Help me build a new computer!

Off-topic
1

Okay, so with 9 days left before I leave for college, my frustrations with my 901 mhz computer I bought back in 8th grade have come to a climax. I definitely don’t want to put of the money to buy a whole new system. I decided it would be a good idea to build a new system using parts from this one.

Although, I think I may start with a new case.

The area I really need advice in is the motherboard/ processor. After researching a bit last night, I have a couple things in mind. Here’s what I got:

CASE: http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=BLU-CP702-3&sourceid=qIZcQx4xNzx-AkqBXoRz&cm_ven=CJ&cm_pla=0038437214&cm_ite=redirect&sourceid=qIrAQx4GowhPAkqBXo1a&cm_ven=CJ&cm_pla=0038437214&cm_ite=redirect&cpc=SCH&srm=0

Primary HDD:
http://shop1.outpost.com/product/4008252

Possible Motherboards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123236
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813136152R

Possible Processors:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537

I have a dvd-rw and dvd-rom form the disk drives.
I can use my current video card, I think it’s a Geforce 2.
For a secondary HDD, I can use my current 200 GB slave
I’ll use my current monitor as well.

What else do I need for a full system? RAM and floppy drive?

I noticed some motherboards have an AGP slot, some don’t. Is it possible that my video card is AGP? Then I guess I would have to make sure my motherboard had that…

Please give me advice if you can, other ideas, or just plain comments. I am really unknowledgable on motherboards and processors - so please help there if anything.

Thanks so much!

Later,

Jess

2

Re: Help me build a new computer!

Go with the Epox mobo and the AMD athlon 3000+. the 1GHz fsb will be very noticeable.

a 200GB Slave? a whole lot of porn, baha.

yeah, i think the Geforce2 is AGP, and just about every relatively new mobo will have AGP 8x or PCI Express.

EDIT: Oh yeah, and a new case would have the least impact on performance but +5 cool factor.

3

The case has the biggest impact on how quiet it is though, since it comes with a PSU, cooling fans and muffling components (such as a cover for the CD/dvd area). Remember that you will be in the same room as it quite often so if you leave it on most the time, the sound level might get to be annoying.

That hard drive is decent and one of the most quiet 3.5" ones available, but it is a bit slower than others. I have one of them in my computer… and some of the 160 gb sata ones too.

Is your current video card agp? Neither of those MB have an agp slot. If it’s PCI, you’ll be fine. I don’t know specifically on each of those MBs… I’ve good luck with asus MBs and have stuck with those.

4

I’ll be damned …

I had a ‘price watch’ on the Venice for over a month now …
(at Newegg)

It was sitting at $118 the entire time …

Now it’s 146 …?

Screw that !

Use www.pricewatch.com

Or … www.anandtech.com

for the cheapest price…

Seems they also discontinued the MB I was watch’n too …

:frowning:

5

wow … I have no idea what happened here …

the Venice has jumped in price across the board …

wtf

It was available for 114 just 2 weeks ago …

6

Jess,

Are you sure you wouldn’t do better to order a bare-bones Dell or similar for $399, then adding a lot of your existing hardware? Sounds like you’re about to spend more, and end up with a system that may not have much room for upgrading left in the future.

You probably don’t want to start with the lowest-end setup; rather something with the right motherboard and CPU that’s open for adding and upgrading.

Brought to you by the owner (at work) of a new Dell Optiplex GX620, which was a long time coming! Yaay! Windows XP! Ability to run lots of programs without super-sluggishness!

At home I’m all Mac now.

I’d sell you my outgoing home PC, but I think your old one had it beat. It’s going to my nephew.

7

If yer running Windows '98 right now, keep it… fewer virues. My gf’s been running a 900Mhz Win '98 system for 5, 6 years now… :wink:

8

I would also recomend ASUS motherboards. I always use them when building computers, and have never had any problems, but some of my friends have had problems with other brands. Always go with a good company, even if it isn’t quite the fastest, at least it will work. :slight_smile:

9

Don’t get a Dell. Too much proprietary stuff in them. They’re not a generic PC.

You can get a bare bones PC from lots of local shops and even some large stores like Fry’s. You can get a bare bones system that is just the case, power supply, motherboard, and processor. You can add the rest of the stuff on your own. The advantage to getting a bare bones system is that it will be tested so you know it will work. It’s easier and you don’t have to worry about figuring out how to install a motherboard correctly.

10

maybe www.cyberpowerpc.com has something that would interest you?

11

I built a box a couple weeks ago with the 3200 Venice, and I love it. Probably not your thing, but the Venice architecture has incredible over clocking capabilities if you ever decide to experiment with that. I’ve already OCd mine from 2 GHz to 2.4 on stock cooling, and it doesn’t even break a sweat.

As far as hard drives go, why not go with an SATA interface since those motherboards support it?

12

Thanks for the help guys. Today I went to Fry Electronics to look at motherboards/processors and barebone systems. I found out that every Friday they have a Mobo/Processor combo deal. They said it’s usually about $170 for both. I’m going to check the Fry’s ad tomorrow in the paper to see if it worth it.

Later,

Jess

13

Alright, so I bought the Motherboard/Processor combo last Friday morning. Here’s what I got:

-AMD Athlon 64 Processor 3200+ (no fan/heatsink)
-ECS nForce3-A Motherboard

price: $172 (after tax)

I was going to buy a case and cpu fan but the case that I wanted was out of stock and I knew I could get better deals online anyway.

I quickly put together an order on newegg.com:

($37.99 after $15 instant savings) Rosewill R114A-BLK 2-Tone Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case Rosewill 400W ATX with P4 support Power Supply - Retail
Item #: N82E16811147006

(Free with case - some newegg combo deal thingy) ROSEWILL RM800P Black 3 Buttons 1x Wheel PS/2 Optical Mouse - OEM
Item #: N82E16826193001

($19.99) LITE-ON Black IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model SOHD-16P9SBLK - Retail
Item #: N82E16827131410

($13.49) ARCTIC COOLING ACS64U 90mm Cooling Fan/Heatsink - Retail
Item #: N82E16835185110

($20.79) Rosewill RX20L-64N Xabre 200 64MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - OEM
Item #: N82E16814164054R

I bought the video card to use in my current comp since I’ll be stealing the Geforce 2 out of it. I want it to still be a usable computer.

Subtotal with tax: $99

I wanted fast shipping so I did 2-day Fedex which cost $33.
I remember seeing a free Newegg shipping deal somewhere, so I found it and added the promo code. It didn’t work, but people on that forum said to call in and ask for a price change. After I placed my order I figured I’d give it a shot. Even though I had 2-day shipping, they subtracted what it would have cost to ship at the lowest price ($25). So in the end I got all that stuff shipped for $8!

Then today I bought a Hitachi 160GB SATA Hard Drive at compUSA for $40 (that’s after a $60 mail-in rebate) I’m pretty good at following up with the rebates so lets assume i get it.

As for RAM, I upgraded my sister’s nice Dell last year when she let me borrow her comp. I put in a stick of 512 DDR so I’ll use that in my machine.

So my total with shipping and tax should be:

$327.

I didn’t make it under $300 like I was hoping, but I think I got a lot of bang for buck. Maybe I’ll post photos of the finished baby when I build her up tomorrow.

Later,

Jess