flipflopsnowman's guide to piecing together a PC

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flipflopsnowman

Limp Gawd
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Welcome to all people who wish to build their own computer. Many of us [H]ard members have done this for years and years and you are here to obtain the mystical knowledge of the [H].

Back in the day, I was much like you, build a Newegg wishlist, post, wait for suggestions, reply, and purchase. I have learned, and I hope you can learn from my experiences.

Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for: flipflopsnowman's guide to piecing together a PC.

Edit: If you are lazy or ADHD, http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031395801&postcount=16 is the shortened version of this how to guide.

1) Figure out the two most important things: budget and what you want to use it for. Is this going to be an elite gaming rig? A high bang for the buck gamer? A media center to replace your living room? A dev box for college or work? Or simply a great PC for general purpose use? Generally speaking, a ground up build will cost ~$1000 for a good gaming machine, $2000 for close to top of the line, $3000 for top of the line. Serious upgrades begin at $300 and go up to as much as you want to spend. My best advice for someone wanting to build a rig on the cheap is to get a deal online, upgrade it yourself, and frankenstein your way along.

2) Figure out the parts that you are going to recycle/reuse. Do you have a 24" LCD, 7.1 surround sound speakers, mouse, keyboard, optical drives and a case and just need a new motherboard, processor and graphics card? Or is this a ground up build?

3) Once you combine these two lists you should come up with something like this:
I love to play WoW but my system doesn't cut it with my new 24" LCD. I'm going to reuse all of my optical drives, case, sound etc I just need the basics. I have an old motherboard, but it does have PCI-express, so I may not need a new one. I would like to allow the game to play at 1600x1220 or higher and have a budget of $800.

4) Do some research on your own. If you consider yourself knowledgeable, you may skip this step, if not, go read [H]ard reviews, system builds of other [H]ard members, the signatures of the members (where many post their current setup), build logs, etc. Some links are posted below for [Power Supplies], [Part Reviews], and [General Build].

5) Once you feel you have a handle on current prices and speeds, build a wishlist at Newegg. You don't have to buy everything at Newegg, it's just one of the best sites for wishlists. This is where most people post their wishlist and let [H]ard do the rest. DO NOT BE LIKE MOST PEOPLE. Continue with the rest of the steps.

6) Read and join discussions on the parts that you feel are correct for you in the appropriate forum. Does the Abit IP35 Pro look like a good motherboard? Go check out the motherboard forum. For every part you are purchasing you should have a good grasp of the comments in each of the other areas of the forum. Knowledge there is much more specific and it is great to give you a good grasp on parts. Also read any online documentation on the parts that you want to purchase. Google and Wikipedia are your friend.

7) Sit on your wish list for as long as possible. Odds are you will ammend the list many many times as you read reviews, other people's experiences, and become immersed in the [H]ard community.

8) A week before your purchases, if you still feel you need advice, begin by starting threads in specific forums. This is mainly if you feel that documentation is not enough to give you a good feel for a part. For example, eginurd, one of the members here started a thread in the Cooling section when he was looking at purchasing a CPU cooler and wanted to know if the mounting process was difficult or if users purchased after market mounting brackets.

9) After all of your specific questions have been answered, if you are not confident in your knowledge (which you should be after 8 steps) search for threads in a forum with your question. This will mainly be compatability problems ie "I have read mixed reviews about overclocking 4gb of RAM with a 680i board, any experiences?" If you do not find a thread, feel free to post a new one in the appropriate forum. The above question could go in motherboards or overclocking.

10) Finally, if after all of this, you need a pat on the butt that says "Good job" post your build in the General Hardware forum. Note that this is a last resort and used only by people embarking on their first build or people who have no confidence in their own intelligence. When you do post, please bear in mind that you are asking for help and counting on the mercy and intelligence of others. The more information the better. Posting a link to a wishlist is bad, links to parts are bad, posting part names, descriptions, prices, needs, budget etc is best. If you post specific parts, it should look like this:
Motherboard: Gigabyte DS3R - $129.99 <link> I like this because....
If you do not have time to complete the above steps (it should take you about a week if you don't work, a month if you do), then you are not ready to embark upon a build. If you truly must build within the next two days and it cannot wait, read the signatures of [H]ard members (mine in particular ;) ) to see what they have done and pick the one that seems to be in your price range.

Hope this helps all perspective buyers to make good decisions when building a PC. Note that these are best practices that I have developed over the past 3 months and are not for lazy members who just want [H]ard to build them a computer.

If you want someone to build you a computer, go to http://www.dell.com and pick a computer in your price range. If you have questions, ask them, that's what they are paid for. This may or may not be good advice, so it pays to do your homework.

Thanks for your time and good luck with your builds.

[Hard Stickys]
Video Card - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=965852
OverClock - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1198647
Air Cool - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=929824
Water Cool - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=759705
Benchmark - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=962154
Case Modding - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=758609
ESD (Electro Static Discharge) - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=812518
Electronics - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1187377
Memory - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=760374
Purchasing Memory - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=952359
Small Form Factor - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1145292
Home Theater PC - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=759011
Power Supply - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=768641
Purchasing Power Supply - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1045259
UPS (Uninteruptible Power Supply) - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1052508
HDD (Hard Disk Drive) - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=754424
Purchasing HDD - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1016962
Optical Drives - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=683435
Purchasing Optical - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=755644
LCD (TFT) - http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1039222
ForSale/Trade - http://hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=17

[General Build]
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/pc_building_guide_faq_part_1
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/pc_building_guide_faq_part_2
http://www.tigerdirect.com/static/html/pcbuildingtips.html <== Kind of old, but still good
http://www.mechbgon.com/build/index.html
http://corsair.com/systembuild/report.aspx?report_id=12472

[Part Reviews]
www.hardocp.com
www.anandtech.com
www.bit-tech.net
www.dailytech.com <== Look for their "Daily Hardware Reviews"
www.extremetech.com
www.jonnyguru.net
www.legionhardware.com
www.techgage.com
http://www.techreport.com/
www.xbitlabs.com/
www.3dgameman.com
http://www.bjorn3d.com/
http://www.madshrimps.be/
http://silentpcreview.com/

[Power Supply]
http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=103
http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1460

[Places to Buy - General]
www.mwave.com
www.newegg.com
www.clubit.com
www.tigerdirect.com
www.buy.com
www.directron.com
www.microcenter.com
www.zipzoomfly.com

[Places to Buy - Fans and Cooling]
www.frozencpu.com
www.jab-tech.com
www.petratechshop.com
www.thermalfx.com
www.ncixus.com
www.sidewindercomputers.com

[Places to Buy - Media Center]
www.pcalchemy.com

[Bargain Hunting]
www.slickdeals.net
www.techbargains.com
www.fatwallet.com
www.pricewatch.com
www.pricegrabber.com

[Links]
Motherboard Manufacturers:
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=247431
 
who's eginurd? :eek:

You can add some links to how-to guides for first-timers.
 
I wrote that on my lunch break and didn't have time to search for links (then or now). Any suggestions? I can edit my post later on tonight with links you suggest or I find :)
 
It's clear that many of us who give advice on GeneralHardware for rig setups often repeat the same advice ad-nausea (especially since many people are looking for a similar rig and have similar ideas on how to buy and build it.) This repetition can get frustrating at times, and as such a guide like this is most welcome.

Of course, there are also intangible benefits of having these active dialogs on building a PC--even if we had the same dialog dozens of time. Educating people on aspects of our hobby has always been an enjoyable and rewarding experience, and even those that give advice learn new things now and then. I thank everyone who takes time out of their day to share advice (and our love for our hobby) on these forums, and I encourage everyone else to keep asking for it.

Btw, I would recommend that OP state in the guide in clear, bold text that posters should post the actual part names they want to buy on this forum, and not just links to new-egg descriptions. That's very, very annoying.

Mark.
 
I really enjoy helping others with their builds, provided that they are willing do do some leg work for themselves and bring up topics not previously dicussed.

I also enjoy discussions and answering questions, but I mostly enjoy discussions where things are added instead of merely rehashed. Also, most of the build questions and suggestions are answered in other areas of the forum.

If a person is a n00b I would assume that if they are here that they want to expand their knowledge instead of merely getting what they need from the forum and then going on their merry way with the build.

I'm just about finished reading "Atlas Shrugged" for the first time and I'm positive that Ayn Rand's objectivism has weaseled itself into some of my thoughts.
 
Some links that you may want to add to your original post:

Building a PC FAQ:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/pc_building_guide_faq_part_1
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/pc_building_guide_faq_part_2

Power Supply Recommendations:
http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=103
http://www.jonnyguru.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1460

Also, for number 4, you may want to link to hardware review sites that can help others choose the right parts:
www.anandtech.com
www.bit-tech.com
www.dailytech.com <== Look for their "Daily Hardware Reviews"
www.extremetech.com
www.jonnyguru.net
www.legionhardware.com
www.techgage.com
http://techreport.com/
www.xbitlabs.com/

Great post by the way. This should be stickied:)
 
Thanks Danny.

My wife is on her new phone (switched to T-Mo from Verizon got here a RIZR 3) so I've got some time to edit and add links.

Any other sites that readers of this post have used would be helpful.

Thanks in advance
 
I added more links. If there are any places that you guys purchase parts that you would recommend, please reply. I'm going to be adding more as I come across them in the forums.

Thanks.
 
Links to parts aren't bad, as long as it comes with the part's name instead of having to click on the link. The more info the better.

All the links I wanted to send you have already been posted, lol.
 
Danny Bui said:
Can't believe I forgot to add HardOCP. LOL! And this thread should definitely be stickied!. I'ts a great resource for newbie PC builders.
Click to expand...

I agree, but it needs a summary for the ADHD people (/me included).
 
1) Figure out the two most important things: budget and what you want to use it for.
2) Figure out the parts that you are going to recycle/reuse.
3) Combine the two lists into a single needs list.
4) Do some research on your own.
5) Once you feel you have a handle on current prices and speeds, build a wishlist at Newegg. DO NOT POST THIS WISHLIST.
6) Read and join discussions on the parts that you feel are correct for you in the appropriate forum.
7) Sit on your wish list for as long as possible.
8) A week before your purchases, if you still feel you need advice, begin by starting threads in specific forums.
9) After all of your specific questions have been answered, if you are not confident in your knowledge (which you should be after 8 steps) search for threads in a forum with your question.
10) Finally, if after all of this, you need a pat on the butt that says "Good job" post your build in the General Hardware forum. Do NOT post part links. Parts should look like this:
Motherboard: Gigabyte DS3R - $129.99 <link> I like this because....

If you do not have time to complete the above steps (it should take you about a week if you don't work, a month if you do), then you are not ready to embark upon a build.

If you want someone to build you a computer, go to http://www.dell.com and pick a computer in your price range. If you have questions, ask them, that's what they are paid for.
 
Thanks for the clarification, I've never been to Bit tech and that Corsair guide looks good :)

So much info...

I think I'm going to link to a few stickied How To's in other Forums.
 
Added general pricing info:

~$1000 ground up build since some people have a problem realizing that $400 is not enough to build a gaming rig

Serious upgrades start at $300 (Processor, GPU, RAM, possibly MoBo)
 
I think $800 is also a good starting point for a new gaming PC from the ground up. With falling prices these days, it's very easy to build a very capable gaming rig for $800. Hell, I think it's possible with $700 if you don't include the OS.
 
Danny Bui said:
I think $800 is also a good starting point for a new gaming PC from the ground up. With falling prices these days, it's very easy to build a very capable gaming rig for $800. Hell, I think it's possible with $700 if you don't include the OS.
Click to expand...

I'm obviously more demanding than most, but I'd say that any machine built for less than $900 or so without monitor is going to be limited in what it is capable of doing so far as gaming, and am personally frustrated when people want to spend $700, 800 on a 'really fast' gaming machine with a monitor and everything else. In that price range you really should expect to make compromises. It's not a PS3...
 
silent-circuit said:
I'm obviously more demanding than most, but I'd say that any machine built for less than $900 or so without monitor is going to be limited in what it is capable of doing so far as gaming, and am personally frustrated when people want to spend $700, 800 on a 'really fast' gaming machine with a monitor and everything else. In that price range you really should expect to make compromises. It's not a PS3...
Click to expand...

Well I don't really think that a below $900 gaming rig without monitor will be that limited if they have a somewhat small monitor like a 15" to 19" possibly. But yes I also feel frustrated at times when people demand more than they can spend. But then again, I don't see that often since a good majority of gamers or at least new gamers already have monitors to begin with.
 
~$1000 means about 1000 for a gaming rig, ground up (monitor included)

Obviously if you have the OS and monitor that price will be adjusted.

These are the basic specs I was looking at when I came up with 1000:

Case $50
CPU $90
HDD $50
Monitor $120
Keyboard $20
Mouse $20
GPU $90
MoBo $75
PSU $50
RAM $50
Optical $20
Speakers $20
OS $0 or $80
Shipping $30
Misc $20

=$705 No OS

Now, if I put ~$700 people would think "Hey, 500 is almost 700, I can build with that" whereas ~$1000 means you don't have to have $1000 to build, but you *may* be better of buying a Dell or other on PC on sale and then upgrading it with aftermarket parts. FWIW, you can get a pretty good Dell for ~$400 and then throw a new GPU in there, sell the other one and have a perfectly good gaming PC for $500, OS included.

The closer to $500 you get, the more the volume that retailers have in stock and the closer to cost you get it. For high end PCs, Dell and other retailers charge a premium because the market isn't there for them. Building a $1000 gaming rig at home, you can save money, learn, feed your inner [H]ard, and pick exactly the parts that you want.

My best advice for someone wanting to build a rig on the cheap is to get a deal online, upgrade it yourself, and frankenstein your way along :)
 
As far as budget/midrange/highend build guides go, I usually refer people to Arstechnica, Anandtech, or HardOCP. The problem with those build guides is that they tend to recommend expensive parts, lol. However, they have a rep to keep, so I can't blame them. Anyhow, they're good starting points for people, and they can come here and post if they have any questions to tailor the build list according to their needs.
 
I'll bite...[H]ard|Gawd inbound with n00b question:

Why do you say not to post your wish list?
 
LstOfTheBrunnenG said:
I'll bite...[H]ard|Gawd inbound with n00b question:

Why do you say not to post your wish list?
Click to expand...

Many times people link them wrong, which delays responses. Another reason is that its easier for others if you post the parts list instead, so we don't have to click on another tab just to see your list while we're responding. If you'd like us to take the time to respond to your post, please take the time to make it easier for us to respond. You can still post your wishlist if you want... its just preferred that you list everything in the post itself instead.
 
I'll add two more stores to look at:

EastLuna.com - where I got my Silverstone SG03 and PSU (much) cheaper than NewEgg. They seem to have lower prices, especially on cases, compared to NewEgg.
Xoxide.com - you can get Yate Loon 120mm fans (some of the best bang-for-buck case fans around) for $4 each (plus shipping).

These are basically Places to Buy - General (though Xoxide could also fall under Places to Buy - Fans and Cooling).

==========

Also, a brief FAQ on the NewEgg search features:

Here's how to find something you want (without using the search box underneath the NewEgg logo)...

  • Go to the section where the item in question is located. You may have go to a few pages at first. For example, to find a 500GB hard drive, you go to Computer Hardware > Hard Drives > Internal Hard Drives. To find a board that supports Penryn, you go to Computer Hardware > Motherboards > Intel Motherboards.
  • On the left-hand side of the page, you'll find three search features: Guided Search (where you choose each feature that you want via hyperlinks), Advanced Search (where you make your selections using drop-down boxes), and Power Search (where all of your selections are made using checkboxes on one page). Choose the search feature that you want...
  • Narrow down your choices to the features that you're looking for...
  • And then press the Search button.
  • Once you've made your initial search, use the search features on the left-hand side of the search results page to narrow down your selections even further.
-----

If you're going to make a search for an item, choose either Advanced Search or Power Search. (Guided Search has a ton of hyperlinks that you must select one at a time, so making a final selection takes much longer than with the other search features.)

Power Search is the best of the three searches. When you choose Power Search, you're taken to a page with all possible options. Just click in the box(es) of the choice(s) that you want -- and, at the top of the page, put in any keywords, minimum and/or maximum (USD) amount that you're looking for -- and press the Search button to narrow down your fields.

With Advanced Search, all of your selections are hidden in drop-down boxes where you have to pick one choice per description header. Advanced Search is useful after you've made your initial search, so you could narrow down your selections even further.

-----

Near the top of the results page, you see a series of links that show the selections you've made for the search. If you click on the (x) next to each selection, you remove that search criteria from the final results. This (in most cases) adds some items in the results window that were "removed" by the selection that you've just deleted.

When you've made your search, you can customize your search results so the results below can view:

  • Brand
  • Image
  • Reviews
  • Return Policy
  • Item No.
  • Model No.
  • Description (4 specs.)
  • Description (8 specs.)
Note that you can only choose the Description with either 4 specs. or 8 specs.

You can also select two or more items (place a check in the box next to the items) and select Compare to compare all of their specifications. (There's also an arrow in the same column as the Compare checkbox that, when selected, brings you to the top of the page.

Near the top row, you can search within your selection by typing an entry in the Search Within box on the right side of the top row (of the search results). You can also sort the items by Best Rating, Lowest (to Highest) Price, Highest (to Lowest) Price, Most (NewEgg) Reviews, and Best Match (to your original search entry); and you can choose to view 20, 50, or 100 items per search result page.

If you click on the item name, you'll be taken to the item's page; if you click on the picture, a pop-up window/tab will appear with all of the pictures taken for the item.

==========

And a word about mail-in rebates (it's a bit off-topic, but people have been mentioning them in their final pricing): Don't count them as part of the final costs.

The reason why is pretty simple -- you still have to pay for the full amount up front. With MIRs, you fill out a form, submit the form/UPC code/(a copy of) your receipt/etc., mail it off, and wait around 6-10 weeks (or, at least two months, on average), for a check in the mail. And there's no guarantee that you'll receive a rebate check in the mail -- MIRs can be refused at the discretion of the company offering the refund (for whatever reason they feel like choosing).

Just something to keep in mind while you're trying to find ways to cut down on costs....
 
Concerning ESD.

Would it work if I had an extra power cord that I strip of the two prongs for hot and neutral and left the 3rd prong for ground and plugged that in from the power supply to the wall outlet?

I was thinking that if I had my ESD wriststrap on and that cord plugged in as a ground that that would really help my system and not jeapordize it by still having power from the wall outlet?

What do you think?
 
foolios said:
Concerning ESD.

Would it work if I had an extra power cord that I strip of the two prongs for hot and neutral and left the 3rd prong for ground and plugged that in from the power supply to the wall outlet?

I was thinking that if I had my ESD wriststrap on and that cord plugged in as a ground that that would really help my system and not jeapordize it by still having power from the wall outlet?

What do you think?
Click to expand...

That'll work. My ESD wriststrap has a round hole connector at the end to slide it around the ground prong of any plug -- much easier than stripping a spare cable. ;)
 
I want to picture this but I can't. Sounds like an excellent suggestion. Could you explain or show a pic of this?

I would love to see it, thank you!
 
For those who don't know already, hyperlinks, when viewed through the forum's text editor, look like:

HTML: 
[URL=http://www.yahoo.com]Yahoo![/URL]

The "easiest" way to do this would be to highlight the word that you want the hyperlink added onto, click the "Insert Link" button (the one with the link chain underneath the globe) and fill out the pop-ups as directed. You could also type them in, which becomes tedious after a while (unless you have a whole bunch of links saved somewhere beforehand).

Why is this important? Well, if you're talking about a certain item, don't assume that everyone knows what you're talking about. Provide a link to the item -- better yet, use the "Insert Link" button and add the hyperlink onto the item name. And when you're talking about said item, use the full item name (unless it's something that a lot of people know already, e.g. Radeon, GeForce, Core 2 Duo) and model/item number (e.g. Samsung SH-S203B, Intel E2140, EVGA 8800GTS OC).

Also, when listing names of items, especially from NewEgg, don't list the entire name, such as...

ASUS Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 14X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM

Make it simple for everyone, like...

Asus DRW-2014L1T SATA DVD Burner

If you're providing information on an item worth buying, it may be helpful to include the price (as well as the link to the store) with the item name...

Asus DRW-2014L1T SATA DVD Burner - $31.99

And when we ask you what you have, tell us what specifically -- name, model, type, additional details, etc. -- what you have.

When we ask (for example): "What monitor do you have?"
Don't respond with: "I have a 17 inch LCD."
Answer back: "I have a 17 inch Samsung SyncMaster 730B that I've had for over a year."

Don't think of all of this as laziness on our end; if you want our help, and if you really need it, then you need to give us as much details as possible so we can guide you down the right path.
 
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