Building A PC

[Low Key]

How easy is it to build one? I've been reading some tech sites and the uber geek lingo confuses the hell out of me (i.e. overclocking & BIOS). All I really need a new computer for is downloading and burning music, plus maybe a little light game playing. Nothing too extravagant.

So here are a couple questions about system specs. Which is more important, the frequency in which a processor runs (1.86GHz - 3.0GHz) or the system bus it produces (533MHz - 1333MHz)? Since I tend to run a 500GB external hard drive simultaneously, would 1GB of RAM be appropriate? And lastly, what would be the optimal wattage I would need for a power supply?

Thanks in advance.

[Citizen-Y]

It's really easy to build one.  The higher the better for processors, so 3.0ghz > 1.86ghz, same with bus speed.  You get a slow bus speed you will bottleneck your pc, same with RAM.

Your 500gb external drive and your 1 gig of ram won't effect each other.  Try to get 2 gigs of ram.

[7even]

In this day and age, regular 1.86 GHz don't get sold anymore I think.. it's probably a dual core, which means twice as much shit

I just got a laptop

1,73 Dual Core
2048 RAM
160 GB

nigga runs smooth

[Low Key]

It's really easy to build one.  The higher the better for processors, so 3.0ghz > 1.86ghz, same with bus speed.  You get a slow bus speed you will bottleneck your pc, same with RAM.

Your 500gb external drive and your 1 gig of ram won't effect each other.  Try to get 2 gigs of ram.

Cool. Thanks for the help. Is there a barebone case that you would recommend? I looked at a few at webegg.com that had some potential but you obviously know what you are doing so I thought I'd ask.

[Low Key]

In this day and age, regular 1.86 GHz don't get sold anymore I think.. it's probably a dual core, which means twice as much shit

I just got a laptop

1,73 Dual Core
2048 RAM
160 GB

nigga runs smooth

No wonder my current computer runs slow as hell. I have a 1.1GHz Intel Celeron processor and I believe it's just a single core.

[T-Dogg]

In this day and age, regular 1.86 GHz don't get sold anymore I think.. it's probably a dual core, which means twice as much shit

I just got a laptop

1,73 Dual Core
2048 RAM
160 GB

nigga runs smooth

No wonder my current computer runs slow as hell. I have a 1.1GHz Intel Celeron processor and I believe it's just a single core.

They didn't have anything but single core processors when they made 1.1 Ghz Celerons. Damn, that processor is old as fuck and slow as hell by modern standards.

And what somebosy said about "dual core, twice the shit" - it isn't like that. Having two cores in a processor isn't the same as having two processors - so a dual-core 2,5 Ghz processor isn't twice as fast as a single-core 2,5 Ghz processor.



On topic:

On the powersupply wattage - something like 400 watts should be safe for a good while, unless you're going for a supa-dupa-gaming machine.

And since you're building a PC now, that means you'll get Vista, right? And if you're any smarter than a barrel full of monkeys, you'll get the home premium version(the home basic version just isn't good for anybody) - and that means: get enough RAM (2 gigs to be on the safe side) and a decent video card.

If you get confused by BIOS, too bad - you're gonna have to fuck with it when you build a PC, in the process of setting up your system, that is.

If you need audio (and if you get Vista) - you'll be off best getting a Creative X-Fi - series sound card. As far as I know they're the only ones that can produce multi-channel sound in Vista. Could be wrong about that though, but you definately need a "newer" sound card for Vista audio.

What else, what else...

Try not to get overwhelmed by all the screws and cords.

Make sure you release any static electricity (by touching a radiator, for example) charge you might have before fiddling with your fancy new computer parts. You might fry the circuits of something otherwise.

It's good to have a case that's fairly silent (or preferrably, REALLY silent). Nexus (www.nexustek.nl) makes good silent cases that come with silent power supplies as well. I've got one myself, but they're quite large and cost more than usual ones. If you're not planning on adding to your system later, they might have too much excess space.

What comes to mind last but not least, make you get a motherboard that suits your processor and the type of RAM that suits your motherboard.

If at any point you get overwhelmed - ask for advice OR have a computer shop build a suitable system for you OR get a pre-built system. (Although I've come to notice that pre-built systems often have some part that doesn't live up to the ones around it and causes a bottleneck - too little RAM, a bad video card or something like that. Plus you can't fiddle around in pre-built machines without voiding the warranty, which is basically shit 'cause you can't update yourself.)

[7even]

I'd still get a centrino dual core 1,73 over an old 3,5 ghz, cause it's the new style and things like Windows Vista and new generation games are optimized for it

[Low Key]

I might get Vista some day down the road, but just like the release of video game systems, there is always bugs to work out within the first 6 months to a year, so I'm probably just gonna get XP again.

I'm not completely computer illiterate, I just don't know the uber geek stuff. I've been using computer since I was 5 years old, so I have a a somewhat high understanding of what I need to do.

In terms of processors, I found a barebone case that supports an AMD dual-core 2+GHz, so I'll probably get a decent middle of the line one for now until I want to upgrade down the road. They are fairly inexpensive, so I can stand to spend the $50-$75 now, then spend a little more later on.

[Citizen-Y]

It's really easy to build one.  The higher the better for processors, so 3.0ghz > 1.86ghz, same with bus speed.  You get a slow bus speed you will bottleneck your pc, same with RAM.

Your 500gb external drive and your 1 gig of ram won't effect each other.  Try to get 2 gigs of ram.

Cool. Thanks for the help. Is there a barebone case that you would recommend? I looked at a few at webegg.com that had some potential but you obviously know what you are doing so I thought I'd ask.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129155
I got it, it's quiet as fuck. 

[Low Key]

It's really easy to build one.  The higher the better for processors, so 3.0ghz > 1.86ghz, same with bus speed.  You get a slow bus speed you will bottleneck your pc, same with RAM.

Your 500gb external drive and your 1 gig of ram won't effect each other.  Try to get 2 gigs of ram.

Cool. Thanks for the help. Is there a barebone case that you would recommend? I looked at a few at webegg.com that had some potential but you obviously know what you are doing so I thought I'd ask.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129155
I got it, it's quiet as fuck. 

Nice! I haven't seen a PC with a lock since the early 90s. haha

How many RAM slots does it have? I checked the specs and didn't see any info. It is $75 cheaper than the one I was looking at though. Here's the one I was considering. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110061

[Citizen-Y]

It's really easy to build one.  The higher the better for processors, so 3.0ghz > 1.86ghz, same with bus speed.  You get a slow bus speed you will bottleneck your pc, same with RAM.

Your 500gb external drive and your 1 gig of ram won't effect each other.  Try to get 2 gigs of ram.

Cool. Thanks for the help. Is there a barebone case that you would recommend? I looked at a few at webegg.com that had some potential but you obviously know what you are doing so I thought I'd ask.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129155
I got it, it's quiet as fuck. 

Nice! I haven't seen a PC with a lock since the early 90s. haha

How many RAM slots does it have? I checked the specs and didn't see any info. It is $75 cheaper than the one I was looking at though. Here's the one I was considering. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110061

You are getting a packaged deal with that.  The case I gave you a link for is just the case, you choose the motherboard, processor, vid card, ram, etc.

[T-Dogg]

It's really easy to build one.  The higher the better for processors, so 3.0ghz > 1.86ghz, same with bus speed.  You get a slow bus speed you will bottleneck your pc, same with RAM.

Your 500gb external drive and your 1 gig of ram won't effect each other.  Try to get 2 gigs of ram.

Cool. Thanks for the help. Is there a barebone case that you would recommend? I looked at a few at webegg.com that had some potential but you obviously know what you are doing so I thought I'd ask.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129155
I got it, it's quiet as fuck. 

Nice! I haven't seen a PC with a lock since the early 90s. haha

How many RAM slots does it have? I checked the specs and didn't see any info. It is $75 cheaper than the one I was looking at though. Here's the one I was considering. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110061

Just to clarify the post above - cases don't have slots for RAM, motherboards do. The motherboard dictates what and how many parts you can install to your system.

[Bramsterdam (see ya)]

Get the motherboard I did, its a good one.

Asus P5NSLI ATX 775 Conroe Nforce 570

[Low Key]

It's really easy to build one.  The higher the better for processors, so 3.0ghz > 1.86ghz, same with bus speed.  You get a slow bus speed you will bottleneck your pc, same with RAM.

Your 500gb external drive and your 1 gig of ram won't effect each other.  Try to get 2 gigs of ram.

Cool. Thanks for the help. Is there a barebone case that you would recommend? I looked at a few at webegg.com that had some potential but you obviously know what you are doing so I thought I'd ask.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129155
I got it, it's quiet as fuck. 

Nice! I haven't seen a PC with a lock since the early 90s. haha

How many RAM slots does it have? I checked the specs and didn't see any info. It is $75 cheaper than the one I was looking at though. Here's the one I was considering. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856110061

Just to clarify the post above - cases don't have slots for RAM, motherboards do. The motherboard dictates what and how many parts you can install to your system.

Is soldering involved if I buy a motherboard separately? I could do it if I had to, but I would prefer to not.

[Jip]

no soldering involved,

you buy the motherboard, put your cpu in, then your ram then place it into the case and put the screws in

the case will come with a bag of screws and bolts

there are some that you use for mounting the motherboard, you place these into the case first and then rest your motherboard onto of these and then screw into it