Building your own computer

[Trucidation]

All this advice sounds like you guys are buying parts from online stores. What about getting a store to do it for you?

Here in this corner of southeast Asia, getting a shop to do it for you is de rigeur unless you're the really fussy type and want to do everything yourself, e.g. it involves stuff like watercooling. Good luck.

For the rest of us mortals, it's a fairly straightforward process.

• Go to IT mall. It's like a regular shopping mall, except that all the shops in the entire 4-5 storey structure consist entirely of computer hardware and cellphone shops only (there may be a cafe on the top floor but it's usually full of technicians on their break).
• Nearly all the shops selling PCs will have a stack of photocopied paper right out front which you help yourself to, on which is printed this week's prices for everything from CPU and RAM to external peripherals. Spend an hour walking around collecting these price lists. More often than not the prices will fall within 5% of each other regardless of the outlet, so price comparison isn't strictly necessary. Personally I just grab 4-5 lists.
• -OPTIONAL- Do your homework: look up every component, read reviews, find out how much juice you want from a PSU, that kind of stuff.
• Pick a shop you've done business with before, or one with a friendly-looking salesperson. For the most part these guys are just college kids in temp jobs - getting scammed is unlikely. These youngsters generally know wtf they're talking about, and can help you decide if you're not particularly choosy about a specific component ("I want graphics card X, but I don't care what router"). This is no substitute for not doing your homework though, as they can't know everything.
• Once you've chosen all your components, decide whether to get them to install the OS (if you purchased one). If you do this, you'll need to return in 2-3 days. If not, they'll assemble the rig on the spot while you go away for half an hour to eat or something; it should be ready when you return and they'll show you it'll power on with no bad parts before boxing it up for you to bring home.

Easy as pie. Labour charge isn't that much, probably what you spend on a lunch for a family of 4 or something like that. Well worth the hassle of not having to assemble everything yourself. I remember all too vividly the time I spent putting PCs together back in the 90s, swearing when something went wrong and playing the "guess which component is bad" game.

Screw that hassle. Or maybe I'm just getting old But seriously, there's little reason to do everything yourself. Prices are close to what you get from online stores, bar sales. This is the IT malls I'm talking about, not the retail shops selling ready-made PCs like your Walmart or CompUSA or whatever equivalent. Not unexpectedly, those do add hefty retail margins to the price tag; nobody buys from those guys.

 

[Chips]

One of the first things when choosing to build your own system is determining whether you wish to have an AMD or Intel based system then choosing a CPU (processor) that matches the socket type of the motherboard as there are many different socket types and CPU's to choose from. Thermal paste MUST be applied between the CPU and CPU cooler or the CPU will overheat.

I'm planning on getting an i7 3820. Thing is I've heard that AMD's Bulldozer line are much better value and speed, much like their Athlons were compared with Intel's Pentiums. What is AMD's equivalent to the 3820, and is it indeed better speed and price?

All this advice sounds like you guys are buying parts from online stores. What about getting a store to do it for you?

Here in this corner of southeast Asia, getting a shop to do it for you is de rigeur unless you're the really fussy type and want to do everything yourself, e.g. it involves stuff like watercooling. Good luck.

For the rest of us mortals, it's a fairly straightforward process.

• Go to IT mall. It's like a regular shopping mall, except that all the shops in the entire 4-5 storey structure consist entirely of computer hardware and cellphone shops only (there may be a cafe on the top floor but it's usually full of technicians on their break).
• Nearly all the shops selling PCs will have a stack of photocopied paper right out front which you help yourself to, on which is printed this week's prices for everything from CPU and RAM to external peripherals. Spend an hour walking around collecting these price lists. More often than not the prices will fall within 5% of each other regardless of the outlet, so price comparison isn't strictly necessary. Personally I just grab 4-5 lists.
• -OPTIONAL- Do your homework: look up every component, read reviews, find out how much juice you want from a PSU, that kind of stuff.
• Pick a shop you've done business with before, or one with a friendly-looking salesperson. For the most part these guys are just college kids in temp jobs - getting scammed is unlikely. These youngsters generally know wtf they're talking about, and can help you decide if you're not particularly choosy about a specific component ("I want graphics card X, but I don't care what router"). This is no substitute for not doing your homework though, as they can't know everything.
• Once you've chosen all your components, decide whether to get them to install the OS (if you purchased one). If you do this, you'll need to return in 2-3 days. If not, they'll assemble the rig on the spot while you go away for half an hour to eat or something; it should be ready when you return and they'll show you it'll power on with no bad parts before boxing it up for you to bring home.

Easy as pie. Labour charge isn't that much, probably what you spend on a lunch for a family of 4 or something like that. Well worth the hassle of not having to assemble everything yourself. I remember all too vividly the time I spent putting PCs together back in the 90s, swearing when something went wrong and playing the "guess which component is bad" game.

Screw that hassle. Or maybe I'm just getting old But seriously, there's little reason to do everything yourself. Prices are close to what you get from online stores, bar sales. This is the IT malls I'm talking about, not the retail shops selling ready-made PCs like your Walmart or CompUSA or whatever equivalent. Not unexpectedly, those do add hefty retail margins to the price tag; nobody buys from those guys.

Trouble with going to a specialist here is that if I get the parts from them they'll change around £40 to £50 (for each part!) more than if I got the parts myself, which isn't viable for me, especially seeing that this will put me way, way, way over budget before they even start work on it! However, I'm looking into getting the parts then trying to find someone who'll simply charge to put it together. I think I might have someone. I asked for quotes on parts, but he's not got back to me in over a week. Tried him again yesterday but he still hasn't got back to me, which could prove advantageous for me (if his parts prove as expensive as I believe they will be) because that'll give me the excuse to get the parts on the cheap then take them to him saying, "Well, you never got back to me!". Don't worry, he's on the level work wise, it's just he's being really slow at getting parts after moving shops.

 

[Solarstarshines]

Well Honestly Having someone do it for you gets costly

Do you have any trustworthy friends that can help you hands on

Im not sure what your budget is or what you are trying to do with a custom machine but i think paying vs doing it yourself has adverse effects

The man may doop you if you don't take the time to study up on this stuff we are here to help if any case if you want something simple and decent go with a Barebone kit atleast from there you can figure out what else you would need

there about 300.00 to 400.00 dollars pretty much you have to add a few things maybe cpu or ram or OS depends on the Barebone kit but im sure you research you can get something pretty snazzy if you just take the time..............

 

[pparks1]

I'm planning on getting an i7 3820. Thing is I've heard that AMD's Bulldozer line are much better value and speed, much like their Athlons were compared with Intel's Pentiums. What is AMD's equivalent to the 3820, and is it indeed better speed and price?

AMD used to be a much better value in the past, but that hasn't been true in my opinion for quite a number of years. With AMD, you get more cores. And if you compare a 6 core AMD or an 8 core AMD to a 6 core Intel, the AMD is cheaper. The part you must keep in mind is that in most cases, a 4 core Intel outperforms an 8 core AMD. So, comparing prices between an 8 core AMD and a 4 core Intel shows prices that are very close. So, given that, I take the CPU that gives the best performance, with the lowest heat and least power used. And that is the Intel. Unless you are using something heavily threaded to really take advantage of the AMD, I'd go Intel.

 

[bobkn]

I'm planning on getting an i7 3820. Thing is I've heard that AMD's Bulldozer line are much better value and speed, much like their Athlons were compared with Intel's Pentiums. What is AMD's equivalent to the 3820, and is it indeed better speed and price?

(snip)

Trouble with going to a specialist here is that if I get the parts from them they'll change around £40 to £50 (for each part!) more than if I got the parts myself, which isn't viable for me, especially seeing that this will put me way, way, way over budget before they even start work on it! However, I'm looking into getting the parts then trying to find someone who'll simply charge to put it together. I think I might have someone. I asked for quotes on parts, but he's not got back to me in over a week. Tried him again yesterday but he still hasn't got back to me, which could prove advantageous for me (if his parts prove as expensive as I believe they will be) because that'll give me the excuse to get the parts on the cheap then take them to him saying, "Well, you never got back to me!". Don't worry, he's on the level work wise, it's just he's being really slow at getting parts after moving shops.

The AMD Athlon 64 (and X2) line was the price/performance leader back in the day when Intel's finest was the "Prescott" P4. That's nearly 10 years ago, though. Since the Intel Core series was introduced, AMD has been competing mainly on price. The top-end 8 core FX CPU sells for roughtly the same price as an I7-2600k. For many (not all) purposes, the I7 will outperform the FX.

In the US, people who avoid both the major makers (Dell, HP, etc.) but don't want to assemble the system themselves go to "white box" stores. These are small local shops that assemble PCs. The main problem with such shops is that they tend to go with the cheapest components available, like generic motherboards from brands you may not see often at retail. ("PC Chips" used to be common; I don't know about today.)

From my point of view, coming up with the parts list is most of the work. Once that's done, whanging the bits together can be done in a couple of hours, using little more than one medium Philips screwdriver.

 

[Thorsen]

If you are buying all the parts separately, post the parts here and we can tell you if there are better parts/dollar or if they are incompatible in any way.

"Bare-Bones" computer setups are a good 1st time project as all parts will be compatible.

(Pretty much just a set of component sold as a bundle)

Also, dont skimp on the Power supply. this is the lifeblood of the machine and you want one that is quality.
(Usually bare-bones computers come with cheap-o power supplies so its a good idea to buy this part separate.)

 

[Thorsen]

Also there are tons of resources for this online.

Example, here is a great video on installing the Mobo (motherboard)


And on Seven Forums check out the Tutorials section:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/78517-motherboard-install-case.html

 

[77273GU]

I didn't think I could build a computer, but with this forum and others I did. The most time consuming part for me was deciding on and buying the parts. Did a lot of reading and googleing. The build is pretty straight forward, just take your time and double check everything. The part I thought would be the hardest was start up, installing the OS and drivers. I took some advice and went to the manufacturers web site and downloaded and installed everything needed. All went smoothly. I spent a bunch of time reading and in the end it worked out great. Couldn't be happier!

Heres a 3 part video on how to build a computer from Newegg I thought was useful. Their You Tube channel is great for how-tos and info.

Part 1 Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 1 - Choosing Your Components - YouTube
Part 2 Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 2 - The Build - YouTube
Part 3 Newegg TV: How To Build a Computer - Part 3 - Installing Windows & Finishing Touches - YouTube

Good Luck.

 

[Chips]

Thanks for all the feedback. I'm edging on doing it myself, but as you can tell I'll probably need a lot of step-by-step advice if I do.

One thing though. I understand a new generation of CPUs, the "Ivy Bridge" is due out soon. Is it right that they're fully compatible with the 2011 boards? I was told at the nearest PC superstore (i.e. PC World) that they're not. But today I looked up the Ivy Bridge on the Net and it says they are fully compatible.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Some Ivy Bridge processors are out now.

They are socket 1155.

I think socket 2011 is the Sandy Bridge Extreme series as of right now, but some future Ivy Bridge processors will be socket 2011.

 

[Chips]

About the anti-static wrist straps. Why is there such a great difference in prices, from £2 to £50? They all look pretty much the same as each other and even the cheap ones get good reviews.

 

[James7679]

About the anti-static wrist straps. Why is there such a great difference in prices, from £2 to £50? They all look pretty much the same as each other and even the cheap ones get good reviews.

Just get a single use one. The more expensive ones are for multiple uses.

 

[DeaconFrost]

Easy as pie. Labour charge isn't that much, probably what you spend on a lunch for a family of 4 or something like that. Well worth the hassle of not having to assemble everything yourself. I remember all too vividly the time I spent putting PCs together back in the 90s, swearing when something went wrong and playing the "guess which component is bad" game.

Building a PC these days is far easier than it used to be. Overall, parts are more standard and better labelled, with far fewer hassles and troubleshooting steps to take.

Screw that hassle. Or maybe I'm just getting old But seriously, there's little reason to do everything yourself. Prices are close to what you get from online stores, bar sales. This is the IT malls I'm talking about, not the retail shops selling ready-made PCs like your Walmart or CompUSA or whatever equivalent. Not unexpectedly, those do add hefty retail margins to the price tag; nobody buys from those guys.

I'd love to live where you do, because in the rest of the world, buying online is FAR cheaper. The stores have much more overhead and don't buy in volume that someone like Newegg does. On top of that, I can take a pile of boxes and turn it into a working computer in around 30 minutes, maybe adding another 10 minutes if I want to hide my wiring. Why pay anything for someone else to do that? Not only am I saving money on the parts, but I'm saving the labor costs as well...which means more money in my pocket, or more money devoted to better hardware. I've taught 25-30 people how to build computers, including my wife, and every single one of them has been amazed at how easy the process is.

 

[Chips]

I'll have to get a different make of power supply unit. What are Corsair like and any tips on models to go for?

 

[James7679]

the Seasonic isn't available?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Look for Seasonic, Corsair, or XFX.

Antec if none of those 3 are available.

Some Corsairs are better than others. Some of them are made by Seasonic, which is good.

Depending on your video card, you may not need more than 300 watts.

500 to 550 is enough for any single video card.

But concentrate on the brand name for now.

 

[Chips]

the Seasonic isn't available?

The chap I'm buying from doesn't stock them. How's THIS one?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

the Seasonic isn't available?

The chap I'm buying from doesn't stock them. How's THIS one?

That's a good one--made by Seasonic.

But likely more power than you need.

 

[armyslowrdr]

Without having time to read all's reply here i will just say i've built 3 now. All have been easy. the first two exceptionally so... just put the parts together, install the OS and it worked.

The latest was somewhat more complicated as I built using the very latest parts. Therefore to get things to work properly i had to learn a few more things such as updating the BIOS, how to migrate an OS over to an SSD and new mobo, getting the peculiarities of an X79 mobo ironed out and the like.

Go for it, it is fun, and so much more staisfying than using a pre-built.

This sight, pcmechbegone, thevideoguys, and mysuperpc were my main resources for the 1st build.
The 2d build I didn't need anything.
3d build I made use of google, this website, and moboforums, and Asus main website until things were satisfactory.

edit---get a fully modular power supply--like one of the XFX platinum certified ones. Lots less cables floating aound in the case by going all modular.
FWIW on all 3 builds I used an antistatic wrist band.


Just swapped out a video card over the weekend tho and forgot all about the wrist band. No harm though.

 

[James7679]

the Seasonic isn't available?

The chap I'm buying from doesn't stock them. How's THIS one?

Great unit chips. Will allow you a little head room moving forward.