Need some advice everyone. Gonna build a PC from scratch this time and need some advice as to component selection. I have 2 PC's already to use as a foundation but do not know which, if either to use. One is my current Dell regular 4300 series tower and the other is an older Gateway Mini/Micro tower. Just want to use the case and power supply to save money and build from there..."IF" this is possible. So...I need advice as to motherboard/processor selection and so on. I'm ok with graphics/HD/DVD selection but I'm in unchartered waters when it comes to what I need in terms of MB/sound/processor combo. I want to shop on eBay so I need to know brands, etc. Whatever you can tell me will help.
Cheapest prices on components that I've found. Just beware, I've had problems with their memory sticks and a couple people I know have had problems traced back to TigerDirect's memory. Other than those problems, great stuff. They just had a sale, mid tower case and 300 watt power supply, $19.95. Check them out!
I tried to upgrade from a Pentium3 to a Pentium4 Main board, and had to change the Power supply as well. There were some connectors missing on the other supply.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you must have other supply for P4 than for P3. It was not just me who had bad luck? This was for Intel processors, I don't know how it is with AMD and others..
The power supply I bought also had the wrong dimensions. Had to make modifications to the tower with an angle grinder. So watch out for that too.
As a rule of thumb, I never use a "brand name" PC as a platform for a custom build. You never know what kind of non-standard things you will run into in there! You can get new cases for as little as $7. Anyhow, that aside, check out
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I have dealt with them and they are very fast shippers and very Very competitive on pricing!
Make sure you get a good sound card (i.e., SoundBlaster Audigy 2, 5.1 channel) there are a few more out there. Also video card, preferably with TV out. An ATI Radeon 9700 Pro or 9800 Pro will touch things up. You can do research & buy memory from
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They can tell you which memory to buy for your motherboard.
Dell is known for changing the pin outs going from the power supply to the mobo. I would just get a new case. The early P4 boards had to have a specific power supply with an extra "special plug", but most descent board you will find have that special plug, plus a regular plug "like the one that goes to your cd rom" on the board also incase you do not have that power supply. I would go as fast as possible as the prices are so cheap right now, I am partial to Tyan boards, but some like Asus, Abit, etc. etc... I would stay away from Gigabyte boards as they are crap and like to burn up while you are vacationing in Vegas :) Check
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as Ihave found that they are the cheapest for just about anything related tocomputers. And BUY GOOD RAM! That cannot be stressed enough.http://www.crucial.com cannot go wrong there. Go with Samsung if possible.Crappy untested generic ram is the main reason for your computer to crash.I have built many computers, but to tell you the truth, you cannot go wrongwith a dell. They are so cheap now, you really cannot build a comparablecomputer for the price. Check out
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and
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for special bargains and coupon codes for Dellcomputers. I have bought probably 10 computers from them in the last 2months for my company, and you just can't go wrong. They do load a bunch ofuseless crap on it before they send it to you so I recommend a completeformat/reinstall as soon as you get it (will make it at least twice asfast).
Gigabyte boards, bad? Since when? According to a few local shops that no longer sell Giga-Byte boards for politcal reasons, Giga-byte has the lowest return rate among all of the manufactures...
I agree with you about Dell...good cheap computers, my wife has two, but thier tech support sucks...I personally build all my machines, but I would recommend a dell.
We'll I went to Vegas last weekend and when I got back the Gigabyte board had decided that it was going to catch on fire while I was gone. That is why I say they are crap, and talk about tech support, you cannot even get those people (gigabyte) to respond to e-mails. Keep in mind that all of my computers are on UPS's and in a room that is at least 68% at all times. I do not use cheap power supply's or cheap components, so there is no reason that board should have caught fire, which leads me to believe that it is due to cheap parts, and sloppy construction.
Boards themselves do not burn. Either you had a bad power supply, which happens to any power supply, good or bad. A faulty power supply is the #1 item to fail on a PC.
Other than that, the processor itself may have overheated, especially is you were over clocking. However, boards alone do not burn. Something else causes it.
Gigabytes are not crap. If you need support, you should not be building your own PC's. That is why 'name brand' PC's cost so much as you are paying for their phone support.
Do you have any idea how many PC's burn every day?? Just because your one board burned up, you now think that everything single gigabyte board made is crap??
I concur, I have never seen any board catch fire...Outside conditions, chips, boards, lightning, power surges, etc are what causes mobo's to go...I have used Giga-Byte boards for many years, and have never had any problem with any of them...On the other hand, I have had alot of problems with a few Biostar boards, but that doesnt make Biostar a bad company...I probably got a few bad boards from them...and I would still purchase a Biostar board if needed.
Can you give me some ideas on what you want to use the computer for? Gateway is going to be releasing a $399 model dubbed the Gateway 310,
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this is by far one of thecheapest solutions, but probably not the best... Just let me know what you want the computer for and I will help out in anyway possible.
Tiger direct has SOME low prices, you'll never find all the best prices at the same place. Pricewatch is goo, tcwo.com and newegg.com have good prices, aaronix is good, but they have had some customer relations problems in the past, though my order went fine and I've only ordered from them once. I usually avoid most Yahoo stores, but there are some that have been around for a good while, Xoxide.com is one.
I just finished building up my first PC from scratch, just need to install XP. Booted into BIOS to tweak the settings, and was relieved to see no smoke. (whew!) Got to admit to being a bit nervous on the first power up.
Get an idea what you want to do with the PC first, then you can gear up for your purpose. Several good vendors have been mentioned, I got some stuff local from Circuit City and BestBuy (watch for the sales/rebates). Got a WD80 Gig HD w/8MB cache for $80 after rebates. You could probably get one cheaper now if you watch the ads. Also went through
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for MoBo (Asus P4PE), Processor (P42.4GHz, 533Mhz FSB), OS, front panel connectors, and other stuff. I was very pleased with their prices and service. Don't go wild on a graphics card unless you're into video editing or gaming. I got an MSI GeForce4200 w/64MB (I forget how much or where from ). Any mid-range GeForce or ATI card will serve your purposes well unless you have specific needs. Others have said not to scrimp on memory and I cannot agree more. I got 512MB of Corsair XMS; not cheap, but this is not where you want your weak link. Many MoBo's come w/on-board sound, usually it's OK unless you're gaming or doing other heavy audio work. Some are better than others, so be aware, red the reviews. I'm going with my on-board sound for now, leaving the door open for an Audigy card when I have some extra scratch. I put in a DVD-ROM drive and will be transplanting my CD-RW from my current PC when I pass it down to my 7 year old son. New DVD drives can be had for $50 and a CD-RW for well under $100. Even DVD writable drives (RAM, +R, +RW, -R, -RW) are getting cheaper, just too many formats for me. I'm waiting until the dust clears and there is a dominant format that works well. Lots of people are skipping the floppy drives these days, but I say why when you can get one for $15 new, and it has its own MoBo connection?
One review site I found to be extremely helpful was
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Clear, in-depth reviews of lots of great gear. There are other review sites that also do a good job, just look around for them.
Just remember to build to your purpose, it's the most cost-effective way to do a PC. One last bit of advice, get a top-quality power supply, at least
300W, more if you expect to have lots of drives and peripherals. Antec, Enermax, PC Power and Cooling are a couple decent ones. You can re-use an old case (I'd go with the Dell case) but yank the old PS and drop in a new one.
e-mail me if you want any more info on my setup or have any other stuff to ask.
I ended up going with a bare bones system from a reputable seller on eBay. Consists of the ASUS a7n8x MB with the Anthlon XP 2500 CPU. Has a 400w PS and nice mid tower case with all kinds of wild neon (?) stuff for 299.00. After pricing stuff separately, I felt this was a pretty good start for the money. I'll just go from there graphincs/HD/Memory-wise.
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