New PCs: To build or not to build

[izzy92020]

I'm really considering upgrading my computers (P4 3ghz 478, 2gb RAM, ati 1950gt) to something a lil more modern...

But is it still feasable to build your own computer? or just cheaper to buy a prebuilt and upgrade the video card if needed?

I haven't really kept up with the whole line of pentium core 2 duo/quad processors but am assuming that the faster the fs bus and clock speed the better (as it has been in the past)... but I mainly would like something not necessarily top of the line, but decent enuf for gaming and that would be able to drop in a ati 3870 or something in that price range ($200) for video.

the cases I have a in decent condition, but will probably give my old systems to neices and nephews who do not have a PC at all. So buying a prebuilt sounds tempting (due to my laziness, lol), but will I regret it later?

any recommendations greatly appreciated.
Thx,
-Iz

 

[imported_Woody]

Interesting no one replied to your post.

This is the most common question people have I think.

My opinion based on your current system is to build a new one from scratch rather than try to salvage what you have. Use your current system as a second computer or give it away rather than trying to salvage $50 in parts from it. Now is actually a good time to buy because components are so inexpensive. It's not really necessary to buy top of the line parts to get nearly as good performance these days. For a high powered but inexpensive system I suggest a brand name P35 based motherboard (or G35 if you want a small form factor) with an Intel Core 2 Duo Processor like the E8400 which is at a very good price point right now. Quad cores are also a good choice if you want to spend a little more and especially if you do a lot of CPU intensive tasks like video or audio rendering. AMD systems are also out there but generally a P35 and an E8400 will outperform a similarly priced AMD system by a significant margin these days. Treat yourself to 4GB of inexpensive PC6400 DDR2-800 speed RAM (2x2GB or 4x1GB) even if you are only using a 32bit version of Vista....you will only see about 3.5GB available but Vista is RAM hungry and will run better than with 2GB.

You can get high performance 500GB hard drives for about $80 these days and video cards have dropped in price in the past week. ATi cards are a good choice again with the 4850 running under $200 and performing like a $300 card.

Go to the local computer store and buy a case that catches your eye. Cases are a personal choice and something I think you have to see and touch to decide if you like it. Get yourself a high quality, brand name Power Supply in the 600W range or better after reading some reviews on this and other websites. Even if your case comes with a power supply you shouldn't go cheap here.

Install the OS of your choice. Vista is very simple to install and much easier than XP but some people prefer the performance gain you get in XP in many applications and games. I don't think you can even buy retail copies of XP after today.

In the end you will have built a high performance computer that will be superior in both quality and performance to anything you could have purchased pre built for the money. You will spend under $1000 not including monitor.

 

[izzy92020]

Thanks for your feedback.

I agree with what you said, I've priced out that with buying Vista home premium (OEM system builder) and a very decent set of components will cost around $950 and the system will easily outperform anything similiarily priced.

 

[bamacre]

IMO, it depends on your budget and needs. My personal system is a self-upgraded refurb'd Dell XPS 410.

You mentioned $950, if that is roughly your budget, then a refurb'd XPS 420 can be had for about $650 (Q6600, 3GB, DVDRW, etc), and an HD 4850 could be added for less than an additional $200 (replacing the XPS's 2400Pro).