Building vs. Buying (pc desktop question)

[Rodimus Prime]

Buying v Building... Dell's are more expensive, aren't as upgradable, but come with a warranty. Building yourself is cheaper, but you don't have a warranty to fall back on. But you can reuse components saving you money on your next build.

No you still have warranties on components. The differences is instead of being able to go back to a single sources for you warranty. That source being Dell.

instead you have to go to the warranties on the parts at those manufactures. That easily means you are dealing with a lot more companies but the turn around time is about the same. Hell most are very willing to ship you out a replacement part as long as you put down a deposit which they refund when they receive your broken part.

 

[jav6454]

No you still have warranties on components. The differences is instead of being able to go back to a single sources for you warranty. That source being Dell.

instead you have to go to the warranties on the parts at those manufactures. That easily means you are dealing with a lot more companies but the turn around time is about the same. Hell most are very willing to ship you out a replacement part as long as you put down a deposit which they refund when they receive your broken part.

Also true, some manufacturers even have a better warranty than OEMs. A good example is XFX. They have double lifetime warranty on all their GPUs.

 

[Decrepit]

What are your needs for this machine?

I just built my server because you can't get one that's silent without building it.

But for home PCs, you can get some really inexpensive boxes with a good warranty, the operating system, etc. for a lot cheaper than building.

I generally build a box, then when a family member needs a new PC, I build myself a new machine and hand the old one down.

Right now, I only have my Mac, my new server, and a stack of old systems I bought on eBay for use as lab equipment. The lab stuff is turned off until I get off my ass and start trying to renew my certifications.

 

[maflynn]

For the build at the top here are a few fixes:

1. The GeForce 9800 is an obsolete clunker at this point. Spend a few more and get at least a GTX260. It will be far faster for not much more money. I have 2 of those in SLI and game at 1900x1200 without major problems

Thanks, the GPU is where I'm probably the weakness, knowledge wise. I picked that one out of the air.

2. You don't need a 750W supply to run either of the mentioned cards. A decent 600W will do. Of course if you plan to do up the videocard later on to something serious it may help but if you plan to stay at the midrange a 750W supply is a waste of money

Agreed, I've swapped that for a 80 plus bronze certified SeaSonic 520W PSU

3. For the hdd I would go with a WD Black series drive. If this is your only drive you want it to be fast and Black series delivers

I'm partial to Seagate, so that's why I opted for them.

4. Personally I'm not a huge fan of Antec cases, had a Sonata before and hated it for being very cramped and hard to work in. But this is obviously subjective

So far being a subjective matter those are the best I've found. Best in the sense they offer great cooling and look good.

I'm going to update my list shortly as I've made some changes, including the MB, and ram which obviously impact the bottom line.

The rest looks ok but you should read detailed motherboard reviews. I hear Gigabyte boards are all the rage now although my conservative choice has been Asus for many years now. But reviews tell it best.[/QUOTE]

 

[TSE]

Thanks, the GPU is where I'm probably the weakness, knowledge wise. I picked that one out of the air.


Agreed, I've swapped that for a 80 plus bronze certified SeaSonic 520W PSU


I'm partial to Seagate, so that's why I opted for them.


So far being a subjective matter those are the best I've found. Best in the sense they offer great cooling and look good.

I'm going to update my list shortly as I've made some changes, including the MB, and ram which obviously impact the bottom line.

The rest looks ok but you should read detailed motherboard reviews. I hear Gigabyte boards are all the rage now although my conservative choice has been Asus for many years now. But reviews tell it best.

[/QUOTE]

Currently, ATI cards wipe the floor with nVidia cards overall. I would go for a midrange ATI in the 5xxx series.

 

[maflynn]

Currently, ATI cards wipe the floor with nVidia cards overall. I would go for a midrange ATI in the 5xxx series.[/QUOTE]

That's what I'm finding. I just need to confirm that I'll not have too much issues with fedora and/or ubuntu. I've read a number of issues with the ATI drivers not working at all in some cases.

 

[TSE]

I'm not familiar with Ubuntu or any version of Linux, so you for sure need to look into that.

 

[jav6454]

That's what I'm finding. I just need to confirm that I'll not have too much issues with fedora and/or ubuntu. I've read a number of issues with the ATI drivers not working at all in some cases.

Ah man, ATI cards currently have a bit of difficulty in Linux...

Case Antec nine hundred two.............100
Psu SeaSonic S12II 520...................70
CPU Intel Core i7-930...................200
MB GIGABYTE GA-X58A-UD3R................200
Ram G.SKILL PI Series 6GB...............189
GPU XFX GS250XYDFC GeForce GTS 250......140
HD Seagate Barracuda 500GB...............55
DVD Sony Optiarc.........................30

You can get this OCZ 700W PSU for much less by using this Promo Code: EMCYRNV36
Also, you can get it as cheap as $47 if you fill out the Mail in Rebate. That will give you an extra 180W headroom should you ever need it.

You can also get a nice Asus mobo like this Asus P6X58D-E which can be bought at $189.99 with this other Promo Code: EMCYRNV26

Also, here is a nice Seagate 1 TB HDD which can be obtained for $75 with this Promo Code: EMCYRNV43

 

[maflynn]

You can also get a nice Asus mobo like this Asus P6X58D-E which can be bought at $189.99 with this other Promo Code: EMCYRNV26

Thanks for the promo codes, that's the MB, I settled on so its nice to get it for a little bit cheaper

 

[thejadedmonkey]

All the components I have ever bought typically come with 1 to 3 year warranties (some claim lifetime). Turnaround seems to just as quick as shipping a computer whole off to a manufacturer.

I simply meant that if you have a problem, you cannot call up Dell and say "Whenever I delete a file, it's still there until I reboot." You need to email the motherboard manufacturer, who hopefully won't pass the issue along to Microsoft, who tells you after charging you a $79 support fee that it's due to the video card drivers...

Okay so that's an extreme example and it's never happened to me (well not that extreme ) , but that's the sort of issue you gamble won't happen.

Other thoughts: ATI's current video card selection is better than nVidia's, cost less, and use less power. I've always used Gigabyte motherboards, never once had a problem with them. Also, the Asus motherboard looks amazing. If you get something that intense, make sure you have an SSD that can make full use of the 6gb SATA buses.

 

[maflynn]

warranty support is certainly an issue that one has to consider.

As for the motherboards, I was looking at the gigabyte ones but there was a fair amount of negative reviews, enough to scare me away. I've got the asus one in the shopping cart, and all I'm doing now is waiting for the boss (wife) to give me permission.

 

[duncyboy]

I used to love building my own PC's. In fact, my iMac is my first off-the-shelf computer I've ever bought. The advantages are you get to choose EXACTLY what parts you use. I know most PC firms these days have very detailed build options but none quite as in-depth as your own build.

If you do decide to upgrade in the future you'll be positioned to do it part-by-part. If you know your PSU's got plenty of overhead you could do a motherboard, RAM and CPU upgrade. Then do HDD's or graphics later to save spending all at once if you wish.

If things do go pear-shaped you're well equipped to diagnose and fix the problem (if possible) yourself.

One thing I would advise is not to skimp on parts. Work out your budget and spread across THE WHOLE BUILD. Say your budget is 700- it's tempting to blow 500 on the CPU and graphics then build the rest round that. It's important to spend money on a quality PSU and motherboard. ESPECIALLY the motherboard. No point having a super chip and graphics if a crappy motherboard with a rubbish hard drive attached are giving you a bottleneck. In my experience it's better to have good parts throughout than a mixture of superb and cheap.

You've got me all nostalgic now! I must have some sort of mental problem if I miss staying up til 2am running MEMTEST for the 13th time in a row

 

[Rodimus Prime]

I used to love building my own PC's. In fact, my iMac is my first off-the-shelf computer I've ever bought. The advantages are you get to choose EXACTLY what parts you use. I know most PC firms these days have very detailed build options but none quite as in-depth as your own build.

If you do decide to upgrade in the future you'll be positioned to do it part-by-part. If you know your PSU's got plenty of overhead you could do a motherboard, RAM and CPU upgrade. Then do HDD's or graphics later to save spending all at once if you wish.

If things do go pear-shaped you're well equipped to diagnose and fix the problem (if possible) yourself.

One thing I would advise is not to skimp on parts. Work out your budget and spread across THE WHOLE BUILD. Say your budget is 700- it's tempting to blow 500 on the CPU and graphics then build the rest round that. It's important to spend money on a quality PSU and motherboard. ESPECIALLY the motherboard. No point having a super chip and graphics if a crappy motherboard with a rubbish hard drive attached are giving you a bottleneck. In my experience it's better to have good parts throughout than a mixture of superb and cheap.

You've got me all nostalgic now! I must have some sort of mental problem if I miss staying up til 2am running MEMTEST for the 13th time in a row

I would disagree with you on one point. That is it is most important not to skimp on a PSU and right after that do not skimp on the MOBO.

Reason for doing it this way is cutting corners on a cheap PSU might save you 20-30 bucks in the short run but you are risking your entire system on a cheap PSU. If it fries it will take out the entire system and you might have to throw way almost every part.

Now the part about upgrading is nice. My personal computer I built 6 years ago now I have upgrade the Graphic card and I have put in a few extra HD to what currently is a 500 gig hard drive. Also I have added quite a a few random PCI cards and extra USB ports.

 

[Synchromesh]

Agreed, I've swapped that for a 80 plus bronze certified SeaSonic 520W PSU

I would get at least a 600W PSU or better yet a 700W one. More than that is only needed if you're planning to run major SLI or very powerful components.

I'm partial to Seagate, so that's why I opted for them.

YMMV but there have been some reports not too long ago with certain Seagate drives having problems. My personal experience with them is somewhat limited but I would strongly recommend WD Black because they are generally the fastest and not much more expensive.

Currently, ATI cards wipe the floor with nVidia cards overall. I would go for a midrange ATI in the 5xxx series.

Sadly, that's true. I had my fair share of both and find that Nvidia drivers are more stable in general. Also, if you plan to go multi-GPU, SLI is better than Crossfire both availability- and stabilitywise. If you plan to always only run a single card go ATI.

 

[maflynn]

I would get at least a 600W PSU or better yet a 700W one. More than that is only needed if you're planning to run major SLI or very powerful components.

I was planning on getting a larger one but so far EVERYONE has been saying the larger PSU is over kill. I am not planning on SLI so I thought the the 520 would be sufficient.

YMMV but there have been some reports not too long ago with certain Seagate drives having problems. My personal experience with them is somewhat limited but I would strongly recommend WD Black because they are generally the fastest and not much more expensive.

I'll look into WD vs. Seagate again, but my prior history has been that seagate was very good. I'll see what the forums over at tom's hardware has to say.

Sadly, that's true. I had my fair share of both and find that Nvidia drivers are more stable in general. Also, if you plan to go multi-GPU, SLI is better than Crossfire both availability- and stabilitywise. If you plan to always only run a single card go ATI.

Looks like the consensus is nvidia sux and ATI is the way to go, so I'll start looking into their 5xxx series cards.

 

[Synchromesh]

If you plan to run only mid-range graphics cards and nothing fancy then 520W should do it although I can't imagine a 600W supply of similar specs would be much more and it would give you extra room if need be. Your call of course.

You're right about the video card, if you only want to run a single card, go with the 5xxx series. They seem to be best bang for the buck at this point.

 

[jav6454]

A 5770 or 5750 would do fine in mid range.

 

[H00513R]

When I used PCs I would normally buy new at first and then upgrade for about 5 years like graphics cards for games, memory, etc. Then I would buy another one and start all over. You can get a pretty good system nowadays retail.