Building a PC

@jinxy

Question:

Quote:

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I believe microsoft allow for it to be installed an two box's for home use. If you do run into activation problems activate it by phone

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Since When?

I know that My OEM's can only be installed on one (1) PC.. and the last Retail XP EULA I read mentioned one PC..

Have I missed a email from Misrocoft?

Cheers

Undies,

I will go with you on that one, all mine say one machine apart from the 2000 server, I must admit that my XP is about 3 years old though.

Cheers

Nihil, I bought the card overclocked. When I purchased it, from bestbuy, it said overclocked on the case.

WTerbo3

I reckon you will be OK then mate!.............your system will just think that it is a different card. I usually recommend not to overclock the video card unless you have the rest of the equipment to support it, as overclocking does reduce the life.

I also hold this view where you are transferring items or doing a major rebuild (MoBo & processor) because it will eliminate potential problems. Once you have it up and running stable, then you can do what you like.

I just like as few variables as possible at any one time :)

I guess that you have a "factory overclocked" card, which is way different from one that you have done yourself.

I would recommend that you invest the $5 or so in an exhaust fan............they take up one of the PCI slots (I would have mentioned ISA as well, but that would show my age :D ) and shift 40-50 cubic feet per minute out of the box...............if you are overclocking the videocard, it will run hot! but you did the right thing by getting a boxed version, as they will have replaced the heatsink & fan and used silver thermal compound.

Hey, don't get me wrong............I remember when the P4 2.26 first came out........so I got one, built a box and ran it at 3.066GHz for 24 hours....................I was risking frying $1200 worth of kit at the time, but I had broken the three gig barrier!!!...............it is still alive and well and running at a sedate 2.26 :) I have no problems with overclocking, just warning you that mistakes are not "habit forming"

Good luck

LOL I dont even know how to overclock. How's this look? I plan on getting the following for my computer:

ANTEC Performance Series II Mid Tower Case With 350W Power Supply, Model "SX835II" -RETAIL = $87 USD shipped.

MSI i865PE Chipset Motherboard for Intel Socket 478 CPU, Model "865PE Neo2-PFS (Platinum Edition)" -RETAIL = $87 USD shipped.

Intel Pentium 4/ 2.8C GHz 800MHz FSB, 512K Cache, Hyper Threading Technology - Retail = $178 USD shipped.

Crucial 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200 - OEM = $61 x2 = $122 USD shipped.

Western Digital Special Edition 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD800JB, OEM Drive Only = $70 USD shipped.

Lite-On Beige 52X32X52 CD-RW Drive, Model LTR-52327S BEIGE, OEM = $33.50 USD shipped.

Lite-On 52X CD-ROM, Model LTN-526, Retail = $21 USD shipped.

SONY Beige 1.44MB 3.5Inch Floppy Disk Drive, Model MPF920, OEM = $10.50 USD shipped.

Total = $609 USD.

Those parts are all from newegg. I can use my second monitor until money permits, and I might have to purchase windows XP home edition.

Or instead of the case there, I could get
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-026&depa=1

Great Case.. looks nicer than the first one i posted, and is cheaper

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-603&depa=1

And instead of getting a 52X CD-Rom, I should get a DVD.

WTerbo3

I had to go puke up in envy..............that lot would cost twice as much over here :(

Get a DVD and a CD RW drive, the DVD is probably only about $10 more.............I have used quite a lot of "LITEON" kit with no problems, so I would go with that.

Western Digital are reasonable drives.........particularly if they are still doing the three year guarantee. My favourites are "deskstars"

I would watch that case though.............I would be happier with 400 or 420 watts power supply, but you should be OK, as I have built plenty of boxes with 350. Fans are a consideration as well, I am not exactly overjoyed by ones at the front, unless they are specifically for the hard drive. One on the side is nice, just reverse it so it sucks cool air in.

Let us know how you get on

If it wasn't such a bloody long swim, I'd be tempted to come and build it for you

:D

Cheers

Nihil, am I getting my money's worth on the products I posted?

Other thing I'd change would be the case, to something with the same performance for a good price. I'd like a window and some lighting, and most likely a 400W PSU or 350W

I'm going to use my computer for downloading stuff, mostly gaming, and browsing forums and stuff and chatting with friends, FYI

I'm going to be purchasing these parts within the next couple of weeks.

Should I purchase one part, wait for it to be shipped and in my hands, then purchase the next part? Or should I order them all at once?

First I'd like some assistance with a nice case and power supply. Looking to only spend around $90 on it. $90 and lower with a case and a power supply.

I dont mind if the power supply is in the case already, but I want my case to look good, but still have quality.

I am afraid that I cannot comment on value for money, because I am over here in England, where things are very much more expensive :( so any US price looks good to us. I would guess that when it comes to computer kit, the effective rate of exchange is around $1 = £1.

ANTEC is a good reliable make, and if it is your first time building a box I would be inclined to go for a "brand name" like that, as I expect the instructions will be a lot clearer. Your proposed system should work quite happily on 350w................I actually only have one machine with more than that. I have been using cheap Chinese generic cases for some time, but you need a bit of experience to work out which wire goes where.........they don't come with instructions.

A good quality case will give you the stated power, some cheap ones say 350w but actually give more like 275..........then you can have problems.

I am afraid I could not look at the other two cases........I got a 404 error?

I buy things all at once by supplier, because over here you can frequently get the shipping free, or at a discount if the order is big enough. I don't know how things work over with you? On what you are proposing, I would make a saving of around $35 on the shipping & handling. But suppliers can afford to do that over here because their margins are much higher.

I always get a case with the power supply pre-installed, it saves messing around running the wires neatly :D and it will have been tested in situ.................one less thing to go wrong.

Hope that helps

Hey would any Americans like to help me out?..........the guy wants to know about prices & dollar value?

EDIT: If you want a transparent panel, you can add that later..............just take the side panel down your local auto bodyshop and get them to cut a shape out then epoxy resin a sheet of perspex on the inside.

Lots of good advice on the hardware front in this thread.

One thing to bear in mind is that if you should choose to swap from a P4 to an AMD, then AMD processors need a lot more cooling, so the saving can be a bit deceptive, as it is likely you'll have to invest in more fans with an AMD processor.

I'm with Und3ertak3r on the legal issues about WinXP home - try this link for size, which sums everything up: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/h...buy/addlic.asp