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[IgeL]

I didn't read every line in this thread, but basically building your own pc is easy. A screwdriver should be enough, just like suggested...

However, it gets hard when things don't work like they're supposed to. I think building (or learning the skill) was easier a few years ago. At least that's how I feel - I guess I'm just out of the loop.

Trying to get TV cards, capturing stuff and all other "extra" stuff work requires damn good nerves sometimes. And when you've tried your best, asked friends and boards, you figure the problem is with the hardware, not the software. So you change the TV card and get a new one, which is faulty again. Third time's the charm, and finally after weeks of overloading your brain things work like they should. That's when I hate PC life.

Oh well. I guess "normal" users should be fine these days with Windows XP - a lot more reliable than older versions.

And yeah I'd advise not to "upgrade" too much or too often, it's best to buy a new computer with the second-best stuff every 2-3 years, imho.

 

[hgplayer1]

Im in the middle of trying to decide whether I want to build my own gaming PC or not. I was as close to buying all the stuff as you can get when I ran into a stumbling block.

the case.

first of all I wanted something really plain and clean. hard to find. then i started to read that depending on your CPU and components, the power supply would become very important. some of the cases that I was looking at came with power supplies and I was going to just buy one and see how it worked with the power supply provided but then I didnt really want to waste time and money on having to get a new one if the one that came with the case was sufficient.

basically i was looking at an athlon64 3000+ with 512MB of RAM, 80 or 120 GB HDD, CDRW drive, Sapphire 9800 Pro, and Audigy 2 sound card for around 1,000 bucks. seemed reasonable enough to me. then i started to wonder if i really needed an athlon64 at this point and time so i started looking at the athlonXP 3000+ but wasnt really sure what the difference between the two would be.

I decided to hold off for a couple different reasons but one of them was because I wasnt really looking forward to facing any incompatibility issues between any of the components I bought and having to deal with returns and such. its not that im worried so much about actually building it as it is Im not too sure about the components.

I can understand anyone having doubts about building a PC themselves if theyve never done it before because theres not too many guidelines to go by. thats why i usually try to pay attention to peoples setups when they talk about their PCs. that way if they dont talk about any compatability issues then its usually a good indication that certain brands or models work together.

Ill probably still build my own PC in the near future but im gonna do a little more research and try to get it right before i get myself in a mess id rather not be in.

 

[teh_pwn]

Your biggest problem is buying a retail PC.

As much as you hate to hear it, building it yourself with save you hundreds, and in the case of high end, thousands. And you'll get more power and expandibility.

It's NOT HARD. All you need is a phillips. All you need to worry about is installing the CPU, heatsink, and fan.


Here's my rig:

Motherboard: Abit IC7 Max III
Processor: Intel Pentium 4 3.0 GHz C (C = Northwood core, 800 Front Side BUS, 512K cache)
RAM: OCZ PC4000 512MB x 2 2.5-4-4-7
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon 9800 Pro w/ 128 MB (256 bit RAM)
Harddrive: Seagate Barracuda 160 GB
Sound Card: Creative Labs Audigy 2 ZS
Speaker System: Klipsch Promedia 5.1 Ultras


My processor is OCed to 3.5 GHz and outperforms any processor on the market at stock (according to the Sandra bench). So you can get a $200 processor that beats the $1000 P4 3.4 EE.

Overclocking can be hard. But for me it was hella easy thanks to this:

http://www.jscustomcomputers.com/overclocking.htm


Price of my system: $1400

The only weakness is video. I plan on getting an X800XT next spring to fix that.

And it beats the shit out of any Dell, HP, Vaio, or any other major retailer. Alienware could come close, but at $3000 or more. A decent online retailer called Cyberpower could beat it at about $2000.



I'm betting you had trouble installing your video because retailers design their cases small and make it as frustrating as possible to expand.

Not the case with building it yourself. You can get cases that have enough room for 6+ HDDs and 6+ Optical drives and 2 3.5 drives for only $60.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Your post combined with the others has all but convinced me to do it myself. I'm in talks now with someone who knows how to build 'em. If I don't trust myself enough to do it, I might hire him to help me. Thanks for the clear outline...its really convincing.

 

[teh_pwn]

Having a friend for your first build is good.

Here's some common problems people run into and advice that would have been helpful for me on my first build.

1. SATA Harddrives.

Windows XP wasn't designed for this hardware, so you've got to install drivers while windows is installing. When you install XP, and the blue screen comes up, it'll prompt you for RAID/SCSI drivers by hitting F6. Do that, and don't be worried that it doesn't respond immediately. Then insert the floppy that should come with your mobo with the drivers, then all is good.

Some mobos have drivers on a cd and you've got to make your own floppy. Kind of annoying. My mobo had a floppy in front of me right when I opened the box. Very nice, Abit.


2. RAID 0 isn't worth it

RAID 0 is when you run two harddrives as one, and theoretically it doubles speed. In real world games and applications (not benches), it increases speed by about 5%.


3. RAM timings are irrelevant.

I dunno why people are so obsessive about this. RAM with 2-2-2-5 timings will give you a system increase of 2% over the worst possible timings of 3-4-4-8. Woopty-f*cking-do.


4. You have to install LAN drivers to use the internet. You don't have that preinstalled like you do with retail PCs. All you have to do is put your mobo utilities cd in after you install windows, and click on install LAN drivers. Done.

5. If you need help deciding on hardware and you know what your mobo is going to be, the mobo's manufacture's forums are an excellent place to choose hardware and get help with OCing.

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Thank you very much. This is the kind of thing people forget to say. I really, really appreciate it. Thank you.

 

[teh_pwn]

Oh, also get your stuff from newegg.com. I get all my stuff there. Excellent site.

They almost always ship the same day (get can rush it for $3 to ensure this) and Fed Ex Express Saver only takes 2-3 business days.

 

[ItalianStallion]

biff im scared that we will never be able to play tribes 2 together

 

[Biff Hardbody]

Oh, also get your stuff from newegg.com. I get all my stuff there. Excellent site.

They almost always ship the same day (get can rush it for $3 to ensure this) and Fed Ex Express Saver only takes 2-3 business days.

Thanks again man, I really appreciate it.