First time building a computer, help and suggestions? (First time poster)

_chocobo_lord_

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Alright, so basically this summer I plan on making my first ever computer. :D
But I'm a noob so I wanted to know: is it hard to make a computer? how exactly do you make it? any good step-by-step guides online? etc.

I'm aiming for a computer in the $1000-1300 range. I only need to find a cheap and reliable sound card and optical drive. I'm using my old Dell CRT monitor though. Here are the parts I have chosen:

Case: Aspire X-Navigator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$154.00

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$297.00

Motherboard: ASUS SLI ATX AMD motherboard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$102.99

Power Supply: Enermax Noisetaker 600 Watt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$168.99

EDIT: (wrong link I meant a GT, not GTX. My bad :( )
Nvidia Geforce 7800 GT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$479.00

RAM: Corsair XMS 2 Gigs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$188.00

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 320 Gigs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$119.99

Optical Drive: ??? Looking for a nice, cheap, easy-to-install combo drive that I can use for burning DVD, CD's, and playing DVD/CD games.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speakers: Logitech X-230 2.1 Speaker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$32.99

Sound Card: ??? I just need a cheap, decent sound card so my PC won't leech off the motherboard.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OS: Windows XP Home Edition W/ SP2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$84.99

EDIT: Just realized my total with the video card comes to around 1,500. :(
Subtotal form Newegg: $1,133.95
Shipping: $44.61

Is everything compatible? How will it work out? I'm very nervous about building one...

Any reccomendations or thoughts would be GREATLY appreciated. :)
 
ok man that looks like a great system..but look at the reviews on the mobo...not looking too good...now the board u are looking at is nforce4 sli....now later if u do sli u will only have 2x pci 8x slots which make instead for around 150 u could have this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188006

which gives u 2x pci 16x slots which run much faster and have higher bandwidths when doing sli...also it has no reviews but with eVGA u cant go wrong

ok now with the video card...i think that for around that price u could have something better...look at this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...mpareItemList=N82E16814130279,N82E16814150105

for the same price u could be having a 7900gtx with a 650mhz core clock instead of 490...a 1600mhz mem clock instead of a 1300mhz....and 512mb instead of 256....now that is your dicider here....get the eVGA 7900gtx because it is the same price but far far far better....

now if u just want a sound card so that u can add some more fps and take a load off of ur mobo get something like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16829102003
creative labs (great company) has all the stuff u need and around 30 dollars...great deal...u really wont need a 200 dollar video card unless u want the best sound u can get....

so ur new list would be this

Revisions in Red

Case: Aspire X-Navigator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$154.00

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$297.00

Motherboard: eVGA 123-K8-NF47-AX Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI X16 ATX AMD
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$149.99


Power Supply: Enermax Noisetaker 600 Watt
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$168.99

Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 7900 GTX
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$479.00

RAM: Corsair XMS 2 Gigs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$188.00

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 320 Gigs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$119.99

Optical Drive: ??? Looking for a nice, cheap, easy-to-install combo drive that I can use for burning DVD, CD's, and playing DVD/CD games.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speakers: Logitech X-230 2.1 Speaker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$32.99

Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$29.99


OS: Windows XP Home Edition W/ SP2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$84.99

Total:$1700+ now that is a lot but tell me if it is too much and i will find you some cheaper stuff

now with that you have a much better system and games will be GREAT!!!

hope this helped
 
Xiggy,

As stated in my now-edited post, my total comes to 1,5xx, and 1,600 with shipping. :(

Like I said, I need it around 1,000-1,300. Should I get a cheaper PS? And maybe a Geforce 7600 GT instead of 7800GT? And maybe a steel case instead of aluminum?

@ MarxSoccer
That drive seems good, I'll take it. :)
 
oh sry....7600gt(im getting one too).....also if u want a cheaper mobo go with this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813188002
(im getting that too but too eVGA products will work great together)

maybe a cheaper PSU same model just less watts..

maybe a cheaper case......thats up too u.

this would save u around 300 on the video card....maybe 50 on teh psu...and about 30 on the mobo if u take my advice...but thats just my ideas....sry for getting taken away...hope this helps :D
 
Case: Aspire X-Navigator
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$154.00

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$297.00

Motherboard: ASUS SLI ATX AMD motherboard
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$102.99

Power Supply: Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 550W
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$89.99


Video Card: Nvidia Geforce 7600 GT
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$178.99

RAM: Corsair XMS 2 Gigs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$188.00

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar 320 Gigs
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$119.99

Optical Drive: The one MarxSoccer reccomended (Thanks!)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Speakers: Logitech X-230 2.1 Speaker
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$32.99

Sound Card: The one Xiggy reccomeded. (Thanks, by the way.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OS: Windows XP Home Edition W/ SP2
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~$84.99


Subtotal from Newegg: $1,335.93
Shipping: $58.13
Final Total! $1,394.06

Not too shabby! :p

Thanks guys, I think I've settled on this build. Just one last question: I need to find some place where I can learn to build a computer. I have the Spring 2006 issue of PC Gamer's PC Building Bible, but they use different parts. Is it generally the same though? Or is every computer different?
 
its generally the same. Just make sure your cpu is oriented correctly and dont use too much force pushing the locking lever down, if you need to force it, its in the wrong way. And let me warn you, the X-Navigator is EXTREMELY loud.
 
yeh man about that case....i would think about one of these instead

the thermaltake aguila

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811133013
that is 10 dollars less...its by thermaltake which is a great company so it will run your computer quiet and cool and that case is awesome looking in my opinion...it also comes in black....

here is its page on their website so u can see all of its features and other things that u can buy for it
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Chassis/midtower/aguila/vd1000swa.asp

i would trust thermaltake over aspire...but its up too u...hope this helped :D

edit: also the door hinges can be changed sides for ur liking and it is toolless plus a removeable harddrive bay for easy installation...this would hlep u a lot since it is ur first build...:D


i suggested this because i think that u will like the looks and it will keep u happier then u would be with a aspire case

(\__/)
(^.^)
(") (")

happy trails....(sry i had to say that :D)
 
Alright, so I'll have everything that I listed in my last post, except I'll replace the X-Navigator with the thermaltake one. Sounds good! :D
 
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