<div class="IPBDescription">I just want to keep a list.</div> Ok, Building your own computer is better than buying from Dell/Gateway/etc. Ok, I just want to know what parts are need. If I ever get another computer, I'm building it. ^_^ Thanks!
TalesinOur own little well of hateJoin Date: 2002-11-08Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
Case Power supply unit. (Usually, but not always, included with the case. May want to upgrade it anyway if it's a bit lightweight) Motherboard CPU RAM Hard Drive Keyboard Monitor
Those are the only neccessary things, for a base machine.. some mobos come with on-board video, as well as audio. For those looking for a more usable system though...
Mouse Video card Sound card NIC (Network Interface Card... ethernet and so on) Modem (Optional, in this day of broadband.) CD-ROM Floppy DVD-ROM Better CPU cooler Case fan Second Hard Drive Zip Disk Reader Front-mount USB adaptor CD-RW
DVD-RWs are expensive at the moment, but very handy from time to time.
I would suggest just finding somone local to build you a custom one <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif'><!--endemo--> Usually only about $50 or so more then doing it yourself (least it was for me).
Motherboard (EDIT) Hard Drive Proccessor Power Supply Video Card CD Drive Floppy Drive (good to have around) Ethernet Card Case 128-256MB Stick DDR RAM
You may have to buy a fan or two, but most mobos come with fans. I know I may have forgot something, but its not to hard to do it yourself, now a days its pretty hard NOT to buy the right parts. And if you got the right parts, it should all snap together easily.
BTW, your mobo instructions will tell you how/where to hook any extra crap up (CD Drive/Ethernet/Vid Card/Floppy/Power Supply/Proccessor) as well as a CD with any drivers you might need. Almost all mobos these days come with onboard sound, but frankly, im not enough of a music enthusiast to warrant the extra $100 or so for an Audigy.
You can also buy barebones systems, which are just pretty much the mobo, power supply, and a case. Don't forget a 56k modem either, its an annoyance, but you never know!
Be sure to get a big enough case too, server cases are kinda oversized though. And keep your old computer around, even if you feel like chop shopping it (hey, duel CD Drives aint too shabby even if 1 is slow) you may need it in an emergency to look up something on the net (or make a bootdisk).
EDIT: Talesin beat me to it, but I was typing first! Blah its 2AM.
TalesinOur own little well of hateJoin Date: 2002-11-08Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
Heh... actually started typing, then went in for the seperation of neccessary versus optional.
I'd go for a SBLive on the sound card aspect... Audigies are overrated, and occasionally run into compatability problems on some systems, as their control-handlers are not public knowledge. Few mobos come with case fans, though CPUs do ship with a cooler most of the time (which I would almost never use, unless supplied with a Volcano 9 or 11).
Dont listen to these people you'll have a burnt pc in an hour. Well actually they resumed it pretty well.
First of all, look what you want to reccuperate from your old comp.
This can be: Your case, sound card (if not integrated), keyboard+mouse, monitor, cd/dvd drives and burners, your floppy, your Hard Drive (change if possible) Graphic card (usually you'd change it too.
So if you change processor, most of the time you would need the following:
-A New Motherboard. -New Memory (DDR is the standard nowadays, single rate SDram is outdated) -a FAN (if your motherboard isn't thermaldeath proof, forgeting this results in a burnt processor IN A FEW SECONDS. CHECK THE FAN BEFORE ANYTHING (of course every board has t-death nowadays...) Box processors come with a fan, so if you buy box you dont need a fan
If your computer is factory-made, chances are the alim is fairly weak. Consider a 350 or 450W alim.
Of course, chances are you'd want to change graphic card and HDD.
If your card is a GeForce 3 or better, chances are (if you play only HL) you won't really need better for the moment. Try getting a monitor instead, as bundled screens suck. If you consider buying Doom3 change both <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> Something like a rad9800 pro <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
For your HDD choice, if you are a gamer before a graphist, speed is your friend. Look for 7200rpm with 8 Mb cache. a 80 could do I'd say. (it's the standard today)
To sum up, try this:
MSI KT4 Ultra Athlon XP [insert value] here (not too high... Processing power isn't the biggest part of gaming) + FAN if you buy OEM and not BOX. 512 Mb DDR-400 (400 Mhz, very fast ram) 512 would be a generous value of ram, not too much (graphist) and not too low (average PC by Dell) Radeon 9800 Pro 19" CRT screen (hi quality one...) Western Digital 7200 80G "special edition" (8 Mb cache) Enermax silent alim 450W
Recuperate:
CD-RW drive DVD drive floppy case mouse+keyboard soundcard
SpoogeThunderbolt missile in your cheeriosJoin Date: 2002-01-25Member: 67Members
<!--QuoteBegin--Liku+Apr 30 2003, 02:33 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Liku @ Apr 30 2003, 02:33 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> What about Wires? And how would I wire this thing? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> All the wires you need should come with the main hardware. I would recommend replacing the flat drive cables with <a href='http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?prodID=308' target='_blank'>rounded cables.</a>
Here's a couple links to help you:
<a href='http://www.pcmech.com/build.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.pcmech.com/build.htm</a> check the top of the page for a link to their forums too.
<a href='http://www.pcmods.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.pcmods.com/</a> good for "finishing" touches on you new machine <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.newegg.com/</a> great deals and even better customer service. highly recommended.
Building my machine was the best thing I ever could have done. I was sweating bullets the whole time but I doubt I'll ever buy a pre-built system again.
To build a computer that "works" all that is needed is the FOLLOWING
Video Card (ACP\PCI) KeyBoard RAM Processor (SocketA,ZIF etc etc..) PSU (Power Supply Unit) 3 1\2 or 5 1\2 inch diskette drive(s) one or the other, doesn't matter
Hard Drives are only essential to make a computer store data, and the computer will not boot without any of the listed components, this is all my computer has at present, but if you want fancy stuff, you can get the following:
"Hard Drive" (Pr0n storage is needed) "Flayra" (Can't have a computer with-out NS and what house would be complete with-out it's own programmer? "MOUSE" "MODEM" "Monitor" (heh, I don't have one of these and I do *just* dandy, get this if your a wimp and need "VIDEO")
TalesinOur own little well of hateJoin Date: 2002-11-08Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
edited April 2003
And given the big-*ss warnings that come, even with OEM CPUs (it's in the warranty paperwork) to NOT run them without sufficient cooling, I doubt this would be missed, even by the newest system builder. Also given that he's new, it's unlikely he'll know where to pick up OEM parts... at least out here on the west coast, you have to go to specialty (read: hole in the wall) shops to get OEM parts, even if they are cheaper.
My Recommended List:
ASUS mobo (never gone wrong with ASUS. The A7V8X rocks all over the place, and avoids the dodgy nForce chipset in the A7N8X, while providing access to 400MHz DDR through the KT400 chipset)
Elixir DDR (Just as good as the top names, but costs about 40% cheaper for the same level of performance) (Preferably at least 512MB of PC3200 DDR)
CPU (AMD are my favorite... less expensive than Intel, just as stable, and faster for everything except dedicated business server machines)
CPU Cooler (Thermaltake are the top for a reason... go for a Volcano 11, and some Arctic Silver III thermal transfer compound. One extra step <and do it carefully!> provides a lifetime of far increased cooling and reassurance that your machine won't fry)
Hard Drive (WD 8MB Cache Special Edition, 7200rpm... or the Maxtor 8MB Cache 7200rpm disc. I prefer the Maxtor, as their warranty service and support is far superior.)
Video Card (Radeon 9800 is the top of the hill currently, but if you wait a little the 9700 Pro will be dropping in price when the new speed-demon is unleashed in April, with the R9800 Pro <featuring DDR-2 and a higher core speed>... AVOID nVidiot CARDS! They're a ripoff, propped up by their great marketing department)
Sound Card (SoundBlaster Live! 5.1... all the quality of the Audigy line, with far greater compatability and less BS)
Mouse (Logitech Dual Optical.. no 'slippage', extra-fine resolution and detail control, in a package small enough to fit your hand... unlike the Microsoft offering)
Keyboard (A non-ergonomic keyboard with good keypress-feedback. I'd still be working on an old, bulletproof 'clickboard', if I could find one that could work with PS/2)
Monitor (LCD/flatscreens are overrated. Pick up a CRT for a tenth the price, that can do twice the resolution, with better color output)
Cables (Unless you overclock, rounded cables are NOT NEEDED, and are just a vanity. The entire reason rounded cables started was to increase the airflow over an OC'd CPU, and were created by people with too much free time, a spare ribbon cable, an X-acto knife, and a roll of duct/electrician's tape. Most retail hard drives come with cables, anyway)
CD-ROM (Spring for a DVD-ROM. They're cheap, and read faster. Try to get a 16x drive, as they only cost around $20-40 depending on where you look)
<!--QuoteBegin--abtm+Apr 30 2003, 12:04 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (abtm @ Apr 30 2003, 12:04 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> "Hard Drive" (Pr0n storage is needed) "Flayra" (Can't have a computer with-out NS and what house would be complete with-out it's own programmer? <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> OK I found that funny!
And about the fans. Surely you get adaquate cooling if you just take off the big metal case that surrounds your PC?
realityisdeadEmployed by Raven Software after making ns_nothingJoin Date: 2002-01-26Member: 94Members, NS1 Playtester, Contributor
edited April 2003
I'm also about to build a system for the first time here. Your list looks really helpful, Talesin, but I have a few comments/questions.
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->ASUS mobo (never gone wrong with ASUS. The A7V8X rocks all over the place, and avoids the dodgy nForce chipset in the A7N8X, while providing access to 400MHz DDR through the KT400 chipset)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm actually looking into getting the ASUS A7N8X. I've really only heard good things about the nForce2 chipset. What, exactly, makes them "dodgy"? ARe there some sort of compatability issues?
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->CPU Cooler (Thermaltake are the top for a reason... go for a Volcano 11, and some Arctic Silver III thermal transfer compound. One extra step <and do it carefully!> provides a lifetime of far increased cooling and reassurance that your machine won't fry)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
One concern of mine would be case noise. How well do the Thermaltake setups like the Volcano 11 fare there? Just the <i>name</i> sounds loud. ;)
Also, any Heatsink/Fan setup that comes packaged with a retail AthlonXP will be completely sufficient, right? Obviously they must be, but is there any <i>real</i> risk in going with the standard packaged cooling setup if you have absolutely no intent of overclocking? On that note, does anyone know how well the Athlon 2800+/3000+'s packaged cooling solution fares on noise?
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Sound Card (SoundBlaster Live! 5.1... all the quality of the Audigy line, with far greater compatability and less BS)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ehh... It seems that everywhere I look - both from hardware review websites, and customer feedback - the Audigy2 cards are reported to have <i>tremendously</i> better audio output. I've also heard of the compatability issues with the original Audigy line of cards, but I was under the impression that the issues were cleared up with the second generation of cards with the Audigy2. Have I been misinformed? :)
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Keyboard (A non-ergonomic keyboard with good keypress-feedback. I'd still be working on an old, bulletproof 'clickboard', if I could find one that could work with PS/2)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=N82E16823130001' target='_blank'>It says it's a Linux keyboard, but I honestly have no clue whether that matters or not.</a> The dust cover is also really gimmicky, but is this what you were looking for?
Why on earth do you suggest avoiding ergonomic keyboards? :)
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Cables (Unless you overclock, rounded cables are NOT NEEDED, and are just a vanity. The entire reason rounded cables started was to increase the airflow over an OC'd CPU, and were created by people with too much free time, a spare ribbon cable, an X-acto knife, and a roll of duct/electrician's tape. Most retail hard drives come with cables, anyway)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Indeed. But they're also a lot easier to work with and manipulate around the case, though, right? Might be worth the purchase there, or is it not really that big of a big help?
SpoogeThunderbolt missile in your cheeriosJoin Date: 2002-01-25Member: 67Members
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Also, any Heatsink/Fan setup that comes packaged with a retail AthlonXP will be completely sufficient, right? Obviously they must be, but is there any real risk in going with the standard packaged cooling setup if you have absolutely no intent of overclocking? On that note, does anyone know how well the Athlon 2800+/3000+'s packaged cooling solution fares on noise?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
In theory, the heatsink/fan that comes packaged with a retail cpu should cool the cpu under normal operating conditions. I don't have my warranty handy but I'm sure it says something to the same effect. However, most "do it yourselfers" will recommend purchasing a "respected" brand name fan. Here's AMD's link to <a href='http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_869_4348,00.html' target='_blank'>the Athlon XP Configuration Information</a> (check the right side of the page). I don't plan on overclocking either but I figure better safe than sorry.
LikuI, am the Somberlain.Join Date: 2003-01-10Member: 12128Members
Ok, I was also planning to take my current computer appart and use some of the parts (HD, RAM, etc.) What other parts could I use from this one in the new one to make it better?
<!--QuoteBegin--Liku+Apr 30 2003, 05:23 PM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Liku @ Apr 30 2003, 05:23 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Ok, I was also planning to take my current computer appart and use some of the parts (HD, RAM, etc.) What other parts could I use from this one in the new one to make it better?<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That all depends on how dated your system is. If it's anything pre-1GHz, there's probably not a lot that would be salvagable inside the case. Older components are typically slower than the latest hardware, so it'd probably end up doing more harm than good. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
The floppy drive is salvagable and damn near indestructable (<i>mine was swapped through 4 full systems in the past 10 years!!!</i> <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->).
You may decide to set up your old hard drive as a slave drive in the new system, but if you're getting a new 120gb+ drive, those few extra gigs won't make much of a difference. It'd be handy to be able to swap your stuff from the old drive to the new one, at least.
Your old RAM might be too obsolete to save. Newer systems use DDR (double data rate) or RDRAM. Pre-1GHz systems usually used SDR (single data rate).
If you've got a Gigabit network card, that'd definetly be salvagable. However, many motherboards nowadays have an onboard NIC, so that might not even be necessary.
A burner would be a good thing to switch over, unless you plan on getting a new one (they're very inexpensive now anyways).
Erm... I think that's about it. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
Here's a few possible uses for that old harddrive.
First, like was stated before, you can first get any files you want off of it and on to the new harddrive, rather than having to search the internet and downloading them again.
Set your new faster harddrive as the master drive, and the old one as the slave. What you can then do is go into the windows control panel, and set the entire old harddrive as your swap file or virtual memory. That might be a little overkill depending on how big the old harddrive is though. I have heard that this can help you get a huge performance in gaming. The performance comes because when windows trys to access the swap file, it gets all that bandwidth to itself and doesn't have to share it with anything else on that drive.
One last thing is to keep your operating system by itself on the old drive, and the rest of your games and applications on the newer harddrive. Again, I've heard that by keeping the operating system files seperate from everything else, you can get a pretty nice performance boost because your operating system doesn't have to share the bandwidth with everything else.
TalesinOur own little well of hateJoin Date: 2002-11-08Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
Thermaltakes CAN be very noisy.. on their highest setting. I have a Volcano 9 (the most powerful they offered at the time) and it sounds like a vacuum cleaner when you turn it on full-speed.
Thing is, Thermaltakes *usually* come with three-speed fan controllers. On an AthXP 2200+, the Volc 9 is just fine on the 'low' setting, which is inaudible over the case exhaust fan. Which, of itself, is only around the level of very quiet music, or background static. Ironically, setting it to 'high' seems to *raise* the CPU temperature by about four to five degrees Celsius, assumedly from the fan engine.
If it doesn't come with one, nab one at the same time. A few dollars, but it will abate your noise concerns while providing an 'emergency' switch in case you start to overheat... just flick it over to High to shunt the additional heat.
The nForce and nForce2 chipsets have 'twitchy' problems... they occur almost randomly in most cases. The most notable one being that IIRC, GeForce cards are directly incompatible with boards running nForce chipsets... they have problems, when they're manufactured by the same company. :b There've also been reports of the 'enhanced memory handling' designed to speed up RAM access actually causing the RAM to burn itself... physical hardware damage.
VIA chipsets have known problems as well, but they are stable and have known workarounds. The KT400 eliminates a lot of those problems, while retaining the stability. All in all, over years of constructing machines, I recommend the VIA chipset version.
MSI KT4 Ultra Athlon XP [insert value] here (not too high... Processing power isn't the biggest part of gaming) + FAN if you buy OEM and not BOX. 512 Mb DDR-400 (400 Mhz, very fast ram) 512 would be a generous value of ram, not too much (graphist) and not too low (average PC by Dell) Radeon 9800 Pro 19" CRT screen (hi quality one...) Western Digital 7200 80G "special edition" (8 Mb cache) Enermax silent alim 450W
Recuperate:
CD-RW drive DVD drive floppy case mouse+keyboard soundcard
and dont forget the fan! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> I agree with the setup that KillR has posted, I would go for the MSI-K7N2GL though for the motherboard. I also prefer antec over enermax but whatever. I have never experienced a problem with my Nforce2 that wasn't my fault.
<!--QuoteBegin--Zanid+May 1 2003, 11:56 AM--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Zanid @ May 1 2003, 11:56 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> and if you want a GOOD computer, dont forget
Pickle shoe box mexican migrant worker BRAINS <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd--> Dont forget the helper monkey!
TalesinOur own little well of hateJoin Date: 2002-11-08Member: 7710NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators
And the beer. Must have beer.
Oh.. and a 'linux-compatible' keyboard is along the lines of a 'foot-compatible' shoe. A 'cd-player' compatible CD... though they *have been listing 'CD-R compatible' players.
Also, pick up a PCGamer. They have a section in the back with components for 3 different price ranges (Budget, performance, and dream) 1000, 2000, and 3000 respectively.
Comments
Power supply unit. (Usually, but not always, included with the case. May want to upgrade it anyway if it's a bit lightweight)
Motherboard
CPU
RAM
Hard Drive
Keyboard
Monitor
Those are the only neccessary things, for a base machine.. some mobos come with on-board video, as well as audio. For those looking for a more usable system though...
Mouse
Video card
Sound card
NIC (Network Interface Card... ethernet and so on)
Modem (Optional, in this day of broadband.)
CD-ROM
Floppy
DVD-ROM
Better CPU cooler
Case fan
Second Hard Drive
Zip Disk Reader
Front-mount USB adaptor
CD-RW
DVD-RWs are expensive at the moment, but very handy from time to time.
Motherboard
(EDIT) Hard Drive
Proccessor
Power Supply
Video Card
CD Drive
Floppy Drive (good to have around)
Ethernet Card
Case
128-256MB Stick DDR RAM
You may have to buy a fan or two, but most mobos come with fans. I know I may have forgot something, but its not to hard to do it yourself, now a days its pretty hard NOT to buy the right parts. And if you got the right parts, it should all snap together easily.
BTW, your mobo instructions will tell you how/where to hook any extra crap up (CD Drive/Ethernet/Vid Card/Floppy/Power Supply/Proccessor) as well as a CD with any drivers you might need. Almost all mobos these days come with onboard sound, but frankly, im not enough of a music enthusiast to warrant the extra $100 or so for an Audigy.
You can also buy barebones systems, which are just pretty much the mobo, power supply, and a case. Don't forget a 56k modem either, its an annoyance, but you never know!
Be sure to get a big enough case too, server cases are kinda oversized though. And keep your old computer around, even if you feel like chop shopping it (hey, duel CD Drives aint too shabby even if 1 is slow) you may need it in an emergency to look up something on the net (or make a bootdisk).
EDIT: Talesin beat me to it, but I was typing first! Blah its 2AM.
I'd go for a SBLive on the sound card aspect... Audigies are overrated, and occasionally run into compatability problems on some systems, as their control-handlers are not public knowledge.
Few mobos come with case fans, though CPUs do ship with a cooler most of the time (which I would almost never use, unless supplied with a Volcano 9 or 11).
First of all, look what you want to reccuperate from your old comp.
This can be: Your case, sound card (if not integrated), keyboard+mouse, monitor, cd/dvd drives and burners, your floppy, your Hard Drive (change if possible) Graphic card (usually you'd change it too.
So if you change processor, most of the time you would need the following:
-A New Motherboard.
-New Memory (DDR is the standard nowadays, single rate SDram is outdated)
-a FAN (if your motherboard isn't thermaldeath proof, forgeting this results in a burnt processor IN A FEW SECONDS. CHECK THE FAN BEFORE ANYTHING (of course every board has t-death nowadays...) Box processors come with a fan, so if you buy box you dont need a fan
If your computer is factory-made, chances are the alim is fairly weak. Consider a 350 or 450W alim.
Of course, chances are you'd want to change graphic card and HDD.
If your card is a GeForce 3 or better, chances are (if you play only HL) you won't really need better for the moment. Try getting a monitor instead, as bundled screens suck. If you consider buying Doom3 change both <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo--> Something like a rad9800 pro <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->
For your HDD choice, if you are a gamer before a graphist, speed is your friend. Look for 7200rpm with 8 Mb cache. a 80 could do I'd say. (it's the standard today)
To sum up, try this:
MSI KT4 Ultra
Athlon XP [insert value] here (not too high... Processing power isn't the biggest part of gaming) + FAN if you buy OEM and not BOX.
512 Mb DDR-400 (400 Mhz, very fast ram) 512 would be a generous value of ram, not too much (graphist) and not too low (average PC by Dell)
Radeon 9800 Pro
19" CRT screen (hi quality one...)
Western Digital 7200 80G "special edition" (8 Mb cache)
Enermax silent alim 450W
Recuperate:
CD-RW drive
DVD drive
floppy
case
mouse+keyboard
soundcard
enjoy <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
and dont forget the fan!
All the wires you need should come with the main hardware. I would recommend replacing the flat drive cables with <a href='http://www.pcmods.com/details.asp?prodID=308' target='_blank'>rounded cables.</a>
Here's a couple links to help you:
<a href='http://www.pcmech.com/build.htm' target='_blank'>http://www.pcmech.com/build.htm</a> check the top of the page for a link to their forums too.
<a href='http://www.pcmods.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.pcmods.com/</a> good for "finishing" touches on you new machine <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/' target='_blank'>http://www.newegg.com/</a> great deals and even better customer service. highly recommended.
Building my machine was the best thing I ever could have done. I was sweating bullets the whole time but I doubt I'll ever buy a pre-built system again.
Video Card (ACP\PCI)
KeyBoard
RAM
Processor (SocketA,ZIF etc etc..)
PSU (Power Supply Unit)
3 1\2 or 5 1\2 inch diskette drive(s) one or the other, doesn't matter
Hard Drives are only essential to make a computer store data, and the computer will not boot without any of the listed components, this is all my computer has at present, but if you want fancy stuff, you can get the following:
"Hard Drive" (Pr0n storage is needed)
"Flayra" (Can't have a computer with-out NS and what house would be complete with-out it's own programmer?
"MOUSE"
"MODEM"
"Monitor" (heh, I don't have one of these and I do *just* dandy, get this if your a wimp and need "VIDEO")
Also given that he's new, it's unlikely he'll know where to pick up OEM parts... at least out here on the west coast, you have to go to specialty (read: hole in the wall) shops to get OEM parts, even if they are cheaper.
My Recommended List:
ASUS mobo (never gone wrong with ASUS. The A7V8X rocks all over the place, and avoids the dodgy nForce chipset in the A7N8X, while providing access to 400MHz DDR through the KT400 chipset)
Elixir DDR (Just as good as the top names, but costs about 40% cheaper for the same level of performance) (Preferably at least 512MB of PC3200 DDR)
CPU (AMD are my favorite... less expensive than Intel, just as stable, and faster for everything except dedicated business server machines)
CPU Cooler (Thermaltake are the top for a reason... go for a Volcano 11, and some Arctic Silver III thermal transfer compound. One extra step <and do it carefully!> provides a lifetime of far increased cooling and reassurance that your machine won't fry)
Hard Drive (WD 8MB Cache Special Edition, 7200rpm... or the Maxtor 8MB Cache 7200rpm disc. I prefer the Maxtor, as their warranty service and support is far superior.)
Video Card (Radeon 9800 is the top of the hill currently, but if you wait a little the 9700 Pro will be dropping in price when the new speed-demon is unleashed in April, with the R9800 Pro <featuring DDR-2 and a higher core speed>... AVOID nVidiot CARDS! They're a ripoff, propped up by their great marketing department)
Sound Card (SoundBlaster Live! 5.1... all the quality of the Audigy line, with far greater compatability and less BS)
Mouse (Logitech Dual Optical.. no 'slippage', extra-fine resolution and detail control, in a package small enough to fit your hand... unlike the Microsoft offering)
Keyboard (A non-ergonomic keyboard with good keypress-feedback. I'd still be working on an old, bulletproof 'clickboard', if I could find one that could work with PS/2)
Monitor (LCD/flatscreens are overrated. Pick up a CRT for a tenth the price, that can do twice the resolution, with better color output)
Cables (Unless you overclock, rounded cables are NOT NEEDED, and are just a vanity. The entire reason rounded cables started was to increase the airflow over an OC'd CPU, and were created by people with too much free time, a spare ribbon cable, an X-acto knife, and a roll of duct/electrician's tape. Most retail hard drives come with cables, anyway)
CD-ROM (Spring for a DVD-ROM. They're cheap, and read faster. Try to get a 16x drive, as they only cost around $20-40 depending on where you look)
"Flayra" (Can't have a computer with-out NS and what house would be complete with-out it's own programmer?
<!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
OK I found that funny!
And about the fans. Surely you get adaquate cooling if you just take off the big metal case that surrounds your PC?
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->ASUS mobo (never gone wrong with ASUS. The A7V8X rocks all over the place, and avoids the dodgy nForce chipset in the A7N8X, while providing access to 400MHz DDR through the KT400 chipset)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I'm actually looking into getting the ASUS A7N8X. I've really only heard good things about the nForce2 chipset. What, exactly, makes them "dodgy"? ARe there some sort of compatability issues?
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->CPU Cooler (Thermaltake are the top for a reason... go for a Volcano 11, and some Arctic Silver III thermal transfer compound. One extra step <and do it carefully!> provides a lifetime of far increased cooling and reassurance that your machine won't fry)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
One concern of mine would be case noise. How well do the Thermaltake setups like the Volcano 11 fare there? Just the <i>name</i> sounds loud. ;)
Also, any Heatsink/Fan setup that comes packaged with a retail AthlonXP will be completely sufficient, right? Obviously they must be, but is there any <i>real</i> risk in going with the standard packaged cooling setup if you have absolutely no intent of overclocking? On that note, does anyone know how well the Athlon 2800+/3000+'s packaged cooling solution fares on noise?
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Sound Card (SoundBlaster Live! 5.1... all the quality of the Audigy line, with far greater compatability and less BS)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Ehh... It seems that everywhere I look - both from hardware review websites, and customer feedback - the Audigy2 cards are reported to have <i>tremendously</i> better audio output. I've also heard of the compatability issues with the original Audigy line of cards, but I was under the impression that the issues were cleared up with the second generation of cards with the Audigy2. Have I been misinformed? :)
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Keyboard (A non-ergonomic keyboard with good keypress-feedback. I'd still be working on an old, bulletproof 'clickboard', if I could find one that could work with PS/2)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<a href='http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=N82E16823130001' target='_blank'>It says it's a Linux keyboard, but I honestly have no clue whether that matters or not.</a> The dust cover is also really gimmicky, but is this what you were looking for?
Why on earth do you suggest avoiding ergonomic keyboards? :)
<!--QuoteBegin--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> </td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->Cables (Unless you overclock, rounded cables are NOT NEEDED, and are just a vanity. The entire reason rounded cables started was to increase the airflow over an OC'd CPU, and were created by people with too much free time, a spare ribbon cable, an X-acto knife, and a roll of duct/electrician's tape. Most retail hard drives come with cables, anyway)<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Indeed. But they're also a lot easier to work with and manipulate around the case, though, right? Might be worth the purchase there, or is it not really that big of a big help?
In theory, the heatsink/fan that comes packaged with a retail cpu should cool the cpu under normal operating conditions. I don't have my warranty handy but I'm sure it says something to the same effect. However, most "do it yourselfers" will recommend purchasing a "respected" brand name fan. Here's AMD's link to <a href='http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/TechnicalResources/0,,30_182_869_4348,00.html' target='_blank'>the Athlon XP Configuration Information</a> (check the right side of the page). I don't plan on overclocking either but I figure better safe than sorry.
That all depends on how dated your system is. If it's anything pre-1GHz, there's probably not a lot that would be salvagable inside the case. Older components are typically slower than the latest hardware, so it'd probably end up doing more harm than good. <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif'><!--endemo-->
The floppy drive is salvagable and damn near indestructable (<i>mine was swapped through 4 full systems in the past 10 years!!!</i> <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif'><!--endemo-->).
You may decide to set up your old hard drive as a slave drive in the new system, but if you're getting a new 120gb+ drive, those few extra gigs won't make much of a difference. It'd be handy to be able to swap your stuff from the old drive to the new one, at least.
Your old RAM might be too obsolete to save. Newer systems use DDR (double data rate) or RDRAM. Pre-1GHz systems usually used SDR (single data rate).
If you've got a Gigabit network card, that'd definetly be salvagable. However, many motherboards nowadays have an onboard NIC, so that might not even be necessary.
A burner would be a good thing to switch over, unless you plan on getting a new one (they're very inexpensive now anyways).
Erm... I think that's about it. <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused.gif'><!--endemo-->
First, like was stated before, you can first get any files you want off of it and on to the new harddrive, rather than having to search the internet and downloading them again.
Set your new faster harddrive as the master drive, and the old one as the slave. What you can then do is go into the windows control panel, and set the entire old harddrive as your swap file or virtual memory. That might be a little overkill depending on how big the old harddrive is though. I have heard that this can help you get a huge performance in gaming. The performance comes because when windows trys to access the swap file, it gets all that bandwidth to itself and doesn't have to share it with anything else on that drive.
One last thing is to keep your operating system by itself on the old drive, and the rest of your games and applications on the newer harddrive. Again, I've heard that by keeping the operating system files seperate from everything else, you can get a pretty nice performance boost because your operating system doesn't have to share the bandwidth with everything else.
Thing is, Thermaltakes *usually* come with three-speed fan controllers. On an AthXP 2200+, the Volc 9 is just fine on the 'low' setting, which is inaudible over the case exhaust fan. Which, of itself, is only around the level of very quiet music, or background static. Ironically, setting it to 'high' seems to *raise* the CPU temperature by about four to five degrees Celsius, assumedly from the fan engine.
If it doesn't come with one, nab one at the same time. A few dollars, but it will abate your noise concerns while providing an 'emergency' switch in case you start to overheat... just flick it over to High to shunt the additional heat.
The nForce and nForce2 chipsets have 'twitchy' problems... they occur almost randomly in most cases. The most notable one being that IIRC, GeForce cards are directly incompatible with boards running nForce chipsets... they have problems, when they're manufactured by the same company. :b
There've also been reports of the 'enhanced memory handling' designed to speed up RAM access actually causing the RAM to burn itself... physical hardware damage.
VIA chipsets have known problems as well, but they are stable and have known workarounds. The KT400 eliminates a lot of those problems, while retaining the stability. All in all, over years of constructing machines, I recommend the VIA chipset version.
MSI KT4 Ultra
Athlon XP [insert value] here (not too high... Processing power isn't the biggest part of gaming) + FAN if you buy OEM and not BOX.
512 Mb DDR-400 (400 Mhz, very fast ram) 512 would be a generous value of ram, not too much (graphist) and not too low (average PC by Dell)
Radeon 9800 Pro
19" CRT screen (hi quality one...)
Western Digital 7200 80G "special edition" (8 Mb cache)
Enermax silent alim 450W
Recuperate:
CD-RW drive
DVD drive
floppy
case
mouse+keyboard
soundcard
enjoy <!--emo&;)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/wink.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='wink.gif'><!--endemo-->
and dont forget the fan! <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
I agree with the setup that KillR has posted, I would go for the MSI-K7N2GL though for the motherboard. I also prefer antec over enermax but whatever. I have never experienced a problem with my Nforce2 that wasn't my fault.
Pickle
shoe box
mexican migrant worker
BRAINS
Pickle
shoe box
mexican migrant worker
BRAINS <!--QuoteEnd--> </td></tr></table><span class='postcolor'> <!--QuoteEEnd-->
Dont forget the helper monkey!
Oh.. and a 'linux-compatible' keyboard is along the lines of a 'foot-compatible' shoe. A 'cd-player' compatible CD... though they *have been listing 'CD-R compatible' players.
In short.. it's all marketing. Ignore it.
Also, pick up a PCGamer. They have a section in the back with components for 3 different price ranges (Budget, performance, and dream) 1000, 2000, and 3000 respectively.
You can follow their guidelines pretty well.
And yes, newegg does own.