building a computer

[diamond22]

I am looking for good, inexpensive RAM. What would be a good speed? I would like some that is up-to-date. I haven't purchased a CPU or motherboard, so any advice on this would be helpful also. This is my first time building a computer, so all advice is welcomed.



Thanks
:cool:

[tweeky]

Welcome to http://www.pcguide.com/ubb/pcgubb.gif

Now just a few questions what will you be wanting to use your PC for?
ie: games, word processing etc...

What type of OS do you want to use?
ie: XP, 98, Linux etc...

What type of processor do you want to use?
ie: Pentium 4, AMD, Pentium 3 etc...

It is important that we get as much information as possible as there are 100's of different types of RAM out there.

[diamond22]

Thank you tweeky for replying.

I am trying to build a computer for my cousin, and as I stated earlier, this my first time building one. She will be using the PC for basic word processing. I think XP would be a good OS, and the type of processor I want is AMD. Do you have any suggestions?


Thank You
:cool:

[Budfred]

I suggest looking through the threads in the Buying and Upgrading forum, then come back and ask questions.... There are all sorts of details that you will need to be aware of:

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=9

[Paleo Pete]

Best thing to do is check around, follow Budfred's advice to check some of the other forum threads, learn a bit about it. Then decide what motherboard, CPU and OS you want to use, as well as what the computer will be used for, then match the RAM to that.

The reasoning is, Win98, win2000 and XP all function well on different amounts of RAM. Then there's Linux...One motherboard might require PC2700 DDR and another might use something else. A gaming machine and an average internet/word processing machine or graphics editing rig all would have different memory requirements.
Start by looking up some info then determine what the use will be, then settle on motherboard and CPU. Deciding on RAM before that point would be risky, since you might end up with a motherboard that can't use it. Kind of like buying a car engine before you have a car to put it in...

[tweeky]

Another question how much are you willing to spend?

This is an important question and is vital for us to know the type of hardware that you will be able to afford.

New computer (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24778)

The computer in the above link is expensive and it's aimed at games but it should give you an idea of what parts you will need to get.

I also recommend you look at other posts to get an idea of what you'll need. Another website you could look at is Build Your Own PC (http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/)