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PC Building Resources

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  • Computers
  • Build
  • Components
Last response: in Components
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February 2, 2014 1:19:15 PM

Hello All,

So I have decided that, as a summer project, I would like to build myself a new desktop PC, not only to increase my, albeit rather small, knowledge of computers but also to give me a platform which I can utilize for a while without fear of it becoming outdated, be it because the initial components remain viable for so long or because I can update everything as I see fit.

However, as stated above, I know very little about how to build a computer beyond what the basic parts are and what I have gleaned from a couple of articles and a few days' worth of investigating.

Thus, to avoid having to pose non-specific questions on forums such as this, I was wondering if you guys know of any "Definitive Guides" to building a computer, resources which I can read through and come away with a much better idea of what kind of hardware I'm looking for and how to decide what to get/build. I don't really care about the format, but I would like sources which will help me to increase my knowledge base to the point that I can evaluate components and come here with specific questions.

Thanks!

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February 2, 2014 3:40:55 PM

The best source is right here, Tom's Hardware. Need help building a computer, me and the rest of the interwebz are here. Problem with your build, me and the rest of interwebz are here. Don't know what parts to get, me and interwebz are right here. Just tell me what your budget is and I can give you a build right now.
February 2, 2014 3:52:46 PM

TheMohammadmo said:
The best source is right here, Tom's Hardware. Need help building a computer, me and the rest of the interwebz are here. Problem with your build, me and the rest of interwebz are here. Don't know what parts to get, me and interwebz are right here. Just tell me what your budget is and I can give you a build right now.


Budget, I was thinking under $900. Just based off of what I've learned right now, I'm leaning very strongly towards a Haswell i7, probably 3.4 Ghz; 8Gb of RAM, and a 128 SSD. The big thing I have yet to figure out is what motherboard I want, and that was next on my list of things to figure out. I'm going to hold off on getting a GPU or Audio Card until I've explored more what I can do with the CPU, GPU, SSD, and Motherboard (since the computer's capabilities at that point will be beyond what I'm using right now, and thus might lead to some different uses and requirements on the GPU and Sound Card side). And then, Power Source and Case were going to be based off of that. So, I guess the biggest question I could use answered right now is what kind of Motherboard would you recommend? I would like to have USB 3.0 and HDMI inputs, but I should only need audio I/O. Built in WiFi would be nice.

Related resources
February 2, 2014 6:31:02 PM

Well I have a really good build but its a 1000 dollars. It was chosen as best answer on another forum page. http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2007035/approx-g...
Here is the build. It has a ssd and a 1tb hard drive plus the seasonic psu is the best quality psu available
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI H87M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $959.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-02 21:30 EST-0500)
February 2, 2014 7:11:58 PM

TheMohammadmo said:
Well I have a really good build but its a 1000 dollars. It was chosen as best answer on another forum page. http://www.tomshardware.com/answers/id-2007035/approx-g...
Here is the build. It has a ssd and a 1tb hard drive plus the seasonic psu is the best quality psu available
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI H87M-G43 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($89.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($76.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($69.99 @ Microcenter)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.66 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 760 2GB Video Card ($239.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($42.98 @ Best Buy)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 620W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.98 @ OutletPC)
Total: $959.53
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-02 21:30 EST-0500)



How does having the SSD and HDD work with the mother board, I have never heard of that configuration.
February 2, 2014 7:20:49 PM

What do you mean how does it work, you get two sata cables and plug one in to each one
February 2, 2014 7:47:27 PM

TheMohammadmo said:
What do you mean how does it work, you get two sata cables and plug one in to each one


Sorry. How does the motherboard prioritize use of the SSD and HDD?
!