EPTAlso would it be wise to put one together yourself if you have never done it before? I'm pretty technical so I like to believe I could figure it out but I'm not going to make such an investment without feeling somewhat comfortable I can do it. Thanks!
Computer Build Resource Thread - Page 428
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nam nam
Sweden4672 Posts
Also would it be wise to put one together yourself if you have never done it before? I'm pretty technical so I like to believe I could figure it out but I'm not going to make such an investment without feeling somewhat comfortable I can do it. Thanks! | ||
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
On July 21 2011 02:55 nam nam wrote: Hi all! I have mainly experience with laptops and I've never build a stationary myself (although I've tinkered a little bit). I'm just wondering what the main advantage/reasons there is to build one yourself? Is it mainly a cost issue? How much is the difference generally compared to a finished model? Or is it more so you get the kind of hardware you want? Also would it be wise to put one together yourself if you have never done it before? I'm pretty technical so I like to believe I could figure it out but I'm not going to make such an investment without feeling somewhat comfortable I can do it. Thanks! Well, all the people who build their own now built one for the first time at some point, and it's gotten nothing but easier as the availability of parts and information became more mainstream. There's great guides available on youtube, I'm a fan of the Hardwarecanucks one myself. The advantages come in optimization and money saving. Why get a low quality 600w PSU when a high quality 430w will do? Why get an i7 when an i5 is all your needs require? Don't want to OC, don't get a P67 or Z68 motherboard. Pay a premium for faster memory that provides less performance gain than stepping up to a better binned CPU? That's silly, why do that? All in all, you can pick the parts you actually have a use for, for what you specifically intend to do, all without paying huge premiums to some boutique builder with a shady reputation and shit customer service. | ||
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ensign_lee
United States1178 Posts
I was actually pretty slow on the learning curve and it took me like 5 hours to figure out how to put my first computer together, but I still think it was well worth it. Plus, getting to choose your components yourself is a pretty nice advantage in and of itself, not only for quality, but for aesthetics. This may be less important to you than to me though. :D Oh, and a hidden problem will be that once you know how to put things together, you may end up liking it, so you'll keep seeing "deals" on newegg and want to buy them! :D | ||
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nam nam
Sweden4672 Posts
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Rachnar
France1526 Posts
On July 21 2011 03:12 nam nam wrote: Ok thanks guys. I'll check out some guides so I'll get a better idea of it. Then there is just the issue of choosing what parts you want. better warranty also genarally, and you can build "upgradable" computers if you know you will want to change some parts at a moment or another | ||
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ensign_lee
United States1178 Posts
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shadowy
Bulgaria305 Posts
thank you so much. your input was incredable and exactly what i was looking for. | ||
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Retgery
Canada1229 Posts
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
Yes, there's plentiful guides available. This is the most recommended one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcR8Fl8cwZk If you still don't understand it from the video guide than the manuals will have detailed instructions. Every component plugs in one way so you can't mess up. The only cables that don't plug in one way are the on/off, reset, and led cables. It takes less than thirty minutes for me to assemble but it will probably take you an hour or two if it's your first time building. ninjaed -.- | ||
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
But yeah, assembling a PC is incredibly simple if you're patient and able to follow instructions. And to answer the question you'll ask when you try it: Yes, that unpleasant crunchy squishy sensation when seating the CPU is perfectly normal. | ||
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Rachnar
France1526 Posts
On July 21 2011 04:50 JingleHell wrote:And to answer the question you'll ask when you try it: Yes, that unpleasant crunchy squishy sensation when seating the CPU is perfectly normal. Creep the hell out of me the first time i did it  | ||
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ensign_lee
United States1178 Posts
On July 21 2011 04:53 Rachnar wrote: Creep the hell out of me the first time i did it lol Fyeah. I was like *(&@^*(@^&*(@ OSHIT DID I JUST BREAK MY COMPUTER ALREADY OH LAWDY... Then, my computer booted up after I put everything else together and I was like "phew" | ||
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
On July 21 2011 04:53 Rachnar wrote: Creep the hell out of me the first time i did it Still creeps the hell out of me, and I don't know how many times I've done it. I think it's kind of like going to the clinic to get checked for the gift that keeps on giving. Even if you know you shouldn't have anything, you're still paranoid until you see the results. | ||
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Aranaukin
United States60 Posts
What is your budget? $800-1000 USD What is your resolution? My resolution is 1920 x 1200, I'd like to run dual monitors the secondary monitor I have is 1680x1050 What are you using it for? I will be Gaming, Streaming my games and Streaming a radio show with some Video streaming (from a webcam), I will also be using AutoCAD for my college classes and possibly some MATLAB programs. Games I Play include: SC2, TF2, and Crysis 2. I do a bunch of multitasking on my pc for example, watching streams/netflix while gaming as well as listening to music and talking on skype. Also I would like to stream in High Quality 1080p preferably. (I have 30 down/ 5 up internet connection so that shouldn't be an issue) What is your upgrade cycle? My upgrade cycle is about 2+ years. As with the computer I have now, I haven't touched it in 3 years with upgrades and that's normally how I upgrade. When do you plan on building it? I'm moving august 23rd so I'd like to have it built and working smoothly a few weeks before, so between august 1st-15th Do you plan on overclocking? I really don't have the slightest clue about overclocking at all, However if i can get more performance safely from it it's definitely something I'm interested in. Do you need an Operating System? I have windows 7 and will be getting windows 7 student version from my university which I won't be including in the price of the build. Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? Currently I have no plans for SLI or Crossfire, however it's an option for the future. Where are you buying your parts from? I normally like to buy my parts from newegg, tigerdirect, or amazon. My area doesn't have a good store I can go to in person. Additional Info I will not be needing any hard drives for this build, I have 2 1tb drives + 1 velociraptor 300GB drive. I would like to have 5.1 surround sound preferably integrated on the main board, unless there is a good reason to do otherwise via soundcard. A ps2 keyboard port is necessary and several USB ports. I would also Like an E-sata as I have an external E-sata external hard drive. I will be needing a new pc Case as well, I don't plan on bringing this to any LANs as I have a gaming laptop so it doesn't need to be mobile. I would like to be able to burn DVD, CD, and BLU Ray as well as playing all of those. | ||
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Malikari
Canada45 Posts
Questions answered: + Show Spoiler + What is your budget? About $900-1000 CAD, I've spent much of it already (below) What is your resolution? 1920x1080 What are you using it for? Mostly gaming, such as SCII, Civ V, the new Elder Scrolls game, Diablo 3, The Witcher 2, Minecraft, etc. School work too, just basic office stuff and MATLAB, Maple 14, simple stuff really. What is your upgrade cycle? 3+ years, but I may do a small upgrade within a year. When do you plan on building it? Very, very soon. This week hopefully. Do you plan on overclocking? Yup Do you need an Operating System? Nope, free through uni. Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? No. Where are you buying your parts from? I like to use ncix.com. Canada Computers has been good to me sometimes as well ^^ So, I've been wanting to build for awhile now, and so I've been amassing enough money throughout this summer. I've already bought a few parts that I've seen in recent sales, listed below: + Show Spoiler [Parts Bought Already] + CPU: i5-2500k $200 RAM: Mushkin Silverline 8GB $55 -> $25 AMIR Case/HSF: Fractal Design Define R3 + Noctua NH-U13P SE2 $100 (^_^) HDD: WD Caviar Green 2TB HDD $65 SDD: OCZ Solid 3 60GB SSD $100 -> $80 AMIR Some DVD Drive $10 Current Total: $530 + 13% = $598.90 And $548.90 if those rebates go through. So, in the spirit of keeping costs as low as possible, how is this for the remainder of the build? PSU: XFX 450W PRO450W Core Edition Pricematched with this. $56.16 -> $47.01, $10 off AMIR GPU: XFX Radeon HD 6870 $184.99 -> $154.99 AMIR Mobo: MSI P67A-G43 (B3) $124.99 -> $104.99 AMIR These are the parts I'm the least sure about, how did I do? Anywhere I can save a bit of money? Thanks | ||
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Dannnnn_The_Man
United States166 Posts
Do you guys recommend me reinstall (i literally just installed yesterday so theres not much on it) then install windows on the hdd then just install the games on the SSD? | ||
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JingleHell
United States11308 Posts
And use of the SSD depends on how you use your PC. If you don't reboot frequently, it may not be worth having your OS on it. | ||
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skyR
Canada13817 Posts
On July 21 2011 05:40 Malikari wrote: Hi guys ^^ Questions answered: + Show Spoiler + What is your budget? About $900-1000 CAD, I've spent much of it already (below) What is your resolution? 1920x1080 What are you using it for? Mostly gaming, such as SCII, Civ V, the new Elder Scrolls game, Diablo 3, The Witcher 2, Minecraft, etc. School work too, just basic office stuff and MATLAB, Maple 14, simple stuff really. What is your upgrade cycle? 3+ years, but I may do a small upgrade within a year. When do you plan on building it? Very, very soon. This week hopefully. Do you plan on overclocking? Yup Do you need an Operating System? Nope, free through uni. Do you plan to add a second GPU for SLI or Crossfire? No. Where are you buying your parts from? I like to use ncix.com. Canada Computers has been good to me sometimes as well ^^ So, I've been wanting to build for awhile now, and so I've been amassing enough money throughout this summer. I've already bought a few parts that I've seen in recent sales, listed below: + Show Spoiler [Parts Bought Already] + CPU: i5-2500k $200 RAM: Mushkin Silverline 8GB $55 -> $25 AMIR Case/HSF: Fractal Design Define R3 + Noctua NH-U13P SE2 $100 (^_^) HDD: WD Caviar Green 2TB HDD $65 SDD: OCZ Solid 3 60GB SSD $100 -> $80 AMIR Some DVD Drive $10 Current Total: $530 + 13% = $598.90 And $548.90 if those rebates go through. So, in the spirit of keeping costs as low as possible, how is this for the remainder of the build? PSU: XFX 450W PRO450W Core Edition Pricematched with this. $56.16 -> $47.01, $10 off AMIR GPU: XFX Radeon HD 6870 $184.99 -> $154.99 AMIR Mobo: MSI P67A-G43 (B3) $124.99 -> $104.99 AMIR These are the parts I'm the least sure about, how did I do? Anywhere I can save a bit of money? Thanks Yep, that's a good configuration. You took advantage of NCIX's rare amazing sale -.^ | ||
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Myrmidon
United States9452 Posts
Nah, you want all sorts of random DLLs and system stuff to be on the SSD for sure. It's not just loading the OS. If any of those games are multiplayer and you have to wait on other people to load, you may as well also put them on mechanical storage. You can also symlink the Desktop directory (and maybe even some game installs) to a location on the mechanical drive. That way the desktop location will actually be on the hard drive, so you can continue to use it as before and just download stuff to there. I'm guessing it's not just a matter of the default download directory, but rather using the desktop space to manage files. Just make sure to back things up in case you do something stupid. | ||
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