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Well Rounded Hardware Tutorial


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#1
Granz00

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There are a couple of reasons why I want to create this. First off, it might do some good as a tutorial to post at the top of these forums. A lot of people come in here, asking for help on putting together a build for their computer. This may be able to help those people find a good starting point. The other reason, is that I might want to try starting a small computer building business. Nothing would bring me more joy then helping people get away from those low quality, high priced, hard to upgrade builds provided at stores like Best Buy.

Here are a few things I would need in order to get started on this. First, I would need knowledge on how to pick good parts for specific kinds of builds. For example, how would I determine a good recomended CPU speed for a multimedia build. Another thing would be a few good sites that provide performance evaluations for different parts. Finally, a list of brands to stick to for certain parts would also be helpful.

There may be more stuff I need to learn along the way, but I'll get to those as they come. I am also going to have different "chapters" in my guide. In other words, one chapter may be picking out parts. Another chapter may be putting together a build. Some others may be, troubleshooting, and determining if you should upgrade certain parts. Finally, I would have the final chapter as a few examples of builds.

On to the final chapter. I wanted to do somewheres around 8 builds. This will include an internet/word processing build, a multimedia build, a gaming build, and finally a "do everything build" (video editing and such). For each of these, I would have a minimum/cheap build, and a recomended build. I would list the parts used in the build, what the build is meant for, and what the build can accomplish (and also a general price on the side). An example would be a multimedia build meant for playing movies, and can accomplish some lightweight game playing.

If you can teach me something, give me some links, or even help me create this guide, any help would be appreciated. However long it takes to get this done will be the timelimit to get it done.
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#2
jt1990

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Good idea. Catch is, prices change so rapidly you'd have to update it fairly regularly - at least once a month. Still a good idea tho - I'll help you do some looking once I get home and have some time. :)

Edited by jt1990, 14 October 2008 - 01:36 PM.

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#3
Troy

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Be sure to send me a copy when you're finished. :)
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#4
jt1990

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Exactly what are you looking for? I would assume 1GB RAM minimum, how about video? Some of them (obviously) are going to want a real card, but could the "internet/word processing" build just have an onboard port? AMD or Intel or a combination? MicroATX or ATX case?

I'm going to pretty much be pulling my prices off of NewEgg, so I would suggest that's where you would want to look too.
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#5
jt1990

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Ok, since I've got some time atm, I'm going to just throw a build together, and you can tell me what you think of it.

Motherboard - MSI G31M3-F - $49.99
CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 2.53 GHz - $119.99
RAM - Kingston 1 GB DDR2 800 - $14.49
Video - Onboard
Case - Rosewill ATX Midtower case - $21.99
PSU - Sunbeam 480 Watt - $14.99
OS - MS Windows XP Professional - $139.99

Total - $361.94


Anyone got any suggestions to add? I would qualify this as the cheap "Internet/word processing computer." My apologies if I missed anything...It's like, really early here and I just got up a little while ago and my brain's not functioning...
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#6
Troy

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jt, I wouldn't call that build "Well Rounded", as per the thread title. :)

Upgrade to a better PSU (think Antec Earthwatts 380W minimum), 2GB of RAM, and Vista Home Basic. While we're at it, it would make more sense to downgrade the CPU, too. Something like the E2220 would fit in better, in my opinion.

Let me know what you think of those suggestions.

(And that case is ugly :))

Troy

EDIT: Actually for this price, I should think an AMD system would give better performance for the user's dollar.

Edited by Troy, 15 October 2008 - 07:00 AM.

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#7
Granz00

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There does happen to be one problem with the build. Where is the HDD?

HDD - WD Caviar 80 GB - $36.99

Oh yeah, and should a CD/DVD drive be in the build?

Good start though.

Edit - Here are some guidelines that I came up with that I wanted to check with you.

Bronze builds (Internet...) - Minimum specs to get a working computer.
Silver builds (Media...) - Mid range build, possible low end discrete graphics card.
Gold builds (Game...) - Mid to high range build, mid to high discrete graphics card.
Platinum builds (Everything...) - Overall high end build.

When I say high, I don't mean cutting edge. For example, something like the GeForce 8800 would be on the high end.

Edited by Granz00, 15 October 2008 - 07:24 AM.

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#8
jt1990

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ack, I knew I forgot something... :) that's what comes from asking myself to do something early in the morning :)

And yes, there should be a DVD drive, probably a burner.

Edited by jt1990, 15 October 2008 - 07:20 AM.

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#9
Troy

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Yes indeed, what about a hard drive and optical drive? :)

Shall we try again?
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#10
Jonesey

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And if you want to expand your range even more, there's another huge userbase out there with their own needs & expectations - the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) market.

Learning how to build & configure these can be more than a little intense, but it'll be [bleep] good experience for you.
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