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the New Cunning Linguist
Like a good neighbor, only better
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1871
Location: I'm here, aren't I?
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 Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:25 am Post subject: DIY PC thread |
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I'm thinking about building my own desktop this summer... I've been reading a bit of PCMech (how to) and SharkyExtreme (what to put in)... Anyone else have some good links about how to do this? I think I can handle the mechanical/assembly part pretty well... What worries me is the setup/BIOS/etc. part...
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... Because the old one, is well, old.
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:54 am Post subject: |
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This thing is handy for determining your power needs. But be generous with your PS though. Get a power supply with extra juice.
I didn't use a lot of sites to build mine. Just research, research, research. And read the manuals! Make sure that you determine all of the components that you are looking at buying are compatible.
Setup/BIOS wasn't that difficult. Read the motherboard manual and go through the BIOS screen by screen so you know what you're looking at and what each thing does.
This site is pretty good for asking questions about individual components and questions in general:
http://www.ncix.com
Unless you're building a really crazy graphics machine, you don't need an SLI or Crossfire motherboard. That was one mistake that I made building mine. I spent about an extra 100 on a top-of-the-line SLI motherboard, and I never ended up adding the second graphics card.
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Stinky
Woman of Color of the Post
Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 925
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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If you are even considering making a pc that can run a hacked version of mac's osx leopard, this site has some links to very good and functioning hardware configurations.
http://www.osx86project.org/
imagine a 1800 dollar top end mac for 1/3 of the price...
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the New Cunning Linguist
Like a good neighbor, only better
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1871
Location: I'm here, aren't I?
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:32 pm Post subject: |
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Are you still using Ubuntu, stink? Are you happy with it?
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Stinky
Woman of Color of the Post
Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 925
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:35 pm Post subject: |
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| the New Cunning Linguist wrote: |
| Are you still using Ubuntu, stink? Are you happy with it? |
linux mint. mindlessly easy though i do now have a cool dock bar and launcher.
I'll try and get a screen shot up in a few minutes...
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Stinky
Woman of Color of the Post
Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 925
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 12:41 pm Post subject: |
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Cannots Luvah
Mike Weaver jersey on order
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1109
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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I picked up on this hobby 2 years ago , its fun ,I think so at least. Havent built anything lately but Im thinking about building a media centre PC.
I use Ubuntu 6.0 on my laptop , perfect for stuff like this forum and porn. No viruses and crap. I can still DL music , videos , edit pictures , ... pretty good. Best bang for the buck !lol
For me the most important thing , you'll gain a general knowledge of your PC and you wont feel so helpless the next time goes wrong. It just happend to be geeky fun too. |
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Av-merican
Un-Tenured Professor of Hockey
Joined: 17 Oct 2007
Posts: 2280
Location: Denver
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the New Cunning Linguist
Like a good neighbor, only better
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1871
Location: I'm here, aren't I?
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:46 pm Post subject: |
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Nice...  I'll make sure I can put together first, before I tart it up...
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... Because the old one, is well, old.
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Stinky
Woman of Color of the Post
Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 925
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Cannots Luvah wrote: |
I picked up on this hobby 2 years ago , its fun ,I think so at least. Havent built anything lately but Im thinking about building a media centre PC.
I use Ubuntu 6.0 on my laptop , perfect for stuff like this forum and porn. No viruses and crap. I can still DL music , videos , edit pictures , ... pretty good. Best bang for the buck !lol
For me the most important thing , you'll gain a general knowledge of your PC and you wont feel so helpless the next time goes wrong. It just happend to be geeky fun too. |
yep. I now like using the command line - that's how I ended up with the docking bar. Once I install some more ram (only 1gig right now) I'm putting on xp as a virtual machine (for a couple of winblow$ programs I still need) then I'm wiping vista clean!
Loads of fun and I like it.
I've found that I'm a huge fan of the linux multimedia studio app as well all of the main graphics programmes as well - between them and ooo, all my needs are currently met. I still used itunes for my ipod though...
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Cannots Luvah
Mike Weaver jersey on order
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1109
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:00 pm Post subject: |
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| Stinky wrote: |
If you are even considering making a pc that can run a hacked version of mac's osx leopard, this site has some links to very good and functioning hardware configurations.
http://www.osx86project.org/
imagine a 1800 dollar top end mac for 1/3 of the price... |
that reminded me of a blog I read a month ago... Build a Mac for $350
http://wildwobby.com/hardware/build-a-mac-for-350/
pretty cool. |
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Stinky
Woman of Color of the Post
Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 925
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| Posted: Thu Mar 06, 2008 4:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Cannots Luvah wrote: |
| Stinky wrote: |
If you are even considering making a pc that can run a hacked version of mac's osx leopard, this site has some links to very good and functioning hardware configurations.
http://www.osx86project.org/
imagine a 1800 dollar top end mac for 1/3 of the price... |
that reminded me of a blog I read a month ago... Build a Mac for $350
http://wildwobby.com/hardware/build-a-mac-for-350/
pretty cool. |
yep. the $600 price i was thinking would include a monitor. I had osx86 running on my laptop, but it didn't play nice with battery / powersupply / built in audio options. The next desktop i build will be a hackintosh.
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the New Cunning Linguist
Like a good neighbor, only better
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1871
Location: I'm here, aren't I?
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MrBumpnGrind
Illegitimate Luongo Child
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 347
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:30 pm Post subject: |
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i was thinking of building a nice media centre PC, never done anything like that before, any websites you guys recommend?
i had one built for me last december, but the TV tuner card isn't even compatable with WMC!! so i have to use and external software WINPC, to watch tv! |
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the New Cunning Linguist
Like a good neighbor, only better
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1871
Location: I'm here, aren't I?
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| Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2008 7:40 pm Post subject: |
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| MrBumpnGrind wrote: |
i was thinking of building a nice media centre PC, never done anything like that before, any websites you guys recommend?
i had one built for me last december, but the TV tuner card isn't even compatable with WMC!! so i have to use and external software WINPC, to watch tv! |
This is the tutorial I plan to follow: http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/
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the New Cunning Linguist
Like a good neighbor, only better
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 1871
Location: I'm here, aren't I?
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| Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:30 pm Post subject: |
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Okay, so I think I'd like to try building a media center PC that will play Blu-Ray movies on the big screen, so it needs to output to HDMI (720p) and optical audio. What level of processing power do I need? What graphics card should it have? I'd like to have some Internet functionality to - uhm - be able to dl some - uhm - firmware updates... Yeah, that's it. I'd like it to be relatively compact so it won't look out of place in the Man's Room, perhaps have a wireless mouse and kb. Any suggestions?
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... Because the old one, is well, old.
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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| Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 3:40 pm Post subject: |
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| the New Cunning Linguist wrote: |
| Okay, so I think I'd like to try building a media center PC that will play Blu-Ray movies on the big screen, so it needs to output to HDMI (720p) and optical audio. What level of processing power do I need? What graphics card should it have? I'd like to have some Internet functionality to - uhm - be able to dl some - uhm - firmware updates... Yeah, that's it. I'd like it to be relatively compact so it won't look out of place in the Man's Room, perhaps have a wireless mouse and kb. Any suggestions? |
I've never built a Home Theatre/Media Center PC before...even though my comp is the only thing hooked up to my tv
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/forumdisplay.php?f=26
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Chuck
Joined: 19 Oct 2007
Posts: 149
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| Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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| the New Cunning Linguist wrote: |
| Okay, so I think I'd like to try building a media center PC that will play Blu-Ray movies on the big screen, so it needs to output to HDMI (720p) and optical audio. What level of processing power do I need? What graphics card should it have? I'd like to have some Internet functionality to - uhm - be able to dl some - uhm - firmware updates... Yeah, that's it. I'd like it to be relatively compact so it won't look out of place in the Man's Room, perhaps have a wireless mouse and kb. Any suggestions? |
Honestly the quick answer is a PS3. Have that sucker able to wirelessly connect to media shares on your other computers and you're golden. I actually ditched my computer that was hooked to the TV.
Also remember that if you have a card with a DVI out you can get a DVI>HDMI cable. I had it set up like that for a while because I didn't feel like shelling out the cash for a new graphics card yet. I had to use a program called powerstrip to fiddle with the cards settings though. Kind of a pain in the ass.
Remember though, the vid cards with HDMI out will probably not carry the sound. At least I haven't found one that does, and seriously, you want that card focusing on graphics alone. So you are going to have to get a decent soundcard too. Preferably one with at least an optical out you can then chain to a receiver. And then a bluray drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106225 ?) and hope it will support future firmware updates.
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Bosc Ulrich II
OTP Resident Historian
Joined: 18 Oct 2007
Posts: 3419
Location: Sweetest lid in the league
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| Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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| Chuck wrote: |
| the New Cunning Linguist wrote: |
| Okay, so I think I'd like to try building a media center PC that will play Blu-Ray movies on the big screen, so it needs to output to HDMI (720p) and optical audio. What level of processing power do I need? What graphics card should it have? I'd like to have some Internet functionality to - uhm - be able to dl some - uhm - firmware updates... Yeah, that's it. I'd like it to be relatively compact so it won't look out of place in the Man's Room, perhaps have a wireless mouse and kb. Any suggestions? |
Honestly the quick answer is a PS3. Have that sucker able to wirelessly connect to media shares on your other computers and you're golden. I actually ditched my computer that was hooked to the TV.
Also remember that if you have a card with a DVI out you can get a DVI>HDMI cable. I had it set up like that for a while because I didn't feel like shelling out the cash for a new graphics card yet. I had to use a program called powerstrip to fiddle with the cards settings though. Kind of a pain in the ass.
Remember though, the vid cards with HDMI out will probably not carry the sound. At least I haven't found one that does, and seriously, you want that card focusing on graphics alone. So you are going to have to get a decent soundcard too. Preferably one with at least an optical out you can then chain to a receiver. And then a bluray drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106225 ?) and hope it will support future firmware updates. |
I bought a new graphics card back in November, and DVI>HDMI is how I've got mine going to my TV. Unfortunately, my comp won't boot up with that connection  so if I'm starting up my comp, I have to connect the VGA to the TV and then switch back to the DVI>HDMI Optical out to my receiver...
Unfortunately, my receiver is 6 years old now and only has one optical in, so I've got an optical switch. I'm planning on getting a PS3 in the next couple of months, so HDMI to the TV and then optical to the switch. A new receiver would be nice, but too much dough. I'm trying to find a used one.
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