Help Me Build a New Computer

[Keebler Elf]

So I'm fed up with my ol' clunker and am going to buy a new computer in the next few weeks.

I'm an average computer user who spends most of my time surfing the net and using basic apps like Office, Adobe, etc. The most graphics-intensive game I play is WoW.

I want the computer to last 3-5 years so upgradability is important. Generally I keep replacing components until I can't do it anymore or it's not worthwhile to do so.

In terms of budget, I'm looking at around $1K to $1200. If I can get if for cheaper, great! I have a preference for Canada Computers or Tiger Direct but it's not a requirement.

I want to keep my Gigabyte Chassis case, my widescreen LCD monitor (digital), my speakers, my keyboard, my mouse, and my two SATA II drives. I don't want an audio card (at this time) so the mobo should have integrated audio. I think my current floppy and CD/DVD burner drives are sufficient.

That leaves me with the following shopping list:
- Chipset
- Motherboard
- RAM
- Graphics card
- Power Supply ? (I currently have 430W but it's a couple years old and probably needs more of the newer cables vs. the older IDE cables)
- Windows XP (with the capability to upgrade to the next Windows version down the road; I don't want Vista)

I have two IDE drives that I need to get the data from so I'll need some way to do so (USB? FireWire?). I also occasionally copy large hard drives so a 3.0Gbps transfer rate is probably a good idea.

Motherboard/Chipset: It looks like my choices are basically AMD (AM2's) vs. Intel (LGA's). I'm leaning towards Intel but am open to suggestions. Minimal of dual-core. Don't know if more is worthwhile.

RAM: At least DDR2 (the faster the better) but it looks like DDR3 (or at least capability) is a smart move.

Graphics: I'm thinking at least PCI Express x16 capability with an nVidia card? And Gen 2 PCIe slot for future upgrades? Also want VGA, DVI, and HDMI capability. But I'm not a high performance super gamer so keep that in mind.

Drives: What's eSATA all about? Upgradability is probably a good idea.

Power Supply: Not sure what I need. I'll probably end up running 4 hard drives, widescreen monitor, and normal peripherals. Does WoW eat up a lot of power?

 

[Disturbia]

AHA! So, finally you gave up on your old good PC?

Check these links:

1) http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,1825693,00.asp

And / or

2) http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,2845,2273762,00.asp


Don't forget http://www.infonec.com. I think their prices are a little cheaper than the other guys.

Hope this helps and good luck....

 

[The Bandit]

I'll probably end up running 4 hard drives

 

[Keebler Elf]

RAID.

 

[wonderboy007]

I think their prices are a little cheaper than the other guys.

You know, cheapness isn't the only thing that counts. Customer Service. Something you'd don't always get at Tigerdirect. Wups, what was that, component failed? Must be cause it's cheap..

 

[Disturbia]

You know, cheapness isn't the only thing that counts. Customer Service. Something you'd don't always get at Tigerdirect. Wups, what was that, component failed? Must be cause it's cheap..

Oh, I fully agree with your comment. Personally, I stopped shopping from them years ago. But, different people have different opinions based on their own personal experiences.

In general, I prefer direct shopping ... going to the store, pickup the items, read the fine prints and drive back home as fast as possible .... to build my new PC! All these years, Infonec or Canada Computers are my favorite computer shops.

This, of course, was until a few years ago ... now --> APPLE Stores forever

 

[WoodPeckr]

If I were getting a new desktop it would have the Intel Core i7 Processor with DDR3 RAM.
The i7 is amazing.

Save and reuse your Sata drives and don't worry about eSATA because in a couple years all will be SSDs, far better than the other two.

 

[Tiffany_69]

I luv TigerDirect

Now they actually have stores here. The online experience in past sucked.

 

[wonderboy007]

Oh, I fully agree with your comment. Personally, I stopped shopping from them years ago. But, different people have different opinions based on their own personal experiences.

In general, I prefer direct shopping ... going to the store, pickup the items, read the fine prints and drive back home as fast as possible .... to build my new PC! All these years, Infonec or Canada Computers are my favorite computer shops.

This, of course, was until a few years ago ... now --> APPLE Stores forever

Yeah, support the little guy even if it cost more. Tigerdirect buys straight from the manufacture. Well allot of us have to buy from distributors. Futureshop is the same. If I get good customer satisfaction, and it's alittle more money, i'd pay more. When you buy a laptop from Futureshop, are they gonna help you when it dies? Never!

The problem is, people are being stupid and just look at specs and think the product is the same if the other one costs more. They never think of quality because of the ignorance and the series that is more expensive just dies off. This is why we live in a throw away society.

You can actually fix power supplies these days with power-off test kits. I'm going to punch the next person who says oh just throw it out you can buy a new one. It just shows their inexperience levels.

As for building a computer.. Buy quality, just don't look at specs. Matching the FSB is a must pretty much, and tri channel is something really good.

As for PCI-X slot. Just make sure the lane is 16X for each slot as some high end video card require that. But that depends on what type of chipset you're going for, as a few good Intel Chipsets support CrossFire, and niVIDIA nForce chipset support SLI.

When dealing with the number of cores like the I7 has. I don't care about codenames right now. It is only important to how many threads can actually be processed in a single clock cycle to which depends on the OS is how I look at it. The same was said when Dual Core came out, since now like each I7 core can do hyperthreading... The problem with Hyperthreading, especially thoe prescott's was that 2 thread could enter the same register at the same time so total computing would be same as if it were single threaded...

For Hard Drives... Someone mentioned Solid State. Well, I don't know, but I think Hybrid hard drives will make it into main stream PC's before this does.

ALso.. OP. You said you wanted to make sure you computer lasts 5 years at least. Maybe you should be getting a 64bit OS since in 5 years, I can see allocating more than 4GB of ram in their PC. Just a thought.

 

[Tiffany_69]

Yeah, support the little guy even if it cost more. Tigerdirect buys straight from the manufacture. Well allot of us have to buy from distributors. Futureshop is the same. If I get good customer satisfaction, and it's alittle more money, i'd pay more. When you buy a laptop from Futureshop, are they gonna help you when it dies? Never!

The problem is, people are being stupid and just look at specs and think the product is the same if the other one costs more. They never think of quality because of the ignorance and the series that is more expensive just dies off. This is why we live in a throw away society.

You can actually fix power supplies these days with power-off test kits. I'm going to punch the next person who says oh just throw it out you can buy a new one. It just shows their inexperience levels.

As for building a computer.. Buy quality, just don't look at specs. Matching the FSB is a must pretty much, and tri channel is something really good.

As for PCI-X slot. Just make sure the lane is 16X for each slot as some high end video card require that. But that depends on what type of chipset you're going for, as a few good Intel Chipsets support CrossFire, and niVIDIA nForce chipset support SLI.

When dealing with the number of cores like the I7 has. I don't care about codenames right now. It is only important to how many threads can actually be processed in a single clock cycle to which depends on the OS is how I look at it. The same was said when Dual Core came out, since now like each I7 core can do hyperthreading... The problem with Hyperthreading, especially thoe prescott's was that 2 thread could enter the same register at the same time so total computing would be same as if it were single threaded...

For Hard Drives... Someone mentioned Solid State. Well, I don't know, but I think Hybrid hard drives will make it into main stream PC's before this does.

ALso.. OP. You said you wanted to make sure you computer lasts 5 years at least. Maybe you should be getting a 64bit OS since in 5 years, I can see allocating more than 4GB of ram in their PC. Just a thought.

Your right on the money but fixing power supply to much pain in ass for time it takes.

Support lil guy well make sure he is going be in biz in a yr is something to thin about.

 

[wonderboy007]

Your right on the money but fixing power supply to much pain in ass for time it takes.

Support lil guy well make sure he is going be in biz in a yr is something to thin about.

Well yeah, you could kill yourself if you don't discharge the capacitors.

You get more from the lil guys than you do than lets say Best Buy... When I'm at Futureshop, I feel like an outsider...

 

[Keebler Elf]

To clarify, if I buy from Tiger Direct it will be the store and not online. I'm not interested in dealing with Futureshop/BB.

When it comes to 64bit, if the computer lasts long enough then I'll upgrade to a newer OS that supports it (and 4GB+ RAM). Right now I don't need it (and don't want Vista).

There's nothing wrong with my power supply. It's just a few years old but it has mostly IDE connector cables and may be underpowered (not sure).

 

[Disturbia]

.......and may be underpowered (not sure).

One of the most critical components ... so make sure it's NOT underpowered. Yes, when running 24x7, it affects your hydro bill though

 

[Mauk]

If you aren't planning on dealing with FS or BB then I would suggest staying away from Tigerdirect. Infonec is very nice in terms of pricing and I buy a lot of stuff from there. If you price compare, usually Infonec will have the cheapest prices.

In terms of wanting the PC to last 5 years +, hmm ya the i7 came out but it's pretty expensive when you have to grab DDR3.

You "CAN" get by a few years building a basic Core 2 Quad, if you can still get a Q6700 it should run WoW. I just built one for a friend and it ended up costing ~700 dollars.

That was the
CPU
Motherboard
4GB of DDR2
NV 9600 OC PCIx 256MB vid card.

parts were from Canada Computers and Infonec.

I'm actually a tech at one of the mentioned places and I hate working there as most of my coworkers don't really know much.

 

[WoodPeckr]

Buy a Mac. : )

LOL!
He only wants to spend 1K.
Where you gonna get a new Mac for that?

PCs have some teriffic deals going now.
They are practically giving them away...an equivalent Mac would run double or triple that.
i.e. Here's a nice package AMD Quad, complete with 19" LCD monitor & 3-1 printer for $749.97

HP Phoenix Special Edition a6755y Desktop with 19" LCD Monitor & 3-in-1 Printer

Check out the specs.

 

[Mauk]

He plays WoW so he'd have to guy buy the Mac version which would suck for him.

 

[PussyHunter]

Tigerdirect is Ok if you know what your after and don't need to rely on anyone. This also applies to Canada Computes. I do find the prices can be a bit better at CC but they always try to upsell. Get your shopping list together, make sure the components match your motherboard and buy where ever you get it the cheapest. An Asus motherboard is an Asus motherboard at any of these stores.

Try to avoid the no name brands as the quality control may not be there. You may want to take a look at the folowing;

XFX nForce 750i SLI Extreme Motherboard - NVIDIA nForce 750i, 45nm Support, Socket 775, ATX, PCI Express 2.0, SLI Ready, Gigabit LAN, S/PDIF, USB 2.0, Firewire, Serial ATA, RAID $175.00

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 Processor BX80580Q8200 - 2.33GHz, 4MB Cache, 1333MHz FSB, Quad Core, Retail, Socket 775, Processor with Fan $200.00

OCZ Fatal1ty 4GB Dual Channel PC8500 DDR2 1066MHz (2x2048MB) $70.00

OCZ StealthXStream 700-Watt Power Supply - ATX, 120mm Fan, SLI-Ready, SATA-Ready, PCI-Express $100.00

XFX GeForce 9800 GT Video Card - FREE Call of Duty 4 PC Game, 512MB GDDR3, PCI Express 2.0, (2) Dual Link DVI, HDTV, VGA Support $140.00

Thermaltake / Max Orb / Multi-Socket 775/AM2/939/754 / Copper Base / CPU Cooler $65.00

Total cost $750.00

My son just built a similar one and it kicks ass. He also found his best prices on most items at Canada Computes.

If your in the Hamilton area let me know. This is what I get to do for a living.

Don't forget a tube of thermal paste for the CPU and cooler.

 

[Meister]

The only problem is that you don't have a system warranty. At HP, Dell... you can buy a 3 year warranty. If your homemade system craps out with Tigerdirect components good luck with warranties. Tiger sucks at returning, exchanging, warranties... not to mention all the time lost.

But, I think building a cpu is great for the hobby kinda guy who has a ton of time.

 

[PussyHunter]

That's why you stick with name brand components. They have their own warranties in place. I've never had any trouble contacting a manufacture with proof of purchase and getting replacements. Granted it does take time but these systems aren't being used for nuclear research are they ... LOL.

 

[Keebler Elf]

A couple other clarifications... I'm not looking for a system warranty (e.g., Dell) as I normally put my own components together. I'm also trying to avoid the no-name stuff. I usually only buy Western Digital drives, for example.

Oh yeah, and I have zero interest in a Mac (you know, it's funny... when people push a particular product they like so much, it starts to look like they're just seeking confirmation from others that their own choice was the right one. When you're really satisfied, you don't push things on other people; you're content with what you have).