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building a pc
- Thread starter Ipaqman
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Quality, brand name, and being expensive are all different factors that may or may come up at the same time.
Sometimes hardware can be expensive, but still be unreliable (cutting edge). Other products can be cheap and reliable--the difference here is in product maturity (compare the a7n8x rev1.02-1.04 to the refined rev2.0 for example). Or how bout the dreaded Via chipsets in the early Thunderbird days? The kt266 wuz a horror, along with the kt400. Only the 266A and 400A were even worthy of being considered "decent" chipsets (mostly b/c they were the second revision of that chipset!)
Now, I personally would not suggest a barebone, b/c they come in packages with things I don't WANT or NEED.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=879215&Sku=S450-2032 B
E.g. Tiger Direct "Socket A" kit:
It gives you a case (i.e. a pretty ugly one);
unknown brand name PSU (this is a big no-no when you build your own computer);
brand-name Soyo mobo (though I hardly hear about Soyo these days in any enthusiast forum/circles, in the AMD sector anyway);
and to finish things off, a no-name mouse and keyboard (things you probably ALREADY have).
$239 total.
Its not bad, but its certainly not that good or the best option. Plus, there are anomalies/x-factors in the PSU and the forced purchase of an ugly case. I'd prefer a standard Blue Chieftec case over that one anyday, and those sell for only $59.
A) Decent Enermax/Antec PSU? With reliable, legitimate power outputs? (i.e. 350W) $52 for an Enermax 350W with 26A on the +12v.
B) A much better AMD mobo, aka the nForce2 platform? $69 (Asus A7N8X-X).
C) A better heatsink? Tt Silent Boost $35
D) 2600+ go for $85 (OEM).
This total?
$300. Yeah, its about 50 bucks more. But I get:
1) Brand name heatsink. If you want high temps/instability problems from a cheap OEM cooler, be my guest.
2) Brand name PSU. Again, high temps, instability, reboot/BSODs are all possiblities from underpowered OEM PSUs. Not to mention that if those cheap PSU's die out, they can take your motherboard/cpu/hard drives/ram with it. Goodbye $500-1200+ in hardware instantly.
3) Case + Mobo are slightly more subjective, but again, I hardly fine a barebones option that actually matches what would be a recommended "cookie cutter build" on tweaker forums.
How many times do you see a barebone option with a NF7-S offered? Actually upon that question, I answered with a quick google search that found Azzo Computers:
http://www.azzo.com/af4/details.asp?ProdID=859
Needless to say, this build looks a lot more legitimate (but also more extensive and pricey) b/c it comes with HD/RAM/optical drives to boot. However, that "420W" power supply is severely underpowered:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage...39-04.JPG/11-156-139-03.JPG/11-156-139-05.JPG
I guarantee you, 13A on a +12V is asking for trouble--or reboots and BSODs to be exact. Enjoy trying to decipher if its memory/OS/CPU problems when its actually the PSU all along.
The AZZO barebone kit is a $500 purchase, yet they put this all on the line to save a few bucks on a cheap "420W" PSU! Remember the Enermax 350W I recommended before? That had exactly TWICE the ampage of this "420W".
Sometimes hardware can be expensive, but still be unreliable (cutting edge). Other products can be cheap and reliable--the difference here is in product maturity (compare the a7n8x rev1.02-1.04 to the refined rev2.0 for example). Or how bout the dreaded Via chipsets in the early Thunderbird days? The kt266 wuz a horror, along with the kt400. Only the 266A and 400A were even worthy of being considered "decent" chipsets (mostly b/c they were the second revision of that chipset!)
Now, I personally would not suggest a barebone, b/c they come in packages with things I don't WANT or NEED.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=879215&Sku=S450-2032 B
E.g. Tiger Direct "Socket A" kit:
It gives you a case (i.e. a pretty ugly one);
unknown brand name PSU (this is a big no-no when you build your own computer);
brand-name Soyo mobo (though I hardly hear about Soyo these days in any enthusiast forum/circles, in the AMD sector anyway);
and to finish things off, a no-name mouse and keyboard (things you probably ALREADY have).
$239 total.
Its not bad, but its certainly not that good or the best option. Plus, there are anomalies/x-factors in the PSU and the forced purchase of an ugly case. I'd prefer a standard Blue Chieftec case over that one anyday, and those sell for only $59.
A) Decent Enermax/Antec PSU? With reliable, legitimate power outputs? (i.e. 350W) $52 for an Enermax 350W with 26A on the +12v.
B) A much better AMD mobo, aka the nForce2 platform? $69 (Asus A7N8X-X).
C) A better heatsink? Tt Silent Boost $35
D) 2600+ go for $85 (OEM).
This total?
$300. Yeah, its about 50 bucks more. But I get:
1) Brand name heatsink. If you want high temps/instability problems from a cheap OEM cooler, be my guest.
2) Brand name PSU. Again, high temps, instability, reboot/BSODs are all possiblities from underpowered OEM PSUs. Not to mention that if those cheap PSU's die out, they can take your motherboard/cpu/hard drives/ram with it. Goodbye $500-1200+ in hardware instantly.
3) Case + Mobo are slightly more subjective, but again, I hardly fine a barebones option that actually matches what would be a recommended "cookie cutter build" on tweaker forums.
How many times do you see a barebone option with a NF7-S offered? Actually upon that question, I answered with a quick google search that found Azzo Computers:
http://www.azzo.com/af4/details.asp?ProdID=859
Needless to say, this build looks a lot more legitimate (but also more extensive and pricey) b/c it comes with HD/RAM/optical drives to boot. However, that "420W" power supply is severely underpowered:
http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage...39-04.JPG/11-156-139-03.JPG/11-156-139-05.JPG
I guarantee you, 13A on a +12V is asking for trouble--or reboots and BSODs to be exact. Enjoy trying to decipher if its memory/OS/CPU problems when its actually the PSU all along.
The AZZO barebone kit is a $500 purchase, yet they put this all on the line to save a few bucks on a cheap "420W" PSU! Remember the Enermax 350W I recommended before? That had exactly TWICE the ampage of this "420W".