Comments on: How to Build a PC

on 8/8/2006 When you are selecting major components, such as the CPU or motherboard, it is beneficial to go through a reputable source and read reviews on the board you intend to buy. When you are doing this, it is a good idea to go through several sites and compare what each site says.

on 8/8/2006 Do not go cheap on memory! You don't need an expensive processor, because if you get a 3.8ghz pro. and 256mb, your system will run faster if you get a 2.8ghz pro. and 1gb of memory!

Always go with more memory and faster memory!
400mhz+ and 512mb+ of memory!

on 12/28/2005 Decide the list of parts that you will want to purchase. Always start with the motherboard first and then build off of that. That way you'll know the limits of what you can get and can't get. IE: You'll know you can't buy a SATA hard drive for a motherboard that only supports IDE.

Search the forums for potential hardware conflicts. As always, Google is an indispensable tool for finding these pages. Gamers should look on the game forums they plan to play. Building a PC will be much less of a hit or miss game with these options.

If it's your first time, it might be a little intimidating to find the parts you want with the features you want. Look around. Find places that tell you about the latest and greatest stuff and gives you enough information for you to make a decision.

Don't go cheap on RAM. Stability is extremely important.

Lastly, use search engines to find the lowest price for an item. Don't forget about local stores they might have rebates or might actually be cheaper since you don't have to pay for shipping. Also beware the differences between OEM/White Box and retail that'll affect the warranty policies.

on 11/22/2005 Rebate deals are good ways to get cheap parts, but check the resellers/manufacturer's reputation first to make sure you will get it. For instance, Soyo is notorious for not issuing rebates, hence "So sorry, we never soyo rebate." www.tigerdirect.com is a good mobo/chip combo rebate place and I pick up 200 GB seagate drives for $50 every now and then on outpost.com Also keep an eye on bensbargains.net for parts.

on 11/22/2005 The most expensive part of the system are the motherboard and the processor. It's cheaper to buy a motherboard and processor combo. You already know they are compatible. Always check and see who makes the chipset for the motherboard. I would avoid those VIA chipsets which tend to be on the cheaper boards. Don't buy cheap junk! You get what you pay for!

on 11/22/2005 Unless you don't have a money limit or you are absolutely hardcore, don't waste money on buying top of the line parts. Parts one or two models lower then the flagship model will not yield that much of a performance loss, but they will cost you hundreds of dollars less. This especially applies to processors. For example, when I was building my PC, the top of the line was the AMD Athlon 3200, which was around four or five hundred dollars. I got the 2800+ (which is admittedly worse, but not that much) for a little over 150 dollars.

on 11/22/2005 Once you know enough about computers to even consider building one, you'll realize you have to. You get everything you want, total customization, and you will save money.

Remember, if you have a choice between faster RAM or lower-latency RAM, the lower-latency is more likely the best bet. By the way, latency on DDRII is much higher than with DDR. If you use DDRII, make sure you don't do something silly and use the lower speed varieties. At that point, the higher speed DDR is best (i.e., DDRII-3200 vs. DDR-3200).

on 11/22/2005 Building a PC is a great experience, but it won't be so great when you overheat. Tuck and fold those cables (including power cables) inside the case to achieve optimum airflow. And set up your front fan to suck air in and the rear fans to blow air out. Small zip ties are great for this job.

on 11/22/2005 To save money, reuse some parts of your old PC like the keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Another tip is to choose a barebones system...It's cheaper. It includes your specifications (like to include or not to include an operating system, etc.). I paid only $400 without an operating system and without other accessories.

on 11/22/2005 Sharkyextreme.com is a great place for monthly guides on what to buy for a high end PC or a budget PC. Newegg.com is where I get most of my stuff cause it's all from one place and I don't have to pay shipping except for the floppy drive. If you're buying one or two things, check pricewatch.com.

on 11/22/2005 I built my own system and build systems for others. I guarantee that for each system I build, I save over half of what a comparable system would cost if purchased commercially. Also, the parts the name brand manufacturers use are LE (lite edition) or VE (value edition) parts, meaning they are built for that business at lower costs and all the features are not included as they would if you were to buy the item retail. Watch out for OEM parts. You will not get the same manufacturer's warranty as you would with the retail version. The differences between the two may include: included parts, warranty, instruction booklets, price, etc.

on 11/22/2005 Don't forget to check out www.fatwallet.com for some good deals on all components when building your own PC. You can build your own PC for way cheaper than buying one.

on 11/22/2005 Here are some good places from which to buy quality, good parts such as processors, motherboards, RAM, and hardware: mwave.com, tigerdirect.com, newegg.com, egghead.com, and computersuccess.com. There are also many others. My friends have tried these sites, and have built many PC's! I hope these are helpful!

on 11/22/2005 I have come across a wonderful company that sells anything and everything you need when building or upgrading a computer. There is no need to go to www.pricewatch.com where you have to spend a long time just finding a company with up to date parts and reliable service (believe me, I have made a system using pricewatch before). Try visiting directron.com. I promise you won't be disappointed with the time and money you save.

Happy hunting!

on 11/22/2005 Well, building a computer can range anywhere from $168 (with parts from other computers) to the thousands range (for a super high rate computer).

Buy a good motherboard, like Soyo or Abit. Read reviews about that motherboard on the Internet before making your purchase, or you might be caught badly. Get a good processor that matches the motherboard processor socket. AMD makes very good and very inexpensive processors. Intel makes very high-quality processors, but they are very expensive (so are the motherboards that can handle this type of processor).

Hard drives are usually less important, but it's recommended that you get at least 10 GB of space for Windows 98/2000/ME and 20 GB of space for Windows XP. If you are planning on using older operating systems like Windows 95 or so, 8 GB will be excessive, but will help a lot.

As for operating systems, I recommend Linux the most, but some people do NOT understand Linux very well. I'd recommend Windows 2000 or XP in this case. Windows ME is extremely buggy and can lead to many problems, like headaches and annoyance. Windows 98 is good, but is losing support by Microsoft. Also, it is becoming very outdated as Windows 95 became a few months before.

That's my 2 cents.