Comments on: Building a New Computer – Part 1: Choosing Hardware http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/ Computer Help from your Friendly How-To Geek Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:50:03 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Rob http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-77123 Rob Sat, 26 Sep 2009 02:50:37 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-77123 The motherboard is what all the other components depend on. The system board is your key component. What comes afterwards; RAM, processor, memory, chassis size is determined by what motherboard you choose. Whether it's AMD or Intel, the motherboard manufacturer or store where you bought it from will all have the information you need to choose the rest of the components. It's not rocket science. One piece of advice, the faster graphics cards, $100 and up, do require a heftier power supply. You will want to look at your Graphics Card power requirements before choosing the power supply. I recommend 600 Watt, right off the bat, even if they say you only need 400. The motherboard is what all the other components depend on. The system board is your key component. What comes afterwards; RAM, processor, memory, chassis size is determined by what motherboard you choose. Whether it’s AMD or Intel, the motherboard manufacturer or store where you bought it from will all have the information you need to choose the rest of the components. It’s not rocket science. One piece of advice, the faster graphics cards, $100 and up, do require a heftier power supply. You will want to look at your Graphics Card power requirements before choosing the power supply. I recommend 600 Watt, right off the bat, even if they say you only need 400.

]]> By: DOWNFALL http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-76783 DOWNFALL Thu, 17 Sep 2009 20:39:55 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-76783 hey man, I've done countless pc mods but never a full build before last night, I may as well have, having replaced everything at one point or another. but i didn't know where to start. thanks for the checklist. also @ the peopel talking about processers, I got a pheneomII X2 550 callisto black edition. at specs it's 3.1 GHZ but can be overclocked to 4, starts ou dual care but with certain motherboards can be unlocked to 4 cores, only costs 100 bucks too. so if ou do a little work you can end up with a quad core 4 GHz processor that only consumes 85W for just 100 bucks, thats the way i went. add that with my 8 gigs of DDR2 1066, 7200RPM hard drive, and 1 gig 256 bit 9600gt card I did pretty good for 600 I'd say hey man, I’ve done countless pc mods but never a full build before last night, I may as well have, having replaced everything at one point or another. but i didn’t know where to start. thanks for the checklist.
also @ the peopel talking about processers, I got a pheneomII X2 550 callisto black edition. at specs it’s 3.1 GHZ but can be overclocked to 4, starts ou dual care but with certain motherboards can be unlocked to 4 cores, only costs 100 bucks too. so if ou do a little work you can end up with a quad core 4 GHz processor that only consumes 85W for just 100 bucks, thats the way i went.

add that with my 8 gigs of DDR2 1066, 7200RPM hard drive, and 1 gig 256 bit 9600gt card

I did pretty good for 600 I’d say

]]> By: charles http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-76610 charles Mon, 14 Sep 2009 00:02:29 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-76610 I wqant to build or buy a computer that my daughter can use for starting a graphic artist busieness, you know logos silk screen design, but I could build one rather buy a 10 thousand dollar modal what do you suggest? Is it better to buy the mac g4 whatever? or can I save a lot of money building my own and then including extras like memory cards for gaming so we could set up a studio in our garage and start pumping out the graphic art log buisiness? We bought adobe creative suite 4??? I wqant to build or buy a computer that my daughter can use for starting a graphic artist busieness, you know logos silk screen design, but I could build one rather buy a 10 thousand dollar modal what do you suggest? Is it better to buy the mac g4 whatever? or can I save a lot of money building my own and then including extras like memory cards for gaming so we could set up a studio in our garage and start pumping out the graphic art log buisiness? We bought adobe creative suite 4???

]]> By: Walt http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-75355 Walt Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:52:07 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-75355 A need for speed resolved. I finally got an answer from HP tech that said, in a word, NO. Need a new Mobo to upgrade the cpu. Walt A need for speed resolved.
I finally got an answer from HP tech that said, in a word, NO. Need a new Mobo to upgrade the cpu.
Walt

]]> By: Walt http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-75295 Walt Thu, 13 Aug 2009 23:05:57 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-75295 A need for speed. I have a 775 Asus atx board with an Intel E5300 cpu. (800mhz FSB). Can i replace the cpu with an E8400 without any other alterations necessary. HP 8gb. Thanks Walt A need for speed.
I have a 775 Asus atx board with an Intel E5300 cpu. (800mhz FSB). Can i replace the cpu with an E8400 without any other alterations necessary. HP 8gb.
Thanks
Walt

]]> By: bikash http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-75107 bikash Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:58:52 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-75107 i had bought ram but i don't know it will support to my pc motherboard or not i want to know whih had been insurted in my pc from command i had bought ram but i don’t know it will support to my pc motherboard or not
i want to know whih had been insurted in my pc from command

]]> By: Whatever http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-74406 Whatever Thu, 16 Jul 2009 03:47:29 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-74406 Geek, You could bought Intel Core i7, although it could be very expensive. Nice guide Mr Geek! By the way, that is a budget price, very good pricing! , Whatever Geek,

You could bought Intel Core i7, although it could be very expensive. Nice guide Mr Geek!
By the way, that is a budget price, very good pricing!

,
Whatever

]]> By: Jeroen http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-74352 Jeroen Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:09:56 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-74352 Hi, I was wondering why you are advising to choose Intel if completely unsure. When looking for upgrades for the P4 computers in our small prepress company I found the price difference between reasonably performing CPU/MB combinations with Intel vs AMD computers to be considerable, especially with dual-core processors rated at 45W or lower (good for energy bill and low noise production), such as the X2 5050E. With 4GB memory, on-board GeForce 7050 DVI and Windows 7 the 5050E smoothly handles our jobs in Word 2007, CorelDraw/Photopaint, Acrobat Pro, etc. The money saved in this department was invested in a low-noise power supply and CPU cooler to reduce office noise as far as possible. I can imagine that a top-of-the-bill game rig calls for the extra speed of a fast Intel, but in that case I would think there is no "safe choice for the unsure". Personally, I think the very first question in building a computer should be "What am I going to use it for"? The answer will suggest a desirable configuration, which can then be tweaked for reasons of budget [usually lower than desired], (un)wanted noise production [usually higher than desired], and looks. Hi,

I was wondering why you are advising to choose Intel if completely unsure. When looking for upgrades for the P4 computers in our small prepress company I found the price difference between reasonably performing CPU/MB combinations with Intel vs AMD computers to be considerable, especially with dual-core processors rated at 45W or lower (good for energy bill and low noise production), such as the X2 5050E. With 4GB memory, on-board GeForce 7050 DVI and Windows 7 the 5050E smoothly handles our jobs in Word 2007, CorelDraw/Photopaint, Acrobat Pro, etc. The money saved in this department was invested in a low-noise power supply and CPU cooler to reduce office noise as far as possible.

I can imagine that a top-of-the-bill game rig calls for the extra speed of a fast Intel, but in that case I would think there is no “safe choice for the unsure”.

Personally, I think the very first question in building a computer should be “What am I going to use it for”? The answer will suggest a desirable configuration, which can then be tweaked for reasons of budget [usually lower than desired], (un)wanted noise production [usually higher than desired], and looks.

]]> By: Bruce http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-73425 Bruce Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:46:40 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-73425 So, besides the whole RAM issue, are there any other downsides to having 32-bit version of Windows XP? So, besides the whole RAM issue, are there any other downsides to having 32-bit version of Windows XP?

]]> By: James http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/comment-page-2/#comment-73338 James Sun, 14 Jun 2009 20:03:16 +0000 http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/#comment-73338 Hey, i was using your forum/site as a reference for building my own system. however, once putting it all together i came upon a stumbling block. After connecting everything and plugging everything in, the power wasn't working. I have the same Xion II case that you recommended, and a Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P motherboard running the AMD Phenom II 940 X4 chip...am i having compatibility issues? Or are my wires all crossed? (everything seems to be plugged in in the right places)...hope someone has an idea of what i did wrong. Hey, i was using your forum/site as a reference for building my own system. however, once putting it all together i came upon a stumbling block. After connecting everything and plugging everything in, the power wasn’t working. I have the same Xion II case that you recommended, and a Gigabyte GA-MA790X-UD4P motherboard running the AMD Phenom II 940 X4 chip…am i having compatibility issues? Or are my wires all crossed? (everything seems to be plugged in in the right places)…hope someone has an idea of what i did wrong.

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