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Help building a custom PC


BongoBob

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I have a few questions that I will ask my local Best Buy. But maybe you guys can answer my questions faster, since my parents rarely go there. A)Will a 420W power supply be enough to run an ATI Radeon 9400(I think, it's the one that costs about 100 at best buy)? B) Should I get an AMD Athlon processor or a Pentium 4? C) Can I get the necisary parts from Best Buy(Other than the case set I'm gonna get from that site.

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Originally posted by BongoBob

I have a few questions that I will ask my local Best Buy. But maybe you guys can answer my questions faster, since my parents rarely go there. A)Will a 420W power supply be enough to run an ATI Radeon 9400(I think, it's the one that costs about 100 at best buy)?

 

yes, thats plenty.

 

B) Should I get an AMD Athlon processor or a Pentium 4? C) Can I get the necisary parts from Best Buy(Other than the case set I'm gonna get from that site.

 

depends, athlons are alot cheaper but pentium 4s are more reliable, so it really depends on how much you want to spend.

personally, if you can afford it go for the pentium 4.

 

also i think you posted a wrong link cause thats just a computer terms glossary.

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m gonna have to either-A)Raise the money myself[which will suck considering I'm not old enough to get a job] or B)Use the parts from the comp and put them in the case and give it an ATI. I think I'll take the second one. This sux, because I was really looking forward to building it all custom. Damnit, I can't wait to get a job:(

 

As long as I get that bad-@$$ case I mentioned above, I don't really care:D

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To answer your question about the power supply a 420W will be more than enough for most anything...I have a 350W one and it's more than I need.

 

As for the motherboard not really a good board I think but it may do it for you.

 

this is what I have but it's for a P4:

 

http://www.mbx.com/specs/spec_adv.cfm?ProductID=17833

 

You need to make sure you CPU runs at the same speed as your memory...better look at a chart for that.

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Glad I could help, Bongo Bomb. Nice choice on the case. Xoxide is great, isnt it?

 

Anyway, Asus is a good name. I would trust my computer to them, although I picked up a Soyo Dragon KT400 Black Edtion. I'm looking into getting the new UV reactive motherboards from DFI and Gigabyte.

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Best Buy? I hope you were joking. Buy all your stuff on line. No tax and most places offer free shipping.

 

I get all my stuff at New Egg or at Google Gear .

 

Both are great places with exceptional prices and awesome return policies if needed.

 

You can also go to Directron . I got my power supply from them. It's a 470 watt unit with 3 fans. and it was only $70.

 

If you do get 512mg of ram try to get a 512mgh stick as it performs better then 2 256mg sticks.

 

It's not that you need to make sure your CPU and memory run at the same speed. You just need to make sure your motheboard supports the ram you select.

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Gunner, that all depends on the MB as to that fact - with dual channel DDR - it is faster with 2 seperate pieces...

 

 

Anyway, with a P4, look for a P4C 2.4 GHz, it is able to be clocked to just over 3 GHz without trying. As for the MB, not totally sure since I have an AMD

 

As for AMD, you can almost buy the quickest thing out there, and it will be cheaper than most Intel chips. Try an Asus A7N8X Deluxe Mobo, it has dual channel DDR - so 2 256 MB sticks will give a 512 MB stick a kicking.

 

All new boards will have AGP, so you don't have to go looking for them, just keep an eye out for AGP Pro slots, and PCI-X, which is the newer style of slot for PCI.

 

That's my 2 cents worth, or about 2.9 aussie cents worth!!

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It's not that you need to make sure your CPU and memory run at the same speed. You just need to make sure your motheboard supports the ram you select.

 

They do need to run at the same speed...I think they will still work if they are not but will run allot worse....

 

I got my asus book out and here is the chart:

 

CPU FSB------- DDR DIMM Type-----------Memory Frequency

 

800 mhz---------PC3200/PC2700/PC2100----------400/333/266 mhz

533---------------PC2700/PC2100---------------------333/266mhz

400mhz----------PC2100--------------------------------266mhz

 

 

[EDIT]

 

ARRG that didn't come out right!!!!! forget it :mad:

 

[edit2]

 

ok there lol

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Thanks guys;)

Well, my relatives have screwed me over again. They now say that they won't get me a new comp (which I was gonna MOD:mad: )until the end of the year:mad: So now what I going to do is BEG them to set up an allowence for me(damn labor laws) and slowly buy things, in this order:Window Kit, Lighting, fan grills(basically vanity stuff)until I get an allowance, then I'll go for more practical things, like new power supply, motherboard, video card, ram, memory, processor, and then I get to get gaming stuff. Yay:D

PS:Anyone know how hard it is to apply a window kit, and what tools I need?

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Originally posted by RoguePhotonic

They do need to run at the same speed...I think they will still work if they are not but will run allot worse....

 

I got my asus book out and here is the chart:

 

CPU FSB------- DDR DIMM Type-----------Memory Frequency

 

800 mhz---------PC3200/PC2700/PC2100----------400/333/266 mhz

533---------------PC2700/PC2100---------------------333/266mhz

400mhz----------PC2100--------------------------------266mhz

 

 

[EDIT]

 

ARRG that didn't come out right!!!!! forget it :mad:

 

[edit2]

 

ok there lol

 

Ok, so I have a 400mhz bus board. An Asus P4PE. My ram is DDR PC3500 I have then over clocked my chip so it is now at 600mhz.

 

But I can change the frequency in my bois. You can run 1:1, 3:4, 3:5. Some boards have different settings so you can always fiddle with speeds. Plus if you ram will run at a faster speed then it's all bonus from there. Most good ram will run at a faster frequncy then it's rated. Mine does. That's why you get the good stuff. Because as you over clock your board the ram speed increases as well. But if your ram wont do a certain speed you just bring the multiplier down a bit.

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Originally posted by RoguePhotonic

I never overclock...my **** is fast enough lol...and the system becomes unstable.

 

It doesn't become over stable. You just need to know how to do it right. AMD chips run hot so they are not good canidates for it but many Intel chipswill over clock with air cooling. You just need to know which one to get.

 

An old 300mhz celeron would do 450mhz.

I had a 700mhz that did 933.

I had a 1.6A that did 2100

my 1.8A does 2700

 

It's all about the right gear.

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Whoops, I meant school year. I may end up saving up half of the money for the FragBox. That is one bad-@$$ comp. I'll just use my old keyboard, but maybe a new mouse. One with a scrolling wheel:)

 

PS:If you hav'nt seen the FragBox, do an internet search. I saw it in my latest Game Informer Magazine. Damn good comp for only $1000:D

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