[hart]

I'm planning on having official Quality Time with my son building a PC, probably one aimed at gaming if we can afford the components.

What are some good sites for info on the process and for buying components. I've swapped video cards and processors in and out and replaced dead drives, that kind of thing but I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool geek with my own soldering gun and holster so I'm going to need a little hand-holding.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by hart 

I'm planning on having official Quality Time with my son building a PC

*snicker*

Hope it is not going to be too frustrating.

-t

[goMac]

Originally Posted by hart 

I've swapped video cards and processors in and out and replaced dead drives, that kind of thing but I'm not a dyed-in-the-wool geek with my own soldering gun and holster so I'm going to need a little hand-holding.

It's usually nothing more complicated than swapping in and out components. Took me a few hours at most to put mine together.

All you need is parts and a screwdriver and you're good to go.

[Peter]

it'll take 45 minutes tops.
And all the components can really only go into one place, pretty straight forward

[exca1ibur]

http://hardforum.com/

A favorite of mine. Also they will post deals from a lot of different sites out there. Also you get all the technical info for just about anything you need. I saved a few hundred dollars on catching deals here.

[goMac]

Originally Posted by Peter 

it'll take 45 minutes tops.
And all the components can really only go into one place, pretty straight forward

Yeah. The only issue I had was that I forgot to put in the spacing screws and screwed the motherboard directly to the case (which was insanely dumb). It wouldn't start, so I took off the board and put the spacer screws in.

Speaking of boards, don't buy a cheap motherboard. Actually, don't buy cheap anything, but here are a few components you really don't want to skimp on:

1) Motherboard. The first motherboard I had in my PC was an Elitegroup. It ran, but the entire board was kinda cheap, and you could feel it in the drivers, the way it was built, etc. Eventually the headsink fell off the northbridge and it stopped working.

I replaced the board with an Intel "Bad Axe" motherboard, which is really great. It's got EFI, two RAID controllers with four SATA ports each, support for the Core 2 Duo, and ATI Crossfire. While I may not use all these features (it's currently running with my original P4 processor), I know the board is solid and quality, and it's not going anywhere.

This will cost you though. I managed to get the Bad Axe for $200. Avoid any board for sure under $100 MSRP. I've seen my same Elite Group board on sale at Fry's for $30 recently, so stay away from bargain boards that low for sure.

2) The Case. Don't buy a cheap case, as this is what will take the most abuse. If you buy a cheap one, it will fall apart. I had some knock off case at first and the CD doors just stopped working, it got dented, and while it had pretty looking fans, the rest of the case was taking so much abuse.

Also, it wasn't screwless. Get a screwless case. I got a Centurion 532 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119094 ) to replace my old case. The Centurion has sleds and hinges with no screws to keep everything in place. With this case, I can install new hard drives and cards without messing with screws. It's such a god send.

Go to a store to look at the case you want to buy. You really want to buy a solid case that's going to last a while.

[residentEvil]

if you visit tigerdirect.com, at the bottom of the page when select item detail of say a motherboard, it has a link to a quick and dirty "do it yourself guide".

here it is, for quick access and a read:

Tips & Techniques For Building Your Own PC

When it came to build my Windows rig, I got everything from two sites: tigerdirect.com and cyberpowerpc.com

[Spliffdaddy]

Also you can check Newegg.com - Buy Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! and search the customer-generated "wishlists". You can save a lot of time by using the research done by others. Most of the 'wish lists' have descriptive titles such as "budget gamer" - so you can find something similar to what you want to build. Keeping informed on all the newest and best components is a full-time job. I used to spend literally weeks deciding which parts I wanted to use.

I build a lot of peecees and my secret to saving money is to buy "open box" components from newegg. You can get quality motherboards for half of their usual price. Don't be afraid, I've never been anything but thrilled with the merchandise I order. Newegg also has a 'top 10' list of their best selling parts - all of which are best sellers because of quality or value.

Choose the components you would like to use and post the list here. We'll scrutinize it for you and make sure it will all work together correctly.

[hart]

my son, of course, likes the cases that light up like the space ship in ET. Fortunately, he wasn't interested in the ones that look like Power Rangers.

[mduell]

I recommend buying from Newegg. If you give us an idea of your budget, existing hardware available for reuse, and priorities, I'll be happy to make some recommendations.