New to building PC looking for advice on how to get started!

[maganiz]

Well Im new to this PC building stuff all I know how to do is the basic download things and email. Recently my father wanted me to learn how to build a computer so I was reading stuff on how to get started. Been reading the threads, BuildYouOwnComputer.net and other sites like that and got the generic list thing that was stickied, which has helped me alot in learning what is needed to build a PC. The problem Im having is trying to find the newest updated parts to buy. I'm planning on building 2 pc's one for me when I go off to college an AMD (for gaming like WoW, Quake 3 and for Drafting CAD) cause I hear its cheaper then Intel and one for my father at home Pentium 4 for video editing. I'd like both computers to be upgradable in the future. Any advice on getting started on what parts to buy or things to take into consideration would be greatly appreciated! Thanks in advance! Oh and im starting from scratch if thats any help.

[avx]

Since they are both going to be graphically demanding PC's, they are both going to be on the $$$ side. Dont fall for the old "AMD is cheaper than Intel" myth. With the kind of money you are going to be shelling out, the 3 or 4 bucks you save is'nt going to mean much.

Good names to look for in motheboards would be Asus, MSI, Intel, and Albatros. When your looking at the MoBo's(because upgrading is important to you) you want to be sure you get a mobo with LGA 775 socket(if you go Intel) or the 939(if you go AMD).

You also want to look for PCI-e 16x, this is what will allow you to upgrade your FXcard for your a few years to come.

Make sure your board also supports up to atleast 2 or 3gigs of RAM.

Then just find yourself the highest rated FXcard you can afford, and you should have yourself a screaming rig with the ability to upgrade for atleast 3 or 4 years.

Also, if you havn't already read this PCMech Build Your Own Guide in its entirety...I would make sure you do, it should give you a good deal of confidence in what you are getting yourself into

[glc]

The gaming machine needs a decent video card, but a video editor will do fine with an entry level card. You can't go wrong with an Asus motherboard - Intel chipset for Intel processor and NForce chipset for an AMD processor. Nvidia video cards are traditionally gamers, ATI cards are traditionally best general display cards.

[maganiz]

Thanks for the info guys they helped me ALOT it made everything clearer and showed me how to get started and yea i read the Build PC thing on this site that helped too well im off to start this project planning on dishing out 2 gs for each system mayber more yikes. Wekk thanks for the info again helped a great deal!

[YosoyPolloLoco]

for youtr gaming rig you'll probably want SLI and with a 2000+ budget( if i understand your reply correctly) It's pretty much a given

The most commonly used one around here is Asus A8N SLI Deluxe which should be good for that build

[glc]

SLI is not necessary. It and RAID are the current boutique technologies.

[maganiz]

I feel stupid but whats SLI and Raid? Im guessing its the graphics card compatibility?? Or something that has to do with graphics right?

[Alaron]

SLI stands for Scalable Link Interface. It was created by Nvidia as a way to connect 2 graphics cards together to increase performance. But if you are not a big time gamer, one card is plenty.

RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. It is a way to connect multiple hard drives together for performance increases, data backup or both. But again, for most users, its not necessary, one hard drive is usually adequate.



PS, if you ever wonder about all those acronyms that come up around here, check out www.webopedia.com It is very helpful.

[kram 2.0]

Originally Posted by maganiz I feel stupid but whats SLI and Raid? Im guessing its the graphics card compatibility?? Or something that has to do with graphics right?

SLi: Scalable Link Interface. A technology that allows two graphics card to work together to raise the graphics processing power of your computer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface

RAID: Redundant Array of Inexpensive/Independent Disks. Several types of RAID - RAID 1 and RAID 0 are most commonly used. A technology used for redundancy (mirroring) or for striping more than one hard disk drives together.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RAID

kram

[maganiz]

Thanks again! Very friendly ppl on these boards I think im starting to get this computer stuff a little bit

[avx]

I dont know if this helps you at all...but when you start looking at monitors, most people like to get the flat screen LCD and Plasma just because they look really cool, but for your gamming rig a big'ol CRT monitor will save you a lot of money, and will actually work better for you, than the far more expensive flat screens. Atleast thats my opinion.

[jayb1234]

For the Intel build you will want to get a case that meets their "thermally advantaged chassis" specifications. List is here.

It wouldnt be a bad idea to use one on the AMD build too.

The Antecs are pretty solid and Antec power supplies are quality units.

For the upgradability on the Intel, get a 945, 955 or 975 Intel chipset board from Intel or Asus.

Liteon has some nice CD/Dvd burners with Lightscribe that come with the burning software.

For the Intel rig consider a 8xx or 9xx dual core processor.

For the hard drives I like the 7200 rpm 16Mb cache Seagates.

Ram: Corsair Valueselect, use the configurator at corsair to find the right part number

A floppy drive/card reader can be handy too, and you might need the floppy during the setup.

Where to buy newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com are good, stay away from tiger direct and ebay.

Stick with the stock heatsink/fan units that come with the CPUs. Aftermarket units will void the processor warranty and often aren't any better and can block card slots because of their size.

[maganiz]

Thanks for the monitor advice but planning on using my old monitors for quite awhile. Thanks for the Intel advice I was thinking for a Intel Pentium Pentium D 950 is that any good or should i go for an EE? Haha i was actually looking at tigerdirect. thanks for that info. Well thank you all very much for helping!

[maganiz]

whats the PC2 4200 or PC2 5400 mean? on the ram like 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200)?

[glc]

That is a speed rating. The best match for a 9xx is DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) unless you plan on overclocking the processor, which I personally don't think is necessary with that high end a processor. In fact, I think a 950 is a waste of money - for less than half the price you can get a 930 and you won't notice much difference at all. Buy at the sweet spot, not at the top end.

Asus makes several compatible motherboards - but it may need a bios update to work with a 9xx series processor. The board may or may not ship with the right bios. The P5LD2, P5ND2 (for SLI) and P5WD2 series are all compatible.

Don't go nuts on high end processors and premium ram for a gamer - concentrate on the quantity of ram (get 2gb) and a high end video card. That is going to make the most difference. Even for the video editor, a 930 is plenty. You could actually build 2 identical systems except for the video card.

[maganiz]

Alright man thanks! Wasn't too happy bout how the 950 and mother board would cost me almost 1 g alone.

[glc]

What you need to do is figure out a reasonable budget and put together well balanced systems at that price point.