Not a bad synopsis nathan - I guess we'll add on each others thoughts here...if you do the build yourself, even after reading the manual, a nice trick to know is that it is sometimes easier to attach various components to the motherboard before inserting the motherboard in the case. What I will do is take the mobo out of it's box, rest it in the case w/ no screws, and then get a feel for where each component will go as I rest those on or near their accompanying interface. If it seems like it will be a tight fit between some nooks and crannies, I will take everything back out and set the mobo on the foam padding it came packed in on top of the box it came in.
I will then attach each component like the video card, memory, processor, heatsink (or water cooler, which sometimes needs to be installed before attaching the mobo to the case). Once every component or cable (like pata and sata cables, audio cables, usb cables, etc.) that can be attached is in place, I'll then ease the entire assembly into the case, and position the mobo above it's mounting points. Taking each case screw, I will hand tighten about half way down on each one...then go individually making one full rotation on each until it does not turn in an easy motion (no need to cinch these down...with 4-5 screws in there, it won't go anywhere.
Another thing I do is take both side panels off and the front assembly because sometimes it's just easier to put components in with all the sides off. I will put all the accompanying screws for each panel in its' own location on my workbench for easy remembering of which screws go where. (In the early days it was sometimes hard to tell, but these days it shouldn't matter too much as anything attaching to the case uses standard case screws.)
Once all is in place, before I close it up, I will actually power on just to ensure it completes a POST test. If you hear any unusual series of beeps (one short steady beep usually means it passed the post test), it won't start up the rest of the way. One short steady one before the hard drive starts spinning up and I'll cut the power by pressing and holding the power button (this also ensures your connections to the mobo from the front are connected right). Then attach the side panels, and position the entire CPU to where you can open it easily if needed during initial setup. Continue through setup CD's flashing BIOS, loading OS and component drivers and such. Have fun!
The thing is... Building your own box is quite complicated. There are potential compatibility issues to be aware of. Sometimes certain hard disks will not work properly with certain motherboards. Sometimes you cant use a certain brand/type of RAM on a certain motherboard.
There is a lot of IF ( ) THEN ( ) involved. If you get a high-end videocard, then you need a 700+ watt powersupply. One that is on the "approved" list of the videocard vendor. Especially if you also get the fastest processor available, which will use upwards of 120 watt instead of 60 to 80 watt under full load. With no high-end parts pulling a lot of power 450 watt is enough. IF you want to use dual channel then you need to place RAM modules in identical pairs. If you want high quality sound you have to ignore the integrated soundcard on the mainbord and get a separate soundcard. If you still have an older printer with parallel cable, then make sure your motherboard has this legacy type connection. Not all modern boards have this connection anymore... And so on.
Then there is the issue of cooling. One very big plus of OEM systems like Dell, HP and IBM, is that they are usually very silent. If you go the home-grown route, you will have to take extra measures to ensure the same. So, low-noise case fans (yes, your PC case needs ventilation), low-noise power supply, low noise CPU cooler, maybe even replace the stock videocard cooler with a better one. Maybe house the hard drives in sound proof cooling cases.
And do you need one of them old diskette drives? Well, if you're going to build the box yourself, and install Windows XP from scratch, you might need additional drivers for storage controllers. Which you either have to slipstream into a XP install CD or you have to provide... Yep, via FDD when installing the OS.
Personally, I'd stay away from Vista for now. Driver availability still isn't at the level where it's supposed to be. Especially if you have older hardware (scanners, printers) you run the risk of having to replace those. And will all the software you need work on Vista?
Disk-wise, I'd use a fast disk for the operating system, a 10k rpm Western Digital Raptor and use two big disks to create a RAID 1 array. Say, two drives of 500 GB which have their data mirrored, so one can fail without actually loosing data.
That is why you do research before buying anything. Hit the mobo manufacturer's site and look at the approved components, then don't stray from that list unless you get absolute confirmation that something else works.
I definitely agree with the one drive for the OS/programs and another (set) for your data. That way when it's time to do some major updating, your data sit separately, safely to the side and observes the whole thing.
For sound, I didn't do anything special to minimize it and my system isn't all that loud--it's quieter than the rattly fan on the old Dell it replaced.
Nathan & Jason have a lot of good info there. Like them I was able to plug all the hardware together in a couple of hours, loading the software took longer.
After plugging everything together and adding a couple of updates, with all the complexities I added (many HDDs, some RAID, some not, internal USB card reader, etc), I had exactly one incompatibility; that was a too-large SATA II drive on a SATA I controller. Spent $20 on an add-on SATA II controller and the system has been rock-solid since. Lesson learned: SiI3114-based controllers don't like drives over 250GB.
Tentacle wrote:
The thing is... Building your own box is quite complicated. There are potential compatibility issues to be aware of. Sometimes certain hard disks will not work properly with certain motherboards. Sometimes you cant use a certain brand/type of RAM on a certain motherboard.
There is a lot of IF ( ) THEN ( ) involved. If you get a high-end videocard, then you need a 700+ watt powersupply. One that is on the "approved" list of the videocard vendor. Especially if you also get the fastest processor available, which will use upwards of 120 watt instead of 60 to 80 watt under full load. With no high-end parts pulling a lot of power 450 watt is enough. IF you want to use dual channel then you need to place RAM modules in identical pairs. If you want high quality sound you have to ignore the integrated soundcard on the mainbord and get a separate soundcard. If you still have an older printer with parallel cable, then make sure your motherboard has this legacy type connection. Not all modern boards have this connection anymore... And so on.
Then there is the issue of cooling. One very big plus of OEM systems like Dell, HP and IBM, is that they are usually very silent. If you go the home-grown route, you will have to take extra measures to ensure the same. So, low-noise case fans (yes, your PC case needs ventilation), low-noise power supply, low noise CPU cooler, maybe even replace the stock videocard cooler with a better one. Maybe house the hard drives in sound proof cooling cases.
And do you need one of them old diskette drives? Well, if you're going to build the box yourself, and install Windows XP from scratch, you might need additional drivers for storage controllers. Which you either have to slipstream into a XP install CD or you have to provide... Yep, via FDD when installing the OS.
Personally, I'd stay away from Vista for now. Driver availability still isn't at the level where it's supposed to be. Especially if you have older hardware (scanners, printers) you run the risk of having to replace those. And will all the software you need work on Vista?
Disk-wise, I'd use a fast disk for the operating system, a 10k rpm Western Digital Raptor and use two big disks to create a RAID 1 array. Say, two drives of 500 GB which have their data mirrored, so one can fail without actually loosing data....Show more →
I understand your concerns, but have to disagree with some of the specifics you list.
Any IDE harddrive will work with any currently sold PC motherboard.
I have not seen a new motherboard sold in the past year or more that does not have SATA compatabilty and will accept any SATA harddirve.
There is no need to buy an "approved" powersupply based upon your video card purchase. As I stated in my earlier post, a 700+ watt powersupply is a good idea. Not primarily due to video card requirements, but more due to CPU power requirements. Dual core CPUs suck the power.
Most people are not that concerned with noise that it becomes a purchase decision. The fan that comes with AMD CPUs is adequate, but certainly upgarding to a third-party fan is an option.
"them old diskette drives"??... I would not even suggest it. If you are using XP, very rarely will you need additional drivers. Either they are in the OS, can be downloaded, or came with the device on a CD. Nobody ships drivers on diskette any more.
I wouldn't build a system without a floppy disc drive. But then again, I use the mitsumi floppy drive that is also a USB 2.0 card reader.
Ram bandwidth on many systems, bleeding edge or otherwise, is a significant issue. Most motherboards have at least 4 memory slots, few allow you to run two sets of dual channel ram without taking a performance hit. (and often that is a serious performance hit) It doesn't mean that you can't run a 64-bit OS and 4+gigs of ram and be happy with it.
There are many places to look for information on building systems that fly.
www.tomshardware.com; www.extremetech.com; www.sharkyextreme.com and www.ocworkbench are just a few of many sites that cover bleeding edge technology and maintain a database of articles covering equipment that they have reviewed along with info on what works..., and more importantly; what doesn't
nathanlake wrote:
[...] I understand your concerns, but have to disagree with some of the specifics you list.
Any IDE harddrive will work with any currently sold PC motherboard.
I have not seen a new motherboard sold in the past year or more that does not have SATA compatabilty and will accept any SATA harddirve.
A lot of the current motherboards have only a single IDE slot because the chipset is limited to a single ATA channel. Blame Intel, they've chopped off the second ATA path from their chipsets. That means there is room for two ATA devices, and that's it. Unless the motherboard manufacturer included an additional ATA controller. Which, in turn, may not be compatible with ATAPI-based DVD burners. SATA DVD burners are still quite rare.
This may not be an insurmountable problem, but it can definately become a snag which you need to navigate around.
There is no need to buy an "approved" powersupply based upon your video card purchase. As I stated in my earlier post, a 700+ watt powersupply is a good idea. Not primarily due to video card requirements, but more due to CPU power requirements. Dual core CPUs suck the power.
Even the biggest baddest Intel quad-core behemoth sucks "only" up to 130 watt. The same goes for AMD's top FX model. You only get into the 700+ watt territory once you team up two high-end videocards, for either SLI (Nvidia cards) or Crossfire (ATi/AMD cards). Those puppies can pull upwards of 200 watt each. If you stick to a single mid-high end card, there is no need for a 700 watt PSU.
Most people are not that concerned with noise that it becomes a purchase decision. The fan that comes with AMD CPUs is adequate, but certainly upgarding to a third-party fan is an option.
"them old diskette drives"??... I would not even suggest it. If you are using XP, very rarely will you need additional drivers. Either they are in the OS, can be downloaded, or came with the device on a CD. Nobody ships drivers on diskette any more.
Erhmm, sorry, *BZZZZZT* Wrong.
I explicitly said that you might need one to install storage controller drivers. If you want to boot from that device. That's the "Press F6 if you need to install third party SCSI or RAID driver" part of a Windows XP install process. Because if you don't, the install process can't see the drives. That particular part of the XP installation proces will ONLY read from A:\. So, unless you've slipstreamed the SCSI/RAID/SATA controller drivers into a new Windows XP installation CD, you will need an FDD drive in order to get the OS to boot from a device on the separate controller.
In all, I'm not saying "Don't build your own box." By all means, go ahead, it's a great learning experience. I'm just pointing out some obstacles in order to illustrate that it can be (doesn't have to be) a complicated process.
Tentacle wrote:
... So, unless you've slipstreamed the SCSI/RAID/SATA controller drivers into a new Windows XP installation CD, you will need an FDD drive in order to get the OS to boot from a device on the separate controller.
...
Gotta love the techie crowd - always available to add some levels of intricacies far beyond the need for the FM forums tematically! After reading your post I just had to laugh because guess what I just finished creating...
An XP CD with all updates post SP2 through June 22nd slipstreamed in - including the 3rd party drivers for my RAID controller!
(Gotta love like-minded thinking in the IT industry - it's kind of rare to see agreement on the nuances of installations at the level of slipstreamed components!)
After reading your post I just had to laugh because guess what I just finished creating...