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New PC
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1 product review
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15. September 2011 @ 14:40 |
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Sorry if this is in the wrong forum.
I'm getting a new pc probably around christmas time.
Could anyone advise me on whether to build my own or should I just buy one built.
I only really use it to watch live streams of footy and boxing. The wife uses it for everyday stuff, email/facebook/photos/burning cd's/shopping/etc, etc.
Any advice on new builds or completes, cost/difficulty/products/tutorials would be very appreciated, thanks. 2dogs
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Griff88
Junior Member
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15. September 2011 @ 15:16 |
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Building a computer is not hard... as long as you do your research, take your time, and pay attention to what your doing.
Sounds like all you need is a mid range/budget system. Look around, see what your local, and online vendors are charging for the system you want. Once you have an idea for a price, you can come here or another tech forum... and see if a similar computer can be pieced together for a more reasonable price.
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1 product review
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15. September 2011 @ 15:27 |
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Originally posted by Griff88:
Building a computer is not hard... as long as you do your research, take your time, and pay attention to what your doing.
Sounds like all you need is a mid range/budget system. Look around, see what your local, and online vendors are charging for the system you want. Once you have an idea for a price, you can come here or another tech forum... and see if a similar computer can be pieced together for a more reasonable price.
Thanks for the quick reply Griff88.
So is it usualy cheaper to build your own?
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Griff88
Junior Member
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15. September 2011 @ 16:09 |
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Originally posted by 2dogsfighting71:
Originally posted by Griff88:
Building a computer is not hard... as long as you do your research, take your time, and pay attention to what your doing.
Sounds like all you need is a mid range/budget system. Look around, see what your local, and online vendors are charging for the system you want. Once you have an idea for a price, you can come here or another tech forum... and see if a similar computer can be pieced together for a more reasonable price.
Thanks for the quick reply Griff88.
So is it usualy cheaper to build your own?
Depending on the system you want it can be. In the State I live in here in the USA, we are charged a local sales tax. I can find parts online cheaper with no tax. That's why you need to look around, and see how much a pre-built system would cost you. Once you know that, then you can see if getting the parts yourself would cost you less money. I found that for the gaming computer I wanted, I could build a system with components that were better and cheaper.
One thing that you need to consider if building your own system. If something goes wrong while your building, or if the system doesn't work when you are done... will it be worth your time and frustration to troubleshoot the problem. For some people, it would be worth paying a bit extra to not deal with hardware issues.
For me it was not just that I could build a system more cheaply. I also wanted to learn about my computer. The last time I had a computer built, something went wrong, and I didn't have a clue as to what it could be. I shipped it back to the people that built it, and after a month I got it back. I found out later it was a simple issue, one that I could easily fix now. Thanks to the experience I have gained, I am now confident that I can troubleshoot and fix any problem that may arise.
So in the end you need to not only think about cost in money, but cost in time as well.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 15. September 2011 @ 16:13
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15. September 2011 @ 17:01 |
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Thanks for the advice Griff.
A lot to think about then.
I live in 'Rip-off Britain' so will probably be paying more than the rest of the world for anything!
I've done a few repairs on consoles and my day job is fixing stuff so if I can find some good tutorials, I think i'm capable.
But like you say...
So in the end you need to not only think about cost in money, but cost in time as well.
How much is a mid range complete compared to a self built one? (£££)
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Griff88
Junior Member
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15. September 2011 @ 20:59 |
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It sounds like you wouldn't have any problems building a computer. You might actually enjoy it. Using my system as an example... I saved almost $400. However, I put in a lot of effort hunting for deals online. I got nice parts for a great price. A few even had rebates, which made it all the better.
I didn't get all my parts in one go. I got a couple of pieces every few weeks. I saved getting the motherboard and CPU for last. In all it took me about 4 months to gather everything I needed. Doing it this way, took longer, but it was eaiser on the wallet.
Something else you might want to consider. Seeing as your not a gamer by the sound of it. Take a look and see how much a nice laptop would cost you. You might find one that has everything you want for a really nice price... just make sure it has a good warranty.
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1 product review
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16. September 2011 @ 14:53 |
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Thanks for the advice Griff.
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Griff88
Junior Member
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16. September 2011 @ 16:05 |
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Originally posted by 2dogsfighting71:
Thanks for the advice Griff.
Your welcome. Hope it helps.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 16. September 2011 @ 16:06
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Griff88
Junior Member
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17. September 2011 @ 13:53 |
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Originally posted by aerocare:
Originally posted by Griff88:
Building a computer is not hard... as long as you do your research, take your time, and pay attention to what your doing.
Sounds like all you need is a mid range/budget system. Look around, see what your local, and online vendors are charging for the system you want. Once you have an idea for a price, you can come here or another tech forum... and see if a similar computer can be pieced together for a more reasonable price.
I know about building computer but what I have been scared of is that the compatibility of the pieces of the computer? Where I can do some research with this?
Thanks
When it comes to compatibility... as long as you are using new parts... about the only issue that might arise is what memory you have paired with the motherboard. Some motherboards are picky when it comes to memory. Some boards might work fine with 4GB, but will start to have fits with more then that. After you select the motherboard you want... go to the board's site and see what they recommend for memory. Read reviews on the motherboard and see what others are using. Outside of that, compatibility shouldn't be an issue.
The bigger issue when it comes to compatibility, will be drivers/software/operating system related.
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mrslicker
Member
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20. September 2011 @ 11:44 |
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For compatibility - Decide on brand/type of cpu. it will have a socket type or lga type (like AMD AM3 or Intel LGA1155) use this to decide on a motherboard that it will fit into. Find the motherboard memory type (like DDR3.)
Find the Form Factor of the motherboard (ATX, Micro-ATX, something like that) and find a suitable case for the board to fit into. Find out what expansion slots are offered on the board, like PCI and PCI-express (different flavors of PCI-E as well) How many ram slots.
The PSU you decide on should be an ATX12v PSU (most likely)- look for the proper connectors and enough wattage- check a psu buying guide found on your search engine for all the details.
Most Hard Drives and CD/DVD drives are sata nowadays (or sata2, sata3)
Sound- Usually built in unless you have different needs than standard. Usually these are PCI or PCI-e (check the moptherboard for the slots before you buy)
Video is often built in to motherboard but those are lax for games, Add-on cards are necessary for A LOT of games on dvd, not so much for web games. - Add-ons are usually PCI-Express and often need a power connector (again, research PSU on a search engine)
Hopefully, that will get you started with compatibility - it takes work to learn but its easy to keep up once you know.
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Senior Member
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26. September 2011 @ 08:34 |
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Don't forget about the http://forums.afterdawn.com/t.cfm/f-216...edition-867265/ thread found in this forum, a gheat deal of good info here. Too bad Newegg doesn't ship across the pond but I am sure you can find a good UK equivalent.
One advantage of buying someone else's rig is that it will come preloaded with more software than you need, again more of a convienience factor.
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1 product review
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27. September 2011 @ 12:44 |
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Originally posted by blivetNC:
Don't forget about the http://forums.afterdawn.com/t.cfm/f-216...edition-867265/ thread found in this forum, a gheat deal of good info here. Too bad Newegg doesn't ship across the pond but I am sure you can find a good UK equivalent.
One advantage of buying someone else's rig is that it will come preloaded with more software than you need, again more of a convienience factor.
Thanks for the advice.
That'll keep me busy for a long time!
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Senior Member
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27. September 2011 @ 20:22 |
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Thanks for the advice.
That'll keep me busy for a long time!
I just bought a new CPU combo kit from Newegg for $420 USD, 6 core AMD processor with an ASUS mobo.should be fun to set up.
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Member
1 product review
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28. September 2011 @ 14:19 |
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I'm really stupid with computers and techy stuff but i've learned quite a bit off Afterdawn.
I think building a pc is beyond my skills and poor knowledge.
It's just took me 17 minutes to log on and write this!
PC is painfully slow whenever it feels like.
It's driving me mad!
I'll just have to put up with it till I can replace it.
Sigh...!
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Senior Member
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28. September 2011 @ 20:36 |
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Originally posted by 2dogsfighting71:
I'm really stupid with computers and techy stuff but i've learned quite a bit off Afterdawn.
I think building a pc is beyond my skills and poor knowledge.
It's just took me 17 minutes to log on and write this!
PC is painfully slow whenever it feels like.
It's driving me mad!
I'll just have to put up with it till I can replace it.
Sigh...!
If you can read, and follow simple steps, you can build a new PC. It took me 2 hours from boxes to complete setup to build mine today.
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