( 
)
Tips for Building your own PC
--------------------------------------------
Preface
-----------
Hi,
I learned all about building my own system from the network and on eBay, and I am building a guide for other buyers who want to buy a new Intel based computer System and do not know what or how to choose hardware parts.
This is not a do it your self guide it is more like “I’ll help you choose the right parts”.
At the end I’ll give examples for my dream computer (something affordable no super computer).
Time :This Article was written by me (ELIELI1978) at 1-July-2008 ..
I think it will be interesting to see the price drop in a few months and to see if some users took my advices.
This article will be useful for people who want to buy a strong system for :
Programming, surfing the internet or local office/home use.
The systems will be fast very good reliable systems that will survive for the next 3-4 years (remember I am not a soothsayer, it is just a prediction), and hopefully still work in reasonable speed for the next 3-4 years (of progress in hardware demand due to software change).
This article will not be useful for
*Over Clockers (OC) or people who are looking for a very strong gaming computer .
*People who want to build computer based on Intel extreme processors.
*People who want to build a computer with extra strong graphical abilities.
(Maybe system number 3 will suit gamers ?).
CPU - Very fast and cheap CPU E8400 Excellent! And an excellent price!!
Memory - OCZ DDR3 with 6-5-5-18 latency. Very fast memory.*(A major problem with this memory is that the cooling unit might not fit in to every board or every case).
HD - WD raptor from 36 GIGA to 300 GIGA. Fast HD.(A major problem .. is that most sellers on eBay sell used HD).
Mother boards - Asus P5 series.
Video cards - Asus silent video cards.(A major problem might not stand the heat with heavy gamers).
Used or new ?
-------------------------
I think when you are buying items first thing you should do is check seller reputation.
Another thing you should do is check Item description.
What used part can I buy?
I think that a used CPU and Used memory (brands only) If not over clocked will work very good so there is no need to worry…. But the major question is: “Can you trust seller when he says this Item was never over clocked?”
What not to Buy used ?
I think that HD drives are not so good as used computer parts I will not recommend on buying them as main HD at your computer.
How ever buying used HD for back up or as an extra HD for your computer might be a good deal.
Many gamers tend to OC there Video card and sell them after heavy use be aware! However it is hard to find a cheap new good card, so we might take the risk...
What not to buy ?
Don’t buy as-is items if you need your system ready and working soon, Or you need to trust your system for the long run.
Don’t buy non brand memory sticks I did this mistake myself after a friend told me they work the same as brand and guess what? they don’t. They get warm fast and they show slower performance than they should.
(I now have A-DATA sticks on my desktop they are excellent).
New features
I think blue ray is still too expensive and not wildly used .To pay 200$ or more for a non obligatory item looks to me as a waist of money for the time being, wait a few month let prices drop then buy.
Know the memory types of the board you are buying, usually 2 types DDR2/DDR3 at different speeds.
See if the video card you are buying is supported by your board, new boards support PCI-e 2.0. Don’t buy AGP cards for these boards.
Know if your board supports SLI? If it does try to buy a card that supports SLI that might help you in the future
More about SLI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface) .
After choosing a board please see that you are buying a memory that can be used on the board you bought. (Example: If you are buying a board that supports only DDR2 do not buy DDR3 memory sticks…)
Buy dual channel and low latency memory sticks.
Dual channel explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_channel
For DDR3 latency of 7-7-7-20 and lower is very good.
For DDR2 latency of 5-5-5-12 and lower is very good.
Latency explanations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAS_latency
When you choose a board choose a board that supports the processor and the socket you need.
Example if you bought a board that supports AMD CPU, don’t buy an Intel CPU with it, it will not work. If you buy a board that supports socket 775 Intel don’t buy Intel P4 - socket 478 with it.
What is FSB?
Wikipedia knows better than me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_side_bus
What is X48 or X38?
This Are the numbers of Intel chipsets more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets
What is chipset?
Answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipset .
If you buy computer from a dealer on eBay you can get a big discount . But=>
Please notice that some custom systems sold on eBay are not so good and you can build your own with less money spent notice that when you are buying.
How can I check which is the fastest CPU ?
Go to Toms hardware and see for yourself:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/processors/3d-studio-max-9,369.html
Why buy E8400 and not E8500s?
Because you have to add 80$, for just a little improvement in speed.
Why not buy quad core?
I did not say not to buy quad core... but most quad cores use 1066 FSB which is slower, and if you see CPU charts you see that E8400 wins in most categories against them…and it is usually cheaper.
Which Intel quad core is the best?
I am not sure who the best is. It is probably QX9770 but it is way to expensive more than 1000$ …And therefore I will recommend Q9550 instead…
Why should I prefer quad core?
I think that in the long run quad cores will show better performance than dual core due to software changes that will take place in the future.
Why didn’t you include AMD CPU in your recommendations?
Because I know nothing about them… I only researched about Intel CPUs..
All I know is that AMD Athlon series are very good.
System number 0
CPU Intel E8400 (dual core 3.0Ghz) ~ 190$ USD.
Ram =DDR2 800MHZ 2*2GB (patriot,ocz,Kingston,cruicial, balistix,etc buy only brands). Cas Latency 5-5-5-12. ~ 90$ USD.
Mother board – ASUS P5E ~ 90$ USD.
Video card – GT8600 512 mega ddr2 ~ 90$ USD
HD - WD /Maxtor/Seagate 300- 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB. ~ 50-90$ USD
CD/DVD – Sony/Nec/LG/Samsung/Pioneer etc 16x-20x DVD+/-RW DL SATA
~ 25-35$ USD.
Computer Case (Generic)- ATX Tower + 400-500W PSU. 25-40$ USD.
Price : ~535$-590$ USD .
Shipping :
Local pick up 0$.
Buying parts about 120$.
Buying all from one seller about 30-40$.
Total : ~535$-710$ USD.
Good qualities
Cheap. Very good CPU.
Bad Qualities
Might feel slow comparing to faster systems.
System number 1
CPU Intel E8400 (dual core 3.0Ghz)~ 190$ USD.
Ram =DDR3 1333MHZ 2*2GB (patriot,ocz,Kingston,cruicial, balistix,etc buy only brands). Cas Latency 6-6-6-18. ~ 340$ USD.
Mother board – ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe~ 220$ USD.
Video card – GT8600 512 mega ddr2 ~ 90$ USD
HD - WD /Maxtor/Seagate 300- 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB. ~ 50-90$ USD
CD/DVD – Sony/Nec/LG/Samsung/Pioneer etc 16x-20x DVD+/-RW DL SATA
~ 25-35$ USD.
Computer Case (Generic)- ATX Tower + 400-500W PSU. 25-40$ USD.
Price : ~915$-970$ USD .
Shipping :
Local pick up 0$.
Buying parts about 120$.
Buying all from one seller about 30-40$.
Total : ~915$-1090$ USD.
Good qualities
Very good CPU.
Very good board.
Very fast Memory.
Bad Qualities
HD we can get a faster one…
System number 2 (System 1 just upgraded and goes silent)
CPU Intel E8400 (dual core 3.0Ghz) ~ 190$ USD/ CPU Intel E8500 (dual core 3.16Ghz)~ 270$ USD.
Ram =DDR3 1333MHZ 2*2GB (patriot,ocz,Kingston,cruicial, balistix,etc buy only brands). Cas Latency 6-6-6-18. ~ 340$ USD.
Mother board – ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe~ 220$ USD.
Video card (Silent) – ASUS GEFORCE 9600GT PCI-E 512MB~ 170$ USD.
HD for operating system and things we want to run fast WD Raptor 74GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive ~150$ USD.
HD - WD /Maxtor/Seagate 300- 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB. ~ 50-90$ USD
CD/DVD – Sony/Nec/LG/Samsung/Pioneer etc 16x-20x DVD+/-RW DL SATA
~ 25-35$ USD.
Silent CPU Fan - 40-70$ USD.
Computer Case (Silent +PSU)- ATX Tower + 400-500W PSU. ~80-180$ USD.
Price :~1265$-1525$ USD .
Shipping :
Local pick up 0$.
Buying parts about 150$.
Buying all from one seller about 40-50$.
Total :~ 1265$- 1675$USD.
Good qualities
Silent!!!
Very good CPU.
Very good board.
Very fast Memory.
Bad Qualities
Expensive….
System number 3 (My super computer)
CPU Intel Q9550 ~ 500$-600$ USD (QUAD CORE 2.83)
Ram =DDR3 1333MHZ 2*2GB (patriot,ocz,Kingston,cruicial, balistix,etc buy only brands). Cas Latency 6-6-6-18. ~ 340$ USD.
Mother board – ASUS P5E3 Premium ~ 400$-500$ USD.
Video card - ASUS GeForce 8800GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 Video Card ~ 200$-250$ USD.
2 X HD for operating system and things we want to run fast WD Raptor 74GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive ~2X150 =300$ USD.
CD/DVD – Sony/Nec/LG/Samsung/Pioneer etc 16x-20x DVD+/-RW DL SATA
~ 25-35$ USD.
Silent CPU Fan - 40-70$ USD.
Computer Case (Silent +PSU)- ATX Tower + 400-500W PSU. ~80-180$ USD.
Price :~1475$-1985$ USD .
Shipping :
Local pick up 0$.
Buying parts about 80$.(Expensive Items tend to have free shipping).
Buying all from one seller about 0$-30$ (Expensive Items tend to have free shipping).
Total :~ 1475$- 2065$USD.
Good qualities
Silent!!!
Very good CPU.
Very good board.
Very fast Memory.
Bad Qualities
Very Expensive….
Hi again thanks for reading !
And a few more things :
1. I am not a representative of no company I do it for my own fun
2. although I recommended Asus boards MSI and ABIT board are OK and I bet other are also good (I myself have an MSI board who works perfect for the last 4-5 years).
3. I am not an Intel representative, And I strongly believe that only a strong competition from AMD will lead the CPUs market to a better place.
4. A new computer is fun hope you can buy one/
5. I am selling Items on eBay and with money I save I hope I can buy a new computer here on eBay.
The END
*-----------------*
If you find this guide helpful please don't forget to press "yes" on the "Was this guide helpful?" button.
Thanks again for reading my guide I hope it was helpful.
Sorry for my spelling mistakes or misuse of The English Language if they occurred (Not a native speaker).
Have a nice day!! : )
elieli1978
Eli Elfassy
--------------------------------------------
Preface
-----------
Hi,
I learned all about building my own system from the network and on eBay, and I am building a guide for other buyers who want to buy a new Intel based computer System and do not know what or how to choose hardware parts.
This is not a do it your self guide it is more like “I’ll help you choose the right parts”.
At the end I’ll give examples for my dream computer (something affordable no super computer).
Time :This Article was written by me (ELIELI1978) at 1-July-2008 ..
I think it will be interesting to see the price drop in a few months and to see if some users took my advices.
This article will be useful for people who want to buy a strong system for :
Programming, surfing the internet or local office/home use.
The systems will be fast very good reliable systems that will survive for the next 3-4 years (remember I am not a soothsayer, it is just a prediction), and hopefully still work in reasonable speed for the next 3-4 years (of progress in hardware demand due to software change).
This article will not be useful for
*Over Clockers (OC) or people who are looking for a very strong gaming computer .
*People who want to build computer based on Intel extreme processors.
*People who want to build a computer with extra strong graphical abilities.
(Maybe system number 3 will suit gamers ?).
My recommendations
Good hardware parts (recommended):CPU - Very fast and cheap CPU E8400 Excellent! And an excellent price!!
Memory - OCZ DDR3 with 6-5-5-18 latency. Very fast memory.*(A major problem with this memory is that the cooling unit might not fit in to every board or every case).
HD - WD raptor from 36 GIGA to 300 GIGA. Fast HD.(A major problem .. is that most sellers on eBay sell used HD).
Mother boards - Asus P5 series.
Video cards - Asus silent video cards.(A major problem might not stand the heat with heavy gamers).
Used or new ?
-------------------------
I think when you are buying items first thing you should do is check seller reputation.
Another thing you should do is check Item description.
What used part can I buy?
I think that a used CPU and Used memory (brands only) If not over clocked will work very good so there is no need to worry…. But the major question is: “Can you trust seller when he says this Item was never over clocked?”
What not to Buy used ?
I think that HD drives are not so good as used computer parts I will not recommend on buying them as main HD at your computer.
How ever buying used HD for back up or as an extra HD for your computer might be a good deal.
Many gamers tend to OC there Video card and sell them after heavy use be aware! However it is hard to find a cheap new good card, so we might take the risk...
What not to buy ?
Don’t buy as-is items if you need your system ready and working soon, Or you need to trust your system for the long run.
Don’t buy non brand memory sticks I did this mistake myself after a friend told me they work the same as brand and guess what? they don’t. They get warm fast and they show slower performance than they should.
(I now have A-DATA sticks on my desktop they are excellent).
New features
I think blue ray is still too expensive and not wildly used .To pay 200$ or more for a non obligatory item looks to me as a waist of money for the time being, wait a few month let prices drop then buy.
What am I as buyer should know?
Know the speed of the board you are buying about 533-2000MHZ (for new boards).Know the memory types of the board you are buying, usually 2 types DDR2/DDR3 at different speeds.
See if the video card you are buying is supported by your board, new boards support PCI-e 2.0. Don’t buy AGP cards for these boards.
Know if your board supports SLI? If it does try to buy a card that supports SLI that might help you in the future
More about SLI http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scalable_Link_Interface) .
After choosing a board please see that you are buying a memory that can be used on the board you bought. (Example: If you are buying a board that supports only DDR2 do not buy DDR3 memory sticks…)
Buy dual channel and low latency memory sticks.
Dual channel explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_channel
For DDR3 latency of 7-7-7-20 and lower is very good.
For DDR2 latency of 5-5-5-12 and lower is very good.
Latency explanations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAS_latency
When you choose a board choose a board that supports the processor and the socket you need.
Example if you bought a board that supports AMD CPU, don’t buy an Intel CPU with it, it will not work. If you buy a board that supports socket 775 Intel don’t buy Intel P4 - socket 478 with it.
What is FSB?
Wikipedia knows better than me: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Front_side_bus
What is X48 or X38?
This Are the numbers of Intel chipsets more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Intel_chipsets
What is chipset?
Answer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chipset .
If you buy computer from a dealer on eBay you can get a big discount . But=>
Please notice that some custom systems sold on eBay are not so good and you can build your own with less money spent notice that when you are buying.
How can I check which is the fastest CPU ?
Go to Toms hardware and see for yourself:
http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/processors/3d-studio-max-9,369.html
Why buy E8400 and not E8500s?
Because you have to add 80$, for just a little improvement in speed.
Why not buy quad core?
I did not say not to buy quad core... but most quad cores use 1066 FSB which is slower, and if you see CPU charts you see that E8400 wins in most categories against them…and it is usually cheaper.
Which Intel quad core is the best?
I am not sure who the best is. It is probably QX9770 but it is way to expensive more than 1000$ …And therefore I will recommend Q9550 instead…
Why should I prefer quad core?
I think that in the long run quad cores will show better performance than dual core due to software changes that will take place in the future.
Why didn’t you include AMD CPU in your recommendations?
Because I know nothing about them… I only researched about Intel CPUs..
All I know is that AMD Athlon series are very good.
MY 4 recommended Computer systems
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------System number 0
CPU Intel E8400 (dual core 3.0Ghz) ~ 190$ USD.
Ram =DDR2 800MHZ 2*2GB (patriot,ocz,Kingston,cruicial, balistix,etc buy only brands). Cas Latency 5-5-5-12. ~ 90$ USD.
Mother board – ASUS P5E ~ 90$ USD.
Video card – GT8600 512 mega ddr2 ~ 90$ USD
HD - WD /Maxtor/Seagate 300- 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB. ~ 50-90$ USD
CD/DVD – Sony/Nec/LG/Samsung/Pioneer etc 16x-20x DVD+/-RW DL SATA
~ 25-35$ USD.
Computer Case (Generic)- ATX Tower + 400-500W PSU. 25-40$ USD.
Price : ~535$-590$ USD .
Shipping :
Local pick up 0$.
Buying parts about 120$.
Buying all from one seller about 30-40$.
Total : ~535$-710$ USD.
Good qualities
Cheap. Very good CPU.
Bad Qualities
Might feel slow comparing to faster systems.
System number 1
CPU Intel E8400 (dual core 3.0Ghz)~ 190$ USD.
Ram =DDR3 1333MHZ 2*2GB (patriot,ocz,Kingston,cruicial, balistix,etc buy only brands). Cas Latency 6-6-6-18. ~ 340$ USD.
Mother board – ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe~ 220$ USD.
Video card – GT8600 512 mega ddr2 ~ 90$ USD
HD - WD /Maxtor/Seagate 300- 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB. ~ 50-90$ USD
CD/DVD – Sony/Nec/LG/Samsung/Pioneer etc 16x-20x DVD+/-RW DL SATA
~ 25-35$ USD.
Computer Case (Generic)- ATX Tower + 400-500W PSU. 25-40$ USD.
Price : ~915$-970$ USD .
Shipping :
Local pick up 0$.
Buying parts about 120$.
Buying all from one seller about 30-40$.
Total : ~915$-1090$ USD.
Good qualities
Very good CPU.
Very good board.
Very fast Memory.
Bad Qualities
HD we can get a faster one…
System number 2 (System 1 just upgraded and goes silent)
CPU Intel E8400 (dual core 3.0Ghz) ~ 190$ USD/ CPU Intel E8500 (dual core 3.16Ghz)~ 270$ USD.
Ram =DDR3 1333MHZ 2*2GB (patriot,ocz,Kingston,cruicial, balistix,etc buy only brands). Cas Latency 6-6-6-18. ~ 340$ USD.
Mother board – ASUS P5Q3 Deluxe~ 220$ USD.
Video card (Silent) – ASUS GEFORCE 9600GT PCI-E 512MB~ 170$ USD.
HD for operating system and things we want to run fast WD Raptor 74GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive ~150$ USD.
HD - WD /Maxtor/Seagate 300- 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB. ~ 50-90$ USD
CD/DVD – Sony/Nec/LG/Samsung/Pioneer etc 16x-20x DVD+/-RW DL SATA
~ 25-35$ USD.
Silent CPU Fan - 40-70$ USD.
Computer Case (Silent +PSU)- ATX Tower + 400-500W PSU. ~80-180$ USD.
Price :~1265$-1525$ USD .
Shipping :
Local pick up 0$.
Buying parts about 150$.
Buying all from one seller about 40-50$.
Total :~ 1265$- 1675$USD.
Good qualities
Silent!!!
Very good CPU.
Very good board.
Very fast Memory.
Bad Qualities
Expensive….
System number 3 (My super computer)
CPU Intel Q9550 ~ 500$-600$ USD (QUAD CORE 2.83)
Ram =DDR3 1333MHZ 2*2GB (patriot,ocz,Kingston,cruicial, balistix,etc buy only brands). Cas Latency 6-6-6-18. ~ 340$ USD.
Mother board – ASUS P5E3 Premium ~ 400$-500$ USD.
Video card - ASUS GeForce 8800GT 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI-E 2.0 Video Card ~ 200$-250$ USD.
2 X HD for operating system and things we want to run fast WD Raptor 74GB 10000 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s Hard Drive ~2X150 =300$ USD.
CD/DVD – Sony/Nec/LG/Samsung/Pioneer etc 16x-20x DVD+/-RW DL SATA
~ 25-35$ USD.
Silent CPU Fan - 40-70$ USD.
Computer Case (Silent +PSU)- ATX Tower + 400-500W PSU. ~80-180$ USD.
Price :~1475$-1985$ USD .
Shipping :
Local pick up 0$.
Buying parts about 80$.(Expensive Items tend to have free shipping).
Buying all from one seller about 0$-30$ (Expensive Items tend to have free shipping).
Total :~ 1475$- 2065$USD.
Good qualities
Silent!!!
Very good CPU.
Very good board.
Very fast Memory.
Bad Qualities
Very Expensive….
Hi again thanks for reading !
And a few more things :
1. I am not a representative of no company I do it for my own fun
2. although I recommended Asus boards MSI and ABIT board are OK and I bet other are also good (I myself have an MSI board who works perfect for the last 4-5 years).
3. I am not an Intel representative, And I strongly believe that only a strong competition from AMD will lead the CPUs market to a better place.
4. A new computer is fun hope you can buy one/
5. I am selling Items on eBay and with money I save I hope I can buy a new computer here on eBay.
The END
*-----------------*
If you find this guide helpful please don't forget to press "yes" on the "Was this guide helpful?" button.
Thanks again for reading my guide I hope it was helpful.
Sorry for my spelling mistakes or misuse of The English Language if they occurred (Not a native speaker).
Have a nice day!! : )
elieli1978
Eli Elfassy
Guide created: 07/01/08 (updated 09/07/08)
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