In what order should I buy my PC parts?

[NoIdea]

Hi All,

I?m planning to build a PC but will buy the parts one at a time trough the course of the next four or so months. This way I will spread cost over that time, but most importantly I can squirrel away the parts slowly and the girlfriend won?t notice I just blew $1,200 on PC (You see she wants an engagement ring so really I should be saving for that). This being said and the fact that the price of computer parts change so frequently, in what order should I purchase my parts. I don?t want to buy a part then find out that it has dropped significantly in price a month later. So here is what I?m planning on purchasing.

CPU : E6600 ? most likely purchased last
GPU : NVIDIA 8800 GTX ? not sure what manufacturer, but most like will be one of the last parts purchased.
Mobo: Not sure yet either an Intel 975 chipset, or 680i/650i chipset - most likely a mobo with one of those chipsets that that just came out in the past 3 or so months.
HDD: Looking at a WD Raptor 74GB but unsure if I will buy one.
RAM : Again brand not sure but I want between PC8000 to PC10000.
CASE: I like the Antec 180 right now but could change
PSU: SeaSonic S12 ? 600 or Corsair 620
Cooling: Still not sure what I need but for all the cooling pieces need, I only want to spend around $70.

So in what order? Your suggestions are much appreciated.

 

[laurenlex]

Save for the ring. Relationships are much more important than hardware that will be obsolete in 3 years.

 

[NoIdea]

Oh she's getting a Ring but I want a PC too. Maybe I can push her to buy me an " engagement PC". If I'm going to drop 7g's on a ring she can at least by me an "Engagement PC"

I WANT MY "Engagement PC"?or maybe an ?"Engagement HDTV??.that would be nice too.

But anyways suggestion on PC parts purchase order are welcomed.

 

[laurenlex]

OK, since you got her a ring, I'd buy the case and power supply first, as those don't change very vast. Then RAM and hard drives, finally CPU, GPU and motherboard

 

[fraquar]

General rule of thumb I use is by from least technologically dependent to most technologically dependent (assuming a say 3 month wpurchase window where technology doesn't take a platform leap).

1) Case - least technologically affected - form factors don't change overnight.
2) Power Supply - the most often overlooked component - but the most important. Again, technology changes don't affect Power Supplies much - or their cost. IMO this is the foundation component - and I don't skimp here one iota.
3) Hard Disk - technology changes very little here - except capacity.
4) Motherboard - the rest of the components are dependent on this - and prices don't change much till motherboards are relegated to 2nd generation, 3rd generation etc.
5) Memory - price fluctuates little here - so waiting a little longer isn't gonna save you much if any - unless you are waiting for those 2GB modules to come down in price (good luck there). One other thing - some Mobo's are finicky when it comes to Memory modules which work well - so it is usulally better to get board and memory together - or bMobo first then find compatable memory after finding out any issues since Mobo's release.
6) Cooling - this can be dependent on the Motherboard layout - some coolers don't work well with certain boards do to space constraints, capacitor layout, etc..
7-8) CPU/Video Card - these have the most fluctuation in price over time - so they are the ones you'd benefit most waiting on - conversely they are also the components that technology changes frequently with - and a last minute substitution of processor can be made her providing the Mobo has a BIOS upgrade to support it.

My preferred order if I'm taking a staged build approach is a 3 step purchase.

Purchase #1) Case, Power Supply, Hard Drives (if not reusing current ones)and any minor components (TV Tuner, Sound Card,, Drive enclosures, Digital displayes, etc).
Purchase #2) Motherboard, Memory, CPU Cooler and any other minor items (see above).
Purchase #3) CPU and Video Card.

Dual Video card purchases for SLI probably wouldn't work in step 3 and if I were to go that approach then I'd just add the second video card as a separate 4th purchase.

I'm currently doing this exact same thing - and am at step #2 this weekend - with step 3 to be completed no later than March 15. I don't like to wwait more than 45 days from step #2 and step #3 - as technoloigy changes can sometimes leave me with a sour taste if I wait longer than that. They eventually do anyway - but I hate that feeling in the middle of a build.

 

[stogez]

Fraquar has it right.
You could get the cooling before the mobo though. Most new motherboards offer enough space for aftermarket cooling. And you can always get that info from reviews on the mobo.
CPU and GPU should be bought the week you're ready to put everything together. Intel will be updating the lineup by the time you're ready to buy and prices will be lower. Same thing with GPU with the new ATI DX10 cards coming out and the midrange nVidia cards. GTX prices might not change a whole lot but it depends on how much better the ATI cards are.
recap: you could buy the case, psu, hd, cooling tomorrow and it wouldn't make a whole lot of difference. Tuniq tower should be on the top of a very short list

 

[slatr]

Originally posted by: NoIdea
Oh she's getting a Ring but I want a PC too. Maybe I can push her to buy me an " engagement PC". If I'm going to drop 7g's on a ring she can at least by me an "Engagement PC"

I WANT MY "Engagement PC"?or maybe an ?"Engagement HDTV??.that would be nice too.

But anyways suggestion on PC parts purchase order are welcomed.

Ask yourself the question.. do you want to live?

Although.. a Wii might be a great Valentine's day present.. hmm

 

[fraquar]

Originally posted by: stogez
...............Tuniq tower should be on the top of a very short list

That thing is ridiculously huge:Q
Do they have an AM2 version yet?

 

[crimson117]

Great list fraquar. Should be a sticky

Here is your list broken down a bit further by stages of your build, and assumes you're not reusing any components,

Needed for first boot

• Stable prices (buy early or whenever on sale):
  Case, Power Supply, Mouse, Keyboard, Monitor, Primary (system) hard drive, CD/DVD drive

• Volatile prices (wait until last minute):
  Motherboard, Ram, CPU and cooling, Video Card

Not required for first boot:

• Generally stable prices:
  Discrete sound card (if mobo has integrated sound to hold you over), extra hard drives, second video card for SLI, additional CD/DVD drives, media card reader, TV tuner, speakers (if you have headphones or crappy old speakers to hold you over).

 

[NoIdea]

Great info guys. So I'm going to pull the trig on my first purchase; SeaSonic S12 600wt

I hope it doesn?t go on sale anytime soon. It's pricy $159.99 CND (aprx. $135.00 USD) but I hear you shouldn?t cheap out on PSU?s. I?m in Toronto so if anyone else knows of a place with cheaper prices let me know.

Thanks again for your replies.

 

[HannibalX]

Here is the order I always follow. You don't have to follow any certain order but I always do.

1. Case
2. PSU
3. Motherboard
4. CPU
5. Memory
6. Video
7. Audio
8. HDs
9. Media drives.
10. Anything else.

 

[s44]

$7K (even Canadian) on a ring!? Geez. Hope you're getting a good deal; the De Beers monopoly sucks.

 

[NoIdea]

Originally posted by: s44
$7K (even Canadian) on a ring!? Geez. Hope you're getting a good deal; the De Beers monopoly sucks.

I haven't bought it yet but that?s what I'm planning to spend. My biggest mistake is I researched diamonds on the web so now I have an idea of what makes a good stone. I think if I remained blind and clueless to diamonds I would have saved a lot of money. Now that I know I?m screwed. I'm hoping to go cheaper but that's my limit. Man the diamond companies really gouge you on these freaking rings. I have heard if they were to flood the market with their reserve diamond stock these stones would be worthless.

Sorry to rant on a completely unrelated subject but MAN??

 

[AVP]

Yeah maybe if they just let everyone use conflict diamonds...sheesh...

 

[crimson117]

Originally posted by: AVP
Yeah maybe if they just let everyone use conflict diamonds...sheesh...

This is totally OT but...

Or maybe if we all realized that diamonds are in reality just pretty pieces of very hard stone... much less beautiful imho than a ruby or deep blue sapphire (have you seen how awesome and huge the lab created ones are?). Diamonds are only valuable because so many people place an artificial value on them.

 

[s44]

Diamonds aren't even rare. It's rubies, emeralds, sapphires that are (and thus, are actually valuable). Diamonds are just pricey due to the cartel.

OK, enough OT. I agree with the buy-CPU/GPU-last guys, btw.

 

[theAnimal]

Originally posted by: NoIdea
Great info guys. So I'm going to pull the trig on my first purchase; SeaSonic S12 600wt

I hope it doesn?t go on sale anytime soon. It's pricy $159.99 CND (aprx. $135.00 USD) but I hear you shouldn?t cheap out on PSU?s. I?m in Toronto so if anyone else knows of a place with cheaper prices let me know.

Thanks again for your replies.

directcanada.com

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: crimson117

• Stable prices (buy early or whenever on sale):

• Volatile prices (wait until last minute):

I generally wouldn't spread out my purchases over time, but if you really have to then follow the above advice, leave the volatile priced items until last. That way you can take advantage of upcoming CPU price drops and upcoming new DX10 GPUs.

Better yet, why not open a savings account to deposit the money into? That way your unused parts aren't sitting around eating up warranty time (and what if DOA?). Also, you may come out a few bucks ahead from the interest.

 

[Xenoterranos]

Hmmm. I'd never spread the purchase out, unless I was sure lack of willpower would keep me from saving the money. My advice would be to price all the components now, and start "paying" your piggy bank. by the time you're reached your goal, the PC should actually be cheaper, or you could get better parts for the same price. IMHO, it's better than letting components lay around the house collecting dust (and probably static-induced injuries). the Case, however, is going to be the most visible purchase, so take your time choosing it, and shop around locally to try and save on shipping.