Which parts to buy first?

[cluelessnewbie]

Well Im going to try to build a computer. But the problem i have is, which parts should i buy first to deal with the compatibility issue? I realize the PC case is the first thing obviously but what after that?

I read great things about the new ASUS A7A motherboard (not sure if that's the name) and Im most likely going to buy that along with any T-Bird from 1 ghz +.

But should i buy the CPU first then the motherboard b/c some people told me to do that because it will make it easier or something... basically I just wanted more suggestions. thx for any help you give me

[Yar1182]

If you must buy some components first buy the motherboard. The motherboard is the foundation of the system and the price does not fluxuate much. CPU's on the other hand do drop in price pretty regularly. The longer you can hold out on things like CPU's and Video cards the better price and technolgy you'll be able to get. Things like Moniters, cases, motherboards, soundcards do not fluctate in prices very often. Memory may also be a smart buy since it's so cheap now and there is no telling if prices will continue to fall or rise.

[araaraara]

I was pondering the same thing when I decided to start building a new computer. I was going to build it buy upgrading each of my older parts first, but I managed to "qualify" for a "loan" from "The Parents Bank of My House", so now I'll be getting a whole system sans moniter hopefully on sunday(today). The order I would recommend depends on whether or not you have an existing computer which you can get part from. If you have an existing computer, buy the case and essentials first, then the motherboard, then the cpu. You can then use your old video card,sound card,ram,modem,hard drive, etc and replace each part one by one until you have a completely new system.

[RayH]

It's probably easier to describe which parts to buy LAST: microprocessor, video, and sound card.

Depending upon how much time you have, you may be able to get all kinds of peripherals on sale.

I'm building my son a computer, I have the case, motherboard, RAM, modem, and hard drive. The modem isn't really important, as he will primarily be using the college T1 line, so I got it on sale. The hard drive is something I had laying around.

I jumped on the RAM when I thought the prices were at bottom. I was a bit wrong. But still able to live with the price. I knew the price could drop more. But then, the price could have shot up. There is only a limit to the drop. But no limit to the rise!

[cluelessnewbie]

Alright I've decided to get a case and a motherboard first.

But can anyone recommend a good pc case and good AMD t-bird compatible motherboard?

I saw that there was a good ASUS motherboard called A7A or something similar to that. Not exacctly sure what the benefit to it was but if someon could explain it would be helpful. I remember it said something about 266mhz or something.

Also, about the pc case, do they really differ from one another? The only thing im certain about a pc case is getting a 300 watt one. could anyone offer suggestion on a good pc case?

[cluelessnewbie]

I was just reading about the new asus a7a266 motherboard but then I saw that there were about 20 different types of those or soemthing.

Can someone explain to me what the difference is between the many a7a266 types?? or are they basically all the same?

[n8782474]

get Tower ATX PC case

[benchristian]

Asus A7A266 has the AliMagik1 chipset which supports both regular SDRAM and DDR RAM. The nice thing is that you can use your old ram now and then upgrade to ddr later.

go here for more info on A7A266 in comparison to other boards.
http://www4.tomshardware.com/mainboard/01q2/010509/index.html

as far as which products to buy first, I'm going to agree with yar. Buying the stable priced stuff first is a good idea

[cluelessnewbie]

just wanted to clarify my question. I was asking what are the difference between the MANY types of ASUS A7A266. I saw that some had ali magik chips or something and others had different ones...

[Goldwingnut]

My experience in this matter:

I bought an Abit BP6 MB about a year ago. Then more important expensive projects came up. Now I'm back to this computer.

I just barely got 2 533 PPGA Celerons. Not many left. I got my video board of choice, the ATI AIW 128, but with the Radeon out it won't be long before AIWs are no longer made.

ATA33 hard drives are history. 66s and 100s will work. Still wish I had bagged some 33s.

Things move fast in this industry. When I buy an MB in the future, I'm getting the processor with it. And I won't dawdle getting the other stuff.

[fpbrock]

If you have decided on AMD, then check out http://www1.amd.com/athlon/mbl Put in the processsor speed and that will tell you which motherboards are approved for that amd processor. Select the motherboard, then you will know the form factor for the type case required, and the memory type needed. From there its a slam dunk...

[MiKe85]

First thing i bought back in December was motherboard, and a computer case.

After that it's just pretty much timing, if you find a good deal - GET IT http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

Tell us what you come up with after your done.