Inexperienced college student craving knowledge and help.

Status
Not open for further replies.
M

Mattf

Solid State Member
Messages
9
Hello all.

I'll be heading into college shortly, and while I have a functional laptop to use, it is little more than that. I wish to either A) purchase a system or B) build one so that I can do some gaming, media storage, and media managment.

I dug around on Dell's website, and it looks like I can order for about $700 a PC with a decent processor. Let me add right now that I have never built a computer from scratch, and know very little of compatability, but would be interested in doing so if I could save money or get better value.

I talked to a neighbor today (and read a LOT on this site, it's great), and learned the following:

Choosing a processor appears to be the first, and most important step. Mobo must match it before you can do anything else.

Case and PSU are basically compatable with anything, so it doesn't matter when you get those? I was thinking to grab a 350 W PSU, but perhaps 450 would be better?

HDD, RAM, and videocard are fairly easily taken care of. I have an old videocard laying around that I can use until I select a fancy one, and RAM is always bought to match the mobo...

Am I missing something? Right now, I have absolutely no idea what processor I should be looking at. I would like something decent but not ridiculously expensive. It looks like the dual core processors might be a little overpriced?

I appreciate ALL help, even with minor "stupid" things. I honestly have little idea what I'm doing, although I have some experience upgrading small things. You folks seem knowledgable and friendly, and I hope you help well! ;)

Thanks again to all in advance,
Matt
 
the first thing is? do you want a laptop or desktop? that makes a BIG difference... after that many of us will help, myself included... what do you want it for mainly?
 
The first thing you need to remember is to not try to build more than your budget will allow.

That's how I got my rig. A college student built it, but ran out of money (hence only a 3200+ CPU and 80 gig hard drive). He then sold the whole system (I have since sold the sound card and speakers... they were overkill for me).

So, give us your basic budget, but leave a little wiggle room. We'll try to put something together for you.
 
Desktop. And I'd like to use it for reasonable gaming, but I'm not going to be playing the new Doom or other ridiculous games like that. Sorry, I was forgetting a few things.

Gaming, media storage and playing, and school use (so internet browsing essentially, nothing demanding here). I'd like to avoid overclocking simply because A) I don't know how and B) it sounds dangerous (to the uninformed?). Thus I don't plan on having high end everything. I realize prices drop every year, so if I take 15% less performance, I'll save considerable money.

I have considerable funds built up, but I'd like to avoid exceeding $700-800. I mean that Dell online I saw had what, a 2.4 Ghz processor in it, and it was right around $695...?

Am I asking too much for too little? I have wiggle room, and I already have a nice monitor. Don't be afraid to tell me what I want, as I don't really know. Am looking for good quality that will support most games out there (perhaps not the very most recent, but you know, maybe Half Life 2?), without killing my food funds ;)

Apologies for the length and detail, and thanks for the quick responses,
Matt
 
Greetings,

First, the GHz rating is not a valid way to determine the raw computational abilities of a CPU (no offense).

Here is something that I threw together that is relatively inexpensive and has some room to grow. The MoBo does have onboard video, so a GPU card is not necessary, but required for most any type of gaming:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103735

MoBo: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813128010

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130025

NOTE: The EVGA 7600GT is an excellent performer for the $
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130017

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820134116

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817103457

NOTE: If you can swing it I would get a 500+ Watt PSU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817153029

CD/DVD R/W: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106029

Case: http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811124114

The total w/o shipping (w/ the 7300GT, not the 7600GT) is US$640.64

This should give you an idea of where to start. I did not examine all the specs closely, bu I think that it is all compatible.

Hope this helps.

P.S. you might have to invest in a couple of extra fans for good airflow, and the 2nd PSU listed would probably be better.
 
None taken; I accept my high degree of noobness.

Yes, after simply reformatting a friend's Dell and trying to reload everything back on there, I shudder myself.. But not so much when I don't know what I'm doing.

Syrillian, my neighbor stressed that operating speed of a single core might not compare to a dual core. You think I'd be better off with a dual then for my uses? Modern software utylizes the processor correctly?

Can you explain to me the differences between those two video cards? Is it the clock speed being higher, and the pixelpipeline thing?

Powersupply- Ok, but is the difference significant? Also, he told me his PSU simply has ports in it, and if you need more plugs, you plug in more wires. It cuts down on total wire inside the unit. This isn't popular?

That case seems nice, especially with the ports on top at the fan. One of my worries is that I won't know where to plug in additional fans OR I won't have enough plugs? Although I figure if I'm making my own machine, I might as well have a shiny case with blue lights and SOME clear plastic? ;)
I have extra fans from old machine's I've hacked apart. But grabbing more won't hurt I'm sure. They're kinda cool.

Thank you, you really did help. I mean that.

Conroe:
Does it come down two AMD vs. Intel?

Also, are most motherboards I'm looking at going to come with SATA ports for multiple HDD's?

Thanks for the alternate suggestions.

I understand that the pin configuration on motherboards is fairly specific, so I'd like to make sure I'm set with a pretty good processor. This, and videocards (not a major worry right now) are my areas of least knowledge and I want to make sure I'm set there for a few years of software.

Again, thank you both very much for your help. It genuinely does mean a lot to me, and I'd be lost without it. I simply don't know this stuff, nor where to look.

Matt.


EDIT

In response to the post I missed- I have a copy of XP pro, and a 17" LCD freebee. My friend's stepfather's office was upgrading. :)
 
ok i've got a good build in mind for you. hold on. i've seen some problems w/ the other builds

i'll look for about 15 min. then add up what i find.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

A
HELP!
Replies
0
Views
280
arncap
A
M
Upgrading Old Computer- Please help
Replies
2
Views
729
PP Mguire
PP Mguire
R
gigabyte GA-H170M-D3H boot loop power issues , and no display
Replies
5
Views
1K
ripo66
R
G
How can I find out market value of computer parts and where can I sell it?
Replies
1
Views
364
Joe C
Joe C
P
Shared Folders and redirected Folders
Replies
0
Views
318
Paul Kinyanjui
P
Back
Top Bottom