Building my first computer

[Macha]

This summer I will be getting €350. So I'm going to spend it on starting to build my own computer.

Up until this point, my hardware experience has been swapping in and out graphics cards/HDDs/RAM/Network Cards etc.

Things I don't know that much about include PSUs/fans/Sound cards/mobos.

The €350 is only to get started as I plan to add more to it as and when I get more cash.



Important info
- After the €350, it has to be usable. It doesn't have to play Crysis on Very High or anything, but for web browsing and older games, it should run fine.

- Things I don't need to buy
-- OS. I'll be dual booting Kubuntu and XP (I have no spare legal Vista discs and I'm drowning in XP discs, though I may buy Vista x64 for it at a later stage).
-- Monitor. My 19" HD Ready TV (1440 x 900) can double as the monitor. I already use it as a second screen for my laptop when I'm home.

- Extensibility is more important than the highest specs. I don't want to have to replace the PSU if I buy a ATI Radeon 4870 (or whatever the current highest model is) 6 months down the line.

- You might want to give a good fan as there is nowhere I can put it that doesn't have one full side essentially blocked.



So basicallly what I'm asking for is:
(a) Tutorials on installing mobos, fans, PSUs, CPUs.
(b) Tutorials on building from scratch.
(c) Advice on components.

and for later:
(d) Cheapest place to buy Vista x64 (probably home premium unless the prices are really good and preferably an actual disc not digital download as my internet speed is crap, the 7 beta took 2 full days.).

EDIT 2:
I'll be buying most of the hardware from UK stores as the ones here are a bit crap. (for price and range. 500GB External drive for €120 ($160) anyone?)
£1 = €1.05-ish atm.
Delivery isn't crippling, but it might need to be taken into consideration.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I can't recommend components, but I do have a few sites for you. Haven't tested any of the links, so if they're dead don't worry.
http://www.build-your-computer.com/
http://build-your-own-computer.org/
http://www.build-your-own-computer-tips.com/
http://www.pcguide.com/byop/
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/the-geek-blog/building-a-new-computer-part-1-choosing-hardware/

Only one advice on components: Get a full ATX case. More room to expand.

 

[GoodGame]

Up until this point, my hardware experience has been swapping in and out graphics cards/HDDs/RAM/Network Cards etc.

Things I don't know that much about include PSUs/fans/Sound cards/mobos.

The €350 is only to get started as I plan to add more to it as and when I get more cash.


- After the €350, it has to be usable. It doesn't have to play Crysis on Very High or anything, but for web browsing and older games, it should run fine.

- Extensibility is more important than the highest specs. I don't want to have to replace the PSU if I buy a ATI Radeon 4870 (or whatever the current highest model is) 6 months down the line.

- You might want to give a good fan as there is nowhere I can put it that doesn't have one full side essentially blocked.



So basicallly what I'm asking for is:
(a) Tutorials on installing mobos, fans, PSUs, CPUs.
(b) Tutorials on building from scratch.
(c) Advice on components.

and for later:
(d) Cheapest place to buy Vista x64 (probably home premium unless the prices are really good and preferably an actual disc not digital download as my internet speed is crap, the 7 beta took 2 full days.)

Sounds like you're about there in terms of skills.
Probably watch a video about installing CPUs and the CPU fan/heatpipe and pick up a decent budget computer repair toolkit. Mounting a motherboard to a case is so easy, a caveman can do it.

Your main concerns are really going to be with the design, budgeting, component compatiblity, and a vendor that you trust (I trust Newegg for instance, but you seem to be in the UK). Since you seem to have low expectations, I think 350 pounds is going to give you a lot of choices, but you should still work a budget to constrain the value of the different components.

Most important will be picking a CPU & motherboard combo that gives you the best options for the money you budget. To that end, I'd budget about 1/2 to 2/3rds of your money, especially as you don't seem to care about high end gaming, but even then there might be feature overkill, so you might actually save some money anyways.
I suspect the best form will be an ATX, unless you really want your computer to be on the small size; ATX will give you the most component versatility though.

For a video card, one in about $100 even, or less, will probably satisfy your entertainment needs. You may need to pay attention to room on the mobo for the video card, but at that price you'll probably have a less fancy, less picky video card.

For PSU, you just need to be sure that it has enough watts for your needs, and I suspect 450-500w will be plenty for you. Often you can get a decent PSU with the case you pick, but you might want to get a case bundled with a PSU by a decent manufacturer. I suspect a combo deal will work out ok, versus getting a special PSU ordered separately, if you're happy with a lower end video card.

You'll probably also want to pick up some accessory cables, to make sure the PSU mates with the mobo correctly, and also to get all the drives and fans that you want installed.

If you go with an ATX case, fans probably won't be a problem, but you'll probably be better off spending a bit more for noiseless fans rather than a no-name cheap import. High end CPU heatpipes/cooling fans won't really be needed if you won't be overclocking the system. Mainly just some Artic Silver compound to mate the fan to the CPU should be enough.

My #1 advice with components is go to manufacturer's websites and send them email about whether or not they know of any compatibilities. Join some different tech forums and ask questions there as well. Keep searching until you're sure there's no incompatibilities---gross or glitchy, because sometimes two components won't get along for a quirky reason and chances are good that someone else has already posted about it before you try it.

 

[Aramazd]

Unfortunately, with you being in Ireland, you can't go Newegg, and I don't know of any European component sites although I'm sure they exist, if you know of one link it so we can look at prices.

Also, 350 euro is about 450 USD, so you won't be getting the latest and greatest.

For a CPU, I'd recommend either a E5400 or E7400, if you can afford it. An Athlon will do if you can find one cheaper and comparable.

 

[GoodGame]

Unfortunately, with you being in Ireland, you can't go Newegg, and I don't know of any European component sites although I'm sure they exist, if you know of one link it so we can look at prices.

Also, 350 euro is about 450 USD, so you won't be getting the latest and greatest.

For a CPU, I'd recommend either a E5400 or E7400, if you can afford it. An Athlon will do if you can find one cheaper and comparable.

It's more about $500 equivalent.

Say $100 for the case/PSU, $150 to $300 for the mobo/cpu combo and $100 for the RAM and recycle all the other parts HDD, etc.. and it could work. Or cut out some money from the case/mobo/cpu and buy a cheap pair of drives (CDROM and small HDD) for $60. Use onboard video which would be fair with a good mobo (though probably at 32-64 MB range), or buy a cheap lowend for $50.

Basically focus on getting the best mobo/CPU/RAM up front while spending only $100 on parts that you replace in the next year or so. With video being the first upgrade.

 

[GVBN]

It's more about $500 equivalent.

350 euros, not pounds. Google says it's $455

But it's really more like $350 if the prices in Ireland are similar to what they're here. I mean the E5300 is $80 on newegg and here it costs 79€. Likewise the 4830 is $90 on newegg and 90€ here

I guess you could afford a decent mobo, CPU, PSU, GPU and maybe some RAM with 350€. Recycle everything else

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

If you're not using it for gaming, might be a good idea to get a mobo with integrated sound/video. Of course depends on which is cheaper.

With my old one, I never had any trouble with older games (e.g. SimCity 2000). I only complained about the crummy integrated thing because it made some of the better games work .... um, poopy.

If you were wondering, I had an ATI chipset. Often had driver problems with the graphics, but it was a bit old anyways.

This is the mobo I was using:
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/358