General Computer Issues (non-Crucial products)

[huntsman]

I am thinking of building my own computer,ii know very little about computer's.but i am a pensioner with time on my hands, so here goe's.i just want it for general use surfing/emails/word doc's that kind of thing .what is the  best cpu.

amd or intel and what model number.thank you.

[rpsgc]

Hello,

If you know very little about computers then you might start by reading a few tutorials, this one seems like a fairly comprehensive one, a little dated though:

http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/

Now regarding the components, that largely depends on your budget. Also, do you need a monitor, keyboard & mouse, etc. or just the computer itself?

[huntsman]

 rpsgc  Thanks for that. i already have ,monitor/ mouse / keyboard.do all these have to be compatible.with the new.

motherboard and c p u.the cpu i fancy  is a AMD athlon 64x2 620.what is the best m/board.

[rpsgc]

The best motherboard? I don't know how much you want to spend, I don't know if you want DDR2 or DDR3.

Pick any Asus or Gigabyte motherboard with AMD 785G chipset and you'll be fine, like these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128395

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131595

Or these for DDR3:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131398

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128397

[huntsman]

Hi rpsgc.it's been awhile,there is a million things to think about(well it seems so)i like the gigabyte mobo you recommended,  ga ma785g. i also like the amd athlon 11x2 250.but after that i am dizzy,what with fsb speeds

multipliers pci-e leads cache which goes with which motherboard  it's bewildering had to have a rest i will keep going.though. anyhow next i would like to make it in a smaller case  matx but would this be to hard for my first go.this would fit neater in the space i have .

[Jonnibouy]

Hi huntsman,

I guess we're approx. the same age. I just retired. Actually, I applied for my SS but the events of the past couple years now make it impossible for me to stop working. Oh well!

I've been meaning to build my own rig, also. I would hear fellows talking (on forums) about "popping-in" some more RAM or "sticking" a new graphics card in their machine and it sounded simple, although I had never opened the case of a machine yet.

The other week one of my machines wouldn't start and some reading-up on the situation brought me to opening it up and cleaning the dust out. I was really proud of myself. When my wife walked by and saw the cover off she said, "Doh!" ala Homer Simpson and that pretty much gives you an idea about my prowess with Mr. Fixit-ism!

After that I bought some RAM and another network card and found the schematic to my motherboard telling me the layout of the connectors and stuff and I'm filled with anticipation.

This machine is a 2002 P-4 so I'm going to "soup-it-up." *removed personal information*

[huntsman]

Go for it  Jonnybouy.  if you fancy upgrading do it it's your computer .i'm still getting my head round all the bit's i need but i am definitely going to build my own.us old uns after show these young,uns where not past it.

you can do it step by step with this forum there brilliant. good luck keep me posted.