Newegg.com is among the best---has one of the highest ratings on resellers.com and has very good prices. I am about to build my own and will definately by 95% of the components there.

hallo

Newegg.com is good, but check the local retailers for some popular parts (video cards, sround cards, etc.) I found that some online retailers offer OEM parts at the same price as some store's offer the retail ones. Here's a list of some websites that I normally check out:

www.computergeeks.com
www.newegg.com
www.tigerdirect.com
www.upgrade-solution.com (currently that have WinXP OEM for $87 if you order hardware)

um... check out www.pricewatch.com too. they list almost all products and you can find a deal there, just BE CAREFUL. Check out www.bizrate.com and see what people think of "shady" companies.

Here is most of my system, and it works great with Vegas.

First of all, the Case, very important! - Thermaltake Xaser III V1000D

http://www.thermaltake.com/products/Xaser3Menu.htm

Next The Motherboard - MSI KT4 Ultra SR with RAID

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/detail_spec/product_detail.asp?model=KT4_Ultra-SR

Add those with a 420 watt Power Supply
Athlon XP 2500+
3- 120GB hard drives (Maxtor 7200RPM)
1GB Crucial PC2700 (DDR333) RAM (2 - 512 sticks)
Canopus ACEDVio card for firewire and analog in/out.
Pioneer A-06 DVD Burner

And of course 1 copy of Vegas 4 :)

I second the recommendation of newegg.com. A very complete one-stop shop. Be advised that they keep their prices low through extremely low overhead. There is no customer service and a strict return policy--so ya gotta know exactly what you want. I've found CDW a bit more friendly in this respect.

No matter who you buy from, check out online merchant reviews at:
www.resellerratings.com
www.photo.net/photo/where-to-buy
www.dpreview.com
www.bbbonline.org/reliability/code

And I'll put in a plug for Earl Foote at www.pcnirvana.com. He builds mostly complete systems, but also has many deals on closeout parts and software.

I would suggest buying your first PC components from a real store, where you can ask a lot of questions and bring stuff back if it doesn't work. Building your own PC is a lot of fun for those people who love to find out how stuff "works" but there is a little bit of a learning curve. If you don't have a buddy in the neighborhood who has done this sort of thing before, I'd suggest working with a parts store. Fry's here in Oregon is a PC-builder's heaven.

I went the local vendor route. Specified every single part. Had them build it. Came with a year's warranty, parts and labor. Paid maybe $150-200 more than if I ordered parts and built it myself.

My system
P4, 2.8c (hyperthreading)
MSI 865 mobo with 800mhz FSB
512 400mhz DDR Ram
Radeon 7200 dual head video card - (older technology, but at $40 a bargain and works great!)
ADS Pyro firewire card


Really happy here!

XOG

I was thinking of building my own and bottled out, spent months researching it but............

jsnkc - the case is the most important part was my conclusion and that was the problem, I favoured the Thermaltake but one of my big concerns was noise with 2 x 2.8 Xeon and a decent graphics card with a few drives and 6 fans?

Any comments - your feedback may help the original post and myself for the future.

The other conclusion I came to was - don't build it yourself, first time out find a local company that you can specify the parts and they can put them together. The guy I was talking to was happy for me to work with him on it and the additional cost was relatively small.

He had loads of gems of wisdom on whay you would do bits of detail a certain way.

Food for thought....

PAW

It can get pretty noisy even with one beefy heatsink fan. Check the ratings at some of the popular overclocking sites. Example below:

http://www.overclockers.com/topiclist/index15.asp

A super big PC case and lots of fans isn't really necessary unless you overclock. Even then, maybe not. Heck, I've overclocked my present system more than any (currently overclock 22%) and its running with the default heatsink and fan, which most of the time is loafing along and not objectionable, noise wise, it being a variable speed version that only runs fast if things get hot and if they don't its barely going 1500 RPM and still my inside case temp is around 86F, CPU aound 108F.

If noise bugs anyone that much, again several web sites that go into specifics on how to muffle the noise... insulation for example, just be careful what kind, where, how much.

As far as those cases with fans out the top, sides, back, etc.., mostly like hot-rods... more show than practical benefit. The point being if you need that many fans, you're doing something wrong.

Quickie tip:

If you buiild you own a fairly common mistake is putting TOO MUCH heatsink compound on, defeating the purpose which is to aid heat transfer, not act like some glue. Too much compound is as bad, maybe worse than none at all. The right way is 'a little dab will do ya' Meaning maybe a glob half the size of your little finger fingernail THEN VERY IMPORTANT, spread out using the edge of a credit card so you get a very thin even layer, maybe a tad thicker than a coat of paint. That's all you need. Once the CPU heats up to operating temp, if you'll new you may panic, because it may smell like something is burning. Just the compound liquidafying a bit and now you've got the bond you want and heat transfer should work good. The key test of course is if or not your CPU temp is reasonable.

The thermaltake case is actually extremely quiet, even thought there are 8 fans going in there plus the one on the power supply and the one on the processor. You'd think it would be extremely loud, but it is almost silent. It is a great case. I have been through about 5 cases so far, but they have all been little and there wasn't much room for fans and stuff and then I finally broke down and bought the Thermaltake one and I am so glad I did. My system and processor run at least 20 degrees cooler than any of the other cases I had, that definately helps when doing system intensive things like rendering.

There is also lots of extra space in the case as well so you get a really good airflow, much better than the mid-tower cases where everything is jammed tighly in the case and air can't move around.

I was looking at the Boxxtech site, and saw they're now offering AMD Opteron powered PCs. Maybe that's an option for you. Boxxteck builds custom PCs with SoFo software installed. To me, if they offer Opterons, it must be stable with SoFo apps.
According to the description on the AMD site, Opteron seems aimed at the audio/video market segment. And yes, I realize that audio/video is becoming so popular that the statement might be pure marketing hype.
However, they seem to mention that it was designed with the demands of audio/video in mind.

M

Since everyone is talking about cases, let me recommend one...Antec Sonata.

It has 1 120mm fan in the back and a special Antec 380w power supply with a large heat sink and one fan. The second fan in most power supplies comes at the expense of the heat sink.

Disc drives come out the side and have rubber isolation mounts. It has 3 5 1/4 and 2 3 1/2 exposed bays...I would like one more 5 1/4 inch bay.

Pretty quiet. I am running a Gigabyte SIS 655 MB with a 2.4Ghz oc'd to 2.9. I am using a Vantec Aeroflow cooler on the CPU with a regulator cutting the speed to about 3000rpm (runs 5400rpm stock). The system fan runs 1600 and the system runs very cool with all 5 PCI slots occupied, a Radeon 9700 Pro, 1GB of DDR426 RAM, and 3 7200 rpm drives (2 200GB and 1 180GB).

The case is steel. While not as sexy as aluminum, if you are not carrying it to LAN parties, it shouldn't be an issue. Under $110 at Newegg or Googlegear.

My rule of thumb...if you have to call someelse when you have a PC problem, you are probably better off buying rather than building. You save very little money by building. The main advantage is configuring a system the way you want...which is especially important for overclocking.

David

Build a real PC for Pete's sake! Intel Mother Board. NO ATHALONS NO FAKES, Pentium 4 please! Xeons rule. SCSI hard drives. Ample memory and a real nice fat video card. Large (1 or more) LCD's for screens takes the wear off of the eyes with no glare. Don't buy the fakes, the almost Intel P4. Oh, and of course, more memory is better!

PS... With most of the Intel boards, if you buy a 2.4 GB today, you can upgrade to a 3.0GB P4 later if the wallet permits.

Good luck!

I just spent a lot of time checking prices and www.googlegear. com was cheapest AND had free two day shipping. I had to buy the Antec Sonata case from AccuPC (the review above was on the mark) and a triple head video card elsewhere but everything else was cheapest at google. Take a look there too.

Intel or AMD is pretty much a matter of opinion and $$$ when it comes down to performance. The Athlon XPs perform extremely well, especially the new Barton cores. My system has a Barton 2500+ in it, and it cruises right along. I shop at Newegg.com for my parts, and I've always been pleased with them. I recommend Asus/MSI/Epox boards, and Crucial RAM is never a bad way to go. For video card, I'm partial to my Radeon 9700 Pro, but the GeForce 4 line was a great video card. For hard drives I prefer Maxtor/Seagate, and the 8 meg cache drives perform really well. Sound cards depend on how many channels you're looking for, but I've always gotten good results from Creative Labs. I'm using a Sound Blaster Audigy 2 Platinum. A good heatsink is also a good move, and Thermaltake makes a Volcano line that uses copper cores; keeps that processor temp down. Their stock fans are a bit loud, but those can always be replaced with quieter ones! And for power supplies, Antec makes a great line of powerful but quiet supplies.

Rogue One

>PS... With most of the Intel boards, if you buy a 2.4 GB today, you can upgrade to a 3.0GB P4 later if the wallet permits.

LOL! I just upgraded my mother in law's Duron 700 to an Athlon XP 2600 for $100 and about 5 minutes of work. 2.4 GHz to 3 is a pathetic waste of money INTEL BOY!!!

And no I'm not an AMD fanboy. If I was building a system right now it would likely be a P4 800FSB or dual XEON. Just thought I'd point out the irony of this post :) Intel has changed its socket design how many times since AMD came out with Socket A?

Wow! Lots of great responses. Thanks everyone!

Although I have a technical background and the skills to build my own, I still may want a local shop to build it. This would be my first home brew PC, and I wouldn't want to spend countless hours on products that aren't compatible. Any recommendations for a local store in the Cleveland, Ohio area?

Begbie, do you have the url for Mountain PC Gear? I've tried searching for it and can't find it.

You don't need a technical background to build your own. I was an accountant back a couple decades ago. Ok, that's "technical" in number crunching I guess, but to be honest I'm all thumbs and not by any stretch handy with my hands, expect for maybe on a adding machine or flying along a keyboard... <wink>

The only "technical" or more acturately tricky thing in building your own PC is inserting the CPU into the socket and attaching the heatsink. Doing the first because the chip has litterally over a hundred pins that are very fragile and can easily bend or break off. They call the sockets ZERO FORCE for a reason. If you have to force the CPU into its socket, even a little, you've probably bent a pin or two. The second is that almost all heatsinks that sit on top the CPU require some tension to apply and if your screwdriver slips in the process, there goes your motherboard, if you gorge out some traces. Aside from that, piece of cake. Idiot proof almost.

Very roughly:

1. match case to motherboard, (so it fits) almost all are ATX form factor. Decide what size/style case you want. Generally, bigger is better.

2. Insert CPU, apply compound CAREFULLY (many web sites show the right way) then install heatsink, then heatsink fan. BE SURE CPU fan plugged into proper motherboard connector. Do NOT apply power yet.

3. Install memory. Observe anti-static measures for this and above steps.

4. Carefully slide motherboard into case. Don't over tighten screws.

5. Plug in power supply, case fans, front panel control connectors. Most are idiot-proof and can only go on one way.

6. Double check heatsink is on right, memory in firmly, fans plugged in, etc..

7. Install floppy disk, hard drive (primary only) and any CD/DVD player/burner being sure each properly connected on MB. Depending on MB, case, may be easier to install prior to installing motherboard.

8. Plug in monitor, keyboard, mouse. Turn on power. Watch CAREFULLY for front panel lights to come on, listen for drive to spin up, see fans spinning, all immediately. If not turn off at once. Like within a few seconds! Something is wrong.

9. If all went well so far, watch for initial boot message on screen. Pat yourself on back, you did it. Turn off computer. Take a break. With practice this whole process takes maybe fifteen minutes. If your first time, allow at least an hour... go slow.

10. Turn PC back on, with MANUAL in hand confirm initial BIOS settings. Now install Windows.

Tha'ts basically it. A kid can do it. In fact kids (10 up) can probably do it better than you can. Smaller fingers to get into a tigher places, and their eyesight is better. Well better than mine these days.

BillyBoy,

Thanks for the great explanation. My concern is mostly how to correctly choose the right products and assure compatibility. Do you know of a web site that helps someone choose components, not just buy them?

Dave

There are hundreds of sites that review motherboards and the various components. Just search for XXX review where XXX is the part you're looking for. It seems THAT is the hobby of some guys, putting up such sites. They put up 15-20 pages "reviewing" every new MB, heatsink, that kind of thing.

As far as picking components, not really a black art, just common sense and personal preference. Start with picking the CPU. Both AMD and Intel make good chips. Its more a matter of WHEN you buy, since they have been constantly leapfroging each other as far as performance. Neither is "better" than the other for video edting or anything else. You pay a premium if you get the "fastest" chip. Example a 3.1 P4 costs several hundred more than a P4 running at 2.8. If you buy a MB that offers easy overclocking via the BIOS (what I did) you not only save several hundred bucks, you get FASTER performance. Duh!

Next pick the MB. Several good brands. Again, looking at some of the review sites you'll get an idea of what's what. The key thing once you decide on a AMD or Intel, is the chipset (the support chips on the MB) that determine more or less if you're getting a little old lady or a hot rod board. The price difference is minor, less than $70, so unless you're really on a tight budget go for the hot rod MB, which will have more features and support the faster CPU chips.

As far as RAID, I'd avoid it. Again, for the price difference you can pick up a 2nd IDE controller card, then you could if wanted have 4 devices on the MB IDE controller and 4 more on the extra card. In my opinion RAID is foolish for anything but web servers and serious networking. If you're just into video editing no real advantage and several disadvantages. Ditto for dual CPU boards. Mainly for people that think they know what they're doing as opposed to people that DO KNOW. <wink>

Next pick your case. There is a huge assortment. Personally, in part because I use removeable drives I stay away from the so-called mini or sub compact and go for a full tower. Again, price differencies aren't that great.

Hard drives, you'll probably want two. A smaller one for the operating system, and as large as you can afford the second which should be dedicated to video editing. How big your primary drive is depends what else you're going to use the computer for. If you don't have a lot of software and are mainly going to use it for video editing your primary drive can be fairly small. With prices as cheap as they are today I wouldn't get one less than 40 GB, however getting another 100 GB or larger is probably overkill if it just mostly going to sit empty.

Video cards don't really matter for video editing. Pick one based on what else you'll use the PC for.

As far as keyboard, again personal preference. The cheap ones in my experience work just as good as the fancier ones. Ditto for mouse, I prefer a trackball. I like the optical kind, regardless less mouse hair and easy to clean. Wireless type, again, just fluff and extra expense. Avoid.

Windows... get a OEM copy. Example XP Pro can be had for under $100. They usually require you by some kind of hardware at the same time to qualify.

Following is a typical "review" site. Not an endorsement, just picked one at random for an example of the type of info they offer. As you can see they typically get pretty detailed.

http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/motherboard/epox/8kra2+/

Thanks again BillyBoy!