Building Own Computer

vickomaniac

New member
hey guys im not sure if this is the right section, but im actually trying to build my computer but i dont wanna screw it up.

so hopefully i can get some input from the softies.

my main issue is, i can change everything, but i still want to keep all my stuff in the current harddisk and import it to my new one.

is that possible?

everyone i've asked says i need to put my current hd into a casing and leave it as an external hd.

and as for the specs, i don't need smth omfg wtfbbq gosu pro comp,
but i game quite alot so i need some good graphics card, ram and whatever else that's needed.

and after getting all the parts, is there somewhere/someone who can help me put it all together?

thanks a mil guys

vicki(:
 
Go to SLS and buy all the parts from the same store. Most likely they'll assemble it for you for free. Try Fuwell, PCThemes, Bell etc. These are the more popular stores.

Alternatively, buy them from a local online store. They'll assemble for you and deliver to your doorstep too. Check out GooGoo.

As for migrating your data, you got to choose all the files you want to keep first. Then the fastest way is to take out old HDD, plug into new computer and copy those files over.

It's normally not a good recommendation to wait, but if you're gonna buy a gaming computer, it's best to wait a week or so. There's currently a graphics card price war going on, and I think there are rumours of a substantial price cut very soon.
 
I find DIY PCs to be a double edged sword. it's really cheap but often times you find yourself wishing you had paid for a brand like Dell for the compatibility and security. Unless you find yourself keen enough or really broke I'd suggest you opt out of getting a DIY. Troubleshooting alone can be a nightmare sometimes.

You can transfer stuff to the new pc by running your old hdd as a slave drive in the newer pc, which should have plenty of room in the chassis for one.
 
actually im not doing it for the price, im doing it more for the specs.
dells and hps tend to have pretty good specs but are WAY overpriced.

"You can transfer stuff to the new pc by running your old hdd as a slave drive in the newer pc, which should have plenty of room in the chassis for one."

no idea what that means ><

is it possible if i bring my current cpu to fuwell or whatever and ask them to build me one?
and import all my old stuff into the new one?

and one more thing, could you give me some specific parts that would work?

oh just clarifying is xp sp3 out yet?
 
i'm not a computer expert, but bringing your cpu along is a good idea, since they can help to setup your old hard disk in the new pc. However please backup your important files before going anywhere, just in case. Also bring along someone that's slightly knowledgeable about computer stuff, so you won't get conned or something :)

edit: sp3 is not out yet
edit edit: i'm an idiot
 
Last edited:
"um how do you backup?"

burn your pron folder to dvd or something

"and please define computer knowledgable thanks (:"

just bring along your nerd friends :)
 
Dir, i find your post quite funny because I have the exact opposite experience. heh. My DIY Machine is the only one that has never failed me.

Vicky - I go to Fuwell alot for my computing needs. buying stuff from them has always been a pleasant experience. as for what machine you need, i gather its largely going to be a gaming machine. you can download the latest pricelists from hardwarezone.com.sg (price guides). Fuwell's pricelist includes a section (like most other stores) where they have pre-built machines. check it out, the specs are good and the price is pretty cheap.

For example, just to give u an idea, they have the following setup for $678.

AMD Athlon 64X2 Dual Core 5600+ (2.8Ghz)
MSI K9N Neo-F V3 nf560 Mainboard w/Gigabit Lan/Sound
Kingston PC2-6400 DDR2 800 1GB Ram
MSI 8600GT 256MB PCI-E Graphic
Hitachi 250GB SATA2 Harddisk
Vios 6988/6998 w/450W PSU + 1 Fan Casing
Samsung S202J 20X DvD-Writer
Microsoft Wired Desktop 500 (K/B + Mouse)

I dun suppose you are doing overclocking etc. They have some others starting from $415. check it out, plenty of stores, plenty of different configs.
 
thanks fibredrive for your input!
i shall go down to fuwell to take a look this weekend.

oh one thing.
amd or intel?

i heard amd's pretty tempremental
 
is it possible if i bring my current cpu to fuwell or whatever and ask them to build me one?
and import all my old stuff into the new one?

I thought you want to build a new computer? Then why are you bringing your old CPU to the shop? Do you actually mean the individual parts? CPU refers to the processor, e.g. Intel E8400.
If you intend to ask them to transfer your files for you, I suspect that cannot be done. I think most shops don't even install your OS for you.
Anyway, it's possible to bring your parts down and they assemble for you, but they'll most likely charge you an assembly fee. But the question is: why don't you ask the shop you're buying parts from to assemble for you?

As for recommended parts, you need to give info on your budget and requirements first. Other than gaming, is it going to be for music production purpose?

Don't worry about getting conned if you visit the reputable stores. There are some shops in SLS that try to "maximize profits", but if you stick to the more reputable ones, you should do fine.

Also... SP3 is already out for manual download. You can download and apply it manually, but it won't be on Automatic Update until June.
 
oh one thing.
amd or intel?

i heard amd's pretty tempremental

haha...ooooh....i shan't go into that territory. But suffice to say i have been an AMD user for the last 8 years, and it has never failed me. i use my machine primarily as a DAW and for gaming too (warcraft III, old game..keke). But if you r overclocking etc, i think most would recommend Intel.
 
Vicki, what is the PC for? General use, gaming, music (DAW)? Your choice of CPU, OS, and specs may differ quite a bit depending on the usage.

Yes, transferring is simple. You can even use the same HD. But since you are upgrading (and HD aren't expensive nowadays), I would suggest getting a new one and perhaps keeping your old one - ie use 2 HD.

Another thing - you may not need to change your monitor, mouse, keyboard etc. If you're happy with your current soundcard, you can keep that. These will keep cost down.

Which comes to the next question - what is your budget?

As for assembly, the people at the shop usually does it for you for a fee. The very first PC I built - I got the person to assemble for me. When I brought it home and turn it on, it kept crashing for no reason at startup. I opened up the case, and eventually found they put the CPU in wrongly (pins not aligned correctly). Since then, I assembled all my PCs myself.
 
In the past, AMD is a good competitor against Intel in terms of cost vs performance. Today, there's no longer any argument. Intel won. Both in terms of performance and cost. AMD is losing very badly. Heard they are coming up with a new chip that's supposed to bring them back into the competition, but I don't think they will ever catch up.

As for SP3, it's already available in windows update. I updated my notebook a few days ago to SP3. If your cautious, don't do it until 1-2 months later in case there are bugs. So far, I've encountered no problems. Some people noticed performance improvements, esp in DAW environment.
 
The very first PC I built - I got the person to assemble for me. When I brought it home and turn it on, it kept crashing for no reason at startup. I opened up the case, and eventually found they put the CPU in wrongly (pins not aligned correctly). Since then, I assembled all my PCs myself.

Wah, the PC still can work??? Anyway, that must have happened years ago? I remember before ATX power supply, during the 386/486 era, there were even things you could do to create fireworks on the computer.

But nowadays, assembly is so idiot-proof it's impossible to fit things in the wrong way without using excessive force and breaking some pins along the way.
 
oh i mean i bring my old cpu to fuwell just to transfer the old stuff inside to the new comp.
i mean all the files and stuff.
i don't really like the idea of having an external hd because i don't wanna hit it or smth ><
and i don't like stuff hanging outta my pc.

yeah i plan to game, but i don't really play really comp sucking games, mostly just wc3, cs and stuff like that,
but i would like to be able to on music and play dota at the same time, which is a problem for my current comp as it'll lag and i can't alt tab smoothly at all.

im not gonna produce music or anything, but i'd like to keep my options open.
(in case i do actually stop having a mental block and can write a proper melody)

budget.. i'd say 1k?



thanks guys (:
 
vickomaniac,
I highly doubt the shops will help you transfer files. Most likely, you got to do that yourself. I believe they don't help you do OS installation, so transferring anything is out of the question. I've asked Fuwell before, and the last I know, none of the shops help to do that, but I might be wrong. It's very easy to do it yourself anyway.

Budget 1K for PC with monitor? keyboard? soundcard? speakers?
 
$1k? can get a very good DIY system. take a stroll around Sim Lim on Sat. collect the brochures they shove in ur face at every escalator stop or corner, go somewhere, grab a cuppa and study the brochures like ur life depends on it and you shld be able to get a pretty good system up and running by evening. :)

Note down the stuff you don't need to buy, like your existing Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor? etc. Do you need to buy software like your OS? etc

cheers
 

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