Topic: how do i build a pc

[white fly]

ok , im using my dads pc to come on pc pals and use the net and so on , but my dad needs it for his work so i have decided to start from scratch , i thought to my self , should i get a notebook or build my own pc , but in he end ( to get more experience and financialy more rewarding )
i have decided to go for pc option but i need to know what basic parts i will need .
i would like it to have decent graphics , good sound card and over all a fast system
i need help !!


                 thanks
                           White Fly  8)

[TR]

ok , im using my dads pc to come on pc pals and use the net and so on , but my dad needs it for his work so i have decided to start from scratch , i thought to my self , should i get a notebook or build my own pc , but in he end ( to get more experience and financialy more rewarding )
i have decided to go for pc option but i need to know what basic parts i will need .
i would like it to have decent graphics , good sound card and over all a fast system
 i need help !!


                 thanks
                           White Fly  8)

For anybody that had trouble reading the post  

[Simon]

What's your budget, WF?  Don't be under the mis-apprehension that it will be cheaper to build your own, as that is often not the case.  What you will gain, however, is the experience, the knowledge, and the pride of making your own PC, knowing what's inside it, and knowing it's not mass produced cr@p.  

[Clive]

Much appreciated Hook!  

[white fly]

sorry about the writing everyone ,  

simon , my budget is about £250 - £300 . i could always make a very basic one with that much couldnt i ?
and then upgrade later on  

[Sandra]

You could cut costs by getting a mobo that has integrated sound and graphics on board.
If the graphics and sound werent up to what you really want or need then you could upgrade both later but some of the onboard sounds are very good these days with 6.1 sound or even more  

[Simon]

I would be surprised if you were able to stick to a maximum budget of £300, WF, but as Sandra said you'd have to be looking at onboard GFX and sound to cut costs.  Onboard sound isn't a problem, but make sure you get a mobo with an AGP slot, so you can upgrade the GFX at a later stage.  I can practically guarantee you will want to, as most budget boards don't carry 'gamers' GFX.

Don't forget, it's the bits you don't think of which bump up the costs, such as Case, Fans (CPU and Case), Leads, Modem, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, and what about a Monitor?  You're talking about £70 for a budget CRT, which is going to knock quite a hole in your £300.  Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear, but being realistic, to start from absolute zero, you've got to be looking for a minimum budget of about £500.

Have a look at some online retailers, and build yourself a shopping cart in each, to compare costs.  If you're going to buy online, it pays to get most of the stuff from one or two retailers, so as to avoid extra shipping costs.  Some of the cheapest I have found are Watford Electronics, Redstore, Novatech, CCL, and Dabs.

[Tony]

With that budget I'd go this route,  

AMD XP 2500+ Barton with cooler
Sparkle 128MB GeForce FX5200 8XAGP Graphics
512MB DDR PC3200 400Mhz  Memory

From http://www.cclcomputers.biz/acatalog/ cost delivered £165.11

Motherboard AsRock K7S8XE

Fromhttp://www.dabs.com/uk/shopbybrand/GenericBrand/products.htm?catid=192&Family=2315 cost delivered £36.74

Sub Total £201.85

The above has got you good solid basics, and it will be fast , I know coz I built one to that same spec for a mate [only with 512MB 333Mhz memory]

Going the on board Graphics route means sharing your avaliable free memory, I'd rather not.

Right add Hard drive, RW-CD Drive,Case with PSU, Modem, floppy [if you want, but not essential] And A monitor if you must   oh and a OS if you have to  

Budgets are set, so you know how much your over spend was, to the penny  

Tony

PS: waddaya mean you need a keyboard/mouse and speakers, you beg steal or borrow them.In Army parlance it's called "living of the land"  

[Simon]

Well, assuming you're not going to steal the stuff, the additional items Tony mentioned have got to cost at least £250, and I haven't included a modem (if you have Broadband, you won't need a 56K), or a Floppy Disc.  That's another thing, how are you going to connect?  If you want broadband, there's another expense, although Pipex do a very good deal on a Starter Pack.

[Sandra]

He shouldnt need a modem Simon, all he needs is an ethernet card if his mobo hasnt an onboard connection and he can either share his dads using his dads pc as a gateway or he can get a router and then they can connect independantly of each other  

[white fly]

the phone isnt connected to my room  

[white fly]

the line only goes to my dads office not my room , where i want the pc , any ideas  

[Sandra]

How far is your dads office from the room that you will have your pc in ?
I assume that its in the same house.
Is it easy to run an ethernet cable from the office to your room ?
Thats the cheapest and simplest way.
The other way is to have a WAP (Wireless Application Point) to send to a wi fi pci card in your pc but that would be a bit more expensive  

[white fly]

thanks sandra , ill ask me dad , then i can start getting the case and components

[flame spark]

i know all the info was for WF but i'm building my own pc from scratch too and all this info is greatly apriceiated. thanks.