Building a pc

[drewmitch44]

I have built all my PC's but i dont know whats up anymore cause there is so much going on with them all. This is the last one ive built. I have a amd athlon 3000+ 2.8 MHZ its 3 years old but i see the same processors that are duel processors and they are only 2.2 MHZ's. Whats the deal? Anyone know? I want to get a different chipset cause i only have 4 gig memory and the new boards let you have 12 gig memory. Anyway what is a good barebones system to get. I got a 500 watt case atx and i want as much as i can get with the money.

 

[WizeOne]

Re: Building a pc

You gamin'? My son just built a new unit. By all accounts it is a real screamer. Not absolute top of the line mind you but all the kids at Fry's were impressed with his economical combination of components. He used all new components, including case, then sold his old one on ebay. He knows all the ins and outs. Like you, I can't keep track of them any more. If he gets home at a reasonable hour and you'd like his opinion, I'll have him address your question.

Oh, and I must add, his new case had a 500 watt power supply. It did not work, he had to get a 630 watt PS to accomodate all his stuff. He sold the 500 watt on ebay as well.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Building a pc

On the newer CPUs and RAM the 500 watt is just barely enough.Step the power supply up if you build another one.
The dual core CPUs are much faster,its like 2 CPUs in one..

 

[tommays]

Re: Building a pc

http://www.tomshardware.com/us/


Go to Toms there building as we type

 

[i386]

Re: Building a pc

I'm behind the times as well. I don't normally keep up with it too much until it comes time to build a new one for myself.

I did want to comment on power supplies though. The wattage on the label doesn't really mean squat. Instead, read the wattage for each rail (3.3v, 5.5v, and 12v). You can total up the wattage requirements of each component in the system then choose a power supply by looking at the specs on each rail.

I made a spreadsheet to help me calculate mine. You can download it here if you want to play with it.

Check out this article. It explains it pretty well.

 

[MikDee]

Re: Building a pc

Unless you own a Dell, dude,,, then you hafta buy a crappy, questionable, reconditioned, replacement power supply,,, No New, or better ones available, and you can only get it from Dell!

 

[Coors]

Re: Building a pc

Tigerdirect.com

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Building a pc

I built a DVR last year centered around an Intel Pentium D 2.6Ghz. It was a cheap fast dual core. It runs a little hotter but that is not a big deal with a good heatsink.

It allows me to record three HD programs, view one, and post process one all at the same time with no degradation. The 64-bit linux takes advantage of the second processor just fine..

Today you can get a 3.33GHZ model for $52.99 at newegg.com

 

[i386]

Re: Building a pc

I built a DVR last year centered around an Intel Pentium D 2.6Ghz. It was a cheap fast dual core. It runs a little hotter but that is not a big deal with a good heatsink.

It allows me to record three HD programs, view one, and post process one all at the same time with no degradation. The 64-bit linux takes advantage of the second processor just fine..

Today you can get a 3.33GHZ model for $52.99 at newegg.com

Was that a MythTV box by chance?

 

[rogerwa]

Re: Building a pc

Sure is..