- Joined
- Mar 9, 2011
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Lulz at no sound working on your computer. What a noob.
Lulz at no sound working on your computer. What a noob.
Two fellow graduates from law school who knew that I used to build and a family member I met at a wedding who wanted a machine. The Frankenstien was a gift to my grandmother (who is 87 and can use a PC better than 80% of the people on this board).
dude, if you had told me I could have totally sent you a sound card for nothing. I just threw one out.
Amateur hour question. I have replaced vid cards and RAM many times and occasionally a hard drive or DVD drive (long ago), so I have basic skills. However, I have never built a system from scratch. Can any of you builders recommend a book or online resource that provides a solid step by step breakdown of how to assemble a machine?
Also, is it feasible to buy some kind of kit that you can then assemble at home? That would make me feel more comfortable that I wasn't going to get a bunch of noncompatible components just out of sheer n00bishness.
Amateur hour question. I have replaced vid cards and RAM many times and occasionally a hard drive or DVD drive (long ago), so I have basic skills. However, I have never built a system from scratch. Can any of you builders recommend a book or online resource that provides a solid step by step breakdown of how to assemble a machine?
Also, is it feasible to buy some kind of kit that you can then assemble at home? That would make me feel more comfortable that I wasn't going to get a bunch of noncompatible components just out of sheer n00bishness.
As far as kits - newegg has "kits," which is just a bundle of the parts you need but it will all be compatible.
I don't know about books but others might. However, all the parts I bought had clear and illustrated instructions so it wasn't hard. IMO, the hardest part is hooking everything up to the motherboard correctly but a decent motherboard should be clearly marked.
One thing that wasn't clearly mentioned but I had heard from friends and reviewers talk about was making sure you use the set-off screws. This sets the motherboard off the frame of the case so it doesn't short out.
When I was still new to all of this, I was trying to upgrade a Dell (2001 maybe?) It was a miserable experience due to proprietary connectors, etc...
I'm not sure if they have changed their ways, though.
Haha this happened to me. Ended up rebuilding the whole thing.
Generally, the kits you can buy from Newegg aren't your best option. You often have to settle for lesser components. This isn't always the case, but I've always found it better to just buy the individual components.
One thing to check when choosing a power supply and video card is to make sure the power rails and amperage will be sufficient.
here's a site that seems to have pretty solid information.
http://www.build-gaming-computers.com/index.html
there's some outdated info on there but the "best builds for 2011" page is very new and at least some of it seems to be regularly updated.