Need help building a computer for college!

[treydawg]

Alright, I'm sure most of you have already completed college. I'm looking to build a computer for just that. What are your recommended systems? I'm almost leaning towards maybe a Dell right now because I won't have to buy all the extra software. What is your opinions?

 

[her209]

Build it yourself. You'll save bunches.

 

[SWirth86]

Originally posted by: her209
Build it yourself. You'll save bunches.

Definetly do this. It will save you tons of money, and you will learn a lot. What is your budget?

 

[bmd]

I just got my computer that I'm taking to college next year (see sig) and since I was a little nervous about building one from scratch by myself I decided to find a good online retailer that would build one for me with all the parts I wanted. I ended up settling on MWave and I have been very pleased so far. It's been very stable, arrived well packed and the inside of the case was nice and tidy. They included all the exact parts I ordered and built it and shipped it out pretty quickly. I would definitely check them out (they charge 79.99 to assemble your system but will install your OS and most drivers and make sure everything works before sending it to you).

Hopefully from what I learn from this computer through upgrades and poking around and trial and error I'll be comfortable building my own next time.

 

[pillage2001]

Don't you have any buds that know how to build one?? ASk him to build one for you and learn from him. Maybe pay him 100 bucks if you want to.

 

[BKR]

There really isn't much to building your basic computer. There are sites all over the web that have tutorials and you can always use the forum if you get stuck. I agree that this will save you a lot of money as well as giving you the knowledge of how to do it. Another great aspect is that you can customize the computer to what you would be using it for. It seems intimidating, but once you get going you'll realize there's nothing to it.

 

[bunker]

In reality it will only save him money if he has all the software he needs. The OS and other stuff that comes with a prebuilt can add up.

That said, I just built my first. You get a real sense of accomplishment the first time the thing boots up successfully (after many tries )

 

[treydawg]

Oh guys, I have no problem building my own pc. I'm saying by the time I add up all the periphrials and software isn't it going cost a pretty penny?

 

[dakata24]

if you're against building one yourself, going to dell aint too bad.. check hot deals.. i got a dell dimension 4400 that's not bad for about ~$630. P4 1.8Ghz, 256mb ddr, gf2 mx400, 80gb 7200 rpm hd, 16x cdrw. that was more than a few months ago.. im sure there's better deals out there now.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: treydawg
Oh guys, I have no problem building my own pc. I'm saying by the time I add up all the periphrials and software isn't it going cost a pretty penny?

Not really. If I tried to buy a computer like I built it would have cost twice if not 3 times as much.
Heres a good basic setup to start with.

Motherboard Shuttle AK35GT2R This board has Raid, and a 5.1 soubd card and cost less than $99 at newegg
CPU get a Athlon XP 1700 or 1800+ can get one of those for less than $90 shipped at Pricewatch.com
RAM 256mg slab of Crucial DDR ram should be able to get this for $36-41 at Crucial.com
Video Card get a GF2 GTS-V at Newegg.com for $45 , it has 32mg DDR ram and is fast enough to run all current games
Hard Drive look for a Maxtor 20 or 40gb that is at least ATA100, they are fast and have been good to me
CD-rw/DVD-rom I would get at least a good 24X or faster CD-rw, if you plan on watching DVD's then get one and have one of each
Case get one that looks good to you, and has at Least a GOOD 300watt or higher Power supply
Keyboard and Mouse I like the microsoft keyboards and mice, they are strong and not thin like some sheaper ones.


That is a very good computer that will not break your bank but give good power and upgradeability.



If you just want to buy a pre-built computer go to Compaq and look at the 6000 computer with Athlon XP. It will have DDR ram and nForce motherboard. You can get one of these with a 17inch monitor for less than $999


Good Luck.

 

[joe678]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: treydawg
Oh guys, I have no problem building my own pc. I'm saying by the time I add up all the periphrials and software isn't it going cost a pretty penny?

Not really. If I tried to buy a computer like I built it would have cost twice if not 3 times as much.
Heres a good basic setup to start with.

Motherboard Shuttle AK35GT2R This board has Raid, and a 5.1 soubd card and cost less than $99 at newegg
CPU get a Athlon XP 1700 or 1800+ can get one of those for less than $90 shipped at Pricewatch.com
RAM 256mg slab of Crucial DDR ram should be able to get this for $36-41 at Crucial.com
Video Card get a GF2 GTS-V at Newegg.com for $45 , it has 32mg DDR ram and is fast enough to run all current games
Hard Drive look for a Maxtor 20 or 40gb that is at least ATA100, they are fast and have been good to me
CD-rw/DVD-rom I would get at least a good 24X or faster CD-rw, if you plan on watching DVD's then get one and have one of each
Case get one that looks good to you, and has at Least a GOOD 300watt or higher Power supply
Keyboard and Mouse I like the microsoft keyboards and mice, they are strong and not thin like some sheaper ones.


That is a very good computer that will not break your bank but give good power and upgradeability.



If you just want to buy a pre-built computer go to Compaq and look at the 6000 computer with Athlon XP. It will have DDR ram and nForce motherboard. You can get one of these with a 17inch monitor for less than $999


Good Luck.

this is not including oS/software...so unless he's gonna used cracked warez, it should cost a bit more...

 

[hoihtah]

i thought you were talking about building a computer for college...
not one that you are going to take to college.



a big diff.

 

[treydawg]

TTT