It is time [to build new pc]. Please help me!!! ^_^

[Kenrick]

For months and months I have been planning on buying my new computer early this summer.  And for all these months I have been planning on buying from Ibuypower.com.  I've changed my mind though, I'm going to get all the parts from newegg and put the bastard together myself...

So why am I abandoning my ibuypower plan?
1) Although I've heard good things about them, I've also heard a whole lot of negative stuff too.
2) I added up the prices of all the components I'll need on newegg, and the cost came to about $200 less than what I would have paid ibuypower (with shipping).
3) The quality of parts I can get by going through newegg are better than the ones I'd be getting from ibuypower, and as I mentioned, it costs less!

Here is what I am going to put together (with current prices):
Case: $59
Aspire X-Dreamer II(Black) ATX Mid-Tower Case with 350W Power Supply, With Window, Model "ATXB4KLW-BK/350"

Motherboard: $185
ASUS "P4C800-E DELUXE" i875P Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU -RETAIL

CPU - $279
Intel Pentium 4/ 3.2E GHz 800MHz FSB, 1MB L2 Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail

RAM: $198
Corsair Value Select Dual Channel Kit 184 Pin 1G(512MBx2) DDR PC-3200

Hard Drive: $110
Western Digital 160GB 7200RPM SATA Hard Drive, Model WD1600JD

Video Card: $204
SAPPHIRE ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 128MB DDR, 256-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 8X AGP

Optical Drive: $100
PIONEER DVD±RW Drive, Model DVR-A07XLAB

Operating System: $87
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack SP1a

Total Cost:  $1222
(Total cost for similar system built on ibuypower: $1400)


I guess my question is... what the hell do I do when everything arrives?  I've built a computer before, but not since '95 (and I barely remember that - I was in 10th grade...)  Are there are bunch of jumper settings or connections I'm gonna have to worry about?  Is it more complicated than just putting it all together and installing the OS?  Someone help me, I'm skeered!!

[Nebu]

I just built a system similar to what you have described and it really isn't too bad.  Most of the information you'll need will be with the CPU and motherboard docs.  I also got an ASUS board and their instructions were pretty good.  I cheated and had the CPU already put on the mobo, so that one I can't help you much with.  

My advice: Take your time, read everything thoroughly before starting, and make sure you have a couple of reference sites bookmarked on another computer for fall back.  There are some great sites out there with helpful tips for assembling systems.

[Toast]

Oh, and don't forget to ground yourself. It's not a huge risk, but static electricity can ruin some components.

I think sites like www.tomshardware.com should have forums that would be helpful.

[Sable Blaze]

I still prefer AMD for a machine that is primarily concerned with gaming. In fact, it's what I"m on now.

Rather than specific products, I'll go into what you should look for.

1) Case. Removable motherboard tray. This is such a timesaver. Makes upgrades MUCH easier. Otherwise, plain and steel and large for plenty of cooling.

2) Mobo. Well, I'm inclined to AMD, but I'd get something no frills. The least amount of features you need to do what you want. Less froufrou stuff means more bang for your buck.

3) RAM. Right on. Buy GOOD RAM. Cheesing here will cost you in the long run (and not even all that long either).

4) I always buy what's fast at $100. Right now that's the J-series WD120. You're on the right track though.

5) Optical drives. Whatever I can scrounge from the last machine. DVD is the coming thing, though. May as well get it now.

6) OS. Well, if you're a gamer its WinXP. Sad, but no choice in the matter...yet...

7) Sound. Onboard will get you by, but the Audigy2 is hard to beat.

8) Video. I'm an nVidia fan, but this is a rough call. There's lots you need to consider. What sort of monitor you use. How you like to configure games. Do I really want AA or anisotropic filtering, or can I get what I want with sheer resolution? Quick answer: bang for the buck. It's the FX5900XT or the ATI 9700PRO. Best deals out there right now.

9) Power supply. Get a good one. Get a big one, especially for P4s and multiple hard drives. PC Power and Cooling is hard to beat. Not cheap, but, like memory, if you cheese here, you'll regret it.  

10) CPU. You've probably already decided, but I get whatever is about $150 for a retail version. When I need an upgrade (or think I do), I buy whatever is $150. Think about it...it's a good system!

Most important thing on assembly is to pay attention to your mobo instructions. Usually, things go pretty smoothly. If it posts, just install WinXP (which is relatively painless), then fully update XP, then your drivers. With SATA and the newest mobos, you shouldn't have to worry about jumpers.

[Rof]

Essentially, in order:

(1) Put CPU in motherboard socket. Lock the socket with lever thingy.
(2) Put CPU heatsink on CPU, doing anything necessary with the thermal paste/conduction pad. Connect the heatsink fan to the right terminal on the mobo. Make sure you get this stage right, or you may fry the CPU.
(3) Insert the RAM DIMMS (you might want to do this first depending on the mobo design)
(4) Attach the mobo to the case, making sure you use the right spacers. Don't forget the grounding screw (usually brass coloured, middle of mobo). (The case should come with all the right screws).
(5) Attach the power supply connectors to the mobo.
(6) Insert the video card into the AGP slot.
(7) Connect power cable, video cable, keyboard.
(8) Power on the system. Look for a video signal, enter the BIOS.

If it doesn't work, figure out what's wrong at this stage before going on.

If it all works, you can continue (after powering down again, of course) to connect the HD (power and IDE/SATA cables), DVD drive (likewise), install the OS, etc.

Avoid static. If you don't have an easy way to ground yourself, plug in the PSU to mains but leave the (rear) switch turned off. This grounds the case nicely.

Few mobos need jumpers anymore (except maybe the clear-CMOS jumper), it's all done through the BIOS nowadays.

I'd imaging the ASUS manual covers all of this, by the way.

[Kenrick]

Lotsa helpful stuff.

Sound:  I'll be going onboard... the mobo i'm getting has great sound allegedly.
Video: I've always gone w/Nvidia too.. but I'm gonna try ATI this time.
Monitor:  21" CRT
CPU: Sorry, I'm intel loyal. ;)
Case/Power:  I was hoping that a 350W supply would get me by... is that a definite no?

Thanks for all the help, keep it comin!

[Nebu]

Case/Power:  I was hoping that a 350W supply would get me by... is that a definite no?

Tough call... the 9800 is a great card for the money but should you decide to upgrade in the future, the new video cards have some pretty serious power demands.  I'd consider a 400W power supply if you can afford it.

Second, make sure that the case has at least 2 fans on it.  Airflow is everything!  Keeping your CPU cool (vid card generates some serious heat) will be the best thing you can do for performance.

[Arthur_Parker]

(1) Put CPU in motherboard socket. Lock the socket with lever thingy.

Remember to lift the lever thingy up before you put the cpu in.  I have built 3 pc's in the last year and each time spent an hour fighting to get the bastard plastic heatsink mounting back off after forgetting.

Update the OS and get an anti virus installed as soon as possible, I clean installed my sister's pc and it caught that reboot virus within 10 mins of connecting to the net, I was downloading anti virus at the time.

[Anonymous]

Get a USB memory key, and use it to download necessary software on a protected computer.  Alternatively burn the software to a CD.  There's no sense in needlessly exposing a fresh install to the net, without at least installing a firewall first.

[Kenrick]

Case/Power:  I was hoping that a 350W supply would get me by... is that a definite no?

Tough call... the 9800 is a great card for the money but should you decide to upgrade in the future, the new video cards have some pretty serious power demands.  I'd consider a 400W power supply if you can afford it.

Second, make sure that the case has at least 2 fans on it.  Airflow is everything!  Keeping your CPU cool (vid card generates some serious heat) will be the best thing you can do for performance.

Okay, I just ordered the first batch of parts.  Case, cpu, mobo, and ram.  The others will have to wait till after Friday's paycheck. :)

The case I ended up going with is 420W Aspire case... looks pretty good if you ask me.  Linkage.

One question though... my motherboard says it is 12"x 9.6'... and my case specs say it can only hold motherboards up to 11"W x 12"L.  I'm hoping that one of those 2 just has the numbers out of order!  EEK!!  Can't imagine such a popular motherboard wouldn't fit in such a popular case though...

edit: Oh, and I got the Prescott P4 with 1MB L2 cache, beat the timer on the sale price by 45 minutes!  :-D

[Delf]

Get a USB memory key, and use it to download necessary software on a protected computer.  Alternatively burn the software to a CD.  There's no sense in needlessly exposing a fresh install to the net, without at least installing a firewall first.

Quoted, because this really can't be said too many times, especially if you're attaching to broadband. Turn on the XP firewall before you make any sort of Internet connection.  (Start button, Help, search for "enable firewall".)

If you can get behind a hardware firewall/NAT box on broadband, so much the better, it'll give you that much smaller a window of vulnerability while you're downloading all your patches.

Oh, and your shopping list doesn't explicitly call out a heatsink. If you're not going to order a retail packaged CPU with heatsink included, you'll want to make sure you get one.

[Kenrick]

If you can get behind a hardware firewall/NAT box on broadband, so much the better, it'll give you that much smaller a window of vulnerability while you're downloading all your patches.

I'm going to be setting up a wireless network between my PC and my fiancee's, so we're going to have a good 802.11g wireless router.  I won't be connecting my new PC to the net until it's all set up.

Oh, and your shopping list doesn't explicitly call out a heatsink. If you're not going to order a retail packaged CPU with heatsink included, you'll want to make sure you get one.

I went with retail for both the asus motherboard and the cpu, so I could have all the materials and documents.  The intel chip comes with a nice fan and heatsink in the box.

Thanks for all your help guys!  Much better than what I got at that other site.  ^_^

edit:  Oh, and I ordered the first 4 parts from newegg (mobo, cpu, ram, case) last night at about 5:15pm CDT.  Order was completely processed within the hour.  Order was then shipped out of L.A. by 2:00am CDT.  I'm a first-time buyer at newegg, but it sounds like they've got a hell of a shipping system down -- nearly free, and speedy as hell!

[Nebu]

For your first project you chose well.  I LOVE NewEgg.  I've been buying things from NewEgg for years and they are incredible.  Fast and reliable service, great prices, and a good selection.  I almost never buy computer stuff from a Brick and Mortor unless my system is on fire and I have a deadline to meet.

Take your time putting things together and you'll be very pleased with the result.  There's something organic about putting a system together yourself.  It's satisfying.

[HRose]

I'll do the same in September.

I'm aiming at a faster memory and an Athlon 64 at 3200 or 3400.
Intel, right now, isn't a good choice. Athlon 64 is cheaper and offers a very good performance with the latest motherboards like KT800 or nforce3.

[Furiously]

Upgrading now, if you can avoid it is my advice. Pci-express is coming down the pick fairly soon, and you WILL want a pci-express video card. (actually - you may want two of them).

I generally try to upgrade every 6 months (Ebay the oldish stuff for 3/4 of its original price and its a fairly affordable method of staying current)

[Kenrick]

Feh... not upgrading, getting a new system.  And I'm not going to wait a matter of months for pci express.  Bah blah bah buuuuu. No.

[RipSnort]

I like this site http://www.mwave.com/mwave/main.hmx? .When I'm lookin to buy I putter with the bare bones builder switching parts around. All the components listed, from cheapest to most expensive, are typically the latest technology for their quality/ price range. Something about the way the site is arranged makes it easy to contemplate different cpu's, mobo's and vid cards.

[Sable Blaze]

I buy from both mwave and Newegg. Can't beat them. I tend to go with whichever one has the most of what parts I want. Keeps shipping to a minimum.

PCI-express...wouldn't worry about it. It's going to be the shiz, but right now you simply don't need it and nothing can really make use of the bandwidth. Definately something to keep in mind, but I wouldn't put off an upgrade or consider it a make-or-break for purchasing decisions right now.

One reason I specified retail CPUs is to get the packaged O-fficial fan and the warranty. Haven't needed one yet, but for the extra $5-$10 you can't lose.

[Kenrick]

putter

Damn it, I'm building a computer, not a new set of clubs.  =P

Ok here's a review of what I ordered last night:
-The aforementioned ASUS motherboard (retail)
-Pentium 4 3.2 Prescott (retail)
-1 GB Kingston Dual Channel RAM (2x512)
-That Aspire case with 420W psu

...

And here is what I will order next week:
-Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro 128mb
-Western Digital 160 GB SATA 7200rpm HDD
-Pioneer DVD/RW
-Sony 3.5" floppy

Thanks again for all the help.  I'll be sure to let y'all know how it turns out. :)

[Fabricated]

I would almost recommend waiting if your a hardcore FPS gamer whore like me.

The next generation chipsets from ATi and NVidia aren't very far away, and offer pretty significant performance boosts over the current. That, and it might be an idea to wait for some good PCIe mobos since we'll start seeing PCIe graphics cards here soon.

[Sable Blaze]

The Prescott can probably make pretty good use of the FX6800 or whatever ATI is bringing out. What you like to run in video settings might make this call for you. If you can't stand anything but 1600x1200 (like me) and MUST have full AA and aniso (my present card can't handle it), then the new stuff is the only stuff that has a prayer of meeting these reqs.

Nevertheless, if you need the machine, build it. You have to make a call on when to lay down the money and build the box. You can wait on coming technology forever and never get anything done. There's always something "just around the corner." If you really need the upgrade, go for it. If you're doing well and can put things off four months, well, then there'll probably be some new things that will make life easier (or more possible) at the ragged edge.

[Kenrick]

Okay... finished building the new rig yesterday and it is running beautifully.  Can't wait to start putting games on it after installing all the drivers and windows update...

However (!), something happened last night I was not prepared for.  The monitor went dead.  I'm running (until I get my own) on my fiancee's 19" NEC Multisync 95, which she's had for about 3 years.  We've never had problems with it before.  Then all of a sudden last night after one of my reboots, it no longer worked.  The screen is black and the only sign of life is the green LED on the front is "pulsing" about 2 times per second.  Not good.  Is this monitor fried?  Does anyone have any idea if this is something I can take in to get repaired?  Last but not least... and I'm not sure what to think here... is this incident completely random or could it have possibly had something to do with being hooked up to my new pc?  Thanks for all your expert help!

[schild]

Sounds like just some bad luck. Wish I could be of more help but the most mysterious part of the computer to me is and will probably always be, the monitor.

May I suggest a ViewSonic Ultrabrite A90f+?

[Sky]

Have you tried a different monitor cable? Assuming it has a removable cable, but all LCDs I've seen have.

Since we're making monitor recommendations, let me recommend mine: the samsung hln617w DLP monitor. Suh-weetness, and you'll never go back to traditional computing after you've experienced it.

[schild]

I have a front projector in my living room. I'll never go back to a rear projection after experiencing them.

Is mine bigger? Wait, we're not talking about pe...my bad.

[Kenrick]

Okay Sky, I'll get that as soon as i win the $70M texas lotto jackpot on saturday. =P

Considering I'm on a tight budget now, I like the viewsonic that schild reccommended.  I'll see if they have that in stock at the best buys here in austin, it's listed at $229.00 there.  Thanks.

As for cables... I'm really thinking that it's not that.  I tried switching power cables but that didn't work.  Even when the monitor is unplugged from the computer, but plugged into power, it's still just doing that gimpy pulsing thing and not powering up at all.

[Sky]

Schild, I actually hesitate to talk about my tv, because everyone takes it as bragging about size. In a way, I guess, but it's not my intention. I'm not kidding when I say my outlook on video games changed 100% when I got the rptv. I like to make people aware that it's an option, because playing something like Planetside on a big screen is such a beautiful moment in any gamer's life, and the technology is beginning to become more affordable.

Sure, it's not as much acreage as a projector, and costs more, but I can play in daylight without blacking my windows :P When I can finally get a house, I'm going to install a projector, too, they are the best bang for the buck, huge picture, and look great. In any situation but viewing in sunlight, they are better, given similar capabilities and a good screen.

That said, there is a definite sticker shock, I had to give up beer for six months and also take a small loan, I'm no rich guy. The set lists for $5k, I paid $3k (an unheard of price according to the home theater folks I know). Seems like a lot, but most hobbies do, look at the cost of a new snowmobile, for instance. I watch tv, dvds, and game much more than I snowmobile, and all year, to boot. It pushed my finances to get, but I'm totally happy with it. Like I said, just spreading the gospel around some.

Sorry to derail your troubleshooting post, Kenrick.

[Kenrick]

Sorry to derail your troubleshooting post, Kenrick.

Well hey, at least you did it with class...

Anyway, I'm picking up the viewsonic monitor that schild reccommended at best buy after work.  That's new one for me. :) As for replacing the monitor of my fiancee that busted last night, guess we'll tackle that later.

Cheers all.  Happy memorial day.

[Sky]

Probably shouldn't pull that kind of move until after the wedding, bro ;)