Need some help choosing parts...

[Nolp]

...for a new PC I intend to build.

Let me start off by saying, this will be the first PC i have tried to build myself. No doubt I will be speaking to you guys when it comes to building the thing but right now i just need some help choosing parts.

I'll be using this PC mainly for browsing the internet, running office applications, some light image editing (this does involve Photoshop), playing online poker and various other things. I do not play games, well, not games that would warrant me building a gaming PC anyway.

I do not even know where to start when it comes to choosing parts. I have been browsing through this site but am just getting even more confused. AMD or Intel? Which socket to use? What type of RAM? Is this the best memory? All these things running through my mind were sending me round and round in circles so i thought it would be better to just ask the kind people at PCMech for some help.

I do not have a very big budget (in fact it's tiny) but i was hoping i could still get something respectable for it. I have around £300 to spend (this could maybe be stretched if needs be) to buy everything i need.

I already have:

• Monitor
• Hard Drive
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• XP Software

Things i think i'll be needing:

• Motherboard
• Processor
• Case
• RAM
• Graphics Card

Last but not least, as you can see from my budget i'm from the UK. If possible could you find the parts that i need from the following two sites that i will be hoping to buy from.

www.savastore.com
www.overclockers.co.uk
(Any other suggestions you may have)

Any other questions, just ask.

Thanks to anyone who can help.

Chris

[gherkin]

Alright mate,

firstly a couple more shops to add to your list

www.dabs.com
www.scan.co.uk (have a look at there 'TodayOnly' section as they do have some bargins on there some days (this week they have AMD CPU's on offer)
www.ebuyer.com

I have used those in the past and have had no problems.

For the memory I would probably go for a minimum of 1Gb look at Corsair ValueSelect (2x512mb) as they do very good memory failing that you could look at Crucial.

Processor wise I'm an AMD man so can't comment on Intel, someone else could probably comment on that. You could look at the Socket939 3200+ but again someone might offer an Intel version that could be better/cheaper.

Motherboard wise I picked up an Asus A8N5X (Socket 939) for approx £50 from dabs however it does appear on Scan's today only section from time to time. Another one that might be of some use is the Asus 939 Dual Sata II motherboard. but someone else might be able to recommend another Intel side of things.

As for Graphics cards I can't comment really as I'm after a decent gaming one looking currently at the GeForce 6800GT but you might want to go ATi side of things.

Apologies for some of that not being much use but its worth a thoght anyways.

[Nolp]

OK, so i have just read this thread and it would appear i am missing a few things for my new PC.

I'll run down the list:

Case: I will be needing one of these. The one i am using now is falling to pieces.

PSU: I will also be needing a new PSU.

Mobo: Yep, also be needing one of these.

CPU: You guessed it, i'll be needing one of these.

HDD: I'll use the old hard drive i have from my old PC. It is 120GB, has plenty of storage left on it. I can upgrade in the future if i need to.

RAM: Not really sure how much i'll need.

Pri Optical: Like a CD/DVD player? I wouldn't mind a DVD RW drive.

Sec Optical: See above

Sound Card: On board sound will do.

Video Card: Something that will enable me to do all the things i've listed above.

FDD: Not sure what one of these is.

Keyboard: Will use from old PC.

Mouse: See above

Modem: 56k? Do people still use these?

Lan: I have a wireless card that connects to the main PC.

Monitor: Have a nice 17" tft that will do me for now.

Speakers: I use the ones that are fitted within the monitor. I don't really listen to music (only when i'm messing around in Photoshop)

OS: I already have a Windows XP CD.

Extra: Whatever else you can but within my budget.

Hope this helps some more.

Chris

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Nolp RAM: Not really sure how much i'll need.

1GB would be good since you do image manipulation.

Originally Posted by Nolp Pri Optical: Like a CD/DVD player? I wouldn't mind a DVD RW drive. Sec Optical: See above

You really only need a DVD burner but having a DVD drive would be nice. Up to you.

Originally Posted by Nolp FDD: Not sure what one of these is.

Floppy drive...not really necessary but nice to have for troubleshooting purposes. You don't even have to install it in the case, just have one handy for troubleshooting.

Originally Posted by Nolp Modem: 56k? Do people still use these?

Yes, there are still people who are on dialup. You would also use it if you use your computer as a fax machine.

Originally Posted by Nolp OS: I already have a Windows XP CD.

Legally you can only have WinXP installed on 1 computer so I hope it's not already installed on a working computer.

Cricket

[gherkin]

Legally you can only have WinXP installed on 1 computer so I hope it's not already installed on a working computer.

If there is problems with your copy of XP then you can pick up an OEM version for about £65 Windows XP Home Edition

Hadn't thought of doing the floopy drive thing like that Cricket - think I'll implement that suggestion into my new build!

Not sure whether it might be worth looking at Barebone systems - they included case, motherboard, power supply - the graphics are usually integrated onto the motherboard along with sound. I have built one of these before and all you have to do is basically buy the processor, memory, hard drive (although you already have one) and optical storage device. Again though someone might find a cheaper way of doing things as the barebones route might not necessarily be suitable for image manipulation.

By the way if you can help it don't by from PC World (unless you absolutly have to) as their parts etc are quite expensive compared to online.

1gb or corsair memory at the moment at dabs is just under £50
1Gb memory

DVD Writer:

LiteOn DVD writer

Processor:

AMD Semptron 3100+
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...41330000,50521

AMD Athlon 64 3000
http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...41330000,50521

With a barebones system I can make it just come around £350 thats excluding Win XP. If someone else can give it a go, please do as I'm sure it will get cheaper.

[Nolp]

Originally Posted by Cricket 1GB would be good since you do image manipulation.

I though i'd need 1GB. I'll go for the Corsair stuff at Dabs that Gherkin recommended.

Originally Posted by Cricket You really only need a DVD burner but having a DVD drive would be nice.

So, if i get a DVD burner it will play and record DVDs and CDs?.

Originally Posted by Cricket Floppy drive...not really necessary but nice to have for troubleshooting purposes. You don't even have to install it in the case, just have one handy for troubleshooting

I think ihave one lying around somewhere i can use.

Originally Posted by Cricket Yes, there are still people who are on dialup. You would also use it if you use your computer as a fax machine.

Dont think i'll need one of these.

Originally Posted by Cricket Legally you can only have WinXP installed on 1 computer so I hope it's not already installed on a working computer.

I think i'll be OK here. The copy of XP i have is installed on the hard drive that i will be moving into the new PC. Will it be legal to do this?

Thanks Cricket, much appreciated.

Originally Posted by Gherkin DVD Writer: LiteOn DVD writer

Deosn't have any reviewes on the site but i'll take your word that it's a good burner.

Originally Posted by Gherkin AMD Athlon 64 3000 http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...7,41330000,505 21

I like the look of this. It gets good reviews on most sites i've looked at.

What would be a good motherboard to go with this? Snooping around i think i'd like to go with Socket 939 as it seems best for upgrading in the future.

Also, i hear that choosing the right graphics card is a very important decision when building a PC.

Thanks for all the help guys. Looking forward to heaaring back from you.

Chris

[Cricket]

Originally Posted by Nolp So, if i get a DVD burner it will play and record DVDs and CDs?

Yes, a DVD burner will burn and read CDs and DVDs.

Originally Posted by Nolp The copy of XP i have is installed on the hard drive that i will be moving into the new PC. Will it be legal to do this?

I think you can do that as long as the other computer isn't in use anymore. If you're going to move the hard drive with WinXP already installed you're going to have to prep it for the move. Before shutting down go to Device Manager and right click on the master IDE controller, click on Update Driver, if the Hardware Update Wizard pops up click on "No, not at this time" and then choose "Install from a list or specific location" and then pick the standard dual IDE controller.

Is your WinXP CD a genuine MS installation CD or a recovery CD for a name brand computer?

Cricket

[glc]

The Asus A8N5X is a good reasonably priced Socket 939 motherboard. You do not need a high end graphics card for your use, but you do want something better than onboard video. Something like a Radeon X550 will be sufficient. Just don't get a "hypermemory" model - it shares system ram and you don't want that.

Make sure your case has a quality 24 pin power supply - or buy a case without a PSU and get a good separate unit. You cannot go wrong with an Antec power supply - but it will need to be ATX 2.0 spec. No need for a ton of watts - a quality 350 watt unit will suffice.

[gherkin]

I'll agree with GLC there on the motherboard, I have just got this one, it has on board sound which is meant to be reasonably good, but as you said you don't play music or games then it isn't really of a concern.

ATi Radeon 550

Just under £45 doesn't have a review however, but it doesn't seem to have the 'hyper memory' feature that GLC was mentioning

Oh the DVD Writer - i was just looking at the spec it doesn't mention that its an OEM (which basically means you just get the drive) but I can't see anything about software included

[Davermonk]

Just a thought. If you have the money, consider 2GB of RAM. I switched from 1GB to 2GB on my old computer and it made a world of difference with photoshop.

[Nolp]

OK, i've been away for a while but i'm back now ready to complete this build.

So far i have

Motherboard: http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3T58

Processor: http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3P7C

Graphics Card: http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3TZJ

Memory: http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=2Z7N

CD/DVD Drive: http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?Quicklinx=3YQ8

Is this OK so far?

Just looking for a case and PSU now. I'm not really bothered about what the case looks like. Any suggestions?

The total so far comes to £272.72 so lets try to keep the cost down as low as possible now.

Thanks for your replies

Chris

[Alaron]

You can pick up a great combination with this Antec: http://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx...ey=11145,50882 Not only are Antec's nice cases, they come with quality power supplies.

The rest of your parts look good.

[Nolp]

OK, i've ordered the parts. This is what i have gone for.

Case/PSU

https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=3HJ0

Motherboard

https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=3T58

Processor

https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=3P7C

Graphics Card

https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=3TZJ

Memory

https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=2Z7N

DVD Drive

https://www.dabs.com/productview.aspx?QuickLinx=3VPH

Just a last check to see if these parts are compatible with eah other.

Thanks for any help given.

[Alaron]

Those all look fine.

[Nolp]

OK,

The parts arrived this morning before i left for work (so i phoned in sick )

I have manged to get it up and running.........almost.

I have no sound. i think it's because i haven't plugged something in on the motherboard but i can't seem to find what it is. Any ideas?

Other than that everything is running smoothly, i followed the BYOPC guide on this site almost word for word and had no problems at all. Brilliant article

For now it's is running as i'd like it but as this is the first time i have attempted to build a PC i can't quite believe that i've done everything correctly. What should i be checking to make sure that i'm not going to blow something up, or overheat something?

Thanks to anyone who can help me with this. You have provided me with so much help so far, and for that i am very gratful but i just have a few more questions that i need answering.

Chris

[Nolp]

Not to worry, i found out that i hadn't installed the drivers for it.

[Nolp]

OK, i have another quick question to add.

I have three orange/white wires with "H.D.D. LED" written on them. i assume they are for the LEDs on the front of the PC but i habe no idea where to plug them in.

Does anyone know where these go.

As stated above i have managed to sort out the sound problem but if you could still ansewer the other question in that post it would be great.

Thanks for all your help guys,

Chris

[Alaron]

The case connections all go to a block of pins in the corner of your motherboard. Your manual will show you the correct place. And if they don't work the first time, flip em around 180 degrees.

As for heat, you can monitor the temps in your BIOS. Should be under PC Health or something similar.

[Staren]

The H.D.D. LED wire goes on one of the pins in the same bank that your power button wire went. The names for these things never match up between the motherboard and the case. You just learn to work it out. What that spacific wire would go to would be the hard drive activity light, or hard drive in use light or something like that. It will be in your motherboard manual where you found the power button pin info.

To make sure everything is going to work just fine, there are a few programs you will want to run once you know all your fans are spinning up and running, and you know your CPU and RAM are running at the right speeds. Those programs would be:

Prime95, Memtest86, and 3DMark05. You would also want to install Motherboard Monitor 5.

These programs are basicly a torture test. Prime95 pushes the CPU, Memtest86 the RAM, and 3DMark05 gives you pretty much the hardest real world load possible. Run each program and then check your temps with either Motherboard Monitor or boot back into BIOS and check there. If you don't get a crash or ultra high temps, then you're good to go.

[Nolp]

Originally Posted by Alaron The case connections all go to a block of pins in the corner of your motherboard. Your manual will show you the correct place. And if they don't work the first time, flip em around 180 degrees. As for heat, you can monitor the temps in your BIOS. Should be under PC Health or something similar.

What sort of temps shoud i be looking for?

[Alaron]

As long as your CPU temps are below 60C, which they should be, you're all set.

[Nolp]

This is the information i got from the BIOS.

CPU 33C
MB 26C
CPU fan 3183
Chip Fan 5113
Cpu Target Temp 72C

Does everything look OK? Is there anything else i should be checking?

Thanks for all your help.

Chris

[Staren]

That looks just fine. Should be good to go for daily use.