My first, gradual PC.

[victorisone]

I am looking to create a long-lasting desktop gaming PC.

I am a college student with a meager income, and I will be collecting the necessary components over about a year, if all goes well.

I would like some help understanding what components I need to have a computer that functions, as well as some tips on how to assemble them.

As per the sticky above, here are some criteria:
-I would like the best possible gaming computer i can get for, say $1200.00.
-I would like to stick to nVidia or ATI graphics, because these cards seem to have the most support from modern computer games.
-I would like a hard drive of at least 100GB, as well as at least a GB of RAM.
-Feel free to suggest good places to shop for cheap components, but keep in mind I have heard of and bookmarked Newegg.com already.
-I am willing to go over the total price mentioned above, but only by a couple hundred dollars. Again, it will take me time to collect all the parts, so this isn't a strict budget.
-I have basic I/O equipment: 17 in. monitor, speakers w/subwoofer, and a ps2 keyboard and mouse.

Thank you in advance for your help and advice. Judging by the generally professional conduct on this forum, I look forward to your experience.

Vik

[Cricket]

Don't pick up the parts slowly over the course of a year, pick them up all at the same time once you have the funds. That way you're sure all the parts are compatible and technologically up to date at the time you build the computer.

Come back to the forum when you have the money ready and we'll help you pick out the parts.

Cricket

[freakitchen]

Just in case you'd like another opinion, I fully agree with Cricket's advice. Although, it might be disappointing to hear, buying components over time just doesn't work. It's almost gaurenteed that the top performing processor you buy today, will be the flaw in your system when it's finally built - bottlenecking say, your video card that you buy in a year's time.

There's even a good chance that finding compatible parts will be difficult in as little as a year! For example, this time last year, AMD Socket 939 was the best choice for a gaming computer. Today, that accolade lies with Intel's Core 2 Duo, and finding 939 motherboards/CPUs/RAM is getting tough and expensive.

Nevertheless, $1200 is a great budget that will get you a good gaming computer whenever you have the funds to build.

FK

[flanzig1]

About the only parts you could buy one at a time are hard drives and optical drives. Probably can get these cheap if you watch for sales at your local big box electronics store.

[blue60007]

Even with hard drives...a year from now, something radical could happen to the hard drive market and the prices may become way cheaper, and then you'll wish you would have waited...optical drives, well, they can't really get any cheaper.

[victorisone]

My best friend gave me an old PC of his that has none of the original discs for the hardware.

It has a Tower and, according to DxDiag:
Intel Celeron 1.2GHz Processor
382 MB of RAM
NVidia GeForce4 Mx 420 64MB
18.6 GB Hard Drive
CD-RW drive
DVD drive

Is this a good start?
Will any of these parts be useable if I buy new parts to replace, say the video card, Hard Drive, and RAM? Will I need to replace everything if I replace anything?

Thanks for your input so far!
Vik

[glc]

The tech on that is old enough that nothing is really reusable in a modern build except maybe the optical drives. It's just too many generations old.

[Science_guy]

In your original post, you indicate that you want a long-lasting, gaming PC. Your friend's gift, generous though it is, will not help you very much. Most of those components are several generations out of date; attempting to upgrade anything will be an excercise in frustration and wasted money. Much better to save up $1200 over the next several months and buy everything all at once. Try searching this forum for "$1000 build", "$1200 build", "$1500 build" for ideas.

[tetsuo]

Intel Celeron 1.2GHz Processor 382 MB of RAM NVidia GeForce4 Mx 420 64MB 18.6 GB Hard Drive CD-RW drive DVD drive

I'll bet that build will play a MEAN game of solitaire, with all of the eye-candies. Maybe even Collapse or Relapse.

Edit: I did not mean to sound insulting, it WAS a good gift. Even a PII is a good gift if you are up to rewiring your keyboard to your windows to act as a relay center for a home alarm system.

I thought the solitaire thing was funny because I myself have been getting frustrated with lag in my games - Hitman 4 specifically. With all the settings turned to the lowest, and at 16-bit depth, it still lags, on my Geforce 6100.

[glc]

You have a very good computer there for doing your schoolwork, websurfing, etc. That was a nice gift in that respect. You have something that will get you by till you can afford to build your gamer.

[moodyblues100]

Originally Posted by glc You have a very good computer there for doing your schoolwork, websurfing, etc. That was a nice gift in that respect. You have something that will get you by till you can afford to build your gamer.

Have to agree with GLC on that one. Even older computers can be of great use and value, depending on what your needs are. If that box is running XP the addition of some RAM would boost performance. Put in a 128 or 256 mb graphics card and that machine is good to go. Watch for sales at the box stores and you can spend less than $100. to boost this machine. Maybe not for some high end gaming, but it will still play quite a few games.

[glc]

Before upgrading the video card, I'd look at the power supply - it may not have enough guts to handle one. If that's a PCI video card and it doesn't have an AGP slot, a video card upgrade is not worth the expense.

[victorisone]

Thanx for all the tips, guys. To tell the truth, the gifted box in question is worse than the work laptop I am/have been posting with.
I will double check with my friend about original installation software and try to get (what i think is) the ethernet card working. If I can do that, a stick of RAM and updated video drivers should hold me beautifully while I save up.
I am very glad I found this site, and I am also glad for your expert and courteous advice. Thank you again, and I will get back to y'all in a few months when I have money.