building a pc?

[Sam104]

Hey

dont really know where to post this, so I will put it here, sorry if its the wrong place

I need a new pc, my current one is just too slow. Im running linux on it at the mo and some of the applications take ages to open. I think it is an 800 or something ?!

Anyway, I reckon the best thing to do would be to build my own. I have built before but ive been given the parts. Now, when it comes to selecting the correct parts for me, im way out of my depth. I have a few questions:-

How do I know if a processor will work on a particular board?
How do I know if certain memory will run on a particular board?
Are there certain motherboard makes I should just steer clear of?
How do I know if a board will fit in a certain kind of case (I now there are loads of different sizes of case)
How do I know if a PSU will fit in a certain size of case?

Sorry about all the questions, I have done some research but cant seem to find the answers to these questions, probably because they are so blantently obvious noboby cares to give a response

thanks for any help you can offer

Sam

 

[alexbozo]

First of all you should know what you goona build...AMD or INTEL
Example Intel: you should know the latest cpu intel socket it's 775 , so you choose an 775 motherboard for intel and you can use DDR1 memory(184 pin), or DDR2(224 pin),depends of the board (some boards use same sistems) so I recomand DDR2 dual channel (read the manual of the board to use dual channel).
Don't worry about size of the boards, there are normal or micro, but they all will fit into the case
Sorry for my english, I hope it's understandable

 

[Geoff]

First of all you should know what you goona build...AMD or INTEL
Example Intel: you should know the latest cpu intel socket it's 775 , so you choose an 775 motherboard for intel and you can use DDR1 memory(184 pin), or DDR2(224 pin),depends of the board (some boards use same sistems) so I recomand DDR2 dual channel (read the manual of the board to use dual channel).
Don't worry about size of the boards, there are normal or micro, but they all will fit into the case
Sorry for my english, I hope it's understandable

Thats a good start. As you said, if your going the Intel route you should go with the LGA775 socket, as well as DDR2. If your going AMD socket 939 would be a good choice.

As for compatibility, check the motherboard description to see what types of memory, and processors it's compatible with.

If you can give is items your considering, we can look it over for ou.

 

[Sam104]

Ok, that you for the reply. After doing alot of research, I think im gonna go for an athlon. I know comparing intel - AMD clockspeed means nothing at all, but how do they compare? I mean I read that the athlon 3700+ is 2.4gz will this be the same as an intel 2.4ghz ( I know that speed depends on bus speed, arcitechture, cache, ram etc, just there needs to be some way to compare)?

Also, the dual core 3800+, these are said to have a 2ghz operating speed, why bother if you can get a single core 3700+ thats faster?

 

[Geoff]

Ok, that you for the reply. After doing alot of research, I think im gonna go for an athlon. I know comparing intel - AMD clockspeed means nothing at all, but how do they compare? I mean I read that the athlon 3700+ is 2.4gz will this be the same as an intel 2.4ghz ( I know that speed depends on bus speed, arcitechture, cache, ram etc, just there needs to be some way to compare)?

Also, the dual core 3800+, these are said to have a 2ghz operating speed, why bother if you can get a single core 3700+ thats faster?

A 2.4Ghz Athlon 64 is much better than a 2.4Ghz Pentium 4 at gaming. You could say the 3700+ is equivilant to a 3.4Ghz Pentium 4 (apprx.)

Dual-Cores are much better at multi-tasking than single cores, and they improve performance by a landslide. It will also be taking more to its full potential in the future.

 

[fade2green514]

a 3700+ is about equivilent to a pentium 4 3.6ghz.
by the way, a processor is compatible with a motherboard depending on the socket type. if it says socket 939 or 939 pin then those boards and processors are compatible.
memory will be compatible if it says 184-pin... or 200pin... for both the motherboard and memory modules.
"ATX" is the form factor when referring to most cases and motherboards. "micro ATX" is the smaller version used for smaller pc's but those are less performance and really not much is gained by getting smaller stuff.
basically for motherboards steer clear of gigabyte and MSI... they'll work but in case you decide to o/c one day they won't work very well (normally) and also just make sure the motherboard support what you need it to.

 

[ceewi1]

I know that speed depends on bus speed, arcitechture, cache, ram etc, just there needs to be some way to compare?

Benchmarks & Real World performance are a good start. AMD and Intel generally do well in different areas.

Also, the dual core 3800+, these are said to have a 2ghz operating speed, why bother if you can get a single core 3700+ thats faster?

Dual Core = 2 processor cores on the one piece of silicon. Basically, you get 2 * 2GHZ cores. This provides a significant performance boost, particularly when multitasking.

a processor is compatible with a motherboard depending on the socket type. if it says socket 939 or 939 pin then those boards and processors are compatible.

Most often true, but not always. Just because a mobo and CPU have the same socket doesn't mean they'll always be compatible. Post what you intend to buy here before you actually buy it, so we can make sure that it's all compatible.

basically for motherboards steer clear of gigabyte and MSI

LOL, I can think of a lot of companies I'd rather steer clear of than gigabyte & MSI!

Take a look at Computer Specs 101. It provides some great suggestions for suitable systems for various purposes at a variety of price ranges. Looking at the other 101 guides on this forum wouldn't be a bad idea either.