Building My First Pc.

[derekpara]

I now feel sufficiently confident to try and build a PC for general home use. I can read and understand instructions pretty well and am a dab hand with a screwdriver.

Regarding a specification, I don't play video games but would want a CD/DVD player for music etc and maybe a Rewriter for copying. Apart from that I am looking to get the best I can with a budget of £200-£300.

Any help and advice would be welcome, and please ask any questions.

Oh, and can you recommend a good supply source.

Thank.

D

[daffy654]

The best advice I can give is don't buy a budget PSU, go for one that is certified 80 plus such as this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-042-BQ&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2463

or this:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-116-CS&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=2463

You can get quite cheap Blu Ray players that are also CD/DVD rewriters but are always best to stick to known brands if possible, mine is a Samsung.

There are many websites that can advise on builds and components, try http://www.kitguru.net/

Good luck :)

[Old_Geezer]

Those I have built I have taken advice from http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/buyers-guide That said they have been very lax of late updating their advice.

[derekpara]

Thanks, Daff & OG.

I can use a pc fairly well but am almost totally ignorant of the internal parts I shall need. Thanks again for the bits you've mentioned and I'd be grateful for a reasonably comprehensive list of essential parts, makes, memory sizes etc based on my budget.

Cheers.

D

[dizmouk2009]

For that price you could just buy a nice desktop from dell.co.uk.

I probably have a load of crap you can have

[daffy654]

You could get a decent Dell desktop for that price but sometimes the fun is in the actual build. I have to admit though that I would seriously struggle with your budget so can't really help there.

Basic components needed:

Case
Motherboard
Processor
RAM (at least 4gb)
Power supply unit
Hard Drive
CD/DVD player/Writer

[daffy654]

And of course you will need an operating system such as Windows or Linux

[derekpara]

Just opened your link OG and it gives a components list, which will be a good starting point.

Thanks

D

[dizmouk2009]

I'M SORRY BUT IF YOU BUILD YOUR OWN YOU CAN'T USE WINDOWS. Bill Gates is a ****. Ubuntu all teh weh!

[SlackAlice]

Yes you can use Windows, but you have to factor that into your costings as well.

daffy654
has given you enough to work on to give you a clue about what you need.
A self build at around the £200 - £300 mark is going to be a very tight one, because you cannot obtain the parts at the prices the major pc builders pay because of volume purchase prices.

I like to build my own pc's, but mine are aimed at gaming pc specs. By all means give it a go, nothing quite as satisfying as switching it on and it all works first time.

I've also used Overclockers to source most of my parts, but there are quite a few good suppliers out there, such as Scan, Novatech & BTshop.

[Old_Geezer]

Not only can you use Windows, you will probably have an installation disk, which is a comfort. You do, however, have to watch out for good price windows turning out to be illegal copies. Had that once and MS didn't start causing me problems until it had been being used for months. (Easier to hit the victim than go after the perp.)

[VHG]

>>>I'M SORRY BUT IF YOU BUILD YOUR OWN YOU CAN'T USE WINDOWS

What a load of rubbish.

I have built a number of PCs and have always bought an OEM copy of Windows to install on them.

[eastern]

I used to have a computer shop and built hundreds of PC's from scratch. Firstly most PC's in fact nearly all PC's are only used to about a 10th of their capability unless you are into serious gaming then the money needs to go on a top notch graphics card. Most budget PC's are built with onboard graphics so there is no card just a port on the back, although some motherbaords allow expansion. Some of my old suppliers used to do M/Board, processor, ram packages so all you needed was your DVD/CDRW drive, try E buyer for bits. buy good quality RAM, what we used to call major on major. So you will need Tower with 6/700 watt supply, DVD drive, hard drive, M/Board, CPU, Heatsink fan, RAM 4GB min, Graphics card 1 gb, copy of windows license for which ever operating system your using plus SATA cables. Being able to use a screw driver really makes no odds, just remeber if you do make a "Horlicks" of the whole thing you might have found it easier to just go and buy a laptop!

[VHG]

First, you don't save any money building yourself. A few years ago you may have done but now Dell and others can buy the parts so cheaply they can built it cheaper than you can. Plus they get Windows cheaper than we do (as they buy in bulk).

You may have big trouble building one for £200 but may get one for £300.

I have built a number of PCs and usually find the hardest thing is to sort out is the right combination of motherboard, CPU and memory.

The two main CPU makers are Intel and AMD, and motherboards are made to take Intel or AMD CPUs. You cant put an Intel CPU in an AMD motherboard and vice versa.

I think the best thing to do is buy a motherboard bundle when the motherboard, CPU and memory are already put together and tested. This means you know they all work together.

Novatech are one company who sell motherboard bundles

http://www.novatech.co.uk/motherboardbundles/

It is satisfying building your own PC, but the first one can be a bit daunting as you open the case and wonder where all the cables go.

[VHG]

Rough guide to prices:

Motherboard bundle - Novatech do a basic Intel one for £135.

Case / PSU - £30

Hard disk - 500Gb - £40

CD/DVD - £15

No graphics card, use on board graphics.

That comes to £220, with no software. Add Windows and that takes it up to £300.

The Motherboard/CPU/Memory bundle is Novatech's second cheapest Intel model so this is going to be a low end CPU, plus the Case/PSU is going to be fairly basic.

But at least you can build a PC for £300.

If you can add another £40 you can get a far better motherboard bundle for £175, with an Intel Core i3 CPU.

[gingejbee]

You may have seen this, but lots and lots of info and advice here:

http://www.computeractive.co.uk/search?sort=Relevance1&query=building+your+own+pc

[derekpara]

Thank you all very much. A lot of food for thought.

I'll let you know how I get on if I do decide to go ahead.

Cheers.

D

[eastern]

Whats the betting he's onto Currys web site to buy a cheap laptop!!

[gingejbee]

Well, if he's got any sense, it won't be Currys (or sister company PCWorld).

[derekpara]

Project postponed - probably indefinitely !

I think the satisfaction of a successful build was motivating factor, but thanks to everyone's advice I think I'll build a shed instead.

Cheers.

D

[TTG]

Goto (see what I did there) to pcspecialist.co.uk Select the system parts you want and see if you can get the parts seperately for a cheaper price. You will also get an idea of what parts are compatible (power supply needed for example).