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Online custom built PCs
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McDung
Junior Member
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11. July 2005 @ 11:19 |
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Are any of these online stores any good when it comes to custom building your own PC?
abspc.com
monarchcomputer.com
alienware.com
cyberpowerinc.com
ibuypower.com
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Member
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11. July 2005 @ 13:57 |
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I can vouch for,
monarchcomputer.com
alienware.com
cyberpowerinc.com
ibuypower.com
as I have bought from all of them but tell me one thing, why buy one of these if you can build one yourself for hundred's less? It really is easy, and you learn alot while building, also there is a certain satification of getting it done and setting back and telling everyone, Hey I Built That!
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furydog
Junior Member
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11. July 2005 @ 21:50 |
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I agree with techguy 26 when you build your own your saving hundreds if not thousands in some cases. I built my newest computer about a month ago and saved about 900 hundred dollars when compared to a system from Alienware and Falcon. But if you don't won't to go through the whole process of shopping around for the best deals or have the money I would recommend the two companies I mentioned above, mainly because they build quality machines with good service to back it up.
P4 3.73 Extreme Edition
Hitachi Deskstar 7K500
2 WD Raptor drives all in Raid
Msi Nvidia 7800gtx
2 Plextor Sata Dvd Burners
Msi P4N Diamond
4 GB Kingston PC 4200
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AfterDawn Addict
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11. July 2005 @ 22:20 |
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it really does not take a huge amount of skill to build your own PC. you can find tons of step-by-step guides online that would help. That way you would save a LOT of money buying all the components individually, and you can tailor your computer to exactly what you want, and not have to pay more money for things you don't need. if you still want to buy a computer online, as far as gaming goes alienware is pretty much on top, but expensive!!
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McDung
Junior Member
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11. July 2005 @ 23:59 |
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tell me one thing, why buy one of these if you can build one yourself for hundred's less?
I've never built a PC before, was contemplating on building one myself, but it seems intimidating. The thought of me breaking the processor when installing it into the mobo or something breaking keeps playing in my head. I've no clue where to install the fan, where to put thermal grease, will the parts fit the case, do I have enough cooling, brands to avoid, etc. The only time I've ever worked with a PC was when I installed some RAM, HD and a DVD-RW. I'm worried about me building a PC and it's going to end up a "hack job" where I would be constantly tweaking, fixing or making adjustments because I did not set something correctly in the first place.
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you can find tons of step-by-step guides online that would help.
I've tried looking for some online guides but most seems outdated. I'd like a very detailed guide with lots of pictures. Do you know any up to date guides?
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Alien13
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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12. July 2005 @ 00:18 |
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12. July 2005 @ 13:51 |
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I would be constantly tweaking, fixing or making adjustments because I did not set something correctly in the first place.
well welcome to computers!!! especially gaming one's, it seems each game works better with a few adjustments here and there. and it seems changing one setting alters others, but it is not that hard and you have all of us to guide you, dropping a processor into a socket is easier than seating ram, and if you have put all these things into your existing computer building another is easy, oh and on your first build buy all retail parts not oem each part will come with very detailed instructions, motherboards I would recommend asus as mine came with a book that had pictures and was very detailed, also if you do want to build ask for suggestions to part's
1st what would you like to do with your new pc? as in mutitasking,gaming, video editing, encoding, ripping movies. what is the order of priority to you.
2nd what will your budget be? that way with a few suggestions you can weigh the pro's and con's of prebuilt and a custom built pc.
3rd these companies play on the fears of people and computers. thats why they make money.
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McDung
Junior Member
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12. July 2005 @ 23:23 |
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Now im not sure if this is ok ,but here's one>
That guide has Pentium II processor. Will the same steps follow for more up to date PCs?
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1st what would you like to do with your new pc? as in mutitasking,gaming, video editing, encoding, ripping movies. what is the order of priority to you.
Mostly multitasking, Photoshop CS2, Illustrator, Quark, video encoding, editing. Gaming is not really a priority but would like to be able to run newer games on it's average settings.
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2nd what will your budget be? that way with a few suggestions you can weigh the pro's and con's of prebuilt and a custom built pc.
Somewhere around $1200(Monitor, keyboard, speakers, etc not included) but I don't want to "cut corners" so I'm still willing to shell out a few more dollars. What I have in mind is basically an AMD 3500 or higher, 1 Gig RAM, 256 MB Video Card DVI, a DVD-RW that can booktype, Windows XP Pro. A fast and huge HD and a sound card isn't high on my priority. Will that fit in the $1200 range?
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3rd these companies play on the fears of people and computers. thats why they make money.
Would I be better off money-wise with an independent local computer shop?
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Senior Member
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13. July 2005 @ 09:12 |
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alien13.... isnt that guide a little bit old....
I, personally, am a big fan of overclocked Celeron processors for home computers, but since they're not quite a plug-and-go proposition, a proper Pentium II 350 is a decently fast
lol
anyway... McDung
I remember the first time I built my own pc. my friend did his and he explained to me how to do it and assured me it was easy.
That was a few years ago now with win98 but the ammount of trouble i had was unbelievable.... wrongly formatted and partitioned drive, floppy cable inserted wrong way, wrong type of ram bought, incompatible drivers, under-powered power supply and that was just the easy bits.
it ended up costing me more than what it would to buy in a store but i learned a lot of lessons that year which helped in the future.
Sure it is easy to build a pc if you know how, i often build them for my friends and it takes me roughly 1- 2 hours from the components arriving to getting a working pc playing games perfectly.
but if you have never done it before i would reccomend getting it bought from a store.
then after you have owned the pc for a while look into getting upgrades. as you install new parts one by one you will become used to where each component goes and a bit of research on the internet will help make sure you dont buy anything that wont fit and learn you what will fit and how it will effect the pc.
if you do decide to build one your self then the main things to look out for are making sure that before you buy anything that it is compatible with the rest of the components, double check everything before you boot it up for the first time eg connections, motherboard shorting on something left inside, cpu fan's power connector is in place - that sort of stuff. the case should not be a problem as long as it isn't one of those micro cases then everything should fit in so it will be down to how you want it to look.
also you arent really going to break the cpu when installing as long as you handle it correctly. you will not crack the core if you get a decent heat sink and fan but some cheap hsf's need a worrying ammount of force to clip in place. and there are plenty of guides to appling the thermal paste available online.
one is here
http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm
anyway hope that helps a bit.
oh and as for enough cooling - if your not going to be overclocking then the standard amd heatsink and fan that comes with retail cpu's will do fine, and add 2 case fans if you can 1 at the front sucking air in and one at the back blowing it out
Its a shame you don't live in england i could build you a kick ass pc for that ammount of money that would play new games well above average and do everything else you would need.
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent...
J. Robert Oppenheimer
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. July 2005 @ 09:21
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Member
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13. July 2005 @ 09:29 |
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How much soldering is there to be done when you build your own P.C..The main reason I want to build a PC is that I want to run 4 optical drives in one tower and I need a custom box to do that. I would like one that has a door on the side of the tower so you can change out parts and drives easily. Is this hard to do?
AMD 64X2 3800 Dual Core CPU
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe MB-Seasonic600WPSU-WDRAPTORX150GIG HD 10,000RPM/WDCaviar SE 16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive/V/C MSI ATI ProTD-256E XI1600/2X1Gig Corsair XPS ram@3-3-3-8 1T
BenQ1640X3/BenQ1655/1650/1620/LG4163/Nec3520/3540
alan1476
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Senior Member
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13. July 2005 @ 09:40 |
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you can buy a case that will fit in 4 optical drives. pretty much all do.
and there is no soldiering in building a pc unless you do some extreme customisation.
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent...
J. Robert Oppenheimer
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Senior Member
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13. July 2005 @ 09:45 |
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We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent...
J. Robert Oppenheimer
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McDung
Junior Member
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13. July 2005 @ 11:25 |
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but if you have never done it before i would reccomend getting it bought from a store.
then after you have owned the pc for a while look into getting upgrades. as you install new parts one by one you will become used to where each component goes and a bit of research on the internet will help make sure you dont buy anything that wont fit and learn you what will fit and how it will effect the pc.
Well, like I've previously said, I've already did previous upgrades on a PC like a new HD, more RAM, ethernet card and a DVD-RW. I've also re-formatted my HD and started from scratch, installed OS, partitioned it yada yada yada. But never built a PC before. Will that experience of me installing those parts be enough to build on on my own?
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if you do decide to build one your self then the main things to look out for are making sure that before you buy anything that it is compatible with the rest of the components, double check everything before you boot it up for the first time eg connections, motherboard shorting on something left inside, cpu fan's power connector is in place - that sort of stuff. the case should not be a problem as long as it isn't one of those micro cases then everything should fit in so it will be down to how you want it to look.
This is my biggest concern in building one on my own.
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Its a shame you don't live in england i could build you a kick ass pc for that ammount of money that would play new games well above average and do everything else you would need.
Are you sure I'd get a lot of PC for $1200 in the UK? I mean, the Pound has been on a downward slide against the Dollar lately.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 13. July 2005 @ 11:26
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Member
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13. July 2005 @ 14:05 |
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Member
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13. July 2005 @ 15:44 |
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You left out the software and the O.P. system etc. but what you have sounds awesome. I'll bet with 2000 grand you can build a real top of the line tower.
AMD 64X2 3800 Dual Core CPU
Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe MB-Seasonic600WPSU-WDRAPTORX150GIG HD 10,000RPM/WDCaviar SE 16 WD2500KS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive/V/C MSI ATI ProTD-256E XI1600/2X1Gig Corsair XPS ram@3-3-3-8 1T
BenQ1640X3/BenQ1655/1650/1620/LG4163/Nec3520/3540
alan1476
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Alien13
Suspended due to non-functional email address
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13. July 2005 @ 17:54 |
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Yeah it is old. I dont know why i used that one i thought i had coppied a different one (Coz i have sum bookmarked) :)
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coolkhas4
Newbie
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13. July 2005 @ 19:16 |
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HEY MCDung,
Man i know how you feel i recently( 1 week ago built my OWN computer) at first i was unbelievably scared as to if i would have all the right parts, would i be able to get everything in a $500 budget, ...and just plain old nerous. But then I said to myself Doom 3 and Half life 2 look really good and i want to play them... which was my inspiration...i called up a friend(MAJOR techie) and asked him to help me build a comp.
Well everything he told me i went AGAINST... I CHOSE ON MY OWN!!! firs he told em what to look for in a good part and such then i started to look for better prices and deals that he had ovelooked.... after abot a month of finding parts MAKEING SURE THEY WERE COMPATIBLE, i finally presented all this to my dad and he was proud and ordered my parts.
5 days ago i got my arts in and called up my friend and told him to come over and help me put this thing toether... it was gonna take him 2 hours to get to my house... me .. hehe im a very impatient person... during the time it took my friend to arrive i put my mobo in the case, installed my power supply.. but held off on the processer because just like you i did not want to crack the core of a 150 dollar proc... well when he came ove he said look at the instructions and just put it over the holes.. I said errr ok ,, and found out that they use a Zero Fore Insertion just drop it alligned properly and ur done... heatsink/cooling fan goes rigt ver the proc, which was a breeze to install .. an they rest like the HD, RAM, Vid CArd was oo so very easy to install... basically just slide em in the slots.. Whoo and I WAS DONE!!
Specs Of MY VERY OWN Comp:
Amd Athlon 64 300+ $150
Foxconn NF4UK8AA Motherboard $100
NVidia GeForce 6600 GT $165
Ultra Dragon case with 500Watt PSU $120-$60(rebates)<< tiger drect
pQi 512 MB RAM $35
Got every thing from NEWEGG.COM except for the case>>> TIGERDIRECT.COM
BOTh very GOOD sites ,, o and newegg shipped 2 days earlier than scheduled date.... Newegg ROCKS.....
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McDung
Junior Member
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14. July 2005 @ 02:36 |
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Thanks y'all for the replies, keep it coming. Looks like I'll be saving a bunch of money by switching to newegg.
To techguy26
The whole thing plus XP pro would cost me around $1400 including taxes and shipping, not bad at all.
Can you suggest another case with PSU or a case and PSU? I've read reviews on the Aspire case you've mentioned. The reviews say that some had PSU issues with the case. Should I just ignore those comments and go with the Aspire? If I go with the Aspire and do some OC'ing in the future, will the cooling be sufficient?
Can you also suggest another video card/s which is just a step below the one you've suggested?
And for warranties, do you guys feel the need for an extended warranty with this setup or will the manufacturer/store warranty be enough? Should you throw away the boxes and just keep the receipts and manuals, will those be enough in case some warranty issues happen *knock on wood*?
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djbandit
Junior Member
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14. July 2005 @ 09:33 |
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I have only owned 1 PC for about 5 years now. I have done many upgrades to it but it's only a matter of time before I get myself another one.
I paid $850 for my PC which was suppose to have a P4 but instead had a Celeron. Got screwed there and it was too late by the time I found out. I had moved to far away to make a big deal out of it. First think I did when I got it was take it apart, keep in mind I had never done this before. All I knew I had either just seen it or read it somewhere. I put it back together and worked just fine. My brother thought I was stupid for spending $850 and then take it apart risking breaking it.
I don't feel its that hard to build your own PC if you do your homework. Putting the pieces together is a delicate process but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to do it. Just be careful. Make sure you get the right parts and no big deal. And about the tweaking part, there is nothing better than tweaking a PC to your liking to get the most from it. There are so many places online that can help you with that and so many programs that can makwe it easier.
Take the chance and join the rest of us in this great world of building the PC and sticking it to the computer stores for selling expensive PCs with unnecesary software and hardware.
What comes around goes around.
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Senior Member
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14. July 2005 @ 10:35 |
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Are you sure I'd get a lot of PC for $1200 in the UK? I mean, the Pound has been on a downward slide against the Dollar lately.
yes you would, especially if this price does not include monitor & kb etc
$1200 = £683
at a guess i would say you could get with that ath64 3500 (£160) 1.5 gig ram (£75) 200gb hdd (£70) ati x800 pro (£160) dvd writer (£30) and a nice looking case (£60 - £80) - with some change left over. (£75 - £85 on motherboard)
And if you post on this site what you are thinking of buying before you order im sure there will be plenty of people will tell you if something is not going to be compatible.
Unless you have no experience of what goes where and does what inside a pc i suppose its not going to be easy to make a mistake.
you already know how to install the os and connect the ide drives, ram and pci cards and unless you are careless the cpu will be easy to fit too.
if you get into any real trouble im sure your local pc store will put the parts togeather correctly for you for a small price.
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent...
J. Robert Oppenheimer
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 14. July 2005 @ 10:41
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Member
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14. July 2005 @ 14:30 |
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McDung
Junior Member
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15. July 2005 @ 09:32 |
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Looks like I'm almost all set. By the way how would ou rate the 6800gt on a scale of 1-100 and the 6800? Just wanna know how much I would be missing out on. I'd like to have a PC by third week of August, so should I splurge now or wait till around the 2nd week of August to see if prices will drop *keeping fingers crossed*?
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as far as what to keep when done, I would keep every box manual reciept, you know what I'm saying keep everything.
For how long shoud I keep the boxes? Is it safe to say that if the PC is running fine after a month I can dispose some of them? I mean, I don't want to make a nest for rats and cockroaches and those would be a lot of boxes.
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Senior Member
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15. July 2005 @ 13:29 |
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I would advise keeping all boxes manuals and reciepts for the full length of the warrranty they come with.
The store you bought the item from will not accept a return without the original packaging in most cases, although if you do not keep the boxes the manufacturer will still accept a returned item as long as you have the reciept but then you will have to mess about obtaining an rma number, shipping the broken item off and a long wait before you get a replacement - the last time i did this was with a graphics card and this needed to be returned to germany for testing!
they did end up sending me a brand new and more powerful card back after 6 weeks or so so it wasn't all bad.
We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent...
J. Robert Oppenheimer
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McDung
Junior Member
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16. July 2005 @ 08:16 |
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I guess I'll just hold on to the mobo, cpu, and graphics card's boxes till the warranty expires.
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