New to modding.

[genesis2563]

Hi, I'm brand new to all this but I really want to custom build my own pc so I'm gonna give it a shot.

I was wondering if anyone has a couple of minutes just to check through my list of components to see if:
a)it will work
b)it will be good

If anyone could do this I would appreciate it so very much, I dont want to go buying things that arn't compatible as my budget is far from unlimited.

Processer
AMD Sempron 3000+
Motherboard
Biostar
Hard Drive
160GB SATA Hard Disk 7200
PSU
Hiper 480W
RAM
512MB PC 400 DDR
Graphics Card
Nvidia GForce Mx4000
CPU Cooler
Thermaltake A2144
Case
Thermaltake Soprano


Thank you very much, I await your response.

[snefan]

dont need that good PSU for those components
but all seem to work together
what are you going to use the comp for?
you wont be able to play many games on that :/
and a tip to save money is to buy everything from the same place

http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/kl.asp?bn=10643
on the link you got some choices on AMD systems in different prize ranges.

[genesis2563]

Thanks for the comment, which parts in particular should i upgrade to make the Sempron 3000+ a worthwhile purchase?

[[DGN]Nexus]

Get a better graphics card on that list. I would suggest a nVidia GeForce FX 5600 for starters. If you have more money to spend than maybe a little bit more extensive card would be better, but that would be the best for a starter system builder.

Also, that motherborard should be upgraded to be compatible with that processor, if it is one you truly want.

There are actually quite a few incompatibility problems with this setup, so it might be best if you give us a budget and recommend a custom layout tailored to you.

[snefan]

it might be best if you give us a budget and recommend a custom layout tailored to you.

agree

[genesis2563]

I dont want to sound ungrateful but thank you for your offer, however I would really like to do it my on my own, but again thank you. I just need your educated opinions.

I want to upgrade the motherboard to something better, I understand that since my CPU is socket 754 i have to get a compatible board, I thought maybe this one:
EPoX EP-8NPAJ
As it has the 754 slot, and PCI express ports to fit a better graphics card and also the part for my Hiper 480W PSU, on the page about it, it says it needs a PCI express port. So for that it is ok.

Graphics card wise I thought something around £30-£50, does anyone have any recommendations?
Bear in mind I am not a gamer to the extent that i need amazing graphics, but i would like good graphics.
Sapphire Radeon X550 seems nice, as I edit video and am a amateur photographer.

Also, some brilliant news, I calculated the cost of my setup above and it came to £315 and i told my mum what i was going to do, she said it would be interesting to see me make it all, then she said shed pay for it all as my Xmas gift. How awesome is that? Very, id say.

So my new tops budget is around £350 without me spending anything. So i dont mind forking out that extra bit if the component is really worth it.

Sorry for the long post.

[Aristo]

I would really consider the full scope of what you intend to do with the computer, and like you said, you do want some graphics, but you don't need to be on the bleeding edge. I think what you should really focus on is making sure all the parts you buy will be compatible. Make sure the memory is something that's a tested and trusted brand and if there are currect bios updates to the board you're looking for. All these will play a small part in overall stability. Once that's been set the other stuff is trivial and you should be able to put your budget into all the customizing and eye candy you want.

[genesis2563]

Awesome, thanks for all your help guys, Il go over all my stuff to check compatibility, then il probably ask if its all correct, because as aforementioned, im new to all this and im fairly uninformed.

[slaveofconvention]

If you do have a little extra money floating around, I'd certainly consider going with 1024MB of ram, especially if you plan to do video editing - can make a huge difference. Having said that I think there's something that's going to put a little dent in your budget anyway I don't see an optical (CD/DVD etc) drive in your list and as you seem to be looking at a whole new system, you're going to need one. If you want a recommendation, I'd suggest the NEC 3540 DVD burner - its a consistent award winner with several magazine reviews, and its also one of the cheaper DVD writers out there - it isn't really worth looking at DVD/CDRW combo drives any more as the price difference is so small. You could also save a couple of pounds (or get 200gig for the same price) if you get a IDE hard disk instead of a SATA one. Yes SATA is better in theory, but for the kinds of things you say you plan to do I don't think you'd really benefit from it.

Also, to confirm what snefan said, it'll save you a LOT of money in postage if you get as much as possible from one place - www.ebuyer.com is pretty good on prices and delivery isn't very expensive - the only negative I can say about them is that delivery usually takes 4-5 days whereas in the UK a lot of places can do it quite a bit faster. I've spent literally thousands with them, for myself and for other people and never had a problem yet that wasn't easily solved.

One final point, and this is as much about personal preference as anything else so feel free to ignore it if you like, but when it comes to the hard disk, don't be tempted to buy a maxtor just because it's cheaper. I've seen too many fail. Think about the longer term - Maxtor offer a 1 year guarantee, while Seagate (always my first choice) and Western Digital (another brand I'm happy with) offer at least 3 and often 5 year guarantees - if it was my money, I'd prefer to spend it with a company who shows more faith in it's products, if you know what I mean.

[snefan]

dude... what the heck are you going to do with that computer?!?!
play games? what games?

please tell us what you want to do with it...

and btw "do it yourself" thing...
READ UP! please... read more carefully
ON THIS LINK YOU WILL FIND PACKAGES THAT IS NOT BUILD TOGETHER!! YOU GET EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR A WORKING COMPUTER! AND EVERY PART WORKS TOGETHER! YOU ALSO GET TO INSTALL EVERY HARDWARE PART INTO YOUR CASE YOURSELF! nuff said :omg:

you are getting on my nerves...