What parts should I get for my new computer?

Redbarncomuters.com let's you pick out the components that you want, but to answer your question, I'll briefly outline what you need.

1. A case. You're going to need to house these components in some kind of computer case. There are a number of manufacturers of computer cases, namely American Power and Cooling, Antec, Thermaltake, among others. Case is number one, many of them come with power supplies, which you're going to need as component number 2.

2. A motherboard. Your motherboard houses your CPU and your chipset, which contains Audio and Video circuitry for connecting multi-media (speakers) and a monitor of some kind. Motherboard manufacturers are numerous, I'm not up on my AMD chips. Also onboard is network circuitry (ethernet 10/100/1000 with RJ-45 connectors), keyboard, mouse, parallel port, USB and sometimes IEEE 1394 Firewire ports. But what's common to all CPU's are the ZIF sockets (Zero Insertion Force), which match up Socket and CPU, or component number three.

3. A CPU (Central Processing Unit). Typically made by Intel or AMD, you match the CPU Socket type with the one found on the motherboard (for example, my Socket 478 Intel G865GLC motherboard matches my CPU type (Pentium 4). AMD has a similar setup, I'm sure, with their motherboards. Match socket for socket and make sure you know where Pin 1 goes. (There's a little nick in the chip which matches up easily with pin 1.

4. Hard drive. There's a choice between fast and faster in hard drive selection. Brand-wise, I like Western Digital, Fujitsu and IBM. You also have a choice of form-factor (Parallel or Serial ATA) 3.5-inch size, 5400-rpm or 7200-rpm or faster, hard disk drives.

5. CD-DVD ROM. There's also a huge selection of disc drives available. Manufacturers include Sony, among others. You need one that reads common formats, primarily to install the Operating System.

6. A wireless adapter. Got to have a wireless adapter, mine is 2wire, and it's worked flawlessly. There are other manufacturers, but I really like my 2wire, because I also have and use a 2wire router for my wireless Internet. Really awesome. Good choice.

7. Monitor. Your going to need the best possible monitor you can afford, spend a little more, because it'll enhance your experience with your computer. I'm sure there's plenty to choose from, I have a Neovo, there are many others like Samsung, and Sony.

8. Keyboard. I used to like the "click-and-feel" of the old IBM keyboards. But nowadays the keyboards are mushier and those a good too. Manufacturers include Logitec, IBM, and others. Pick one you can stand, as you may be doing a lot of typing.

9. Mouse. Logitec mice work well, I have a DX-5 optical wireless USB mouse (comes with it's own bluetooth adapter).

10. Operating System. Typically Windows on do-it-yourself units, or Linux, available online or in stores like Office Max and Best Buy. Windows Home Basic cost me about $129 to upgrade from Windows XP.

11. A sales outlet, I use Zipzoomfly.com.

Thank you.

depending on where u live (tax) you likely have under $900 to spend. Monitors are $300. You have $600 to work with. WiFi card is $60, motherboard is $70-120, processor is $200, RAM will cost $100, Hard drives $120. + software, but thats already $600. In terms of finding the right processor and motherboard (they go hand in hand), subtract wifi, RAM, HDD, power supply, Case, optical drives costs. You will be left with very little for the processor and motherboard, and then you will be able to price. Computers are expensive, especially with monitors so you may go over the $1000 mark

ps. why AMD? cause it is cheaper? intel has superior processors right now, unlike a few years ago.

Prioritize what you want to spend the most money on.

If you want a nice monitor you might get an NEC, Apple or Sony as they are the industry leaders, Samsung and LG are also good choices.

If you want a nice motherboard, ASUS is a good brand to get. Although you might want to do some specific research on the board that you want because even the best manufacturers can release a dud.

If you want pure power, I would suggest looking at the fastest processor that you can get your hands on for your price range, since it is an AMD you have plenty to choose from. Phenom true quad core is the fastest processor line they have. (I feel I have to mention that if you want pure performance, Intel is sadly the way to go recently).

Be sure that the board you want supports the CPU you are looking to buy. Also be sure to check out what memory the board supports by looking at the manufacturers QVL (Quality Vendor List).

If you want pure looks, try www.newegg.com and check out some of their chassis.

For what you want to use your computer for, you won't need a whole lot. I prefer XP over Vista, and so do most of the people I build computers for. With that in mind, try to find a motherboard that you can later upgrade without little problem. If you're settled on AMD for whatever reason, get at least a dual core. Most new motherboards should also be compatible (maybe with an update) to take a Phenom, if you later want to upgrade with that. I would also suggest at least 2 GB of ram, but get a motherboard that can later be upgraded to more, such as 8 GB if needed... you never know when you'll be forced to get Vista, or whatever else MS throws at us later. For your use, you can probably get a motherboard with an integrated video card as well.

It's obvious you'll need at least a dvd/cd drive. Don't know if you want/need a blu-ray, but worth considering at least. I think some of the cheaper ones are starting to get down to around $100 finally.

Hard drive space is going to be important, depending on how many movies, music, and pictures you want... luckily hard drives are cheap now. Get at least 500 GB, more if you can afford it.

I always recommend to get an internal card reader. They are extremely useful, especially if you're like me and use digital cameras and always lose the mini usb cable. You can also find ones with USB ports on them, or floppy's if you're into ancient technology. Their isn't really much use for a 3.5 bay anymore.

Pick a case that's going to look nice where you want to put your computer at, and will be the correct form for your motherboard. Can't really help you on this, as it's going to be completely up to your preference. Figure out if you want flashy lights, windows to see your components, enough drive bays for what you're putting in it, etc.

You'll need a power supply that's going to fit in your case, but you probably won't need a lot of power for what you are using your computer for. 400W should be plenty for you, and is cheap enough to get. Look for a modular power supply. With these, you plug in whatever connections you want. Traditional power supplies have everything bundled off, and usually leaves a large bunch of unused cords that simply impede airflow.

You'll want a large widescreen monitor... this will probably be the most expensive 'component' you buy.

I would also recommend a good sound card, or at least make sure your motherboard's integrated sound card will be good enough. I use a sound card to connect my computer to a home theater system. You can get 7.1sound cards for pretty cheap, and they can make a big difference when watching a movie.

One last touch I would recommend, is to find a storage drawer if you have room for it. Yes, I know it's lame... but I've impressed a number of people by pulling out CDs and flash drives from what they think is a CD drive, and it actually is a great place to not lose things. Here's a link to one that's out of stock, but gives you an idea of what I'm talking about.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

Yo he comprado de muchas veces ordenadores en los sitios information superhighway y siempre he encontrado l. a. mejor calidad, el ultimo ordenador es para una amiga, l. a. verdad es que parece especial creado para ella porque tiene un disco duro con una excelente capacidad de almacenaje y va bastante rápido por su gran memoria y su buen procesador, muy buena compra sin duda.