How do I build a computer?

Question

I'm looking to build a computer on my own, one with quad core processor, 6-8 GB ram, 750-1000 GB disk space, capture card, sound card, and a excellent geforce graphics card.

How much would I save than if I just buy a pre-made one at Best Buy/Circuit City? Is it worth it?

Any one that can help me get started? Where can I find good motherboards?

Answer 1

you can buy from internet it's cheap

click

amazon.com

ebay.com

you can see any matherboards you need

Answer 2

About 5 or so years ago I built my own machine for about $2000. I bought the case, all the parts, a keyboard, a mouse, and a flat panel monitor.

At the time, the fastest processor was a P4 3.2GHz but I bought a 3.0GHz because it was at least $100 cheaper. I bought all my parts from Newegg.com but TigerDirect.com is another option.

The machine your talking about building would be a real beast! Cost wise, you may save money building it yourself. At the very least you get to hand pick all your parts. I would put together a list of all the parts you will need with the cost of each and then compare it to a pre-built machine.

What I experienced is that even though there were nice machines around $2000 they didn't have all the goodies I wanted. You may find a similar machine to what you want to build but pay attention to the details. It might have 750GB of space but is it a good hard drive or a cheap brand? Is the 8GB of RAM they are using the good stuff or is it the no-name stuff? If you are picky about that stuff then building your own machine is worth any extra costs because you know it's top of the line.

Answer 3

with the amount of knowledge you seem to have just buy one and save yourself money and drama

Answer 4

I was hestitant at first when building my first comp. there are plenty of articles on how-to build them now on the internet. always think of the components your getting and how you can upgrade later, rather then complete rebuild. with pre-made computer, they have the warranties and etc... but most likely your have to sarcifice a component or two that you may of wanted or take the added cost after to add it. newegg, tigerdrect, pricewatch, overstock, all great sites with the lowest prices you can find, and quick shipping. start but identify what processor you want, amd or intel, read reviews of how well it overclocks if thats important, and find a mother board chipset that has the connectivity you want and capabilities. ddr2 ram or ddr3, that will effect total cost of build significantly.

Answer 5

I hate to be a pain, and I love your enthusiasm, but it's a learning process.  You can do 100 builds and still take new knowledge away from a build.  Honestly, your better off buying one pre-made, or at least starting with tinkering away at old systems to get the hang of it.  

There is a lot that goes into building a system.

What type of socket and FSB does your processor support so you can find the right motherboard.  What type of RAM, whats the MAX, does your board support dual channel, do you  need matched pairs, IDE or SATA drives, if sata, do you want RAID (there are several kinds) what OS do you want to run, are your hardware drivers correct for your OS choice.

And that doesnt include getting a heatsink, thermal paste, power supply selection (adapters, 24pin v 20+4pin, wattage), video card if any (AGP, PCI, Express 1x, 16x, 16x 2.0, RAM, Clockspeed) Disk drives (IDE or SATA... does your board support it?) Case size (ATX/MicroATX/miniITX full, mid, mini, desktop, slimline... will your motherboard and heatsink fit?)

It can be overwhelming, and keep in mind, I left a lot out.  Get together with a friend, or look for a local computer club (most high schools and colleges have them)  

As previously stated, Newegg.com is teh ballz.  I've spent thousands over the past few years alone.  Great deals, great CSR's, fast shipping.

And remember,

WEAR A WRIST GROUNDING STRAP!!!  

Just because you can't feel the static shock doesn't mean the delicate components under the hood won't fry.

Which ever route you choose, good luck.  

Answer 6

I usually buy my parts from newegg.com or tigerdirect.com

Best Buy does have some pretty good deals on their entertainment computers but if you look for deals on parts you should be able to save by building your own.

Hard Drive 100-150.00

DVD Burner 35.00  or 300.00 if you want to go Blu-ray

RAM  $200.00

Power supply 50.00-250.00

Case 50.00-250.00

Operating system 100-200

2 Video Cards 300.00

Motherboard  100-300.00

CPU  Quad Q9300 Processor - 2.50GHz, 6MB    $279.99

Assorted Fans and Cables  50.00

PS add another 100-200 for a good hdtv tuner dvr

This particular computer would cost around 1500.00. You could cut it to around 1000.00 for a very well equiped computer if you know Linux and downgrade a couple of the components.  My "build" was using fairly high end parts.

Look around for deals.  That is the cool thing about building your own.

Also if something breaks on it you don't have to send in the whole machine.  You'll have a warranty on each part.

A good thing to do is look for CPU/Motherboard bundles