Hey «13th» members! As you know, the holidays are coming up. If any of you are thinking about or are getting a new computer or computer component, you've come to the right place. Just so you know, if you want to game but still have a pretty low budget, buy a desktop. If a laptop is selling for a little more than a desktop, there is a super high chance that the desktop is loads better. Want to build one? This guide will STILL help. For a note, building your computer by yourself with not only COST less but RUN a lot better with games and speeds. It'll also give you a computer YOU want, not prebuilt. Let's get started.

If you are building one, you will need a shell to house all the computer parts inside of it. I personally cannot help you choosing the size, because you are going to be picking your own parts or just buying a prebuilt one.
Here is the diagram of my motherboard. It has labels so you know where the placements are.

First thing in a computer tower is the power supply. It gives power to mostly all of your computer hardware, excluding your graphics card if you buy 1 that doesn't require one, like mine. Now, I have a 350W PSU(Power Supply). I personally would buy one/a computer that is at least 450W, 400W would be fine if you don't want hardcore gaming. Make sure it isn't over-sized or anything, that will make your life a lot harder.

The next thing is the motherboard, the main part of your computer. You can buy one with a built-in graphics card, but they usually aren't good at all. That won't be an affecting factor though, you can still put another graphics card in to replace it. Mine has 2 heatsinks, 4 RAM Card slots, 4 Hard Drive Connectors, PCI Express x16, 2 PCI x1, PCI, all those computer and energy connectors at the bottom, and connectors like audio, video, mouse, keyboard, etc. at the top left. I will give you a little overview of these parts to get you familiarized.
-Heatsinks help control heat, hence the name. They have cold metal, that absorbs the heat and fans help get rid of it. The top heatsink is just the holder. There is a heatsink that looks just like the other one at the bottom right, but bigger. Because of the size, there is a fan attached at the top to regulate airflow and take all the heat from the heatsink out of the computer. Make sure big heatsinks have fans.
-RAM Card slots house the RAM cards, or Random Access Memory cards. These are what give you the memory to run games, and even the computer itself. The high-end cards are 2GB each, but in that case you will need just 1 to have enough to run almost all games. I have 4 1GB Cards, I never use even more than 3/4 of that RAM. But, sooner or later you will need more RAM, so be safe.
-The Hard Drive connectors connect the hard drives to the system, again the obvious name. You don't see the hard drives, they will be in some kind of holder. You can have a max of 4. Just connect the right power connector from the PSU and the connector cord from the Hard Drive to the connector.
-The connectors at the top right are an essential to connect all your devices like mouse and keyboard. The ones with integrated graphics cards are blue or white, and they connect to your monitor. Don't worry about these, they will be there no matter what, unless you buy a used one.
-Then comes the PCI-E and PCI Slots. PCI slots are for various hardware components, varying from video cards to sound cards if they're high-end. PCI Express x1 are for things like TV tuners, networking devices, or sound cards. Finally the best, the PCI Express x16 are for the modern graphics cards, not those old ones that use AGP. If the motherboard has an AGP slot, chances are it is old and horrible.

Then comes the CD/DVD Drive. You probably don't need this... unless you want to burn disks. Mine can actually write on the disk and create images like on game disks, but you need the right disks. Its a LightScribe. Most of you probably don't need this, and you don't need explanation for these. Just pop on the power supply cord from the PSU, and put the special white-wire-filled huge cord into a slot looking like that blue/white/black connector at the middle right of the motherboard.

There is also a need for a graphics card(or also called a video card) to play games and such. There is a high chance it WILL go into the PCI Express x16 slot. Personally, I would buy an Nvidia Geforce 8 series or higher, or even a GTX. The Geforce 8800 is remarkable, but kind of expensive. I would go for an Nvidia Geforce 8600GT to play BFH on high with no lag. I have a 8500GT and it can play BF2 on maxed everything, but remarkably BFH takes more memory. Another thing to keep in mind is the VRam of the card. It is video memory, the more the better. I would get a 512MB card. I have a 1GB, totally overkill as again I don't even use 3/4 of it while maxed on BFH. If you have onboard(integrated) graphics on your motherboard, start up your computer and go into Safe Mode, see how to do it online as it differs with computers. Then go to the Start Menu. Right click Computer or My Computer, and click Device Manager. Then open the Display Adapters. Right click on your onboard graphics card and click Disable, NOT UNINSTALL! Turn off the computer, install into the slot, connect the VGA adapter from your monitor to the newly installed graphics cards' port. Turn on, and WOOT!

Lastly, the processor. I would go for an AMD. Also go for a x86 system, AKA 32 bit. 64 bit has some problems, software is just not caught up to it yet. I have one, but I can live with it, its fine. Also go for a dual core processor, it means its not just 1 CPU, its 2! I have a Quad core, I'd go for 2. Games haven't caught up with Quad-Cores yet. Also, go for atleast 2 GHz processing speed, the more the better performance and the better of a video card you can get. Just so you know, processors are the motherboards.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. This took me 30 minutes to type, so appreciate it
Please reply, and please turn into announcement. My other tutorial was never put as a announcement/sticky.

Dude thats awesome!

Did you get that info from your Tech Class at School?

One question, I've got an AMD Turion x2 64-bit, what exactly is the difference between 64 and 32 bit, and what do these mean?

Bronx: In school, I have not been taught anything about computers whatsoever I just opened up my old computer, studied it, then researched them. A few days after I made it an empty shell and rewired everything. I guess I learn fast cuz its barely been a month and I know tons. I also researched on graphics cards before getting it a few weeks ago. You try its way easier than anyone would think...

Zfinster: 32 bit systems and 64 bit systems refer to the data bus. Its a bus for data, it carries data to the processor where all the processing and thinking happens. You have 2. Normal d bs are 32 bits wide, but ours are 64. It carry double the data. Its also faster and you will notice the extra speed compared to 32b. Some programs arent stable and cant run on 64,but all others can. So, it carries more data and processes graphics and scientific calculations better and faster and more efficiently. YW

Thanks, great explanation, yea i've run into some trouble with trying to install some things that are only 32b friendly, and some downloads have 32 and 64b downloads seperatley, thanks alot for explaining, I wanna learn as much as I can about this stuff because I'm thinking about having a career in the I.T. field.

This hurts my head dude.

xD

BUMP

You might as well get quad-core because when the games do catch up, your screwed, last year 80% of games were optimal on a single processor, 18% on dual, and 2% for multiple. Those statistics are going to change fast. A dual core is going to become obsolete... Just when ppl thought they mastered XP, Vista was released and now Windows 7. Technology changes fast dude.

Although XP is the best still... I haz a bucket

Yeah, just go buy an OS on Ebay, people sell it for $0.01, sells for a cent, factory sealed. I don't know how those people get a hold of it.

If anyone needs any help with building a new computer. I can recommend good builds. I'm in the process of setting up a custom computer building website. I have a lot of build experience.

If things go well with my recent move to 13thMEU. I'm considering giving away a gaming computer as a contest prize. All info on this will be released sometime in the future.

Smok3Dogg wrote:

If things go well with my recent move to 13thMEU. I'm considering giving away a gaming computer as a contest prize. All info on this will be released sometime in the future.

Omg that would be awesome!

Quote :

Lastly, the processor. I would go for an AMD. Also go for a x86 system, AKA 32 bit. 64 bit has some problems, software is just not caught up to it yet. I have one, but I can live with it, its fine. Also go for a dual core processor, it means its not just 1 CPU, its 2! I have a Quad core, I'd go for 2. Games haven't caught up with Quad-Cores yet. Also, go for atleast 2 GHz processing speed, the more the better performance and the better of a video card you can get. Just so you know, processors are the motherboards.

Just a bit of updating here. If your looking to upgrade your computer/build a new one. Most of the new CPU[central processing unit]'s have 64-bit technology built in to them. And if you want to use more than 3.5GB's of RAM. You will need a 64-bit operating system.

Win 7 64 bit is your best bet for a OS at this time. 64 bit has no problems with software. This is a common rumor on the internet.

As for dual core vs quad core. If you like to alt-tab while gaming and surf the net. Chat with friends on MSN. Quad core is the way to go. And games are starting you use quad core. Example. Bad Company 2 PC game. Many have reported the game runs better on quad core.

As for min speed. 3.0Ghz should be your min. You can always overclock your CPU to get 3.0 and higher. But over clocking is for another time.

Processors are not the motherboard. Yes the CPU is installed on the motherboard. Think of a CPU as a brain. Motherboard being the body a brain is housed in.

*As for video cards.
Currently ATI is king when it comes to the best vid card money can buy. If you want to be ready for DX 11[Which only works with Vista/Win 7]. Take a look at ATI's 5750/5770/5850/5870 cards. All are DX 11 ready. Support eyefinity. And for the money and performance Nivida has no products to match at this time. But March 26th. Nivida is launching there top line DX 11 card GTX 480.

If you have a older OS or not really interested in future games that will run DX 11. You can get some nice performing cards for cheap. Like ATI's 4890. Which was ATI's fastest single GPU card out. Until ATI released there 5870 cards. Which currently are the fastest single GPU cards out. Nivida cards might be a good choice once the release the GTX480. Which should make prices on there older GTX 260/275/285/295 series of cards more in line with ATI's prices.

Quote :

Heatsinks help control heat, hence the name. They have cold metal, that absorbs the heat and fans help get rid of it. The top heatsink is just the holder. There is a heatsink that looks just like the other one at the bottom right, but bigger. Because of the size, there is a fan attached at the top to regulate airflow and take all the heat from the heatsink out of the computer. Make sure big heatsinks have fans.
-RAM Card slots house the RAM cards, or Random Access Memory cards. These are what give you the memory to run games, and even the computer itself. The high-end cards are 2GB each, but in that case you will need just 1 to have enough to run almost all games. I have 4 1GB Cards, I never use even more than 3/4 of that RAM. But, sooner or later you will need more RAM, so be safe.
-The Hard Drive connectors connect the hard drives to the system, again the obvious name. You don't see the hard drives, they will be in some kind of holder. You can have a max of 4. Just connect the right power connector from the PSU and the connector cord from the Hard Drive to the connector.

Heatsinks are commonly paired with fans when used on CPU's. HSF is the termed used. Which means heatsink fan. On higher end motherboards. You will find heatsinks on the Northbridge and Southbride.

If you buy a retail package CPU it always come with what is referred to as a stock cooler. Which is basically a HSF. OEM CPU's will not have any HSF included with it. So you will need a aftermarket HSF.

Most often stock coolers are fine for everyday computing. But if you decide to over clock your CPU above 3.8Ghz. You will want to get good aftermarket cooling. The stock cooler can be used for mild overclocks.


RAM cards is a misnomer here. They are more commonly referred to as sticks of RAM. As to how much RAM you need. Most will suggest 4GB's for gaming and multi tasking. IF using a Intel CPU which uses Triple channel RAM. Then 3 2GB sticks is then norm. For a total of 6GB's RAM. If anyone wants to know the differences between triple channel and dual channel. I will do that in another post.

The max of 4 hard drives is also false. The only limiting factor in how many hard drives you can have is: Your computer case, and having enough power/connectors to run them. Most cases today have room for 6 or more hard drives.

**When looking for computer parts online. The best places to shop are Newegg, Tigerdirect and NCIX. Shop and compare prices. I personally have been buying from Newegg since 2005.

Smok3Dogg wrote:

Quote :

Lastly, the processor. I would go for an AMD. Also go for a x86 system, AKA 32 bit. 64 bit has some problems, software is just not caught up to it yet. I have one, but I can live with it, its fine. Also go for a dual core processor, it means its not just 1 CPU, its 2! I have a Quad core, I'd go for 2. Games haven't caught up with Quad-Cores yet. Also, go for atleast 2 GHz processing speed, the more the better performance and the better of a video card you can get. Just so you know, processors are the motherboards.

Just a bit of updating here. If your looking to upgrade your computer/build a new one. Most of the new CPU[central processing unit]'s have 64-bit technology built in to them. And if you want to use more than 3.5GB's of RAM. You will need a 64-bit operating system.

Win 7 64 bit is your best bet for a OS at this time. 64 bit has no problems with software. This is a common rumor on the internet.

As for dual core vs quad core. If you like to alt-tab while gaming and surf the net. Chat with friends on MSN. Quad core is the way to go. And games are starting you use quad core. Example. Bad Company 2 PC game. Many have reported the game runs better on quad core.

As for min speed. 3.0Ghz should be your min. You can always overclock your CPU to get 3.0 and higher. But over clocking is for another time.

Processors are not the motherboard. Yes the CPU is installed on the motherboard. Think of a CPU as a brain. Motherboard being the body a brain is housed in.

*As for video cards.
Currently ATI is king when it comes to the best vid card money can buy. If you want to be ready for DX 11[Which only works with Vista/Win 7]. Take a look at ATI's 5750/5770/5850/5870 cards. All are DX 11 ready. Support eyefinity. And for the money and performance Nivida has no products to match at this time. But March 26th. Nivida is launching there top line DX 11 card GTX 480.

If you have a older OS or not really interested in future games that will run DX 11. You can get some nice performing cards for cheap. Like ATI's 4890. Which was ATI's fastest single GPU card out. Until ATI released there 5870 cards. Which currently are the fastest single GPU cards out. Nivida cards might be a good choice once the release the GTX480. Which should make prices on there older GTX 260/275/285/295 series of cards more in line with ATI's prices.

Lol sorry about the dated information, computer tech has caught up faster than before. As you said, I highly recommend 64-bit Windows 7. I'm also building a computer, but you're older than me, so I'll take your advise on this stuff. I'll talk to you on xfire ^^

Add me binladenhunter. I'd be glad to help you out with your new build.