I built my first pc tonight!!!

[settledown]

here is the ingredients

[settledown]

here is the next stage

[settledown]

finshed (almost)

[Sun Baked]

I like the all purpose wood handled PC adjustment tool you used. http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?postid=158571

[womencantsail]

What's the hammer for :eek:???

I built my first one this summer. Congrats on the build.

[whocares]

I too was gonna comment on the high precision tools that are required for assembly. I would also strongly recommend a weedwacker for installing extra components. :p :p

[G5orbust]

Whats that vid card? Radeon something... I cant make out the box very well. Also, what speed P4?

[edesignuk]

I've never had a need for a hammer when building PC's...what on earth did you use it for!?!

oh yeah, and...SPECS PLEASE!!!

omg, you bought Windows XP :eek: :D ;)

[ibookin']

Originally posted by edesignuk
I've never had a need for a hammer when building PC's...what on earth did you use it for!?!

For the destruction pics he'll be posting later, of course. :D

[Nermal]

Why does it say "Dual BIOS" on the PCI slots? :confused:

[Nermal]

Originally posted by G5orbust
Whats that vid card? Radeon something... I cant make out the box very well. Also, what speed P4?

I can't make it out very well either, but I think it's a 9600.

[Opteron]

Originally posted by Nermal
Why does it say "Dual BIOS" on the PCI slots? :confused:

Giga-byte motherboards come with a dual bios set up. (f on fails or blows up, you've got a spare.) As for why it's printed on the PCI slots. My guess it's a sticker.

I'm also wondering about the hammer. Never had the use for one while building a computer. However I have made use of a hack saw on the odd occasion.

post the pics in the "Post your computer in all its Pseudo Glory" thread.

[CmdrLaForge]

Congrats.

Just guessing - you build it for gaming ? Am I right ?

Thats what I used to build PCs for. Now I just got a PS.

Cheers

[Stelliform]

Originally posted by Opteron

I'm also wondering about the hammer. Never had the use for one while building a computer. However I have made use of a hack saw on the odd occasion.


I have used a hammer when building a PC. It was on a case where they tacked on the expansion bay covers with a little weld. Unfortunately they weld held better than they thought. I had to pound it to break the welds. Lets just say that quality wasn't the highest concern when they ordered parts where I used to work. :rolleyes:

[Prom1]

Nice job but you may want to keep that hammer around for the 1 too many security updates or the frequent crashes!

[Dippo]

Originally posted by Nermal
I can't make it out very well either, but I think it's a 9600.

Yea it's a Radeon 9600, but I can't tell if it's a pro or xt.

I think you might want to get a bigger heatsink though, those P4's get pretty hot.

I didn't know people actually bought windows, oh well, keep on feeding the monster I guess.

[hvfsl]

Nice system, but I would have got an AMD 64 instead of the P4, then with the money you saved by going AMD, you could have got a Radeon 9800pro.

[edesignuk]

Originally posted by Dippo
I think you might want to get a bigger heatsink though, those P4's get pretty hot.
The stock intel P4 HSF is pretty good actually, people have O/C 2.4GHz to 3GHz+ on the stock HSF with no problems.

[mgargan1]

did you also notice that all the parts, are from compusa... if you had gotten all that online, you could have saved even more money... also, a lesson i learned, don't sleep on the power supply... antec is a good brand name...

[Foxer]

How much would all that cost? I assume it will outpace one of the $450 Dells, right?

[dburges]

PC Parts from CompUSA... so I guess this FrankenBox cost about the same as a G5?

[Dippo]

Originally posted by edesignuk
The stock intel P4 HSF is pretty good actually, people have O/C 2.4GHz to 3GHz+ on the stock HSF with no problems.

Maybe I am just biased toward copper heatsinks, but from the picture it looks like he is using something other then the stock heatsinks.

But what do I know, I only use AMD stuff.

[Dippo]

Originally posted by Foxer
How much would all that cost? I assume it will outpace one of the $450 Dells, right?

This really depends on what his processor is. The P4 ranges in price from about $115 for the 1.8Ghz to $425 for the 3.4Ghz. Of course this doesn't include the P4 Extreme Editions that cost upwards of $1000.

Personally I don't think intels are worth the money. With the money you save with buying an AMD, he could have bought a better video card, and in the long run that would make a bigger difference.

[topicolo]

Originally posted by hvfsl
Nice system, but I would have got an AMD 64 instead of the P4, then with the money you saved by going AMD, you could have got a Radeon 9800pro.

Heh, that's another reason to use a Hammer! :D (for those that didn't get it, the AMD 64 series' nickname was the Hammer).

[virividox]

howmuch was the total build cost

[womencantsail]

Originally posted by topicolo
Heh, that's another reason to use a Hammer! :D (for those that didn't get it, the AMD 64 series' nickname was the Hammer).

That's because the CPU core name is ClawHammer.

As for another HSF, why? The stock one is very good.

And an AMD64 is more expensive than a P4, unless you go with the new Preston core or one of those garbage EE ones.

[Roger1]

Not bad. I just built one last weekend. I'll be getting some finishing touches this weekend.
The specs for mine were
via mobo with AMD Duron 230o
128 DDR RAM
built in 32MB video
built in audio
built in ethernet
6 USB ports
Case with 400W powersupply
All I had to add was a CD, floppy (maybe) and a hard drive

cost? 140 plus old parts (HD and CD)
Bought it at the Gibralter Trade center in Troy, MI
I made the mistake of bringing my credit card :D
Lots and lots and lots of good deals :D
Going again tomorrow to get more stuff. (drool).

Are you going to "bling" your case any? If you do, post pics.

[settledown]

mobo: gigabyte ga 8inxp $95
proc: pentium 4, 2.4ghz, northwood $135
vid: radeon 9600 se $125
mem: 512Gb ddr $??
hd: seagate barracuda 80GB $50
cd-rw: samsung (i think) $45
generic case: compusa (no shipping charges) $29
key/mouse: compusa $9.99

so like $500

[Inspector Lee]

Bought it at the Gibralter Trade center in Troy, MI


I thought the Gibralter was more downriver than Troy (I reside in EL, MI). Nonetheless, you said you brought your credit card, did they have any deals on Type II Diabetes there? I heard the Gibralter is THE obesity-mecca of the Midwest.

:eek:

[Freakk123]

Congrats! I built my first PC a about a month and a half ago... Great experience, and now I have a usable PC, as opposed to my old Dell!

[Roger1]

I thought the Gibralter was more downriver than Troy (I reside in EL, MI). Nonetheless, you said you brought your credit card, did they have any deals on Type II Diabetes there? I heard the Gibralter is THE obesity-mecca of the Midwest.

:eek:

You take 94 to Telegraph, and go dow Telegraph to.....Elsworth(??) and go East for about 1/4 mile. As for diabetes, I didn't see any for sale.

[coopdog]

Next time use Newegg.com! They have the better than dealer pricing and most of the time shipping is free. I built my comp off of there for $1200 w/ $600 Sony LCD. 80 and 120gig SATA Western Digital HD's, lite-on 52X CDR, lite-on 8X DVD+R, 2500+ AMD, ASUS A8760 Deluxe, ATI 9700 Pro, TV tuner card. Kingston 512 MB ram, All for about $700. My friends dad was looking to get 3 nice projectors (hes a dealer for them) and Newegg.com had better prices than wholesale! Good fast shipping too. I asked for ground and they did it 2 day air.

[zamyatin]

How much time does it take to put it all together? I've never built one from scratch, though I have tinkered with them and done the reverse (taken a semi-functional, obsolete, or broken machine and completely dismantled it) many times.

Don't forget the job's not finished until you get a nice copy of OpenOffice on there! www.openoffice.org for a free download!

[AngryLawnGnome]

I told this girl that I built one so she'd have sex with me.

[topicolo]

vid: radeon 9600 se $125


what made you choose the 9600se? No offense, but that's a pretty insane price to pay when even a GeForce FX 5200 for about half the price can perform better.

[coopdog]

what made you choose the 9600se? No offense, but that's a pretty insane price to pay when even a GeForce FX 5200 for about half the price can perform better.


Could have gotten it for $69 w/ free shipping on newegg :D

Link (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-325&depa=0)

[gwuMACaddict]

I told this girl that I built one so she'd have sex with me.


that's so wierd and creepy... :rolleyes:

[ethernet76]

You might want to consider geting different IDE cables and things to go around the power cables. From what i see it looks like you have a couple of 80mm fans in the front. Rounder cables will help air flow. You also might want to consider moving one of those fans(bottom one) to the back of the case up by the power supply. Putting a fan up there would move more heat out from the processor and graphics card if up put it up on the rear of your case.

If you're looking to mod, I think putting it in a 10 gallon fishtank would be sweet. Of those clear plexiglass cases are pretty interesting.

[jefhatfield]

congrats on building your first machine

i built my first pc in tech school and it was a rush...even back then four years ago, it wasn't really a major savings since the pc companies got into predatory pricing and general price wars...which is good for the consumer

i think putting together a pc, even if the parts/software you want cost too much or are hard to get and it takes time, is a worthwhile exercise in the lessons one can learn and it's certainly still cheaper than building a motocross bike or car

i wish i was able to get individual mac parts and build a mac...some techies have modified macs and one person actually took the guts out of an old crt imac and incorporated it into a sony 24" inch monitor and made it into a one piece super imac unit

i would like to build a computer (most likely the guts and components of a laptop) into a desk one day and make it totally concealable in just a matter of seconds

[Opteron]

\i wish i was able to get individual mac parts and build a mac...

And don't think I haven't been trying to bend the arms of mac sales people, to let me by a PMG4 motherboard, and a Dual 1.25 processor card.

Thus far I've been offerd a MDD system - RAM
- Graphics card
- Optical drive.

6 more months and I should be able to get only the 2 components I'll need plus an apple power supply.

[coopdog]

And don't think I haven't been trying to bend the arms of mac sales people, to let me by a PMG4 motherboard, and a Dual 1.25 processor card.

Thus far I've been offerd a MDD system - RAM
- Graphics card
- Optical drive.

6 more months and I should be able to get only the 2 components I'll need plus an apple power supply.

How much is that stuff? Would it be cheaper to build one yourself? If you were high up in a mac fixit biz or worked for one I bet you could fill out parts forms for new Mobo, power supply and chipset. :p :D That would be sweet to build your own Mac.