Any advice on building a pc

[RethKang]

Thinking of building my own pc. I have very little knowledge of building and components. What I basically need is a computer that will be fast at multitasking/ NOT GAMING. Mostly browsing the internet/ school. Would like the videos to look clear but doesnt have to be top of the line gaming. I want something that i can always upgrade." keep adding as i go" such as graphic cards, memory, but for now i want something that i can do homework and browse quickly without lag. So to start with im noy too concerned about sound, graphics, too much memory, etc. just say ill be on google and microsoft word most of the time. Want it fast though. If anyone understands any of what i wrote and can help guide me, please reply.

 

[manofchalk]

So you want a fast productivity machine with room to upgrade later. Easy enough.

We need a budget though. Once we have that, should be pretty easy to whip something up.

 

[RethKang]

Im not sure of a budget yet because I dont know what I can go without in the beginning.?

 

[RethKang]

For components that i need in the beginning, i would want really high performance/ good quality parts so i wont have to waste money to upgrade later. I am also not in a big rush. I want to do this step by step and get it right if possible. Can you tell me the steps i should take? Componentwise.

 

[smorizio]

upgrades and computers is a little misleading right now. the problem there is both amd and intel every 8 months or so are switching cpu slots. intel haswell cpu going to have 1150 pins and newer amd chips are going to be on the fm-2 slots.
the trick now is to use your build dollars as well as you can so the system will last a few years. and your only swapping out some ram or a video card or a fail part if one fails. For speed you want to have a ssd boot drive. 8g of ram for any system now is going to be fine. you can save money by using an amd cpu chip that has a good gpu build it. it wont be a good gaming system but it be good for word and web. on the intel side a z77 mb and and i3 ib cpu (new ones are out in two weeks. (about 120.00) price point. toss in a nvidia 550ti or the 640/650 card and you have an office pc and light gaming pc that last you a long time.
need more cpu power swap out the i3 for an i5-3540. I went with the z board and it can use both locked and unlocked cpu. there more money then an h or b chipset. if there more then one pc in your house talk to mom or dad about picking up a cheap network storage unit so that all your music..movies and work can be saved in two places. the usb back ups are ok but they do have to faults. if the board/data board in the usb case goes bad you have to pull the drive out and connect it to your mb to get the data off. or i seen a lot of people drop there portable drives or the fall over and the drive inside goes south. ram for your pc stick with 1600 stock speed. if you want watch moves on your pc pick up a blueray dvd drive. make sure you pick up a good power supply if you want you system to last buy one that larger then you need. ie if you need a 650w then buy a 750w so that the ps has some head room.

 

[RethKang]

Wow.. Thanks! Alot of info there. I need to do more reading on how these parts come together. Still confused

 

[manofchalk]

When it comes to building a PC from the ground up, the biggest thing is to research endlessly. The more you know the better. Find out whats compatible with what, what will cause bottlenecks, what plugs into what and a million more little bits of info. It is a deluge of information that you wont understand initially, but keep researching and you will eventually begin to understand.

Here's a Youtube channel that I learnt most of my knowledge from, the host on it has an amazing ability to simplify everything and is fairly in depth with what he shows.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ncixcom?feature=results_main
I would suggest watching his build guides, as that will probably cover the most info in one video and will give you a general idea of whats what.

Of course, you could just cheat and give us a budget, then we can build a computer from it :lol:.

 

[smorizio]

if i was going to build myself a rig today i get an asus sabertooth z77mb and toss in an i5-3570 cpu. for a video card i toss in the new nvidia 660. (yes it a mid range gaming card but it give you some head room if you start doing online mmo or a game.) if you get into photo editing or video editing the card will help you there too. 8g of gskill aries ram or crusial ram. (want ram with low heat spreaders to fit under cpu heat sinks). toss an 212 or other 1155 cpu heat sink that had metal legs. (the intel plastic heat sinks suck.). for a case i look at one with a 200-300mm fan on top or front or both..bigger the fan the slower it runs..less sound.
if you go with a case with a few 120mm fans look into picking up a fan controller. you be able to set the fan speed where the fans will keep the case cool...but your pc wont sound like it trying to take off. I use a good 750w bronze rated power supply. (yes it over size for the video card). most vendor of power supply hope that you run them at 8o percent of there rated power or less. for some reason look at hardcops forum and there power supply tests. most ps when load tested there sweet spot is 50-80 percent of rated load. going over 80 percent...cheap ones can ripple out or one of the legs can drop below the atx voltage spec. all so runing it at 8o percent or more of it rated spec the ps going to run hot. a lot of these new ps have thermal fans..if you size the ps right the fan will not come on a lot. if i was going to build a system after the first of the year i swap out the cpu and mb for an intel haswell.

 

[RethKang]

Intel haswell?? And how much would that setup be? smorizio

 

[RethKang]

I will check out that link manofchalk thanks

 

[manofchalk]

Intel haswell?? And how much would that setup be? smorizio

Haswell is the next big architecture for Intel CPU's (Like Sandy Bridge was). Its releasing sometime next year, so currently you cant get Haswell hardware.

 

[RethKang]

So anything i get now will not be compatible woth haswell?

 

[manofchalk]

Only compatibility issue will be between the motherboard and CPU in regards to Haswell. Everything else will be fine.

Basically, you will need a 1150 socket mobo (None on the market yet) to accommodate Haswell CPU's (None on the market yet). So I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[smorizio]

if you google intel cpu road map you see in a few months there going to drop the high end i7 ib chips for the 2011 mb. if they keep what they did for the i5 ib chips they should be close to the same price point as the older sb chips. for haswell they should be close to the ib cpu they replace..if amd cpu were better then intel would be in a price war.