Transporting a desktop between houses

[nickf77]

Just 1 quick question (actually there'll probably be more to come). How will I know if I need a mid-tower case or full-tower? I'm looking at getting the 480 which I know is a fairly large card, but how do I know how big is too big?

 

[Mistiq]

I can't really answer the question in as much detail as it deserves but what I can do is point you to a site that helped me out a lot when it came to building out a spec list for a clients computer.

A great guide and parts list to building your own computer at various Price Points

Pick a price point and either use what he chose or use it as a guideline for a computer that fits you.

From what I've seen of his site, he goes much more into detail than he did before and I'm very impressed. Make sure that you upgrade and get something that is USB 3.0 compatible if you're planning on keeping the computer for some years.

 

[Mayhem]

Don't be scared. It seems like the collective here is experience enough to walk you thru it. If not serious cruise over to [H] there are dozens of guys more than willing to help you pick the parts and then help you out when its build time. It really is not as bad as it seems once you do it you will look back and realize the anxiety was more than the reality

^^^
This

If you'd rather go a somewhat pre-built box, check out the barebones systems at Newegg. All you have to do is add the HDD, optical drive, RAM, processor and video card. Those are all relatively easy. The most important part is to make sure you get a processor that has the proper wattage for your board.

Newegg has some great prices on SATA DVD burners too. Just make sure you get SATA cables with locks and be very careful hooking them to the back of the drive. The connectors are kinda flimsy.

Personally, I'd go for the Shuttle SA76G2. The price is decent, it supports AMD AM3 socket processors, the FSB is 3Ghz and it supports 8GB of RAM. It has onboard video (ATI Radeon 3000) but adding another card works too. I'd go for nVidia. I also highly suggest LiteOn optical drives. I used to be a hardware tester for Dell and we never had issues with their drives.

Granted, it's not a hard-core gamer's system but would probably work with most of the games out there.

Yes, I'm an AMD and nVidia fanboy.

 

[nickf77]

I can't really answer the question in as much detail as it deserves but what I can do is point you to a site that helped me out a lot when it came to building out a spec list for a clients computer.

A great guide and parts list to building your own computer at various Price Points

Pick a price point and either use what he chose or use it as a guideline for a computer that fits you.

From what I've seen of his site, he goes much more into detail than he did before and I'm very impressed. Make sure that you upgrade and get something that is USB 3.0 compatible if you're planning on keeping the computer for some years.

Wow that's an awesome site. It's pretty much exactly what I was looking for - suggestions, guides, stories, and emotional support all in one.