Windows 7: New Computer

Captain Zero · 12 Jun 2009

If you want to read about a ridiculous build, see here.

And I motivation poster I made, for additional inspiration. Sure, building your own PC is a blast, just make sure you have money and time.

kellymac35 · 12 Jun 2009

Quote: Originally Posted by jw12345

As somebody who has built most of his desktops, I'd say it's not really worth it unless you have a lot of free time and are trying to save every dollar possible.

It's not too hard to clobber a pc together, but to really make a solid build, you need to know a lot of details such as PSU rails, effective case cooling, RAID setup (if applicable). And you always run that chance that some piece of hardware you get has a crummy driver or just so happens to act wonky with another. You'll occasionally run into problems where a new build just simply won't boot and install an OS and it might take you all day screwing with it. (I had a problem where Vista simply hung during install and apparently it was some obscure conflict the motherboard was throwing up. This is despite the motherboard coming with a Vista certified emblem)

But if you do have loads of free time, not much cash, and want a very specific build, then go for it. It's just not always as pain-free as it's made out to be.

I spent maybe a month watching you tube videos on building computers before doing my first build.( Not what I would call an expensive education) I spent about the same time on sites like Newegg and Tiger Direct reading product reviews before buying the parts for my first build. It took me 3 hours to assemble my computer and it posted the first time I pressed power. Been up and running almost a year now and stable as rock. I will never purchase another name brand computer....with there proprietary crap. I spent around 1,500 dallars on my system and when I was done I compared it to comparable Dell system coming in around 2,500 dollars. Then there is the satifaction factor. I built this computer it's my baby and know one knows it better than I do. I vote build it youself! Now if you will excuse me my computer and I have made plans to go out to dinner tonight.

smarteyeball · 12 Jun 2009

Quote: Originally Posted by jw12345

It's just not always as pain-free as it's made out to be.

+1

But finally nailing a niggling issue is pretty damn rewarding. If you've got the time to flap about that is

But if you're looking to get a higher end rig for a lower cost, then sourcing and building it yourself is the way to go.

Lordbob75 · 12 Jun 2009

All in all, the best bet is to build it yourself. Hands down. I would have built my own laptop instead of customizing it, but that was a big hassle.

It may be a little bit more to build it yourself, but the difference is QUALITY. When you buy a PB pos, you are getting (sometimes) the lowest quality parts. This is so that the rig is less expensive. However, that just means that the computer sucks.

Also, I find it EXTREMELY difficult to find a computer (PB) that has EXACTLY what I want. When I built my computer though, I could.

In the end, it IS the best deal.

~Lordbob

Thomas27 · 13 Jun 2009

If you decide to purchase, stay away from the XPS series... unless you go with a 630. They are all BTX cases/motherboards, which means upgrading in the future would be very difficult. I have a 630 and when I purchased it I had no idea what ATX/BTX cases were... but I lucked out. I have a BTX case (right side opening, usually considered to have better ventilation inside) but the 630 was specially manufactured to take an ATX motherboard (mounts upside down).

Anyways, a build is easily the way to go. I built a computer for designing and rendering at work with 8GB Patriot DDR2 800MHz memory, 2x320GB Seagate Barracuda HDD in RAID0, Core2Quad 2.83GHz, Gigabyte EP45-UD3P MoBo, Coolermaster case, and ATI FireGL 3600 video card for $830. Granted, it still needed a monitor (I already had 2)and a keyboard and mouse (already had those also).

It runs SolidWorks Premium 2009 and all of the nice add-ons flawlessly!

BUILD IT.

P.S. That same computer, plus a different CPU cooler and a few fans would be an amazing gaming computer. Almost up to spec with my XPS (except I have a Diamond Radeon HD 4890 XOC, 3.0GHz Core2Duo @ 3.2GHz, and 8GB OCZ Platinum 1066MHz memory and lots of blue fans.

See attached.