Going to Attempt to BUILD A COMPUTER! NEED ADVICE!

OK, well my dad and me are fed up with premade comps(dell, hp, ect.ect)
so we have decided to build our own comp! we know little about computers, just the basics. (well i know some, more then he does.. but u know what i mean) anyways, we want this comp for my gaming (GW and counter strike) and his normal desktop use. so the comp has to have pretty good graphics and all that stuff for gaming. I need all the advice you guys can give us about building computers! I know a lot of you guys(and girls) out there build your own, and know A LOT, so can you share some of your knowlede with us? Things like what companies to stay away from and such like that.
If its not to much to ask for, maybe a list of everything we will need to purchase? my dad does have a friend at work who builds comps, so hopefully he will be able to help us. Our budget for the whole comp is 850$.
Thank you in advance.

Well if you aren't sure of your capabilities and don't wanna risk messing it all up then there are some good, cheap sites where you effectively build your own computer, but without having to put it together (choosing every single component). But I cba to point you there... the google button is too far away...

Comps aren't hard to put together. When I started out, I bought a book from Barnes and Noble on computers. I wish I could remember what it was, but I gave it to a friend for her to use. I think I only spent about $10 on it, worth the investment. It was great about explaining the different parts of the computer, what they do and how the work.

The main thing you will need to concern yourself with is the mobo (motherboard). You need to think to the future with this piece of hardware. Is the CPU upgradable later on? How many expansion slots will I need? What do I plan on doing with this, will I be a heavy gamer or a a casual gamer? What are my needs? Once you figure this out, the rest kinda falls in place. Most boards are PCI Express now for video cards, it's getting harder to find boards with AGP slots. The board will dictate what type of RAM you will use. You may be able to salvage a few parts from your old machine, that's what i did. See if the RAM is usable with the new board, save yourself $50-$100 that you would have spent on new RAM.

If you have an old computer, you should be able to use the hard drive from that machine, but it will need to be reformatted. Nothing a motherboard hates more that a hard drive with another mobos prints all over it. Or you can buy a new hard drive for your primary and attach the old drive as a slave so you can keep your old files. Whatever works for you.

Also, make sure that if/when you purchase a new case that the power supply will match the motherboards type. Since ATX is the common case form now, you should be ok. When you get your mobo, just take it with you when you look for a case and you should be able to test it out. If the place will not let you test the case and board before you buy, then go somewhere else. I have always found that independent stores are more willing to work with you than chain stores. They will 99% of the time allow you to test things out. Sure they cost a little more, but it's worth it. Get to know the owner and if they like you, they may be willing to give you special discounts too. I always get a 15% discount at the store I use.

Send me a pm if you have any questions about this.

Also, here is a site that I found just doing a Yahoo search. It should show you the basic steps.

http://www.buildyourowncomputer.net/learntobuild.html

try www.newegg.com if you have an idea what to look for. pick up a copy of pcgamer, lots of ads for companies that build to spec. Find a local computer show via google, Market Pro is one company. and some of the vendors will build to spec for a reasonable price. A lot depends on the budget as well.

If your looking for ideas, my prefs are :Asus has good Mobo, Nvidia pci express video cards at least series 7, CPU that last a while dual core or I like intel either a pent D or core 2 duo, some peeps like the AMD now for gaing i havent seen much of a diff epecially for like CS or GW. I run GW, DOD S and BF2 on the sim specs for stuff listed. at least min a gig of ram if not 2. but checkout some sources, check the gaming mags. Do research

just a note: the website supplied by fallout might be a little bit out of date. nowadays, it is not enough to just mount a heatsink onto the CPU. you have to apply thermo compound first. failure to do that will cause the CPU to burn up in minutes (depending on what you decide to buy).

Thanks for noticing that. Yes, you definitely want to apply thermal compound to your chip. If you don't, you'll just have an expensive paperweight, if you can get the chip out of the socket afterwards..

thanks for all the advice so far guyz

With that price range, I would recommend an AM2 processor. You should be able to get something along the Athlon 3500-3800 (@ $150)and still stay within budget. And if you want to upgrade later on, the same motehrboard will support the AM2 X2 5000, which is about the fastest one out currently. And it will support the quad-core when it comes out next year. And no matter what, do not buy an "OEM" processor. In order to save $20-30, you give up a CPU cooler, and the warranty. Retail box processors have a 3 year warranty, OEM only have 30-90 day warranties.

Stick with a better quality board, like Asus or MSI. The Asus A2M-E runs around $120, and has PCIe, multiple SATA, and about anything else you would want.

For a hard drive, avoid IDE and stick with SATA. They normally run around $10 more, but are well worth the money.

Do not go overboard on the video card. Stick with a single card in the $100-150 range for the moment. Even if you plan on going SLI-Crossfire, hold off on buying them. There is a new generation of cards comming out in the next few months. Spending $300-1,200 now will seem really foolish, when come January they are already outdated.

Do not go cheap on the power supply or case. Make sure that as a minimum, the power supply is at least 400 watts. Make sure the case is properly ventilated, having at least 1 120mm or 2 80mm fans in front of the hard drives, and the same thing in the back of the case.

And especially if this is your first time building a computer, I suggest looking local for a supplier. One big advantage of this is that you get some local tech support. The parts may cost a little more ($5-10), but if you have a problem most shops will give you some tips or assistance in fixing them.

One of the most common things I see new builders do is to assemble the motherboard, and not use the stand-offs when attaching it to the case. Or not know how to attach the case leads to the board, or not understand how to install SATA drivers. These are the type of things that we (or most other shops) will help with for no charge. Good luck calling New Egg because something does not work right.

Plus, you are dealing with somebody local, selling things that they are familiar with. When you take into account that you can just walk out the door, the costs often turn out to be the same. NE may beat us in most items, but once you add in shipping, the cost is really about the same. But you do not have to wait 3-5 days for the local store to ship the item.

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