Building my own... Please help!

[crow]

been lurking for while and tonight I've decided I am going to try to build my own computer, was going to buy a Dell but changed my mind. Since I have not idea what to even buy, I'm going to need some help.

I will use the computer for online auctions (I take alot of pictures) surf the net & my daughter wants to do graphics. $1,000 limit, would be better if I could do it for less. I have dial-up.

I want to use my 19" gateway monitor for now.

Below are the only two things I know I want....

1) Pentium 4 processor (but which one????)

2) Case...this is the case I would like to buy.
http://www.colorcases.com/Cases/purpledragon.htm

Any suggestions for the rest of the stuff I need? Oh Ya, I need a good book too.
Thanks!

 

[digital_darknes]

I have a intel 2.6 and i bought it for 150 but that was 3 or 4 months ago. It is a great chip i love it. I have the intel G50B motherboard and i got it for 110. I believe its the G50B, ill post the exact product later but i would recommend going with something like this. Are you buying a new video card? a new sound card? What all are you going to want new besides the case, chip, and mobo. Let me know, ill help.

 

[crow]

d_d...
I am buying everything new but the monitor...you tell me what to buy and I will. I had been trying to find the rest of stuff but it is all too confusing for me.
I will need exact info to buy the things.
Thank you!!!

 

[ekÆsine]

if you plan to do this on your own you should have an inclination to figure out basic things that you would need.

start off by picking your CPU since you want a p4 look for the best deals don't just buy the most expensive or cheapest one you find. the point where the dollar per speed increase starts to become too great is where the value stops.

once you figure out which cpu to get look for a motherboard that supports your cpu. if you have say a 2.66Ghz cpu get a board that says it will support P4 2.66 or greater.

from the motherboard you chose look at what kind of memory the mobo supports, find the best deals within that range. you keep doing this with hard disks, and every other hardware required.

do not use a power supply bundled with a case, they are unreliable and risky. buy the power supply separate and look to spend at least $50, a bad power supply will damage your hardware.

 

[mitschej]

These are all good ideas. When looking for a power supply you will want to look at the devices that will be on you computer to determine how many watts you need. Also when you look at the power supplies you want to look at the cooling for it. Some power supplies have multiple fans for additional cooling. Anouther point in looking for power supplies since you want to run with the P4 is that it is rated for a P4 processor.

 

[cowticket]

For multimedia, I would choose an AMD processor maybe XP2700 or better, ($160) 1gig of ram (PC3700) ($160), and a GeForce FX 5900 card. ($200) DVD+/-RW/HARD DRIVE... ($300) (200GB).

(Graphics card is one of the best on the market)

And a case w/ A good power supply (you can get these and any local computer store, at the high end ($100)

and youll have a kickin machine for about $800 or $900
if you order your parts online.
I build computers a lot as you can probably gather lol

If you have any questions you can message me on AIM
cowticket

 

[digital_darknes]

You may want to buy some of that stuff at www.pricewatch.com It is a good site with alot of cheap prices. Like you said you wanted the intel, not the amd. But the video card he picked out is a good one. Everything else people have said are true and you need to take that into consideration before buying what your going to need but just a list will be....

Case - some come with power supplys and some come without.
Power Supply- get at least a 400watt, i recommend 500 for scaleability.

Motherboard-should support what CPU you get
CPU-
RAM-I recommend getting a motherboard that supports DDR since it is the most widely used now.
Video Card- the card the other guy recommended is a great card. I have the Radeon PRO but i payed a little over 400 for it.

Sound card-i use onboard sound so i dont know much in this department.

Hard drive- whatever size you get, get 7200rpm.

CD drive- dont get any faster than 50x without multi reading lasers.

If there is any certain product you look at and need some help comparing just post them and everyone here im sure wlil be glad to help you.

 

[crow]

Thanks so much for all the help, I found a gal who is willing to help me put the computer together. I'll start buying what I need now.

I'll let ya know how it turns out!
crow

ps...alot of nice people here!

 

[computer12620]

well i sugest you use newegg.com just built mine and i like it lots spent 800 on it and i love it

 

[crow]

computer12620.
I'll take a look over there too!
Thanks