Building a gaming PC....how hard is it?

[Vault101]

seriosuly if I had a list of components and I went and bought them...could I just put the thing together like some IKEA set?

ok..ok I know theres probably more to it than that, like you probably want to know what does what and where it goes

if it is as easy as people say could a tech-dunce like me actually do it? (with some reasearch obviously)

after being frustrated with consoles and at the Idea of spendlng lots of money on somthing thats barefuly functional (my thought about buying laptops) this is actually begining to look like an actual (if not daunting) option

so essentially what I'm asking is

[b/]what else do I need to consider aside from price/getting the right components?

is there anything that could go wrong during the "build" process?


how much should I be willing to spend?[/b]

 

[SomeLameStuff]

You again? =P

Well you have to be reeeeeeeeeally careful with your parts, or you'll end up having to buy a replacement. It would probably be a good idea to get anti static gloves if you're going to put it together yourself.

Also, tie off the loose wires so they don't get caught in the fans, or on any heat sinks. You don't want any melted wires, trust me...

Label your wires as well. Really helps out a lot, especially if you crack your case open again a few months later.

Try to find a guide with pictures!

In total, it shouldn't cost more than... $3000... maximum. If it goes over that, well... I'd like to know what you put in there.

 

[Folji]

It is basically just put the right parts in the right places and connect them with the right wires, but if you connect something wrong or handle components wrong you might wind up breaking something. If you look around at the dozens of baby's first computer building guides that litter the web, they'll probably try to hammer in points like that right away.

 

[yaydod]

It is relatively easy, you just have to be careful how you handle the components, but yes basically is just like building an IKEA thingy, just much more delicate.
If you have doubts, go check out guides on the Internet.

EDIT

/*SNIP*/

In total, it shouldn't cost more than... $3000... maximum. If it goes over that, well... I'd like to know what you put in there.

For 3000$ you can build a space ship for a PC.
Mine is a good monster and I payed allot by my standards but it was only 1200euros.


If you are thinking to put more than 2000$ in it i think you should try to choose more wisely your parts, try to avoid the brand new stuff since they often have some bugs left in them, and I think that you should try to go with Nvidia for the graphique card and Intel for the CPU.

 

[GoaThief]

Yes, it's not that difficult but totally understandable why people like yourself don't want to do it. To be honest, even after assembling and working on many PCs I always feel a pang of nerves when it comes to switching on the power for the first time on a fresh build.

There's nothing wrong with buying a pre-built PC, there's plenty of system builders out there deserving of your patronage. Even resorting to companies like Dell isn't the end of the world, just installing a decent graphics card yourself (or taking it to a local PC specialist) will usually result in a perfectly acceptable gaming PC.

 

[CAPTCHA]

It's not as daunting as you think.

You'll need the following parts and mainly its just a case of picking up what you like the look of, you've heard good things about or have got the biggest numbers relative to the price.

CPU
Motherboard
RAM
Cooling Unit(optional)
Power Supply
Graphics Card
Case
Hard Disk
Optical Drive
Any Other Type of drive you might want(optional)
Keyboard, mouse & monitor
Gamepad (optional)

Start by choosing the CPU and motherboard. Generally Intel chips are better quality, but more expensive and won't upgrade to new sockets as often. Motherboards are hard to advise on since they have loads of different features and it's just a case or reading what they do and picking the one that fits your purpose while supporting the socket for your CPU.

You needs DDR3 RAM. Some people will suggest you get 8GB, but 4GB is more than enough for gaming. If it bothers you, just by a 4GB stick and leave room to expand later.

Cooling units are only realy important if you plan to overclock, which you shouldn't be doing right away with a new computer unless you buy dated components. Getting something to cope with the heat produced by gaming can be important, but you don't need the best fan on the market or anything.

I'm not going to go into GPUs because it's one of those fanboy topics and anything I write will be more trouble than it's worth. Suffice it to say that in my experience ATI have more driver issues than Nvidia.

The cooling unit ED: PSU will be decided by the GPU and whether or not you plan to overclock. My advice you be to go larger than you need as there is no harm in it. Look for power supplies which are gold/silver/bronze certified and try to get one with a guarantee.

Someone else can probably advise you better than I can about HDD since I just use any old tat. Have a read about RAID configurations before you build your PC and see if that takes your interest. I've never used a soild state drive so I can't comment on them.

 

[Folji]

Yes, it's not that difficult but totally understandable why people like yourself don't want to do it. To be honest, even after assembling and working on many PCs I always feel a pang of nerves when it comes to switching on the power for the first time on a fresh build.

There's nothing wrong with buying a pre-built PC, there's plenty of system builders out there deserving of your patronage. Even resorting to companies like Dell isn't the end of the world, just installing a decent graphics card yourself (or taking it to a local PC specialist) will usually result in a perfectly acceptable gaming PC.

Especially with the component standards you've got nowadays. 8GB RAM is often what a stock rig ships with, which is still more than you're able to use to run a game and stock works fine since "the need for high-speed RAM" is a thing of the past. Plus i5 and i7 GPUs aren't that far between performance-wise and third generation quad-core is widespread, so you can just stick a Ti-series GPU from Nvidia into a stock build and have a decent rig for that. The video card pretty much the only component where the performance end isn't the widespread standard.

Picking components from scratch gives way more control over what you've got in there, though

 

[ThePuzzldPirate]

It took me about two hours to do my first not knowing anything, a reasonable rig can be built for around a 1000$ if you go pure AMD, add 300 - 1000 more if you start grabbing High end Intel and Nvidia parts.

Some say to grab anti static glove which is best though just wearing a t-shirt and keeping yourself grounded works all right. Just make sure you read up a bit before starting, keep your motherboard booklet handy and give yourself some extra time, go slow. MAKE SURE EVERYTHING LOCKS INTO PLACE, a lot of people are scared of applying pressure which leave parts half in but comp parts are not that fragile. Just make sure your applying pressure evenly and not in one spot. if shit's starts bending, than your going to far.

 

[Smooth Operator]

I would highly recommend going to Tom's Hardware and sites like that, last I checked they got constantly updated PC build recommendations for all sorts of price points, and if you aren't sure about putting it together then they got guides on that too (it is actually even simpler then an IKEA set, shit only fits together as it should).

Just takes some time and effort.

 

[Vault101]

thanks for the help!

also are thee any Australians who might tell me where is a good place to buy thr parts?..online seems the more obvious way..though I'm hesitant to trust sites aside from familiar ones like ebay (they all seems oddly expensive on ebay)

 

[Luftwaffles]

Its just like tetris.

Buy local to avoid crazy shipping costs, or maybe its already crazy down under.

Seen this link popup in local forums

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main_page=Information

goodluckhavefun

 

[AndrewF022]

thanks for the help!

also are thee any Australians who might tell me where is a good place to buy thr parts?..online seems the more obvious way..though I'm hesitant to trust sites aside from familiar ones like ebay (they all seems oddly expensive on ebay)

Good luck with your first build, it can be daunting... and somewhat frightening, especially if the smell of burning plastic hits you after you first turn it on haha.

I personally buy from MSY Technology http://www.msy.com.au/ you can order online and pick-up, or just rock up with a list of parts and the staff will help you out. It's probably a good idea if you live close by since you can ask questions of the staff and other things you don't really get when buying purely online.

Generally avoid Ebay in Australia, but you can keep an eye on it, but I would stick to a strict 'pick up only' policy since there's nothing worse than getting a fried piece of hardware in the mail you paid good money for. Likely not going to happen, but if it seems to cheap.. you know the rule haha.

 

[Archangel768]

Yeah Pccasegear.com are great. I've purchased from them before and didn't have an problems. Their prices are really good as well.

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

Can you play Lego and/or Tetris?

Congratulations, you've managed the official test on how to build a PC nowadays.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

I used this guide:
http://www.maximumpc.com/article/features/how_build_awesome_pc_647

Bought everything from Newegg. Later upgraded my Motherboard and Ram without any problems.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

MAKE SURE EVERYTHING LOCKS INTO PLACE, a lot of people are scared of applying pressure which leave parts half in but comp parts are not that fragile. Just make sure your applying pressure evenly and not in one spot. if shit's starts bending, than your going to far.

One exception: the CPU. Most modern CPUs are designed so that you don't have to push them down at all, just place them in the slot and push down the lever. If you try pushing down the CPU, more often than not, you're going to end up breaking it.

Anyway, my main advice is to put the power supply in before the motherboard. It makes things a lot easier. Also, it's probably easier to hook up all of the cables after you put everything in there, although this is really more of a preference thing.

 

[jakjawagon]

I built my first gaming PC ~3 years ago, for about £1800 and it's still kind of a beast.

First time build advice:
1. Be careful when inserting the CPU.
2. Some people recommend anti-static gloves/strap. I personally don't bother, just touch the unpainted metal backplate on the case every few minutes. It's up to you how careful you want to be.
3. Make sure the processor and memory you buy is compatible with the motherboard. Most motherboard manufacturers have compatibility lists on their website.
4. Use a tutorial with pictures and/or videos for anything that isn't immediately obvious.

 

[RevRaptor]

Its pretty easy but watch the static, use anti static protection. A little static at build time can cause damage that eats at it like cancer causing the whole thing to shit itself a few months down the track.

 

[lacktheknack]

seriosuly if I had a list of components and I went and bought them...could I just put the thing together like some IKEA set?

ok..ok I know theres probably more to it than that...

Actually, it's not really all that different. Everything comes with a mini-manual with installations instructions, often pictures.

Basically, put your motherboard in first, the power supply second, then everything else builds on that. RAM and graphics cards are literally as easy as pushing it in a slot... because that's what you do.

[b/]what else do I need to consider aside from price/getting the right components?

is there anything that could go wrong during the "build" process?


how much should I be willing to spend?[/b]

First, remember that some components don't work together. For case-by-case verifications, ask the dude at the parts store.

Second, the main thing that can go wrong with your build is shocking the parts. Keep yourself grounded. Even the smallest electrical shock can and will literally DESTROY your pieces.

However, that's rare, especially if you're actively grounding yourself as you go.

Third, aim for the $600 to $800 range. A top-line graphics card will cost around $400, but a perfectly serviceable one can be found for $75, for instance.

EDIT: Also, if you already have a PC, just a crap one, the monitor, keyboard and mouse can be reused. You can get better ones later, but it takes the edge off the price.

 

[ChildishLegacy]

It's not nearly as hard as anybody would make out.

Even if you don't feel like ordering the components and putting it together yourself, there are so many reliable sites that you can choose your components on, and they will assemble for you and send you the finished PC.

Overclockers does this, but I'm not sure if they operate in Australia.