Building first computer

[xynder]

I have decided to self-build my new computer as opposed to buying it (can save just over 200 bucks)


Basically, these are my problems:

1.) I'm afriad of frying a part with static shock
2.) I'm afraid of accidentally touching a contact or something and damaging it
3.) I'm afraid of using like a magnetized screwdriver or something and screwing up a piece
4.) If something goes wrong, who do I call (If I order from newegg, all pieces are covered for a year right?)
5.) Once I get everything installed, how do I get to the CD-ROM to load WinXp? (I'm thinking I go to BIOS, set the floppy to load first, boot off of a standard Win98 boot disk with CD-Rom support, and go from there)

You guys think I should do it?

Oh, and is Mushkin PC2700 any good?

 

[Booster]

<< I have decided to self-build my new computer as opposed to buying it (can save just over 200 bucks)


Basically, these are my problems:

1.) I'm afriad of frying a part with static shock
2.) I'm afraid of accidentally touching a contact or something and damaging it
3.) I'm afraid of using like a magnetized screwdriver or something and screwing up a piece
4.) If something goes wrong, who do I call (If I order from newegg, all pieces are covered for a year right?)
5.) Once I get everything installed, how do I get to the CD-ROM to load WinXp? (I'm thinking I go to BIOS, set the floppy to load first, boot off of a standard Win98 boot disk with CD-Rom support, and go from there)

You guys think I should do it?

Oh, and is Mushkin PC2700 any good? >>




1 Touch the PSU prior to handling any components.

2 Don't touch the contacts. It will make them dirty and thus less conductive.

3 Don't use a magnetized screwdriver. Why would you need to use it? It can damage the HD, I guess.

4 If anything goes wrong, don't call the vendor in the first place. Try to figure it out yourself, in most cases the components aren't defective.

5 Well, that'll do the trick, I guess.

Mushkin PC2700, as far as I know, is one of the best memory on the market.

And more, take caution when installing the HSF, especially for an AMD CPU. Follow AMD HSF installation guide from their site.

 

[xynder]

bump

 

[LordAccord]

1. People are paranoid... take the same precaution that you would with any electronic and ground yourself first and then go at your business.

2. generally unless you scratch, dent, or break a lead or contact, then its still going to conduct... it may make them dirty...but that doesnt matter once the harder metal digs into it when it goes in a slot. The only thing to worry about is the issue in number 1.......

3. I use a magnetic screwdriver for everything in my system...it makes life easier. I say if you are really worried about it, buy thumbscrews...they make life even easier than magnetic screwdrivers. The concern with magnets is far outdated, and it takes a strong magnet....something that could pick up like 50 screws at a time, to really mess something up.... or else youd just have to be rubbing your screwdriver all over your hard drive. Otherwise, everything is sheilded enough and that screwdriver is never going to really be able to do any damage.

4. If you have to call.....Vendor first, then manufacturer, as mentioned.

5. yeah, you can do it win98 style, but I find it easier to set your BIOS to boot from cd and just boot from the XP cd.... most of my friends dont even have a floppy drive in their systems anymore.

LoRdAccord

 

[docgonzo]

GO FOR IT, XYNDER! You can do it!

 

[Neurofreeze]

Saving money by building your own computer is a common misconception. Unless you pirate software, most OEM machines have a few hundred dollars worth of software bundled. XP is what? $200 What about Office? Even worse is if you mess up just a single component by static shock or burning it out or what not. Then you get the added cost of buying a component twice. Then there's tech support. As you asked, who are you going to call? What if your hard drive is acting funny with WinXP? Do you call the hard drive manufacturer? Maybe it's a WinXP problem and the best bet is to call MS tech support. There's a good chance all those different manufacturers will give you the run-around and tell you to call other people. With OEM PC's, you pay for unified tech support. So don't think of an OEM PC's price as just the sum of its hardware.

What you DO get from building your own PC is:
1) More control over choosing components (what if you want a low clocked P4 without that POS SDRAM crap?)
2) A wider variety of components (I doubt OEM's are rushing to offer customers onboard RAID)
3) It may not always be cheaper, but it can be better (OEM's don't seem to be rushing to offer 15k SCSI drives with single processor systems)
4) It's fun.

For your questions:

1) If you're really that paranoid, buy (or make) an anti-static wrist strap.
2) Unless you're a clutz, you're fine. If you are a clutz, you might want to think about not going the DIY route.
3) Don't worry too much about small magnetic fields like that. The parts that could be affected are usually shielded (like drives, although even they produce their own magentic fields since they have motors, those fields are probably stronger than your screw driver).
4) If you think it could be an incompatibility, call the manufacturer. If you think it's a bad unit, call Newegg and RMA it. If you mess it up and need to fix it, call the manufacturer.
5) Go into your BIOS, set your boot order up to be able to boot from an optical drive. Boot off of the WinXP CD. WinME, Win2k, and WinXP are all bootable CD's. I don't even install floppy drives on my systems anymore.

 

[Derango]

1) My advice is not to build it where you're feet are on a carpet. That definitly helps reduce the amount of static electricity you build up.
2) Most components are much more durable than you realize. Its pretty hard to damage them if you're careful. If somthings not going in right, don't try and force it in...take it out again and see why it won't go in right
3) Don't worry about using magnetized screwdrivers. The only component in there that can be screwed up by a magnet is the hard drive, and the little magnetic field that the screwdrivers produces isn't going to do it any damage. Espicaly once you consider a hard drive has two very powerful magnets in it already.
4) You can either call the vendor, or post here. We'll be glad to help ya
5) I would reccomend just seting the bios to boot from CD-ROM and starting the computer with the winXP CD in the drive.

 

[CrazySaint]

Originally posted by: Neurofreeze
Saving money by building your own computer is a common misconception. Unless you pirate software, most OEM machines have a few hundred dollars worth of software bundled. XP is what? $200 What about Office?

Actually, most of the software that comes with OEM machines is worthless, or not of interest to the consumber. Usually, when I see an OEM advertising a machine with "40 software titles" or whatever, I might see 1 or 2 that I'm actually interested in. XP is actually $100 and most OEMs charge extra for Office.

Then there's tech support.

Yes, unfortunately. Most people who are going to build their own system either know enough about computers, or have a friend who does, that they don't need tech support. Besides, even back when I did call tech support, I had nothing but bad experiences with them. They'd invariable just tell me to reinstall Windows, which is exactly what I was calling them to avoid having to do.

 

[MisterDuck]

1. Well, avoid doing installs on carpet or where you can see a static buildup, and before touching components or picking up computer parts, ground yourself by touching a large metal surface (IE: case, powersupply, both, etc.). Honestly I've never fried anything with static, but if you're really concerned about it, buy a wristband to ground yourself - I think they're only about five bucks.


2. Well, then don't touch a contact.


3. The amount of magnetism in a manetized screwdriver isn't enough to do anything to a computer. I wouldn't worry about it at all. Hell, I bet if you went to a computer repair shop, THEY probably use magnetic tiped screwdrivers.


4. No, first you post your problems to the internet. Chances are you have something set up improperly, or didn't configure things right. Out of the numerous computers I've built, I've only been shipped defective hardware ONCE - and in that instance, I called NEWEGG and they RMA'd it for me pretty easy. It was a good deal.


5. You can just go into the bios and set it to boot off the CD-ROM. You don't even need a floppy. I don't know if that works with win98 (and incidentally, I HIGHLY reccomend going with w2k instead since it's a vastly superior OS to win98) but it does with xp and 2000.
My comp has no floppy. There's no point anymore.


Hell yes, I think you should do it. I think the best benefit of building your own computer is that you get a better idea of the inner hardware involved - it is definetly much easier to go with an OEM computer but I think it's much more satisfying to build it yourself and learn a bit in the process.


Yes, any major RAM manufacturer is "good" (Corsair, Crucial, Micron, Mushkin, etc.) Avoid unknown brands or anything that sounds strange.

 

[LordAccord]

so.... does everyone really think that even though they have the same answer to a question, it just sounds better coming from them... or worded just slightly different? Or are they just going for post numbers....?

How about if you have something to add or some different opinion, post that, not the exact same answer...it clutters a thread and wastes everyone's time.

LoRdAccord