Computer Talk

My girlfriend bought me an empty computer tower for my birthday because I'd mentioned an interest in building my own computer.

Now this is a pretty big undertaking, because I have no clue what I'm doing.

So aside from general discussion, I'd like to ask for help and comments, and links if available, to the components you would stand by and why.
I'll be building it in the summer, after my camp job ends and will post updates and pictures.

 

I'm considering following this guide/list myself when I get up some spare cash. you might find it useful, you might not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bh455l3348s

Though I will say this, which is also said in the video, go with the best power supply you can find. Antec's have done well with me.

 

Did the empty case come with the motherboard? Getting one that'll properly fit into the case is probably the first step, if it didn't.

 

Well, naturally, but he'd need a motherboard to connect them onto before they'd do anything useful. One step at a time.

 

Ars Technica is where I first picked up the basics to put together my own computer. They put out a list of recommended parts every year, usually in three different price ranges, from cheap to nice to ridiculous.

Actually let me dig up last year's list.

Here it is for December of 2012:

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/ars-technica-system-guide-december-2012/

It doesn't include an operating system, so mentally add that to the price. You could grab a freeware OS, but those are really only free if your time is worthless.

Once you've got the parts the rest of it is mostly an exercise in being gentle, not breaking things, and reading the directions before messing with it.

Attaching the central processing unit will be the most annoying part, everything else is usually just plugging it into the right part and screwing it down. You'll need to apply the coolant paste to the CPU properly, and make sure the fan is secured to it. Messing that up is the most common problem (the fans often have arrows pointing in the direction you turn to detach them, not to secure them, it can be confusing), but the coolant paste is cheap, and you can pick it up at a hardware store pretty easy if you manage to wipe it off.

 

Building a computer heh? Well like useless says, it's mostly just plugging things into rather obvious slots. A few things to note
[x]Make sure the pin type on the processor matches that of the motherboard
[x]If you're moving things from an old computer, check if the new motherboard has IDE slots, else some older drives won't connect without specific cords
[x]When attaching CPU to the fan, try a rolling motion. You basically don't want there to be any air bubbles.
[x]Always check that the things you're buying actually have available slots on your motherboard.
[x]Sound cards are often optional if you don't have much of a set up
[x]Cutting edge equipment is rarely necessary for anything other then bragging rights
[x]Try to get a power source with all the right power plugs for your cards/motherboard. Usually not difficult, and you can get adapter plugs fairly easily, but it's annoying to run into while building
[x] OS's are a bitch to buy. A lot of people simply don't.

tl;dr: Make sure all the stuff you buy/use is compatible with each other. To be honest I find attaching the case pins to the motherboard the most difficult part, though that's mostly cause of my case.

Also, here's a good place for graphic card comparison: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-card-review,3107.html

 

Uhh... what? The sound card is what has the plugs for the speakers and headphones to plug into. They're not really optional unless you've got some sort of USB speaker system or something.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Space in the module isn't gonna be an issue, the thing is a monster with the dimensions of 190/424/490 mm, or 7.5/16.7/19.3 inches.

There were two pieces of equipment that came installed. An LED fan in the front, and a pair of 2.0 USB ports with a sound jack and a mic jack between them.

For my hard drive, I was thinking Solid State. I'm not as concerned with amount of memory because I have an external hard-drive as I am with speed.

 

Motherboards will often have soundcards built in this day and age. I haven't had one in any of my computers in the past 10 years.

 

So, it has a motherboard with an onboard sound card, then? That's good; you won't have to worry about trying to get one that fits, and then screwing it onto the frame. So, next you need to buy the PSU (power supply unit), hard drive, RAM, CPU + heat sink, and maybe a Graphics card if it doesn't have an onboard one.

 

What are you going to use it for? Playing games? If so, get a nice graphics card, onboard ones are not that good for the health of your motherboard.

Make sure the PSU fits the requirements of your other hardware.

 

It doesn't have a motherboard. I've included a picture.

I was thinking of moving some of my gaming over to PC instead of relying strictly on my playstation. Most of the good games are being released on all systems, and most of those games look better on PC, but I only have plans to do that for a few.

I will be getting a good graphics card, the current cost list looks to be near five hundred, maybe five-fifty.

I purchased a power supply today, it's a Logisys 550W Dual Fan ATX Power Supply