Should I build a computer or buy one?

Comments

• Infliction Member Posts: 1,115

  December 2006

  Don't worry about getting a new computer all at once. Just get new parts as you can afford them and slowly upgrade what you already have.
  
  
  
  

  
• Tinybina Member Posts: 2,130

  December 2006

  
  Your going to get alot of conflicting answers but I will just say this.. Find a site that has a custom configurator(and no not dell or Alien Ware) and build a computer that you wouild be happy with on that site.. Then go to NewEgg and buy the exact same parts and read the reviews and compare the cost...
  
  
  I will promise you that it will be cheaper buying the computer from the site then it would be building it yourself from newegg..Sites like that get their parts wholesale, you do not.
  
  
  Also I stopped after looking at your motherboard.. It only supports DDR ram and since your want to 'upgrade' I would get a motherboard that supports DDR2 ram. Also I noticed you are getting a 400g hardrive, if your a gammer you only need half of that(which will lower your computer cost) but if you need or want that much its up to you. And yes 2 gigs are great for gamming, but I would suggest you look into a motherboard that will allow you to get more then 2 gigs that MB will not.
  
  
  Bottom line I say buy it from a site.. I built my dream Computer last night(one that fits into my budget) and It will cost me $1230 (shipping/warranty/30 moneyback guarantee included) and they build it for me.
  
  If you need the name of a few sites that I have been looking at PM and I'll point you in their direction.
  
  
  

  ------------------------------
  You see, every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with their surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You spread to an area, and you multiply, and you multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet.-Mr.Smith
• silvanos Member Posts: 5

  December 2006

  If you have no experience in building the nyou should take a class at compusa or something. Try uprgrading simple comps first, a motherboard and operating sysyem can be rough.

  a bare bones might be worth tryinhg to
• xIMPx Member Posts: 191

  December 2006

  I few years ago I'd say  build your own, but now I think it would be better just to buy a PC on sale and upgrade it.
  
  
  
• LeetGamer1 Member Posts: 62

  December 2006

  
  

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  Originally posted by opeth313x
  I'm browsing through Newegg.com to get ideas as of what I want for Christmas. I orginally wanted a new video card for the computer I already have, but my power supply sucks. I was thinking, if I'm going to plan on upgrading all this crap, I might as well just buy a new one. The computer I have right now is pretty decent, but not gaming quality.
  
  Anyway, I'm looking at parts to make my own computer. I'm a total noob when it comes to computer hardware and I'm 13 so I'm kinda slow. Here's what I've come up with so far:
  
  
  
  Motherboard
  Computer Case
  Nvidia Geforce 7950GT 512MB GDDR3 Graphics Card
  
  Thermaltake ATX 500w Power Supply
  AMD Athlon X2 3800 CPU
  400GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard DriveIf you could, please answer these questions:
  1) If you haven't noticed, I didn't put any memory on the list yet. I'm not sure which kind would be compatible with my motherboard, if you don't mind, could you tell me what kind would work?
  
  2) Should I go with buiding my own computer or buying from a manufacturer? A lot of people say that building your own is much cheaper, but I haven't noticed much of a difference in price...
  
  3) If I go with this rig, assuming I put 2 gigs RAM in there, would it be good for gaming?
  
  My parent's probably aren't going to get me this for Christmas... But maybe I'll be able to work something out with them...
  
  I know my parents aren't going to get this for me for Christmas... (too expensive) But maybe I can work out some kind of deal with them.
  
  
  

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  WORK!! you can get your own stuff wthout begging your parents and you can get a really cool game computer

  im getting it tommarrow its from nvidia

   
• LeetGamer1 Member Posts: 62

  December 2006

  Heres my pc i have to take some stuff out cause the graphics card is all rdy good

  Cooler Master Stacker 830 Tower Chassis, Enermax Galaxy 1000W Power Supply, 2 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTX 768MB Video Adapters, Western Digital 150GB SATA 10,000 RPM Hard Drive, Seagate 500GB SATA 7,200 RPM Hard Drive, Intel Core 2 Duo X6800 Extreme Processor, EVGA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard
• Rabiator Member Posts: 358

  December 2006

  
  Hi Opeth,
  
  I take it that you start from scratch, no existing components to reuse. In case you want to build your own:
  
  1) Since you seem to have decided on a AMD Athlon X2, you need memory that works with its built-in memory controller. Currently, the Athlon X2 is available for Socket 939 or Socket AM 2. Get the AM2 version, it is the newer and better solution. 
  The matching memory is DDR2-800 RAM, get some from a manufacturer with good reputation. Usually I dislike sucking up to brand names, but when buying RAM it is the safe thing to do.
  Edit: The processor also dictates what mainboards are usable, in this case boards with socket AM2
  Oops, second edit, I did not see that you had actual links to mainboard and case. The mainboard is socket 939, I would not buy it unless I had lots of existing DDR RAM I want to reuse. But if you do, the processor must also be the Socket 939 version.
  
  3) 2 gigs of RAM should be plenty.
  
  2) Put the machine together on paper, calculate the total cost and look around how it compares to manufacturer-built machines.  If you find one that matches your specs, it might actually be cheaper than building your own, because manufacturers get nice volume discounts if they build thousands of machines.
  
  The big question is, do you find a pre-built machine you like? In your case, the Geforce 7950GT might be difficult to find outside a $2000 Alienware machine. I've recently done such a search out of curiosity, and the fastest Dell and HP offered was a GeForce 7600GT.
  
  BTW, Alienware has something similar to what you're planning here:
  AMD based Alienware machines
  Select the Aurora series and play with the customization. When I try to duplicate your specs as closely as possible, I end up with $2,269.00, albeit with a X2 4600+ and Windows XP included. I think self-built might come cheaper
  
  
  
  
• opeth313x Member Posts: 234

  December 2006

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  Originally posted by Rabiator
  Hi Opeth,
  
  I take it that you start from scratch, no existing components to reuse. In case you want to build your own:
  
  1) Since you seem to have decided on a AMD Athlon X2, you need memory that works with its built-in memory controller. Currently, the Athlon X2 is available for Socket 939 or Socket AM 2. Get the AM2 version, it is the newer and better solution. 
  The matching memory is DDR2-800 RAM, get some from a manufacturer with good reputation. Usually I dislike sucking up to brand names, but when buying RAM it is the safe thing to do.
  Edit: The processor also dictates what mainboards are usable, in this case boards with socket AM2
  Oops, second edit, I did not see that you had actual links to mainboard and case. The mainboard is socket 939, I would not buy it unless I had lots of existing DDR RAM I want to reuse. But if you do, the processor must also be the Socket 939 version.
  
  3) 2 gigs of RAM should be plenty.
  
  2) Put the machine together on paper, calculate the total cost and look around how it compares to manufacturer-built machines.  If you find one that matches your specs, it might actually be cheaper than building your own, because manufacturers get nice volume discounts if they build thousands of machines.
  
  The big question is, do you find a pre-built machine you like? In your case, the Geforce 7950GT might be difficult to find outside a $2000 Alienware machine. I've recently done such a search out of curiosity, and the fastest Dell and HP offered was a GeForce 7600GT.
  
  BTW, Alienware has something similar to what you're planning here:
  AMD based Alienware machines
  Select the Aurora series and play with the customization. When I try to duplicate your specs as closely as possible, I end up with $2,269.00, albeit with a X2 4600+ and Windows XP included. I think self-built might come cheaper
  
  

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  Thanks for the help, I've come to the conclusion that my parents won't buy me a computer.
  
  Alienware looks cool and all... But I think they overprice their computers.
  
  
  

  
• asupermane Member Posts: 682

  December 2006

  
    What you build in my opinion will always be better then buying one, money wise, and customization wise.

  You can pick what exactly your looking for.

  and you can find great deals.

   

  BUILD ONE.

  
• Xexima Member UncommonPosts: 2,698

  December 2006

  meh, the age old question.  Building one is harder, yet cheaper.  Buying one is easy, more expesive, and has less custimization.  I say that if you know how to build one, great, do that.  If not, just go with a pre built one.