OT: Buying vs. building your own computer

[Renegade 13]

You may have noticed from my other thread that I'm buying a new computer. What I'd like to know is if I should build it myself or buy it pre-assembled. If I build it, it'll probably save a significant amount of money, but I have no experience building them myself.

Is there any way a person like me who has never even seen a computer being assembled could build one? Are there any comprehensive, almost idiot-proof tutorials I could find to help me through it?

Any help would be great.

[Suicide Junkie]

The manual for the motherboard should take you through the steps of plugging in a CPU and wiring most things up. It'll have exact diagrams too.

For the most part, you shouldn't have any trouble, since everything has its own shape/size of connector.

[douglas]

Putting together a computer these days is actually pretty simple. Almost everything either has a very obvious place to go or is detailed in the motherboard manual.

[Iron Giant]

Its not rocket science. If you can work on anything with your hands (car, carpentry, etc) you could work on a PC.

Its just (like anything) the first time you probably want a friend to walk you through it.

The biggest thing to worry about is static electricity. Plant your feet, don't shuffle around while handling RAM or other components. Walking accross the carpet and picking up a piece of RAM and walking back can kill it.

[Caduceus]

I built a system from the ground up a few weeks with very little problem, aside from a defective DVD+R drive, which is away at the hospital getting fixed, everything is going well.

It depends on what you want. I mean, you can get a mid-range Dell, which will last you years or you can spend the time (and a little extra money) to get quality components and have the satisfaction of playing SEV on a computer you designed and built with your own hands.

[Ed Kolis]

A salesman at Micro Center told me it was actually cheaper to buy a prebuilt computer than build your own... and you know what? It is... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[Timstone]

Another tricky question.
Look at my answer in this (http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/threads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=369867&page=0&view=collap sed&sb=5&o=&fpart=1) thread. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif

Again, I don't mean anything bad with this.

[Fyron]

Ed Kolis said:
A salesman at Micro Center told me it was actually cheaper to buy a prebuilt computer than build your own... and you know what? It is... http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

If you are shopping at a retail store, sure. Retail always has screwey prices.

[Iron Giant]

Back when I was totally broke and trying to keep up with PC speeds I would look at the CompUSA ads every sunday and find parts on sale with rebates. A motherboard here, processor there and then a sale on RAM and I'd be able to swap my stuff into my old PC and keep it going. It can take a while to get all the parts together, but it can be done if you know what works with what.

[Electrum]

the last pre-built computer I bought ran Windows 3.1. I've built everything since then. Right now, it's hard to resist the attractive pricing on Dells, Gateways, etc. With the exception of the budget, bottom of the line units, the price is pretty comparable for what you get. The advantage of a build you own will be more apparent next year, when you want to upgrade something. Computer manufacturers have one objective, and that is make you buy another computer. To do this ,they severely limit the amount of ungradability their units have.
If you build your own, you can build for the future. For example, if you by a motherboard that can handle the latest, greatest generation of processors, even though you can put in a proccessor more reasonably priced, later, when pricing becomes attractive, a processor upgrade is possible, easy, and a lot cheaper than a whole new machine.
Another factor to consider is that many computer manufacturers are linking the software, including the OS to the hardware. If you decide to upgrade your motherboard, you may find that Windows will no longe work.

[Baron Munchausen]

The word is that 'build your own' is usually cheaper for a given system spec. The 'prebuilt' system might seem cheaper but that is only a good deal if you actually want a system that meets the cookie-cutter specs. If you want a better than average video card or more RAM than the standard spec they start charging you 'upgrade fees' at a much steeper rate than buying your own parts would cost. If you assess what you really want as opposed to what the current cheapie has, you'll see some major differences. Once the upgrades to the "standard" are figured in, the self-built is cheaper.

The only issues is, how confident are you putting it together? Some people are intimidated by the thought of assembling all those expensive parts. If you've done any tinkering with electronics before, it's pretty likely you'll be able to put your computer togther correctly.

[narf poit chez BOOM]

Rest your wrists on the metal case. It grounds you and isn't connected to the parts.

[parabolize]

narf poit chez BOOM said:
Rest your wrists on the metal case. It grounds you and isn't connected to the parts.


Open your computer and look at the motherboard. Look for some screws holding the motherboard to the case. They look gold or copper don't they? Why do you think that is? Only ground yourself with the case if you can't do anything else. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Thermodyne]

If you know how, build it. If you are a newb and it's a second system, build it. If your a newb and it will be your main rig, buy it from Mikey.

[Caduceus]

I built my new system with little experience (I had changed the video card and added RAM to my previous machine). I did a fair amount of reading ("Building the Perfect PC", Tom's Hardware, CNet, NewEgg, etc.) before doing anything. I also watched prices for a while.

[tesco samoa]

building is easy. just read the manuals and follow the instructions. it is very easy and will save you a ton of coin... Take a look at a 1200 dell system, You could build a better system with a 64 bit amd , dual harddrives, better sound and video card for 800....

Plus building the pc will help you with troubleshooting and doing tiny upgrades down the road.

And the satisfaction of building something that works.

You could take a few days pricing out stuff... Either start with the AMD cpu you want and then find the recommened motherboards , video cards or Pick a motherboard and work you way out that way.

AMD CPU's will save you a ton of coin over intel... The price of a video card http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

As for cases I recommend you spend a little money and get a good case where you can remove both sides to get at everything , and also get a good powersupply, and good fans for proper ventalation.

ncix would be a good place to start for pricing out a system.

[Renegade 13]

Thermodyne said:
If you know how, build it. If you are a newb and it's a second system, build it. If your a newb and it will be your main rig, buy it from Mikey.



New at it, will be primary machine, but not for a while. So I think I'll go ahead, build it, then have a while to find out what I did wrong, fix it, etc etc, then maybe when I need it down the road, it'll be ready http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

[Suicide Junkie]

Having a second machine running while you build the first one is the best...

You can google whenever you're not sure, and you can ask us quick questions any time. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

[Renegade 13]

Beware, I'll probably be asking a lot of questions! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/tongue.gif

[rdouglass]

Just my $.02

For my home computers, I've built them myself for years and saved a lot shopping around. Just be sure you're buying compatible parts. It really is not that difficult anymore, at least not the way it used to be.

I've always found good deals (lots of rebates and stuff) on parts, 'barebones' machines, refurbs, and accessories at TigerDirect.com and they have a lot of stuff there to assit in putting it together. Been having very good luck with them for years.

[El_Phil]

That has always amazed me, the compatability of parts. You can get a processor fabbed in Ireland put on a motherboard from South Korea, chuck in some Taiwanese RAM and a power supply from down the road and it will work. There is no other industry where every single component can be made by a different company and you know they'll all work together.

As long as you get the standards right. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

[Thermodyne]

For a first time builder the biggest problem comes when you get a DOA part. It can be extremely hard for a newbie to find where the problem lies.

[Renegade 13]

Question: At my university dorm, I will have access to T1 internet (at least, that's what they tell me). What kind of hardware will I need for that??

Also, a generic modem will work just fine for dial-up, right?

One more; a 9-in-1 card reader? What is it?

[Will]

If they say T1 access, most likely they mean you'll be on an internal network that has (at least) one T1 line going out. One T1 isn't that much for an entire university... maybe for one building. You'll need some kind of ethernet jack, whether on the system board or on a PCI card. You'll also want a CAT5 (or CAT5e, or CAT6...) cable.

You have access to T1 line... why do you want a modem? But yeah, a generic modem would be fine. I wasn't aware there was any other kind http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

9-in-one could mean a lot of things. It basically means it reads 9 out of the bajillion formats of memory cards out there. So that means, SD cards, flash cards, flash sticks, etc. I've seen some that include a floppy drive as well.

[Renegade 13]

I think the T1 line is for the one residence building.
Would an "Integrated Gigabit Network Adapter" fit the bill?

Heh, well I want the modem for when I'm at home, since at home we only have dial-up http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/cool.gif

How important is a floppy drive to have these days in a new computer??

[narf poit chez BOOM]

I've found them usefull. Occasionally, you'll probably want to transfer something that's too small to bother using a whole cd.

Plus, if you like old games...

[Fyron]

Floppy drives are useless most of the time, but you can not use your computer without them on occasion... They are dirt cheap, so there is little reason not to get one.

DO NOT get anything labeled a "WinModem." These devices implement most of their functionality in software, which is a very bad thing. Splurge that extra five bucks to get a decent dial-up modem.

Would an "Integrated Gigabit Network Adapter" fit the bill?

If it has 10/100/1000 somewhere on the label (relating to connection speeds), yes. Your university is likely to still be using 100 base ethernet networks, since 1000 is still fairly new and a waste of money in a dorm network.

[Atrocities]

Buy cheap system - $300.00 then spend $400.00 to upgrade.

Hey, what is a RAID system? And if it is what I think it is, how do you connect extra HD to it?

[Fyron]

A RAID array is using multiple identical hard drives to both increase storage and make data loss more infrequent. The data tends to be located on multiple drives in the array, so one hard drive failing means that you probably won't lose much, if anything. At least, that is what I think RAID arrays are for... Might be just a specialized use for them or something.

[Thermodyne]

Atrocities said:
Buy cheap system - $300.00 then spend $400.00 to upgrade.

Hey, what is a RAID system? And if it is what I think it is, how do you connect extra HD to it?



First you need a raid controller, either onboard or as an add on card. Then you connect more than one drive to it. With two drives you can do a mirror which keeps duplicate data on each drive. Down side, you loose half of the space on the drives, 2-20’s give you 20gigs to use. Loose a drive, you keep all of the data.

Or

You can do a stripe set which will write data to each drive at the same time. Very fast, but loose a drive, loose your data. You also get to use all of the space on the drives.

Or

You can attach three or more drives and do a Raid five. Raid fives maximize disk space, 5-20 gigs give you 80gigs to use/ 3-20's would give you 40 to use. And loose a drive, keep your data.

For storage of high value data, you can do a windows raid. Add two drives, convert them to dynamic and then mirror them. Loose a drive keep your data, and you only get to use half the space. Also, this set up is not bootable.

If you run Windows 2K or 03 server, you can also do a windows Raid 5 with three or more disks.

If you are truly worried about your data, then you need to move up to SCSI drives. If SCSI is the Benz of drives, ATA would fall in somewhere around a Yugo. You can pick up NOS 160 SCSIs for about a dollar a gig and a controller card is less than fifty.


PS: Buy a cheap POS computer, then you own a cheap POS.

[Will]

Atrocities said:Hey, what is a RAID system? And if it is what I think it is, how do you connect extra HD to it?


Depends on the kind of RAID. When in doubt, check the wikipedia {link} (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Redundant_array_of_independent_disks).

[Atrocities]

So a RAID system is really not worth the investment? Just do back ups onto CDRom or DVD and your ok. Thanks for the info guys.

[Suicide Junkie]

I happen to be on HardDrive #7 and #8 due to a bad power supply.

However, due to the ability to read FAT32 partitions in floppy-booting DOS, I have not lost much. It may have taken a couple hours of power cycling, and copying like mad for 60 seconds before the disk destabilized and went whirr-scrape-clunk, but it was done http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif

Backups are very important and will save you a ton of hassle when murphy inevitably comes to visit.

[Thermodyne]

Raid is worth the money. It can save your data or give you speed, which ever you need. And SATA raids and drives are cheep these days.

[rdouglass]

Thermodyne said:

Also, this set up is not bootable.



Everything else you said is spot-on but this is not true. They are indeed bootable even if you're RAID'ing with Windows and not true Hardware RAID - I do it all the time; Win2K, Win2K3, you name it....

[Thermodyne]

rdouglass said:
Thermodyne said:

Also, this set up is not bootable.



Everything else you said is spot-on but this is not true. They are indeed bootable even if you're RAID'ing with Windows and not true Hardware RAID - I do it all the time; Win2K, Win2K3, you name it....



Areed. With good hardware yes, but several popular desktop chipsets do not support it, and will corrupt the boot loader. So my answer in a forum such as this is that it is not bootable.