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| .4ngryToasters |
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you would
Registered Member #149
Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 01:08AMPosts: 2039 |
Glitch gj explaining how to put everything together (can only imagine if you didn't have a time limit). As far as picking out all the parts you want to build in your computer (if you don't want to use glitch's build) this is how I did it. I've always had a rudimentary knowledge of hardware, but never really understood how to tell what kind of processor will fit on what motherboard, or how to put two videocards in sli, or the difference between ddr1/ddr2/ddr3 ram. So what did I do? I went to newegg, read the reviews, figured out the different types of sockets by wikipedia, and went to manufacturer forums (EVGA has a great one) to get an idea of what other people used in their computers (and if they worked lol). First start with the motherboard and processor. If you have a brand preference such as Intel processors, then obviously you want to look at the motherboards that support intel processors. Newegg has a nice search filter for this that will allow you to whittle down the products to the ones that will support the features you want. Now is actually a great time to get into building rigs, because Intel just released their new i7 cpus, which means all the prices for items supporting older cpus (ATX Motherboards) will drop. When picking out the mobo, there are a few things you'll have to ask yourself: How long do I want to have this mobo? The longer you want to keep a mobo, the more expansion slots you will want. don't be afraid to splurge on the mobo, because that is the main thing that will limit you in future expansion if you don't. Will I be doing sli/crossfire? Most boards now will support sli/crossfire. There is a significant price jump when you get into triple sli. It's a great way to improve the performance of your machine in the future (especially if you don't have the money for two video cards right now) How many hard drives will I have? This has more to do with the aging of your system (or raid configurations if you're into that sort of thing...). Drives now are cheap enough for you to buy one and be set for a couple years (around 60$ for 500GB). Most mobos will support at least 4 internal drives, and new ones will support an eSATA external. What are the reviews like for this product? Definitely read the reviews for mobos (throw out the best 5 star reviews raving about the product, and the lowest reviews bitching about DOA boards. read in between). Especially pay attention for any complaints about the BIOS. ASUS has a lot of boards that look good in stats, but are lazy in the construction (heat sinks have huge gaps between the board) and use outdated or faulty BIOS. All this information will be spammed across the reviews if it is a problem. Memory: main thing here is to make sure it is compatible with your board/processor. check the pin config with your mobo, and the clock speed with your cpu (ex. should be something like ddr2 1066) Hard drives and optical drives: you need an optical drive, period. This is how you'll get your OS on the computer. The stats don't really matter, the only thing to pay attention to is if it's IDE or SATA format. Hard drives, the only thing that you should be concerned about is the amount of storage space you get, the size of the cache (the bigger the better), and that it is SATA format. Everything else doesn't matter unless you're doing a raid system. Videocards: I could write a page on videcards alone. Just read articles online and make sure your board supports that manufacturer (it will either be a nvidia or ati chipset) Powersupply: I believe the tech support forum has an excelent PSU calculator stickied. just type in your hardware and it will tell you how many watts you'll need. Another huge thing to look at is if the psu is modular/non-modular (the difference being that in modulars you can add/romove wires as you need them, non-modulars come with all the wires attached and can't be changed around). Another thing to pay attention to is the combo bundles. you can literally save hundreds just by buying parts that are bundled together (saves time too, because they are compatible with each other, so you don't have to check the socket/pin types) |
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| Cha Siew Bao |
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Registered Member #133
Joined: Sat Jan 21 2006, 09:03PMPosts: 198 |
i usually go to tigerdirect for RAM and misc crap like burners and pci cards (card readers, led sticks/strings, tv tuners, sound) In all honesty they're more expensive than newegg and their shipping is balls slow, but when something you want goes on their daily deals its worth the wait. I bought a sony 19-1 card reader for $2 and 4gb of kingston hyperx for $12 from those daily deals. Only two things i wanted to point out in addition to glitch's massive post is 1) fucking play with thermal paste on your existing rig or watch actual vids not just read tutorials. This way you get a better feel of it 2) If you can wait it out till late dec-jan mobo prices and cpu prices are going to drop. Intel's i7 just came out which beats the shit out of core 2s in rendering and heavy usage, so give it about a month and prices will fall on the older processors |
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| Zero |
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I want to fuck your hand.
Registered Member #571
Joined: Thu Feb 15 2007, 09:59PMPosts: 2809 |
Glitch I went with your build and I changed a few minor things Case - -[link]- Powersupply - -[link]- Motherboard - -[link]- Processor - -[link]- Memory - -[link]- Harddrive - -[link]- Video Card - -[link]- Sound Card - -[link]- Drives - -[link]- Changed the case and power supply to Thermaltake, just because my friends have them and they work amazingly. Plus I added a Creative Sound blaster sound card. Will all of this work together? is this a good rig? with the mail in rebates it's already down to $720, will it really go down that much more after Christmas to have to wait for it? I think 720 is a very generous price for the things this machine will be able to do. I have to keep my christmas bill under $500, so I will be chipping in the extra money, so would a better processor be possible? seems to be the only thing I don't know much about. EDIT: Only thing I don't like about the Case is that it's fucking huge.. that's good for having everything cool, but is there anything somewhat smaller that would work with all of this? Also, talking about cooling, will all of this be cool enough without OC? I'm not over clocking, so it will generally be a very cool machine, but should I get extra fans just in case? Edited Wed Nov 26 2008, 07:43PM |
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| .4ngryToasters |
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you would
Registered Member #149
Joined: Sun Feb 12 2006, 01:08AM Posts: 2039 |
you're definitely going to want to change that memory to something with ddr2 1066 (instead of the 800 you have). You want to keep the memory speed the same as the FSB speed on your processor, and your board is made for 1066. here's the equivalent to what you had in 1066: -[link]- |
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| gLiTch |
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Anal Assassin
Registered Member #455
Joined: Mon Oct 09 2006, 04:58AMPosts: 3848 |
Toasters wrote ... you're definitely going to want to change that memory to something with ddr2 1066 (instead of the 800 you have). You want to keep the memory speed the same as the FSB speed on your processor, and your board is made for 1066. While your right.. just because the mobo says 1066 standard, doesnt mean you HAVE to use it. My board is 1066 standard but i use 800. It works fine. If i wanted i could up the speed on it, but a couple hundred mhz wont make much of a difference because the cas latency is still the same. And the Power supply is a no no. While it will work fine, its not just the wattage that you have to look at. You need to look at the +12 volt rails because thats the major factor in running your video cards. The PS you selected has two 18amp +12 volt rails. That is is fine for your one video card; however, if you decide to upgrade later on down the road by either getting a much stronger single card or just buying a second similar card, you will run into problems with unsufficient power to them. The one i listed is by PC Power and Cooling with excellent reviews and they have been around very very long. If you want to stay with Thermaltake then i suggest you go with something like -[link]- which has four 18amp +12 volt rails. Or -[link]- which is prolly the better choice cuz it has two 18amp and 2 30amp +12 volt rails. If you can find one with at least 60 - 80amps in one powerful single rail, then that would be your best choice imo. Take my second choice over anything else. Now that i look at it, its a fan fucking tastic choice for that price. The case you selected was my second choice for the new PC im building in a next few months when the prices of the Core i7 drop. But i have a full tower case now and while it is very spacious, ITS ANNOYING AS HELL! Its so god damn big. So im moving back to the mid towers and modding it to make NO WIRES visible at all. I will make a thread in a few months showing step by step on how i do it. Im so excited. If you dont mind a big fuckin case the size of an 8 year old child and it weighing 60 pounds, then that case is perfect for you. Remember, when building a PC, you want to leave yourself lots of room for expansion later on down the road. Thats why its always important to buy a top of the line motherboard. Edited Thu Nov 27 2008, 04:30PM |
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| Zero |
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I want to fuck your hand.
Registered Member #571
Joined: Thu Feb 15 2007, 09:59PM Posts: 2809 |
[quote] While your right.. just because the mobo says 1066 standard, doesnt mean you HAVE to use it. My board is 1066 standard but i use 800. It works fine. If i wanted i could up the speed on it, but a couple hundred mhz wont make much of a difference because the cas latency is still the same. And the Power supply is a no no. While it will work fine, its not just the wattage that you have to look at. You need to look at the +12 volt rails because thats the major factor in running your video cards. The PS you selected has two 18amp +12 volt rails. That is is fine for your one video card; however, if you decide to upgrade later on down the road by either getting a much stronger single card or just buying a second similar card, you will run into problems with unsufficient power to them. The one i listed is by PC Power and Cooling with excellent reviews and they have been around very very long. If you want to stay with Thermaltake then i suggest you go with something like -[link]- which has four 18amp +12 volt rails. Or -[link]- which is prolly the better choice cuz it has two 18amp and 2 30amp +12 volt rails. If you can find one with at least 60 - 80amps in one powerful single rail, then that would be your best choice imo. Take my second choice over anything else. Now that i look at it, its a fan fucking tastic choice for that price. The case you selected was my second choice for the new PC im building in a next few months when the prices of the Core i7 drop. But i have a full tower case now and while it is very spacious, ITS ANNOYING AS HELL! Its so god damn big. So im moving back to the mid towers and modding it to make NO WIRES visible at all. I will make a thread in a few months showing step by step on how i do it. Im so excited. If you dont mind a big fuckin case the size of an 8 year old child and it weighing 60 pounds, then that case is perfect for you. Remember, when building a PC, you want to leave yourself lots of room for expansion later on down the road. Thats why its always important to buy a top of the line motherboard. [/quote1227805502] Alright, well I will HATE the huge big case, and a mid to small case would be much better, I'm just worried about cooling the hardware down, and if there is going to be a lot of room to put it all together to not have a problem. If you're original build is fine with the power supply, and the case is mid sized and not huge like the Thermaltake, then I will stay with that build and just get a sound card. But if there is another case and power supply that will work better for around the same price, mix and match to make it better. Nothing is definite before December 14th, so whatever works, works, and if new ideas came into your head, LET ME KNOW!! Mobo, processor, HD, sound card, and vid card all stay the same. If you find something different for Case and Power supply, change it up and let me know, I have it on a saved wish list on Newegg on my account, so changing something is very easy. Just let me know. (and let me know if the Memory is still up in the air or if it would be better to go with Toasters. I currently have the 1066 on my list, I don't care about the price, as long as it runs reallllly fast) Also, down the road I DO plan on getting the same or another video card, so I do want the possibility to upgrade, almost everything, but for now I'm just focused on the video card. |
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| gLiTch |
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Anal Assassin
Registered Member #455
Joined: Mon Oct 09 2006, 04:58AM Posts: 3848 |
Ok, i made a mistake on something when i looked at the case you picked. I thought it was the Full Tower case... turns out, they make the same case but also Mid Tower size. I say stick with that case because its better for cooling, a lil more roomier and overall looks better. Tell me if this link works cuz i dont feel like listing the whole thing part for part. -[link]- As you noticed, i changed a couple things so you would have less problems potential problems when starting it up for the first time. I changed the Power Supply, this one is modular (gets rid of the messy wires problems) and has excellent reviews. This one was my pick for a power supply until i changed my future PC setup to two GTX290's (they come out in about a month or so). The RAM i changed to Mushkin. Its DDR2 800 standard. I like Mushkin better then all the other brands simply because they are almost always flawless. Rarely do i ever read a bad review on ANY of their RAM. The Mobo is the major change of your setup. At first i gave you the EVGA 750i board. While it is a good board, i had mentioned earlier that you always wanna make sure your mobo is as good as possible.... because when you wanna upgrade later on, the only major factor that could limit you is your mainboard. Its the 780i series, much more stable then the 750i, made for gaming, and overall you will run into less problems. I know your on a budget, but its still within your original budget price. I would go a lil better with the mobo by giving you the 790i series so you can use DDR3 and maximize your future ability to upgrade, but that board is like $350 and the RAM 5x the price. So thats out. Overall the PC i built you is amazing. Everything should work together with no problems. And the only parts that could possibly give you some issues are made by great companies who will work with you till no end to fix the issue. If you want to add a couple more hard drives, another video card to SLI, a better quad core, and more RAM, with this build you can without having to switch anything out. If you take care of it, it will last you many many years, unless your like me and have to be somewhat close to the bleeding edge of technology. Let me know if this is ok with you. If not, i will try and figure out something better to suit your needs. Edited Wed Dec 03 2008, 07:30PM |
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| gLiTch |
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Anal Assassin
Registered Member #455
Joined: Mon Oct 09 2006, 04:58AM Posts: 3848 |
Ok, for a while now, i have been doing my research on AMD. Like i previously stated, i am an Intel and Nvidia fanboi. I was always curious though on how things have been doin on the other side of the fence. So i checked some shit out. Not only is AMD much cheaper, but... (may be going out on a limb here) i even think they are faster in terms of total system performance. Granted there processors such as the Phenom x4 only go up to 2.6ghz and can barely get overclocked passed 3.4, but they have something called Hyper Transport which replaced FSB (Front Side Bus currently used by Intel) in 2001. I didnt know exactly what this was, but now i do. Its the same concept as Intel's new QPI technology being used by there new Core i7 series of processors. AMD has been doing it for 8 years now. Just because intel's processors are faster doesnt mean its the best. Its bottle-necked by the FSB.... big time bottle-necked. I put together an AMD system using the same shit as the Intel except for the processor, memory, and motherboard. Its $150 cheaper after the mail-in-rebates. I also believe its faster. You will still have the same advancement options as the other build for the most part. Here it is -[link]- The processor is faster then the Intel one i gave you earlier, and it wont be bottle-necked and will run A LOT COOLER! Honestly, if i had done my research and not be so close-minded with this, i would have built an AMD computer 2 years ago instead of this intel. It would have been cheaper and better lol... Its your choice bro. Either one is a great build and will meet or surpass your expectations. |
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| Zero |
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I want to fuck your hand.
Registered Member #571
Joined: Thu Feb 15 2007, 09:59PM Posts: 2809 |
I'm going to go with the AMD one not because I am close minded on liking it more (my buddy is an AMD man), but because it is noticeably cheaper, and if you say it is the same speed AND cooler (something I was worried about), then I am very happy with it I've been thinking about upgrading for a while... I haven't upgraded, or even tried, to upgrade this dell in 5 years. If I had the option to, I'd be making money, and would probably upgrade it alot, so that is also a huge concern for me After looking at it further, I am very, very fucking happy with this setup. This will all be plenty for me and all of the rebates bring the price down so much again. God damn I'm excited! I don't know much about the technologies used, but you seem to have done your research, and my decision is final, I'm going with the AMD build. It has my original case, which I had changed my mind to the mid tower, but this will be alright too. It has all the ports I need, all the memory and shit I need, I am fucking ecstatic Thanks so much Glitch, this isn't the last time I'm going to use you though  I am going to be asking you soooo many more questions  Thanks man, I appreciate it a lot!! |
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| gLiTch |
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Anal Assassin
Registered Member #455
Joined: Mon Oct 09 2006, 04:58AM Posts: 3848 |
Zero wrote ... Thanks so much Glitch, this isn't the last time I'm going to use you though I am going to be asking you soooo many more questions Thanks man, I appreciate it a lot!! Anytime bro. Just ask and you shall receive, and that includes sex. Very soon i will try and create a sticky or something in the tech forum explaining everything i know and more about what all the PC shit is, including both AMD, Intel, ATI, and Nvidia. I have been a bit busy lately, from side jobs to my best friend turning 21, but when i have time i will write it. EDIT: I took another look at the Motherboard i listed and its even better then what i thought it was. AMD is coming out with a new line of processors called Phenom2. Its next line of AMD quad cores to compete with intels Core i7. Its uses Socket AM3... and it supports Hyper Transport 3.0 which is supposed to be 20 - 30% faster then the new Intel QPI speeds... This motherboard supports that new architecture by updating the bios when it comes out. PLUS, the new AM3 processors will supposedly be backwards compatible with the old AM2+ motherboards so your all set for even a future processor upgrade, since the one you are about to order is the best Phenom to date. You bastard! lol... Edited Thu Dec 04 2008, 05:51AM |
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