[sallyjoe]

Can anyone suggest a website that will teach me how to build my own computer step by step?

[etaf]

http://tomshardware.co.uk/2002/09/18..._pc/index.html

this link is a bit old - but the principles still apply
http://www.dansdata.com/buildpc.htm

[kidzrule]

You have to choose parts too.

I got this off the HardwareZone forum. Unless you're a Singaporean you probably wouldn't want to use that forum since everybody replies in Singlish. Which is kind of hard for people outside of Singapore and Malaysia to understand.

Last update was on 10th March 2007.

Prices are in SGD.

Section I - Complete Gaming System

Extreme Systems

Intel Core 2 QX6700 or X6800 & ASUS Striker Extreme ~ $2XXX
Kingston HperX DDR2-800 2GB Kit ~ $410
Dual Leadtek GeForce 8800GTX ~ $1938
Western Digital Raptor 150GB ~ $429
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 500GB 16MB for Storage ~ $243
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX700-GLN 700W ~ $200
Cooler Master Stacker 830 ~ $349

Total ~ $5XXX

Intel Core 2 QX6700 or X6800 & ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ~ $2XXX
Kingston HperX DDR2-800 2GB Kit ~ $410
PowerColor Radeon X1950 XTX and X1950 CrossFire Edition ~ $1500
Western Digital Raptor 150GB ~ $429
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 500GB 16MB for Storage ~ $243
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX700-GLN 700W ~ $200
Cooler Master Stacker 830 ~ $349

Total ~ $5XXX

Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 & ASUS Striker Extreme ~ $2XXX
Kingston HperX DDR2-800 2GB Kit ~ $410
Leadtek GeForce 8800GTX ~ $969
Western Digital Raptor 74GB ~ $265
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 500GB 16MB for Storage ~ $243
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 700W ~ $200
Cooler Master Stacker 830 ~ $349

Total ~ $4XXX

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 & ASUS P5W DH Deluxe ~ $1250
Crucial Ballistix PC2-5300 DDR2 667 2GB Kit ~ $350
Leadtek GeForce 8800GTS ~ $699
Western Digital Raptor 74GB ~ $265
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 500GB 16MB for Storage ~ $243
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Cooler Master Stacker 830 ~ $349

Total ~ $3XXX

High-End Systems

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 & Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 ~ $835
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
Leadtek GeForce 8800GTS ~ $699
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 400GB 16MB ~ $185
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Lian-Li PC7A+ ~ $129

Total ~ $23XX

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 & Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 ~ $835
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
PowerColor Radeon X1950XTX ~ $689
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 400GB 16MB ~ $185
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Lian-Li PC7A+ ~ $129

Total ~ $23XX

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 & Gigabyte GA-965P-DS4 ~ $835
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
Leadtek GeForce 8800GTS 320MB~ $500
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 400GB 16MB ~ $185
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Lian-Li PC7A+ ~ $129

Total ~ $21XX

Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 & Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 ~ $600
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
MSI GeForce 7950GT 512MB PCI Express ~ $409
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 400GB 16MB ~ $185
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Lian-Li PC7A+ ~ $129

Total ~ $18XX

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 & Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 ~ $534
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
PowerColor RADEON X1950XT 256MB PCI Express ~ $479
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 400GB 16MB ~ $185
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Lian-Li PC7A+ ~ $129

Total ~ $18XX

Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 & Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3 ~ $534
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
MSI GeForce 7950GT 512MB PCI Express ~ $409
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 400GB 16MB ~ $185
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Lian-Li PC7A+ ~ $129

Total ~ $18XX

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 & Intel DG965 ~ $468
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $250
MSI GeForce 7950GT 512MB PCI Express ~ $409
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 320GB 16MB ~ $153
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Lian-Li PC7A+ ~ $129

Total ~ $16XX

Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 & Intel DG965 ~ $468
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
PowerColor Radeon X1900XT 256MB PCI Express ~ $419
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 320GB 16MB ~ $153
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W ~ $180
Lian-Li PC7A+ ~ $129

Total ~ $16XX


Mid-Range Systems

AMD Athlon 64 AM2 X2 3800+ & Abit KN9 Ultra ~ $370
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
MSI RADEON X1950 PRO 256MB PCI Express ~ $299
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 250GB 16MB ~ $127
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
CoolerMaster Extreme 430W ~ $75
Cooler Master Centurion 5 ~ $95

Total ~ $14XX

AMD Athlon 64 AM2 X2 3800+ & Abit KN9 Ultra ~ $370
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB) ~ $210
Xpertvision GeForce 7900GS PCI Express ~ $249
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 SATAII 250GB 16MB ~ $127
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
CoolerMaster Extreme 430W ~ $75
Cooler Master Centurion 5 ~ $95

Total ~ $14XX

Budget Systems

AMD Athlon 64 AM2 X2 3600+ & Abit KN9 Ultra ~ $350
Kingston ValueRam PC2-4200 DDR2-533 2GB (2X512MB) ~ $132
Xpertvision GeForce 7600GT PCI Express ~ $189
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 160GB 8MB ~ $85
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
CoolerMaster Extreme 380W ~ $58
Casing ~ $40

Total ~ $10XX

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ & Abit KN9 Ultra ~ $314
Kingston ValueRam PC2-4200 DDR2-533 2GB (2X512MB) ~ $132
Xpertvision GeForce 7600GT PCI Express ~ $189
Hitachi 7K80 SATAII 160GB 8MB ~ $85
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
CoolerMaster Extreme 380W ~ $58
Casing ~ $40

Total ~ $9XX

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ & Abit KN9 Ultra ~ $314
Kingston ValueRam PC2-4200 DDR2-533 2GB (2X512MB) ~ $132
XpertVision GeForce 7600GS Sonic DDR3 PCI Express ~ $169
Hitachi 7K80 SATAII 160GB 8MB ~ $85
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
CoolerMaster Extreme 380W ~ $58
Casing ~ $40

Total ~ $8XX

Entry Level Systems

Sempron 64 AM2 2800+ & ASUS M2NPV-VM GeForce 6150 ~ $217
Kingston PC2-4200 DDR2-533 2X512MB ~ $132
Hitachi 7K80 SATAII 80GB 8MB ~ $69
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
AOpen 350W ~ $47
Casing ~ $40

Total ~ $6XX

Sempron 64 AM2 2800+ & ASUS M2NPV-VM GeForce 6150 ~ $217
Kingston PC2-4200 DDR2-533 1X512MB ~ $66
Hitachi 7K80 SATAII 80GB 8MB ~ $69
LG GSA-H42N DVD±RW ~ $55
AOpen 350W ~ $47
Casing ~ $40

Total ~ $5XX

Section II - DIY Section

Extreme System

CPU, Motherboard and Memory Recommendations
Intel Core 2 Extreme X6800 & ASUS P5W DH Deluxe
Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 & ASUS P5W DH Deluxe
G.Skill Extreme F2-8500PHU2-2GBHZ DDR2-1066 2GB Kit
G.Skill Extreme F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ DDR2-800 2GB Kit

CPU, Motherboard and Memory Alternatives
AMD Athlon 64 FX60 & ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 FX60 & ASUS A8R32-MVP Deluxe
AMD Athlon 64 FX60 & MSI K8N Diamond Plus
AMD Athlon 64 FX60 & MSI K8N Neo4 Platinum
Corsair TwinX2048-3500LL PRO 2GB Kit (2x1GB)
Patriot PC3200 DDR400 2GB Kit (2X1GB)

Video Recommendations
Sapphire Radeon X1950XTX 512MB DDR4 PCI Express
Sapphire Radeon X1900XTX 512MB PCI Express
PowerColor Radeon X1900XTX 512MB PCI Express

Video Alternatives
ASUS Extreme GeForce N7900GTX PCI Express
Leadtek GeForce 7900GTX PCI Express
MSI GeForce 7900GTX PCI Express

Hard Drives Recommendations
Dual Western Digital Raptor 150GB in RAID 0 Configuration
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 250GB 8MB 7200RPM for Storage

Hard Drives Alternatives
Dual Western Digital Raptor 74GB in RAID 0 Configuration
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 250GB 8MB 7200RPM for Storage

Optical Drives Recommendation
Lite-On SHM-165P6S 16X DVD±RW

Optical Drives Alternatives
LG 4167B 16X DVD±RW

Power Supply Recommendation
FSP Epsilon FX700-GLN 700W ~ $220

Power Supply Alternatives
SILVERSTONE ZEUS 650W
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W

Casing Recommendation
Cooler Master Stacker 830

Casing Alternatives
Silverstone TJ04
Cooler Master Stacker 810

High-End System

CPU & Motherboard Recommendations
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 & ASUS P5W DH Deluxe
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 & Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
Intel Core 2 Duo E6300 & Gigabyte GA-965P-DS3
G.Skill Extreme F2-6400PHU2-2GBHZ DDR2-800 2GB Kit
Kingston ValueRam PC2-5300 DDR2-667 2GB (2X1GB)

CPU, Motherboard & Memory Alternatives
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ & MSI K8N SLI Platinum
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ & Abit KN8 Ultra
Corsair TwinX2048-3500LL PRO 2GB Kit (2x1GB)
Patriot PC3200 DDR400 2GB Kit (2X1GB)

Video Recommendations
PowerColor Radeon X1900XT 512MB PCI Express
PowerColor Radeon X1900XT 256MB PCI Express
Sapphire RADEON X1900GT 256MB PCI Express
PowerColor Radeon X1900GT 256MB PCI Express
ASUS Extreme GeForce 7900GT PCI Express
Leadtek WinFast GeForce PX7900 GT PCI Express
MSI GeForce NX7900GT PCI Express

Hard Drives Recommendations
Dual Western Digital Raptor 74GB in RAID 0 Configuration
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 250GB 8MB 7200RPM for Storage

Hard Drives Alternatives
Dual Western Digital Raptor 36GB in RAID 0 Configuration
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 250GB 8MB 7200RPM for Storage

Optical Drives Recommendation
Lite-On SHM-165P6S 16X DVD±RW

Optical Drives Alternatives
LG 4167B 16X DVD±RW

Power Supply Recommendation
FSP Epsilon FX600-GLN 600W

Power Supply Alternatives
Antec True Power Ver2.0 550W
Antec True Power Ver2.0 480W
Fortron FSP530-60GN

Casing Recommendation
Cooler Master Stacker 830

Casing Alternatives
Silverstone TJ04
Cooler Master Stacker 810

Mid-Range System

CPU, Motherboard & Memory Recommendations
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ & Abit KN8 Ultra
Patriot PC3200 DDR400 2GB Kit (2X1GB)

CPU and Motherboard & Memory Alternatives
Intel Pentium D 805 + & Asus P5LD2 SE
Patriot PC5300 DDR2 667 2GB (2X1GB)

Video Recommendations
Sapphire RADEON X1900GT 256MB PCI Express
Forsa GeForce 7900GT PCI Express
Sapphire RADEON X1800GTO 256MB PCI Express
Leadtek GeForce PX7600GT PCI Express
Sapphire X850XT 16 Pipes PCI Express
Sapphire X800GTO² 16 Pipes PCI Express
Leadtek WinFast GeForce PX6800GS PCI Express
PowerColor X800GTO 16 Pipes PCI Express

Hard Drives Recommendations
Dual Western Digital Raptor 36GB in RAID 0 Configuration
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 160GB 8MB 7200RPM for Storage

Hard Drives Alternatives
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 250GB 8MB 7200RPM
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 160GB 8MB 7200RPM

Optical Drives Recommendation
Lite-On SHM-165P6S 16X DVD±RW

Optical Drives Alternatives
LG 4167B 16X DVD±RW

Power Supply Recommendation
Enermax Noisetaker EG495AX-VE 485W
Antec True Power Ver2.0 480W
Fortron FSP530-60GN

Power Supply Alternatives
Antec True Power 2.0 350 W
Fortron FSP350-60PN 350W

Casing Recommendations
Silverstone TJ04
Cooler Master Stacker 810

Casing Alternatives
Lian-Li PC7A
Cooler Master Centurion 5
HEC6C29
Lope 7788


Budget System

CPU, Motherboard & Memory Recommendations
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ & Abit KN8 Ultra
Patriot PC3200 DDR400 1GB (2X512MB)

CPU, Motherboard & Memory Alternatives
Intel Pentium D 805 + & Asus P5LD2 SE
Patriot PC5300 DDR2-667 1GB (2X512MB)

Video Recommendations
Sapphire RADEON X1800GTO 256MB PCI Express

Video Alternatives
Leadtek GeForce 7600GT PCI Express
Sapphire X800GTO² 16 Pipes PCI Express
Gigabyte GeForce PX6800GS PCI Express
PowerColor X800GTO 16 Pipes PCI Express
ASUS GeForce 7600GS PCI Express
Inno3D GeForce 7600GST PCI Express
Xpertvision Radeon X1600Pro Golden PCI Express
Leadtek WinFast PX6600GT PCI Express
XpertVision GeForce 6600 128MB DDR3 2.2ns PCI Express

Hard Drives Recommendations
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 160GB 8MB 7200RPM

Hard Drives Alternatives
Hitachi 7K80 - SATAII 80GB 8MB 7200RPM
Seagate - SATA 80GB 8MB 7200RPM

Optical Drives Recommendation
Lite-On SHM-165P6S 16X DVD±RW

Optical Drives Alternatives
LG 4167B 16X DVD±RW

Power Supply Recommendation
CoolerMaster Extreme 380W

Power Supply Alternatives
Antec True Power 2.0 350W
Fortron FSP350-60PN 350W

Casing Recommendations
Lian-Li PC7A

Casing Alternatives
Cooler Master Centurion 5

Entry Level System

CPU, Motherboard & Memory Recommendations
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ & MSI K8NGM2-FID
Patriot PC3200 DDR400 2 X 512MB

CPU, Motherboard & Memory Alternatives
Sempron 64 S754 2800+ & Gigabyte K8N51GMF(PCIe)
Intel Celeron D 320 2.4GHz & MSI 848P Neo-V
Sempron 64 S754 2500+ & ASRock K8NF4G-SATA2
Sempron 64 S754 2500+ & MSI K8MM-V
Patriot PC3200 DDR400 1GB (2X512MB)

Hard Drives Recommendations
Hitachi T7K250 SATAII 160GB 8MB 7200RPM

Hard Drives Alternatives
Hitachi 7K80 - SATAII 80GB 8MB 7200RPM

Optical Drives Recommendation
Lite-On SHM-165P6S 16X DVD±RW

Optical Drives Alternatives
LG 4167B 16X DVD±RW
Aopen CDRW/DVD Combo Drive

Casing & Power Supply
Casing & CoolerMaster Extreme 380W Power Supply
Casing & Aopen 350W Power Supply

[sallyjoe]

Thanks to both replies each was equally enlightening. The "Dan's" illustrated guide was excellent. The parts listing is awesome, too. Now can you suggest how I would go about learning what each of those parts are and how I would determine which of the price grades on the part would be best for me. I guess as I learn what each part is and does that will determine which one I will purchase.

Thanks again for your very helpful information.

[MrBills]

Remember that GOOGLE is your friend. Type in the part and see what you get.

[n2gun]

First you should determine what you will use it for. A gaming computer compared to one used for word processing for example would be using more memory, have a need for speed, etc

[bc30629]

If you are into gaming the forums for maximum pc have lots and lots of info on building. Those hardcore gamers wouldn't have it any other way.