OT: Building a new box

[Possum]

Yes, it's that happy time. Time for a new computer!

I have built my own several times before. In fact, only twice have I ever bought pre-built systems, and those were the two most troublesome computers I ever owned.

The big issue, of course, is compatibility.

Some time ago, I saw a website which contained pre-designed and pre-tested system configs. Not that anything was for sale there, this was purely an information site. Just that the editors had designed, assembled, and tested a variety of different systems. And these were listed for viewing.

Do any of you good folks know of this site, or any similar site?

[Fyron]

The only things you really need to worry about are getting a motherboard that supports the processor you want, and making sure you get the AGP vs. PCI-E matchup right for the video card (you will generally be getting PCI-E if you aren't trying to build a budget box). Other than that, hardware incompatibility is largely a thing of the past. You _might_ have issues if you buy cheap no-name parts, but if you buy anything from decent companies, you shouldn't have any issues with a sound card not working with a video card or such.

I suggest this as a good source of info:

http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/...ide-200612.ars

It was written a month ago, and contains info on good parts for 3 levels of PCs, ranging from the budget to the "god box." Each part usually has 2-4 alternatives listed as well.

Among places to shop for parts, newegg.com usually has decent prices, and the try to ship things out quickly, unlike certain south american-jungle type sites.

[Atrocities]

I know if I was to build a new box I would want a good CPU, a good video card, a solid MB, and lots of ram. But what these parts would be I have no clue. I just don't know enough.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

I tend to just ask the computer store tech. I'm not too informed on hardware.

[rdouglass]

I have done this at Tigerdirect.com many times. They have very reasonable 'barebones' units that you can generally add whatever you want to them. Their barebones units usually come with a case, PS, matched CPU and mobo, as well as RAM; usually a good place to start and then add your video, HD, etc. to taste.

You also don't need to buy any OS with them but you can if you wish.

I have been quite happy with them.

[Fyron]

How do their prices compare to newegg.com? They also offer various barebones systems.

[geoschmo]

I can second the Tiger Direct recomendation. I've never built a whole system there, but bought many components and never had any problems with them.

[Caduceus]

I have used NewEgg in the past and TigerDirect has a good reputation as well.

Do some research, etc. I have to re-educate myself every time I get a new computer simply because I don't bathe in the lingo 24/7.

[Atrocities]

How is this for a new system?

$1130.00

CASE:
X-Cruiser Mid-Tower 420W Case W/ WINDOW, MultiMeter Display & Control (Silver Color)

CPU:
(Sckt775)Intel® Core™ 2 Duo E6400 CPU @ 2.13GHz 1066FSB 2x1MB L2 Cache EM64T

MOTHERBOARD:
(Quad-Core Supports) Asus P5N-E nForce 650i SLI Chipset LGA775 FSB1333 DDR2 Mainboard

MEMORY:
(Req.DDR2 MainBoard)1GB (2x512MB) PC6400 DDR2/800 Dual Channel Memory

VIDEO CARD:
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS 512MB PCI Express x16

VIDEO CARD 2:
NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS 512MB PCI Express x16

HARD DRIVE:
Single Hard Drive (250GB SATA-II 3.0Gb/s 8MB Cache 7200RPM HDD)

Optical Drive:
18X DVD±R/±RW + CD-R/RW DRIVE DUAL LAYER
Optical Drive 2: 16X DVD ROM

SOUND:
HIGH DEFINITION ON-BOARD 7.1 AUDIO

[Renegade 13]

I get a "Service Unavailable" message from that link Fyron.

AT, I'd suggest 2 gigs of RAM instead of just 1.