Ever built a computer?

  • Thread starter Geeky1
  • 42 comments
  • 1,736 views

Have you ever built a computer?

  • More times than I care to think about

    Votes: 19 44.2%

  • Once or twice, yeah...

    Votes: 21 48.8%

  • I couldn't build a computer to save my life

    Votes: 3 7.0%
  • Total voters
    43
Geeky1

Geeky1

229
I'm curious to see how many of you guys have actually built a computer... I'm a self-proclaimed geek (if you didn't pick that up from the screen name and my sig...) and I've built and rebuilt more computers than I care to think about. The first machine I had that was entirely mine (i.e. not a family machine) was a dual PIII-500, and I've been building, tweaking, and just generally screwing around with them since then.

But yeah, I'm just interested in seeing how many people that are (presumably) into gaming on the PS2 are also computer literate enough to have built a machine or two (or ten or whatever :lol: )
 
I lost track of how many computers I've put together ...

I don't see why people don't do it themselves as it's extremely difficult to screw up (provided you take the proper precautions) ... Only thing I hate is installing RAM into cheap motherboards ... My buddy got an AsRock board and the RAM just wouldn't go in. I didn't want to force it in, so he said, "let me try." ... Unfortunately, the computer store wouldn't warranty a cracked motherboard :(
 
I'm most likely going to be building a computer for the first time in a couple of months.

And while we're on the topic, anyone know of a good online guide to building a PC? I know there are lots out there, but most of the ones I've found are 4 or 5 years old (or more).
 
I've done a lot of hardware work, but only last year actually decided to build my own PC.

It's pretty easy, so long as you prepare yourself mentally, arrange everything so you can find it, and then take your time.

True anoraks will understand this: I built my PC. Then had a look at it, took it all apart, and rebuilt it before even installing an OS.
 
Well, tbh, I'm not really concerned about assembling the computer. As long as I remember to ground myself before touching any circuts, everything should go smoothly. Getting the BIOS setup properly is what concerns me, since I have no idea about it atm. Installing windows shouldn't be much of a problem I'm guessing, it'll just be time consuming.
 
Ev0
I'm most likely going to be building a computer for the first time in a couple of months.

And while we're on the topic, anyone know of a good online guide to building a PC? I know there are lots out there, but most of the ones I've found are 4 or 5 years old (or more).
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http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/index.htm

This one was my bible when building mine. Couple that guide and the forums there and you've got all the information you need. 👍

I built my computer for college last summer. If I have the money, I want to build another one, an AMD 64, but I don't and won't have the money for a looong ass time. :( This computer will have to last me 4 years. Once I get an engineering job, I'll be making $50,000 right out of college, so then I'll have it. 👍 I will build more, and maybe even consider building other people for me to build them.
 
I have built 2 PCs. One for myself for the first time a couple of months ago, And a few days ago I built one for a friend.

Event: Ev0 asked for an article that wasnt 5 years old or so. They're using Socket 370 CPU's and 168 pin SDRAM DIMMS!
 
xAkirax2004
I have built 2 PCs. One for myself for the first time a couple of months ago, And a few days ago I built one for a friend.

Event: Ev0 asked for an article that wasnt 5 years old or so. They're using Socket 370 CPU's and 168 pin SDRAM DIMMS!
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I never even noticed. I didn't even look at the RAM part, since even a chimp could install it. I never noticed any time barriers with that guide. It was still my bible. Won't need it next time, though! :D
 
I've already installed RAM when I was upgrading my current comp, so I know there is absolutely nothing to it. I'm sure that most of that guide is still relevant to a modern PC, but I'd feel much more comfortable reading something that wasn't written in the age of Windows 98.

And do motherboards nowadays still require setting up jumpers?
 
Ev0
Well, tbh, I'm not really concerned about assembling the computer. As long as I remember to ground myself before touching any circuts, everything should go smoothly. Getting the BIOS setup properly is what concerns me, since I have no idea about it atm. Installing windows shouldn't be much of a problem I'm guessing, it'll just be time consuming.
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This is a long read, but probably helpful ...

http://www.tweakguides.com/XPTC.html
 
Ev0
I've already installed RAM when I was upgrading my current comp, so I know there is absolutely nothing to it. I'm sure that most of that guide is still relevant to a modern PC, but I'd feel much more comfortable reading something that wasn't written in the age of Windows 98.

And do motherboards nowadays still require setting up jumpers?
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Yes, somewhat ... Most have "auto" settings for the CPU multiplier ...
 
Ev0
I've already installed RAM when I was upgrading my current comp, so I know there is absolutely nothing to it. I'm sure that most of that guide is still relevant to a modern PC, but I'd feel much more comfortable reading something that wasn't written in the age of Windows 98.

And do motherboards nowadays still require setting up jumpers?
Click to expand...
I've never had to change any jumpers on mine. I can, but I just use default. And in most modern CPUs, the multiplier is locked, so no more changing it, not even with jumpers.
 
Most current motherboards are jumperless, as some other people have said. That's not to say that there aren't jumpers on them... but for the most part, the jumpers can be left in the default position (as people have said)

As for CPU multipliers, this is the way things are currently:

AMD
-Athlon 64, s754 Semprons, Opteron: Downwardly unlocked
-Mobile Athlon 64: Completely unlocked
-Athlon FX: Completely unlocked
-Athlon XP, Socket A Semprons: Completely locked (the older ones were unlocked or unlockable; AMD has since started locking them and sealing the bridges so it's difficult if not impossible to unlock them)
-Athlon MP: Same as Athlon XP
-Mobile Athlon XP: Completely unlocked, and it will work in a desktop AXP board; because they're unlocked and have low default vcores, they're great for overclocking- both of my 2600ms do at least 2.6GHz on air cooling; one does almost 2.8... which makes it equivalent to about a 4GHz P4 :D
Durons: Same as Athlon XP

Intel:
-Pentium 4 Extreme Edition: Completely unlocked (I think)
-ALL other desktop P4s (Prescott core, Northwood core, Wilamette Core, etc.): Completely locked, not unlockable (the exception being Engineering Sample P4s which sometimes show up on EBay or on forums... they're completely unlocked. They're also expensive as all hell because an unlocked P4 is ideal for overclocking)
-ALL P4-based (S478, LGA775) Celerons: Same as P4
-P4 Xeons (socket 603, 604): Downwardly unlocked
-Pentium M (aka "centrino"): Completely unlocked (I think- It HAS to be downwardly unlocked for speedstep to work... I'm not 100% sure if it's upwardly unlocked or not)
-Mobile Pentium 4 (all versions): Same as the Pentium M
-Pentium 3: Completely locked, except for the ESes, just like the P4
-Pentium 3-based Celeron: Same as the P3
-Mobile Pentium 3, mobile Celerons (both P3 and P4 based): Same as the Pentium M and Mobile P4
-Pentium 3 Xeon (slot 2): No idea, probably completely locked, but it may be downwardly unlocked
-Itanium, Itanium2: No idea. The Itanium isn't a consumer level CPU, and it's slower than all hell anyhow. It's also insanely expensive. And it won't run a regular version of Windows or Linux. So it's really irrelevant.

Via:
C3- Who knows, who cares? The C3 is so damn slow that it's of no consequence to anything.
 
I've built 2 and helped my dad (him teaching me basically) with 3 or 4.

Geeky1>>>You'd get along great with my brother. I think he's got more computers than you do! :lol:
 
/me kicks thread

Wanna keep this on the front page for a bit so that the vast majority of people that don't read past the 1st page will still see it and (hopefully) vote and/or comment...
 
I haven't built one from scratch yet. But, I have moved motherboard into another case and added/subtracted various parts and drives....I guess I'm halfway there.

now if only I could convince myself that that I could install a CPU into a mobo without messing it up, I would be one step closer to buidling one myself....I have a case, optical drives, and a 40GB drive (some may know about that issue) ready for it, I just don't wanna kill a mobo/cpu before I even use it....

on that same note, whenever I decide to to that, can anyone recommend an O/S since I'm not dropping $200 for XP....maybe some other solution?
 
Geeky1
Don't get an LGA775 cpu and you'll be fine...

And XP (legit, legal copies, full versions) can be had for <$100
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Or for roughly $10,000. I pay tuition and all and they give me an XP Pro .iso with the Corporate Lisence or something so it has no CD key. :dopey:.

Quick question:

Whats all this unlocked/locked CPU multiplier stuff about, I've never heard that before. I see that the Prescott Socket 478 P4 that I'm going to get is completely locked, what does this mean?
 
Yes i've built lots, for friends family and people reccomending me to help them build a pc. I think the first pc I built was the old family computer, which was a PII Slot 1. Although after I ended up working in IT I sort of lost my enthusiasm for tinkering with hardware in my spare time. I did build a new pc for myself a year ago which works nicely, apart from the various little faults that crept in after the cheap psu I bought blew up and the fact that I skimped on the case so it's probably an electrical hazard. But apart from that it's ok.
 
VTGT07
Quick question:

Whats all this unlocked/locked CPU multiplier stuff about, I've never heard that before. I see that the Prescott Socket 478 P4 that I'm going to get is completely locked, what does this mean?
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It has to do with overclocking the CPU. Unlocked CPUs can be better for overclocking.

And unless you already have some of the parts for that P4, you really, really, reallyreallyREALLY don't want that system.
 
I decided to save the company I work for some money, so about 4 years ago elected to build all replacement machines. We save around $600 per machine that we have to replace. I've been building them ever since.....I should have really *sold* the built machines to them, I would have made a lot more money. :)
 
No, actually LGA775 is worse than s478 imo, particularly if you're not experienced with building computers. LGA775 is extremely fragile and prone to damage. Not good if you're building your first system. Beyond that, DDR2, which is what *most* LGA mobos take, is slower and more expensive than DDR1. I was thinking more along the lines of something AMD based.

Despite the fact that I've got 5 (yes, 5) P4 or P4 based CPUs and another one on the way (whenever the seller ships it... bought it on ebay yesterday), I freely admit that the P4 is a piece of crap. It's got a hysterically long pipeline, it's ridiculously inefficient, and absurdly overpriced.

The Athlon 64 is a much better CPU... AMD's CPUs have consistently been better than Intel's since the original Slot A K7, and it doesn't look like that's going to change until Intel buries its godforsaken netburst architecture.
 
Geeky1
No, actually LGA775 is worse than s478 imo, particularly if you're not experienced with building computers. LGA775 is extremely fragile and prone to damage. Not good if you're building your first system. Beyond that, DDR2, which is what *most* LGA mobos take, is slower and more expensive than DDR1. I was thinking more along the lines of something AMD based.

Despite the fact that I've got 5 (yes, 5) P4 or P4 based CPUs and another one on the way (whenever the seller ships it... bought it on ebay yesterday), I freely admit that the P4 is a piece of crap. It's got a hysterically long pipeline, it's ridiculously inefficient, and absurdly overpriced.

The Athlon 64 is a much better CPU... AMD's CPUs have consistently been better than Intel's since the original Slot A K7, and it doesn't look like that's going to change until Intel buries its godforsaken netburst architecture.
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Excuse my french: wtf ?

LGA are freaking easy to install, and less fragile, as they have no pins. You just drop it on and clip it down.

As far as DDR2 is concerned.. Most motherboards take DDR1, not DDR2, and the ones that do take DDR2 are a waste of money, as like you said, it's more expensive and slower. However, point here, it's harder to find a mobo for DDR2 than for DDR.

Yes, the E core is innefficient, per pipeline. However, there are more of them, so it comes out to be about the same, if not slightly better, in performance.

AMDs have been better than Intels.. For certian things. Completely subjective on what you do. Gaming? A64. Multitasking? P4. Encoding? P4. Content Creation? A64. Neither is better, they just accelerate over eachother in certain areas. It all depends on what you're doing.
 
from scratch, 2
total rebuilds where I was fed up with the wiring was and with the amount of dust inside: 6 or 7
hardware upgrades: 10-15
 
There are no pins on the CPU. As you know, they're now on the motherboard. And everything I've read about LGA775 sockets is that the sockets are very easily damaged. They're also supposedly only rated for 20 CPU insertion/removal cycles, and I've read that motherboard manufacturers are seeing real-world lifespans of about 10 cycles.

The CPU itself is less prone to damage, yes, but the pins in the motherboard are supposedly more fragile than the s478 cpu pins were.

As for DDR1 vs. DDR2 motherboards... you're right on that. I just checked Newegg. Apparently there are more LGA boards that are *not* running the i915/925 than I thought.

AMD vs. Intel...
Yes it depends on what you're doing. However, the A64 is fairly consistently faster than the P4. There is really only one area where a P4 can outperform an A64 (where the A64 has a PR equivalent to the P4's clockspeed)- video encoding. HT works well for light multitasking, but load "both" CPUs to 100% in a single CPU system and I've found that it tends to fare no better than a single cpu system with no HT. The best example I can think of of this is before PeerGuardian 2 came out. PeerGuardian 1 was a CPU hog- it could and would use 100% of the CPU power if it needed it. By the same token, a P2P app like Kazaa or Morpheus, with several thousand queued downloads, can and will use 100% of the available CPU power if it can. On a HT or SMP system you can dedicate a whole CPU to each application... that works very well on a SMP system, but try it on a single HT P4 and it runs just as slow (subjectively) as a single CPU without HT does when asked to deal with both programs at once.
 

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