Computers - Empty Closets - A safe online community for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered people coming out

KittyBoy · 2nd Mar 2011, 03:39 AM

Hey techno-savvy ECers!

I'm in the market for a new computer, one designed for gaming. However, I am wondering in lieu of buying and customising a computer, and at the offer of my mother's IT personel, I am to build one instead. But I am not really knowledgeable about the actual components that physically make up the system, only the programming. Does anybody have any advice?

Thanks! ^.^

Pseudojim · 2nd Mar 2011, 04:01 AM

I used to know all about all the hardware, but i'm waaaay behind the times sorry!

one piece of advice... Research your brands well, and beware! Cheap components can work just fine and dandy, but some others can be very dodgy. I always buy cheap components, but only the good ones.

2nd Mar 2011, 04:31 AM

My advice is to not build one if you really don't know how. That's just asking for a "I payed $2000 dollars for something than broke it when trying to get it to work" situation.

Pseudojim · 2nd Mar 2011, 04:36 AM

It's not that hard to build them, imo. I've done it a couple of times with no problems, and i'm a rank amateur.

KittyBoy · 2nd Mar 2011, 04:39 AM

Thing is, I'm not the one building it, lol. Its my mother's IT team that are building it.

2nd Mar 2011, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KittyBoy

Thing is, I'm not the one building it, lol. Its my mother's IT team that are building it.

Oooh, well that makes a lot more sense. o3o

I don't know much about the needed hardware besides:

Motherboard
Processor
Heat-sink
Fans
Heat-paste for the processor
Optical drive
Hard-drive/SSD
Monitor
Memory
Video card

What I would do if I were you, is buy a barebone. They come already built with the main stuff that people have trouble with (Motherboard, processor, all the cords, etc) all you have to do usually is get a video card, hard-drive, and memory. Which are all pretty easy it install.

j0eSoap · 9th Mar 2011, 06:48 PM

Hey, well I'm not really sure if you have access to a shop that sells just PC parts and pieces and they usually make up computers from scratch. You could ask them to help create a customized gaming-PC and then get them to give you a quote which could act as your guideline that you could give to your mother.

The reason I recommend asking for a quote is because you can have all the best pieces to build a PC, but that doesn't mean they will be compatible with each other. Before you do actually buy the parts for the PC, just make sure to ask someone if they will work together.

Artemicion · 9th Mar 2011, 10:01 PM

All the advice I can give you is probably that your video card and processor would be on top priority for better specs. Nvidia and ATI...they're both good IMO, but check online for reviews and tests. As for processors - Intel versus AMD. Pick something thats in your budget, AMD tends to be less pricey but they heat up fast, but I heard they're better for gaming (someone confirm this...).

RAM is relatively cheap these days so I wouldn't worry over that.

Oh and I say Gothitil has a pretty good list of stuff to consider for building from scratch. Make sure the parts are compatible though.

WhiteFox · 10th Mar 2011, 12:57 AM

Ok, I happen to know quite a bit with this stuff. Newegg.com is a great place to buy computer parts, I have bought a lot of stuff from their in the past and they will even take things back if something arives DOA (dead on arrival). anyways, I can give you all the details in some messages if you want. A great video card and something that wont break the bank is a GTX 460. around 200 bucks and it plays starcraft 2 on highest settings. Will play other games with flying colors as well. Other things to look out for is to make sure that your motherboard matches the processor and ram type. Dont buy a processor that doesn't have the correct socket type. Again, any questions feel free to message me and good luck =)

Fox

Totoro · 11th Mar 2011, 02:47 AM

Newegg is definitely the place to get pieces for cheap... if you're going to game I'd recommend 6GBs of RAM or more.
As for graphics card... I would honestly recommend not going ATI... I heard a lot of problems with those cards... Nvidia might be better suited.
An AMD processor seems to work for the most part. Dual or Quad core

But i'm pretty sure modern computers still don't know what to do with half the cores on a quad core...
And obviously the motherboard is the most important part, but I don't really know what would work. Also make sure you have a cooler that works best for what you're using... Liquid cooler = high powered computers need em! A regular fan just won't cut it for some really heavy desktop. Make sure the casing for your desktop suits as well...

Zontar · 11th Mar 2011, 05:17 AM

What's your budget?

I built a $1700 beast that tops out any game, but is way more power than anyone would need. If you want a nice rig that does everything, go for an i7-2600k and two 570s in SLI.

KittyBoy · 11th Mar 2011, 05:57 AM

No budget, lol. My mother is paying for it, lol. Also I think I have something worked out now, thanks everyone!

Nat3 · 10th Apr 2011, 12:08 AM

I'm building mine Tuesday... All the pieces are laying around in my room... I'm a little scared, because I have never built one. But I know about computers and stuff, have taken apart several by now...lol
I have spent like 2$k.
And Zontar, mine is a i7 2600k, too. =P
I got the Deluxe Motherboard from ASUS, a 1,000W Power Supply.
24 Gig of Ram, Water Cooled (Corsair 0 Maintenance), 4 Terabytes of HDD, a 23 Inch Monitor (They are cheap like 169$ for mine, it is 140$ now ), ohh an a humongous case... with Blue <3 LEDS.
And I bought it all from Newegg.

Hot Pink · 28th Apr 2011, 05:30 PM

Nat3, I think you overspent a bit. That's one monster of a computer, but you probably will never get to use it to its full potential for a long time.

Right now, most programs don't use more than 4GB of RAM. Most developers still program with that 4GB ceiling in mind. Most people are only now starting to make the switch to 64-bit, which gives develops a lot more head-room. 8GB would have probably been more than satisfactory.

All I know about the i7 2600K is that it's wicked fast and is packed with DRM, which gives hackers an-ever-present backdoor through hardware into controlling your system. Intel made than a few blunders with their Sandy Bridge series. The idea of the DRM is to keep pirates from playing non-authorized music and videos and to monitor what you are watching and listening to. I personally don't like that. Way too invasive.

As for the 4TB, well, I guess it depends on how many games you have. Personally, I have 1TB and haven't come close to filling it.

thylvin · 12th Jun 2011, 01:47 PM

KittyBoy.... have alook at the following threat Buying New Laptop, Need Thoughts

her i explain perfectly what you need to know if you want to build your own rigs... i used to do this for a living and when i do upgrade my rig i follow this guide... it came from personal expeience & several issues of my favourit mag... PC FORMAT (kicks ass!!!!)

HotPink... 1TB... seriously i filled my 2TB in matter of weeks!!!! I love collecting games, movies and TV series, not to mension my music and music video collection. Do note that i do not collect everything, only things i think is awsome! idealy i would (and currently bussy) build a server with 20 2tb hard drives.

As i also do 3d modeling and animation i need the humungous space for my software to render to.

2nd Mar 2011, 03:39 AM	#1
KittyBoy Kitty! (=｀ω´=) Full Member Gender: Male Orientation: Gay Out Status: All but family Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Age: 20 Posts: 3,479 Join Date: Apr 2009	Computers Hey techno-savvy ECers! I'm in the market for a new computer, one designed for gaming. However, I am wondering in lieu of buying and customising a computer, and at the offer of my mother's IT personel, I am to build one instead. But I am not really knowledgeable about the actual components that physically make up the system, only the programming. Does anybody have any advice? Thanks! ^.^ __________________ Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

2nd Mar 2011, 04:01 AM	#2
Pseudojim Part robot Full Member Gender: Male Orientation: Bi - Kinsey 2ish Out Status: All but family Location: Australia Age: 27 Posts: 2,154 Join Date: Sep 2009	Re: Computers I used to know all about all the hardware, but i'm waaaay behind the times sorry! one piece of advice... Research your brands well, and beware! Cheap components can work just fine and dandy, but some others can be very dodgy. I always buy cheap components, but only the good ones.

2nd Mar 2011, 04:31 AM	#3
Gothitil Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Computers My advice is to not build one if you really don't know how. That's just asking for a "I payed $2000 dollars for something than broke it when trying to get it to work" situation.

2nd Mar 2011, 04:36 AM	#4
Pseudojim Part robot Full Member Gender: Male Orientation: Bi - Kinsey 2ish Out Status: All but family Location: Australia Age: 27 Posts: 2,154 Join Date: Sep 2009	Re: Computers It's not that hard to build them, imo. I've done it a couple of times with no problems, and i'm a rank amateur.

2nd Mar 2011, 04:39 AM	#5
KittyBoy Kitty! (=｀ω´=) Full Member Gender: Male Orientation: Gay Out Status: All but family Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Age: 20 Posts: 3,479 Join Date: Apr 2009	Re: Computers Thing is, I'm not the one building it, lol. Its my mother's IT team that are building it. __________________ Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

9th Mar 2011, 06:48 PM	#7
j0eSoap Newbie Regular Member Gender: Male Orientation: Gay Out Status: 1 person Location: South Africa Posts: 6 Join Date: Nov 2009	Re: Computers Hey, well I'm not really sure if you have access to a shop that sells just PC parts and pieces and they usually make up computers from scratch. You could ask them to help create a customized gaming-PC and then get them to give you a quote which could act as your guideline that you could give to your mother. The reason I recommend asking for a quote is because you can have all the best pieces to build a PC, but that doesn't mean they will be compatible with each other. Before you do actually buy the parts for the PC, just make sure to ask someone if they will work together.

9th Mar 2011, 10:01 PM	#8
Artemicion :D :D :D Full Member Gender: Male Orientation: Gay Out Status: Anyone who asks, but parents in denial. Location: Vancouver BC Canada Age: 23 Posts: 1,112 Join Date: Aug 2010	Re: Computers All the advice I can give you is probably that your video card and processor would be on top priority for better specs. Nvidia and ATI...they're both good IMO, but check online for reviews and tests. As for processors - Intel versus AMD. Pick something thats in your budget, AMD tends to be less pricey but they heat up fast, but I heard they're better for gaming (someone confirm this...). RAM is relatively cheap these days so I wouldn't worry over that. Oh and I say Gothitil has a pretty good list of stuff to consider for building from scratch. Make sure the parts are compatible though.

10th Mar 2011, 12:57 AM	#9
WhiteFox Banned Gender: Male Orientation: Bisexual Out Status: All but some family Location: Az Lake Havasu Age: 22 Posts: 231 Join Date: Jul 2008	Re: Computers Ok, I happen to know quite a bit with this stuff. Newegg.com is a great place to buy computer parts, I have bought a lot of stuff from their in the past and they will even take things back if something arives DOA (dead on arrival). anyways, I can give you all the details in some messages if you want. A great video card and something that wont break the bank is a GTX 460. around 200 bucks and it plays starcraft 2 on highest settings. Will play other games with flying colors as well. Other things to look out for is to make sure that your motherboard matches the processor and ram type. Dont buy a processor that doesn't have the correct socket type. Again, any questions feel free to message me and good luck =) Fox

11th Mar 2011, 02:47 AM	#10
Totoro EC's Lurker Full Member Gender: Male Orientation: Gay. Out Status: Out to everyone Location: Canada - Ontario Age: 19 Posts: 487 Join Date: Apr 2009	Re: Computers Newegg is definitely the place to get pieces for cheap... if you're going to game I'd recommend 6GBs of RAM or more. As for graphics card... I would honestly recommend not going ATI... I heard a lot of problems with those cards... Nvidia might be better suited. An AMD processor seems to work for the most part. Dual or Quad core But i'm pretty sure modern computers still don't know what to do with half the cores on a quad core... And obviously the motherboard is the most important part, but I don't really know what would work. Also make sure you have a cooler that works best for what you're using... Liquid cooler = high powered computers need em! A regular fan just won't cut it for some really heavy desktop. Make sure the casing for your desktop suits as well... __________________

11th Mar 2011, 05:17 AM	#11
Zontar Mister Funny Man Full Member Gender: Male Location: Binghampton, NY Posts: 1,539 Join Date: Oct 2010	Re: Computers What's your budget? I built a $1700 beast that tops out any game, but is way more power than anyone would need. If you want a nice rig that does everything, go for an i7-2600k and two 570s in SLI. __________________ Get up and open your eyes...Don't ever let yourself ever fall down... Get through it and learn how to fly...I know you'll find a way...today. -Days of the New, "Dirty Road"

11th Mar 2011, 05:57 AM	#12
KittyBoy Kitty! (=｀ω´=) Full Member Gender: Male Orientation: Gay Out Status: All but family Location: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Age: 20 Posts: 3,479 Join Date: Apr 2009	Re: Computers No budget, lol. My mother is paying for it, lol. Also I think I have something worked out now, thanks everyone! __________________ Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

10th Apr 2011, 12:08 AM	#13
Nat3 EC Addict Full Member Gender: Male Orientation: Human Out Status: Everyone who asks. Location: USA, Kansas Age: 21 Posts: 291 Join Date: Dec 2010	Re: Computers I'm building mine Tuesday... All the pieces are laying around in my room... I'm a little scared, because I have never built one. But I know about computers and stuff, have taken apart several by now...lol I have spent like 2$k. And Zontar, mine is a i7 2600k, too. =P I got the Deluxe Motherboard from ASUS, a 1,000W Power Supply. 24 Gig of Ram, Water Cooled (Corsair 0 Maintenance), 4 Terabytes of HDD, a 23 Inch Monitor (They are cheap like 169$ for mine, it is 140$ now ), ohh an a humongous case... with Blue <3 LEDS. And I bought it all from Newegg.

28th Apr 2011, 05:30 PM	#14
Hot Pink EC Addict Full Member Gender: Transsexual: MtF Orientation: Panromantic Lesbian Out Status: Out to everyone Location: Minnesota, USA Age: 27 Posts: 622 Join Date: Apr 2011	Re: Computers Nat3, I think you overspent a bit. That's one monster of a computer, but you probably will never get to use it to its full potential for a long time. Right now, most programs don't use more than 4GB of RAM. Most developers still program with that 4GB ceiling in mind. Most people are only now starting to make the switch to 64-bit, which gives develops a lot more head-room. 8GB would have probably been more than satisfactory. All I know about the i7 2600K is that it's wicked fast and is packed with DRM, which gives hackers an-ever-present backdoor through hardware into controlling your system. Intel made than a few blunders with their Sandy Bridge series. The idea of the DRM is to keep pirates from playing non-authorized music and videos and to monitor what you are watching and listening to. I personally don't like that. Way too invasive. As for the 4TB, well, I guess it depends on how many games you have. Personally, I have 1TB and haven't come close to filling it. __________________ Pffffffft...

12th Jun 2011, 01:47 PM	#15
thylvin Green thumb Regular Member Gender: Male Orientation: Gay Out Status: Out to everyone Location: Windhoek Age: 32 Posts: 861 Join Date: Jun 2011	Re: Computers KittyBoy.... have alook at the following threat Buying New Laptop, Need Thoughts her i explain perfectly what you need to know if you want to build your own rigs... i used to do this for a living and when i do upgrade my rig i follow this guide... it came from personal expeience & several issues of my favourit mag... PC FORMAT (kicks ass!!!!) HotPink... 1TB... seriously i filled my 2TB in matter of weeks!!!! I love collecting games, movies and TV series, not to mension my music and music video collection. Do note that i do not collect everything, only things i think is awsome! idealy i would (and currently bussy) build a server with 20 2tb hard drives. As i also do 3d modeling and animation i need the humungous space for my software to render to.