First time building Desktop and I need help

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barman09

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#37194 8-Jul-2009 22:54

As you can tell, this is my first post on this forum- because i Joined becuase i basically am in desperate need of help.

I was talking to my dad about building a computer, and he said it was ok as long as I got a whole bunch of data- options for each part, prices etc etc. However, while I know a decent amount about running computers, I have very little knowledge about making them.

I am basically looking for some help to make a mid-price computer, with a decent graphics card, suitable for mid-to high level games, but not top games (such as Crysis etc). Any help I could be given, relating to anything about building computers, would be awesome.

So...thanks in advance lol.

pebbles

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#232845 8-Jul-2009 23:54

What programs do you want to use on it? If you go for your best program you think you will use requirements and then just add a bit more on to them as a buffer thats a good way to get an initial idea of a machine.

Ragnor

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#232852 9-Jul-2009 00:51

Tons and tons of info on the net for system building..

http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/
http://www.tomshardware.com/theme-reviews-build-your-own,156-1.html
http://www.anandtech.com/guides/
http://www.overclockers.com.au/wiki/Gaming_Machine

barman09

38 posts

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#232872 9-Jul-2009 08:50

Firstly, thanks very much for all the help. I'm looking to use my computer for games mainly, but not TOP end games. I wouldn't know what the most demanding product I'll be trying to run is unfortunately. At the moment I'm struggling because of 2 things:

-What order do I look for my products in? Do I look for a casse that fits the motherboard? Or do I look for a motherboard that fits my case?

-For a lot of the products (Motherboard/Case primarily) I have no experience in what is good and what is bad.

xpd

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#232874 9-Jul-2009 09:07

Stick to mid-tower/full tower ATX cases - full tower cases tend to be very expensive tho.

Case brands like Coolermaster, Silverstone, Icute are well known and pretty good. Cheap no-name cases tend to be either very flimsy and/or have the PSU located in an odd position which can cause headaches when trying to fit your components in.

Motherboards, again stick to known brands such as Asus, Gigabyte, XFX etc.

Have a look at somehting like this - http://www.playtech.co.nz/product.php?action=showdetail&id=7743 - its a basic gaming box thats prebuilt - so you could either buy something like that to save the hassle of matching parts etc, or use their components listed as a base to build up your own. (note : that particular system is without screen/OS)

BTW: Do you have a budget in mind ?

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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barman09

38 posts

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#232908 9-Jul-2009 10:21

Umm I think my dad is giving me about $2200 (NZ $ of course) towards it, but if it goes over that then we can sit down and try and change it, or w/e. I'd say target is 2200 max is 2500.

And the reason we are building it is for a change lol. We've never built one before, and figured it would be more interesting to actually learn about what we are putting in, then figuring out how to build it, than clicking a few times and entering our credit card details at an online store.

xpd

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#232936 9-Jul-2009 11:12

Thats one heck of a beast you can build for that then :)

You could still order a pre packaged deal but just tell them you'll put it together yourself :)

If youve never put a PC together yourself before, highly recommend having someone who has, on hand just to go "nope, wrong socket/plug" - last thing you want to do is kill a component by accident (and it happens to the best of us :) )

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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barman09

38 posts

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#232954 9-Jul-2009 11:21

Hmm I dunno anyone who has built one before, though one of my friends I think has replaced some parts, if not built one himself. I'm a little stuck for cases in particular, because I have no idea at all what to buy. I' looking for something that looks decent, is quiet, but has enough cooling that if I overclock the graphics/processor it can still handle it...any suggestions? :]

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xpd

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#232961 9-Jul-2009 11:39

Sicen youve got a decent budget, looking at full towers like this is a good start :)
http://www.playtech.co.nz/category.php?action=show&id=169

Are you in Auckland ? If so, I highly suggest popping into somewhere like Playtech (Albany) or Computer Lounge (Auckland Central) and have a look at their gear and chat with them.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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barman09

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#232996 9-Jul-2009 13:24

Unfortunately I don't live in Auckland =[

I've been looking at the link you gave me, and they all seem to be rather expensive. What's a good price for a tower case? I don't need a massively fancy one, because I won't be doing a huge amount of overclocking, just if the computer is struggling, or if I need to run a resource-hungry program.

Aaroona

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#233016 9-Jul-2009 13:54

www.pricespy.co.nz - This website is your best friend for pricing.

pebbles

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#233042 9-Jul-2009 14:31

Where are ya located?

xpd

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#233076 9-Jul-2009 15:10

With the budget you have, you shouldnt need to overclock for anything ;)

If I was to go purchase a new case these days, Id personally budget about $250 inc 500W PSU. But that'd be a mid-tower case, Id love a full tower case but it does affect the budget a bit if trying to keep costs down.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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barman09

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#233087 9-Jul-2009 15:28

Aaroona- Don't worry, I've been using plenty of pricespy =P

Pebbles- I'm in Christchurch

Xpd- Is there much size difference between mid-tower case and full tower?

And if anyone is interested/wants to tell me how much of this won't be compatible with each other:

Intel Core 2 duo E8400 @ 3.00GHz

Not sure about graphics cards, price spy is saying a Nvidia GTX 280 is the same price is dual ATI 4870 1gb cards, can anyone confirm?

Really not sure about motherboard, but looking at a Intel? Desktop Board DX48BT2 for now.

I've just started my search for HDD/RAM, so haven't made any decisions there yet. IF someone clouse clarify for me: The motherboard says it supports DDR3 Ram...does that mean it ONLY supports DDR3 or can I use DDR2 on it as well? I probably didn't explain very well so heres the link: http://support.intel.com/Products/Desktop/Motherboards/DX48BT2/DX48BT2-overview.htm