The PC Building Thread

Right, I've been learning a little bit about PCs literally from the ground-up. Am I right in assumung that I'll need the following;

Motherboard
CPU
CPU Cooler
RAM
Graphics Card
2 Hard Drives?
Blu-ray player
Case
Power supply
Windows 7 64-bit

I don't think I'll need a sound card, as like Jamez, I have Dolby 5.1 headphones that has its own decoder box (the Tritton AX720). I'll also be using the PC on a 1080p HD/3D TV, so no need for a monitor, and I'm not going to use a mouse etc for gaming so I'll just get an uber cheap keyboard and mouse. I've heard you can get a card in order to use 3D, but I'm not sure if I'll go for this. It's tempting, viewing 3D games at full 1080p, as 3D on consoles looks terrible (often scaled back down to 480p due to lack of processing power).

I will need a wireless adaptor to use my console pads wirelessly (I came to the conclusion that I almost never play online apart from FPS, in this case Battlefield, and my friends are on xbox for that, so it's single player all the way - keyboard players would slaughter me with a game pad).

Is this right, or are there things that I've missed? Why would I need two HDD's?

I literally wouldn't use the PC for anything other than gaming and connecting to Steam, no internet use whatsoever apart from that. Internet + PC = trouble so it's remaining offline except for gaming.
 
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Suuuuupertalk said:
Right, I've been learning a little bit about PCs literally from the ground-up. Am I right in assumung that I'll need the following;

Motherboard
CPU
CPU Cooler
RAM
Graphics Card
2 Hard Drives?
Blu-ray player
Case
Power supply
Windows 7 64-bit

I don't think I'll need a sound card, as like Jamez, I have Dolby 5.1 headphones that has its own decoder box (the Tritton AX720). I'll also be using the PC on a 1080p HD/3D TV, so no need for a monitor, and I'm not going to use a mouse etc for gaming so I'll just get an uber cheap keyboard and mouse. I've heard you can get a card in order to use 3D, but I'm not sure if I'll go for this. It's tempting, viewing 3D games at full 1080p, as 3D on consoles looks terrible (often scaled back down to 480p due to lack of processing power).

I will need a wireless adaptor to use my console pads wirelessly (I came to the conclusion that I almost never play online apart from FPS, in this case Battlefield, and my friends are on xbox for that, so it's single player all the way - keyboard players would slaughter me with a game pad).

Is this right, or are there things that I've missed? Why would I need two HDD's?

I literally wouldn't use the PC for anything other than gaming and connecting to Steam, no internet use whatsoever apart from that. Internet + PC = trouble so it's remaining offline except for gaming.
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That is pretty much it yes, you really should switch as well to the PC version of BF3. The console version is well beyond piss poor.
 
bsmaff said:
Then your temps do seem abit high.
But with my case I have two high performance case fans that sit right on the CPU.
Click to expand...
I am concerned now. Ill have to have a look and see what I can do to bring them temps down.

Any advice you can offer? That Dark Rock Pro Cooler is massive and is meant to do a reasonable job, I have got a 120MM Case Fan Exhausting air out of the back of the case.
 
m.schumacher said:
I am concerned now. Ill have to have a look and see what I can do to bring them temps down.

Any advice you can offer? That Dark Rock Pro Cooler is massive and is meant to do a reasonable job, I have got a 120MM Case Fan Exhausting air out of the back of the case.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry to much tbh, the temps aren't severly over the top + you never use 100% CPU anyway.

My best idea is because you bought a system pre overclocked the chances are that SCAN over done the voltage to ensure it won't bluescreen as tbh that is what I would do to make sure the customer got a 100% stable machine.
The problem with overclocking yourself is you will get quite a few blue screens before it becomes stable. Over doing the voltage would ensure a reliable stable overclock and make the CPU run hotter.
 
Thats makes sense thanks BSMAFF. I may put another fan closeby if I can to try and extract the heat away from the Cooler Block. The block itself has 2 fans bolted on to it. One on the outside and one in the middle.
 
bsmaff said:
The problem with overclocking yourself is you will get quite a few blue screens before it becomes stable. Over doing the voltage would ensure a reliable stable overclock and make the CPU run hotter.
Click to expand...

Do you still recommend the offset overclocking method? Still not done my 2500k yet, waiting on cooler weather to be honest. Not sure if I can be bothered with the time it takes to overclock and all the faffing around. It would be nice to get the full potential out of my chip though, especially as I have a decent cooler attached.

I've OC'ed my GPU and that was pretty easy actually. CPU OC'ing seems a bit more of a pain.

m.schumacher said:
Thats makes sense thanks BSMAFF. I may put another fan closeby if I can to try and extract the heat away from the Cooler Block. The block itself has 2 fans bolted on to it. One on the outside and one in the middle.
Click to expand...

I'm running four case fans - 2 x 120mm's on the front as intakes, 1 x 140mm on top as an exhaust and a 120mm on the rear as an exhaust. Definitely worth adding a few fans to get good airflow, especially in the summer months.

Suuuuupertalk said:
Is this right, or are there things that I've missed? Why would I need two HDD's?
Click to expand...

I don't think you'd need two HDD's. Just pick up a 1TB HDD (such as Seagate Barracuda, Samsung or Western Digital Caviar) and that will be plenty for what you need. If you don't play loads of games at any one time then you'll probably not get anywhere near filling a 1TB drive in the short term. You can always delete old games.

If you can afford it I would 100% recommend getting a solid state drive (SSD). Probably the best upgrade you can make. Just get a small 60-64gb drive which can be had for £50-60 now. Install Windows to it and use it as a boot drive. You'll have space for a few programs too. Then use the HDD for all your games. An SSD will give you console-esque start-up times.
 
bsmaff said:
Here you go:

I am not 100% sure what you need but if you already have case, HD and CD drive that will be a complete bonus.

Here is a really cheap CPU, Mem and Mobo which will do perfectly just for web browsing and general use.
The RAM is 4GB as there isn't any real price difference between 2GB and 4GB an extra £5 for much better performance.
The CPU is a good budget one and MOBO is a cheap one with onboard sound and graphics. Just don't try and play BF3 as it would look as bad as the console version.

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Awesome thank you! Yes I can use the HDD, CD drive and case from the current PC!
 
Tim7 said:
Awesome thank you! Yes I can use the HDD, CD drive and case from the current PC!
Click to expand...
Are the HDD and CD Drive both SATA Tim? If not does the Motherboard spec'd here have an IDE Controller on it?

If not you wont be able to use them.
 
As BSMAFF says you can just buy converters. I did have some issues once with a Sata to IDE Converter... for some reason my machine (some years ago now) wouldnt ever see the drive!
 
I grabbed one of these the other week as I had a lone IDE drive with stuff on I wanted and my new mobo didn't have IDE

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320930773287

$%28KGrHqV,!l8E-lG%29N0heBP4wGg,EWw~~60_12.JPG


Basically converts any kind of drive CD/DVD/HDD either IDE or SATA to be a USB drive, worked perfectly :)
 
Guys, I want to format my laptop.

It came with Windows 7 OEM version on it and I don't have the original recovery disk.

I do have a proper version of Windows 7 disk though, but no serial.

How can I use the serial that came with this laptop when I format it with the Win7 disk I have?

I have right clicked "My Computer" and looked at properties and I can see there is a Product ID: but it does have OEM in the middle of it, will that matter?
 
kevano22 said:
Guys, I want to format my laptop.

It came with Windows 7 OEM version on it and I don't have the original recovery disk.

I do have a proper version of Windows 7 disk though, but no serial.

How can I use the serial that came with this laptop when I format it with the Win7 disk I have?

I have right clicked "My Computer" and looked at properties and I can see there is a Product ID: but it does have OEM in the middle of it, will that matter?
Click to expand...

I got the product key for my laptop by downloading a keyfinder program. Just Google 'Windows 7 keyfinder free' or something like that.

If you have a Windows 7 disk then you can use that to reinstall and then just enter your key.
 
Jamezinho said:
I got the product key for my laptop by downloading a keyfinder program. Just Google 'Windows 7 keyfinder free' or something like that.

If you have a Windows 7 disk then you can use that to reinstall and then just enter your key.
Click to expand...

You will also need the gatekeeper as well don't forget and what ever you do, keep your mind blank and don't think of anything while you are doing it.
 
Fucking hell, my PC nearly gave me a heart attack this evening! Kept getting black screens while playing rFactor 2. At first it was a black screen for a few seconds, returning to the game, then after a while I got a continuous black screen.

Of course, you think the worst when these things happen. Thought my graphics card had died. Took the card out and cleared the CMOS to be sure. PC boots fine via onboard graphics. I've put the GPU back in and tried a game and everything seems fine.

I think the cause was the 6-pin power connector for the graphics card had worked loose. I opened up the case a few days ago to fit a new hard drive and I wonder if I knocked the connector when I was playing around with the cabling? It seemed a little loose when I took the card out.

When these things happen, PC ownership isn't good!
 
Poor bugger. When I got myself a new PC a few years back, as soon as I brought it home, I turned it on and I heard a loud bang and then some smoke coming out. I was beside myself. $2k later and I've got a BBQ.

Then I calmed down a bit and rang the store who built it for me and sure enough, it turned out to be an audio connector or something that blew and nothing else was damaged. Got it repaired and back in 2 days but I tell you what....scary time haha
 
kevano22 said:
Guys, I want to format my laptop.

It came with Windows 7 OEM version on it and I don't have the original recovery disk.

I do have a proper version of Windows 7 disk though, but no serial.

How can I use the serial that came with this laptop when I format it with the Win7 disk I have?

I have right clicked "My Computer" and looked at properties and I can see there is a Product ID: but it does have OEM in the middle of it, will that matter?
Click to expand...

OEM version of Windows 7 is different to the Retail version.
You can't install the retail with oem key and vice versa
 
OEM versions have embedded keys don't they and don't require a serial? It's more than possible you can find your specific Windows 7 OEM disk online, what's the make and model of your laptop? I'll see if I can find the OEM ISO for you.
 
They both activate the same way but you the Retail version dosn't accept OEM keys and vice versa. The embedded keys are there to find the string in the BIOS that allows the keys to activate.

It is very easy to find the ISO's online, but the best way is prob to find someone who has access to technet so you can get clean ISO's.
 
Placebo said:
OEM versions have embedded keys don't they and don't require a serial? It's more than possible you can find your specific Windows 7 OEM disk online, what's the make and model of your laptop? I'll see if I can find the OEM ISO for you.
Click to expand...

Acer Aspire 5551

I have the new Fujitsu OEM Win 7 disk here.

could I use that to re-format and it wont ask me for a key?
 
Also, how can I make sure than when I format it, I'll get all the drivers back so that things like sound, webcam, trackpad, all work as they should?
 
I tried the Acer Recovery thing.

It crashed at 52% and I had to reboot and it caused HDD to fail.

The laptop was being formatted as it was randomly crashing throughout the day, so I think the HDD was just fkd.

Replaced HDD with old one I had, formatted it and installed OEM Win 7 on it fine. Everything seems to work, although the Acer related things dont (pinch and zoom on pad / the bit that scrolls up and down on the pad).
 
pes4lyfe said:
im about to build my own pc any last minute tips cheers
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Don't rush it. Make sure you understand all stages of the build and if you don't Google it or read the manual.

Make sure you have the CPU lined up with the socket correctly before you clamp it down.

Make sure you plug in the CPU power connector. This seems to be one of the top mistakes that will prevent a pc from running. I know, I've done it!
 
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