DescentBB

So I'm going to be buying myself a new rig sometime in the near future, and I may go out on a limb and put it together myself. So, if I do, I need to know which parts are good, which parts hate eachother, and some basics on how to compare stats on the parts and what they actually mean. Links are welcome.

I'm working with a budget of approximately $2k canadian, and I'd like to do as much as possible with that. I'm starting from nothing, so that has to include a moniter, keyboard, mouse, speakers, OS and all that good stuff.

So... anything useful you guys want to tell me/send me to read, would be appreciated.

Hey bro - welcome to the world of DIY computing!

Try here: http://www.pcguide.com/proc/pcassy/

Assembling your own stuff is cool fun - but there are a few pitfalls which you should avoid!

1) Earth yourself on the PC case at all times! (Get a wrist strap if you are a "staticy" person! RAM and CPU can be completely fried by a static charge!) Remember, the Case isn't earthed until a PSUis fitted into it and the power cord is attached to the thing, and the plug is in a wall socket.

2) Inspect Case for sharp corners and edges and avoid cutting the hell out of yourself on them! (Or buy a Lian-Li case or similar because high quality cases seldom have dangerous bits)

3) Buy a very good PSU - and make sure it's more powerful than you'll need. Remembering that EVERYTHING in the PC runs off this one component helps justify the expense. Recommend 450 Watts. Remember, a 450Watt PSU does NOT draw 450 watts all the time - it only draws what it needs.

4) Be gentle!

5) Read the instructions at http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silv ... ctions.htm about mounting CPUs. Take your time!! Be careful!

6) Mounting RAM can be tricky if the sockets are tight. Be very careful not to break your motherboard!

7) When mounting the Motherboard "stand-offs" (The things that keep the bottom of the PCB from touching the chassis) - make sure you mount them in the right holes, and DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES SLIP WITH THE SCREWDRIVER AS YOU WILL DESTROY YOUR MOTHERBOARD! Once again - take your time, and be gentle.

Don't install everything all at once an expect it to work! Start with just PSU, Motherboard, RAM, CPU and heatsink, and HDD. When this boots successfully, add more components.

9) Don't put anything in PCI slot No.1

10) Buy SATA Hard Drive(s) - and make sure your motherboard has at least 2 SATA connections.

11) Get a well ventilated case!

12) Get quiet components! Believe me, you might think something with 11 fans in it is cool - but in 6 months it will be driving you crazy!

Good luck!

[junkie]New hardware smell!! *snort* *twitch*[/junkie]

We'll help yah out with anything. If you have questions about prices(newegg.com is usually good), or compatibility, or just WTF all the diffrent versions of a part are, ask.

Mobius wrote:4) Be gentle!

Took me several years and a pile of broken parts to finally get this one. Save yourself the heartache of broken stuff and take this one to heart.

ASUS Motherboards
Crucuil(sp?), Kingston RAM
Creative sound cards
3com NICS
Linksys Routers/switches
Viewsonic Monitors
Antec Cases

I've never had a problem with these parts since 1994 and I've been putting together my own stuff since then.

5) Read the instructions at http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silv ... ctions.htm about mounting CPUs. Take your time!! Be careful!

6) Mounting RAM can be tricky if the sockets are tight. Be very careful not to break your motherboard!

Don't do either of these with the mobo in the case. Put the mobo on a table with some padding underneath. Not much, you don't want the board to bend very far.

Merl's list is pretty good. It's about what I use too. Tho', I don't like Antec's cases, I like their PSU's. For a case, I use Inwin. (They're sturdy, functional, and not all riced up.)

just to offset CDN_merlin's post:
there are many brands that are good quality. don't limit yourself to only looking at certain brands.
(i don't recommend getting a creative soundcard, others here will agree, but of course keep an open mind)


$2k canadian is a good number, i think. (i hear $CDN is similar to $AUD, not sure of the price differences though)

browsing online stores' pricelists are a great tool when you are looking around trying to narrow down your component desisions. make sure the stores you are looking at are in your country, but don't worry. you are ONLY looking at the online stores to determine what's out there, you are browsing. keep your wallet in your pocket


you DEFINTELY want to make notes along the way. jot down names, prices (at various stores), performance, specs of various things, until you get a head what choices you will have to make.

when i was building my first PC i had an A2 page full of scribbles, tables and notes. reading reviews, figuring out what part is better than what part, and if it's worth the money.

Why not a SB card? I know the Live card has issues but I paid 125$ CDN for the Audigy 2 ZS and it has no issues that I've heard abotu and works great in ALL 20+ games I have installed from 10 yr old games to new ones.

As for my list, this is what I buy from experience and from what friend have told me.

there are better quality and cheaper cards to be had.

if we explain it further here it will be offtopic, so perhaps make your own topic and ask it there. (i fail to believe that you have not heard the issues ppl here have with creative hardware, it's been regularly discussed)

Compatibility is sometimes difficult with other cards though. That and the new EAX versions are Creative exclusives at the moment.

roid wrote: if we explain it further here it will be offtopic, so perhaps make your own topic and ask it there.

How is it off-topic? It's a valid consideration when someone just asked about what to keep in mind. It's true I've had some problems with Creative drivers and XP, but that's about it. The only other knock I could deliver against SB is the ridiculous amounts of system resources they used to consume. While this issue hasn't been solved entirely(to my knowledge), it IS better than it used to be. Other than that I've been a happy SB user since '94, '95.

it's offtopic because it's a complicated issue and a whole topic to itself. everytime someone starts to talk about creative and soundcards, that's all that's talked about until the end of the thread. i'm warning you*

*(not a threat)