how do i know whats overboard?

[breakerx4d]

Hello!

I'm about to build a new PC that'll be using throughout my college years. Im a hardcore gamer if you will, but I do not want to have to replace much more than the video card maybe over the 4 years to be able to play the latest games with best quality.
parts I could reuse:
1-monitor
2-speakers
3-mouse
4-1 gig stick of ram i could prolly reuse

Conclusion: how can i find out whats going overboard(id like to spend 1200-1500~ USD? Im also really confused about what the specs mean when im browsing. Also, how do i know if when i get all the parts, they will be compatible with each other? are there any links that could clear up my confusion?

Thx

[breakerx4d]

Im interested in learning what the specs mean for a lot of the parts so i can make my own educated decision if whether or not its worth it. I guess this is the best way to start building a PC?

[piasabird]

If you have the option at college get an apartment. They have a tendency to close dorms for certain periods like Christmas and spring bread and for the summer and then you have to move everything in and out. That is a real pain.

I recommend an Intel Quad Core System.

MOTHERBOARD:
Asus or Abit Motherboard. Asus P5K/Abit IP35 Decide if you need wireless or not.

CPU:
Quad Core Q6600

RAM:
2 Gigs of RAM IN 1 Gig Sticks - High Quality

VIDEO CARD:
Nvidia 8800GT or better if you can afford it.
8600GT would be ok for now depends on what you want to do.
If you want to play high end games then get as good a video card as you can afford.

HARD DRIVE:
250GB Seagate Larger if needed.
500GB may be best price per Gig.
2 Hard Drives may be better for backup and redundancy.

OPTICAL DRIVE:
DUAL LAYER LITE-ON DVD RW (All Write) Software coming on DVD . . .

LCD Monitor: ??

SPEAKERS:
? How much room you have?
Depends how much you like to listen to music or whatever.
Nothing like Dueling Stereos in a Dorm Room.

HEADPHONES:
For privacy when needed!
Playing games/music loud and ignoring room mates.

TV CARD:
?

[breakerx4d]

how will i know the things i buy are compatible? is there some way to learn this stuff?

[Lespaul20]

Read the stickies at the top of this forum. Those will tell you a lot of what you need to know.
Browse through this forum and look for threads that are asking for help building. There are lots of configurations that have been suggested in those and it would be a good baseline to go from.

[piasabird]

Just put a list of products together and ask questions.

CASE
MOTHERBOARD
CPU
RAM
VIDEO CARD
HARD DRIVE
OPTICAL DRIVE
MOTHERBOARD
MOUSE
SPEAKERS
MONITOR
PRINTER
CAMERA
ETC

Either that or look at someone elses list.

[flanzig1]

The 3 main parts that need to be compatable are: motherboard/CPU/ram.
Things that need to match: The FSB of the motherboard and CPU should be the same/the type and speed of the ram should be within the range of the motherboard and CPU/CPU socket type needs to match the motherboard.
Picking a CPU: Intel or AMD/Intel has an edge on the gaming end
Picking a motherboard: Asus is the top recommended brand/the P5k series are recommened/pick one with the options wanted
Picking ram: Corsair top choice/DDR2 is the type new stuff uses
Picking an HD: Seagate 7200.10 or 11/SATA prefered
Go to Newegg to look at the parts and read the specs on the part your interested in.

[piasabird]

Try looking at some product reviews also. That gives you some interesting ideas about what is going on. When you look at the reviews look at the test setup and see what parts they used. Keep in mind that you cant always trust tests of hardware, because the manufacturers often send in hand-picked items to test, and may not represent the average quality of products.

www.tomshardware.com is a nice website to look at. They have some CPU and VIDEO Card tests for a wide range of products.

www.anandtech.com is another good site.

There are lots of other good sites out there with varying views on different topics. Even if you look at reviews you have to look at the brand names and what kind of service records they have had. Some brands are more dependable than others. Some of these sites occassionally have complete builds they have done for Top end, mid-range, and low-end computers. This may give you some ideas of what kind of gear to put together.