The Official PC building thread!

sorry guys if i'm getting off topic here...but ddp to answer your question, i use the comp for music, movies, cd and dvd burning, file conversions, and hopefully some world of warcraft as soon as i get this thing going. budget is hard to explain because i don't know the price range from horrible to excellent.

 

Flame? Doubtful, by definition flaming is an angry or hostile electronic message, that was not my post at all, I clearly stated no offense. However, your previous post can be defined as such with hostility towards me, srry. , mmmm, knowlege.

Back to the topic... what does anyone think about media center PCs, are they really worth it? I can see the whole recording video to your HDD thing, but why watch tv on your 19" LCD?

Using Edit to add this....

You've also given me some sig inspiration , thank-you.

 

I know I have no standing here, but as such I try to remain impartial to the posters. It did seem as though Pulsar was overly aggressive in telling hobo to remove his email. I know he was looking to ensure the rules were being followed; however, it could have been done in a less aggressive tone. In his favor, however, he was kind to hobo after the email was removed.

...just my observation of the situation...

Back to topic, thanks to everyone who has contributed to this. I put together a tight pc a couple days ago and it was helpful to use afterdawn for a few things I had in question.

 

i'm sorry to ask but is it possible you can give me a little insight as to which mobo i should be looking at? i couldn't tell you for the life of me the difference between any of those. ...searching afterdawn right now...

 

Asus A8N-SLI premium. It's the top choice these days. I'd wait for Vista to build a new PC. I mostly say that, because I hope AMD is using DDR2 by then.

 

ddp, i wasn't even thinking about those high end boards. i just need something that will get the job done and maybe have room for improvement later on in areas such as the video card etc... the thing is i don't know the diff between sockets and that jargon so i don't know what mobo i need and what cpu and psu its compatable with.

 

thanks for the recommendations ddp, i'll look into these asap.

 

mabye I just had a blond moment in here but what is all the crying about? I removed the email address it is gone I didnt take any thing out of content here so why be up in arms about what pulsar did or didnt do? I guess I miss read the comment, mabye some people put things so you can understand them while others just say around what they want, who cares it is removed and I hang my head in shame that I caused this trouble. I thought this was a forum to help other people.

I have been doing Intel for years now and I do it for a living I have tried AMD but it lacks what I look for in a computer, I dont over clock ,if I want a faster cpu, I would just go buy it. why take the life out of a cpu in the first place? over clocking isnt good they dont reccomend it at AMD they just make it so you can,it will void the warranty and if it burns up you are out the $$$$, if you want more speed then build it that way to start with.
The platform I suggested is stable and it does a good job with games as well as any thing you can do with a computer.
The intel P-4 lga 775 dual core cpu works it doesnt over heat extending the life of it and the mother board is a good one to use.
the d915pbll has been running in my computer sence they cam out and I am speaking from experiance when I say it works well, as I am sure thoes that use AMD do. I like the three year warranty, though I have never had to send one back to Intel for replacement, if I do then I get it next day, can you beat that? I dont think AMD sends them overnight even to the product dealers, which I am.
If some one in here is trying to build a new copmputer and doesnt know what they are doing and they want help , why start their experiance off with burning up a cpu? it makes all of us look nuts! you know as clockers, that they can and do burn up.
look at it like this would you reccomend a family memember go out and buy a car with a burnt up engin? and them not know how to fix it? I dont think so, so give the same respect to a person that is trying to build their first home built, give them some time to learn befor they over clock. Over clocking is not good advise to a new computer builder with no experiance! but WTF I guess it isnt your money, you dont have to replace it.
rc82 wants a system that is stable and the best he can get for his bucks or at least it seems that way, send him on the right trail AMD, Intel what ever but please dont waste his dollars.there is another forum for over clocking .
rc82 go look at the mother board builders they have information on their web sights asus, intel, shuttle,abit, ect. they are all out their and all want your money as for cpu's you have a choice intel or AMD and for casess well their are too many,just find one that fits your eye and can keep every thing cool made for the cpu that you are going to use. I always start with the cpu first then go from their, dont skimp on the power supply get a good one to start again too many out their, look at ebay to save some dollars, the mark up is big on things like cpus and mother boards and ram, and I advise you to look after you know which one or combo you want, find the best price and be sure you buy it in a box for the warranty, board and cpu they have a three year warranty, where bulk has a one year.
but dont beleave me keep asking weigh your options and go with it.

 

I got your point awhile ago, the "quick to mouth, something something to brain" was directed at me. But due the context it could have refered to either Pulsar or me, Pulsar for being quick to post about something you covered, and me missing that you had also.

Obviously I used it to my advantage to strengthen my point, and hopefully most people are smart enough to pull stuff like that. My point still stands though, that I see that alot, with the same senteces regarding rules, and how great the mods are. I wasn't as literal as you took my post though.

So off topic , but clarification is something hard to come by using a message board.

Hey, about building a PC that's good, yet inexpensive.

These days, "getting the job done" doesn't really cover it. How long will it get the done? Computers get outdated so fast these days you shouldn't go ultra value. I don't know your price range, but this tends to be pretty minimalist.

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1822644,00.asp

If this is out of your price range, don't build a computer. With rebates and Best Buy's buying power, you can get a AMD based computer prebuilt and save BIG$$. You'd be spending $150+ just to be able to build it yourself.

There is a definite line where building your own will just cost you money.

 

One more thing, from the sound of it, you might not be looking for AMD only.

Right now Dell has a $500!!! rebate on computers $1299 and up. That's $800 for a complete system, a good one, that will "get the job done"

 

Hey RC82 heres a guide on how to build a pc http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/ hope it helps, also a budget of around $1000 for building a pc from scratch maybe cheaper if you can salvage the optical drives / hard drives & other parts from your current pc , then you have to get a monitor or use the one you already have ....... Guys what's with all the handbag swinging ...lol

 

wow thanks for all the help so far. reasons, thanks for the link - i like that computer and i might use some of its specs for mine. i understand best buys buying power but frankly i'm sick of having a dell, i can't afford to blow all that money on a completely new sys (especially another dell) when i have one here that isn't totally useless. i still have two working hdds, two opticals, a video card, a sound card, and more so i would feel as if buying a totally new one would be a waste. but maybe your right and it would be more cost effective in the long run to just upgrade everything now rather than wait till later for the rest. hmm gonna have to think about that one.

btw, i keep seeing the number 64 in the names of all of these mobos. is that in reference to it being 64 bit? i'm not totally sure the difference between 32 and 64 bit rather than the obvious and that i have a 32. if i got the 64 would that require different software or hardware? i know windows has a 64 bit version but that is afaik.

 

It's a 64-bit compatible mobo, any AMD CPU you buy is more than likely 64-bit. x64 pro will run on it and so will the 32-bit XP. The x64 edition has a higher capacity of RAM (128GB) and better performance, but driver support for all the goodies of a non-business PC is lacking.

Get a 64-bit CPU and mobo, and maybe it will be compatible with Vista when it comes out. Vista is goignt o have some funky requirements even for your video card, so don't count on it too much. Having a 64 bit CPU won't hurt you with XP, and it give you the option for x64, and hope for Vista.

 

hey guys thanks for the help so far. here is what i think i'm going with in case anyone has anything to say...

mobo: 84.99 http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=241163&affiliate=shopping

cpu: 145.97 http://www.xpcgear.com/ada3000bpbox.html

ram: 95.30 http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=80098-22&affiliate=shopping

case: 101.84 http://www.securemart.com/cgi-bin/f...scen8&mv_pc=9&mv_specials=&mv_stock=&mv_arg=p

all of the prices include shipping and the case is an antec sonata II. btw if anyone thinks there is a better/better looking case for about the same price including a quality psu please let me know. i just want quality and a swing open front.

 

oh and this all adds up to $428 and now i'm wondering if maybe it would be more worth it to get the new $85 psu for the dell and see how long the comp lasts. its already 5.5 years old now which makes me weary. ...damn i'm cheap...