Building a my 1st Custom Comp...

well.

im building my 1st comp from scratch.

I'm working with a $400-500 budget and was wondering if this was pretty good.

160GB HD --- $20-40

ATI Radeon 9550 256MB 8x AGP --- $20-40

2x 512 RAM --- $10-20
(i might be able to get 4 sticks of 512 for free..or possibly a few 1gig sticks)

LightScribe DVD-RW --- $10-30

Antec SmartPower ....either 450 or 500 watt --- $15-30

and as for possibles...please make any suggestions for these as im just going off of random shopping around..

Asus A8N-E socket 939 mobo --- $20-50

Intel 775 Pent. D Dual Core 2.8ghz 2MB --- $50-100

and any suggestions for cases power supplies and anything else i might need?

..so yea...any suggestions, constructive criticism...it'd be nice...

BTW im planning on using this as a gaming comp. just incase someone was wondering.

 

Try and get some reliable brand RAM, as well as PSU, Antec PSUs are generally quite reliable. Also don't get just any old brand of hard disk, and I recommend you get 2 (If one fails, at least you wont lose <I>all</I> your stuff, gaming requires lots of memory (get 2 gigs of ram as well to be comfortable).

Get a large case, and some largish fans for it (you might want to get an artic fan for your cpu). All your other stuff seems reasonable to me.

P.S. If you're going to be storing important stuff (that cant be reinstalled) on your hard disks, def. make sure they are of reliable brand. And use SMART.

 

thanks. most likely the HD's will be Western Digital..Samsung..or Seagate.. as for memory...i'm just trying to get what i can manage for free...but depending on how much i have left over ill shell out for around 2gigs.

ummm but i have a 250gig external drive i use for my important files,music,movies etc.. but thanks ill look up on Antec and see what i can find it running for.

as for the case...anybody have any websites i can look at? im looking for maybe a blue LED side window...if not...just an entirely clear case.

but yes, thank you..keep suggestions coming people?

 

ok we got a few problems here...

1. that CPU will not work in that mobo
2. you can build an AM2 system for about the same price as a 939 system
3. if you can, get an intel proc; core 2 duo, unless you're really strapped for cash
4. dont get a mobo with an AGP slot, it will cost more and perform worse due to the cost and lack of new AGP video cards.

if you really want to build a super-low cost system, read this. http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/02/19/the-300-pc/

If you can/want to bump up the budget from the $300 in the article then we can talk about which parts to change.

 

Samsung is NOT a reliable brand for hard disks. I've had 2 of their disks fail.

 

ok ...wasnt really liking samsung ...just because i dont hear of them much.

and thanks about the cpu...i wasnt really sure if it would work or not.. and ill check on the core 2....and about AGP slots and all that...idk..really anything about all the slots and all that...someone'd have to tell me what the diff. is...

but thnx guys keep em coming.

 

AGP is a slot for video cards, as is PCI-Express, the latter being the more modern. They dont really come out with new cards for AGP anymore, hence the higher price of AGP cards despite their lower performance. PCI-Express is faster, newer, and cheaper (when comparing the same card agp vs pci-e)

A good starter core 2 duo processor is the e6300; under $200 and has a lot of potential as far as overclocking goes (but you dont need to worry about OCing yet)

for ram, corsair, crucial, kingston, and patriot are all good brands. (remember, AM2 and LGA775 (for the most part) use DDR2, not regular DDR like 939 does) prices have dropped on DDR2 making it about the same or even less than standard DDR

for hard drives, get a Seagate or western digital

motherboard, i personally only have experience with ASUS though there are other good brands out there

If the memory you can get for free is just plain ol' ddr, then you'll have to go socket 939 if you dont wanna buy memory

if you have any more questions, dont be afraid to ask

 

hmmm. mmkay ill keep that in mind...im just browsing around looking.

but as for OC im just learning how to mess with that...tinkering and whatnot. but ill adjust my list of stuff and try to keep it updated. thanks alot for your help

but yea...anybody else want to add their 2 cents..feel free.

 

well i seen a few core 2 duos on newegg running around 180....but they only run arond 1.8ghz...wheres the since in buying one of these...when i could buy say..a Celeron D352, which runs at 3.2 GHz for around 50 bucks?

 

which btw can be OC'd to around 4.2ghz

 

despite the clock speed difference the e6400 vastly outperforms processors much "faster" than it. check this out and you'll see what i mean: http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html

it even beats out AMD's FX-62 in most cases, if not all.

 

at least thats what im reading...but im thinking about doing it up like Toms Hardware a little bit and buying the asus P5LD2-VM mobo...which i can get for around 20-30...but it doesnt come with an I/O sheild..and cables and all that...im not exactly sure...what is an I/O sheild? and would that be a decent mobo with the intel d 352?

 

lol hmmm got to the end of it..and he said "saves lots of money...but doubt you'd be happy with the results"

well...i think what im gonna do 1st is talk to my people...see what they can get me for free...then decide what im going to buy

 

but i think ill go with a cheap general setup...and upgrade the processor when i get more cash in my pocket.

 

so finally something like...

160GB HD --- $20-40

ATI Radeon 9550 256MB 8x AGP --- $20-40

2x 512 RAM --- $10-20
(i might be able to get 4 sticks of 512 for free..or possibly a few 1gig sticks)

LightScribe DVD-RW --- $10-30

Antec SmartPower ....either 450 or 500 watt --- $15-30

ASUS P5LD2 socket 775 mobo --- $40-60

Intel Celeron D 352 --- $40-57

 

sorry im just hardheaded sometimes :-/

 

does that mobo have an AGP slot? im thinking it would be PCI-E but i havent checked

 

I haven't checked your specs either, but I would caution you to stay away from Celeron. You are committing what is called the "megahertz myth." There is a lot to explain why one processor is clocked way higher than another but runs way slower and it would take a while to learn these things. Clock speed is not everything! Pipelines, cores, L2 cache, other cache levels, core technology, FSB, and many other factors determine a CPU's "speed." Celeron is a budget line of processor that is essentially based on P4 architecture, but has been "dulled down" (less L2 cache, lower FSB, no HT, ect). It will hinder your system and is not suited for gaming at all.

 

Overclocking is not as simple as you are making it seem. You don't just get a cheap processor and say "Oh I will just clock the heck out of it," like turning a switch. Also, it will be counter-productive to your cause. Think about it this way....You save a few bucks on a cheap processor, but you can OC it. Fine. Well that requires a good mobo, good high rated RAM, good cooling, good PSU, good case (or some modding), and generally high quality components. What does that equal? MORE MONEY! So....overclocking costs more. It would outweigh any attempt to skimp that much on a processor "so you could over-clock it." I would recommend E6300 based machine, but you can try to save on the processor- at your system's performance expense. Even Pentium D, which is dual core, does not even compare, but I would say, skimp no more than that and get a board that can upgrade to Core 2 at least.

Furthermore, you could OC a budget processor, but you cannot add L2 cache or cores or change the technology or modify pipelines. Again....more to CPU performance than MHz.

Let me see if I can explain it just a little better. I once read someone explain it to someone else using this great example that I will borrow here. If you can imagine a bus that is going to race a Ferrari and they both have to carry 20 people to the finish line. Well, the Ferrari is way faster, but the bus carries more. The Ferrari will have to make several trips, but travels at a faster speed than the bus. However, the bus will get it done in one trip. That can explain Mhz in differing processors. Of course, this example doesn't take other things like L2 cache into account, but it illustrates the MHz myth well.

I hope this can help you a bit. Learn all you can and don't give up! Most of us learned from trial and error.

 

yes its ...i think 4 pci's 1 pci x4 and 1 pci x16...

but i think ill just go with the old idea of holding off until you can buy what you really want...ill just wait...go with the dual core.

 

im looking at maybe an AMD athlon 64 X2 3800+

that decent enough?

 

well in that case, u cant use your radeon 9550 that u were planning on getting. look at something like a 7600GT

EDIT: is that AM2 or 939? if its AM2 then yes, its a good idea since you can always upgrade as technology progresses. if not, the best proc u can get is an FX-62 which, like the CPU charts showed, isnt even as good as the e6300

 

yes its AM2...thats why i picked it

as for the graphics card....back to shoppin :-/

 

here's a few budget AM2 x2 procs: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2E16819103735,N82E16819103776,N82E16819103729

any of those will be fine

 

thnx...that 1st one was the one i seen...im plannin on goin with that unless i can get better..

 

ha i just realized that i had tons of repeats on that list. here's any updated one.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...2E16819103751,N82E16819103776,N82E16819103729

 

I would say go Pentium D (maybe 820) over the X2's. I mean for about $105 it beats almost all of the X2's Viper listed and if you are going to drop $189 on an X2, why not just go Core 2? E6300 is about $187 and E6400 is only $220 and smokes all of those pretty hard. At least with Pentium D you can find some boards that will upgrade to C2Duo. Just my opinion though.

 

i think im just gonna keep all this in mind..and go study a tad. but plz feel free to keep suggesting..i'd rather have alot to read and be happy..over a few tips...and just end up with...stuff.

 

the only thing about pentium d's is they run a fair ammount hotter vs. c2d's. just a thought...