need advice on building my own pc

I am contemplating "building" a PC, primarily for the hands-on experience of learning how to work on a PC, but also to upgrade to a better, faster PC. I would like to end of with a current "state of the art" machine, something that I can upgrade and maintain for a few years without getting a new PC. I am not actually looking to purposely end up with a top end multimedia machine or any "gaming" capabilities, but that would be OK, mostly looking for a good problem free optimal performing internet and app machine…

One of my concerns is the old axiom that if you build a $20k auto from purchased parts, it will cost $60k. So, I am wondering if this is also true with PCs, and how I might go about procuring the best components for the new PC at the lowest cost. Shop around online? At a "computer show ", like Marketpro? From a Mom and Pop PC shop? Some other way?

Also, although I plan to eventually procure a new hard drive and install Win XP pro on the new PC, I have an "old" master hard drive, circa Win 98SE, that I would initially like to use to boot up the new machine and am thinking that just hooking it up as is, it should work without too many problems, except maybe for drivers, right? And, if the drivers are a problem, just how would I expect that to work, or not work? If it's going to be a lot of trouble, I could skip that step…

Any other considerations? Like, Intel or AMD or? What to look for to avoid problems like overheating, to establish a problem free system? Are there any good all in one internet sites that deal with these kinds of issues for building your own?

 

The best bang for the buck is an AMD.
You can build for about the same as you can buy. If you price out each component, get your total, including tax and shipping, then go to any other computer store, and price out the identical system (except maybe the case), you'll pay more at the store.

Buy everything from one place, save a bundle on shipping charges.

Buy your case and monitor locally, they cost too much to ship usually. Your mileage may vary.

Buy everything from www.newegg.com in the US. (There are others, but newegg has superb after-sales service, RMA, and warranty procedures.
Buy everything from www.ncix.com in Canada.
Buy everything from www.overclockers.co.uk in the UK.
Check www.resellerratings.com if in doubt.

Choose the motherboard wisely. Stick with what's stable, and fast. Generally, for an AMD processor get an Asus, Soltek, or even an MSI with either the NForce II chipset, or VIA KT400+ chipset.
If you're going for an Intel, get an Intel chipset motherboard.
Get a motherboard that will support the latest generation of CPU's, and hopefully will support even faster ones in the future, usually with a simple BIOS flash. Check the manufacturer's website to see if these flashes are readily available. (MSI and Asus are most excellent with online support (when the Asus site isn't clogged up)).

Buy two matching sticks of RAM. Not just for dual channel speeds, but also for troubleshooting purposes if needed. Buy as much RAM as you might think you need, and then double it. 1 gig for XP is extremely nice to have. Buy RAM that meets or exceeds the FSB of the CPU. eg. If you get a Barton core AMD, with a 333mhz FSB, buy PC3200 RAM to match, or even faster if possible. You may not use the full speed now, but you will later, and most motherboards allow you to run the ram asynchronously, that is, at a faster speed than the CPU's FSB, for even more performance. It works, and you're not really overclocking anything.

Buy a "Retail" CPU. I comes with a heat sink and fan, and usually a 3 year warranty. OEM CPU's only (usually) have 90 days. The retail fan is plenty of cooling, even for smallish overclockings not involving VCORE voltage increases.
Buy everything else OEM, including the operating system, and save a bundle on fancy packaging.

Buy a good case, without any sharp edges inside. Make sure it has a name brand 350w or better PSU, or purchase the PSU separately. Enermax is my choice, there are others as good.

Mounting your Win98 drive in the new computer requires only one step before you remove it from the old computer. Read exactly what to do here: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9254

 

In general, Reboot is right. But with Retail vs. OEM, check out if you need the stuff the retail box comes with. sometimes accompanying software is worth more than the hardware, like for a DVD ROM and CDRW drive. But if you don't need the software, save some money.

New Egg (for US residents) is an excellent source. Not only are purchase prices good, but so is their warranty and return policy. It's no hassle.

But New Egg shipping is on a per item basis. Fortuantely, most major items have little or no shipping costs. But some nik nak item, such as rounded cables, floppy drives, etc. may be better to purchase elsewhere where there is a total shipping cost based on the final package.

AMD will give the biggest bang for the buck. Intel CPUs on Intel chipsets will be esier to build and are more forgiving. You don't seat an AMD heatsink properly, you can burn the CPU out before you know what happened.

I wouldn't even mess with Windows 98SE and a old hard drive in a new system. It's like buying a Ferrari and wanting to run it on Big O tires and no name regular gas!

The hard drive will play a big part in the access time. It is noticeable. Get a new hard drive. Get an SATA hard drive if you can afford it.

Windows XP Home as a full retail OEM can be purchased at New Egg for less than $100. It's a full operational copy with a different licensing agreement. If you can transfer your current XP Home (like you have a full disk or it's a Dell), do it. It supposed to be only on one system, but at reactivation Microsoft trusts you. I'm sure you will take it off your old computer when your new one is proven to run correctly.

 

Real good info in the replies but your question is quite big. Get all critical, costly components from Newegg. Then if you have a problem, you'll have absolutely no trouble returning them. For the little stuff like cables and heatsink/fan combos and case fans you can go to a good vendor like svcompucycle.com. Excellent, affordable PC parts vendor. And you'll do better on the shipping.

One minor drawback to Newegg is that they don't consolidate shipping charges anywhere near as much as they should. I've probably bought over $3000 worth of stuff from them over the years and it's kind of laughable when they put a cpu in a big Fedex box and charge you $6 for shipping and then the RAM stick comes in another box and costs another $6 to ship. That's a bit screwball to me.

I can't talk about saving money - you can always buy a cheap-a$$ e-machine for less than you can build one for but it's very much worth all the things you'll learn in doing it yourself.

Windows XP is very "builder-friendly" in the way it handles hardware and drivers. Everyone has their favorite motherboard brands. I've built fine rigs using Shuttle and Abit boards (heck, even ECS) but I will only use Epox boards in my own. Been using them since the socket 7 days. As mentioned, AMD will give you much more bang for the buck. Not only are they significantly cheaper but their Instruction Per Cycle count is higher thus giving you more computing power per Mhz. Intel makes fine products but there are no quality concerns where AMD is involved so for me it's an easy choice.

As I said, it's a big topic. Two fatal mistakes often made by inexperienced (and experienced) PC builders is killing your hardware with electro-static discharge by not discharging yourself before touching the components and gouging your motherboard to death when the screwdriver slips when installing the cpu's heatsink/fan. In general, I've switched to needle-nose pliers for that but there are times when a screwdriver actually works better. And don't forget a thin layer of thermal compound on the processor core (Arctic Silver III).

If you have any specific building questions, this is definitely the right forum!

 

Thanks everyone, looks like excellent advice. One thing tho, no one has addressed my question on procuring parts at "computer shows" (ie, "MarketPro ") regarding what kind of a deal I might expect to get there on the various components. Sounds like it might be good to try to pick up the case and "unshippable" stuff there, but I am curious in general about the pricing at these shows, and whether or not it is advisable to consider shopping around for most if not all of the components there.

I guess I am trying to save time by having someone knowledgeable give me a quick answer and save me doing the research, but even so I guess I would have to research prices first so I would know what is a good buy and what was not. Still, I wonder about quality at what pretty much equates as a "flea market" for computer parts, and maybe if there are other traps or tricks to watch out for at computer shows...

 

Computer shows are OK, depending on the vendor. Some are fly-by-night types, and the monitor you got "new" may turn out to be reconditioned, no warranty, and nowhere to turn if it goes south. Just beware.
I find that computer shows are good for cheaper stuff, maybe modems, floppy drives, cables, and such, but I wouldn't purchase any major component, especially not a motherboard or RAM.
Anyone can sell you a case, they're not that much, it's the quality of the PSU inside that's in question.

 

I'm with Reboot - where you gonna turn for warranty coverage if you purchased at a show? Maybe get some cables or fans there.

I'd go so far as saying that you should buy a case without a power supply and then cherry-pick a topnotch power supply. That's what seasoned PC builders do so there's no reason you shouldn't - thought it definitely will cost more. I highly recommend getting one of the Antec TruePower PSUs.

Two things you never skimp on are the quality of your memory and power supply.