So I'm Going To Build My Own PC

[Kid Afrika]

Bottom line, if you are thinking about building your own system, do it. It affords you a lot more flexibility than buying a boxed system like one from Gateway or Dell. Sure, Dell makes good machines, but they are better suited for business than for upgrades.

Personally, I never buy the latest greatest because the shit that's three months old is usually up to snuff and about 30% cheaper at least.

IMHO, anything over a 3.0 GHz processor and 1 GB of RAM is overkill.

Yes, get a good video card, but as mentioned, the 9800 card for $230 is plenty, no need to go for the 9800XT for $500.

For hard drives, go to best buy every week and wait till you find the 120 GB hard drives for under $100 after rebate. They seem to have these sales every other week, so it shouldn't be a problem. Just be sure to get drives that are 7500 or better RPM and have 8 MB cache.

For your mainboard, get something reputable with plenty of expansion slots and be sure it has an 8X capable AGP slot. You should plan to pay about $150 or better for a decent one, and make sure it doesn't have onboard video or audio. Some mainboards that have onboard audio are OK, but one's with onboard video are definitely shite. I think it's also typical for mainboards in that price range to have support for USB2.0 on onboard slots as well as expansion for extra ports.

Finally, for your case....

Be sure to get a flexible case with easy install drive bays. Most Antec rip-offs have this. Also, be sure to get one that has a 450W or better power supply. This will give you plenty of power to support multiple hard drives and disc drives (CD-R/W, DVD-R/W, etc.)

As an encore, I'll post my current system...

ThermalTake Xaser III case w/ 7 ball bearing fans, 450W power supply and fan speed controller/temperature monitor

(screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)}" onclick="javascript:if(this.width > (screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)} else {this.width = (this.width*2)}" border="0" alt='Posted image: Click to resize'>

Soyo Dragon Lite Mainboard -

On-board 10/100 Mbps Ethernet function by Realtek controller
Embedded CMedia 8738 audio chip to provide 4-channel hardware audio (6-channel ready with the addition of an SPDIF audio connector)
Supports high speed USB 2.0 ports
Adjustable CPU FSB, core voltage & multiplier via BIOS setup
Adjustable DIMM voltage
Adjustable AGP voltage
Advanced Management Capabilities: Software power off control, Power-on by keyboard, Power-on by Alarm, Modem Ring On
Supports ATX 12V power supply only
Supports on-board Hardware Monitoring and includes Hardware Health Utility to streamline your PC management
Supports WOL (Wake On LAN) function to simplify network management
Suspend To RAM, Suspend To Disk
Chipset Type: VIA P4X400
Chipset Description:
VIA P4X400/8235 chipset
Supports 533/400 MHz FSB
Supports Hyper-Threading technology
Form Factor: ATX
Memory Type: DDR400 SDRAM
Memory Description:
Three DDR 2.5V DIMM sockets support up to 3GB (DDR 266, 2GB for DDR 333/400)
184-pin PC3200/PC2700/PC2100 non-ECC, unbuffered DDR SDRAM memory
Expansion Slots:
Five 32-bit Bus Mastering PCI slots (V2.2 compliant)
One AGP slot (support 8X/4X mode up to 1.5v)
Expansion Slot Types: Five 32-bit Bus Mastering PCI slots
IDE Type: UDMA 66/100/133
IDE Description:
Two independent channels for four IDE devices
Supports up to PIO Mode 5 and UDMA 66/100/133
Two PCI bus mastering ATA E-IDE ports


(screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)}" onclick="javascript:if(this.width > (screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)} else {this.width = (this.width*2)}" border="0" alt='Posted image: Click to resize'>

Pentium 4 2.4 GHz Processor, 533 MHz Bus, 512KB L2-Cache

(screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)}" onclick="javascript:if(this.width > (screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)} else {this.width = (this.width*2)}" border="0" alt='Posted image: Click to resize'>

RAM - (2x) 512MB PC2700 DDR RAM

Video Card - ATI Radeon 9000 Pro 128MB, AGP 4X (Not the greatest, but it works for me and it was <$150 at the time.

(screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)}" onclick="javascript:if(this.width > (screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)} else {this.width = (this.width*2)}" border="0" alt='Posted image: Click to resize'>

Hard Drives -

(2x) Western Digital WD1000JB 100GB, 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache

(screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)}" onclick="javascript:if(this.width > (screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)} else {this.width = (this.width*2)}" border="0" alt='Posted image: Click to resize'>

(2x) Western Digital WD1200JB 120GB, 7200 RPM, 8MB Cache

(screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)}" onclick="javascript:if(this.width > (screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)} else {this.width = (this.width*2)}" border="0" alt='Posted image: Click to resize'>

CR-RW Drive - Norcent Model RW521 (52x24x52)... I think I paid like $79 after rebate for this like 6 months ago.

(screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)}" onclick="javascript:if(this.width > (screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)} else {this.width = (this.width*2)}" border="0" alt='Posted image: Click to resize'>

DVD-R/RW Drive - Pioneer DVR-A05U ($159 after rebate)... 4X DVD Write, 2X DVD Re-Write, 16X CDR, 8X CDRW

(screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)}" onclick="javascript:if(this.width > (screen.width/2)){this.width = (this.width/2)} else {this.width = (this.width*2)}" border="0" alt='Posted image: Click to resize'>

I'm not sure that all of this would come in under $2K at the time, you could surely find similar equipment for less than $2K today. The key for me is that this is like the 5th system I've built, so I alway have shit to use from my old machines. Typically, I upgrade in increments of under $200 at a time. This theory goes out the window when buying a new mainboard, processor and memory, of course.

The best advice I can give is that building your own system, while frustrating, can be very rewarding. Use your old equipment (CDR/RW, etc.) to stay within your budget. Don't scrimp on your key components such as mainboard, processor and RAM. Don't be afraid to take advantage of rebates, just be sure to mail them in immediately with all the required paperwork. Also, check out <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.pcshow.com">http://www.pcshow.com</a><!-- w --> and <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.marketpro.com">http://www.marketpro.com</a><!-- w --> for the upcoming computer shows in the NY/NJ area. You can find great deals there if you know what NOT to buy.