Building a Computer

[rhockeyfan]

Ok I am planning on building a computer over the next year and I would like some ideas and help with picking out parts and such... I wanted a 26" monitor with HDMI since i do use blue ray and such everything else I would like to learn why parts are good what to look for and stuff like that. If you can help me that would be great and I will always like to know new stuff because I plan on continuing to add parts and such.
thanks

 

[eurocracy]

What games do you want to play on which settings and your budget?

 

[crackdaddy]

http://www.edgegamers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=169316

I threw up a little guide to help you decide, please take 10 minutes and read this.

 

[reflex99]

there is also another good guide here that goes a bit more in depth:

http://www.edgegamers.org/forums/showthread.php?t=165642

 

[Blue Stealth]

please keep the conversation civil guys. Stick with the OP's topic please.

-Blue

 

[Snipeye]

Rhockeyfan, I'll catch ya in vent or WoW, and we'll go over a build for ya together. You may also want to post what items you will be able to supply on your own, or reuse (OS, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc.) and what your budget is for this build.

 

[rhockeyfan]

Well What im looking at is a world of warcraft build but mainly anything for gaming. I mainly dont have a budget because I will be taking a long time building this comp and getting the parts I need because I want to know exactly why things are good or not... I will get parts as I go because this iteam isnt a must right now... Most of all this project is for my major I am a computer science major with a minor in gaming so I would like to be up to date on tech. Last I know over the summer all my paychecks and stuff will be going to this project so I am not sure how much I can gather up during the summer.

 

[pillar]

I would highly suggest reading into the guides so that they can give you an idea of where you wanna go.

For cpu's you have the Intel i5/i7 & the AMD Phenom II x4 & x6.
For memory, thats all based on the motherboard of your choice.
For the hard drive, do you just wanna get a sata drive or do you wanna add an SSD?
For video cards, are you gonna get 1 of AMD or nVidia or are you gonna get 2 & go either Crossfire or SLI?
For the power supply, we will ALWAYS suggest anything over 500w (thats just the minimum).

We always suggest that you checkout Newegg for their great selection of items. Be sure to make a wishlist of what you would like to get overtime & we will even help you edit the wishlist to make your future system the most hardcore system of your dreams.

 

[Ph?bus]

I would highly highly highly suggest not buying over a long time period. You'll be wasting money that way, and the longer the time period, the more you've wasted. Buy it all at once.

 

[crackdaddy]

I think I know what your doing.

You want to buy a little at a time, so you can spread the expense over a period of paychecks/time. It makes it a bit challenging but not a big problem, it's going to take a little planning and patience, I think the hardest part would be actually sitting there for 2 weeks looking at your case, wishing something was in it or a motherboard without a video card.
Keep in mind, pc parts lose value very quickly with some notable exceptions.
Cases and PSU prices stay pretty constant.

Memory/Mobo/Cpu's constantly flux as new hardware pushes older hardware prices down and they usually get cheaperr. So you should buy that last with the intent to use it almost immediately.

If you have an old computer that you can canibilize parts off of, its much easier to do as it could mean you could start using the new pc before you get all your new parts, by recyclying the drives, media, the video card, pci cards, etc.

You can easily start with finding a $50 case you like, and a quality PSU. Corsair, Antec, Seasonic, etc. AT least 500 watts, 650 probably better, since your going to be a power user. Do not buy a cheap $20 case. Spend at least $40, NZXT and ANTEC and Cooler Master all have decent mid towers that start in that range. (and a bunch of others, but Antec and NZXT are my favorites for their value)

One thing, before you buy that PSU, you need to decide if your going with one video card or two and factor that in.

Without knowing your budget, it's difficult to give real suggestions, but from the little you've said, you'll probably be happier looking at i5 platform to get the most performance from WoW and compiling code, its more expensive than an AMD platform chip, but considering your gaming preferences and other factors, it's probably the best bet, but then again, it depends on if your spending $600 or $1600

I will be taking a long time building this comp and getting the parts I need because I want to know exactly why things are good or not..

Read both these guides then. You'll glean very valuable information from both.