The (new) Official PC building thread!

Hi guys it's me again, I'm almost done building my dream machine but I come to you for a different reason. I posted my problem in the PC Hardware section but it seems to be getting overlooked. I thought since I got such a good amount of help from this thread before that I would ask you guys. Basically the rig I have now is 2 years old and is running Call of Duty 2 beautifully(though not Company of Heroes, but that's another thread for another day ), but my friend's brand new machine runs CoD2 like crap. He is getting close to single digit fps at some points and we can't figure it out. Anyway, if anyone feels generous, take a look at the thread(link below) and see if you have any suggestions. As always, any input is highly appreciated.

http://forums.afterdawn.com/thread_view.cfm/443152

 

hi there guys,

i am in the process of purchasing my parts for my first computer build. i have a list of the parts and am hoping your wonderful minds can let me know if i need to improve on anything i have listed. if you see something that could be better please let me know. i buy several parts at a time, instead all at once due to lack of money sometimes. i will list the parts i have already bought and then the ones i want to buy. let me know if (1)they are all compatible with each other(2)can be upgraded later on in the future. ok here goes...

(1)computer case http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2477938&CatId=0 (69.99) on its way

(2)power supply http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2522440&CatId=2036 (119.99)please let me know if this will power what i have listed. i dont want to fry my stuff.

(3)mother board http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2253297&sku=A455-2305 (154.99)

(4)floppy drive http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=1187054&sku=ULT31799 (ive already got this one)(24.99)

(5)dvd burner lite-on 20x dvd-+r burner w/12x dvd ram write & lightscribe technology black ide MODEL LH-20A1H-186 (already have this) (42.99) no pic

(6)dvd rom lite-on combo drive black ide model sohc-5236v bk rtl (23.99) (already have this) no pic

(7)hard drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822136055 (79.99)have not bought yet

(8)memory- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145153 dont have yet

(9) cpu fan/heat sink http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2604150&sku=T925-1168 dont have yet (12.99)

(10)processor http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103741 (169.99) dont have yet

(11)case fan (bay slot)
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=633873&sku=ULT30982 (7.99) dont have yet

(12) video card http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=2583346&sku=D15-9014 (69.99) dont have yet

(13) operating system- windows media center. not sure which one to get. there are two different ones. which one should i get?

this machine will be for gaming and backing up my dvd collection. if you have any seggestions please feel free to tell me what they are. i hope i tried to keep everything compatible. in the future i will be using the SLI feature so tried to get things that went together. power supply,video card,mother board. is there anything else i forgot. as far as keyboard and things i have already.

any help would be grateful. bring it on.

thanks,
taz1974

 

hey guys i've got a quick question; i recently bought an external hdd and have transfered ~30gb of stuff. i was wondering if i could partition the thirty gigs of data and format the rest of the hdd to ntfs and then copy the data over and format the old partition and finally destroy the partition. would this be possible with an external hdd?

 

@aabbccdd

 

@taz1974
The components are compatable...

Not familiar with power supply might look at:OCZ 700 gamexstream spec are wrong on tiger direct should be (4 X 12volt rails) 18amps each $129.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2235424&Sku=O261-2005
OCZ has a great reputation...I picked this PS up on black friday at TD for $79.99...Wish I had bought 2...

You do not need the CPU the cooler if you buy the Retail Box (Cooler Included) the one you listed is no improvement over stock...

Are you stuck on AMD...Intel is the better processor right now...

Video Card is JUNK not worth the price...Not SLI worthy...
Edit
Much better:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2427578&Tab=2&NoMapp=0

If you are wanting to Game...the video card is were you should spend your CA$H...
Edit
Skip SLI spend more on a single card....

Edit:
I would recommend this for memory...at least you would have 2 sticks for Dual Channel Support...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145539

(11)case fan (bay slot) A joke don't waste your money...

Case spec say (3) 120mm fan bays...only comes with (2) fans...add another 120mm fan...

Try this: Best price & cfm to Db ratio...I would buy 3 and replace the one's that come with case...can't beat them...
http://www.svc.com/tlf-s12-eb-19.html

 

lp531

thanks, just what i wanted to know. now i can complete my list and began to order. thanks for all your help. ill be back if i need help again. which im sure i will.

what os do you recomend? windows xp pro or windows media center. let me know please. have a great day and thanks again.

taz1974

 

@taz1974
I would go XP Home for the price...nothing extra on Pro that you would probably need...Media Center is fine if you are familiar with it...Feel Free to Private Message me if you need instant help...

Are you Stuck on AMD vs Intell...I normally prefer AMD...but Intell would be my choice...they are the performance & price leader right now...

Just a suggestion...

 

Well for the home user making a new system right now, I would recommend Windows XP Media Center Edition.

The three are Home, Media, and Pro.

Home: is the basics of xp and the cheapest XP version. OEM copy at newegg is $90. Home is good for most users but there is one major flaw right now, Vista. If you get XP home now, you get a free upgrade (coupon) to Vista basic. This version doesn't support 64bit and might or might now have Aeroglass if I remember correctly.

Media: It's $110 and it's basically Home with more features optimized toward you guessed it Media. That extra $20 will be worth it because u get a free upgrade (coupon) to Vista home preminum.

Pro: Mostly home with more networking options. Recommended for bussiness users and laptop owners that take their laptops around. At $140 it's the most expensive and most home users won't need the benifits of Pro. It will include a free upgrade (coupon) to Vista Business Preminum. Once again most home users won't need the extra features like encrypting your hard drive.

 

thanks to both you guys. i was thinking about media due to the backing up of my dvds and cds. tigerdirect has several version and different prices with them. since this is a computer being built ground up, does it matter which version i choose. will either one boot right with the the new system.

i like amd better. it is what i have in my old computer and its what i have studied more about. makes me feel smarter knowing a little about computers. ok thanks again. ill write back if i need you.

taz1974

 

They will all work...Vista is coming...however after everything I have read about Vista...I will never install it on a computer...I think it will be a huge bust for micro$uck...especially for people burning movies and using downloaded software...

Good Luck...

 

thanks again.

 

Vista= Bill Gates hijacking your download manager ** BEWARE**

The Pro in XP also give you remote acces from anywhere on any computer where home ver. does not- I am not totally sure on that but its been so long, I belieave thats why I went to Pro from Home.

 

i hate vista

 

does anyone know of a case fan that fits in between sli cards??

i'm afraid that space is going to get really hot and effect my performance...

 

Well then since u hate Vista don't use it. If you happen to buy XP right now and totally hate Vista, I'm sure you could sell the coupon on eBay or give it to a friend.

 

@xomblei

http://www.xoxide.com/slotcooler2.html

Check this out, or maybe somewhere else on this site...lots of cool stuff

Have fun

 

wow that's perfect. This site has a bunch of cool stuff

 

Hi guys. Thanks to everyone who helped me with my build. It was working great until this recent problem that I thought maybe some of you might have some suggestions to possibly help me out...

So the old man had steam cleaners come in and steam clean all of the carpets on Wednesday. So the day before I unplugged my computer and put it up on my desk to get it off the rug. I left the cables on the floor because I assumed the cleaner would just be an average size moron and not a JUMBO moron and would clean under teh desk a little bit without super-soaking my cables. Anyway...when I hooked computer back up...the computer SOUNDED like it started up fine. All fans were running, lights were coming on and what not...seems all good. BUT....the monitor is not working. It says "no signal" when I hook it up. So it's getting power, but not the signal. The graphics card that I'm hooking it up to (digital connection) seems to be working because the fan on it is moving. But I got out a D-Sub cable and tried hooking the monitor up to my mom's laptop too to see if something was wrong with the monitor and still got the "no signal" message. I did this because I thought maybe my digital connector cable (from monitor to PC - graphics card) could have been damaged if the connector pins got wet or something. But the D-Sub cable is brand new and was stored in a box so it should be all good...but it still didn't work with laptop. So this indicates to me that it's probably not a bad cable, probably not a bad graphics card, probably nothing wrong with my desktop PC....and maybe something is mysteriously wrong with my monitor all of a sudden.

It was working like a dream as of Tuesday before the cleaners came and I unplugged it. So I have no idea why all of a sudden it would stop working.

This is a nice 20" Viewsonic flat panel monitor that I bought in June, so there might be a warranty on it (i'm not sure, i'll have to check on that), but I want to isolate the problem first....if, indeed, there really is a legitimate problem. Hopefully there's an easy solution and I'm just missing something.

Any idea how I should proceed at this point?

Thanks so much!

 

@dougisjc
It Sounds like it's probably the monitor...Do you have a second monitor that you can hook-up, to completely rule out graphics card on Desktop?..

Where cables noticablly wet after cleaning...Are you sure they were dry when you plugged in?..You could have zapped monitor?..

It seems by everything you posted that unfortunatelly it is the monitor...

You are doing a good job in isolating problem...You really need a second monitor to completelly rule out all other possibillities...2 bad cables etc...

 

Looking at the video cards available for a SLI-ready mobo. Do the video cards have to be SLI-ready on a nVIDIA mobo? There are so many cards available w/o SLI, I was just wondering. TIA for your responses.


............c