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Poll
A 1.1 GHz AMD Athlon can comfortably reach what speed whilst remaining stable?
1.1 GHz 2%
1.15 GHz 0%
1.2 GHz 5%
1.3 GHz (but I need to leave my case open) 11%
1.4 GHz (but I have to leave all the windows in my room open too) 6%
1.5 GHz (I use a freon based active cooling system) 21%
I don't know. My 400MHz Pentium II seems to go just fine 8%
What is an Athlon ? Isn't that that Bryan Ferry/Roxy Music track ? 1%
Who gives a fuck ? It won't make your dick any bigger, or get you laid. 41%

Votes: 786

 Building your dream PC. What the experts don't tell you.

 Author:  Topic:  Posted:
Aug 06, 2001
 Comments:
Who isn't sick to death of those smug individuals who build their own PCs and then proceed to tell us all about it. Who hasn't wondered how difficult it can be ? Here's a technical article for the rest of us in which adequacy.org demystifies the act of building your own PC from components.

A lot of you have mailed us at adequacy.org telling us of your dream of building your own PC. You have been drooling over the custom built rocket that your tech-savvy neighbor built for a lot less bucks than Dell or Gateway.

You told us how a stream of unitelligible techno-babble and gobbledygook nonsense spewed forth from the "rocket scientist" genius-next-door when you, as a mere 'normal' person dared to ask Mr Elite Hacker how to build a computer.

You told us of the utter scorn heaped on you by the tech-support monkeys when you accidentally asked for SIMMS when you meant to ask for DIMMS.

With this in mind, we at adequacy.org offer this time saving guide on DIY PC building.

Written by our team of PC experts, and carefully designed to remove the steaming piles of bullsh*t that surround this 'black art', we will take you step by step through the extremely simple process of building your new PC from scratch. We cut through the layers of confusing jargon put there by people who want to seem clever. We share the jealously guarded secrets of the pros. You will soon realize that there is nothing difficult about building your own dream PC.

You will soon be shooting the breeze with Mr. Nerdy next door about Ram, Rom, RIMM, motherboards and bus speeds like a pro, as you "surf the net" on your newly built dream machine.

technology

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The first thing to do is to make it clear that we are talking about a USEFUL PC for a NORMAL person. By a normal person, we mean someone of average intelligence, and someone who has no patience with technological obfuscation. Someone who can program a VCR but who has no desire to take it apart to see if they can get it to rewind faster by replacing the drive motor with the larger one they removed from their kitchen blender. In short, if you are a habitual reader of sites like these, or if you look anything like this or this then this guide is not for you. Please look elsewhere.

We will not be talking about overclocking, FSB speeds, thermal compound, so-called 'alternative' Operating Systems or any of that elitist BS. After reading this jargon-free guide your eyes will not glaze over as you fall into a boredom induced coma. You will not tear it up in frustration at all the complex indecipherable acronyms. You will however, be able to build a perfectly functional PC, that will do what you need it to. No more, No less.

So without further ado, let's get you started on your exciting PC-building adventure.

First, you will need to buy some components. (If you have an old PC, you can probably save a bit of money by cannibalizing some parts from it, but its better to get new components since they will last longer).

It is important not be intimidated by the salespeople. Remember, they know little more than you do. And you have this guide to fall back on. So call a few suppliers with your credit card at the ready. Here is your 'rocket scientists' shopping list :-) You will need to buy the following components:

  • A PC Case - simply the cheapest one you can find. Do not pay more than $15 including PSU and fans. They are pretty much all the same, unless you are a web-savvy geek who wants to build a 'server farm' or a small-penis compensating wiener who wants to build a 'beowulf cluster'. A good brand is Globalwin or Lian-li, but its best to stick to the absolute cheapest generic case you can find.

  • A motherboard - This is technical jargon. It means the bit that it all plugs into. Again, as with the case, it doesn't really matter what motherboard you buy, they are all basically identical. It is difficult to see why the propellerheads get their panties all in a bunch about such arcane features as dynamic aperture allocation, raid level 5 anti-virus lockout, xga pallette snooping or bios shadowing stealth protection - but they do. Adequacy.org suggests you waste your time on something more constructive (like maybe getting laid!) and leave the tedious motherboard feature comparisons to the so-called experts. Since all motherboards are the same, it doesn't really matter what brand. Go for the cheapest. Probably something like an Abit KT7 Raid. It is as good a choice as any.

  • A processor - or 'CPU' as the jargon-addicted poorly socialised hackers like to call them (anything to obscure a simple concept). The best processors are obviously made by Intel. Other companies make processors too, such as Sun and AMD, and while these are OK, they are not guaranteed to be Intel-compatible. adequacy.org tip: Ask for the retail-boxed pentium 4 1.4GHZ.. This will include a free cooling fan and fitting instructions, and is the fastest commercially available processor on the market to date.

  • Hard drive - This is exactly like your VCR or cassette deck at home. It uses magnetic coated surface to store digital information. the best price/performance hard drive on the market is the IBM DeskStar 75GXP. There are other manufacturers and types of drive, but you don't need to know about them. (leave the futzing to the nerds) Order one of these, but make sure you don't pay over the odds.

  • Memory - You need a maximum of 128MB of ram. Again, as with the PC case a lot of nonsense is talked about memory. What you need for your functioning PC is 1 generic 128MB 168-pin PC-100 DIMM. Do not fall into the trap of learning lots of details about CAS levels or RDRAM vs DDR etc. This is simply an expensive waste of time and money. (which seems to be an ever-present feature of the home-built PC world). Avoid at all costs. We've given you all the info you need right here in this paragraph. I've even highlighted it in bold to make it easier to read, and added a hyperlink for you in case you cannot locate a supplier.

  • Graphics card - Simple. You need to get the cheapest generic GEForce2 Non-ddr 32MB card you can find. Sparkle makes a good one as do plenty of other Taiwanese manufacturers. Don't waste any more of your life reading reviews of superfast GeForce3 cards with emoticon engines or any other marketing garbage. A GeForce2 is sufficient for all but the most demanding of applications, and you don't plan on operating a CAT scanner with your PC or performing remote keyhole surgery, do you ? And Quake III looks fine so long as you can get 30fps - a speed the GeForce2 is more than comfortable with.

  • Sound card - Here the choice is simple. There is no point in getting anything other than a SoundBlaster Live! Value. This is cheap, and effective. Take it from us, you don't want to get into the mind-numbing details of other sound cards. Suffice it to say that in the gaming world the 'blaster is king.

  • A cd CD-RW drive - Again, there's no need to spend large or think too much about this. Just buy the cheapest one you can get your hands on. $49 should be more than enough to get a decent one. Don't go for a SCSI device, however, as it won't work on your machine without an expensive 'SCSI adaptor' (as the boffins love to call them).

  • A modem. - Make sure you get a so called 'WinModem'. These modems are enhanced to work better with Windows Millennium, and represent very good value for money.

  • Keyboard, mouse, monitor - Again, just get the cheapest one you can find in 'Computer Shopper'. In fact let's be honest here, the prices for most of these items don't vary from supplier to supplier. Save yourself loads of valuable time by simply allowing your copy of computer shopper to fall open at a random supplier's advertizement page. Chances are their prices will be as good as the next guy's, and you just saved yourself hours of pointless price comparisons. Better yet, if you live near a Fry's Electronics Store just go there and get your components retail. This has the added advantage of knowledgable and helpful staff on hand to answer any technological queries you may have.

  • A Genuine Retail copy of Microsoft Windows Millenium. There's no reason to economise here. Your Operating System is the thing that holds your whole PC together. It will be the program you use whatever task you perform with your PC. Millions of people over the world trust Windows. There's simply no point in risking any other OS. Windows ME should come on a watermarked CD. Check that your copy is genuine, and call Microsoft's anti-piracy hotline if you suspect anything untoward.

    OK so you have got all your components home, and unwrapped them. The next part should take about twenty minutes max. You are going to build your PC (and guess what ? it is not going to be rocket science). Clear a space on the table. Get all the components out of their protective wrappers and put them on the table in front of you. (Don't worry about all that garbage about wearing an anti-static suit. Almost nobody bothers these days. Modern components are surprisingly resistant to static shock, and the cost of the anti-static gear is not justified by the risks. If you are concerned about static electricity damage, we suggest you simply turn on the air conditioning. This has the effect of reducing the relative humidity, which in turn removes the static electricity from the air.)

    So where to start ? It's all pretty obvious and easy. If you think of it like an Erector Set, or Lego you will feel more confident. Make sure your tech-savvy friends are nowhere to be seen, you don't want to listen to their snotty and superior 'advice', and you don't want them laughing if you make a mistake.

    So here is a step-by-step guide to assembling your new PC.

  • open the case, screw the motherboard onto the mounting points and slide it back in.

  • Remove the top of the case. Plug the DIMMS into the slots which look the right size. You may need to use a bit of force (But please be careful. It's ok to whack the top of the DIMM with the spine of a paperback book, just don't use a hardback. You could damage your components).

  • Plug the graphics card into the AGP port (it's the only one it will fit into). Next plug the sound card into one of the slots marked PCI. Plug your WinModem into the AMR slot. As with the graphics card, it will not fit in the incorrect slot, so don't worry about getting it wrong.

  • Mount the hard drive and CDRW drive in the case. Connect the ribbon cables to their matching sockets on your motherboard.

  • Finally install the processor, making sure you install a cooling fan too. It is impossible to fit the processor incorrectly, due to the pin arrangement.

  • Close the case, plug in the keyboard, mouse and monitor.

    AT LAST! You are done. You should now have a fully functional PC. Its now time to fire it up for the first time and install Windows Millenium.

    Insert the Windows Millenium CD into the drive and switch on your computer. Follow all the instructions on the screen. About 10 minutes later you will have a freshly installed machine ready to do productive work. All for about $500 at today's prices, plus the satisfaction of knowing you have beaten those irritating amateur experts at their own game.

    Now you can go around telling everyone you know how easy it was. The more people we let in on this PC industry 'secret' the better. Those annoying conversations round the water cooler with people who think they are so clever because they built their own PC will soon be a thing of the past.

    Just keep telling everyone how easy it was and point them to this page if they need any more help.




  • AOL (3.75 / 4) (#8)
    by eWulf on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 06:08:52 AM PST
    Will building a computer this way work with AOL?


    Me too (3.00 / 4) (#9)
    by Tycho on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 06:09:53 AM PST
    I need to know this as well


     
    Of course. (5.00 / 1) (#10)
    by dmg on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 06:22:58 AM PST
    There is no reason at all why a computer built using this guide would not work with AOL. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the above configuration is optimized for America Online users.

    The propeller heads will tell you AOL is not as good as other ISPs, but thats because AOL is easy and nerds like things to be complicated.

    time to give a Newtonian demonstration - of a bullet, its mass and its acceleration.
    -- MC Hawking

    how is aol easy? (1.00 / 1) (#53)
    by alprazolam on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 01:51:45 PM PST
    it's an extra piece of software you have to learn. without aol all you have to do is hit the 'home' button on your internet explorer web browser and let it tell you what to do. aol has all those buttons and menus and buddy lists, who has time to figure it all out?


    What? (1.00 / 1) (#65)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:49:02 PM PST
    It really couldn't get any easier if it wanted too.


     
    it will never work (1.00 / 1) (#118)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:45:46 PM PST
    there is every reason why a computer built with this guide will not work with aol it won't work with any dial up or isp the thing just won't boot.


     
    DMG (1.00 / 1) (#160)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:47:53 PM PST
    "The propeller heads will tell you AOL is not as good as other ISPs, but thats because AOL is easy and nerds like things to be complicated."

    Nope. Propeller heads just want things to work the way they should without bogging down the system with crap!


     
    IQ(Author)< IQ(Rock) (1.00 / 1) (#240)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 08:07:17 AM PST
    Considering you forgot to mention they would need a hammer and some crazy glue to get the P4 to fit in that Motherboard. I would have to agree that AOL won't work. Of course neither will anything since the computer won't even post.

    This article is a great example of how a little knowledge can be very dangerous. Please do your readers a great service and never wright a tech-article again.


    This is the problem... (1.00 / 1) (#280)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:04:26 PM PST
    See, you can't post a subject in pseudocode here. Won't sit well with your audience.

    And you said `post'. POST is short for Power On Self Test, it's the first thing your computer does when it starts up, to make sure it has a CPU (processor) and memory (RAM), as well as other little startup tasks. Better to say that the computer won't start, won't turn on, won't go, will do nothing. That sort of thing.

    --grendel drago


     
    Wow (none / 0) (#307)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Oct 2nd, 2001 at 08:56:54 PM PST
    In fact, I would go so far as to say that the above configuration is optimized for America Online users.

    That made my day. Truer words were never spoken.


     
    No! (3.00 / 3) (#12)
    by 6e7a on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 07:07:15 AM PST
    AOL doesn't work well with anyPC! ;-)
    6e77a 70 6e 6e7a!

    AOL works fine. (2.75 / 4) (#14)
    by dmg on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 07:27:26 AM PST
    Please don't make baseless accusations in this forum, or we will have to delete them. Unless you can produce evidence that AOL does not work, please post a retraction and an apology, or the Editors will be forced to delete your comment.

    time to give a Newtonian demonstration - of a bullet, its mass and its acceleration.
    -- MC Hawking

    Did you type this (2.00 / 2) (#39)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:56:00 AM PST
    as you were opening the letter containing your check from AOL?


    Not at all. (4.00 / 2) (#42)
    by dmg on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 12:04:58 PM PST
    Rest assured I am not on AOL's payroll.

    I am simply attempting to help adequacy avoid falling into the trap that many other websites have fallen into, where people make thoughtless comments, and the whole online dialog degenerates into a mess of noise.

    Unless you have specific problems with AOL, bashing them can be seen as a knee-jerk reaction somewhat similar to what happens if you mention Microsoft on slashdot.

    There is no sinister conspiracy. We're just trying to keep adequacy troll free, and full of factual, signal-bearing comments.

    time to give a Newtonian demonstration - of a bullet, its mass and its acceleration.
    -- MC Hawking

    i do (3.66 / 3) (#51)
    by alprazolam on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 01:45:47 PM PST
    Unless you have specific problems with AOL

    Four hours of reloading the winmodem and aol drivers, i was able to dial in. the 500 meg of memory i had freed up was gone. i absolutely can't wait to uninstall aol and return to the days when my computer only crashed randomly once a week, as opposed to every other day.


    Pet Peeve Time (5.00 / 1) (#54)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 03:14:02 PM PST
    the 500 meg of memory i had freed up was gone.

    Damn, I wish I had so much RAM laying around that I could install multiple versions of AOL into a huge RAM drive.

    There are vast amounts of difference between memory (RAM) and hard drive space.


    you moron (1.00 / 1) (#57)
    by alprazolam on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 04:37:15 PM PST
    its still memory. don't think i don't know the difference, dumb fuck


    Re: you moron (5.00 / 1) (#69)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:52:18 PM PST
    Hmm... maybe the fact that you used the wrong words made us think you don't know the difference. Memory and diskspace, in case you haven't noticed, are completely different things.


    oh yeah HD space isn't memory, it's, umm... (1.00 / 1) (#164)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:51:36 PM PST
    Ever heard the terms "primary memory" and "secondary memory", my critical friend? "diskspace" is known as "secondary" or "non-volatile" memory.

    It really annoys me when people try to be smart simply for the sake of insulting somebody else.


    it wouldn't be so bad (1.00 / 1) (#235)
    by alprazolam on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 07:34:30 AM PST
    it's just that when IT types try to act like they fucking know something about anything other than monty python, i feel the need to flame


     
    "Secondary Memory" (5.00 / 1) (#236)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 07:38:47 AM PST
    umm no, harddrive space is sometimes refered to as "secondary storage". But secondary memory is a term you or one of your moronic friends coined and is trying to pass off as knowledge when in fact you seem to be quite confused.


     
    very smart. (1.00 / 1) (#86)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:13:22 PM PST
    God, thats smart. Talk about the site that your clearly ripping off, cant tell when someone is joking huh?


     
    Re: AOL works fine (5.00 / 1) (#55)
    by 6e7a on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 03:15:13 PM PST
    Do you know what the following symbol means? ;-)
    6e77a 70 6e 6e7a!

     
    DANGER! DANGER! (5.00 / 1) (#16)
    by CaptainZornchugger on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 07:35:09 AM PST
    The parent poster, 6e7a, is a known propellorhead 'geek'! Such 'geeks' post merely to provoke reaction and feel superiour to 'non-geeks'! Do not respond to, or 'feed' his posts! The only way to deal with 'geeks' is to ignore them! I repeat, do not 'respond' to the 'parent' 'post', or 'horrible' things will happen! Danger!



    A known propellorhead 'geek'? (5.00 / 1) (#56)
    by 6e7a on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 03:20:13 PM PST
    I joined yesterday. How could your statement possibly be true? BTW, who's Captain Zorn, and what of his do you chug anyway? You might want to stop doing that. It seems to be affecting your mind. :-)
    6e77a 70 6e 6e7a!

     
    Jesus fucking christ... (1.00 / 1) (#179)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:51:08 AM PST
    Enough with the goddamned geek stereotypes ya wankers


     
    Re: AOL (3.00 / 2) (#49)
    by gleef on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 01:27:26 PM PST
    eWulf asks:
    Will building a computer this way work with AOL?

    No, but it's because the described computer will not work at all. You can't use a Pentium 4 Processor with the ABit KT7 Raid motherboard.

    Replace the Pentium 4 with a AMD Duron 800Mhz (or, if you're speed hungry, an AMD Thunderbird 1.4Ghz), and you'll have a machine that actually works. Most of the time. It probably will crash and die randomly due to being underpowered.

    You don't need to be a rocket scientist to build a computer from scratch, but you do need to learn more information than the author seems to have bothered to learn. The above comments just point out what's broken about his suggestions, there are far more things that ar just plain bad advice. For example, few people will ever use the high-end features of the motherboard he suggested; you can save $60 just by getting a more reasonable motherboard (eg. the Soyo K7VTA).




    Uh, what? (5.00 / 1) (#64)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:48:17 PM PST
    No, it be a waste to build you own if you don't choose a high quality motherboard. It's obviously the essential key. Look at Asus, Abit and Iwill for great DDR solutions.


    brand name is not necessary (1.00 / 1) (#114)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:42:07 PM PST
    First, we're here talking about budget system. Leave alone those DDR options.

    Besides,brand name product is not really necessary for a stable system (unless you look for doing some tweaks, then you have find a suitable motherboard with adequate functions). I built many systems since 80286 and often use cheap brands on them. Asus, ABit and etc are well known in Amercia, but there're still American-unknown but good Taiwan motherboard or periperhal manfuactuers. I used to live in Hong Kong and we knew Asus, ABit, Leadtek well before they reached US.


     
    hehe (1.00 / 1) (#110)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:38:31 PM PST
    no one should read this website if the rest is of the same quality as the how to on building a computer. these people are idiots. unless they can provide very good reasons for all there choices in hardware. OMG this how to is retarded. i don't give a fuck if you erase this but man this site blows goats asses.


     
    Underloaded on the memory, and other things (4.00 / 2) (#11)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 07:01:11 AM PST
    There are a few adjustments I'd make to that recommendation for the general user:

    Anyway, while it's probably not worth going overboard on cases, consider that the case is the thing you're going to have to stare at even when the computer is turned off - and there are plenty of places that sell some nice looking cases, so it might be worth looking around. Remember that a case is going to be one of the smallest contributors to overall cost.

    Also, while the author recommends just buying any old motherboard and arbitrary Intel chip, and hoping they go together, I'm a bit more cautious about mixing chips, motherboards and memory. It's better to buy your motherboard and CPU together.

    When I last built a machine (admittedly, about four years ago now), there were all sorts of jumpers I had to set just right on my motherboard depending on what kind of chip and memory I had, and there was much opportunity to screw up. I find that it's much better (and occasionally even cheaper) to buy motherboard+cpu "combos" from various dealers - let people who do this stuff every day take care of installing the cpu into the motherboard and setting all the jumpers. There's really no reason to buy the motherboard and cpu separately unless you want to be very particular about which cpu and which motherboard you get. If you're in this article's target audience, you don't care.

    Often with these motherboard combos you can get memory as well, and that brings up another point - memory is right now cheap, so much so that 128M is really selling yourself short. I'd get at least 256M; if you're worried about the cost, cut back on that CPU a bit. When you're looking to make your machine less annoying (in terms of being slow at inconvenient times, etc.), more memory is almost always a better value than a faster CPU.

    I'd plug the place I most recently ordered components from online - www.compu-terra.com - but I only placed my order Saturday, so I can't say how fast their service is or isn't. They do, however, let you build motherboard+cpu+memory combos from almost any motherboard in stock.

    Finally - why bother doing any of this yourself? Go to one of those big computer expos that run tv commercials with the loud announcer borrowed from the used car guy, and find a table filled with systems that are already assembled and usually already have windows millenium installed on them. You might have to wander around a bit until you find someone who will give you all the manuals and orginal disks for any software that's pre-installed on the machine, but I've found that most mom-and-pop stores at these expos aren't into massive piracy. You may end up paying slightly more than assembling the parts yourself(but not by much - family employees don't have to be paid minimum wage, and these places get volume discounts that you just building one box don't), and the cover charge at the expo door may annoy you, but it's still a much better deal than you'll get from the big names and you get to just take the box home and plug it in.


    why bother doing any of this yourself? (5.00 / 1) (#21)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:19:06 AM PST
    Because it is interesting, fun, easy, cheap, and lets you silence those irritating nerds that are always going on and on about how they 'custom built their system' so they could 'choose the optimum components'


    <chuckle> (3.00 / 2) (#36)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:26:09 AM PST
    I thought this article was serious, until I got to this point -

    "A modem. - Make sure you get a so called 'WinModem'. These modems are enhanced to work better with Windows Millennium, and represent very good value for money."

    Nice joke!


    Care to elaborate ? (3.66 / 3) (#38)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:50:50 AM PST
    I've been using my winmodem without problems for over three years. Can you please tell me why I should consider it 'a joke' ?


    I used Me and a WinMod (1.00 / 1) (#47)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 12:54:23 PM PST
    I dont notice any difference. I use linux and it was a pain trying to find a driver, I'd rather have a real modem, that is, if I didnt have a cable modem.
    --Husaria


    there's a reason (5.00 / 1) (#168)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:00:48 AM PST
    they call them <b>win</b>modems.


     
    Winmodems (1.00 / 1) (#52)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 01:50:17 PM PST
    It's not that there's anything essentially wrong with Winmodems, it just amused me that the article implied that they were inherently superior, and "enhanced to work better with Windows Millenium". For cost effectiveness they can't be beaten, but if you want a modem that doesn't drain your CPU power, look elsewhere. Personally, I used a Rockwell chipset winmodem for about a year, and eventually got sick of it failing to negotiate, and slow connect speeds, and bought a USR external Sportster.

    This article to me proves that in fact you *do* need to read up a little bit on what you're buying if you want to put together your own PC, in that the components that it suggests wouldn't even work together! I agree that you don't have to go mad overclocking, spending ridiculous amounts of money on exotic cooling when you could probably buy the same stock configuration at the end of the day, but you can't expect to build a PC from scratch without a bit of prior knowledge from upgrading a previous system or such.


    WinModems and CPU power (5.00 / 1) (#285)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:16:28 PM PST
    Eh, WinModems don't eat enough CPU power to make a difference, especially not on a newer chip. But they're cheap, and if you're planning on running Windows anyway, it's a good choice.

    --grendel drago


     
    IQ (1.00 / 1) (#71)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:53:09 PM PST
    A little low are we?


     
    hmm... (5.00 / 1) (#70)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:52:46 PM PST
    As a coputer builder myself I'd say your right and wrong. I agree peopl have to learn alot more about the process, but putting together a PC is a pretty easy task these days. With many easy to set jumpers and CMOS settings.


     
    Type of PC, type of owner (1.50 / 2) (#13)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 07:13:09 AM PST
    I looked at the components you specify and frankly, if someone asked me to build such a machine, I'd tell them call 1 800 DELL4ME (note: I don't work for Dell). When someone wants a low end machine, the owner is not a propellerhead and just wants an appliance that works. Stuff from the OEMs are inexpensive, work well, and the owner gets some tech support. That last point is why I build very few machines for other people. I have no desire to be lifetime free tech support for anyone.

    People who build their own PCs usually build more powerful, close to bleeding edge stuff. Or maybe it's specially built for a specific task like nonlinear video editing or hardcore gaming.


    You are onto something. (1.00 / 1) (#30)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:40:51 AM PST
    There is a gap in the market here. A lot of people want to put their PC together, but they don't know which parts go together. The article above goes some of the way to helping them choose components, but it would be cooler if dell and gateway sold their PCs in unassembled form.

    It would be easier to ship, and the user could have the satisfaction and nerd/hack value of building their own machine.


    err (1.00 / 1) (#73)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:54:14 PM PST
    ... no


     
    Hmmmm (1.00 / 1) (#74)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:54:29 PM PST
    That is a good idea about the OEMs providing do it your self stuff. But otherwise I thought this article was a peice of shit.


     
    This is too funny (2.33 / 3) (#18)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 07:48:51 AM PST
    A Pentium 4 needs at least a 350W PS. $15 will barely get you a 200W PS and case.

    Your motherboard choice is good, if you want an AMD Athlon or Duron. For a P4, try something with the proper socket.

    128megs of PC133 RAM. Not bad. However, there are currently no motherboards that support the P4 and regular SDRAM yet. You'll need that overpriced RAMBUS instead.

    Your choices for hard drive, video card, and CD burner are actually pretty good. Many mobos come with AC97 sound, so an add in card may not be necessary. I have nothing but trouble with SB cards. I say stick with the onboard sound if you can.

    I must disagree with your monitor choice. The last thing you need is a poorly performing monitor with a pathetic refresh rate that will end up giving you headaches if you look at the screen for more than a minute. Get something good like a Viewsonic or Sony.


    Maybe, maybe not. (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:02:30 AM PST
    Some people are much less sensitive to refresh rates than others. Its a waste of money for such people to buy an expensive branded monitor.

    A Pentium 4 does not actually need a 350W power supply. The most a pentium drains is about 40W. Perhaps you are thinking of the Athlon which requires a very chunky (450W) PSU.

    VIA have motherboards which support conventional memory with the pentium 4, they are available from japanese websites specialising in the latest components from Akihabara.

    Finally, with a cheap adaptor its possible to put a pentium in a socket 7 motherboard. After all the Athlon and the Pentium are basically the same, its just the pin-out that is different.


    This is sad (1.00 / 1) (#24)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:00:54 AM PST
    Please provide a link for each of your claims. Otherwise, I declare victory.


    OK then here are some links for you. (5.00 / 1) (#28)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:31:58 AM PST
    Here's a link for the power supply issue.

    Here's one for the issue of sensitivity to screen flicker

    Sensitivity to flicker is affected by emotional states, which serve to change the size of the pupil, which determines how much light is allowed into the retina. Flicker is most likely to be perceived when the eyes are light adapted. Thus a user of the WS may notice flicker in the display until their eyes dark adapt. The periphery of the eye is also more sensitive to flicker and motion detection, and the closer an object is to the eye, the more likely that flicker can be detected (Kelly, 1969).

    This is well documented. Highly strung emotional people such as yourself :-) prefer a high refresh rate.

    Here is a link to a review of slotket adaptors. These are like universal adaptors for CPUs. You can plug an FCPGA chip into a pentium II slot. You can also get different adaptors say from FCPGA to SocketA or from socket370 to socket7. The possibilities are endless.

    For more info on VIA's chipsets, see the following link




    Some comments (1.00 / 1) (#31)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:46:04 AM PST
    The PS link only talks about PS design. Nothing in it says anything about recommended minimum size for various chips. AFAIK, it's 300 for an Athlon and 350+ for a P4.

    So I like a high refresh rate. I've never had problems with my vision when using the machine for long periods of time. Just taking precautions. AND I'M NOT HIGHLY STRUNG. I'VE ONLY HAD 11 CUPS OF COFFEE THIS MORNING :)

    As for the slotkets, AMD and Intel's design parted ways with the Athlon. There is no way to plug an Athlon into an Pentium 3 or 4 mobo and vice versa.

    As for the VIA link, it talks about SDRAM for P3 mobos. Not P4.


    Power supplies (5.00 / 1) (#48)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 01:01:41 PM PST
    Here is the link to AMD-approved power supplies. Just like stereo equipment, wattage is not equal. There are some 250 watt PS's that will do better than cheaper 350 watt numbers.


    Thanks for the link (1.00 / 1) (#50)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 01:38:38 PM PST
    Mind you, I was talking about Athlons and not the lower performing Duron, which is the page you listed. Try here. The low speed Athlon, most of which they don't manufacture/sell anymore, can get away with certain 250W PS's. However, the higher MHz Athlons cannot.


    Well... (5.00 / 1) (#145)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:51:10 PM PST
    Not to defend the blatent falshoods in the article, but I am running an Athlon 1200 right now with a 235W PS, and have seen 1 gigs run on smaller ones, it depneds on the number of devices i.e. cd-rom, burner, extra fans for cooling. Brands of power supplies are a factor, there are cheap 300W power supplies that won't handle much of anything.


    Addendum. (5.00 / 1) (#283)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:11:32 PM PST
    Close, but I'd like to add one thing.

    If an Athlon needs a 460 watt power supply, it will have a special socket for an extra cable from the power supply on the motherboard. This is only on the very newest (usually multiprocessor) Athlon boards supporting the `Athlon MP' variant of the chip.

    The Athlon MP is only really useful if you're setting up a dual-processor system, which you're not. Otherwise, it's just really, really expensive. Not much use to the audience here.

    --grendel drago


     
    no (1.00 / 1) (#106)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:30:19 PM PST
    ok. since a slotket existed for slot1 to slot 370 then you think that its common sense that they exists for todays systems as well. That assumption is wrong.

    AMD and Intel chips were compatible on the same boards 5 years ago, but not now they are their own respectible platforums, not compatible chip wise in any way shape or forum. and even the chips from each respecible company are not compatible down the line.

    You will not get a athlon to work on socket7, or socket 370, or slot 1 or any other platforum that isn't slot A or Socket A. The same goes a Pentium 4, it wont work with anything other than its own socket. No adapters will or ever existed. the only time an adapter existed was when Intel moved from Slot 1 to socket 370 as a cost cutting measure. thats it.


     
    I declare stupidity. (5.00 / 1) (#68)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:50:59 PM PST
    Great job there buddy.


    Not.


    Go to HardOCP or any other PC site.


    You realize you suck, right? (1.00 / 1) (#220)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:56:08 AM PST
    I asked for links for his comments and none of them were any good. I won, he lost, and you still suck.


     
    wrong (1.00 / 1) (#37)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:29:31 AM PST
    a pentium4 gives OFF 40 w of heat, thats different than taking that much in

    athelon needs a 300 w

    via makes chipsets

    pentium4 cannot fit in a socket7. socket7 is an old standard. its obvious you dont know anything, stop reading your 5 year old manuals.


    Not quite. (5.00 / 1) (#282)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:07:39 PM PST
    athelon needs a 300 w
    Not exactly. New, high-end Athlon chips (the `Athlon MP'), require a 460 watt power supply. There's a special connector on the power supply and a special socket on the motherboard for it. But most Athlons will work on a plain old 300 watt power supply.

    --grendel drago


     
    yeah sure (1.00 / 1) (#67)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:50:23 PM PST
    Haha


     
    not close (1.00 / 1) (#96)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:21:37 PM PST
    first off, a P4 put out a minimum of 40w of HEAT. the processor is taking 50W to 65W of power depending on if the processor is running a full load or not. The Athlon is the exact same way.

    and how can you base a Athlon up against a socket 7 pentium? 5 year old technology against current technology. They are similar in the fact that the both are parts of a computer, but the similiarites stop not much further from that point.


     
    Uh, nope (1.00 / 1) (#143)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:50:24 PM PST
    Just to be clear here, YOU CANNOT USE A PENTIUM 4 PROCESSOR IN AN ATHLON BOARD. IT WILL NOT WORK, AND YOU WILL FRY YOUR BOARD. Feel free to try if you wanna waste around 300 bucks.


    There are NO adaptors for this, and there never will be. The adaptors you are thinking of are used for putting socketed INTEL processors on slotted INTEL motherboards.

    And, BTW, you must have a certain power supply to use with a Pentium 4. It's a requirement. Check out the specs. And athlons DO NOT require a 450w power supply. But the budget stated would not get a big enough supply 300w anyways


    Whoops. (1.00 / 1) (#281)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:05:37 PM PST
    That's 460W, not 450W. I don't think you can get 450 watt power supplies, but the new Athlons require a 460 watt power supply. Yep.


     
    Take a look at your comment (5.00 / 1) (#22)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:27:51 AM PST
    You are an example of the kind of nerd that the article was talking about. Who can be bothered with all that technical mumbo jumbo, and what exactly is funny about it ? The fact that some people just want to be told how to do something in the simplest way possible ?


    What's so technical about it (1.00 / 1) (#23)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:59:24 AM PST
    I mean, wouldn't you like to buy a bunch of parts and actually have them fit, let alone work?


    It is like lego (5.00 / 1) (#27)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:16:11 AM PST
    Didn't you know ? The reason we have standards like PCI, and AGP is so that parts from one manufacturer will work with another. I've built lots of PCs and I have never had a problem with parts not fitting. All motherboards are a standard size, as are PCI cards.<p>
    What exactly do you mean by 'fit' are you talking about compatibility problems ? Thats where going with a well known brand e.g. soundblaster helps you.


    Bad examples (1.00 / 1) (#29)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:38:48 AM PST
    Yes, PCI, AGP, and ISA are standards. The poster of the story talked about putting a P4 in a mobo designed for an Athlon (and no "adapters" exist) and used the wrong RAM (no adapters here either). Doesn't matter if your PCI cards fit if you can't put the processor and RAM in the mobo. Also, he undersized the PSU.


     
    all motherboards are not a standard size (1.00 / 1) (#40)
    by motherfuckin spork on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:56:07 AM PST
    I've too often had boards that did not fit into the case for one reason or another.

    I wish computer parts were more like Lego's... they'd be more fun to play with.


    I am not who you think I am.

     
    READ: (1.00 / 1) (#182)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:56:00 AM PST
    THE PROCESSOR WILL NOT FIT IN THE MOTHERBOARD.


    FIT (1.00 / 1) (#303)
    by Anonymous Reader on Thu Aug 23rd, 2001 at 08:02:05 AM PST
    <<All motherboards are a standard size,>>

    Yes they are, in your fantasy world. Obviously you have never heard of a forma factor. Also do you really expect a quad processor board to be the same size as that piece of shit in your desktop?


     
    If you are going to build a PC (3.00 / 2) (#26)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:04:19 AM PST
    then a minimum amount of "technical mumbo jumbo" is required to understand certain things. If you're not willing to learn then maybe you should consider calling Dell or Gateway.


     
    PSU (1.00 / 1) (#34)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:12:26 AM PST
    yeh, everyone likes having stuff that doesnt work. kind of like you, but its not on welfare.


     
    Maybe this one needs a quick re-think. (3.00 / 3) (#35)
    by pvh on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:18:47 AM PST
    One quick revision by the original author of this article could fix the problems with it without in any way affecting the overall intent and meaning of the article.

    My first gripe:

    Intel CPU + Athlon motherboard.

    This is, for non-techies out there, like trying to plug your electric shaver in while visiting Bulgaria. It just won't fit, folks. And even if you could make it fit, it runs on a different system.

    Only you'd have to imagine that the States and Bulgaria were in some kind of a competition and as such have no *desire* to have their systems work together to get the full flavor.

    Secondly:

    RAM is cheaper than water these days. Make that 128 a 256, and you'll have a hell of a lot more bang for your buck.

    Parte the Thirde:

    Some people will end up on cable modems, which are hella faster and only marginally more expensive in most areas. People who go this route won't need a modem, and won't have to worry about installing a network card because the service technician who hooks you up to the network will do it for you. Heck, the (often waived) installation fee *includes* a network card!

    Finally:

    Does Joe Average really need a 1.4ghz processor? The closer you get to the fastest thing out there, the more it costs. Of course, you say. But at the top of the market, processors get a lot more expensive a lot faster.

    Speaking from personal experience, my 450mhz processor runs every damn program on the market with no problems. If that 1.4 became a 1.2 you could more than make up for the added RAM's price and have a much happier system overall.

    Other than that, I think this article was a really good idea, even though I'm not so sure whacking your RAM with a book is a good idea under any circumstances.

    What do you guys think?

    -pvh


    Above Article (1.00 / 1) (#139)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:41:59 PM PST
    Yeah...
    What a load of bullshit...
    And yes, I'm sure these things have been gone over ad nauseum in the above comments, but I feel they bear mentioning again.

    1.Case and power supply
    To use a high-perfomance cpu, you generally need a decent power supply. For 15 bucks, you cannot get a case and power supply that would provide enough wattage to properly use a high-end athlon processor and board. The other thing is that pentium 4 processors need specific power supplies with an extra lead to compensate for the the higher power requirements. These CANNOT be bought for 15 bucks.

    2.Motherboard
    You just told the reader to get a board that will not work with the processor you mentioned (the board is amd compatible). If you want to save some money, go with a board with fewer features. If someone needs this article, I doubt very much they are interested too much in overclocking or cpu core temps. Maybe go with an MSI or Epox board. An Abit KT7 is rather high-end for a single AMD processor, it is NOT, repeat NOT the cheapest board out there.

    3.Processors
    Bullshit that Intel makes the best processors. Clockspeed means very little in terms of performance. So, the fact that Intel makes a faster clocked processor does not make it better.
    Besides, for price/performance ratio, AMD kicks Intel squarely in the junk.

    4.Memory
    First, you said get pc100 ram, when all newer boards take advantage of 133 meg bus, are you an idiot? That's an excellent waste of money considering they're the same price. Besides, if you want to use an Intel Pentium 4, you cannot use
    SDRam. You must use Rambus, or when it comes out, DDRAm. The boards are just plain not made.

    5.Graphics Card
    Believe it or not, there are other choices out there besides Geforce 2's that provide good performance at an even better cost. Good examples are a Kyro 2 card (around 30 bucks cheaper) or an ATI radeon (again, around the same).

    6.CD-RW
    A cheap cd-burner, is just that. Cheap. You pay for quality. Suggesting that someone pay less than 50 bucks is a load, considering that the drive will probably not support newer standards in audio extraction, and burning.

    7.Keyboard, etc.
    This is personal taste, and quality again. A cheap monitor? Eyestrain. Cheap mouse and keyboard? Carpal tunnel syndrom. Don't get the cheapest thing. Shop around until you find something you like.

    8.OS
    Well it's true that millions of people trust microsoft, but it's mostly that they have no other choice. Windows 98, btw, is a better choice. It's cheaper, faster, smaller, and has lower hardware requirements. Other os's? Both BeOS and Linux are excellent, being both stabler and better than windows. They are simply more difficult to use, not worse.

    9.Assembling
    Every computer store I've ever seen takes some sort of precaution with assembling computers. Reason? Well, static electricty can in fact fry your computer components, and do it quite easily as well. By an anti-static strap. They cost 2 bucks. Come on...
    WHACK THE RAM WITH A BOOK???? ARE YOU SOME KINDA FUCKING IDIOT??????
    No more needs to be said here.

    I would not buy a computer assembled by you for so long as I lived, please don't EVER post anything like this again.



    Adequacy.idiot (1.00 / 1) (#172)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:12:34 AM PST
    "Ask for the retail-boxed pentium 4 1.4GHZ.. This will include a free cooling fan and fitting instructions, and is the fastest commercially available processor on the market to date."

    This has gotto be the a joke else I donno what to call this... A retail-boxed with free cooling? You gotto be out of your freakin' micro mind to state anythin' than that!

    If someone read this load of garbage and fall for this load of cra' then he should dig a large HOLE and dump his DREAM PC in with and while his at it, dump Adequacy.idiot with it.


     
    in addendum... (3.00 / 3) (#41)
    by dreadfulgrape on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 12:01:46 PM PST
    I'd recommend first-timers try a pre-assembled "just add drives" kit -- TigerDirect sells a number of these -- esp. if would-be builder has no inside-the-box experience.<p>

    That said, why would anyone bother to D.I.Y. out of the cheapest parts possible (other than for just an intellectual pursuit)? I built my own PC for two reasons:<p>

    1) so I'd know it was built with the highest quality components, and <p>

    2) so I could install an OS without all that add-on bullshit you get from Dell or Gateway.<p>

    The MB/CPU incongruity has been noted by the above posters; I'd also add that Windows ME sucks. Unless you're a Linux dweeb, go with Windows 2000, and immediately download & install Service Pack 2 from Microsloth.<p>

    Just my $.02 worth...


     
    Oh Man (4.66 / 3) (#43)
    by CLaW on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 12:32:00 PM PST
    I wish someone would break this down even further. Computer building is so difficult. I went to the suppliers and told them all that I want, got my stuff and went home.

    For Shame adequacy.org, the computer that I ended up would only play really cheasy 80's tunes out of its internal beeper. Black screen, no lights, nothing. just BEEPS!

    So I think I may have to sell it. I'll put an ad in the paper I think.
    CUSTOM BUILD pentnum3 1.4 Ghz computer with
    A7V and 128 or RAM. Need to sell,
    b Tired of the Beeps.
    300 w/Screen OBO.
    If anyone here is intrested, let me know.


    Oh man! (1.00 / 1) (#211)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:38:59 AM PST
    If this is a joke it is really funny...if not then your problem is that the P3 is not made for your motherboard you need an AMD CPU for an A7V.....


    hehe (5.00 / 1) (#288)
    by CLaW on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:04:23 PM PST
    Yea its a joke FUNNY MAN. All my computer does is beep and you think its funny?
    What is the world coming to? Oh for nought.


     
    WTF? (1.50 / 2) (#44)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 12:44:58 PM PST
    At the most basic level, there are two questions you have to answer before this makes sense. The first is: What do you do when it doesn't work? If something breaks down, you can't call Dell. This applies both to when you build it, and during its life. You have put yourself in the position of having to diagnose failures yourself. The second question is: How much will this cost? For low-end configurations, there's absolutely no way you can build it yourself (buying components at qty 1) and beat the price of a similarly configured Dell Dimension L. Particularly if you buy the Dell refurbished. So why are you trying to do this?

    Second - you assert that building a PC is easy, that anyone can do it. Yet you have failed in fundamental ways to build a working PC. I'd love to see you buy the parts you recommend and try to put a PC together from them. The most glaring error, of course, is specifying a Pentium-4 CPU with an Athlon motherboard and PC133 SDR SDRAM. These parts just won't plug together. I mean, you literally can't plug that CPU or that memory into that motherboard. The connectors won't fit.

    Almost equally glaring is trying to run a P4 CPU with a $15 power supply (never mind asking where you think you can source a case+PS for $15 total). To quote Intel's Web site, "Power supplies must comply with the ATX12V design guidelines and supply additional current on the 12V power rail through a new 2x2 connector." In other words, the Pentium 4 requires a new, different power supply with a new, different kind of connector. Again, we're not debating the finer points of geek chic, you've just specified parts that literally won't plug together correctly.

    I agree with you: Assembling a PC isn't particularly difficult. But replacing the alternator in your car is also not particularly difficult, yet most people choose not to do it themselves. It's called specialization of labor and it forms the basis for all civilization. Mess with it at your peril. :-)


    Correction (1.00 / 1) (#45)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 12:49:16 PM PST
    Actually, the RAM will fit into the motherboard you specified. What it fails to fit is the new motherboard you'll have to buy to support the CPU. In fact, the only change you have to make is to substitute a low-speed Duron CPU, then you've got a viable (though perhaps not advisable) configuration, even with the cheap-ass power supply. But I sure wouldn't want one when I could have had a well-supported Dimension L for less money and less effort.

    By the way, HIBT?


    ummmmm (1.00 / 1) (#60)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:24:34 PM PST
    i agree why bother with a pentium IV?? performance wise and cost wise...sucks compared to the athlon..

    also, you leave yourself no upgrade path because most motherboard manufactureres will only be supporting the newer socket to be released in a couple months....

    maybe you should pay attention to all those "geeks"...that's what the internet is for...to inform yourself so you don't waste your money. but hey if you have the hard earned bucks to waste then....what can i say....


     
    Beep. (5.00 / 1) (#75)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:55:13 PM PST
    I could easily build you a top of the line system (AMD of course) for the same price as a lower, much lower end Dell. Your looking at $1000 for the best stuff out there. Also, if someone doesnt know much they shouldn't build one thereselves, sadly it looks as I know more than anyone on this site combined, thank God a few people kind of know what there talking about.


    crack. (1.00 / 1) (#230)
    by sponz on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 06:10:05 AM PST
    Hahah! 1000 bucks will get you top of the line huh? You could afford a mobo and 2 procs and a case for 1000 bucks. Heh, you my friend, are smokin crack.


    Lets see.... (5.00 / 1) (#265)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 11:16:01 AM PST
    (Assuming not to be overclocking:)
    tbird 1.2ghz: $85
    socket a mobo: $65 (a cheap one)
    256 megs pc133:$30
    case w/ psu: $50
    cdrom drive: $20
    40gig hd: $70
    geforce2 pro: $130
    sblive value: $30

    so, thats $480 for a top of the line system.
    Im sure an extra 500 could add on a cd burner, a geforce 3 instead of a 2, an extra 256 megs of ram, a nice moniter, keyboard, mouse, etc...

    You seem to be wrong, my friend.


     
    What were your "experts" smoking? (3.50 / 4) (#46)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 12:53:20 PM PST
    Do not pay more than $15 including PSU and fans...A good brand is Globalwin or Lian-li, but its best to stick to the absolute cheapest generic case you can find.

    Trust me, getting the cheapest case you can and then mentioning Globalwin or Lian-Li are worlds apart. And the new processors from AMD and Intel need good power supplies. Expect to pay ~$60-$75 locally.

    Go for the cheapest. Probably something like an Abit KT7 Raid. It is as good a choice as any.

    What the Hell? Tell them to avoid the geeky shit and then tell them to buy a RAID board? Go for the regular KT7 (cheaper) or the Asus rendition of the board instead.

    Ask for the retail-boxed pentium 4 1.4GHZ.

    Brilliant. Ask for an Intel CPU to put into your AMD motherboard. IT DOESN'T WORK. And why on Earth would someone want to buy a Pentium IV at ~$200 when they can get an AMD Thunderbird 1.2 gig for ~$100. Or even a AMD Duron 700 for ~$40. The Duron will handle everything you throw at it, unless you are a hardcore system abuser.

    What you need for your functioning PC is 1 generic 128MB 168-pin PC-100 DIMM.

    Pentium IV's will not (yet) take DIMM's. They take RDRAM, at a price premium. But since we're going AMD here you should be able to pick up 256 megs of PC133 generic for <$40 locally or online including shipping. It's a bargain, and worth the upgrade from 128.</p>

    You need to get the cheapest generic GEForce2 Non-ddr 32MB card you can find.

    No you don't. nVidia has horrible 2D quality, especially compared to the lowend offerings by Matrox (G400-G450) and ATI (Radeon LE). Both can be had for about $80, and since most of the users time will be spent in the 2D world of the web, email, and word processing it makes sense to get a board that excells at it without throwing out large piles of money.

    Also note in your installation procedures that you suggest putting in the CPU last. Make sure that when you put the motherboard into your "cheap case" that the power supply doesn't block access to putting in the CPU. It often times does, so putting in the CPU before it goes into the case is a good idea. And don't scoff at anti-static straps. As cheap as they are, they are far cheaper than anything that you might zap and kill.

    While I agree that creating a non-geeky build-your-own-PC guide is a good idea, make sure and have your facts straight before you write one. With mistakes like the ones you made above, you would only make things worse for the buyer.

    Or did I miss the sarcasm intended in the article?


    nVidia 2D is not that bad (5.00 / 1) (#93)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:18:25 PM PST
    I absolutely believe most video cards have good 2D quality now. If you're satisfied with the video cards several years ago, I don't see any complaint should be made to new video cards. Unless you need it for professional graphics design or photo editing, I don't see any concern with these top brands graphics chips.

    IMO, the best bet is nVidia Geforce2 MX 32MB which can have near GTS quality at 1024 or lower resolution if overclocked (for a budger builder, having 17" monitor with 1024 res is already quite adequate), avoid MX200 which is much more slower.

    Wear suitable eyeglasses or grab a sharp monitor might be a better choice.


     
    What were your "experts" smoking? (1.00 / 1) (#137)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:30:23 PM PST
    Yea ummm.. your comment about the video card... It's a good thing that you straightened em out about the 2d issue. Seeing as how Nvdidia is near the top and all the processing power email and surfing the web requires. You may want to get your facts straight before giving advise.


    What were your "experts" smoking? (5.00 / 1) (#261)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 10:51:33 AM PST
    the person who made the sarcastic comment in response to the guy saying thaty nvidia has horrible 2d, is actually pretty wrong. nvidia has FAIR 2d quality, but compared to Matrox, ATI, and other cards, you can get much better for your money. Like the person who actually wrote this pathetic article, make sure YOU can get your facts straight, and atleast understand what you are talking about.


     
    Good (1.00 / 1) (#161)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:48:19 PM PST
    Glad to see I wasn't the only one who noticed just about everything there was wrong.

    Also, they make it seem as if you can start installing WinMe, how about fdisking and formatting first?


    ..What he said ^^^ (1.00 / 1) (#292)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:20:41 PM PST
    ...and setting the CD-ROm as Bootable in the BIOS????


     
    Some of you have it all wrong. (1.00 / 1) (#61)
    by MasterX1 on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:34:36 PM PST
    He said something LIKE a ABit Kt7 raid. Not assuming you'd go out and by a P4 and a KT7 board for it. (Even though this for NON-techies!! like they'd know what raid is /does/ or the benefits)

    and pc100 ram? WHY?!!!? Get 256mb pc133 its the MINIMUM to run Win98 at a good speed. ( or heck just by 512 its dirt freaken cheap).

    and once again BIG mistake suggesting Intel obviously your not as tech 'savvy' as you think.
    you posted the sites that bench mark that stuff, yet you didn't look at the benchmarks?

    BTW I read through half the posts before me so sorry for repeating anything anyone else has said.




    MasterX1 you = n00b (none / 0) (#77)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:57:34 PM PST
    For MasterX1

    so you base everything on benchmarks?! AMD is less stable then intel(and no i dont hate AMD but its fact, VIA fucks AMD over).

    lol you make it seem like intel sucks. You can still pick up a P3 for cheap and it will be more stable than athlon *Cough* SBLIVE + athlon *cough*, *cough* IWILL boards, i can go on.

    and 256MB is NOT the minimum, you arent the tech savvy one. You can run win98 on 128MB and it will JUST FINE.


    blah (none / 0) (#80)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:05:34 PM PST
    well obviously when about 99/100 benchmarks are in favor of an AMD chip that kinda says something, dosn't it? =P

    not stable? uhhh, right, i might not use it in a server (no wait, that's too "tech savvy"), but i'd be damned if it's going to be even near noticeably worse than an intel chip, besides the fact that if someone goes from this guide, they won't even have their computer up and running, so what's stability mean if the piece of shit dosn't even boot up?


    subject (none / 0) (#83)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:10:03 PM PST
    lol i'm not the newbie you think. You cant deny that VIA is unstable/poorly made. VIA is the main cause. And if it isnt stable enough to be used in a server then guess what....its not stable. Uhhhh a intel server set up properly is tried and proven to be stable(i believe stability is why kyle chose the P3 combo for [H]. AMD hadnt been proven in the server market and he wasnt gonna risk instabilities.)

    True this guide = retarted but the comment stated earlier was almost as moronic. You NEED 256MB to run windows ME/98...LOL...cant stop laughin over that one.


    Ha! (none / 0) (#104)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:25:59 PM PST
    No, Kyle chose the P3 setup because Intel has more experience in the server market... not because AMD is unstable. AMD is just starting to enter the server market... they have never really had the oppurtunity to do so with Intel's dominance on the CPU market... that is, until the Athlon showed up and kicked the Pentium's ass. Intel has been in the server market ever since the PPRO... a long time ago, which means that they have alot of experience with servers. However, when Intel first broke into the server market, I am quite sure many people were saying that Intel was unstable and they couldn't succeed in the server market. Now that AMD is entering the server market, people are saying that they can't make servers... however, give them some time, and they will soon have the goods to fully compete with Intel in the server market


    hmm? (none / 0) (#122)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:52:43 PM PST
    well if you're gonna blame Via for AMD's instability what about using an AMD chipset?


    this article is next ... (none / 0) (#132)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:09:19 PM PST
    A bit of simple math shows the kind of performance uplift we're talking about. The servers which produced animated laugh-fest Shrek were capable of roughly ten gigaflops. A gigaflop is a billion floating point operations per second. 'RH', the autistic savant featured in this article by Paul Macaruso and Scott Sokol, could give the cube root of a six digit number in five seconds, a calculation speed roughly equivalent to 50 megaflops. So, as we know that the numerical tasks involved are massively parallelisable, it would take only 200 savants working together to duplicate the power needed to produce Shrek. By extension, given that autism affects 0.5% of the population and 10% of autistic people are savants, the 280 million people in the USA include a latent computational resource capable of 700 times the processing power available to George Lucas.

    the whole site is fake


    Hahaha (none / 0) (#175)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:22:25 AM PST
    Although I'd like to believe that this is a joke, I can't but call attention to the mission statement. Just who are you trying to aim this site to? Seems like your writing ability as well as your PC know how go hand in hand. I mean you probably should have told the reader that that tray that slides in and out is a cup holder.

    There are incredibly stupid problems with the aforementioned article. It's obvious that the author has never built a computer, much less knows how to use one (um... the mouse has to be on a surface to move the cursor, you can't just wave it in the air... no, sir... just because it's called a "mouse" doesn't mean it has to sit on the ground). Anyhow, if you're going to build a computer try this
    http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/01q1/010115/index.html
    At least you'll end up with something better than a doorstop.


    *pointing and laughing* (none / 0) (#210)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:38:31 AM PST
    "that tray that slides in and out is a cup holder"
    Hey man, don't knock it till ya try it. Actually this is what I do to my friends computer at LAN parties to piss him off if I am sitting next to him. When he comes back from getting a drink, he finds the cup in there and ges so pissed. Oh yeah, that and if I think he cheats, I reach over and press the "Adjust Settings" button on his monitor so the OSD (on screen display) blocks the center 1/4 of his screen for a few seconds. Very helpful during an intense RA3 match.

    Oh, and for all you 'non-propeller head geeks' out there (whatever the fudge that means) please check out Tom's Hardware or ARS Technica for a DIY system guide. Please don't take any of this guys tips to heart. If you do, you'll most likely damage your $250 Retail P4 by slamming it into the zif socket. And that will be the least of your problems (I think the intelligent people patrol already named most of them). Oh wait here's one I think hasn't been touched on: "Hold on guys, that cd will be ready in a quick hour and a half on my fantastic $49 1x CD-RW burner. Ooops, burn error."


     
    m (none / 0) (#130)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:06:05 PM PST
    dude this article is fake. this site has a poll on overclocking athlons right next to it for fucks sake


     
    no, actually... (none / 0) (#129)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:04:03 PM PST
    take note that anandtech uses amd servers...although i am not exactly an anandtech fan (a moderator at hardOCP, to be exact), i respect the fact that the anand crew has plenty of experience, especially in the server area. They also use via-based motherboards with the 1.2 athlons... i dont see any stability problems with their databases etc...



    Moderator (none / 0) (#152)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:21:54 PM PST
    Who said they were a mod for [H]? What name you under? UncaMilty?


    unca [H] (none / 0) (#177)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:26:17 AM PST
    nah..doubt its Unca
    no good sarcasm...
    maybe Steve from his [H]ospital bed?
    :)


     
    Lol... (none / 0) (#150)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:20:36 PM PST
    whoever said Kyle chose P3's is a DUMBASS. He chose P3's because he needed a DUAL-PROCESSOR server. AT THE TIME, AMD did NOT have a dual-processor compatable processor/chipset.


     
    Riiiiight (none / 0) (#88)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:15:21 PM PST
    You can also run Windows ME on 32 megs of ram on a Pentium 200. I wouldn't want to try that though. You can use 128 mb just fine with Win98 if you just wanna use AOL, ICQ, Internet Explorer & email. But considering you can get 256 mb for less than what you would pay for 2 128 mb chips, why not pay the extra $10 and get more RAM than you need, than "just enough"? Ram is probably the cheapest it's ever going to get right now. You can get 256 mb of normal ram for $25, or 128 mb for $15. Isn't it worth getting double the ram, and a good increase in performance, for a mere $25?


     
    What? (none / 0) (#90)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:15:39 PM PST
    Intel more stable than AMD? I don't think so... can anyone say "1.13GHz Intel Pentium 3 Coppermine"?....




    VIA sux (none / 0) (#95)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:20:36 PM PST
    yes and the 1.13ghz coppermine was recalled. i dont see via recalling their shit even though they and creative finally admitted problems between their components. VIA sux.


    So what VIA sux? Whats that got to do with AMD? (none / 0) (#147)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:58:02 PM PST
    Dont you know AMD makes their own chipsets? AMD760 based motherboards are the best for AMD chips. Saying Amd is unstable cause of via is like saying intel is unstable cause of via... via makes p3 chipsets too. So compare intel on intel chipset with amd on amd chipset.


     
    You sir, are a fucktard of the worse kind (1.00 / 1) (#62)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:37:57 PM PST
    first off, you say get a $15 case, for that much money, you will get a case that has a SHITTY powersupply, and most likely will not even be compatible with the fucking motherboard

    than you say a lian li is a good brand, what the hell? those are around $300 cases you fucking doofus

    than, as the other person already said earlier, a Abit KT7-Raid mother board is for AMD, YES, AMD, NOT INTEL, so what the fuck are you telling them to buy a $300 proccessor if it's not even COMPATIBLE with the system, i.e., IT WONT EVEN FUCKING FIT

    i highly reccomend that NO one take advice from this guide, it will give you a piece of fucking shit computer, and you said maybe 20 minutes to build a PC? yeah, ok, i know a shitload of these "stupid headstrong nerds", and even THEY have troubles getting their computer to work, now, you telling people to buy shit that won't even FIT into where it's supposed to go, and saying it'll take 20 minutes and it'll work is just beyond beleif

    i hope this whole article is a fucking joke, an example would be "before you tell a race car driver how to drive, learn to race"


    uhm. heh. retards. (1.00 / 1) (#124)
    by 420mAs on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:57:05 PM PST
    has anyone read JEFFKs website? and the great info he provides. This im _hopeing_ is around the same kind of joke.


     
    "IN"Adequacy? (4.00 / 1) (#63)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:39:06 PM PST
    What kind of morons run this site? They're completely computer illerate and tries to sell themselves off as experts.

    Please do not listen to these morons.

    I quote:

    "Other companies make processors too, such as Sun and AMD, and while these are OK, they are not guaranteed to be Intel-compatible. adequacy.org tip: Ask for the retail-boxed pentium 4 1.4GHZ.. This will include a free cooling fan and fitting instructions, and is the fastest commercially available processor on the market to date."

    OK, first off, Intel already came out with the 1.7 and 1.8 Ghz P4. So 1.4 Ghz P4 is not the fastest. Second of all, AMD has a 1.5 Ghz Athlon. Although the clock speed is lower, anyone with ANY computer knowledge knows that clockspeed does not equal fast processor. To say a chip is faster because of high clock speed is to say a 2 stroke engine at 15,000 RPM is more powerful than a V-12 at 7,000. Third, AMD Athlons are 100% x86 compatible. That design has been licensed from Intel since the days of 486s.


    "A Genuine Retail copy of Microsoft Windows Millenium. There's no reason to economise here. Your Operating System is the thing that holds your whole PC together."

    Windows ME is just another version of Windows 98/95 family which is STILL based on the DOS kernel. Anyone with an ounce of expertise knows that DOS was not made to be a multitasking kernel. In other words, IT WILL CRASH A LOT AND REQUIRE FORMATS EVERY NOW AND THEN. The FAR better alternative is Windows 2000 which is built on Windows NT kernel.

    "A modem. - Make sure you get a so called 'WinModem'. These modems are enhanced to work better with Windows Millennium, and represent very good value for money. "

    Are you moronic??? A Win Modem is a modem that only works in Windows because it lacks an onboard processor and needs to use the processor to do the calculation. It is NOT in any way enhanced. As a matter of fact, they tend to suck because they can't keep up with the data and tends to drop the line.

    "We will not be talking about overclocking, FSB speeds, thermal compound, so-called 'alternative' Operating Systems or any of that elitist BS"

    How is using Linux or any Windows alternative elitist? For one, Linux is FREE and runs 40% of the world's web servers.

    "We share the jealously guarded secrets of the pros. "

    These information are NOT guarded in ANY way. They're widely available on the web. Goto www.hardocp.com for starters. At least they will give you the correct information.

    Please DO NOT LISTEN TO THESE MORONS. They have NO IDEA what they're talking and tries to pretend that they know something by throwing in big words and a lot of cuss words.





    I agree. (none / 0) (#76)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:57:32 PM PST
    Very well said, you took the words out of my mouth.


     
    AMD has 286 chip too (none / 0) (#119)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:48:09 PM PST
    I have an AMD 286 chip in one of my antique motherboards.


    I have a.... (none / 0) (#195)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:22:30 AM PST
    Pentium VI 98.27 GHZ on my washing machine. It's hellafast


     
    Just a last remark... (none / 0) (#320)
    by Anonymous Reader on Thu Jan 17th, 2002 at 07:14:48 AM PST
    They advise you to buy a kt7raid board, but :
    First : raid support is hell to configure for non technical aware persons
    Second : it doesn't support P4!!


     
    Sorry? (1.00 / 1) (#66)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:50:20 PM PST
    GUYS, before we continue with all these posts pointing out the flaws in the stupid guide, perhaps we should stop and think....

    No one on Earth is this moronic right? Perhaps it was a BIG satire or parody. This has GOT TO BE A JOKE!

    If so, sorry for the harsh comments.

    If not, PLEASE LEARN BEFORE YOU PRETEND TO BE AN EXPERT!


    I agree (1.00 / 1) (#84)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:10:27 PM PST
    Yes... it has to be a joke, no one could make an article like this up and be serious... I hope


     
    Ok, then. (1.00 / 1) (#72)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 08:54:05 PM PST
    Yes, you can build a PC following this.

    Will it work? No.

    If you can't take the time to understand all of the "Technical Jargon" floating around (really, all it takes is a 20-minute explanation of the state of the computer world) then you shouldn't be even thinking about building a PC yourself.

    Get a local shop to do it.

    Or, even better, buy a Dell. You'll get all the hand-holding tech support that you need.




     
    Computer building (1.00 / 1) (#79)
    by compguru on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:04:14 PM PST
    If I said "Since I know how to drive a car I will build a car" you would call me crazy...

    But since you know how to use the computer you can build one? And expect perfect results?

    The confusion in building a pc is that it requires knowledge that must be acquired through training, self study or prior experience.

    Stop and learn what is required.
    --------------------------------------------
    The difference between the cave man of 20,000 years ago and todays man is compounded knowledge. You didnt have to discover fire or invent the wheel, society passed this knowledge to us.

    Stop being a cave man waiting for us to invent the wheel for you.


     
    What a joke (1.00 / 1) (#81)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:05:57 PM PST
    The author of this article is a complete moron, and obviously knows dick about building a computer.


     
    way to go fucknut (5.00 / 1) (#82)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:08:25 PM PST
    Hey, why dont you just completly screw over all the people who take your advice? God, you are a pitiful excuse for a human. If you are gonna attempt to help people, why not do it the correct way and get off your lazy fat ass tell people what components to use and best of all..take PICTURS showing how to BUILD a PC.

    I for one know that if i knew shit about computers, i would not attempt to build one. Sure my first computer was a Dell but after a year of tinkiering with it and watching friends build computers several times, I fianly built one and continued to build MANY more computers. there is nothing wring with say a Dell for a non technical person, this is why they have TECH support. I sure as hell dont want to be free tech support for someone who built a mangled mess of a computer casue of some jackass.

    there is a reason these 'geek' sites exist, many of them have GREAT tutorials showing how to build a computer, tell you what to buy and how to put it together in an easy manner. NEVER HIT computer parts....DMG, you are a pitiful person

    heres a good place to learn about what to get for parts and how to build a computer..the real way.
    http://www4.tomshardware.com/howto/01q1/010115/index.html

    SinnopS
    sinnops@wc-extreme.com
    wc-extreme.com


     
    HEHEHEEE (5.00 / 1) (#85)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:11:02 PM PST
    Great article!!

    I am going to go out and build my first computer right now!

    I thought only really nerdy people could put a computer together, but now I can do it myself!!!

    I am concerned about static charge though. If I use a dehumidifier and a Van der Graff generator, will that get rid of enough charge?

    thanks!
    3mta3@aol.com


     
    What a stupid article you have published... (1.00 / 1) (#91)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:17:30 PM PST
    I really have to question if the author of this article has ever seen the inside of a computer, he or she certainly doesn't know the first thing about writing a do-it-yourself guide. The overgeneralizations are so blatantly idiotic it truly boggles the mind. Suggesting buying the cheapest POS case you can jamming an AMD motherboard and a boxed retail P4 is hilarious! I'd like to say that all computer help guides are all pretty much the same, but in fact yours sucks the most evar. :)


     
    IDIOCY REIGNS SUPREME!! (1.00 / 1) (#92)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:17:41 PM PST
    This article would be funny if it wasn't for that fact that any moron who would follow this guys recipe for a computer would end up spending a whole lot of money on a useless pile of components that would not work together. What's next Heart Surgery made easy?? How to make your own clone in 10 easy steps??

    Putting togther a PC is not that hard but it does take research of reviews on different component configurations to know what works together and what doesn't, use of Hardware Forums like www.hardforum.com to help you over the inevitable roadblock and some basic knowledge of operating systems so you would be able to install Windows 98se, ME or 2000 and get a working computer.

    Not to mention all the different settings that have to be made in the motherboard's BIOS(most motherboards are jumperless now for the most part)
    just to get your system to recognize the Processor, Hard drive, USB port, Printer Port. This ABIT KT7 mobo recommneded has to be adjust to eaable the IDE ports so you can recognize your hard drive, Parellel Port or LPT1 has to be adjusted to ECP to enable bidirectional printing, and USB as to be enabled in BIOS or it won't work in the OS, etc.

    It's not hard to build a PC yo'self but it ain't as easy as this YOYO makes it out to be, not even considering that he spec'ed the wrong mobo, power supply, memory and processor combo, Geez what a NOOB!!

    And guys if you don't know any more than the author please do yourself a favor and don't reply the REAL hardware sites have this article in thier sites and believe me the Hardware community is laughing thier collective asses off at your expense.




    Hrmph. (none / 0) (#309)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Oct 16th, 2001 at 01:15:51 PM PST
    ADEQUACY IS IDIOCY

    ADEQUACY REIGNS SUPREME


     
    It seems to be very obvious... (1.00 / 1) (#94)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:19:10 PM PST
    This document was written by one of the "Computer Elitist Geeks" and was meant to screw up anyone who doesn't REALLY know anything about computers, just for the fun of it. They consistantly add comments made to make you all angry. Read this "How-To" Guide as a joke.

    All the suggestions made were to screw some hapless reader up when they go to build their own system.

    This was TRULY funny.

    And I'm sorry to say, but all of you replying and bashing what the author has done just makes it funnier.

    I hope that NOONE takes the authors "TECHNICAL" suggestions to be real.


    Killcannon


     
    Guide (1.00 / 1) (#97)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:22:46 PM PST
    I wonder if someone has run out and bought an Abit KT7 and a Pentium 4 processor and is sitting at home trying to get the processor into the socket. This guide to build your own PC is obviously a joke. However, building your own PC can be a rewarding experience. Do read some other guides first :)


     
    Kompooter fer Dummiez (1.00 / 1) (#98)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:23:06 PM PST
    An analogy: No one should try building or doing their own repair work on a car without actually doing some research into how the hell it actually works. Buy some Chilton's manuals. Talk with your friend who knows about cars & do a little repair work for fun with him on a weekend. But if you're too busy or don't want to learn how to fix a car, you take it to a mechanic. If you try and fix it yourself, you'll wind up buying crappy parts, and putting domestic parts into an import car. At best, you'll have a poorly-running car, and at worst, you will have an expensive hunk of junk.

    Computers are the same way. If you are too technology-illiterate or don't want to take the time to learn how a computer works, then admit it, and buy a pre-built system from Dell or Gateway or Best Buy. If you need it repaired, you can call tech support and return parts that are still under warranty. But if you're actually interested in learning how a computer works, then you're gonna need to know all those "mumbo jumbo buzzwords" or you're gonna have a non-working computer, like the genius author here has laid out for you.

    Also, I can't tell if this entire site is one big troll (the rules specifically mention no trolling, yet writes articles full of glaring errors just begging for "propellerheads" to come and correct them.) or if most of the regulars here actually agree with most of the viewpoints expressed on the front page. I don't think I could ever take this article seriously at all. Good job at pulling the legs of a bunch of people then you goobers.


     
    SHUT THE FUCK UP (1.00 / 1) (#99)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:23:37 PM PST
    Ok. This was a joke. If you didn't realize that you need to sit down and breathe slowly and deeply FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. Didn't the fact that nothing would work together make you think, oh, SARCASM? That they know who Abit, Lian Li, Sparkle, and GlobalWin are? That they know who ESR and RMS are? That they know what a Beowulf cluster is? What about the fact that the website is run on Slackware and uses Scoop?

    My favorite faux pas of the article was that you should turn on your Air Conditioning to reduce static charge, since the AC removes humidity and thus static charge, when in fact less humid air allows for more charge to build up.

    I applaud the author for writing a thoroughly entertaining article.


     
    totally b*llsh*t (1.00 / 1) (#100)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:23:49 PM PST
    My 11 year old brother can write a better guide than this one


     
    DMG = teh winn!! (1.00 / 1) (#102)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:24:28 PM PST
    as seen on the 'who' page "dmg gave up a promising career as an MCSE administrating NT servers and programming in VB at one of the United States' top investment banks. He did this in order to obtain masters degree in Marketing Science. He is now a widely-resepcted technology analyst at a well known brokerage house. He is single and currently resides in the lower east side of Manhattan." more like he was fired for being an ideot


     
    one thing is clear... (1.00 / 1) (#105)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:26:43 PM PST
    It's absolutely clear that the REVIEWER should go to Dell / Gateway / Compaq for his/her next computer. If the REVIEWER can't figure out that AMD parts don't work with Intel parts, he shouldn't be spewing false information (such as that) to the Adequacy community.


     
    Title is correct! Expert won't tell you to do it. (1.00 / 1) (#108)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:33:37 PM PST
    Even an amateur with some senses will not build a system with these mismatched components. For sure, it works only in your dream.


     
    Who the hell wrote this? (1.00 / 1) (#109)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:35:13 PM PST
    All I have to say is the individual who wrote this is basically a typical ignorante elitist jock archtype. He is afraid of what he doesnt know so he has to bash people who are knowledgable about computers with his condescending little remarks. And despite the writer thinks, just because you can make a high grade computer doesnt make you a basement geek. I built my computer from the ground up and I still find plenty of time to get laid.


    Scepticism (5.00 / 1) (#117)
    by Peter Johnson on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:44:12 PM PST
    You're complaining about elitist jocks anonymously on a weblog AND bragging about getting laid?

    If I was a robot, this is where I'd start going "error, does not compute" over and over until I melted.

    --Peter
    Are you adequate?
    --Peter
    Are you adequate?

     
    Shut the hell up (5.00 / 1) (#141)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:46:16 PM PST
    What the hell is with all these damn propellerheads showing up all of a sudden? A man can't read his damn article about making a halfway decent computer without a bunch of geeks showing up and acting all snooty. Oh, your computers must be so much better than the one in this article huh? I think you fruity bastards just can't stand to let us NORMAL people have some of the good stuff for a change.

    LISTEN UP GEEKS, while I'm sitting here getting a blowjob and writing out this angry response at the same time, you're all out there jerking it to cartoon porn with 14-year old Japanese girls. Please try and keep your bodily fluids away from the hard-drive before you get it all sticky and break it. Thank you.


    You are a moron. (1.00 / 1) (#169)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:00:50 AM PST
    <<Oh, your computers must be so much better than the one in this article huh? I think you fruity bastards just can't stand to let us NORMAL people have some of the good stuff for a change.>>

    If you knew anything about computers, you would know that

    1) The PSU they are having you get doesn't support the P4.
    2) They are recommending the P4, and then recommend a Thunderbird board.
    3) The ram they suggest does not work with a P4.
    4) Most of the rest of the stuff in the article is utter shit.

    Good day.


     
    My computer may not be better... (1.00 / 1) (#173)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:16:27 AM PST
    I only have a p-3 500Mhz... so it's definitely not "better" than the prescribed P4 1.4Ghz system... the only difference is that mine works.

    And please define "propellerhead".


     
    fucking idiot (1.00 / 1) (#111)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:41:19 PM PST
    you are the stupidest fucking person ever

    wrong cpu for the mobo

    mobos are the most important thing

    256mb + ram is needed

    win modem!!! no you fucking idiot




    remove this article immediately, you are a complete fuck up who knows shit all about computers, other than a random number of buzz phrases you have heard.

    you are a fucking idiot


     
    Static Electricity (1.00 / 1) (#112)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:41:31 PM PST
    WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG.

    "If you are concerned about static electricity damage, we suggest you simply turn on the air conditioning. This has the effect of reducing the relative humidity, which in turn removes the static electricity from the air.)"
    THATS ABSOLUTELY WRONG.

    here is how it works. -
    Humidity will LOWER the risk of static shocks. By turning on the A/C you will dry the air making static electric discharge a much more real danger. Ever noticed in the winter when the air is real dry that you get shocked on everything. But in the warm humid summer you dont ever seem to get shocked?

    If you are truly concerned about ESD just dont touch the conductive pins on the devices, and handle them by the PCB.


    ESD (5.00 / 1) (#134)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:22:47 PM PST
    Actually even then you run the risk of grounding right to the PCB. It only takes a static discharge of 30 watts to fry a component.

    Let's put that in perspective. If you static-shock someone and you can feel the shock, that's 3000 (!) watts. If you can hear the snapping noise of the discharge that's 6000 watts. If you can see the spark cross the gap between you two then you've discharged over 9000 watts.

    You can zap a component and not even know it if the charge released is below 3000 watts.


    That's volts actually... (5.00 / 1) (#142)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:46:52 PM PST
    9000 watts would be a different story.


     
    steaming pile of horseshit (1.00 / 1) (#113)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:41:32 PM PST
    WOW

    Just goes to show that any yahoo with a website can influence the masses.

    I cannot believe what a piece of shit nonsense garbage fuck you over article this is. Well done, adequacy.org, you have shown us that you are completely incompetent and INadequate to provide any sort of useful information.

    If this is a joke, it is in very bad taste. You can seriously fuck people over who take this advice.

    If this isnt a joke, TAKE THE FUCKING ARTICLE DOWN. People who follow this advice will probably creep up on the writer with a .50 BMG. I know I would.




     
    Funniest aricle ever. (1.00 / 1) (#116)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:42:58 PM PST
    This is the funniest thing I have ever read. It HAS to be a joke, no body can possibly be this dumb.


    Have you read any of dmg's other stories? (5.00 / 1) (#222)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 05:00:10 AM PST
    :-)


     
    my new computer is teh bomb (1.00 / 1) (#120)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:50:45 PM PST
    I took this person's advice and made myself a computer. It runs great.

    Abit KT7-raid motherboard
    P4 1.7!!! gigahertz
    128 megs of pc 100 ram
    geforce 2 card
    15 dollar case with powersupply
    winmodem
    AOL cd

    It's an awesome paperweight. Thanks DMG!!!




     
    OMG- Thanks for the laugh.... (1.00 / 1) (#121)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:51:40 PM PST
    If people actually take that seriously and try to build a computer, I'll be making bankrolls as an "expert" fixing it all.....hahahaha

    If Douglass Adams was only alive today, he would've writting that guide up there.... "The Hitch-hikers Guide to Screwing Technology Up"

    hehe


    Sad (5.00 / 1) (#192)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:16:41 AM PST
    Douglass Adams: He will be missed *snif* :(


     
    holy shit, what if someone actually believes this? (1.00 / 1) (#123)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:54:11 PM PST
    This is the biggest bullshit excuse for a Pc-building walkthrough i've ever seen. have you no remorse for a guy that actually follows this advice and screws
    himself over?

    what pisses me off even more is your general ideology of "if they know alot about pc's they are a nerd and you dont want to be like that"
    fucking hell i build my own fucking pc's- i'm 15, got laid first time at 13, have hot girlfriend, etc...

    anyway what i'm trying to say is that the retard who wrote this deserves to be slowly tortured to death


    PENIS! (5.00 / 1) (#286)
    by Grendel Drago on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:51:29 PM PST
    Why does everyone seem to think that proclaiming sexual prowess is an indicator of personal worth? Perhaps to a rather shallow girlfriend.

    And why does everyone seem to believe that the best way to insult a man is to impugn his cocksmanship? Honestly!

    Has anyone ever heard of the `wandering womb' theory, popular in the 19th century, which blamed anything `wrong' a woman did (like wanting to read and write or leave the house or not cook and clean) on her uterus, which floated around the body until it was anchored by her having a child. Must've made for some interesting autopsy discussion...
    Well, let's cut this one open.

    Hey, look, it's a uterus.

    Huh. Same place as last time.

    Ain't that some shit.
    You'd think they'd have noticed. Just like you'd think people would have noticed that arrogant assholes with something to prove are often quite popular with the ladies (because they're `confident') and yet are terrribly insecure about women and need to reassure themselves by proclaiming themselves h0t 13 yrz 0ld p1mpz0rz...

    Right. Where was I? Ahh, never mind.

    --grendel drago


    Your answer (1.00 / 1) (#297)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 07:43:35 PM PST
    Right. Where was I?

    You were making an absolute fool of yourself all over this web forum. HTH.


     
    PC builders guide (1.00 / 1) (#125)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:57:21 PM PST
    REALLY SCREWED GUIDE!!
    A KT7 board is an AMD board and you paired it with a PENTIUM4!!
    I hope the author of this article will admit to this beiing a hoax ,hell made me laugh.
    Just imagine the hoarde of YUPPIES running to BEST BUY!!




     
    Tandy SL1000 (5.00 / 1) (#126)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:57:35 PM PST
    You guys are all over amped over crap.
    I have Windows 2000 Pro on my Tandy SL1000.
    V-Chip upgrade, 150 meg ide drive, 9600 modem,
    and since I just downloaded another 150 megs of free space, I now have 300 megs of hard drive space and 1 meg of ram.
    Works for me.
    The hard part was installing Win2K from 5.25 floppies, but it was worth the effort........
    and it's PAID for !!


    Oh yeah?! (5.00 / 1) (#191)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:14:40 AM PST
    I DID MOST OF THE ANIMATION FOR THE FINAL FANTASY MOVIE!

    I did it on my brand new Intel 386. Everyone knows the 386 stands for 386 GHZ!!!

    I have 2 megs of RamMing!

    40 megs HD space! I put liquid paper on the Hard drive label which originally said 10 MB, and I wrote 40MB on it! 30 MEGS OF SPACE FOR THE COST OF LIQUID PAPER YAHOO!!!!!!

    I USE AOL New version 83! AND NORTON DISK DOCTOR AND NORTON ANTIVIRUS AND NORTON DOES DALLAS! THEY MAKE MY COMPUTER SUPERFAST!

    Graphics card? WHO NEEDS ONE! I put the power cord from my monitor into the CDROM drive. It is just as good as a graphics card due to the phenomenon known as radiosity lighting!

    I also use windows 1.0~ It is the fastest and most advanced OS on the planet! Virtual coolness on the information superhighway!!!!

    - [Corporal Dan]
    "No matter where you go, there you are"
    P3700e@987/256/GF2@250/397


    Oh, YEAH ??? well, (1.00 / 1) (#232)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 06:54:39 AM PST
    ...I did ALL of Planet of the Erectus Hairy Homonidians, AND Star Warz I, II, and III on my Tandy.
    You paid too much.

    - Crow


     
    yer all dumb (1.00 / 1) (#127)
    by yeralldumb on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 09:57:59 PM PST
    The funniest part of the article was the strong advocacy of Windows ME. If you didnt realize this was a joke, then you are as stupid as you thought the author was!! Idiots!!


     
    Chuckle, (1.00 / 1) (#128)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:00:05 PM PST
    I had a great laugh at this article... I think the comedian (author) should right more like this. Maybe he can do something on building a garage with chipwood and duct tape.


     
    CRACK KILLS (1.00 / 1) (#131)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:07:47 PM PST
    And I'm talking about butt crack, which where this guy's head obviously is. This has to be a joke, though not a funny one. No one could get so many things ass-backwards, right down to saying that decreasing humidity decreases static. If it wasn't a joke, he would've corrected those mistakes by now. Unless he's still standing by that P4+KT7 combo. And threatening to delete posts for AOL bashing? HAHA. And has anyone noticed the Slackware Linux ad at the bottom of the posting page?


    Duh! (1.00 / 1) (#299)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:16:11 PM PST
    Read the 252 posts. It is damn funny.

    Slackware owns.


     
    damn this is hi-traffic board... (5.00 / 1) (#133)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:11:51 PM PST
    haveyou guys realized how often people post on this board?
    i just posted like 10 mins ago, already like 20 more posts are on board... damn...


     
    SLAMJOB!! (5.00 / 1) (#135)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:25:49 PM PST
    Just finished ordering all the parts you said get at an internet site, but I called to order using the phone(Net ordering is SCARY). One question; why was the salesperson laughing so hard? Does he think saving money and building a kickass system like you said is funny???

    I went to one of the geek forums that someone mentioned earlier.... [H]ard something or other(what a bunch of wierdos). Anyway, I posted a message proclaiming my awesome computer and how I was gonna build it and they were REALLY RUDE in there reply's. You get no help from THAT site for sure, I'll just stick with adequacy.org for all my system building needs.....

    Oh, BTW can you come over to my house this Saturday so I can kick your ass when this computer I ordered doesn't work??


    moron... about the [H]ardOCP comment. (5.00 / 1) (#149)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:13:12 PM PST
    Right. And how you got free alex chiu rings along with it. Find the forums, and ask some real questions. Half of you don't know what you're talking about.


    [H]ard|Forum Poo Heads..... (5.00 / 1) (#151)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:21:48 PM PST
    See DMG? That's just what I meant, those Nerds have nuthin better to do than to rip people like you and me because we are Xposing them and there vicious lies.....

    DMG is my personal [H]ard|Dude, take that you Hardforum Poo Head!!! (I don't normally cuss like that, but darn it they made me)


     
    just plain wrong (1.00 / 1) (#136)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 10:26:50 PM PST
    im sorry, but as an oem for the past 5 years i have never seen anything so misleading, so vulgarly uninformed as this trash written above. the proposed system is imbalanced nor funtional for that matter, with so many contrary points that it makes me think that he either hashed a bunch of articles online together or that it was written by someone using a MAC. just plain pathetic


    I say... (1.00 / 1) (#188)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:05:01 AM PST
    Agreed.


     
    Simply genius (1.00 / 1) (#153)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:29:15 PM PST
    The best part of this article is when he warns that AMD and SUN processors may not be intel compliant.


    I don't think you get it! (1.00 / 1) (#158)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:44:49 PM PST
    AMD is intel-compliant. Otherwise, it wouldn't run Windows and all the pc software out there.

    Duh!


     
    hahahahahaha (1.00 / 1) (#155)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:35:08 PM PST
    Awesome guide.

    I have never laughed so hard at a guide for building a computer. I really like the Ram install directions, whack that shit, it will go in.

    =)


     
    why don't you folks laugh? (1.00 / 1) (#156)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:35:14 PM PST
    I have seen people spec DIY computers like this one on the web, but even a total idiot knows that the sales staff of Frys Electronics is not "knowledgeable and helpful". My apologies to anyone who hasn't been subjected to the torture of being "helped" by those rude imbeciles that walk the isles of Frys. There are several web pages dedicated to bitching about Frys, and I hear there is a 12-step program as well.



     
    Hmm... (1.00 / 1) (#159)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:45:26 PM PST
    I can't help but notice that dmg has stopped responding. It appears that he is at least smart enough to realize he was caught being a moron.


    Actually He's Asleep (5.00 / 1) (#166)
    by Peter Johnson on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:54:58 PM PST
    You see, grown-ups have these things called "careers." When you have a "career," they don't let you out for a 3 month summer vacation. You have to do it 48-50 weeks a month. This means you can't stay up half the night responding to insecure "geeks."

    Hope this helps,
    --Peter
    Are you adequate?
    --Peter
    Are you adequate?

    insulting? (1.00 / 1) (#193)
    by drakenn on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:19:00 AM PST
    I would first like to say you're "career" is nice and all, but compared to your 40 hour work week, try mine. I have school (mind you this is in the summer at a notable university) 3 hours every morning at a bright an early 8am, afterwards I get a short break before I go to work as a cook in a restraunt from 5:00 till around 2am. That would be the equivilant of a 51 hour work week that i am completly resonsible for, and this does not include homework. The only reason I am awake right now is because i get my 2 week "summer" in which i'm taking more hours at the restraunt and get a break from school. not all of us "little kids" get to party hearty 3 months a year, some of us in fact get less time to operate as normal people than you "grown-ups" please refrain from insulting your future boss's, political leaders, and millionares in such a fashion as they will eventually be whose taking care of you when you're lying in the hospital dying. as for this article, the glaring stupidty represented here makes me suggest calling dell, but i prefer to know what goes in my machine, much like i prefer to know what goes in my food, if i don't cook it, i won't eat it, and if i don't build it i won't buy it. simple as that. remember though, just because you are older this does not make you smarter or give you the right to insult those of us who have worked at least 20 hours a week since the age of 15.


     
    This article is just plain irresponsible (1.00 / 1) (#162)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:49:41 PM PST
    As someone who has built countless computer systems, I must say that this article was the worst gathering of idiocy ever. Previous posters have already expressed the HUGE technical problems with the article, and so I shall not repeat.

    I am truly offended by the irresponsibility of it all. It is downright mean to post an article pretending to be familiar with a particular subject matter when the author is clearly not. Those who are not as tech savie will have read this article and thought it perfectly fine - perhaps even spent money on a non-working system. There's a rule in journalism (that many journalists do not follow): don't write on something you don't understand, and don't write before doing proper research. The author has clearly violated both aspects of this rule.

    Irresponsible. I'm glad to see that [H]ardOCP has posted you on their site labeling you as what you are: idiots.


     
    WARNING: Careful with that RAM! (5.00 / 5) (#163)
    by elenchos on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:50:33 PM PST
    It isn't enough to avoid using a hardback to pound the RAM in. Too heavy a paperback can split that DIMM right in half. As in: don't do like me and think Atlas Shrugged is the ideal RAM installer. No, even if it's grown supple from all the re-readings, it is still to much for the job. Pick the right size book: Starship Troopsrs will serve admirably, as will The Two Towers if you're careful.

    Sure, you want to put all that wisdom to use, but don't overdo it!


    I do, I do, I do
    --Bikini Kill


    you guys suck! (1.00 / 1) (#178)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:48:38 AM PST
    whoever wrote this has obviously never built a PC, or at least, knows jack-$*&@ about them.

    this is very poor.

    i have to agree with the sentiments of the guys who've written comments below.

    the reason that the guy next door sounds like some elite hacker is because he knows what the fudge he's talking about. you guys obviously don't. it does not take a genious to build a computer, but you do have to be something more than a complete moron.

    if you don't feel confident about building a computer, DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS GUIDE - IT'S 90% BS! do some research, ask some questions, or if you're really lost and none of it makes sense, buy a pre-built system. computer building isn't for everyone.

    brands that are good: gateway, dell, alienware, falcon north-west.

    brands that are crap: compaq, packard bell, HP (and quite a few others).


    And do YOU run America's Finest Weblog? No. (5.00 / 3) (#189)
    by elenchos on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:07:20 AM PST
    Adequacy.org blazes across the benighted landscape of the Internet shooting out flames of truth and enlightenment like the burning corona of a comet! Who needs overclocking when you have Quality! And Truth!

    So spare us all your jealous insult, your raving puffery. I come to adequacy for technical advice I CAN USE, not a lot of hot air and blustering about your home beowulf server and your AGP drives. Sure they leave out a lot of that compulsive detail, but so what? IT WORKS! Can you say that about Linux? No. Can you say that about ANY hacker project? No. They never even get DONE. So there.

    Thank you, have a nice day. Call me when YOUR weblog is this popular.

    And thank you again adequacy.org! You guys are lifesavers and I'll ALWAYS trust you!


    I do, I do, I do
    --Bikini Kill


    this is the worst tech post I have seen (1.00 / 1) (#247)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:00:47 AM PST
    guess you didn't notice that this computer will not work.
    As stated above, the ram, cpu, and motherboard are not a match.
    and what was the BS about static suit (I thought it was a joke, but the link makes me think otherwise). Nobody ever recomends a static suit to put together a computer.
    This is an aweful article. It claims to help those who don't know how to put together a computer. It will only get them a bunch of hardware they cannot use, and frustrate them more than "their nerd neighbor".


     
    Heh.... (1.00 / 1) (#249)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:22:03 AM PST
    So spare us all your jealous insult, your raving puffery. I come to adequacy for technical advice I CAN USE, not a lot of hot air and blustering about your home beowulf server

    It's a Beowulf cluster, not a Beowulf server.

    and your AGP drives.

    AGP video card, it stands for Advanced Graphics Port and I have yet to see a "drive" running through it.

    Sure they leave out a lot of that compulsive detail, but so what? IT WORKS!

    This configuration won't, you're getting a Intel CPU, an AMD motherboard and RAM that isn't specified to work with a P4.

    Can you say that about Linux? No.

    Sure you can, Linux works wonderfully. You just need to know more than how to double click My Documents.

    Can you say that about ANY hacker project? No. They never even get DONE. So there. KDE, the much discussed Beowulf, Apache, anonymous CVS, and countless others.

    While most so called "hacker projects" are never listed by the developers as completed, perhaps it has more to do with a more complete understanding of what "done" means than the managers at MS do.

    Thank you, have a nice day. Call me when YOUR weblog is this popular. It's called slashdot.org.

    Call me arrogant, I am. But when someone starts flaming someone about computers and uses "AGP drive" I feel compelled to bring some facts to light.


    Oh God (5.00 / 1) (#255)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:36:26 AM PST
    Sure you can, Linux works wonderfully. You just need to know more than how to double click My Documents.

    Then it doesn't work wonderfully. I'm sorry, but I use my computer to do things, I don't play around with it as an end with itself. Until Linux is so easy to use that I don't need to know more than how to click on "My Documents", it will rightfully remain in a ghetto.

    BTW, Linux has no apps, another reason I can't use it. Until it gets drivers for my music synthesiser and has a decent word processor and can be easily used, with no need to learn obscure terms and techniques, I for one am staying the hell away, and I'd recommend anyone else that needs to do real work (instead of endlessly farting around with their OS compiling this and configuring that) does so too.


    ok, so windows is for you... (1.00 / 1) (#264)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 11:04:57 AM PST
    BUT that does not justify spouting off about how linux is evil, etc...
    Linux has PLENTY of apps (including music synth prog's). In fact, for each popular windows program, there are probably 5 different FREE linux programs which work in a very similar manner. Heard of star office? It is word/office compatible, very easy to use (almost exactly same interface as office), and f-r-e-e.


     
    Head up ass (1.00 / 1) (#267)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 11:37:16 AM PST
    <<BTW, Linux has no apps, another reason I can't use it. Until it gets drivers for my music synthesiser and has a decent word processor and can be easily used, with no need to learn obscure terms and techniques, I for one am staying the hell away, and I'd recommend anyone else that needs to do real work (instead of endlessly farting around with their OS compiling this and configuring that) does so too>>

    Linux has no apps? Well duh dumbshit! Linux is a kernel. I run RedHat Linux 7.1 with a K Desktop Environment (currently GNOME is too unstable for my tastes). KDE is touted as being the most Windows like GUI.

    And please don't get started on any "they stole this and that from Windows". Hello! MS Windows uses XWindows so do the linux distros, UNIX, MacOS, BeOS blah blah blah. MS has never produced anything original. You can trace EWVEYTHING back to MacOS, UNIX and OS/2.

    If Linux the distros don't have a word processor I guess I didn't just write that letter the other day. What was that I used? KWord! Hell there's a HUGE FREE OFFICE SUITE under KDE. If you can't find a driver you probably need to switch to the right ditro. They're are all geared to specific task and architectures except for the random I'MA DUMBASS SO I'LL MAKE MY OWN DISTRO like Chainsaw Linux.

    I can wait till someone backwards engineers Windows. by why the hell would they want to. While everyone else was modular, which is greate for inconnectiveity MS tried to segregate itself by using file system.

    You can only share files with a Mac if you use NTFS. With UNIX it's FAT16/32. Not to mention you have to install Services up the yin yang to do anything.

    Also read up before you spout off and sound dumb. Open Source is known for being WAAAAAAAAAY more secure that proprietary because companies like MS rush sh*t to meet deadlines and leaves bugs, and security holes in their crap. Need I remind you of the Code Red Worm? It took advantage of security holes in WINDOWS operating systems.


    Umm (5.00 / 1) (#271)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 11:49:55 AM PST
    Thats just great. I forgot one of the reasons not to use linux is the zealotry and insulting behaviour of the teenage boys who generally use that OS.

    BTW, you still haven't told me things I can use on Linux that are as easy and powerful as Microsoft Word (don't say Star Office: Its shit), Excel, Cakewalk Pro (WTF replaces this on Linux?), Paintshop Pro (Umm, the Gimp is fine for amateurs but till isn't a patch on paintshop) never mind games and so on.

    Linux is on a ghetto. Ok, maybe teenage boys who like using computers like it, but the rest of us have to do actual work and the Windows platform provides the tools.

    You should stop trying to make out that linux is something it isn't and can never be.

    (BTW: In general, successful advocates of an OS don't insult normal computer users by calling them "dumbasses")


    Linux r0x0rz! Or, A Tale of Two Philosophies. (1.00 / 1) (#277)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:51:20 PM PST
    the teenage boys who generally use that OS.
    You don't seriously thing that all linux users are like that, do you? You don't think that those people code, do you?
    as easy and powerful as Microsoft Word
    TeX. It's more powerful than Word. But it's not for the same purpose. It's not for the same audience. But it's much, much more powerful.
    the Gimp is fine for amateurs but till isn't a patch on paintshop
    Really? Of course, PhotoShop does prepress, but The Gimp is more powerful, in terms of customizability. I was doing batch processing via scripts before PhotoShop included the feature. (I had to post-process an animation for the school film festival. A dozen actions on eighteen hundred frames---not something I want to be doing by hand.)
    Linux is on a ghetto. Ok, maybe teenage boys who like using computers like it, but the rest of us have to do actual work and the Windows platform provides the tools.
    See, that's insulting. Coding is work. Typesetting is work. 3D animation is work. (Used Blender, BMRT, and the Gimp. All for zero budget.) Web browsing isn't work, and neither are Napstering or CD ripping, but I can do them. Just because you can't/don't want to learn the system, doesn't mean that no one else can.
    You should stop trying to make out that linux is something it isn't and can never be.
    Which all leads me to my final point. Linux isn't for everyone. I assume that Linux is not, in fact, for you. Linux is not for people who want the computer to ``just work and know what I mean why do I have to tell it these things I don't know oh god help me!''.

    That complexity exists, and I believe that it's wrong to mask it. But long experience has taught me that some people just don't care if the printer is hooked into a parallel or USB port, they just want to hit `Print' and see paper shoot out. And I can accept that.

    But don't try to assuage your damaged ego by telling yourself that technical knowledge is useless. It's not.

    --grendel drago


     
    I'm not a teenage boy (1.00 / 1) (#294)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 05:35:41 PM PST
    I'm not a teenage boy. I run Linux.

    Industrial Light and Magic run Linux on their graphics rendering servers. They're all teenage boys. George Lucas (Star Wars) is considering running Linux on all his GRSs you fuckin moron.

    If Windows is so fucking great why has it taken over the market that Win2K was meant for, bitch?

    More CORPORATIONS are running Linux than Win2K and many more are considering the switch.

    When you talk about Linux you technically are referring to UNIX. UNIX has been around MUUUUCH longer than Windows. Businesses were running UNIX back when Bill Gates popping zits off his ass while listening to his parents have sex.

    80% of the web servers are UNIX based NUMB NUTS.


    That's just great (5.00 / 1) (#295)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 05:59:30 PM PST
    But guess what? I'm not a corporation. If I was a corporation, perhaps I'd consider BSD & Sun & all this, however I'm not.

    Why should I want to run something designed for a corporation server farm on my desktop? I'm afraid that doesn't make sense.

    As for Linux being used in George Lucas' corporation, well bully for it. I wonder if his animators work in it on the destop? I doubt it somehow.

    Also, I hope you are aware that Windows is installed on 97% of the PC's in existence. Linux isn't "tking over the market" it is finding some niche roles. It is far from being a desktop production OS for the general user. It probably never will be - too many issues with ease of use, the OS getting in the ay of work instead of being invisible like it should.

    As for the history and age of Linux, a unix clone younger even than windows, the OS of the 21st century, I suggest you put a sock in it. Unix is designed for 1970's mainframes. I have no desire to struggle running such a thing on my desktop PC - that would just be folly.

    I hope you learn about the real world son, you seem rather detached at the moment.


     
    head up ass #2 (1.00 / 1) (#269)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 11:40:38 AM PST
    Oh sorry I forgot to mention. You can not only trace everything in Windows back to UNIX (and UNIX based OSs), OS/2 and MacOS but to Novell NetWare too.

    Don't even get me started on how the AD is just the NDS upsidedown. But Ms claims it's THEIR innovation. Bullshit!


     
    You are a total idiot (1.00 / 1) (#256)
    by Even morons are laughing at you on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:45:40 AM PST
    WOW!! I was blown away by your great words of wisdom you complete and utter MORON!! For your information im an IT and I write everything i do in LINUX using PHP and MYSQL. Oh and did i mention that i also know java and i use it as a php extention. PSH you probably don't even know the difference between java and javascript. As the brittish would say your a smeg head. I run linux 24/7 try doing that in windows. All microsoft produces is proprietary pieces of crap!!! I have run linux boxes for years without shutting down or rebooting so you can go sit on a stick cause you don't know what your talking about, but you know what, i don't care because your not worth anyones time. The only reason this forum is popular is because there are a lot of myopic idiots like you out there. Oh and just so you know linux projects are never finished because they are open source and are always being made better by millions of programmers; even when they start out better than windows products which they always do. So go ahead and waste your money on the crap that you understand as opposed to the art that you don't.


    You are grossly mistaken (5.00 / 1) (#257)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:57:05 AM PST
    For your information im an IT and I write everything i do in LINUX using PHP and MYSQL.
    I sincerely doubt you're in IT, or else you'd realize that both PHP and MYSQL are just as proprietary as anything Microsoft has come out with.
    Oh and did i mention that i also know java and i use it as a php extention.
    I suppose you think you're the only one in the world who knows java.
    I run linux 24/7 try doing that in windows.
    Yes, if you don't do anything useful with your machine, then you'll hardly cause it to crash. Real users use real operating systems with real application bases like Windows'.
    Oh and just so you know linux projects are never finished because they are open source and are always being made better by millions of programmers; even when they start out better than windows products which they always do.
    Name one such project. Most of the stuff on freshmeat and sourceforge is just another xmms front end. Open source has never produced anything useful, ever.
    So go ahead and waste your money on the crap that you understand as opposed to the art that you don't.
    Do you mean the art of using <p> tags?

    I dare you to refute my reply.


    Wrong. (5.00 / 1) (#276)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:35:09 PM PST
    ... has never produced anything useful, ever.


    TeX. (Typesetting system.) Nearly every math, computer science and physics paper published *anywhere* is written in TeX. No, not in MS Word.

    gcc. (Compiler.) IRIX (expensive SGI variant of UNIX) includes gcc because it's stabler than their own.

    Perl. (Scripting language.) Yes, it's naturally obfuscated. But it's an insanely popular and useful language. Most of the original CGI on the web was written in perl.

    Apache. (Web server.) Fast, free, secure, very popular web server.

    NetBSD. (Free operating system.) It runs on 26 different architectures. (That is, counting Athlon, Pentium 4, Pentium 3, ... 486 and 386 as *one* architecture.) If you think portability doesn't matter, wait until the new IA-64 (Intel) or x86-64 (AMD) chips come out and all of your applications either need to be recompiled or run like mud.

    The Gimp. (Graphical editing package.) Not quite as popular as PhotoShop (and doesn't really do prepress), but extensible and very functional.

    Yes, open source excels more on the server side than on the client side. But it's disrespectful to the hard work of the hundreds, if not thousands of coders who have worked to create all that software.

    Disrespect the brainless `advocates' who shout `l1nuX r00lz!!' at every opportunity. But realize that there's more to open source than them.

    --grendel drago


     
    What!?! (1.00 / 1) (#284)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:16:02 PM PST
    In tests it was shown that Linux was entirely more secure than Windows. Like all of the other so called "alternative OSs" (although UNIX, NetWare, MacOS, and OS/2 were released prior to Windows) if any app fails you close it down and open it again. Many times under Windows you geat a "blue screen of death" and wind up rebooting.

    When they refer to the 24/7 typically this is reserved for servers more than workstations.

    Also if you make ANY change to Windows (installation of apps, patches, or services) you have to reboot the computer. You can just use the hold SHIFT to reboot Windows. Under UNIX and UNIX based systems like Linux and FreeBSD. At most you many be required to restart X which can be done simply by logging out then back in.

    BeOS is the exception. I never have had to upgrade it (because I never used it till the current release 5) and never have I had to login or logout. It's a multimedia OS like Windows. But it runs more secure than any Windows desktop OS.

    Also I came across a post where someone that mentioned that 40% of the servers on the web were Linux. WRONG! 80% of the systems that run the web are UNIX based. If Windows is so fucking great the why doesn't it control the web? Windows is fairly popular as far as local area networks but UNIX and NetWare still hold quite a bit of the market. Hell who needs Win NT with its GUI when it's all there in NW5?

    Also the precious Win2K is gettin beat up lately. So many corporations and businesses (like Industrial Light and Magic) have switched to Linux. Might it be that they avoided Win2K because MS said they would be releasing XP shortly afterwards (with the promise that it would replace Win2K (dumb move MS)) or maybe because Linux is just plain better


     
    Normally I would delete this... (5.00 / 1) (#258)
    by bc on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 10:06:18 AM PST
    ...But I decided to leave it because it illustrates perfectly the rather screwed set of perspectives that these weird propellorheads have, and their insistence that anyone who doesn't know about krakatoascript and other such foolishness is an idiot. I admit I didn't understand much of what he said, as he filled it with much jargon (a common device of these people, who do this to make themselves feel better).

    Folks, look at this guy and learn. This is what using a computer too much does to you - don't let it happen to your kids.

    As for you, Mr "Even morons are laughing at you", I suggest you try and get a girlfriend. HTH


    ♥, bc.

     
    A clarification. (5.00 / 1) (#200)
    by iat on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:49:18 AM PST
    The previous poster's list of unfavourable PC brands was only his personal opinion, and should not be taken as representing the official views of this website. Having used all three brands, I can personally recommend Compaq, Packard Bell and Hewlett Packard personal computers. These manufacturers make high quality, reliable systems that are both powerful and good value for money.

    I hope this satisfies the lawyers.


    Adequacy.org - love it or leave it.

    Huh? (1.00 / 1) (#260)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 10:33:59 AM PST
    Packard Bell and Hewlett Packard are the same company, they don't even make pcs anymore. I think this has to be the dumbest article and string I have ever read. My IQ has sunk below 80.


    Silly! (5.00 / 1) (#278)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:54:32 PM PST
    But they have different websites! They have to be different companies!

    <snicker>


     
    Ahhhh, wise words... (5.00 / 1) (#201)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:06:47 AM PST
    Personally, I found this article extrememly enlightening. No longer will I act the nerd. I herby throw out my system I lovingly built and Linux, and install WinME. I've really gotta thank everyone who's commented, and the article itself. I was inclined to think the whole thing was satire based on the wording, but I now see my folly as it was. I have moved on to bigger and better areas of life.

    So, if I only have Encyclopdiea Britanica available to me, which volume(letter) would you recomend me use to install my RAM? It doesn't look like it fits on the motherboard, but I remember pounding square pegs into round holes as a kid, I don't imagine this can be any more difficult, they're practically the same. I know I should stay away from hardback, but like I said, it's all I've got available...


     
    LOL!! (1.00 / 1) (#203)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:43:54 AM PST
    This article is pretty funny. I will try to build a pentium4 system now with SDRAM, big problem the P4 takes RIMMS, plus it's super expensive, it sucks. A P3 is much cheaper, plus don't badmouth AMD, their the cheapest and have awesome processors. Along with building a computer, it is a must to know how to overclock, or else you might fry that processor when you put it in because you forgot to turn down the FSB(front side bus). Make sure you have the right chipset for the board; I'd hate to put a P3 in a P2 board(just because they fit the same slot if its that type of CPU), a P3 will never work in an LX-440A board. Graphics is also explained badly, someone reading this article just might buy a PCI geforce2 and try to shove it in the AGP slot(if the motherboard even has an AGP), cheaper good graphics to go with is the voodoo3 2000 or 3000, they have great price, come in AGP or PCI, and easily do 60fps in Quake3, and has great visual quality. And when buying that case make sure it comes with a power supply, and make sure what type of power supply it is(might be AT or ATX), make sure whether the motherboard is AT or ATX, I still find many motherboards that are AT. It is best to leave this stuff to the experts, namely and honest expert to point out the right type of stuff for a machine that just gets what they need done at a cheap price, and have the expert there to construct it for you so they can make sure the machine will even start up and get the software going. You can learn a lot from building a computer, but make sure you know everything, which is not in this guide at all. To the person who wrote this: programming VCR's is much different, I specifically tell people to stay away from stupid shit like this article, it has many misleadings in it and no where near all the info, so the author can go fuck off to a backstreet boy poster and enjoy a self supplied giant bowl of brown.


    might I make a suggestion? (5.00 / 1) (#209)
    by jsm on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:34:30 AM PST
    Since you're obviously a tech-savvy young man, why not invest a few hours in learning HTML? It would make your posts much more "snappy" and readable.

    Here's a starting tip; you can use the <P> tag just as you normally would a carriage return! Helps you split your post into paragraphs!

    ... the worst tempered and least consistent of the adequacy.org editors
    ... now also Legal department and general counsel, adequacy.org

    hah. html (5.00 / 1) (#262)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 10:58:40 AM PST
    i wouldnt <br>be surprised <br><br>if he knows html, <br>but thought it pretty much pointless to space out the post<br><br>because really it isn't very long, and <b>only <strong>very narrow minded</strong> people would have any difficulty reading it.
    <br>
    Now, did all that html really make it that much easier to read? Get some glasses or turn down your resolution.


     
    er (1.00 / 1) (#223)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 05:12:36 AM PST
    Ok My friend sent me this link as a joke. And i have to agree. I think If anyone has come to read this as a serious guide should think otherwise. A very narrow minded approach, I cant even be bothered finishing this post. Just go to Tomshardware.com or something just as commercial. At least they know what they are talking about


     
    FUNNY (1.00 / 1) (#205)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:57:13 AM PST
    Click parent under the post called: LOL!! to see all the big stuff he wrote. The odd mofo can be found at s.h.a.r.k.-98@metacrawler.com


     
    AOL in the posts? (1.00 / 1) (#213)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:45:25 AM PST
    You peeps are complete morons about AOL. I just read the AOL stuff near the midsecion of posts. If it's a PC with Windows95 with 32mb ram, pentium90mhz, and 400mb hard drive, then my friends you have the bare minimum to run aol. And with the people who have aol and it not working right, have someone fix it for you, it's pretty easy to get a friend who knows it to do it for you, or call AOL tech support. Peeps who say AOL never works are complete morons, AOL/time warner being a hugeass company, going long and strong, mega popularity, would never release a product that never works right on any machine, no companies do that or AOL is a big hypnotizing force that got millions sold to them for something that doesnt work. Professional companies don't do that, unless they have no idea what there doing like this article. AOL works just fine for my grandparents. I dont use it because i don't like it and I have a local ISP.
    ALsO when building a computer make sure you know what the RAM and hard drive do and know what they are for, i'm really tired of people who buy an 8gig hard drive computer with 256mb ram and they think they can't install anything else because of fear of taking up all the memory when you install a big product. Windows at minimum size it 270mb, lets say you had 256mb ram, at that point your computer shouldn't work from what they're thinking. But rather the 270 windows takes up goes on the 8gig or so size hard drive. LOL that mistake is so funny.


     
    DMG!!!!!!!!! (1.00 / 1) (#216)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:11:46 AM PST
    DMG is a moron. He doesn't know what he's talking about. The stupid **** sent everyone on a stupid goose chase for a processor and a motherboard that won't go together. Everyone who reads this stupid article and follows its instructions are going to have a machine that isn't going to ****ing work. Processors are like puzzle pieces, they only fit on certain motherboards! let alone only work on certain motherboards. Among having the wrong processor and motherboard DMG you also have the wrong type of ram for the recommended processor. So that accounts for 3 major components of a computer that won't work with one another, and DMG believe me a lot of people who read how ""easy"" this is are probably doing what you wrote, and are going to be ****ing dissappointed when things won't even start to fit together right. Isn't doing something like this wrong...getting people to believe and in the end stuff isn't even near working right. This article is a mistake, and I feel sad for the people who are following the instructions on this, waisting their money, they don't even know any better on what to buy. A hacker or geek should have written this article. DMG is a stupid motherfucker.
    s.h.a.r.k.-98@metacrawler.com
    Email me when you no longer into mommy.


    DMG is sooooooooo fucking SMART (1.00 / 1) (#296)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 06:15:12 PM PST
    Hey DMG--

    I have some questions. If all CPUs systemboards/motherboards/mobos are the same can I take a CPU that was designed to fit in a SLOT-1 and jam it into a SOCKET-370?

    Can I take my G4 outta my MAC and stick it into my Asus mobo?

    Can I use my WinModem with my DSL (whatever that is)?

    What is POST?

    I heard I have to Fdisk the hard drive to create a volume to which the OS will install and then set the partition as active. Some said it wasn't necessary to format the volume because the OS installation would take care of this. Is this true?

    How do I set the jumpers for the motherboard? And what do they do?

    What is a PS/2? Does that make my computer play Playstation games?


    I R SMRat (none / 0) (#308)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Oct 16th, 2001 at 12:26:47 PM PST
    Hey DMG--
    Hey
    I have some questions. If all CPUs systemboards/motherboards/mobos are the same can I take a CPU that was designed to fit in a SLOT-1 and jam it into a SOCKET-370?
    If you are having trouble getting it to fit, I suggest using peanut butter instead of jam. The same force that holds peanut butter to the roof of your mouth will hold the processor in place. If you are going to use this method, be sure to install a ethernet card. An ethernet card will fill your case with ether, an invisible force that will allow clocks (the thingies processors process) to travel instantainiously between the card and the slotket.
    Can I take my G4 outta my MAC and stick it into my Asus mobo?
    Whoa, sparky! Put down that cold chisle. All Apple processors are soldered to the board. They cannot be removed. Why? BECAUSE SOCKETS ARE FOR THE WEAK!!!1!
    Can I use my WinModem with my DSL (whatever that is)?
    It is possible, but I dont recomend it. DSL (Dynamic Sign Language) is an evil Open Source method of communicating. It is possible to use a special driver to allow the DSL to drive the WinModem, but it can be dangerous. Everyone knows what horrible drivers deaf people are.
    What is POST?
    Part of this nutritous breakfast. (tm)
    I heard I have to Fdisk the hard drive to create a volume to which the OS will install and then set the partition as active. Some said it wasn't necessary to format the volume because the OS installation would take care of this. Is this true?
    No, that is just crazy talk.
    How do I set the jumpers for the motherboard? And what do they do?
    OH GOD! DONT JUMP! Think of the CHILDREN!
    What is a PS/2? Does that make my computer play Playstation games?
    You are reffering, I assume, to the PS/2 ports for the keyboard and monitor. The PS/2 actually dates back to IBM's revolutionary entry into the video game console business back in the early 80's. Sadly, the nintendo had just benn released the previous year and had too much market share for the PS/2 console to make much of a dent. The PS/2 printers and mice are the only parts of this highly advanced system to survive. IMNSHO you should avoid sony products in favor of the game cube because it can play DVD's.


     
    Suggestion (1.00 / 1) (#167)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Aug 6th, 2001 at 11:56:27 PM PST
    I would have gone with 32mb of rambus....


     
    this guide is junk im sorry to say... (1.00 / 1) (#171)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:11:17 AM PST
    this "guide" only serves to further confuse an issue that is difficult for many...if you would really like to find good information on DIY computer building try these forums: [H]ard|OCP Forums Anandtech Forums just use the search feature and look for threads about building a new computer, they're both great communities and already have most of the information you need if you just take a few seconds to search...i'll even give you a few starts: Build a PC #1 Build a PC #2


    I didn't understand those (5.00 / 1) (#174)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:21:37 AM PST
    I guess I'm in that category that dmg wrote this article for: I don't know what all those acronyms mean or what I'm supposed to do with them. I just want to save a few $$$ by building my computer myself.

    So thanks, but I'm sticking with the tips in this article. I'll let you know how it turns out.


    Look, my friend... (1.00 / 1) (#187)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:03:45 AM PST
    There are many, easy to understand articles on the internet all about building a computer.

    If those are too complex, go with a print magazine.

    Whatever you do, do NOT do what's written in this pitiful excuse for an article.

    Too many of the facts here are simply wrong.


    Which facts are wrong? (5.00 / 1) (#190)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:10:05 AM PST
    I've read the article a couple times, but nothing jumps out at me as factually wrong. Sure, I see some differences of opinion, but it's ok not to agree sometimes. These things are relative, you know? As long as the end product turns out ok, it doesn't really matter how you go about building it.

    Was it the part about Millennium Windows? Should I wait for Microsoft to release XP Windows this fall?


    Listen (1.00 / 1) (#196)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:28:11 AM PST
    Pentium4+KT7 = WRONG

    P4=Apples
    KT7=oranges

    THE TWO DON'T WORK TOGETHER

    This is just one of many examples.


    Windows XP is good. I have build 2531.

    It is GOOOOOOOOOOD


     
    Heh, funny but sad (1.00 / 1) (#176)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:23:01 AM PST
    do NOT listen to this article heh

    The author should post some kind of disclaimer if this is a joke cuz its not very nice to make people buy things that wont work. If its not a joke (Which would be a very sad thing) then this author is an idiot hehe :)

    A good analogy for what this article says for those not particularily tech savvy is he basically told people to go buy a cheap CD player to listen to their cassettes, heh.

    Another good analogy would be buy PC games for your playstation, except in the case of this article wouldnt even fit :)

    That is not to mention that fact that the main problem with brandname computers is they will put a decently fast processor into the cheapest motherboard they can find. Now again for those not tech savvy here is semi accurate analogy: A crappy motherboard is like a 28.8 modem, a good motherboard is like a dedicated DSL or cable connection. Your processor may be 1Ghz but if your motherboard cant send the information to the other parts fast enough then there is something called a "bottleneck" which means the fast processor is wasted cuz the other parts are too slow. (This is not to mention problems such as stability, support, features etc)

    Its like that old saying, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In this case you have one very strong link (the processor) while every other link is made of paper.


    GOOD ADVICE:
    If you want a good computer for a decent price but dont know enuff to build it yourself either take the time to research individual components and such until you know enuff to give it a try, or find a website or local computer store that allows you to choose the parts for a custom computer, then have the store build it. If you need help give the store a call. Usually the computer stores that arent huge department stores (No future shop!) will do things like this, and if you go in the people are also usually much more knowledgeable about computers than people at the huge department stores.

    My personal suggestion for a cheap but good computer would be (prices are canadian, and i just took most from a local store so you CAN find them cheaper quite easily)

    Processor: An OEM AMD 1.2 athlon $186

    Motherboard: Asus A7A266 WA ("With Audio") $276

    Memory: 256MB PC2100 DDR
    (memory from www.crucial.com) $63

    HardDrive: 40 gig IBM Deskstar or Maxtor
    (Model: 75GXP or 60GXP, 60 is better) $220

    Pioneer 16x DVD & 40ishx CDROM (Tray): $115

    Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce2 MX 200 32MB AGP $110
    (add $20 for TV out capability)

    17" case with 300W power supply: $80

    NIC (for internet): 10/100 PCI NIC, $35

    Generic Keyboard & mouse: $30

    Monitor: ENVISION or AOC 17" SVGA .25dp FLAT $310
    Or: ENVISION or AOC 17" SVGA .27dp $255

    Floppy Drive: $20

    Good Fan: OCZ www.theoverclockerzstore.com $38
    Crappy fan: $15

    Half-decent speakers: $40

    Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98 SE $165
    (You can also just use the Windows CD you already have from your last computer, though i believe thats only "legal" if you no longer use your other computer.)

    Alright i think that about does it, As i said those are just prices from a local computer store and their in CANADIAN currency, you can prolly save like 100-300 bucks (CND) if you use www.pricewatch.com or shop around / wait a bit.

    Anyway that comes to a total of $1650 CND which is just over $1081 american.

    If your planning on totally replacing your current computer with this and price is a big issue then here are the pieces you can probably use from your old computer on your new computer:

    Harddrive: I would suggest a new one but you can if you want. (-$220)

    Floppy Drive: (-$20)

    CD-Rom: Your current one prolly isnt DVD but most ppl prefer movies on their TV anyway (-$120)

    Monitor: (-$310 or -$255)

    Speakers: (-$40)

    Memory: The A7A motherboard I suggested has support for both kinds of SD-RAM (DDR and the normal stuff, SDR) so you probably can reuse your current memory. However its only 63 bucks so I'd suggest buying DDR since ur existing stuff is prolly crap and RAM is dirt cheap atm. You CANNOT use both types. If you do use the old stuff, however, its fairly easy to upgrade later; just replace the old with the new.
    ($-63)

    Keyboard and Mouse: (-$30)

    Case and Power Supply: I wouldnt suggest this as brand name cases usually suck, they are very small, and your power supply prolly isnt strong enuff. However if you know for a fact all will work well and fit and the PSU is strong enuff then.. (-$80)

    Operating System: As i said this is technically only legal if you stop using your old computer. People quite commonly use the same OS for more than one computer though. (-$165)

    So There ya have it, if you want a whole new, and _very_ capable computer without having to scavenge parts from your existing one it will cost ya around 1081 dollars american, if you do scavenge parts from your old computer you should be able to save at least 600 bucks, just by reusing the harddrive, CD-ROM, Mouse, keyboard, Speakers, Monitor, Floppy Drive and Operating System. You can save a bit more too if you want by reusing the RAM (memory), and the Case & power supply.

    For putting it together the biggest danger is prolly connecting your motherboard to your case, and possibly your PSU to your motherboard i believe. Not gonna get into that though, however the directions in the article are probably insufficient. Manuals help ;)

    Enjoy.

    -Kli (Klion@home.com)


     
    news for grown ups? (1.00 / 1) (#186)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:03:39 AM PST
    uh... if this is news for grown ups, wouldn't it be smart to re-edit this article and make it correct? or are they too "immature" and don't want to be considered part of the "tech nerds."

    get the facts straight before shooting your mouth and calling things bs w/out any backup isn't very "grown-up" at all either.


     
    Trash, utter utter trash (1.00 / 1) (#197)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:29:00 AM PST
    I got tired of reading the crap about a quarter of the way through so I dont know if the author's fess'ed up.. but is this a joke? It sure as hell isnt funny.. pathetic, misleading, incorrect and stupid with a couple lame attempts at humour.. but definately not funny

    get this trash off your website.. seriously.. or put a notice stating that its satire and not ment to be taken seriously

    -Iceman
    (twilight)


    Get a grip (1.00 / 1) (#242)
    by Tycho on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 08:12:25 AM PST
    The whole site is satire, why the hell should the editors put a satire warning on a satirical site?

    Jesus, do you see satire warnings on theonion.com?


    I think you're wrong (1.00 / 1) (#250)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:22:55 AM PST
    This isn't satire. No one that stupid would be smart enough to write satire.


    rotflmao (1.00 / 1) (#272)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:42:02 PM PST
    no-one how stupid?


     
    This IS all a big mickey take, right? (1.00 / 1) (#198)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:41:56 AM PST
    "lets you silence those irritating nerds that are always going on and on about how they 'custom built their system' so they could 'choose the optimum components'"

    I'm not quite sure how a PC built to the recommendations above would silence the gales of laughter coming from the average "irritating nerd" who actually has more than half a clue about the internals of a PC.

    You'd get more respect buying a PC from Dell, than building one of these. At least the Dell one would work. :-)


     
    i hope you are joking..... (1.00 / 1) (#204)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 02:44:03 AM PST
    because this is the biggest pile of rubbish that I have ever heard

    P4 in AMD motherboard? well done!
    128mb ram? oh, let's all use our Pentium 4's with 32mb ram, why don't we? :|
    cheapo case? um, P4's need an ATX12V power supply!
    WinModem? don't be stupid

    my recommendation:

    AMD Duron 900MHz
    Thermosonic Thermoengine Heatsink/Fan
    Abit KT7E
    256MB PC133 RAM (Micron, Crucial, etc)
    20GB IBM 60GXP hard drive
    ASUS V7100 Geforce 2 MX
    Sound Blaster Live Value
    decent case with 300W ATX power supply
    56k hardware modem!

    now that is a decent system for a good price...

    or if you need to read this guide, you either go to proper hardware sites or you buy from an OEM

    oh, and by the way, i'm only 17 years old, and i've been building computers since I was 14......

    just my 2 cents (which is worth a hell of a lot more than this article)


     
    poor report F- (1.00 / 1) (#206)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:04:24 AM PST
    I'd have to agree that the author hasn't built a computor at least for a few years(if ever) to get so many things wrong.


     
    Kewl article (1.00 / 1) (#207)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:20:31 AM PST
    Of cause it's a joke... And a funny one too :)


     
    Building your dream PC (1.00 / 1) (#208)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:31:13 AM PST
    This is fucking hilarious.................


     
    cant help but agree (1.00 / 1) (#215)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:08:01 AM PST
    Interesting choice of components, just out of interest where did the author aquire his/her skills or lack there of. Obviously this person reads PCweekly and is, as a result now a instant computer savy technician.They say little knowlege can be a dangerous thing but I tend to think a lack of it is more so


     
    You People Are Fucking Morons!! (1.00 / 1) (#217)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:32:28 AM PST
    What kinda crack are you fucking smoking FOOLIO?

    Man, I've never read such lunacy spouted from such self professed "experts", bah more like expert morons.

    BTW, the article was calledd "Building your dream PC. What the experts don't tell you." And you tell your readers to buy the cheapest crap out there? WTF? You don't give a fuck about what you write do you, much less about your readers.

    Get a fucking clue, and stop spouting off about subjects you obviously have no clue about!


     
    On the note of AOL sorry about the previous post, (1.00 / 1) (#219)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:34:27 AM PST
    Have a look at http://www.digitalblasphemy.com/aol.shtml to see what your precious AOL does to images, know why us nerds dont like it now.


     
    Genius (none / 0) (#221)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:58:30 AM PST
    Fantastic article.

    This guys got a real decent sense of humour and obviously knows SHIT loads about PCs and buildin em and is obviously really pissed off at the amount of times he gets asked "What do i buy for this" and "Will this work if i do this"... A vent for his frustration perhaps?

    Hilarious none the less. Made better by how many people have posted here. I doubt any n00bs would've been reading this anyways cause I got here via [H]ard|OCP.

    Loved it. (Especially the bit about fitting RAM!)

    PS. If you thought fitting electrical components by smacking em with a book was a safe and logical way to do it you shouldn't be peeling a banana let alone building a PC. I love saracasm...


     
    ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY (1.00 / 1) (#224)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 05:12:42 AM PST
    Hilarious. It shocks me that people can't see past the obvious satire here. Let me point out a few of the OBVIOUS examples: (sheesh)

    1) "A PC Case - simply the cheapest one you can find"

    ...and then he mentions Lian-Li. Click the link folks, that case sells for over 200 bucks. Hardly the cheapest case.

    2) "Better yet, if you live near a Fry's Electronics Store just go there and get your components retail. This has the added advantage of knowledgable and helpful staff on hand to answer any technological queries you may have."

    OMG, have you people BEEN to fry's? The people there are so far from helpful, hell, most of them don't even speak ENGLISH.

    3) "Millions of people over the world trust Windows. There's simply no point in risking any other OS."

    Windows ME people, WINME! This is quite possibly the worst OS made by MS since MS BOB! (though 2k, released at the same time, absolutely rules :) )

    the examples go on and on...someone pleeeeease get this.


     
    Dumb Ass Americans (1.00 / 1) (#226)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 05:28:11 AM PST
    How can you not see that this is simple Satire, a Joke!! Talk about typical americans.. Dumb asses


    oye vay (1.00 / 1) (#229)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 06:01:17 AM PST
    I think everyone who didn't get this joke was a canadian. Dumb ass canadians. (insert sarcasm here)


     
    Holy S**T!! (5.00 / 1) (#227)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 05:47:20 AM PST
    Too all you castrated geeks who proceeded to point out and correct the errors in this HOWTO... I have two words... HOLY F**K!!

    (Dons really bad scottish brogue) D'ya not kneuw a spuuf when ya see one??

    Come on... what self-respecting geek would ever try to put a Pentium 4 on a KT7?


     
    I Tried (5.00 / 1) (#228)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 05:47:37 AM PST
    I really tried hard to follow the advice of this article but I just couldn't get my ram in. I tried hitting it with Anna Karenina by Tolstoy as I'd heard that was pretty heavy. No luck, although after a while my ram did stop bleeting & kicking.

    I think I'll just go for a hard drive in my Pinto.

    ______
    Spiny


     
    Windows ME? You've got to be joking ... (1.00 / 1) (#231)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 06:17:32 AM PST
    Windows ME is one of the least stable operating systems ever produced by Microsoft. If its Windows you want it has to be Windows 2000.


     
    Excellent read! (5.00 / 1) (#233)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 07:12:16 AM PST
    I followed this guide to a 'T' and came out with one screaming fast PC. Plus, it ran me under 500 bucks. My only question, what kind of monitor do I need? I just went down to the local store and bought a 15" ProView. Its SWEET. It really takes advantage of that video bus (or whatever it is).

    THANKS adequacy.org!


     
    I did it! (5.00 / 2) (#234)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 07:32:51 AM PST
    Man, after going around to all those stores and trying to find everything I needed (and arguing with the clerk a few times, heh, he thinks he's gonna pull the wool over my eyes), I built my first PC!

    Man was that fun! But I had some problems. The mounter-board didn't fit very well. Only one hole lined up, so I had to drill a few more to keep things from moving around. I got out my big dictonary and started to ram in the RAM! (hehe, I made that a faimly joke for over a week =) I'm not totally sure, but I put my RAM in with the gold edge up. I like gold and I think it will look cool when I show it off to my friends. The video-making card was easy to do. I only had to break off one tab to get it to fit in those white slot gizmos. The sound-making card fit right in, I didn't have to do anything! (oh I feel special) This modem was hard to fit it. I had to cut almost all the gold off! (Man I wish they made these easier to build.) It finally fit into that slot-thingy the manual called an "AMR slot," whatever that is. I also got those drives installed, they screwed right in. I wonder if that loud cracking noise was a result of me using my own screws? They were longer, but hey, the bigger the better, right? :-) The cables were hard to put it, I had to really force them in. The processor thingy was really hard to install. I got one of those Pentium 4 things like you said, but it didn't fit (ugghh, not again!). I had to remove lots of those little gold things on the bottom to get it to fit. And that big metal thing with the fan didn't fit either. (Why is all that metal there? Shouldn't there just be a fan blowing on it? Does it even need a fan? It seems pretty cool right now, I don't think it could do anything to get really hot. There's not even any moving parts!) Anyways, since I payed soo000OOO much for that little thing, I taped that big metal thing on. I put the case back together, and jamed in to cable from the TV part (had to cut that too) and the keyboard and mouse. I got the speakers hooked up, but I'm not sure which hole they went, oh well.

    Then I had to rip open the CD drive thing (with a screwdriver, again, why don't they make this as easy as you said?) before I could turn it on (like you said). When I did turn it on, nothing happened. I thought I heard some noises, like poping or snapping, but I'm not really sure. Anyways, I'm just going to call Dell tommorrow and tell them to get it working. If I bought one PC from them, they should fix all of mine, right?? Anyways, I thought it was a really fun prodject. I even took all those gold pieces I ripped of everything and I taped them on the outside to really dress things up!

    Thanks dmg and your PC experts in getting me to build my very own PC!!!! Hugs!!! ;=)


    For accuracy's sake, next time: (none / 0) (#306)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Oct 2nd, 2001 at 08:33:10 PM PST
    Please use:

    I bought a PC from them before I read your article and they were so good at fixing it when it broke I think I'll go to them again. Everyone loves a repeat customer, right?

    Or something similar instead of:

    If I bought one PC from them, they should fix all of mine, right??

    Thank you for your time.


     
    Building your own PC (1.00 / 1) (#237)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 07:43:48 AM PST
    Is not that hard. The biggest problem is compatibility of parts. Apparently DMG is not an expert, and I would not recommend him for any IT job. www.tomshardware.com has really nice guides for building computers and tweaking things. www.zdwebopedia.com can define any "computer" term that you may not recognize. Don't follow DMG's guide as you will not get a working computer from it and will probably be mad about the parts you break.


     
    new system (3.00 / 2) (#238)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 07:47:47 AM PST
    As an Electrical Engineer, I don't have time to research all the stuff to put together an awsome machine so I have relied on your vast knowlegde of the subject. After reading your enlightning article, I decided to give it a try. I just recieved all the parts for my new machine. I ordered everything you recomended. I got the latest and greatest P4(this is an expensive but a super fast processor), the new and improved abit kt7a raid motherboard (that you failed to mention), a generic case with a 150 watt AT power supply, 128 megs of generic RAM, a 5 GB hard drive, a 50 speed CDROM, a floppy drive, a soundblaster card, gforce 2 MX video card, WinModem, and Windows ME. I have a question though now that I am trying to put everything together. The P4 doesn't seem to fit right. I even tried to talk to the guy at radio shack about some sort of interface converter to fit it into my board. What does he know, he told me they don't make one but you said they are compatable. Another question, I tried to hook up the mother board to the power supply but can't seem to find the right plug to make it work. If you can tell me where I can order the converter to fit the P4 onto the board and where I can order a new plug for the power supply, I think I can make everyting work. Also, I want to start tweeking. Where can I find info on making my floppy drive faster? Thanks for all the help so far and I am looking forward to playing Quake and Tribes with my Computer Geek friends. Boy will they be suprised when they see me in the games.


     
    DON�T FOLLOW THIS GUIDE (1.00 / 1) (#239)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 08:03:56 AM PST
    You�re being fucked right up in your ass!
    You can�t just buy a motherboard, buy a processor, and buy a generic stick of pc100 and then VOILA all the stuff fits together, sorry.
    Make sure to get compatible components (socket A boards for socket A processors, rocket science, I tell you!).
    DDR ram for DDR boards, SDRam (and buy Pc133 damnit, it's same price!) for boards using that kind of ram.
    Avoid RamBus ram, WAY too expensive, we try again, just to make sure everyone gets this: _WAY_ too expensive for the lackluster performance.
    Argh, I could keep on complaining, (I didn't even mention what he thinks about generic mobos, cases and HSF's!).
    www.tomshardware.com had an ok newbie guide at a point, go check that out, this dude has no clue what he is talking about!



    Stop spreading your lies. (5.00 / 1) (#304)
    by nx01 on Mon Aug 27th, 2001 at 02:09:44 PM PST
    You darn kids.

    Please don't troll here. It's not looked kindly upon, and your comment may even be deleted.


    "Every time I look at the X window system, it's so fucking stupid; and part of me feels responsible for the worst parts of it."
    -- James Gosling

     
    The best guide ever. (3.00 / 2) (#241)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 08:08:56 AM PST
    In my esteemed opinion this is the best guide ever. All you folks you are tired of being called "Llama" or "Newbie" should go pump some $$$ into the parts that are reccomended here.

    Actually, you should not worry much about compatibility. This guide restricts your choices far too much (although some people might need that.) You shouldn't worry about running Wingdows on a Sun system. There are many good ones to be found at www.ebay.com/ for example. Use the filter to find only SUN systems. Don't worry about their seemingly slow speeds-due to Window's calming influence that'll provide you with a decent enough system. Of course, that's the only time that Mhz doesn't really matter. Bus speeds and crap with division to figure out your throughput, is not worth your time.

    If you don't want the Sun enabled Windows architecture, you should opt for a HP system since they're the best. They can run anything fine. Better yet get a Toshiba computer. With that you should put in some lower capacity RAM in large quantities (such as 64 Meg-the lower, the faster!) That way your computer's processor doesn't have to think too much about the information being loaded on.

    Speaking of processors, buy a P4 1.X Ghz because it's so fast. It's so fast that it can stay calm and cool while the other parts of the computer (and even inside the processor-those ALU units run at double speed!) provide it with information.

    Why do you need to worry about RAID striping? All you need is an IDE drive. They're fast enough. I have a SCSI drive and let me tell you I got hoodwinked but good. Whoa.

    Finally, don't buy expensive stuff. There is a corporate-level black network of intrigue between all the major manufacturers that ensures you will pay way too much for good stuff. For example: read that BS about HD density increasing by 65% about every year? That's junk! Buy a lot of used quantum fireballs and shove 'em in (if you want SCSI performance without the cost of RAID striping!) That'll do jus' fine, yes sir.

    It's just like that blasted "Pentium performance, for a cheaper price" issue a while back. You need to understand that all computers are what my Computer Usage teacher calls a Universal computer. It can understand anything that's in what can be called 'computer code,' because it has to. That's the job of a computer-compatibility. There's no chance that your data will be lost as those old 5 inch floppies get 'outdated!' It's all good. Just connect on one of those USB-compatible Apple II/E drives and you can read them just fine.

    And tape reels? Just buy an old tape reel player (that's before they came out with those blasted cassetes-it's so much easier to edit reels! cut and paste, cut and...) and hook the output into the computer's mic input. It can recognize all sorts of sound input, and since Win comes with all sorts of neat stuff you'll find the appropriate decoder there somewhere.

    Parallel processing and that junk is stupid. You must follow the rules:

    1. Whenever possible, buy Intel (so your Shockwave games can use the neat Web Effects(tm)!

    2. Always buy the fastest processor.

    3. Always buy the slowest, cheapest RAM, hopefully you get a neat duffel bag with it.

    4. Don't sweat the 'fine points,' they just complicate matters.

    5. Don't ever, ever do something stupid like buy an old Compaq 6500r Proliant server with the hairball notion that your quad Pentium Pro processors at 200 Mhz/1 meg cache each will ever outperform the Intel P4 running at 1.7 Ghz and with 16K/128K caches, respectively.

    Enough BS. I hope you all realize that this was BS, the real stinky thing.

    You need to go to www.tomshardware.com my son, and learn about computers. A couple tips: Look for 1. Cache sizes (more, better, because RAM is slow, about 1 order of magnitude slower, in fact) 2. Bus speeds (in fact Tom's Hardware once reported that "Processor speed is secondary" compared to bus speed. Don't believe that your processor can execute commands when it's waiting for the rest of the computer is absorbing the information! and finally, always read up folks.

    By the way, I think that servers make a better basic system to start from than any others. Just make sure you have the right socket (Socket 8 for the Pentium Pro on my Proliant, for example.)

    Besides, dented old servers make a great fashion statement. Let me tell you...

    Thanks for reading, again the top of this was all bs, read this please. Ed Oscuro, signing off. Contact me? sure, at edoscuro@home.com


     
    that is funny (3.66 / 3) (#243)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 08:15:17 AM PST
    You forgot to add that:
    -Chocolate milk is good for a growing computer.
    -Candy bars can give it a little pep.
    -With a good diet and exercise your little Pentnum 4 1.4 can grow to a Pentnum 5 by the end of the year.
    ;^)


     
    Even morons are laughing at you!! (1.00 / 1) (#244)
    by Even morons are laughing at you on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 08:23:22 AM PST
    The first thing that came to mind when reading this artical was this has to be a joke. I pitty the poor tormented idiot who wrote it. First off and Abit KT7 is an AMD Processor board you dim wit, and if you don't understand what im getting at then ill explain it to you. This means that the piece of junk 1.4 p4 is totaly worthless to you if you have that board. Put in more simple terms, the processor won't even fit in the slot!!!. This proves that your miss guided comment, putting it in terms that try not to use explitives, All mother boards are practicaly identical is false in the truest sense of the word. Further more your attempt to include no geek jargon was only because you don't understand it you half wit. Besides things like DIMM, CPU, and MOTHERBOARD are not geek jargon they are real names. Geek jargon consists of things like, Bang (a simpler way of saying exclimation point) or derf (exploiting a terminal that someone has left open without logging off). Staying away from real life terms is only an effort of the febil minded.

    All you have done here is lower the intellegence level of your audience down to your level. The truth of the matter is, Even morons are laughing at you.

    Now i suggest you stop trying to act like you know anything and go away before i replace you with a very SMALL shell script!!!


     
    Hmmmmm? (1.00 / 1) (#245)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 08:25:47 AM PST
    The guy that wrote this article is a complete moron. Bad advice based on no experience at all. What is going to happen to the poor bastard that builds this PC? You daft idiot!

    You must carve cheese for a living...

    Quinn1981


     
    From the editors (4.00 / 4) (#246)
    by jsm on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 08:40:45 AM PST
    I'd just like to say a big thankyou and congratulations to our new friends from hardocp.com, and related overclocking/hardware news sites. This article has so far gathered 202 topical comments, plus about 15 extra ones that we had to delete for various reasons.

    That beats out of sight the previous record for an adequacy.org story, 170 topical comments on a story which advocated banning the wearing of black as a "final solution" to the problem of Goths in our schools.

    So, congratulations, thanks for visiting, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the cool stories on adequacy.org, the most controversial discussion site on the Web!

    ... the worst tempered and least consistent of the adequacy.org editors
    ... now also Legal department and general counsel, adequacy.org

    aha! (5.00 / 1) (#302)
    by eWulf on Thu Aug 23rd, 2001 at 05:45:18 AM PST
    I wondered who all these unfamiliar cornballs were. Geez, you'd have thought they would have at lease read the mission statement before spouting off though, wouldn't you???


     
    So what *should* I use? (1.00 / 1) (#248)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:17:21 AM PST
    I see lots of comments disagreeing with the author, but I don't see anyone providing any suggestions of his own about how to build a computer.

    What do you think?


     
    ok, you do this... (1.00 / 1) (#251)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:25:05 AM PST
    Do NOT buy a WinModem - buy a Diamond SupraExpress External Modem
    Buy an AMD Athlon 1.33 GHz
    Do NOT buy just any old case. You'll need one with at least a 300W Power Supply (yes 3 lightbulbs worth) to power a modern PC
    The RAM will work with that board and the Athlon

    Everything else is ok, although Windows98 is just as good as ME.

    Choddo


    Er... oh fuck me... (1.00 / 1) (#263)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 11:00:34 AM PST
    Was it really supposed to be a joke? Jesus, it's not even that funny. It's too close to being the truth and some poor muppet is going to do it.

    Ah well, nice try guys - the article on black clothing sounds funnier though.

    Chods


    haw haw! (1.00 / 1) (#298)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 07:48:04 PM PST
    The article isn't very funny. However it is quite satirically humerous. And the replies to said article are HILARIOUS! AHAHAHHAHAH!!!


     
    Building a dream computer (1.00 / 1) (#252)
    by GravyLovin on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:25:12 AM PST
    I am less intelligent just from reading this heap of crap article. First off you don't want to buy a Intel Processor for a Amd motherboard! Idiot point number one. Number 2 you want a motherboard with an agp slot (not just the cheapest thing you can find. Number 3 you want a case with a power supply of at least 200 watts or better if you want to install a cd burner as well as a standard cd drive. Number 4 NEVER EVER HIT A CHIP ON YOUR MOTHERBOARD. ONLY A STUPID A**HOLE WOULD BEAT ON THEIR COMPUTER. And Number 5 Buy a good monitor, don't buy sony, but a good samsung or mag monitor will be fairly inexpensive and come with a three year warranty. Sorry to be abrasive, but it is cheap idiots like the author of this article that clouds the minds of people who don't know any better. Thank You.

    G$

    . . . the truth is out there . . .


    Run that one by me again (5.00 / 1) (#254)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:32:00 AM PST
    I am less intelligent just from reading this heap of crap article.
    Hmmmm....


     
    OS (5.00 / 1) (#253)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 09:26:18 AM PST
    You should definitely buy yourself a copy of OSX for this rig, otherwise the KT7 motherboard will not recognize the P4. Once you have everything running (I assume you have no other Mac software you can use), delete OSX and do a clean install of Windows 3.1 -- just to experience perfection!


     
    funny stuff (1.00 / 1) (#266)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 11:28:27 AM PST
    LOL is this a joke? I don't think this guy knows anything about computers. "cheapest you can find.... Abit KT7 Raid... Pentium 4 1.4 (fastest you can get)" And as cheap as PC133 memory costs, he recommended PC100. I can almost disagree on every point. If you're going to build your own PC, what tver you do, don't take this guy's advice!! :)


     
    Huh? (1.00 / 1) (#270)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 11:46:24 AM PST
    ROFL! Thx, I needed that :)


     
    WHAT A LAME ARTICKLE! (1.00 / 1) (#273)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 12:46:29 PM PST
    It has already been said before, but this is obviously not "Written by our team of PC experts". Be ashamed of yourself writer! for real experts: http://gathering.tweakers.net


     
    to everyone who takes this serious. (1.00 / 1) (#274)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:11:35 PM PST
    BWAHAAHAHAH

    you are a good example of the nerds out there, defending linux (which only is good for servers)
    i thought the article was funny as hell , with some good links to real info.




     
    Heh!!! (1.00 / 1) (#275)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 01:23:09 PM PST
    The comments on this article are almost funnier and more laughable than the article itself...

    First of all, to all you posters who cry about components not fitting and such, are you taking the article seriously? If not, it appears so...

    To the people who don't see the joke in this article, but still seem to know what they're talking about: ROFLMAORL

    I just hope the abovementioned people ARE in fact not serious, otherwise... *HOPELESS BIG SIGH*


     
    WARNING! Do NOT follow this guide! (1.00 / 1) (#289)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:23:37 PM PST
    If you follow this guide, you will have nothing but a bunch of non working pieces.

    DMG, please pull this guide.

    I'll try to make this as simple as possible to understand the technical terms.

    From all the other articles, you can see people saying that the motherboard (the big board that everything plugs into) should be a "Abit KT7 Raid" and the processor or 'CPU' is a Pentium 4. This combination would be the equivalent of removing the engine of your car and tossing in a television set. Confused? Think either will work? No, the Pentium 4 is incompatable with the "Abit KT7 Raid". By incompatable, I mean that it will NOT work. *period* You would have to buy an AMD Athlon chip to put into the "Abit KT7 Raid". AMD is an alternate to Intel. Both processors have their merits and it's mostly up to what a persons preferences are. But depending on your decision of buying AMD or Intel will affect other things that you will need to buy. Need another illustration? Go to your clothes drier and pull out the power cord. Most likely it's got three big prongs in a circle, not like say... your lamp. Pretend Intel is your drier's powercord, and AMD is your lamps. The power outlet is your motherboard. Each motherboard might have a different power outlet. Get the picture?


    RAM is something else that might not work with the motherboard (or mobo as some call it for short) that you choose to buy. If you buy an AMD motherboard, like the "Abit KT7 Raid" the RAM mentioned above will work. But with recent trends in pricing, you might as well purchase a stick of generic 256 Megs of PC133. The numbers might not mean much to you, but this is the most commonly available type of RAM and will work with the motherboard.

    If you choose Intel though and buy an Intel motherboard, your going to have an extra expense. Intel decided that only RDRAM would work with it's boards. The anacronym is easier to say than the actualy name, so just stick with me and know that RDRAM is different than SDRAM which is different than DDR RAM. RDRAM is twice as expensive, and from the outlook of the marketplace, is going to be "going out of buisness" If you buy RDRAM, this would be like buying a BETAMAX VCR. Remember them? The competitor to the VHS VCR that you own?

    As far as the rest of the article, it doesn't explain much else better.

    My advice, don't think that all the people at the computer store are propellerheads that want to laugh at you. Ask questions! When you buy a car, do you just sit there and say "I want a pretty blue one." No, you ask questions like, "Does this have four wheel drive?" and "How many miles do I get to the gallon?"

    Buying and especially BUILDING a computer takes time and research. Don't rush yourself. Read some sites that seem "techy" or "hackery" like <a href="www.hardocp.com"> HardOCP</A> . (Geez, that is an awful sounding word.)

    Now, for a personal statement to Mr. DMG. Please stop reading if you find things offensive.

    ------------------------------------------
    DMG, you are the biggest bigot and profound source of misinformation that I have read since I looked at my wife's Cosmo magazine three years ago. Most people who enjoy technology are not PROPELLERHEADS or teeny HACKERS! I find that the statements you make are highly offensive and highly prejudice. A "grown adult" would be wise not to fall into these small-minded traps.

    Also, your article is blatently erroneous and should be either updated/fixed/rewritten or deleted. Your mistakes can cost people major amounts of money which is what you are "claiming" to save them. Also, if someone bought the devices and gizmos and attempted to constuct them, they would find that it DEFINITELY doesn't work. Also, improperly building your PC instantly VOIDs some warranties. Look at your Intel warranty card. See the line that says "Usage in a non-Intel supported motherboard will render this warranty void."

    For the love of all things good, fix this article before you cost us normal "adaquate" people a lot of hard earned money!


    Cosmo! (5.00 / 1) (#301)
    by johnny ambiguous on Wed Aug 22nd, 2001 at 04:50:25 PM PST
    ...DMG, you are the biggest bigot and profound source of misinformation that I have read since I looked at my wife's Cosmo magazine three years ago...

    Listen, it may be remotely possible that even a top-tier computer expert such as dmg might have inadvertently made a couple of insignificant misstatements in his essay. (Btw, it's not "DMG," but "dmg," any real propeller-head knows that to be kewl you've got to be sensitive to case-sensitivity.) But what's a little technical slip or two amongst friends? Let's not get involved in more of that nerd-o-matic dick-sizing, 'kay?

    But that's not why I have paused to reply. When you, a married man, stoop to dissing Cosmo, well, Mister, it seems to me that that's the very nadir of ingratitude! Why, just look at all the great things Cosmo has done for you!

    Why do you think your wife happens to be such a gratifying, sensuous lover? Where do you think she learned the red hot tips that transform your chilly mattress into a smoldering bed of molten lava? Not on a street corner, I hope! Geez, fella, when you're lying back panting, smiling, and spent, senses all awhirl with satiation, send up a silent thought of thanks to the shade of Helen Gurley Brown, for all she's done to inform and excite your lovely wife's libido.

    Well, maybe you're just not paying enough attention. And maybe you should, my friend. Reminds me of an anecdote out of the U.S. Congress from back in the pre-PC days. Seems there was this Representative, actually the Speaker of the House, named Nicholas Longworth. Speaker Longworth, bald as a cue ball, was lounging in his leather chair, when along comes another Congressman, who had the effrontery to run his hand over Mr. Longworth's head and say, "Nice and smooth. Feels like my wife's bottom." Whereupon the Speaker ran his own hand over his head and replied, "Yes, so it does!"

    Yours WDK - WKiernan@concentric.net


    Getting into my Chevrolet Magic Fire, I drove slowly back to the office. - L. Rosen

     
    Satire (1.00 / 1) (#290)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 03:46:11 PM PST
    I just want to keep this short and simple. I don't claim to know anything but the basics about computers, but even I noticed the glaring errors. But, after reading the article, it is my personal opinion that it was the author's intent to be satirical. Satire is not always "ha ha" funny. Sometimes it is biting and sarcastic, as it seems to be here. However, what the author does need to consider is that there are people out there who may stumble upon this article, not understand its intent, and try to take the advice as gospel truth. If those reading this post do not believe me, take a look at other posts and see how other people have taken this article seriously. It is a fine line indeed that divides perception, and a responsible author knows how to find that line.


     
    funny too (1.00 / 1) (#291)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:16:12 PM PST
    fed mine with beer and it now runs on 3 Ghz!!! ( ice cold brew strongly suggested!)


     
    better idea (1.00 / 1) (#293)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Aug 7th, 2001 at 04:27:11 PM PST
    take an old 466 board, slocket adptor, AMD duron slam it into one of the 5 brown (that has to be those AGP thingie isn't it? - Hmm 5 of them might be WinME multimonitor support...)use above mentioned RAM (but use PC 1333 style that's cheaper right now) use Brittanica Vol 1-3 to do it: same effect: big black smoke but saves you 200 $...


     
    Dude, this is so damn funny (1.00 / 1) (#300)
    by Anonymous Reader on Wed Aug 22nd, 2001 at 02:07:15 PM PST
    LOOLLLL and al that replys that a intel cpu wont fit in a amd bord, DUHHHHHH, everydumbass can understand that, but i read it here 92347238947times.......
    go go people, help this men correct his falts, i think that he laughs alot that people try to react serieusly on this article.... big funn..

    let me geuss... your all from the usa? lol,

    greets from da netherlands..


     
    poopellerhead morons!! (none / 0) (#305)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Oct 2nd, 2001 at 08:57:16 AM PST
    those who commented that the article was wrong because of so and so and that these parts will not work because of so and so are complete idiots! the article was a joke! if you took it seriously and found it to be wrong because of the "expertise" you have of computers, then you are a big fuckin idiot and should bend down and suck your own dick. a lot of those who complained about the article's accuracy and effectiveness have absolutely no sense of humor. you should just try and have your dicks reach your asshole and have anal sex with yourself. those who complained should insert their limp dicks into their PS2 port and fuck your computer, you idiots! and don't worry, there;s more than enough room in the PS2 port for your teeny weiners you idiots! remember you self fucking assholes, the artcle was a joke! a spoof! something an assfucking self fornicating poopelerhead will definitely not understand! idiots!


    idiot (none / 0) (#314)
    by Anonymous Reader on Sun Dec 16th, 2001 at 12:48:49 PM PST
    did you write the article you mother fucking twat


     
    You Sir are an IDIOT! (none / 0) (#311)
    by Anonymous Reader on Tue Dec 4th, 2001 at 10:33:56 AM PST
    This is the worst article ever written, if you were to buy the parts suggested in the article you would have a non-function POS.
    The Motherboard and CPU are not compatible, he stats that you can buy a Case, power supply and fans for $15, not if your going to run anything higher than a P200, All processors require at bare minium a 300Watt Power supply and the P4(that the author suggested) requires a power supply with an extra 12V plug

    Please never let this author submit anything again because he's an IDIOT!!!


     
    how to REALLY build a PC (none / 0) (#312)
    by Anonymous Reader on Sat Dec 15th, 2001 at 02:48:13 PM PST
    if you want to know how to build a pc goto http://clik.to/helpme

    this site was made by me and i will listen to any feedback you send me to change the site. send an e-mail to:

    mjhowell@trouble-shooter.co.uk


     
    who wrote this article? (none / 0) (#313)
    by Anonymous Reader on Sun Dec 16th, 2001 at 12:16:04 PM PST
    i have to say... this is the biggest load of bullshit i have read in my life. obviously you don't know how to make a good stable system and think intel are the only decent cpus in the business. since when have you found recent software that asks for an intel compatible cpu? aboslutely none whatsoever. in fact an amd athlon XP cpu runs windowsXP faster than an intel p4 and that's confirmed by microsoft!!!! and you never ever by generic ram! always buy good quality memory from the likes of crucial or corsair, for generic memory can be unstable. this is to the author of the article, before giving people advice... make sure it's good advice and not complete bullshit.


    Rebuttal to all those elitists (none / 0) (#316)
    by Anonymous Reader on Sun Dec 16th, 2001 at 07:24:44 PM PST
    Hello,

    This is were a elitist jerk would establish his credentials as an "IT" or what have you. However, to distance myself from their likes, I will refrain from doing this, and instead allow my good use of the English language, etc. to establish my credentials. Now, the complete bashing that this article has undergone is completely unwarranted and provided by elitists that would like to think they are somewhat special for knowing more than the average person about computers. The reason that there are no or very few rebuttals is because the average person could care less about their rantings, and would rather just take the information from the article and build a PC. These elitists would rather have a stupid public so that they can lord their knowledge over the heads of those that are not "in the know". However, it is good for the public to be educated about PCs and their use and care, for the advancement of the technology, for if the public is intimidated by the technology, their support will not flourish and will instead decline, and unintelligent consumerism will cause rising prices, which nobody would benefit from that. So, I say to you, the author of this article, keep up the good work, and ignore the badly written remarks of these elitist people. It is a given that I will now be endlessly flamed by unsigned, badly written, messages from "intelligent computer users", but I am prepared for this.

    ~JP


    An alternate explanation... (none / 0) (#317)
    by Anonymous Reader on Sun Dec 16th, 2001 at 09:04:27 PM PST
    While I'm sure there are a handful of elitist jerks and technocratic propellerheads, I fail to see that this is the norm. Perhaps the reason these folks gather around the water cooler to discuss their home-built rigs is because they share a common interest. Dear god, do you think that's possible? That a group could come together to share ideas about a shared hobby?

    I'm going to have to keep an eye on those Ally McBeal fans at the office. I think they're trying to suppress the exchange of knowledge surrounding emmaciated female lawyers.


     
    Jesus Christ computer builder (none / 0) (#315)
    by Anonymous Reader on Sun Dec 16th, 2001 at 06:56:02 PM PST
    Someone needs to take this guys head out of his ass. This article is complete bullshit. Yeah I built my own system, and I'm no mental giant.....believe me. AMD XP Plus pocessors rock btw. You all suck and I like cheese.


     
    AMD MB + P4 +PC100 LOL!!!!! (none / 0) (#318)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Dec 17th, 2001 at 11:36:54 PM PST
    What does adequacy.org mean??!!


     
    Ummm...yes... (none / 0) (#319)
    by BCFH on Tue Jan 15th, 2002 at 12:04:18 PM PST
    Me wonders: do you work for these companies? I don't wish to get too technical, and this is a not the worst guide i have seen, but you might do well to tell people to read A COMPUTING MAGAZINE, which is generally written by people who DO know hat they are doing. Building a PC ain't difficult, but it does help of you shop around.
    OH. I have just been informed by a friend that this was meant to be a FUNNY article. lol, i don't think.


     
    COOL!!!! Hopefully everyone will follow this... (none / 0) (#321)
    by Anonymous Reader on Mon Mar 25th, 2002 at 04:03:33 PM PST
    hopefully everyone will follow this "advice" and build slow POS computers, and I will continue to have one of the fastest machines I have ever seen, and will not need to upgrade for many many years to come! Thank you once again!!


     
    Yo dumbasses - STUPID WASTE OF TIME (none / 0) (#322)
    by Anonymous Reader on Sat Jul 6th, 2002 at 05:35:43 PM PST
    I have just a few things to say about MY computer. MAYBE you are not to stupid to figure out what kind it is.

    1)When I start it up, it works real swELL.

    2)Not some elitist name, it's easy to spELL.

    3)It's black and looks cool as hELL.

    4) Don't need no stinkin' shELL (what ever the f**k that is)

    5) When I get a new one, it's easy to sELL.

    6) NO need to visit www.microsoft.com/piracy/howtotELL

    7) It has a Pentium 4 from IntEL.

    8) I ordered in online with my AOL.

    9) I got FREE, YES FREE, FREE, FREE digital camera, 4 year warranty, and $100 rebate, you sh1t4brains, how can you beat that, wELL?

    You people should be beamed to another dimension.





    Let me guess... (none / 0) (#323)
    by dmg on Tue Jul 30th, 2002 at 07:31:57 AM PST
    Its a Gateway, right ?

    time to give a Newtonian demonstration - of a bullet, its mass and its acceleration.
    -- MC Hawking

     

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