Building first ever PC...this could end in tears...

[Logic Zero]

So i need YOUR help to guide me!

Does anyone have any tips for me before i start buying funk loads of hardware? An up-to-date tutorial on building a pc would be great too, i cant seem to find one on google, they are all years old!

Things id like to know are

1. the order to install things
2. handy things/tips to do on the way whilst building
3. oh and a big list of the things that i DO need to buy to get the system running eg. cpu, gpu, motherboard, etc (i know, im bad at this! ) :D

Big thankies!

Christine

[dgrmkrp]

hmm.. weird that there are no how to's on this theme... but.. :

3.) cpu + cooler, mobo + possible heatsinks, ram, video board + maybe after market cooler, sound board (if needed), hard drive(s), dvd-rw, maybe floppy/card reader, case and psu.. rounded cables for ide devices and nice sata cables for.. sata devices.. a sleeving kit if psu not sleeved or bad color.. fans to fit the case.. i like quiet fans, but if you need hi cooling power, use hi-flow fans and a fan controller to slow them down.. maybe buy some silencers for the fans.. rubber/silica gel thingies that are mounted between the fan and case.. maybe some ccfls?

2.have some free time on your hands.. a full day is nice, as you may end up redoing the install many times over until everything fits and no cables show (too much).. install things calmly and don't panic is it doesn't fit.. as you have another working system, you can search for solutions/play music while you cut things to shape ;) of, course, normal builds fit the 1st time..

1. install psu in case.. usually, you can't put it in because the mobo and the strengthening bar wont let you.. then install the cpu and cooler on the mobo.. put the mobo in the case, replacing the i/o plate.. put the ram in, do the wiring for the mobo connectors, put the video in.. install drives.. hide wires.. it's nice to work with both side panels open, because u can route wires in the bcak of the mobo and then have them "pop" back where needed..

i don't know if i forgot anything.. i don't think too much when building.. :)

[.Maleficus.]

Building a computer is really very straight foward.

What dgrmkr said about what you need is right, though I like flat IDE cables better (they are easier to hide IMO.)

In 5 minutes I can get my PC Gamer with the steps to build a computer. I can list them all if you want.

[Logic Zero]

Thanks dudes

Theres one thing that im wondering about, people are talking about configuring mobo's and setting jumpers on cd drives and HDD's, what does this mean?

Oh and i need a copy of windows yep?

Thanky thanky! xD

[EPYK]

dude here you go a huge tutorial that will go through everything for you.... from opening the side of your case to installing OS...

build your own computer (http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/)

[dgrmkrp]

Thanks dudes

Theres one thing that im wondering about, people are talking about configuring mobo's and setting jumpers on cd drives and HDD's, what does this mean?

Oh and i need a copy of windows yep?

Thanky thanky! xD
well, most mobo nowadays are jumperless.. and for specific bios setting used to unleash the beast, u can try googleing the mobo and overclock ;)
uf u use a sata hdd, usually there is no need for jumpers, altho some manufacturers use a jumper for i dont know what.. but it's specified on the drive itself.. usually, optical drives are set to master by default and if u connect them solo on a ribbon, no more fiddleing is needed..
a copy of windows.. sure.. if u wanna install windows ;) anything will do tho :)

also:

Big thankies!

Christine just wondering about the name.. i'm not from england, us or any english speaking coutry.. so, isn't this name.. mmmm... well... the "e" in the end got me curious..

[Logic Zero]

Thanks EPYK, very helpful! Doesnt look too hard :)



just wondering about the name.. i'm not from england, us or any english speaking coutry.. so, isn't this name.. mmmm... well... the "e" in the end got me curious..

@ dgrmkr: yes? whats wrong? :p

[dgrmkrp]

@ dgrmkr: yes? whats wrong?
nothing's wrong :) it just seemed like a funny name for a guy.. to the untrained foreigner, which never seemed fit to study names while learning english, that is.. so i googled it up :D here is what i got:

CHRISTINE
Gender: Feminine
Usage: French, English
Pronounced: krees-TEEN (French), kris-TEEN (English) [key]
French and English form of CHRISTINA from link (http://www.behindthename.com/php/view.php?name=christine)
i was just curious.. no offense :) guess i have too much time on my hands :)

[Logic Zero]

Who say's im a guy? :p :D

[dgrmkrp]

modding skillz ;) j/k
well... you didn't say you weren't :p and you have that nice sig :)

[Logic Zero]

The sig; womans touch :D

xD

[Forever Nights]

lol logic, i do like the break expensive things i do that all the time i was a ford tech for a time, lol. now i just miss up puters and stuff, and all i can say is, when building this thing is, dont get in a hery, had a friend do that now he's buying a new mobo mahaha mahaha and im the one that has to put it in now lol:( :rolleyes: 8)

[dgrmkrp]

dont get in a hery, had a friend do that now he's buying a new mobo mahaha mahaha and im the one that has to put it in now
i have to admit that i was forced to put things together once.. looong time ago.. i had some cash to upgrade my cpu and someone "offered" me one.. furtunatelly, i returned it when.. i failed, 'cause i tried using a thoroughbred athlon on a kt266 board.. physically, they fit.. but that's it.. that was my only miss-fire i ever had.. i do research and read a lot more now, so something like this should never happen.. should...
it is perfectly doable (and adviseable) to do this alone, but maaaybe supervised ;) just in case... but if u can "feel" the boards/electronics/componets, you.. just do it :) and not hurrying is the best advise.. after a few dozens of builds, u can hurry it :)
good luck and remember: read and ask for advise and choose what u see fit :)

The sig; womans touch
xD
i did suspect that.. the hand holding the screw-driver looks kinda femalish :) ;)

[Logic Zero]

womans touch :D

xD

I still manage to break things though xD

Hehe nights, thanks for the advice (*repeats dont be in a hurry*)

Thanks dgrmkr, :omg: mr. helpful :p

[dgrmkrp]

Thanks dgrmkr, mr. helpful
just trying to help out where i can :)

...so, what are u planning on building? have something special in mind? something to kick hp's a$$ maybe;)? go all out on looks, performance, style?

[Logic Zero]

In terms of actual modding, i'll admit there wont be much of that :redface:

Gonna be for performance and style, depends on funds. I will post pics when i am done (please note i dont earn much [just turned 17] so might be a couple months :) )

[Slug Toy]

just wondering... are you still in need of a list of hardware? i saw that as number three down in your first post. if you need a list... give me a budget, and ill throw something together for you.

if you've already bought stuff... well you're getting plenty of help from other people, so i dont think you need me. im good with design decisions and pricing.

[Razors Edge]

Yeah like slugtoys saying, If you give me a price range I can tell you the best stuff you can get.

As for building, meh its not hard. Heres the list of all the parts you need to get a computer working.

+Motherboard
+CPU
+CPU Cooler
+Powersupply
+RAM
+Video Card
+Hard Drive
+CD Drive
+CASE
+IDE Cable (1 or 2)
+Power Cable for Power Supply

-----------------------------
Building isn't really hard. Once you got that stuff its easy. The only thing I can really suggest is that you install the CPU + Heatsink on the motherboard before you install the motherboard inside you're case.

[Silenced_Coyote]

How about an anti-static wrist strap? Even if you don't break something, I don't think you would want to fry something either.

[.Maleficus.]

How about an anti-static wrist strap? Even if you don't break something, I don't think you would want to fry something either.
I've never used one, but you might consider getting one, though if you're careful and build on a table or something, you should be fine.

[simon275]

Wrist straps are good. I have killed a 6800gt through static. Thank god for warnanty.

Most CPU's these days are boxed with CPU coolers that work just fine. And he wont need IDE cables as MOBO's, optical drives and hardrives are all boxed with them he will have more than enough.

[Cevinzol]

one thing that can save you a little headach is to assemble the components outside that case.

most M/B's come in a static bag and thers some foam padding. just place the M/B on the foam, plug in the ram and GPU and see if it will power up.

This saves you the frustration of assembling everything into the case only to discover and hour later taht a component was dead out of the box.

[dgrmkrp]

i never used antistatic protection.. shame on me you could say.. but i'm apparently a type of person that can't zapp :) the guy i worked with was zappy 24/7.. so he used to touch the case before doing any work inside.. it rubbed off.. better safe than sorry :) still, wrist wraps are not so common here :) one thing that's common tho is burnt tv tuners... seen a couple.. burnt one myself.. it's that damn small amount of voltage that flows thru the coaxial link #$%%^.. so, beware of that ;)

about the assembling of a system and the warranty.. testing is good! and if u wanna go watercooled, leak testing is a must! just remember that some mods may void the warranty if not properly done.. changing stock heatsinks should be done in such a way that u can put them back in the worst case scenario ;) of course, there are some times in life when you know that the money you shelled out will be lost if u do a wrong move: e.g. reflashing video cards... cutting something to fit.. changing the fan in a psu.. of course, we learn that way too, so money ain't totally lost ;)

[a.Bird]

Make sure to get a really nice 15" monitor with color bleeding and a nasty greenscan. If you can find a really old one for about 20 bucks, you can be gauranteed that it'll be way too blurry to read anything with a res higher than 800*600. Um... a good off-white keyboard from '94 with sharp square keys and burnt out LEDs is good for getting into your BIOS. Don't forget a trackball mouse so you can spend the first half hour just trying to get used to the navigation of your OS. When these necessities are taken care of, you can move onto a busted $15 pair of stereo speakers that crackle very nicely at anything above 40dBA. These are great things to have for all those new games and office software out there these days. Good stay ahead of the game ya know ;)

[Forever Nights]

ok about the static hahaha i have pit rig's together on carpeted floors tons of time just remember to all was be touching the case i always lay my for-arm on the side that r metal (i no i cant spell, i broke my toe's this weekend and im drugged out of my mind wee wee the pink dunky talks to me) lo, and ide cables ARE SO LAST YEAR, lol now days u can get sata on every thing from hdd to cd and dvd drive's and they r not that pricey, and on that note, dont let the money thing get to, i mean if u can aford it just look around, hell i never build a rig from one site or store, i use newegg.com, zipzoomfly.com, and a host more, if u need some place to buy from just ask and i can put the links to the tons of place that i buy from and im shore everyone will help in that area (so now of to the race with u)

[Omega]

I'm assuming you're a girl?

AWESOMEO

we need more chick gamers/modders/geeks =/



Aaaanywho, i'm too lazy to type everything out but here's some pointers:

beware of static. cats are walking static deathbombs. keep cats out of computers. cats are bad. static kills (OH THINK OF THE INNOCENT HARDWARRRREEEEEE)

Apply power last, because we want to see more of you ;)

[EPYK]

there is an order to how people typiclly install hardware too..
1. put mobo in case
2. processor, ram
3. I/O cards
4. cd-roms, hard drives, floppys
5. psu(not connections)
6. cooling devices
7 connect all power connections

[a.Bird]

don't forget to throw on some tunes.