Thinking of Building a PC

[Setre]

So I've been thinking of building a computer the last few days. I already have a laptop capable of playing some of the newer games but there's something romantic about building your own PC. In the past I've always had the help of my brother when it came to these things. He'd tell me the parts to buy and assemble it for me, now that he's married I am on my own unless his wife lets him out of the house and he's off from work.

As I said above I've never actually done any of the work so it's all new to me. I've done some research the past few days and realize I may be getting in over my head. I know the parts I need I just don't know which ones are best and are compatible with one another. For example I don't want to buy a motherboard that won't work with my CPU or fit in the case.

So this where I turn to you Japanator. Have any of you tried building your own computer before? If so do you have any suggestions on hardware? Do any of you recommend sites you'd think would be helpful? Hell even some words of encouragement would be appreciated!

[ChubbyHuggs]

I have helped and made my own computer, but these acts were out of pure luck. Seeing as I didn't fry anything. I recommend using Tigerdirect.com to buy your parts, because they tell you what kind of stuff you may want or you can buy a bare bones kit. It's pretty much something like this:

Barebones Kit (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5633678&Sku=B69-1162)

From there on all you need to do is learn which wire connects were.
The upside is user actually review, so you can see the ratings some parts or kits have on them to choose which you think is better.

[MATR!X]

I built my first computer out of parts I retreived from a trash pile behind a computer store; Weeded out the bad parts, and actually set up a pretty kick**s system [for it's time period]. I still have it today, and it runs beautifully despite my use of my laptop instead. As far as motherboard sizing and fitting in the case, just check the specs of the motherboard ahead of time. It should fit any case, as long as you don't get a mini tower case for it. Also, when checking the processor, just check the speed and socket size of the processor, then check on the motherboard to see what it supports [should be in the specs of the motherboard on whatever site they're selling it on. If you're buying it at a shop, just check with the guy at the counter.] Putting it all together is quite simple actually, as long as everything is compatable [Ex: RAM, Processor, etc]. Definetley make sure the RAM is the right type too. ^^

[Dark]

It's not too bad, you just need to make sure that you get all the correct parts that work together.

Also you need to decide what you want, Amd or Intel, ATI or Nvidia and what your budget is.

If you post how much you are looking to spend I can come up with something.

I don't use tigerdirect as a previous poster recommended due to bad experiences with them. I stick to Newegg.com and Amazon.com .

Newegg sometimes has great combo deals on mothersboards/processors.

If you have a Fry's electronics near you, they have killer deals. Sadly I am on the east coast so none here :(