To Build or not to build

[johnkpresence]

my addiction to this board grows...Hi everyone. Got a question.
I am kind of a middle-level user of PCs. I get the basic ideas of BIOS, chipsets, etc. My current system is a presario, 3 years old.
My question is, would it be wise of me to build my own system now that prices are going down? I have heard good and bad experiences with this; my main concern is documentation and support. Thanks!

[edwelly]

(oh, this post will get a lot of responses to it)
I think the majority of SysOpt feels that building a PC is the best way to go! However, the warranty leaves a little to disire. Personally, I think I will attempt to build my next PC. I have 4 now, I bought all of them new/used and replaced the mobo in one this weekend (courtsey of MrComputer) and that was a learning lession for me.
Then again, I am not the sharpest tool in the shed...
- http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif-edwelly

p.s. We are glad to have you here with us!!

[This message has been edited by edwelly (edited 09-10-2001).]

[MoxManiac]

I went from a Comcrap (Compaq http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif) to a system that I built myself, and the difference was like night and day.

I'll never buy a pre-built PC again.

[OC Guy]

I have never built a pc(yet http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif). But I can tell you this, it will be cheaper, you get exactly what you want, and as long as you don't warm your morning coffee on your heatsink, you should be fine!

[Timbob505]

Building a PC is a TON of fun and its a great learning experience. It CAN be cheaper, IF you have software and old parts you can use for a bit. I had windows, games and corel office when I first built. Plus I used an old, UGLY monitor. If you are building a powerful, gaming machine, it will be much cheaper than a good vendor. If you are building something a bit simpler, it will be hard to beat an oem by much, unless you use old stuff everywhere. You can get a 1GHz for less than $800. If you have patience and a desire to create, then building is the way to go. You will be your own tech support (along with all of us here at sysopt!) and you will learn more about computers in 45 minutes than you would in a week of reading.

So in conclusion, DO IT! It will be great and we are all here to help!

Timbob

[TechDude]

Unless you want to spend an extra $500+ for a comp that would be second rate to what you could of built with less than the amount of money you bought the pc, then buy one. Otherwise.. build your own http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

[Bovon]

The secret is...read..read...read and read some more. There is more than enough information here at SysOpt to build a system that will knock your eyes out.

The main problem is that most folks just starting out to build their own computer is...its like putting a Christmas present bicycle together from the poop sheet that came in the box. Its never that easy or complete.

If anyone will read thru the posts here, and ask a few questions first to get it all together, they should have very few problems putting a computer together. And..if some problems do come up...after reading the older posts here, they know what to ask and how to ask it.

[Ed_S]

To build or not? Hmmm..

I'd have to say it depends strongly on your priorities.

If having it up & running just right, right away, is #1, then NO. You'll get real frustrated.

If cost is primary, again no. You won't save much, if anything.

BUT

If a learning experience sounds like fun, or you want one built exactly as you prefer, then DO IT!
The sense of accomplishment is great!!

You mentioned documentation & support??

Documentation?LOL... None of this stuff comes with much written docs anymore! Doing it yourself involves taking all the parts from many makers & putting it together. Few of those makers provide much info with their product, most of it's online.
That's really part of the fun & challenge, making it work and resolving any conflicts when parts don't "play well" together.

And support?? Well, you've found an excellent source for that right here at Sysopt, and from what I've read of tech support on pre-builts, this is FAR better!!
Best of all, though is the FACT that by the time you've built it, installed the software, tuned it, etc., you will be able to "support" it yourself!! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Have you read this (http://sysopt.earthweb.com/buildpc/index.html) yet??

[Hawkeye178]

Me, I hace an Emachines 466id, and it's, hmmmmmmm, outdated http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif, so I'm half way into the building process, I bought everything, now I'm waiting for them to ship, I'm spendin around $720.00 total, for what I think is a, at least, $2000.00 comp.
My new comps. specs, the one I'm buildin:
Ram: Micron technologies 256MB PC-2100 DDR
MOBO: Abit KG7-RAID
Processor: AMD T-bird 1.4GHz
HDD: IBM Deskstar 60GXP 40GB 7200RPM IDE
Heatsink/fan: Volcano 6cu
Case: Turbo case (Black & SIlver, SWEET http://www.sysopt.com/forum/biggrin.gif) ATX 320 watt PSU
Vid. Card: Geforce2 PRO 64MB

This is where I found my prices:
www.pricewatch.com (http://www.pricewatch.com)

Good luck,
Hawkeye178

[This message has been edited by Hawkeye178 (edited 09-10-2001).]

[justin_otis]

I built an athlon 1.2ghz system with 512 megs of pc2100 ram and a 40gig 7200 RPM HDD for under $500. It is definately worth building your own computer, if for nothing else, experience.

[jad1097]

Build.

[NDC]

Yep! Build. Even if you don't know how to build one, ask someone close to you who knows how. You can build yourself a lot better system with high quality components for the same money you would pay for a pre-built system! http://www.sysopt.com/forum/wink.gif

[RustyGT]

John,
Try this as a training exercise.
Pull your existing PC to pieces.
Make some drawings as you go, noting what went where etc, label the cables etc.
Lay it all out on your workplace in some logical sequence.

Here is your new computer kit! BTW I'm not taking the mickey here, trust me.

Now, put it all back together in reverse order. Stoke it up and see how you went.
If it works, then you have the hardware.

Next, If you have done an OS reinstall on your existing PC. You have the software. If you haven't, now's the time.

All above say build. Ditto.

My current box is circa 1/01, 1st home built, used an upgrade kit, [box,board&prcsr],recycled drives, now runs 3 OS's,3 users and hasn't missed a beat in 9 mths.

Good Luck with your new project! ChrsR.

[jamis]

Why not get the best of both worlds?

I recently upgraded my computer using www.tccomputers.com (http://www.tccomputers.com) ... they, and many other websites offer bundles and system configurators which let you piece together the main components, and they assemble and test AND give an extended warrenty on what you order.

For me, I ordered a motherboard, cpu, memory, heatsink and fan of which they assembled, tested and shipped.. I then bought a case elsewhere, and threw in a bunch of my old components myself.

[mousepotato]

..couple of years ago I hardly knew how to turn a computer on...the one I have now has evolved from a pentium 233...that's the beauty of building...you can upgrade if you plan ahead and save big bucks!!!
What I have now is:

PIII 650 @ 780
768 meg PC133 Ram
40gig ATA100 WD HD
30gig ATA100 WD HD
20gig ATA66 WD HD
10gig ATA66 WD HD
shuttle AV61s Mobo (it was cheep ok??)
Promise Ultra ATA100 PCI card
SB Sound card
ATI rage 16 meg video card
Sony 8x4x32 CDRW
Creative 52x CDrom
Altec Lansing 5 speaker suround sound
2 foot tower with removable drives and 11 fans...lol
...and all the other stuff printer/scanner ect..

...next thing for it is another MOBO & CPU
...and then upgrade everything else as I build one for my girlfriend out of this one...
...bottom line...BUILD...BUILD UP & BUILD
BIGGER BETTER FASTER MORE!!!...lol