photoshop, then choose a motherboard that can take between 4 to 8 gigs of memory, and buy the highest or 2nd highest bus speed that you can get, and PACK your system. If you are running XP Pro 32 bit version, your OS cannot take advantage of more than 3 gigs. If you put 4 gigs in that OS, the extra gig will be for nothing. If you are going to be running the 64 bit (x64) windows, like vista, then your system can use alot more, stuff it with memory if you can. Memory has dropped ALOT in price, so you can snatch up good stuff. Corsair or kingston, even OCZ are all good brands.
     
    Jul 2, 2007
    #5
  6. TimberJon

    TimberJon TS Rookie

    Also, I saw your reference to Hard Drive storage as memory. The word memory usually refers only to your "system memory" which means your RAM. Nowadays this is DDR, DDR2, DDR3, Etc...

    Hard drive is for storage of Data. Memory is only temporary reads/writes.
     
    Jul 2, 2007
    #6
  7. BigKahuna

    BigKahuna TS Rookie Topic Starter Posts: 33

    when i buy a hard drive is that my CD Drive
     
    Jul 2, 2007
    #7
  8. BigKahuna

    BigKahuna TS Rookie Topic Starter Posts: 33

    what is a RAID array?
     
    Jul 2, 2007
    #8
  9. TimberJon

    TimberJon TS Rookie

    AHA! nono, your hard drive cannot also be your cd drive.

    Hard Drive picture (out of box) http://www.tekstation.com/prod_images_large/ACFY2ri4T.jpg
    A Hard drive is ALSO called a disc drive or hard disc because it uses solid discs inside to store the data on. Theyre like metallic permanent CD's. Take a look --> http://www.refurbished-laptops.biz/images/internal-hard-drive.jpg

    Nice place to shop for drives --> http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewproduct.asp?PID=HD-IDE-WD&updepts=HD-IDE&DNAME=Hard+Drives+-+IDE

    CD-Rom or Writer (could also be DVD capable)
    http://images.tigerdirect.ca/SKUimages/medium/L12-1044-a1.jpg

    You need one of each. a RAID is for more than one hard drive, to protect the data inside. if all you are protecting is your software, games and maybe movies or music, you can always burn them to a CD or regular DVD to protect it. The general home user does not need a RAID array, its more trouble than its worth.

    So you will need a Hard Drive, and also, a Disc Drive. The units with built-in DVD-writing and reading capabilities are so cheap nowadays that its silly not to get one. Here is a link to a good all-in-one DVD writer. It will also read and write standard CDs.

    Depending on the motherboard you are buying for your system, make sure you match your Hard Drive cable type. There is IDE and SATA. Both use different cable types.

    IDE Motherboard sockets --> http://www.3dnews.ru/documents/3695/ide.jpg
    The large black one is usually for your CD Rom. And the Blue one for your Hard drive. The blue one can be used with one cable for BOTH your Hard Drive and CD Rom though, as most manufacturers set their systems up this way. I.E., Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP, Etc.. etc..
    The smaller black one is for a Floppy disc drive. Which are quickly being replaced by USB flash drives, or "memory sticks".
    Flash Drive ---> http://www.tomshardware.pl/technews/images/20050921-DT_U3_1GB_HiRES.jpg

    IDE Cable. Some come in colors, or round cables, but the connectors are all the same. http://homepage.igrocom.com.ua/images/cable/ide.jpg

    SATA connector on mobo (motherboard) The Black one.
    http://www.ixbt.com/storage/serial-ata/sata_conn_big.jpg

    SATA cable. they cant get much smaller. http://www.tekcomputersuk.com/images/sata.jpg

    Hope that all made sense! Ask away if you have questions.

    I custom-build all the sytems for myself and my company, if you need help on a budget, I can help you out. I also know of a great company always in the top PC magazines that you can build a nice system from, that provides LIFETIME technical support. I have 2 systems from them and theyve never had a problem. One is one year old, the other is over 6 years old.

    Let me know if you would like some help, and what your budget is.
     
    Jul 2, 2007
    #9
  10. BigKahuna

    BigKahuna TS Rookie Topic Starter Posts: 33

    Jul 2, 2007
    #10
  11. BigKahuna

    BigKahuna TS Rookie Topic Starter Posts: 33

    Jul 3, 2007
    #11
  12. BigKahuna

    BigKahuna TS Rookie Topic Starter Posts: 33

    Jul 3, 2007
    #12
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