Well, It seems you want to build a computer.

To start off, you'll need nothing more than some money to burn.

So lets go!


Well, it would be hard to select a computer without a case. You'll find some good cases as well as all other computer software at www.newegg.com.

Cases come in many varieties and it's hard to pick. The case has little impact on performance, so pick it on personal preference. If the case does not come with a Power supply, make sure to pick one up.

If you plan on doing word processing or something similar to that 200-300 Watts should be sufficient while a gaming computer might want 500 Watts.

Ok, on to the motherboard.

There are two main options you can go with, AMD or Intel. You might want to go with AMD, as they currently offer affordable 64 bit technology. Make sure the motherboard you pick has "Socket 939", so it will be compatible with the latest proccesors. If you have a lot of money to burn, go pick a motherboard that has SLi enabled which allows two video cards to operate in tandem.

The proccesors.

While selecting a processor, keep in mind that your cpu must be compatable with your motherboard. Do this by ensuring that they both use the same socket.

Keep in mind with 64 bit proccesor speed cannot be directly compared to pentium 4s.

More to come later!

This post has been edited by infamousflame: Jul 15 2005, 05:56 PM

Don't do this for the LGA775 Intel CPU's. You realy must check the motherboards website and check for compatibility, because some drain too much power and other need specific chipsets (like the Dual Core P4's).
For the AMD64's most will work as long as the socket is the same, if not, BIOS updates will probably ensure compatibility.

For the case part, don't take a too small case, cpu's and gpu's produce a lot of waste heat nowadays, so get a well ventilated (but quiet) case.

For the PSU, don't link it to office or game, link it to the cpu(s) and gpu(s) and link those to office and game.

For the rest, good guide, short, but that's everything a beginner needs.

You forget the 7 basic parts you need for a computer. Well at least, a few of them.

Here's the basic things you need:

- CPU
- Motherboard
- Case
- Powersupply
- RAM memory
- Hard disc
- Graphics card

You ofcourse can argue about cd/dvd drives, but you can't count them as a basic, since, theoretically, a computer without a dvd/cd drive WILL boot.

So I guess the other parts fill follow soon.
Btw. a case isn't a basic part either, because a computer will run w/o case too (like mine ).

True, but most people usually want a case for their computers, so at least it's protected

Seems like the motherboard, processors, and cases were already added jipman?

And nice little tutorial you've got there.

I plan on building my first computer soon...So I'll need to bone up on my comp knowledge

Pretty nice tut, Only problem with it is you say that newegg is the only place people should go (you don't directly say it, it's more of an implication) You can go to Tigerdirect.com Pricewatch.com and for cases go to colorcases maybe? There are probaly more but those are the ones I use.

AND you forgot videocard, and Cooling. For cooling I would go to Frozencpu.com (New tecnology for cooling that works so, so wonderful.

I just finished building my new computer last month completely from parts purchased on eBay! =)

CPU:
Intel® Pentium® 4 551 3.40 GHz LGA775 800MHz FSB EM64T w/ 1MB L2 Advanced Transfer Cache

Motherboard:
Gigabyte GA-8IP775-G, Intel® 865P chipset, LGA775 Intel® Pentium® 4 processor with 800MHz FSB and Hyper-Threading Technology support.

RAM:
Corsair ValueSelect, 2GB DDR 400MHz PC3200 184 Pin CAS 2.5 Unbuffered Non-Parity, Non-ECC, Non-Registered, Low-Density SDRAM (2 sticks each 1GB) *Possibly to be upgraded to 4 sticks*

Video Card:
Gigabyte ATI Radeon 9600 Pro AGP8X 256MB DDR Graphics Accelerator w/TV out DVI

Hard Disk:
MaXtor MaXLine 3 7L300S0, 300GB SATA150, 7200 RPM 16MB Cache

DVD-RW:
NEC Black Dual Layer 16x DVD-/+RW Writer

Power Supply:
CaseGears Clear Acrylic X-Plug Modular 450Watt PSU

Case:
Transparent Acrylic ATX Computer Case

Cooling:
Original Intel® LGA775 HeatSink & Fan assembly.
Unincom Crystal Clear 4 Blue LED Case Fans (x4)

Let me tell you this computer is awesome! Super fast and stable running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005! =)

Well, this would be nice, as I'd like to assemble custom systems and sell them as a way to make some money to feed my addiction to model railroading.

However, you really need to update it, as selection of components isn't the only help I/we need with; we also wanna know how to put it all together!

Talking about cool.... In exactly one week and 2 days. I'll be buying a new computer too . I think I already mentioned a while ago, but now's finally the time

Here's specs

AMD 64 3200+ (Overclocking to at least 3500+)

Asus A8N-E (Retail, sound, Gb-LAN, RAID)

PNY Verto 6800 Ultra 3D card

GeIL DIMM 1 GB (Retail, 600-C25-4410, Dual Channel Kit) (need some good memory that can keep up with the overclocked CPU )

Thermaltake Silent Purepower 560W (I'll explain later why I need this much wattage)

Lian Li PC-60B Plus case (Soooooo pretty )

Above stuff is just nice. But what comes now is what really matters

4x Maxtor 250GB (DiamondMax Plus 10, 7200RPM, 16MB, SATA)

Yeaaah ..... In combination with my 14mbit down it sure is going get filled up

Any comments guys?