Building a PC

Hello people,
I'm new here and sorta new at community boards.
My name is dean, and i'm a computer junkie. The time has come for me to build my own computer, and I don't know where to begin. Any suggestions?
I am working with a Pentium 11/ 300MH machine that I had built locally. I would like to upgrade one component at a time.
Any help out there? Thanks ...
deanpnw@msn.com

Thanks for the speedy reply ......
I use my computer for doing graphics work. Corel Draw/Photopaint and Adobe Photoshop. The file sizes can get quite large and rendering things (filters), can really tax my machine.
I agree about upgrading the mobo and chipset. Is that where I start? What about a case? my current mid-tower is lacking. I only have a 200 watt power supply and I need ports in front. USB2.0, PS/2, firewire, etc.
I will probably go with an AMD 2200+ chipset, because that's what I can afford.
Plus, I just installed a lITE-ON 52x24x52 CDRW.
There, does that help ...
Oh yea, i'm on a very limited budget, so if I could keep this around $1000 or so, it would help.
Thanks again ...

For mobo, MSI K7N2 Delta-ILSR or MSI K7N2-L would be a better choice.

AXP 2400+ is very cheap now. You can save some money here

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Thanks for the suggestions my friend. I will check them out.
Is an AXP 2400+ the same as an AMD 2400+?

At this point, all of my work has been 2D, but I wouldn't want to limit my options.
I'm thinking about a TI4200 type video card.What do you think?

Yahiko doesn't seem to be answering right now, so I'll try to field your questions:

Cause it's good and big and easy to move around in. Antec makes great cases and great power supplies as well, all at a respectable price.

They're probably just the part numbers from the store where he ordered them. He probably just copied and pasted from his order sheet.

If you check pricewatch.com you can find them starting at $46.00. Also don't forget the power of mail-in rebates.

And now for my recommendations:

1) First off you're better off asking this question in one of the hardware forums, probably the motherboard or CPU section.

2) Here's my choices: You'll need a motherboard (mobo), CPU and RAM right away. You'll also likely need a new case or at least a new power supply (PSU). If you chose to you can recycle your mouse, keyboard, floppy and CDR indefinatly, and if you need to you can recycle your hard drive and graphics card (vid card) for a little while longer.

MOBO:
Definatly an nforce2 chipset. They're the fastest on the market right now and they're even compatible with the next generation of 400 MHz Athlons. You'll also want the MCP-T southbridge as it has the wicked onboard sound that's as good or better than an SB Audigy.

Recommendations: Asus A7N8X Deluxe on sale now at newegg for $131. If you want to go cheeper then get the Epox 8RDA+ also on sale at Newegg for $92. The epox board has no SATA or RAID, otherwise is the same as the Asus board.

RAM:
You'll need 2 sticks to take full advantage of the nforce2 mobo. Minimum specs should be pc2700 cas 2.5. You'd be better off and more futurproof with PC3200 cas 2, preferably matched pairs. The minimum you should consider is 512 Megs (256Megs x2).

Recommendations: 2x Corsair XMS 512MB PC-3200C2 With Heat Spreader ($109 each, $218 total) or 2x Crucial 256MB PC 2700 ($37 each, $74 total). All prices are newegg.

You may be better off buying your RAM local, as it is sometimes hard to get matched pairs that will work together right out of the box. You may have to exchange/upgrade and that's usually better off done localy. Just ask them upfront what the return/exchange policy is and wether they gaurentee matched pairs.

Usually you'll be okay if you buy 2 brand name sticks (Crucial, Micron, Corsair, some Samsung, some Kingston).

CPU:
Right now the "sweet spot" seems to be around an XP 2200+ ($82 at Newegg). I highly recommend getting the Retail instead of OEM unless your planning on overclocking. You get a longer warrenty and a good heatsink and fan (HSF) with retail.

CASE/PSU:
You're probably better off getting a case locally, as shipping costs for cases are usually quite high. Most generic cases now-a-days are pretty good, but the power supplies can be atrocious. An absolute bare minimum is a 300 watt PSU from a good manufacturer. I would recommend at least a 350 watt, especially if you're gettng a generic PSU. Also make sure that you're getting at least 1 rear case fan. More would be better so long as they're quiet.

I recommend Antec as a good, inexpensive case manufacturer that is common as dirt and can be found just about anywhere. I'm a big fan of the Antec SX1040. With a 400 Watt PSU it comes to $90 plus $18 shipping ($108 total) from Newegg. Now you see what I ment about shipping charges. Cheeper but still very nice would be the Antec SLK3700AMB with 350 Watt PSU at $69 plus $15 shipping ($84 total). You can probably find something generic locally for as little as $20, but I warn you again to watch that power suply.

Just about everyone agrees that Enermax and Antec make the best PSU's. Generic PSU's can be underpowered, noisey, and more prone to failure.

OTHER:
eventually you're going to want to replace your vid card and hard drive.

Your best bet for a vid card would be an ATI 8500/9000 pro/9100/9200 pro. They all perform about the same. They're great for 2D work and also respectible for 3D gaming. They start at around $70.

Above that is the Geforce Ti 4200. They're slightly worse for 2D but better for 3D, and cost around $120. Above that is the Radeon 9500 pro/9600 pro. 2D is as good as the other Radeons but the 3D is great, and they cost over $150. Above that is the Radeon 9700/9800. Again 2D is the same as the other Radeons but 3D is the best money can buy. And the money is quite alot at $250 or greater.

If you don't care about 3D at all than get a Matrox G450 or G550 card. They suck at 3D but are the best at 2D. They cost more than the Radeon 9000 though, $84 or $95 at Newegg.

Finally, Hard drives. Get as big as you can afford (80 or 120 GB usually). Must be 7200 RPM's. Right now SATA has no advantage over IDE other than the size of the wires. Typically the models with 2 meg cache have a 1 year warrenty and the models with the 8 meg cache have a 3 year warrenty, though there's not a heck of alot of performance difference between the 2. You can also RAID multiple hard drives to increase performance/reliability.

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Sorry it took me so long to reply.

#1 I like large cases, more airflow, more room to work with, and more room for additions.

#2 Those numbers are just Newegg's part numbers. If you did a search on their site and put those in for the search criteria it'd take you directly to that item.

#3 I found it at newegg, PC prices fluxuate daily.

Yes, you can disable onboard sound, video, and LAN if you'd like. If money is tight and you can only afford to replace one item I'd suggest waiting a little bit. If you can't wait then it makes it a little bit more difficult.

Je bent de meest onverschillige hasj dealende hoer die ik ooit heb ontmoet.