Bulding my own PC

[Mig]

Pretty much what it says on the tin.

So after... 3 or 4 years owning my (fantastically crap) second hand PC, I've finally decided to scrape together enough money to build my own PC from scratch.

But, since this is pretty much the first time I've attempted this sort of thing I have no idea where to buy the components, whether it's honestly worth paying extra for a Dual Core Processor, to go for Intel or AMD, Nvidia or ATI, blah blah.

===> Jargon warning. =P

All I know is I have a budget on anywhere between £300 and maybe £400 or so (depending on how much my Wii fetches, how much I work in the coming weeks, how much i can pilfer off my parents etc.) and want a 64-bit processor with a clockspeed upwards of (at the very least) 2ghz so that when I bother with a 64-bit OS it should (hopefully) double in efficiency. 2gig DDR RAM, (clockspeed upwards of 600mhz or so) at least a 256mb Graphics card, though 512 if I can afford it, a motherboard with space for RAM expansion and preferably CrossFire/SLI support for multiple graphics cards. Not too bothered about the HDD, upwards of 80gig I suppose. Oh, and a fancy glowy case of course. Also, I have no idea what to do about a sound card. Worth spending dough on?

Well anyway, I've looked about a bit but a fair few of these online component sites don't look too trustworthy. I found one that does the system described above (roughly, anyway) for about.. £350 or so. But they build it for you so that obviously adds to the cost and takes away the fun a bit =p so of course, with the fantastic computer enthusiasts i know some of you to be (coughaethercough ) I thought I'd seek advice here.

Know any decent sites to buy these components? (preferrably UK sites kthx =p) bother with dual core or not? invest in an NVidia or ATI graphics card, Intel or AMD CPU?

Anyone? =p

[Tim]

I'd kinda recommend buying the package deal if it resembles what you want well enough. Putting your own computer together & getting it up and running invariable causes at least one headache.

That said, theres a lot to consider. Of course, you'll have to check to make sure all the parts you choose are compatible with each other as well as the CPU you choose. Thinking logically, one might think that the AMD (ATI) vid card would go with the AMD processor and the nvidia would be given to intel, but it's really a matter of preference. I've never had a problem with my Nvidia card or AMD processor, personally, but I'm sure theres plenty of people who could tell you otherwise. Most people I know seem to like AMD. If you can afford dual or quad, though most likely unnecessary, theres really no reason not to.

I use www.tigerdirect.com for almost all of the computer stuff I buy online. They're very, uh.. direct.

[Aether]

Dude, you need advice drop us a line. I build PCs for a living. Mind you, I don't think you'd be getting anything special for 400 pounds. Not if you're going with 64-bit.

All your basic socket 775 mainboards nowadays will support up to 8GB of DDR2 RAM (at anything up to...1333MHz I think) and if you're going for performance, you'd be wanting something with Silent Pipe technology rather than your standard Heatsink + fan...but it gets a bit pricey for that.

Buying anything less than a 512MB DDR2 Video card is a waste of money, value for money is probably going to get you something in the realms of an ATI Radeon 2600XT card. It doesn't support Crossfire, but unless you really want to be running dual video cards, you don't need it.

Sound cards, you can't go past Creative Live. They've got some great 8 Channel cards coming out right now, they're just plain awesome. But if you don't really care about sound, you could always go with your 5.1 onboard sound and get yourself a good set of Logitech speakers.

HDD, 80GB is the smallest we sell where I work. A 500GB SATA HDD will set you back about...$150 here though.

If you want a cheap processor, pick up a Pentium D or Celeron D from Intel. Mind you, the standard Core 2 are pretty cheap now too.

Cases are pretty much a consumable...just get one that fits your mainboard and has enough slots for your expansion cards.

Oh yeah, don't forget the power supply...any new PC nowadays with a graphics card doesn't really work too well without at least 500W.



...and now I'll stop before I get into too much trouble.

[Mig]

Well, the £400 is all I have for the initial build to at least get a system that runs - mobo, CPU, RAM, PSU and a HDD along with a graphics card. After that, there should be room for expansion. (Sound card, more RAM, blah)

Been hunting around at Amazon and dabs.com a fair bit - picked out an ASUS motherboard that looks pretty good, the ATI card you recommended - Radeon 2600xt, an AMD CPU which should fit the mobo (AMD Athlon 64 +2 4200+) a seagate 160gb HDD, 2gb of kingston RAM, and I'm not too sure on a PSU... will this do the trick?

Oh, and fo course heatsink+fan. Nice silent 92mm should do. Freezer 64 Pro. Scores some good revies and it's not too much doash to part with for decent cooling, I guess.

So in which case:
mobo - 65.75
GFX - 86.89
CPU - 56.53
HDD - 34.06
RAM - 73.28
PSU - 24.95
FAN - 13.99
A grand total of... £355.45 without a case. Which I suppose leaves me a couple of quid to spend on one. =p Might indulge in a little glowiness

How's that for (about) £400?

[_J_]

I'd get it from here:
http://pcspecialist.co.uk/

Pretty good site.

[Aether]

600W PSU would be fine. If you were running two cards, you might need a larger one though. Probably the best value for money would be from either Antec or Thermaltake. I've yet to see one of those brand breakdown.

If you've got a bit of spare cash after buying a case, my suggestion would be to upgrade to a Scythe brand heatsink and fan combo. That or the Cooler Master Eclipse universal heatsink. Some of the best short of putting in pricey liquid cooling. I've ordering one of the Eclipse's myself in the next week or so.

One thing you might also consider is a monitor. If you've got a good graphics card, you should have at least a 19" LCD. I can tell you they get a bit pricey though, my 24" cost me $650.

Damn Nice case though, it be most glowy. Now you've just got to pick out your OS of choice.

[Mig]

Yeah, I was planning on buying myself a 19" at some point. Or at least begging at Christmas.

I think I'll also be running my current XP Copy until I get enough to buy myself a copy of Vista. As Much as I dislike Windows, Vista pretty much is the future. And I suppose if I want Vista, I be needing another gig of RAM, hah.

Should be getting the money for this lot in the coming week. Can't wait now. =P

[Tim]

Bah, vista.

I can't stand it.

[Sofa King]

Vista sux.

[Mig]

Fantastic, just got it all built and running like a dream.

Thing is, how the hell do I wire up the HDD, VGA and CPU thermometers? They're like, little thin orange things inside a removable plastic tube attached to the temperature display on the outside of my PC Case. At the minute they're just dangling there telling me the room temperature. Where do they actually go?

Also, I have no idea where to wire the FAN1 and FAN2 cables (the ones that tell the rpm on the front of the case again), they're male white plugs with four pins, but only three wires. Managed everything else well enough though.

[Aether]

The thermometers should be stuck to the HDD, and the Heatsinks of the CPU and Video card.

FAN1 and FAN2 are interchangeable really, most mainboards will have them printed next to the connectors. Mine however has them referred to as SYSFAN and FAN. If you are in doubt, look at the manual that came with the mainboard. If you've got anything better than your standard heatsink, you should only really need the CPU fan and one other anyway.

[Areo 13]

Originally Posted by Tim

I use www.tigerdirect.com for almost all of the computer stuff I buy online. They're very, uh.. direct.

Good place,
Building comps is fun but small stupid errors matter! That all I can say. Have fun!