First Build

I was thinking I'd like to start my first complete pc build this year, now I've got my current pc pretty much as good as I need it my tinkering hands need another project. Considering I will only really be able to afford each major component roughly once every month, what do you think would be a good platform to start with?

I want it to be a games/media pc so bearing this in mind; I need to use a suitable cpu/mobo with some good potential shelf life ahead; I don't mind a tweak here and there of course ;)

I did think a shuttle to begin with as replacing my current pc in the living room as the media centre but then thought I'd do myself a favour and undertake my first build in a tower with plenty of room. So, a sleek games media pc with low noise output and built through the coming months. Thought I'd put the idea to you as it's fresh in my head to help me get the creative juices flowing. I'm browsing cases today as the day out that was planned has been postponed due to severe hangover on the misuses part :p (she's a lightweight) and intend to get the ball rolling ASAP by putting in the order today.

The tools I begin with are coffee a fresh pack of donuts and a credit card :mrgreen: Any suggestions, advice and hindsight along the way will be greatly appreciated.

Woah! Steady there... what is the point in buying one component each month? By the time the build is complete, the first components you bought will be half the price and no longer top of the range. Save up until you have enough for a complete system. It will be worth it in the end!

it wil be very hard to do it month by month, only thing to do would be get things in this order:

case
psu
hard drive
dvd-rw etc
hard drives
motherboard
cpu
graphics card


but imo it would be best to save up for an entire system

like Jonny said it would be so much better to save and then buid once you got the cash for it all. You'll be gutted if you spend money on a component now and then in 6 months time when your still waiting to build its half price. Id do understand how inpatient it can be waiting for the money for parts tho, i was in the same boat i had my board new HD's etc and was waiting for my Opteron. if you do want to buy somethin maybe just get your case and a PSU first as YorkieBen states above and wait for the rest.

Happy shopping

You need to save the money and build all at once, otherwise it is a waste of time, its like buying a bit of a car each month, by the time you got a full car you will be worth nothing like what you have payed for it, and it will be out of date. whereas if you spent all your money that you have saved at once then you get your moneys worth. Also different compnanats codt different ammounts as so getting one part a month does not work, you would have to spend say £100 a month, and then some months you would have to skip to buy say the CPU.

What is your buget?

This is why I posted before I started :embarrassed: thanks guys. Well I think it all goes on a credit card and I pay it off month by month then.

I really like the look of the Coolermaster WaveMaster in Silver which is instock with scan, it's the only case I've seen so far that I thought would look smart and professional in the living room and perform well.

Budget? well I don't know really, I was intending to pay my card off as I go and try and forget how much I've spent in total by the end of the build :p I should get a budget I know, but the main thing for me is I have fun building this thing and be happy with the finished project.

The coolermaster WAS an excellent case 2 years ago, but now its airflow, fans andsome other things are dated and you really should look elsewhere, i would go for a li lanli case, absolutely lovely.

If this is your first build then whats up with your sig? It doesnt look like an OEM PC?

Loooking at your sig, there is loads you can take over, graphics, ram(you will be able to use the ddr2 on the new AMD M2 socket), hd, psu. You have the core components, you need a new case/motherboard/cpu/TFT.

The new amd socket comes out around june/july, so you have plenty of time to get the other components, are you going intel/amd?

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The new amd socket comes out around june/july, so you have plenty of time to get the other components, are you going intel/amd?

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I want it to be amd for this games/media build mate, especially with the M2 socket on the horizon your spot on.

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If this is your first build then whats up with your sig? It doesnt look like an OEM PC?

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It was OEM just with a few simple upgrades really. With this project I want to build from scratch and enjoy all the componant researching and fitting myself. Taking parts over from my current rig is an option, as this would leave me the componants to build another system for my mate.

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i would go for a li lanli case, absolutely lovely.

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Thanks mate I'll check that out.

ill second the lian-li cases, just got a v1000 to replace my old pc65 and its stunning!

If you are going for the complete rebuild, then you would be better off waiting to the exact time of building, keep in mind, ati new cards out at the end of this month, nvidia 7900 rumoured around march, and dont forget intels new offerings. Also with new sockets/chipsets there comes new problems, it usually takes them a few months if not longer to iron them out

One way you could go about it is get the parts that don't fluxuate in price much all in one go:
Case
PSU
Motherboard
DVD-/+RW
Hard Drives

clear off your creditcard, then CPU, RAM, graphics card and whatever else. Even if you take 2 months to put in the second order then the price for these parts you've chosen will have dropped, if you're lucky that drop will be significant.

But then there is little point of doing that, create a new bank account (should be easy if you do it at your current bank) and pay money into that everymonth, and get intrest too!

Then when you have enough start ordering.

well, its the quickest route, the banks get mega interest of you all the time that you dont see, whats a bit more? And some people couldn't save their life much less their money.

How is it the quickest route?

I may not be a believer in spending money you dont have he still will have aload of componats sitting doing nothing.

He will have to wait a while before he can pay off the credit card (all the while he is paying THEM intrest) if he cant buy the PC upfront, the same ammount of time if he was saving and therefore it would be no quicker.

actually the case, psu, motherboard, hard drives, and dvdrw are the cheapest of the bunch.. generally the cpu, memory and graphics cards cost nearly twice as much as the first batch.. when you attempt the save method, something *always* comes up and you have to nip a little off your savings.. and depending how well you save it could take a year to get everything.