Hey people, I am making my own computer out of collected pieces. (Ex. Case, motherboard, cooling fan, drivers, etc.) I'm going to use it for gaming, so it needs to be good, but not top of the line. I already have a monitor and mouse, so those are not a problem. Around how much is this going to cost? Any suggestions for where to by the pieces from? Reccomendations for pieces?

Thnx,
~nellneb

buy the parts from newegg, for sure. you can get a decent computer for around $600/$700 if you know how to find the right deals. a couple questions though: are you sure you know what you're doing here? building a computer for the first time is extremely risky. look at some tutorials on youtube to help you out.

Yes, im doing my homework. Ive done plenty of research into actually ASSEMBLING the computer, i just need a little help with purchasing piece of it. Thnx for the advice.

So you are pretty much buying all the parts then?
You can often find a usable but still nice case for 35
processor and mobo often have combo deals. Maybe 200-300 for mainstream current generation of intels. Cheaper if you use older sockets.
4 gigs of ram, around 100
power supply, 60-80
get an el cheapo DVD drive for 20-30
hard drive for 50-100
and then go crazy with the graphics card.

So around 500+cost of graphics card.
You can always save more by buying even cheaper cases, using stuff from older pcs that still work fine (hard drives preferrably sata, power supplies~if you are lucky to have one that isn't less than 500 watts, and DVD burners, you'd probably be using steam slot anyway)

An hd5850 is gonna be enough for any game right now if you are into demanding titles. But otherwise a 5770 is plenty adequate. Of course, I like to say that if you can afford a better gpu, it's usually good to get it, cuz you won't regret it.

I know this guy IRL, We've been talking about this alot as he really needs an upgrade from his dell laptop.

I was thinking pretty much the same as DarkJak, 4 gigs of ram, 5850, everything else, "el cheapo".

The one other thing we need to know (once again, I know him IRL) is how to install drivers and such for all the hardware, I can boot to some win install disc through the bios and such, but how do I install the drivers when the win directories aren't even there yet?

EDIT: Could this work for a mobo/CPU combo?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.369412

EDIT: or maybe this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.382195

-Graboy

I know windows 7 has installed the basic drivers every time, such as the onboard audio, the wireless device, the video card (which I always update first)

I don't remember far back enough for vista

I'm pretty sure they all start off with what you need to just run the computer though.

But you should also install the drivers from the disks that come with your parts once the OS install is done. Or get them online. They'll almost always be newer version, so more stable, better optimized.

I like to check the good deals sections of different hardware forums
Like this

http://www.overclockers.com/forums/f...aysprune=&f=19

And several others, that was just conveniently bookmarked. You will be able to build a system for dirt cheap. Or buy a really cheap computer on sale, then add a beastly gpu.

My advice... Don't get a cheat PSU or you might regret it! Personally I recommend Corsair or Seasonic... Warranty is as precious as stability and clean power.

thnx for the advice guys

DarkJak... stop telling people to go intel with budgeted builds... AMD has way more bang for the buck.... >.> Sure, intel is better if you have craploads of money to spend, but its more economically friendly to go AMD and they still pack a hell of a punch.

I agree. I am just more familiar with intel so I used it to estimate cost.
I should start catching up with AMD pricings and switch to those in the future.