Build Pc

[chgo29]

I want to build me a PC. Why? Well, I'm an old retired guy with a little bit of technical background - I'm really into using computers because photography has always been my hobby - and I'd like to become more computer techie proficient. I figure building one would be a good learning experience. But, I have a few questions. Hope you guys can give me some advice.

(1) What MB to use? I've been reading in the various forums that some MB mfrs have better manuals than others. This will be my first build and I'll need a manual that is thorough, and would make sense to a unexperienced builder. So, I'd like to use whatever MB is stable, reliable AND has a good manual. Any suggestions?

(2) I was browsing thru Newegg's web site - looking at the "Barebones Systems". Hey, maybe that's what I should do - I thought. But, I couldn't figure out what all is included in a "barebones" system. Could anyone tell me?

(3) Again, browsing thru Newegg, I looked at Motherboard/CPU Sets. They
showed a Biostar KM266 set - MB with onboard video, audio, and LAN - and with an AMD Sempron processor - for $89. All of that for $89? Doesn't sound right. You only get what you pay for - right? But, all the reviews were very good. Any thoughts on this question?

I don't want to build a high end computer. I'm not a gamer, overclocker, video guy, DVD guy. Audio is not important to me cause I'm hard of hearing anyway. Video is important to me only as it relates to digital photo editing. Stability and reliability ARE important to me.Any thoughts or suggestions to get me pointed in the right direction would sure be helpful. Thanks Cliff

[piasabird]

PC Mech sells a CDROM with a lot of information on it for first time builders that is only about $20.00. I dont have one myself, but some new first-time builders claim it is very useful and informative.

Another good site on the Internet is www.anandtech.com
Anandtech has some fairly good building guides. They have some for low-end, Mid-range, High-end, and overclocking. You might look at them to just see the different things involved in building a PC.

After that there are lots of questions you might ask when selecting parts. For instance do you want to watch DVDs or not. I have seen some software that comes out on both DVD and CDROM. They like DVD because it actually saves space.

I recommend at minimum a nice CD R/W so you can save things on CDRW disks. It works a lot better than a floppy. You probably want some kind of Flash Memory Reader if you are into photography.

One big question might be what kind of motherboard. As brands go pick a brand that is a higher quality and it will save you trouble in the long run. My favorite brand for no hassle is Asus. Some people like Abit also for overclocking and the features. For intel processors Intel motherboards are also great. Lately they have been selling a lot of MSI Athlon 64 motherboards. Never used an Athlon 64 so I cant say anything to that.

AMD is phasing out the Athlon XP processors and some of them have actually gone up in price like the XP 2800 which I am using. AMD is trying to go to the AMD Sempron to replace the XP for the low-end. I still think the XP processors are better because they have more cache memory than the Sempron and that makes them faster and more responsive which improves their ability to have more program open at once. It is not uncommon to be running E-mail, 2 different Internet Browsers and an Instant Messaging program like AIM in the background.

This is what I have:

Case: Antec SLK3700AMB
Power Supply: Antec 350w
Motherboard: Asus A7N8X Ultra 400 Nforce2 Chipset
Memory: 1 X 512Meg of Crucial DDR400 RAM.
CPU: AMD XP2800+ Retail with the Retail heatsink and fan
Cooler: Comes with Processor
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon 9000 (Low end but cheap)
Sound Card: Integrated on the motherboard
Hard Drive: 80Gig Western Digital IDE Hard Drive
CDROM: Asus 56X CDROM ("Lite-On" is a good brand also)
Floppy: None
Speakers: Pair of Stereo Speakers with the Headphone Jack on the Speakers.
Printer: HP B&W Laser Printer ($200) Not Color.
Monitor: MAG 19" CRT (Very Large and heavy)
ROUTER: Linksys wired Router
MODEM: Motorola Surfboard Cable Modem

The 80Gig hard drive is pretty much a standard size for the low-end. The IDE hard drives are cheap and easier to set up. I have no floppy drive and now way of making a disk to save information because My son has another computer with a CDRW in it and I use that to make backups over the network. I really need to install a CDRW/DVDROM drive.

Page for page a Laser black and white printer is cheaper and saves you money over time. My printer is more for light printing. Obviously I can not print color photos. I have seen some newer printers coming out on the market with Scanners and or fax machines incorporated into the printer that can also work as a Photo-Copier and a Color Scanner. Samsung has a nice Scanner/Laser printer out but I have not seen a price on it. HP Hewlett Packard is a standard in Laser Printers. Some color Inkjets can cost as little as $100 or less, but the ink cartridges dont last long.

Monitor of choice for me would be a Samsung 19 inch or 17 inch CRT Monitor. My son has the 19 inch model and it is a really good monitor. You can buy a LCD Monitor but they are kind of expensive. However, the LCD's are thinner, dont weigh nearly as much and use less electricity.

I think the Asus A7N8X motherboard is excellent. I have had no problems with it for over a year of continuous service.

There is other optional equipment like a protable flash drive or a Linksys Router that might be nice if you use a Broadband Connection to the internet over Cable TV. Some places have good DSL over the phone. I dont know who is worse the Cable Company or the Phone Company. They are all crooks. Dont enter into any long-term deals if you can avoid it. Ask your friends what they are using.

[RJ]

(1) What MB to use? I've been reading in the various forums that some MB mfrs have better manuals than others. This will be my first build and I'll need a manual that is thorough, and would make sense to a unexperienced builder. So, I'd like to use whatever MB is stable, reliable AND has a good manual. Any suggestions?

Well, I haven't seen real differences in manuals. Every manual explains the BIOS settings and where to find jumpers, headers, setting up RAM etc.
Asus, Intel, Abit are good brands. Actually I tend to Intel, as IMHO the Asus boards get too bloated with stuff.
The best would be an Intel CPU combined with an Intel chipset. Nothing beats them in terms of stability and reliability, and they are also good performers.

For digital photo editing you want a big amount of RAM . . 1 GB should do it. Also, a good graphics card would also be important for you. I guess Matrox would be the way to go here, as they are supposed to have the best 2D quality. Thereafter comes ATI.

(2) I was browsing thru Newegg's web site - looking at the "Barebones Systems". Hey, maybe that's what I should do - I thought. But, I couldn't figure out what all is included in a "barebones" system. Could anyone tell me?

I believe it's a case + PSU + mainboard. But I'd built all myself anyways.

(3) Again, browsing thru Newegg, I looked at Motherboard/CPU Sets. They showed a Biostar KM266 set - MB with onboard video, audio, and LAN - and with an AMD Sempron processor - for $89. All of that for $89? Doesn't sound right. You only get what you pay for - right? But, all the reviews were very good. Any thoughts on this question?

Well, Audio and LAN are included in every mainboard, so that's nothing special anymore. The onboard video sure isn't really good, and Biostar should be avoided anyway, so I wouldn't get that.

I'd get an Intel Pentium 4, with an Intel mainboard, and 1 GB of RAM.
As the optical drive I'd get a good DVD burner, like the NEC3500. You said you're not a DVD guy, but I think that is only related to movies. Available with capacities of 4.37 and 7.95 GB, the DVD is a medium with a large amount of space. You can use it for everything you used the CD for. The DVD is not only for movies.
For the hard drive I'd get the smallest one. Even the smallest will be something like 80 GB and very fast. Good manufacturers are Maxtor and Western Digital. The interface should be the new SATA, as it's today's standard, easier to install, and modern Intel based mainboards have more SATA than old PATA ports, so the only remaining PATA port should be dedicated to the optical drive. Hooking up hard drives and opticals together isn't good.
For the graphics card, as I said, I'd choose Matrox. I don't know about their price, though, but if they're too expensive, an ATI card would be my second choice.
And then you only need a case and a good PSU, like Enermax, Sparkle, Enlight, with about 400W, and your PC is completed.

RJ

[chgo29]

Thanks Guys - for taking the time to respond to my questions. Your comments and suggestions are certainly welcome - and will sure be helpful when I try to finalize my parts list. Cliff