Build a PC

I was recently considering building my own PC, but wound up buying a sweet pre-built one instead.

Here's a forum that deals with it, where you can find out more info on building your own:

http://www.techsupportforum.com/hardware-support/building/

And here's a list of CPU's for you to use when comparing:

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_list.php

One of the best places to get your parts is newegg.com. They also have some nice combo deals (like cpu's and motherboards etc.)

It also depends on what you'll use the PC for. If you're looking to build a serious hardcore gaming rig, it's probably be cheaper for you to build it. But if you're just looking to replace a home PC, I'd suggest looking around before you make any final decisions cuz there are some good deals out there on good systems.

It might be cheaper in the long run to look at refurbished computers. Getting hardware that works together is an epic undertaking. What do you actually do with your computer? That makes all the difference as to what you need.

I could just scream when I think of all the computers that are used as typewriters and e-mail terminals.

Matty has hit the nail on the head. It is no cakewalk, as the Americans say. I had actually gone ahead and researched & put together my own PC (for HDD editing or NLE) - or at least a configuration. This was in conjunction with researching for putting together a network.

I primarily relied on internet research eg. part site forums, some of my techie friends, and assistance from the services company that I had asked to give me a quote on a "build" for me with their specs. I am pretty thorough in most things I do, and this was no exception-it took me 10 months to get to the point where I could competently put together a configuration that had 'meat'. I had put together the configuration, and had obtained quotes from a number of small shops that could build a machine. This entire process was maddening as all hell, as I come from neither a hardware nor a software background.

What I had discovered is that there are DIY (Do It Yourself) books available; I wish I had purchased one or more of these before I put myself through all the pain. Try looking through this list from Amazon

http://tinyurl.com/o6az2c

You'll need to sort out your basics-motherboard, cpu, operating system. With the book(s) as a guide, you will save yourself a lot of time and effort.Hopefully, you won't have to spend 10 months at it. Equally, don't expect it to be a slightly longer period of time than going into a shop and purchasing one 'ready to go'. The late discovery of such books indicated to me yet again how important books and a library really are.

Good luck.

JimmyB27 said:

I've had a choppy time of it over the last couple of years in terms of employment, so my computer is way past due for an updgrade. I've been looking at the Dell XPS 8100, and it seems like a nice machine for the price. But, now a friend has put the idea of building my own into my head.
I'm pretty computer savvy, so I reckon I'll be alright nailing the thing together - but my hardware knowledge is woefully out of date.
I've just come from the AMD website where I was trying to research processors, but there were tons to choose from, and I realised I've just got no idea anymore. And then there's graphics cards. Memory and HDD should be easy enough.
One of you guys must know all this stuff backwards - any advice?

Thanking you in advance!

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Since Dell and other big computer makers can afford to buy their parts in bulk at insanely cheap prices, it's no longer cost-effective for most consumers to build their own PC. I know people who still build their own PCs, but it's for personal satisfaction, not to save money, and it would have been cheaper for them to walk into a store and buy a computer. If you're in the UK, the situation might be different.

Look at Costco, if they stock electronics in their UK stores. It's a great place to buy computers and electronics at a super discount.

I didn't do it for personal satisfaction. I very much believe that one should get to know well the tools one uses. In this case, both the hardware & the software that go to make a digital video workstation. Of course, those who like to build a machine are usually techies anyway. And conversely, in doing a build, one gets to know something about repairing it yourself.

Hmm. I've just put together a spec on the Dell website, and then gone to www.overclockers.co.uk an recreated it. Came out some £50 more expensive to build myself. Maybe I'll just save the bother and buy the Dell.

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Since Dell and other big computer makers can afford to buy their parts in bulk at insanely cheap prices, it's no longer cost-effective for most consumers to build their own PC. I know people who still build their own PCs, but it's for personal satisfaction, not to save money, and it would have been cheaper for them to walk into a store and buy a computer. If you're in the UK, the situation might be different.

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You used to be able to save quite a bit of money by building one yourself, but these days PCs are so cheap DYI usually costs more.

ATP said:

I didn't do it for personal satisfaction. I very much believe that one should get to know well the tools one uses. In this case, both the hardware & the software that go to make a digital video workstation. Of course, those who like to build a machine are usually techies anyway. And conversely, in doing a build, one gets to know something about repairing it yourself.

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That's what I meant by personal satisfaction. It was about the experience, the enjoyment, and the learning. I wish I was smart enough to build my own PC and I admire the heck out of those people who do it successfully.

JimmyB27 said:

Hmm. I've just put together a spec on the Dell website, and then gone to www.overclockers.co.uk an recreated it. Came out some £50 more expensive to build myself. Maybe I'll just save the bother and buy the Dell.

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As far as I can tell, those who are serious about DIY tend to be young/youngish & perhaps nerdish; there are also those adults who work in hardware on a daily basis. Many seem to be dedicated gamers; the machines for these are usually considered 'high end', with a quality & price to match. DIY digital video workstations are somewhat in that league, though there are 'low end' to 'high end' even within this type of machine.

In putting one of these together, there are many considerations between technical specifications, as well as price. Per se, as a box of parts, a PC is a relatively simple machine.

The far simpler consumer PCs are likely cheaper to buy 'ready to go' & 'fully loaded'.

JulieHowe said:

That's what I meant by personal satisfaction. It was about the experience, the enjoyment, and the learning. I wish I was smart enough to build my own PC and I admire the heck out of those people who do it successfully.

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As to my time doing it, I would remove "enjoyment" from your description. The satisfaction came only when I took delivery of the PC, and after the service company personnel had completed set up of the network.

JimmyB27 said:

Well, I got impatient and bought the Dell.

I do know my way around the inside of a computer pretty well, and I'm confident I wouldn't have had any problems putting the thing together, but if it's cheaper to just buy one, I don't see much point.


I bet you are smart enough - it's not as hard as you probably think.


Er...you took delivery of a PC you built yourself?

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There are lots of places that will test the hardware you've chosen and ship it all to you. Really, the snapping in of things is the least of the difficulty

Congrats on the purchase!! If you want something even better for gaming, you can always look at video cards, etc and upgrade those yourself. Assuming you gave thought to motherboards, etc. that is probably the most cost-effective way to do it.

I know we get ours much cheaper from Dell (with a company discount), so if anyone needs anything beefed up, I just buy that separately and sell the card or drive Dell sent on ebay!

My memory isnt what it was.

In that 10 month period, I was researching configurations, parts, home networks (as well as other things), and configurations from sites devoted to digital video workstations. It was intense to say the least, and as with most things to do with IT, every iota had to be researched; this is how one builds the 'puzzle', which it very much was. Remember, I had no background at all in any of this prior to beginning.

So, it was research about the relevance of the said part, the relevance of the said part to other parts,and its function(s). All of this has to be understood until you get an understanding of the 'whole'.But not to the point that you are starting to study for a degree in computer science, though it at times felt like it. In one sense, you can say that the configuration you decide upon is the manifestation of your understanding of the 'whole'.

As mentioned, I researched and gradually derived a configuration, while seeking quotations from a number of other suppliers or builders eg Dell. These had to be discussed with my good friend who works in computing and has a good background in hardware & software. It was this continual backwards and forwards, and research, research, reseach. Needless to say, after selecting my final configuration, I took it to a number of small shops who can actually put your configuration together for you, or provide you their own recommendations & put the box together for you. I gave them my configuration, and examined what they also suggested. You can get taken for a ride if you don't know what you're talking about with these boys. As it is, with the one shop I decided upon, the suggested motherboard I later researched and found that it did not possess the required function for digital video. The chap was embarrassed and quickly changed the motherboard. Generally though, this shop was better than the other shop's configuration. From what I can see, it appears that most people don't go to the trouble I did.

When all of this was done, I gave the go ahead, and the shop assembled the pieces, installed the software, set the bios etc which I have no knowledge of, amongst other things. This process requires around 4-5 hours. When finished, I paid my money, took delivery of the assembled box & other things, & went home & set up the machine. I couldn't really use it properly until I had the network set up, by my computing services firm, a little while later. The whole process is like cramming for exams, except that the cramming period stretched for 10 months.

Honestly, for the upgrade that you want, you'd be better off buying a computer on IBUYPOWER.com. I've looked at building my own desktop, my hubby is all about upgrading his desktop. He's purchased two computers from that website, and if he were to build the exact same style of computer as he purchased all together, he would have spent at least 40% more than the bundle cost.

However, if you are looking to build your own for whatever reason, Newegg and Tiger Direct are two of the better websites for finding the components. Just be sure to double check thoroughly that all components that you buy are compatible. The Motherboard and processor chip set are the most important. Also if you buy the higher end Nvidia video card (not sure what the newest model is called) that you have enough power supply to support the video card (especially if you want to overclock- it) and the other parts and pieces. With newer computer parts you'll need at least a 750w or 800w to run everything and 1000w if you want to overclock.

After owning several name brand laptops and dealing with many other name brand desktops (I've fixed many for friends and family) I have come to the conclusion that brand name computers suck. They are full of crap when you first buy them, have operations that eat up your PC memory and make them slower than grandma driving up a hill with her brakes on. Avoid name brand computers like the plague.

JimmyB27 said:

One of you guys must know all this stuff backwards - any advice?

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Back in 2002 or so I built a PC from parts I bought from newegg.com. I remember the reviews there being most helpful, and the components are listed according to categories that made it easy to find parts in my price/requirements range.

PC components are mostly so standardized that it's easy to build your own.

The main drawback is that if something goes wrong, there's no single manufacturer to ask for help.

Dale

He decided to buy a Dell.

The market these days is not very friendly to building PCs (especially laptops).

You're better off buying a PC and customizing it to take out what you can get elsewhere cheaper or better ie vid, sound, burner/blu ray, ram, etc.

The technology changes so fast you're really best off getting a middle grade system every 2-3 years. Things are literally at the point now where in 3 years the system is 4-10+ times better in every way and that gap is only going to increase with time.

You can't really compete by upgrading your vid card and ram like in the past anymore.

the_Unknown said:

The market these days is not very friendly to building PCs (especially laptops).

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This is a peculiar statement. What do you mean by this? From my experience, even those who like, can and do build their own box (or boxes) rarely go for building their own laptop. It can be done, but even those who're experienced in building boxes avoid building laptops for the sheer sh!tload of trouble it will cause. I think only a person possessed would attempt such a thing--most of the people here will not build either a box or laptop, even if they have the knowledge.

the_Unknown said:

You're better off buying a PC and customizing it to take out what you can get elsewhere cheaper or better ie vid, sound, burner/blu ray, ram, etc.

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Customising a base/basic machine is, for those who would build, a not-too-agreeable compromise. It also depends on what the box is being used for. Not a good suggestion for those putting together a high end graphics or gaming machine.

the_Unknown said:

The technology changes so fast you're really best off getting a middle grade system every 2-3 years. Things are literally at the point now where in 3 years the system is 4-10+ times better in every way and that gap is only going to increase with time.

You can't really compete by upgrading your vid card and ram like in the past anymore.

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Again, this depends. Most of the people, even if they choose a PC, will not have to upgrade every 2-3 years.For those who utilise a stand-alone PC, that is used mainly for word processing, the difference in speed will be negligible.