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iranfromthezoo · May 8, 2006, 10:32 AM

Hey guys I know I'm on a mac board and I hope I'm posting in the right place. I own a iBook and soon to be iMac. And a friend of mine is looking for a mini....But anyways we want to build our own PC computer that will basically be a gaming PC. We've never done this before that's mainly the reason we want to, that way we could actually learn something and then trouble shoot if need be. But do you guys know any good manuals as to what to do, and where to buy from...and what are your suggestions for this computer...

turtle777 · May 8, 2006, 10:35 AM

Uhm, tried Google ?

-t

iranfromthezoo · May 8, 2006, 10:38 AM

yeah I tried it...but it was much crap stuck in that thing...I was wondering if ya guys had like any books to recommend more or less...not some print out that a 6th grader wrote....if that makes more sense

Scotttheking · May 8, 2006, 10:42 AM

http://www.dell.com
http://www.hp.com
http://www.emachines.com

turtle777 · May 8, 2006, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by Scotttheking

http://www.dell.com
http://www.hp.com
http://www.emachines.com

I doubt that's what he wanted.

I think he wanted somebody to give him the 101 on throwing together components into a case.

-t

turtle777 · May 8, 2006, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by iranfromthezoo

yeah I tried it...but it was much crap stuck in that thing...I was wondering if ya guys had like any books to recommend more or less...not some print out that a 6th grader wrote....if that makes more sense

Dude, your Google skills must really suck.

The first hit for "build own PC" is incredibly helpful, if you ask me.

http://www.pcmech.com/build.htm

-t

Person Man · May 8, 2006, 11:28 AM

Building a PC for Dummies, 5th edition (Link goes to Amazon).

Also check out AnandTech.

ghporter · May 8, 2006, 11:53 AM

Your Google-fu is lacking grasshopper. Building a do-it-yourself PC is not childs' play, but it ain't rocket science, either. If you're after gaming-quality performance, you should get ready to pay high bucks for the right parts-fast processor, fast RAM, kick-butt video (almost the most important part), and high-quality and performance hard drives.

The key to building a gaming machine is research. Putting the parts together and installing the OS and games is really trivial, especially compared to the level of research you'll need to do to make the best choices for what hardware to purchase.

You MUST know something about the games you want to play before you decide where to start. Some games may work better with AMD processors, or demand huge amounts of RAM to run properly, and almost all of them have a "favorite" video platform.

Once you know which processor you want (AMD or Intel), then you need to study up on which motherboards perform well with the games you want to play. Always go for higher performance and stability over price when your goal is gaming.

Now figure out which video card to get, and how to finance the purchase. (

) I have literally built full-blown, high performance computers for less than some video cards cost. In an era where providing a separate power source to the video card AND worrying about how to cool the card at the same time are major tasks, be prepared to spend lots of bucks on the "right" video card. Hint: PCI Express is THE way to go to avoid obsolescence, so buy a motherboard that suppports PCI Express video and a PCI Express video card, too.

Go for the biggest power supply you can (in terms of power output). The more capacity the power supply has, the better it will perform under less-than-maximum loads, and incidentally the less heat it will produce while providing your power.

Finally, when shopping for a case, look at ease of access, safety (no sharp edges inside!!!), and cooling capability before looking at cool features like case lights and LED fans. This project will cost you a bundle if you do it right, don't endanger your investment with a crappy case that just looks cool.

AND READ UP ON ALL OF IT BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE! The "Dummies" book Person Man mentioned is a MUST HAVE for an inexperienced PC builder.

sabrejim · May 8, 2006, 01:15 PM

Building your first PC can be scary. But its pretty easy.

The big things are to make sure you get the right RAM and processor whichever motherboard you pick. And when you screw the motherboard in make sure you are shorting anything out. The rest is simple, although you'll probably cut your hand up a bit if you pick a cheap case. Get band aids.

When I built my last PC the motherboard was the main component that I wanted because the nForce motherboards were, at the time, the only things with real time dolby digital encoding. So I built the entire PC around that. But in general, I'd say the motherboard is the best place to start.

phantomdragonz · May 8, 2006, 02:42 PM

I built my own, I would say emphasis on video card is a must these days, you can run a mid-speed proc and get by fine, spend more on the vid card then any other component and you will be fine... I remember I spend like $80 on my AMD proc, $60 on my mobo $100 on ram and $150 on my vid card, all obsolete now (AMD 3200+ and a 6600GT vid card) but it works great for BF2, and auto cad! =)

Zach

ghporter · May 8, 2006, 05:30 PM

Obsolescent does not equal obsolete. If it runs what you want to run, it's just "not bleeding edge." Big difference. Don't let the hardware companies tell you different.