Computer Q&A

[Hoosier]

Guess I will try this "build it yourself" thing. Everyone who posted on this thread better get ready for some phone calls come mid August, lol.

It's not that bad. Although things may not go perfectly. I've had to fiddle and read manuals. However, it is by in large a case of "If the plug fits, that's where it goes." The horrors of jumper blocks and IRQ conflicts are long gone.

Make sure all your drives are SATA, the ribbon cables suck.

I like those power supplies that have plugs on them, so you can only plug in the cables you need. But in practice I end up having most of them plugged in anyway.

Watch Youtube videos about system building in the interim. Even unrelated hardware goes together the same way. And in this dry Colorado weather, wear a wrist strap.

H.

[BigBear]

And in this dry Colorado weather, wear a wrist strap.

Yay! I actually knew that one!

Thanks for all the help.

P.S, I'm assuming everything that needs to say "SATA" will have it in tech specs or something?

[Byte Stryke]

It's not that bad. Although things may not go perfectly. I've had to fiddle and read manuals. However, it is by in large a case of "If the plug fits, that's where it goes." The horrors of jumper blocks and IRQ conflicts are long gone.

not entirely... but for his purposes they are

Make sure all your drives are SATA, the ribbon cables suck.

can you even get IDE Hard drives anymore?

I like those power supplies that have plugs on them, so you can only plug in the cables you need. But in practice I end up having most of them plugged in anyway.

Those are wonderful for small user machines that will never be opened again.

Watch Youtube videos about system building in the interim. Even unrelated hardware goes together the same way. And in this dry Colorado weather, wear a wrist strap.

H.

+1^

Nothing says Muther F%#@!% Sunuvva C@& Suc@&!%$ Wh@&%!
like Popping (ESD) a brand new $500 video-card before you ever get it in the case.

[Hoosier]

Yay! I actually knew that one!

Thanks for all the help.

P.S, I'm assuming everything that needs to say "SATA" will have it in tech specs or something?

Yeah they should. The HDD and the Bluray you both want to be SATA. You can also tell from the pictures at the back... a huge grid of 80 pins = ribbon cable. A little L shaped wedge of plastic = SATA.

H.

[Byte Stryke]

so why does he need a blu-ray again?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106335
Vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136181
(cheapest)

so about a $100 difference for a Blue-ray that hes not going to use because its not a media machine..?

[Hoosier]

so why does he need a blu-ray again?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135204
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106335
Vs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827136181
(cheapest)

so about a $100 difference for a Blue-ray that hes not going to use because its not a media machine..?

I don't know, someone else recommended it. I put a BRD player in mine, but I didn't really think about.

What blows me away is that you can get a DVD burner for $19. NINETEEN DOLLARS! I remember spending $600 on a CD burner! In less than 13 years the prices have come down 31x. If anything else dropped in price for the same capability like computers, we'd all have a Bugatti Veyron in our driveway that cost us a dollar fiddy.

H.

[Elhuero]

I don't know, someone else recommended it. I put a BRD player in mine, but I didn't really think about.

What blows me away is that you can get a DVD burner for $19. NINETEEN DOLLARS! I remember spending $600 on a CD burner! In less than 13 years the prices have come down 31x. If anything else dropped in price for the same capability like computers, we'd all have a Bugatti Veyron in our driveway that cost us a dollar fiddy.

H.

That would happen if each year the new make of car went two or three times faster than the previous model.

[Byte Stryke]

I don't know, someone else recommended it. I put a BRD player in mine, but I didn't really think about.

What blows me away is that you can get a DVD burner for $19. NINETEEN DOLLARS! I remember spending $600 on a CD burner! In less than 13 years the prices have come down 31x. If anything else dropped in price for the same capability like computers, we'd all have a Bugatti Veyron in our driveway that cost us a dollar fiddy.

H.

That's why I was questioning it... there are allot of nice DVD burners out there for 20-40 Bucks...
and he is trying to keep costs down so, Does he NEED a Blu-ray?

I say not.. but that's just me

and yeah, I remember shelling HUGE Dollars (about $340 iirc) for a Yamaha DVD Burner, that now sells for $25

[BigBear]

No, I don't need a BR player.


Another question: I only use one moniter for gaming. Would there be a reason to use two GPUs on one moniter? Would I gain anything, or is that just a waste on money? I'm thinking like two Radeon 5850's on a 24 inch.

[Byte Stryke]

No, I don't need a BR player.


Another question: I only use one moniter for gaming. Would there be a reason to use two GPUs on one moniter? Would I gain anything, or is that just a waste on money? I'm thinking like two Radeon 5850's on a 24 inch.

I may be a tad rusty here.. I never really kept up with ATI's crossfire

I know that with Nvidias SLI configurations a Multi card set up with a gaming rig will assist with your frame rates as it aids in Drawing.
if your MOBO choice hasn't changed from the Gigabyte GA-890x, it will support it.

2 PCI-E 2.0 x16 interface with ATI CrossFireX support for ultimate graphics performance

hope that answers your question