True n00b needs help with first build attempt...

I

Irishpride

New Member
Hey guys, first off let me say thanks for having me on your forum!

Now down to business... I'm truly in the dark about the world of computers and at the age of 42 have only been "on line" for a couple of years but the thought of building my own has intrigued me for much longer, ha ha.

My 8 year old sons computer just fried and he's pretty bummed about it, but I figure this would be the perfect opportunity to kill two birds with one stone (so to speak) being that the boy gets a new rig and I get to fullfill my dreams of actually building one of my own.

The rig will be used primarily for watching videos and playing those games that he's been bugging me to buy for him (a future gamer-in-training, ha ha.)

Like I said, I have NO clue what I'm doing but an incredible need to actually make it happen. I've already started buying components for the build and hope to God that everything is compatable (ie, does ddr3 components work with ddr2? or does it all have to be the same, etc?)

Here is what I have so far, I know I need much more so this is where I start asking for help from the experts... where do I go from here as far as purchases are concerned? HD, video card, sound card, DVD/CD burner, etc...

Windows 7 H.E.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811208034

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128425

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341022

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277


http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=wqa087f20mgt

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=yh8m47wx3krk

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=1oz4rxgjro6sn

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121367

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=zivirvawzxcr

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na&AID=10521304&PID=4169961&SID=jigls7xp0dw9

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223108

...And that's all I have so far. Is everything compatible? And where do I go from here?

Any and all help would be GREATLY appreciated, guys!
 
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Case has good attributes. Needs more in the fan dept.
I'd go with Samsung F3 or WD Black (32mb) on the hdd...both seem to be at the top right how, and Seagate 7200.12 is good also.
Will there be CF? If your going to CF later on, 550 won't be enough.
What's the latency on the ram?
Do you live near a Micro Center?(possible cpu deal)
Where can you buy from?
How much dough can we spend? :D
(posting links to what your looking at helps)
 
Hey Benny, thanks for the reply!

First off, I'm going to assume that what I've purchased so far will work together because you didn't laugh at me. :D

Gotta say though, I'm not at all up on the lingo so I have no idea what "CF" means, or "latency of ram!?" What I got so far was either from Newegg or eBay, but I suppose I could buy from anywhere if I had to. Keep in mind, it's only for an 8 year old that's never done much on the computer yet so I don't want to spend hundreds and hundreds on it (already into it for $300) but I'll definitely get what I need for a decent first intro into the world, ha ha.

I'm looking at this HD on eBay, would this be a good fit? If so, it has a BIN option I'll use.

http://cgi.ebay.com/SEAGATE-ST31000...004?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255fd1290c
 
Can I ask why you would want to give your 8 year old son a system build like this, even experienced PC gamers are running on less specs. Personally I wouldn't give him a system like this because at 8 years old it's just not worth the prices and the hassle. Wouldn't it be more economical to give him a older, second hand system? You could always add more RAM and upgrade the Video card. However, It's your son, your life, your wallet being thinned.

It's a good case with some good size panels, great airflow, good ventilation and two fun fans with red LED's to keep the system running nice and cool. My only concern for your son is the door on the case which is very flimsy and a 8 year old boy could rip it off.
 
I hear ya, hate to admit it but it's more of me getting to build something cool looking than it is replacing my sons old one, ha ha.
 
xJamie said:
Can I ask why you would want to give your 8 year old son a system build like this, even experienced PC gamers are running on less specs. Personally I wouldn't give him a system like this because at 8 years old it's just not worth the prices and the hassle. Wouldn't it be more economical to give him a older, second hand system? You could always add more RAM and upgrade the Video card. However, It's your son, your life, your wallet being thinned.

It's a good case with some good size panels, great airflow, good ventilation and two fun fans with red LED's to keep the system running nice and cool. My only concern for your son is the door on the case which is very flimsy and a 8 year old boy could rip it off.
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How do you know? Maybe he can beat you in those areas.
 
Benny Boy said:
How do you know? Maybe he can beat you in those areas.
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The fact I'm not a gamer and the fact I have to take care of my 5 year old nephew almost 14 hours a day, gives me good reason to doubt giving a young child a system like that, my nephew loves to play computer games, he has a stone laptop from a trust but he always manages to infect his computer every night with some form of virus. I'm sure if you have a child of your own, or you regularly take care of one you will understand my post. Also at these ages I wouldn't want any children on a computer, the internet is a strange place, full of weirdo's and psycho's.
 
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He's only 8 but he does have potential, when ever I need something found on my satelite tv, or get stuck on one of the video game consoles, he's the one I gotta call to figure it out for me, ha ha.
 
Naw,,the 7200.12 is the only Seagate I'd reccommend.
CF = Crossfire. Its the AMD version of mulitpleGraphic Processing Units(gpu).
Latency is accociated with the timing of the dimm's (ram sticks), and the 1600 would be the speed.
If you can give a $ amount, it would help because of the varying prices. If you want a little as possible for now but decent, with upgrade path,,then that can be done.
 
Benny Boy said:
Naw,,the 7200.12 is the only Seagate I'd reccommend.
CF = Crossfire. Its the AMD version of mulitpleGraphic Processing Units(gpu).
Latency is accociated with the timing of the dimm's (ram sticks), and the 1600 would be the speed.
If you can give a $ amount, it would help because of the varying prices. If you want a little as possible for now but decent, with upgrade path,,then that can be done.
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Holy crap! That's a lot to know. I'm truly in the dark with this stuff. I can spend what ever I need, but again, I'm not looking for this monster of a system... I guess a mid range set-up would work.
 
Well best of luck, let us know how his gaming career blossoms. 500GB with a buffer rate of 7200 RPM Is fine, what games do you and your son both play then? That could help towards estimating a good HDD
 
Thats a great choice. Do you have an os disc?
Newegg has a lot of combo deals when putting a system together.
 
@xJamie... I don't play any games with him (yet) he's pretty much into 'em all by himself, not really sure of what he's into either. Call Of Duty? Crisis?

@Benny Boy... Don't have one yet, I read somewhere (after I bought it) that the mother board had trouble recognizing Windows 7 for a bunch of people so I'm thinking maybe I should play it safe and get something else? What do you think?
 
Haven't heard that but doesn't mean it isn't true. Can't really advise.
AMD is more budget friendly but Intel has better cpu's at the high end. And in 2 weeks Intel is coming out with changes to their cpu's & mb cpu socket on thier new line of products that is going to be cheaper processing power than what they currenty have. So you have options.
I can understand your concern so whatever you, feel comfortable with/want to do.
 
Benny Boy said:
Haven't heard that but doesn't mean it isn't true. Can't really advise.
AMD is more budget friendly but Intel has better cpu's at the high end. And in 2 weeks Intel is coming out with changes to their cpu's & mb cpu socket on thier new line of products that is going to be cheaper processing power than what they currenty have. So you have options.
I can understand your concern so whatever you, feel comfortable with/want to do.
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I'm thinking a Quadcore would be a little much at this point, would a dual one suffice? AMD you think?
 
It would mean changing the MB you already have. If your going to do that:
Here's a 2, 3, and 4 core Athlon II's. The Phenom II's have a bit of a 3rd stage of memory(so to speak) L1, L2, & L3 and the Athon II's have L1 and L2.
The L3 isn't typically a big concern. Having enough cores is more important.
Here's 3 Athlon II's. As you can see, the x3 isn't much more than the x2, and would go farther with the progression of games. So perhaps the x3, then when upgrade time comes get a PhenomII?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...03-872^19-103-872-TS,19-103-871^19-103-871-TS
 
Benny Boy said:
It would mean changing the MB you already have. If your going to do that:
Here's a 2, 3, and 4 core Athlon II's. The Phenom II's have a bit of a 3rd stage of memory(so to speak) L1, L2, & L3 and the Athon II's have L1 and L2.
The L3 isn't typically a big concern. Having enough cores is more important.
Here's 3 Athlon II's. As you can see, the x3 isn't much more than the x2, and would go farther with the progression of games. So perhaps the x3, then when upgrade time comes get a PhenomII?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...03-872^19-103-872-TS,19-103-871^19-103-871-TS
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What would be best for the MB that I already have?
 
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