I've always been able to make computers but the parts were always in front of me. I'm bad with compatibility though, therefore, I don't want to go out and buy parts that are incompatible with one another.

So... I need to know what parts I should get. I use World of Warcraft as my standard. I don't play it (my friends do). So if I can build a computer that can run WoW, it's good enough.

What do you guys suggest?

You could get what i'm about to get in a couple of weeks:

Motherboards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813128268
- GIGABYTE GA-K8NF-9 Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 ATX AMD Motherboard
FSB 800MHz Hyper Transport (1600MT/s)
--- $67.99

OR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813153030
- JetWay 939GT4-SLI-G Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4 SLI ATX AMD Motherboard
FSB 1000MHz Hyper Transport (2000 MT/s)
--- $76.99

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CPU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103531
- AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 Processor
--- $109.00

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Videocards

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814141031
- BIOSTAR V7602GS21 Geforce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card <---SLI
--- $100.99 (x2)

OR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130064
- BIOSTAR V6602GS21 Geforce 6600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Video Card <---SLI
--- $119.99 x2

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Power supply

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103931
- Antec TRUEPOWERII TPII-550 ATX12V 550W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, TUV, CB, FCC CLASS B, CUL
--- $89.99

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Ram sticks

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820161615
- AMPO 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory
--- $51.99
OR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141212
- pqi POWER Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Kit System Memory
--- $105.99
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@ least $439.76 + tax
w/ power supply = $529.95 + tax

If you're like me, then the first thing you bought for your first computer was a socket 754 motherboard with a 939 cpu :(. DON'T DO IT!

Thanks! How do you know what's compatible with what?

Well, for starters, just start a motherboard you think is nice. Lets start with this one ---> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135010


Here are the main specs to pay attention to on a motherboard when building your new computer:


CPU Socket Type
CPU Type
DDR (there are different types, so pay attention to this one)
# of DDR slots
PCI (slots, express x16, and express x1)
If the mobo has onboard video
Form Factor and the size of the mobo



You can find these specs on newegg.com after selecting which motherboard you like.

The motherboard we are looking at has a Socket AM2, it is compatible with these kind of CPUs: Athlon 64 X2/Athlon 64 FX/Athlon 64, the DDR is a DDR2 Standard DDR2 800 (we'll get back to this one), it has:
1 PCI Express x16 card (high-end graphics card)
1 PCI Express x1 slot (med-end graphics card)
2 PCI regular Slots (soundcard, older and some new graphics cards, modem, etc)
and the form factor is a Micro ATX with a size of 9.6 x 9.6.

With all of this, you are ready to add parts.

1. First, the processor. You are going to want to find any Socket AM2 processors. Since this is the kind you're looking for, you'll have to find them in the Processors - AMD area, not the Intel (considering Intel doesn't make AM2 processors). Next, is the type. You can get ANY AMD processor that's either a Athlon 64 X2, Athlon 64 FX, or Athlon 64. Just click on any of the 3 links it provides and chose which processor you want. That's the easy part.

2. The Ram stick(s). DDR2 800 is the type this motherboard can use. You'll find these in the Home > Computer Hardware > Memory > Desktop Memory > speed : DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) of the site. You can either get one single stick or a pair of sticks. And remember, this motherboard can only hold 2 sticks.

3. Video cards. Most motherboards these days don't come with onboard video anymore, so we'll can chose one. We can't choose two because this motherboard isn't SLI compatible. Just go to the Home > Computer Hardware > Video Cards & Video Devices > Video Cards section and chose one of the 3 types of PCI cards you can chose from.

4. The Tower. It's a micro ATX motherboard, so you'll need a micro ATX tower! Go to Home > Computer Hardware > Cases & External Enclosures > ATX Computer Cases and then choose any of the MicroATX types. When you're looking at the specs, remember to see if they are compatible with 9.6 x 9.6 mobos.

And that's basically a quick match and shop lesson.

You know Jake's got you ;)

^Psht, i'm trying to SAVE money. I've got bills, insurance, loans, and food to pay for.

Don't listen to D^Coy. LoL...Mind you, that was a pretty good system but I can do better Ike. Observe!



Motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127231
ABIT IL8 Socket T (LGA 775) Intel 945P ATX Intel Motherboard

---$84.99

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CPU

Intel Pentium D 805 Smithfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 Dual Core EM64T Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819116001

--- $89.49

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Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130065
Geforce 7900GTO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

---$253.99

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Power Supply

IN WIN IP-P460Q3-2/RETAIL ATX12V 460W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817374001

--- $49.99 On Sale...Has Dual 12V Rails, Active PFC and Overload Protection. Very good reviews and will be perfect for this system.

================================================== =========

RAM Sticks

WINTEC AMPX 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820161657

--- $47.99 (x2) = $95.98

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Hard Drive (D^Coy overlooked this for some reason)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

--- $94.99

================================================== =========

Total = $669.43

You can save about $50 by getting a smaller Hard Drive. Just make sure that it's the SATA 3.0 interface. You could also get a lesser Video Card but that one is AWESOME. Best value on Newegg period. You don't need SLI, that is way better than what D^Coy suggested for about the same price.


Hit me up for any more assistance. Good luck on your PC building adventure! :cool:

LOL

^lol...i completely forgot about a hard drive!!!!

And fuck intel :mad:.

Just make sure you get a 64bit processor since you'll be needing that real soon and get as much memory as you can afford. You really need 2GB DDR + for Microsoft Vista. I also reccommend the SoundBlaster X-fi Music card, it's sick as fuck. I've never heard sound that good and get surround sound speakers. If you can't afford the Nvidia7900gtx video card, get the 7800gtx. Unless your doing any hardcore gaming, I doubt you really need a super-pc, it's just a waste of money. I'm taking a real guess but I reckon you can build a quality fast PC for about $600 and it'd still be able to max the graphics out on games.

True... Fuck Intel. For gaming, AMD rules.

Also, if you're going single core 939 or AM2 (the 2 top AMD platforms) then get the 3000+ Venice Core Cpu. Make sure it's venice though. I think it's 1.8ghz as standard. Basically all of the CPUS are exactly the same, but AMD have set the FSB and multipliers differently to give different speeds. You can manually change this on a decent motherboard (overclocking) and this core clocks to 2.9ghz on AIR! That's an incredible speed. Plus it's the cheapest core ;)

My experience: ASUS boards are generally user friendly, and well laid out. It would also be a good idea to take advantage of the 939 platform, as the prices are falling due to the upgraded AM2 platform. The AM2 platform only really offers around a 1 - 2% performance boost, depending on the RAM you select. So if you're not getting heavy duty RAM (like £200+), don't bother! Stick to the PC3200 and save some money.

I would recommend dual core as well, but again my experience says get the smallest 3800+ X2 and just overclock it. You'll really notice the savings here.

P.S. My graphics card is an ATI X800XL ICEQII. It destroys every game I play, and is only like £80.00 now. Im only on a 17" monitor though, so consider the cost of the graphics card in comparison to monitor size. I.e SLI capabilties and the expensive Graphics cards are designed for bigger monitors/plasmas etc for ultra cool gaming... lol

P.P.S. Incase you didn't know, AMD and Intel record their clock cycles differently, so Intel always appear to have faster core speeds than AMD, which isn't true. The way to compare quickly is to compare how they are rated in the shops, e.g. the Pentium 4 3.0ghz is the equivalent to the AMD 3000+ (the core which you should buy if you are on a budget, and overclock the fuck outta it)