Computer question

[PoisonedV]

So I made a thread earlier about a graphics card... I ask this cause I assume most of you know alot about computers esp. gaming computers. Well, I have another question. Currently, to run a relatively good graphics card I would need to buy more RAM, plus the graphics card, and that would still be stretching my processor. The question is, should I just upgrade the RAM and graphics card, spend a medium amount of money, and still have just slightly above subpar graphics, or the other option which I'm leaning towards but I'm not sure about; either build my own computer (i'm not that experienced with computer HARDWARE) or buy a prebuilt one... First, which would be more expensive, and if I did build my own computer how hard would it be? Also, where to if not to build a custom comp where would i buy it from? Thanks.

[JiggaJigga]

Don't upgrade your computer part by part because at some point later down the line if you want to upgrade something that wont fit on your mother board all the parts you bought lets say 3 months ago will have to be replaced.

I say you should upgrade everything in one shot or get a custom computer. Just hire someone to install everything for you. By the way everything works directly with the motherboard so if you have an ATX computer case you need an ATX motherboard and if you have an AM2 Processor then you need a motherboard that supports AM2 and same with RAM. If you want DDR2 RAM you need a motherboard that supports DDR2. Go to a computer website and it will tell you AM2 supported or what ever.

Basically either upgrade your whole computer in one shot or buy a new one. If you upgrade though you have to find out what your motherboard is so when you buy parts you know they will fit in.

Im 16 by the way and im training to become a computer technician so you can trust me with all your computer questions ;)

[KlosterKatten]

Im 16 by the way and im training to become a computer technician so you can trust me with all your computer questions ;)

I would never trust a 16 year old who has 19.54 post per day and is named "JiggaJigga".

But then again, you were right about most stuff in that post. Except for the trust part.

[Jantemplar]

Don't upgrade your computer part by part because at some point later down the line if you want to upgrade something that wont fit on your mother board all the parts you bought lets say 3 months ago will have to be replaced.

I say you should upgrade everything in one shot or get a custom computer. Just hire someone to install everything for you. By the way everything works directly with the motherboard so if you have an ATX computer case you need an ATX motherboard and if you have an AM2 Processor then you need a motherboard that supports AM2 and same with RAM. If you want DDR2 RAM you need a motherboard that supports DDR2. Go to a computer website and it will tell you AM2 supported or what ever.

Basically either upgrade your whole computer in one shot or buy a new one. If you upgrade though you have to find out what your motherboard is so when you buy parts you know they will fit in.

Im 16 by the way and im training to become a computer technician so you can trust me with all your computer questions ;)


you have a big life ahead of you dude keep it up, im also on my way to computer technician. lol

[isendel]

building a computer isnt too difficult, its mostly 'tab a goes into slot b' type stuff. can be a little confusing sometimes when you have extra pins or cables that serve no apparent purpose, though paying attention to the manuals will help

its cheaper to build a system on your own, however its up to you to make sure all the parts work properly together. if youre not up to troubleshooting problems that may come up then getting one prebuilt or made to order will probably work better for you

also, regarding your ram - increasing the ram is not strictly necessary when upgrading the video card. a gaming machine really needs only 1gb of ram, more will help with load times but 1gb is sufficient for most purposes

[Jantemplar]

building a computer isnt too difficult, its mostly 'tab a goes into slot b' type stuff.

its a bit more complicated, than that, you have to take into consideration the different speeds of slots, the size of the part, the cooling needed, number of slots needed and what type.

in example motherboard so if you have an ATX computer case you need an ATX motherboard and if you have an AM2 Processor then you need a motherboard that supports AM2 and same with RAM.

ATX and BTX definition
The layout of the board has been altered. The IO panel is moved down from the corner and the expansion slots to the other side where the IO panel on an ATX board would be. The CPU socket gets placed more central but closer to the edge of the board farthest fromt he rear of the case.

The idea is that a front fan, wind tunnel will feed air directly toward the CPU without obstruction.

[JiggaJigga]

you have a big life ahead of you dude keep it up, im also on my way to computer technician. lol

Nice, good luck.;)

[Jantemplar]

ty, Good luck to you Too, hopefully see you online.

[JiggaJigga]

Yup. Man im tired it's 3:30 in the morning. Peace out guys. This soldier is battle weary;)

[Jurassic]

Yup. Man im tired it's 3:30 in the morning. Peace out guys. This soldier is battle weary;)

SPAM!!!!!!!!!!

[Dazzamac]

Some good points there, if you feel confident in building your own I'd recommend it, its a very good learning experience. Just do yer research beforehand to make sure you don't do anything silly. Check hardware forums and the like and see what other people are using, find out what problems are appearing with each part you buy and how to solve them. Once you've found out what parts are reliable and in your price range, it really is a case of slotting everything into their places. Just have a flick through your motherboard documentation to ensure you don't fry somethin. Be sure to keep everything neat and tidy inside, there are two reasons for this. 1) Most gaming cases have a big transparent panel so you can show off all your parts, you want all yer mates to see the 1337 parts, not the mass of wires. 2) An untidy computer is a hot computer, the last thing you want is poor airflow. Cable ties are your friend here. Once you've got it assembled and ready to go, have all yer driver disks for the parts, boot disks, yer OS disk and a bucket of coffee for the long haul of installin everything. Before you ask, no I wouldn't recommend pullin yer old hard drive out unformatted and hopin to boot from that, it causes problems. New computer wants a clean hard drive.

Hope that helps, I'm not 16 and training to be a computer technitian, I'm 21 and played it by ear for a few years teaching myself and I haven't had any problems I couldn't fix yet.

[isendel]

its a bit more complicated, than that, you have to take into consideration the different speeds of slots, the size of the part, the cooling needed, number of slots needed and what type.

i consider that as part of the pre-building phase, when you are deciding on what parts you want to use. you are correct in that it does make a significant difference however

[=[ETw]=Dodgysod]

pre-built pc's are VERY expensive depending on where you live and also hardly do the job intended, main retailer pcs tend to work fine for net use etc but when it comes to gaming they lack severely.

in your situation though i would buy a within your price range even if second hand but.... leave some money aside to upgrade in the future when you are more comfortable with upgrading and playing around with settings then consider building from scratch. or some places do motherboard kits, which is an option where the more complex build is already done for you then you just add on the bits you need. make sure you research though to ensure hardware compatibility.

alternatively get a m8 to build it if any of them have a good knowledge and learn from them

[JiggaJigga]

Oh and by the way, if you decide to build your own with your hand there are some measures you should take. This is Why:

When you touch metal, the static from your body discharges through your fingers, thats usually when you get a little shock. So if you have some static in your body and touch a metal part in your computer, you could fry it and have to buy a whole new one. It doesn't take a big charge to fry it so don't take chances with your bare hands. This is what i recommend you should do:

-Wear rubber gloves

-Touch metal on your desk or whatever before opening the computer to discharge yourself

-Most of the jobs in a computer can be done with one hand so just touch the chasis on the computer with one hand while using your other hand to put parts and pieces in. This is a Chassis:

http://www.seabird.com/images/ComputerChassisWithArrow.jpg

-NEVER open a computer while your on a rug or anything like that because you moving around on it will charge static in you and you will fry the computer

So thats basically what you need if you want to build a computer without frying the whole thing.

[PoisonedV]

Ok so I'm "relatively" good with technology so I think I'll try building one myself. Does anyone know where I can get like a primer for it? Like what parts are needed, etc?

EDIT: Oh, and thanks guys for the help

[PoisonedV]

Ok, im going to double post but I am pretty sure it will never get answereed if I just edit... If a motherboard comes with a graphics card, does that mean I can't get a graphics card seperately? Cause I found a pretty nice motherboard for a good price but it comes with a lower graphics card than I want... Or is there a seperate one for handling 3D? (i think its the latter and the chipset just handles the normal ones)

[isendel]

you can use a 'real' graphics card on a motherboard with integrated graphics (generally you want to use a card anyways). as long as you have the slot(s) to insert the card it should work fine

[NoControl]

Just disable integrated card from bios, tho it might auto disable it when you stick real card in.

[bouncer123]

i recomend you getting a whole new computer. it will cost you less expensive at the end.you wont have to bye something new everytime you wana bye a new video card or better ram. because at some point ur motherboard wont be able to take the new stuff, and getting a new motherboard is like getting a new comp.