Building a custom computer

[Russian Assasian 0]

It is about time for me to upgrade my old Dell, besides computers such as Alienwear or ABS which are too expensive I have not found anything too appeling and the best Dell's and compaqs were way over priced. So then it hit me, why not build a custom. I want to know 1 thing before I make my decision, is it hard?

I plan to put on the following parts

Nforce 2 ledtek

420 Watt supply

AMD Athalon 4200 (4.2 GHZ) by the way should I get a P4 2.4 GHZ instead

Creative Lab 5.1 sound card

I am still thinking on what video card to get my choices are, Geforce 4 TI 4800 128 MB 8X AGP ( the same thing as a 4600 8X AGP), Geforce 4 TI 4200 128 MB 8X AGP, or the Radeon 9500 128MB 8X AGP, please note the 9500 is soon to go out of stock and I wont get this computer till June.

1024MB of DDR4000 SDRAM

So what do you think ? do you have any things that i should change?

I just found a sight called ibuypower.com/ it offers great computers for a good price, do you think these are good computers?

[Ruin 17]

I got my rig for $810 online.

Although not as much RAM or as fast a processor (4.2GHz, holy cow!) I still got a great deal and a great machine.

I recommend the Radeon 9500Pro for a video card. It runs, and out performs, like the 9700. It's a sweet card, with 128M memory and get's great FPS.

Oh yeah, AMDs are Faster and cheaper than a Pentium. For the same price as a Pentium4 1.5GHz, you can get a better AMD Athalon 2+GHZ

[Russian Assasian 0]

Sorry I ment 2.4 GHZ

[Dark Ranger 0]

I think the first question here is: "How much do you/your parents want to spend on this new rig?" It will give us a better understanding of which components to select.

Answer that question first, then we go from there.

Secondly, you/your parents have to decide whether to go Intel or AMD. This desision enables us to choose the right motherboard, RAM, etc for your rig.

You ask, "Is it hard?" That depends. If you have never built a rig before, it can be a little intimidating, and disconcerting. The key points to remember when building your computer are:

1: Be sure you have selected the right components. We can help you with that.

2: Arm yourself with knowledge. Look at the thread Whiteknight77 posted(and pinned) for some information. Also, search this Room for links on how to build a computer. Look at GOOD magazine articles on the matter. Talk to friends about.

Sure, we'll give you alot of help, but this is ultimately your project. Once your rig is working, there is nothing like standing back and admiring your 'puter that YOU built, not some hourly guys in the back-room of some store. You invested time, energy, and money for your "baby."

3: When you receive your components through your Carrier, check to make sure nothing is broken or damaged(this applies with ordering components online).

4: When assembling the various components, GO SLOW! Double-check your work. You'd be surprised at what you might miss. The key is FOLLOW the Directions in your motherboard manual.

I can provide other points later on as the time to assemble approaches.

Lastly, do not just take my advice. There are other members here with knowledge and experience in this area as well. They will provide you will good help.

Answer the first two questions, then we can proceed. Good Luck.

[Stinger 0]

Since you are prolly wanting a cheaper system AMD in this case will be for you, and since you aren't going to OC I assume you dont need Intel so go with AMD unless you plan on somehting else. Also if yuo want a higher 800MHz (200MHz True) FSB then Intel is your friend. How soon are you going to get it cause new techs are not too far away. No need to wait for 64 bit perhaps, the 64 Bit Opteron benches dont even match the Itanium 2's yet so who knows. You will never use nor need 1GB of 400MHz Ram. I doubt you use apps that need it and would highly benefit from it with the cost to performance ratio so high. And never say Athalon, its Athlon.

[Russian Assasian 0]

@Dark Ranger

question 1 : my parents will spend $1000 to 1200$

question 2 : my dad says I should get AMD but A P4 would be alright, I think I will go with AMD though.

I am not realy worried about building the computer since my dad knows ALOT about computers, he has been building and working with computers since the 70's but he doesnt realy know what is the "latest and greatest."

thanks for all the info DA and ruin

[Stinger 0]

my dad says I should get AMD but A P4 would be alright, I think I will go with AMD though.

Hmmm...if you're a true teenager get the P4 Nah AMD is fine. The nForce2 Board you picked is good and I've heard good about it. Get an Antec or Enermax PSU (not an El Cheapo Brand). Again the Ram is overkill, what HDD you want? Case? Optical Drives?

[Ruin 17]

Do you need all the parts? Monitor, KeyBoard, MOuse etc?

[WhiteKnight77 1]

Check the My Rig link in my sig for some AMD ideas. I have the Althon XP 2400+ (supposedly equal to a P4 2.4gHz CPU) that you were refering to and I like it. I built my own system and if you recycle old parts like the HD, CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and/or a CD-RW you can save some money that way. Get a good PS as stinger said. I have an Antec 480W TruePower and have not had one problem with it.

With the RAM, mobo, CPU, HSF, 2 case fans AS3 and a Lite-on CD-ROM (needed for newer games due to copyright protection schemes used by software publishers) I spent $622 total. Add maybe another $400 or $500 for a good case (if ya get an Antec case, you can get a Antec PS with it for $100 total if you look around,) vid card, and bigger HD. The SB Live 5.1 can be had for about $40 at the most.

[Dark Ranger 0]

Ok, here's a suggestion:

CPU1: AMD XP 2400+ 266FSB Equivalent to 2.0GHz @ $106.00 OEM

or

CPU2: AMD XP 2600+ 333FSB Equivalent to 2.08GHz @ $153.00 OEM

Motherboard1: ASUS A7N8X (new model supporting 400FSB/Barton) ATA/133, PC3200, LAN, Audio, USB @ $121.99

or

Motherboard2: ASUS A7N8X Deluxe (new model supporting 400FSB/Barton) ATA/133, Audio, SATA, Firewire, LAN, USB, PC3200 @ $135.00

RAM1: Samsung (2) 256MB PC2700 @ $35.00x2=$70 OEM

or

RAM2: CORSAIR XMS (2) 256MB 32MX8 PC-3200C2 With Heat Spreader @ $69x2=$138 OEM

HDD1: Maxtor 120GB ATA/133 w/8MB Buffer 7,200RPM @ $130.00 OEM

or

HDD2: WESTERN DIGITAL "SPECIAL EDITION" 120GB 7200RPM HARD DRIVE ATA/133, 8MB Buffer, 7,200 RPM @ $130.00 OEM

Heatsink1: ThermalTake Volcano 9 Copper/Aluminum heatsink with 80mm fan @ $25

or

Heatsink2: ThermalRight SK-7 (heatsink only) can be used with 60mm-80mm fans @ $25

Video Card: ATI Radeon 9700PRO around $350-399. NewEgg.com only has All-In-Wonder right now.

Sound Card: Sound Blaster Audigy Gamer 24Bit/96KHz @ $87...if you want to upgrade.

PSU: Antec TruePower 430Watt PSU @ $81.99

We'll start with this. Components can be changed. This is just an overview of what I'd recommend.

- On CPU, it really just depends if you want to spend the extra for the 333FSB(166 actual).

- I choose ASUS for the motherboard, because they are very solid and stable. I have used 2 ASUS boards in my builds, and have not had one problem.

- On RAM, I am using the Samsung, and it is working great. However, if you plan to overclock down the road, look at good RAM like the Corsair XMS series, Mushkin, or Nanya.

- HDD your choice. I personally use Maxtor, however WD is a very reputable company too. I have used WD in the past, and have had no issues with thier drives.

- I am a ThermalTake fan right now, however, RooK will probably recommend the ThermalRight hsf combos. Look into those as well. Both are good.

- I choose the 9700PRO, as it will come down in price once the new ATI cards hit the streets. It is the fastest card on the market at the moment, and will last you a long while.

- PSU I swear by Antec TruePower, so I gave you one to look at! 430Watts is plenty for down-the-road use too.

- Unless you want to get a Live! 5.1 card ($35 or so), consider the Gamer.

All from NewEgg.com, although I can research GoogleGear.com. They have great prices too.

[Stinger 0]

Dark Ranger did a nice job of laying out all the parts. I have an Antec 350 Watt PSU hooked up to a lot and I wish I would have gotten a bigger PSU but I've got a couple so I wasn't too worried. For case you can get a Cheiftec Dragon for $70 at tigerdirect.com very nice and others I've recc'd it to love it.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/sectors/chieftec/dragon.asp just dont get the mouse and keyboard.

[RooK 0]

Built the system in my sig for $1100 about a year ago, including an extra PSU ($50ish).

AMD is a wonderful CPU, you get what you pay for and then some. Every system (4) prior to this one was powered by Intel and this one is by far the most stable and my favorite. I will never go Intel so long as AMD is alive and kicking. Buy a good heatsink from Thermalright (I use their AX-7), Thermaltake or another highly rated manufacturer if you consider overclocking, and always use Artic Silver 3 thermal compound, not those thermal pads.

Nforce2- Abit, Asus and Epox are better namebrand companies making a board with the same chipset. But all are within 5% of each other performance wise, just select one based on price and goodies included. Also, remember that the nforce2 utilizes dual-channel ddr and will give a 10% performance increase if 2 equal size sticks of ram are used at the same time. 512mb should work fine. If you consider overclocking, spring for the Corsair, Muskin, Nanya etc namebrand ram. Take note that if you pay $20 more for one of the high-end nforce2 mbs, they come with nstorm 5.1 digital sound built in, and use less cpu than an audigy and at a lower price.

The new nforce2 boards you'll see coming out this month will support 400fsb (real 200fsb) chips that AMD will be releasing.

Get a good 350+w namebrand PSU. Mine is Enermax, but Vantec and Antec also make wonderful PSUs.

Get a ti4200 (4800 is a ripoff imo, 8x isn't worth the extra price) if you can't get a 9500Pro or examine 9700/9700Pro prices at the time you purchase your PC. They should have dropped by then. This is my 3rd Ati, and I love their cards.

HDD, CD drives, case etc is mostly personal choice and price. Pick what you want. Although in cases, Antec's come with Antec PSUs and are well designed saving some money in the long run of buying the case and PSU seperately. I use their SX1035B model.

Also, pick up an OS if you don't have one. OEM Full WinXP Home and Pro cds can be had for $80-120. I use WinXP Pro.

Last but not least, Stinger is an Intel diehard and will try and get you to pay more for little or no performance increase just for brand loyalty. Just search whatever we say on google for reviews and pick whatever suits your needs best. Sorry Stinger, had to

[Stinger 0]

HDD is the only thing RooK mentioned that I think isnt personal Preference. You can get a good one that you will notice a diff on. i.e. 8MB Cache, larger platter and 7200RPM+

Last but not least, Stinger is an Intel diehard and will try and get you to pay more for little or no performance increase just for brand loyalty. Just search whatever we say on google for reviews and pick whatever suits your needs best. Sorry Stinger, had to

I'm reccommending AMD on this one. So there, now same msg but with the rest of thr truth for Russian Assasin:

Last but not least, RooK, WhiteKnight77,Dark Ranger, Snakbite1967,are AMD diehard fans and will try and get you to pay more for little or no performance increase just for brand loyalty, they can't even OC as well most of the time. Just search whatever we say on google for reviews and pick whatever suits your needs best. Sorry RooK, WhiteKnight77,Dark Ranger, Snakbite1967, had to.

Edited April 23, 2003 by Stinger

[RooK 0]

Last but not least, RooK, WhiteKnight77,Dark Ranger, Snakbite1967,are AMD diehard fans and will try and get you to pay more for little or no performance increase just for brand loyalty, they can't even OC as well most of the time. Just search whatever we say on google for reviews and pick whatever suits your needs best. Sorry RooK, WhiteKnight77,Dark Ranger, Snakbite1967, had to.

Don't you mean 'pay less? I've never seen an AMD machine priced more than an Intel one with the same features/performance. I'll admit that AMD tbreds aren't the best ocers, but the bartons match Intel in every way: http://www.vr-zone.com/guides/AMD/Barton/

[Stinger 0]

I didn't edit the whole msg, but there are some P4's that are cheaper than their so called corresponding fictious Intel forced 'em to name Amd cpus. And Barton's are not equal to P4's. I see

Athlon XP 3000+ 2.17@3.11Ghz

which is less than a GHz OC, yet P4 3.06's can go over 4.44GHz. Yeah you were just

0 \/\/ |\| 3 D!

Oh and I can send in a fake WCPUID screen so what the heck does that matter. I've seen a guy from Arstechnica with a 40GHz cpu in WCPUID he was just proving it doesn't mean shiz.

Edited April 23, 2003 by Stinger

[Dark Ranger 0]

@RA,

Don't mind the thrashing and slashing here...it happens every time a post of this nature is started...

The way I see it is this:

Why spend more on a component when you can buy a similar one for cheaper, that will do the same amount of work or even more. AMD is like that. While the mainstream computer-buyer views a computer's performance strictly on Gigahertz, there is more too a fast system than processor speed.

AMD realizes this. Therefore, they had to adopt PR ratings for average Joe. AMD releases a microprocessor that is 2.108GHz, but has to say it "performs at or better than a Pentium 2.6GHz. It does MORE WORK in the same amount of time.

I have to chuckle every time I read those magazines from Gateway, Compaq, or Dell. They try to sell you the computer based on "this one is faster 'cause it has more giga whatever..." I see nothing mentioned about the motherboards, speed or latency of RAM, or even HDD buffer.

The truth is, you can't have a fast system without balancing components. Place a 2.8GHz processor in a system with a slow HDD, 128MB of RAM, and it will be substantially slower than a 2.0GHz with 512 and a faster HDD or the like.

I do not have much time left in the day for posting the continuation of my thoughts, however, there is always tomorrow.

[Stinger 0]

Why spend more on a component when you can buy a similar one for cheaper, that will do the same amount of work or even more. AMD is like that. While the mainstream computer-buyer views a computer's performance strictly on Gigahertz, there is more too a fast system than processor speed.

How can you say that? If you look at any benches you can tell that AMD sometimes looses and Intel sometimes looses, AMD is by no means always the exact same or more thats proposterous.

AMD realizes this. Therefore, they had to adopt PR ratings for average Joe. AMD releases a microprocessor that is 2.108GHz, but has to say it "performs at or better than a Pentium 2.6GHz. It does MORE WORK in the same amount of time.

One day I hope to have company and have another decide what my products names will be. And it doesn't do more work actually, it just has fewer pipelines allowing for a quicker response when going back over another apps threads. It does not do more work. A 2.8 will do more work than a 2800+, yet the 2800 is not crap because it can go back over a thread created by a process a little less than half the time an Intel cpu can because Intel in order to achieve more Work or GHz, had to go with more Pipelines. Thus the tradeoff.

I have to chuckle every time I read those magazines from Gateway, Compaq, or Dell. They try to sell you the computer based on "this one is faster 'cause it has more giga whatever..." I see nothing mentioned about the motherboards, speed or latency of RAM, or even HDD buffer.

I love those too, Get a 2 GHz processor and a Extreme Graphics...heck they may aswell add a "Super Fast Speed of Lightning" button to their computers that is nothing more than a placebo.

The truth is, you can't have a fast system without balancing components. Place a 2.8GHz processor in a system with a slow HDD, 128MB of RAM, and it will be substantially slower than a 2.0GHz with 512 and a faster HDD or the like.

Correct 100%

there is always tomorrow.

The battle shall continue hehe j/k This time it was RooK's fault

[RooK 0]

Actually, it is faster. Although the pipeline is smaller, which is the reason it accomplishes its job, because it empty's these piplines faster it can get to the next bit of data faster than the P4, since it takes longer to go through the P4 pipeline. This creates a domino affect which gives AMD the lead mhz per mhz.

You kept making snide remarks in favor of the P4 in your previous post in this topic, so I stepped in.

If WCPUID is not good, then neither is Tom's testing or your P4 numbers. The highest rated Athlon on that site is a 2.08ghz barton @ 3.464ghz. Looks pretty even to me, and saying that the 'Intel reached 4ghz' as a comparison for the highest number is about as lame as saying an Intel 2.4ghz is better cause it has more mhz than a 2400XP. We all know AMD outperforms Intel at lower mhz.

[Stinger 0]

Actually, it is faster. Although the pipeline is smaller, which is the reason it accomplishes its job, because it empty's these piplines faster it can get to the next bit of data faster than the P4, since it takes longer to go through the P4 pipeline. This creates a domino affect which gives AMD the lead mhz per mhz.

No because the P4 can have more data in its pipelines at one time there is more room. AMD does it piece by piece 1 bit at a time really fast while Intel tries to do many at the same time slower.

You kept making snide remarks in favor of the P4 in your previous post in this topic, so I stepped in.

From the get go I told him to go AMD...

If WCPUID is not good, then neither is Tom's testing or your P4 numbers. The highest rated Athlon on that site is a 2.08ghz barton @ 3.464ghz. Looks pretty even to me, and saying that the 'Intel reached 4ghz' as a comparison for the highest number is about as lame as saying an Intel 2.4ghz is better cause it has more mhz than a 2400XP. We all know AMD outperforms Intel at lower mhz.

I'm not talking about Tom's. I'm talking about [H]ardOCP http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NDIy should I make the Owned symbol again? I think yes 0 \/\/ |\| 3 D Edited April 23, 2003 by Stinger

[WhiteKnight77 1]

Locked for hijacking. Give him ideas, not AMD, Intel arguments.