Planning on building 1st computer

It seems like, if I want exactly what I want in a PC, I'm going to have
to build it myself. I've never done this before and I'm looking at it
as a daunting task (I want a very fast PC, upgradable, with the best
components). Guess a good place to start is with this newsgroup. Could
someone give me suggestions as to where to look on the Internet to
become familiar with the building techniques and component ratings? Any
other information would be appreciated.

"Fruit2O" wrote in message
...
It seems like, if I want exactly what I want in a PC, I'm going to have
to build it myself. I've never done this before and I'm looking at it
as a daunting task (I want a very fast PC, upgradable, with the best
components). Guess a good place to start is with this newsgroup. Could
someone give me suggestions as to where to look on the Internet to
become familiar with the building techniques and component ratings? Any
other information would be appreciated.

Simple rules:
1) Seasonic brand PSU
2) Intel brand PCI-Express mainboard with Core 2 Duo processor
3) nvidia chipset graphics card with 512MB of dedicated video RAM on the
card
4) Creative brand sound card (only brand with vista support, AFAIK)
5) OCZ brand RAM to match specs of mainboard, 2GB exactly (no more, no
less)
6) SATA hard drive with 8MB or more of cache

There. That should be a good start. Optionally, you can get a mainboard
with two PCI-Express X16 slots and two graphic cards, but only if you are a
hardcore gamer.

Building a computer is not a daunting task if you start with the proper
components. Right now, you need to build core 2 duo, as that is the fastest
AND the best bang/buck. If you want the best components, then you should
match that to an Intel branded PCI-express mainboard. Not just because it's
high quality, but because the user's manual that comes with the intel
branded mainboards is detailled and ILLUSTRATED, making the build even
easier. nvidia chipset graphics because you are looking for speed and high
quality. 512MB video RAM because that's a good number to support Vista (and
any other OS, also). Creative brand sound card because even though you can
buy better quality, Creative seems to have the best driver support, last I
checked. OCZ RAM because (again) you are looking for speed and quality.
SATA because IDE is so yesterday. 8MB cache on hard drive to improve
overall system performance. Seasonic brand power supply because while there
are other good brands, seasonic is the best quality at any price (while
still being reasonably priced), and seasonic is relatively easy to find at
most vendors.

Other stuff is hard to mess up on. You'll need a case, a optical drive
(dual layer DVD burner, probably, forget about HD/blu-ray for the moment),
maybe a TV tuner, maybe a NEC brand LCD monitor, whatever else you feel like
throwing in there. You might also need a floppy drive, if only to
install the SATA drivers. Other than that, you'll never use it. -Dave

On Thu, 8 Mar 2007 15:53:32 -0500, "Mike T." wrote:


"Fruit2O" wrote in message
.. .
It seems like, if I want exactly what I want in a PC, I'm going to have
to build it myself. I've never done this before and I'm looking at it
as a daunting task (I want a very fast PC, upgradable, with the best
components). Guess a good place to start is with this newsgroup. Could
someone give me suggestions as to where to look on the Internet to
become familiar with the building techniques and component ratings? Any
other information would be appreciated.

Simple rules:
1) Seasonic brand PSU
2) Intel brand PCI-Express mainboard with Core 2 Duo processor
3) nvidia chipset graphics card with 512MB of dedicated video RAM on the
card
4) Creative brand sound card (only brand with vista support, AFAIK)
5) OCZ brand RAM to match specs of mainboard, 2GB exactly (no more, no
less)
6) SATA hard drive with 8MB or more of cache

There. That should be a good start. Optionally, you can get a mainboard
with two PCI-Express X16 slots and two graphic cards, but only if you are a
hardcore gamer.

Building a computer is not a daunting task if you start with the proper
components. Right now, you need to build core 2 duo, as that is the fastest
AND the best bang/buck. If you want the best components, then you should
match that to an Intel branded PCI-express mainboard. Not just because it's
high quality, but because the user's manual that comes with the intel
branded mainboards is detailled and ILLUSTRATED, making the build even
easier. nvidia chipset graphics because you are looking for speed and high
quality. 512MB video RAM because that's a good number to support Vista (and
any other OS, also). Creative brand sound card because even though you can
buy better quality, Creative seems to have the best driver support, last I
checked. OCZ RAM because (again) you are looking for speed and quality.
SATA because IDE is so yesterday. 8MB cache on hard drive to improve
overall system performance. Seasonic brand power supply because while there
are other good brands, seasonic is the best quality at any price (while
still being reasonably priced), and seasonic is relatively easy to find at
most vendors.

Other stuff is hard to mess up on. You'll need a case, a optical drive
(dual layer DVD burner, probably, forget about HD/blu-ray for the moment),
maybe a TV tuner, maybe a NEC brand LCD monitor, whatever else you feel like
throwing in there. You might also need a floppy drive, if only to
install the SATA drivers. Other than that, you'll never use it. -Dave




Thanks much, Mike!! I'd like to follow with some other questions if
you don't mind. Perhaps tomorrow.

Bob

Thanks much, Mike!! I'd like to follow with some other questions if
you don't mind. Perhaps tomorrow.

Bob

No problem

Fruit2O wrote:

It seems like, if I want exactly what I want in a PC, I'm going to
have to build it myself. I've never done this before and I'm
looking at it as a daunting task (I want a very fast PC,
upgradable, with the best components). Guess a good place to
start is with this newsgroup.

In my opinion, better would be to start by upgrading your own
computer. If your own computer is not upgradable, by one that is.
Or maybe start with a bare-bones system.

Good luck.

On Thu, 8 Mar 2007 15:53:32 -0500, "Mike T." wrote:


"Fruit2O" wrote in message
.. .
It seems like, if I want exactly what I want in a PC, I'm going to have
to build it myself. I've never done this before and I'm looking at it
as a daunting task (I want a very fast PC, upgradable, with the best
components). Guess a good place to start is with this newsgroup. Could
someone give me suggestions as to where to look on the Internet to
become familiar with the building techniques and component ratings? Any
other information would be appreciated.

Simple rules:
1) Seasonic brand PSU
2) Intel brand PCI-Express mainboard with Core 2 Duo processor
3) nvidia chipset graphics card with 512MB of dedicated video RAM on the
card
4) Creative brand sound card (only brand with vista support, AFAIK)
5) OCZ brand RAM to match specs of mainboard, 2GB exactly (no more, no
less)
6) SATA hard drive with 8MB or more of cache

There. That should be a good start. Optionally, you can get a mainboard
with two PCI-Express X16 slots and two graphic cards, but only if you are a
hardcore gamer.

Building a computer is not a daunting task if you start with the proper
components. Right now, you need to build core 2 duo, as that is the fastest
AND the best bang/buck. If you want the best components, then you should
match that to an Intel branded PCI-express mainboard. Not just because it's
high quality, but because the user's manual that comes with the intel
branded mainboards is detailled and ILLUSTRATED, making the build even
easier. nvidia chipset graphics because you are looking for speed and high
quality. 512MB video RAM because that's a good number to support Vista (and
any other OS, also). Creative brand sound card because even though you can
buy better quality, Creative seems to have the best driver support, last I
checked. OCZ RAM because (again) you are looking for speed and quality.
SATA because IDE is so yesterday. 8MB cache on hard drive to improve
overall system performance. Seasonic brand power supply because while there
are other good brands, seasonic is the best quality at any price (while
still being reasonably priced), and seasonic is relatively easy to find at
most vendors.

Other stuff is hard to mess up on. You'll need a case, a optical drive
(dual layer DVD burner, probably, forget about HD/blu-ray for the moment),
maybe a TV tuner, maybe a NEC brand LCD monitor, whatever else you feel like
throwing in there. You might also need a floppy drive, if only to
install the SATA drivers. Other than that, you'll never use it. -Dave




1. What manufacturers of boxes do you recommend?
2. Isn't there a newer type of RAM on the market?
3. Why do you recommend no more and no less than 2GB RAM? I tend to
run a number of apps in the background and am willing to pay for more
memory if I could use it.
4. Do you recommend RAID configurations? Right now, I just clone my
C: drive about once a week.
5. My goal is to eliminate as many unsightly wires as possible. Any
suggestions?
6. You should know that I use Photoshop.
7. Why forget about Blu-ray?
8. Should I stick with USB or Firewire? Which is faster?
9. I now have about 14 peripherals that use USB. Would like to
eliminate the wires if possible.
10. I am NOT a gamer and probably won't ever be.
11. What is eSATA?
12. TV tuner sounds good if I can connect cable to it.
13. I like the 30 inch LCD monitors I've seen.
14. I want to build-in the fastest way to back up my system to a hard
drive. Right now, I use a USB external drive and it's way too slow.
10. There must be some Internet sites that rate components and give
instructions on the steps needed to build a PC. Do you know of any?


Thanks, Bob

"Fruit2O" wrote in message
...

1. What manufacturers of boxes do you recommend?
2. Isn't there a newer type of RAM on the market?
3. Why do you recommend no more and no less than 2GB RAM? I tend to
run a number of apps in the background and am willing to pay for more
memory if I could use it.
4. Do you recommend RAID configurations? Right now, I just clone my
C: drive about once a week.
5. My goal is to eliminate as many unsightly wires as possible. Any
suggestions?
6. You should know that I use Photoshop.
7. Why forget about Blu-ray?
8. Should I stick with USB or Firewire? Which is faster?
9. I now have about 14 peripherals that use USB. Would like to
eliminate the wires if possible.
10. I am NOT a gamer and probably won't ever be.
11. What is eSATA?
12. TV tuner sounds good if I can connect cable to it.
13. I like the 30 inch LCD monitors I've seen.
14. I want to build-in the fastest way to back up my system to a hard
drive. Right now, I use a USB external drive and it's way too slow.
10. There must be some Internet sites that rate components and give
instructions on the steps needed to build a PC. Do you know of any?

I'm partial to Lian Li cases, but they are more expensive. If are aren't
doing gaming, you might wish to consider a workstation/entry-server board
that supports ECC ram. I've recently built 3 machines, the two with Tyan
server type boards I have absolutely no problem with. The one on the fancy
Gigabyte board that is more oriented toward gaming has given me problems.
The ECC boards might run you about $50 more, and they might handle ram that
is slightly slower, but from what I've seen, the speed decrease isn't
noticible if you're not doing games and the extra piece-of-mind is worth it.
From now on, I will build no machines for myself without a
server/workstation board and ECC ram.

The large 30" monitors require dual-link DVI cards I think - at least the
Dell model does. I think that eSATA is external sata. That is relatively new
and should be faster than the USB.

Raid is great. If you have the cash, look into raid 10 (or 0+1) - almost the
same thing.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"John Doe" wrote in message
news
Fruit2O wrote:

It seems like, if I want exactly what I want in a PC, I'm going to
have to build it myself. I've never done this before and I'm
looking at it as a daunting task (I want a very fast PC,
upgradable, with the best components). Guess a good place to
start is with this newsgroup.

In my opinion, better would be to start by upgrading your own
computer. If your own computer is not upgradable, by one that is.
Or maybe start with a bare-bones system.

Good luck.

It's often harder to upgrade than to build from scratch. The upgrade
process can be complicated if you are trying to get components that match
CURRENT components, and yet still have some hope of being compatible with
future upgrades. -Dave

1. What manufacturers of boxes do you recommend?

Cases? That's totally up to personal preference. Many people suggest
Antec, though I've never tried them, personally. I've had great luck with
Enlight, Foxconn and Sunbeam, among others that I can't remember right now.
The only thing I'd caution you about is, if it comes with a power supply,
throw the power supply away. No exceptions.

2. Isn't there a newer type of RAM on the market?

You thinking of DDR2? Some of the higher-end mainboards seem to prefer DDR2
800. But watch voltage! Many mainboards require RAM with certain timings,
or RAM that can run stable at 1.8V, or whatever. Check the mainboard manual
(download it in PDF format before you buy the motherboard)

3. Why do you recommend no more and no less than 2GB RAM? I tend to
run a number of apps in the background and am willing to pay for more
memory if I could use it.

It's not my recommendation, exactly. I built my wife a new computer months
ago, and she decided she wanted to run vista on it. NO problem, it was
thoroughly ready to run any version of vista Microsoft was pushing. So I
got her upgraded to vista, it was running fine (a screamer, in fact). Then
later learned about the Windows Experience Index. It's a numerical rating
(kind of like a GPA) assigned to hardware by Windows Vista OS. Was curious
of course, so checked my wife's system. (5.8) From what I've read, the
highest possible score is 5.9. My wife's system has exactly 2GB of RAM, and
it uses a ~4GB page file (windows controlled). From that, I infer that
more than 2GB of RAM would be a waste of money. But it's possible that you
could be running some specific application that would require more. If so,
I'd love to know what that puppy is.

4. Do you recommend RAID configurations? Right now, I just clone my
C: drive about once a week.

Me Personally? No. I do the clone thing myself, automatically, once a
month. If you do decide to RAID, continue to clone the RAID array to a hard
drive that is not RAIDed.

5. My goal is to eliminate as many unsightly wires as possible. Any
suggestions?

Plan to spend an entire weekend on assembly, prior to OS install. That
would be my only suggestion. I'm not into cable-gami like many people are.
But you can route cables out of sight if you care to. It just takes time.

6. You should know that I use Photoshop.

OK

7. Why forget about Blu-ray?

We are in the middle of a format war, just like beta vs. vhs. To make
matters worse, even if the format is eventually "settled", there is another
format just around the corner, increasing capacity further. So even if you
could find an ultra-expensive burner compatible with BOTH competing formats,
it would be obsolete long before it was worn out. Don't waste time, money
or effort. Go dual layer DVD burner, until the dust settles. BUT NOTE:
Make sure your burning software is compatible with vista!!! I found out the
hard way when I upgraded my wife's computer to vista that we can't burn
simple data disks anymore. Luckily I can still boot that system to XP to
use Nero Express. But otherwise, I'd have to pay about $80 for the very
latest version of Nero, which I simply don't need. I just don't do that
much burning, at home. I was happy with "nero express" which came free,
with a (relatively cheap) DVD burner.

8. Should I stick with USB or Firewire? Which is faster?

Firewire is supposedly faster, but USB is more useful. Why choose though?
Get both. I'd recommend one or two firewire ports and as many USB 2.0 ports
as you can get (10 or more suggested, don't forget to count the internal
headers on most mainboards)

9. I now have about 14 peripherals that use USB. Would like to
eliminate the wires if possible.

Sheesh, I thought my wife's system was bad. It's got 8 USB 2.0 ports, all
in use. Don't know what to tell you about eliminating those wires.
There are wireless peripherals, especially stuff like keyboards and mice.
Downside is that they often have a transmitter that would be more unsightly
than the USB wire (unless you could figure out how to hide the
transmitter?). Maybe a new desk would be your best option, find something
that can hide the wires, or something with built-in cable guides. There are
desks with computer compartments large enough to completely hide a mid-tower
computer system. Ventillation (around the system) isn't the greatest, but
if your case is properly cooled, this should not be a problem (it just means
the ambient air around the system might be warmer than room temp, but
usually NOT a problem)

10. I am NOT a gamer and probably won't ever be.

Awwww geez, you mean you actually use the computer for work? How boring.


11. What is eSATA?

Good question. I had to look that one up myself. It is SATA, with
provision for longer cable lengths. Meant for external peripherals. Or, if
you have to ask, you probably don't have a use for it, yet. Sounds like a
good feature to have for future use, though.

12. TV tuner sounds good if I can connect cable to it.

Depends. Do you have digital cable or analog?

13. I like the 30 inch LCD monitors I've seen.

Wow. Nothing like thinking big. You might want to increase video ram to
768MB to cover the extreme resolution.

14. I want to build-in the fastest way to back up my system to a hard
drive. Right now, I use a USB external drive and it's way too slow.

Sounds like eSATA is the way to go, then. SATA drives are pretty fast.
This eSATA specification sounds like EXACTLY what you are looking for. Just
gotta find an external SATA box for an external SATA drive now.

10. There must be some Internet sites that rate components and give
instructions on the steps needed to build a PC.

Well there's the usual suspects such as anandtech and tomshardware and
sharkyextreme. Building a PC is a lot harder than you are making it out to
be. Here are the general steps:

1) Open case, remove power supply (if there's one in there), throw power
supply (that came with case) in trash. Need a philips screwdriver for this
step.
2) Install good power supply in case, using screws removed in step 1
(Seasonic, fortron, enermax)
3) Check spacing of mainboard standoffs in case (must match all mounting
holes in mainboard, WITH NO EXTRA STANDOFFS!!!) If necessary, move some,
remove some, or install some more (usually just clip in or screw in)
4) Install back panel I/O shield in case (this comes with mainboard). You
might have to remove an I/O shield from the case first, as some cases come
with a generic I/O shield
5) Carefully mount mainboard in case, lining up ports in I/O shield, and
screw mainboard down to standoffs you positioned earlier
6) Install CPU (instructions with CPU and/or mainboard)
7) Install HSF on CPU. Don't forget thermal paste, if it's not already
applied (some heatsinks come with thermal paste on them) On a side note,
many will tell you to NOT use the thermal paste that comes with the HSF (use
arctic silver or some other special heatsink compound instead), but I
haven't found a heatsink with inadequate thermal solution yet, as long as it
HAS thermal compound of some kind on it.
8) DO NOT FORGET TO PLUG CPU HSF INTO MAINBOARD!!!
9) DO NOT FORGET TO PLUG CPU HSF INTO MAINBOARD!!! (worth repeating)
10) Install RAM on mainboard
11) Mount all drives (hard drives, optical). These usually just screw in,
though some cases come with drive rails (screw the drive rails onto the
drives, then just slide the assembly into the case) Run data cables from
drives to mainboard.
12) Install all expansion cards (video card, sound card, tv tuner, etc)
13) Don't forget many video cards require their own power connection(s)
from the power supply!
14) Hook up all internal power connections. You'll probably have TWO or
more power connections going to mainboard, one or more to each video card,
plus all the drives need to be powered. If any case fans need connections
to the PSU, don't forget those.
15) Make all the smaller connections to the mainboard. This would include
the connectors for the case (power, reset, HD LED, USB PORTS, etc) plus any
fans that are powered by mainboard connectors. Refer to the mainboard user
manual for proper pins. Keep in mind that LED connections can be reversed
easily, so if the LED lights don't work at first, flip the connector over
and try again.
15a) Before proceeding, double-check that RAM and all expansion cards are
firmly seated. Sometimes these can work loose, even during the build phase.
Also triple-check that your CPU fan is plugged into the proper header on the
mainboard!
16) Hook up monitor, keyboard, mouse and main power cable to power supply.
Turn on power supply if it has it's own power switch (most do).
17) Hit front panel power switch to turn computer on. Wait for some kind
of video on monitor. If you don't get video on monitor, post here with what
happens, EXACTLY (fan activity, LED lights, beeps?, etc.). Video
initialization is a later step of POST (power on self test), so if you don't
get video, you might have connected something wrong, or maybe have a
component that is DOA. If you DO get video, that's a great start, as it
means you -probably- have good hardware to work with, and you probably have
not 'goofed' very badly in assembling it.
17a) I'd suggest you leave your LAN disconnected until OS and firewall
software are properly installed
18) Assuming you have some kind of video on monitor now, load your optical
drive with your OS install disk and reboot (hit reset button) to start OS
install. If necessary, use floppy disk to load SATA or other disk drivers
during OS install.

There. That's by memory, don't kill me if I forgot a step or two. Don't be
intimidated. Building a computer is not much more complicated than a
~10-piece jigsaw puzzle. The hard part is doing the research to decide what
components you want to build with. IF YOU GET THAT RIGHT, the actual build
is a piece of cake. -Dave

It seems that all your replies are going to result in more questions on
my part (as I learn what to ask). Hope you don't mind......



On Fri, 9 Mar 2007 09:48:08 -0500, "Mike T." wrote:

1. What manufacturers of boxes do you recommend?

Cases? That's totally up to personal preference. Many people suggest
Antec, though I've never tried them, personally. I've had great luck with
Enlight, Foxconn and Sunbeam, among others that I can't remember right now.
The only thing I'd caution you about is, if it comes with a power supply,
throw the power supply away. No exceptions.

I don't know the difference between a server box and a PC box except
that the server box has more room. Other differences? Should I
consider a server ox?


2. Isn't there a newer type of RAM on the market?

You thinking of DDR2? Some of the higher-end mainboards seem to prefer DDR2
800. But watch voltage! Many mainboards require RAM with certain timings,
or RAM that can run stable at 1.8V, or whatever. Check the mainboard manual
(download it in PDF format before you buy the motherboard)

3. Why do you recommend no more and no less than 2GB RAM? I tend to
run a number of apps in the background and am willing to pay for more
memory if I could use it.

It's not my recommendation, exactly. I built my wife a new computer months
ago, and she decided she wanted to run vista on it. NO problem, it was
thoroughly ready to run any version of vista Microsoft was pushing. So I
got her upgraded to vista, it was running fine (a screamer, in fact). Then
later learned about the Windows Experience Index. It's a numerical rating
(kind of like a GPA) assigned to hardware by Windows Vista OS. Was curious
of course, so checked my wife's system. (5.8) From what I've read, the
highest possible score is 5.9. My wife's system has exactly 2GB of RAM, and
it uses a ~4GB page file (windows controlled). From that, I infer that
more than 2GB of RAM would be a waste of money. But it's possible that you
could be running some specific application that would require more. If so,
I'd love to know what that puppy is.

4. Do you recommend RAID configurations? Right now, I just clone my
C: drive about once a week.

Me Personally? No. I do the clone thing myself, automatically, once a
month. If you do decide to RAID, continue to clone the RAID array to a hard
drive that is not RAIDed.

I also do the 'clone thing'. What app do you use?


5. My goal is to eliminate as many unsightly wires as possible. Any
suggestions?

Plan to spend an entire weekend on assembly, prior to OS install. That
would be my only suggestion. I'm not into cable-gami like many people are.
But you can route cables out of sight if you care to. It just takes time.

I meant external wires. I should have been more explicit.


6. You should know that I use Photoshop.

OK

7. Why forget about Blu-ray?

We are in the middle of a format war, just like beta vs. vhs. To make
matters worse, even if the format is eventually "settled", there is another
format just around the corner, increasing capacity further. So even if you
could find an ultra-expensive burner compatible with BOTH competing formats,
it would be obsolete long before it was worn out. Don't waste time, money
or effort. Go dual layer DVD burner, until the dust settles. BUT NOTE:
Make sure your burning software is compatible with vista!!! I found out the
hard way when I upgraded my wife's computer to vista that we can't burn
simple data disks anymore. Luckily I can still boot that system to XP to
use Nero Express. But otherwise, I'd have to pay about $80 for the very
latest version of Nero, which I simply don't need. I just don't do that
much burning, at home. I was happy with "nero express" which came free,
with a (relatively cheap) DVD burner.

8. Should I stick with USB or Firewire? Which is faster?

Firewire is supposedly faster, but USB is more useful. Why choose though?
Get both. I'd recommend one or two firewire ports and as many USB 2.0 ports
as you can get (10 or more suggested, don't forget to count the internal
headers on most mainboards)

9. I now have about 14 peripherals that use USB. Would like to
eliminate the wires if possible.

Sheesh, I thought my wife's system was bad. It's got 8 USB 2.0 ports, all
in use. Don't know what to tell you about eliminating those wires.
There are wireless peripherals, especially stuff like keyboards and mice.
Downside is that they often have a transmitter that would be more unsightly
than the USB wire (unless you could figure out how to hide the
transmitter?). Maybe a new desk would be your best option, find something
that can hide the wires, or something with built-in cable guides. There are
desks with computer compartments large enough to completely hide a mid-tower
computer system. Ventillation (around the system) isn't the greatest, but
if your case is properly cooled, this should not be a problem (it just means
the ambient air around the system might be warmer than room temp, but
usually NOT a problem)

That brings up another question: How do I determine what is sufficient
cooling? Sub-zero would be fine with me if I could achieve it. In
other words, I want both a quiet AND cool system - but am not ready for
a liquid cooled PC.


10. I am NOT a gamer and probably won't ever be.

Awwww geez, you mean you actually use the computer for work? How boring.


Well, I'm 62 years old and retired - so I don't use the PC for work
anymore. Perhaps I'll get into gaming or flight simulation. For now,
I'm just fascinated with all the possibilities available with a
computer (and always have been).


11. What is eSATA?

Good question. I had to look that one up myself. It is SATA, with
provision for longer cable lengths. Meant for external peripherals. Or, if
you have to ask, you probably don't have a use for it, yet. Sounds like a
good feature to have for future use, though.

12. TV tuner sounds good if I can connect cable to it.

Depends. Do you have digital cable or analog?

Both.


13. I like the 30 inch LCD monitors I've seen.

Wow. Nothing like thinking big. You might want to increase video ram to
768MB to cover the extreme resolution.

14. I want to build-in the fastest way to back up my system to a hard
drive. Right now, I use a USB external drive and it's way too slow.

Sounds like eSATA is the way to go, then. SATA drives are pretty fast.
This eSATA specification sounds like EXACTLY what you are looking for. Just
gotta find an external SATA box for an external SATA drive now.

Should I consider SATA drives for my C: drive and my separate D; drive
(where I keep most of my data)?


10. There must be some Internet sites that rate components and give
instructions on the steps needed to build a PC.

Well there's the usual suspects such as anandtech and tomshardware and
sharkyextreme. Building a PC is a lot harder than you are making it out to
be.
Hope this was an error (lot harder)

Here are the general steps:

1) Open case, remove power supply (if there's one in there), throw power
supply (that came with case) in trash. Need a philips screwdriver for this
step.
2) Install good power supply in case, using screws removed in step 1
(Seasonic, fortron, enermax)
3) Check spacing of mainboard standoffs in case (must match all mounting
holes in mainboard, WITH NO EXTRA STANDOFFS!!!) If necessary, move some,
remove some, or install some more (usually just clip in or screw in)
4) Install back panel I/O shield in case (this comes with mainboard). You
might have to remove an I/O shield from the case first, as some cases come
with a generic I/O shield
5) Carefully mount mainboard in case, lining up ports in I/O shield, and
screw mainboard down to standoffs you positioned earlier
6) Install CPU (instructions with CPU and/or mainboard)
7) Install HSF on CPU. Don't forget thermal paste, if it's not already
applied (some heatsinks come with thermal paste on them) On a side note,
many will tell you to NOT use the thermal paste that comes with the HSF (use
arctic silver or some other special heatsink compound instead), but I
haven't found a heatsink with inadequate thermal solution yet, as long as it
HAS thermal compound of some kind on it.
8) DO NOT FORGET TO PLUG CPU HSF INTO MAINBOARD!!!
9) DO NOT FORGET TO PLUG CPU HSF INTO MAINBOARD!!! (worth repeating)
10) Install RAM on mainboard
11) Mount all drives (hard drives, optical). These usually just screw in,
though some cases come with drive rails (screw the drive rails onto the
drives, then just slide the assembly into the case) Run data cables from
drives to mainboard.
12) Install all expansion cards (video card, sound card, tv tuner, etc)
13) Don't forget many video cards require their own power connection(s)
from the power supply!
14) Hook up all internal power connections. You'll probably have TWO or
more power connections going to mainboard, one or more to each video card,
plus all the drives need to be powered. If any case fans need connections
to the PSU, don't forget those.
15) Make all the smaller connections to the mainboard. This would include
the connectors for the case (power, reset, HD LED, USB PORTS, etc) plus any
fans that are powered by mainboard connectors. Refer to the mainboard user
manual for proper pins. Keep in mind that LED connections can be reversed
easily, so if the LED lights don't work at first, flip the connector over
and try again.
15a) Before proceeding, double-check that RAM and all expansion cards are
firmly seated. Sometimes these can work loose, even during the build phase.
Also triple-check that your CPU fan is plugged into the proper header on the
mainboard!
16) Hook up monitor, keyboard, mouse and main power cable to power supply.
Turn on power supply if it has it's own power switch (most do).
17) Hit front panel power switch to turn computer on. Wait for some kind
of video on monitor. If you don't get video on monitor, post here with what
happens, EXACTLY (fan activity, LED lights, beeps?, etc.). Video
initialization is a later step of POST (power on self test), so if you don't
get video, you might have connected something wrong, or maybe have a
component that is DOA. If you DO get video, that's a great start, as it
means you -probably- have good hardware to work with, and you probably have
not 'goofed' very badly in assembling it.
17a) I'd suggest you leave your LAN disconnected until OS and firewall
software are properly installed
18) Assuming you have some kind of video on monitor now, load your optical
drive with your OS install disk and reboot (hit reset button) to start OS
install. If necessary, use floppy disk to load SATA or other disk drivers
during OS install.

There. That's by memory, don't kill me if I forgot a step or two. Don't be
intimidated. Building a computer is not much more complicated than a
~10-piece jigsaw puzzle. The hard part is doing the research to decide what
components you want to build with. IF YOU GET THAT RIGHT, the actual build
is a piece of cake. -Dave


Should I wait until quad cores come out this year? Remember, I want
the fastest for now and in the future.

Do you mind sending me your email address? Mine is correct in my
Persona.

Bob

PS: What IS your real name??????