Building your own box - Parts selection

[ratman3]

Hey guys,
As a few of you here know already I just got through building a box for myself and now would like to pass on the wisdom.

The FIRST thing that you MUST decide right off is what are you going to use the box for. This is going to play a key role in what parts you're going to select for your new baby. The next thing you must now do is finalise the combination. This is what is going to take the longest time as you should answer the following questions:

• Is the box going to be an Intel or AMD system?
• What processors will be used? Will it be a single, dual, or quad Processor box?
• What type of RAM and how much?
• What expansion cards will it have?
• How much power is it going to draw?
• How much cooling does it require?

Believe me....you are going to be spending ALOT of time on the web and calling vendors making sure the parts are going to work together....this is important though as it will save you from BIG HEADACHES later. I have had wonderful experiences with the following people:

Http://www.tigerdirect.com
http://www.tyan.com (mobo)
http://www.pcpowerandcooling.com (PSU/fans)
http://www.crucial.com (RAM)

Cooling will be a very important point. I'm going to do a whole other tut on box cooling and power but for now just visit Vic's Cooling and Noise tut in the Tutorial Index .

That's it for the moment

[Higher Talshiar]

Quad processor? i never knew there was such a thing what kind of mobo's do they use?

[ratman3]

Originally posted here by Higher Talshiar
Quad processor? i never knew there was such a thing what kind of mobo's do they use?

Http://www.tyan.com has one of those babies

[Terr]

Don't forget...

http://www.pricewatch.com

[(V)/\><]

What type of RAM and how much?
What expansion cards will it have?
How much power is it going to draw?
How much cooling does it require?

hello, i think that these questions become more irrelevant once you have answered what to processor you want. unless the order is not important. for example, if you go for a dual or quad, you are going to have a limited selection in the types of motherboards you can get and hence the type of RAM you can get (try get a quad Xeon with SDRAM and 6x100Mhz PCI and 8xAGP).
after you commit to amd or intel, you have to work out all of the above (ratman3's) questions simultaneously in relation to the motherboards available to you, and your pocket.
i didn't check the links, cause im not building a computer, but come on ratman3, you didn't even mention the word "motherboard".