i have put off spending money on building a pc ALOT cuz im horrible with saving money but now im really gonna do it. i understand how to put everything together and compatibility but when everything to is together and turning it on for the first time, am I just suppose to pop in my windows XP OS and run it just as if I wiped my hard drive clean? If not, is it all self explanatory (i.e. the computer telling you exactly what to do) here is what im planning to buy btw (just to make sure everything is ok) mobo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138061 cpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103191 cpu thermal paste - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007 cpu heatsink & fan - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185125 ram(2) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145034 video card - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814103050 power supply - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139005 hd - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136073 case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144197 also do dvd burners work alone? in my computer i have right now i NEED a dvd drive with my dvd-rw. the rw does everything the regular dvd drive does, i dont even use the dvd drive, so why should i need both of them?
Mobo: Don't get a Biostar, they're not very good quality. For the same money you can get something like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128056 Having seen your CPU, however, you're not putting money in the right places. The 6400+ is fast for an AMD CPU, but in the grand scheme of things, this combination will be better http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115029 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059 It's a small cost increase for a BIG performance gain. Thermal paste is a good choice, as is the cooler, and indeed the RAM (it's the same stuff I use) The HD3870 is a very fast graphics card, but Diamond aren't the best company about to provide you one. Get this one instead http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161217 The power supply is excellent, as is the hard disk, which again I use personally. As for the case, there are far better ones out there, but not many that are that cheap.
i decided to go with an AMD processor because from what i herd is much better for gaming (which is what im heading for) while an Intel is more toward running multiple programs better. as for mobo and graphics card brands, i no nothing about so i wasnt sure what was good or what was bad i just kinda randomly picked something that was compatible. you seem to know what ur talking about so ill go with your choice on mobo and graphics card lol. i really dont care all to much about the case and didnt want to spend too much money but i did want something that looks better then my old dell dimension 2400 case -_- what about the dvd drive though? can i just use a dvd-rw as a single drive. right now my computer wont read my dvd-rw alone, i need a normal dvd drive in for the computer to read it. thanx
That's all I have is a DVD-RW drive - they should all read and write. On you original question about loading OS - Yes, just put in XP OS disc, make sure DVD-RW drive is enabled in boot menu and system will boot from OS - follow prompts. Good Luck.
You heard wrong, that may have been the case a couple of years ago, but right now the best performance by far is to be had from the Core 2 Duo arena. I own an HD3870 so I can say they are very powerful cards, especially for the price, but you will regret not having a decent company behind one, so as I say, I recommend the HIS one instead. Your PC should be able to have a single DVD writer, if your burner can't read discs there's probably something wrong with it. BE ADVISED: If you're a gamer and you have trouble with your DVD drive, your PC may be infected with Starforce. Google all the games you've installed on your PC and see if any of them contain the starforce copy protection system. If they do, I strongly advise you to install windows on a new hard disk drive when you make your new PC, and if possible, not to reinstall those games on your new build, or you will potentially ruin another drive. Three of my CD drives have been destroyed by installing games infected with starforce.
im prolly just gonna go with the AMD for 2 reasons 1. ive always used intels and wanna try out AMD for once and 2. i already bought the AMD cpu and its shipping as we speak lol i will def use your graphics card and mobo choices, thanks alot for that information as for the starforce thing, i did used to have 3 starforce games. but that was before i reformatted my computer. there was this site that told me how to check for starforce and i dont think i have it anymore. does it make any permanent effects?
Well yes, it can damage your DVD drive permanently, but if you reformat it can't then spread back to the OS so you should be alright. Currently all games by Codemasters and the Trackmania series are the only recent big games I know of that are infected (e.g. Micro Machines V4, Colin McRae DiRT and Trackmania United) As for the CPU, you're more than welcome to try it, but you would have been better off with a Core 2 Duo. Ask before you buy next time!
