Super Help Needed

[capthook]

Hi guys,

Have always glanced at tom's hardware every month or so for the last few years just to see what sort of new stuff is coming out.

I haven't built a system in about 5 years, and now am seriously behind. I really feel like I don't know anything anymore. Honestly. I don't know if I can drop in PC2-6400 ram or PC2-8500 into the same mobo. Hell, I don't even know the difference between raid0 and raid1 (although I do know what raid5 is...).

So, where do I start? Anybody got something good I can read through to get up to speed? I've been reading these forums, but it's tough to slog through a lot of what you don't know anything about.

I pose this question because its time to build a new system, something along the lines of the mid-range system that was built on here earlier this month. I need it to do some serious non-video graphics work and some moderate game play (starcraft 2 when it comes out...?). Any advice on this will also be appreciated. I'll be waiting at least 2 months to upgrade (from a 3 year old machine), but I could wait up to 6 if someone could persuade me that new chipsets or ddr3 or something else spectacular will be worth it/affordable.

Sorry for the lengthy first post, but any help is appreciated.

 

[g-paw]

This is a good start
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/05/11/system_builder_marathon/

There are also some very good build articles on extremetech.com Also both sites have good reviews as well as articles on upcoming CPU, RAM, video card, and mobo designs. Your best bet to start is with articles, how to, and reviews from reputable tech sites. Once you have basic information and more specific questions is the best time to post to forums.

 

[evongugg]

You need to catch up on:

PCI Express versus AGP
SATA versus IDE
Raid 0, 1, etc.
New sockets, such as 775 and heatsink installation
DDR2 memory versus DDR
Check out the new video cards, processors, etc.

PCI stays the same. Motherboards are similar in many ways.

 

[capthook]

This is a good start
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/05/11/system_builder_marathon/

There are also some very good build articles on extremetech.com Also both sites have good reviews as well as articles on upcoming CPU, RAM, video card, and mobo designs. Your best bet to start is with articles, how to, and reviews from reputable tech sites. Once you have basic information and more specific questions is the best time to post to forums.

Thanks. I initially read the marathon series, which is really what prompted this post and got me in gear to do another build.

The extremetech.com site is pretty informative, thanks a lot.

 

[capthook]

You need to catch up on:

PCI Express versus AGP
SATA versus IDE
Raid 0, 1, etc.
New sockets, such as 775 and heatsink installation
DDR2 memory versus DDR
Check out the new video cards, processors, etc.

PCI stays the same. Motherboards are similar in many ways.

Thanks for the heads up. I'm up on the basics of PCIe (is 2.0 gaining prominence now? when is 3.0 due out?) and SATA, as well as DDR2 and now DDR3.

I'm sort of at a loss when it comes to new chipsets and cpu architecture though...

I really was hoping to avoid asking basic, specific questions here as I wasn't sure (still am not) that this was the appropriate place to ask...

Thanks for the help.

 

[MattJD]

Capthook, I was in the same boat a few weeks ago. I had decided to build an AM2 system because it's cheaper, but the general consensus here seems to be Intel socket 775 right now. People think it has a better upgrade path, and the chips today perform much better.

You'll always have people that argue for AMD or Intel regardless, but I felt that most people here advocate Intel right now.