Building your own pc

[Tammy]

Anyone have any good tips on building your own box? I have done it a couple of times. The first time I made the mistake of using a board from Soyo that gave me endless problems. Even when I got a replacement board, it gave me exactly the same problems - constant blue screens. Finally, I gave up and got an Asus board that has been rock solid. Anyway, I'm looking for war stories about building your own machine and any pointers you could share.

[SnakEyez]

I've only built one in my life, and that's the one I am using now. It wasn't too difficult, but I had a lot more information coming to be and I did some reading which is how I ended up with my Abit motherboard and it works great.

I did, however, buy a Samsung DVD/CD-RW (not a DVD burner), but for some reason the driver upgrade program never works. I had to use it once so it would work with an iTunes upgrade but I hope I don't have to upgrade again because their driver update program sucks.

[Viper007Bond]

Typing this on the first (and only) box I've ever built and I think the best advice is to just read and read on all of your parts. No problems here at all though. :)

Oh, and yes, ASUS boards own. I'm running a P4P800-E Deluxe in this one and it's awesome. :cool:

[uniquity]

i was thinking about getting a new processor (2.2 ghz intel pentium 4) for my computer. but im not sure if my motherboard is compatible and i dont want to get a new one without having to. i was wondering if anybody knew how to check if an installed motherboard is compatible with a certain processor (the one stated above).

[Tammy]

Originally posted by uniquity
i was thinking about getting a new processor (2.2 ghz intel pentium 4) for my computer. but im not sure if my motherboard is compatible and i dont want to get a new one without having to. i was wondering if anybody knew how to check if an installed motherboard is compatible with a certain processor (the one stated above).

I usually check the sites devoted to boards and chips, like amdmb.com if you use athlon chips. Folks there usually know the answer or can point you in the right direction. I suppose you could always e-mail the company, too.

[uniquity]

alrite, thanks a lot

[SnakEyez]

Originally posted by Tammy
I usually check the sites devoted to boards and chips, like amdmb.com if you use athlon chips. Folks there usually know the answer or can point you in the right direction. I suppose you could always e-mail the company, too.

To add to what you said. I actually went to amd's forums ( http://forums.amd.com ) and talked with people there. Most of them were very knowledgable.

[Tammy]

Glad to help, I've developed a lot of tricks like that over the years to get obscure information. :)

[Viper007Bond]

Any motherboard designed for a Pentium 4 & socket 478 will work just fine.

[Silmaril8n]

Also - whatever brands you go with don't bother getting top of the line. I usually go back a 3-6 months on their line of products (especially ASUS) and get that instead. You'll end up saving money and getting a far more stable system.

[uniquity]

alright, sweet, thanks a lot guys. helped a lot

[SHJ650IT]

I build/fix PC's every day for my job. But for home,.. my most recent build is the following:

- P4 2800MHz w/HT, 800 fsb
- Asus P4C800 Deluxe (socket 478)
- 1GB Corsair PC3200 DDR
- Nvidia FX 5700 Ultra
- SB Audigy Gamer (5.1)
- WD 200GB PATA hdd w/ 8mb buffer
- Sony DVD+/- RW (forgot the model#)
- Antec 500w PSU
- Logitech MX700 wireless keyboard/mouse combo
- NEC 19" TFT
- Windows XP Home

Right after I built it, the SATA RAID drives started becoming more popular along with the Intel 915 mobo chipset, PCI express vid cards and DDR2 memory. Oh well. It's not what you have, it's how you use it right? :D

[Viper007Bond]

I dunno, Raptors in RAID 0 are pretty damn fast...

[Tammy]

Originally posted by SHJ650IT
Oh well. It's not what you have, it's how you use it right? :D

I totally agree with that. I tend to stay about two steps behind the cutting edge and do pretty well that way. I get into trouble when I try to get too close to the edge. I have learned the hard way that stability is more important than more and more speed.

[Unicorn2]

First off.. any manufacturer of any part can give you endless problems


But.. here's a couple of rules of thumbs I go by when building systems


1) Don't scrimp on a cheap powersupply. Power quality, and quantity, are the lifeblood of your system. It's better to spend $50 more on your powersupply and $50 less on your processor. than vice versa.

2) Buy the fastest boot drive you can get for your usage. Size is not an issue. This is why the raptor drives are so good.
The reason is because it's better to run dual drives anyhow.

3) Despite what a lot of people think... unless you are a serious gamer.. onboard sound is ALL YOU NEED.

4) Memory should have a lifetime warranty, and be from crucial, kingston, or corsair. Nobody else should be considered.

5) USB Keyboards are dumb... first off their's no reason for them, 2nd of all -- they take up a usb slot 3rd of all .. -- Some motherboards have a hard time allowing the keyboard to function if the bios ever gets reset.. -- Stick with PS2.. 99% of motherboards have those ps/2 ports, which can't be used for anything else anyhow.. Keep your usb ports free for scanners and printers.

6) Get a gigabit lan card - Even if you aren't on a gigabit network Better signaling rates with it, and a gigabit card runs 100mb much more efficiently, and a decent gigabit lan card (if there isn't one on your motherboard) -- costs ~$50

7) Avoid wireless networking if you can. - It's still very unsecure, slower, and more expensive.

[Tammy]

Originally posted by Unicorn2
First off.. any manufacturer of any part can give you endless problems


But.. here's a couple of rules of thumbs I go by when building systems


1) Don't scrimp on a cheap powersupply.

Thanks, I totally agree. I have bought the cheap stuff, and it was unsatisfactory (meaning I had to replace it).

2) Buy the fastest boot drive you can get for your usage. Size is not an issue. This is why the raptor drives are so good.
The reason is because it's better to run dual drives anyhow.

That's an interesting point, and a good one.

3) Despite what a lot of people think... unless you are a serious gamer.. onboard sound is ALL YOU NEED.

YES! Sound cards add so little and can cause endless problems.

4) Memory should have a lifetime warranty, and be from crucial, kingston, or corsair. Nobody else should be considered.

I've never had occasion to invoke a memory warranty. The memory invariably goes out of style long before it could develop problems. But there's nothing wrong with a lifetime warranty. Those manufacturers loko about right, too, though I think there are a few other good ones. Mushkin (?) I think is one?

5) USB Keyboards are dumb... first off their's no reason for them, 2nd of all -- they take up a usb slot 3rd of all .. -- Some motherboards have a hard time allowing the keyboard to function if the bios ever gets reset.. -- Stick with PS2.. 99% of motherboards have those ps/2 ports, which can't be used for anything else anyhow.. Keep your usb ports free for scanners and printers.

Agree 100% on that, and USB keyboards in my experience had more compatibility problems than ps/2 ones.

6) Get a gigabit lan card - Even if you aren't on a gigabit network Better signaling rates with it, and a gigabit card runs 100mb much more efficiently, and a decent gigabit lan card (if there isn't one on your motherboard) -- costs ~$50

I've never heard that before, I will try that out some time, thanks.

7) Avoid wireless networking if you can. - It's still very unsecure, slower, and more expensive.

I totally agree, unless you live in an isolated place and aren't worried too much about your connection's stability.

[Viper007Bond]

1) Yeah, totally. You really want to make sure your rails don't dip.

2) And don't bother with RAID 0. Not worth the money for the small increase in speed in certain cases. And if you can, get the 74 GB Raptor. I hear it's faster than the 36 (or is it 34?).

I have a 74 GB Raptor as my boot drive and I love it to death. Makes uber fast load times. :D

3) Yeah, I guess so. Especially if you have good onboard sound. I still got a Audigy 2 ZS even though I have 5.1 onboard as I just don't like it using my CPU and I needed digital out for my speakers. :)

4) I have OCZ and I love it. Lifetime warranty as well, which I've used (a stick was bad). They replaced it free minus the cost of shipping it to them.

5) I dunno. I guess I kinda agree with you. However, the keyboards with USB ports on them are really nice. :D Plus, most new computers have lots of USB ports. I mean, I have 8 of them...

6) Gigabit rules! :D I have an onboard one and it's great. I've done 9200 KB/sec with my 100mbit LAN transfering to my sister's computer with the same gigabit/mobo as me. :)

7) CAT5 is fairly cheap. Just run the stuff around your house. :)

[Fuzzylogic]

If you go here (http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/system-guide-200411.ars) they have a guide to parts for 3 systems (top of the line, midline, and budget) so you can use that as a basis for what components to go after.

There is also a basic overview of HOW to assemble your system located here (http://arstechnica.com/guide/building/) in this guide.

[Ruben]

If anyone has a custom PC can he show a picture of it? Would be cool :D

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by Toyminator
If anyone has a custom PC can he show a picture of it? Would be cool :D
Whatda mean a custom one? Are you just talking about one that was built? If so, then here's mine:

http://images.viper007bond.com/computer/mynewcomputer/

[Tammy]

Originally posted by Toyminator
If anyone has a custom PC can he show a picture of it? Would be cool :D

Well, mine is just, like, in its case. It's an ordinary looking case. Taking a picture of the case wouldn't be all that thrilling. ;)

[Silmaril8n]

Goto my website (link at the bottom) and then goto the "About" page. You'll see 2 very custom built PC's right there. Aren't they purty?

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by Silmaril8n
Goto my website (link at the bottom) and then goto the "About" page. You'll see 2 very custom built PC's right there. Aren't they purty?
For us lazy folk: http://216.190.88.117:8080/~ceckas/about/

[KLH]

Originally posted by Viper007Bond
Whatda mean a custom one? Are you just talking about one that was built? If so, then here's mine:

http://images.viper007bond.com/computer/mynewcomputer/

I don't care much for all the lights you have in and around your computer.

[Ruben]

Originally posted by Silmaril8n
Goto my website (link at the bottom) and then goto the "About" page. You'll see 2 very custom built PC's right there. Aren't they purty?

WHAT THE HELL!? You named your PC's???

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by KLH
I don't care much for all the lights you have in and around your computer.
Well, most of the time, my fans are running at really low RPMs and that makes the LEDs not as bright, so it's not a big flashlight all of the time...

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by Toyminator
WHAT THE HELL!? You named your PC's???
So? *shrugs*

Lots of people name their cars and as for computers, you need a good way to tell them apart if you have more than one. I've named my computers.

[Tammy]

Naming your pc's isn't that out of it, in fact, under Windows, if you want to network them, you pretty much have to name them something.

[rguill]

Originally posted by Tammy
Naming your pc's isn't that out of it, in fact, under Windows, if you want to network them, you pretty much have to name them something.

You even have to name your iPod!

[KLH]

Originally posted by Tammy
Naming your pc's isn't that out of it, in fact, under Windows, if you want to network them, you pretty much have to name them something.

LOL. I never even thought about that. I think my main computer's name is "KLH" and my laptop's name is "laptop" and another computer that I use for storage is called "server"

[Tammy]

Yes, my computer names are pretty similar. It's not as if I named them "Fred" and "Bunny" or something like that lol.

[Ruben]

Oh wait... In WinXP you have to name them on install...

[Viper007Bond]

Originally posted by KLH
LOL. I never even thought about that. I think my main computer's name is "KLH" and my laptop's name is "laptop" and another computer that I use for storage is called "server"
Yeah, same. This is "Viper007Bond", my dad's computer is "Dad", a junk box we have here is "ElCrappo", my old PC is "Viper007Bond1" or something like that (used to be Viper007Bond, but to not get conflicts with this one, I had to change it's name) and my sister's is "Predator" 'cause.... that what's she named it. lol