Need help with first build

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rory Deol
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Rory Deol

I have been doing some research on the net and I just want to clarify
some things here. Ok, so my big worry with my first build is running
into compatibility issues. So, if I have a CPU with, say 462 pins,
will all I need to do to find a compatible motherboard be to find one
that supports that number of pins. Or is it more complex than that?
How do you know which PSU to buy for your CPU and motherboard?
Finally, I have the hard drives, optical drives, and peripherals. What
would be a good upgradable case and compatible CPU + motherboard for
around $500?

Thanks alot for any I help I really feel lost in all of this.
 
I have been doing some research on the net and I just want to clarify
some things here. Ok, so my big worry with my first build is running
into compatibility issues. So, if I have a CPU with, say 462 pins,
will all I need to do to find a compatible motherboard be to find one
that supports that number of pins. Or is it more complex than that?
How do you know which PSU to buy for your CPU and motherboard?
Finally, I have the hard drives, optical drives, and peripherals. What
would be a good upgradable case and compatible CPU + motherboard for
around $500?

Thanks alot for any I help I really feel lost in all of this.
Click to expand...

Hi Rory,

You can start here:
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/ABIT_AN8_SLI.html#Buying

There are a lot of other websites that describe how to do a build. I was
where you are now about a year ago - lost. The article is from that
perspective.

Also take a look at my review for the Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H motherboard
on my website. You can get that excellent motherboard, a good $100 case
and a E6400 Core 2 Duo CPU for under $500.

Do you have a video card? What about memory?

I will be glad to try to answer your questions (the ones I can) later,
but I am sure that there are more qualified hardware experts that would
be glad to help you.

Alan Norton
Reviews: ABIT AN8 SLI, ECS P965T-A & Foxconn 975X7AB-8EKRS2H Mb's
Choosing the Right Version Of Vista - Vista Confusion Article
Arizona Pics and Cute Animal Pics
http://www.mindspring.com/~anorton1/
 
Rory said:
I have been doing some research on the net and I just want to clarify
some things here. Ok, so my big worry with my first build is running
into compatibility issues. So, if I have a CPU with, say 462 pins,
will all I need to do to find a compatible motherboard be to find one
that supports that number of pins. Or is it more complex than that?
How do you know which PSU to buy for your CPU and motherboard?
Finally, I have the hard drives, optical drives, and peripherals. What
would be a good upgradable case and compatible CPU + motherboard for
around $500?

Thanks alot for any I help I really feel lost in all of this.
Click to expand...

http://www.motherboards.org/mobot/index.html

Set the Socket to "Socket A (462)". The search will
return 895 motherboards. Socket A has been out of production
for some time, so Ebay might be one source of boards. Stuff
still in stock at retail, might not be from the best
manufacturers.

Now, take an example.

http://www.motherboards.org/mobot/motherboards_d/ASUS/A7N8X-X/

We go to the Asus site, and use this link to see what processors
are compatible.

http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusupport/cpusupport.aspx?SLanguage=en-us

You can see here, that the Semprons at the bottom of the list, need
a certain BIOS release to work. For some motherboards, the middle
column will tell you, that a certain PCB revision number is needed,
for the processor to work well.

http://support.asus.com.tw/cpusuppo...x?type=1&name=A7N8X-X&SLanguage=en-us&cache=1

The product also has downloadable manuals. You get a copy of the
manual, and read it, before buying the motherboard.

http://support.asus.com.tw/download/download.aspx

Many other manufacturers offer similar information and advice.

As a means of sampling the retail market, you could look here:

http://www.pricewatch.com/motherboards/
http://www.pricewatch.com/motherboards/socket_462.htm

"Asus A7N8X NVidia nForce2 SPP CHIPSET Socket A (462)"
http://www.gearxs.com/gearxs/product_info.php?products_id=8284

Now, the problem with that product offering, is it doesn't identify
what revision of board they are selling. The box only comes with a
faceplate, and no IDE cables etc. The product looks similar to
this one, only it is missing the Silicon Image SIL3112 chip for SATA,
and it looks like the SPDIF connector is missing as well. Still, it
would be a basic board for an AthlonXP.

http://www.asus.com.tw/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=218&l1=3&l2=13&l3=57&l4=0

Flashing the BIOS on that board, would be a lot more complicated,
as there are several revisions of board, and you have to be careful
before you flash. In fact, I would use the flashing tool, and start
by making a backup copy of the BIOS that comes with the motherboard
(once you've managed to get some response from your new board). The
BIOS release string might tell you something, or in the worst case,
you could use a hex editor to examine the BIOS image and see which
one is being used.

As for a power supply, Athlon boards can draw their CPU power from
the 12V rail, or from the 5V rail. If the motherboard is missing the
ATX12V 2x2 square power connector, then it runs from +5V. The A7N8X
is like that. For my A7N8E-E Deluxe, I recommend a supply with a
minimum of 5V @ 25A on the label. If the motherboard used 12V, then
you'd need maybe 6A from that rail. A typical minimum supply in
that case would be 12V @ 15A, as you also need a bit of power for
the hard drives, CDROMs, etc. Your AGP video card also needs a bit
of power, and they can range from say 15W to 70W for the older stuff.

This supply is an example of a "universal donor", and this is
suitable for any kind of S462 motherboard. It has 5V @ 32A, which
would suit my setup. It has 12V @ 26A, which would work with a
12V powered board, and have power left over. Notice that the sum
total of the power ratings of all the outputs, is higher than the
box limit of 353W, and the idea is, that you'll be loading only
one of the rails heavily. And that is true with most builds.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194014
http://images10.newegg.com/NeweggImage/productimage/17-194-014-04.jpg

For a case, there are cases that start at $20, and one without a
PSU would be good. Then you can put your carefully selected
ATX PSU in the case.

Also, in case the only thing you own right now, is a S462
AthlonXP processor someone gave you, think again. Technology
and time march on, and investing money in all the necessary
bits and pieces, to be able to use that processor, is a mistake.
You can buy more modern gear, and you'd be surprised how cheap
some of the low end processors are now. The resulting box could
be more powerful, than the one you'd get via a S462 processor.

HTH,
Paul
 
Based on your questions, I believe you are too underprepared technically to
take on the construction and trouble shooting required in the building of a
modern computer.
 
DaveW said:
Based on your questions, I believe you are too underprepared technically to
take on the construction and trouble shooting required in the building of a
modern computer.
Click to expand...

Are you offering to tutor him, Dave ?
You're a mighty generous guy.
Pour on the wisdom...

Paul
 
You would get more specific advice if you listed what drives, etc., you
intend to use. It would also be helpful if you could specify what sort of
applications you need.

Do you have a graphics card? Is it AGP (2X/4X, or 4X/8X) or PCI-Express?
(Motherboards that are less than 2 years old or so tend to use PCI-E
graphics.) Are you looking for onboard graphics? (That would be unsuitable
for a machine for 3D games.)

Are your hard drives IDE or SATA? (If SATA, are they 150 MB/s or 300 MB/s?)
(Recent motherboards have SATA connections, and they may only offer a single
IDE controller, good for 2 devices.)

Do you prefer Intel or AMD CPUs? They haven't used common motherboards since
the Socket 7 days.

Depending on what motherboard you get, you'd need a power supply with a 20
or 24 pin ATX connector, plus a 4 pin 12V connector for the CPU. However,
it's now common to find PSUs with 20+4 pin connectors, which can be used
with either.

(If you have a 462 pin CPU, it's an old AMD Socket A one. I couldn't
recommend using one in a new build.)

The easy way to proceed would be to borrow from some system-level building
guides:

http://www.extremetech.com/category2/0,1695,644478,00.asp

http://www.sharkyextreme.com/guides/index.php

(These are mostly aimed at gamers.) The CPU prices listed in these guides
are usually higher than the current prices, as both Intel and AMD have had
major recent price reductions.

HTH.

Return address scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.
 
Lets not talk about pins and mobo lets discuss the "build"
It was not too long ago where I was in your position....I had always spec'd
the parts and had someone else build.
That is the first step.........the parts and those other people who answered
gave you great location to look at and some good advice.
I researched the "build" by means of many Google searches....looked for
specific websites with pictures...printed them out.
I then proceeded to have a real good close look at my present system and
took it apart piece by piece........then I put it back together and was
amazed that it actually worked..........wheww!!!.
The next step is to research the "parts" there are websites that TEST
equipment and there are websites that tell you about the latest and
greatest.BUT the important part is what will you be using the system for and
how long do you want it to last....... that should be your major
concern.When you build your own you get to choose the parts ....you get to
future proof your system.An example of this is PATA and SATA drives....With
the majority of new mobo having only 1 PATA connection(2 drives) those you
did not buy SATA a few years ago do not have room for 4 pata drives
.....unless they buy an expansion card.Those who bought SATA a few years ago
can easily transfer to a Mobo that only has the capability for 1PATA drive
and 1 DVD drive. Tying yourself to a Socket A motherboard because you own a
Socket A CPU is foolish........Think ahead..........and do some research
before you actually buy the parts.
With research ,some smart advice and luck you could start from scratch and
have a system that will last for ..say 5 years no matter where the
technology goes.
here is a start
http://www.anandtech.com/
http://www4.tomshardware.com/
http://www.daileyint.com/build/
http://computer.howstuffworks.com/build-a-computer.htm
http://www.3dxtreme.org/index.php?id=reviews
peter
 
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