BleepingComputer.com: First time builder needs advice

Copeland, on Mar 16 2010, 06:26 PM, said:

If you don't mind, I'd like to respond, and cut to the damn chase... :

-Your original cpu+motherboard will work fine. The motherboard is made by Gigabyte (very well trusted brand) and the CPU is more powerful that mine, and I'm an (moderate) intense gamer, just to give you a comparison!
-Power should be ok until then, as long as you don't overwork the PC.
-2 gigs of RAM is legit. I have 2 gigs and constantly gaming and multitasking, and my PC runs perfectly.
-Ok, 500GB is a LOT of space. It's movies, music, and pictures (movies mostly) that take up the most HDD space. So unless you plan on storing a lot of video and/or music, 320GB is enough space. (Yes high revolutions/min = higher speed; 7200RPM is plenty )
-And holy crap just download a pirated Win7 Ultimate!!! Haha I don't think I should be advertising that, but I just find OS's complete nonsense. As for this issue, your hands are pretty much tied if you don't have a purchased copy of Windows XP :S They're just simply expensive and there's no way around it :/
** Simple solution: buy a new OS but don't open it when you receive it. If you find you can't install Windows XP on the new PC, use Win7. If you find that you CAN install WinXP, return Win7.

Trying to make this easy to understand for a first time builder, because I was there recently, and some people really don't understand that the world isn't technologically fluent...

I will respond to your equipment questions one at a time.

Motherboard: Almost all motherboards work just fine out-of-the-box. Few rarely work normally, then break a year later, therefore a one-year warranty should suffice. It is much more common for a motherboard to be bad the second you install it, in which case, Newegg will exchange it and ship you a new one at no charge. Note that warranties cover such things as design or manufacturing defects, not "Acts of God" or problems caused by the user. This means that if you kick the PC and snap the motherboard, or if a water pipe bursts and floods the place, ruining the motherboard, a motherboard warranty will not help.

Power Supply: Sure, it can wait, especially since you don't need to install a discrete graphics card.

CPU: Both the Gigabyte and the Asus are very similar motherboards, in fact, they share the same chipset. The only differences are the price and warranty. That CPU, along with all the Athlon II's and Phenom II's, will not work in your current MSI motherboard. Additionally, your current Athlon 64 will not work in any AM3 motherboard due to differences in memory standards. Replacing the motherboard and installing a new, modern CPU will drastically improve performance. Your old MSI motherboard takes AM2 CPU's and AMD stopped making them a while back in favor of AM3 CPU's like the Athlon II or Phenom II.

RAM: DDR2 will not work in motherboards designed exclusively for AM3 CPU's. 4GB is more than enough to meet future needs, that is why I chose it over a 2GB kit.

HD: A higher RPM will equal improved performance, there are some drives out that spin at 10,000 RPM. Note that drives which are platter based, like almost all drives in use, wear out and will typically start failing after 5 years. There are also solid state drives (SSD) that have no moving parts and are far faster than the platter based stuff, though they are very expensive.

OS: As tg1911 pointed out, OEM operating systems are tied to the motherboard. You have one such operating system. Therefore, you need to buy Windows again. Microsoft defines a PC based on its motherboard, so if you change a motherboard, you effectively have a new PC. OEM editions are paired to the motherboard and cannot be installed on a new PC, which means replacing the motherboard breaks the license. The good news is, you're getting a new OS that runs better, is more secure, and looks nicer than Windows XP, so it is not all bad. Remember, you need a 64-bit OS to use 4GB or more of memory, that is why I specifically chose the 64-bit version of Windows. There is no difference in cost between 64-bit and 32-bit editions. There are lower cost options if you don't want to spend the $100. You could try Linux since it is free, but unless you know what you're doing, you may become frustrated. If you do go this route, I suggest Kubuntu. I used it, it reminded me of Windows, but I ended up removing it due to driver issues. Also, if you know someone in college, and their university is part of MSDNAA, they can get a free copy of Windows by simply downloading it from a website. There is no technological barrier to installing XP on this machine, only a legal one since you are breaking a license you agreed to. Installing XP on a new machine is just...silly. Especially when you save money by not getting a new power supply.

Well...my question would be...why would you only get 2GB of RAM, considering what RAM prices are today?

I have Win 7, but I have the DVD for both 32-bit and 64-bit (with 4GB of RAM). I'm currently running the 32-bit, but plan to run the 64-bit on a different system (I have a 3-license family pack).

Worth reading, IMO: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows...asked-questions.

Louis

Given RAM prices today, why bother with only 2GB? The 4GB kit is a good deal and will meet both present and future needs. That said, go for the 64-bit version as it has slightly better security over the 32-bit and will allow you to access all that RAM.

That will work, though I would go for a different CPU. I advise going with the Phenom II X2 series as it is a better processor line. I suggest the AMD Phenom II X2 550 Callisto 3.1GHz as it is only slightly more expensive than your Athlon II, is plenty of power for your applications, and has a higher clock speed. Unless you are gaming or using some other high performance application, a triple or quad core CPU is overkill, also, as a general rule, I always suggest getting CPU's that have a clock speed of 2.8GHz. or faster since not all programs are multithreaded and the speed will come in handy. That is the full version of Windows 7. Full versions are simply those that aren't upgrade editions. This means you have everything needed to run Windows 7 on the disc, though you should run Windows Update after installing the software to get everything patched and ready to go. Once you install this copy of Windows 7, it is paired to that specific motherboard. If you replace the motherboard again, you will need to re-buy Windows again. However, this does not mean you cannot reinstall that copy of Windows 7 onto that motherboard again, should something go wrong and you need to reinstall. You would need to do a telephone activation in that instance, but that isn't so bad.