a newB building his first pc...

[quest1mark]

a couple months ago i found my computer off with a smell of smoke coming from inside the case. i found it strange because my computers turned on 24/7. upon opening the case i realized everything was toasted. my motherboard, my soundcard, videocard, and cdrw drive was burned out. my first assumption was the powersource. i took it to a local shop and to replace all the burned out pieces it wouldve cost 500 bucks for the parts that i had, not including labor. im not a computer person at all...so i payed for it like a dumbass not knowing that with that 500 bucks, i couldve bought a completely new pc. but every now and then i kick myself in the ass thinking that if i knew how to build my own pc id have saved so much money.

since then ive been going to local computer shows and checking out the products. ive been pricing out the parts and built my own dream machine on paper. by opening up my own pc ive noticed the wiring and connections. but it all looks too simple. my buddy told me that after screwing in all the parts and wires, the hardest part was configuring the bios for the chip and the motherboard.

is this all i need to know? if not, what else is there? if so, does somebody mind posting up a crash course in configuring the bios? or is it not as simple as it seems? i appreciate any responses.

[Stargazer01]

Unless you have some really OLD hardware, or plan on pushing the performance to the extreme (overclocking, etc)

99.9% of all boards today will auto configure themselves just fine. All you have to do is plug in the components and hang on for the ride.

[Konichiwaneko]

The best way to get good at something is to try. No matter how many books you read, nothing counts as much as experience.

For me the easiest way to learn how to work on machines is too buy upgrades for your current one.

learn how to put memory in, a video card, maybe even a hard drive or a cpu when you get more comfortable.

After a while it becomes pretty easy.

I will tell you this (as a professionally paid computer tech for a large computer company), even us PRO's make mistakes. It's trial and error though, the more trial's you have the less errors eventually.

Good Luck bud, and remember find a store that honors returns.

Trent.

[m0j0]

the way i learned was trial and error, forums, and good old www.google.com

[The_Dude]

dont worry about configuring stuff, it's pretty much automatic today.

you would have to worry about jumpers, but there are jumperless mobo's out today. if you're new, i suggest a jumperless motherboard.

and my 2nd hardest part was putting in all the power buttons, led's etc.. into the things, but just match the case instructions to the mobo instructions and it's a snap.

[lathos42]

Another thing you might want to do is bribe your buddy into helping you build the computer. You can always buy him a 6 pack of his favorite beer, or offer to take him out to lunch. I have a couple of friends I helped get started in building their own computers this way, and actually just got done helping one replace the motherboard in his wife's computer today. After I showed him how to do it, he was able to take the old motherboard and successfully install it in another case he had with a slower mobo and CPU in it.
I second what The_Dude has to say, most motherboards you buy new do not even have jumpers on them anymore, or the ones that are there you dont have to mess with unless you want to go crazy with the setting customization. The motherboard we installed today simply asked what clock speed the processor was running at when it booted the first time. After that, everything was up and running smoothly.

Hope this all helps, there's some good advice from everyone here

[Antagony]

I agree with lathos42. The first time or two you scrap together a box, you should have someone there with you who has done it before. It's a good idea to have someone watching to make sure you don't ruin that brand new mobo with some static discharge.