Building my first PC - advice
 

OK, I think I've decided to take the plunge and build my own PC.

I've done various upgrades to my ageing system over a number of years, so the insides of the PC won't be alien to me.

However I've got a problem choosing my bits and bobs, especially the processor, motherboard and memory, as things have moved on quite a bit since the time I got my PC - about 4 and a bit years ago.

This is what I want ...

ATX motherboard with most of the stuff onboard (LAN, USB, parallel etc), with the exception of sound and video. Not a fan of onboard graphics as it consumes system memory, and the performance, is, well, crap. Overlays on this computer don't work on any res higher than 800x600 so all video is jittery and choppy if viewed fullscreen or if I try and view TV, a picture does not show at all. A nightmare for viewing any video fullscreen at 1280x960. Onboard sound in my experience is pretty basic too - I found since installing my Creative soundcard that it sounded better than the onboard stuff, so I'd like to avoid where possible.

P4 processor. Not too keen on the "equivalent P4 performance based ratings" that AMD use for their processors - is it a marketing tactic? Where can I find a comparison chart for these ratings?

Graphics card - not a gamer so the latest £300 model need not apply. However I'd like something better than your onboard graphics - I'm looking at this nVIDIA FX5200 card as it provides most of the features that I would like to have - dual display capability and svideo out for watching the occasional DVD on TV. Also appears to have onboard memory and so won't eat into the system memory.

Hard drives - 2 Seagate ones. Are SATA ones noisier than IDE ones? If so, I'll stick to IDE.

Case - nothing fancy, no windows on the sides, no blue LED's, watercooling etc. Beige preferably as it usually sits under the desk and most computer parts are that colour. The ability to keep in all the noise from the fans and drives is a must as it's in my bedroom, otherwise I'll end up chucking it out the window. ;)

Fans - how many are needed?

Optical drives - must seperate CDRW and DVD drives. I don't like disc swapping and I've always had 2 drives in my computer. Are DVD writers worth getting? What should I look out for and what should I avoid? How long does it take to burn a full DVD?

Floppy drive - I still have the odd FD knocking around with old data on so that's a must, although it doesn't get used often.

Power supply - recommended manufacturers? Typical wattage rating for this set-up? Price?

Putting the whole lot together. Is it as easy as it sounds? Are there any online guides or books which would be worth a read beforehand? Do's and Don'ts?

Other general advice?

I know this is a lot, but I'd rather get the whole picture first before parting with cash.

Cheers. :)

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

Forget going for a P4, go for an Asus A78NX deluxe Nforce 2 motherboard, 2 x onboard lan, loads of USB 2 ports. A fantastic (and reasonably priced) board. If you don't have a soundcard to use, the soundstorm audio is pretty good, but I'd recommend a decent creative card (Audigy/2/ZS)

If you're not a gamer, that'll do you fine.

SATA drives just have different interfaces, they'll be no less or no more noisy, the Fujitsu IDE drives are reputedly quiet though, Maxtors and WD's like the whine after a few months (sometimes longer, sometimes sooner)

Go for a white chieftec, solid as a rock.

http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer/...=16141&cat=288

None other than your CPU HSF, you won't be having any real performance parts so you shouldn't generate any heat that the PSU fan can't dissipate, if you're not comfortable with none, just stick one at the top of the back of the case (blowing outwards)

Optical drives are dirt cheap now, takes around 30 minutes to burn a film on my 4x writer, but I tend to burn more normal CD's as it never seems to fail no matter what media I use.

[quote]Floppy drive - I still have the odd FD knocking around with old data on so that's a must, although it doesn't get used often.[/quote}

You can pick them up for less than a fiver.

300 watt minimum, avoid junk like QTEC or any of the ole sh*te sold in PC worlds parts dept, something like http://www.overclock.co.uk/customer/...=17606&cat=266 will do you.



Make sure you're earthed to at least the case chassis if you're handling components.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

You won't be electrically earthed unless the thing is plugged in but you really do not want it to be plugged in whilst you are working on it so it is best to just earth yourself to a cold water pipe.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

Yeah, I work next to the radiator.. one hand on the radiator and one hand in the case.. never had any probs.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

I agree - the NForce 2 chipset is pretty good.
I went for an iCute case - but with additional fans (one on top sucking in - one one the side blowing out..), as the room the computer is in gets warm.. cost £30 or so.

If you are going to get a DVD writer - get one that supports both + and - formats.

definately at least 300W - preferably more (so you can add more stuff later with no issues)

better to get earthed to something else (unless you fit the PSU and plug it in before you do anything else..) - I used the old case - plugged in but not switched on...

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

Samsung spinpoint HDDs are supposed to be quiet
SATA gives a faster read (though the HDD is still slower than the interface speed), thinner cable to connect and is the future, so if your MOBO supports it get them.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

I am in the same boat as you and about to build a PC too.
My few questions....


1) Does it matter what the PSU rating is ? Like would it make a differnce if I chose one that was 350watt, 360, or 366watts or does it not matter ?


2) Im thinking of going for an ASUS motherboard. What would be the best one you reccomend for being the most up to date and reliable and that will take a P4 processor around 3ghz simply by slotting it in.


3) Ive seen most boards have onboard everything. Can I disable these things and recuperate the pwer that would have gone to those things, eg. disable the onboard soundcard and put in a better one.


4) How do I choose my RAM ? I want the good stuff that is double density or whatever its called. Dual channel ?
Does it depend on the Mobo I buy ?


5) Anyone steer me away from Pentium and towards AMD ? At the moment Im sticking with Pentium but if anyone has anything worth saying about AMD chips, chip in now.


Thanks for the help :-)

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

To be honest the PSU can be a critical component, best not to scrimp on power or cost as nearly everything in the PC casing will rely on it. A cheap PSU can cause a lot of problems if it fails and can take sensitive parts with it.
As for choosing ram you can try visiting crucial.com and using the site to match your memory type to the motherboards you are looking at.
The main thing to do with your first PC build and any subsequent builds is to take your time, read the manuals, ask questions and enjoy it :) It can be fun and will certainly allow you to learn a lot more about the workings of a PC.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

All depends on what componants your choosing. As said above, 300w minimum for a basic P4 & graphics.. but if your pushing up to a 9800pro.. with anything above PC3200 ram, then your going to start having to look at a higher rating PSU. Also make sure the PSU is a quality build.. Dont go for a cheap PSU, like a Qtec.. you could end up with your parts being knackered if it fails.


All depends on what you want really.. Do you want SATA? Need Onboard graphics ?


Yeah.


DDR - Double Data Rate... Very commen nowadays and any decent computer will be built using it. Your looking at at least PC3200 memory nowadays.. Dual channel will be supported by most modern motherboards. It usually involves sticking the ram in specfied slots (IE, on Asus boards its slot 2 & 3)


Depends what your going to use the system for. Gaming ? - Then go the A64 route.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

:rofl: at the comment about Fujitsu drives. All of the Fujitsu HD's I've had are as noisy as jet engines in full swing (OK, major exaggeration used there for dramatic effect but near enough ;) ) but you can clearly hear it from the other side of the room, and in bed too.

AARGH!! That bloody high pitched whining!! I would never buy another Fujitsu drive again!

From the document on the AMD website, the Athlon XP processors seem really tricky to fit, and there are many things that could potentially go wrong. The impression I get is that you have to get it just right, or it your processor will be cooked or physically broken.

The Intel ones seem much easier from the outset if you get the boxed retail version of the processor which comes with heatsink and instructions.

I've seen an Asus P4C800-E Deluxe motherboard on overclock.co.uk. Any good? The speaking POST error messages seem a bit freaky though :disturbd:

Cheers for all the advice so far. I seem to get the message that one of the most important things to do whilst handling components is to ground yourself, otherwise you could fry your components.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

With regards to the difficulty of fitting AMD XP proccessors....

Yeah, the Heatsinks are a real pain to fit.. Require quite a bit of force to get the clips onto the motherboard mount. Actually putting the processor onto the board is a doddle, just lift the clip... drop it in close the clip.. and get that tricky HS on. Don't let that put you off though.. it really isnt a problem, just requires perseverance :)

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

as other have said don't get a cheap power supply if it goes pop so can your board and numerous other components.
don't put too much pressure on anything if u have to push to hard it probably not in the right way round etc.
amd cpu's can be a bugger but they do give better value that u can spread across ur other components.
can't think of anything else other than what people have already said, other than remember everyone here is giving you their own opinion u could find 10 people all with exactly the same hardware all with different opinions and problems with that same hardware :)

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

The machine I want isnt for gaming. I believe more in consoles for my gaming needs.
It will however be used for graphics work and so I dont want any onboard graphics. I'l get a radeon or something along those lines.

Il also be using it for sound production so need a good fast H.D. and will buy a good soundcard for it.

I was looking at the ASUS Delexe mothbord and heard that was good.
However over the summer Ive heard of a new socket that intel have developed for future processors or something ?
Anyone know anything about this ? Like lets say I buy the Asus board with a 3ghz chip, will i be able to upgrade later on. I need a board that will allow me to upgrade later on.

What do you think of this ASUS board ?
http://uk.asus.com/products/mb/socke...p/overview.htm

Thanks.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

Top of the line graphics cards are only necessary for gaming, graphics work (which is 2d) will not stress most mid range graphics cards such as the ATI 9600 128Mb. which can be picked up for £80 or less.

Re: Building my first PC - advice
 

Just posting a note here since I saw heatsinks mentioned. A recent build I did used an AMD 64 processor and I basically had to fully dismantle the heatsink to fit it onto the motherboard properly.

Be very careful when fitting heatsinks/fans on processors. If it's not properly secured, don't leave it as it is!