Building a PC today

[reible]

I've been collection some parts to put together a new PC and have enough of them to get started as of today. Since a lot of people here happen to be computer users, I mean you are here reading this forum so in some form or another you are using a computer be it a phone, tablet, laptop, desk top or maybe one of these that I'm putting together.

For some of you this will be nothing new but I expect that a few people here have no idea that this sort of thing exists. Now I'm not going to do a step by step nor am I going to give you fine details but think of this as a little peak into today.

This is what the screen looks like as of say an hour ago.

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The screen is of course a TV. The operation system at the moment is 8.1 but I will upgrade to windows 10 in a short while I expect. The screen size is what you get with a set up like this, 1920 by 1080 and 60Hz. The video card can do more but then I would need a monitor or new TV. If you are interested this is a VIZIO E241i-B1 24-Inch 1080p 60Hz Smart LED HDTV.

I have I have the TV connected to an antenna, HDMI input is from a smart Blu-ray player and a Roku and now a connection from the PC through a HDMI switch.

This is called a mini-PC and mounts on the back of the TV using the VESA mounting holes. The adapter plate comes with the PC. Once the mount is in place the PC slides in to place on a couple of pins. This is a shot of the back of the TV. In ruff size it is 4-1/2" x 5" x 2-1/4".

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The mini-PC is pretty much self contained but you will need to add memory and a disk drive and operation system of your choice. In my case I went with a single memory stick of 8GB, I may add a second 8GB at some point in the future. I went with a 250GB SSD drive of the mSATA type. I have a 1TB drive on order which should arrive tomorrow. It will also fit in the box. Speaking of which here are a couple of pictures of what the inside looks like when you are about to add the memory and SSD.

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Once they are in it looks like this:

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The 1TB drive will go in this housing and attaches with a provided cable.

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I had a copy of windows 8.1 so I used a USB memory stick and put the iso on that using Rufus and it went pretty fast.

You will need a keyboard and mouse and they had a decent deal at the local Sam's store so I got a Logitech Wireless Combo (mk345). It requires a USB port but nowadays even the bios works with this sort of keyboard and mouse.

I'm also adding a LG Blu-ray drive. This drive will share time with this system and my new lap top once I have that. This drive has some interesting features which is why it costs what it does. It has a mode where it can look like a USB drive to a TV or Blu-ray player and not need the computer interface for data files. It also reads and writes up to Blu-ray and has M-DISC support.

I will also add a extra USB3 port adapter with card reader at some point.

If anyone wants part numbers, costs and other general information let me know and I will provide what I can.

Ed

[charlese]

I've been collection some parts to put together a new PC and have enough of them to get started as of today. Since a lot of people here happen to be computer users, I mean you are here reading this forum so in some form or another you are using a computer be it a phone, tablet, laptop, desk top or maybe one of these that I'm putting together.

If anyone wants part numbers, costs and other general information let me know and I will provide what I can.

Ed

Thanks for the offer, but I won't be taking you up on the offer.

Though - Here's wishing you a lot of success and happiness - no frustrtions.

[Ed in Tampa]

What is your Processor chip, and who is the manufacture of the mini PC?
What was the cost of mini PC.

[reible]

If you would like more details on the mini-PC here is a link:
http://www.gigabyte.com/products/produc ... 414&dl=#ov

I purchased mine from newegg.com for $139.99 and free shipping. Price might vary at other locations and days.

In general terms this is a AMD A8 processor running at 2.1GHz but then you can read about it at the link above. These boxes come with other processors and from other companies, these are quite popular so by no means do you have to stick to what I picked.

The 8GB memory I got from Amazon, Crucial 8GB Single DDR3 1600 MT/s (PC3-12800) CL11 SODIMM 204-Pin 1.35V/1.5V Notebook Memory $39.00

For the operating system disk I went with a SSD. This is like all things a compromise between cost and capacity and speed. I personally went with the speed afforded by a SSD. I decided on 256GB as that seems reasonable for this system and then decided to add a 1 TB hard disk so I would have plenty of room for the near future.

Crucial MX200 250GB mSATA Internal Solid State Drive - CT250MX200SSD3 Amazon $94.99

Western Digital Bare Drives 1TB WD Blue SATA III 5400 RPM 8 MB Cache Amazon $59.98

The wireless keyboard and mouse I got at Sam's Club Logitech Wireless Combo mk345 $19.86

For the operating system you can use what ever you want, for me I already had a copy of windows 8.1 that I got and never used for another computer I have that is running XP. That computer I will be replacing so that is how it went for me. BTW I have windows10 installing right now.

So depending on what options you pick it will look something like this:

mini-PC $140
memory $39
HD SSD $95
KeyBD+ $20
--------------
$294

If you need a monitor or TV that would be extra, I already had mine so no additional cost for me.

I did a 1TB for added storage, that added another $60.

If you want to save some money you can get cheaper and smaller memory, go with a smaller SSD or with a conventional HD. If you hate MS Windows this will run a least some of the free OS's so long as they are updated.

Ed

[reible]

So here I am up on the new PC which is now running windows10. So far so good.

I now have a list of must have software to install. Firefox and Thunderbird are already done but there is a bunch more I need to take care of.

The 1TB drive was listed as being on the UPS truck so that should be here anytime now. Just need to mount and install that and I'll be done with this build. Pretty painless.

Ed

[tomsalwasser]

Nice machine Ed. I wonder if it will get hot in there?

[reible]

It has fans and so far they seem to be doing there jobs. You do hear fan noise but they do make these mini-PCs without fans and that makes them pretty much like phones and tablets.

Ed

[reible]

UPS guy dropped off my new drive so I wasted little time installing it.

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A few small screws and a cable is all the hardware needs. Now I have to go and boot up and make the drive useful.

Ed

[garys]

Some years ago I built my own PCs. Then I found a local outlet that sells used business grade computers at such a cheap price that I can no longer afford to build my own.
Every computer I now own was purchased used and they work great with no additional work assembling them on my part. If my outlet ever disappears, I'll again look into assembling my own machines.

[tomsalwasser]

Ed, I'll bet you're getting a pretty speedy boot time from Windows 10 on the SSD?