[delawaredrew]

Hi,
I'm considering bulding my next comp, my first build. I've noticed alot of barebones set-ups available for pretty cheap. I t sems like a good way to get started. THe array of case forms and mother board options, etc... is a little dizzying to a newbie and the barebones starter choice seems like it might help push me into a direction. I'm confident I can do the physical build, but unsure of my decision making ability when it comes to how to get started.
I'll have to buy it all piece by piece, probably over 3-4 months. And I'm not really worried about the fastest or best of anything, compared to this old 500mghz 224mb beast, anything modern would be cool. Any advice. Should I start with a case and go from there?
Drew

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Well I can tell you what I did. I went and looked at these barebones kits i went to www.tigerdirect.com not because i think there the best just because they have good pics and descriptions. I found a barbone kit i liked and looked at all the components that came with it. Then i did a price comparrison for the all the parts. After comparring the two i chose the cheaper one, in my case it was building from scratch. If you would like i could do some research and pick out a list of parts you need. Also check out my other post. It has some good info. The first step is having a budget tell me yours, adn i could help you out. (i know intel pretty well, but im still trying to understand what amd things are good) get back to me on the budget and ill help you out

Matt

[jacobusmatthew]

Well I can tell you what I did. I went and looked at these barebones kits i went to www.tigerdirect.com not because i think there the best just because they have good pics and descriptions. I found a barbone kit i liked and looked at all the components that came with it. Then i did a price comparrison for the all the parts. After comparring the two i chose the cheaper one, in my case it was building from scratch. If you would like i could do some research and pick out a list of parts you need. Also check out my other post. It has some good info. The first step is having a budget tell me yours, adn i could help you out. (i know intel pretty well, but im still trying to understand what amd things are good) get back to me on the budget and ill help you out

Matt

[delawaredrew]

Matt,
Thanks for the reply.
As for budget it is really more a matter of time then money, as I can probably divert $100-200 per paycheck to parts, but under $1000 would be the magic number to keep the gf off my back. Cheaper is of course better if it doesn't compromise performance too much.
I don't need monitor, keyboard, or mouse, and will probably reuse /CD RW I just bought and maybe my older DVD-ROM if I can. Also am not really into games, mostly web stuff and MS Office usage for this machine. So around a 80gb drive and maybe 512 mbs RAM. Not sure about processor but anything beats this 500mghz Dell. Maybe around 2.4 or so to keep prices down. I'd figured on using the sound/vid and ethernet on whatever mobo I get also. No problems with a celeron or other budget processor. Maybe a new speaker set-up also, or audio out on the soundcard to connect to my system. Probably XP home.
I saw the barebones on tigerdirect and newegg but am not really sure what they include, is it usually just power, mobo, and case?
Thanks
Drew

[jacobusmatthew]

ok well if its not for games, video rendering, or other high end apps you could get away with murder.........but if you are really willing to spend $1000 you could get are really sweet comp im gonna give you 2 possible configurations.........one based on performance, and the otherone will be usin barebones kit. ok here it goes......

1st Possible Configuration (this is the cool one that totally rules!!!)
- Case - http://www.xoxide.co...-case-blue.html $159.99

- Power Supply - http://www.xoxide.co...500w-black.html $39.99

- Motherboard - http://www.newegg.co...-127-152&depa=1 - $140

- CPU - http://www.newegg.co...-116-171&depa=1 - $180

- CPU Cooling - http://www.xoxide.co...cpu-cooler.html - $46.99

- RAM - http://www.newegg.co...-141-423&depa=1 - $100

- Vid Card - http://www.newegg.co...-102-286&depa=1 - $225.00

- Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.co...-152-017&depa=1 - $90

GRAND TOTAL OF CONFIGURATION 1 = bascally $1000, possibly over with shipping

Configuration 2 (barebones Kit)

- Barbones Kit - http://www.tigerdire...5449&CatId=1227 - (don't think this one is the cheapest available, but i don't know the best places to get barebones.....so this may be a little cashy) - $499

- Vid Card - http://www.newegg.co...-102-287&depa=1 - $109

- Hard Drive - http://www.newegg.co...-144-102&depa=1 - $56

TOTAL OF 2ND CONFIGURATION = $665

Note: the 1st config offers much more power and should soot you for years to come
The 2nd config is cheaper, but you may end up wanting to upgrade/change in the not so distant future. i leave the decision to you. Don't only choose these pick what you like, these are just suggestions

Also i didnt include CD Drives, cause you said you already had those.........

if you have any snags, or need help assembling.....just email me at [email protected] ............or IM me at jacobusmatthew on AIM

hope this helps

Matt

[jacobusmatthew]

http://www.americanc...nfo.asp?iid=804

this is a much better site to get barbone gets...... if you don't like the others then tell me ill config one here.......im not doin it if its unessesary...cause im tired

[jacobusmatthew]

oh crap..........totally forgot xp and your sound setup.........another way you could go is to get a low end Dell...........http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dp_desktop1_1?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

this is a good unit for you.........unless you want to experience building for yourself

Matt

[delawaredrew]

Matt,
Hey thanks for the time you spent thinking of my set-up. I'm glad that you make it sound as do-able as that, I have to give it some more thought but I'll probaby do it, maybe in 2-3 weeks I can begin buying stuff. I had also thought of the Dell option as that is what I have now. I'll post back when I have a better idea of what route I'm gonna take.
Thanks,
Drew

[delawaredrew]

Matt,
Been checking out the ACI site, it is a very attractive option. Thanks for the heads-up. Seems like I could find a good set-up there.

Drew

[neilp4453]

you should check out some of those parts he listed if you intend to use them. this is because to see if they meet your needs. that dude listed a pretty good graphics card which is expensive. i suggest looking at your needs and getting what you want. anyway, i am also building a new computer from scratch. my first computer was a retail computer which had a amd processor running at 400mhz. i hated amd ever since. and only a 100mhz fsb. so i picked up a 3ghz processor wit a 800 fsb and its p4. should be a huge jump. it should be pretty cool from going to slow to fast.

[jacobusmatthew]

yeah he's right the vid card is a little high-end for you...................just shop around for a 3D vid card..........(you could go to your local comp store for this)......i would suggest ATI but NVidia is good too..........make sure the vid card you choose is AGP............get back to me about what you choose, I'll try and help you with the build too if you want.

Matt

[austin_o]

Here are some resources I have used and would recommend. I read a multitude of reviews mostly good and some bad on Monarch and PCRightNow. My experience with these three was good.

http://store.yahoo.c...tore/index.html

http://www.monarchco...nt2/merchant.mv

http://www.geeks.com/