Building a computer for the first time and need advice

Le 3eme oeil

In Runtime
Messages
395
Ok, so right now I'm just using my family computer, and its slightly worse than decent but it gets most tasks done.

But now that I'm in high school (I'm 14) i decided i would really like my own computer up in my room. I was debating weather or not to just buy one strait from some company, or build my own. I figured that i would best like to build my own computer because it will be more custom to my needs, and I have always wanted to build my own PC.

I need some guidance because I don't 100% know what I'm doing, but here are some things I've put together.

Processor - Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Processor BX80557E4500 - 2.20GHz, 2MB Cache, 800MHz FSB, Allendale, Dual Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3241559

Mother board - Mach Speed MS945G-GLV Motherboard - Intel Socket 775, MicroATX, Audio, Video, PCI Express, Gigabit LAN, USB 2.0, Serial ATA

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2700074&CatId=1533

RAM - OCZ Platinum Revision-2 2048MB PC6400 DDR2 800MHz Dual Channel Memory (2 x 1024MB)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2882686&Sku=O261-8070

Hard drive- I have no idea...It would be great if someone could recomend a hard drive that would work well with what i picked.

Audio card- Im not sure if there is an audio card build in the mother board, it says Audio, so i think it does. (but its probably junk, so if anyone could recomend something again, that would be good)

Video card- Same deal with this as the audio. Not sure if it has one built in, but if it does do you think I should get one still? I would really like a PC with good graphics.

Power supply- I dont know how much power i would need for something like this.

Fan- I think that processor comes with a fan because it says Processor with fan. But I'm not sure if i should get that. I can get the same processor with no fan for less money, then i could just buy a fan, but i don't now if its the right kind of fan.

Case- Not sure because, i dont know if i have to get a micro atx case becasue of my mother board i chose. I noticed that there really is not a lot choices of cases that are micro atx, so maybe i should get a differnt mother board? Also, should i get a case that comes with a fan?

Monitor - Samsung 941BW 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 4ms, 500:1, WXGA+ 1440x900, DVI, VGA, Black (im pretty sure monitors don't really have a problem
working with different PCs.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2541412&CatId=170

Mouse/keyboard/wires and cables - I dont know what i need for wires at this point, and i dont know what kind of mouse or keyboard i want.


Ok, so i know that was really long but i really need help.

My biggest concerns:
Im forgetting something?
Processor is to little?
Better mother board?
Micro ATX or different kind of mother board?
Enough RAM?
What kind of hard drive?
Do I need/should i get an audio card?
Do i need/should i get a video card?
Get a case that comes with power supply?
How much power do i need (how many watts?)
Do i need a fan (does the processor come with one)?
What kind of case/ what kind that works with my mother board?
Monitor will work with this PC?
Monitor is too much?
What wires do i need to hook it up to use it when done?
Do all of these parts work together?


Please if someone could give me some guidance, tell me what i do need, what i don't need, suggest better things and tell me if this will be a good for PC

Also Xp or Vista? And with that much RAM can i even support vista?
 
ok well, the cpu is fine for now, unlike most people here i dont think you need a blazing fast quad. the ram doesnt work with that board specifically. for that board you need ddr667. the board also does have graphics, doubt they're any good but it does, and has onboard audio. for a hard drive look into anything with a decent review that is big enough for what you feel you'll be doing. also go with a sata hdd. your cpu does come with a fan and as long as youre not overclocking it you should be fine stock for a while. as for a case, you can get an atx case and that board will fit just make sure that its mATX compatible. just dont forget a disc drive, go also for sata and a good rating, i would go with something with dvd-rw just because most games these days require dvd and you may want to burn some later on

also how much are you looking to spend and what are you doing with this
 
The motherboard has both onboard audio and video. I would suggest getting a GPU, but the sound card is all about your preference. I happen to like the onboard audio on my mobo, but your mobo is cheaper than mine.
 
ok, thank you very much. I totally forgot about a disc drive...Also, do you think getting a nice monitor will be a waste by just keeping the mobo's standard onboard video card?

Also, say i did want to get seperate audio/video cards, is it as simple as just taking out the onboard ones and replacing them?
 
The motherboard has both onboard audio and video. I would suggest getting a GPU, but the sound card is all about your preference. I happen to like the onboard audio on my mobo, but your mobo is cheaper than mine.

ok thanks ill look into getting an audio card and probably a video card.

When you say my mobo is cheaper, do you think its still probably a decent mobo?
 
Well I can't really say because I don't have that mobo, but always read up on customer reviews! BTW, what do you plan on doing with this machine and how much are you planning on spending? My mobo is $114 on newegg and it's "The Best Price Performance Ratio" motherboard. It will also support that cpu you have listed. mobo

*edit* plus when you're going for a good pc I wouldn't suggest skimping out on the motherboard. it controls your system and will determine how fast and smoothly things run!
 
When you buy a video card and or a sound card you don't remove the onboard ones, you really cant they are intergrated to the mobo, you just use the new ones after installing the drivers
 
Back
Top Bottom