What was your first computer?

[Hans Christian | Teri]

First PC I built?

 

Intel Core i7 2700K

ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z

16GB of Corsair Dominator CL8 1600MHz

ASUS GTX 580 DCII

Corsair AX750

 

Nothing went wrong. (Although a lot of people in here will hate me for spending my money my way. Even better, I eventually upgraded to 3x EVGA GTX 580 SC+)

[LemonSpice]

First PC I built?

 

Intel Core i7 2700K

ASUS Maximus IV Extreme-Z

16GB of Corsair Dominator CL8 1600MHz

ASUS GTX 580 DCII

Corsair AX750

 

Nothing went wrong. (Although a lot of people in here will hate me for spending my money my way. Even better, I eventually upgraded to 3x EVGA GTX 580 SC+)

did you overclock that processor and if so how far?

[Briggsy]

technically it was my brother who got the parts and helped me assemble it (I was really young), but it was a 486, and with the turbo button pressed down it got a whopping 80Mhz on the cpu. I can't recall how many MB (yes MB) my hard drive was, but i distinctly remember at some point installing a 33.6Kbps dial up modem, and being excited about it. It had a soundblaster 16 card, which was awesome. I miss DOS   :lol: ... Not!

 

Recommendations: Just like toilet paper, don't cheap out on thermal paste.

[KemoKa]

First computer I ever built ran an Athlon X2 4200+, 1x2GB of DDR2, no GPU, and a stock PSU/case combo.

My recommendation for future builds is that you never, EVER, EVER do ANY of that stuff that I did. Go for good quality components, get an standalone case, cooler, PSU, the works, and DO NOT SKIMP OUT ON ANYTHING LIKE I DID.

[RazrLeaf]

Some key tips

1. Define your budget
2. Define the purpose of your build.  Assign more weight to tasks you currently do, and less to what you want to learn/hope to do.  If you don't play games, and you don't own games, the odds that you'll become a hardcore gamer after your first build isn't all that high.  But if you are willing to endure 15 fps on low setting now, you'll probably play even more when you can do 60 fps on ultra.
3. Figure out what you're willing to pay for.  Do you value silence? Appearance? Ease of use? Upgradability? Brand loyalty?  Those are just some things to get you thinking.
4. Do research.  If you have the time, look at the data and not people's conclusions when you can.  Their conclusions are based on what they value, not what you value.  Real-life benchmarks > synthetic benchmarks > specs.
5. Check compatibility and evaluate how well you stuck to your budget, purpose, and values.  If you didn't stick to your budget, purpose, or values, make changes.  You may learn that you need more budget for your purpose, or that you value certain things more/less.  If you make the changes you need and stick with your budget, purpose, and values, you'll be happier in the long run.

My first build that I did completely on my own was one that was for my father, and my biggest problem was that I wanted to spend more for things he didn't value.  I cared about appearance.  He just wanted something that would perform for as cheaply as possible.  And he wanted an Asus socket 1150 motherboard (which is a terrible tacky gold color that is impossible to color match).  But it was a good exercise in not paying for things that aren't valued.

 

In case you're curious, I ended up putting Kingston HyperX Fury Red on a Asus Z87-Pro. =/

[iJarbus]

My first build would be my current one, the biggest problem I had was that after I had built it, it didn't boot couldn't figure out what I'd done and I was getting a bit stressed at that point as I was worried I'd damaged something in my inexperience. I ended up completely dissembling the PC and starting again and it booted first try, still don't know what I had done wrong. My advice from my limited experience would be to stay calm and not get worried and stressed like I did and to set out a fair amount of time for the first couple of builds as at least for me it took me a fair few hours on the first few.

[Hans Christian | Teri]

did you overclock that processor and if so how far?

 

Pretty conservative 4.4GHz but I really didn't feel a reason to push it harder.

[DigitalHermit]

Rather than a build, it was a rebuild...

 

I was but a kid back then... I tore the system down since it was having problems playing Command and Conquer Generals... Wire management with the IDE cables is pretty hellish... There's also setting the master-slave pins on the hard drives properly...

The biggest problem for me was when the graphics card died... I tried everything but it wouldn't boot... Had to call a relative to diagnose and he said it was the graphics card...

[LemonSpice]

Pretty conservative 4.4GHz but I really didn't feel a reason to push it harder.

how many volts u pumping through that chip

[FloRolf]

my first one is my current one which i updated over time. My recommendation is: Don't cheap out. By the time i build it i didnt have a job but now... hehe.

[LemonSpice]

my first one is my current one which i updated over time. My recommendation is: Don't cheap out. By the time i build it i didnt have a job but now... hehe.

what were the parts you used originally

[FloRolf]

what were the parts you used originally

only differences are:

gtx 570 -> 780

8gb ram -> different 8gb ram (such improvement, many wow)

60gb ocz solid 3 -> 250gb evo (that actually was pretty epic!)

BenQ 2420HD -> xl2411t (meh, will buy 4k soon)

But some time in the future i'll completely rebuild. Just not sure when cause my time schedule is kinda fucked up the next 3 years

[Nomy]

My first build is the one I'm currently using.

I'd recommend to get enough info and watch as many videos about it as you can, you have so many options and it's easy to make the wrong one. It's something you gotta enjoy on the way while discovering stuff.

Oh and don't forget to buy a modular PSU, it'll save you a lot of time and wires in the beginning(the mistake I did).

[virtualTune]

first pc was a piece of crap. 512 MB ram, Pentium 4, onboard graphics, do i need another one?

 

Anyways, tip would be, 90% of building is planning. 

[LemonSpice]

only differences are:

gtx 570 -> 780

8gb ram -> different 8gb ram (such improvement, many wow)

60gb ocz solid 3 -> 250gb evo (that actually was pretty epic!)

BenQ 2420HD -> xl2411t (meh, will buy 4k soon)

But some time in the future i'll completely rebuild. Just not sure when cause my time schedule is kinda fucked up the next 3 years

:lol:  can a 60gb ssd hold a full windows os. awesome seup anyway    By the way why did you switch the ram

[FloRolf]

:lol:  can a 60gb ssd hold a full windows os. awesome seup anyway    By the way why did you switch the ram

no it can't After that i had around 5gig free which wasnt the recommended 20% everyone talked about. I also had bluescreens ~ every week. Didn't haev one since i changed to the evo. best ssd ever.

[LemonSpice]

no it can't After that i had around 5gig free which wasnt the recommended 20% everyone talked about. I also had bluescreens ~ every week. Didn't haev one since i changed to the evo. best ssd ever.

Yea i have used the evo before very nice ssd for the price and the samsung software is awesome

[LemonSpice]

I remember my first ssd which i am still using cost more than a dollar per gigabyte and now ssds are almost down to 50 cents per gigabyte for similar performance

[questman]

my first build is my current build and the only thing i did wrong was that i did not put the 6 pin connector in the graphic card so i got no image on the screen

[zushiba]

I built my first PC back at the end of 1997, it was a Pentium 200mhz MMX based system I honestly couldn't tell you who made the motherboard or video card. I believe I had 4 megs of ram. a 33.6kbps internal modem (that shit was amazing) and AOL dialup. 

[LemonSpice]

my first build is my current build and the only thing i did wrong was that i did not put the 6 pin connector in the graphic card so i got no image on the screen

What gpu where you using

[b45op]

my first was a cobbled together salvage job of a pentium 1, I don't remember the exact specs but I do remember the case, which was the only part I did not have so I went to the tool shed and built one. It was as ugly as heck but it worked! the next was a salvaged p3 that eventually had dual CRT's haha two graphics cards from different manufacturers to minimise driver conflicts and it seemed to work.

 

Now days I have upgraded to actually buying things

 

What I would say to everyone building a pc for the first time is don't rush, don't hurry. if it doesn't fit don't force it, use your creativity to overcome any problem you might get and read the manual!

[Th3 Mans1ay3r]

My first PC I built is the one I'm currently using.

Problems

The only problem I really had was when building it outside the box nothing had power routing through it so I thought something was fucked. I then put everything in the case and connected it all and bamo, power was allowed to route through it.

Recommendations

Plan your aassemblyand cable management out. It'll save you a headsche.

[Diederik_Gr]

Just like many others, my first build is the one im currently using. Build it back in February when i didnt feel like going for a 'next gen' console. I have a ps3, but it never really satisfied me and i have always liked gaming on my crappy laptop alot more.

 

Tips for future pc builders is to not try to save money on a case. I did and totally regret that. My case has a side window, but no room for cable management at all (cutout behind mobo tray is just pathetic), so the windows just reveals the mess inside, and the filters are nothing im happy with either.

[LemonSpice]

Just like many others, my first build is the one im currently using. Build it back in February when i didnt feel like going for a 'next gen' console. I have a ps3, but it never really satisfied me and i have always liked gaming on my crappy laptop alot more.

 

Tips for future pc builders is to not try to save money on a case. I did and totally regret that. My case has a side window, but no room for cable management at all (cutout behind mobo tray is just pathetic), so the windows just reveals the mess inside, and the filters are nothing im happy with either.

Yea what case did you use