10-07-2004, 12:50 AM
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#1
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Regular User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
Posts: 1,509
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Some help on building a PC...
Ok so we need a new computer, so my dad asked me what he should buy...I told him he should let me build it, it's gonna be way cheaper than buying it...
So...I was wondering if any of you had built a PC ordering parts from the web, any sites that you'd recomend? where can I find good parts and prices...etc...
Also I'm a big supporter of AMD processors, so I think I would go with AMD...what motherboard should I buy? Video Card? nVIDIA or ATI? all that sort of stuff...please any recomendation is welcome...
I see Pato355 has overclocked his from a Athlon2500 to a Athlon3200...care to give me some pointers?
I looking to save as much money as posible, but I want a descent PC...it doesn't have to rival Jabba's :roll: , but it has to be fairly fast...
Thanks a bunch dudes...
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"You stick to building tractors and I will stick to building sports cars" -Enzo Ferrari to Ferruccio Lamborghini...
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10-07-2004, 12:54 AM
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#2
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Regular User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 1,901
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first of all what is your budget?
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10-07-2004, 03:11 AM
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#3
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Regular User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
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mmm I think around US$600... :roll:
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"You stick to building tractors and I will stick to building sports cars" -Enzo Ferrari to Ferruccio Lamborghini...
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10-07-2004, 03:27 AM
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#4
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Regular User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Sydney, Australia
Posts: 1,901
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the Psycho Bear and Dan would have something better in mind but if it was me
AMD Athlon 2800
ASUS A7N8X-X
512MB RAM...don't get generic if you're planning on overclokcing
Seagate 200GB HD IDE
ATI 9600XT
you should have plenty left over
i don't know any online stores, i like to pick up my parts from physical stores. i'm an impatient person and i hate waiting for parts to arrive. anyways after adding in the shipping costs, it doesn't make any difference in the end.
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10-07-2004, 04:04 AM
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#5
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Regular User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,914
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I wouldn't use the A7N8X-X for overclocking. Spend few extra bucks and get the deluxe version. You get much better onboard sound (nvidia's DD 5.1), SATA, firewire and an extra NIC.
http://www.asus.com/products/mb/sock...d/overview.htm
If you really want to save money, you can probably go for the Soltek 75FRN2-L. Just bought one yesterday for a backup PC. It's probably one of the cheapest yet oc'able NForce2 mobo out there. But then I'm really cutting the budget since half of the box will consist of spare parts I have lying around 
BTW, I'm fan of seagate and ATI too!
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10-07-2004, 04:16 AM
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#6
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Regular User
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Naples, FL
Posts: 1,407
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you may have problems bringing in parts into nicaragua. customs and duties may kill the savings you have from buying online.
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10-07-2004, 04:40 AM
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#7
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Regular User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
Posts: 1,509
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thanks dudes...I appreciate it... ...
I would have to wait for the parts anyways, because buying all this here is a lot more expensive, so I think I would rather take a trip to the states which I am going in this month or next anyways, or order them online....customs won't make problems if I bring just one for me...I mean if I don't have intentions of selling the stuff I bring in...i think :roll: ...I'll have to check that out...  ...anyways I would be shipping the stuff to Miami, and then someone would bring them here or as I said I'd go pick them up myself...
when you say generic RAM...what do you mean?...how about Power Source, how much power do you think is good to have?, ...when I look for the Video Card I get a lot of brands but they're still ATI Raedon?...sort of like Elsa, Rosewill, Jetway...what's all this?
OEM vs Retail??
While looking for cases, any recommendations? I see cases with USB ports and audio outs in the front, do these have anything to do with the motherboard I choose, I mean do they come with the case and are connected via cables to the mobo or is it the mobo that has this feature? thin and light metal vs heavy and strong? how many fans?
sorry to ask so much crap, but this is the first PC I'm buildig myself...
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"You stick to building tractors and I will stick to building sports cars" -Enzo Ferrari to Ferruccio Lamborghini...
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10-07-2004, 05:31 AM
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#8
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Regular User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Sydney, Australia
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generic RAM is a no name brand. if you want good ones go for Kingston or was it Kingmax. Samsung is pretty good.
ATI Radeon is just the name of the chip that many manufacturers use. the other chip is nVidia.
cases depends how much stuff you're gonna shove into it. you want to have a power supply to provide enough power. yea all those extra usb and audio must be support by your motherboard. i think all of them does these days
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10-07-2004, 07:05 AM
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#9
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Regular User
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Cambridge, UK
Posts: 2,279
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not sure if they ship internationally, but I used dabs.com for building mine and reguarly order from there - very good site
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10-07-2004, 02:44 PM
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#10
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Regular User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
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what are the differences between the Deluxe and nomral version of the A7N8X baord...I can't understand most of the things on the descriptions...US$59 for the normal and US$86 for the deluxe...that's like 30 bucks I could save...please desribe the differences...
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"You stick to building tractors and I will stick to building sports cars" -Enzo Ferrari to Ferruccio Lamborghini...
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10-07-2004, 03:15 PM
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#11
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Regular User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Canada
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For the deluxe version, you get (extra):
- "Soundstorm" 5.1 audio (not certified by Nvidia but still pretty good, has realtime DD encoder for connection to home theatre)
- Serial ATA (for connecting HD, newer technology than IDE)
- 1 extra onboard network card (faster / lower cpu load)
- Firewire (for things like DV or external HD)
When you're buying ram, check the list in the bottom of http://www.asus.com/prog/spec.asp?m=A7N8X%20Deluxe
The ASUS board can be a bit picky about the choice of RAM. Normally I just buy generic and do the testing myself. But in your case, you'll better off paying $20-30 more for name brand ram like kingston or crucial.
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10-07-2004, 03:34 PM
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#12
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Regular User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Canada
Posts: 1,914
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Oh, forgot to mention. Pick a good case! To ensure the reliability of your PC, you need a case with good power supply (some case don't include them, especially the highend ones) and air flow. Most generic cases have really bad built quality, the sheet metal is paper thin. I had a generic case made by tsunami, it would start vibrating when I use the DVD-ROM. For an affordable "good" case, look for an Antec (e.g. SLK-3700).
http://www.antec.com/us/
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10-07-2004, 06:14 PM
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#13
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Regular User
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Thailand
Posts: 269
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10-07-2004, 06:43 PM
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#14
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Regular User
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Baltimore, Md
Posts: 2,221
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10-08-2004, 06:05 AM
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#15
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Regular User
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Managua, Nicaragua
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- "Soundstorm" 5.1 audio (not certified by Nvidia but still pretty good, has realtime DD encoder for connection to home theatre)
- Serial ATA (for connecting HD, newer technology than IDE)
- 1 extra onboard network card (faster / lower cpu load)
- Firewire (for things like DV or external HD)
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so that means I wouldn't have to buy a sound card or a network card, well that could make up for the extra 30 bucks, also the Serial ATA is not exactly necessary but good to have...
I browsed through the cases from antec, but I find them quite expensive, I mean, I'm not looking for some flashy neon case...just a regular black case...
So far I think newegg has the better prices, but they charge a shitload for shipping for some items...I've added up something like US$575 w/o monitor...I will post the list later on...
Thanks again for all your responses...
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