I need alot of help :(

[Altrozero]

Ok just to clear things up i am not a complete newbie when it comes to computers in general but when it comes to building them the most I've done is install RAM ops:. I'm taking a computer degree because I am fairly good at programming but I feel I should venture out and try and build a computer. I found a few guides on the internet and felt that this looks easy but none of them describe what parts will work together. So could someone please give me a hand and tell me if these parts I've picked off aria will go together please? (Also note I'm not trying to build a computer that is super cool or anything just a cheap one to start off with to see if I can )

Case: Butterfly V2 (Xmas present I'm told its the best for beginners)
Mother Board: Asrock Conroe945G-DVI Socket 775
CPU: Intel pentium 4 820 Dual cord RET
Power Supply: 600W ATX power supply
Hard drive: 160GB hitachi deskstar 133/7200 + 8M
CD/DVD drive: Nec AD-7170A-0B 18x DVDRW DL Black
Graphics Card: Powercolor radeon x550 128MB PCI-E
512MB 4-layer v-data PC4200 DDR2

Is there anything I'm missing or anything there that won't work with enough part, please help ops:

[Barley]

Welcome to the forums good sir

How much are you looking to spend in total on the system? And do you need as OS, or peripherals as well?

[Altrozero]

I have a spare monitor, keyboard, mouse tablet and the like. I can get a free OS from uni so I'm ok there as well.

I was hoping to keep it under £300 for this computer as it's just a test to see what I can do really and learn a bit, it is just to mess around with. After that I plan to make a much better one if I can .

[Altrozero]

Thanks for the advice.

[mac124]

If i was building a pc for around £300 and didn't need the case etc as per your needs this is what i would get.



Slightly over buget, £30ish, but has some \"upgrades\" over your spec ie Conroe cpu, branded psu (i assume the one you picked wasn't as you didn't mention a name and therefore a big no no around these here parts and slightly faster memory).

All in all its only around 10% over your intended buget but alot better imho.

Welcome to the forums too btw

[Altrozero]

Cool thanks, I might actually get those parts and give it a whirl. Yeah the PSU was unbranded, I think I might just take the list you have there and buy it

[Barley]

[quote:5a9b663048=\"mac124\"]If i was building a pc for around £300 and didn't need the case etc as per your needs this is what i would get.



Slightly over buget, £30ish, but has some \"upgrades\" over your spec ie Conroe cpu, branded psu (i assume the one you picked wasn't as you didn't mention a name and therefore a big no no around these here parts and slightly faster memory).

All in all its only around 10% over your intended buget but alot better imho.

Welcome to the forums too btw [/quote:5a9b663048]

Not bad, not bad. Is a bit over budget though, and there's be delivery costs as well.

If I wanted to get into system building,. I'd be tempted to play around with old/second hand parts to get a feel for everything.

[House]

I suppose we all got into PC building from different routes, but I would agree with Barley. I got into it by picking up a cheap, Tesco standard PC and then upgrading bits here and there. At the lower end you will often struggle to get a better PC than the supermarkets can offer (correct me if I'm wrong). If I were starting again, I would probably still go the same route.

However, you'd give yourself a decent, low end learning machine with the build above, and you can even give overclocking a try if you really wanted some fun.

Welcome to the forum too. Keep us updated with your progress

[Barley]

I started off by getting an old AMD K6-2 333Mhz CPU fro my uncle, then adding it to a motherboard I bought, and adding some parts from an old PC. I loved every minute of it

At that point I had a 4.3GB hard drive, which was HUGE at the time!! (I still have this hard drive too, in a box somewhere, big 5.25\" monster!)

[Cheule]

I began with a pre-built one from Curry's, it cost £499 and had a 14\" monitor, a 56k modem, 2.1gb HD and a CD-ROM drive

On board graphics were the order of the day, later bolstered by a Voodoo 3 2000

All powered by the mighty Cyrix MII-300 (which wasn't actually 300mhz, it was 233mhz and had the world's worst FPU.

When the PSU blew up and I watched the repair guy replace it, I thought \"I could do that\" and I haven't looked back since.

That was 1999. :shock:

[Aaron]

The first actual \"PC\" I started with was a P1 150mhz/16mb ram/2.1gb HD. It ran RAC Rally Championship really well!

Recently, its been used as a linux testing box and a linux firewall on my network, so its still in service! hehe!

I also had a K6-2 3D 366mhz which I overclocked to 450mhz. That was still going till recently when the PSU gave up.

Following that was a Slot A Athlon 800Mhz, which I overclocked to 950mhz using one of the old GFD devices. Did anyone else ever have any experience with them? That one is still going too!

[Barley]

[quote:5edb58fec2=\"Aaron\"]The first actual \"PC\" I started with was a P1 150mhz/16mb ram/2.1gb HD. It ran RAC Rally Championship really well!

Recently, its been used as a linux testing box and a linux firewall on my network, so its still in service! hehe!

I also had a K6-2 3D 366mhz which I overclocked to 450mhz. That was still going till recently when the PSU gave up.

Following that was a Slot A Athlon 800Mhz, which I overclocked to 950mhz using one of the old GFD devices. Did anyone else ever have any experience with them? That one is still going too![/quote:5edb58fec2]

I had an Athlon Slot A 800Mhz CPU! Ran it on an old Iwill motherboard with 512 RAM, the thing flew along with a voodoo 3 2000 I had!! (still have)

[Altrozero]

Thanks to every one who gave advice . And especially mac124 I've basicly picked out the parts you suggested (Expect I upgraded the RAM to 1GB as I already have a stick of 512mb in my current computer so I figured I would just switch them around.

I've ordered the parts today so I will hopefully be putting them together soon .

[Biodoid]

unless the ram in your current pc is ddr2 then you won't be able to swap them around :wink:

[Altrozero]

I have 2 PC's in the house one is DDR and one is DDR2 if it won't work with either of them then what the hell i'll just stick it in this one