Want to build my own computer. NEED HELP!

kinser_brave

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Back a couple years ago, I understood computers more than the average person would. Now that time has passes, computers have become more complex and confusing :S. Theres many things I want to know and understand so that I can build my own Gaming PC, but don't want to start without help. I'm afraid of spending $1,000 (plus) and end up having a defecting waste of money. I went to newegg and looked at new parts and have even gone to various websites to try and understand what it all means but was even more confused and not getting the answers i looked for. Can someone give me the basic build for a gaming PC and explain to me what it all means in "simple" terms? I'm especially looking to know more about the PCI express slot and the processor. Will any processor and video card function with any motherboard with the proper Supply Unit?
 
well for starters,

I would start with picking out a new motherboard, depending on your budget look for something with a socket LGA775, and a frontbus speed of abover 800MHz, i would say dont do lower than 1066MHz for better performance but its all about the budget,

after you chose the mobo, now comes the proc (processor) if you get the LGA775 socket i would get something on the lines of a C2D( core 2 duo) make sure it has the same FBS of your mobo, and an average one is a 2.4Ghz

Now RAM i would go with 2 gigs of it, standard pretty much for heavy gaming, at least that is what i know, not you would need to get something that your board support normally and DDR2 type and after you chose a board you can get the type of RAM it supports

HDD something nice for your need, i would get with somthing over 200GB, and make sure it a SATAII, transfer at 3GB/s im sure most new boards support that type

Graphics: anything about a 8600 with 512MB or RAM run about 150 at newegg most interfaces are PCI-E, i want to say they are better transfer rate than the normal PCI but that i all i would no (sorry but not much help there)

case its ups to on style but make sure it supports the type of board you are getting, most normal boards are a normal ATX style
it all depends what you want in the front expansion slots, and a window


power unit:
Make sure it has support for an extra graphics card, some new ones need extra power to them, also about 600 watts should be good enough, also it supports your board, normal boards are a 20-pin + 4-pin connector well the last time i check im not to sure about the 775 socket types, i dont have one but im working on getting my own system up


and optical drives:

you should know what to get there, just one or two that you like
 
the first thing you pick is the mobo.
Basically make sure the mobo supports the following things
- core 2 duo
- ddr2 800mhz (or faster) ram
- pci-express
- sata or sata II

Then start picking the other stuff. Something like core 2 duo E6600, 2 or 4 gb of ddr2 800mhz, 8800GTS 320mb. Those and the mobo would be the main parts. Then get a decent powersupply, you would probably want around 600W with dual 12v rails. Most are ATX and that's probably the one you want.

Then the last things would be case & hdd & optical drives.

Case
-doesn't matter too much. If it's ATX and it has a couple of fan slots it's going to work just fine. 120mm fan slots recommended.

Hdd
- sata II preferably. Sata is fine too. Pick one that is large enough, I'd recommend at least 200gb.

Optical drives
- usually any burning dvd drive is all you need.
 
Basically, you need to know what's in and what's out:

For Intel: Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 and higher are preferred (dual core CPU). Intel Core 2 Quad is the best overall choice of processors (quad core CPU), but this is most likely opinionated as some people still swear by dual core than a CPU having 4-cores on a single die). All use Intel's Socket LGA775

For AMD: AMD Athlon X2 4000+ Brisbane and higher are most preferred (dual core CPU). It inserts on the new AMD Socket AM2.

You will notice the trend of dual and quad cores now. It's the way to go.

Graphics: Nvidia 8800 series GPU are hot right now (8800GT, 8800GTS, 8800GTX, 8800Ultra). ATi--don't really know since I never bought an ATI card in my life. All use the PCI-express x16 interface on the motherboard. As of now, there are new PCI-express x16 v2.0 slots on newer motherboards. It's second generation PCI-express. Yes, we're advancing that fast.

RAM: DDR2 SDRAM is still hot and mainstream with DDR3 availability right now. Very expensive though, so DDR2 is still the best choice.

Motherboard chipsets: Intel P35/X38, Nvidia nForce 650i/680i are the only ones I really consider since they have support for newer hardware. For AMD, they have their own nForce 500/600 series chipsets which I'm not too familiar with.

Hard drive: Nothing new there. SATA II @ 3gbps. Although there are perpendicular and solid state hard drives now for a higher price. Pretty neat. Perpendicular hard drives is a new way of laying out data to increase disk space while solid state hard drives are suppose to boost performance with more cache write.

Sound Card: We have the newer X-Fi sound chipset by Creative Labs which are slowly replacing the aged Audigy ZS chipsets.

Optic Drives: We have lightscribe technology now where it can burn a label onto lightscribe approved DVDs now. Neat. Speed increase on burners too.

That's about all I can think of. PSU, not much change. Just SLI support for video cards.
 
I went to newegg to look to see what interested me. I found a build that I like but I don't know if each of these parts are compatible with each other. Or if I'm missing anything important. The parts are listed below.




1 LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-05 - OEM - - - - CD ROM

2 Thermaltake Armor Series VA8000BWS Black Aluminum / Steel ATX Full Tower Computer Case - - - COMPUTER CASE

3 Western Digital Caviar SE WD5000AAJS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - - - HARD DRIVE

4 XFX PVT71JYPF4 GeForce 7950GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 SLI Supported Video Card - - - VIDEO CARD

5 Creative 70SB046A00000 7.1 Channels PCI Interface Sound Blaster X-Fi XtremeGamer Fatal1ty Professional Series - - - - SOUND CARD

6 Creative Inspire P7800 90 Watts 7.1 Speaker - - - SPEAKERS

7 G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - - - RAM

8 Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 Conroe 2.4GHz LGA 775 Processor Model BX80557E6600 - - - - - PROCESSOR

9 Intel BOXDG965WHMKR LGA 775 Intel G965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - - - - MOTHERBOARD

10 ETASIS EFRP-2603G 600W+600W 2U Type N+1 Redundant Power Supply - - - - - POWER SUPPLY
 
All ok except graphics card. If you are on a budget get an Ati 3850 pro, if you can stretch a bit further get an Nvidia 8800gt.
 
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