Come'on, help a noob out. Please!

[Ctrav]

So my dad went to bestbuy a couple days ago and bought an outrageous new Computer for home use. It is the nicest computer that i have ever seen. it is a HP m8330f. the specs on it include> 2.2GHz AMD Phenom QUAD-CORE Processor 9500. ummm. 3072GB PC2 5300 DDR2 SDRAM. and 640GB hard drive. vista of course. its black and shiny and looks really . Anywayz after working on that beast for a while i realized how out of date and crappy my Computer is.
I think it is time for an upgrade. So... I wanted to get some infomation on building my own computer that is better than his. . Since i am a complete NOOB to building computers i thought that i could turn to the experts (you guys) for ideas and help.

First of all, What do i need?
2. Can i salvage any parts from my old Computer?
3. What are some ways to bring the cost down? (since i am not a money tree)
4. Is it plug and play? Can i just install all the parts and turn it on?
5. What are some compatibility issues?
6. Pros and Cons of building vs Buying.
7. Quad-Core vs Duo-Core

I am looking to build some more than the basic. I want processing speed, Gaming abilities. Good Graphics Quality, Nice case exterior look. Maybe some LEDS.
Thanks for the help! it is greatly appreciated.

[Ferrus]

Here's a nice setup I just put together from newegg.

Asus P5K motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131180

Intel E8400 3Ghz (Dual Core: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115037

EVGA 8800GT 512MB video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130318

4GB Corsair RAM 800Mhz (2x 2GB): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145176

620W Corsair PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139002

500GB 32MB Cache Seagate HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148294

LiteOn DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106073

Antec 900 Gamer Case with 2 Blue LED fans:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...pk=antec%2b900

2. Can i salvage any parts from my old Computer? Yes just tell us what they are.

3. Is it plug and play? Can i just install all the parts and turn it on? No

4. Pros and Cons of building vs Buying. Buying you get customer support when something goes wrong, a warranty on the entire machine, and you don't have to actually build it.

Building you get the enjoyment of building it, often cheaper, and you get exactly what you want and not a pre-configured machine. Alot of shop bought machines come bundled with loads of junk you don't need which you pay for regardless. If you build your own, you only get exactly what you need.

5. Quad-Core vs Duo-Core At the moment Dual Core is considered the best way to go for gaming unless you have loads of money. In the future games will take advantage of Quad Core though. At the moment Quad Core's best feature is being able to do alot at once, and do things like compiling videos and so on.

[Dave21]

I'm a little confused. Are you upgrading your dad's computer or another computer that you have?

2. List full system specs so we can see what you can salvage.
3. How much do you plan on spending? (budget)
4. Not as simple as it sounds, if you are new to building, you should purchase the manual from pcmech on how to build a computer.
6. Building yourself saves a lot of money, however if you mess something up, you don't have tech support provided by buying a desktop.
7. Quad core is good for multitasking. A lot of programs are starting to utilize all four cores of the processor. So it is a must have in the future.

[Ctrav]

Originally Posted by Dave21 I'm a little confused. Are you upgrading your dad's computer or another computer that you have? 2. List full system specs so we can see what you can salvage. 3. How much do you plan on spending? (budget) 4. Not as simple as it sounds, if you are new to building, you should purchase the manual from pcmech on how to build a computer. 6. Building yourself saves a lot of money, however if you mess something up, you don't have tech support provided by buying a desktop. 7. Quad core is good for multitasking. A lot of programs are starting to utilize all four cores of the processor. So it is a must have in the future.

where can i find out the specs on my old computer? And i am upgrading my old computer,not my dads new one.

[Computer Hobbyist]

Dave

Building my own has never saved me a lot of money. I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of building and satisfaction in knowing exactly how my beastie works.

Anyway, except for rebuilds where you move parts from the old computer to a new one, how do you save money? My wife wants to know.

[Ctrav]

My Budget: Well its kinda tight. Can it be done for.... say.... $500- $700?

Old Computer Specs as follows>
Model: HP 522c
Processor and Speed: Athlon (P) XP2000+ 1.67 GHz
Chipset?: Nvidia NForce 220
Memory
Component Attributes
RAM (standard) 256/2100 DDR
Maximum 1 GB
Speed PC2100/PC1600
Type DDR
DIMM slots Two

CD-RW Drive: 24x/10x/40x
Hard Drive: ??? its a 60GB tho.

If anybody can tell me where to get better specs please inform me. i got these off of HP website.

O. and i am not technologically illiterate. I do know some things about electronics and such.

[alex530]

Saving money by building depends on what type of computer you are talking about. For example, you can get a bottom end computer for about 300 bucks and you would be hard pressed to build one for around that amount. Another example, you can get a decent Dell with a C2D and 2 GB RAM, big HDD, etc. for a very reasonable price. However, they cheap out on some parts since they are mass produced and ordered in bulk. For example, if you wanted to game on a mainstream Dell, you would have to upgrade the video card and probably the power supply. Also, many of the motherboards are proprietary so upgrade-ability is minimal. In the long run, it would end up being cheaper just to build it yourself, get exactly what you want, and not have all the crapware loaded on it. You also have the warranty from the parts manufacturers which depending on the brand you buy, could be better than buying a mainstream PC.

[alex530]

I wouldn't salvage anything from that list personally. You have the old standard of RAM (DDR), slow, IDE, optical drives, AMD processor, small HDD. Start from scratch, you'll be better off. At best you could salvage a floppy drive, keyboard, mouse, monitor (provided it's not CRT) and speakers.

[Dave21]

Originally Posted by Computer Hobbyist Dave Building my own has never saved me a lot of money. I have gotten a lot of enjoyment out of building and satisfaction in knowing exactly how my beastie works. Anyway, except for rebuilds where you move parts from the old computer to a new one, how do you save money? My wife wants to know.

Well in most scenarios you do save money. Other than the fact that you have the flexibility of having the parts you want, you get to choose quality parts. Most parts in pre-builds bought from for example bestbuy are nothing compared to parts you buy from vendors and putting it together yourself. Also, if you were to build a desktop with the same exact parts from the specs from a prebuild, you would save some money. It may only be $100+, but you still save. I don't see how you won't be able to save something.

Originally Posted by Ctrav Old Computer Specs as follows> Model: HP 522c Processor and Speed: Athlon (P) XP2000+ 1.67 GHz Chipset?: Nvidia NForce 220 Memory Component Attributes RAM (standard) 256/2100 DDR Maximum 1 GB Speed PC2100/PC1600 Type DDR DIMM slots Two CD-RW Drive: 24x/10x/40x Hard Drive: ??? its a 60GB tho. If anybody can tell me where to get better specs please inform me. i got these off of HP website.

I don't think you can salvage any parts if you want a top of the line computer. Your desktop parts are way to outdated.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Ctrav My Budget: Well its kinda tight. Can it be done for.... say.... $500- $700? Old Computer Specs as follows> Model: HP 522c Processor and Speed: Athlon (P) XP2000+ 1.67 GHz Chipset?: Nvidia NForce 220 Memory Component Attributes RAM (standard) 256/2100 DDR Maximum 1 GB Speed PC2100/PC1600 Type DDR DIMM slots Two CD-RW Drive: 24x/10x/40x Hard Drive: ??? its a 60GB tho. If anybody can tell me where to get better specs please inform me. i got these off of HP website. O. and i am not technologically illiterate. I do know some things about electronics and such.

Since your budget is $500-$700, you'll need to figure out first what you want to do with the computer; generally speaking there are two categories, gaming and non-gaming(multitasking, surfing the web, listening to music, watching videos. ect.), once you figure that out, you'll need to figure out if you need a monitor and peripherals (keyboard, mouse, ect.) and what operating system you want (if you don't already have a OS installation disc that didn't come with the computer. Once you figure out those thing, let us know and we'll help you come up with a list of parts for a computer.

[Ctrav]

Bump. Is there any programming involved? What are the steps you have to take to actually get the computer running after the build?

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Ctrav Bump. Is there any programming involved? What are the steps you have to take to actually get the computer running after the build?

No programming involved, you just have to install an operating system (like windows) which is quite easy to do, but you can easily find a tutorial online if you need.

[spartan015]

there's nothing wrong with a CRT i have 2 19inch that i adore along with a sony projector lol... anyways yeah in truth your comp is too old to actually be savageable.

what you need (which the hardware you buy should come with) is drivers. so get yourself a copy of XP (or vista if you want to... i guess haha) and have all the drivers ready, personally what i do is once i have all the hardware i go download the latest (stable) drivers and what ever updates i need and save it on a USB flash drive or an external along with my internet security suites and what not and install them all after i get windows running without swapping cds or anything. makes it a lot easier but some might not recommend it. anyways yeah...

anyways u can always buy a monitor perphierals later, so yeah

[Ferrus]

So... I wanted to get some infomation on building my own computer that is better than his.

Aww there I was thinking he wanted to build a PC from scratch. Lol.

[Ctrav]

Originally Posted by Ferrus Aww there I was thinking he wanted to build a PC from scratch. Lol.

i do want to build a computer from scratch.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by Ctrav i do want to build a computer from scratch.

Bump...

Since your budget is $500-$700, you'll need to figure out first what you want to do with the computer; generally speaking there are two categories, gaming and non-gaming(multitasking, surfing the web, listening to music, watching videos. ect.), once you figure that out, you'll need to figure out if you need a monitor and peripherals (keyboard, mouse, ect.) and what operating system you want (if you don't already have a OS installation disc that didn't come with the computer. Once you figure out those thing, let us know and we'll help you come up with a list of parts for a computer.