Requirements

This is a copy of what I posted in the previous response:

My thought is to build a top end PC (speed, top-rated components, etc.) with
room for expansion. Also, I'd like the backup capability built-in. The
motherboard and processor should be capable of upgrades. As of now, I'd use
Windows XP Pro as the OS - but who knows what will be the next Microsoft OS
(and when). The power supply must be powerful enough to handle anything I
might throw at this machine. The machine should be fairly quiet with plenty
of cooling capacity (but, I don't know if I want to mess with liquid
cooling - I'm afraid that I might do something wrong and spring a leak -
thereby ruining my PC). For now, I foresee using this PC for Photoshop,
playing music on a 7.1 or 8.1 sound card, and videoconferencing. Once those
items are set up, I'd probably look for more things I could do with this PC
(things I may not now know exist). That's one of my questions: where do I
look to find other things that are available or things to come? I don't
have a preference of CPU because I don't know enough about them. I would
probably want 10,000 rpm drives (to add to the speed). I've heard of RAID
configurations - but don't know the pros and cons of them. What can be
done? I always backup my PC and also clone another drive once-a-week so I
will never (???) crash completely. I'm trying not to have too may wires
exterior to the PC - like I have now - but, I guess, every peripheral has to
have both power and a connection to the PC. I will also want to use my PC
as a media center for my home with a wireless router. Perhaps a built-in
telephone with message capability (don't know if there is such a thing).
The case should be easy to get access to the interior and to the components.
At the moment, I'm not considering the cost - but I want a machine to be my
*hobby* for some years - so I'll probably be willing to spend what I need
to. However, I'm retired and living on a fixed income - so, I may have to
build this machine in stages as the money becomes available. At this time,
I just don't know how this will play out. About this time next year, I will
be moving to Texas to live near one of my sons - and this hobby will be
something we can do together. That's when I will be building this machine -
but I want to start my research now so I'm well prepared. Who knows - if I
become confident enough, I may want to build the basics of this machine
sooner so I can, at least, duplicate what I have now.

What I have now is a 1GHz notebook, Windows XP Pro, a wired router, scanner,
three exterior Maxtor drives (for backup), a spare drive to clone
once-a-week, high speed Internet, and an Epson graphics printer. The
slowness of this machine drives me crazy and, even though I use an expansion
docking station, there is no more room for expansion. Oh, I also have an
Intuos 2 graphics tablet. I don't plan to do video editing at this time.
I've tried videoconferencing - but the frame rate is still too slow for me.
I also use Dragon Naturally Speaking - but my system is too slow for that
too.

I can't think of anything more at the moment...........
"Mxsmanic" <mxsmanic@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:g709l1h3sqnj13i4j8pfhoe059ebvm7bke@xxxxxxxxxx
> +++Bobby "O"+++ writes:
>
>> I've read a lot about building my own PC - but it seems like a daunting
>> task
>> just to map out exactly what I want. I'd like a system that has as much
>> as
>> possible built in to it (as opposed to peripherals like I have now
>> connected
>> to my notebook's docking station).
>
> Building a computer from components is easy. You just buy the
> components you want and connect them together in a case. At a
> minimum, you need:
>
> - a motherboard
> - a CPU
> - memory
> - a power supply
> - a disk drive
> - a keyboard
> - a mouse
> - a monitor
> - a video card (if not included on motherboard)
> - a CD or DVD drive (to install software)
> - an operating system
> - one or more fans (optional in some cases, but always a good idea)
>
> You can expand on this to almost any extent you desire, with extra or
> larger disks, a fancier video card, more CD/DVD drives, other
> peripherals like joysticks and scanners, and so on.
>
>> I'd like a large tower with room for expansion.
>
> If you are making your own, you can buy any kind of case you want.
> Pretty much all of them will accept all the standard sizes for
> motherboards, especially towers.
>
>> How do I choose a motherboard and processor (and memory)?
>
> They have to be compatible with each other. Beyond that, it's a
> question of what you want to pay and what features you want on the
> board. More expensive boards may have more slots for memory or
> expansion, or more on-board hardware (audio controllers, Ethernet
> network connections, USB ports, sometimes built-in video), or
> better-known chipsets (Intel vs. Acme). Prices for motherboards range
> from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars. The same is true for
> processors and memory. So you might spend anywhere from $100 to $1000
> for these components.
>
> The motherboard has to accept the processor you want. Different
> processors mount in different types of sockets, and the motherboard
> has only one specific socket. You can choose either the motherboard
> first or the CPU first, but they have to be compatible with each
> other.
>
> The same is true for memory, although memory is a lot more
> standardized so you have more flexibility on that point.
>
> If you have an old PC, you can recycle many components, such as
> extension cards or CD/DVD/floppy drives. A new floppy or CD drive can
> be had very cheaply, though.
>
> Depending on how often you've done it, assembling it all takes
> anywhere from a few hours to 30 minutes. It's hard to mess up because
> most connections only fit in one kind of socket, so connecting the
> wrong cables to the wrong place is easy to avoid. The only tool you
> really need is a medium-sized Philips-head screwdriver (for screws
> that have a head that looks like a plus sign, '+').
>
> --
> Anthony
>
> --
> Transpose mxsmanic and gmail to reach me by e-mail.


.

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