Any words of wisdom?

[tibilicus]

Well this weekend I shoudl be taking my first brave venture and building my own pc.

I have read up on it and would liek to think that now I know pretty much the genrel esence of builiding a system but before I do any one got any words of wisdom or thigns to look out for?

Thanks

Tib

[Boohugh]

Make sure your PSU is set to UK voltages and not US ones.

There may be a little switch on its back that changes between the two (between 240V and 115V if I remember correctly, 240V is the UK one). I made that mistake once and it fizzled then popped . I took a look inside and most of the connectors had burnt, I was incredibly lucky no damage was done to the motherboard and other components

Goodluck making you PC, its a really rewarding thing to do when it all works out and boots up for the first time

[Uesugi Kenshin]

Make sure the power is plugged in when you try to start it. (I've forgotten that for a few minutes several times, "OMG what is wrong why won't it turn on????")

Don't just listen for the boot-up beep when you are waiting to see if the mobo posts, some don't so make sure to connect it to a monitor as well.

[tibilicus]

Yer hopefully I can get over the tricky bit of asembeling the motherbored.
Im hoping to spend around £650-£700 on it excluding monitor so I should be able to get a good rig for that price.

Also seeming im buying from a computer fair (most probably) Do you know how much a warranty would cost for my PC?

Thanks

Tib

[orangat]

Wait for the Conroe. AMD is supposedly going to cut prices by 20-50%.

[LeftEyeNine]

orangat, when was that release of Conroe 's again ? Sorry I couldn't remember which thread you talked about it.

I'll soon be gathering a list of parts to build up my Voltran. I may be looking for your advise on motherboard choice.

[orangat]

July 24
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=2800

Even if the price cuts aren't as big as the memo claimed, its probably worth waiting just in case.

[Phatose]

Consider case cooling and working conditions before considering case aesthetics. A case that looks like a neon alien ain't worth jack if you can barely work in it, or if it has awful airflow.

Install the mobo, CPU, cooling devices, RAM, PSU and video card then do a test to see if it turns on before hooking up optical drives, hdds, sound cards, ect. Make sure the core components are functional before putting it completely together.

Install RAM and the CPU before mounting your mobo in the case.

Keep the case open on the first turn on to make sure the fans are working.

If your vid card requires additional power connectors, make sure they're hooked up before turning the machine on. That horrible BEEPBEEP can be nasty on the nerves, even if it's just a vid card complaining about your not hooking up the power.

[KukriKhan]

...any words of wisdom or thigns to look out for?

electricity. anti-static-wristbands are your cheap friends. Often overlooked, seldom under-loved.

[Monarch]

Wait for the Conroe. AMD is supposedly going to cut prices by 20-50%.

True, but Tib isn't just buying for the fun of it, his PC is totally ruined and he can't play Rome atm, which is kinda annoying since LH needs him for our tournament team

[doc_bean]

Put everything as far apart as possible for ventilation.

[_Martyr_]

Basically, dont cut any corners. Take your time screwing everything together. If you rush it, you will have problems somewhere down the line. Good luck.

[R'as al Ghul]

- When installing extension cards or ram, make sure that they sit properly in the socket. Even after numerous assemblies of PC's I'm still too carefull when putting cards in. They are more stable than they look and feel and sometimes you have to push a bit harder than you might think.
- When installing the cpu, watch out for the little pins that go in the socket, they bend or break off easily.
- Don't close the case before the system boots properly and all Hardware is recognized by the OS.
- Take your time to familiarize yourself with the BIOS

[x-dANGEr]

Be sure to buy parts compatible together. Assembling the PC is the easy part of the job I tell you, but getting the 'right' parts is what's hard. (IMO at least)

[tibilicus]

As Monarch mentioned I don't have the time to wait and well as with waiting for all technology by the time the AMD x2 and 64 bit is cut 6 months later they will probably bring out another procesor to rival Intel and there prices will be cut. :P

Any who my I cant really give exact specs seeming im buying from a computer fair but im aiming for a AMD 3800+ x2 duel core procesor,2gb of ram, 300 gb hd, ATi radeon x1900 (and a crossfire compatible motherbored so when I want double the power well I just double the power :P) Zalaman fans to keep everything ncie and cool and then a ncie open case to let the air flow well.

Hoping that will cost me around £650-700 excluding a monitor. OH and thanks for the advise on the motherbored heard thats a very delicate and nervous bit. Also I wont forget my anti-static wristband Kuri.

Any who wish me luck. ~:D

[tibilicus]

Double post..

[orangat]

As Monarch mentioned I don't have the time to wait and well as with waiting for all technology by the time the AMD x2 and 64 bit is cut 6 months later they will probably bring out another procesor to rival Intel and there prices will be cut. :P
......

I didn't realise July 24 is 6 months away. Its your loss and your choice.

[tibilicus]

What I mean is price's are changing all the time. Wait for it prices in another deparatment will drop.

And yes your right it is my loss and pelase less of the sarcasam it's doing nothing for you.

[orangat]

What I mean is price's are changing all the time. Wait for it prices in another deparatment will drop.

And yes your right it is my loss and pelase less of the sarcasam it's doing nothing for you.

You make no sense. Price drop all the time but the biggest price drop is when the Conroe is released on July 24. Its your loss, you make the call.

[tibilicus]

Well im not really in that position. I need a new computer this one dated aswell not being my own. And yes im aware i could get it cheaper in a month but unfortuantly guess what? I don't have a month to wait.

[x-dANGEr]

That goes back to you..

@Orangat: You must understand that the guy has a clan, and he can't stay offline through the coming month..

[Geezer57]

Any who my I cant really give exact specs seeming im buying from a computer fair but im aiming for a AMD 3800+ x2 duel core procesor,2gb of ram, 300 gb hd, ATi radeon x1900 (and a crossfire compatible motherbored so when I want double the power well I just double the power :P) Zalaman fans to keep everything ncie and cool and then a ncie open case to let the air flow well.

The AMD Opteron 165 is slightly more expensive than the 3800+ x2 you're contemplating, and (at base speed) is clocked slightly slower (1.8ghz vs. 2.0ghz), but comes with 1mb L2 cache per core and overclocks as well or better. So for a few pence more, you could end up with somewhat better performance. It's the choice I made in my latest creation - so far, no regrets.

[Geezer57]

Well this weekend I shoudl be taking my first brave venture and building my own pc.

There's an excellent set of beginner's guides over at PC Stats here: http://www.pcstats.com/articlesearch...ting&sort=date
The one on assembling your own PC ( http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1444 ) would appear highly appropriate for your project.

[tibilicus]

Well I went to the PC fair and it was incredible value. There wasn't many component stalls there but I found a custom built pc for my £625.

Basic specs:

AMD 4200+ x2, 2gb of RAM, ATI EAX1600 512mb graphics card and a ncie 200 GB HD.

Great value seeming it was better than I wanted and cheaper. And for the UK thats cheap seeming you Americans get pc's dirt cheap. :P

Still eyt to game on ti though as for some reason as soon as i opend my browser to downlaod soem anti virus software i got over 50 virus's. Also down to my dad using it when i asked him not to but anyway had to reload windows.

So will post again later on how well it handles. Oh and I even got a 1 year warranty and it came with a pimped otu case featuring Neons and a temreture gauge. :P

Anyway one happy Tibilicus.

[_Martyr_]

Nice rig! Nice price!