Updated version.

>>31
Oh boy. Good lookin' brah

I was gonna make a thread like this, as I am building a new pc next semester when I get my financial aid.

I think it's a better investment then books and food.

Okay, chosen my CPU, Motherboard, and RAM. Now I'm up to the Video card, and I'm fairly new to this, so naturally I don't know what to pick. So, any pointers?

PFft. My computer is AMAZINGTASTIC and I bought it from NewEgg. So much easier than building one and waiting/looking for all the parts.

>>87
I'd rather build one to fit my needs accordingly and just have to replace some parts than buy some premade desktop every few years. Better investment if you plan on using the computer for more than playing the vidya and browsing the internet, honestly

But hey, whatever rocks your boat brah

>>82

Keep all original packaging and receipts in case you have to RMA or want to sell after an upgrade or something. PS don't sit on your motherboard.

>>82
What's your budget brah?
Best cards right now are ati's 5850's but they are overpriced due to fermi being delayed.

Thanks for these guides, I think they're being useful... but I could use your guidance if you're available.

How does this look? I already have a 500GB hard drive lying around. I've got about $1500 set aside, so I could go higher if there's a good deal, but I also want to spend the extra on a decent mouse/headphones/keyboard.

>>95
That looks great. Get a 5870 if you want since they're like $50 right now. As for headphones, i had a guide lying around here but i dunno right now lol. Keyboard doesn't matter, just get whatever you feel fills your needs and is cheaper. Mouse, i got a mx518 for 20 bucks and i'm terribly happy. I'd recommend g500 or deathadder, it's up to you.

>>96
>Get a 5870 if you want since they're like $50 right now.
I meant $50 more than 5850's.

>>95

Looking good. I love my Razer Deathadder and Alchemy Elixir. But if you do a lot of typing, a mechanical keyswitch keyboard will do you a world of good- tend to be expensive though. The cheapest I've seen is a $55 CAD Solidtek one.

I don't know how heavily you're planning to overclock but if you expect to generate a lot of heat, another 120mm fan or two will help airflow. You might want to take a look at the Titan Fenrir heatsink which does about ~4-5 degrees Celsius better than the Hyper- which can make quite an impact on system stability if you really want to push it. But I can't sell you either way because they're practically impossible to get in Canada (unless you buy crossborder) so I don't know the cost difference is. And you get the Hyper with your CPU in a bundle price too so it's probably not worth the difference in price. I just thought you might want to know about it, though.

Respected brands when it comes to fans are Scythe, Yate Loon, Silverstone, and most of all Noctua who tend to be expensive. Consider getting a small fan to mount on your Northbridge chipset heatsink, too, as it's important to OCing. I'd advise against replacing it altogether because that voids the board warranty.

Thanks for all your help! I thought I'd give you an update on how it went (crossposted from /baw/):

Well my computer is built (more or less)! My hardware-savvy roommate helped me a ton, and I feel kind of bad because I asked for his help in the evening and he stayed up pretty late and according to him it was the hardest build he had ever done (weird placement of cords in the case with the motherboard, having to use non-hex-cap screws -- the only ones of the right size that the case provided -- for the motherboard, having to remove the motherboard to affix a backing for a massive heatsink that was a bitch to get attached, etc)...I should get him a gift of some sort.

But in the end, after changing the video card's slot and rearranging some RAM, it finally booted and now I'm just getting everything all nice and set up. :3

(And I'm calling it "Abomination" because more than anything else it reminds me of the undead monsters from Warcraft, stitched together from various pieces of flesh).

I'd like some advice about making an okay gaymen computer with an overall cost of ≤ $750.
The picture (lacking monitor/dvd drive etc because I have them already) is what I'm currently looking at, but I've never put together a computer before. I'd like to know if I've hosed anything up/if there's anything better that will fall within my budget.
Links to the pictured items:
http://bit.ly/13LsSm , http://bit.ly/cbqYwo , http://bit.ly/cQ27tN , http://bit.ly/5zhjz7 , http://bit.ly/pzJPk , http://bit.ly/9k05Uo , http://bit.ly/ctbCUL
Also, three month necro.

>>128

loool get him a gift card to a computer store or something. Glad to hear everything turned out well~

>>781

Here's my suggested build. List of changes and reasons why follows:

Antec Three Hundred (Illusion edition) http://ow.ly/1A67N
Comes with additional fans for the same price
XFX Radeon HD 5770 http://ow.ly/1A68X
Comes with double lifetime warranty (if/when you upgrade, whoever you sell it to receives a lifetime warranty as well) and RMA covers overclocking.
A-DATA Gaming Series 4GB 2 x 2GB Memory http://ow.ly/1A6aT
cheaper hurp (A-Data's Gaming Series has a good reputation too)
AMD Phenom II X3 720 Black Edition http://ow.ly/1A6dK
Better performer overall, known to unlock to four cores; good CPU is important so it doesn't bottleneck GPU and RAM performance. Is cheaper than, but performs on par with, higher priced quad core CPUs while being more power efficient.
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 http://ow.ly/1A6g4
Phenom II 720 listed above is OEM and so doesn't come with a heatsink. This is also a product with a very good reputation and performs on par with other good heatsinks priced $30+ more.
Combo http://ow.ly/1A6he
OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W - Should be no worse than the Corsair TX650 in practice; has good amperage on 12V rails. Also modular, meaning that power cables you're not using can be taken out to improve airflow and decrease clutter. Mainly chosen because of lower price due to combo. Note that the listed price does not include the $25 mail in rebate offered by OCZ for this product which drops overall cost even lower in the long run. Also comes with a free 4GB flash drive (ooh~).
ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO Motherboard - Newer chipset which means, among other things, faster hard drive speeds, double the amount of onboard USB ports, onboard HDMI, firewire, and eSATA ports, and onboard graphics. Which is to say, you can hook up all kinds more shit onto your computer and if you ever need to RMA your video card or decide to upgrade and are in-between cards, you can still run normal functions (no gayman except old games and Dwarf Fortress) which saves you a whole steaming shitload of frustration. Suffice to say I would shank you to steal this mobo.

>>788

I didn't link the MX-2 and F3 so don't forget to put those in your cart if you follow my suggestions because I probably would and not realize until after the order was processed :3c

>>788 >>789
Awesome, thanks for the help.

>>792

No problem. Being broke, I have to live vicariously through you guys~