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willultra99

Building a new computer. Need some help

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Hi,  I have a Dell XPS8100 computer.  I have changed the video card and power supply some time ago so I could run P3D V2 and now I want to update my case, mobo, cpu and Ram.  I have never done this before and am wondering about the win7 install and how to go about this.  As well Dell doesn't let you play with the settings to much in the Bios and wondering if this will be a problem with using the same hard drive that came with the Dell computer with my new components. 

 

Do I just install my new components, turn on my computer and reformat my hard drive or do I wipe out the hard drive first (which I dont know how to do)  then try to install win7 (as well dont know how to do)

 

If anyone could give me some guidance on this it would be great

 

Thanks,

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Building your own computer is a great learning experience as well as a cheaper way to upgrade a system. If you do not know how to do this and do that, you'll have to do a lot of research before beginning. It's not a "plug and play" system like with pre-built systems like Dell, HP, and others. I think most members here build their own systems or just replace certain components.

 

Fortunately, Windows 7, 64 bit edition allows you to reformat your HDD and you do nothing but tell it to reformat it during the installation. But, first of all, you must understand you will not have an operating system when you first build a new system. You will have to go into the BIOS and tell the BIOS that you need to boot up to the DVD Drive that has the Windows 7 OS installation program. I would not reformat your HDD until after you reinstall Windows. You might have files on there that you can use for the new installation. You will have to reinstall Windows though. No getting around that unless you use one of those backup programs that can take a long time to reinstall on a new system. I would recommend an SSD of around 100GB's for your Windows 7 installation.

 

The fact you put in a new power supply in the Dell system is an extraordinary feat so you completed one of the more difficult tasks of building a new system.

 

You have to sit down and look at all the parts you need, what you currently have, and then begin the process of purchasing these individual parts. You want to find the components that are on sale or have free shipping. I used Amazon.com in my last two builds. They usually stay competitive with the competition. If you have a Micro-Center in your area, that's usually the best as they have all of the parts and usually everything is on sale. They have sales people who know what all you need too and what's the best, etc.

 

I usually Google for the parts... like ASUS motherboard, i7 4770K, GTX 570, etc. It's also beneficial to Google "How do I build a computer?" and you will come up with many suggestions and even videos on some of the processes. Here's an excellent link to one guide - http://lifehacker.com/5828747/how-to-build-a-computer-from-scratch-the-complete-guide. I can assure you that they are all over the place but the ones that are really good are the ones that have pictures to describe the process.

 

So, there, that's all there is to it. It's fun and challenging but it might be wise to have someone nearby who is proficient with building a computer. On my first build several years ago, I had my son (an IT professional) help and guide me. The second time I did it without his help.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best regards,


Jim Young | AVSIM Online! - Simming's Premier Resource!

Member, AVSIM Board of Directors - Serving AVSIM since 2001

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I7 8086K  5.0GHz | GTX 1080 TI OC Edition | Dell 34" and 24" Monitors | ASUS Maximus X Hero MB Z370 | Samsung M.2 NVMe 500GB and 1TB | Samsung SSD 500GB x2 | Toshiba HDD 1TB | WDC HDD 1TB | Corsair H115i Pro | 16GB DDR4 3600C17 | Windows 10 

 

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Also check out some build guides from Linustechtips on YouTube. Very high quality, professional, high definition, informative build guides. Definitely helped me when I considering building my own system

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Thank You Jim and Antoni.  I have been doing a lot of research on all the components and it looks like I will have to buy a new OS along with a HDD.  A lot of people on different forums and youtube mention that you can't use a different motherboard and the same OS that I received from Dell.  I do have the Win7 reinstallation DVD from Dell but on the DVD it says only to use with a Dell computer.  So I don't know if I should chance it or buy a new Windows 7 OS.  If I bought the computer you would think I should be able to use win7 in any machine I wish.  Don't know I guess I will have to just go with it and see what happens.

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Dell and other computer manufacturers hold down the costs by getting an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) version of Windows.  I always buy a new version of Windows when rebuilding.  I have been able to buy an OEM version too but it has to go with the computer when you upgrade the MB (in most cases).  Do a search on the Internet and you might find a copy on sale somewhere.

 

Best regards,


Jim Young | AVSIM Online! - Simming's Premier Resource!

Member, AVSIM Board of Directors - Serving AVSIM since 2001

Submit News to AVSIM
Important other links: Basic FSX Configuration Guide | AVSIM CTD Guide | AVSIM Prepar3D Guide | Help with AVSIM Site | Signature Rules | Screen Shot Rule | AVSIM Terms of Service (ToS)

I7 8086K  5.0GHz | GTX 1080 TI OC Edition | Dell 34" and 24" Monitors | ASUS Maximus X Hero MB Z370 | Samsung M.2 NVMe 500GB and 1TB | Samsung SSD 500GB x2 | Toshiba HDD 1TB | WDC HDD 1TB | Corsair H115i Pro | 16GB DDR4 3600C17 | Windows 10 

 

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I see you live my side of the border, so my advice would be to seek out Canada Computers. They have just about anything to to with building or upgrading a pc and have very competitive (for Canada) prices.

 

http://www.canadacomputers.com/

 

They have plenty of OEM W7 o/s in store or at the online store. The only requirement for purchasing an OEM version, is that you include a piece of hardware in your purchase, which you obviously will be.

 

While you are not supposed to reinstall a OEM version on another computer, you are allowed to reinstall on the same pc if you need to.

 

As far as advice on how to go about your project goes, the previous posts pretty much sums it up.

 

Hope you enjoy your project.

 

Regards,

 

Edit: just realized that CC is only in Ontario and Quebec, so if you are not in those areas, your best bet might be NCIX if out west, or you can shop online at CC.


Rick Hobbs

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Well just an update on my new build.  I had a 600 watt thermatake psu and a asus gtx750 in my old dell that i upgraded recently so I used these components in my new build.

 

I went with:

i5 4690k stock cooler (for now)

cosair 300R tower

Hyper X 8GB (2x4GB) 1866MHZ

Asus Z97-A motherboard

WD 1TB green HDD

Win7 64bit

 

I bought a new win7 OS.  I have put my old components back into my dell computer for my children to use.  Its still a great computer just couldnt keep with the high demand of the new FSX add-on and had a really hard time with P3D.

 

With my new build its night and day.  FSX is very smooth and I dont go below 18-19 FPS which is great and no stutters.  I still have lots of room to grow with over clocking my i5 (need to buy a new cooler first),  Getting a SSD and a much better grahics card.  I am very pleased with this build.  I don't have P3D installed yet on this new build. I am testing FSX out first adding one add-on at a time checking FPS and VAS.

 

The add-ons installed so far

PMDG 777 base and 300ER

All FsDreamteam addons expect IPOV

All Flightbeam

Most of Flytampa scenery( CYYZ,CYUL,TNCM,KBOS)

Orbx Full England Scenery with Aerosofts EGLL X

Active Sky 2012

Active Sky Next

Taxi2gate VHHH

 

Like I said at no point do I have stutters or my FPS go below 18-19 FPS.  My VAS has only went as high as 2.7GB which is great for the experinces I have had on my old machine. I still want to add UT2 and orbx PNW just havent got around to installing it yet.

 

I have really been looking into Orbx's Global not sure if my VAS will handle it along with UT2.  

 

If anyone is looking into getting a similar setup to this I would say go for it.  There is a lot better components out there but for the cost I think it is great.  I will be looking to upgrade my PSU, graphics card, a cooler for my CPU and get a SSD in the future but I do believe I have a great base to build from and getting great performance with great visuals

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