I'm building a pc and need a little help. i would like it if i can get some responses on good items with the specs i tell you guys and about how much each piece would cost. i've been looking at newegg for some time and some products i want range from 250 to 400 dollars. im not a genious with the technical stuff but i know well enough and just need help picking out what i need exactly w/o overspending. 1st of all i want a p4 processor about 3.2 or 3.4. Whatever is better for my money but still a higher end chip. i dont want the very best in anything im getting but i want as above avg as i can get w/o spending ridiculous amounts. my budget is about $2,000 but if i can get under that its even better. Next item is the motherboard. i like to stick with what i know or have already and i would like to go with an intel motherboard with ddr2 support, 4gb max mem, hyperthreading and agp slot. i believe the ddr2 mem is the newest mem out so i want the newest in that. and my next item is the memory. is there much difference in speed and cost between 4200, 5400, and 6200 ddr2? and also if i get 1 of these higher speeds is it worth it gettting all 4gb memory chips or is like 2gb well more than enough? next is the hd which i'd like to get as 400gb for storage unless there is mor gb i can get. the cooling system is something im not to familiar wwith. i heard they have liquid cooling systems for $150 or so. are they any good or is a reg fan 1 for $50 good enough. video card i would like at least 256mb card with 1 of the best graphics i can get for my money. sound card i really dont need i have extra ones for that. thanx again for all that help i appreciate it.
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Building a pc, know some specs need a little help
- Thread starter Antcomp
- Start date
- Thread starter
- #2
On the power supply, I would suggest that you buy that separate, it being the singlemost important item you are going to buy! Newegg has some decent ones starting around $43 to $50. Some cheaper units advertise even 600 watts but they cheat, so buy a brand name, antec, enermax,etc. Around 450 watts should do, more is better if you get a good brand name, i prefer enermax myself. After that any case you like would be ok, you can often get them without power supply but you can always sell the cheap, junky one you sometimes get with the case you want!
Can i strongly suggest you also consider a UPS in your budget? They go cheap these days, all you need is the cheapest. The only difference in price is how long your computer can run in a power outtage. The UPS isnt really so much for a power outtage, but because our power grids and such werent built for computers and a UPS will clean and condition the power from the wall outlet and also protect your computer and components from those power outtages and power surges that only take a blink of the eye to destroy your computer, parts, and data! There shouldnt be anyone here to argue that you dont need one. Just because you dont hear much about they dont discount the value of a UPS. I didnt know better when i started and i have paid the price. I could tell you stories, instead i just hope you believe me.
Can i also suggest that unless you really need 400 gigs all in one drive that you separate it into a few hard drives, one for data, another for storage, and another for backup. A few ide or sata drives and perhaps a usb\firewire box and hard drive to go into it would be better than one huge hard drive, in my opinion.
Something like a couple 150 mb h drives in ide or sata, and a 150 mb or a bit larger for your usb\firewire drive.
It depends on the price point, get as much as you can for the lowest price, just separate them instead of one huge drive is better.
The rest i will leave to someone else.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
Can i strongly suggest you also consider a UPS in your budget? They go cheap these days, all you need is the cheapest. The only difference in price is how long your computer can run in a power outtage. The UPS isnt really so much for a power outtage, but because our power grids and such werent built for computers and a UPS will clean and condition the power from the wall outlet and also protect your computer and components from those power outtages and power surges that only take a blink of the eye to destroy your computer, parts, and data! There shouldnt be anyone here to argue that you dont need one. Just because you dont hear much about they dont discount the value of a UPS. I didnt know better when i started and i have paid the price. I could tell you stories, instead i just hope you believe me.
Can i also suggest that unless you really need 400 gigs all in one drive that you separate it into a few hard drives, one for data, another for storage, and another for backup. A few ide or sata drives and perhaps a usb\firewire box and hard drive to go into it would be better than one huge hard drive, in my opinion.
Something like a couple 150 mb h drives in ide or sata, and a 150 mb or a bit larger for your usb\firewire drive.
It depends on the price point, get as much as you can for the lowest price, just separate them instead of one huge drive is better.
The rest i will leave to someone else.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
- Thread starter
- #4
Actually, at newegg, you can sort the mobos (motherboards) by brand, chipsets, etc, so you can plug intel in there, and then whatever else you want to come up with a few mobo choices.
Most mobos today take ddram, so you can use what you have, but a minimum of 512 mg is suggested for win xp and i dont know what size you have on hand, but its likely on the low end in many ways. On the other hand I personally dont suggest you go over a gig total ram, you sure dont need 2,3 or 4 gigs, thats reserved for the ultra rich and some servers, lol. Most of us do quite well with 256, 512 or a gig. I am running 512 mb myself and thats plenty for me. Could be that heavy gaming, which i dont do, may use more ram.
Others will come along and help out with the rest, especially video where im not up on! And video can be tricky, i have heard where some 128 mb vid cards are better than some 256 mb vid cards, so we need a gamer here to help with that, or someone with the right info for you. That will come!
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
Most mobos today take ddram, so you can use what you have, but a minimum of 512 mg is suggested for win xp and i dont know what size you have on hand, but its likely on the low end in many ways. On the other hand I personally dont suggest you go over a gig total ram, you sure dont need 2,3 or 4 gigs, thats reserved for the ultra rich and some servers, lol. Most of us do quite well with 256, 512 or a gig. I am running 512 mb myself and thats plenty for me. Could be that heavy gaming, which i dont do, may use more ram.
Others will come along and help out with the rest, especially video where im not up on! And video can be tricky, i have heard where some 128 mb vid cards are better than some 256 mb vid cards, so we need a gamer here to help with that, or someone with the right info for you. That will come!
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
With the P4 Processors and motherboards in the range you are looking at, the Processors come in different models for Socket T and the older socket 478. You have to make sure you dont get them mixed up or the socket on the motherboard and the socket on the processor will not match up.
The older 478 Socket 800Mhz FSB Northwood processors have a 1.3nm die process and a smaller cache size. There are aldso some 478 socket 800Mhz FSB Presocott processors that are made on the 90nm die process.
Then there are Socket T Processors that are 90nm die process.
Sometimes the Socket T Processors are cheaper. They may run slightly hotter and require better cooling. The faster the socket T the better the cooling you need.
By selecting the correct motherboard you can keep costs down. Some of these socket T Motherobards are expensive. Also some of the motherboards may have PCI Express slots for the video cards and some have the AGP Sockets for the video card. PCI may be better if you need a new video card.
Some of the motherobards also use DDRII RAM, but that makes them more expensive and the DDRII RAM is more expensive but the benefit is not very good for performance.
A socket T motherboard might be easier to sell.
If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.
The older 478 Socket 800Mhz FSB Northwood processors have a 1.3nm die process and a smaller cache size. There are aldso some 478 socket 800Mhz FSB Presocott processors that are made on the 90nm die process.
Then there are Socket T Processors that are 90nm die process.
Sometimes the Socket T Processors are cheaper. They may run slightly hotter and require better cooling. The faster the socket T the better the cooling you need.
By selecting the correct motherboard you can keep costs down. Some of these socket T Motherobards are expensive. Also some of the motherboards may have PCI Express slots for the video cards and some have the AGP Sockets for the video card. PCI may be better if you need a new video card.
Some of the motherobards also use DDRII RAM, but that makes them more expensive and the DDRII RAM is more expensive but the benefit is not very good for performance.
A socket T motherboard might be easier to sell.
If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.
- Thread starter
- #7
i was thinking on getting the new ddr2 memory with the new mobo b/c i have to $ to spend but you said the performance diff isnt much but would it be wise to go with the new memory b/c its suppose to be faster and will be the new limit to pass?
When you have picked our your mobo, contact support at newegg and have them reccommend some ram and cpu. They are pretty honest and know their stuff, thats another reason a lot of people shop at newegg, along with their low prices!
You can let us know what they have to say and we can just make sure its all good for you!
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
You can let us know what they have to say and we can just make sure its all good for you!
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
- Thread starter
- #9
ok ive narrowed a few things down from my last post and only new some help on a few issues.
1st is the processor which i see they have intel presscot 4 and intel extreme 4. can someone help me on this issue and what would be advisible on me going with. in my comp now i have a 2.6 p4 and its runs pretty well. my next comp is gonna be more higher end so i was thinking 3.2 or 3.4
2nd is the memory. im going with ddr2 but i'd like to know which number ddr2 is reccomeneded and how much i should get. i have 1gb ddr crucial mem in my comp now and am pretty satisfied but i think it can be increased so i was thinking maybe like 2gb mem ddr2 for my second project it being more higher end.
3rd is my hd. i've heard they have hd that run at 15,000 rpm and 10,000 rpm as opposed the the norm 7200rpm. i already have a 250gb wd 7200rpm as storage. are the other speeds quite noticably faster with the os and other progs being the rpms are better? otherwise if i dont go that route i want a 400 gb hd. someone said that i should get two lower gb harddrive but then you need more ports on mobo and i just dont see the point unless something is unreliable like the big hds.
1st is the processor which i see they have intel presscot 4 and intel extreme 4. can someone help me on this issue and what would be advisible on me going with. in my comp now i have a 2.6 p4 and its runs pretty well. my next comp is gonna be more higher end so i was thinking 3.2 or 3.4
2nd is the memory. im going with ddr2 but i'd like to know which number ddr2 is reccomeneded and how much i should get. i have 1gb ddr crucial mem in my comp now and am pretty satisfied but i think it can be increased so i was thinking maybe like 2gb mem ddr2 for my second project it being more higher end.
3rd is my hd. i've heard they have hd that run at 15,000 rpm and 10,000 rpm as opposed the the norm 7200rpm. i already have a 250gb wd 7200rpm as storage. are the other speeds quite noticably faster with the os and other progs being the rpms are better? otherwise if i dont go that route i want a 400 gb hd. someone said that i should get two lower gb harddrive but then you need more ports on mobo and i just dont see the point unless something is unreliable like the big hds.
I'm the one that suggested you go with more than one hard drive and i still suggest it.
The reason is that hard drives fail! I have heard, right here at tektips of hard drives failing in the first few weeks. Sure, they are covered by warranty but the data isnt and we all know how expensive it is to retrieve. So why put yourself in that position when you dont have to?
Again, i suggest your get at least 2 hard drives, although i personally would use 3. One hard drive should be used for backup. You could put your os and data on one drive and use a second drive for backup. You could use only one drive if you back up to cdrw or dvdrw, but its so much easier with a second hard drive. I dont see a need for a 400 gig hard drive for os and data storage, so thats why i was suggesting you use smaller hard drives but have more than one!
Now if you are doing heavy duty video editing or something that used up that kind of space, that would be different. But i would still sugggest you use at least two hard drives.
But, hey, its your system, i am only making suggestions on what i think i know. And leaving what i dont know to others!
Good luck on your new system, its gonna be a killer whichever way you go.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
The reason is that hard drives fail! I have heard, right here at tektips of hard drives failing in the first few weeks. Sure, they are covered by warranty but the data isnt and we all know how expensive it is to retrieve. So why put yourself in that position when you dont have to?
Again, i suggest your get at least 2 hard drives, although i personally would use 3. One hard drive should be used for backup. You could put your os and data on one drive and use a second drive for backup. You could use only one drive if you back up to cdrw or dvdrw, but its so much easier with a second hard drive. I dont see a need for a 400 gig hard drive for os and data storage, so thats why i was suggesting you use smaller hard drives but have more than one!
Now if you are doing heavy duty video editing or something that used up that kind of space, that would be different. But i would still sugggest you use at least two hard drives.
But, hey, its your system, i am only making suggestions on what i think i know. And leaving what i dont know to others!
Good luck on your new system, its gonna be a killer whichever way you go.
Good advice + great people = tek-tips
DragonQ0105
Technical User
Use this to find out what Wattage you're gonna need:
If you ever lose this link, just type in "Power Calculator" (without quotes) into Google...it's the 2nd link down.
If you ever lose this link, just type in "Power Calculator" (without quotes) into Google...it's the 2nd link down.
- Thread starter
- #12
well the thing is i already have a 250gb hd that my os will be operating on and wanted anotehr one for storage so that would already give me two. the thing about the hd is that i was looking into the 10,000rpm and 15,000 rpm and was wondering if there is a huge performance boost with an os on 1 like that or if it just isnt worth the money right now?
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