My next computer

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Although i have never ventured into the self builds before i realise you can get a lot more bang for your buck so am contemplating building my own pc.

Being such a novice any and all help will be greatly appreciated, ie to begin with im presuming first choose a mobo then build around it. is this right?

Remember your first build? what problems arose then? remember your last build? what problems arise now?

Thanks in advance.
 
not got a set budget but probably looking around £1k+ mark. atm im using amd 64 dual (although not looking for advice on parts etc just general help and tips) and i will more than likely build from scratch and use current pc as 2nd computer, or at best just nab a few parts like dvd, ram, gc.

It will be used for home entertainment and applications.
 
usually choose what CPU you want first, then what graphics solution, then choose a mtherboard that works with both of those choices.
 
1.Yea first choose your Mobo and Cpu,And make sure they are compatible (i recommend intel these days).

2.Then choose your Ram,It's always a good idea to check the motherboard that you choose, "QVL List" (Qualified Vendors List) to check that the ram you choose will work with that mobo.

3.A Case if needed.

4.A Psu.(Corsair have a lot of good psu's about)

5.Then choose a suitable Graphics card will will suit your needs.

6.A Harddrive (i recommend the samsung F1 section)

7.An Optical drive (I rate the : Pioneer DVR-216DBK 20x DVD±RW SATA Dual Layer ReWriter (Black) - OEM)

8.Then there is alwaysany Cooling/Fans you might want...

9.And finally an OS, If your thinking of using 4gb or more then i'd say go with Vista 64bit :)

I didn't put down a soundcard as you can use onboard :)
 
I disagree with paul. You need to choose you GPU before the mobo and psu, because you might want SLI and some boards don't support it, and you don't know how much power you are going to need.
 
Remember your first build? what problems arose then? remember your last build? what problems arise now?

it really wasnt hard. my fist build someone told me what to buy, it turned up at my door and i put the bits together, similar to sticking lego together.

the hardest bit was fitting the cpu fan as i felt like i might snap the mobo, afterwards i read the instructions and it shouldnt have been that hard lol.

the biggest problem is the need to constantly improve the rig. which my wallet isnt a fan of.

self build is sooooo much better than pre built, and cheaper :D
 
Although i have never ventured into the self builds before i realise you can get a lot more bang for your buck so am contemplating building my own pc.

Being such a novice any and all help will be greatly appreciated, ie to begin with im presuming first choose a mobo then build around it. is this right?

Remember your first build? what problems arose then? remember your last build? what problems arise now?

Thanks in advance.


It's a doddle mate.

Hardest thing is deciding on parts.


Here's my advice. Think of what the maximum kind of system you may upgrade too. Is XFIRE or SLI possible in the future? that's the real question you need to ask about your PSU?

Don't CHEAP out on a PSU, and thn decide you want to SLI or XFIRE, and then have to buy another PSU. If you're sure you won't go down the dual cards route, then just buy a good quality 500W unit.

The Corsair 520W is ideal for this. It will handle any GPU.
 
It's all a lot easier than you'd imagine. I built my first PC last summer and I'm still using it now, although a few upgrades later! Had very few problems with it and enjoy using it much more now that I know exactly what can go wrong/how to fix it etc.

I'd first decide on mobo/ram/cpu/graphics. I don't think you can really decide on each one individually as they all sort of influence each other. What your PC will be used for (gaming/decoding/web browsing/word processing etc.) will be the main influence on this.
You can then build case/hdds/optical drives/psu around these core components. Although you should have thought about the possibility of SLI or XFIRE in the future as others have said, this will influence mobo and psu most directly, although possibly cpu aswell.
Then if you want to overclock, CPU heatsink and fans, or water cooling equipment, although this could also influence your choice of case!

Its all very confusing to begin with, but once you start thinking it all falls into place, just have a clear idea of what you want your pc to be capable of, you could waste a lot of money buying components that you don't really need if you don't!
 
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