I'm building my first computer. Where do I begin?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I’m in the planning stage of building my first computer. I don’t have the specific specs picked out yet. I’ve been reading some computer sites to get a feel for everything and I have some somewhat random questions.

What do I pick out first? Do I pick the processor first and then find a compatible motherboard or do I figure out everything I want and then make sure the motherboard can fit it all?

What is the chipset?

Does the CPU come with thermal grease or do I buy that separately?

What is Ethernet?

I will be using a dial-up modem at first, but will definitely be getting cable broadband soon after it’s built. Any thing I should know about that? In keeping with the do-it-yourselfness of my little project, I’d like to buy a self-installation kit. Is that a good/bad idea?

I see the Newegg website pop up a lot in computer threads. I’m concerned about buying what I’m assuming are very delicate parts online and having them shipped through the mail. Is ordering parts online worth it? Or should I just find a computer store and buy from them?

Why is Windows XP Home OEM cheaper than retail? My understanding is that the only difference is that OEM lacks a manual and box. How much cheaper is OEM, anyway?

I’m planning on printing some build your own computer guides off of PCmech.com.
Should I buy any books, too?

I want my computer to be fast. I don’t want top of the line, but after living with this slow-ass computer for a while now, I’m ready for some speed.

I guess that will do it for now. Any other bits of info are welcome. :slight_smile:

2

I would pick the CPU first. AMD or Intel, as much as you can afford. (For home use, I am a fan of AMD, for now…)

‘Chipset’ is basically hwo the motherboard (mobo) talks to the cpu. Kinda sorta.

The heatsink usually comes with some grease.

Most broadband (cable, ADSL) connections will require you to have a Ethernet card. Some mobos come with them built in, though I like the ‘card’ sort, as you can replace it if it wigs out. It is how your cablemodem will talk to your PC.

Definitely put the ethernet adapter in the PC yourself. I don’t like strangers monkeying around with the guts of my baby! :wink: The home install kits are generally a cable modem, a ethernet adapter, and the needed cables.

Worry not. Newegg is a great site, especially if you are not comfortable shopping around. (Their prices will be pretty comparable, anyways.) I have never had an item damaged in shipping.

XP OEM is sold only with hardware, sort of MS’s way of encouraging you to stay away from Demon Linux ;). Nothing wrong with it, and you generally save up to a couple of hundred bucks, depending on the OS in question. (!!!)

Frankly, I wouldn’t. Once everything is there in front of you, you will see just how simple it all is. Unless you really try, it is hard to plug the wrong thing into wrong socket. Like a big wire-filled jigsaw puzzle!

Amen.

Just go to newegg, and pick one of each:

Case (powersupply)
Mobo
CPU
Heatsink
memory
hardrive
soundcard
videocard
ethernet card
CD-Rom (or CDR or DVD)
3.5 floppy
keyboard
mouse
monitor (?)

Put your money into memory (1 gig), and video (don’t get a ‘value’ card if you are going to game. Also, AMD is a great way to save money.

All in my opinion, of course! :smiley:

3

The trickiest part of building a PC is getting the processor, heatsink and fan assembled properly. If you get it wrong, you risk overheating and damaging the CPU. If you can, try to get an assembled motherboard set, where this job is done for you. Also, the jumpers on the motherboard will be in the right places for you (although double check them!), saving the potential for other costly errors.

4

Second GorillaMan’s point about heatsink seating. I had lots of problems with this when I built my PC.

I also recommend you keep your current system hooked up to the web during your build so you can get help online while you work. Other sites have more specialist discussion boards to help you through (I used hardwarecentral.com).

Good luck!

5

This is a matter of taste but I would always make my system noticeably more RAM-heavy than anything you can buy preconfigured. Even if you have to step back one model on the CPU it is worth it very often.
The importance of CPUs tends to be overrated. RAM is your friend. There is no such thing as too much or too fast* RAM.

  • as long as your board can handle it
6

My recommendation for getting more speed is to install two harddrives, and put the majority of the pagefile (virtual memory) onto the one that doesn’t have windows installed. This spreads a lot of the workload between two pieces of hardware. I’m running XP on 256MB RAM, and with one hard disk I would often get pauses switching between applications, slow menu responses and the like. Once I did as I’ve described, it’s been pretty much as fast and responsive as I could expect.

The other advantage of this is that the cost of the outlay is shared between increased performance and increased storage space, rather than dedicating money just to memory.

7

Get an A+ certification guide. It will cover all areas of the PC in a general way, making the whole picture clearer for you.

You have to decide if you want many of your functions integrated into the motherboard or handled with PC cards. Make sure you use an AGP slot for video- at least AGP 4x. You can skimp on many peripherals inside the case if you use USB connections, or speed things up with a SCSI controller for an internal hard drive and other fast peripherals.

The online price guides and best catalogs all feature “Barebones” systems, with a motherboard, power supply and occasionally other components built into a case, ready for a processor and RAM.

Keep us posted on your progress. Go to my homepage if you need help- I’m taking the exams soon and I have study guides all over my homepage.

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[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
put the majority of the pagefile (virtual memory) onto the one that doesn’t have windows installed. QUOTE]

How do you tell Windows to do this?

9

I’m surprised that you’re worried about buying computer parts through the mail. I mean, they get delivered in a truck, right? How do you think they get to the retail stores? Teleportation? :slight_smile:

If this is your first time building a PC, one option you might want to consider is buying a barebones system custom-configured to your liking and adding the extras yourself. I’m planning on buying a custom barebones machine from Monarch Computer Systems, adding my own hard drive/floppy/CD & DVD drives/video card and having a kick-ass machine. One of the advantages to doing things this way is that you get the vendor to do the “hard parts” (where you’re most likely to break something) of building the computer for you (installing the motherboard in the case, adding CPU/heat sink/memory). They also test the system before they send it to you, which gives you some assurance that you’re not going to have a major component DOA.

Note: I have not done business with Monarch Computer Systems before, so don’t take my word as a recommendation. I saw an ad for them in Maximum PC magazine, which I trust, so I’m hoping they’re a worthwhile company. Before I place an order, though, I’ll definitely be researching them some more.

10

You will need to some reading and research about how the components mount into the case but assembling it is not that hard. You can buy motherboards with the CPU/heatsink already installed and tested from MWave they have a good reputation. Installing the CPU is about the trickiest thing with building a computer. If you can find an old one and open it up, take it apart and reassemble that is a great way to learn. You will get more for your money with AMD. Get a motherboard with built in ethernet. If you are a student purchase the academic version of XP.

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Here are some computer building guides. Hardware Central and Dailyint. They look like good alternatives to start.

12

Wow, thanks for the replies everybody!

I’ve got some more questions, if you please.

Is the Ethernet adapter the same as the Ethernet card?

Do the required cables come with the components? For example, does the CD-ROM come with the ribbon cable I saw inside my computer?

Tell me about keeping the computer cool. I don’t have air conditioning in this room, which sucks in many ways. Will all the fans inside keep it cool enough?

I’d like this computer to quiet. Any advice there?

I’m planning on getting two 256MB sticks of DDR400 (PC3200). How does that grab ya?

How much of a chore would it be to get everything running with one now, and install a second hard drive later? Also, does the benefit come from two drives or just more space? Are two 40gig drives better than one 80 gigger?

Any advice regarding writeable versus re-writeable CD’s?

I’d like room to add a DVD-ROM later on. Should I just get one now instead of a CDR-ROM drive?

I’d like to keep this under a $1000. Is that doable?

Here’s what I’m getting:
(thanks Bob! for typing most of this for me :slight_smile: )

Case (powersupply) (any thoughts about tower size?)
Mobo
CPU (I’m leaning towards an AMD Athlon XP but I’m not sure exactly which one)
Heatsink
memory (512 MB)
hard drive (80 GB maybe?)
soundcard (Can I get by without one at first?)
videocard (I see the name Raedon pop up. Are they good?)
Ethernet card
CD-ROM (or CDR or DVD)
3.5 floppy
keyboard
Printer (I’m looking at a Canon i560)
I have a monitor already.

Thanks again!

13

Model: AMD Athlon XP 2500+ $80
Core: Barton
Operating Frequency: 1.83GHz
FSB: 333MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/512K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included)

Model: AMD Athlon XP 2400+ $72.00
Core: Thoroughbred
Operating Frequency: 2GHz
FSB: 266MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/256K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included)

Model: AMD Athlon XP 2000+ $57.00
Core: Thoroughbred
Operating Frequency: 1.67GHz
FSB: 266MHz
Cache: L1/64K+64K; L2/256K
Voltage: 1.65V
Process: 0.13Micron
Socket: Socket A
Multimedia Instruction: MMX, SSE, 3DNOW!, 3DNOW!+
Packaging: Retail Box (Heatsink and Fan included)

I’m leaning towards the last one, but only because of the price.

14

The Barton is a better chip with a faster FSB and a higher L2 cache.

15

[QUOTE=Kansas Beekeeper]

[QUOTE=GorillaMan]
put the majority of the pagefile (virtual memory) onto the one that doesn’t have windows installed.

Control Panel - System - Advanced - Performance settings - Advanced - Virtual Memory Change - Custom size. They hide it well :wink:

16

Yes

Depends. In my limited experience, branded items from PC World have everything, cheap deals off the internet do not.

No trouble at all. Apart from the pagefile trick, there’s no real advantage to two 40s over one 80. Might as well wait until you need a new 80, which shouldn’t take long :smiley:

Many motherboards have built-in sound cards.

17

If you buy components that are marked “Retail Boxed” you get all the required cables. If you buy “OEM” parts you probably will not get them. You might try to purchase the case locally as shipping can be high of that item. Make sure you get a quality P4 power supply. I like Antec cases and power supplies. Office supply stores will sometimes run specials on hard drives or CD/DVD Burners that are hard for Newegg to beat.You will have to deal with rebate hell though. At least buy a burner that can play DVDs, its a nice way to go. DVD burners are getting pretty reasonable now so that should be considered. There are a lot of geeks using NForce chipset motherboards and they claim they are the fastest ones available for AMD. There are lots of motherboards that come with pretty good sound built in.If I was going to upgrade that is what I would be looking at. If you like music get some quality speakers. I like Klipsch and Logitech.

18

Shhh! You want a quiet PC? Heh… And you thought overclockers were obsessive. I’ve got my PC about as quiet as I can without spending serious $$$ on it. As it is, I’ve spent at the $$ level to find some peace.

The retail-boxed Intel P4 comes with a very quiet heatsink/fan. (Commonly described as an HSF) I didn’t need to do anything about it. The Intel D865PERLK motherboard I used has a massive “northbridge” heatsink, so it doesn’t need further cooling with a fan.

My hard drive is swaddled in a “Smart Drive” enclosure - this makes normal drives dead-quiet and quiet drives utterly inaudible. Costs $65.

The interior of my Lian-Li aluminum case is covered in DynaMat Ultra. This is the stuff used in fancy cars or appliances such as washing machines to transform the tinny rattle of sheet metal into a deep “thonk” More than enough to do the job cost around $40.

The original case fans had sleeve bearings. Bad juju. Sleeve bearings tend to die rapidly. They were replaced with ball-bearing “Silencer” fans from PC Power & Cooling. These folks have been killing computer noise for about 20 years. Fans are about 10 bucks each. PC Power also makes very high-quality and very quiet power supplies. For a P4, about $85. I haven’t changed the PS yet, but it’d be the next thing I do as I’ve already silenced…

The video card… With a Zalman heatpipe. No fans involved - just “wierd science” physics that cools a video card with no fans and no noise at all. Cost was around $45

Cost to do all this, over $200 above and beyond the price of mobo, proc, drives, etc. But, to have a nearly inaudible sinister black monolith that overnight guests can sleep two feet away from? Priceless.

Other stuff that I’ve personally used: (I have no relation to any of these companies mentioned here except as a paying customer)

Mushkin RAM. Funny name, but they’re very serious about memory and are nice people do work with. Keep an eye on them at holidays - they tend to have one- or two-day sales at holidays, and on Fridays.

My optical drives are all Plextor. If you only want to go with one drive, get their PX-708 - it reads, burns and re-writes to everything - CD, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and so forth. They just introduced the PX-712, which should make the 708 cheaper. If you’re not concerned about burning DVDs at 12x speed,go for the 708, which does the job at 8x.

19

Not that I am plugging a specific mag (I don’t work for them) but Maximum PC put out an issue specifically on building your own system. It was maybe 6 months ago. With a little effort you may be able to find it. It was quite well done, well worth getting if you can

20

In case anyone was wondering:

The FSB is the Front Side Bus - its how fast the CPU can talk to memory (essentially). Faster FSB means better performance.

L2 cache is another memory space for the CPU. The CPU will cache recently / frequently accesses information in this cache. More = better performance.

This is why the 1.83GHz chip is a ‘2500’, where the 2.0GHz chip is a 2400.

I’ve been running an XP2000 for the last 2 years. It has been, and continues to be, quite adequate. I also have a GF3 video card and 1GB RAM. If you’re going to be playing the latest 1st person shooters, like Doom 3, Half-Life 2, Unreal Tournament 2004, then I’d recommend you spring for the 2500 in addition to a huge video card and huge memory. You just can’t exceed the “Recommended” specs on those games enough. If you’re just going to be surfing, then all of the listed CPUs are overkill.

FYI - I was thinking about upgrading recently, but with AMDs FX51 out and PCI Express on the way, I think I’ll wait another 6 months to a year to see what happens. Seems to me that alot is set to happen in the PC hardware world - you may want to consider holding off a little while.