First Time computer build

[StrifeX]

I have never built a pc before and i was looking for all the help i can get. I don't have a very big budget. I have a pc thats not very good at all for gaming (1.3 ghz 128mb ram 40 gig hard drive and Nvidia TNT 64). I was looking for a system that can play Half-life 2 and new games coming out. Please help (anything will help ex: guides, examples of systems, reliable places to buy parts, and any thing else that will help). Please help thanks .

 

[chrisgill369]

www.newegg.com if your in the US and www.ebuyer.com if your in the UK. I think these are the most popular sites.

AMD64 proccessors are good for gaming. 512mb of RAM and if you budget allows i would say try and get 1024mb dual channel RAM (2 sticks of 512, exactly the same brand model etc).

Not sure about graphics card though, thats what m trying to get help with lol - im also trying to build a budget gaming system.

 

[StrifeX]

Thanks. I am not sure about a graphics card either i also am not sure what kind of ram is good quality and what isnt. I again will show my newbness by not knowing the difference in sockets of the motherboard either . any help

 

[chrisgill369]

the kind of socket on your processor has to match the socket available on your motherboard. So if its a 939 amd 64 you need a mobo with a 939 socket.

RAM: crucial, kingston, corsair and some other one that i cant remember the name of, they are quite good as far as im aware.

 

[StrifeX]

thanks but for RAM whats the difference in performance from for example PC (A number) to ddr (a number).

 

[chrisgill369]

PC(numnber) you wanna get 3200, thats the fastest *i think* you might wanna check that. Like wise with DDR(number) higher the better although ive never noticed a different number on normal RAM. Might wanna get someone to verify that.

 

[chrisgill369]

might wanna check this out for graphics cards, comapres them all with a benchmarking program, thanks to hugo82 for finding it

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20041004/vga_charts-04.html#3dmark_2003

 

[StrifeX]

does any one know of any guides on building a pc? I have the monitor, key board, cdr drive , dvd drive can i build a gaming pc by spending under 500 bucks ?

 

[Hugo82]

You can get

DDR2-533 (PC2-4200)
DDR2-400 (PC2-3200)

memory which is better than PC3200

 

[Hugo82]

Check out http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/ for a guide, but i'm sure any problems you have can be sorted out on Tech-Forums