Building first cpu:)PleaseHelp!

[stryder]

Im new to the forum and I was wondering if some of you could help me build my pc. I have bought a couple of magazines and have been surfing the web on how to do it. It doesnt seem that hard but if you have any words of wisdom please share.

Im lookng at spending no more than $750 net cost for everything including the monitor.

If you have any suggestions on what components you think I should get it would be greatly appreciated.These are the stats of the components im looking for:

Monitor-17inch around $100
Processor- intel p4 around $160
Harddrive-40-60G 7200 around $70
Memmory-512 DDR around $80
Motherboard-??? around $80
Video- something nice geforcefx,radeon... around $100-$150
Sound-creative maybe around $40
Speakers-??? around $40
Case w/ps- around $65
Diskdrives- Im mainly looking to burn cds and to play games.???

Ive been looking on ebay and pricewatch for pricing.

Please help me in anyway possible I would appreciate any advice. I dont want to make costly mistakes.
Thanks

[Zachery]

Wow your bulding a processor? how fast will it be? ;)

A CPU would be your processor, Your Building a computer ;) not a CPU ;D

Monitors usualy arnt that cheep unless their on sale
You can get 60-80gb hd's on sale for about 60-80 usd depending
512megs of memory will never be that cheep.
Video Card you can probally get a 9200 or a 9600 Radeon but i dunno about a Geforce, i dont use the,. you WONT get an FX for under 150
DVD / CDRW is about the best way to go, and they run about 100usd
a nice case with 350 ps will cost somwehere between 75-120 usd depeding on style. :)

[stryder]

Not to be rude...I wasnt looking for price questioning I was looking for advice on my ?'s. Thanks though

Also at pricewatch.com
They have the nvidia fx5600 for around $100 and the fx5700 256 for around $156.

[sennetor]

Stryder, Building your 1st PC will require a lot of trial and error probably, but as long as you buy the right components to start with then you'll only need to worry about putting them together & that aint all that hard.
1st. The motherboard and the proccessor have to be compatible...buy them both from the same supplier and ask if they are.
2nd. its actually very hard to buy memory that won't work with your machine but it is possible so watch out for that word again( compatability).
3rd. The other components are usually industry standard except video cards come in several different ways mainly AGP,PCI & sometimes ISA. You want to make sure that your video card plugs into the right slot on the computer, An AGP video card will require an AGP slot on the motherboard.
4th. be carefull with some of these components, the motherboard,processor & memory are very VERY delicate.
when putting your PC together @ any stage make sure the your gentle. I once spent an hour trying to fit a motherboard into a small PC case then shoved a CD-rom into the drive bay striping off a line of capacitors on the mainboard. which brings me to my next point -
5th. Don't go out and buy the smallest case you can find,, if anything buy the biggest that your comfortable with(helps keep your system cool and gives you plenty of space to work with along with future upgrade plans.
Speakers?? I dunno I'm not an expert in the accoustic field but I'd say that I'd be looking for a 5.1 surround sound kit including the card for around 100$ but then again I'd also get a DVD/CD-+RW drive for good measure.
hope this helps ya?
BTW just wait till you install the OS thats when the real fun begins.(you know that already though don't you?)

[Tekmaven]

There is only one website you need to know about: http://www.newegg.com . Their service is amazing, their selection is top-notch, they ship very quickly, and they have the best prices. I've built four computers off of Newegg baught parts, and I know countless people who have the same story. Their ResellerRating is a 9.84 - which is in the top ten for all online stores ( http://www.resellerratings.com/seller_info.pl?seller_id=2121 ).

Get on Newegg, click "Shop By Category", and start browsing what you need to get a feel of the prices. Don't be afraid to add items to your cart - you can always delete them later.

Judging by your budget of $750, I'd say you can build a fairly decent system. I just (as in last night) helped a friend buy a AMD Athlon64 based system (3000+) for $700 (with no monitor, keyboard, or mouse). Your not going to be able to afford a Radeon 9800XT or anything like it, but I'm sure you already know that.

[Zachery]

Not to be rude...I wasnt looking for price questioning I was looking for advice on my ?'s. Thanks though Also at pricewatch.com They have the nvidia fx5600 for around $100 and the fx5700 256 for around $156.

Sorry ^_^ i ment no offense.

Tek's advice is good. When you finally get everything dont get bumed if it doesnt work on the first time. You will go though alot of trial and error.

[Tekmaven]

I've built all of my PC's from Newegg, and have never had a problem with one component. Luck? I don't know, but if it is, I hope it continues..

[WEATHER CHANNEL]

Wow your bulding a processor? how fast will it be? ;)

Do the math & lighten up we all knew what he meant!(you can edit for him)
Ok first of all You can get a "17"monitor for that cheap 24/7 (view sonic) Look at that a DELL 17" for for $59.00 the FBI uses DELL. http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=166

Processor, good deals at tiger or www.pricewatch.com
RAM, if you are a gamer think of the brand not the bargain.
I buy & allways buy CORSAIR the best, exspensive, but worth the money believe me! If your a gamer and you buy alot of cheap RAM you will be sorry.

PS: do not buy thermal grease because it will come with the processor,heatsink & MOBO.
I have bought from both of theses sites, no problem.Plus I have built a number of CPU's with them *wink*winK*

good luck with that box.

[Tekmaven]

While "Weather Channel" reccomends Pricewatch, I strongly caution you otherwise. Many people have extremely bad results using it - for every good story, I've heard ten bad ones. *ALWAYS* check the ResellerRatings for your selected. It might be worth a few extra bux to buy from a more reputable company.

I don't want to look like I'm preaching Newegg, but they are just such a great company, that to me they are the only online computer reseller worth investigating.

[WEATHER CHANNEL]

http://www.techtv.com/screensavers/products/story/0,24330,3397844,00.html
Patrick Norton host of the screensavers speaks highly of the site!

[TheOgre]

For whatever my 2 cents is worth, I've been a Microsoft OEM System Builder since 1996, and I've lost track of how many systems I've built over the years (my Microsoft Certified System Builder cert is from 1998, for Win98 & WinNT 4.0 :P)

I would highly recommend using an AMD processor (CPU) over an Intel Pentium, mainly for price, and also because the Athlons have improved greatly over the past few years (all my new systems are built with an AMD processors, including the rack servers.)

I certainly agree with Tek about NewEgg.com. I've had my reseller account with them for about two years now, and they're top-notch. I don't even bother looking anyplace else for parts.

My advice is to use name-brand parts when possible. It might cost a little extra, but it's worth it if you ever have to get an RMA for a week-old video card. I built my sister a machine a few weeks ago, and the entire box cost $515.84 in parts, complete with a 15" LCD monitor (512 MB DDRAM, nVidia Ti 4200 64MB video card, Western Digital 80GB hdd, Intel EtherExpressPro 10/100 NIC, etc.)

If you're looking for reviews on hardware, check out Tom's Hardware: http://www.tomshardware.com

[stryder]

Everyone has been extremely helpful so far. I was also wondering when you purchase all of the components do they usually come with papers stateing what to plug what into. For example the motherboard will it show where to plug in the harddrive,etc...

[WEATHER CHANNEL]

Manuals, yes, please read the documentation ........ok, If this is your first comp you will need to study a little.

http://thetechzone.com/display.php?i=25&p=1 (How to Guide ) Google for more study guides.

Building your first comp will have its up and downs. At first your going to be excited just by that new MOBO smell, almost like that new car smell! But then comes the building, but hey, anyone can go and buy a regular comp and get ripped off!
But you built yours with your own blood, sweat & knowledege, with that bragging rights follow. Now I've seen,heard & executed some of the "WANRNINGS" & the "DO NOT's" but still came on top.

For example a friend had a P4 3.5 or 3.1 close to that. He attempted to take it out but he did not release the locking on the mount and bent all the pins. Well that was about a week or two till I saw on his comp desk, while reaching for a highlighter I happend to notice it. I asked him what happend and If I could have it, he said yeah it's a piece of crapp anyway. Well I took a pair of tweasers and bent every pin back straight up and put it in a old mobo and the friggin thing worked. I know just days before he was prob flipping that CPU like a coin

But if you think about it, when ever I watch the news and see the people in the factory. Putting together the components, I would never allow anyone to handle my stuff like that!

Static will be your biggest enemy along with saliva while talking or yelling at the MOBO.

goodluck

[Tekmaven]

One of the most important things to keep in mind is to have patience. If you put everything together, and it doesn't work it's not the end of the world. With some troubleshooting, you can always figure out whats wrong.

One thing that PC parts makers have done right is make it only possible to plug in devices in one direction. You can't usually plug anything upside down, unless you REALLY force it.

When installing your processor, remember not to push it in. The socket is a ZIF Socket; Zero Insertion Force. If you align it properly over the holes, the processor will simply fall in - with no pushing required.

Like your doing now, ask a lot of questions. Google up some articles on building PC's. There are a lot of resources out there for this - and you can learn a lot by doing some simple research.

[WEATHER CHANNEL]

One thing that PC parts makers have done right is make it only possible to plug in devices in one direction. You can't usually plug anything upside down, unless you REALLY force it.

Except for the Power button LED's see picture below for detail. http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=www.cheap-discount-computer-parts.com/Install-MB-HDD-LED.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cheap-discount-computer-parts.com/installing_a_mb.htm&h=225&w=300&sz=9&tbnid=XB_SpJ3o67QJ:&tbnh=83&tbnw=110&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dpower%2BLED%2Bmotherboard%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26sa%3DG

[Tekmaven]

In my opinion, thats the hardest part of installation. However, plugging that stuff in the wrong direction isn't a big deal. Just identify the thing thats plugged in backwards, and switch it.

I've yet to plug in my lights correctly the first time.

[WEATHER CHANNEL]

Yeah, everyone will have to take a look at the MOBO manual for that one but here is a trick after you seat them in, all the letters should face one direction(usually toward the board) unless somebody messed up in the factory. Remeber a black wire usually means neggative.

[stryder]

On the video card. Im Thinking of getting the Saphire ATI radeon 9600xt 128mb. What is the difference between bulk and retail. also what is the difference between these two cards:
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-326&catalog=48&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-338&catalog=48&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

On the motherboard Im thinking of going with the asus p4s800d with buying a $40 creative labs sound card or a p4s800d-e with onboard sound. For the 800d package im looking at around $120. For the 800d-e $109.Which is a better deal. Here are the stats one the two boards:
800d-e http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socketa/a7n8x-d/overview.htm
800d http://usa.asus.com/products/mb/socket478/p4s800d/overview.htm

[ian_tec234]

DId you guys just read manuals and researched then built your pc's or you did enroll on some lesson or something...just curious i find it hard...


by the way is an AMD 2.6 sifficient enough? for personal use and a bit of games... thanks;)

[stryder]

Um? The Asus link for the p4800d-e isnt correct for some reason when you click on it it brings up amd's version of it. Owe well. Also if anyone knows where I can find the specs on it let me know. Im sure its about the same as amds version...