Gaming Complete noob needs help building a computer

[da_head]

ok guys, i know there's a million topics out there like: Help me make a $500 computer! or Is this computer good? (note: i don't actually want a $500 computer, i was just using that as an example o.o")

well i'm not asking for help to build a specific computer. i need help on how to make a computer. like the basics. parts i need, how to know what shit is compatible. a good site to order from (such as newegg.ca perhaps?) etc etc

ok so from what i've established, a computer must have: a cpu
a graphics card
a sound card
a mother board
ram
some kind of cooling system (whether it be fan or liquid)
an optical drive
a power source
a casing


ok so i need to know like basic basic things. such as, will this cpu work this motherboard? does this cooling sytem work with this case? is this power supply provide enough juice? etc god i'm totally lost xD\

if someone can point me to an online guide or something, that would be extremely helpful :3

thx in advance

 

[Hardkaare]

what about usb ports?

 

[Arno]

what about usb ports?

Already on the motherboard.

QUOTE(da_head @ Jul 18 2009, 12:06 PM) ok guys, i know there's a million topics out there like: Help me make a $500 computer! or Is this computer good?

well i'm not asking for help to build a specific computer. i need help on how to make a computer. like the basics. parts i need, how to know what shit is compatible. a good site to order from (such as newegg.ca perhaps?) etc etc

ok so from what i've established, a computer must have: a cpu
a graphics card
a sound card (Included on most motherboards nowadays)
a mother board
ram
some kind of cooling system (whether it be fan or liquid)
an optical drive
a power source
a casing


ok so i need to know like basic basic things. such as, will this cpu work this motherboard? does this cooling sytem work with this case? is this power supply provide enough juice? etc god i'm totally lost xD\

if someone can point me to an online guide or something, that would be extremely helpful :3

thx in advance

You can probably vulture your old computer for some of these parts depending on how old it is (Optical drive, fan, case [if you don't care how it looks])

Most new motherboards, casings, and power supplies are compatible with each other (at least for size) based on Intel's ATX standard.

My advice is just to not waste money on useless crap that you don't need (like a liquid cooling system) and make sure your CPU (motherboard socket, Intel/AMD compatibility), RAM (240-pin DDR2, 200-pin DDR2, etc.), Power Supply (20-pin motherboard connection, 24 pin, total power output), various expansion cards (PCI, AGP, PCI-X, PCIe), etc. are all compatible with your motherboard so that it all ends up working like it should.

Good luck!

 

[Diablo1123]

dpending on whether you need it or not, optical drives aren't always necessary, its possible to install an OS with USB

Agree with Arno, make sure all the parts work with the motherboard, I've got some DDR2-800 Ram lying around because my motherboard only accepts DDR2-667

 

[Elritha]

A note on the cooling system. Most cpus come with a stock fan to cool the cpu. You don't need to buy a 3rd party one unless you're overclocking or something. The stock fan is pretty adequate at least on the newer intel cpus.

If you mean extra fans for the case, some cases do come with them. If you're going to buy your own just don't buy too many as it can create bad airflow if you place too many. Usually one at the front of the case that sucks in air and another at the back that extracts, it creates a nice airflow.

You'll also have to decide if you want an Intel or AMD based system. After that you can choose a compatible motherboard that supports either an Intel cpu or an AMD. After that choose the speed of your processor and ram that your motherboard of choice supports.

Don't have any online guides at hand at the moment but I'll post back if I find any. It's really simple to put together once you have the correct parts, kinda like lego. I mean if I can do it, anyone can.

Just start going to tech sites and read up reviews and other things to get an idea.

 

[da_head]

what about usb ports?

i was under the impression that cases came with their own ports? or am i wrong?

edit: nvm motherboard.

ok so no need for liquid cooling? ai sounds good. thanks so far

 

[Elritha]

The motherboard has usb ports at the back of a computer. Sometimes a case would have some at the front which you can connect to the motherboard internally also, but they're not needed.

 

[da_head]

The motherboard has usb ports at the back of a computer. Sometimes a case would have some at the front which you can connect to the motherboard internally also, but they're not needed.

would a motherboard have all the ports i need? (such as hdmi etc)

 

[Arno]

The motherboard has usb ports at the back of a computer. Sometimes a case would have some at the front which you can connect to the motherboard internally also, but they're not needed.

would a motherboard have all the ports i need? (such as hdmi etc)

Any video out ports are on a graphics card (unless you REALLY want the integrated graphics on a motherboard that don't look so good, to put it nicely). See what your monitor/TV accepts, then buy your graphics card accordingly. Pretty much any monitor/TV supports VGA, and DVI is also becoming more common. I haven't seen HDMI too often in a graphics card, but then again I haven't looked all that hard.

Look at the motherboard that you're buying to make sure it has everything else that you need (serial, parallel, # of USB ports, ethernet, etc.)

Oh. Also think of wireless cards if you plan for that. (Go for wireless N. Do it.) Or, check to see that your motherboard has gigabit ethernet.
(As a note here, make sure that your router supports wireless N/gigabit ethernet, or else it's pretty useless.)

Edit: Side note: You're also going to need to get an OS.

 

[Elritha]

Usually most motherboards come with usb, PS/2 (for older keyboard and mice), LAN port, sound card. Some may have older serial interfaces, others might have firewire it depends on the motherboard you choose.

HDMI would depend on the graphics card you choose.


Edit:

Pretty much any monitor/TV supports VGA, and DVI is also becoming more common. I haven't seen HDMI too often in a graphics card, but then again I haven't looked all that hard.

You can simply get a DVI to HDMI adaptor, alot of graphic cards actually come with them, just a simple little adaptor.

 

[da_head]

don't wry about the os, i have teh internetz for that

ahh hdmi is part of the video cards ok ok. well i'm currently just making a randomly list on newegg, i'll post it soon. the only thing i'm a complete loss is the motherboard.

edit: another dumb question. i wouldn't need to buy any wires would i?

 

[Elritha]

edit: another dumb question. i wouldn't need to buy any wires would i?

If you intend to connect via HDMI then yes, you may need a HDMI cable and dvi - hdmi adaptor (sometimes this comes bundled with the graphics card).

Power plug normally come with the psu and also the monitor, as does a vga or dvi cable with a monitor. The motherboard also comes with its own cables, such as sata or ide, to hook up hard drives or optical drives. There may be exceptions, so just look carefully at what you buy.

 

[da_head]

edit: another dumb question. i wouldn't need to buy any wires would i?

If you intend to connect via HDMI then yes, you may need a HDMI cable and dvi - hdmi adaptor (sometimes this comes bundled with the graphics card).

Power plug normally come with the psu and also the monitor, as does a vga or dvi cable with a monitor. The motherboard also comes with its own cables, such as sata or ide, to hook up hard drives or optical drives. There may be exceptions, so just look carefully at what you buy.

yep the hdmi i was aware of (i'm not that noob

) but the second part was what i was looking for. thanks for all the help

btw, here's a random shopping list i made: http://secure.newegg.ca/Shopping/ShoppingC...spx?Submit=view

tell me if the link works for u guys or not. so in this list for instance, would this motherboard work with the cpu, graphics card, and ram?

 

[Elritha]

btw, here's a random shopping list i made: http://secure.newegg.ca/Shopping/ShoppingC...spx?Submit=view

Nothing shows up for me.

 

[playallday]

Made you a setup that doesn't look too bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148433
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...82E16813131340R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102810
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817341016
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDet...st=Combo.208475

 

[TheWingless]

btw, here's a random shopping list i made: http://secure.newegg.ca/Shopping/ShoppingC...spx?Submit=view

tell me if the link works for u guys or not. so in this list for instance, would this motherboard work with the cpu, graphics card, and ram?

Don't link us to the shopping cart. You should put it into a wishlist and link us to that. On each product page, click add to wish list, then you gotta save it into an actual permanent wish list by checking all of the items once you add them all, and then you put in a name and click save as. Then you select the save wishlists, and send us the link to it. Or you can just do the save selected thing in the shopping cart.

QUOTE(playallday @ Jul 18 2009, 02:40 PM) Made you a setup that doesn't look too bad.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16822148433
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...82E16813131340R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16814102810
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16817341016
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820231166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDet...st=Combo.208475

Isn't that over 500 bucks even after Rebate and shipping? It's still over 500 after converting the price too since it's Newegg.com is in USD?

 

[Splych]

What are you gonna use it for anyway? Basic computers don't need special cooling and one thing is for sure, they don't need graphics cards =3

From the list, here's what you need... Like what any other PC would need:
- Case
- MotherBoard
- Processor/CPU
- PSU/Power Supply Unit
- Cooling System (I just use the fan+heatsink)
- Hard Drive Disk (HDD)
- RAM/Memory
- Optical Drive (Recommend getting a DVD Writer, Blu-Ray is a waste IMO...)

That's what a basic computer needs. Here are the extras you can get but don't need:
- Graphics Card
- Sound Card (Sometimes, the one with the MotherBoard isn't so awesome...)
- Extra USB Connectors (They are PCI Cards)

Mhm... That should be enough. Since you are from Canada, I usually go to a store called Canada Computers. If you live near one of the locations, you can just get the parts. I don't know which part you are from, so I will just give a random list of things that I can buy if I go to the store.

Case: Cooler Master Elite 310 Midtower Case ($51 CAD)
Motherboard: Asus P5QL PRO Socket 775 Intel Intel? P43 + ICH10 Chipset Dual-Channel DDR2 / 1066 / 800 / 667 6x SATA 3.0Gb/s 8-channel High Definition Audio 1x PCI-E x16 12x USB 2.0 ($91 CAD)
CPU/Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Quad-Core Socket LGA775, 2.33 GHz, 1333 MHz FSB, 4MB L2 Cache, 45nm ($190 CAD)
RAM/Memory: OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 1066MHz Fatal1ty Edition 4GB(2x2048MB) Dual Channel ($70 CAD)
or
OCZ DDR2 PC2-8500 1066MHz Gold Edition 4GB Dual Channel ($70 CAD)

(damn... This is too expensive since it goes over $500 CAD with tax. Will stop now, but just speciifiy what you want in your PC. Thing about that place is that they tell you almost EVERYTHING for most items. Like what are compatible with what. So the mother board was compatible with LGA775 Socket Processors and that is compatible with the Core 2 Quad Q8200. The mother board was compatible with DDR2 1066/800/667 memory. The Memory I chose were DDR2 1066Mhz and it's max was 16GB. Those two choices were compatible. My ideal PC would be more expensive. But that's just part. Those parts should last you for at least 2 years in your life if not, I would say 4years. Anyway, you can look around the site for the things you want. Basically, at $500, it'll be pretty hard to make an awesome PC. And there, I chose the brands I knew and trusted. I am not much of a fan when going with other brands that I haven't heard of even though other people say it is good. Have fun looking for parts, and it doesn't hurt to pick parts from different sites then once you have them all, you put it all together.)

 

[Arno]

MSI P43 Neo3-F LGA 775 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130185 , $75)
+Intel Pentium E5200 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072 , $70)
+Powercolor AX4870 512MB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131140 , $127)
+Crucial 2GB DDR2/800 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148208 , $43)
+Western Digital Caviar SE WD3200AAJS (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136098 , $50)
+Samsung SH-S223F (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151171 , $26)
+Rosewill TU-155 II 500 Black (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147117 , $80)
=$474USD=$527CAD.

Done with my part here.






(Shamelessly stolen from Maximum PC)

 

[da_head]

thanks for the set up comps u guys made, but no i don't need a budget pc (i think the $500 example confused u guys lol. sry about that)

. its gonna be a gaming beast. (once i have the money for it). so its not gonna be for any time soon, just checking things out. getting familiar with the process and all.

@splych: i live in scarborough. i was thinking about going to a tiger direct, there's one near my house.

 

[Splych]

omfg... That is awesomee! Gaming Beast ^^. I (well my dad) used to shop at Tiger Direct until he found Canada Computers. Mainly because things were cheaper and there was a wider selection of things to choose from.

Anyway, since it is gonna be a gaming beast... I would recommend:
- IntelCore i7 920 (or 950. Both are good)
- At least 4GB Ram (8GB is also awesome, but it is best to start off with 4GB)
- 500GB HDD (1TB = Over IMO. When you have the money, buy another 500GB HDD and there you have it, 1TB. Then you either have the choice of changing one of the HDD to a larger size, buy another 500GB and make that an external drive or you could get a 1TB as an external drive)
- 512MB VideoCard (Like I said, good to start off with, then upgrade to a 1GB)

Those are the main things for what I see in a Gaming Beast. I guess you can say with what I recommend, not very beastly, but more like... Tiger size. So it is a Gaming Tiger which is gonna evolve into a Gaming Beast slowly xDD.

Those are the like dream pieces of a Gaming Computer to me. One day, I will make it ^^.