Advice on building a new computer.

[kawaiipikachu]

I'm thinking about building a new computer to play my games on.
I've been researching for a week now & i only can find a few good articles on the subject on the web about it.
The computer I want to build is a cheap system to start of with but have plenty of expansions options so i have a flexible upgrade options later on.

Any advice would be helpfull thanks.

[Spore]

To start building a computer some basic information is needed.

-Budget? <--- Most important here...
-Do you already have a monitor you want to use? If so, what is the resolution?
-Do you already have speakers?
-Do you already have the OS you wish to use?

Once these are answered the process of selecting components will go by smoothly.

[MasterGH]

Spore's got the starting questions all done well. Once you have more of an idea of what you want I'll be able to help with sourcing parts and such.

[LinkFanatic]

Just buy a new one at the store. My first computer I built was awesome, but that time would have been spent doing other things and it turned out to be cheaper to go to the store (this WAS before Alienware's time, though) for a stronger computer...BUT I don't use my computer for games too much though, so my option may be a moot point...

[Ausden]

Building a computer is fun and extremely cheaper than buying on. I've build two and both were top of the line fast when build and cost 1/2 of what a store bought with the same specs would have cost.

Also, store bought computers come with a lot of junk already on the hard drive, junk that can cause you problems down the road if your not careful and thoroughly clean it out. That's why a lot of research is needed before building a computer, if you look hard enough you can build a top of the line computer for less than $1000 US, where buying the same one could cost you $2,000-$3,000US.

[Jogurt the Yogurt]

Originally Posted by Ausden

Building a computer is fun and extremely cheaper than buying on.

This. I've built two awesome computers as well (a long time ago, both are no longer with us).

If I'm buying a prefab computer it's because it's a Mac and I don't need to worry about it being poorly put together or coming with junk on it. But if I'm not getting a Mac, I'm piecing it together myself.

[sponge]

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

[Spore]

Originally Posted by sponge

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, LED LCD TV, Digital Cameras and more!

He's in Australia. I don't know much about good Australian stores, but this one seems good.

PC Case Gear

GH could enlighten us there.

[kawaiipikachu]

Originally Posted by Spore

To start building a computer some basic information is needed.

-Budget? <--- Most important here...
-Do you already have a monitor you want to use? If so, what is the resolution?
-Do you already have speakers?
-Do you already have the OS you wish to use?

Once these are answered the process of selecting components will go by smoothly.

Budget $500-600
It going to take time to save up but the tarting point will be at that with upgrades later on probably increase to to nearly $1000

Monitor I already have a have a monitor here just the most i need is a DVI to VGA adaptor.

Speakers I already got a nice set here.

OS Well I would prefer Windows 7 over the 12 year old Win 98 I'm currently using.

Originally Posted by Spore

He's in Australia. I don't know much about good Australian stores, but this one seems good.

PC Case Gear

GH could enlighten us there.

Well i prefer to go to a physical store like A&R than an online retailer mainly because there's staff there to give me help compared to an online store yuo won't get help as easy.
Anyway thanks for the link as i will be using it to get a basic idea on how much its going to cost me.

[Spore]

Originally Posted by kawaiipikachu

Budget $500-600
It going to take time to save up but the tarting point will be at that with upgrades later on probably increase to to nearly $1000

Monitor I already have a have a monitor here just the most i need is a DVI to VGA adaptor.

Speakers I already got a nice set here.

OS Well I would prefer Windows 7 over the 12 year old Win 98 I'm currently using.


Well i prefer to go to a physical store like A&R than an online retailer mainly because there's staff there to give me help compared to an online store yuo won't get help as easy.
Anyway thanks for the link as i will be using it to get a basic idea on how much its going to cost me.

I'd say don't build the computer until you have that $1000 you were going to put towards upgrades. Trust me, getting it all where you want in one fell swoop is the best move. With that money you will be able to get an utterly fantastic computer that will last for years.

Also, physical stores mark up prices of individual components quite a bit above online offerings. Besides, the staff probably doesn't know jack about what you're going to buying, at least not without paying a bit extra. Everything you need to know is here or elsewhere on the internet (but mostly here).

Can you get a copy of Windows 7 at a student price in any way? If you or somebody you know is able to take advatage of this, you can save a good bit of money right there.

Lastly, I would like to know the resolution of your monitor so I can decide what kind of graphics power you will need.

[kawaiipikachu]

Originally Posted by Spore

Can you get a copy of Windows 7 at a student price in any way? If you or somebody you know is able to take advantage of this, you can save a good bit of money right there.

As far as i know theres no easy way to get Windows 7 at studant prices

Lastly, I would like to know the resolution of your monitor so I can decide what kind of graphics power you will need.

Its set at 1280X960 but can do up to 1280X1024

[Spore]

[QUOTE=kawaiipikachu;167865]

Originally Posted by Spore

Can you get a copy of Windows 7 at a student price in any way? If you or somebody you know is able to take advantage of this, you can save a good bit of money right there.[/quote}As far as i know theres no easy way to get Windows 7 at studant prices

Its set at 1280X960 but can do up to 1280X1024

No biggie if you can't get a student price. It would just save a little bit. I'll fool around with around 900 to 1000 dollars and see what I can get. If you do want to wait until you raise that kind of dough, I bet the prices will go down further and we can get some even better stuff. Trust me though. Playing at that resolution, you'll have no problem running any game at maximum with a solid frame rate.

[MasterGH]

In Australia you can get the upgrade version of Windows 7 Pro here for $50 if you're a student. See here. Office 2010 is also relatively cheap there. I think you need at least XP to upgrade to Win7, though, so I don't think that will work out.

[Ausden]

Don't ever buy your computer parts from a walk-in store. As Spore said, they usually jack up the prices and if your lucky enough to find someone who knows what a MOBO is and how to hook it up...well your lucky.

The best way to save money and make this a fun activity is to do a lot of research and watch as many videos as you can. Use newegg as a reference tool in your research. Even if you can't purchase from it, you can see what people think of certain products you might be interested in. And lastly, you always have sites like this one to help you when your in a jam. Goodluck!

[RetroNL]

Buy the parts at a warehouse/storehouse that sells them for almost business prices (new parts), I always do that its the most cheapest way. Do this from the internet and be assured that the warehouse you are buying from is also to trust. Before starting I recommend you check the Bus Speed of the Mobo, most people only think that a fast processor with many RAM and a big fast GPU is the answer to everything, but thats wrong. I recommend you check on the maximum bus speed of the mobo and also the Max speed of the RAM inputs. If you are going for i7 material I recommend a mobo that contains the 1366 Socket, its the biggest one around these days. (This time bigger is better)

EDIT: One of the reasons why prices at warehouses are smaller is just because there is no 'real life' store between it, if you buy at stores you also pay much for the employees that work there.