Trying something new

[FriendlyFire]

Hey, I'm Steve and I'm new to the boards here. Recently I picked up one of my dad's PCmagazines and starting reading about building your own computer (I'm pretty sure its the latest issue for anyone that might want to know.) After reading all about how actually simple it is to build a computer I dove right into the idea. So over the past few days I have been reading about computers and looking on a bunch of sites over the internet including this one about building my own computer. On the Tigerdirect.com site I saw on the frontpage this offer: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...&CMP=ILC-FPM08
To me this sounds like it could work, right now i'm on a budget and to get me starting would this be a good idea? Are these parts good for the price? I'm a middle-aged teen and dont have a job so I plan to slowly upgrade this computer, and i'm on a tight budget. I can't really say that budget right now for the whole computer but I'd like to make it as little as possible..but dont we all? I see that I would have to look into buying a new hardrive and diskdrive, any suggestions? lets say I dont want to spend more then $150 on those two parts.
thanks for all the help.
Steve

[tomster2300]

Welcome to PCMech!

First of all, what kind of things do you plan on doing with your computer? Will it be mainly for gaming (hardcore or casual) or just internet and wordprocessing (school stuff).

That barebones bundle doesn't look too hot, nor very upgradable. Biostar isn't the best motherboards companies, nor is that generic psu looking too good either. If you're going to be looking towards gaming then you're going to want to pick a pci-e board since AGP is a dead end.

When you say no more than $150, do you mean on the hard drive and cd drive, or do you mean that parts that're included in that bundle? Give us some more information and we'll be glad to help you.

[avx]

A good HDD will run you around 75-90 bucks, and you can pick up a CD-ROM drive for like 20 bucks. Or you can look into getting a CD Burner, which will be a little more.

I wouldnt go with tigerdirect...I have heard(and seen) some bad things about them. Check out newegg.com, start looking at mobos and processors. I can tell you right now though if your looking for a build thats going to last you a long time your going to have to invest a bit in the mobo, atleast 100 bucks. Look at Asus, Intel, MSI, Albatron, those are brands that I like, and have a pretty good rep, particularly Asus.

[tomster2300]

I wouldn't go with a bundle like that mainly because of the lack of hardware quality. That psu will die on you in a couple of months (usually sooner depending on how poor it is and how much stress you put it under), and that mobo is a piece of junk. You would save more money in the long run by purchasing parts separately (although certain combos are worth your time - just not that one), and buying from places other than tigerdirect. They overcharge by a lot. Most people here recommend either www.newegg.com or www.zipzoomfly.com. Be sure to compare prices between the sites and any others on the web (or in retail stores) before you make any purchases because those sites might not always have the best deals. (That goes for anything you buy in life).

Like avx said, you should put some money into a nice board if you want it to last longer than a few months. Putting a computer together that's within a certain budget takes a little bit of planning (because you don't want to blow your money!), but anything done right takes time. Just give us some more information on what you plan on using this for and a ballpark budget and we'll be glad to help you get everything in order. You've come to the right place .

[FriendlyFire]

Thanks for the quick responses. I plan on using this computer for school work and gaming so eventually it'll get pretty decked out as the money comes in but for now I would understand if what I buy is just basic and would be a low-end gamer. Sorry I didn't add what I wanted to do with the computer in there, it was late last night for me and I've been dazed ever since saturday because i got a concussion snowboarding. haha, oh well. So what motherboards would you guys suggest for a gamer/school boy like me for under $80? I plan an using this board for quite a while and upgrading everything on it so I guess I'll have to spend quite a bit. For computer usage I plan on playing some games and using this computer to record music (drums, guitar, vocals, that sorta stuff) and maybe even evntually video edit in the (probably far)future. I'm not really sure what are good prices on motherboards because sites are always trying to sell you their so its hard to tell. thanks for the input, Steve.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=247001
what do you guys think of this motherboard?
and how about this one.
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=247024
Can you show me a comparison of these two motherboards like pros and cons? The both look similiar to me except for the different PCI's but I know i may be way off there.

[tomster2300]

Since you're new to computer parts I'd check this link out:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=42991

I'm not saying you have a problem, but it's great reference when looking at hardware online and the question "what in the world does this mean" goes through your mind.

First of all, would you like to go Intel or AMD for your processor - that determines what boards you get to choose from.

For AMD ~ the 939 socket is the newest type of board currently available (requires a socket 939 processor). AMD boards are distinguished by their socket #'s (939, 754, Socket A - newest to oldest in that order). You will match the socket of the processor to the corresponding motherboard socket - mismatching sockets won't work. So that means you have a set line of processors that work for each type of board.

Probably the best AMD board manufacturer is ASUS. With an $80 budget though you must eliminate SLI boards (which begins I think at around $100). SLI gives you the ability to run dual video cards simultaneously, but in doing so you must purchase two identical cards, thus drastically upping your price. You can run a single card on those boards, and simply add another later, but usually by that time the next newest video card is out and costs the same as the amount you paid for both cards (and is typically more powerful).

For non-SLI the ASUS A8N5X - no frills, ($86.99 - newegg) or the A8N-E ($98.00 - newegg) are good choices. The cheapest ASUS SLI board is ($118.99 - newegg) - ASUS A8N-SLI Socket 939.

Now there are other boards from manufacturers that are highly recommended, I'm just not as familiar with them.

Intel ~ I'm not familiar enough with Intel to tell you anything, so hopefully somebody else can fill you in.


Look around online, pick some out, link them to us, and we'll tell you what we think.

[jayb1234]

Intel boards: The newest is the LGA775, the next is 478. If you go with Intel I would not reccommend the 478 because they are getting old and aren't very economical to upgrade anymore due to the fact that the 478 processors are getting more expensive because of short supply.

Your best options would be an Intel chipset on an Intel or Asus board. Avoid the sis, uli, etc.. chipsets, they aren't very good.

About the only reason to use a non-Intel chipset board would be in the case of a Nvidia chipset board with SLI. I am not a fan of SLI. I find it to be overpriced and overhyped. Asus would be the brand if you do want it. However SLI wil also require using only certified parts from this list.

I would reccommend a board with a 945, 955, or 975 chipset for best upgradability. Those boards can handle dual core processors, but not all of them handle all of the dual cores. So check the compatibility before you order.

Also as far as upgrading, go with an ATX form factor board, not a smaller one which won't have as many slots to put additional hardware in.

Here is the only fullsized Intel ATX board with one of those chipsets that I found at Newegg that has onboard video. It would save you some money on the video card, but would not be the best for heavy gaming. You could add a video card later when you have more cash.

[FriendlyFire]

I think I'm going to go AMD. From the info. I have gathered it seems to me that the AMD processors are faster. So for future upgrades I can see myself getting a new processor.
The question I have now concerns PCI slots. I assume that the PCI slots are used for sound cards, and video cards, but what else?
What are the PCI express slots used for? What can you place here?

[tomster2300]

If you look at the benchmarks comparing Intel and AMD processors in gaming you'll see that they are very similar. Typically though AMD does come out a bit higher on the performance list.

You're right about the PCI slots - they're used for extra peripherals such as sound cards, firewire cards, etc. They are not used for video cards - that's where the PCI-e (PCI-express) slots come in. PCI-e is relatively new and has practically replaced the older AGP technology. AGP has 8 pipes while PCI-e has 16x. Your SLI boards have 2 PCI-e slots (there are no AGP SLI boards) but they divide the 16 pipes between the slots - so each one gets 8 pipes. The new A8N32-SLI is different (and more expensive) since it has 16 for each slot instead of splitting them.

[FriendlyFire]

Ok, now that I know that I've decided to go with the ASUS A8N5X motherboard. My dad and I began looking at hardrives this evening and I realized that I dont really have a clue what I'm doing. I know that Western Digital is one of the more popular hardrives out there so we began looking at those but I would think that there are other decent hardrives out there. If I have a budget of $100 for a hardrive what would be a good choice?

[jayb1234]

Either of these would do.

[tomster2300]

Those look fine, just make sure it's a SATA with a 16 mb cache. A Maxtor, WD, or Seagate would be a good option.

Check out this link to learn why you should choose SATA over IDE.

If you're not familiar with the benchmarking websites, then here are a few:

www.tomshardware.com
www.anandtech.com
www.extremetech.com

These sites review all types of computer hardware and put them through rigorous tests to make sure they're worth their salt. They also make comparisons and provide tons of useful information. I would always recommend reading numerous reviews on a product before you purchase it. They also give you an idea on which ones to consider purchasing. Once you hit those sites then google your product + "review" and read what comes up.

[mmendoza27]

I visit tomshardware and anandtech at least 3 times a week to keep up with latest PC technology and benchmarks. I'm 19, so I'm a little older than you, but I've picked up a couple of books on A+ certification (don't know if I should try and do it) and I was close to building my own computer, but decided to buy an iMac. (DON'T REGRET IT ONE BIT)

However, it depends on what you want. Remember this though, fork out money for the motherboard, however expensive it may be, the motherboard has a lot to deal with upgradability in the future. The motherboard is probably the most important feature for anyone, because that stays, it's the main part of the computer. RAM, Hard drives, power supplies, heck, even processors can change, but Mobo's usually stay for the life of the computer.

I'd recommend an AMD A8N-SLI for gaming or a DFI, I'm more of an Asus person, and Asus has good Socket 939 and LGA775 motherboards. Intel motherboards tend to be pricy though, but with good features. What you can do is spend money on a good motherboard, wait a couple of weeks of months and buy something else that's expensive, like the processor. Really, all you need is a motherboard (with onboard sound and video), CPU, RAM, and hard drive. Don't worry about speakers, high-end sound card or graphics card, a high-end monitor, keyboard or mouse. Those are all things you can upgrade easily later when you have the money.

Hope this helps,
Fellow Young PC Builder