Advice on Setting up a new PC

halo

I m contemplating on setting up a new pc from scratch, but i never done this before. I only had experience in upgrading an existing pc suchas adding a new memory stick, adding a 2nd harddisk etc... but I never done it from scratch!

So can anyone kind to share with me their experiences and tell me any common pitfalls for first timers?

I also need to know abt IRQ conflict resolutions, the proper sequence of putting the components together...things like tat

May I suggest if possible devshed introduce some form of hardware tutorials such as assembling PC tutorial...

Thanks in advance....



ps: sorrie to moderator, if i post this in the wrong place...

You're in the right place, welcome

As for your question, there are several tutorials online that guide you step by step in building your own pc. http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/index.htm and www.mysuperpc.com are just a couple. That should take care of sequence and such. There are also books on this topic, including Building a PC for Dummies and Build Your Own PC 3rd ed, which are very detailed and easy to use.

As for problems, if you do everything right, you won't have any
However, since we live in the real world, there are all sorts of things that can go wrong. Setting jumpers incorrectly or not having the right bios setup are a couple common ones, but the possibilities are nearly endless.

I'll consider a tutorial when I build my next computer, but since there are so many existing resources, I'm not sure I see the need for one.
Good Luck!

Thanks karsh44,

Dunno why i failed to find such tutorials before, probably i used the wrong search keywords on google...

Thanks for the URL recommendations... its what i hoped for, greatly appreciated. If i do encounter problems i will post them here then.

Thanks again....

OK to reiterate what you need quickly..

• Case with PSU
• Motherboard
• CPU and Heatsink and fan
• HDD
• RAM
• CD/DVD ROM(+/-RW)
• Sound Card
• Network Card
• Graphics Card
• Mouse
• Keyboard
• Speakers

I'd advise you for ease of set up get a mobo with onboard audio/graphics and network. Makes setting things up a breeze

I would seriously advise against onboard video. Many such mobo's do not allow you to switch off the onboard video, and if the onboard video dies then your computer is basically scrap.

And onboard video does die quite often.

Onboard sound is fine, onboard Network can also be fine.

When you build your system get quality parts. That means name brands - Asus, Microstar (motherboards), Good Ram - Crucial, Kingston, etc., Good harddrives - Western Digital, Seagate, Videocard - Ati, Leadtek, etc., and if you have to have a modem, get a hardware or controller based modem. Don't get a Winmodem. Go to www.tomshardware.com you'll get good reviews and name brands to work with.

When you assemble your computer put it together starting with the basics - Case, mobo, cpu, ram, harddrive, floppy, cdrom, video. Install the OS, get all drivers installed, install your nice or modem, then get your updates. Then begin the installation of your other devices.

Doing things this way minimizes Windows ability to goof things up.

i disagree... iv had onboard vid for a long time, but have been using a AGP card instead... works flawlessly.. actually i took an old pci card from an old comp sitting in the basement, and now im using pci and agp to have dual moniters!

Back when I started my first build was a Windows 3.1 machine and you had to worry about IRQ conflicts. WinXP/98 seems to take care of all that and I haven't had to worry about IRQ conflicts.

Post your components before you purchase.

On board video should be fine but it's usually pretty weak if you want to play games. My experience is that you can easily turn off the on board video through the BIOS and use your won video card.

In addition to purchasing one of the two books listed by Karsh66, you can enjoy some refreshments at the cafe of your local Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. while reading other books from their computer section. You would not be obligated to purchase those books either. If you're a quick learner and require more in depth reading, check out one of the A+ Certification books.

if you insert a agp the onboard is atomaticly diabled, and theres no way to turn it back on unless u take out the agp one