Building my own computer?

Well, as for where to buy stuff, if you live in north america there is no better place to get your parts from than newegg.com. Fantastic site.

As for what you want specifically, we don't really know what components are gonna be available by summer, amd and intel both are releasing next generation cpu's by then so the landscape will be a little different than it currently is. Intel and AMD cpus are not compatible meaning no motherboard can support cpu's from both companies, its either or. And even within the companies, you need to pay attention to which socket type a cpu is and which socket type a motherboard is. For instance AM3 for AMD or lga 1366 or lga 1156 for intel. None of those are compatible so the cpu and motherboard must match.am2, am2+, and am3 are physically compatible with each other but motherboards don't necessarily support cpus from a different socket type, check with the manufacturer to make sure if you are getting mismatched stuff (not much point if getting new stuff, just have it all match).

Tomshardware.com is a great resource for seeing how good various components like cpu and video card perform. They have large benchmark charts so you can easily compare real world performance between pretty much everything thats out on the market currently (and they keep them updated). look for the "charts" on their site.

Last thing i will point out is that power supply's aren't glamorous, they don't make your computer faster, but they are one of the most critical components in a system and really must be a good quality component or else you may end up with instability or even shorter lifespans for other components in your system. Good power supply brands include Antec, Seasonic, Thermaltake, OCZ, Corsair, PC Power and Cooling, and Enermax. All of those brands are available on newegg.

If you are unsure of how to build a system, google it, there are lots of demos and things. Its not too complicated but there are some things to watch out for. I call it putting together expensive legos these days cause thats really all it is. The hard part is getting all the components and making sure they are all compatible.

-edit- have fun with this btw, cause it is fun :D. just be careful, and perhaps return here or find another forum somewhere and post your build before you purchase to get other people's opinions on the quality and compatibility of all your components. It is my opinion as a tech who has worked in HP's desktop support department and seen and worked on all the major maker's computers that a self built system using high quality parts will be unmatched in terms of system performance, stability, and longevity.

And especially the retail motherboards are far more flexible (as far as upgraded features in the bios and stuff) than the motherboards provided by the major makers. My parent's computer that i built for them about 6 years ago is still humming along and nothing in it has gone bad. My own computers have always had long lives, I've only had 1 hard drive go out within a couple years beside things i damaged myself.

I think you should slow down a bit. First, you need more than just your basic parts. There are a ton of wires and other electrical equipment that you'll need to purchase. Second, if you don't know what you're doing you are going to screw something up and waste money. I could go on but I don't want to discourage you that much. If you still want to do it than know this:

You will need a processor (I recommend an Intel Core 2 Quad), RAM (at least 6 GB and DDR3), a hard drive (300-500 GB should do or a Solid State Drive), a sound card is always nice (I use Creative SB X-Fi), graphics card(s) (Dedicated, 1 GB), fan/cooling system (liquid is nice but its hard to install), a power supply (100-210v), cd/dvd driver(s), a case (some come w/ liquid cooling units already installed), a motherboard, a monitor, probably some speakers, and like I said before you need a lot of wires and cables (I won't name them all). I don't think I left out anything but forgive me if I do.

You can get most of this stuff at New Egg or Tiger Direct. I think Cnet does some reviews for graphics cards and such. Crucial memory is good at finding compatible memory but they only show you their products (they aren't too bad though). I like Nvidia graphics cards but you might want to go with AMD since they are well known for their motherboards and they make pretty good graphics cards too (that should make compatibility easier). Intel is great for a lot of this stuff. The compatibility thing is really tough. Many companies will say what their products are compatible with and make sure you read the manual to your motherboard. Like I said before, be prepared to make some pretty bad mistakes (everyone does). Its time consuming and your final product might not run as well as a computer with the same parts that was made by a company like Dell, HP, etc.

Try these sites for some more info:

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/how-to-tech/b...

http://www.buildacomputerguide.com/

Good Luck!

Well if you don't know a whole lot about computers, you can custom order one from ibuypower.com. Kind of expensive but they have quality products and build the computer for you. Prices for their products are actually very reasonable. I was comparing Newegg with ibuypower and they were actually only off by around 50-100 bucks and thats for everything already being installed. if looking to build it yourself i would say newegg or tigerdirect.com

just read the description on all the components to make sure they're compatible.

start with a processor. the intel "i-series" are good.

determine how much RAM you want. I would get 4 GB at the very least.

find a motherboard that supports the processor and has enough slots for your RAM.

if the motherboard doesn't have an on-board network interface card make sure to have one of those too.

find a video card. you want a 1 GB video card.

get at least a 550 Watt power supply.

then select a case. make sure to have plenty of fans.

worry about compatibility later, go with a 64 bit processor for starters, it's mainstream and ready for the future. Look to spend about 500-800 for a pretty nice system.

I'd suggest buying the main parts from either Newegg (shipping time, low price) or Fry's Electronics (in store, average price)

If you have zero Idea on how to build a PC, google it, because the "nerds" at Fry's might mislead you, but their advice is decent as a basis.

Time to Complete? since it's your first time, I'd ball park it at 5 hours, to build, 7 to get running. Take your time, it's not a race. and I can't empesise enough, take your time, be gentle and for gods sake THERMAL PASTE ON CPU! ... unless you like wasting money in a flash ;)

What you'll need

-The money ;)

-Case:

Building your dream rig= a mid-tower (big) or full tower (monster)

If you're looking to show off your computer, it might not hurt to get a case with a clear acrylic side, and aluminum over everything else. *make sure it has many fans, as your new gaming rig will likely run warm, make sure there's plenty of airflow*

-Power Supply ( 500-700 watts will do for a good gaming rig *Coolermaster or Thermaltake*)

-Mother Board:

here's your big decision, AMD or Intel, I'm an AMD whore, so I say go with AMD.

Generally AMD has been more for gaming, and Intel has been more for file handling.

That and AMD tends to be considerably more bang for the buck as it were.

(I recomend at least a quad core socket (AMD=AM3, Intel =?? I dunno, not an intel guy)

-Memory: (if quad core, you'll need DDR3 RAM, it's pricey, but damn it's fast

-CPU: This is the brain of your PC, quad core wise, 2.8+GHZ is good, (dual core 3.2+)

-Video Card:

Again, you must choose now, ATI or NVIDIA, I'm a student of both schools, NVIDIA cards do generally tend to perform better with games, as games are generally coded towards NVIDIA architecture. ATI Radeon HD 58XX or better would do, or NVIDA GTX 4XX)

-Hard Drive: This is the garage for all your crap. Get a SATA 7200rpm HDD (or solid state *drools* if you have the extra $300 sitting around) these days, 500gb would do the normal gamer, but if you're building a dream rig, aim for 1TB or better, also if you can go for 10,000rpm (faster read write speed, faster game play)

-THERMAL PASTE FOR CPU=>CPUFAN

-CPU-FAN: Most CPU'S come with a stock fan, but if you're building a dream rig, splurge a bit and get a non-stock fan, generally the bigger the fan and the bigger the radiator the better, after all, shinny is good right?

*optional but recommended*

Speakers:

A set of either 5.1, or 7.1 logitech speakers, I've got the 5.1 setup with the 120watt sub woofer, and I swear when I blow the head off a zombie, it's like I'm really blowing the head off a zombie.

Mouse&Keyboard:

I've got a fancy light up keyboard, I don't need it to light up, but meh. Also, nothing's wrong with a plain jane 3,000 DPI laser mouse, but those RAZER mice, that have pulsating green lights, and a 10,000DPI green laser, well, it's $80, but cheaper than a date.

That should do.

Been there. Done that. Many times. No longer recommend it.

The glory days of the self-built computer have passed. If you want a powerful computer with pretty nice specs, just buy a new pre-built every year. You'll save oodles of money and trouble.

Plus you're always going to be chained to your desk. The future is in mobility, and that doesn't lend itself to self-builds.

6 months from now hardware will have changed alot

we will have the 6990 hd out, probably gts580

hopefully the new bulldozer chips from AMD that look set to destroy the i7 series including the infamous 980x thanks too ctually changing what a processor is.

repost this question a month before you buy your PC

however as an outline you will need:

case

power supply

hard disk drive

optical drive

motherboard

CPU

RAM

graphics card (if you want to game if not you can use onboard motherboard graphics)

windows 7 64 bit

monitor keyboard mouse etc if you dont already have

A few good places to buy the parts is.

1) Newegg

2) Fry's electronics (Website & Actual Store)

3) Microcenter (website or Store)

There are lots of tutorials (Google), and the folks at Tech Support Guy are usually willing to help with the details of such projects.

http://forums.techguy.org/19-hardware/

www.scan.co.uk

oh also there are guides online