I have little knowledge of computers and always wanted to build one...so here came the day. But since I have never built a desktop before, I need someone to walk me through parts selection.

I want this desktop for college purposes. I am thinking AMD Athlon 2200XP, 512DDR, Floppy, CD-RW, 6 USB Ports, WinXP Pro. That is my target.

Now, parts selection:

Case: I want a Lian-Li case, 6 USB ports, enough cooling, with a minimum of (2x5 1/2), (2x3 1/2). I am not a heavy duty upgrade person. But dunno what is a good deal? What range should its price fall in? Can you guys point me out something cool?

How is something like this?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=3669&item=3474736774&rd=1

Power Supply: 300Watt Power Supply. What brand should I buy? Should I prefer one that comes pre-installed?

Motherboard: I was looking for a motherboard that fits AthlonXP processor. Here is where I looked. But again, dunno which one to pick and why?

http://www.directron.com/socketaxp.html

Processor: AMD AthlonXP 2200+ processor. How much $$ should this be around? What is the best place to get this?

Fan: Which ones to pick? What is a ball bearing fan?

Video Card:Should I buy onboard video? Is GeForce 4 Ti4200 a good choice for little gamer? How much $$$ should it fall between?

Modem: Creative Modem Blaster

Netword Card: No idea what to pick!

Rest is Monitor (17'' CRT Sony Trinitron), Memory (Crucial 512DDR 400MHz), Keyboard, Mouse, Hard drive (Maxtor 40 or 80GB), CD-RW (Any brand, 48x24x48x)...which I know about and am pretty much decided at.

Please comments, suggestions, advices, HELP!!!!

guess your in the states. i always use ebuyer.com for bits as i'm in the uk. but both ebuyer.com and newegg.com are good for the us. as for your hard drive you can get 120 gb for nearly the same price as 80.
i'd go for a amd 2500+ processor wise as there is an option to overclock this to 3200 speeds. mother board check out www.motherboards.org depends what your after but a msi k7n2 delta-l is a good board and is cheap.
power supply DONT save and buy a cheap one a shoddy power supply can destroy your main components in your pc. buy a 400 watt one should be enough to power all you'll need. but go for one with good reviews.
thats my suggestions

Buy a sesonic power supply...others are way to loud. There a bit more money but it is well worth it. Sesonics are almost completly silent power supplys. I am sitting in front of my comp and i dont here it. As for fans...DONT GET FANS. There to noisey. Skip the fans and get water cooling from www.koolence.com. This also takes care of ur case. The koolence case is a really kool kick ass case...it looks better sitting on ur desk then in the pictures! I sudjest tigerdirect.com for a mobo because u can get proccesor/mobo deals. As for the network card...there all pretty much the same...just get the cheapest one they have! I also do NOT sudjust getting an AMD. Get a P4. Pentiums are much higher quality proccesors and they will last alot longer. They also run faster and wount over heat as easily. AMDs STINK. I have used amd and intell and found that the amd comps die after about a year of abuse when the intells can handel it fine. For ur vidio card, get what u think. If ur gona do heavy gaming get a 128 or 256. If ur gona brose the net and us MS word get 32 megs or onboard.

hope this helps!
-cody
if u got any quesions u can e-mail me at theboat3058@yahoo.com

Duct Tape is like the Force, It has a light side and a dark side and it holds the world together!

Report Offensive Follow Up For Removal

just a point amd's stink? may amd just smells like plastic?
anyway if most amd comps fail after a year why hasnt amd gone bankrupt i mean 3 year warranty on all there retail processors. most would mean they would be getting alot of cpu's back. i think your comment is unjustified and biased. feel free to give me evidence of amd's "stinking"

opinions are like noses, everybody has one.

AMD is fine, quality just as high as Intel.
AMD is not bankrupt although it does not make money ( look at their annual reports).

Avoid water cooling unless you are a serious overclocker & gamer.

shop around at local stores. If you have never built one before & have no local skilled assistance, buy one locally. If you get brave, newegg & tigerdirect are good sources to build your own.

sorry i think you misread i did not say amd was bankrupt i was saying if most amd's failed after a year then they would lose a hell of a lot of money through warranty claims. also opinions are fine. but the post asks for advice on comps building them.
your right amd is as good quality as intel and cheaper too. so telling someone to increase costs based on an opinion and fabricated evidence isnt entirely helpful.

a good idea if your gutsy enough to try to build a pc is search on google for pc building guides.
http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/
this is one such guide quite good too.
read through them all fully.
it really isnt that hard.
but blackdog is right. unless you have someone you know locally that knows what there doing so if things do go wrong you can get help.
as for water cooling blackdog is also right. for what you need your pc for getting water cooling is a silly idea costly too and getting it for a pentium which as kerodude puts it dont get as hot is silly.

Simon, I understand what you are saying...but still I will go with AMD 2200. I don't wanna attempt overclocking in my first build.

KeorDude, I would get P4, if I had $$$.

I have already been to pcmech, but it was of no help in pointing out good deals and right prices. That's what I am asking you people. For example, here I saw some good motherboards, can you guys help me pick one. Or even better, show me a good deal...please!

Three things I need someone to help me with is getting a good deal in (1) PC Case (2) Motherboard (3) Power Supply. Rest all can be bought after reading reviews at Tom's Hardware. But for case, mobo, and powersupply...I need someone to tell me which is the best, and why!?!

please not i'm english dollars confuse me but i'll try
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-451&depa=1
good deal motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=17-103-908&depa=1
psu

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=76531
amd 2200+ 66 dollars
http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/products/index.html?action=c2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=68873
amd 2500+barton only 13 dollars more i'd spend the extra 13 dollars

maybe this will help
if i was in the uk i'd know what is cheap etc

The only good Computer Stores online are Tigerdirect and Newegg (in the states).

Go to Tigerdirect For a good Mobo/CPU Combo Deal. I Saw a nice Asus mobo paired with a 2400+ for about 150$, but that was a weekago, check it out.

DONT go cheap on a case!!!!! In my building exprience i have used many brands and the best 2 are Chieftec and Antec, You can get antec's value case with a 350 watt PSU for about 60$ at newegg.

For fans Newegg is having a sale, Its like $1.17 for 1 Speeze fan, so get about 2-4 of them.

A 4200 is perfect for a bargan gamer, its the best bang for the buck. It plays UT2004, BF1942, and Farcry great. I would get it at newegg.

Good luck!

BUtta My Fries

How is this for a deal?

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=35543&sku=MBM-A7V8XX-2600

Hey Mechruler, what is 4200?

Any comments on case? How about those $50 cool looking gamer cases?

Hey Mechruler, Do some research, there are a lot of good online computer stores!

It never ceases to amaze me the misinformation that one can get on the internet.

Smitty

Here's what I recommend.

Case:Thermaltake or your preferred choise.
PSU:@ least 400W with with about 16-20Amps on the +12V rail.
Mainboard:ABIT's NF7-S rev 2.0
CPU:Mobile AthlonXP 2500 or 2600 barton core
Memory:Corsair XMS PC3500 DDR Ram
Video card:ATI Radeon 9800 Pro
HSF:Thermalright SLK900A with Zalman or Vantec tornado fan.
Monitor:A nice LCD screen
HDD: Two 40GB 7200 RPM hard Drive (Raid 0 Setup).

____________________________
The greatest risk is not taking one

Report Offensive Follow Up For Removal

>> AMDs STINK. I have used amd and intell and found that the amd comps die after about a year of abuse when the intells can handel it fine. <<

Please explain how the computer next to me with an AMD K6-2 450 is still running fine after five years of daily use. Or the AMD 133Mhz machine I built about eight years ago is still working.

Stuart

Building a machine is a weekend project the first time, but you'll definitely succeed... it isn't rocket science, and boards like this will always help you if you get stuck.

Basic rule: don't cut corners on memory, motherboard, or PSU.

Okay... here are my personal opinions:

Case: Lian Li PC60. Cool aluminum case, durable, intake filter, 4 case fans, not huge but roomy enough inside. Front USB & a very effective exhaust fan on the top of the case.

Processor: Athlon XP 2800+ (best un-oc'd value) XP 2500+ if you want to turn it into a 3200+. Go ahead with the retail purchase on the 2800+--it will include a heatsink/fan perfectly capable of cooling your CPU, and it's not too loud.

Motherboard: nForce2 variant... you might like one that has hardware audio rather than just a codec, though. Manufacturers I would consider: MSI, Epox, Asus, Gigabyte, Biostar, ECS. Haven't used Soyo or Chaintech in a while, so I can't say anything about them. Some extras to consider: 12V CPU input (more stable CPU operation), IDE/SATA controller (try out striping or RAID), firewire, # of USB controllers, hardware Vs. software audio.

RAM: Geil makes quality stuff and has a great cost/performance ratio. Your Crucial PC3200 should work fine.

Video: You can get an IGP if you're not going to do much gaming, but I'd go with a Radeon 9600 pro or 9800 non-pro for Sunday gaming. This is one component you shell out bucks for if you want bleeding edge tech.

NIC: The nForce integrated 10/100Mbps ethernet ports are fine for just about anything. They don't consume much CPU time, either.

CD-RW: Lite-on makes affordable burners that last.

Fans: the PC60 comes with four ADDA ball-bearing fans. Ball bearing fans are quieter and last longer.

Power Supply: I've been impressed by Antec's True Power series... they put out very stable juice and can take some abuse. Their 380W model (or even the 330W) would probably be fine for you.

HDDs: Quality is actually pretty even among the major manufacturers. Here's the order in which I'd consider IDE HDD makers: Western Digital, Seagate, Samsung, Maxtor, Fujitsu, Hitachi. Look for an 8MB cache and find out how long the manufacturer is willing to warranty the drive.

Thanks for help everyone!

Can some also tell me what price these things should fall in?

Should I go with motherboard combos? or is it like a cheap way out and always a NO-NO?

Power supply - the PSU can make you or break you. You have to look at the specs...wattage doesn't tell the whole story. Sabertooth was on track when he recommended 16-20 amps on the +12v rail, personally I'd say 18 amps minimum, but preferrably higher. 300 watt minimum, preferrably 350-400 watts

Motherboard - get a board based on either the nForce2 400 or KT600 chipset. Dual channel memory is unnecessary, but if you can get it at a good price, go for it.

CPU - AMD 2500+ Barton (best buy), but if you don't need all that processing power, you can settle for one of the new Duron Applebreds, like the 1.6 or 1.8ghz model for about 1/2 the cost of the Barton. Buy the retail version w/HSF.

RAM - if you have no intentions to overclock, you can tailor your RAM to the FSB speed of your CPU & save a few bucks. 512mb PC3200 is recommended to accomadate future CPU upgrades with 200mhz/400 FSB, but you could get 512mb PC2700 for 166mhz/333 FSB CPUs, or PC2100 for 133mhz/266 FSB CPUs.

Video cards - that's a tough one. It really depends on what your plans are & how much you're willing to spend. The Ti4200 is a decent card...but a GF4 440MX or FX5200 may suffice if you wanna go cheap. This may help:

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

HDD - Western Digital or Maxtor, 7200rpm 8mb cache, ATA100 or ATA133

CDRW - buy the cheapest thing you can find. OfficeMax regularly sells them for $10-20 after rebate. Most of them are "relabelled" Lite-On's

Try NewEgg.com, PriceWatch.com, CompGeeks.com

If you can find a motherboard/CPU combo you're happy with, go for it. It's often cheaper than buying the components separately.

How is this site for some stuff?

http://www.tigersurplus.com/index.html

Can you guys help me pick good stuff out of it...please

I looked around for stuff, and here is where I am at:

http://www.tigersurplus.com/index.html

I will pay $90 + shipping and handling for:

1) Sony 1.44 Floppy Drive (NEW) - $9.90
http://www.tigersurplus.com/details.htm?productid=2A-

2) 48x24x48 BenQ IDE CD-RW w/Software (NEW) - $29.88
http://www.tigersurplus.com/details.htm?productid=XM-2471

3) 125-key multimedia keyboard (NEW) - $6.88
http://www.tigersurplus.com/details.htm?productid=9A-2427

4) 3-Button Optical Wheel Mouse (NEW) - $8.88
http://www.tigersurplus.com/details.htm?productid=1G-1537

5) PC Tel Internal Fax PCI 56K V.90 Modem (NEW) - $8.88
http://www.tigersurplus.com/details.htm?productid=2B-2475

6) Creative Labs Sound Blaster 128 PCI Soundcard (NEW) - $8.88
http://www.tigersurplus.com/details.htm?productid=2H-2407

7) 3Pc Powered 650Watt Mini-Subwoofer+Speakers (NEW) - $9.50
http://www.tigersurplus.com/details.htm?productid=6L-2204

I was thinking everything to be under $400-450.

Considering $400, I am left with $310 to buy:

Case
Power Supply
Mobo
Processor
Fans
Heat Sink
Thermal Compound
Video Card
Memory
Operating System

LOL...IMPOSSIBLE!!!

I was thinking if I buy a motherboard combo, I will save for processor, motherboard, thermal compound, video card (integrated graphics).

If case has a built in good power supply (350-400W with with about 16-20Amps on the +12V rail), I save a little there.

Can't slack on memory, Fans are cheap.

Operating system, this will be the worst, $130 to stupid Microsoft..argh..but can't do anything about that.

What do you think? Doeable? or Should I buy a emachine from Tiger Direct??

eWhat! those PC's are upgrade intolerant but if you could care less about that fact, then ofcourse get a brand name PC.

____________________________
The greatest risk is not taking one

Report Offensive Follow Up For Removal

just a note. you can save 8 dollars on your soundcard most motherboards come with onboard sound and its not the beeps it used to be its enough for what you'll need. i use my pc for gaming and playing music standard motherboard onboard sound

How is this for a board?

Asus "A7V8X-MX SE" All-In-One Motherboard, KM400 Chipsets, 333FSB, DDR333, AGP8X, USB2.0, LAN, Audio & Video
click on that link

About the best place online is newegg.com, but go check pricegrabber.com. Can normally find good hardware and software deals there.

Also, I recommend the Antec Sonata Piano Case. It comes with a 380w power supply, and a 120mm case fan that does an excellent job at cooling. In fact, you can barely here the PC running with the side cover off! It also has usb and firewire ports in the front, and easy access to harddrives, (slots are turned toward you). Its a little pricey, but check pricegrabber.com for price.