Building a computer

[allenb1963]

www.pricewatch.com is your best bet for parts unless you have a tax number in which case you can get a decent list of wholesalers from M$'s OEM system builder program...but a tax # is required to purcase from them.

My first tutorial is a bit outdated but may at least point you in the direction you need to get started. I'm working on a followup to address new technologies as well as whats coming down the pipe over the next couple of years. Look for that one in the next few days.

[|3lack|ce]

Re: Service warranty - see my tut on computer businesses for a few tips there - always get a contract on what is covered and what isn't. "Abuse" is a vague word and can get you out of a lot of trouble when used in appropriate context, but it can also get you into trouble, so "This warranty is void if the problems obviously arise from user abuse" is definitely out - I'd word something like "If problems arise which are directly related to user activity, this warranty is void and a fee of $X per hour (2 hour minimum) will be assessed for repair of the machine" along with a nice, verbal, user-friendly assurance that normal, safe operation won't cause that clause to be called into play.

Re: actually building the thing -
1. from experience as I've fried many, watch the jumper settings on the MoBo, even if the shop that sells it to you assures you they're set correctly. Remember once you let the magic smoke out of the card it won't work anymore. The idea is to keep it inside where it belongs.

2. Always get the hardware docs, and keep them for yourself in case you ever come upon that specific part in the future. Don't give these to the client or you'll entice him to go 'exploring' and attempt to mod his own box.

3. Don't expect an astronomical price for your work. Hardware is still the cheapest thing you can do in computers, and yields the least amount of monetary return. Repairing hardware is a bit more lucrative, but not by much.

Luck to you!

[hexadecimal]

[off topic]
you are a senior memeber and you have never put together a computer?!?!???!!!?!

i was 10 when i built my first computer that functioned *486*
when i was 6-10 i would take anything apart to see how it worked... thats my start with comps
[/off topic]


great advice right here

If it doesn't fit... don't force it..

and be around as much wood as you can... prevent static
only use the screw raisers you have to on your motherboard when you set it in your case... extra may cause shorts

if you dual channle ram... THE STICKS HAVE TO BE THE EXACT SAME *chips on both side, same size, same brand, same model... if not you will have a very fun time figuring out why they dont work*

hide as many wires as possiable!!
air flow is KEY!!


enjoy your new PC

[keezel]

Remember once you let the magic smoke out of the card it won't work anymore.

Lol

you are a senior memeber and you have never put together a computer?!?!???!!!?!

I have taken my own apart and put things back together, but that doesn't count I don't think... And I've installed a video and sound card before, and a dvd burner, but that's pretty much it.

THE STICKS HAVE TO BE THE EXACT SAME *chips on both side, same size, same brand, same model... if not you will have a very fun time figuring out why they dont work*

I knew that 2 different types of RAM or one 512 and one 1GB stick wouldn't work together, but I wasn't aware that they had to also be from the same manufacturer. I had a roomate that had a fun time figuring that one out. ^_^ The way he found out was on a box that said it could have up to 1 gig of RAM, so he plugged a 1GB chip into the computer....when there were 2 open slots... That didn't work. =)

[|3lack|ce]

Actually you *can* mix and match ram, it's just not recommended, and in some cases it won't work at all, or only one stick will work while the others just sit and look pretty in their slots. I used to do it all the time back in the days of good ol' FastRam. Nowadays it might be more stringent, but somehow I think there's a combination out there that works...

[hexadecimal]

sorry to the duck, i didnt mean to brag

when you use unmatched sticks in a Pentium box your chances of it working are a lot higher

AMD... good luck...

i think it was something like 80% chance Pentium 20% AMD

and if you do get it to work... you will have phantom problems somewhere i promis you

[VictorKaum]

Originally posted here by keezel
Thank you all very much for your input, and especially thank you VictorKaum...that's good stuff.


1 year, parts/labor, which is just the warantee that comes with the parts that I could buy from stores connected to pricewatch.


Prolly not, but I might could put a .txt file on the desktop with some links to programs I recommend. Basic free for personal use firewall, spyware removal, virus/trojan removal stuff and instructions on how to update and run them.


Not hardly. I don't even know where to look to find information about them yet, but as I said, this is mostly for fun and as a learning experience. If I make any money on the side from this at all, I'll be pleasantly surprised. My goal is to at least come out even without pissing/ripping anyone off.


I'm planning to build one at a time (all slightly different until I find something I like) for myself, and then hopefully auction them off one at a time on ebay.


You're right, of course. And there is plenty of competition from people that have been in the market for a long time who know exactly what they are doing, and are able to get parts for cheaper (and thus sell cheaper) and offer better warranties. It doesn't look like it will be easy...


Although I'm still learning the differences between power supplies, the one I'm looking at is 550w.


I'm not sure yet, I'm still looking into what kind of chipset/motherboard I should use. Right now, the 2.4GHz Athlons look like a good deal to me. They aren't nearly as expensive as others but offer decent performance (afaik).

I have much research to do still, and many things are open to change. Right now I have a 2.4GHz Athlon 3400 system, 256MB vid card, decent sound card, 10/100 networking, 550 power supply, CDRW/DVD drive, 80 GB HDD, and a pretty sweet looking case. Not including shipping...the cost right now would be $564.

I'm very much open to suggestion about what should be tweaked, and I'm looking especially at different/faster cpu's.

Ok, this clears up a lot.

- About the cpu, that was a misunderstanding you mean an Athlon 3400, so it's a S754 or S939 based cpu running at 2400mhz stockspeed... ok that's a decent choice, even you can go lower and save lot's of money on the cpu (for instance a 3000+ or 3200+) as far as it's not meant to be a game box in the first place.

- About the video card, the amount of video ram isn't that important once above 128mb, better look to the quality of the components (capacitors, speed of videoram, make of ram, ...) A faster 128mb card outperforms a crapy 256mb card.

- networking is mostly integrated to the mobo (realtek, marvell, intel are common suppliers of on board mobo chips) or into a chipset (nvidia nforce networking, even some come with integrated firewall).

- 550w power supply, like said by Tom, the power rating is not everything. You need to look at the voltage line stability, and at the maximum output in ampere on the several lines (5v, 12v, 3.3v) specialy the outputs on the 12v rails are imortant cause the new 64bit cpu's need a lot of stable input. So a decent 380w power supply that can offer enough combined power is a lot better than a cheap 550w one that is rated with unrealistic load conditions. I have seen an AOpen powersupply fail where an Antec psu of the same rating worked without problems. I can recommend OCZ, Enermax, Antec, Tagan.

- DVD-RW, go for the dual layer NEC series, those things are cheap but very good quality. You can't get a better price/quality (at least here in Belgium).