microchip

Can anyone recommend a good site to help me build my own system?

no flames please.

Ladogaboy

You're already here!

Pretty much anything you need, including the best prices you can buy your comp stuff for is here...

But what we'd need to know is what you want your comp to do, how much money you have, how much experience you have in building/tinkering with computers. As for a how to site, I'm sure someone here might be able to point you in the direction of someplace will cool diagrams and such, but if you need help, I don't know of a better place on the web than right here.

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xsiled2

comeon chosen you should know by now not to link to tomshardware

Cyberskeer

My budget is around $150 or so for a motherboard and $50-$60 for a case. I want to keep it as inexpensive, yet as powerful as I can.

What I would like to build is a dual boot box that serves 2 purposes.
1) GAMER SERVER for Tactical OPs, ...etc
2)A test server for running a website with IIS, SQL, and the sort.

I have no clues on what motherboard would fit in what case, and fans and other relative paraphernalia. So detailed replies would be a bonus!!

Your help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thank you and Have a Happy and Prosperous New Year!!

Ladogaboy

Wait, do you have the cpu already, or do you have a $150 budget for the mobo/cpu combo?

As far as cases go, as long as you go with a mid or full tower case, there should be room for the motherboard. Clearance for the Heatsink and fan might be more of an issue (I recently bought a kit from compgeeks.com and the positioning of the power supply didn't leave enough clearance for the heatsink and fan on my Duron- just one of the things you need to look for).

Also, if you have to have the case shipped, the price for shipping could easily put you over your $60 limit. My suggestion for a case that is both cheap and roomy is Enlight. If you have a better budget, Antec might be another option.

Also, if you have a Fry's nearby, there is a deal on a Duron w/ mobo. http://www.gotapex.com/forums/showth...threadid=36655 (Cheap stuff at Fry's)

As for your best price vs performance ratio, it is AMD, hands down.

Another couple of places to get started on pricing things out:
http://www.pricewatch.com
http://www.pricegrabber.com

Also, do you already have all of the other components for making your system?

Cyberskeer

Yes my budget is about 150 for the mobo and 60 for the case.
I DO NOT have a CPU, cooling fan, and heat sink.

I do have the HD, graphics and sound card, floppy and CDROM.

Is there anything in particular then you can recommend to package together that would be powerful, yet inexpensive enough to build a dual boot box that serves these 2 purposes.
1) GAMER SERVER for Tactical OPs, ...etc
2)A test server for running a website with IIS, SQL, and the sort.


I'm eager to pick it up soon, however I can't say I'm up to speed in this department.

Thanks again!

SpeedEng

I think anything over 1200 mzh should be fine for your needs

just dont forget about the MEMORY!

Ladogaboy

Yeah, actually, that might be your biggest obsticle. If you upgrade your board, you might very well have to buy new ram as well. You might have to make the jump from DIMMs to DDR.

I'm guessing that you have ram right now... Do you know what kind it is? Because that also might determine which board you want to get. If you need to save a lot of money, then you might want to stick with DIMMs. If you really want performance, you'll probably need an upgrade to DDR.

If you go with DIMM, you could probably get a 1+GHz cpu w/ mobo and heatsink/fan for well under $150.

Cyberskeer

Would that would suffice for what I'm trying to accomplsh : GameServer / WebSite Server? If so then that is exactly what I am looking for.
Yes I have DIMMS and plan to stick with them to keep costs down.

Of course I would just need to get a case, right?

Would you be so kind to let me know where I can find such a deal? Perhaps even as a package together, meaning which motherboard, and what CPU and heat/sink fan that is compatible? By the way the former you mention (for 150) is that Athlon or Pentium?Again my sincere thanks!!!!

By the way The RAM I have is SDRAM , DIMM, PC133/100/66
But they are so cheap now, it doesn't matter much. But I will pretty much stick to something like the aforementioned.

Ladogaboy

Well, for a server, you want as much as you can get- it is really your price range that is the hold-up. I'm just trying to point out to you the best combo price and performance. Oh, and it would defineately be an AMD system.

I'll check around and try to give you some prices and links.

Cyberskeer

I can't express how much I appreciate your help.
Again, thank you.

Ladogaboy

Okay, I found some stuff. First, I'd say that you should stick with just one site, because the shipping on the case/ps will drive the price up really high. The other thing, is I'd suggest http://www.newegg.com. Their prices aren't always better than the rest of the companies on pricewatch, but their shipping is much cheaper.

I couldn't find any CPU/mobo combos, but it was still cheaper just to put together a set. The price I ended up with was $195.99 including shipping for the following:

Duron 1 GHz OEM
ECS K7S5A SiS® 735 SOCKET A MOTHERBOARD - RETAIL
ENLIGHT EN-72370X3C4 MEDIUM ATX TOWER CASE
Thermaltake VOLCANO 6Cu+

Of course, you might want to search the sight for better deals. The mobo will support both DIMM and DDR, but not at the same time. So you could make the jump to DDR in stages if you want. Anyway, that should give you a good idea of what you could get with your budget.

Cyberskeer

Thank you so much! I will most likely go with exactly as you suggested, but nonetheless I will take a look at the site.
Without sounding terribly mushy, however heartfelt, folks like you is what makes this world a better place to live in.

Thank you and have a GREAT NEW YEAR!

Ladogaboy

You're welcome, and have a happy new year too...

You might want to wait to see if anyone has any better deals/options, but if not, I'd say go with something like that.

Good luck on it, and let us know how things end up...

Jauhiainen

I've got a question regarding the shipping costs at newegg, which should also help, should Cyberseeker decide to order from them.

Every time I have priced items at newegg, there didn't seem to be any sort of discount in shipping for ordering multiple items together. Their website lists a shipping charge for each individual item, and the shopping cart simply adds those shipping charges together. I would assume they will be packaging items together in one box when possible. Anyone know how to get around this?

__________________
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sbp

afaik there is no way around that.

When I ordered from the last week, everything was put in one box.

Ladogaboy

Yeah, the will total up the shipping, but there are quite a few heavy items. Plus, even with no breaks on the shipping, they're still cheaper.

Pricewatch is a great place to find the lowest prices for things on the web, but you have to be careful because many companies will try to shaft you. IMO, Axiontech and Newegg are the best to deal with.

I've been shafted by BZBOYZ, and would not recommend them.

So, sbp, whatcha get?

sbp

Gainward Ti500, Shuttle KT266a motherboard, 40 gig Seagate Barracuda IV

Cyberskeer

Got everything to the T and installed everything without a hitch. I press on the Power Button and I get nothing. NO JUICE at all. What gives? So bummed out.

sho.gun

Hey Cyber, allow me to put across a couple of quick things you might have missed:

1. The power supply has a switch on the back, make sure it's on.
2. The cable that runs from the power switch to the motherboard, is it hooked up to the correct plug, if so try plugging it in the other way.
3. Power cable plugged in?


hmm that's all I can think of right now, it's probably those switch plugs that's being the problem. Could also be that you have a dead power supply.

Ladogaboy

Well, first thing...

Do the fans come on? In the powersupply or anything?

Second, Go through the manual that came with the motherboard and read everything... for the step by step set up. If even on connector on the case wires is wrong, it won't start. Also, there might be something on that particular mobo that requires you to have a system fan installed in order for it to boot up.

Other than that... make sure the ram, videocard, and cpu are seated properly...

Try those things, and get back to us...

Cyberskeer

I tried the cable connection the other way inside that connects to the mobo. Power started alright AND then sparks, snaps and smell of burn. Had to yank the power supply.
THink I fried the Mobo, the CPU?
I am so down. I was looking so forward to this new box

sho.gun

uh oh...

where did the sparks come from? Is it the Power supply?

Ladogaboy

You shouldn't be able to put a ps on backwards....

ATX plug only goes one way...

Cyberskeer

I suppose from the Power Supply.

I have no power at all again now.

Danger of Mobo or CPU damage?

Cyberskeer

I am so depressed.
Thanks for your replies. NOt sure what to do from here.

Ladogaboy

Yes. Danger of everything damage...

Um... did you flip a switch on the back of the ps?

sho.gun

Yeah, cyber, did you notice where the sparks came from? You didn't happen to drop anything conductive in there did you?

sho.gun

And I'm sure that the CPU can only go in 1 way...

Ladogaboy

Wait... you did put the heatsink on first, right?

One thing to try,if you still feel like fooling around.... Do you have a 250-300 watt ps available? Like in the computer you are currently using? Because, if you do, you could try that out to see if the components still work...

Also, if all else fails, just call up newegg, tell them that your ps was bad and it might have ruined your other components....