First Time Build

[skilton]

Hello everyone , nice forums here !!

Right i need a new computer for mainly gaming - wow , starcraft 2 , farcry 2 e.t.c Also for general internet browsing , music and things like that.

I was thinking about building one myself , however i have absolutely no experiece whatsoever so i was going to ask for some advice here , do you think its possible to put together for someone like me who doesnt have a clue ??

Also could you point me out what i would need and maybe some links to what parts best fits the budget !! Im in England by the way , The budget is around £700 - £800 not including a monitor , thats about $1200 if it makes it easier for anyone

Thank for any help , Jamie.

[Iamjosh]

Building your own pc (being a first time) is a wonderful experience one that a person could share and make it a family time. The most important thing is to know how much you can spend (allowed budget) and also have a handle on the source for your information and guidance (friends,Google or PCMech..)

http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/

This would be my first start point in in order to become familiar with the building. Try to have as many questions answered before you commit to buying/ordering parts. There are many great retailers which sell high quality parts and being able to know a great deal from an average, will help you save money and make it more fun to maximize your overall pc performance vs. the cost.
There are many e-books which also deal with some very specific details in pc building and allow you to expand your "geek" IQ. Good luck.

[Khalil]

Welcome to pcmech forums. Here is an AMD list I created for you from a UK supplier http://www.overclockers.co.uk

[skilton]

thanks for the replys , list looks good khalil , would that be quite a nice gaming setup then ? I take it thats a very good graphics card for £350 ? Would that be everything i would need apart from monitor mouse keyboard e.t.c ?? Sorry for all the questions , thanks for ur help

[Khalil]

That is the best single GPU video card on the market, only thing better is the 5970 which is way out of your budget.
Yes will be a great gaming rig.

[skilton]

ok kool !! I was just going to ask ... because of my complete inexperience of building computers and generally having no idea what so ever , would there be any custom built pcs from an internet shop that would come close to matching the compenents you suggested for both performance and price ?? Or should i give it a go myself , thanks.

[Khalil]

I am not familiar with UK custom shops. I know if you were here in the USA I would offer to build you one or recommend others depending on the area you live but I have no way of knowing who is reputable or not in the UK. Maybe some of our UK veteran members can help you!
Sorry

[skilton]

ok thanks for the reply , another question for you khalil ... sorry lol ... Do you think that if i ordered all the parts e.t.c like you suggested i would be able to put it together myself by simply following the guide on 'building your own pc' on this site or is it not that simple ?? i dont want to get £700 worth of parts and then just have them sitting there doing nothing because i cant use them

[Khalil]

If you follow the guide you should be ok, building computers is relatively easy, fixing them is the hard part. We are here to help you and guide you as well if you have any questions during the build, glc, myself and others here will answer your questions. Read the whole guide before you order the parts and visualize yourself actually building the computer, you should be able to know if you can do it or not. I think you can but it is your call!!

[skilton]

ok sounds good , i think ill go for it !! its when i see things like bios setting and stuff like that which scares me haha!! anyway ill get back to you to update you on how its going . thanks alot

[David M]

Originally Posted by skilton ok kool !! I was just going to ask ... because of my complete inexperience of building computers and generally having no idea what so ever , would there be any custom built pcs from an internet shop that would come close to matching the compenents you suggested for both performance and price ?? Or should i give it a go myself , thanks.

I certainly understand your concern. I was in your situation back in 2003. I needed a new computer and had the choice of building my own, having a local shop build one or buying a brand name computer.

My greatest concern, if I were to build my own computer, was the warranty and getting help when I had questions. First, the warranty on individual parts is as good and sometimes better than the warranty on a factory computer...if you do not buy junk parts with short warranties.

As far as getting help goes, there is no toll free number to talk to someone in India if you have a problem with your homebuilt computer. There is though in most cases a number you can call to get information on individual parts. But better yet, you have the people at PCMech to answer your questions if you do go ahead and build your own computer. I had plenty of questions indeed, and they were all answered by the people here.

After I got over those concerns, I was okay with building my own computer.

An added benefit to building your own computer is what you learn. With that knowledge you become much more independent of others when you know much better how your computer works. You have no problem going in to the case and making changes because you already know what all that stuff is.

Go for it. I never regretted building my own computer. I was nervous at first, sure, but you will get over that after you have a machine you can call your own build up and running. There is also a sense of accomplishment and perhaps pride in building your own computer...especially your first computer.