i want to build a decent pc, used for
-browsing the internet mostly.
-playing mp3s through rhapsody.
-i plan on burning lots of discs with it
-pretty much would be used for psp/dreamcast/GC stuff
-maybe run some emulators
- torrents
-dont plan on playing any pc games on it
-would like a floppy drive
the thing is that this is my first attempt at building a pc and i have no idea where to start or what kind of parts to use
i'd like it to perform better than the dell dimension 4700 my parents bought a few years ago
probably want windows xp on it
thanks for any help anyone here can give me
need help building a pc
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I've never built a PC myself, but I've looked into it a bit.
I found a great book on building PCs at my local library, it's called Building the Perfect PC, so you could check your local library to see if they have that. If not, it's only $5.98 at Amazon. If you want an online guide, you can find plenty of those with Google.
A great place to buy parts is Newegg. They usually have great prices and awesome customer service should you want/need to return something, since PC parts are the most likely type of item to be DOA. But for big items (like a case) you'd probably want to buy locally, which is what Compusa and Best Buy are for.
I hope that helps. Good luck building your PC!
I found a great book on building PCs at my local library, it's called Building the Perfect PC, so you could check your local library to see if they have that. If not, it's only $5.98 at Amazon. If you want an online guide, you can find plenty of those with Google.
A great place to buy parts is Newegg. They usually have great prices and awesome customer service should you want/need to return something, since PC parts are the most likely type of item to be DOA. But for big items (like a case) you'd probably want to buy locally, which is what Compusa and Best Buy are for.
I hope that helps. Good luck building your PC!
Optomists say that the glass is half full.
Pessimist say that it's half empty.
Engineers say that it's twice as big as it needs to be.
Pessimist say that it's half empty.
Engineers say that it's twice as big as it needs to be.
newegg is your best friend
motherboards you wanna stick with name brands like asus (which is my fav) but make sure it has pci express on it for your video card
i would use amd cpus because they offer a lot of power for the buck
ram is pretty much whatever you can afford (more is better 512mb atleast 1gb is much better)
geforce 4 6000 series is pretty nice for most anything
but this all will depend on how much you want to spend.
lay that out and i can help with what to buy.
motherboards you wanna stick with name brands like asus (which is my fav) but make sure it has pci express on it for your video card
i would use amd cpus because they offer a lot of power for the buck
ram is pretty much whatever you can afford (more is better 512mb atleast 1gb is much better)
geforce 4 6000 series is pretty nice for most anything
but this all will depend on how much you want to spend.
lay that out and i can help with what to buy.
Because this is your first PC build I would suggest looking for these kind of items.
Motherboard/CPU combo
Tower case (if you don't have one right now)
DVD/CD-rom (I would suggest getting the $40 DVD+/-RW/CD-RW drives)
Video card (APG x8 or PCI-e which ever suits the motherboard)
Audio card (PCI or PCI-e, again which ever suits the board)
As for the floppy drive I would suggest dropping it. The damn things are too slow, too small and to fragile for any real use of data storage today. You can however keep a floppy drive around for emergencies, there are USB one they go for an average price of $15, ebay may sell for cheaper.
So start with the the motherboard/CPU, whatever suits you're needs in expansion, USB/Firewire/legacy ports, and processing power. Then look for a video card that will work, AGP or PCI-e. Select an audio card (audiology2). Pick your drives, both hard drives and optical. Now that you have all that stuff together, total up the power they're going to draw in watts. Using that number pick a PSU in a tower that can mount your motherboard, go at least 100 watts over what you need, incase you add more or to avoid a heavy draw form the system shutting itself down.
I would also suggest putting it together were you wont build up a lot of static, namely don't work on it in a carpeted room. This isn't because I've fried anything that way it's to just be safe. Also when putting the computer together you might get frustrated so just take it slow and move at a slow pace. These things are like Erector sets, if a screw doesn't fit try adjusting the position, don't force it. Do that and the system will come together more easily.
Good luck.
Motherboard/CPU combo
Tower case (if you don't have one right now)
DVD/CD-rom (I would suggest getting the $40 DVD+/-RW/CD-RW drives)
Video card (APG x8 or PCI-e which ever suits the motherboard)
Audio card (PCI or PCI-e, again which ever suits the board)
As for the floppy drive I would suggest dropping it. The damn things are too slow, too small and to fragile for any real use of data storage today. You can however keep a floppy drive around for emergencies, there are USB one they go for an average price of $15, ebay may sell for cheaper.
So start with the the motherboard/CPU, whatever suits you're needs in expansion, USB/Firewire/legacy ports, and processing power. Then look for a video card that will work, AGP or PCI-e. Select an audio card (audiology2). Pick your drives, both hard drives and optical. Now that you have all that stuff together, total up the power they're going to draw in watts. Using that number pick a PSU in a tower that can mount your motherboard, go at least 100 watts over what you need, incase you add more or to avoid a heavy draw form the system shutting itself down.
I would also suggest putting it together were you wont build up a lot of static, namely don't work on it in a carpeted room. This isn't because I've fried anything that way it's to just be safe. Also when putting the computer together you might get frustrated so just take it slow and move at a slow pace. These things are like Erector sets, if a screw doesn't fit try adjusting the position, don't force it. Do that and the system will come together more easily.
Good luck.
vskid wrote:Nerd = likes school, does all their homework, dies if they don't get 100% on every assignment
Geek = likes technology, dies if the power goes out and his UPS dies too
I am a geek.
To tell you the truth, based on the requirements you've given, I would suggest finding a cheap computer from someone like Dell and then adding hard drives as needed (and a CD or DVD burner if the one you buy doesn`t already have one.)
It doesn't look like you are really looking for a high end computer (or at least shouldn't be based on your requirements.) The most intensive thing it looks like you'd be running is an emulator, and most of them don't really need anything real powerful to run at full speed, and you'd only be saving money building a high end computer, low to mid-end computers tend to cost more to build yourself than to buy from someone else.
If you do buy a computer, take a look at the amount of memory it has, adding more memory in many cases can speed the computer up more than anything else you can do to the computer. Try to put at least 512MB in it, 1GB would be even better. If the price difference between getting the computer with something like 256MB and 1GB is more than $100 consider just buying it with the 256MB in it (or less if it will give you a discount) and then buy additional memory for it either off of a site like newegg or at a local brick and mortar store. 1GB of memory will cost you less than $100 if you shop around for it and look for deals
It doesn't look like you are really looking for a high end computer (or at least shouldn't be based on your requirements.) The most intensive thing it looks like you'd be running is an emulator, and most of them don't really need anything real powerful to run at full speed, and you'd only be saving money building a high end computer, low to mid-end computers tend to cost more to build yourself than to buy from someone else.
If you do buy a computer, take a look at the amount of memory it has, adding more memory in many cases can speed the computer up more than anything else you can do to the computer. Try to put at least 512MB in it, 1GB would be even better. If the price difference between getting the computer with something like 256MB and 1GB is more than $100 consider just buying it with the 256MB in it (or less if it will give you a discount) and then buy additional memory for it either off of a site like newegg or at a local brick and mortar store. 1GB of memory will cost you less than $100 if you shop around for it and look for deals
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