Topic: Info on Building Own Desktop

[Evil Taper]

Really?  It's been a while since I've built a PC but I remember it being a pain in the ass....maybe there was something different involved with my setup to hide all the cables.  For cases though I'm very interested in the silent cases made from aircraft titanium and shit.  They're supposed to be soundproof and allow your system to run completely silent.  Last time I checked they were around $175 for the case though....steeep.  Do you think it really matters how huge of a PSU you install though?  I've never opted for the monsters but I did have 1 kid I built a video machine for want the huge one, but I don't think it made any performance differance at all.

[RebelRebel]

the best addition to my computer has been the tagan ezcon 530w PSU. all of the connectors are removable! You add and subtract whatever you need.

slickest psu ever. I paid 59 EUR for it, but it is well, well worth it. removeable connectors makes things so much easier....not to mention that they have like 10 of each connector in the box, youll never have to buy any..




selectable switchable 12V rails for univeral support of all ATX standards

• flexible cable management to optimize the space and airflow of the PC case

• universal connectors 20 or 24 and 4 or 8pin for all kind of motherboards

• two independent EMI shielded PCI-Express VGA connectors

• 120mm fan for whispering operation

http://www.tagan.com/

[rocksuitcase]

Do you think it really matters how huge of a PSU you install though?  I've never opted for the monsters but I did have 1 kid I built a video machine for want the huge one, but I don't think it made any performance differance at all.

yes, there is a difference in the power handling capabilities between PSU's.  Other than product specific items such as the removable cables Teddy speaks of, there is a major increase in the ability to add peripheral devices which consume more than 100mv ( most digi cameras, video cams, HDD's scanners etc)  and to operate power intensive internal devices such as video cards.  The "performance difference" is with the power handling, i.e. ability to handle and operate multiple devices all consuming more power than the original 250- 350 W PSU's can handle.  It is not perfomance measured by speed of processing or how fast applications perfom a certain task.

IF you are building the machine yourself, be sure to buy a case that has room for expansion and does not cramp your ability to replace or add components.

this is the case I bought for the PC that Kindms designed and helped build with me.  ( he did 80% of the work,  )

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/Products.aspx?pid=634

This is the hardware list: pretty simple. This machine was designed to transfer and process large files.

SAPPHIRE 100561L Radeon 9600PRO 128MB DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - Retail

Patriot Signature 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) Unbuffered System Memory Model PSD2G400KH - Retail

Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 ST3250823AS 250GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM X 2

PLEXTOR Black IDE DVD Burner Model PX-740A-BP-BL - OEM

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

Antec 430 W ATX12V PSU
ROUND CABLES
 
Motherboard   Intel® Desktop Board D875PBZ
Chipset    Intel® 875P Chipset
The D875PBZ has:  800MHz system bus with dual-channel DDR-400 and native SATA 150.
   

[hyperplane]

I know I'm chiming in late here, but in case you get a little gun shy with building the computer, you can get a nice barebones system from a place like MWave.com (not affiliated with them in any way, other than being a satisfied customer)... then all you slap in are the following parts: video card, RAM, HDD, CD/DVD drive(s), soundcard (if you want something better than the integrated kind which come with many motherboards). MWave's prices are reasonable--yes, you can do better if you're a total cheapskate (like myself) and you don't mind waiting for the really slick deals--but a barebones system is nice for the first "DIY" computer, because they will install the CPU on the motherboard. Installing the CPU isn't super difficult, you just have to be careful and take your time doing it.

Hope this info helps.