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Originally Posted by cars_willkillyou
I want to be able to play movies in HD. I want to be really fast, and consistently. I want to be able to play and run video games smoothly. I want to buy the parts individually and assemble it myself.
what are prices and how much work/knowledge do i need. I am good with building things and have some knowledge of the workings of computers.
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how much $ do you want to spend? you can make a budget computer or you can make a hot rod gaming machine or you can build a beast of a workstation. playing movies in hd is no big shit. video games on the other hand-- take all the cpu power you can throw at them (the new ones anyway). a gaming machine requires muscle, but it might not be quietenought to watch movies in hd. if/or/then/else. decision tree ahead.
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Originally Posted by cars_willkillyou
i already have a 500 gb external hd. I might get another 500 gb hd as my internal hard drive. I hate vista. Even when it works, it looks like shit. I was told that 2 graphic cards might be necessary for some video games.
what kind of processor should i get? I also want a really good sound card, as I will be using my computer for recording and personal enjoyment.
I also need to run photoshops and possibly film editing programs.
I want a lot, and im gonna spend a lot, but I also want to save a lot.
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any sound card is a good sound card these days. cpus-- depends on your budget. photoshopS (sic) runs in my old pIII laptop. film editing: look at the specs of your desired software. avid media composer is very picky (and pricey). premiere not so much. find out what the software calls for.
not only that-- cpu and board are not all that make a machine-- case, cooling, power supply are very important for a high performance box. what's the point of having a great cpu when you psu fails or your case overheats? you gotta look at the whole.
about vista looking like shit-- what version? those w/ aero glass look pretty good to me
if you want a gaming machine, you wanna dualboot at least-- xp pro and some flavor of vista, add maybe linux or a hacked osx.
here's a list to a guide that dates back to september-- shit keeps changing all the time but at least you have an idea of what it takes to put all the pieces together in a sensible manner-- meaning that it works and doesn't crap out on you.
http://arstechnica.com/guides/buyer/guide-200809.ars/3