Build your own computer? ...and associated Headaches.

[Steve]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, Dina Lerret <bunniqula at g...>
wrote:
>
> On 10/28/05, Steve <bboyminn at y...> wrote:
> 
> > Building a computer isn't really that hard, and is safe if you 
> > observe basic Static Precautions. It's selecting the properly 
> > matched components that takes so much time. 

 
> Thanks for the info and links!
>
> I've been thinking about doing this for months and I know it's
> something I'd like to do for a learning experience.  What has mostly
> put me off for weeks--other than costs and budget--is deciding on
> which products.  Still haven't got all the components picked but I'm
> getting there as I review them.
> 
> I'm estimating between $1,200-1,400 for a full tower case and build up
> from there.  ...
> 
> Dina


bboyminn: 

If you look at the links I provided, not only do they have 'barebones'
systems, but they also have motherboard/CPU combinations. That
simplifies matters a little. I have a Mwave house brand case with
Power supply (300watt). I think for a new computer, I would want at
lest 350w, and if I was building a full tower like you, with the
intent of a lot of options, I would go for 400w, perhaps even 450w.

Right now I favor the Nvidia video cards. But ATI RADEON and NVidia
G-Force are always jumping past each other, it just depends on what's
available when you are ready to buy. Keep in mind that a $40 to $60
video card today ROCKS compared to the video cards of just a few years
ago. If you are totally Gonzo about video, then you might want to go
to something in the $75 to $125 range. Anything above that is kind of
a waste except for professionals and game-geeks. 

Good luck, and good hunting, then eventually, good building. ... and
don't forget to buy your OS with your components.

As a side note, I recommend breaking your hard drive into smaller
partitions, essentially virtual hard drives. If you have WinXP that's
not as critical. Hard drive data is organized into tables that are
essentially indexes. You can have a few small indexes or one huge
index, and when ever your computer looks for a file, it has the option
of searching one huge file list, or one small file list. Personally, I
find one small file list to be faster. 

In the past hard drives were divided to make the cluster size more
efficient, but with WinXP, the cluster size is the same regardless of
the hard drive size. But you do gain efficiency and organization with
multiple partition. For example, on my computer, in the first
partition is small, and I have only Operation System and essential
utilities, on the second partition - I have installed programs, in the
third partition - I have data and long term storage.

As others suggested, it doesn't hurt to get an external USB or
Firewire hard drive to back up your data on. Programs can always be
reinstalled, but once data is lost...it's gone forever. The next step
is to remember to use it. I just had a hard drive crash and lost tons
of stuff because I was too lazy to back it up on my USB Drive. A 80Gb
USB drive is about $150 or less on sale and well worth it.

Just a few closing thoughts.

Steve/bboyminn