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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Need Computer Expertise.

Ok! good news, thanks to my loyal fans i'm -really- close to getting just enough money for the parts I need but I know very little about hardware and wanted to get a second opinion, perhaps some insight of someone with more knowledge.

Processor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115221

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128437

Casing: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119197

Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145331

This is the power supply i'm going to salvage from my current PC: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...s%20650%20watt

Graphics Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130572

Hard Drive: Not really sure what make or brand it is, kinda afraid to mess with it but hard drives are pretty universal, right?

Lastly, I might try to upgrade to windows 7, just because my original OS disk seems to have problems and I know I need to format my hard drive.

27 comments:

  1. Pretty balanced stuff there, 650w should be plenty... big case, good for new builders, get 2 memory modules, for dual channel memory. Mobo looks fine, graphics card is about right for this build, maybe bump up your cpu to the 3.2 Ghz model for a little bit more, or if you go AMD you could get more for less, and all components work the same. windows 7 is an easy upgrade, but make sure you back up all your data just in case.. looks nice, if you have any more specific questions, just post :)

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  2. I agree with Mark about AMD.
    All my builds have used AMD because its cheaper and has been very efficient as long as I have been using them. Not that I have anything bad to say about how Intel performs. I'll make a recommendation if you go with AMD:

    CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103887
    (they don't sell my 550 anymore)

    Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131402
    (Better than my motherboard)

    Memory: I am not an expert at choosing memory. There are many I would like, but I hear that you need to carefully pick DDR3 sticks that works with AMD processors

    Graphics Card: Good brand for Nvidia, I like evga cards.

    Power Supply: with 200 more watts than my machine, you should be good to go

    Hard Drive: for the most part, yes. If you still have a drive that is hooked up by an IDE cable you could be losing a little bit of speed though. SATA drives are most common in computers these days. I spent my money on the new SSDs, but they get a bit pricey.

    OS: Love Windows 7 over the previous version. If you have 4GB or more of memory be sure to get the 64bit Windows 7

    Now, wasn't that a mouthful to read aloud @.@
    (Sorry, I can be confusing to follow at times)

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  3. I disagree with those two recommending AMD. They are good but In my opinion (and experience), you'll get better performance in minecraft with Intel over an AMD CPU at the same cost.

    Also why don't you get a M-ATX motherboard and M-ATX case? It would save you money and a lot of space, that thing is huge.

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  4. At the same cost you could get a true quad core compared to a hyper threaded (not true) quad core

    ^^ regarding processors

    about memory, you need ddr3, corsair xm3 is what i use for my build, and that works fine. IDE drives still work, but are a bit slower, as Erador said, but, as said before, you get more cores for less cost with AMD then Intel. The main difference I see is that Intel have a higher max temp than AMD does.

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  5. lol, there is never a winning side to what the best option is when picking between the two CPU brands. I guess what it really comes down to is what your looking for whether it be price, durability, speed, power usage.... Intel and AMD differ in all of these.

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  6. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

    NCIX did a video on this... i will look it up...

    Found it.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h14-9aeDyn4

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  7. Hmm what I really want is a reliable computer at a good cost. I don't want top end quality. I just need something that will last a while and not give me any problems(parts that don't break easily)

    Also I think i'll stick with intel, I have an AMD processor on this computer and it'd be nice to see what intel is like.

    As for the casing, if you can link me a good one around 100 i'll consider it. I need a full tower(The more space the better, in my case)

    Also thanks for all the help so far.

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  8. maybe a HAF 922? 99.99, says its a mid tower, but its really a bit bigger


    http://www.amazon.com/Cooler-Master-RC-922M-KKN1-GP-Tower-Black/dp/B0026FCI2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1294981183&sr=8-1

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  9. Hmm it doesn't look much smaller then the one I picked out and seems to be better quality, I may grab that one instead.

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  10. http://www.nzxt.com/new/products/crafted_series/vulcan - That's my case - super duper sexy, quite small but very spacious inside, good price. Needs a M-ATX motherboard though. The only difference I can see for you getting a full ATX board and case is that it takes up more space and is more expensive =/

    Also Mark as the guy in that video says "It's just not that simple" AND he implies that Intel CPUs are better for gaming (which is what Tyken will be doing with it).

    I'd like to add that having more CPU cores helps very little whilst playing Minecraft, as Minecraft ONLY RUNS ON ONE CPU CORE.

    I'm sort of starting to rant here, so I'll stop lol.

    Actually one more thing, Tyken if you have money spare (which I know you don't, but it's worth considering) I'd recommend looking into a small SSD (like the 40gb Intel one) for your operating system and Minecraft. - Documents and everything else can be stored on your old hard drive that you can probably format and use again in the new PC.

    Minecraft uses a lot of small files being saved/loaded which SSDs are great at, you would notice much faster level load times and I believe it would help with chunks loading/unloading whilst playing too. General computer tasks and boot times would be sped up greatly as well.

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  11. The processor doesn't matter, he is going intel anyway.... minecraft runs on ram, not on hard drive space. SSD's are good, but pricey, not completely necessary unless you are a speed freak.

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  12. Hmm well if all the current parts on the list checks out i'll order them soon(A few bucks shy of actually being able to buy them lol)

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  13. When would you be actually building the system? and will you be building it solo?

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  14. When ever I get the last few bucks I need to order the parts with, then when ever they arrive I suppose. (going to say a week after I order)

    Anyway, i'll be building it myself. First time but it -looks- simple enough as long as I follow the instructions.

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  15. Super duper important to know: when you touch ANY part that isn't the PSU or case, make sure your psu is plugged into the wall BUT switched off, so that you are grounded, which will have you not damage anything =)

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  16. PSU? Power supply unit? Isn't leaving electronics pluged in(Even when turned off) a bad idea?

    And I thought you grounded yourself by touching a piece of metal and touching something else.

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  17. if you just touch your case without it being grounded it does nothing for you, if you want you could touch a large television that is plugged in but not turned on, but same principle there. or, purchase a wristband that you can attach to something grounded so that you have both hands to work with. it is really important though, cause just one touch with an extremely light static charge, as in one you can't even feel, can completely destroy a motherboard, making it short out. it sounds really stupid, I was skeptical too, but research is your friend here.

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  18. I'll get one of those wrist bands, they seem cheap enough.

    Also, do I still have to leave my computer plugged in(but off) for the band to work?

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  19. the band needs to be connected to something or someone that is grounded, be it an electrical ground slot, TV, computer that is plugged in but turned off... anything that is grounded, but, some people do claim that they don't help at all, so do take that into consideration as well.

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  20. ok so I install the PSU first, plug it in but turn it off, the ground myself witht eh bracelet, then install the motherboard and stuff?

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  21. thanks any other tips? or guides?

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  22. Just so ya know, I've worked on many computers (old and newer) over the last 5 years of my life. Doing whatever (tinkering, fixing, replacing) and have never damaged anything.

    To be safe, don't like rub your feet in socks on carpet then touch the computer, lol

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  23. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIJx6Y3tofg

    build guide for a more advanced system, but same principles apply

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  24. @Mark
    nice find, couldn't have said it better myself :)

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  25. Hmm thanks for the tip Erador.

    Also thanks for the video, mark. I'll be sure to look it over.

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  26. MaximumPC also has a bunch of detailed first PC guides. They are very useful.

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