kellybrf

alright, so ive come into some money and figure its about time for a new computer. after past experiences w/pre-built systems, i think the best way to go is to build my own so i know exactly whats in it. ive not delt much w/hardware, but have installed pci cards, cd/dvd and hard drives before. i dont think it will be that big of a deal, but any tips or suggestions on where to buy would be greatly appreciated. im looking for an athlon xp- probably 1800 or better- w/ddr and built in video (im eventually going to put a gf4 into it, but need something in the meantime). i already have a hd and sound card. thanks guys!

brian

revil

all you need to know is http://www.pricewatch.com/

you will be able to get pretty much anything you want here.

sbp

Wait to buy the cpu kellybrf. AMD is going to cut prices on May 27th in response to Intel cutting on the 26th.

http://www.newegg.com is just about the only place I purchase from anymore. Good prices and selection.

Are you looking for recommendations on parts to buy?

MJordanash

Thats the site I go to for most of my parts.

NuTs62

true, but when buying, you wanna be able to return it easy too.. and ordering from a bunch of companies may not be cheaper.. tag on the shipping costs, etc.. try buying out of state, so at least you save on the tax.

kellybrf

yes, part recommendations would be good. also, letting me know what quirky things ill run into would be appreciated too. if i get the video card with the system, should i put it in before i install windows, or wait until afterwards (like i would with the sound card)? thanks guys.

brian

NuTs62

i haven't heard of anything about installing components in a certain order. When building, I just put everything in at once, and then install. Of course you'd need a video card to boot up, so thats automatic as far as installing it.

For RAM, I'd go with either Kingston or Crucial. I personally like Asus MB's, but I'm sure other people here will have different recommendations. I don't like any built-on video stuff, those are generally the low-end stuff, geared towards cheaper all-in-one package systems. The Lite-On CD-RW's, and DVD-ROMS have been quite popular, and have proved well on tests, but I still prefer Plextor (which is more expensive). As for NIC's, are you looking for wireless or a regular one? For standard 10/100 NICs, I recommend the 3COM or Intel NICs. Built-in 3COM nics into the MB have some compatibility issues with some DSL gateway routers, at least for me it did. I haven't a clue what else you need. Below is the list of what I bought around 6 months or so ago, thats if you want to go overkill. What is your price range?

Cantacuzene

What type of user are you? If you aren't a gamer you can save money on the video card towards oher things.

sbp

Motherboard: Via KT333 chipset mobo. Stick with better motherboard makers like Asus, Abit, Shuttle, MSI, Soyo
Ram: 512MB PC2700 DDR333 memory
Corsair, Samsung, Crucial, Mushkin, Infineon are good memory makers
Gaming Videocard: 64 meg GeForce 4 Ti4200
If you want to spend more anfd get better performance get the GeForce 4 Ti4400
If you don't game please say so.
Hard Drive: Western Digital. Stay away from IBM (Well, here is the reason all of our IBM harddrives are breaking).
Lite On 16X DVD rom
Lite On CDRW (40x/12x/48X)
NIC: Intel
Power Supply: 350 watt or above Antec or Enermax

kellybrf

im not a gamer, and figure i could get away w/a gf3, or even a 2, but was thinking about putting a 4 in it just to have it there if needed. i do design, but dont really need too top end a card for that.
why the 350w power supply, ive noticed theyre almost 2x as much as a 300? (im curious, not questioning you) thanks for all the help!

brian

NuTs62

I'm *guessing* you want a higher wattage power supply because some of these suckers draw alot of power. And you always want to have 'nuf power for your system, in case you decide to upgrade more later on too. I'd just get a 350w+ just to be on the safe side.

kellybrf

can someone tell me what raid is and why i would/wouldnt want to have it? thanks,

brian

NuTs62

RAID = Random Array of Independent Drives.

Any RAID requires you have 2+ drives. There are various levels of RAID. Most common among normal users is RAID 0. This requires 2 drives. What RAID 0 will do is combine the 2 drives, so 2 120GB drives would be one single 240GB drives. The data stored on it is split, part of the file on one drive, the other on the 2nd drive. By doing this, the computer accesses the files from both drives, therefore making it faster. But note: if one drive fails on you, you lose ALL your data.

There are other levels of RAID, that have fault tolerance. If you're really worried that your HD will crash, then you can mirror it, every file data written on one drive will be written on the other. This of course will waste more space, but its safer.

What kind of things are you going to be doing with the system? Most users do not need RAID.

kellybrf

raid doesnt sound like something id be using. i only have one hd, and i have like 90 gigs left so im not planning on buying another soon. id be using the system for basically multimedia, but no gaming.

if the mobo has raid, does it need to be used, or can it be disabled?

brian

rajatQ2

lots of motherboards will have two onboard controllers, one for regular IDE and one for IDE RAID. you can just put all of your devices on the regular IDE controller, and the RAID controller wont even initialize when you boot your computer, since it will not have anything connected to it. hth

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Markel

Actually, on most raid-equipped mb's you can connect up to 8 ide devices (4 on std ide controller, 4 on extra raid channels) even if you aren't using the raid controller.

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kellybrf

actually, i didnt go for raid, but thanks. heres the final specs:
athlon xp 2000+
abit kx7-333 mobo
512mb pc2700 samsung ram w/heat spreader
120gig wd caviar hd
sony 16x dvd
sony 40x12x48 cdrw
enermax 431w ps
soundblaster audigy
ati all-in-wonder 8500dv
c-6 blackhawk case from xoxide.com- 6 case fans and sound-activated case lighting
cambride soundworks fps2000 4.1 digital speakers
logitech wireless keyboard/mouse
philips 15" lcd

not everythings here yet, so i havent put it together, but any tips with that would be GREATLY appreciated since ive never done this before. thanks,

brian