my own computer question thread...
 

i will soon me in the market for a new computer. it will be a desktop, my laptop from '05 is good enough, but my desktop has seen better days. I previously bought computers right off the shelf, nothing special, but i figure this time i'll attempt to build my own.

I already have a tower case that i bought a while back and never used, plus i have some memory chips, not sure what they are, they are back in jersey, all i know is i got them from newegg.com on justins recommendation like 2 years ago... lol.

as for what i except out of my new pc, its not much. I dont play games so thats not an issue. I mainly use it for writing with mircosoft word, and then surfing the internet mainly. I also use aim and windows media player alot.

I want a dvd burner, a good sound card with RCA outputs/inputs (if there is such a thing) lol, and a good video card with at least 2 monitor outputs(vga & dvi is fine) An S video output would also be good to hook up to my TVs. Also, i have 2 former hard drives i'd like to use in addition to a new one. The case i have holds 3. Can that work? lol

so i figure id basically need:
video card
sound card
cd drive/burner
motherboard
power supply
processor
memory
Hard drive

also i want windows xp (NOT VISTA) , am i better off buying the O/S or trying to get it off an old hard drive?

help me figure all this out, i have decent computer knowledge but not when it comes to choosing stuff, just assembling and using it all, lol.

so i figure id basically need:
video cardon board is fine for what you are doing
sound cardI like the sound blaster cards
cd drive/burnerGet a good name brand
motherboardDual core support would be fine for you
processorAny dual core
memory2GB
Hard driveGet like a 300GB

also i want windows xp (NOT VISTA) , am i better off buying the O/S or trying to get it off an old hard drive? Buy the OS, it will be a lot easier and isn't that expensive now.

help me figure all this out, i have decent computer knowledge but not when it comes to choosing stuff, just assembling and using it all, lol.



Just get this computer from PC Mall

I just bought one of these for my job to do the application you mentioned above and it works fine.

Just add a sound card and some ram and you'll be good to go.

I agree but with a slight modification

Since you are not gaming or using any processor intensive software, the use of a dual core processor is unnecessary

If you are looking to save some money you can get a MB/CPU combo that's a little older...I have an ASUS A78nx Deluxe coupled with a single core Athlon XP 3.2 GHz CPU from 5 years ago in mine and it still runs just about every game out there (upgraded video card and O/Cd GPU)

just surfing online, one site, tiger direct, i "built my own PC"

with these components, with a case...
windows xp home system builder edition
intel pentium dual core e2220 2.4 1m processor
2 GB DDR2 pc6400 800MHz memory (2GB x 1)
1 TB 3G Sata II Hard drive
22x DVDRW SATA Drive
ATI radeon HD3650 1 GB PCIe (2 dvi)
Integrated gigabit network adapter
Integrated High-Def audio (6.1 sound cards)
500watt power supply
logitech deluxe 250 keyboard USB
logitech optical mouse USB
socket 775 - MSI G31M3-F V2 mATX Motherboard

...it would come out to $580. Is that reasonable?
im not ordering that or anythign just yet, but if i were to buy those componets elsewhere...decent stuff?



edit:
for more video and sound based....maybe something like this... $319
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...Sku=V133-92200
and just buy a 1TB HD... $90
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...ku=TSD-1000AS2
and windows xp professional x64 OS... $149
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...1832&CatId=306

all for a total of $558. opinions?
edit again...that would still need a dvd burner...

How old is the case and how many fans does it support?

if your case is older, the cooling ability of the case may not be good enough to support your current hardware listed

i think it has 3 fans, its a large complete clear acrylic case.

those 2 i listed comes with cases and all already though

To be honest with you, you may just want to just go purchase a comp. from Dell or something and build it online. I picked up a really solid system just the way I wanted and the price was pretty good. If you still want to build it yourself, matching of the components is very important since they all have to work together.

My comp:
Quad Core Processor
3 Gigs RAM
250GB HD
512MB Video - DVI, SVideo, VGA
Plenty of USB 2.0 ports
7.1 sound card

With a 22inch monitor ~$575 shipped

As for your old HD's, you could just pick up some decent external enclosures and run a USB cable to the new comp. I have my old 120GB HD in one of these and only kick it on when I need it. Works fine.

Not selling you on Dell but the deal looked too good to pass up and I needed a new comp.

Oh, yeah, guess i need to go back to 2nd grade and learn to read...:lol:

The only other thing I can think of is that the power supply seems like it could be a little stronger for this setup...I had a 500W on mine and it blew after a year...I would consider upgrading to a 650 or 700W so you have room for growth in the future too. Other than that man, I think it will be a great computer...8-)

Edit: also If you want some help building it let me know.

paul, when are you planning on doing this? i can help you put it all together, and if you wanna order the stuff soon, you can get me on AIM and ill help you figure out what to order

just give me 400 bucks and ill build u an UBAR PC