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envision computer solutions... still have not decided what to do... too many things to choose from... lol

but appreciate all the good advice...
 
kansas. i had my mind made up on cyberpower, but read some of the reviews. although some of the reviews were good, some were pretty scary sounding...
 
if you cannot build it...i recomend buying all the parts and going to a local mom and pop store...they build computers just as well if not better than a big manufacturer...plus if you need service they are nearby

So easy to fry yet tastes so good...
Silicon: The other, other, other white meat :evil:
 
are you sure that you arn't up to it...don't wana push you to do anything ya don't want here

But...the motheboard comes with a manual for a reason...all you have to do is insall the cpu on the mobo then heatsink...put the mobo in the case...hook up the power connector...install your drives...and connect them to ide controllor...then connect the cd sound cable to the sound card...and that pretty much it...

So easy to fry yet tastes so good...
Silicon: The other, other, other white meat :evil:
 
where can i find a list of all the necessary equipment if i do decide to build this thing?

and maybe the best choices for each item.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by ssmith on 07/23/03 11:15 PM.</EM></FONT></P>
 
on top of what you have...drive cables...if they don't come with them already....and it would also be a good idea to get some thermal greese...you also may want some zip ties to tiddy up the case....off the top of my head i can't think of much else...all the screws and stuff come with the case...also you need an opperating system...if you need ANY help building this...post PM me...or IM me...

Remember to get the retail version of that cpu not OEM...that version does NOT have a heatsink fan...

So easy to fry yet tastes so good...
Silicon: The other, other, other white meat :evil:
 
and to build it...you will need a philips head screw driver...a flathead...and pliers (to cut the zip ties)

So easy to fry yet tastes so good...
Silicon: The other, other, other white meat :evil:
 
case: aliminum turbo gamer SX 1040 server case 425W
CPU: (800 FSB)Intel P4 3.2
MOBO: ABIT IC7 I875PE 800Mhz FSB DUAL DDR 8X AGP
sony 16X dvd-rom (i would switch to lite on bad sony experience
sony cdrw 52X24X52 EIDE (same as above)
FAN: INTEL certified cpu fan & heatsink (the boxed unit is fine if you are not overclocking)
mitsumi 1.44MB floppy
80GB 7200 RPM ATA 100Hard Drive (recomend maxtor or wester digital...make sure it has 8mb cache)
windows Xp pro
sound: creative labs SB audigy-2 platinum 6.1
speakers: Klipsch Promedia THX 5.1 subwoofer system
video: ATI RADEON 9800 PRO 128MB
2x 512 corsair value ram

This is fine...but case is your decision...i would recomend sticking with the major case brands as i have seen alot of just terribly made cases...enermax...antec....cheiftech...i will note that enermax cases although good quality come with very cheep oem powersupplies (not made by enermax)...a good antec....forton...or enermax powersupply or 350-400 watts would be fine...

The only thing that is missing is memory...if you are not overclocking i would go with 2x 512 of corsair value ram...as intel dual channel boards are picky about memory

So easy to fry yet tastes so good...
Silicon: The other, other, other white meat :evil:
 
should i come out spending less money this way? or is it just the enjoyment of putting it together myself? lol
Click to expand...
To give you an idea, I <i>just</i> built myself a new system. (All parts were ordered from Newegg at that.) It cost me about $1600 in the end, and most of the parts were retail packaging so that I'd have long waranties.

I went to Dell and configured a system as close to my specs as I could get. Even then, the Dell system had similar numbers but it was built with parts of a lower quality and came with less software. The Dell system cost just under $2700.

So I saved over a grand by building my PC. :)

Yeah, it took a little while and was frustrating at times. (Some of that frustration was my own stupid fault though for trying to rush building it late one night.) To me though it was worth it in the end. :)

But then you also have to keep in mind that I work on PCs fairly regularly, so I'm used to doing this kind of work. So of course I'll say that it's worth it. :O

It's really not that hard though anymore. These days cables are pretty hard to even plug in upside-down or backwards, processors just fall right into their sockets, and the Pentium4's stock heat sink installation was the easiest that I've ever done. (Even if the instructions were truly awful.) The only really hard part are all of those darned leads from the front panel to the motherboard. (Like the power switch, the reset switch, the hard drive activity light, etc.) And that's still pretty straight forward. It is just hard because the cables still go onto tiny sets of pins that are awfully close together instead of having a nice socket like hard drives and power cables have. You need really tiny fingers (or tweasers, or really thin pliers) to plug those in quickly. Otherwise it's a lot of blind-aiming hit-or-miss work where you don't know if you've connected the cable to the right pins until you let go of the cable and get your fat fingers out of the way. **ROFL**

(And in my case it was especially annoying because I also had front-panel audio jacks, USB ports, and a Firewire port to run cables to the mobo for as well, and they were all connected on a pin-by-pin basis, where the standard front-panel cables are at least grouped together better than that.)

Still, instructions are pretty easy to follow these days and everything is a lot easier now than it was in the old days. So I'd say that unless you're really nervous you should give it a shot to assemble it yourself if you want. Just be <i>sure</i> to buy an anti-static wrist strap and to wear it at all times (and ground it at all times) so that you don't fry anything. If you do that, you follow the instructions, and you're gentle with the parts when you put the PC together, then not much is likely to go wrong. (Though some times connections will be stiff since all of the parts are new and you'll have to use a bit of forse, but even then just use slow and gentle force.)

And if something <i>does</i> go wrong then we're always here for advice. :)

"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
 
Speaking for those of us with "tiny fingers" (as defined by the fact I can plug in those things quickly) I will also warn you to beware of parallax. Just because they all went in in a minute and look like they're in the right place doesn't mean they are. This will become obvious when nothing happens. Some MoBo's have gotten good about clearly lableing the lead's pins, but others you need a magnifying glass and I often must use a flashlight.
 
Speaking for those of us with "tiny fingers" (as defined by the fact I can plug in those things quickly) I will also warn you to beware of parallax. Just because they all went in in a minute and look like they're in the right place doesn't mean they are. This will become obvious when nothing happens. Some MoBo's have gotten good about clearly lableing the lead's pins, but others you need a magnifying glass and I often must use a flashlight.
Click to expand...
True. I couldn't read the mobo lettering for the life of me. I just relied on the manual and the pins that were still exposed when all was said and done. It also helps to know that black is ground since the cables and instructions don't always detail this very well (if at all).

They definately haven't made this part of the process any easier over the years. It's kind of sad really. You would have thought that by now some bright spark would have written a good standard for a cable with a socket that we could all use. (And mobos could just continue to leave the old pin method on as well for older cases.)

"<i>Yeah, if you treat them like equals, it'll only encourage them to think they <b>ARE</b> your equals.</i>" - Thief from <A HREF="http://www.nuklearpower.com/daily.php?date=030603" target="_new">8-Bit Theater</A>
 
Where's IEEE when they actually might be able to do something useful. I say make a motherboard LED configuration standard and then have the case manufacturers make LEDs whose wires are bundled together. Many cases i see now have USB and audio cables in the front, maybe the mobo's + cases could find a good way to make this standard as well. The next time i buy a case and mobo, if someone had this standard system out, i would gladly pay 15-20 more just to not go through the hassle of "BOOT, check lights, turn off, switch wires, BOOT...".

I'm just your average habitual smiler =D
 
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