ND-IEEE Computer Building Part 1 – Ordering

Parts

Andrew Velzen – ND IEEE President

Budget Determines the price range of everything you buy $500 is what we are using for the IEEE computer

Purpose of MachineDifferent price typical price ranges for each of the following:

Multimedia/Web Server Large hard drive storage space

Gaming rig Heavy cost on Hardware

Video/Visual Art Creation/Editing Station Hardware is expensive and Software is Incredibly expensive

Primarily just a web browsing machine with basic productivity package Cheap all around

Big Decisions

Standardized Prebuilt with Minimum Customizability Dell, Apple, TigerDirect, CompUSA, BestBuy

Advantages because you know what you are getting Usually make it incredibly easy (Even Grandma Jillian can do it) Overpriced for what you are getting

Prebuilt with Tons of Customizability Cyberpowerpc, iBuyPower

Lots of options without all the worry of assembly Tend to marginally more expensive than if you buy parts individually and

putting them together yourself (paying for labor) Buying Parts individually and Assembling them yourself

Newegg The cheapest price for the highest level of performance Have the fun of putting your own computer together Easiest to upgrade if you ever need to, because you know everything in it

already Usually a minimum of 1 year warranty on every part, especially the ones that

are most expensive. This protects against Dead on Arrival (DoA) parts Tons of reliable customer reviews to read on most parts

Where To Purchase?

CPU – Central Processing UnitRAM – Random Access MemoryMotherboardCase + FansPower SupplyInternal Hard DriveGraphics Card

Some Motherboards have integrated graphics, and this isn’t technically an essential part, but almost all desktops nowadays have one, even if it’s really weak

List of Essential Parts

MonitorSpeakersKeyboardMouseFloppy Drive…lolCD/DVD/Blu-ray DriveSD-Card ReaderCD-Burner/DVD-BurnerPrinterWebcamCablesExternal Hard Drive

List of Peripherals

Here’s my order from Black Friday 2010, just so you get an idea of where we are headedNote: I did order some

weird parts that aren’t essential

This machine was priced at $600, not including monitor

Also notice the combo dealsUsually a great thing to look

for, especially on Motherboards and Processor

Typical Order

AMD vs. Intel Intel is probably the better known industry name Heated arguments from both side about which is better AMD is usually considerably cheaper for same speed, so we’ll go with that

Tech Specs to think about Number of Cores (1,2,3,4,6,8)

Usually want at least 2 these days, typically 4 Operating Frequency

2.0-3.0 GHz is standard these days Cache

Typically around 8 MB Not that Important, just make sure it isn’t absurdly low

MAKE ABSOLUTELY SURE: It comes with a heatsink and fan. Almost none come without these in

today’s market, but if it does you don’t want it You remember the Socket type of the CPU. It is ESSENTIAL that you make

sure it is the same Socket type supported by your motherboard, otherwise the two won’t work together.

Thermal Paste Pre-applied, if not, buy extra Thermal Paste (~$10)

CPU – Central Processing Unit

Go with a name Brand for this one, as knock-off Memory is notorious for failing G.SKILL and CORSAIR are great Kingston is good

Tech Specs to think about Speed

DDR2 vs. DDR3. DDR2 is cheaper, but DDR3 is pretty much standard these days

Number after the DDR2 or DDR3 Make sure Motherboard supports that speed

Capacity Most important spec. 2 GB is small. 4 GB is decent. 8 GB

is good, and probably average for about now Number of sticks

Almost always want 2 sticks of equal size. Leaves you room to expand as most Motherboards usually have 4 slots

Make Sure: The number of pins on your RAM chip is equal to the

number of pins accepted by your Motherboard

RAM – Random Access Memory

Pick to fit your processor typically, not the other way around

Again, typically don’t want to go with knock-off for this one MSi, Gigabyte, and ASUS are all fine

Essential Tech Specs: CPU Socket Type and Memory Standard Form Factor

Ensure it is ATX, as opposed to Micro ATX – Much easier to work with

Important Tech Specs Number of Memory Slots USB Ports – USB 3.0 vs. USB 2.0 PCI Express x16 slot required if you want

a graphics card Care about eSata, PS2 ports for

keyboard/mouse, type of sound card???

Motherboard

Mostly about what looks prettiest Cooler Master is very reputable, but most

case companies are fine, just read the reviews

Don’t get a case with a power supply, as the power supplies are typically cheap

Relevant Tech Specs: Size - Either ATX Mid or ATX Full so you

know there is enough room for everything Typically the more metal the better. Study

than plastic Steel > Aluminum obviously (Is heavier

though if you plan on transporting it a lot) The More Fans the better Side-Panel window can be cool to impress

your friends Front Ports (Headphones, Mic, USB) are

usually really nice Nice if you can take it apart without a lot

of tools

Case

OCZ and Thermaltake are both goodJust read the reviews, and ensure you have

plenty of power500 W is about the minimum you should ever

have600-700 W is what you want to shoot forOver 800 W is usually overkill

Power Supply

SSD vs. RegularSSD faster, but not enough to account for the huge

price difference for same size, in my opinionBuy ONLY Seagate or Western Digital

Both great companies, stick with themRelevant Tech Specs:

Size Want at least 200 GB these days, I’d usually shoot for

around 500 GB. Depends on personal preferenceRPM

7200 is standard, usually want this, don’t go lower10,000 VelociRaptor – Sounds cool, not worth it…

Internal Hard Drive

NVIDIA vs. Radeon All the same arguments as Intel vs. AMD We’ll go with Radeon because it’s cheaper for

same speedsVery Important to read reviews on Gfx cardsRelevant Tech Specs:

Make sure it fits in PCI express x16 slot (Almost all do)

Memory size (128 MB, 256 MB, 512 MB, 1 GB) Memory Type – GDDR5 or GDDR3

Usually worth getting GDDR5 if you can swing it Output ports

If you have a TV or Monitor with certain inputs, make sure this Gfx card has that type of output, or that you can buy a connector to that type of output. Usually like HDMI or DVI. D-SUB = VGA

Graphics Card

Almost always want keyboard/mouse Nothing specific. Wireless vs. wired is biggest decision

Speakers and/or headphones are usually nice Can get speakers sure cheap

Monitor is usually a requirement Get cheapest one with size you want and ensure inputs will work with your Gfx card

outputs CD/DVD Reader/Burner Combo drive is usually a requirement. Unless

everything you install comes from the internet Just get the cheapest one with decent ratings. Usually < $20 Blu-Ray drives are reasonably priced, but expensive enough where it isn’t worth

getting if you aren’t pretty sure you are going to use it SD-Card Reader? Printer? Webcam? External Hard Drive?

Usually not a requirement for most people Cables

Your power supply and monitor will come with power cables, but you’ll want to buy a cheap HDMI cable or something and you’ll want an ethernet cable

Rosewill products are a good bet. This is Newegg’s own hardware company. Great for cables. They are reliable and always very inexpensive

Peripherals

This is not currently a WiFi capable computer. You’ll have to buy a wireless card if you want to do that

Still need to buy software Mac OS vs. Windows vs. Linux

Not going to get into this debate Windows 7 is $55 from OIT as a Student Apple makes it very difficult to get Mac OS X for a non-apple computer Linux is free, many different options We’ll probably put Windows 7 – 64 bit on the IEEE build

Microsoft Office If you want it, you can get Office 2010 from OIT for $55 Not putting it on IEEE build

Anti-virus Plenty of great free ones out there, no need to purchase:

Anti-Virus Guard (AVG) Avast

How’d we do relative to original budget? Submit Order

We’ll receive an order confirmation, shipping tracking number, and receipt Usually takes about a week or two for Newegg stuff to arrive (Shipped in 1 box)

Final Notes:

Final Questions???

The End