The (new) Official PC building thread!

fasfrank..Thank You neighbor..
Any thoughts on my other QUESTION__is their a significant difference in DIRECT X 8 & 9 on video cards ? Also is their significant difference on PCI SLOT vs PCI Express x16..I'm in need of a Video Card,but not real sure which to buy.The Mobo I ordered only has 1 PCI Express x16 & where its located with the size of the fans it will cover 1 PCI SLOT,Where as the other way it [PCI Slot]it will cover both PCI Slots..I'm really thinking of a PCI x16 card.But if something comes up later PCI x16 I won't have a place for it

 

alright guys, i have decided to go with intel core 2 duo.. since i found out that the firedog guy's sources were out of date. Will i be able to get a decent computer for $850-$950? am i better off customizing my own from dell or gateway.com? or.. should i wait while and save up more money and go with the better system altogether?.. (but in very impatient lol) Thanks for your input!

~Chris

 

Tower only, for $850-950 you will have a system better than something 2x the price from Dell or Gateway. Their value is in packaging together a monitor, printer, software and stuff while the actual computer itself is utter garbage.

 

ooh k i see.. so would i be able to build a decent computer for that much? or is it not even worth it for that cheap?

 

With the exception of a few changes the computer outlined here will beat anything from Dell at the same money. (probably equivalent to a $1600-$1900 Dell) So customizing your own is the answer in my book. You have warranties on most of the parts for at least one year, so buying from a reputable dealer is the thing to do. The reason why I picked newegg.com in the first place.

I think this system will still be under $1000 before rebates. Give it a look and see what these other guys think.

To add: you only need one HDD at this time I just gave you the option for Seagate or WD. The same with the DVD burners and combo drives. You really only need one right now but you can get any 2 of the combination of the 4 and it will work. (as long as you choose at least one DVD burner....lol)

......gm

 

oh yes, and one other thing... you recommend the e640 but i've heard that the e6600 is by far the best buy since it's at a so-called price cutoff. What are the differences between the e640 and the e6600 and is it worth spending more for the e6600?

 

I believe you mean the E6420 instead of E640. there is also an E6400. they are both 2.13ghz but the E6420 has double the L2 cache at 4M so I recommend it over the E6400.

the only difference is speed. the E6420 is 2.13ghz and the E6600 is 2.4ghz. if you can swing it the E6600 is the way to go.

 

if i just switched out the processor in the configuration listed above to the E6600, will everything still be compatible?

 

yes. you don't have to use a round IDE cable because you will get a IDE ribbon cable with your mobo, but if you go with round and I recommend round over ribbon, you better go with a 24" cable just to be sure it is long enough.

 

alright.. you lost me at "round" lol... i really have no idea what im doing here.. Do you have AIM , or yaho, or msn or anything ? My aim is "crailtap25" and i use "rcman12589@...." for everything else.. Thanks!

 

no. we're talking about the data cable that ties the optical drive/s to the mobo. the standard cable is a ribbon cable but most builders use a round cable because they allow better air flow throughout the case and are more flexible.

if you have a computer shop in your area, you can get an estimate on what they would charge to assemble a pc for you. it doesn't sound like you have much pc building experience and that might be the way to go. you can still almost always get a better pc for the money if you select and buy the hardware and pay to have it assembled as opposed to buying a preassembled pc such as a Dell or Gateway.

 

well i know ill be able to get it assembled because many many of my freinds have done it and all have offered to come to me house and help. Im just looking for the most legitimate source as many of my freinds say different things.. some say to go with AMD, some intel.. and some say there no way ill get a decent computer for under $1000 and others say that i could build a great one for even $800.

 

I don't know how legitimate of a source that I am but Mort81, Lp531, BidDK, docTY, and a couple of others are "gurus" in my book. I've built basically 3 computers now and have learned LOADS from the guys here about what goes with what and which components are the most important.

Let's call us your friends for now on building a quality system for your needs. Just to make sure and refresh our memories, some of us are old, post what you plan on doing with this "new" machine and let's make sure we are on the right track for you.

Like I said in the original post, "all ideas and not written in stone". Improvements can be made and have already with Mort's help. If you feel so inclined ask him to make changes and suggestions, he will but you gotta ask.

Mort81 hope you don't mind, you've helped me before so passing on your kindness and knowledge.

....gm

 

thanks guys.. well, i have an old P4 gateway laptop that ive had for a few years.. im getting more into gaming .. games like WoW..HL2, BF2 ect. I will use it for gaming.. internet.. messaging.. ect. downloads.. all that good stuff... but the most demanding will definitely be games. My budget will be around $850 if i want to buy this soon. but, if i can stand to wait a few extra weeks, i could spend closer to $1000-1100 on it. Id like to get the best i could get for around that much (so i still have room for a monitor)... but if it would make a big difference to wait and get one for around $1000, I'd do that.
Anything else you need to know about this situation? Thanks!

 

hi greensman,

yeah the key here is what is the budget. a person can build a dang nice n fast pc for about $1000.00 or build an awsome one for $3000.00. all depends on what you intend to do with it, how much you want to spend, and how fancy you want it to look.

hardware can ghange the price tag a lot. eg. a 7600gt video card verses 1 or 2 8800gtx video cards. a couple raptor hdd's can up the cost a bunch as well. regardless intell core 2 duo is by far the way to go. (best bang for the buck).

does a person want a good fast pc for everyday use and some gaming for around $1000 - $1200 or do they want the best of everything and money is no issue?

crailtap do you already have some OS?

 

i dont have an OS.. just the one im using which is XP that came with my laptop.. i can get vista for $70 using a student discount. Oh yea, also, HDD isnt much of an issue. 100GB will be fine for me.. ive realized that i dont need to keep any videos anymore since i never watch them, so my HDD is only filled about 20gb right now.

 

crailtap,

the E6600 is def. the best bang for the buck and worth the extra money. as far as gaming is concerned, you can get a descent/good video card for around $100 or a little more or the best for around $800. you have to decide on how much you want to devote to a video card and how good of one you want. you can even get 2 video cards and run them in SLI or crossfire.

I don't recommend vista but that's just my opinion. you need to go to neweggs site and shop for what suites your needs.

 

OK finally looked CLOSELY at what my problems could be and always look at the most simple solution first. LOL. I had the dang connector plugged into the extra chassis fan slot. :S Used a flashlight and actually read what each base connector had printed by it. Plugged the fan power connector into the CPU FAN base and I'll be darned, worked like a champ.

A few things learned here by me are; check the simple stuff first, use a flashlight even if you have 20/20, and always double check yourself no matter how smart you think you are. LOL.

Thanks for the help guys!!

Gonna do some reading on OC'ing this thing and see what she can do under modest tweaking.

....gm

 

Good advice! If I had a beer I would drink to that one! Lol.

 

I just put a 6600 quad core in my pc and the 3dmark06 has gone DOWN to 9775

from almost 11000

Um I'm running vista this week could that be something to do with it?

forgor all i had to do was plug the other drive in
so it is vista the score on xp is 11561